Anthony Coldeway Movies

Because comedian Larry Semon had a bad habit of running over budget, Vitagraph had no choice but to offer his films at a premium (and theaters were willing to pay because he turned out quality films). But this meant that the studio needed to offer less expensive comedies too, and they filled this need with Jimmy Aubrey, who was once a part of Fred Karno's theatrical troupe alongside Charles Chaplin and Stan Laurel. While Aubrey's two-reelers were certainly cheaper than Semon's, they were also a lot less funny, and this particular film was even lower in quality than his normal fare. Aubrey plays a hapless husband whose wife (Maude Emory) ignores him, preferring instead to flirt with the artists (Oliver Hardy and Dick Smith) across the hall. To say this makes Jimmy insecure is putting it mildly, and he's even jealous of the plumber -- until he discovers that he's also the brother of the missus. One of the artists wants to steal the wife away from Jimmy, so he forges a letter from her uncle, mentioning that if she divorces Jimmy, she will inherit a fortune. The wife, who doesn't really want to get rid of Jimmy, makes a pact with him to divorce and than remarry. Unfortunately, they don't tell her brother who beats him up for supposedly cheating on his sister. The wife shows up before too much damage is done and they remarry, ruining the artist's little scheme. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Jimmy Aubrey -- Vitagraph's low-rent answer to their star comedian, Larry Semon -- starred in this two-reel knockoff of Charles Chaplin's Easy Street. Jimmy lives in a tough neighborhood by the name of Paradise Alley. The only time everyone toes the line is when the neighborhood boss (big Oliver Hardy) appears. On one end of the street, the Boss is flirting with a cashier who works for the local beanery; at the other end of the street, Jimmy is at a mission, listening to a sermon. He decides to steal the poor box, but thinks better of his plan and puts it back. This wins him favor with the cashier, who happens to see his act. Jimmy and another man put on a fat man's suit and go to the beanery, hoping they'll both get fed for the price of one. Their ruse is discovered, however, and Jimmy winds up paying for his meal by working in the kitchen. The Boss and an associate try to rob the joint, but Jimmy saves the day, and earns the cashier's affection. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

As usual, this Jimmy Aubrey comedy makes little sense, but it contains a lot of gags. Jimmy is a dentist's assistant who turns the office upside down while the dentist is away. After using a variety of ways to extract teeth, including a mallet and a hammer and chisel, he has to chase after a floating patient who has taken too much laughing gas. Eventually, a basic plot emerges -- the bad guy (Oliver Hardy) lusts after the dentist's wife, whom the assistant also fancies. They're both trying to court her when the dentist -- an extremely jealous guy, and apparently with some reason -- gets home. They hide, none too successfully, and when the dentist finds them, chaos ensues. The bad guy abducts the wife and drives off, while the dentist and the assistant give chase on a motorcycle. Eventually the wife is rescued and returns home with her husband. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Working undercover as ranch hands, U.S. marshal Franklyn Farnum (no relation to Western stars William and Dustin Farnum) and his Chinese ally (played by British actor Andrew Waldron) infiltrate a gang terrorizing a pretty ranch owner. This obscure silent Western was directed by genre specialist B. Reeves Eason for independent producer Phil Goldstone. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Edward Everett Horton, who was still new to film, was perfectly cast as the meek and mild English valet Ruggles in this adaptation of the Harry Leon Wilson novel. Ruggles comes into the life of Cousin Egbert (Ernest Torrence) when he and his wife, Mrs. Effie (Louise Dresser), travel to Paris. The couple, from the western town of Red Gap, are nouveau riche and she is determined to teach him how to be a proper gentleman. But Cousin Egbert proves to be unteachable, even after he wins Ruggles in a poker game. Mrs. Effie hopes that Ruggles will show her husband the ropes, and Ruggles is certainly willing. Back home in Red Gap, however, the two men are more pals than master and servant. In fact, Egbert introduces Ruggles as a colonel, and the town honors him. Ruggles' former employer comes to Red Gap and falls in love with Kate Kenner, one of the bohemian set (Lois Wilson). Ruggles, horrified, wires the man's brother to put a stop to it. The brother does just that by traveling to Red Gap and marrying Kate himself. Ruggles then has a romance with Emily (Fritzi Ridgeway) and opens up a restaurant. This wasn't the first time this story was filmed -- there was a version made in 1918, then again in 1935 and 1950. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Irene Short (Agnes Ayers) tries to help her husband Donald (Edward Burns) further his career in architecture by running around with members of a fast society crowd. When one of the high-profile members of the set is murdered, first Irene and then Donald are accused of the killing. The Captain of Detectives (George Seigmann) is called to investigate, and the veteran sleuth believes others may be involved. Suspicions eventually lead to the blackmailing editor of a newspaper gossip column in this routine crime drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This drama was based on the play by Leon Gordon and Doris Marquette. The title refers to the estate owned by Flagg (Rockliffe Fellowes), a man of great wealth and few morals. He installs chorus girls there until he grows tired of them. His latest fancy, Dorothy Delbridge (Betty Compson), refuses to have anything to do with him, so he has her fired from the show in which she is performing. Eventually she comes around and becomes mistress of his manor. Then she meets Douglas Crawford (Warner Baxter), a fine, upstanding type who incidentally happens to have quite a bit of money. Without telling Crawford of her sordid past, Dorothy marries him. Flagg comes back to haunt her when he attempts to fleece Crawford. Dorothy wrestles with the possibility of telling her husband of her past without realizing that he's already aware of it. Not only does Crawford forgive her past, he thrashes Flagg, who falls over a balcony railing to his death. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Silent screen idol Rudolph Valentino made his next-to-last screen appearance in this romantic comedy/drama. Count Rodrigo Torriani (Valentino) is a notorious ladies' man who has become the subject of a long list of breach-of-promise suits filed by disappointed former girlfriends, which has left him destitute. Needing to learn a new trade, Rodrigo comes to the U.S., where his knowledge of Italian artifacts is put to good use by Jack Dorning (Casson Ferguson), an antique dealer. While Rodrigo's new trade would presumably put him back on the straight and narrow, such is not the case, as he finds himself the object of two different women's affections -- Mary (Gertrude Olmstead), Jack's secretary, and Elise (Nita Naldi), a wealthy socialite. Cobra reunited Valentino with Nita Naldi, who had starred with him in Blood and Sand and A Sainted Devil; within a year of Cobra's release, Valentino would die unexpectedly, and within three years, Naldi would retire from the screen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Edward Everett Horton is well cast in this simple little romance, which was based on the play The Nest Egg by Anne Caldwell O'Day. When John Smith (John Roche) proposes to Hetty Gandy (Florence Vidor), she writes her acceptance on an egg which she leaves for him. Unfortunately, the egg goes into cold storage and he never receives it. Unaware of this, Hetty waits patiently for him and resists the advances of Norman Frisbie (Ed Brady). After five years she gets a wire from John Smith that says he is coming for her. Hetty is thrilled until she realizes that this is a different John Smith (Horton) -- he received the egg years late and is suing the distributor. Through a series of circumstances, Smith number two and Hetty wind up married anyway. Hetty, however, is disappointed to discover that her new husband is a hypochondriac who is full of neurotic habits and fears. Through Hetty's good nature, however, Smith manages to overcome his unpleasant behavior, and the couple are finally happy. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

For Wives Only was based on the stage play The Critical Year. The story takes place in Vienna, where handsome Dr. Rittenhaus (Victor Varconi) spends most of his time avoiding the amorous advances of his adoring female patients (shades of Lubitsch's The Marriage Circle). Hoping to use Rittenhaus' influence to secure a well-paying job, Professor Von Waldstein (Claude Gillingwater) talks the young medico into entertaining Countess Von Nessa (Dorothy Cumming), a wealthy hospital patroness. Certain that her husband is cheating on her with the Countess, Rittenhaus' wife Laura (Marie Prevost) concocts an elaborate scheme to arouse his jealousy. Part of her plan requires her to pledge eternal devotion to three of her husband's colleagues -- and from this point on, it's "Oh, Doctor!" all the way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With business at a standstill because of Prohibition, Dutch-born brewer Hans Wagner (George Sidney) returns to his homeland, hoping to jump-start his business. Invited to join a fraternal lodge, Hans dons the conclave's uniform, whereupon he is immediately mistaken for the Prince of Pilsen (Allan Forrest). Before he quite knows what is happening, Hans has been whisked off to the royal palace, where he is expected to marry Princess Bertha of Thorwald (Myrtle Stedman). Assuming that it's all part of his lodge initiation, Hans jovially agrees to go through with the wedding ceremony. The truth is revealed at the last minute, by which time the real Prince has fallen in love with Hans' daughter Nellie (Anita Stewart). The Prince of Pilsen was adapted from the popular musical comedy of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's hard to believe that Darryl F. Zanuck, producer of such anti-prejudice films of the 1940s as Gentleman's Agreement and Pinky, wrote the incredibly racist screenplay of Old San Francisco. After a lengthy prologue detailing the establishment and settlement of San Francisco by the Spanish aristocracy, the story proper begins in 1906 at the hacienda of Don Hernandez Vasquez (Josef Swickard) and his lovely daughter Dolores (Dolores Costello). Having fallen upon hard times, Don Hernandez nonetheless refuses the entreaties of wealthy businessman Michael Brandon (Anders Randolf) to purchase his property. Originally hired by Brandon to persuade the Vasquez family to move out, young lawyer Terrence O'Shaughnessy (Charles E. Mack) changes his mind when he falls in love with Dolores. Meanwhile, Chris Buckwell (Warner Oland), in charge of all illegal activities in Chinatown, offers himself as the "champion" of the Vasquez clan, all the while plotting to grab their land for himself and claim Dolores as his bride. Able to indulge in his skullduggery without fear of retribution from his Chinese victims because of his Caucasian status, Buckwell makes the mistake of revealing to Dolores that he actually has Oriental blood. When Dolores threatens to expose Buckwell as a "half-breed," he kidnaps the girl and attempts to sell her into white slavery. Surrounded by lustful Chinese merchants, Dolores prays for salvation -- whereupon the San Francisco Earthquake destroys everything around her, including Buckwell's criminal empire! Miraculously, both Dolores and Terrence escape from the earthquake unscathed, and in the final scene they are shown arm in arm, overlooking the rebuilt and "redeemed" San Francisco. Though beautifully photographed and consummately produced, Old San Francisco is no classic, nor will it ever be mistaken as a monument for racial tolerance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide