Frederick Burton Movies

The first "epic" western of the talkie era, The Big Trail is motivated by a hero's search for the murderer of his father. Twenty-three-year-old John Wayne, hitherto limited to bit parts, was thrust into the difficult leading role, a young mountaineer put in charge of a huge California-bound wagon train. Over the next several months, Wayne and his fellow pioneers face every imaginable hazard and disaster, from blistering desert heat to blinding snowstorms, negotiating steep cliffs, treacherous rivers, uncharted forests and other such natural obstacles. Meanwhile, Wayne's tentative romance with heroine Ruth Cameron (Marguerite Churchill) is continually thwarted by a charming but duplicitous gambler (Ian Keith), and all-around villain Red Flack (Tyrone Power Sr.) and his henchman Lopez (Charlie Stevens) ceaselessly plot to double-cross the other wagon-trainers for their own financial gain. The Big Trail was a box-office disappointment, a fact which some have attributed its expensive production methods. Each scene was lensed twice, once in 35-millimeter and then in the 65-mm "Fox Grandeur" wide-screen process. And then, each dialogue scene was filmed in French and German, with totally different casts. Even if Big Trail has been a big hit, it would have lost money thanks to the time-consuming shooting and reshooting of virtually every scene. Whatever the case, it was John Wayne who suffered most from the film's failure; instantly demoted to "B"-westerns, it took him nearly a decade to rebuild his stardom. Long believed lost, The Big Trail was made available for exhibition again in the early 1970s -- and in the 1990s the original widescreen version was at last restored for public view. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Famous for playing the long-suffering mother in the tearjerker Over the Hill to the Poorhouse (1920), Mary Carr earned yet another tour-de-force in this silent backstage melodrama, courtesy of the Zelznick Corp. This time, she played Nellie Wayne, a retired and broken down stock company actress, whose sole supporter is Chum, an aging vaudeville dog (played by a pooch named "Lassie Bronté," no less!) Life, however, turns considerably cheerier when the old dear sells a play she has written about her experiences to a famous film producer (Dore Davidson). In between Carr's tear-provoking antics, her character came into contact with quite a few Broadway and literary legends, including P. T. Barnum (played by Maclyn Arbuckle), Mark Twain (Leslie King), President Ulysses S. Grant (Albert Phillips) and Augustin Daly (Frederick Burton). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Earl Foxe) is the hero of this typical Northwoods drama, which begins with John Ramsey (Foxe) not getting his man. Margo (Doris Miller) has asked her father, Major Neil Shanley (Charles Mackay) to give her sweetheart, Ramsey, a chance at being a Mountie. So Shanley assigns him the task of capturing a murderer. But rum smuggler Bruce Webster (Frederick Burton) is also in love with Margo, and he has his men ambush Ramsey. He returns to the post in disgrace and Margo pegs him as a coward. But Fenton (Frank Losee), an old friend of his mother's, gives him the courage to try again. Fired up once more, Ramsey manages to get his man. He also captures the notorious Webster, who has killed one of his own men. Ramsey redeems himself in Margo's eyes and finally wins his chevrons. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

This comedy-drama featured a wry story by humorist George Ade and a warm performance by the always likable Thomas Meighan. Meighan is Tom Redding, who, upon his father's death, finds that he and his mother (Maude Turner Gordon) are broke. Without the Redding wealth, they become outcasts in the social circles where they were once welcomed, and Tom's girl, Olivia Hornby (Florence Deshon), throws him over. Tom finds a more loyal sweetheart in May Thorne (Lila Lee), who offers him her savings so that he can develop an oil well. The well becomes a gusher, and Redding finds himself wealthy once again. But instead of returning to town a success, a pal suggests that he pretend to be a failure to see who his real friends are. While using this ruse, Tom secretly buys up the companies from all the men who snubbed him and his mother. The town is shocked when they discover that Redding is the millionaire who now practically controls the town. But instead of taking vengeance, Redding magnanimously returns the men to their former positions. Mary, who has stuck by him all this time, is proud to become his wife. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Education of Elizabeth was adapted for the silent screen from a play by Roy Horniman. The film version was designed as a vehicle for Billie Burke, still in her ingenue stage (though she's obviously on the darker side of 30). Burke, the real-life wife of Flo Ziegfeld, plays Ziegfeld Follies dancer Elizabeth Banks who falls for a wealthy young man. His parents are shocked--and so is Elizabeth when she decides she'd rather have her beau's nerdish brother. She turns the mouse into a lion so that he'll be a worthy husband. The material was very fey and fluffy, like Billie Burke herself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Norma Talmadge has a dual role in this silent film, based on a play by Arthur Goodrich. She plays both a rich wife and a poor one, each of whom are tempted by other men. The rich wife says yes to Paul Derrick (Lowell Sherman) and commits suicide when he dumps her. The poor woman says no to Gladden James and is rewarded when her hardworking husband invents a washing machine and makes a fortune. There's really no tie between the stories, except for the rich woman's maid, Emma, who happens to be the sister of the poor woman -- she's also Natalie Talmadge, Norma's sister. Except for a co-starring role in Our Hospitality, made by her husband Buster Keaton, Natalie never had much of an acting career. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Mary Miles Minter was supposed to be a contender for Mary Pickford's girlish crown, but she never came close. It's no wonder with pictures like this one -- based on L.M. Montgomery's book, it's an innocuous effort in which Minter does very little other than look cute. Adult siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert (Marcia Harris and Frederick Burton) want to adopt a child from an orphanage, and their home, Green Gables, comes to be graced by the presence of Anne Shirley (Minter). In spite of her sweet looks, Anne has a penchant for landing herself in trouble, which gives the town gossip, Mrs. Pie (Leila Romer), a lot to talk about. When Anne grows up and her adopted family loses its money, she goes to work as a schoolteacher. While teaching, she is compelled to whip Mrs. Pie's boy, and later, when he falls off a hay wagon and breaks his arm, Anne gets the blame for the injury. But a minister who saw the fall clears it all up and saves Anne's hide. This picture was directed by William Desmond Taylor, whose unsolved murder in 1922 destroyed Minter's career. Even though the actress almost certainly had no involvement in his death, she was apparently one of the last people to see him alive. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

In a poker game, an English aristocrat (Lawrence D'Orsay) loses his valet, Marmaduke Ruggles (Taylor Holmes), to an American. Ruggles is then passed over to the American's Cousin Egbert (Frederick Burton) and taken to Red Gap, Arizona. Cousin Egbert introduces him as "Colonel Marmaduke Ruggles from England," and the former servant finds himself a celebrity. He gleefully adapts to American ways and attitudes and decides to open up a restaurant. He also wins the heart of a charming widow (Virginia Valli). This Harry Leon Wilson story was filmed several more times -- and no wonder, it's a great story! -- in 1923 with Edward Everett Horton in the title role, as a talkie in 1935 with Charles Laughton (this is the definitive version), and as a musical, Fancy Pants, in 1950, starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi