Bert Lytell Movies

In this comedy, a lady-bootlegger does her 90 days in jail, gets released and becomes the secretary for a prominent millionaire. The magnate falls madly in love with his new secretary and they marry. Unfortunately, she has not revealed her shady past to him, and when friends from her smuggling days suddenly show up as employees, mayhem ensues. The marriage almost ends when she gets illicitly tipsy one night. Fortunately, it all works out in the end and they live happily henceforth. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

An early talkie from then-poverty row company Columbia Pictures, Brothers features popular silent screen actor Bert Lytell in a dual-role. Separated at birth, orphaned twins Bob and Eddie grow up on either side of the tracks, one adopted by a washerwoman (Jessie Arnold), the other by a wealthy attorney Naughton (Howard Hickman). Years later, Bob, now a successful but alcoholic attorney in his own right, kills the husband (Francis McDonald) of his mistress (Rita Carlyle) after an altercation in Oily Joe's Saloon. Unbeknownst to Bob, his long-lost twin Eddie works in the saloon and because of their resemblance, Eddie is accused of the crime. When Bob realizes the truth, he clears his brother's name and is institutionalized in a sanitarium. To shield his wife from this sad turn of events, Mr. Naughton persuades Eddie to take Bob's place in the household. He accepts and promptly falls in love with Norma (Dorothy Sebastian), Bob's fiancée. Deciding to leave for his brother's sake, Eddie learns of Bob's death in the sanitarium and declares his love for Norma. A stage matinee-idol who had made a striking screen debut as The Lone Wolf in 1917, Bert Lytell was really a bit too long in the tooth to play leading men at this stage of his career and left films in 1931 in favor of returning to the stage. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

First filmed 1917, the Elmer Rice play On Trial was remade as a talkie eleven years later. The original stage version was hailed for its innovational use of flashbacks, a technique faithfully carried over to the screen. Bert Lytell stars as Robert Strickland, who as the picture opens is standing trial for the murder of his best friend Gerald Trask (Holmes Herbert). A young attorney (Jason Robards, Sr.) hopes to make a name for himself by mounting a spectacular defense for Strickland, but he is nearly defeated by his overeagerness and inexperience. During flashback testimony, however, it is revealed that the murder was justified, as it was committed to preserve the good name of Strickland's wife May (Lois Wilson). On Trial was remade again in 1939 with John Litel as Strickland, but by that time the property had lost its novelty value. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This drama starring Evelyn Brent is a barometer of the moral tone of the late '20s. Sales clerk Dolly Morton (Brent) gets a big resentment against all men when she is betrayed by her boyfriend, Jimmy Haynes (Larry Kent). She gets even with the male gender by becoming a callous gold digger, milking her escorts for all she can get and then coldly dumping them without ever putting out. In 1920s terms, this means that Dolly is really a good girl at heart, since she never actually sleeps with any of her men. Her biggest score is a lavish apartment, given to her by a married man (Bert Lytell) when she threatens to snitch on him to his wife (Myrtle Steadman). Wealthy Frank Stanton (Richard Tucker) is just meant to be another one of her victims, but Dolly falls in love with him. Stanton, however, sees her expensive lifestyle and assumes the worst (that she did put out). He's wrong, but by the time he discovers that Dolly is as pure as the driven snow (in body if not intention), she has returned to Haynes. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The Lone Wolf, Louis Joseph Vance's celebrated thief-turned-sleuth, began his long association with Columbia Pictures in 1926's Return of the Lone Wolf. After a life of crime, gentleman jewel robber Michael Lanyard (Bert Lytell), aka the Lone Wolf, has -- to all intents and purposes -- reformed. But when his sweetheart Marcia Mayfair (Billie Dove) is robbed by a rival gang, Lanyard returns to his old tricks, operating on the theory that it takes a thief to catch a thief. Though the original Vance stories were heavily reliant on dialogue, Return of the Lone Wolf effectively tells its story in purely visual terms. Bert Lytell, who first played the Lone Wolf in 1917, would return to the role several times between 1926 and 1930. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Advertised as a "crook society comedy," Columbia's Obey the Law features Bert Lytell in a role not unlike his frequent screen persona of The Lone Wolf. Lytell plays a smooth thief who steals a valuable jewel as a wedding present for Edna Murphy, his best friend's daughter. Unfortunately, his friend, an ex-convict who has kept his criminal past a secret from his daughter, is accused of the crime. After wrestling with his conscience, Lytell confesses to the misdeed and turns himself over to the law. All ends happily when Murphy's wealthy fiancee declares that the fact his future father-in-law was once a jailbird doesn't phase him in the least. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Unable to rely upon Oscar Wilde's epigrammatic dialogue to carry the day (this was, after all, the silent-film era), director Ernst Lubitsch substitutes verbal wit for the visual variety in his 1925 filmization of Lady Windermere's Fan. Ronald Colman has one of his first important screen roles as the slightly caddish Lord Darlington, who is in love with the very pretty--and very married--Lady Windermere (May McAvoy). The lady is rescued from disgrace at the hands of Darlington by the notorious Mrs. Erlynne (Irene Rich), who unbeknownst to everyone is Lady Windemere's long-lost mother. Filmed at the still young-and-hungry Warner Bros. studio, Lady Windermere's Fan was an enormous hit, and an instant candidate for the many "Ten Best" lists tabulated by the fan magazines of the era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Veteran silent screen actress Anita Stewart starred in this silent comedy-drama based on a 1915 play by Winchell Smith and Victor Mapes. Wanting to get in on what she sees as a racket, clairvoyant Virginia Zelva (Stewart) signs on as a nurse at a new sanitarium founded by idealistic psychologist Dr. Sumner (Bert Lytell). But instead of being a front for nefarious goings-on, the sanitarium proves legitimate, and Virginia falls in love with the good doctor. Handsome Donald Keith and former child starMary McAllister provided added romance, and the sour-faced Ned Sparks supplied comedy relief in this routine offering from producer B. P. Schulberg. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The title to this picture came from a Rudyard Kipling poem, and accurately reflected the attitude of Victorian and post-Victorian white people toward cultures different from their own -- they didn't understand them, and there's an underlying sense of superiority. Obviously, that attitude was still very much alive in 1925 (and, truthfully, carried on in one subtle form or another throughout the rest of the 20th century). This South Seas tale, however, had little to do with Kipling -- it was actually based on a story written by a less classic author by the name of Peter B. Kyne. Tamea (Anita Stewart) is the daughter of Gaston Larrieau, a French sea captain (Lionel Belmore), and the queen of a small South Sea island. Father and daughter travel to San Francisco, but he discovers he has leprosy and commits suicide. Tamea is left in the care of Larrieau's young employer, Dan Pritchard (Bert Lytell). Since she is not accustomed to civilized ways, her behavior becomes a problem and Pritchard's ex-fiancée Maisie (Justine Johnstone) and friend Mark Mellenger (Huntley Gordon) both help straighten her out. Tamea returns to her island and Pritchard, who has fallen in love with her, follows. They marry in a native ceremony, but soon Pritchard finds he is bored by island life. Tamea writes to Maisie, admitting that she and her new husband are from two different worlds. Maisie and Mellenger show up on the island, and Pritchard is more than happy to dump his native wife and return to the U.S. with his former flame. Mellenger, however, stays behind and proves to be a better mate to Tamea. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Bruno, a tramp (Richard Bennett), takes in a waif, David, who is later adopted by a man whose daughter, Roma, wants a playmate. The children grow up (to be played by Bert Lytell and Barbara LaMarr), and when World War I breaks out, David and Bruno enlist. David is reported dead and Roma, who is a talented sculptor, goes to Rome with the aid of Baron Bonelli (Lionel Barrymore). David is not actually dead, however, and he returns home. He joins the Fascist movement and becomes Mussolini's right hand man in fighting the Reds. David finds Roma and, believing she is the mistress of Bonelli, denounces her. She swears it's not true, however, and they make up. What neither of them have realized is that Bonelli is the power behind the Reds and they are plotting to kidnap David. David kills Bonelli and leads his Fascisti fellowmen to vanquish the Reds. Roma tries to take the blame for Bonelli's death, but David refuses to let her. He is pardoned for the good he has done Italy, and the childhood sweethearts are now joined together as adults. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The Willard Mack stage play Kick In starred John Barrymore on Broadway and was made into a motion picture in 1917, with Ouida Bergere writing the scenario. Bergere was at the typewriter once again when the story returned to the screen in 1922. This production, with its more lavish budget and fine direction by George Fitzmaurice, was an improvement on the earlier version. After serving time in Sing Sing, Chic Hewes (Bert Lytell) wants to go straight, but when he refuses to be a stool pigeon for the cops, they hound him mercilessly. Hewes witnesses a car accident in which Jerry Brandon (Robert Agnew), the son of the district attorney (John Miltern), runs over a child. He also meets Molly, the D.A.'s daughter (Betty Compson). Because he feels the child's mother was treated unfairly, Hewes decides to pull one last heist to square things. But while attempting to rob the D.A.'s safe, he's surprised to find that Jerry has beaten him to it. Jerry tries to lay the blame on Hewes, but Molly stands up for him. Hewes' brother Benny (Gareth Hughes) is killed while stealing a necklace and Hewes finds himself in more trouble when he tries to dispose of the body. Molly comes to his aid, and the D.A. lets him go. Hewes goes out West to start all over again and Molly follows a year later. A talkie version of this crime drama would be made in 1931, starring Clara Bow as Molly. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide