Paul Powell Movies

Created by Rob Pursey and Barry Simner, the weekly, hour-long British series The Vice offered an uncompromisingly realistic view of the seamier side of crime and punishment. Ken Stott starred as Pat Chappel, chief inspector of the Metropolitan Vice Squad. Chappel and his team of operatives were dedicated to their work -- too dedicated, inasmuch as they frequently courted nervous breakdowns in tracking down their slimy criminal prey. Real-life vice cop Michael Hoskins served as the series' technical advisor. Debuting January 4, 1999, The Vice yielded over two dozen episodes, most of which were two-parters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fred Thomson, arguably Tom Mix's closest rival in the late 1920s, was one of the few series-western leads to portray historical heroes. Thomson was Jesse James in a 1927 whitewash of that legendary bandit before starring in the title-role of Kit Carson. The famed frontiersman saves Indian girl Sings-In-the Clouds (Dorothy Janis) from being attacked by a huge bear. She, in turn, saves him when he is captured by an Indian war party and later stows away on an expedition. Again and again, Carson must save the stupid girl -- mainly from the lecherous advances of gargantuan trapper Shuman (Raoul Paoli) -- but in spite of her love for him, the frontiersman, in accordance with the miscegenation laws of the time, chooses white-girl Josefa (Nora Lane). This major Thomson effort was filmed on grandiose locations at Lake Mary, Arizona where nearly 500 local Indians, mostly Navajos, were used as extras. Despite all that, the film was not a huge success, and a planned epic depicting the life of Davy Crockett was shelved. As it turned out Kit Carson proved Thomson's final film. He died of pneumonia on Christmas Eve, 1928. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This obscure, locally-lensed silent Western starred became a minor cause célèbre for a scene in which the villain punched the heroine several times in the face! Carroll Nye and Rex, the Dog save the girl (Rada Rae) from her brutal father (Sam Allen). Young Nye's only memorable role came more than a decade later when he played Scarlett O'Hara's second husband in Gone With the Wind (1939). Death Valley was written and produced by supporting actor Raymond Wells. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The first film version of Arthur Richman's stage comedy The Awful Truth was produced in 1925. A series of misunderstandings between flirtatious Agnes Ayres and sober-sided Warner Baxter lead inexorably to the divorce court. A year after the separation, she hatches a scheme to win her husband back. Perhaps the proceedings would have been funnier had Agnes Ayres possessed any sort of comic timing. The Awful Truth was remade in 1929, 1937, and 1953, the last time as a musical retitled Let's Do It Again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dog star Strongheart, perhaps the most popular rival of canine hero Rin-Tin-Tin, heads the cast of North Star. The "human" plot concerns wealthy young man Noel Blake (Ken Maynard), on the lam from the law after ostensibly murdering a man. Noel tries to start life over again, only to be victimized by blackmailer Dick Robbins (Stuart Holmes). A bit quicker on the uptake than the Authorities, Strongheart figures out that Robbins is the real murderer, and by film's end he has dragged the villain to justice. Syd Crossley and Jerry Mandy, two refugees from the Hal Roach comedy studios, do their best to steal the picture from Strongheart as a pair of slapstick hoboes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Even though Wallace Reid died only a few weeks before this film's release, the genre of racing car movies which he made famous apparently lived on. Since Reid was no longer around to star in them, Paramount put Richard Dix in the lead and gave him Agnes Ayres as his co-star. All but stealing the show (as usual) is character actor Theodore Roberts, who had starred with Reid many times. Automobile maker John Kent (Roberts) is an old-fashioned sort who refuses to advertise his car line. His daughter Ginger (Ayres), however, is determined to get him some publicity and goes speeding around town in one of his cars, hoping to get arrested. Roddy Smith (Dix), posing as a cop, stops her. His father owns a rival firm and he suggests that Ginger convince her father to enter his car in the Vanderbilt road race. A competitor of Kent's has a spy in the plant, and he's the one chosen to drive the vehicle. He's supposed to throw the race, but Ginger finds out about the plot and drives the car herself. With Roddy's help she wins -- and Roddy wins her heart. To add authenticity, James A. Murphy, a real race car driver, was cast in a small role. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Veteran silent-screen vamp Dorothy Dalton starred in this commonplace western based on Vingie E. Roe's story, Tharon of Last Valley. Dalton's Tharon Last is a plucky rancher out to avenge the murder of her father (Will R. Walling). As it turns out, the girl is up against a conspiracy that also includes the local judge and sheriff. Tharon learns how to handle a gun or two, however, and manages to nail the murderer (Frank Campeau). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This lighthearted film was based upon the play The Impostor by Leonard Merrick and Michael Morton. After the death of her parents, Mary Fenton (Agnes Ayers) discovers that her inheritance adds up to nothing. She can't even afford to stay in a cheap boarding house and finds herself homeless. After searching for work and having no luck, she is about to faint from hunger when she mistakes Charlie Owen (Robert Schable) for an acquaintance. A gossipy friend of Owen's discovers innocent Mary in a compromising position, and her only way out is to pretend that she is a wealthy heiress. She winds up staying with Loftus Walford and his wife (Edward Martindel and Sylvia Ashton). They try to fix her up with their son, Blake (Tom Gallery), but he hesitates because of her supposed fortune. Mary finds herself in even more trouble when she is implicated in a jewel robbery, but her innocence is eventually established. When he discovers that she is actually poor, Blake is eager to wed Mary. ZaSu Pitts was playing leads in films by 1922; she probably shows up in a supporting role here merely because she was married to leading man Tom Gallery. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Although Agnes Ayres is best-known today as Rudolph Valentino's co-star in The Sheik, she was a substantial star in her own right in the 1920s. She has a dual role in this drama, which has spiritual undertones. Edith (Ayres) is the jazz-loving wife of James Wayne, a rather stolid young man (Milton Sills). She believes that Wayne is neglecting her, and her attentions turn to his cousin, Clyde Meredith (Casson Ferguson). As their affair deepens, Dora Becket (also Ayres) anxiously watches from beyond the grave. Dora, an ancestor of Edith's, made the same mistake in her day and she is determined to put a halt to the illicit relationship. Edith plans to meet Meredith at Becket's point and sail away with him. She is oblivious to Dora's warnings until an old servant tells her Dora's story -- Dora was drowned when she tried to return to her child after running away with another man. Edith gets the message just in time and is reunited with Wayne and their own little boy. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Author E. Phillips Oppenheim proves here that a good novelist does not necessarily make a great screenwriter. He penned this shallow and uninteresting story specifically for the screen. Minor silent star Dave Powell both directed and starred in the British-made production. Although Gerald Dombey (Powell) is engaged to Lady Susan Farrington (Mary Glynne), he has an affair with Vera Lypasht (Ruby Miller), a girl from the village. Then, while driving to Nice, he and his friend, Christopher Went (Pardoe Woodman), see an unconscious girl by the road. She is Myrtle Sargot (Nadja Ostrovska), a peasant girl who has run away from her abusive family. Dombey decides to give the girl the riches she has always longed for, and convinces Susan to take her into her home. Susan is not thrilled with the idea, and also finds herself being more and more attracted to Went. Dombey encounters Vera once again and discovers that she is involved with Luigi (Percy Darrell Standing), who runs a gambling house. Dombey contemplates suicide, but realizes he loves Myrtle. Lady Susan, meanwhile, ends up with Went. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Given that silent star Mary Miles Minter was famous for her wide, deep-blue eyes, it's not surprising that many of her films incorporated the word "Eyes" in their titles. In Eyes of the Heart, Minter is cast as a sightless young lady, led to believe that the world is a fairy-tale wonderland. Upon regaining her sight, she quickly realizes that much of the world is ugly and unpleasant -- and that the three "Prince Charmings" in her life are a trio of petty criminals. Disillusioned, she falls in with a safecracker who intends to exploit her heightened sense of touch. She is rescued by her erstwhile protectors, who have fortuitously reformed in time for a happy ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For her first United Artists release, silent superstar Mary Pickford decided to play it safe, even though it galled her to do so. There are few characters she hated more than Pollyanna, the "glad girl," but she knew that her fans would show up in droves to see this picture, which was based on Eleanor Porter's novel. So she gritted her teeth, and at the worldly age of 27, dove into the role of the eternally cheerful 12-year-old orphan girl. After the death of her father (J. Wharton James), Pollyanna goes to live with her crotchety aunt Polly Harrington (Katherine Griffith). Her father taught her to be happy at all times, and Pollyanna spreads this saccharine philosophy throughout the New England village where she now lives. The richest man in town adores little Pollyanna, and obligingly adopts the girl's favorite playmate, a little orphan boy. Even when Pollyanna is hurt while saving a child from an onrushing car, her happy demeanor never fades. The doctor (Herbert Prior) who attends her is her maiden aunt's old suitor, and they are brought together once more as Pollyanna learns how to walk again. Pickford's favorite scene was the one moment when Pollyanna gives full reign to out-and-out naughtiness. Pollyanna captures a fly and sweetly asks it if it would like to go to heaven. Assuming the answer to be yes, she smashes the insect and beams, "Well, you have!" Incidentally, this scene was not in the Porter book; most likely it came straight from the star's active mind. This picture was one of Pickford's out-and-out blockbuster successes. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

After the overthrow of the Russian government in 1917, many distorted reports about the new Bolshevist regime filtered into the U.S. One involved an apparent edict claiming that all Soviet women between the ages of 17 and 35 were property of the state, to be used by the citizens however they pleased. In 1919, this subject was made into a Norma Talmadge film called The New Moon; later in the year, this picture dramatized the same edict. Paval Pavlovitch (Robert Andersen) is married to an American woman, Anna (Nell Craig). He is not happy when it is decreed that Anna and their daughter Tatyone (Colleen Moore) must register as state property. Anyone can sign a certificate to have his way with any Russian chattel, and one of Pavlovitch's old servants wants Anna, while the son of the town priest signs up for Tatyone. This catastrophe is brought to a halt when the good guys, i.e., the American Cavalry, comes charging up the street. After a fierce battle, the edict is pulled and all is well with the Pavlovitch family. As if this story wasn't ridiculous enough, the picture itself was second-rate at best. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide