Wesley Ruggles Movies

In this romance, an early talkie containing approximately 4 minutes of dialog and a song, a man is paroled from prison provided he adheres strictly to "Rule No. 3," which states that he cannot get romantically involved, nor marry until he is off parole. He encounters trouble when he saves a doe-eyed girl from drowning and falls instantly in love. Fortunately, his parole officer is sensitive and the office grants the parolee special dispensation to wed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Ronald Colman's second talking picture, Condemned is a snail's-pace melodrama set on a Devil's Island. The evils of the notorious French penal colony are treated head-on, though the awkwardness of early-talkie techniques lessen the impact of several scenes. The plot has Colman, a condemned bank robber, working his way into the confidence of the warden (Dudley Digges) and into the heart of the warden's frustrated wife (Ann Harding). When she leaves for France, Colman escapes in order to join her. Condemned was adapted from Blair Niles' novel Condemned to Devil's Island by future Gone with the Wind screenwriter Sidney Howard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shoe clerk Andy Whittaker (George Lewis) decides to quit his job when a bank unexpectedly extends him $10,000 in credit. This windfall was arranged by Andy's uncle, who wants to see how the boy will behave with his newly-found riches. Alas, our hero inadvertently manages to offend the uncle several times, whereupon the latter tries to withdraw the boy's credit. By this time, however, Andy has invested his money in a shoe store, thus Uncle is legally prevented from doing anything for three months. The rest of the film details Andy's efforts to turn his store into a success before his uncle is able to call in his loan -- and, of course, occasionally pauses for a romantic interlude between Andy and heroine June Allen (Marion Nixon). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Universal star Laura LaPlante struggles to fill out a very scanty story in this lightweight farce comedy. Molly and Sam Thornhill (LaPlante and John Harron) are a young couple who have been married less than a year. Although they dearly love each other, they argue constantly over every little thing. But when Molly discovers a pair of silk stockings in Sam's pocket, it's a very big deal. Even though Sam is completely innocent -- one of the girls at work took them off during her lunch hour and hid them as a joke -- Molly is determined to get a divorce. She lies to the judge, claiming that her meek, retiring husband is a gambler, a womanizer, and a wife beater. She manages to get her decree, but both she and Sam regret it almost immediately. Before the final decree goes through, Molly discovers that if Sam compromises her, the divorce will be void. She heads for his room in order to make that happen but wanders into the wrong room -- and the fun is on. Needless to say, the couple are embracing once again by the final frame. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The brother of director Raoul Walsh, George Walsh starred in this low-budget gangster melodrama directed by Wesley Ruggles. Walsh plays Jack Banning, a motorcycle cop by day and undercover agent by night. Disguising himself as "Strongarm Samson," Banning infiltrates a gang of smugglers headed by Richard Courtney (a very young Brian Donlevy). Unfortunately, Marion Marcy (Ruth Dwyer) recognizes him and spills the beans to Courtney. The villain orders his henchman, Spanish Joe (Lucien Prival), to take the undercover cop "for a ride," but Banning escapes with the help of female undercover agent Dorina (Laura De Cardi). Marion, who has come to love the heroic policeman, is kidnapped by Courtney, but Banning manages to rescue her in the nick of time. With the gang behind bars, Banning and Marion can finally plan a future together. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Produced by Preferred Pictures on rental stages at FBO and on-location at Pomona College in Claremont, CA, The Plastic Age was Clara Bow's 15th and final release of 1925 and the comedy-drama that made her a major star. She plays Cynthia Day, the campus flirt whose "hotsy-totsy" lifestyle does not bode well for freshman Hugh Carver (Donald Keith), smitten with Cynthia from day one. The pride of his community, Hugh is expected to become a track star but late nights with Cynthia take too much out of him and Coach Henry (David Butler) is soon in despair. After yet another wild night at the local roadhouse, during which Hugh saves his romantic rival, Carl Peters (Gilbert Roland), from a police raid, Cynthia realizes the error of her ways and nobly refuses to see him again. Hugh quickly regains his athletic prowess, wins the big game for Prescott College and is rewarded with both self-respect and the love of a properly chastened Cynthia. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Agnes Ayres stars as Muriel Gray in the lightning-paced comedy Heart Raider. Described in an introductory title as "a speed girl," Muriel proves this assertion true as she chases after her wealthy boyfriend John Dennis (Mahlon Hamilton). Meanwhile, Muriel's father Reginald Gray (Frazer Coulter) is forced to take out an insurance policy, covering any damage wrought by his daughter in her zany pursuit of Dennis. The insurance company really has its hands full whenever the heroine gets behind the wheel of a roadster or speedboat. Such were the vagaries of Hollywood that, within 10 years after the release of Heart Raider, both of its leading players would be scrounging around for bit parts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The plot of this romantic melodrama was rather ludicrous; the filmmakers may have figured the only way to give it credibility was to make the tale a figment of the heroine's imagination. Marie Campbell (Ethel Clayton) is a frivolous young lady who has a habit of running up huge bills on her father's account. Finally the frustrated Anthony Campbell (Edward Kimball) threatens to send his daughter to China for her sins, which doesn't bother her in the least since her fiancé, George Holt (Rockcliffe Fellows), is going there on business; the next thing she knows, she's on her way. Her Chinese maid gives her a little vase bearing a sacred symbol. There is some superstition surrounding the item and it seems like every Chinese inhabitant wants to get his hand on it. As a result, Marie finds herself being pursued by numerous threatening thieves. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This melodrama bears no relation to the 1919 Doris Kenyon Western of the same name. It is based on the Cynthia Stockley novel and instead of the Wild West, it takes place in London and South Africa. Sir Hugh (Raymond Blathwayt) wants his daughter, Lady Vivienne (Priscilla Dean), to marry nouveau riche society man Henry Porthen (Noah Beery). But Lady Vivienne is not thrilled with Porthen's lowbrow ways. Porthen nevertheless convinces her to come to his country home, along with an acquaintance, Freddy Sutherland (Lloyd Whitlock). During the visit, his jealous secretary, Joan Rudd (Helen Raymond), kills him and Sutherland, afraid of being accused of the murder, runs away. A few years after this scandal, Lady Vivienne travels to South Africa to inspect her father's holdings. She is saved from bandits by Kerry Burgess, a young homesteader (Robert Ellis). While the pair fall in love, they also uncover a scheme to blow up a dam. Lady Vivienne finds Sutherland and learns the truth about Porthen's murder, and she also rescues her lover, Burgess, when the dam is blown up and the valley is flooded. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

While he was working as a supporting character in this film, Rudolph Valentino had no idea that stardom was imminent. Alice Lake stars here as Lucretia Eastman, who is married to Tom, a drunken womanizer (Carl Gerard). Lucretia's attempts to reform him are futile, and finally she turns to explorer Frank Underwood (Valentino), who has always loved her. Tom's father, Old Jim Eastman (Charles Mailes), gives him one last chance to straighten up by sending him on a trek to the frozen North to locate a treasure ship. Lucretia accompanies him, but his cowardice disgusts her. They run into Underwood, who is on the same mission. Eastman goes home, while Lucretia continues on with Underwood. Eastman claims that Lucretia has been unfaithful and divorces her. She and Underwood hold back their passion, even though they wind up locked in the ice with the ship for several months. They struggle to make it back home and discover that they are now free to legally unite. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Jim Crocker (Owen Moore) is an American newspaperman who finds notoriety in London, much to the dismay of his highly proper aunt and uncle (William Haze and Dora Mill Adams). After his last fistfight -- this one with a nobleman -- Jim begins to think that maybe returning to the States isn't such a bad idea. The fact that the pretty Ann Chester (Zeena Keefe) is also heading Stateside is another inspiration. But before the two of them head off into the proverbial sunset, Jim finds quite a bit of adventure back in his home country, too. This film's story was written by P.G. Wodehouse and originally appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. It was remade in 1936 with Robert Montgomery as Jim and Madge Evans (a child star in 1920, when this version was made) as Ann. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Triple Trouble, although commonly acknowledged in Chaplin filmographies, was not really a Charlie Chaplin film in that it was released without his permission, and much to his annoyance by Essanay three years after he left them. Its jumbled story is cobbled together out of pieces of Police, Work and the unfinished feature, Life, which Essanay insisted Chaplin abandon in favor of making more quickly produced two-reelers. It also contains new footage shot in 1918 by Leo White in order to provide the weak plot on which to hang the Chaplin footage. Chaplin is a janitor in the home of Colonel Nutt, the inventor of a new secret weapon, the wireless bomb. Edna Purviance is the cleaning woman in the same household and Charlie incurs her anger by spilling garbage on her clean floor and getting her into trouble with their boss, the cook Billy Armstrong. A group of foreign diplomats led by White plan to get the formula from the Professor by either bribe or theft. When he is ejected from the house by the butler at the Colonel's request, Leo hires a thief to do the dirty work, but is overheard by a cop.

Meanwhile, in a scene excised from Life and Police, Charlie goes to a flop house for the night where he encounters some rather odd characters, including a drunk who won't stop singing until Charlie smashes him with a bottle, but not before preparing his bed and pillow and tucking him in afterward. A riot starts at the flophouse when Charlie robs a pickpocket who has been robbing the sleepers. Chaplin uses a gag he was to repeat in The Gold Rush, that of laying covered in bed, wrong way round, with hands in shoes. The thief, having co-opted Charlie, arrives at the Nutt house and tries to steal the formula, but the cops are there and a melee ensues in which the thief fires his gun into the Colonel's invention and the house, the diplomats and everyone else explodes. Charlie is seen emerging from the oven door -- just as he had at the end of Work. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide