Arthur Edmund Carewe Movies

A serial-like pace and some stylish directorial choices by Gordon Wiles distinguish this "Charlie Chan" entry. The reading of a will is delayed until one of the principal heirs to the fortune, can be located. He shows up at the family mansion, only to be promptly murdered. It is now up to detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland), an old friend of the family, to protect dowager Henrietta Lowell (Henrietta Crossman), from harm. Alas, Chan apparently fails, and Henrietta falls victim to the mysterious killer -- or does she? The suspect roster includes a pair of phony mystics, an ill-tempered caretaker and a stock swindler -- but it's the least-likely suspect who proves to be the guilty party, one of several of the many surprises packed into the final reel. The appealing heroine in Charlie Chan's Secret is played by Rosina Lawrence, who later gained lasting fame as the schoolteacher in Hal Roach's Our Gang one-reelers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Mystery of the Wax Museum begins in London in the 1920s. Lionel Atwill plays Ivan Igor, a brilliant sculptor who manages a wax museum. Regarding his historical creations as his friends, Igor refuses the entreaties of his business partner, Joe Worth (Edwin Maxwell), to turn his labor-of-love museum into a more profitable "house of horror." Worth responds by setting fire to the museum, hoping to collect the insurance; as Igor looks on in horror, his effigies of Marie Antoinette, Queen Victoria, et al. grotesquely melt to the floor. Flash-forward to 1933: New York City is plagued by several disappearances -- not only of live people, but of recently deceased corpses from the morgue. Hard-boiled girl reporter Florence Dempsey (Glenda Farrell) browbeats her long-suffering editor Jim(Frank McHugh) into investigating these disappearances. Florence rooms with Charlotte Duncan (Fay Wray), the girlfriend of Ralph Burton (Allen Vincent), who works as a technician at a new midtown wax museum. This about-to-open attraction is run by Igor, who had survived the London fire but is now confined to a wheelchair. Igor's old enemy Worth is also in New York, his fingers in several crooked pies. It appears to Florence (and the audience) that somehow Worth is involved in the recent rash of disappearances; the guilty party could also be playboy George Winton (Gavin Gordon), Florence's boyfriend, who is deeply in debt to Worth. But once Igor decides that Charlotte is the living image of Marie Antoinette, the audience becomes uncomfortably suspicious that all those incredibly life-like statues in his museum are actually the paraffin-coated bodies of the missing people. Igor tips his hand when a terrified Charlotte, promised "eternal life" by being "transformed" into an Antoinette effigy, begins punching and clawing at his face -- revealing his countenance to be a mask, covering his hideously burned and gnarled features. Thus, the stage is set for the climactic race to prevent the strapped-down Charlotte from being permanently encased in wax. Long thought lost, The Mystery of the Wax Museum was rediscovered in Jack Warner's personal film collection in 1970. Its two-color Technicolor had faded to the point of monochrome, but fortunately its original hues were preserved by dedicated AFI technicians. The film was remade (and considerably simplified) as the 1953 3-D extravaganza House of Wax, with Vincent Price in the Atwill role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Gay Diplomat was an attempt by RKO Radio to make a movie star out of Ivan Lebedeff, a Russian actor better suited to supporting roles as gigolos and stuffed shirts. Lebedeff plays a Russian military officer sent to Rumania to dispose of a beautiful female spy. Genevieve Tobin plays the suspected espionage agent; not surprisingly, Lebedeff falls in love with her and finds himself unable to carry out his mission. Just as well, since the real spy is another woman, played by Betty Compson. Henry Hobart, the original production supervisor of Gay Diplomat, was so upset by the film's inadequacies and by Lebedeff's lack of star quality that he walked off the project. His replacement was Pandro S. Berman, later the principal producer of RKO's wonderful Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musicals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This British remake of 1923's Captain Applejack follows the courageous exploits of a mild mannered citizen who fights back when robbers break into his house in search of treasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This historical drama, set in 18th-century England, chronicles the romance between a free-spirited coquette and a highwayman. They meet when the lass goes on vacation to Bath. Music and romantic mayhem ensue. Songs include: "Tally-Ho," "Highwayman Song," "Song of the City of Bath," "Drunk Song," "Pump Song," "Dueling Song," "My Love," "You-oo, I Love You," and "Peggy's Leg." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Popular German leading man Conrad Veidt made his Hollywood film debut (through the auspices of his friend John Barrymore) in Universal's A Man's Past. Veidt is cast as Paul La Roche, a doctor who is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to a brutal penal colony. During a medical crisis, La Roche saves the life of the colony's commanding officer Lt. Destin (Arthur Edmund Carewe), who promises to secure the doctor's freedom. But the ungrateful Destin reneges on his agreement, forcing La Roche to escape from the colony on his own. Upon returning to the mainland, La Roche remains in the shadows as the "assistant" of Dr. Fontaine (Ian Keith), who is slowly going blind. To save his job, Fontaine persuades La Roche to cover for him in the operating room, in exchange for not turning the escaped convict over to the police. When Fontaine loses his sight completely, he agrees to allow LaRoche to take his name and his place at a prestigious hospital in Algiers. It is here where LaRoche inevitably comes face to face with his old nemesis, Lt. Destin. Before the story comes to its excessively melodramatic conclusion, La Roche finds himself in the untenable position of being in love with Yvonne Fontaine (Barbara Bedford), the woman who is supposed to be his own sister. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Claw is set in Africa, where the wealthy but spineless Maurice Stair (Norman Kerry) has arrived to assume management of his family's property holdings. Arriving soon afterward is Maurice's sweetheart Deidre (Claire Windsor), who is immediately attracted to handsome but villainous overseer Major Kinsella (Arthur Edmund Carewe). It takes some doing, but Maurice eventually proves himself a Real Man by rescuing Deidre from an unending variety of perils. The problem with The Claw is that the villain comes off more sympathetically than the hero, making it all the more astounding that Deidre ends up with Maurice. Also, it is painfully clear that the "Africa" depicted in the film was actually located in the wilds of the Universal backlot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Volcano takes forever to get to the climactic eruption. In the meantime, the audience is subjected to the travails of convent-bred Zabette de Chauvalons, who upon returning to her father's estate in Martinique discovers that daddy has died and the property is now in the hands of her evil stepmother. Because of her dusky complexion, it is assumed that Zabette is the illegitimate offspring of her French father and a local native woman, and as consequence she is forced to live in the island's mulatto district. Here she is lusted after by mulatto villain Quembo (Wallace Beery), while handsome white aristocrat Stephane Sequineau (Ricardo Cortez) vows to take the heroine away from her tawdry surroundings. On cue, a volcanic eruption solves everyone's problems -- while simultaneously laying waste to the entire island! Exceptional special effects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

So far as his fans were concerned, Milton Sills could have played a ballerina and still cashed in at the box office. In this adaptation of Lajos Biros' play Der Legioner, Sills is cast as French aristocrat Count Pierre Tonai, who after losing all of his money joins the Foreign Legion "to forget." While protecting French interests in the desert, Pierre falls in love with American beauty Vera Sherman (Natalie Kingston), and is loved by Viola Dana (Scadsza), daughter of Bedouin chieftain Kobal (William V. Mong). When his fort is threatened with extermination by Kobal's forces, Pierre orchestrates a reconciliation between the chief and his daughter. The day is saved, leaving Pierre free to wed Vera and return to Paris to start life anew. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lon Chaney stars as Erik, the Phantom, in what is probably his most famous and certainly his most horrifying role. Produced by Universal, the film shot in 1923 and shelved for nearly two years, and was subjected to intensive studio tinkering. While many expected a disaster, the film turned out to be a rousing success. It was both the stepping off point for Chaney's run as a superstar at MGM and the prototype for the horror film cycle at Universal in the 1930s. The story concerns Erik, a much-feared fiend who haunts the Paris Opera House. Lurking around the damp, dank passages deep in the cellars of the theater, he secretly coaches understudy Christine Daae (Mary Philbin) to be an opera star. Through a startling sequence of terrors, including sending a giant chandelier crashing down on the opera patrons, the Phantom forces the lead soprano to withdraw from the opera, permitting Christine to step in. Luring Christine into his subterranean lair below the opera house, the Phantom confesses his love. But Christine is in love with Raoul de Chagny (Norman Kerry). The Phantom demands that Christine break off her relationship with Raoul before he'll allow her to return to the opera house stage. She agrees, but immediately upon her release from the Phantom's lair, she runs into the arms of Raoul and they plan to flee to England after her performance that night. The Phantom overhears their conversation and, during her performance, the Phantom kidnaps Christine, taking her to the depths of his dungeon. It is left to Raoul and Simon Buquet (Gibson Gowland), a secret service agent, to track down the Phantom and rescue Christine. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This is yet another costume drama written and supervised by the eccentric Elinor Glyn, who was a Hollywood tastemaker during the silent era. Harry Vane, the Duke of Chevenix (Conrad Nagel), travels from England to the mythical kingdom of Chekia, where he falls in love with Princess Thyra (Eleanor Boardman). Thrya, however, is duty-bound to marry the king (Edward Connelly), even though he is old, ugly, and ill-tempered. When she refuses Vane's suit, he is determined to win her anyway, even after her wedding. A revolution rises in Chekia and the king is assassinated. Revolutionary leader Gigberto (Arthur Edmund Carewe) then carries Thyra away. When the people jail Gigberto, Vane disguises himself as the rebel so that he and Thyra will be tied together. The two of them are thrown into the bay, but Vane is able to free himself from his bonds and rescue Thyra. They escape to his yacht and she finally confesses her love for him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Grace Barrow (Hope Hampton) has become a cabaret dancer in New York, and when she hears her ailing mother needs money, she accepts an offer from Kenneth Bellwood (Arthur Edmund Carew). The crooked Bellwood wants to keep Robert Casson (Harrison Ford) in New York so that he'll miss out on a valuable Brazilian option, and he wants Grace to help. So Grace accompanies Casson on a round of parties and revelry. But then she finds herself falling in love with him and begins to feel guilty. Meanwhile, her sister Alice (Mary Astor) comes to town and falls under Bellwood's influence. Bellwood dumps his mistress, Evelyn Dolores (Dagmar Godowsky), and she angrily confronts him. Their argument ends when Evelyn kills Bellwood, but Alice is accused of the crime. Grace finally confesses Bellwood's scheme to Casson, who forgives her. Evelyn has committed suicide and in her note, she reveals that she killed Bellwood. Alice returns home, and Casson weds Grace. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Little Jackie Coogan, the most popular child star of his generation, once again played a poor but spunky ragamuffin in this lachrymose silent drama from independent producer Sol Lesser. Believing her husband to be unfaithful, Helene Savelli (Josie Sedgwick) takes her little son Jackie (Coogan) to live on the Holden farm. Helene dies shortly thereafter and Jackie runs away from home when the Holdens (Bert Woodruff and Anna Townsend) are forced into the poorhouse. In the Big City, Jackie befriends Gallo (Cesare Gravina), a sidewalk musician who just happens to be the former teacher of world famous violinist Paul Savelli (Arthur Edmund Carewe), Jackie's long-lost father. Before he dies, Gallo manages not only to reunite father and son but restore the farm to the kindhearted Holdens. A family affair, Daddy was "A Jackie Coogan Production," "personally supervised by Jack Coogan" and written by "Mrs. And Mrs. Jack Coogan." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide