{"id":2840,"date":"2018-07-05T08:27:30","date_gmt":"2018-07-05T12:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/HatchetOnline\/?p=2840"},"modified":"2018-07-05T08:27:30","modified_gmt":"2018-07-05T12:27:30","slug":"the-many-faces-of-nance-oneil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/the-many-faces-of-nance-oneil\/","title":{"rendered":"The Many Faces of Nance O’Neil"},"content":{"rendered":"

by William Schley-Ulrich<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

First published in April\/May, 2004, Volume 1, Issue 2, The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

I have been interested in Nance O\u2019Neil, the actress, for about the last two decades. Once immersed in the Lizzie Borden murder case, I found I could combine my involvement with the enigmatic Nance, with my enthusiasm for Lizzie, as Nance was once a brief companion of the infamous accused hatchet-murderess.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rumors abound about the style of the relationship between these two extraordinary people, but these rumors were never substantiated. Lizzie, as Lizbeth, enjoyed the theatre immensely and traveled to Washington, Boston, and New York to see the plays. The statement that Nance did not know who her new admirer was upon their meeting, and simply thought of Lizbeth as a new friend, and dropped her after finding out she was Lizzie Borden, seems disingenuous. In the interview conducted by the Sunday Post<\/i> reporter, Edwin J. Maguire, April 13, 1913, Emma states that this is false, and adds that Miss \u201cNance O\u2019Neil has for years been a close friend of Lizzie, and she holds that relation to this very day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The newspapers stated that it is possible that the two met at Lynn, at a summer resort, while Lizbeth was on vacation there. However, Nance O\u2019Neil played at The Academy of Music in Fall River in October and November 1904, and they may have met then. Other sources claim the two became acquainted in Boston, after a performance. This relationship tapered off after 1905, as the actress toured.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

According to the New Bedford Standard Times<\/i>, dated June 4, 1927, three days after Lizbeth\u2019s death, \u201c[Nance] mentioned that Miss Borden was once a guest for a few days at her country place at Tyngsboro, not far from Lowell. Reports that she had spent some time at the Borden home in Fall River, or that she had ever met Miss Emma Borden, she characterized as in error.\u201d Miss O\u2019Neil is also quoted as describing Lizbeth as a quiet, reserved, frail little old-fashioned gentlewoman who had an air of refinement and intellect, well read, and conversant with the best literature and spoke interestingly of her travels. \u201cWe were like ships that pass in the night and speak [to] each other in passing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (1913)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Joseph Goldman\/Edwin S. Porter \u2014 Film length \u2014 90 mins. \u2014 Black\/White Silent \u2014 Rating (1-4): 2\u00a0 <\/span>\u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Famous Players Film Co.\/ States Right<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

James O\u2019Neill (as Edmond Dantes)
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil (?)<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The Count of Monte Cristo<\/i>, written by Alexandre Dumas in 1845, is probably one of the most popular romances of the fertile Dumas pere. Edmond Dantes, a newly appointed captain of a sailing ship, has recently married the lovely Mercedes. He is accused of assisting the exiled Napoleon in 1815. As a result of these false accusations Dantes is arrested and imprisoned in the Chateau d\u2019If near Marseilles, France.<\/span><\/p>\n

During his long incarceration he makes friends with the learned Abbe Faria who becomes his mentor in a number of subjects. They plot an escape and long hours are consumed in digging a tunnel. The arduous task proves to be too much for the good Abbe. While he is dying he reveals to Dantes the location of a great treasure on the islet of Monte Cristo. After fifteen long years of imprisonment, Dantes escapes by exchanging places with the dead Abbe Faria who was placed in a sack for burial at sea. Dantes cuts through the sack with a knife and swims to safety.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He is picked up by a fisherman\u2019s boat and transported to Genoa, Italy. From here he goes to the cavern of Monte Cristo and digs up the fabulous treasure revealed to him by the dying Faria. Afterwards, he assumes the role of the enigmatic Count of Monte Cristo. Over the years Dantes was obsessed with but one thought – to punish his enemies and reward his friends. He uses the treasure to accomplish this purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was one of the first full-length pictures starring well-known stage actors of the day.<\/span><\/p>\n

There have been numerous screen adaptations of the story, as well as several versions made for television. No review of The Count of Monte Cristo<\/i> (1913) appeared in the records of The New York Times<\/i> or Variety<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I viewed the videocassette of the film several times in an effort to identify Nance O\u2019Neil. I was unable to accomplish my purpose. The questionable quality of the photography and the voluminous costumes worn by the women in the film made them all look-alikes. The only actor identified in the film was James O\u2019Neill, who played the role of Edmond Dantes. It is important to note that the Internet Movie Data Base and the All Movie Guide list Nance O\u2019Neil as a cast member. The prestigious American Film Institute lists James O\u2019Neill as the only actor in the film.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortages of captions, particularly in the closing moments of this production, leave much to the imagination of a viewer who is not familiar with the plot. This could be due to a discrepancy in the conversion from film to VHS. This presentation may have been designed to heighten the pulses of the audience in 1913, but I believe it would have little effect on the sophisticated moviegoers of today.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

THE KREUTZER SONATA (1915)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka Sonata<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Herbert Brenon \u2014 Film length: 5 Reels \u2014 Black\/White\u00a0 <\/span>\u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating (1-4): 1-1\/2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Wm. Fox Vaudeville Co.\/Fox Film Corp.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Miriam Friedlander
\n<\/span>John Daly Murphy \u2013 Sam Friedlander
\n<\/span>William E. Shay \u2013 Gregor Randar
\n<\/span>Anne Sutherland \u2013 Olga Belushoff
\n<\/span>Rhea Van Ole \u2013 Maid
\n<\/span>Theda Bara \u2013 Celia Friedlander
\n<\/span>Maude Turner Gordon \u2013 Rebecca Friedlander
\n<\/span>Henry Bergman \u2013 Raphael Friedlander
\n<\/span>Sidney Cushing \u2013 G. Behisho
\n<\/span>Mimi Yvonne<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In 1889 Count Leo Tolstoy wrote this shocking tale of adultery, deceit and murder. It is a diatribe against the prevailing sexual mores of the period and a masterpiece of propaganda that culminates in an inevitable, and shocking, ending. The film only remotely resembles Tolstoy\u2019s original story. The United States Post Office banned magazines carrying the serialized version of the story and this censorship was repeated by Italy, the Soviet Union, and several other European nations. President Teddy Roosevelt referred to Tolstoy as, \u201cThat sexual, immoral pervert!\u201d Today such a ringing endorsement would have moviegoers flocking to the theaters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil plays the part of Miriam Friedlander, an Orthodox Jew. Count Belusoff, the father of her child, is not of the same faith. Belusoff\u2019s parents will not give their permission to the mixed marriage, a requirement of Russian law. Frustrated because he cannot marry the woman he loves, Count Belusoff commits suicide. For a sum of money, Miriam\u2019s father arranges a marriage for her with Gregor Randar, a violinist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, his affections are quickly detoured and stolen away by Miriam\u2019s younger sister, Celia (Theda Bara). Celia becomes pregnant, and when the baby is born it is placed in an orphanage. Miriam learns of the couple\u2019s treachery. She becomes enraged and murders Celia, Gregor, and in the final scene commits suicide. A tearjerker of the first water. This film is presumed to be lost.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although receiving top billing as the star of the film, Miss O\u2019Neil\u2019s role was eclipsed by the arresting performance of Theda Bara, a newcomer ten years her junior. To introduce an element of excitement and mystery into the film, Theda Bara was publicized as being Egyptian. With a birth name like Theodosia Goodman this seems highly unlikely. In any event, she went on to become the unchallenged vamp of the movies in the years that followed.<\/span><\/p>\n

PRINCESS ROMANOFF (1915)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Frank Powell \u2014 Film Length: 5 reels \u2014\u00a0 <\/span>Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating: (1-4) Not available \u2014 Produced by\/Released: by: Fox Film Corp.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Princess Fedora Romanoff
\n<\/span>Clifford Bruce \u2013 Loris Ipanoff
\n<\/span>Stuart Holmes \u2013 Vladimir Boroff
\n<\/span>Dorothy Bernard \u2013 Ipanoff\u2019s wife<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

From the play Fedora<\/i> by Victorien Sardou, Sarah Bernhardt made her triumphal return to the Paris stage in this play in 1882. Nance O\u2019Neil played the titled role in numerous successful worldwide stage appearances. The play was the basis for the film Fedora<\/i> (1918) starring Pauline Frederick and for The Woman From Moscow (1928) with Pola Negri.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Loris Ipanoff\u2019s wife has committed suicide. After her death he discovered she had been unfaithful to him. He kills her former lover, Vladimir Boroff (Stuart Holmes), an officer in the Russian army. Princess Fedora Romanoff (Nance O\u2019Neil), who was betrothed to Vladimir, vows vengeance. She pursues Ipanoff, first to Paris, then New York. When they meet, romance blossoms and they fall in love. After learning of Ipanoff\u2019s reason for killing Boroff, she forgives him and arranges for the release of his mother and brother, whom she had imprisoned. The Princess had hired assassins to kill Loris Ipanoff on sight. Realizing he will be murdered when he leaves her apartment, Fedora swallows poison to keep him with her. Ipanoff discovers what she has done and resuscitates her in the final moments of the film.<\/span><\/p>\n

A WOMAN\u2019S PAST (1915)\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Frank Powell \u2014 Film length: 5 reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating 1-4: Not available \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Fox Film Company<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Clifford Bruce \u2013 Wilson Stanley
\n<\/span>Alfred Hickman \u2013 Howard Sterling\/Harrison Stanley
\n<\/span>Carlton Macy \u2013 Denton Colt
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Jane Hawley<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

With the promise of marriage on his lips, June Hawley (Nance O\u2019Neil) allows herself to be seduced by Howard Sterling (Alfred Hickman). The cad recants and June marries Army Captain Wilson Stanley (Clifford Bruce), who just happens to be the best friend of her former lover. Before long there is a welcome addition to the family \u2013 a baby boy christened Harrison, who is the spitting image of Jane\u2019s former paramour.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The captain is assigned to guard duty in a leper colony in the Philippine Islands. After his departure, June\u2019s unregenerate ex-lover happens upon the scene. Once again he attempts to entangle her in his foul web of sin. Her father-in-law enters the room at the very moment the villain is forcibly embracing June. He accuses poor, innocent June of lewd conduct, then throws both of them out of the house. With nowhere to turn, June takes the easy way out. She places her son in a boarding school and runs off with her former boyfriend. They proceed to engage in a wild and worthless life of drunkenness and debauchery.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Captain\u2019s father writes to his son, revealing his wife\u2019s treachery and betrayal. Stanley has been injured and is a patient in a military hospital. Upon receiving this terrible news he becomes enraged. Tearing the bandage from his wounded arm, he runs amuck through the ward. It is at this moment one of the lepers has decided to make good his escape from the hospital. He grabs Stanley and attempts to use him as a hostage. The leper is quickly restrained and led away, but it is feared the Captain may have contracted leprosy in his exposed wound. He is quarantined for several years (!) until a negative blood test finally emancipates him (don\u2019t ask).<\/span><\/p>\n

After his discharge from the Army, Stanley returns to the states and begins searching for his wife and son. He locates her at the precise moment Sterling has chosen to give her another beating. There is only one solution to such brutality. The Captain kills him. Through a series of confusing incidents, June is accused of the murder and is placed on trial for her life. Harrison, now an attorney, is unaware that June is his mother. He believes that by defending this accused woman he will gain the publicity he seeks. Unfortunately, his good intentions are not matched by his legal skills. In spite of an impassioned summation to the jury by Harrison, June is found guilty. Wilson Stanley has been in the courtroom during the entire trial. Jumping to his feet he takes full responsibility for the murder. \u201cMy wife is innocent,\u201d he declares, \u201cand her lawyer is my son.\u201d Father, son and mother are reunited and all embrace. There wasn\u2019t a wet eye in the house.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was the first screen appearance of Nance O\u2019Neil with her husband-to-be, Alfred Hickman. He played the dual role of father and son in the film. Variety<\/i> reported: \u201cMay not sound so good in the telling here, but it is intensely interesting and dramatic on the screen.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SOULS IN BONDAGE (1916)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Edgar Lewis \u2014 Film Length: 5 Reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating (1-4): Not available \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Lubin Corp.\/V-S-L-E Inc.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Rosa Brenner
\n<\/span>Ida Stanhope \u2013 Rita Brenner
\n<\/span>William Corbett \u2013 Julian Forbes
\n<\/span>Mrs. Stuart \u2013 Mrs. Forbes
\n<\/span>Mrs. Carr \u2013 Mrs. Coombes
\n<\/span>Bernard Seigel \u2013 Mr. Brenner<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

A tale of two sisters: Rosa Brenner (Nance O\u2019Neil) has the care of her younger sister Rita (Ida Stanhope), who is a spoiled, recalcitrant brat. She is a constant burden to Rosa, who loves her dearly in spite of her many shortcomings. Upon reaching the age of eighteen, Rita takes off for the Big City in search of lots of excitement and good times. She becomes involved with a man of questionable morals, and within a short time is the recipient of an illegitimate offspring. The father of the child leaves her and the baby. Rita dumps the kid in her long-suffering sibling\u2019s lap and takes off for parts unknown. For the sake of the child\u2019s reputation, Rosa pretends the child is hers. The narrow-minded community shuns them.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To escape scandal Rosa leaves town with the baby and secures employment with Mrs. Forbes, a wealthy woman. For a time everything is rosy for Rosa, until the day her benefactor passes away. All is not lost, however, because Mrs. Forbes\u2019s son Julian (William Corbett) has fallen in love with Rosa. The feeling is mutual and they marry. They live an idyllic existence until the prodigal sister returns. Rita sets her cap for Julian and is successful in her efforts. Once again poor Rosa is left out in the cold. She places the child with a kind family and departs for Europe to become a War nurse. (We must assume at this point that she has had previous schooling in the medical arts). Rosa\u2019s bad luck has followed her to the Continent. After helping a young soldier to desert she is branded a traitor and placed before a firing squad that proceeds to take her life. You must admit that drama can\u2019t get more dramatic than this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> praised Nance for her role in the film:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Miss O\u2019Neil has long been identified with pictures of the gruesome variety, and Lubin is going to keep her directly in this track if this production can be taken as a criterion. This is heavily emotional calling for much of Miss O\u2019Neil\u2019s well-known work.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE WITCH (1916)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Frank Powell \u2014 Film length: 5 reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating: (1-4) Not available \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Fox Film Corp.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Zora Fernandez
\n<\/span>Alfred Hickman \u2013 General Mendoza
\n<\/span>Frank Russell \u2013 General Fernandez
\n<\/span>Macey Harlam \u2013 Pedro
\n<\/span>Ada Neville \u2013 Isha
\n<\/span>Jane Miller \u2013 Dolores
\n<\/span>Sadie Grass \u2013 Dancer
\n<\/span>Stuart Holmes
\n<\/span><\/span>Harry Kendall
\n<\/span>Robert Wayne
\n<\/span>Jane Janin
\n<\/span>Ada Sherin<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This film is based on the play La Sorciere<\/i> (The Sorcerer) by Victorien Sardou (Paris 1903), with translation by Louis N. Parker. The original title of the film was The Sorceress<\/i>. The Parisian playwright wrote over sixty plays in his lifetime. Many of his latter efforts were written specifically for Sarah Bernhardt, a brilliant stage actress. La Tosca<\/i>, Puccini\u2019s famous opera, was based upon an original play by Sardou.<\/span><\/p>\n

General Fernandez (Frank Russell) is leading an insurrection against General Mendoza (Alfred Hickman), the military governor of Mexico. Zora Fernandez (Nance O\u2019Neil) has been taught the art of hypnosis by her father. After he dies she is marked as a pariah by General Mendoza. He publishes an edict that any woman befriending Zora will be imprisoned, and any man doing so will be hanged. When Mendoza\u2019s daughter Dolores (Jane Miller) suffers from somnambulism, Zora cures her with the aid of herbs. Zora falls in love with Lieutenant Risques, a town official, who is engaged to Dolores. When Zora discovers that Risques is going to marry Dolores, she is furious and places the General\u2019s daughter into a trance.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mendoza discovers what she has done and sentences Zora to be burned at the stake. His daughter\u2019s nurse informs him that only Zora can remove the spell. Mendoza promises Zora he will spare her life if she will set his daughter free. Zora removes the spell and is banished from the village forever.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil and Alfred Hickman were married in 1916.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE FLAMES OF JOHANNIS (1916)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka Fires of Johannis,\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka The Fires of St. John<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Edgar Lewis \u2014 Film length: 5 reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating (1-4) Not available \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Lubin Mfg. Co.\/V-L-S-E Inc.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Zirah\/Marika (as a young woman)
\n<\/span>George Clarke \u2013 Mr. Vogel
\n<\/span>Eleanor Barry \u2013 Mrs. Vogel
\n<\/span>Ethel Tully \u2013 Gertrude
\n<\/span>Victor Sutherland \u2013 George
\n<\/span>Irving Dillon \u2013 Pastor Joffner
\n<\/span>Mrs. Carr \u2013 Katie
\n<\/span>Paul \u2013 James Cassady
\n<\/span>Violet Axzelle \u2013 George (as a child)
\n<\/span>Rosemary Carr \u2013 Marika (as a child)<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Vogel (George Clarke) is a wealthy farmer living in Pennsylvania. He adopts little George, the son of his dead brother. The boy\u2019s father was deeply in debt and had committed suicide. On the same day, Vogel buys little Marika from a gypsy crone named Zirah. (Nance O\u2019Neil). Mr. and Mrs. Vogel (Eleanor Barry) raise the two children as their own. The years slip by, and Marika and George have blossomed into young adulthood. A strong bond of love has grown between them.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Vogels make wedding plans for George and their daughter Gertrude (Ethel Tully). Because of the gratitude she feels towards her benefactors, Marika hardens her heart and locks away her true feelings. George is in love with Marika, but realizes he also owes a large debt to the Vogels. He agrees to marry Gertrude. The day after the wedding, Marika packs her suitcase, leaving the Vogels and George forever. She returns to the home of her mother; there to spend the rest of her days nursing a broken heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> reviews it thusly:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Flames of Johannis<\/i> is a Hermann Sudermann [play] adapted for the screen by Alfred Hickman and directed by Edgar Lewis. It is the same story produced on the legitimate stage by Miss O\u2019Neil and proved to be a most unsatisfactory feature picture. It was very well photographed and acted, but the subject is such that the scenarist (Hickman) had to exercise great caution in order not to overstep the boundaries prescribed by the censors. This necessitated the deleting of all proper meaning in the captions, which utterly destroyed the psychology of life and results in a depiction of life\u2019s tragedy that doesn\u2019t mean anything. The whole thing seemed to be designed to show the versatility of Nance O\u2019Neil. Through some very ingenious double exposure O\u2019Neil plays the part of a drunken hag and her own daughter. By resorting to a \u2018double take\u2019 these two characters were enabled to embrace. The production seems to have fallen somewhere between psychology and drama.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE TOILERS (1916)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka Those Who Toil<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Edgar Lewis \u2014 Film length: 5 Reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating (1-4): 3 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Lubin Mfg. Co.\/ V-L-S-E, Inc.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Jane Brett
\n<\/span>Herbert Fortier \u2013 William Jameson
\n<\/span>Victor Sutherland \u2013 John Jameson
\n<\/span>Tom Tempest \u2013 Tom Powers
\n<\/span>John Sharkey \u2013 Jim Morgan
\n<\/span>Fred Chasten \u2013 Company Doctor
\n<\/span>Ray Chamberlain \u2013 Berty
\n<\/span>Adelaide Hayes \u2013 Annie Brett<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This film depicts a struggle between Management and Labor. Nance O\u2019Neil stars in the role of Jane Brett. She is one of the leaders of the striking workman in a Pennsylvania oil refinery dominated by the owner, William Jameson (Herbert Fortier). The workers want a raise and improved working conditions. Jameson offers than nothing, but demands increased productivity. The workers prepare to strike. Jane pleads with them to wait until she has spoken to the owner. The owner laughs in her face and has her thrown out of his office. When Jane threatens him with bodily harm, she is arrested and placed in jail to await trial.<\/span><\/p>\n

John (Victor Sutherland), the boss\u2019s son, is in love with Jane. He arranges to have her released on bail. When the couple returns to the refinery, they are caught up in a riot. The workers descend upon the plant, vowing to wreck it. There is a battle with the police, the oil field is set afire, and Jane is injured in the scuffle. John appeals to the workers and sets out to convince his father that their cause is a just one. After the negotiations the strikers get their promised raise and return to work. Everyone lives happily ever after \u2014 at least in this film they do<\/span><\/p>\n

Says Variety <\/i>of the film:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There is a female leader of the workmen, Miss O\u2019Neil, who has suffered much and there you are. This may sound very conventional, but in its screening there is well-sustained melodramatic interest, excellent photography and fine acting. Elaborately and expensively produced mob scene show the strikers burning the oil field. A great deal of care was exercised in securing types and atmospheric detail. Judged from the standpoint of a feature program, it will be reasonably safe to rate this picture, \u201cClass A.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

THE IRON WOMAN (1916)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director Carl Harbaugh \u2014 Film Length \u2014 6 Reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014Rating (1-4): 2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by \u2014 Popular Plays & Players\/Metro Pictures\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Sarah Maitland
\n<\/span>Einar Linden \u2013 David Ritchie
\n<\/span>Alfred Hickman \u2013 Blair Maitland
\n<\/span>Evelyn Brent \u2013 Nannie Maitland
\n<\/span>Vera Sisson \u2013 Elizabeth Ferguson
\n<\/span>William Postance \u2013 Robert Ferguson
\n<\/span>Christine Mayo – Helena Ritchie<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Based on a novel by Margaret Deland published in 1911, and adapted for the screen by Wallace C. Clifton, The Iron Woman<\/i> is a story of growing up and understanding the turmoil of life\u2019s vicissitudes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil is the star of this tedious and rather confusing melodrama. As Sarah Maitland she takes over the supervision of the iron mill when her husband passes away. Sarah has two children to raise, Nannie (Evelyn Brent), whom she adores and is the apple of her eye, and Blair Maitland (Alfred Hickman), who is spoiled rotten and is well on his way to becoming a no-good, good-for-nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is at this point I must take issue with the casting of the film. Nance was forty-two years old when the movie was made, and Alfred Hickman, who plays her son, was two years older than Nance. How did they justify this age difference on the screen? Lighting? Make up? Trick photography? There is no mention in the cast credits of a child actor assuming the part. To make it even more interesting, Nance and Alfred were married in real life the year the movie was released.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Blair leaves home to attend college and shortly after his arrival he seduces his best friend\u2019s fianc\u00e9e. What else did you expect? I told you the kid was no good. Blair marries the girl but it doesn\u2019t work out. It doesn\u2019t take long before Elizabeth (Vera Sisson) realizes her mistake and asks David (Einer Linden) to take her back. Sarah is seriously injured in a mill accident and is rescued by David. Blair, finally realizing the error of his ways, tells Elizabeth he will give her a divorce so she can marry David \u2013 which only goes to show that the kid wasn\u2019t all bad.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> stated in its review that the picture was, in its belief, a very much jumbled up affair, and doubted there was a possibility of getting the story sufficiently straightened out to make it worthwhile.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After one has sat through the entire six reels, one must still work one\u2019s mind to death to discover where the story started, where it finished and to what effect. Pictorially, the feature is O.K. but from the standpoint of story and direction it is a jumbled mess and cannot be rated a feature of the first class.<\/span><\/p>\n

GREED (1917)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Theodore Marston \u2014 Film length: 5 reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating: (1-4): 2-1\/2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: McClure Pictures\/Triangle Distr. Corp. Superpictures, Inc.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Alma
\n<\/span>Shirley Mason \u2013 Eve Leslie
\n<\/span>George Le Guere \u2013 Adam Moore
\n<\/span>Harry Northrup \u2013 \u201cDoc\u201d Denton
\n<\/span>Robert Elliot \u2013 Richard Cole
\n<\/span>Alfred Hickman \u2013 Jimmie Hobson<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Greed<\/i> was the third of the Seven Deadly Sins series produced by McClure Pictures. The entire series was re-issued in two-reel versions in 1918. All the films were based on stories by Florence M. Kingsley from The Ladies World<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDoc\u201d Denton (Harry Northrup) runs a \u201cbucket shop.\u201d It is a fraudulent brokerage operation where orders to buy and sell are accepted, but no execution take place. Instead, the brokerage house profits when the customers close out their accounts at a loss. Adam Moore (George Le Guere) and Eve Leslie (Shirley Mason) are an avaricious pair who drop a bundle after becoming involved with Denton. Alma (Nance O\u2019Neil), a telephone operator in Denton\u2019s office, tells the pair that Denton is a crook and is running a \u201cscam\u201d on them.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the authorities breathing hard on Denton\u2019s heels, he attempts to bribe Alma to go to bat for him. She refuses. There is a scuffle in which Denton loses his life. Adam is charged with Denton\u2019s murder and put on trial. He is convicted and sentenced to death in the electric chair. Alma temporarily lost her memory when she was shot and wounded during the fracas. She regains her faculties on the night Adam is to be electrocuted and proceeds to tell the authorities exactly what occurred on that fateful evening: Denton had suffered a heart attack when a heavy object fell from a shelf, hitting him on the head. He was holding a pistol at the time that accidentally discharged, wounding Alma. Only minutes before the warden is scheduled to pull the switch, he receives a call from the governor sparing Adam\u2019s life. Eve and Adam vow to give up their greedy ways and the lovers are reunited.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil\u2019s husband, Alfred Hickman, played the part of Jimmie Hobson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> reviewed this film on February 2, 1917:<\/span><\/p>\n

Greed<\/i> is described as a \u201cfive reel drama\u201d featuring Nance O\u2019Neil. The story it tells is rather confusing, but it has a fine, full-grown punch \u2013 indeed the tale is a series of surprises, some too delicate in conception, but putting over the maximum of dramatic surprise and thrills. The effect is something like the Pathe serials that are designed to deliver a battery of dramatic climaxes without much regard to the verities. The film contains an endless succession of highly colorful incidents and holds suspense at tiptoe . . . Miss O\u2019Neil screens particularly well in the emotional scenes and the minor characters, chief among whom are Shirley Mason and George Le Guere, do well. Miss O\u2019Neil plays the telephone girl most effectively. The picture has several \u201ctypes\u201d notable among them being the judge in the trial scene.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE SEVENTH SIN (1917)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Not available \u2014 Film length: 7 reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating \u2014 Not available \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: McClure Publishing Co.\/Super Picture Triangle Distr.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Shirley Mason \u2013 Eve Leslie
\n<\/span>George LeGuere \u2013 Adam Moore
\n<\/span>Anna Murdock \u2013 Betty Howard
\n<\/span>Holbrook Blinn \u2013 Eugene D\u2019Arcy
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Alma
\n<\/span>H. B. Warner \u2013 Grand Duke Feodor
\n<\/span>Charlotte Walker \u2013 Margaret Brent, Sally Wells, Molly Pitcher<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Eve Leslie (Shirley Mason) is a chaste young woman who has no knowledge of her birth parents. Although lacking their guidance, she has always endeavored to live an exemplary life. The vicissitudes of life and the present horrors of a world engulfed in war have only served to reinforce her resolve. After discovering that her parents were Russian exiles, she seeks them out and they are reunited. With the assistance of her sweetheart Adam Moore (George Le Guere), a soldier in the army, she has fought against life\u2019s temptations, and turned them away. Joining Adam in the front lines enables her to learn about the cruelty of man against man. The experience only serves to make her an even stronger woman.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the close of the film, Adam and Eve are married and have a young boy (I\u2019ll wager his Christian name was Cain). Eve reflects upon her past and realizes that life has taught her that the greatest sin of all, the Seventh Sin, is selfishness. This film is a lesson in the legitimacy of morality.<\/span><\/p>\n

The film was the seventh in the McClure series, called The Seven Deadly Sins<\/i>. Several scenes and actors from the previous films were used in this production. Nance O\u2019Neil reprises the role of Alma, a part she originated in the production Greed<\/i>. The film was photographed at the Edison Studios in New York City.<\/span><\/p>\n

MRS. BALFAME (1917)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Frank Powell \u2014 Film Length: 6 Reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating: Not available \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Frank Powell Production Corp.\/Mutual Film Corp., Star Productions<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Mrs. Balfame
\n<\/span>Frank Belcher \u2013 David Balfame
\n<\/span>Robert Elliot \u2013 Dwight Rush
\n<\/span>Agnes Ayres \u2013 Alys Crumley
\n<\/span>Anna Ranier \u2013 Anna Steuer
\n<\/span>Alfred Hickman \u2013 James Broderick
\n<\/span>Grace Gordon \u2013 Miss Austin
\n<\/span>Aubrey Beattie \u2013 Sam Cummack
\n<\/span>Elsie Earle \u2013 Frieda\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Based on a novel written by Gertrude Atherton in 1916, the story manages to convey the sentiments of militant feminism and the anti-German feelings that existed during World War I. In this film Mrs. Balfame (Nance O\u2019Neil) is a social leader in the town of Elsinore. She attends a meeting where her good friend, Dr. Anna Steuer (Anna Rainer), is the principal speaker.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The subject is the worthlessness of men in general and husbands in particular. Dr. Steuer attributes all of the society\u2019s ills, including the present World War, to the existence of men and proposes an ideal government composed exclusively of women. Mrs. Balfame is intrigued by her philosophy. Later, at a chance meeting between the two women, Dr Steuer shows her an untraceable deadly poison. It is at this moment that Mrs. Balfame decides to do in her drunken lout of a husband, David Balfame (Frank Belcher).<\/span><\/p>\n

He returns home one evening after one of his alcoholic binges. In a drunken stupor he orders her to mix him a drink. Mrs. Balfame obliges by preparing her latest specialty\u2014a doomsday cocktail.<\/span><\/p>\n

While she is mixing his drink she observes someone wandering around the yard. Arming herself with a revolver she leaves the house. A shot is fired. Frieda (Elsie Earle), the maid, rushes out of the house. There she sees Mrs. Balfame, with a gun in her hand, kneeling beside the dead body of her husband.<\/span><\/p>\n

Frieda testifies against Mrs.Balfame, who is arrested and charged with her husband\u2019s murder. Dwight Rush (Robert Elliot) is the defense attorney, and as chance would have it, in love with Mrs. Balfame. A guilty verdict seems a foregone conclusion. Just before the sentence is pronounced the court learns that Dr. Steuer is on her deathbed and has confessed to the crime. Whether she had warm feelings for David and was spurned, or was doing her friend a big favor, is never discovered. After the trial, Mrs. Balfame refuses the young lawyer\u2019s offer of love and continues her life alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

The film was produced at Frank Powell\u2019s studio at College Point, New York.<\/span><\/p>\n

HEDDA GABLER (1917)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Frank Powell \u2014 Film Length: 5 Reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating (1-4): Not available \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Frank Powell Producing Corp.\/Mutual Film Corp.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Hedda Gabler
\n<\/span>Aubrey Beattie \u2013 George Tessman
\n<\/span>Lillian Paige \u2013 Aunt Julia
\n<\/span>Einar Linden \u2013 Eilert Lovberg
\n<\/span>Ruth Byron \u2013 Thea Elvsted
\n<\/span>Alfred Hickman \u2013 Judge Brack
\n<\/span>Edith Campbell \u2013 Madam Diana
\n<\/span>Frank A. Ford<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The story is from the pen of Henrik Ibsen. Hedda Gabler<\/i> is one of the most widely studied and performed works in theatrical history. This dark psychological drama was first produced as a play in 1890. It depicts the evil machinations of a ruthless, nihilistic heroine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hedda Gabler (Nance O\u2019Neil), the beautiful aristocratic and overbearing daughter of a general, has married George Tessman (Aubrey Beattie), a plodding, middle class professor. Hedda thought he was rich \u2013 he wasn\u2019t. She believed he had a brilliant future ahead of him \u2013 he didn\u2019t. As the film opens the couple has just returned from a six-month honeymoon abroad. During this period George conducted research for a book he was planning to write on medieval history. Hedda had luxurious taste and selected an expensive villa for their new home. Her husband borrowed the money from Judge Brack to pay for it. The role of Brack was played by Alfred Hickman, Nance\u2019s husband.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tessman had hoped to get a government appointment to pay for his increased expenses. He is told by Judge Brack that he has a likely rival in the person of Eilert Lovborg (Einar Linden). Lovborg, an old flame of Hedda\u2019s, is a reformed drunk who has just published a very successful novel. Thea Elvsted, an old school chum of Hedda\u2019s, had hired Lovborg to tutor her children. She also assisted him in writing his book\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Thea confides to Hedda that she has taken on Lovborg as a lover. Hedda had a previous affair with Lovborg, but when he became too demanding she threatened him with a pistol and they parted. Hedda sets out to vamp Eilert away from her friend. She invites him to a party given by Judge Brack. The affair develops into a drunken revelry and Eilert descends the slippery slope. Once again he embraces his old friend Demon Rum. To add fuel to the fire, Hedda has stolen the manuscript of his new book that Eilert believed he had lost.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eilert despairs and threatens to kill himself. Hedda gives him one of her pistols and suggests that he, \u201cDo it beautifully.\u201d He obliges her by blowing out his brains on the spot. Filled with remorse and afraid she will be connected with Eilert\u2019s death, Hedda destroys the manuscript. As the film reaches its thrilling climax, she raises a gun to her head and takes her own life.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE FINAL PAYMENT (1917)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Frank Powell \u2014 Film length: 5 reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating (1-4): Not available \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Fox Film Corp.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Nina
\n<\/span>Alfred Hickman \u2013 Alfredo
\n<\/span>Clifford Bruce \u2013 Cesare
\n<\/span>Leslie Austin – Neccola
\n<\/span>Jane Miller – Rose
\n<\/span>Dorothy Bernard – Marie<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Best friends Neccola (Leslie Austin) and Cesare (Clifford Bruce) are commercial fisherman. Both of them are passionately in love with Nina (Nance O\u2019Neil), the village beauty. To Neccola\u2019s dismay, Nina only has eyes for Cesare.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alfredo (Alfred Hickman) is their boss and the owner of the fishing fleet. He has a nasty habit of using dynamite to catch fish. Neccola, a sailor who is as honest as the day is long, objects to this illegal practice. He tells Alfredo he intends to notify the authorities. Alfredo is enraged by this threat and murders the fisherman.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cesare is falsely accused of the crime and is placed on trial. As luck would have it, Alfredo is a member of the jury. He uses his powers of persuasion to influence the other jurors. Cesare is found guilty and hanged.<\/span><\/p>\n

The only person who has knowledge of the true assassin is Marie (Dorothy Bernard). To insure her silence Alfredo has promised to marry her. Nina\u2019s younger sister Rose (Jane Miller), has aroused Alfredo\u2019s passion. He lures her to his boat with a seduction in mind. Nina learns of his foul plan. She follows the couple on board and attacks Alfredo. During the struggle a lamp is knocked over setting the boat on fire. Alfredo receives his just and final payment as the flames consume him. This was Nance O\u2019Neil\u2019s seventh picture with Alfred Hickman.<\/span><\/p>\n

FALL OF THE ROMANOFFS (1918)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Herbert Brenon \u2014 Film length: 120 mins. \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating: Not available \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Iliodor Pictures Corp.\/ State Rights, First National Exhibitor\u2019s Circuit<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Alfred Hickman \u2013 Emperor Nicholas
\n<\/span><\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 The Czarina
\n<\/span><\/span>Edward Connelly- Rasputin
\n<\/span>Iliodor \u2013 Iliodor
\n<\/span>Charles Craig \u2013 Grand Duke Nicholas
\n<\/span><\/span>Conway Tearle \u2013 Prince Felix
\n<\/span><\/span>William E. Shay – Theofan
\n<\/span><\/span>George Denueburg \u2013 Emperor Wilhelm
\n<\/span><\/span>Robert Paton Gibbs \u2013 Baron Frederick
\n<\/span><\/span>Charles Edward Russell \u2013 Charles Edward Russell
\n<\/span>W. Francis Chapin \u2013 Alexander Kerensky
\n<\/span>Peter Barbierre \u2013 General Korniloff
\n<\/span>Pauline Curley \u2013 Princess Irena
\n<\/span>Ketty Galanta – Anna
\n<\/span>Lawrence Johnson \u2013 Infant Czarevitch
\n<\/span>Mlle. Marcelle – Sonia<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The overthrow of the royal Russian regime and the subsequent murder of Nicholas II and the royal family was a major historical event. The story was greedily snapped up by theatrical producers and the Hollywood moguls. The character of Rasputin was well drawn and presented a dark and bestial image. His very name means \u201cthe debauched one.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Contrary to popular belief Rasputin, played by Edward Connelly in the film, was neither priest nor monk. He was a drunken, illiterate peasant who worked as a common sled driver in order to make a livelihood. He became an ascetic who roamed the countryside, violating and punishing his body in order to present the appearance of a holy man to all who encountered him.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rasputin ingratiated himself into the royal family and exerted a powerful effect on all who came within his purview. His influence gained him lush accommodations in the palace. He was so \u201cin\u201d with royalty that he casually referred to the Czar and Czarina as \u201cmomma\u2019 and \u201cpoppa.\u201d Unbeknownst to him, this familiarity with the members of the ruling class would soon prove to be his undoing, and eventually cost him his life.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Several members of the royal court plotted his assassination. One winter\u2019s night he was lured to a dark corner of the Moika palace. Here they plied him with wine laced with cyanide. To their collective horror and dismay, the deadly potion seemed to have no effect. Frustrated, they proceeded to shoot him with their pistols, and then beat him to a bloody pulp before tossing his lifeless body into the icy waters of the Neva River. His personal demise paralleled the downfall and death of the members of the royal family.<\/span><\/p>\n

Says Variety<\/i>:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Herbert Brenon\u2019s spectacular film depiction of The Fall of the Romanoffs<\/i> is a two-hour collection of historical events arranged in chronological order and hence is more episodic than dramatic as a timely presentment of current history. Nothing could be more up to date unless it is a one-reel news weekly.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE MAD WOMAN (1919)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: George Terwilliger \u2014 Film length: 2 Reels \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Silent \u2014 Rating (1-4): Not available \u2014 Produced by\/released by: Stage Women\u2019s War Relief Fund\/Universal Film<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil
\n<\/span>Alfred Hickman
\n<\/span>Tyrone Power Sr.
\n<\/span>Mathilde Cottrelly
\n<\/span>Paul Gillmore
\n<\/span>Ben Grauer
\n<\/span>Mildred Holland
\n<\/span>Tamara Swirskaya<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil assumes the role of an innocent Russian peasant girl. She meets, falls in love with, and marries a sophisticated Russian nobleman (Alfred Hickman) against the wishes of her parents. Nance gives birth to a baby boy. She tells her husband she wants to raise the child in her parent\u2019s home. The rich nobleman does not want his son raised in impoverished surroundings, and spirits the child away while his wife is sleeping. When she discovers the boy is missing she is beside herself with rage. She sets out on a mission\u2014with the intent of finding her son and killing the man who has kidnapped him.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wandering from town to town she grabs the arm of every stranger she sees, asking: \u201cHave you seen my son?\u201d This bizarre behavior earns her the title of \u201cthe mad woman.\u201d After searching for more than two years she finally discovers her long lost son and husband. She is so overcome with joy her anger is quickly forgotten. They reconcile and settle down to pursue a happy and normal existence.<\/span><\/p>\n

This feature was made by the Stage Women\u2019s War Relief for Universal Studios.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tyrone Power Sr. had a role in the film. He was the father of movie heart throb Tyrone Power. Ben Grauer was only eleven years old when the picture was made. He went on to enjoy a successful career as an announcer and master of ceremonies in television and radio from 1932 to 1973. This was Nance O\u2019Neil\u2019s last movie for ten years. She returned to her first love, the stage. Her next appearance in a film was with John Gilbert in His Glorious Night.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

HIS GLORIOUS NIGHT (1929)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka Breath of Scandal\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Lionel Barrymore \u2014 Film length: 80 mins. \u2014 Black\/White \u2013 Sound (also Silent) \u2014 Rating (1-4): 2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: MGM<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

John Gilbert \u2013 Captain Kovacs
\n<\/span>Catherine Dale Owen \u2013 Princess Orsolini
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Eugenie
\n<\/span>Gustav von Seyffertitz \u2013 Krehfl
\n<\/span>Hedda Hopper \u2013 Mrs. Collingsworth Stratton
\n<\/span>Doris Hill \u2013 Priscilla Stratton
\n<\/span>Tyrell Davis \u2013 Prince Luigi Caprilli
\n<\/span>Gerald Barry \u2013 Lord York
\n<\/span>Madeline Seymour \u2013 Lady York
\n<\/span>Richard Carle \u2013 Count Albert
\n<\/span>Eva Dennison \u2013 Countess Lina
\n<\/span>Youcca Troubetzkoy \u2013 Von Bergman
\n<\/span>Peter Gawthorne \u2013 General Ettigen<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

His Glorious Night<\/i> was an MGM release based upon the 1928 satirical play Olympia<\/i>, by Ferenc Molnar. Lionel Barrymore, who also wrote the original music, directed the film. John Gilbert played the role of Captain Kovacs, a daring and dashing cavalry officer. The other half of this romantic duo was Princess Orsolini, portrayed by Catherine Dale Owen. Nance O\u2019Neil carried the role of Eugenie, the mother of the Princess. It was Ms. O\u2019Neil\u2019s first film after a ten-year hiatus.<\/span><\/p>\n

The marriage arranged by Eugenie fails to materialize after the luscious Princess meets the handsome Captain Kovacs. They fall deeply and passionately in love. Eugenie persuades her daughter to give up the Captain. The Princess realizes mother has her best interest at heart and agrees to marry the man Eugenie has chosen for her. \u201cIt just wouldn\u2019t do, would it, to have a woman of her exalted position take up with a lowly cavalry officer – and a peasant at that?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kovacs is distraught over her decision to break it off. He threatens to tell the world that he has ruined her for any other man \u2013 (not true). To insure his silence Eugenie promises him \u201cone glorious night\u201d with the Princess before the intended wedding. Kovacs spends the night with her, but proves he is a gentleman by guarding her virtue. The Princess realizes that Kovacs is indeed her true love and agrees to be his wife. As the production comes to a close we see our enamored couple literally gallop off into the sunset.<\/span><\/p>\n

This film was John Gilbert\u2019s first \u201ctalkie.\u201d Some critics maintained that this darling of the silver screen, this \u201clover like no other,\u201d was all washed up in sound movies because of the effeminate quality of his voice. A more gentle assessment by another faction contended that Gilbert\u2019s career had been jeopardized by screenwriter Willard Mack\u2019s fatuous and insipid dialogue. One story making the rounds was that Louis B. Mayer, the producer, was out to \u201cget\u201d John, claiming he was a womanizer and drunkard whose irresponsible actions had cost MGM millions of dollars. In any event, he continued to work for MGM, making eleven more unremarkable pictures that were selected for him by the studio. Never again to experience the acclaim he had received for his performances in silent films, Gilbert died of heart failure at the age of 37 on January 9, 1936.<\/span><\/p>\n

LADIES OF LEISURE (1930)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Frank Capra \u2014 Film length: 102 mins. \u2013\u2014Black\/White – Sound (also Silent) \u2014 Rating (1-4): 2-1\/2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Columbia Pictures Corp<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Barbara Stanwyck \u2013 Kay Arnold
\n<\/span>Ralph Graves \u2013 Jerry Strange
\n<\/span>Marie Provost \u2013 Dot Lamar
\n<\/span>Lowell Sherman \u2013 Bill Standish
\n<\/span>George Fawcett \u2013 Mr. Strange
\n<\/span><\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Mrs. Strange
\n<\/span>Juliette Compton \u2013 Claire Collins
\n<\/span>Johnny Walker \u2013 Charlie
\n<\/span>Willie Best \u2013 Elevator operator
\n<\/span>Charles Butterworth \u2013 Party Guest
\n<\/span>Edith Ellison \u2013 Not credited<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Based on the play Ladies of the Evening<\/i> by David Belasco and Milton Gropper, the title was changed for very obvious reasons\u2014the original title would not have been an acceptable premise for theater-going audiences of the uptight 1930s.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our hero, Jerry Strange (Ralph Graves), is wealthy and amuses himself by painting portraits of attractive women. He becomes bored while attending a party given by his upper-crust fianc\u00e9e Claire Collins (Juliette Compton), and decides to take his roadster for a spin in the country. As luck, and the scriptwriter, would have it, he meets pretty, bad-girl-with-a-heart-of-gold Kay Arnold (Barbara Stanwyck), who has just ducked out on a wild party aboard a luxury yacht. The two are mutually attracted and Strange hires her to pose for him.<\/span><\/p>\n

The arrangement turns into a steamy love match for this romantic couple and they plan to marry. Jerry\u2019s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Strange, played by George Fawcett and Nance O\u2019Neil will have none of it. They tell Kay how impossible a marriage would be for two people from such different social backgrounds. Kay is heartbroken. Apparently there is still some of that \u201cbad girl\u201d left in our heroine. She teams up with Jerry\u2019s friend, Bill Standish (Lowell Sherman), and they hop a boat for Cuba. During the cruise, Kay is beset with feelings of remorse and attempts suicide by jumping into the ocean. Happily she is rescued and eventually becomes reconciled with her true love, whereby our story of a rocky, rollicking romance finally arrives at its anticipated, and hoped for, climax.<\/span><\/p>\n

The film suffered from a lack of comedy. Kay\u2019s chubby gold-digger friend, Marie Provost, performs the only incident that might be considered funny. She trots up twenty flights of stairs\u2014a feat the audience seemed to find hilarious. On a sadder note, Miss Provost passed away before she was forty years old due to acute alcoholism and advanced malnutrition. She died alone in her dilapidated Hollywood apartment in 1937.<\/span><\/p>\n

Excerpts from the review by Variety<\/i>, following the film\u2019s premiere at the Capitol Theater in New York City on May 23, 1930:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The film has serious miscasting defects and suffers from a variety of other errors. The choice of Ralph Graves for the leading man showed poor judgment. Graves is a particularly inflexible player with a rather limited range. In spite of device and indirect suggestion, the heroine, Barbara Stanwyck, is rather a vulgar little thing who never quite makes the charm of \u2018cuteness\u2019 even when she is laying on sentimental \u201choke.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Although Miss Stanwyck does save this particular picture with her ability to convince in heavy emotional roles, she has small gifts for graceful comedy. However, the sequences between her and Nance O\u2019Neil in a grand bit of sentimental slopping over \u2013 really carry the punch of the story, and the day, by force of excellent acting. The flash cleverness of the play is retained in all its amusing vigor and is vastly aided by the playing of Lowell Sherman in the character of Bill Standish, a part especially designed for him. The picture is full of cynical wit, such as passes for the persiflage of Broadway gaiety that is always welcomed and relished by the audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE ROGUE SONG (1930)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Directors: Lionel Barrymore\/Hal Roach \u2014 Film length: 103 mins. \u2014 Color \u2014 Sound \u2014Rating (1-4): 3 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: MGM<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Lawrence Tibbett \u2013 Yegor
\n<\/span>Catherine Dale Owen \u2013 Princess Vera
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Princess Alexandra
\n<\/span>Judith Voselli \u2013 Countess Tatiana
\n<\/span>Ullrich Haupt \u2013 Prince Serge
\n<\/span>Elsa Alsen \u2013 Yegor\u2019s mother
\n<\/span>Florence Lake \u2013 Nadja
\n<\/span>Lionel Belmore \u2013 Ossman
\n<\/span>Wallace MacDonald \u2013 Hassan
\n<\/span>Stan Laurel \u2013 Ali Bek
\n<\/span>Oliver Hardy \u2013 Murza Bek
\n<\/span>Kate Price \u2013 Petrovna
\n<\/span>Burr McIntosh \u2013 Count Peter
\n<\/span>H.A. Morgan \u2013 Frolov
\n<\/span>Harry Bernard \u2013 Guard
\n<\/span>James Bradbury \u2013 Azamat<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

A vibrant musical comedy in living Technicolor directed by well-known actor, Lionel Barrymore, it was adapted from Franz Lehar\u2019s Gypsy Love Song<\/i>. The story takes place in 19th century South Russia.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Famed baritone of the Metropolitan Opera, Lawrence Tibbett, makes his movie debut as Yegor, tribal chieftain of a motley crew of mountain bandits. In the film, he meets Princess Vera (Catherine Dale Owen) at a local inn. The attraction is mutual and instantaneous\u2014they fall in love. Yegor discovers that Vera\u2019s brother, Prince Serge (Ullrich Haupt), has raped Yegor\u2019s sister who then committed suicide. He kills Serge, takes the Princess captive and subjects her to various indignities.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Princess Vera is freed when her soldiers capture the bandit chieftain. Yegor\u2019s arms are shackled to two wooden posts and Vera personally flogs him as punishment for her kidnapping, and the murder of her brother. It is at this point that we become acquainted with the powerful tones of Tibbett\u2019s magnificent voice. The more vigorously she lashes him, the louder he sings, and sing he does with a vengeance and a booming voice that rattles the rafters. Finally, the Princess collapses from sheer exhaustion. The couple exchange glances, realizing they can never become, well, a couple, and the film ends on this sad, dramatic note.<\/span><\/p>\n

Apparently the producers believed the movie was lacking in comic relief so they hired the team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy to be members of Yegor\u2019s merry men. Hal Roach was engaged to direct their performance. Although rated third slot in the credits, the film appearance of Nance O\u2019Neil as Princess Alexandra was brief.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For his part in the production, Tibbett was nominated for Best Actor of the year by the Academy, an honor that eventually went to George Arliss for his powerful performance in Disraeli. The Rogue Song <\/i>was nominated for Best Picture but was edged out by All Quiet on the Western Front<\/i>. No prints of this picture exist, and The Rogue Song<\/i> must be considered a \u201clost film.\u201d It is #9 on the American Film\u2019s list of the Ten Most Wanted Movies.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

THE LADY OF SCANDAL (1930)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka The High Road<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Directory: Sidney A. Franklin \u2014 Film length 67 mins. \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: MGM<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Ruth Chatterton \u2013 Elsie Hilary
\n<\/span>Basil Rathbone \u2013 Edward, Duke of Warrington
\n<\/span>Ralph Forbes \u2013 Lord John Tylesmore
\n<\/span><\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Lady \u201cDucky\u201d Trench
\n<\/span>Frederick Kerr \u2013 Lord Trench
\n<\/span>Herbert Bunston \u2013 Lord Crayle
\n<\/span>Cyril Chadwick \u2013 Sir Reginald Welby
\n<\/span>Effe Ellsler \u2013 Lady Jenny Minster
\n<\/span>Robert Bolder \u2013 Mr. Hillary
\n<\/span>Moon Carol \u2013 Alice
\n<\/span>Mackenzie Ward \u2013 Ernest
\n<\/span>Edgar Norton \u2013 Morton, the butler<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Dry humor and drawing room wit lie at the core of this comedic undertaking which was adapted by Hans Kraley from Frederick Lonsdale\u2019s play, The High Road<\/i>. John Teylesmore (Ralph Forbes) is engaged to chanteuse Elsie Hilary (Ruth Chatterton). John\u2019s family is dedicated to the proposition that \u201centertainers\u201d don\u2019t make good wedding partners, and they attempt to break up the arrangement. The family tries to buy her off. The only one who supports the couple is John\u2019s brother, Duke Edward (Basil Rathbone). Elsie confronts the family and demands to know why she is not acceptable to them. \u201cA difference in social status,\u201d says Reginald Welby. Elsie laughs, \u201cWhy not call it by its real name?\u201d She places her lips close to his ear and whispers, \u201cPrejudice!\u201d Stepping back she smiles.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Duke Edward suggests a postponement of the wedding. Elsie\u2019s father, Mr. Hilary, played by Robert Bolder, is also not in favor of the intended union. He suggests the family approve of the marriage after a waiting period of six months. It is his belief that the couple will have tired of each other by the end of that time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three weeks pass. Elsie and Duke Edward have now become an item and are constantly inventing excuses to meet each other on the sly to profess their newfound love. John learns of their trysting, breaks the engagement, and tells Elsie he has accepted an appointment in India. In the meantime, things haven\u2019t been progressing too well for Edward. It appears he has been carrying on with a married woman named Helen. Elsie learns of her rival and tells Edward that the existence of Helen would always stand as a barrier between them. She returns to her first love, the stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil\u2019s role is a modest one. As Lady\u201d Ducky\u201d Trench, she spends most of her time on the screen criticizing her husband\u2019s affinity for drink. For some strange reason this sent the audiences of that period into gales of laughter. Of course we must keep in mind that these were gentler times, and unsophisticated audiences laughed more readily.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ruth Chatterton was married in real life to her leading man, Ralph Forbes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> review, following the film\u2019s premiere at the Capitol Theater in New York City, the week of June 13, 1930:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Devoid of anything scandalous or suggestive with most of the action devoted to conversation at fireside and dinner table locales, the screen version of High Road is unusual in that it should register as worthwhile entertainment at all but the cheapest movie houses. It is a picture that should easily stand up for a week in deluxe houses. There are no love scenes, with the exception of a few moments of mild osculation between the principals, Miss Chatterton and Basil Rathbone. Neither is there anything risqu\u00e9 or suggestive in the dialog. There are no physical encounters, nor insinuations of villainy. The Lady of Scandal is a picture that never lets down in interest . . .<\/span><\/p>\n

THE FLORODORA GIRL (1930)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka The Gay Nineties<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Harry Beaumont \u2014 Film length: 75 mins. \u2014 Black\/White (with color sequence) \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 2-1\/2 \u2013 Produced by\/Released by: MGM<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Marion Davies \u2013 Daisy
\n<\/span>Lawrence Gray \u2013 Jack Vibart
\n<\/span>Walter Catlett \u2013 De Boer
\n<\/span>Louis John Bartels \u2013 Hemingway
\n<\/span>Ilka Chase \u2013 Fanny
\n<\/span>Vivian Oakland \u2013 Maud
\n<\/span>Jed Prouty \u2013 Old Man Dell
\n<\/span>Claud Allister \u2013 Ramblesham
\n<\/span>Sam Hardy \u2013 Fontaine
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Mrs. Vibart
\n<\/span>Robert Bolder \u2013 Commodore
\n<\/span>Maude Turner Gordon \u2013 Mrs. Caraway
\n<\/span>Jane Keithly \u2013 Constance
\n<\/span>George Chandler \u2013 Georgie Smith
\n<\/span>Anita Louise \u2013 Vibart child
\n<\/span>Mary Jane Irving \u2013 Vibart child<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Our story takes place in the early 1900s. Daisy (Marion Davies) is a chorus girl at the Florodora Casino. On this particular evening, she has accepted an invitation to dine with filthy rich and handsome, Jack Vibart (Lawrence Gray). Jack eyes pretty, innocent Daisy with but one thought in mind: seduction. Jack\u2019s mother, Mrs. Vibart (Nance O\u2019Neil), wants her son to marry Constance (Jane Keithly), also filthy rich, to combine their family fortunes. Mrs. Vibart fears that Daisy will upset the apple cart and all of her carefully laid plans will go for naught. Jack assures Mommy he is not serious about Daisy. He merely wants to have \u201ca last fling\u201d before entering the serious state of matrimony.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Later that week, during a horse and buggy ride, Jack proceeds to set a trap for our unwary heroine. \u201cDaisy,\u201d he says, \u201clet me put you up in your own apartment and then I can drop by whenever I wish. I will pay all of the bills, of course. It won\u2019t cost you one red cent!\u201d Well, needless to say, this went over like the proverbial lead balloon with that sweet innocent child. She did what any self-respecting young lady would do under the circumstances \u2013 she slugged Jack – then kicked him out of the buggy.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few months later, Daisy is attending a ball. Jack\u2019s friend tells Daisy her ex-boyfriend has gambled away all of the family\u2019s money. In order to regain the former status of his family, Jack must marry Constance (filthy rich, remember?), even though he is in love with Daisy. Upon hearing this, Daisy decides to be noble and tells Jack it\u2019s okay if he marries Constance. Jack tells Daisy he is no longer broke. In fact, he has made a big killing selling horseless carriages. \u201cI love you Daisy, he says \u201cand if you\u2019ll have me I\u2019d like to be your husband.\u201d Daisy realizes Jack\u2019s friend has been handing her a line. \u201cOh Jack,\u201d she purrs, \u201cyou sweet thing. You\u2019re all I ever wanted. It was never the money.\u201d Jack sweeps her into his arms, and carries her out of the ballroom and into his automobile at the curb. Mom is sitting in the back seat. Realizing Jack has made his choice, Mrs Vibart is resigned. She greets Daisy as she steps into the vehicle. \u201cWelcome to the family,\u201d she says, \u201ccome sit beside me, my dear.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The film has many songs that will be familiar to the geriatric set. There is a dazzling Technicolor finale featuring a socko song hit, sung by the Florodora Girl\u2019s Sextet:<\/span><\/p>\n

Tell me, pretty maiden, are there any more at home like you? There are a few, kind sir, but simple girls, and proper too. Then tell me pretty maiden, what these very simple girlies do? Kind sir their moves are perfection, and the opposite of mine!<\/span><\/p>\n

Footnote: Marion Davies (1897-1961) was bitten by the show bug at an early age. She had her beginnings as a comedic actress on Broadway, graduating to a featured role in the famous Ziegfeld Follies. She was the mistress of publishing magnate and multi-millionaire William Randolph Hearst for over thirty years. When Hearst suffered financial losses, she pawned jewelry worth over a million dollars and gave him the money. Her relationship with this influential figure aided her long and successful career. Hearst died in 1951. Soon after, Marion married Horace Brown, an arrangement that lasted until her death in 1961.<\/span><\/p>\n

CALL OF THE FLESH (1930)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka The Singer of Seville<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Charles J. Brabin \u2014 Film length: 100 mins. \u2014 Black\/White (with color sequence) \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: MGM<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Ramon Navarro \u2013 Juan
\n<\/span>Dorothy Jordan \u2013 Maria
\n<\/span>Ernest Torrence \u2013 Esteban
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Mother Superior
\n<\/span>Renee Adoree \u2013 Lola
\n<\/span>Mathilde Comont \u2013 La Rumbarita
\n<\/span>Russell Hopton \u2013 Enrique
\n<\/span>Marie Dressler
\n<\/span>John Coton
\n<\/span>Dorothy Farnum<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This was the third and final musical made for MGM by Ramon Navarro. He was considered the foremost rival of that torrid performer, Rudolph Valentino. Navarro, in his role as Juan, is a singer of operatic proportions. He performs nightly in a cantina adjacent to a nearby convent while awaiting his big break in show biz. Esteban (Ernest Torrence) is his mentor. He tells Juan he will never be a great performer until he has suffered for his art.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Juan is smitten by novitiate nun, Maria, (Dorothy Jordan). Blinded by passion and in a lustful frenzy, he kidnaps her from the convent. Nance O\u2019Neil, as the Mother Superior, is in a dramatic scene that just might be the best acting in the movie. She attempts to dissuade Juan from his unholy plan. \u201cFor a crime of this magnitude,\u201d she warns him. \u201cYou will burn in hell!\u201d Today\u2019s audiences would yawn at such a situation, but hey, this is 1930. The Mother Superior must have been very convincing since Juan realizes his \u201ccall of the flesh\u201d simply will not do for the girl of his dreams. He sings loudly and gloriously of his love for Maria, then sets her free.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Navarro is in fine voice and his histrionic ability is without peer. In one of the big scenes in the picture he dances a red-hot tango with Lola, his ex-lover, played by the adorable Renee Adoree. This was to be Miss Adoree\u2019s last appearance. She died in 1933 from tuberculosis, three years after the completion of the film. She was 35 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n

Footnote: Ramon Navarro (1899-1968) was a cousin of the beautiful and well-known movie star, Dolores Del Rio. In 1968 a pair of teen-age hustlers beat him to death in his home in the Hollywood Hills. His nude body was disfigured with obscene scrawls and the valuable furnishings in his home were destroyed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Excerpts from a Variety<\/i> revue, following the premiere at the Capitol Theater in New York City, the week of September 1, 1930:<\/span><\/p>\n

While the story is long in getting underway, the critical fan will find that much has been bunched together in the finale. Were it not for Navarro and his leading woman, Dorothy Jordan, as well as other principals, the last few sequences would be so conspicuously \u2018hack\u2019 as to spoil the reaction. . . . apart from the script itself, the end brings applause so rare from the hard-boiled type of steady deluxe house fan. . . . acting of Ramon Navarro almost flawless. It is romance, despite a story that becomes almost sadly routine toward the end . . . Navarro\u2019s singing would be more effective were he less generous with his renditions. . . . one sequence in color would have been more convincing in black and white. The rainbow job is distracting because of its poorness.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE EYES OF THE WORLD (1930)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Henry King \u2014 Film length: 78 mins \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 1-1\/2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Inspiration Pictures\/United Artists<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Eulalie Jensen \u2013 Mrs. Rutledge
\n<\/span>Hugh Huntley \u2013 James Rutledge
\n<\/span>Myra Hubert \u2013 Myra
\n<\/span>Florence Roberts \u2013 Maid
\n<\/span>Una Merkel \u2013 Sybil
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Myra
\n<\/span>John Holland \u2013 Aaron King
\n<\/span>Fern Andra \u2013 Mrs. Taine
\n<\/span>Hugh Huntley \u2013 James Rutledge
\n<\/span>Frederic Burt \u2013 Conrad La Grange
\n<\/span>Brandon Hurst \u2013 Mr. Taine
\n<\/span>William Jeffrey \u2013 Bryan Oakley<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This movie was made from a book of the same title that was written by Harold Bell Wright in 1914.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our heroine, blond squeaky-voiced Una Merkel, plays the part of Sybil Andres. The ravishing Miss Merkel\u2019s enticing performances are still recalled, no doubt, by surviving watery-eyed octogenarians. Aaron (John Holland), the male counterpart in our scenario, is an artist who is commissioned to paint a portrait of Gertrude Taine (Fern Andra). She has her own ideas about the arrangement and keeps a watchful eye on the artist while scheming to add him to her retinue. Her aging millionaire husband (Brandon Hurst) has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel, so he poses no threat to her libidinous plans.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to Gertrude, Aaron has fallen head-over-heels in love with Sybil, a lissome nymph, after spotting her skinny-dipping in a mountain pool. When Gertrude discovers this, her anger and frustration knows no bounds. She enlists the aid of her dissolute brother, James, thereby setting the stage for the deflowering of Sybil. James is thwarted in his loathsome efforts by Aaron\u2019s timely intervention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil expertly plays the role of Myra Willard, disfigured for life by a jealous wife. Unfortunately the close of the film is predictable, and we are faced with the inevitable happy ending. The film is presumed to be \u201clost.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> review, following the film\u2019s premiere at the Rivoli theater in New York City, August 14, 1930:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Harold Bell Wright symbolizes clean old-fashioned melodrama on any reading table. The same goes for the adaptation of The Eyes of the World<\/i> on the screen. It is not \u201cbig theater\u201d material but the houses catering to the masses in neighborhood and the sticks, should find money in it. Rabid fans, coming to this from a modern menu, will find it much like a 1919 re-issue, except that this one \u201cTalks!\u201d and has the present day accompanying music and movie.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE ROYAL BED (1931)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka The Queen\u2019s Husband<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Directed by: Lowell Sherman \u2014 Film length 73 mins. \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 2-1\/2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Radio Pictures<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Lowell Sherman \u2013 The King
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 The Queen
\n<\/span>Mary Astor \u2013 Princess Anne
\n<\/span>Anthony Bushell \u2013 Granton
\n<\/span>Robert Warwick \u2013 Premier Northrup
\n<\/span>Alan Roscoe \u2013 Birten
\n<\/span>Hugh Trevor \u2013 Crown Prince
\n<\/span>Gilbert Emery \u2013 Phipps
\n<\/span>J. Carol Naish \u2013 Laker
\n<\/span>Frederick Burt \u2013 Fellman
\n<\/span>Desmond Roberts \u2013 Major Blent
\n<\/span>Lita Chevret \u2013 Lady in Waiting
\n<\/span>Nancy Lee Blaine \u2013 Lady in Waiting<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Truly, there is no reason why all Kings and Queens should not be human beings, even though there is every reason why all human beings should not be Kings and Queens (Louis XI) \u2014 <\/i>This sophistry opens the film. I haven\u2019t figured it out yet\u2014it must be very deep \u2013 I\u2019ll get back to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adapted from the stage play, The Queen\u2019s Husband<\/i>, by Robert E. Sherwood, Lowell Sherman is the star and director of this comedy. He is the King of a mythical North Sea island monarchy, and as such exudes all the charm you\u2019ve come to expect from this fine performer. Sherman manages to make sure you are watching him, no matter how many other actors are in the same room. The King is a lonely man, who would rather play checkers with his footman than govern a kingdom.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Queen, played by Nance O\u2019Neil, dominates him. Miss O\u2019Neil is perfect for the role. She is imperial, sometimes imperious and always in charge. Her considerable stage experience is apparent on the screen. The Queen is anticipating the marriage of her daughter, Princess Anne, to the Crown Prince. Mary Astor plays this lovely young lady and she is as cute as a button. Her modern day counterpart on the screen could profit much by emulating her excellent diction. The Princess is in love with her father\u2019s secretary, Granton, played by Anthony Bushell. The King is aware of the arrangement – the Queen is not. The Queen takes a short voyage to America and while she is gone the King makes preparations for his daughter to elope with Granton. His plans are upset when revolutionaries attack the palace. In the midst of this excitement, Premier Northrup takes advantage of the confusion. He formulates a plot to depose the King and assume the throne. Meanwhile, the Queen has returned from her trip.<\/span><\/p>\n

At this point the King realizes he must put his checker playing days behind him and take charge of his kingdom or all will be lost. He saves the day by firing Northrup and appointing the head of the revolutionaries as the new Prime Minister, thus ending the siege on the palace. The King informs his wife that Anne will not be marrying the Crown Prince, but will be taking Granton, the man she loves, as her husband. The Queen is thrilled to pieces by this new, forceful persona the King has adopted, and once again we have our happy ending.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After viewing this film, I am convinced that the old adage was correct: \u201cAll you need to open a mental asylum, is the right kind of people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> review, following the film\u2019s premiere at the RKO Mayfair in New York City, the week of January 30, 1931:<\/span><\/p>\n

Lowell Sherman directed this picture, in which he appears as the first featured player. The Royal Bed<\/i> is a good but lightweight production that needs plenty of support for key runs. If it can get over in any other way, then it\u2019s Sherman\u2019s, or Mary Astor\u2019s following. Too much box office dependence cannot be place upon either one. No dialog writer is mentioned. Director\/actor Sherman wrote his own talk, or had a close friend do it for him. Mary Astor is okay as Princess Anne. She plays with some sincerity, looking better in her riding habit than her father. Robert Warwick did a blustering Lord Northrup, quite in that style, and Nance O\u2019Neil was the stern queen always. Anthony Bushell didn\u2019t do badly as the juvenile, while Hugh Trevor made an attractive character role out of the Crown Prince. And Gilbert Emery got a laugh or two through his grimaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

RESURRECTION (1931)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director Edwin Carewe \u2014 Film length: 73 mins. \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Universal<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

John Boles \u2013 Prince Dmitri Nekhludoff
\n<\/span>Lupe Velez \u2013 Katusha Maslova
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Princess Marya
\n<\/span>William Keighley \u2013 Major Schoenbloch
\n<\/span>Rose Tapley \u2013 Princess Sophya
\n<\/span>Michael Mark \u2013 Simon Kartkinkin
\n<\/span>Sylvia Nadina \u2013 Eupremia Botchkova
\n<\/span>George Irving \u2013 First Judge
\n<\/span>Edward Cecil \u2013 Merchant
\n<\/span>Mary Forman \u2013 Exile
\n<\/span>Grace Cunard \u2013 Olga
\n<\/span>Dorothy Flood \u2013 Princess Hasan<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Set in 1876, the story is based upon yet another epic by Count Leo Tolstoy (Voskraeseniye<\/i>). It was composed and written during his moral propaganda phase, rather than during the period of the more imaginative works that established his fame. This is a tale of a Russian peasant girl, Katusha, played by the alluring Mexican actress, Lupe Velez. Prince Dmitri (John Boles) meets, greets and seduces her. She is ignored by her friends and cast into the street by her family. Within a short time, with no means to make a living, she becomes a prostitute. Dmitri shows no remorse. He goes his merry way, laughing, drinking and taking advantage of any unsuspecting woman unfortunate enough to cross his path.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Katusha is accused of being an accomplice to murder. She is arrested and brought to trial. As luck would have it, Dmitri is selected as one of the jurors (it could only happen in Hollywood). Dmitri votes \u201cGuilty,\u201d secure in the belief that Katusha will get off with just a slight reprimand. He is sadly mistaken. She is found guilty by the jury and sentenced to a labor camp in Siberia. Filled with remorse, Dmitri follows her. He undergoes a conversion and resolves to make amends by sharing Katusha\u2019s punishment. Nance O\u2019Neil is a strong figure in the movie. As the Princess Marya she befriends Katusha and becomes her confidant. The dramatic byplay between these two seasoned performers is a joy to behold.<\/span><\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> review, following the film\u2019s premiere at the Roxy in New York City, the week of January 23, 1931:<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s treated with a heavy hand, bluntly and with deep somberness. Tearful almost throughout, but when Lupe Velez makes her way out of that Russian courtroom and to jail, customer\u2019s memories will linger. The music offers little to recall. Recording mostly okay. Those scenic shots are on outdoor terrain showing long, thin lines of Russian exiles marching to Siberia. The terrain, however, looks strangely familiar . . . The fame that is the books and the two names, Boles and Velez should offer a chance for moderate box office possibilities. Exploitation otherwise limited. Looks like a good bet that way for the arty sectors and intellectuals. Also Jewish neighborhoods where old Russian shenanigans can be remembered . . . John Boles does a good attempt at acting. Even when he sighs he offers an improvement to make him a consideration for other dramatic roles after this one. Miss Velez proves that with proper handling she can show superior dramatic strength. She offers a standout-contrasting role between a simple, happy peasant girl and a weazened, [sic] immoral woman . . .<\/span><\/p>\n

CIMARRON (1931)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Wesley Ruggles \u2014 Film length: 124 minutes \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound\u00a0 <\/span>\u2014 Rating (1-4): 3-1\/2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: RKO Radio Pictures\/Radio Pictures<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Richard Dix \u2013 Yancey Cravat
\n<\/span>Irene Dunne \u2013 Sabra Cravat
\n<\/span><\/span>Estelle Taylor \u2013 Dixie Lee
\n<\/span><\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Felice Venable
\n<\/span><\/span>William Collier Jr. \u2013 The Kid
\n<\/span><\/span>Roscoe Ates \u2013 Jess Rickey
\n<\/span><\/span>George E. Stone \u2013 Sol Levy
\n<\/span><\/span>Robert McWade \u2013 Louie Hefner
\n<\/span><\/span>Edna May Oliver \u2013 Mrs. Tracy Wyatt
\n<\/span><\/span>Frank Darien \u2013 Mr. Bixby
\n<\/span><\/span>Eugene Jackson \u2013 Isaiah
\n<\/span><\/span>Dolores Brown \u2013 Ruby Big Elk Eldest
\n<\/span><\/span>Gloria Vonic \u2013 Ruby Big Elk Younger
\n<\/span><\/span>Otto Hoffman \u2013 Murch Rankin
\n<\/span><\/span>William Orlamond \u2013 Grat Gotch
\n<\/span><\/span>Frank Beal \u2013 Louis Venable
\n<\/span><\/span>Nancy Dover \u2013 Donna Cravat \u201cEldest\u201d
\n<\/span>Helen Parrish \u2013 Donna Cravat \u2018Younger\u201d
\n<\/span><\/span>Junior Johnson \u2013 Cim \u201cYounger\u201d
\n<\/span><\/span>Douglas Scott \u2013 Cim \u201cYoungest\u201d
\n<\/span><\/span>Reggie Streeter \u2013 Yancey Jr. \u201cYoungest\u201d
\n<\/span><\/span>Reginald Scott \u2013 Yancey Jr. \u201cYounger\u201d
\n<\/span><\/span>Ann Lee \u2013 Aunt Cassandra
\n<\/span><\/span>Tyrone Brereton \u2013 Dabney Venable
\n<\/span><\/span>Nell Craig \u2013 Arminta Greenwood
\n<\/span><\/span>Bob McKenzie \u2013 Pat Leary
\n<\/span><\/span>Stanley Fields \u2013 Lon Yountis
\n<\/span><\/span>Henry Roquemore \u2013 Jouett Goforth
\n<\/span><\/span>Donald Dillaway \u2013 Cim \u201cEldest\u201d
\n<\/span><\/span>Bob Kortman \u2013 Killer
\n<\/span><\/span>Frank O\u2019Connor
\n<\/span>William Janney \u2013 Worker
\n<\/span><\/span>Frederick Burt
\n<\/span>Dennis O\u2019Keefe
\n<\/span>William P. Burt<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In 1889, more than two million acres of land in Oklahoma was the scene of the greatest land rush in history. The movie starts off with a bang and more extras than you will ever see again. And why not? At a salary of two or three dollars each per day they were very affordable. These scenes are probably the best in the picture. Yancey Cravat, adventurer, has a desirable tract of land he has previously scouted. Richard \u201ctall in the saddle\u201d Dix, assumes the role of Yancey in the film and a better choice could not be imagined. Handsome, and with a booming voice that shakes the mountains, he epitomizes the motion picture hero. Dixie Lee, a woman with a shady background, tricks Yancey out of his land. Yancey and his wife Sabra (Irene Dunne) leave civilization, as we know it, to start a newspaper in the newly erected town of Osage. This is accomplished in spite of the objections raised by Sabra\u2019s mother, Felice Venable, played by Nance O\u2019Neil. The parse and soft modulation of Miss O\u2019Neil\u2019s lines are apparent. Other actors read lines, she lives them. It is a pity her entire performance in the film only lasted for four minutes<\/span><\/p>\n

In Osage, Yance vows to bring to justice the murderer of the former editor. Everyone knows the identity of the guilty party, but everyone is afraid to do anything about it. Everybody, that is, except Yance. While conducting a gospel meeting in the gambling hall he confronts the bully and murderer, Murch Rankin. They both draw \u2013 Murch dies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once again the wanderlust overtakes our hero, and in 1893 he leaves his wife to take part in the Cherokee Strip land rush. Five years pass and Yancey is not seen again until the conclusion of the Spanish-American War. During this period Sabra has been running the newspaper. Upon his return Yance learns that Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor) is being tried for being \u201ca public nuisance.\u201d This was the euphemism of the day for \u201ctown hooker.\u201d To the dismay of Sabra, Yancey defends Dixie and secures her acquittal.<\/span><\/p>\n

After an unsuccessful run for Governor of Oklahoma, the wanderlust seizes Yancey and he is off for parts unknown. Time passes (twenty-two years to be precise) and Sabra has received no word from Yancey. She is now a Congresswoman, an important personage in the district. After a dinner given in her honor, a tour of the Oklahoma oil fields is scheduled. There is an explosion in one of the wells. Sabra finds Yancey near death after saving the lives of his crew.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the final scene of the film we see a statue being erected to commemorate all of Oklahoma\u2019s brave pioneers. The statue is none other than . . . Our Yancy. . . And there wasn\u2019t a dry eye in the house.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cimarron<\/i> won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1931. Richard Dix and Irene Dunne were nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress. In spite of the favorable publicity, the production lost money. I first saw this movie as a lad of twelve and Richard Dix was my childhood hero.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Says Variety<\/i>:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Globe, New York City, twice daily, opens Jan 26, 1931, $1.50 top.<\/span><\/p>\n

An elegant example of super film making and a big money picture. This is a spectacular Western away from all of the others. It holds action, sentiment, sympathy, thrills and comedy \u2013 and its 100% clean. Radio Pictures has a corker in Cimarron <\/i>. . .<\/span><\/p>\n

Two outstanders [sic] in the playing, Richard Dix and Edna May Oliver. Each surprisingly excellent. Dix, with his straight character playing of a westerner and an Oklahoma pioneer who dies before his statue is unveiled in that state, while Miss Oliver is nothing less than exquisite in her eccentric comedy role of a Colonial dame in the wilds.. . . The land rush starts the action, men on horses and in wagons racing to capture some part of the two million acres released by the Government to the first comers after the boom of a canon at noon. It is doubtful if a red-blooded western such as this, in another period in American history, has held as many big diverting scenes as Cimarron<\/i>. Women will go for it along with the men, and the kids, too. Radio has made a great start with Cimarron<\/i> for 1931.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE GOOD BAD GIRL (1931)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Roy William Neill \u2014 Film length: 67 mins. \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Columbia Pictures<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Mae Clarke \u2013 Marcia
\n<\/span>James Hall \u2013 Bob Henderson
\n<\/span>Marie Prevost \u2013 Trixie
\n<\/span>Robert Ellis \u2013 Tyler
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Mrs. Henderson
\n<\/span>Edmund Breese \u2013 Mr. Henderson
\n<\/span>James Donlan \u2013 Donovan
\n<\/span>Paul Porcasi \u2013 Pagano
\n<\/span>Paul Fix \u2013 Roach
\n<\/span>Wheeler Oakman \u2013 Moreland
\n<\/span>George Berliner \u2013 Spike<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Marcia (Mae Clarke), a gangster\u2019s girlfriend, tells her jailed boy friend she is dumping him for another man. Bob Henderson (James Hall), the guy she is running off with, is a decent chap who also happens to be very well off. He marries her with no knowledge of her past life. The new couple has a baby, and for a time they enjoy an idyllic and uneventful existence. Their blissful state is shattered when they learn that Marcia\u2019s ex-boyfriend, Tyler (Robert Ellis), has broken out of prison. With malice in mind, he begins searching for the happy couple.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bob\u2019s parents, played by Nance O\u2019Neil and Edmund Breese, are incensed when they discover Marcia\u2019s lurid past. They force her to give up the child and leave her husband. Bob goes to Paris to secure a divorce, while Marcia becomes a singer in a local nightclub. Tyler has tracked down Marcia and is about to shoot her. The detective, who has been following Tyler since his escape from prison, shoots first and kills the escaped convict. Bob returns from Paris (he didn\u2019t get the divorce) having decided to forgive his wife for her past indiscretions. Once again, mother, father and child are united and we have the desirable happy ending.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trivia: Although a fine actress in her own right, Mae Clarke is probably best known for her role in The Public Enemy<\/i> (1931).\u00a0 <\/span>In this film, she has the dubious distinction of being the first major movie star to have a grapefruit pushed into her face\u2014said action committed by her co-star, James Cagney.\u00a0 <\/span>Ms. Clarke appeared in more than ninety films during her lifetime.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The production was based on a book by the same name by Winifred Van Duzer (1926).<\/span><\/p>\n

Says Variety<\/i> in their review:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the RKO Globe, New York City, week of May 14, 1931.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A good enough gangster talker in its making and playing considering it has no name to draw otherwise for the customary male trade The Good Bad Girl<\/i> may pull the women more so than other mob pictures because of its \u2018should a woman tell\u2019 and East Lynne angles. . . . Mae Clarke plays the girl in a very serious if not altogether accepted dramatic style. Miss Clarke doesn\u2019t do badly but she seems to be under the wraps of still coaching from the sidelines. Her attempt at joy, elation, or satisfaction at the fade out when the husband she thought gone forever clasps her in his arms, with only her face exposed to the audience may have meant joy, elation, or a suppressed ha ha that the picture was over. Marie Prevost as the girl friend fixer is in something of a comedy role, made possible by Paul Porcasi as the ponderous nite [sic] club owner, a member of the mob and always hungry for the food that\u2019s not on his diet. Miss Provost is no lightweight either in this film. Columbia slipped in this gang picture to be with the rush. It may go over better than the majority of them, especially with the women if the play for the femme business is strong enough in the pre-advance work.<\/span><\/p>\n

TRANSGRESSON (1931)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Herbert Brenon \u2014 Film length: 70 minutes \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: RKO<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Kay Francis \u2013 Elsie Maury
\n<\/span>Paul Cavenagh \u2013 Robert Maury
\n<\/span>Ricardo Cortez \u2013 Don Arturo
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Honora Maury
\n<\/span>John St. Polis \u2013 Serafin
\n<\/span>Adrienne d\u2019Ambricourt \u2013 Julie
\n<\/span>Cissy Fitzgerald \u2013 Countess Longueval
\n<\/span>Doris Lloyd \u2013 Paula Vrain
\n<\/span>Agustino Borgato \u2013 Carlos<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Robert Maury (Paul Cavanagh) is away on an extended business trip to Bombay, India. He has left behind his wife, Elsie (Kay Francis), who is bored to death and decides to sojourn in Paris. Here she meets the rich, charming and handsome Don Arturo (Ricardo Cortez), who invites her to his home in Spain. Elsie\u2019s husband has been absent for a year and is about to return home. Although tempted, she declines Don Arturo\u2019s offer. Arturo has been deeply smitten with Elsie and tries to persuade her friend, Paula Vrain, to coax Elsie to visit him in Spain. Elsie says \u201cNo go.\u201d Robert returns, unannounced, and is told by the maid that Elsie is out dancing with Arturo. More than a little ticked off, Robert tracks them down. He appears on the scene at the moment the couple engages in a torrid embrace on the dance floor. Tight-lipped and grim, Robert sticks Elsie\u2019s hat on her head, and drags her home. When they arrive, he apologizes for his rudeness in an attempt to win her over. She will have none of it and rebuffs him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Robert leaves for a business appointment in London the following day and Elsie takes off for Spain. Upon her arrival, Arturo covers her with kisses. Elsie responds by declaring her undying love for him. The following day she writes to Robert, telling him she is in love with the Spaniard and wants a divorce. Arturo seals the letter and dispatches it. At this moment in our drama, enter Carlos, the \u201cenraged father\u201d who informs them that his daughter and her baby have died in childbirth. The child was fathered by Arturo. Carlos shoots Arturo, killing him. Elsie now realizes how foolish she was to get involved with a womanizer like Don Arturo. After giving a statement to the police, she hops a plane for London, hoping to intercept the letter before her husband receives it.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When she arrives home, Robert tells her he loves her more than life itself, and can\u2019t they try to make a go of it? Robert\u2019s sister, Honora (Nance O\u2019Neil), has always resented Elsie. She takes her brother aside and informs him of her suspicions concerning Elsie\u2019s affair with the Spaniard. Robert pushes her away in disbelief. Honora hands him Elsie\u2019s letter, but he refuses to read it. He gives it to Elsie. She breaks the seal on the envelope and discovers it contains only a blank page. She now realizes Don Arturo destroyed her original letter because he did not want her as a permanent partner. Husband and wife kiss and make up. What more is there to say?\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kay Francis, tall, dark and lovely, was one of Hollywood\u2019s major leading ladies in the 1930s. Married five times, she left a major portion of her million-dollar estate to a Seeing Eye foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ricardo Cortez immigrated to America with his family. Paramount was on the lookout for a successor to Rudolph Valentino, and after changing the name of the Austrian-born Jacob Krantz they groomed him for the role. During his lifetime career he appeared in 110 motion pictures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Transgression<\/i> was based on the novel The Next Corner<\/i>, by Kate Jordan (1921).<\/span><\/p>\n

Says Variety<\/i> in their review:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the Mayfair in New York City, week of June 12, 1931.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe husbands are different nowadays. The femmes should know. If they will accept the exceptional altruism of the husband in this picture, as he unconcernedly forgives his wife a serious indiscretion with another man, the film may do moderately. That\u2019s unlikely, though, as males themselves will take it with utter skepticism. On the whole the dialog is apt although recording isn\u2019t altogether keen. Brenon\u2019s direction helps get in some interesting cameo shots, mostly scenic. Cast is average as a group except for a tendency to underact [sic] an unusual fault. As the husband, Paul Cavanagh lacked dramatic warmth. Kay Francis, aside from other things, was also given opportunity in situations and dialog. But even she seemed held down. Ricardo Cortez shows the lone tendency to overdo and doesn\u2019t fit the role anyway. Nance O\u2019Neil is splendid in a small part.<\/span><\/p>\n

A WOMAN OF EXPERIENCE (1931)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka Registered Woman<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Harry Joe Brown \u2014 Film length: 71 minutes \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 1-1\/2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: RKO Pathe Films<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Helen Twelvetrees \u2013 Elsa
\n<\/span>William Bakewell \u2013 Karl
\n<\/span>Lew Cody \u2013 Capt. Otto Von Lichstein
\n<\/span>Zazu Pitts \u2013 Kate
\n<\/span>H. B. Warner \u2013 Major Schmidt
\n<\/span>C. Henry Gordon \u2013 Capt. Mueller
\n<\/span>Franklin Pangborn \u2013 Hans
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Countess Runyi
\n<\/span>George Fawcett \u2013 General
\n<\/span>Edward Earle \u2013 Capt. Kurt Von Hausen
\n<\/span>Alfred Hickman \u2013 Colonel
\n<\/span>William H. Tooker – Colonel
\n<\/span>Bertha Mann \u2013 Red Cross Nurse
\n<\/span>Max Walzman – Brunck<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The action takes place during the early, hectic days of World War I. Elsa (Helen Twelvetrees) is our heroine and a lady with a shady past. She wants to assist the Austrian war effort and volunteers to work in a Viennese hospital. Because of her reputation and lack of the proper credentials, she is turned away. She is, however, offered a position in the Secret Service as a spy, an occupation more in keeping with her life style. Her assignment is to determine if a certain Army captain is a double agent. She makes an appointment to meet Von Lichstein (Lew Cody), the suspected spy.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the meantime, she is introduced to a handsome naval officer Karl (William Bakewell), who is about to embark on a dangerous submarine mission. There is a mutual attraction and they fall madly in love. Elsa\u2019s superiors are annoyed with her involvement and reprimand her. \u201cKnock off the romance,\u201d they tell her, \u201cand pay attention to business.\u201d Elsa realizes she must give up Karl for his own good. After he leaves on his mission, Elsa pens him a \u201cDear Karl\u201d letter telling him she is breaking it off.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some time later after night-clubbing with Von Lichstein, she discovers he is, indeed, a spy. Elsa attempts to detain him until she can call the authorities. They struggle for possession of a pistol and Elsa is seriously wounded. Enter the Austrian Secret Service. Von Lichstein escapes and is pursued by the Secret Service. They discover his hiding place and kill him. A month later, Karl visits Elsa in her home. He has been decorated and shows his medal to Elsa. She is very proud. Karl informs his mother, Countess Runyi (Nance O\u2019Neil), he is going to marry Elsa.<\/span><\/p>\n

The countess is against the marriage. She wants Elsa to tell Karl she was a spy. Katie (Zazu Pitts) steps forward and informs the Countess that Elsa is a heroine in her own right, and has received a commendation from the army. Unconvinced, the Countess attempts to persuade Karl not to wed, but he is adamant. He marries Elsa, even though the doctors tell him she is dying, and has only six months to live.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the last picture with Nance O\u2019Neil and her husband, Alfred Hickman, in the same cast. Hickman died of a cerebral hemorrhage on April 9, 1931 \u2013 the film was released the following July. During their motion picture careers the couple appeared in ten films.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Woman of Experience<\/i> was based on the play The Registered Woman<\/i>, by John Farrow (father of Mia).<\/span><\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> reviewed the film thusly:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the Mayfair, New York City, week of July 8th, 1931.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mild narrative with a hackneyed central situation kills off chances for this RKO-Pathe release, A Woman of Experience, by itself. If any can be procured it will have to come from the cast of several good names, with Helen Twelvetrees on top. Whosoever thought this material was surefire went wrong, but may have protected the box office a bit with an excellent company containing fairly well known picture names. Nothing much to the playing. Zazu Pitts and Lew Cody are best, with Miss Pitts in for many laughs. William Bakewell as the juve has a too sappy role to receive the credit perhaps due him for handling it as conservatively as he does. Miss Twelvetrees here is just another prostie pressed into the Austrian secret service because of her well-known free and easy ways, to land an Austrian officer-spy who is also a chaser. Any slight twist to the spy stuff at the start isn\u2019t enough to stand off the familiarity of the punchless big spot depended upon for the closing where it goes floppo instead, because they see it coming, through knowing the symptoms from the other talkers ahead. Good production points and direction helps what little it can in view of the paucity of action. But the story itself is a deadweight.<\/span><\/p>\n

THEIR MAD MOMENT (1931)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Hamilton MacFadden\/Chandler Sprague \u2014 Film length: 55 mins. \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 1-1\/2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: USA<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Warner Baxter \u2013 Esteban Cristera
\n<\/span>Dorothy Mackaill \u2013 Emily Stanley
\n<\/span>Zazu Pitts \u2013 Miss Dibbs
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Grand Mere
\n<\/span>Lawrence Grant \u2013 Sir Harry Congers
\n<\/span>Leon Janney \u2013 Narcio
\n<\/span>John St. Polis \u2013 Hotel Manager
\n<\/span>Nella Walker \u2013 Suzanne Stanley
\n<\/span>Mary Doran \u2013 Stancia
\n<\/span>Wilson Benge<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Dorothy Mackaill, former Ziegfeld Follies beauty, is the star of the film and one of the few reasons to see the movie. The action takes place in Spain. Dorothy (Emily Stanley) is engaged to the very stuffy Sir Harry Congers (Lawrence Grant). As often happens, she is in love with another man. The object of Emily\u2019s affection is the Basque peasant, Esteban Cristera (Warner Baxter). With the wedding due to take place in a very short time, Emily decides a fling would be very much in order. She hops into her little two-seater and takes off for Esteban\u2019s mountain retreat. On the way her car hits a pothole and is wrecked. Emily is injured and taken to Esteban\u2019s home.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While recuperating, she is nursed by Esteban\u2019s grandmother (Nance O\u2019Neil). The Grand Mere tells her of the trials and tribulations endured by the impoverished Basque women. Upon receiving this unpleasant revelation Emily has second thoughts \u2013 perhaps a marriage to a rich, titled Englishman isn\u2019t such a bad idea after all?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the final moments of our drama Emily is preparing to leave when Esteban makes a startling declaration. He is not a poor Basque. He is a rich one – a millionaire in fact. After hearing this surprising but welcome news, and viewing the Spaniard\u2019s luxurious new yacht, Emily decides that Esteban is the man of her dreams.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their Mad Moment<\/i> is based on the book Basquerie<\/i>, by Eleanor Mercein (1927).<\/span><\/p>\n

Dorothy Mackaill was born in England. Blonde, blue-eyed and beautiful, she sought a career in the London theater at an early age. While in Paris she met a New York choreographer who arranged a tryout for her at the Ziegfeld Follies in New York City. After a successful run as a Follies star, Dorothy began her Hollywood movie career in 1920 in the film, Torchy\u2019s Millions. She chalked up a total of 65 films before retiring to Hawaii to nurse her ailing mother. During her lifetime she was married and divorced three times.<\/span><\/p>\n

Warner Baxter had a thirty-two year career in motion pictures. He appeared in 107 films. His big break came in 1929 with the role of the \u201cCisco Kid\u201d in the film, In Old Arizona<\/i>. Director Raoul Walsh was slated for the part, but had to bow out after losing an eye in an automobile accident. Baxter won an academy award for his role in the film, phony Mexican accent notwithstanding. His income as an actor in 1936 was $284,000, topping everyone else in his field.<\/span><\/p>\n

SECRET SERVICE (1931)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: J. Walter Ruben \u2014 Film length: 67 mins. \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014Rating (1-4): 2-1\/2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: RKO Radio Pictures<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Richard Dix \u2013 Capt. Lewis Dumont
\n<\/span>Shirley Grey \u2013 Edith Varney
\n<\/span>William Post Jr. \u2013 Lt. Harry Dumont
\n<\/span>Gavin Gordon \u2013 Arlesford
\n<\/span>Fred Warren \u2013 Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Mrs. Varney
\n<\/span>Virginia Sale \u2013 Miss Kittridge
\n<\/span>Florence Lake \u2013 Caroline Mitford
\n<\/span>Clarence Muse \u2013 Jonas Polk
\n<\/span>Harold Kinney \u2013 Howard Varney
\n<\/span>Eugene Jackson \u2013 Israel
\n<\/span>Frederick Burton \u2013 Gen. Randolph
\n<\/span>Carl Gerard \u2013 Lt. Foray
\n<\/span>Gertrude Howard \u2013 Martha
\n<\/span>George Reed – Uncredited<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The film is based on an 1896 play by William Gillette. Richard Dix (Lewis Dumont) has the role of a captain in the Union army. He is given a dishonorable discharge and is thrown out of the army – but not really \u2013 it is merely a ploy to allow Dumont to spy on the Confederates. The captain\u2019s brother, Lieutenant Harry Dumont, has also been cashiered to enable him to assist Lewis in his assignment. Their mission: to infiltrate the enemy\u2019s lines and determine military strength in an area the Union plans to attack.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Once behind the lines garbed as Confederate officers, they encounter Harold Varney, a mortally wounded rebel soldier. His final wish is to die at his home in Richmond. Dix agrees to help him get there. When they arrive at the house, he meets the soldier\u2019s sister, Edith Varney (Shirley Grey), who is also the daughter of a Confederate general. Lewis falls hard. His feelings are reciprocated by Edith who is unaware he is a Union spy.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lewis leaves the Varney home to continue his assignment. His luck runs out and within a short time he is captured by an enemy patrol. His true identity is exposed. Thrown into a rebel prison he meets his fate willingly, secure in the knowledge that he has made this sacrifice for the good of the Union. In the final prison scene we see him taking farewell of his sweetheart. Holding her hand he smiles and says, \u201cUntil we meet again,\u201d fade out and curtain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nance O\u2019Neil has a minor role as Mrs. Varney, the mother of Edith and Harold. Robert Warwick played the leading role in the 1919 silent version of this film.<\/span><\/p>\n

Says Variety<\/i> in their review:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the Hippodrome, New York City. Week of December 12, 1931.<\/span><\/p>\n

Richard Dix does a good character in Secret Service<\/i>. It is all the picture has going for it. If the story had been stronger and developed more powerfully, it would have been Dix\u2019s best since Cimarron<\/i>. Otherwise anemic throughout it\u2019s this stars strong characterization that holds the interest from the outset. Love interest is wove around the mutual cardiac action that sets in when Dix, posing as a southern army officer, carries a dying Confederate soldier to his home in Richmond, meeting the lad\u2019s sister in that way. He virtually moves in with the family. Circumstances make it appear that Dix is a northern spy, but the girl refuse to believe this until the very last when he is caught. Meanwhile she has fallen so hard wartime enmity does not figure. The ending is an odd one and probably will not please the average patron.<\/span><\/p>\n

WESTWARD PASSAGE (1932)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Robert Milton \u2014 Film length: 73 mins. \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 2 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Pathe\/Radio<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Ann Harding \u2013 Olivia Van Tyne
\n<\/span>Laurence Olivier \u2013 Nick Allen
\n<\/span>Zazu Pitts \u2013 Mrs. Truesdale
\n<\/span>Juliette Compton \u2013 Henrietta
\n<\/span>Irving Pichel \u2013 Harry Ottendorf
\n<\/span>Florence Roberts \u2013 Mrs. Ottendorf
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Mrs. Van Tyne
\n<\/span>Bonita Granville \u2013 Olivia Allen
\n<\/span>Emmet King \u2013 Henry Ottendorf
\n<\/span>Ethel Griffies \u2013 Lady Caverly
\n<\/span>Don Alvarado \u2013 Count DeLatorie
\n<\/span>Edgar Kennedy \u2013 Elmer
\n<\/span>Florence Lake \u2013 Elmer\u2019s wife
\n<\/span>Julie Haydon \u2013 Bridesmaid
\n<\/span>Herman Bing \u2013 Otto Hoopengarner
\n<\/span>Lee Phelps \u2013 Bartender
\n<\/span>Joyce Compton \u2013 Lillie
\n<\/span>Irene Purcell \u2013 Diane Von Stael
\n<\/span>Al Thompson \u2013 Chauffeur<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Westward Passage<\/i> is adapted from a story by Margaret Ayer Barnes (1931). Our hero, Nick Allen (Laurence Olivier), is a poor but talented author. Try as he might, he cannot write a successful novel. On his wedding night with Olivia (Ann Harding), he persuades Mrs. Truesdale (Zasu Pitts) to open up her inn, even though it is closed for the season. Their marriage continues to be a financial struggle and they argue constantly. When Olivia tells Nick he is going to be a father he is overjoyed, for the moment. When little Olivia (Bonita Granville) arrives, he begins to have second thoughts. Nick feels that the responsibility of having a family is affecting his writing. One evening he decides to takes Olivia dancing to relieve the tension that exists between them. She meets and dances with the engaging and affluent Harry Ottendorf (Irving Pichel). Olivia continues to dance with him throughout the evening until Nick becomes very jealous. He leaves the party and returns to the house. When Olivia comes home, they argue. The next evening, Nick goes drinking with his buddies and bumps into Harry. Harry tells him Olivia is sad, and Nick is to blame for her unhappiness. This doesn\u2019t sit too well with Nick. After another big argument the couple agrees to disagree and they divorce.<\/span><\/p>\n

Olivia and Harry Ottendorf are now married and celebrating their sixth anniversary in Lucerne, Switzerland. While shopping at a bookstore Olivia bumps into Nick, who is now a successful author. He gives Olivia a copy of his latest book. After dining together, Nick tells Olivia he is still in love with her. He tells her he is boarding a ship the following day to return to the states. By chance, or design, they find themselves on the same boat. Nick meets little Olivia and tells her that he is her father. That night in the ship\u2019s restaurant, Olivia dances with Count DeLatorie (Don Alvarado). Nick becomes jealous. When they leave the boat, Nick persuades Olivia to spend the night in Mrs. Truesdale\u2019s inn, hoping it will rekindle that old flame in Olivia\u2019s heart. Afterwards, Nick drives Olivia to his farm, where they continue their discussion. They now realize they are deeply in love and can\u2019t keep out of each other\u2019s arms. Olivia tells Nick she is going to Reno to divorce Harry. She promises to marry him when she returns.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was Laurence Olivier\u2019s first picture in America, and nearly his last. It lost money. Olivier returned to England to make films and did not return to Hollywood until 1939 when he appeared as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights<\/i>. The picture was a blockbuster and Olivier was well on his way to becoming one of Hollywood\u2019s top leading men. This was Bonita Granville\u2019s first film. She was nine years old and at the beginning of a long and successful movie career as an actress, producer and director. Nance O\u2019Neil\u2019s appearance in the production is so brief it\u2019s almost non-existent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Says the Variety<\/i> review:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the Mayfair, New York City, week of June 2, 1932.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another poor picture for Ann Harding. Actionless [sic] divorce theme splitting the bridal couple, but getting them together again despite the girl, meanwhile, having married the faithful friend. Story covers a period of years and is unsuccessfully draped with thin coat of sophisticism [sic]. Nothing much happens within the 73 minutes the picture consumes and those sufficiently interested will peg the finish. Miss Harding is not able to elicit any great degree of sympathy for the girl who weds her headstrong and eccentric author, leaves him to become the wife of a staid and chivalrous admirer . . . Lawrence Olivier, opposite Miss Harding, gives a fair performance behind a \u201cpretty\u201d appearance, which won\u2019t endear him to male viewers. A lot of things can be blamed on this script but Olivier\u2019s penchant to consistently appear the actor is not one of them. It will be a factor that will count against him. The repressed Miss Harding but magnifies this characteristic of her leading man . . . Locale switches around a bit from ostensibly New York to Europe and shipboard with Zasu Pitts and Juliette Compton doing mild bits, and the whereabouts of Nance O\u2019Neil is a mystery. Backgrounds and sets are tasteful. Indeed, Westward Passage<\/i> doesn\u2019t look like a cheap picture. But it hasn\u2019t the verve in story or support players which the complacent Miss Harding needs to set her off to advantage and can only make the climb for this actress that much more difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n

OKAY, AMERICA (1932)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka The Penalty of Fame<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Tay Garnett \u2014 Film length: 80 mins. \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating (1-4): 1 \u2014 Produced by\/Released by: Universal<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Lew Ayres \u2013 Larry Wayne
\n<\/span><\/span>Maureen O\u2019Sullivan \u2013 Sheila Barton
\n<\/span>Louis Calhern \u2013 Mileaway Rosso
\n<\/span><\/span>Walter Catlett \u2013 City Editor
\n<\/span><\/span>Alan Dinehart \u2013 Jones
\n<\/span><\/span>Edward Arnold \u2013 Alsotto
\n<\/span>Rollo Lloyd \u2013 Joe Morton
\n<\/span>Margaret Lindsay \u2013 Ruth Drake
\n<\/span><\/span>Wallis Clark \u2013 Drake
\n<\/span><\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Mrs. Drake
\n<\/span><\/span>Frederick Burton \u2013 President
\n<\/span>Frank Sheridan \u2013 Commissioner
\n<\/span><\/span>Marjorie Gateson \u2013 Mrs. Wright
\n<\/span>Henry Armetta \u2013 Sam
\n<\/span><\/span>George Dow Clark \u2013 Obituary Editor
\n<\/span>Emerson Tracy \u2013 Jerry Robbins
\n<\/span>Ruth Lyons \u2013 Phyllis Martin
\n<\/span>Berton Churchill \u2013 Jacob Baron
\n<\/span>Frank Darien \u2013 O\u2019Toole
\n<\/span>Gilbert Emery \u2013 Secretary Drake
\n<\/span>Onslow Stevens
\n<\/span>James Flavin
\n<\/span>Neely Edwards
\n<\/span>Caryl Lincoln
\n<\/span>Akim Tamiroff
\n<\/span>Alexander Hall
\n<\/span>Virginia Howell
\n<\/span>Willard Robertson
\n<\/span>William Daly
\n<\/span>Also: The Three Cheers, The Bluettes, and Everett Hoagland\u2019s Band<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Larry Wayne (Lew Ayres) is a ruthless newspaper columnist. His motto: \u201cThe way to become famous fast, is to throw a brick at someone who is already famous.\u201d He involves himself in the kidnap\/ransom case of debutante Ruth Drake (Margaret Lindsay), the daughter of a prominent Washington politician. That eminent doyenne of stage and screen Nance O\u2019Neil, in the role of Mrs. Drake, pleads with Larry to arrange her daughter\u2019s release. When the kidnappers demand a ransom of $100,000 in cash, Wayne offers to be the go-between. He enlists the aid of Alsotto (Edward Arnold), a big time gangster. They contact the kidnappers and arrange for the release of the politician\u2019s daughter.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I might add that Larry\u2019s motives are personal, not humanitarian. Wayne has never done a favor for anyone in his entire life without demanding a quid pro quo in return. It is Larry\u2019s personal belief that his involvement will advance his stock as a prominent journalist and lead to fame and fortune. He is – oh so wrong! In the final scene of the film he double-crosses Alsotto, which brings about Larry\u2019s premature demise.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The role Ayres plays is an obvious theft of the persona of Walter Winchell, arguably the best-known columnist\/broadcaster from the thirties through the fifties. Maureen O\u2019Sullivan plays the part of Larry\u2019s girlfriend, Sheila Barton. Unfortunately, she does not exhibit the magic she brought to her later performances, a lifetime total of over sixty films.<\/span><\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> reviewed the film thusly:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Paramount, New York City, week commencing September 9, 1932.<\/span><\/p>\n

A lightweight picture. Okay America<\/i>, is a sluggish proceeding at best. McGuire, the author, sought to cram in everything, including the Lindbergh kidnapping \u2013 in this case it\u2019s a cabinet member\u2019s daughter \u2013 and the Capone\u2019s mob\u2019s bargaining with the President of the United States, along with the usual underworld and mob stuff. It\u2019s too much for one picture. What almost every filmmaker has lost sight of, in this columnist\u2019s cycle, seems to have been the necessity to concisely characterize this new journalistic upstart. Either he\u2019s a snooping buttinsky whom everybody resents, or there should be some script compromise for his nosiness, for benefit of box office sympathy. In an endeavor to too literally adhere to what is believed to be the authentic, real-life columnist\u2019s existence, he becomes a vacillating, chameleon-like character of many hues and moods. Not much disguise of the Winchell thing, with the \u201cOkay America\u201d salutation and WEF the station in lieu of the NBC\u2019S major link, WEAF. Once this story gets under way, it\u2019s all rather fantastic. Ayres hands out buck tips like a drunken sailor and is slipped hand and typewritten messages surreptitiously by cigarette girls, hat checkers and other stooges. His bucking a tough mob, plus the development of this theme, which takes him into their stronghold and up against the Big Fellow (an obvious Capone reference), plus the bartering for the girl\u2019s release, after $100,000 has been paid over, is one of those Hollwoodish [sic] scenario nightmares. Maureen O\u2019Sullivan as the mooning, wide-eyed secretary is rather sappy; offsetting the several good impressions she has given of herself in recent releases. Ayres is vapid and with the negative impression of what should be the two principal sympathetic characters, goes an inverse stance to the rest of it. The film at the Paramount on Broadway needs all the stage show strength possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

FALSE FACES (1932)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

aka What Price Beauty?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Lowell Sherman \u2014 Film length: 80 mins. \u2014 Black\/White \u2014 Sound \u2014 Rating: (1-4) 1-1\/2 \u2014 Produced by KBS Film Corp\/World Wide Pictures, Inc.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Lowell Sherman \u2013 Dr. Silas Benton
\n<\/span>Peggy Shannon \u2013 Elsie Fryer
\n<\/span>Lila Lee \u2013 Georgia Rand
\n<\/span>Berton Churchill \u2013 Dr. J. B. Parker
\n<\/span>David Landau \u2013 Con McCullogh
\n<\/span>Harold Waldridge \u2013 Jimmy
\n<\/span>Geneve Mitchell \u2013 Florence Day
\n<\/span>Oscar Apfel \u2013 Fineberg
\n<\/span>Miriam Seegar \u2013 Lottie Nation
\n<\/span>Joyce Compton \u2013 Dottie Nation
\n<\/span>Nance O\u2019Neil \u2013 Mrs. Finn
\n<\/span>Edward Martindel \u2013 Jonathan Day
\n<\/span>Purnell Pratt \u2013 Jefferson Howe
\n<\/span>Eddie \u201cRochester\u201d Anderson
\n<\/span>Ken Maynard
\n<\/span>Clay Clement<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

As Dr. Silas Benton, Lowell Sherman is a sardonic, skirt-chasing sawbones, who works in a big city charity hospital. His infatuation with nurse Georgia Rand (Lila Lee) is the talk of the doctor\u2019s lounge. Benton is kicked out of the hospital when the chief surgeon discovers he has accepted an illegal fifty-dollar fee for an operation on a patient (I know, I know \u2013 just remember this is 1932).<\/span><\/p>\n

After moving to Chicago, the doc sets himself up as a plastic surgeon, a specialty in which he is neither qualified nor experienced. He hires a private detective with connections as his publicity agent. In no time at all Benton\u2019s office has standing room only. He interviews several (attractive) young ladies for the position of private secretary. One of the applicants is pretty Elsie Fryer (Peggy Shannon), who flirts, smokes, drinks, is twenty-five and single. In short, all the qualifications Benton is looking for in an employee. He hires her on the spot. Elsie is eye-candy for the discriminating male and within a month she is upgraded to the position of his personal paramour.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Brenton continues to enjoy the good life until he meets Mrs. Finn (Nance O\u2019Neil), a wealthy dowager who has bowed legs and wants them straightened. Nance O\u2019Neil was fifty-eight years old when she took on this role that was to be her swan song in the movies. Her appearance is brief, but she makes the most of it. The lines she speaks contain all the subtle nuances of an accomplished stage actress.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Benton operates and botches the surgery. Poor Mrs. Finn must have both legs amputated to save her life. Benton is put on trial for malpractice and chooses to act as his own attorney. His eloquent and tearful summation to the jury bears fruit. He is acquitted.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the final courtroom scene, Benton approaches Mrs. Finn in her wheelchair. Bending over her he asks, \u201cMrs. Finn, is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all?\u201d With a baleful glance she replies, \u201cYes, doctor, you can give me back my legs!\u201d With this said Mrs. Finn removes a revolver from under her robe and shoots him dead \u2014 a fitting end for a scoundrel and charlatan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peggy Shannon met an untimely end. Returning from a fishing trip in 1941, her husband discovered the body of the former Ziegfeld Follies beauty sitting at the kitchen table in their North Hollywood apartment. Her death was attributed to acute alcoholism. On her tombstone were chiseled the words, \u201cThat Red-Headed girl, Peggy Shannon.\u201d Nineteen days later her husband took his own life at the same kitchen table. He left a note declaring his love for Peggy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Says Variety<\/i>:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the New York Paramount, week of November 24, 1932.<\/span><\/p>\n

The writers and Lowell Sherman, as combination director and star, have tried to follow the career of a noted plastic surgeon\u2019s life and some incidents of the doc\u2019s practice, but the result isn\u2019t very happy. Story isn\u2019t there and the cast presents no assurance of drawing power. Fault lies in the basic idea, although production details can be figured among the drawbacks. Chief irritant is the one-man show status through Sherman\u2019s doubling as star and director. Finished product is less of a picture than a monologue. Sherman plants himself as a grafting charlatan of the medical profession and treats the character in that light all the way. . . Lila Lee and Peggy Shannon look good as the principal members of the doctor\u2019s harem, but neither is ever permitted to step out and do any trouping on her own.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NANCE O\u2019NEIL FILMOGRAPHY<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

1. The Count of Monte Cristo<\/i> (1913)<\/span><\/p>\n

2. The Kreutzer Sonata<\/i> (1915) aka Sonata<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Princess Romanoff<\/i> (1915)<\/span><\/p>\n

4. A Woman\u2019s Past<\/i> (1915)<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Souls in Bondage<\/i> (1916)<\/span><\/p>\n

6. The Witch<\/i> (1916)<\/span><\/p>\n

7. The Flames of Johannis<\/i> (1916) aka The Fires of Johannis<\/i> aka The Fires of St. John<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

8. The Toilers<\/i> (1916) aka Those who Toil<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

9. The Iron Woman<\/i> (1916)<\/span><\/p>\n

10. Greed <\/i>(1917)<\/span><\/p>\n

11. The Seventh Sin<\/i> (1917)<\/span><\/p>\n

12. Mrs, Balfame<\/i> (1917)<\/span><\/p>\n

13. Hedda Gabler<\/i> (1917)<\/span><\/p>\n

14. The Final Payment<\/i> (1917)<\/span><\/p>\n

15. The Fall of the Romanoffs<\/i> (1918)<\/span><\/p>\n

16. The Mad Woman<\/i> (1919)<\/span><\/p>\n

17. His Glorious Night <\/i>(1929) aka Breath of Scandal <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

18. Ladies of Leisure<\/i> (1930)<\/span><\/p>\n

19. The Rogue Song <\/i>(1930)<\/span><\/p>\n

20. The Lady of Scandal<\/i> (1930) aka The High Road<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

21. The Florodora Girl<\/i> (1930) aka The Gay Nineties<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

22. Call of the Flesh<\/i> (1930) aka The Singer of Seville<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

23. The Eyes of the World <\/i>(1930)<\/span><\/p>\n

24. The Royal Bed<\/i> (1931) aka The Queen\u2019s Husband<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

25. Resurrection<\/i> (1931)<\/span><\/p>\n

26. Cimarron<\/i> (1931)<\/span><\/p>\n

27. The Good Bad Girl<\/i> (1931)<\/span><\/p>\n

28. Transgression<\/i> (1931)<\/span><\/p>\n

29. A Woman of Experience<\/i> (1931) aka Registered Woman<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

30. Their Mad Moment<\/i> (1931)<\/span><\/p>\n

31. Secret Service <\/i>(1931)<\/span><\/p>\n

32. Westward Passage<\/i> (1932)<\/span><\/p>\n

33. Okay, America<\/i> (1932) aka The Penalty of Fame <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

34. False Faces<\/i> (1932) aka What Price Beauty?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

All Movie Guide 21 March 2004 <http:\/\/www.allmovie.com\/>.<\/span><\/p>\n

American Film Institute 21 March 2004 <http:\/\/www.afi.com\/>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Billy Rose Theater Collection (Lincoln Center)<\/span><\/p>\n

Blum, Daniel. Pictorial History of the American Theater.<\/i> NY: Greenberg, 1951<\/span><\/p>\n

Cimarron<\/i> (VHS)<\/span><\/p>\n

Count of Monte Cristo, The<\/i> (VHS)<\/span><\/p>\n

E!Online 21 March 2004 <http:\/\/www.eonline.com\/>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

False Faces<\/i> (VHS)<\/span><\/p>\n

Great Stars of the American Stage: A Pictorial Record<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>1900-1951.<\/i> NY: Greenberg, 1952.<\/span><\/p>\n

Haydn, Hiram and Edmund Fuller. Thesaurus of Book Digests<\/i>. NY: Avenel Book, 1978<\/span><\/p>\n

Internet Movie Data Base 21 March 2004 <http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ladies of Leisure<\/i> (VHS)<\/span><\/p>\n

Lilly Library, Indiana<\/span><\/p>\n

Movies.com 21 March 2004 <http:\/\/www.movies.com>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Movies Mirror Index 22 March 2004 <http:\/\/www.san.beck.org\/MM\/MMIndex.html>.<\/span><\/p>\n

MSN Entertainment 21 March 2004\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<http:\/\/entertainment.msn.com\/>.<\/span><\/p>\n

New York Times Film Reviews, Vol. 1 \u2013 1913-1931, Vol. 2 \u2013 1932-1938.<\/i> NY: Arno Publ., 1970<\/span><\/p>\n

Nowell-Smith, Geoffey, ed. Oxford History of World Cinema.<\/i> Oxford UP, 1997<\/span><\/p>\n

Reelinsider.com<\/span><\/p>\n

Royal Bed, The <\/i>(VHS)<\/span><\/p>\n

Silent Era: The Silent Film Website 21 March 2004 <http:\/\/www.silentera.com\/>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

TVGuide.com 21 March 2004 <http:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Variety Film Reviews.<\/i> NY: Garland Publ. Inc., 1983<\/span><\/p>\n

Winter, William. American Stage of Today, The.<\/i> NY: P. F. Collier & Sons, 1910<\/span><\/p>\n

Winter, William. Vagrant Memories.<\/i> NY: P. F. Collier & Sons, 1910<\/span><\/p>\n

Woman of Experience, A<\/i> (VHS)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Curry, Judy P. \u201cA Closer Look at Actress Nance\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

O\u2019Neil.\u201d Lizzie Borden Quarterly<\/i> II.3 (Summer 1994): 4-5.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rebello, Leonard. Lizzie Borden:\u00a0 <\/span>Past and Present<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Al-Zach Press, 1999.<\/span><\/p>\n

Williams, Joyce G., J. Eric Smithburn, and Jeanne M. Peterson. Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Family and Crime in the 1890s.<\/i> Bloomington,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

IN: T.I.S. Publications Division, 1980.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have been interested in Nance O\u2019Neil, the actress, for about the last two decades. Once immersed in the Lizzie Borden murder case, I found I could combine my involvement with the enigmatic Nance, with my enthusiasm for Lizzie, as Nance was once a brief companion of the infamous accused hatchet-murderess.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nance-oneil"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2840\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}