Gladys BrockwellFilmography

The Hottentot

Actors: Edward Everett Horton, Patsy Ruth Miller, Edmund Breese, Edward Earle, Stanley Taylor

Synopsis: Previously filmed in 1923, the William Collier Sr.-Victor Mapes stage play The Hottentot was exhumed as an Edward Everett Horton vehicle in 1929. An inveterate horse lover, Sam Harrington (Horton) brags to his girlfriend Peggy Fairfax (Patsy Ruth Miller) that he is an expert rider. In truth, Sam Read More

From Headquarters

Actors: Monte Blue, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Gladys Brockwell, Henry B. Walthall

Synopsis: Most of Monte Blue's talking-picture career was spent in small character roles, but he was still regarded as a bankable leading man when he appeared in the early Warner Bros. talkie From Headquarters. Blue is cast as gutsy U.S. Marine Captain Slappy Smith, assigned to rescue a passel of tourists Read More

Hardboiled Rose

Synopsis: In this essentially silent drama, a cultured Southern belle must work in a gambling house after her deeply indebted father kills himself. She does so in order to pay her father's debts. In this humble place, the woman meets a handsome, charming man who sweeps her off her feet and takes her away Read More

The Drake Case

Actors: Gladys Brockwell, Forrest Stanley, Robert W. Frazer, James Crane, Doris Lloyd

Synopsis: An innocent maid stands accused of killing her employer in this courtroom melodrama from the silent era. During the trial it is revealed that the maid was actually the ex-wife of her wealthy late boss' new husband, but that doesn't necessarily mean she committed the crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Read More

Woman Disputed

Actors: Norma Talmadge, Gilbert Roland, Arnold Kent, Boris de Fas, Michael Vavitch

Synopsis: Long-reigning screen queen Norma Talmadge's last silent film (albeit with a synchronized musical score) was the exotic melodrama A Woman Disputed. Talmadge is cast as Mary Ann Wagner, a European orphan girl jointly (and unofficially) adopted by two young military officers: Paul Hartman (Gilbert Roland Read More

A Girl in Every Port

Actors: Victor McLaglen, Robert Armstrong, Louise Brooks, Maria Casajuana, Dorothy Mathews, Natalie Joyce, Sally Rand

Synopsis: The rampant male chauvinism in A Girl in Every Port might be hard for contemporary audiences to stomach, but fans of director Howard Hawks will be delighted. Victor McLaglen and Robert Armstrong play Spike and Salami, two sailors who become close pals but only after dukeing it out over a dame. Read More

Law and the Man

Actors: Tom Santschi, Gladys Brockwell, Robert Ellis, Tom Ricketts, Florence Turner

Synopsis: Law and the Man is based on a story by Roy Octavus Cohen, then popular for his magazine yarns about "Negro" life. This time, however, the audience is spared Mr. Cohen's outrageous approximations of "authentic" African American dialects and customs. Instead, the story concerns crooked small-town Read More

Lights of New York

Actors: Helene Costello, Cullen Landis, Gladys Brockwell, Mary Carr, Wheeler Oakman

Synopsis: Contrary to popular belief, no one speaks into microphones hidden in vases in this, the first 100% "all-talking" feature film, although an oversized telephone prop is rather conveniently placed near the actors in one long sequence. Although not nearly as crude as its tattered reputation, Lights Read More

My Home Town

Actors: Gladys Brockwell, Gaston Glass, Henry Sedley

Synopsis: Small-towner David Warren (Gaston Glass) is forced to leave his community after accidentally causing the death of a local cop. He makes a beeline to the big city, where he gets mixed up with criminal gang. David falls in love with female crook Mae Andrews (Gladys Brockwell), who feels the same way Read More

The Home Towners

Actors: Richard Bennett, Doris Kenyon, Robert McWade, Robert Edeson, Gladys Brockwell

Synopsis: A wealthy man hits the half-century mark and promptly suffers a mid-life crisis in this silent romantic comedy. Like countless fellows before and after him, he ends up falling for a beautiful young woman. Trouble comes when the besotted gent's best friend begins suspecting that the girl only wants Read More

Seventh Heaven

Actors: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Ben Bard, David Butler, Marie Mosquini, Albert Gran

Synopsis: In 1927, Janet Gaynor won the first Academy Award for Best Actress with her performance in this film, among the most celebrated romances of the late silent era. Chico (Charles Farrell) is a poor sewer worker who has only two dreams in life: to be promoted to sweeping streets and to find a woman Read More

Long Pants

Actors: Harry Langdon, Gladys Brockwell, Al Roscoe, Alma Bennett, Priscilla Bonner, Frankie Darro

Synopsis: Few comedies of the 1920s were as bizarre and surreal as Harry Langdon's Long Pants. Having recently come of age, small-town-boy Langdon aspires to become a great lover, drawing inspiration from the romantic novels he's been reading since childhood. Falling hard for a "vamp" (Alma Bennett), Harry Read More

Country Doctor

Man, Woman and Sin

Actors: John Gilbert, Gladys Brockwell

Synopsis: John Gilbert was fond of a narrative poem called The Widow in the Bye Street by John Masefield and wanted to film it, but when he approached his boss, Louis B. Mayer, with the idea, it sparked a huge argument. Gilbert was determined, however, and Man, Woman and Sin is basically a disguised Read More

Satin Woman

Actors: Dorothy Reid, Jane Reid, Rockliffe Fellowes, Alice White, John Miljan, Laska Winter

Synopsis: Dorothy Reid -- who before her marriage to ill-fated screen idol Wallace Reid was better known as Dorothy Davenport -- was both producer and star of Satin Woman. After the death of her husband from drug abuse in 1923, Davenport dedicated herself to helping others avoid the pitfalls of modern life Read More

The Carnival Girl

Actors: Gladys Brockwell, Frankie Darro, George Siegmann, Allan Forrest

Synopsis: The "carnival girl" of the title is played by Marion Mack, most fondly remembered as Buster Keaton's bird-brained lady love in The General. A fine comedienne in her own right, Mack plays it straight as a tightrope walker in love with navy lieutenant Allan Forrest. Villainous strong man George Siegmann Read More

Her Sacrifice

Synopsis: A woman with a sordid past is redeemed by love in this silent melodrama from low-budget Sanford Productions. Margarita Darlow (Ligio Di Golconda) refuses a marriage proposal from David Orland (Gaston Glass), a young man about to leave for Paris. Earlier, Margarita had sought financial help from Read More

The Strong Man

Actors: Harry Langdon, Priscilla Bonner, Gertrude Astor, William V. Mong, Robert McKim

Synopsis: The Strong Man was the second starring feature of silent screen comedian Harry Langdon--not to mention first feature-length directorial effort of Frank Capra. Langdon plays a Belgian soldier who, during World War I, is captured by German conscript Arthur Thalasso. Almost immediately, the armistice Read More

Spangles

Actors: Marian Nixon, Pat O'Malley, Hobart Bosworth, Gladys Brockwell, Jay Emmett

Synopsis: Spangles was adapted by actress Leah Baird from the novel by Nellie Revell, with Revell receiving "star" billing in the credits. Marion Nixon plays the title character, a gorgeous bareback rider with a travelling circus. Spangles falls in love with Dick (Pat O'Malley), a young fugitive from Read More

Twinkletoes

Actors: Colleen Moore, Kenneth Harlan, Tully Marshall, Gladys Brockwell, Lucien Littlefield

Synopsis: Set in a not-so-reasonable facsimile of London's Limehouse district, Twinkletoes stars Colleen Moore as the title character, a slum girl who aspires to become a dancer. Enduring one defeat and disillusionment after another, Twinkletoes is about to end it all by jumping into the Thames. She is Read More

The Skyrocket

Actors: Gladys Brockwell, Charles H. West, Muriel McCormac, Junior Coughlan, Peggy Hopkins Joyce

Synopsis: Skyrocket was a vehicle for non-actress Peggy Hopkins Joyce, a former Ziegfeld dancer who managed to get herself into the headlines by romancing and marrying a series of millionaires. Here Ms. Joyce plays Sharon Kimm, a girl of tenements who through a combination of luck and determination becomes Read More

Last Frontier

Actors: Marguerite de la Motte, John Farrell MacDonald, Jack Hoxie

Synopsis: A stalwart government scout, Tom Kirby (William Boyd) and his best friend, the legendary frontiersman Buffalo Bill Cody (Jack Hoxie) lead a wagon train through Indian territory when they are attacked by Pawnee Killer (Frank Lackteen). A young woman named Beth is saved, but her parents are killed Read More

The Reckless Sex

Actors: Madge Bellamy, William Collier, Jr., Wyndham Standing, Walter Long

Synopsis: A young Bostonian (Johnnie Walker) travels West to expect his father's New Mexico estate, which has become a target for gun runners. Along the way he mistakes travelling stock company actress Madge Bellamy for a child and brings her to the ranch. (The mistake is understandable as Bellamy was Read More

The Necessary Evil

Actors: Ben Lyon, Viola Dana, Frank Mayo, Thomas Holding, Gladys Brockwell

Synopsis: Ben Lyon and Viola Dana co-star in this heavy society drama -- not exactly the forte of either of these stars. Charming but irresponsible Dick Jerome (Frank Mayo) wins Frances (Gladys Brockwell) over his rival, the more responsible David Devanant (Thomas Holding). Jerome is a drunk and a Read More

Stella Maris

Actors: Mary Philbin, Elliott Dexter, Gladys Brockwell, Jason Robards, Sr., Phillips Smalley

Synopsis: Based on a novel by William J. Locke, Stella Maris is a remake of the 1918 Mary Pickford vehicle of the same name. Patsy Ruth Miller takes over the Pickford role as Stella, a crippled girl who is raised like a hothouse orchid by her overprotective guardians. Also like Pickford, Miller essays a Read More

Chickie

Actors: Dorothy Mackaill, John Bowers, Hobart Bosworth, Gladys Brockwell, Paul Nicholson

Synopsis: Chickie Bryce (Dorothy Mackaill) is a stenographer, who, encouraged by her mother (Gladys Brockwell), longs to marry a millionaire. This doesn't stop her, however, from flirting with Barry Dunne, a young lawyer from a neighboring office (John Bowers). Chickie and Dunne become involved, but finally Read More

The Splendid Road

Actors: Anna Q. Nilsson, Robert W. Frazer, Lionel Barrymore, Roy Laidlaw, DeWitt Jennings

Synopsis: This typically overblown Frank Lloyd-directed western takes place in the days of the California Gold Rush. Anna Q. Nilsson stars as Sandra De Hault, who heads to California in the company of three orphaned children she has adopted along the way. Taking up residence in a squalid shack, Sandra falls Read More

The Ancient Mariner

Actors: Clara Bow, Earle Williams, Leslie Fenton, Nigel de Brulier, Paul Panzer

Synopsis: Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner had no love interest. The 1925 movie adaptation, titled simply The Ancient Mariner, stars Clara Bow, indicating that scenarist Eve Unsell did an extensive rewrite. Bow is in love with wastrelly Earle Williams, who is shanghaied Read More

Unmarried Wives

Actors: Mildred Harris, Gladys Brockwell, Lloyd Whitlock, Bernard Randall, George Cooper

Synopsis: A typical low-budget social drama from Sam Sax's Gotham Productions, Unmarried Wives starred Charles Chaplin's first wife, Mildred Harris, as Maggie, a chorus girl who, through the efforts of her press agent, becomes a famous revue artist. She is pursued by wolfish Tom Gregory (Lloyd Whitlock) Read More

Foolish Virgin

Actors: Elaine Hammerstein, Robert W. Fraser, Gladys Brockwell, Phyllis Haver

Synopsis: Robert Fraser plays a double role in this routine melodrama co-starring Elaine Hammerstein, Gladys Brockwell, and Phyllis Haver. Mary Adams (Hammerstein) is the schoolteacher who falls for a lecherous lawyer. She marries the man who saves her from the barrister, but she soon believes he is guilty Read More

So Big

Actors: Colleen Moore, John Bowers, Ben Lyon, Wallace Beery

Synopsis: Colleen Moore may have been The Perfect Flapper, but as an actress she longed to spread her creative wings. She insisted on portraying the lead character in this adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel -- a 19th century girl doomed to a life of drudgery, who ages over 30 years throughout the course of Read More

Penrod and Sam

Actors: Ben Alexander, Joe Butterworth, Buddy Messinger, Newton Hall, Gertrude Messinger

Synopsis: Penrod (Ben Alexander) and his pal Sam (Joe Butterworth) are the all-American boys growing up in a small town in this comedy drama taken from Booth Tarkington's popular novel. The boys form an exclusive club and conspire to keep the neighborhood wimp and his toady companion away from their Read More

Darling of New York

Actors: Baby Peggy, Gladys Brockwell, Sheldon Lewis, Carl Stockdale, Max Davidson

Synopsis: After gaining a wide audience in a succession of two-reelers, "Baby" Peggy Montgomery stars in her first full-length feature. Santussa (Montgomery) is an Italian orphan who is being brought to America by her governess (Estelle Goulder). But the little girl ends up in the hands of an Italian Read More

The Drug Traffic

Actors: Barbara Tennant, Gladys Brockwell, Bob Walker

Synopsis: Pop quiz: When was the Hollywood film Drug Traffic produced? 1968? 1985? Try 1923! This exploitationer details the degradation of a drug-addicted doctor. He goes to prison, escapes, burgles his own hospital to attain narcotics. Then he Sees The Light. An unexpected tragic ending caps this Reefer Madness Read More

His Last Race

Actors: Rex "Snowy" Baker, Gladys Brockwell, William Scott, Harry Depp, Pauline Starke

Synopsis: In spite of an excellent American cast and two well-established directors, Australian action star Rex "Snowy" Baker isn't able to drum up much excitement with this melodrama. Richard Carleton (Baker) is in love with Mary (Gladys Brockwell), but he loses her to a romantic rival. To forget her Read More

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Actors: Lon Chaney, Ernest Torrence, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Kate Lester

Synopsis: This second film version of the Victor Hugo novel Notre Dame de Paris (the first was a Theda Bara vehicle, The Dancer of Paris) was a super-duper-spectacular as only Hollywood of the 1920s could make them, but it is never so large that it dwarfs the contribution of its star, Lon Chaney. As Read More

Oliver Twist

Actors: Jackie Coogan, Lon Chaney, Gladys Brockwell, George Siegmann, Lionel Belmore

Synopsis: Ostensibly a vehicle for Jackie Coogan, the 1922 Oliver Twist refuses to realign the Charles Dickens novel to accommodate the personality of its star. This Frank Lloyd-directed silent film is one of the most faithful of all cinematic adaptations of the Dickens work. The orphaned Oliver, labelled a Read More

Paid Back

Synopsis: Following a year-long absence from the screen, Gladys Brockwell returned to films in this Universal melodrama. When she tries to save her friend from the repercussions of an affair, Carol Gordon (Brockwell) gets in trouble with her own newly-wed husband -- he believes that she's the one who has Read More

Sister to Salome

Synopsis: In this dream-within-a-dream story, Gladys Brockwell plays a prima donna who, under ether, dreams of a past life when she vamped a Christian disciple named Paulus (William Scott). The romance ends tragically and takes up again some 2,000 years later when singer Elinor Duane (Brockwell again) meets Read More

Mother of His Children

Synopsis: At a Paris exhibition, American sculptor Richard Arnold (William Scott) wins first prize. He also meets a pleasure-loving Oriental woman, Princess Yve (Gladys Brockwell), and falls in love with her. This is ironic, considering that for his award-winning statue called "the Mother of his Children," Read More

Flames of the Flesh

Synopsis: Long before he began playing bit-part judges and college professors, Edward J. LeSaint was a busy film director at Fox Studios. LeSaint's Flames of the Flesh stars the versatile Gladys Brockwell as a fallen woman. To exact revenge on the elderly man who did her wrong, Brockwell seduces the man's Read More

Chasing Rainbows

Synopsis: When Sadie (Gladys Brockwell), a hash-house waitress, finds out that her lover Jim Lacy (Walter Long) has a wife and child that he deserted, she angrily takes off to find work in a far-away Western town. She is determined to hate all men, but she falls in love with the cafe's handsome young Read More

The Divorce Trap

Synopsis: This domestic melodrama, released by Fox, was a typical vehicle for Gladys Brockwell. After an argument with her sweetheart, telephone operator Eleanor Burton (Brockwell) turns her attention to Jim Drake (Francis McDonald), a millionaire's son. She marries Jim, and his father, Daniel (Herschel Mayall Read More

The Strange Woman

Synopsis: Derived from the Broadway hit of the same name, Fox's The Strange Woman starred the versatile Gladys Brockwell as the woman in question. Having spent many years in wicked Paris, Inez de Pierreford (Brockwell) has developed some rather unconventional notions about how a woman should behave in Read More

She Devil

Synopsis: Lolette (Theda Bara) is a fiery young Spanish girl. When a painter, Maurice (Albert Roscoe), comes to her town in search of locations, she falls in love with him. But when he's ready to return to Paris, he refuses to take her along. She's determined to follow him, though. To get the money, she Read More

The Honor System

Synopsis: This socially conscious, well-wrought silent drama made an earnest plea for prison reform over two decades before it became a national cause. The film's message still remains powerful today. In order to truly understand the subject, director Raoul Walsh and his buddy Jack Pickford actually stayed Read More

The End of the Trail

Synopsis: End of the Trail was written and directed by Oscar C. Apfel, the man who collaborated with Cecil B. DeMille on the direction of the pioneering feature film The Squaw Man. Apfel's star is William Farnum, at that time the Fox Studio's number-one male box-office attraction. Farnum plays a hard-nosed Read More

Fires of Conscience

Synopsis: After killing the man who compromised his wife, George Baxter (William Farnum) heads westward to escape prosecution. He tells his sad story to Margery Burke (Gladys Brockwell), who tries to persuade Baxter to return home and accept responsibility for his actions. When Baxter finally does so, he Read More

Sins of Her Parent

Synopsis: Richard Carver (Carl Von Schiller) and Adrian Courtney (Gladys Brockwell) are in love, but Richard's father Robert (William Clifford) won't allow them to marry because he does not know Adrian's origins. So Richard begins a search for Adrian's parentage which brings him to a mining camp in Alaska. Read More

The Scarlet Road

Synopsis: Gladys Brockwell, who often played vamps during the 1910s, does a rare virtuous turn in this drama. Mabel Halloway (Brockwell) is loved by two men -- married editor John Rand (L.C. Shumway) and broker Raymond LeFarge (Charles Clary). When her brother, Dick (William Scott), steals money from the Read More

A Man and His Mate

Synopsis: A rare visitor to films in general and westerns in particular, Broadway actor Henry Woodruff starred in this primitive oater from the Reliance company. The film had Woodruff battling an Asian villain (Caucasian actor Sam de Grasse) for the love of prairie flower Gladys Brockwell. Miss Brockwell Read More

The Typhoon

Synopsis: The Typhoon was not Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa's first film, as has frequently been reported, but it was the film that vaulted him into stardom. In a momentary fit of jealous rage, a Japanese diplomat murders his mistress. By rights, he should be arrested for his crime, but in the greater Read More

The Wrath of the Gods

Synopsis: Produced and co-written by Thomas H. Ince, The Wrath of the Gods (aka The Destruction of Sakura-Jima) was a major undertaking that included a shipwreck (filmed off the coast of Santa Monica) and an erupting volcano. The five-reel melodrama starred future director Frank Borzage, blond Gladys Brockwell Read More