Wonderland Burlesque's
Let's All Go To The Movies
She's A Lady!
Part XLVI
Yes, sometimes? It takes a lady.
And sometimes? That lady is rather colorful.
Or so these films would have us believe.
They promise lots of drama, the occasional comedy or musical, and a little bit of dirt!
Let's take a walk down Hollywood Blvd. and shine a light on these magnificent classic films.
This way, if you please. But remember...
Ladies first!
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(1916)
The Uplift Society, with Silas Gilworthy at its head, plans to rid the city of the pernicious influence of the dance parlors. The worst of these is said to be the Purple Lightning Tango Parlor, so-called because of its peculiar light effect. Here the famous dancer, Fifi Melotte, is the star entertainer and leading spirit. Detective Rogers, a friend of Gilworthy's, offers to show him the place and its iniquities. However, he is an easy victim to Fifi's innocent ways, assumed for the moment, and comes more than once to see her, without the escort of the Uplift Society. The tango parlor is raided, and Fifi and Silas escape a visit to the police court. Much wooing, drama, and comedic situations ensue.
This American silent comedy was directed by George A. Lessey, the film stars Ralph Herz, Irene Howley, and Alan Hale.
Alan Hale, Sr. is the father of Alan Hale, Jr. who most famously portrayed 'The Skipper' on the television show Gilligan's Island.
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(1919)
The mind of theology student Webster Smith becomes unbalanced from strain. Traveling across the desert as God's savior, he arrives weakened at Red Butte, a small mining town. Faro Fan, who runs a saloon and gambling joint cleanly, and who cares for the town's homeless children, helps Smith, but when he learns what she does for a living, he curses her. While Smith builds a church, Faro nurses renegade Spanish Ed, who spreads a fever to her wards. After Smith prays for fire to purge the town, excepting his church, saloon keeper Delicate Hanson, trying to disinfect his bar by burning whiskey on it, starts a fire which quickly spreads to the church, while leaving Faro's house unscathed. Furious, Smith attacks Faro. When she hits his head with a club, his sanity returns, and he helps her nurse the children. After Smith leaves to get supplies, Spanish Ed, crazed with thirst, tries to attract Faro. When Smith returns, Faro shoots him, thinking he is Spanish Ed. As she nurses him to health, they fall in love.
This American silent Western was produced by Thomas H. Ince, directed by Victor Schertzinger and stars Dorothy Dalton and Thomas Holding.
For the scene showing the destruction of Red Butte, an entire western street was built of solid lumber and then burned to the ground at a cost of several thousand dollars. The village was two blocks long with buildings on both sides of the street. It was built at Inceville on a high elevation far from all other buildings so the flames would not spread to other property. The Santa Monica Fire Department and one chemical wagon from Los Angeles Fire Department were on hand to prevent the flames spreading to the shrubbery and timber on the mountains. When Thomas H. Ince gave the word, the fire was ignited, and the flames were "fanned into a fury by three huge wind machines." Between the walls of roaring flames, Dorothy Dalton, Thomas Holding and the two hundred players acted several dramatic scenes, as seven cameras shot the action under the direction of Victor L. Schertzinger and the supervision of Ince.
According to the critic for the Waterloo Times, the screenplay "is filled with situations of an unusual character." The reviewer for the Lethbridge Herald noted, "A remarkable cast was chosen by Thomas H. Ince for the presentation of C. Gardner Sullivan's latest photoplay The Lady of Red Butte." Focusing on Dalton's performance, another reviewer wrote: "Dorothy Dalton comes back in the style of role which made her famous early in her screen career, that of a western girl untutored to a large extent, living amid rugged surroundings, but developing a finesse in her inner nature that renders her entirely lovable despite her somewhat uncouth exterior."
This is believed to be a lost film, as no copy currently exists in any archive.
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(1922)
Young shop girl Mamie Conroy, and wealthy Jeanette Gregory become close friends. When Mamie foils an attempted abduction of Jeanette, the latter's grandfather, Simon Gregory, brings Mamie into his home and treats her like a member of the family. But she is again involved in a kidnapping attempt and is herself accused of robbery. Explanations resolve everything, and Mamie falls in love with David Bruce, a detective passing as a crook.
This American silent comedy was directed by King Baggot and stars Gladys Walton, Charlotte Pierce, Edmund Burns, Tom Ricketts, Lydia Yeamans Titus, and Mary Winston.
No copies of the film exist in any archive. It is considered a lost film.
Gladys Walton was a silent screen actress during the 1920s and 1930s. At the peak of her career she was a contract player at Universal earning $600 a week. Of her 38 films, only five still exist. At the time, there were two Gladys Waltons who were actresses: one, a stage actress on the east coast and one, a silent film star. Writers at the time frequently got them mixed up! This Gladys Walton married and divorced three times and had six children!
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(1938)
The lawyer Giulio Gualandi plans yet another escapade in Viareggio while he is with his wife on holiday in Cervinia.
Based on a play, this Italian 'white-telephones' comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Elsa Merlini, Nino Besozzi and Enrico Viarisio.
The film's sets were designed by the art director Piero Filippone. It was shot at the Farnesina Studios of Titanus in Rome.
Telefoni Bianchi (white telephones) films, also called deco films, were made by the Italian film industry in the 1930s and the 1940s in imitation of American comedies of the time. These were in sharp contrast to the other important style of the era, calligrafismo, which was highly artistic.
You can view this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
(1980)
A small-town girl endures terrible suffering during her gradual rise to music stardom.
This country music drama was directed by Worth Keeter and stars Ginger Alden, David Allan Coe, and Ed Grady.
Ginger Alden was Elvis' fiance at the time of his death. At the time, they were engaged to be married in December 25th, but Elvis passed away on August 17, 1977.
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And that's all for now, folks.
Tune in next time...
Same place, same channel.
from the 1980 motion picture Grey Lady
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