Disraeli is a 1929 American pre-Code historical film directed by Alfred E. Green, released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., and adapted by Julien Josephson (screenplay) and De Leon Anthony (titles) from the 1911 play Disraeli by Louis N. Parker.
The Maltese Falcon is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film based on the 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film stars Ricardo Cortez as private detective Sam Spade and Bebe Daniels as femme fatale Ruth Wonderly. The supporting cast features Dudley Digges, Thelma Todd, Walter Long, Una Merkel, and Dwight Frye. Maude Fulton and Brown Holmes wrote the screenplay; one contemporaneous report said that Lucien Hubbard was assisting them.
Dudley Digges was an Irish stage actor, director, and producer as well as a film actor. Although he gained his initial theatre training and acting experience in Ireland, the vast majority of Digges' career was spent in the United States, where over the span of 43 years he worked in hundreds of stage productions and performed in over 50 films.
The Man Who Played God is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and directed by John G. Adolfi. George Arliss stars as a concert pianist embittered by the loss of his hearing, who eventually finds redemption by helping others; it also features a then little-known Bette Davis as the much younger woman engaged to the protagonist.
John Gustav Adolfi was an American silent film director, actor, and screenwriter who was involved in more than 100 productions throughout his career. An early acting credit was in the recently restored 1912 film Robin Hood.
George Arliss was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he won for his performance as Victorian-era British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli in Disraeli (1929) – as well as the earliest-born actor to win the honour. He specialized in successful biopics, such as Disraeli, Voltaire (1933), and Cardinal Richelieu (1935), as well as light comedies, which included The Millionaire (1931) and A Successful Calamity (1932).
The Working Man is a 1933 pre-Code American comedy film starring George Arliss and Bette Davis, and directed by John G. Adolfi. The screenplay by Charles Kenyon and Maude T. Howell is based on the story The Adopted Father by Edgar Franklin. The film is preserved in the Library of Congress collection.
The Millionaire is a 1931 all-talking pre-Code comedy film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and starring George Arliss in the title role. The film is a remake of the 1922 film titled The Ruling Passion, which also starred Arliss. The film was based on the short story "Idle Hands" by Earl Derr Biggers. In one of his early film roles, James Cagney had a brief but key appearance as a life insurance salesman. The supporting cast features Florence Arliss, David Manners, Evalyn Knapp, Noah Beery Sr., Cagney, J. Farrell MacDonald, Charley Grapewin and Tully Marshall.
Voltaire is a 1933 American pre-Code biographical film directed by John G. Adolfi and starring George Arliss as Voltaire, an 18th-century French writer and philosopher.
The Hamilton–Reynolds affair was the first major sex scandal in American political history. It involved Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who conducted an affair with Maria Reynolds from 1791 to 1792, during the presidency of George Washington. When he discovered the affair, Reynolds' husband, James Reynolds, subsequently blackmailed Hamilton over the affair, who paid him over $1,300, about a third of his annual income, to maintain the secrecy. In 1797, Hamilton publicly admitted to the affair after his political enemies attacked and accused him of financial corruption during his time as the Treasury Secretary. Hamilton responded by writing, "The charge against me is a connection with one James Reynolds for purposes of improper pecuniary speculation. My real crime is an amorous connection with his wife, for a considerable time with his privity and connivance."
The Searching Wind is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Dieterle and starring Robert Young, Sylvia Sidney, and Ann Richards. It is based on the play of the same name by Lillian Hellman. It had originally been planned for producer Hal Wallis to make the film at Warner Bros., but after he left the studio he brought the project to Paramount Pictures.
Old English is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and produced by Warner Bros. The film is based on the 1924 West End play of the same name by John Galsworthy. The film stars George Arliss, Leon Janney, Betty Lawford and Doris Lloyd. The film had its premiere August 21, 1930 at the Warner's Theatre in Hollywood.
Compromised (1931) is an all-talking pre-code drama film produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., and directed by John G. Adolfi. The film stars Rose Hobart, Ben Lyon, Claude Gillingwater and Florence Britton. It was based on a play by Edith Fitzgerald. this film is presumed lost
Before Dawn is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Irving Pichel and written by Garrett Fort. The film stars Stuart Erwin, Dorothy Wilson, Warner Oland, Dudley Digges and Gertrude Hoffman. It is one of the few Oland films from this period in which he does not play an Asian character. The film was released on August 4, 1933, by RKO Pictures.
The King's Vacation is a 1933 American pre-Code romance film starring George Arliss and Marjorie Gateson and directed by John G. Adolfi. The supporting cast features Dick Powell, Patricia Ellis, Florence Arliss, Dudley Digges and O. P. Heggie.
The Ruling Voice is a 1931 American pre-Code gangster drama directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring Walter Huston, Loretta Young, and Doris Kenyon. It had an alternate title Upper Underworld, and was produced by First National Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros.
The Silk Express is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Ray Enright and written by Houston Branch and Ben Markson. The film, starring Neil Hamilton, Sheila Terry, Arthur Byron, Guy Kibbee, Dudley Digges and Arthur Hohl, was released by Warner Bros. on June 10, 1933.
Hamilton is a 1917 Broadway play about Alexander Hamilton, written by Mary P. Hamlin and George Arliss. It was directed by Dudley Digges and starred Arliss in the title role. It follows the attempts of Hamilton to establish a new financial structure for the United States following the Confederation Period and the establishment of a new Constitution in 1787.
What Happened to Father? is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by John G. Adolfi and written by Charles R. Condon. It is based on the 1909 short story of the same name by Mary Roberts Rinehart that was originally serialized in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. The film stars Warner Oland, Flobelle Fairbanks, and William Demarest. A previous version of the story was filmed in 1915.
Alexander Hamilton has appeared as a significant figure in popular works of historical fiction, including many that focused on other American political figures of his time. In comparison to other Founding Fathers, Hamilton attracted relatively little attention in American popular culture in the 20th century.
