The Altar Stairs | |
---|---|
Directed by | Lambert Hillyer |
Written by | Doris Schroeder George Hively George Randolph Chester |
Based on | The Altar Stairs by G. B. Lancaster (novel) |
Produced by | Carl Laemmle |
Starring | Frank Mayo Louise Lorraine Boris Karloff Lawrence Hughes |
Cinematography | Dwight Warren |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 5 reels (50 minutes) |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Altar Stairs is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Lambert Hillyer and featuring Frank Mayo, Louise Lorraine, Lawrence Hughes and Boris Karloff in an early role. [1] The screenplay was written by Doris Schroeder, George Hively and George Randolph Chester, based on the novel of the same name by G. B. Lancaster. It is considered today a lost film. [2] [3]
Rod McLean (Mayo), a South Seas trader, saves derelict Tony Heritage (Hughes) from some natives, and Tony repays him by stealing his money and escaping to France. There he marries Joie (Lorraine), the daughter of Captain Jean Malet (Lanoe) who is scheduled to take a post in the South Seas. When the officer learns of Tony's past misdeeds, he repudiates his daughter's marriage and takes Joie with him to the South Seas. Tony then turns up there and Captain Malet, to keep him away from Joie, gives him a job helping Rod McLean establish a new trading post on another island. Rod has fallen in love with Joie, but after he discovers that she is married (although he does not know to whom), he rejects her as a flirt.
Back at the new post, Rod discovers that Tony has gotten the natives drunk and they are burning the island chapel. He finds out that Tony is Joie's husband, but is stopped by the minister from killing him. Tony uses Rod's boat to escape to a steamer. Rod goes after him, followed by the minister who wants to prevent any killing, while Joie stays behind and awaits the film's climax on the main island. [4]
William Henry Pratt, known professionally as Boris Karloff and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931), his 82nd film, established him as a horror icon, and he reprised the role for the sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and voiced the Grinch in, as well as narrating, the animated television special of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), which won him a Grammy Award.
Louise Lorraine was an American actress.
Old Ironsides is a 1926 American silent historical war film directed by James Cruze and starring Charles Farrell, Esther Ralston, Wallace Beery, George Bancroft and Boris Karloff in a small role. It was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Conquering the Woman is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by King Vidor. A print of the film exists at the Cinematheque Royale de Belgique in Belgium.
The Gentleman from America is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and featuring Hoot Gibson and Louise Lorraine. It also featured a young Boris Karloff in an uncredited bit part. The screenplay was written by George C. Hull, based on a story by Raymond L. Schrock. The film's tagline was "This might be called the story of a fighting American in sunny Spain - with flashing senoritas and romance in the background! It's something new for Hoot Gibson - but you'll like it, and so will your patrons!" It is considered a lost film.
His Majesty, the American is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Douglas Fairbanks. It was the first film produced for distribution by United Artists. It was released in the U.K. as One of the Blood. Prints exist in the film holdings of Cohen Media Group [a 35mm positive]; in the film holdings of EmGee Film Library [a 16mm reduction positive]; and in private film collections [a 16mm reduction positives].
The Prince and Betty is a lost 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Robert Thornby. It features Boris Karloff in an uncredited role. It is based on the 1912 novel The Prince and Betty written by P. G. Wodehouse.
Cheated Hearts is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Hobart Henley and featuring Herbert Rawlinson, Warner Baxter, Marjorie Daw and Boris Karloff. The screenplay was written by Wallace Clifton, based on the novel Barry Gordon by William Farquar Payson. The film's tagline was "All the Exotic Glamour of the East Woven in a Livid Picture of Love". It was shot in Universal City, and is today considered a lost film.
The Man from Downing Street is a 1922 American silent starring Earle Williams, Charles Hill Mailes, Betty Ross Clark and Boris Karloff. The screenplay was written by Bradley J. Smollen, based on a screen story by Clyde C. Westover, Lottie Horner and Florine Williams. It is thought to be a lost film.
The Infidel is a 1922 American silent drama film written and directed by James Young and featuring Katherine MacDonald, Robert Ellis, Joseph Dowling and Boris Karloff. Young wrote the screenplay based on a story by Charles A. Logue. The film is considered to be lost. The film's tagline was "Man-Bait! Sent out, willingly, to a Pacific Paradise where the world forgets. Sent there to wreck a two-fisted, fighting gentleman with her faithlessness... And instead wrecking her own heart with her own love.".
The Woman Conquers is a 1922 American silent drama film written by Violet Clark and directed by Tom Forman. It starred Katherine MacDonald and Bryant Washburn and featured a young Boris Karloff. The film is considered lost.
Omar the Tentmaker is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by James Young and featuring Guy Bates Post, Nigel de Brulier, Virginia Brown Faire, Noah Beery Sr., Patsy Ruth Miller, and Boris Karloff. It was produced and adapted by Richard Walton Tully from his own 1914 Broadway play Omar the Tentmaker. The film's tagline was "Would You Know How Omar Loved? Would you sweep 1,000 years aside to find Shireen, the Persian Rose, who wed Omar and awoke in the harem of the Shah?" 24 May 1923). The film is considered a lost film.
Forbidden Cargo is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Tom Buckingham and featuring Boris Karloff. The film is considered to be lost.
Never the Twain Shall Meet is a 1925 American silent South Seas drama film based on the book by Peter B. Kyne, produced by MGM and directed by Maurice Tourneur, starring Anita Stewart and featuring Boris Karloff in an uncredited bit part. It was remade as talking picture in 1931 at MGM by director W. S. Van Dyke. This is one of Tourneur's many lost and sought after films.
The Eagle of the Sea is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Florence Vidor and featuring Boris Karloff in an uncredited role. Incomplete prints of the film exist.
Valencia, also known as The Love Song, is a 1926 American silent romance film directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki, who came over from Paramount to direct. The film stars Mae Murray and features Boris Karloff in an uncredited role. The film was a box office hit and the title song, Valencia, was the top song in the U.S. for the year.
Let It Rain is a lost 1927 American silent comedy film produced by and starring Douglas MacLean, directed by Edward F. Cline, and featuring Boris Karloff in a minor role as a U.S. mail robber. Paramount Pictures distributed the film. The film is now lost.
The Shooting of Dan McGrew is an extant 1924 American silent drama film directed by Clarence G. Badger. It was final film to be distributed by Metro Pictures, the film is based on the 1907 poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" written by Robert W. Service.
Ebb Tide is a 1922 American silent adventure film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by George Melford, and based on the 1894 novel The Ebb-Tide by Robert Louis Stevenson and his step-son Lloyd Osbourne. The story had been filmed before in 1915 by the Selig Polyscope Company.
Joseph Jiquel Lanoe was a French actor who appeared in films and theater in the United States. He had roles in more than 100 American Biograph films. A gay man, D. W. Griffith cast him as a gay eunuch character in Judith of Bethulia. He was the lover of fellow actor Harry Hyde and a close friend of artist Granville Redmond, with whom he often painted.