The Altar Stairs

Last updated

The Altar Stairs
Frank Mayo-Louise Lorraine in The Altar Stairs.jpg
Film still with Frank Mayo and Louise Lorraine
Directed by Lambert Hillyer
Written by Doris Schroeder
George Hively
George Randolph Chester
Based onThe Altar Stairs
by G. B. Lancaster (novel)
Produced byCarl Laemmle
Starring Frank Mayo
Louise Lorraine
Boris Karloff
Lawrence Hughes
CinematographyDwight Warren
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • December 4, 1922 (1922-12-04)
Running time
5 reels (50 minutes)
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (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]

Contents

Plot

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]

Cast

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris Karloff</span> English actor (1887–1969)

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) 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Lorraine</span> American film actress (1904–1981)

Louise Lorraine was an American actress.

<i>Conquering the Woman</i> 1922 film

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.

<i>The Gentleman from America</i> 1923 film

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.

<i>His Majesty, the American</i> 1919 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].

<i>The Prince and Betty</i> (film) 1919 film

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.

<i>Cheated Hearts</i> (film) 1921 film

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.

<i>The Man from Downing Street</i> 1922 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.

<i>The Infidel</i> (1922 film) 1922 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.".

<i>The Woman Conquers</i> 1922 film

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.

<i>Omar the Tentmaker</i> (film) 1922 film

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.

<i>Forbidden Cargo</i> (1925 film) 1925 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.

<i>Never the Twain Shall Meet</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

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.

<i>The Eagle of the Sea</i> 1926 film

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.

<i>Valencia</i> (1926 film) 1926 film

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 is presumed lost. The film was a box office hit and the title song, Valencia, was the top song in the U.S. for the year.

<i>Let It Rain</i> (1927 film) 1927 film

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.

<i>Curse of the Crimson Altar</i> 1968 British film

Curse of the Crimson Altar is a 1968 British horror film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, Barbara Steele and Mark Eden. The film was produced by Louis M. Heyward for Tigon British Film Productions. The film was edited and released as The Crimson Cult in the United States. The screenplay, by Doctor Who writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln, was based (uncredited) on the short story "The Dreams in the Witch House" by H. P. Lovecraft. This film also featured the final British film appearance of horror icon Karloff.

<i>The Shooting of Dan McGrew</i> (1924 film) 1924 film

The Shooting of Dan McGrew is an extant 1924 American silent drama film directed by Clarence G. Badger. Distributed by Metro Pictures final film, the film is based on the 1907 poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" written by Robert W. Service.

<i>Ebb Tide</i> (1922 film) 1922 film by George Melford

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Jiquel Lanoe</span> French actor (1875–1948)

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.

References

  1. "Progressive Silent Film List: The Altar Stairs". silentera.com. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  2. The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Altar Stairs
  3. "Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List".
  4. "Illustrated Screen Report: The Altar Stairs". Exhibitor's Trade Review. East Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania: Exhibitor's Trade Review, Inc. 13 (3): 155. December 16, 1922. Retrieved April 24, 2014.