Betty Compson was an American actress and film producer who got her start during Hollywood's silent era. She is best known for her performances in The Docks of New York and The Barker, the latter of which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Gunga Din (1939), and The Corsican Brothers (1941). He was the son of Douglas Fairbanks and the stepson of Mary Pickford, and his first marriage was to actress Joan Crawford.
The Iron Mask is a 1929 American part-talkie adventure film directed by Allan Dwan. In addition to some sequences with dialogue, the film featured a synchronized musical score with sound effects and a theme song.
Reginald C. Barker was a pioneer film director.
Milton George Gustavus Sills was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century.
Dorothy Mackaill was a British-American actress, most active during the silent-film era and into the pre-Code era of the early 1930s.
Hoop-La is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Frank Lloyd, and starring Clara Bow, Preston Foster, Richard Cromwell and Minna Gombell also in the cast. The film is based on the play The Barker by Kenyon Nicholson, which was also filmed in 1928 under the same title as the play.
The Show of Shows is a 1929 American pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-talking Vitaphone production cost almost $800,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor.
A part-talkie is a sound film that includes at least some "talking sequences" or sections with audible dialogue. The remainder of the film is provided with a synchronized musical score with sound effects. These films more often than not contain a main theme song that is played during key scenes in the film and is often sung offscreen on the musical soundtrack. During the portion without audible dialogue, speaking parts are presented as intertitles—printed text briefly filling the screen—and the soundtrack is used only to supply musical accompaniment and sound effects.
Chili Bouchier was an English film actress who achieved success during the silent film era, and went on to many screen appearances with the advent of sound films, before progressing to theatre later in her career.
Diamond Horseshoe is a 1945 Technicolor musical film starring Betty Grable, Dick Haymes and William Gaxton, directed by George Seaton, and released by 20th Century Fox. It was filmed in Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe, a nightclub located in the basement of the Paramount Hotel. The film's original score is by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, introducing the pop and jazz standard "The More I See You".
The Jazz Age (1929) is a sound part-talkie film starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Marceline Day, and Joel McCrea in his first leading role. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The film, directed by Lynn Shores and written by Randolph Bartlett, was released by RKO Radio Pictures soon after RKO was created from Film Booking Offices of America, RCA, and the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain.
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. was an American actor and filmmaker. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films, including The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro, but spent the early part of his career making comedies.
The Lady in Ermine is a 1927 American silent romantic drama film directed by James Flood and produced by and starring Corinne Griffith, and distributed by First National Pictures. The film is now considered a lost film.
Weary River is a 1929 American sound part-talkie romantic drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Richard Barthelmess, Betty Compson, and William Holden. The film was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score, singing and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
A Trip to Paramountown is a 1922 American short silent documentary film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released through Paramount Pictures, to celebrate 10 years of Paramount's founding. The film runs about 20 minutes and features many personalities then under contract to Famous Players–Lasky and Paramount.
The Way of All Men is a 1930 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Dorothy Revier and Noah Beery. It was produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. The film was based on the story entitled "The Sin Flood", by Henning Berger and appeared as a silent in 1922 also directed by Frank Lloyd. In 1931, the studio remade the film in German as The Mask Falls.
Two Weeks Off is a 1929 American sound part-talkie comedy film directed by William Beaudine. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. A complete nitrate print survives at UCLA.
Man Trouble is a 1930 American pre-Code musical drama film directed by Berthold Viertel and written by Marion Orth, George Manker Watters and Edwin J. Burke. The film stars Milton Sills, Dorothy Mackaill, Kenneth MacKenna, Sharon Lynn, Roscoe Karns and Oscar Apfel. The film was released on August 24, 1930, by Fox Film Corporation.
His Captive Woman is a 1929 American sound part-talkie part-talking drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Milton Sills and Dorothy Mackaill. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. This film is "based on the short story "Changeling" by Donn Byrne in Changeling and Other Stories ." It was produced and distributed by First National Pictures which was already a subsidiary of the Warner Brothers studios. Both Mackaill and Sills as well as director Fitzmaurice had worked together on the previous year's The Barker.
