Tod Browning was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of various genres between 1915 and 1939, but was primarily known for horror films. Browning was often cited in the trade press as "the Edgar Allan Poe of cinema."
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in Grand Hotel (1932), as the pirate Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1934), as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa! (1934), and his title role in The Champ (1931), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Beery appeared in some 250 films during a 36-year career. His contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stipulated in 1932 that he would be paid $1 more than any other contract player at the studio. This made Beery the highest-paid film actor in the world during the early 1930s. He was the brother of actor Noah Beery and uncle of actor Noah Beery Jr.
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures is an American film production and distribution company headquartered at the Universal Studios complex in Universal City, California, and is the flagship studio of Universal Studios, the film studio arm of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast.
Universal City is a neighborhood within the San Fernando Valley of the City of Los Angeles which includes portions of unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Approximately 415 acres (168 ha), within and immediately outside the area is the property of Universal Pictures, one of the five major film studios in the United States: about 70 percent of the studio's property is inside this unincorporated area, while the remaining 30 percent is within the Los Angeles city limits. Universal City is nearly surrounded by Los Angeles, with the area's northeastern corner touching the city of Burbank.
Harry Reichenbach was a US press agent and publicist who staged sensational publicity stunts to promote films. He was one of the founding members of the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American drama film starring Lon Chaney, directed by Wallace Worsley, and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg. The supporting cast includes Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Nigel de Brulier, and Brandon Hurst. Distributed by Universal Pictures, the film was the studio's "Super Jewel" of 1923 and was their most successful silent film, grossing $3.5 million. The film premiered on September 2, 1923, at the Astor Theatre in New York, New York, then went into release on September 6.
Priscilla Dean was an American actress popular in silent film as well as in theatre, with a career spanning two decades.
The Flame of Life is a 1923 American silent drama film starring Priscilla Dean, Robert Ellis, Kathryn McGuire, and Wallace Beery. The film was written by Elliott J. Clawson from the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel That Lass o' Lowrie's and directed by Hobart Henley.
The Airmail Mystery is a 1932 Universal pre-Code movie serial directed by Ray Taylor, written by Ella O'Neill, starring James Flavin and Wheeler Oakman, and featuring Al Wilson doing the aerial stunts. The Airmail Mystery was Universal's first aviation serial that set the pattern for the aviation serials and feature films to follow. The film also marks the film debut of James Flavin. The Airmail Mystery is considered a lost film.
Wheeler Oakman was an American film actor.
The Unholy Three is a 1925 American silent crime melodrama film involving a trio of circus conmen, directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney. The supporting cast features Mae Busch, Matt Moore, Victor McLaglen, and Harry Earles. The Unholy Three marks the establishment of the notable artistic alliance between director Browning and actor Chaney that would deliver eight films to M-G-M studios during the late silent film era.
Outside the Law is a 1920 American pre-Code crime film produced, directed and co-written by Tod Browning and starring Priscilla Dean, Lon Chaney and Wheeler Oakman.
Under Two Flags is a 1922 American drama film directed by Tod Browning and starring Priscilla Dean. The picture was one of several films based upon the 1867 novel Under Two Flags by Ouida and subsequent stage play version by Arthur Shirley.
Drifting is a 1923 American silent drama film based on the Broadway play Drifting, by John Colton and Daisy H. Andrews. The play had starred Robert Warwick and Alice Brady. The film was directed by Tod Browning and features Priscilla Dean, Wallace Beery, and Anna May Wong. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures.
White Tiger is a 1923 American silent crime film directed by Tod Browning starring Priscilla Dean and featuring Wallace Beery in a supporting role.
Agnes Vernon was an American film actress of the silent era. While still in her teens, she experienced a meteoric ascent from obscurity to box-office sensation. After turning twenty-three and a movie career fading away, she abandoned the silver screen forever. Vernon performed in over 90 films between 1913 and 1922. She completed most of her roles under contract with Universal Pictures.
The Centaur Film Company was an American motion picture production company founded in 1907 in Bayonne, New Jersey, by William and David Horsley. It was the first independent motion picture production company in the United States. In 1909 the company added a West Coast production unit, the Nestor Film Company, which established the first permanent film studio in Hollywood, California, in 1911. The company was absorbed by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company in 1912.
Tangier is a 1946 American film noir mystery film directed by George Waggner and starring Maria Montez, Robert Paige and Sabu. It is set in the international city of Tangier, Morocco and was one of the last Universal Pictures films before the studio's reorganization as Universal-International in July 1946.
The Ghost Patrol is a 1923 American silent romantic melodrama film directed by Nat Ross from a short story by Sinclair Lewis, produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. It starred Ralph Graves and Bessie Love and is now considered lost.
The Human Gamble was a 1916 American silent Short film directed by Lloyd B. Carleton. The film is based on the story and screen adaptation by Calder Johnstone. The drama stars Dorothy Davenport, Emory Johnson, and a cast of Universal contract players.
