J.P. McGowan

J.P. McGowan

Born: February 23, 1880
Died: March 26, 1952
in Terowie, Australia
From Wikipedia

John Paterson McGowan (February 24, 1880 – March 26, 1952) was a pioneering Hollywood actor and director and occasionally a screenwriter and producer. J. P. McGowan, as he was usually known, remains the only Australian to have been made a life member of the Screen Directors Guild (now Directors Guild of America).

Born in the then-bustling railway centre of Terowie in South Australia, McGowan grew up in Adelaide (Islington) and Sydney. He was a capable horseman and served in the Second Boer War with Montmorency's Scouts as a special dispatch rider.

McGowan directed and often acted in the first 33 episodes of Kalem's 1914 adventure film series, The Hazards of Helen, which eventually ran to 54 episodes, some still with McGowan's participation. While filming he began a relationship with Helen Holmes, the film's star, and the two married. They left Kalem to set up their own production company, Signal Films, which successfully made a series of railroad melodramas but lost out when their distributor (Mutual) failed. The collaboration ended when they divorced in 1925. There was an adopted daughter, Kaye.

McGowan successfully made the transition from silent film to talkies. While never a major star, in a busy career that spanned four decades he is credited with acting in 232 films—mostly strong roles like sheriff or villain—writing 26 screenplays and directing 242 productions. In 1932 he directed a young John Wayne in the 12-episode rail vs airplane serial The Hurricane Express for the independent Mascot Pictures. From 1938 to 1951, as Executive Secretary of the Screen Directors Guild, he fought to secure recognition for the director within the studio systems of the film and emerging television industry.

J.P. McGowan died in 1952 in Hollywood and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Movies for J.P. McGowan...

The Lady and the Bandit
Title: The Lady and the Bandit
Character: Old Man
Released: August 13, 1951
Type: Movie
Highwayman Dick Turpin rides 200 miles to save his wife from the gallows in 18th-century England.
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Stagecoach
Title: Stagecoach
Character: (uncredited)
Released: March 3, 1939
Type: Movie
A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo, and learn something about each other in the process.
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Code of the Fearless
Title: Code of the Fearless
Character: Undetermined Minor Role
Released: January 5, 1939
Type: Movie
When it appears that Fred Jamison is a member of Red's gang, he is kicked out of the Rangers. But it's just a plot between Fred and the Ranger Captain. Fred then gets into Red's gang and makes plans that will enable the Rangers to bring them all in. But his message to the Captain is intercepted and the hoax revealed.
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The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
Title: The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
Character: Scudder
Released: June 30, 1938
Type: Movie
A group of "Phantom Raiders" interfere with a cattle drive from Texas to Abilene; fortunately, U.S. Marshal Wild Bill Hickok is appointed to ensure the success of the mission.
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Kidnapped
Title: Kidnapped
Character: Clansman
Released: May 27, 1938
Type: Movie
Robert Louis Stevenson's hero David Balfour joins rebel Alan Breck Stewart in 18th-century Scotland.
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The Buccaneer
Title: The Buccaneer
Character: Jailer
Released: February 4, 1938
Type: Movie
French pirate Jean Lafitte rescues a girl and joins the War of 1812.
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Prairie Thunder
Title: Prairie Thunder
Character: Col. Stanton
Released: September 10, 1937
Type: Movie
To increase profits for his shipping company, Lynch has goaded the Indians to attack both the telegraph line and the new railroad. When Lynch sells rifles to the Indians, Rod Farrell captures Lynch and his gang. But Lynch's Indian friends free him and this time Farrell finds himself the prisoner.
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Heart of the Rockies
Title: Heart of the Rockies
Character: Ed Dawson
Released: September 6, 1937
Type: Movie
Cattle are being routinely stolen from a local ranch, and suspicion centers on a local mountain family. But the Three Mesquiteers are wise to the criminals' deeds. But when a ranger is shot and Stony is framed for the crime, it's up to Lullaby and Tucson to prove his innocence.
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Rough Riding Rhythm
Title: Rough Riding Rhythm
Character: Pete Hobart
Released: August 14, 1937
Type: Movie
When Jim and Scrubby arrive to see Scrubby's sister, they find her murdered and suspect it was her no good husband Jake. But Jake and his men have just robbed the stage and two dectectives arrive looking for them. Finding Jim and Scrubby instead, they assume them to be the outlaws and arrest them.
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Empty Holsters
Title: Empty Holsters
Character: U.S. Marshal Billy O'Neill
Released: July 10, 1937
Type: Movie
Ace owns just about everything around except for the Bank, which is owned by John Ware. Ace also has his eye on Judy, but Judy only has eyes for Clay. Since Ace is a crook, he holds up the stage and has his cronies swear that Clay was the bandit which gets Clay 10 years in jail. After he gets out in 5 for good behavior, Clay sets out to find who framed him and stole the stage strongbox. Since the sheriff does not like Clay, he takes his guns away as part of his probation and it makes Clay a target for the Ace gang.
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She Had to Eat
Title: She Had to Eat
Character: Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Released: July 2, 1937
Type: Movie
An Arizona gas station owner faces comic adventures after traveling with an eccentric millionaire to New City, where he meets up with a small-time con woman and is repeatedly mistaken for a gangster.
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Slave Ship
Title: Slave Ship
Character: Helmsman
Released: June 16, 1937
Type: Movie
Action-filled drama about a ship captain, ashamed of his background in the slave trade, forced against his will to again transport human cargo.
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Hit the Saddle
Title: Hit the Saddle
Character: Rance McGowan
Released: March 3, 1937
Type: Movie
Unable to legally capture and sell a herd of protected wild horses, corrupt rancher Rance Macgowan uses his trained killer horse, Volcano, to substitute for the real leader of the herd and cause havoc and death among the ranches. With the government about to drop the restrictions on rounding up the herd, the Three Mesquiteers find themselves in the middle of the controversy after their friend, Sheriff Miller is killed by Volcano.
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Borderland
Title: Borderland
Character: El Rio Sheriff
Released: February 26, 1937
Type: Movie
Hoppy goes undercover as an outlaw (which permits him, for once, to drink and be mean to children) to track down a bunch of outlaws operating along the border. Loco, the head bad guy, deflects suspicion from himself by pretending to be a moron.
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Jungle Jim
Title: Jungle Jim
Character: Ship Captain J.S. Robinson
Released: January 18, 1937
Type: Movie
Two safaris enter the African jungle intent on finding a white girl who is the heiress to a fortune. One safari, led by Jungle Jim, wants to make sure she gets the news that she is now a rich woman. The leaders of the other safari want to kill the girl so they can try to get hold of her inheritance.
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Sinner Take All
Title: Sinner Take All
Character: Police Officer Murphy (uncredited)
Released: December 18, 1936
Type: Movie
A young lawyer is determined to identify who is murdering members of a wealthy New York publishing family.
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Stampede
Title: Stampede
Character: Matt Stevens
Released: November 26, 1936
Type: Movie
A cowboy out to find out who murdered his brother discovers that the killers may not be who he thought they were.
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The Accusing Finger
Title: The Accusing Finger
Character: Inner Guard
Released: November 17, 1936
Type: Movie
A proud, pro-capital punishment district attorney with a 90% execution rate, finds himself wrongly convicted of murdering his estranged wife and sentenced to die. The woman he loves and his investigator rival for her affections rally to find the real killer, while he is confronted by the misery of life on death row.
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Fury and the Woman
Title: Fury and the Woman
Character: Anderson
Released: September 22, 1936
Type: Movie
A tough Irishman tries to help a logging company owner on Vancouver Island who is being sabotaged by a nearby competitor.
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The Three Mesquiteers
Title: The Three Mesquiteers
Character: Brack Canfield
Released: September 22, 1936
Type: Movie
When a group of World War 1 buddies head west to farmstead, they run into trouble.
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Ride 'Em Cowboy
Title: Ride 'Em Cowboy
Character: Jim Howard
Released: September 20, 1936
Type: Movie
A cowboy turns auto racer, beats his rival and wins a girl.
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Guns and Guitars
Title: Guns and Guitars
Character: Dave Morgan
Released: June 22, 1936
Type: Movie
A wrongfully-imprisoned man becomes determined to find who was responsible for the death of a local sheriff.
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Secret Patrol
Title: Secret Patrol
Character: Blacksmith Barstow
Released: June 2, 1936
Type: Movie
RCMP Alan Barclay is sent to investigate the presumed murder of his friend and fellow RCMP Gene when Gene's horse is found riderless. A "quota quickie" filmed in Canada.
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Robin Hood of El Dorado
Title: Robin Hood of El Dorado
Character: Danglong
Released: March 17, 1936
Type: Movie
In the 1840's Mexico has ceded California to the United States, making life nearly impossible for the Mexican population due to the influx of land and gold-crazy Americans. Farmer Joaquin Murrieta revenges the death of his wife against the four Americans who killed her and is branded an outlaw. The reward for his capture is increased as he subsequently kills the men who brutally murder his brother. Joining with bandit Three Fingered Jack, Murrieta raises an army of disaffected Mexicans and goes on a rampage against the Americans, finally forcing his erstwhile friend, Bill Warren, to lead a posse against him.
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Silver Spurs
Title: Silver Spurs
Character: Webb Allison
Released: January 29, 1936
Type: Movie
Janet Allison witnesses Art Holden and his gang hold up the Station Agent. When she identifies Holden to the Sheriff, the Sheriff gives Holden an alibi. Janet and Jim Fentriss then find Holden's secret hideout. When Janet returns the next day to meet Jim, Holden makes her a prisoner and waits in ambush for Jim to arrive.
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Bar 20 Rides Again
Title: Bar 20 Rides Again
Character: Buck Peters
Released: December 6, 1935
Type: Movie
Cattle rustler Nevada dreams of living like an emperor in the West. Hoppy and the Bar 20 boys aim to put an end to his dream.
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East of Java
Title: East of Java
Character: Sergeant, Rescue Party
Released: December 1, 1935
Type: Movie
Survivors of a shipwreck find refuge on a tropical island--but so do the ship's cargo of lions and tigers.
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The Silent Code
Title: The Silent Code
Character: Commissioner
Released: November 20, 1935
Type: Movie
Northwest Mounted Police Corporal Jerry Hale is assigned to take over the district of a fellow-officer, and is puzzled as he had worked this district before and had been mysteriously transferred, disrupting his romance with Helen Brent, the niece of Peter Barkley, the Factor at the trading post. An accountant of the company Berkley works for threatens to expose him when his account is found $10,000 short. Barkley pleads for more time to raise the money. His opportunity arises when he learns that Helen's father and his brother-in-law, Nathan Brent, has struck it rich and is on his way to visit Helen. Barkley instructs his henchmen Carney and Breen to lie in wait and rob Brent of his gold. Brent has a premonition of trouble and buries his gold, making a map of the location. Barkley is disturbed by the arrival of Corporal Hale and goes to warn his men, and finds them already engaged in the attack on Brent. Brent's dog Wolfgang (played by a dog named Rex, or maybe the other way around)...
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Diamond Jim
Title: Diamond Jim
Character: Engineer
Released: September 1, 1935
Type: Movie
A loose biopic based on the life of Gilded Age tycoon "Diamond" Jim Brady.
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Border Brigands
Title: Border Brigands
Character: Inspector Winston - RCMP
Released: May 31, 1935
Type: Movie
Canadian Mountie goes undercover to catch his brother's killers.
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Murder in the Fleet
Title: Murder in the Fleet
Character: Chief of Police (Uncredited)
Released: May 24, 1935
Type: Movie
A traitor is lurking somewhere aboard the USS Carolina, and Lt. Tom Randolph is determined to find the offender. First a revolutionary new piece of technology -- an electric firing device -- is sabotaged. Then one of the cruiser's crew is murdered. In order to catch the killer, the captain locks down the ship. With foreign dignitaries, corporate goons and even Tom's girlfriend, Betty, trapped on the vessel, there is no shortage of suspects.
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Whispering Smith Speaks
Title: Whispering Smith Speaks
Character: Caboose Passenger (uncredited)
Released: May 15, 1935
Type: Movie
O'Brien is "Whispering" Smith, so named because he speaks softly but knows how to fend for himself. The son of a railroad president, Smith is determined to learn the business from the ground up, so he gets a job as a track walker for his dad's rail line. While going about his duties, he meets Nan Roberts (Irene Ware), who is about to sell her Colorado ranch. Smith finds out that there are valuable tungsten deposits on her land and makes certain she won't be cheated by the villains
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The Call of the Savage
Title: The Call of the Savage
Character: Freighter Captain
Released: April 14, 1935
Type: Movie
Two competing teams of scientists search the African jungles for a secret formula.
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Mississippi
Title: Mississippi
Character: Dealer
Released: March 22, 1935
Type: Movie
A young pacifist after refusing on principle to defend her sweetheart's honor and being banished in disgrace, joins a riverboat troupe as a singer, acquires a reputation as a crackshot after a saloon brawl in which the villain of the piece accidentally kills himself with his own gun, falls in love with his former fianceé's sister and finally bullies an apprehensive family into accepting him.
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The Outlaw Tamer
Title: The Outlaw Tamer
Character: Sheriff Jim Porter
Released: March 15, 1935
Type: Movie
A masked bandit being chased by a posse is wounded but manages to lose them. He is taken in by a female saloon owner and nursed back to health.
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Rustlers of Red Dog
Title: Rustlers of Red Dog
Character: Capt. Trent [Chs. 3-4]
Released: January 1, 1935
Type: Movie
A movie serial in 12 chapters: After gold is discovered in the town of Nugget, the titular band of thieves and cutthroats inundates the frontier settlement. A group of three compatriots -- upstanding ex-sheriff Jack Woods, his harmonica-playing friend Laramie and tricky, smooth-talking gambler Deacon -- combine their respective skills in a fateful struggle to deceive and disarm the gang.
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When Lightning Strikes
Title: When Lightning Strikes
Character: Lafe Broderick
Released: December 18, 1934
Type: Movie
Lightning the German Shepherd dog stars in this wilderness melodrama.
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The Red Rider
Title: The Red Rider
Character: Scotty McKee
Released: July 16, 1934
Type: Movie
"Red" Davison(Buck Jones), the sheriff of Sun Dog, sacrifices his job and his good name to save his best friend, "Silent" Slade from the hangman's noose, following a framed-up court decision which sentences Slade to hang for the murder of "Scotty McKee (J.P. McGowan). Davidson allows Slade to escape from jail and follows him to aid him in proving his innocence.
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No More Women
Title: No More Women
Character: Captain of The Hawk
Released: March 3, 1934
Type: Movie
Two deep-sea divers, known only by their nicknames of "Three-Time" and "Forty-Fathoms," find that no place on earth is big enough for both of them at the same time, even the bottom of the ocean. All day long they fight to salvage sunken gold at forty fathoms deep in the ocean, and all night long they fight over dames. This situation continues even when they both go to work for Helen Young, the owner of a tug-boat and a salvage business.
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Somewhere in Sonora
Title: Somewhere in Sonora
Character: Monte Black
Released: May 27, 1933
Type: Movie
John Bishop discovers a plot to rob a silver mine belonging to his girlfriend Mary's father and, to foil the evildoers, he joins them.
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Flaming Gold
Title: Flaming Gold
Character: Mack
Released: September 28, 1932
Type: Movie
Two friends working a jungle oil field clash when one marries a lady of the evening.
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Lawless Valley
Title: Lawless Valley
Character: Big Mike Carter, aka El Lobo, aka Texas Rand
Released: March 3, 1932
Type: Movie
A cattleman's association hires a range detective to track down and capture a notorious rustler known as El Lobo.
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Quick Trigger Lee
Title: Quick Trigger Lee
Character: Brings note / Director
Released: November 24, 1931
Type: Movie
Jeremy Wales, a crook who stays on the safe side of the law but bends it whenever possible,has tricked short-sighted John 'Dad" Saunders to sign a note for ten thousand dollars instead of the one thousand that Saunders borrowed to work his "Rose o' My Heart" mine. Saunders tells his problem to Phil Lee, a prosperous young rancher, whose method of settling problems has gained him the nickname of "Quick Trigger."
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The Canyon of Missing Men
Title: The Canyon of Missing Men
Released: June 1, 1930
Type: Movie
Dave Brandon (Tom Tyler) tries to break away from his life of crime, but his old gang won't let him.
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Covered Wagon Trails
Title: Covered Wagon Trails
Released: February 1, 1930
Type: Movie
Deputy Sheriff "Smoke" Sanderson (Bob Custer) is after a gang of smugglers, led by Brad Vogel (J.P. McGowan) operating along the Texas/Mexico border but he does not know that Chet Clayton (Perry Murdock), the brother of his sweetheart, Wanda Clayton (Phyllis Bainbridge), is one of the gang members.
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Breezy Bill
Title: Breezy Bill
Character: Sheriff
Released: January 24, 1930
Type: Movie
A young rancher falsely accused of kidnapping his own stepfather, the aptly named Henry Pennypincher.
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O'Malley Rides Alone
Title: O'Malley Rides Alone
Character: Angus McGregor
Released: January 1, 1930
Type: Movie
Mounties O'Malley and Calhoun are sent to see why miners are not returning with their gold. Arriving, they recover the gold from a robbery attempt.
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A Texas Cowboy
Title: A Texas Cowboy
Character: Brute Kettle
Released: December 26, 1929
Type: Movie
Dick Carlysle returns home to find that his mother has married Brute Kettle who is really out to get the Carlysle ranch. First Kettle gets Bennett to forge a letter saying Dick relinquishes his inheritance in the ranch and then he tries to get Dick's mother to relinquish hers.
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Señor Americano
Title: Señor Americano
Character: Maddox
Released: November 10, 1929
Type: Movie
A U.S. soldier goes after bandits in California, although it is still owned by Mexico.
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The Oklahoma Kid
Title: The Oklahoma Kid
Released: November 1, 1929
Type: Movie
A cowboy is ambushed by a gang of outlaws and later falsely accused of being one himself. He ultimately proves his innocence by displaying a tattoo depicting the state of Oklahoma!
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The Cowboy and the Outlaw
Title: The Cowboy and the Outlaw
Character: Pepper Hardcastle
Released: October 1, 1929
Type: Movie
Story of a cowboy tracking down his father's killer
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The Invaders
Title: The Invaders
Released: October 1, 1929
Type: Movie
Two children--a brother and sister--are the only survivors of an Indian attack on a wagon train, and are soon separated. An army officer adopts the boy, and the girl is taken to live with Indians and renamed Black Fawn. When the boy grows up he joins the cavalry and finds himself in the middle of an Indian war as he searches for his long-lost sister.
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Law of the Plains
Title: Law of the Plains
Character: Seagrue
Released: August 19, 1929
Type: Movie
a cowboy seeks revenge for the murder of his father.
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The Fighting Terror
Title: The Fighting Terror
Released: August 1, 1929
Type: Movie
Bill attempts to apprehend the villain who killed his brother. Unfortunately, a crooked border-town sheriff is in his way.
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The Last Roundup
Title: The Last Roundup
Character: Hash
Released: June 30, 1929
Type: Movie
There is trouble on the Bar D ranch as cowhand Mile Ahead plans to rustle the herd. He starts a fire on the opposite side of the ranch to keep the hands busy and also kidnaps the new school teacher. Fighting the fire, Foreman Denver leans the cattle are gone and going after Mile Ahead, learns the teacher is a prisoner in the school and the fire that is now out of control is heading her way.
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Plunging Hoofs
Title: Plunging Hoofs
Character: Jim Wales
Released: April 10, 1929
Type: Movie
Jed Campbell, a "skypilot," and Nanette, a dance hall girl, meet when each goes to rescue Rex, "King of the Wild Horses," from a trap.
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The Lawless Legion
Title: The Lawless Legion
Character: Matson
Released: February 17, 1929
Type: Movie
Cal Stanley goes undercover as a beef buyer in order to catch the gang responsible for stealing the area's cattle.
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Headin' Westward
Title: Headin' Westward
Character: Sneezer Clark
Released: February 15, 1929
Type: Movie
Concern for her father, who is being slowly ruined by cattle rustling, prompts Mary Benson to do some investigating in a distant cattle town, where she briefly encounters drifters Oklahoma Adams and Sneezer Clark. They follow her back to Arizona, go to work on the Benson ranch, and discover the ranch foreman to be responsible for the rustling and the robbery of a rodeo box office.
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Below the Deadline
Title: Below the Deadline
Character: Taggart
Released: January 2, 1929
Type: Movie
Beau Nash is a "gentleman crook" who headquarters his gang of jewel thieves in a run-down boardinghouse. When one of his gang, Mike, gets arrested, his sister Claire--aka "Lady Byron"--swears to get revenge. The gang frames Donald, the best friend of the detective who arrested Mike, for a jewelry store robbery. The detective gives Donald--and his new love, Claire--a short time to find the thieves and clear his name before he takes him in.
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'Neath Western Skies
Title: 'Neath Western Skies
Character: Dugan
Released: January 1, 1929
Type: Movie
Ranch owner Tex McCloud is convinced there is oil under his property and brings in a drilling rig and equipment to drill for it. But a gang who wants the property wage a sabotage and theft war against him.
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Ships of the Night
Title: Ships of the Night
Character: Motilla
Released: November 27, 1928
Type: Movie
In search of her fugitive brother, who wounded a man who was later murdered, Johanna Hearne encounters pirates, a Chinaman with a harem and criminals as slaves, and love on a desert island for ship captain Dan Meloy.
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Two Outlaws
Title: Two Outlaws
Character: Abner Whitcomb
Released: November 18, 1928
Type: Movie
Human cowboy hero is teamed with Rex, King of Wild Horses, an ornery critter but a magnificent animal.
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The Black Ace
Title: The Black Ace
Released: September 2, 1928
Type: Movie
Story of a a Texas Ranger whose foster-father has been falsely accused of a series of crimes.
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The Chinatown Mystery
Title: The Chinatown Mystery
Released: September 1, 1928
Type: Movie
Restored by the George Eastman House in 2001, this 1928 serial was considered a “last hurrah” for the silent-era serial, and brought together some of the biggest names of the era: director J.P. McGowan, actors Francis Ford and Joe Bonomo (a carnival strongman-turned-actor), producer Trem Carr (who would later help found Monogram Pictures), and a slew of silent-era supporting icons such as Ruth Hiatt, Grace Cunard, and more. Chapter names like “The Clutching Claw,” “The Devil’s Dice, “Galloping Fury,” and “The Invisible Hand” offer all one needs to know of the film’s concerns: to promise and deliver as much action and suspense as possible, and move our intrepid hero and heroine from one perilous situation to another. One of the biggest stars of the early silent era and a successful serials director in his own right, Francis Ford was the brother of director John Ford.
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Arizona Days
Title: Arizona Days
Character: Ed Hicks
Released: August 1, 1928
Type: Movie
A Cattlemen´s Association hires a detective (Bob Custer) to look into a series of cattle rustlings. To dismantle the plot, an undercover agent will be infiltrating the gang as a bandit.
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The Code of the Scarlet
Title: The Code of the Scarlet
Character: Blake
Released: July 1, 1928
Type: Movie
Assigned to catch a gang of outlaws, officers Bruce Kenton and Paddy Halloran rescue Helen Morgan when her wagon is attacked by the very same gang. Through a ruse, Kenton manages to infiltrate the gang, which is holed up in the lawless community of Caribou Flats. While in the employ of villainous trading post operator Jack Blake, Kenton discovers that Blake is not only the leader of the gang but also the man who murdered Helen's brother.
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Dugan of the Dugouts
Title: Dugan of the Dugouts
Character: Capt. von Brinken
Released: April 15, 1928
Type: Movie
A young man joins the army to impress his girlfriend. He soon finds out that his sergeant is actually an enemy spy, but before he can take any action, he and his girlfriend are kidnapped by enemy soldiers, and devise an unusual method of escape from capture.
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Gun Gospel
Title: Gun Gospel
Character: Bill Brogan
Released: November 6, 1927
Type: Movie
From Death Valley in the Mojave Desert to Mount Whittier, the outlaw gangs are wreaking havoc on the gold and money shipments from the mines and ranches. Wells Fargo organizes an express service that will insure the shipments and ensure a guaranteed delivery. Granger Hume is hired to help Wells-Fargo deliver on their promise.
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The Red Raiders
Title: The Red Raiders
Character: Captain Ortwell
Released: September 27, 1927
Type: Movie
Lone wolf, who is stirring up the Indians against the wishes of his elders, gets the job of scout at the fort. When he hears of the approval of the new reservation, he sends his men to trap Scott and his troop before they can deliver the information.
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Arizona Nights
Title: Arizona Nights
Character: Jeff Decker
Released: August 28, 1927
Type: Movie
A miner finds himself swindled by an evil horse trader named Decker.
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The Royal American
Title: The Royal American
Character: Capt. Burke
Released: July 1, 1927
Type: Movie
Story of a young shanghaied sailor. Forced to work as a deckhand on a rough-and-tumble transport vessel, the sailor ends up in South America, where his brutish captain intends to sell guns and ammo to a band of revolutionaries. Besting the villains, Jack gets into the thick of things himself, ultimately rescuing the heroine -- likewise "shanghaied" by the captain -- from Certain Doom.
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Red Signals
Title: Red Signals
Character: Jim Twyler
Released: March 1, 1927
Type: Movie
Sabotage on the railroad with trains being derailed and looted. Good coverage of the Santa Fe La Grande Station that was demolished in 1939 due to earthquake damage.
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Perils of the Rail
Title: Perils of the Rail
Character: Barker's Accomplice at Smelter Junction
Released: October 22, 1926
Type: Movie
A section boss for the railroad sets out to catch a gang of thieves who have been stealing ore shipments from his company's trains.
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Crack O' Dawn
Title: Crack O' Dawn
Released: October 16, 1926
Type: Movie
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Senor Daredevil
Title: Senor Daredevil
Character: Jesse Wilks
Released: August 1, 1926
Type: Movie
Don Luis O'Flagherty (Ken Maynard), a daredevil comes to the rescue of his long-lost father, "Tiger" O'Flagherty (George Nichols), the supervisor of a supply-wagon train destined for the miners in Sonora. Tiger is being terrorized by Jesse Wilks (J.P. McGowan), who hopes to starve the miners out of their claims. Falling in love with Tiger's ward, Sally (Dorothy Devore), Don Luis manages to turn the tables on Wilks, who is killed attempting to rob the supply train.
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The Lost Express
Title: The Lost Express
Character: Train Engineer
Released: July 28, 1925
Type: Movie
Kidnapping and marital reconciliation drive this action film set on a millionaire's private train.
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The Fast Freight
Title: The Fast Freight
Released: July 1, 1925
Type: Movie
The Fast Freight is a 1925 action movie.
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Barriers of the Law
Title: Barriers of the Law
Character: Steve Redding
Released: March 26, 1925
Type: Movie
When a woman who belongs to a bootlegging gang asks the gang for help when her father is arrested, they refuse. She quits the gang, but the gang's leader locks her up in a brothel. She escapes and hides in the apartment of a man who turns out to be the chief of the government agents pursuing her gang. Complications ensue.
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Outwitted
Title: Outwitted
Character: Tiger McGuire
Released: January 1, 1925
Type: Movie
After being captured by T-Man Jack Blaisdell and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor on a counterfeiting rap, Tiger McGuire is sprung from jail by his old gang. Vowing to get even with Jack, Tiger kidnaps the young man's fiancée, Helen (Holmes), bringing the girl to his hideout, a fancy yacht owned by Lucy Carlisle.
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The Whipping Boss
Title: The Whipping Boss
Character: Livingston
Released: February 9, 1924
Type: Movie
Prison inmates are leased by the state to a lumber company, which makes them work under atrocious and dangerous conditions and treats them as virtual slave laborers. Based on a real-life incident that happened in Florida.
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Stormy Seas
Title: Stormy Seas
Character: Capt. Morgan
Released: July 1, 1923
Type: Movie
Two men in love with the same girl race to save her when she is trapped aboard a ship on fire in storm-swept seas.
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Hills of Missing Men
Title: Hills of Missing Men
Character: Capt. Brandt / The Dragon
Released: February 26, 1922
Type: Movie
A US Army officer is sent undercover into the hills of Mexico's Baja California region to find and bring down the madman Crando and his group of crazed followers, who are setting up their own criminal empire spreading from Mexico into the United States.
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Do or Die
Title: Do or Die
Character: Capt. Alvarez / Satan
Released: January 2, 1921
Type: Movie
A 1921 movie serial directed by J.P. McGowan.
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Elmo the Fearless
Title: Elmo the Fearless
Released: January 2, 1920
Type: Movie
A silent movie action serial.
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King of the Circus
Title: King of the Circus
Released: January 2, 1920
Type: Movie
Eddie King goes up against a villainous circus owner in this action adventure which was directed by genre specialist J.P. McGowan and released in 18 chapters.
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The Railroad Raiders
Title: The Railroad Raiders
Character: Thomas Desmond
Released: April 9, 1917
Type: Movie
A silent movie serial
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The Hazards of Helen
Title: The Hazards of Helen
Character: Various roles
Released: February 24, 1917
Type: Movie
The Hazards of Helen is an American melodramatic adventure film serial of 119 twelve-minute episodes released between November 7, 1914 and February 24, 1917. Most episodes of this serial are presumed lost.
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Medicine Bend
Title: Medicine Bend
Character: Whispering Smith
Released: July 3, 1916
Type: Movie
Whispering Smith, a railroad detective, is sent to Medicine Bend to suppress the looting of cars.
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Whispering Smith
Title: Whispering Smith
Character: Whispering Smith
Released: June 5, 1916
Type: Movie
Whispering Smith is a virile, fearless type of the true American whoso theory of life is to give every man a chance to show what is in him. There is nothing of the bully or braggart about him. He is only a man who knows instinctively what is right and never falters in his steps to see that justice is given where it is deserved and crime punished on the same basis. Originally shot as a serial to be called "Whispering Smith", distributor Mutual Films decided to release it as two separate films - this film, which was released first, and Medicine Bend (1916).
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A Desperate Leap
Title: A Desperate Leap
Released: November 27, 1915
Type: Movie
As the freight train on which are riding Mike and Leary, two knights of the road, passes the station at Hynes, the tramps steal the mail bag which had been placed on the crane by the postmaster of that place. They jump from the train in a secluded spot and start to rifle the bag.
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The Mettle of Jerry McGuire
Title: The Mettle of Jerry McGuire
Character: Jerry McGuire
Released: November 6, 1915
Type: Movie
Helen is operator at Bells. Jerry McGuire, engineer on the local freight, and Tom Thornton, his fireman, are both rivals for the hand of the girl. Jerry is preferred and Tom tries to get Jerry to take to liquor again, a habit that he has overcome. Tom is unsuccessful.
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The Broken Rail
Title: The Broken Rail
Character: Trow - of the Working Crew
Released: September 4, 1915
Type: Movie
Spang, a tramp telegrapher, is knocked down by a freight car while walking up the siding near Lone Point. Helen witnesses the accident and by quick work saves him from being run over. The girl is later transferred to the shop's office and, due to her influence.
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A Railroader's Bravery
Title: A Railroader's Bravery
Character: Thomas - the Chief of the Gang
Released: May 29, 1915
Type: Movie
When Helen learns that wiretappers have make a prisoner of Henry, the relief operator, she severs the wire being tapped, boards a freight train, uncouples the engine, and pursues the tappers, who are in a gasoline speeder. She eventually rescues Henry and captures Noyes, the head of the gang, who is then placed under arrest.
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The Broken Train
Title: The Broken Train
Character: Warren - Railroad Employee
Released: May 22, 1915
Type: Movie
Helen spotting two jewel robbers sever the telegraph wires and hop onto a passing freight, jumps into a racing auto and takes off in pursuit. In the meantime, the freight's brakes fail, and the train breaks in two. Helen, on a road parallel to the tracks, leaps onto a flat car, runs forward, informs the train crew what has happened, and captures the crooks.
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The Railroad Raiders of '62
Title: The Railroad Raiders of '62
Character: Lockwood - the old one-armed Flagman
Released: March 20, 1915
Type: Movie
Lockwood, the old, one-armed flagman at Lone Point, tells Helen and a young soldier of his experiences during the Civil War, and how he lost his arm. The Civil War flashback sequences consist of archive footage from Kalem's Railroad Raiders of '62 (1911), rather than newly filmed footage.
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The Hazards of Helen Ep09: The Leap from the Water Tower
Title: The Hazards of Helen Ep09: The Leap from the Water Tower
Character: Rand - the Fireman
Released: January 9, 1915
Type: Movie
Rand, a vengeful discharged fireman, tampers with the airbrakes of a large freight locomotive making them useless on the long descent from the summit of Pine Hill to Lone Point the following day. Learning of the impending peril, Helen dashes to a water tower under which the train must pass, climbs out on the spout, leaps onto the roof of one of the cars, and warns the engineer in time. Helen's heroism wins her another offer of marriage, this time from Wadsworth, the freight engineer, but once again she opts for next weeks hazards instead.
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The Girl and the Game
Title: The Girl and the Game
Character: Spike
Released: January 2, 1915
Type: Movie
Irrepressible Helen Rhinelander, the daughter of a railroad president. A dastardly villain, Segrue, however, desires not only Helen but also the plans for a new railroad. Happily, Helen's childhood sweetheart, Paul Storm, now an engineer, is right there to protect the damsel-in-distress through the serial's 15 exciting chapters.
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The Girl Telegrapher's Peril
Title: The Girl Telegrapher's Peril
Character: Blake - a Lineman
Released: January 2, 1915
Type: Movie
Blake, a quarrelsome lineman, and a widower with two daughters, is in love with Helen, but she rejects his advances. Helen spies Myra, Blake's three year old daughter, who has ventured onto the tracks of the oncoming Elwood Express, and just in the nick of time, grasps the girl off the tracks, but in so doing, must leap off a trestle into a river thirty feet below
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The Escape on the Limited
Title: The Escape on the Limited
Character: Brandt - a Defaulting Cashier
Released: December 26, 1914
Type: Movie
Brandt, a defaulting cashier, hiding in Lone Point in his effort to throw detectives off his track, cuts the wires of Helen's telephone to prevent her from calling for help, binds and gags her, and boards the outgoing Limited. Freed by Detective Sheridan, the two of them get into a gasoline speeder standing on the sidetrack and pursue the Limited.
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The Black Diamond Express
Title: The Black Diamond Express
Character: Dan Haddon - a Cowboy
Released: December 19, 1914
Type: Movie
When Dick, an aeronaut is wrongly accused of shooting Dan, a trouble-making, quarrelsome cowboy, Helen aids his escape on the outgoing Black Diamond Express.
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The Flying Freight's Captive
Title: The Flying Freight's Captive
Character: Rand - a Yeggman
Released: December 12, 1914
Type: Movie
Helen receives a cypher message about a jewel robbery and trails the yeggmen to their lair. Discovered, Helen is bound and gagged and thrown into a box car, but gets loose, and leaps to the ground from the speeding train. The crooks are captured, Helen's pluck wins Billy's heart, but, as usual, she refuses, with an eye on next week's adventure.
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His Nemesis
Title: His Nemesis
Character: Mammoth - Manning's Business Rival
Released: November 18, 1914
Type: Movie
With ruin staring him in the face, Manning, of Manning and Company, commits a theft which averts the crash. The scoundrel cleverly contrives to throw suspicion upon Reynolds, an old and faithful employee. Reynolds receives a three-year sentence. Beatrice, the daughter of Manning's victim, believes in her father's innocence. Led to believe Manning the real cause of her father's tribulations, Beatrice vows to wreak vengeance upon the scoundrel.
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Helen's Sacrifice
Title: Helen's Sacrifice
Character: Benton
Released: November 14, 1914
Type: Movie
In the first entry in the popular Hazards of Helen series, Helen, the night telegraph operator at Lone Point, relieves Benton, the day operator, several hours ahead of time, because he is caring for his sick child. Receiving an order to sidetrack a freight until the fast mail passes, Helen mounts a horse, takes a short cut, leaps from a fifty foot cliff into a river
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Kaintucky Bill
Title: Kaintucky Bill
Character: Kaintucky Bill - a Moonshiner
Released: July 7, 1914
Type: Movie
The old sheriff dies. In jest, the mountaineers nominate Kaintucky Bill, the worst moonshiner in the state, for the office. Considering it a huge joke, Kaintucky Bill takes the oath of office.
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The Shaughraun
Title: The Shaughraun
Character: Corry Kinchela
Released: December 23, 1912
Type: Movie
Robert Ffolliott is a young Irish lad who is done out of his land and sent off to a penal colony in Australia following false accusations by the greedy Kinchella. Conn the Shaughraun comes to his rescue, helps him to escape from the prison ship and return to Ireland where he is united with his sweetheart.
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Ireland, the Oppressed
Title: Ireland, the Oppressed
Character: Lord Kilhannack
Released: December 14, 1912
Type: Movie
The story of the Emerald Isle years ago. Showing the struggle against poverty, evictions by hard-hearted landlords, hill fighting and the final triumph of the downtrodden.
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The Little Gluers
Title: The Little Gluers
Character: Valentine Hay
Released: November 18, 1912
Type: Movie
The Kerry Gow is a 1912 short
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From the Manger to the Cross
Title: From the Manger to the Cross
Character: Wise Man 1
Released: October 3, 1912
Type: Movie
The life of Jesus is played out in tableaux shot in the Holy Land.
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The Poacher's Pardon
Title: The Poacher's Pardon
Character: Mr. Wallace - the Gamekeeper
Released: September 30, 1912
Type: Movie
A gamekeeper's daughter is shot while warning a poacher.
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Winning a Widow
Title: Winning a Widow
Released: July 5, 1912
Type: Movie
While crossing the Atlantic, Jim White, an American tourist, is attracted by a charming young widow. He succeeds in making the lady's acquaintance through her four-year-old son and thereafter he becomes a persistent suitor and shadow. It happens that Luxor, Egypt, is the destination of both parties and when they arrive at that point Jim determines to win the widow without further delay. She does not encourage his suit and he becomes desperate. Jim hits upon a subterfuge and engages an Egyptian to help him out. However, the best laid plans often miscarry, and when the widow learns of the plot she prepares one of her own. Jim meets with a decided surprise and the little son is the means of bringing about a mutual understanding.
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Captured by Bedouins
Title: Captured by Bedouins
Character: Lt. Greig
Released: June 26, 1912
Type: Movie
An American officer disguises himself as an Arab in order to rescue an American woman kidnapped by Arab tribesmen.
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An Arabian Tragedy
Title: An Arabian Tragedy
Released: June 19, 1912
Type: Movie
Ayub Kashif becomes embittered toward his wife, Fatima, because their union has been childless. He eventually determines to divorce Fatima and free her slave, whom he then will wed. Fatima, who still loves her husband, lives a life of sorrow, praying that her husband's love will return to her.
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Dust of the Desert
Title: Dust of the Desert
Character: Sheik Mohammad
Released: June 3, 1912
Type: Movie
Dust of the Desert is a 1912 short film
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His Mother
Title: His Mother
Character: John Foster
Released: January 25, 1912
Type: Movie
An Irish mother uses her life savings to pay for her son, a talented musician, to study in America.
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The Colleen Bawn
Title: The Colleen Bawn
Character: Hardress Cregan
Released: October 16, 1911
Type: Movie
A young Irish boy has fallen in love with a poor girl and wants to marry her, but his mother will stop at nothing, including murder, to see that he marries his rich cousin.
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Rory O'More
Title: Rory O'More
Character: Commander of the English troops
Released: September 3, 1911
Type: Movie
Based on the story of the real-life 17th Century Irish rebel and the eighteen century ballad about him, this one-reeler is one of the Kalem pictures shot by Olcott and his company on their second trip to the Emerald Isle.
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The Special Messenger
Title: The Special Messenger
Character: Royal
Released: August 16, 1911
Type: Movie
During the Civil War, a woman helps her injured husband by delivering an important message to his general.
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Railroad Raiders of '62
Title: Railroad Raiders of '62
Character: Federal Officer
Released: June 15, 1911
Type: Movie
Union raiders infiltrate Confederate territory by train. Early film version of the Civil War incident on which Buster Keaton's The General and Disney's The Great Locomotive Chase was based.
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When the Dead Return
Title: When the Dead Return
Character: Jacques
Released: May 5, 1911
Type: Movie
acques and Antoine are both in love with the same girl, but Jacques proves the winner and marries Marcele. Three years after the wedding an accident deprives Jacques of his memory. Not knowing where or who he is, he wanders far from home and takes up a new life, all memory of the old having forsaken him. Years later, Marcele, convinced that Jacques is dead, marries Antoine. After ten years of happiness with Antoine, Marcele dies, leaving a little daughter. About this time, through an accident, Jacques' memory is restored and he arrives back at his old home just as his daughter is about to marry. Not realizing the lapse of years he attempts to stop the wedding, believing that his daughter is his wife Marcele. Explanations take place and Jacques is taken to the grave of his sweetheart and wife Marcele.
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The Fiddler’s Requiem
Title: The Fiddler’s Requiem
Character: Dolores' father
Released: May 3, 1911
Type: Movie
The old musician playing his fiddle in his garret home dreams of his youth and his lost love. As the past unfolds itself he sees his sweetheart, Dolores, forced by her parents to sign a contract of marriage with Don Carlos, and he again reads over in memory her message of farewell: "My on Love, This is my marriage ever, the death day of my soul. I cannot go without one last farewell to you, whom I will never see again. Wait for ma by the lake until you hear the bells chime. Yours in spirit until death, Dolores." Meeting her at the lake as requested, she gives him her old violin, saying, "I have breathed my soul into this violin. Whene'er it plays, it is my soul that speaks."
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Slim Jim's Last Chance
Title: Slim Jim's Last Chance
Character: The Rancher
Released: April 13, 1911
Type: Movie
The prison doors open and Tom Benton, a first timer, and Slim Jim, alias Red Davis, of the underworld, are liberated. Tom learns that the prison odor clings by being ceremoniously turned away wherever he applies for work. Slim Jim immediately on his release beats his way west. Eventually Tom goes west and finds his work. Several months later Slim Jim gets a job at the same place Tom is employed. Slim Jim, being caught at his old tricks and exposed by Tom, reveals Tom's past. The several thrilling scenes that follow show Tom's genuine manhood and gives Slim Jim an opportunity to prove that even the underdog has at least a spark of good lying dormant under the rough exterior.
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By a Woman's Wit
Title: By a Woman's Wit
Released: April 4, 1911
Type: Movie
Captain Jasper, a Union officer, is sent on a secret service mission to the Confederate headquarters. Safe through the lines Captain Jasper, disguised as a Commissary Supply Agent, meets old friends who are Northern sympathizers. Visiting Confederate headquarters, information is supplied him by an ally. Suspicion is eventually aroused against the Captain and he is arrested. Pamela, a Southern girl with Northern sympathies, decides to aid the Captain's escape.
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A Sawmill Hero
Title: A Sawmill Hero
Released: March 22, 1911
Type: Movie
Jim Hemminway went to college, but did not make good. He had a fine time, but flunked in his studies. His father, displeased with Jim's college experience, decided to send him to a lumber camp in order to develop the manhood he believed there was in him. Arriving at the camp Jim pulled off his coat and entered with spirit into the work, determined to prove to his father that he was a "chip off the old block." Shortly after arriving at the camp he had a falling out with big Tom Granger, one of the camp bosses, and the acknowledged bully of that section of the country.
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When Lovers Part
Title: When Lovers Part
Released: December 23, 1910
Type: Movie
A young couple’s love is forbidden by the girl’s father. He forces her to write a farewell letter. Three years later, the Civil War begins and the father dies. At the end of the war, her boyfriend comes to visit her and all the suffering is forgotten.
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The Lad from Old Ireland
Title: The Lad from Old Ireland
Character: Election Agent
Released: January 1, 1910
Type: Movie
A young man leaves Ireland for America, but doesn't forget home.