Author Archive: Retro

Group of diverse individuals are stranded in the wilderness after snowstorm. Dir. O’Dale Ireland.

When circus aerialist Polly Fisher is injured, she is taken to the nearby home of minister John Hartley. The two fall in love and marry secretly. But when the news leaks out, the minister loses his pastorate over disdain by the parishioners for Polly’s background as a performer. Polly must decide whether to stay with the man she loves or leave him for the good of his calling.

Two ships are caught in the Arctic ice.

Vincent Barton, the son of the vice-president of a railroad company, takes a job as the depot agent at Bynes. He fires one of Tony Sharkey’s henchmen, scheming against the railroad, and, as a result, a fight takes place and a switching order is overlooked which nearly results in a major wreck. Realizing the situation at Hynes, Helen Barton, Vincent’s sister, dashes to Hynes in her roadster and puts together a severed telegraph wire to put the station back in communications with headquarters. Meanwhile, Helen’s sweetheart, Tom Lawson, is fighting with Sharkey in a run-away engine and it is headed for an open bridge over a river.

Johnny Hardwick (Douglas MacLean) is the owner of the fastest horse in the next race. Although it’s almost guaranteed that he will win big, Hardwick ruins his chance by saving a little girl who has run out onto the track. The child’s father shows his gratitude later on when he offers Hardwick a job as a clerk in his hotel — Hardwick has been forced to flee after a fight in a roadhouse. Hardwick is also forced to leave that job, eventually taking a position as a handyman, where he meets Margaret Warren (Beatrice Burnham), who is presiding over the local post office. A horse race at the county fair gives Hardwick an opportunity to stage a comeback. The requisite villain has entered a ringer, so Hardwick brings in his own horse to defeat him. Motion Picture News called actor Douglas MacLean “one of the most popular polite comedians of the screen,” meaning that he [...]

A compilation of Charlie Chaplin clips strung together, with music & added sound effects. Dir. Ford Beebe.

A cowboy and a wild horse find they have some things in common: both have enemies out to get them and both must save their mates from danger.

Young Pauline is left a lot of money when her wealthy uncle dies. However, her uncle’s secretary has been named as her guardian until she marries, at which time she will officially take possession of her inheritance. Meanwhile, her “guardian” and his confederates constantly come up with schemes to get rid of Pauline so that he can get his hands on the money himself

A wealthy minister in a mining town is something of an advocate for the miners’ safety, but he doesn’t really get involved in the issue. He is soon snapped out of that attitude, however, when his daughter is trapped underground in a mine explosion, along with the mine’s owner.