Ricardo Cortez
Ricardo Cortez (September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American film actor who began his career during the silent film era.
Born Jacob Krantz in New York City into a Jewish family, he worked on Wall Street in a broker's office and as a boxer before his looks got him into the film business. Hollywood executives changed his name to Cortez to appeal to film-goers as a "Latin lover" to compete with such highly popular actors of the era as Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro and Antonio Moreno. When rumour began to circulate that Cortez was not actually Spanish, the studios tried to pass him off as a different type of Latin, French, before they finally admitted his (supposedly) Viennese origin.
Cortez appeared in over 100 films. He played opposite Joan Crawford in Montana Moon in 1930, played Sam Spade in the original The Maltese Falcon in 1931, co-starred with Charles Farrell and Bette Davis in The Big Shakedown and Wonder Bar (with Al Jolson and Dolores del Río) in 1934. He also played Perry Mason in the 1936 film The Case of the Black Cat. Although he began his career playing romantic leads with actresses like Greta Garbo, when sound cinema arrived, his powerful delivery and New York accent made him an ideal villain and conman, and he switched from sex symbol to character actor.
Cortez was married to silent film actress Alma Rubens until her death of pneumonia in 1931.
When he retired from the film business, Cortez went to work as a stockbroker for Solomon Brothers on New York's Wall Street. He died in New York City in 1977 and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.
He was the older brother of noted cinematographer Stanley Cortez (born Stanislaus Krantz).
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 4.185 |
Birthday | 1900-09-17 |
Place of Birth | New York City, New York, USA |
Also Known As | Jacob Krantz, Jack Crane, |
1942
Tomorrow We Live
4.3/6
Julie Bronson, whose father operates a desert cafe, is attracting the unwanted attention of a half-crazed gangster known as The Ghost who runs a deser...
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Tomorrow We Live
1932
The Phantom of Crestwood
6/13
Five men have to prove their innocence when a blackmailer is murdered.
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The Phantom of Crestwood
1936
The Walking Dead
6.2/86
Down-on-his-luck John Ellman is framed for a judge's murder. After he's convicted and sentenced to death, witnesses come forth and prove his innocence...
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The Walking Dead
1939
Charlie Chan in Reno
6.2/16
Mary Whitman has gone to Reno to obtain a divorce. While there she is arrested on suspicion of murdering a fellow guest at her hotel (which specialize...
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Charlie Chan in Reno
1923
Hollywood
7/1
Angela comes to Hollywood with only two things: Her dream to become a movie star, and Grandpa. She leaves an Aunt, a brother, Grandma, and her longtim...
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Hollywood
1931
White Shoulders
0/0
In this drama, an impoverished young woman meets a millionaire who marries her on the spot and then begins pampering her with jewels and furs. When no...
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White Shoulders
1931
The Maltese Falcon
6.4/47
A lovely dame with dangerous lies employs the services of a private detective, who is quickly caught up in the mystery and intrigue of a statuette kno...
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The Maltese Falcon
1946
The Locket
6.4/39
A dark personal secret drives a young woman to use every man she encounters.
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The Locket
1947
Blackmail
4/11
A private detective is offered a job protecting a rich business man from suspected blackmail. Before he can accept the case a murder is uncovered.
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Blackmail
1950
Bunco Squad
5.9/8
Police sergeants Johnson and McManus take on Los Angeles confidence tricksters. Con man Tony Wells, lining up rich widow Jessica Royce as his latest m...
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Bunco Squad
1940
Murder Over New York
6.1/17
When Charlie's old friend from Scotland Yard is murdered when they attend a police convention in New York, Chan picks up the case he was working on.
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Murder Over New York
1925
In the Name of Love
0/0
Naturalized American Raoul Melnotte travels from Chicago to his native France in search of his childhood sweetheart, Marie Dufrayne.
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In the Name of Love
1939
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
5.8/25
A Japanese man claiming to be Mr. Moto, of the International Police, is abducted and murdered soon after disembarking from a ship at Port Said in Egyp...
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Mr. Moto's Last Warning
1933
The House on 56th Street
5.2/6
A beautiful chorine marries a handsome rich socialite, but her idyllic life ends when she visits a dying old beau and is charged when he commits suici...
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The House on 56th Street
1933
Midnight Mary
6.9/21
While on trial for her life, a young woman recalls her tough upbringing and her involvement with the men who brought her to this current state of affa...
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Midnight Mary
1933
Torch Singer
5.2/8
When she can't support her illegitimate child, an abandoned young woman puts her up for adoption and pursues a career as a torch singer. Years later,...
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Torch Singer
1946
The Inner Circle
5.2/12
A fresh-faced young detective gets set up, framed for murder, and alibied by a smart blonde.
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The Inner Circle
1935
Special Agent
6.3/10
Newspaperman Bill Bradford becomes a special agent for the tax service trying to end the career of racketeer Nick Carston. Julie Gardner is Carston's...
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Special Agent
1934
The Man with Two Faces
6.5/11
Actress Jessica Wells, sister of actor Damon Wells, is on top of her form except when her husband Vance is around. When Vance takes her to the apartme...
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The Man with Two Faces
1932
Thirteen Women
6.3/31
Thirteen women who were schoolmates ask a swami to cast their horoscopes. The news they receive is not good for any of them.
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Thirteen Women
1958
The Last Hurrah
7.1/57
In a changing world where television has become the main source of information, Adam Caulfield, a young sports journalist, witnesses how his uncle, Fr...
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The Last Hurrah
1944
Make Your Own Bed
5.8/5
Walter and Vivian live in the country and have a difficult time keeping servants. Walter then hires a private detective who has been fired for arresti...
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Make Your Own Bed
1927
Mockery
6.7/9
There is hunger in Siberia during the Russian Civil War. One day while dim-witted peasant Sergei is searching corpses for food, he meets a young woman...
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Mockery
1931
Bad Company
4.6/5
A psychotic and sadistic mob boss is infatuated with the young wife of his newlywed attorney, and he plots to get him out of the way so he can have he...
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Bad Company
1934
The Big Shakedown
5.6/14
Former bootlegger Dutch Barnes pressures neighborhood druggist Jimmy Morrell into making cut-rate knockoff toiletry, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical prod...
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The Big Shakedown
1936
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
5.6/5
A young doctor is determined to expose the killer when a surgeon is found stabbed to death in a hospital elevator.
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The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
1932
Symphony of Six Million
5.4/5
A young doctor escapes the slums of New York City to make his fortune as a Park Avenue doctor. When a fatal mistake results in tragedy his resolve to...
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Symphony of Six Million
1931
Ten Cents a Dance
6.8/16
A taxi dancer with a jealous husband finds herself falling for a wealthy client.
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Ten Cents a Dance
1931
Illicit
5.8/20
Ann, a young woman with outrageously advanced ideas, has been living in sin with Dick, her lover, because of her conviction that marriage would destro...
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Illicit
1931
Transgression
4/4
When British mining engineer Robert Maury is sent to India on an extended business trip, his wife Elsie finds romance with a Spanish playboy.
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Transgression
1930
Montana Moon
4.6/11
A wild-partying flapper marries a cowboy and tries to adjust to life on a western ranch.
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Montana Moon
1931
Big Business Girl
5.5/2
A young woman goes to New York and finds success in advertising thanks to her legs while her boyfriend spends the summer in Europe with his band.
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Big Business Girl
1941
I Killed That Man
6/4
A condemned inmate's premature death places officials under suspicion.
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I Killed That Man
1932
Flesh
5.6/13
Gifted German wrestler Polokai falls in love with ex-con Laura, who persuades him to emigrate to America and gets him involved with crooked promoters.
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Flesh
1926
Torrent
6.9/8
A young girl and her father are kicked out of their house by a cruel noblewoman, and the girl's heart is broken when her sweetheart, the noblewoman's...
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Torrent
1934
Wonder Bar
6.2/18
Harry and Inez are a dance team at the Wonder Bar. Inez loves Harry, but he is in love with Liane, the wife of a wealthy business man. Al Wonder and t...
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Wonder Bar
1931
Behind Office Doors
5.1/13
Mary Linden is the secretary who is the unheralded power behind successful executive James Duneen. He takes her for granted until rival Wales tries to...
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Behind Office Doors
1930
Her Man
5.3/20
A prostitute sees a friendly sailor as a way out of Havana's grimy underworld.
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Her Man
1936
The Case of the Black Cat
6.6/7
Lawyer Perry Mason is summoned to the Laxter mansion in the dead of night to write granddaughter Wilma out of invalid Peter Laxter's will, to keep her...
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The Case of the Black Cat
1923
The Gentleman from America
0/0
Two Army buddies, Dennis O'Shane and Johnny Day, decide to take their furlough in Paris but instead end up in Spain.
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The Gentleman from America
1935
Frisco Kid
6.8/8
After a roustabout sailor avoids being shanghaied in 1850s San Francisco, his audacity helps him rise to a position of power in the vice industry of t...
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Frisco Kid
1934
I Am a Thief
6/4
A man dodges jewel thieves while carrying a fortune in diamonds on the Orient Express.
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I Am a Thief
1936
Postal Inspector
6.2/4
Postal inspectors track down money stolen from a railroad car.
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Postal Inspector
1934
Hat, Coat and Glove
5.5/2
A prominent New York attorney defends his estranged wife's lover, who's been charged with the murder of a model in Greenwich Village.
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Hat, Coat and Glove
1924
The Bedroom Window
0/0
William C. DeMille, Cecil B. DeMille's talented director brother, teamed with his favorite collaborator, scenarist Clara Beranger, for the 7-reel sile...
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The Bedroom Window
1929
The Phantom in the House
4.6/5
A man is blamed for a murder that was actually committed by his wife.
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The Phantom in the House
1929
The Younger Generation
6.6/9
Soap-opera about a social-climbing Jewish man and his old-world parents who are heartbroken by his rejection of them. Young Morris Goldfish follows hi...
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The Younger Generation
1938
City Girl
6/1
In this tearful crime melodrama, a waitress becomes so taken with her dream of living in posh luxury and comfort that she leaves her honest boyfriend...
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City Girl
1932
Is My Face Red?
5/6
William Poster writes a gossip column for the Morning Gazette. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets most of...
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Is My Face Red?
1931
Men of Chance
5.8/5
A gambler falls for a fake countess.
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Men of Chance
1926
The Sorrows of Satan
6.7/9
Geoffrey is desperately in love with Mavis, who lives at his boardinghouse and is also pursuing a writing career. Unable to marry her because of his p...
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The Sorrows of Satan
1932
No One Man
6/1
When the boyfriend of a rich, bored socialite dies from a weak heart, she finds herself attracted to the doctor who treated him, a hard-working ideali...
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No One Man
1937
West of Shanghai
5.4/9
American businessmen and missionaries working in China are captured and held prisoner by a local warlord.
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West of Shanghai
1935
The White Cockatoo
5.3/7
In a spooky hotel on the coast of France, two bands of crooks are working independently of the other in an attempt to steal the inherited fortune of a...
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The White Cockatoo
1948
Mystery in Mexico
5.8/11
Insurance detective Steve Hastings is sent by his company to investigate the disappearance of a fellow agent. His first lead is the agent's fetching s...
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Mystery in Mexico
1935
Shadow of Doubt
6.2/4
When a Hollywood producer is murdered, the most likely suspect is a man who is smitten with the victim's fiancee.
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Shadow of Doubt
1941
Romance of the Rio Grande
4/4
When old rancher Cordoba's grandson is murdered, the Cisco Kid takes his place to find who's trying to take over the ranch.
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Romance of the Rio Grande
1934
A Lost Lady
6.1/10
A bitter woman who thinks she'll never love again marries, only to fall for a brash young man.
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A Lost Lady
1934
The Firebird
5.5/4
Herman Brandt, a handsome but overly conceited actor, lives in the same apartment building in Vienna as Carola and John Pointer and their 18-year-old...
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The Firebird
1929
The Lost Zeppelin
4.8/4
Explorers to the South Pole in an airship Zeppelin crash in the frozen Antarctic and must struggle for survival in the land of eternal snow and ice.
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The Lost Zeppelin
1937
The Californian
0/0
Native son returns from school in Spain to California in 1855 and finds corrupt politicians stealing land from old California families. He becomes a s...
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The Californian
1937
Her Husband Lies
6/1
J. Ward Thomas of Park Avenue leads a double life as an investment broker and as notorious gambler Spade Martin, despite the protests of his beautiful...
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Her Husband Lies
1933
Broadway Bad
5/4
Showgirl Tony Landers, supported by her friend Flip Daly, fights for the custody of her son during a divorce hearing.
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Broadway Bad
1927
The Private Life of Helen of Troy
3.5/2
Setting the standard for his later light-hearted biopics The Private Life of Henry VIII and Rembrandt, producer-director Alexander Korda steadfastly r...
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The Private Life of Helen of Troy
1934
Mandalay
5.9/15
Abandoned by her lover, a woman becomes the main "hostess" in a decadent nightclub, but tries to put her past behind her on a steamer to Mandalay.
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Mandalay
1925
The Spaniard
0/0
In England, Don Pedro de Barrego meets Dolores Annesley, and he decides he must have her. Dolores, however, refuses to have anything to do with him. L...
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The Spaniard
1926
The Eagle of the Sea
0/0
Eagle of the Sea is based on Charles Tenney Jackson's swashbuckling novel Captain Sazarac.
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The Eagle of the Sea
1925
The Swan
6/1
The Swan (1925) is a silent film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is based on Melville Baker's 1923 Br...
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The Swan
1924
Feet of Clay
0/0
Kerry Harlan (La Rocque) is unable to work because he was injured in a battle with a shark, so his youthful wife Amy (Reynolds) becomes a fashion mode...
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Feet of Clay
1928
Woman of Destiny
0/0
Expressing post-war cultural internationalism, this silent film follows the mysterious Orchid and the man who loves her.
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Woman of Destiny
1931
Reckless Living
3/1
In order to be able to buy a gas station, a young couple run a speakeasy. Complications arise when the husband loses their money to bookies.
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Reckless Living
1925
The Pony Express
5.9/7
The Pony Express is a silent 1925 Western film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by James...
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The Pony Express
1928
Excess Baggage
0/0
Excess Baggage is a lost 1928 American silent comedy film directed by James Cruze and distributed by MGM. The film was based on the play of the same n...
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Excess Baggage
1934
Hollywood Newsreel
4/1
A potpourri of features involving Hollywood celebrities. The Columbia University football team, winner of the 1934 Rose Bowl game, visits the Warner B...
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Hollywood Newsreel
1960
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
6/1
A look at the past, present and future of Hollywood as seen through the eyes of the movie columnist.
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Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
1936
Man Hunt
0/0
A bored small-town teacher gets mixed up with an escaped bank robber.
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Man Hunt
1942
Rubber Racketeers
4.3/3
Racketeer Gillin is paroled from prison and immediately goes to work trying to make an illegal buck from America's war effort. With rationing in effec...
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Rubber Racketeers
1936
Breakdowns of 1936
0/0
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1936.
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Breakdowns of 1936
1941
A Shot in the Dark
5.2/5
A reporter and a police detective sort through the clues in a night-club owner's murder.
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A Shot in the Dark
1931
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
6/1
Pola Negri, Bebe Daniels, Mitzi Green, Polly Moran, Mack Sennett and Marjorie Beebe are seen relaxing at Palm Springs, a California winter resort; Bar...
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Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
1923
Children of Jazz
0/0
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Children of Jazz
1986
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
8/1
Two part biography of Greta Garbo - 1. The Temptress 2. The Clown. Reminiscences of her early life in Stockholm, with excerpts from her films. Narrate...
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Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
1935
Manhattan Moon
0/0
Night club owner Dan Moore is trying to collect a debt owed to him by playboy Reggie Van Dorn, but Reggie is a playboy with no money but lots of socia...
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Manhattan Moon
1927
New York
0/0
A product of the Bowery, Trent Regan grows up to become a powerful gangster. Regan's girlfriend Angie Miller, hearing that her childhood sweetheart (a...
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New York
1937
Breakdowns of 1937
6/3
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1937.
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Breakdowns of 1937
1929
New Orleans
0/0
Billy, a jockey, and Jim, an assistant manager of a New Orleans racetrack, are close friends. They become bitter enemies because of Marie, an unprinci...
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New Orleans
2003
Complicated Women
6.7/11
Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered fi...
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Complicated Women
1924
The Next Corner
0/0
While honeymooning in Paris Elsie is rescued from attentions of a man.Her hero is Don Arturo who takes her to Countess Longueval after her husband mus...
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The Next Corner
1942
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
4/1
A girl reporter is trying to tack down the lady-in-the-title, as a key witness in a graft trial, which involves three murder and that many failed atte...
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Who Is Hope Schuyler?
1936
Talk of the Devil
0/0
A ruthless businessman tries to steal his brother's successful shipping company. He hires a gifted mimic to date one of his brother's daughters to get...
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Talk of the Devil
1936
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
1/1
Winners of the Lucky Stars National Dance Contest - one woman from each state of the United States - are welcomed to Palm Springs. Palm Springs being...
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Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
1923
The Call of the Canyon
0/0
Returning from World War I, Glenn Kilbourne travels to Arizona to regain his health. He meets a local girl, Flo Hutler, who helps him recover. His fia...
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The Call of the Canyon
1926
The Cat's Pajamas
0/0
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The Cat's Pajamas
1924
This Woman
0/0
This Woman is a 1924 American drama film directed by Phil Rosen, written by Louis D. Lighton and Hope Loring, and starring Irene Rich, Ricardo Cortez,...
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This Woman
1929
Midstream
0/0
Following a successful experimental operation to reverse age, a wealthy businessman stages his own death and assumes the identity of his nephew. His s...
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Midstream
1941
World Premiere
5/1
A movie-making publicity man screwball comedy about a movie producer who wants to create publicity for his latest project. He decides to have three m...
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World Premiere
1925
Not So Long Ago
0/0
Against the backdrop of New York City of the early 1850s, a young woman -- naively seeking to win the love she reads about in the romance novels she d...
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Not So Long Ago
1924
A Society Scandal
0/0
Hector Colbert sues his wife Marjorie for a divorce after Peters, an admirer of Marjorie, deliberately compromises her. Colbert's lawyer, Daniel Farr,...
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A Society Scandal
1933
Big Executive
0/0
Big Executive
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Big Executive
1924
Argentine Love
0/0
While his daughter, Consuelo, is visiting the United States, Emanuel García, the Mayor of Alcorta in the Argentine, arranges for her marriage to Juan...
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Argentine Love
1926
Volcano
0/0
Zabette de Chauvalons leaves a convent in Brussels to join her father on the island of Martinique, escorted by Père Bénédict. In St. Pierre she finds...
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