Ronald Colman
Also Known As: Ronald Charles Colman
Biography: British leading man of primarily American films, one of the great stars of the Golden Age. Raised in Ealing, the son of a successful silk merchant, he attended boarding school in Sussex, where he first discovered amateur theatre. He intended to attend Cambridge and become an engineer, but his father's death cost him the financial support necessary. He joined the London Scottish Regionals and at the outbreak of World War I was sent to France. Seriously wounded at the battle of Messines--he was gassed--he was invalided out of service scarcely two months after shipping out for France. Upon his recovery he tried to enter the consular service, but a chance encounter got him a small role in a London play. He dropped other plans and concentrated on the theatre, and was rewarded with a succession of increasingly prominent parts. He made extra money appearing in a few minor films, and in 1920 set out for New York in hopes of finding greater fortune there than in war-depressed England. After two years of impoverishment he was cast in a Broadway hit, "La Tendresse". Director Henry King spotted him in the show and cast him as Lillian Gish's leading man in The White Sister (1923). His success in the film led to a contract with Samuel Goldwyn, and his career as a Hollywood leading man was underway. He became a vastly popular star of silent films, in romances as well as adventure films. The coming of sound made his extraordinarily beautiful speaking voice even more important to the film industry. He played sophisticated, thoughtful characters of integrity with enormous aplomb, and swashbuckled expertly when called to do so in films like The Prisoner of Zenda (1937). A decade later he received an Academy Award for his splendid portrayal of a tormented actor in A Double Life (1947). Much of his later career was devoted to "The Halls of Ivy", a radio show that later was transferred to television "The Halls of Ivy" (1954). He continued to work until nearly the end of his life, which came in 1958 after a brief lung illness. He was survived by his second wife, actress Benita Hume, and their daughter Juliet Benita Colman.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Richmond, Surrey, England, UK
Birthday: February 08, 1891
Deathday: May 19, 1958
Adult: No
Gender: Male
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Known For:
Governor C.C. Young Hails Greater Talkie Season
Overview: Ronald Colman introduces the governor of California, who urges moviegoers to attend the cleaner, wholesome talkie films, rather than those that show the seamy side of life. Doing this will show movie company executives that the public prefers them, and more of them will be produced.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1930-12-31
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Lost Horizon
Overview: British diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash land in the Himalayas, and are rescued by the people of the mysterious, Eden-like valley of Shangri-la. Protected by the mountains from the world outside, where the clouds of World War II are gathering, Shangri-la provides a seductive escape for the world-weary Conway.
Genres: Adventure Fantasy Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-03-03
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Around the World in Eighty Days
Overview: Based on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the world. Which has to be completed within 80 days, a very short period for those days.
Genres: Adventure Comedy Family Fantasy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1956-10-17
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The Talk of the Town
Overview: Hilarity ensues when a falsely accused fugitive from justice hides at the house of his childhood friend, which she has recently rented to a high-principled law teacher.
Genres: Comedy Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-08-20
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Random Harvest
Overview: Wandered away from his asylum, an amnesiac World War I veteran falls in love with a music hall star but his amnesia makes it difficult to last.
Genres: Romance Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-12-17
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Champagne for Caesar
Overview: When jobless genius Beauregard Bottomley interviews with Burnbridge Waters for a position at Waters' soap company, the owner rudely turns Bottomley down. As revenge, Bottomley enters a TV quiz show that Waters' company sponsors, with the goal of winning until he bankrupts the businessman. When Bottomley keeps acing the questions, becoming a media sensation, Waters desperately calls on vixen Flame O'Neal to uncover Bottomley's area of weakness.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1950-05-11
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A Double Life
Overview: A Shakespearian actor starring as Othello opposite his wife finds the character's jealous rage taking over his mind off-stage.
Genres: Drama Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-12-25
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The Story of Mankind
Overview: The devil and the spirit of mankind argue as to whether or not humanity is ultimately good or evil.
Genres: Drama Fantasy Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1957-11-08
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Kismet
Overview: Hafiz, a rascally beggar on the periphery of the court of Baghdad, schemes to marry his daughter to royalty and to win the heart of the queen of the castle himself.
Genres: Adventure Fantasy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-10-01
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The Prisoner of Zenda
Overview: A kingdom's ascending heir, marked for assassination, switches identities with a lookalike, who takes his place at the coronation. When the real king is kidnapped, his followers try to find him, while the stand-in falls in love with the king's intended bride, the beautiful Princess Flavia.
Genres: Romance Adventure Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-09-03
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A Tale of Two Cities
Overview: The exciting story of Dr. Manette, who escapes the horrors of the infamous Bastille prison in Paris. The action switches between London and Paris on the eve of the revolution where we witness 'the best of times and the worst of times' - love, hope, the uncaring French Aristocrats and the terror of a revolutionary citizen's army intent on exacting revenge.
Genres: History Drama Romance Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-12-25
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My Life with Caroline
Overview: A man thinks his high-spirited wife is cheating on him.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-08-01
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Bulldog Drummond
Overview: Bulldog Drummond is a British WWI veteran who longs for some excitement after he returns to the humdrum existence of civilian life. He gets what he's looking for when a girl requests his help in freeing her uncle from a nursing home. She believes the home is just a front and that her uncle is really being held captive while the culprits try to extort his fortune from him.
Genres: Action Thriller Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1929-05-02
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The White Sister
Overview: Angela Chiaromonte is the daughter of a wealthy Italian prince who is killed in a fall from his horse. Though Angela stands to inherit half of a large estate, her older half-sister burns the will and thus inherits everything herself, throwing Angela into poverty. Fortunately, Angela is engaged to marry dashing Captain Giovanni Severi - but he soon is captured by Arabs while on an expedition to Africa. Believing him dead, Angela, dedicating her life to his memory, becomes a nun, unaware that her lover has escaped his captors and is returning to Italy. The dramatic climax takes place against a backdrop of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1923-09-05
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Romola
Overview: In Renaissance Florence, a Florentine trader meets a shipwrecked stranger, who introduces himself as Tito Melema, a young Italianate-Greek scholar. Tito becomes acquainted with several other Florentines, including Nello the barber and a young girl named Tessa. He is also introduced to a blind scholar named Bardo de' Bardi, and his daughter Romola. As Tito becomes settled in Florence, assisting Bardo with classical studies, he falls in love with Romola.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1924-12-06
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Arrowsmith
Overview: A medical researcher is sent to a plague outbreak, where he has to decide priorities for the use of a vaccine.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1931-12-07
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Under Two Flags
Overview: Sergeant Victor comes to the French Foreign Legion after taking the blame for his brother's crime. Cigarette falls in love with him though Major Doyle is in love with her. Doyle sends Victor on dangerous assignments to be rid of him. He falls in love with Lady Venetia Cunningham, a visitor to the garrison
Genres: Adventure Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-04-30
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The Unholy Garden
Overview: At a hotel in the middle of the Sahara, an old man and his daughter try to keep the location of a hidden treasure from a collection of thieves and criminals staying at the hotel who are determined to get it. A suave gentleman thief arrives at the hotel one day with his own plan to get the loot, but complications ensue when he begins to fall for the daughter.
Genres: Romance Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1931-10-06
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The Winning of Barbara Worth
Overview: While building an irrigation system for a Southwestern desert community, an engineer vies with a local cowboy for the affections of a rancher's daughter.
Genres: Drama Romance Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1926-10-14
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The Devil to Pay!
Overview: Spendthrift Willie Hale again returns penniless to the family home in London. His father is none too pleased, but Willie smooth-talks him into letting him stay. At the same time he turns the charm on Dorothy Hope, whose father is big in linoleum and who, before Willie's arrival, was about to become engaged to a Russian aristocrat.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1930-12-18
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Clive of India
Overview: Fort St. David, Cuddalore, southern India, 1748. While colonial empires battle to seize an enormous territory, rich in spices and precious metals beyond the wildest dreams, and try to gain the favor of the local kings, Robert Clive (1725-1774), a frustrated but talented clerk who works for the East Indian Company and struggles to earn his fortune, makes a bold decision that will change his life forever.
Genres: Action Adventure Drama History War Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-01-25
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Lady Windermere's Fan
Overview: A society woman believes her husband is having an affair, a misconception which may have dire personal consequences for all involved.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1925-12-26
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Condemned!
Overview: Suave thief Colman is sent to Devil's Island, where he becomes romantically involved with the wife of sadistic warden Digges.
Genres: Action Drama Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1929-11-03
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Raffles
Overview: A distinguished English gentleman has a secret life--he is the notorious jewel thief the press has dubbed "The Amateur Cracksman". When he meets a woman and falls in love he decides to "retire" from that life, but an old friend comes to him with a predicament that entails him committing one last job.
Genres: Adventure Crime Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1930-07-11
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Stella Dallas
Overview: An eccentric lower class woman struggles to gain respect in high society after marrying a wealthy man, and the problem gets worse when their daughter starts growing up.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1925-11-16
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If I Were King
Overview: King Louis XI masquerades as a commoner in Paris, seeking out the treachery he is sure lurks in his kingdom. At a local tavern, he overhears the brash poet François Villon extolling why he would be a better king. Annoyed yet intrigued, the King bestows on Villon the title of Grand Constable. Soon Villon begins work and falls for a lovely lady-in-waiting, but then must flee execution when the King turns on him.
Genres: Adventure History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1938-09-28
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Lucky Partners
Overview: Two strangers split a sweepstake prize to go on a fake honeymoon with predictable results.
Genres: Comedy Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-08-02
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The Late George Apley
Overview: George and Catherine Apley of Boston lead a proper life in the proper social circle, as did the Apleys before them. When grown daughter Eleanor falls in love with Howard (from New York!), and son John with Myrtle (from Worcester!), the ordered life of the Apley home on Beacon Street is threatened, as is the hoped-for union of John and Apley-cousin Agnes.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-03-19
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Cynara
Overview: A London barrister's marriage is under strain after his affair with a shopgirl who is out to have him. The story is told in flashback.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1932-12-24
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Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
Overview: Bulldog Drummond finds himself immersed in another adventure when he stumbles upon a corpse in the mysterious London mansion of Prince Achmed. Enlisting the help of his old friend Algy and the beautiful Lola, Drummond uncovers a scheme to ship illegal cargo into the country. He must rely on his cunning to survive when the prince offers a reward for his capture.
Genres: Action Adventure Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-08-15
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The Magic Flame
Overview: The Magic Flame (1927) is a feature film directed by Henry King, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and based on the play Konig Harlekin by Rudolph Lothar. George Barnes was nominated at the 1st Academy Awards for Best Cinematography. The film promoted itself as the Romeo and Juliet of the circus upon its release.
Genres: Romance Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1927-09-17
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The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo
Overview: A Russian prince goes to Monte Carlo just after World War I with money supplied to him by Parisian Russians. He wins but the casino operators want him to honor the tradition of returning to the tables.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-11-14
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Her Sister from Paris
Overview: Helen has a twin sister, who is a famous actress named "La Perry". Helen and her sister decide to trick Helen's husband to prove his love.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1925-08-01
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Her Night of Romance
Overview: An impoverished British lord (Paul Menford) impersonates a doctor in order to woo an ailing American heiress (Dorothy Adams). The lord is in it for love, but his business associate (Joe Diamond) smells money.
Genres: Romance Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1924-11-24
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Beau Geste
Overview: Michael "Beau" Geste leaves England in disgrace and joins the infamous French Foreign Legion. He is reunited with his two brothers in North Africa, where they face greater danger from their own sadistic commander than from the rebellious Arabs.
Genres: Action Adventure Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1926-08-24
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The Light That Failed
Overview: A London artist struggles to complete one last painting before going blind.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-12-24
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The Masquerader
Overview: A drug-addicted member of Parliament needs to take time off and secretly pull his life together, so he gets his lookalike cousin to agree to temporarily assume his identity.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-09-03
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The Rescue
Overview: The English adventurer Tom Lingard gets involved with islanders on a South Seas island, and he also gets involved with Lady Edith and Mr. Travers, a sailing English couple. Tom has an unexpected love affair with Edith and while they are having this affair, Lady Edith husband's boat is destroyed and he is killed.
Genres: Adventure Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1929-01-12
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Two Lovers
Overview: Set during the 16th-century Spanish occupation of Flanders, the story concentrates on the fiercely patriotic Mark Van Ryke (Colman). Donning the guise of "Leatherface," a swashbuckling masked avenger, Van Ryke performs his derring-do on behalf of the Prince of Orange (Nigel de Brulier). Naturally, Van Ruke considers beautiful Spanish aristocrat Donna Leonora de Vargas (Vilma Banky) to be a bitter enemy, and the feeling is mutual. To no one's surprise, however, Van Ryke and Donna Leonara eventually fall in love (hence the title). The pulse-pounding climax finds Van Ryke riding hell-for-leather through a rainstorm to warn the Flemish troops about the Spaniards' plans to burn the city of Ghent to the ground. Two Lovers was based on Madame Orczy's novel Leatherface, and adapted for the screen by Alice Duer Miller.
Genres: Action Romance History Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1928-03-23
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Kiki
Overview: Kiki, a poor young woman who sells newspapers on the street corners of Paris, is able to land a job singing and dancing at a nearby theater. While she is there, she invites herself into the life of the revue's manager, with whom she has fallen in love.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1926-04-04
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Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Overview: Henry Fonda hosts this retrospective on the career and films of iconic filmmaker David O. Selznick, who epitomized the era of the auteur producer in the 30s and 40s.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1961-12-31
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A Thief in Paradise
Overview: Years of failure and bad luck have made Maurice Blake a beachcomber on an island in the Samoas, earning a precarious living by diving for pearls with Philip Jardine, the disinherited son of a San Francisco millionaire. When Philip is killed by a shark, his half caste common-law wife, Rosa, informs Maurice that Philip had been forgiven by his father, and she persuades him to assume Philip's identity and return to the States - The film is now considered a lost film.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1925-06-18
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The Night of Love
Overview: Montero, son of a Gypsy leader, is about to take a bride according to primitive ritual, when the Duke de la Garda demands his right as feudal lord--to take the bride to his castle for a night. Rather than accede to the duke's advances, the girl chooses death by her own hand. Montero swears vengeance.....
Genres: Romance Action Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1927-01-22
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Terra Melophon Magazin Nr. 1
Overview: Film in the style of a magazine. Various topics, e.g. reading from the book "Ich lasse Dich nicht"; explanation of how a telephone conversation between Berlin and New York works; making a martini; sports teacher Siegfried Dietrich on gymnastic exercises; a sketch; a pop song; revue girls. Maria Ney hosts the program.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: de
Release Date: 1930-09-12
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Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies
Overview: The life and work of Samuel Goldwyn, a Polish-born glove salesman who became one of Hollywood's greatest independent producers, is remembered in this classy documentary created for the PBS American Masters series. Based on A. Scott Berg's acclaimed biography, the film includes new interviews with Goldwyn's surviving family members as well as vintage interviews with such luminaries as Bette Davis, John Huston, Laurence Olivier and others.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2001-10-07
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Anna the Adventuress
Overview: Two identical sisters are able to switch places, leading to a series of unfortunate incidents.
Genres: Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1920-02-01
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The Sporting Venus
Overview: Familiar story of spoiled heiress, Blanche Sweet, who dabbles in romance with commoner Ronald Colman. They roam the highlands together hunting since this is Sweet's "sport." They seem to have an idyllic affair going when into the mix comes an impoverished prince (Lew Cody). He determines to steal away the heiress and pay off his creditors. Indeed, this is the plan he shares with them.
Genres: Romance Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1925-04-12
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The Dark Angel
Overview: Alan Trent (Ronald Colman), his cousin Gerald Shannon (Wyndham Standing) and neighbor Kitty Vane (Vilma Bánky) have grown up together, as close playmates When World War I starts, both Alan and Gerald enlist in the British Army as officiers, and Kitty sees them off to war. Many months later, Alan and Gerald come back to Kitty, on a short furlow. Alan and Kitty reveal their love for each other. Gerald (who's in love with Kitty, too) congratulates his friends. But before Kitty and Alan can arrange to be married the next day, the furlow is cut short and both men head back to the front lines. Weeks later, Gerald will not give Alan leave to marry Kitty. Still arguing, both men volunteer for a reconiscience raid into enemy lines, where a grenade goes off near Alan and appears to kill him. Gerald and Kitty mourn Alan's death. After the war ends, Gerald and Kitty become engaged to be married.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1925-09-27
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His Supreme Moment
Overview: John Douglas, a down-on-his-luck engineer, takes his sweetheart, Sara Deeping, to a play starring Carla King, and he falls in love with the actress.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1925-04-12
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That's Entertainment, Part II
Overview: Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-05-16
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The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Overview: This documentary revisits the making of Gone with the Wind via archival footage, screen tests, insightful interviews and rare film footage.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-10-01
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The Art Director
Overview: A film's art director is in charge of the set, from conception to construction to furnishing. This short film walks the viewer through art directors' responsibilities and the demands on their talents. They read a script carefully and design a set to capture the time and place, the social strata, and the mood. They must be scholars of the history of architecture, furnishings, and fashion. They choose the colors on a set in anticipation of the lighting and the mood. Their work also sets styles, from Art Deco in the 20's to 30s modernism. Then it's on to the next project. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1949-11-12
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Twenty Dollars a Week
Overview: John Reeves, steel magnate, wagers with his son Chester that he can earn twenty dollars a week and live on it. He procures work in the office of William Hart's steel plant. Against her brother's wish, Hart's sister Muriel adopts a little boy. Hart evens up by adopting John Reeves as his father. Reeves foils James Pettison's plot to ruin Hart. Chester also makes good as a workman and wins the affection of Hart's sister. The father reveals his identity and takes Hart as a partner.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1924-04-12
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Tarnish
Overview:
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1924-08-01
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The Toilers
Overview: British romantic drama film starring Ronald Colman as a young man who leaves behind his family and girl in a Cornish fishing village to seek his fortune in London. Two of five reels survive.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1919-03-01
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