Helene Chadwick
Actor · 1897 – 1940 · Chadwicks, New York, USA
Helene Chadwick (November 25, 1897 – September 4, 1940) was an American actress in Silent and early sound films. Chadwick was born in the small town of Chadwicks, New York, which was named for her grandfather. Her mother was a singer who performed on the stage and her father was a businessman. She began making films for Pathe Pictures in Manhattan, New York. A director was impressed by Chadwick's talent as an equestrian, thus she began acting as a western star, but this did not continue with the exodus of film production from the east to the west coast. Signed by Samuel Goldwyn, Chadwick went to California in 1913 and entered silent movies in 1916. She was a star from 1920 through 1925. At the pinnacle of her acting career, she earned a salary estimated to have been $2,000 per week. From 1929 until 1935, she found success as a character actress when sound was being introduced to films. In the final five years of her life she was reduced to taking roles as an extra, playing "atmospheric parts". She was always optimistic that her fortunes would turn for the better. Helene made movies with Warner Brothers, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, and other studios. Her most noteworthy performances came in The Long Arm of Mannister (1919), The Cup of Fury (1920), Heartsease (1919), The Sin Flood (1922), Dangerous Curve Ahead (1921), From The Ground Up (1921), The Glorious Fool (1922), Yellow Men and Gold (1922), Dust Flower (1922), Godless Men (1920), and Quicksands (1923). In January 1919, Chadwick became engaged to Lieutenant William A. Wellman, an American pilot with the Lafayette Flying Corps. He had just returned from France and was cited for bravery for his valour in World War I. The couple had met at a party at the house of a friend. Wellman was signed to play a prominent role in an upcoming movie with Douglas Fairbanks Sr. The couple wed in July 1921, but in the summer of 1923 Chadwick sued Wellman for divorce on grounds of desertion and non-support. At the time of their separation William was directing movies for Fox Film. Wellman directed Wings, the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as many other notable films. Helene Chadwick died at St. Vincent's Hospital, Los Angeles, California, aged 42, in 1940. Her death was indirectly the result of an accident she suffered in June 1939.
Movies24
Movie5.6DramaMarianne falls in love with con man Valentine who uses their relation to get her father's endorsement on a money-raising scheme. He runs off with the money and Marianne, later dumping her. Her sister Laura loves Dr. Lindley although she knows he loves Marianne. Marianne returns and marries a wealthy young man, and Lindley turns his love toward Laura.
The Bad Sister
1931 · 25 votes
Movie6.2DramaRomanceWildly optimistic chatterbox Eva Lovelace is a would-be actress trying to crash the New York stage. She attracts the interest of a paternal actor, a philandering producer, and an earnest playwright. Is she destined for stardom, or will she fade like a morning glory after its brief blooming?
Morning Glory
1933 · 60 votes
Movie10.0ComedyA young man's fiancée believes he should sew all his wild oats before marriage, so he sets out to do it all in one night.
A Very Good Young Man
1919 · 1 votes
Movie7.0AdventureRomanceAfter 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 the infamous Barbary Coast.
Frisco Kid
1935 · 10 votes
Movie6.5CrimeDramaIn this MGM "Crime Does Not Pay" series short, a radio and television engineer falls into a life of crime by dismantling alarms for robberies.
The Perfect Set-Up
1936 · 4 votes
Movie5.7ComedySonny falls for the pretty new girl next door and decides to take her to a part. First, however, he has to get his sister Mary Lou to go to sleep, which is proving to be a harder task than he anticipated.
Merrily Yours
1933 · 7 votes
Movie8.5DramaComedyA loud-mouthed lout alienates everyone except his patient wife.
Men Are Like That
1930 · 2 votes
Movie7.0DramaTo support a demanding wife, bank clerk Brian Kent embezzles a large sum of money and, overcome with remorse, attempts to commit suicide by casting himself adrift in a small boat on a rough river. The boat is caught in willows, however, and Brian meets Judy, a little maidservant who introduces him to her mistress, Auntie Sue, a schoolteacher. Under Auntie Sue's benign influence, Brian reforms and writes a book. Falling in love with Betty Jo, Brian incurs the enmity of Judy, who tells her father of Brian's unsavory past. Judy's father starts out for the bank, but Auntie Sue gets there first and persuades the bank president (a former pupil of hers) not to prosecute Brian. Brian's wife attempts to visit him and is drowned. Brian finds happiness with Betty Jo.
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
1925 · 1 votes
Movie7.5CrimeAfter being convicted of stealing some jewels, Annette Eldrige is sent to a reformatory administered by a sadistic and corrupt female warder. However, one of the board of trustees takes an interest in the new arrival and begins to investigate the management of the institution.
School for Girls
1934 · 2 votes
Movie6.8Drama"Happy" MacDonald and his unfaithful wife own a Prohibition era night club. On this eventful night, he is threatened by bootleggers, and the club's star dancer falls in love with a young socialite who drinks to forget a personal tragedy, among other incidents.
Night World
1932 · 18 votes
Movie10.0DramaRomanceHenry Wilson, a wealthy grocer who started with a pushcart and worked his way up to 40 trucks, although married becomes interested in divorcee Mona Vincent, who is trying to win Frank Clayton, a wealthy scion with whom Wilson's daughter Mary is in love. Mona promises Mary to give up Wilson if Mary will give her Clayton.
Pleasures of the Rich
1926 · 1 votes
Movie10.0AdventureParrish, a young author, leaves his study during a storm to answer a call for help. He discovers a dying man and is rewarded with a treasure map, which he shows to Carroll, a retired sea captain. They plan a quest for the treasure; but before Carroll's ship sails, Parrish is drugged, relieved of the map, and thrown from the dock.
Yellow Men and Gold
1922 · 1 votes
Movie5.7ComedyThe crotchety dean of Pinkham University blames the "bad behavior of the school's female students on a dress shop owned by Helene, and informs her he's shutting her shop down. Meanwhile, her boyfriend Napoleon has invented a plaster that restores youth. The dean accidentally sits on the plaster and reverts back to his younger days when he himself used to chase college girls. Complications ensue.
Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes
1926 · 3 votes
Movie6.6ActionMysteryA young heiress of an American gun factory is threatened by a masked man after her father was murdered. This criminal might be a member of her family or a German agent, who wants to get information about the factory's products, perhaps his mystery has a combined solution - we will probably never know...
The House of Hate
1918 · 5 votes
Movie7.0ComedyDirected by Frank R. Strayer. With Helene Chadwick, Harry Myers, Midget Gustav, Edith Murgatroyd.
The Bachelor's Baby
1927 · 1 votes
Movie7.0ComedyIn this silent film, now considered lost, Doug Caswell falls for Irene, his wealthy father's mistress. It's up to Doug's stepmother Helen to put things right.
Say It with Sables
1928 · 2 votes
Movie3.0DramaJohn and Irene Emerson's marriage begins well enough, but it is not long before John becomes less attentive. Feeling neglected, Irene spends more time with her girl friends, and John, consequently, falls prey to the vamping wiles of his secretary, Jean Ralston. When John comes home from the theater smelling of Jean's perfume, Irene procures a divorce; John then marries Jean.
Why Men Leave Home
1924 · 3 votes
Movie6.0AdventureMysteryOriginally written for Pearl White, this silent serial is a great action-packed adventure starring Molly King and Leon Bary. This serial had fifteen chapters, each one two reels in length. The chapters were: 1. The Lady in Number '7' 2. The Masked Stranger 3. An Hour to Live 4. Kidnapped 5. The Life Current 6. The Dead Come Back 7. Into Thin Air 8. The Stranger Disposes 9. When Jail Birds Fly 10. The Hole-in-the-Wall 11. Love's Sacrifice 12. Riddle of the Double Cross 13. The Face of the Stranger 14. The Hidden Brand 15. Mystery of the Double Cross.
The Mystery of the Double Cross
1917 · 1 votes
Movie5.0DramaRomanceA woman and her children escape severe poverty and abuse. She successfully betters her family's condition while living with the secret that she killed her abusive husband in order to protect her children from him.
A Wicked Woman
1934 · 5 votes
Movie7.0DramaA chorus girl gets stranded in a small midwestern town. Against her better judgement, she hooks up with a smooth-talking con artist who says he can help her get out of town.
Good Dame
1934 · 3 votes
Movie6.1DramaRomanceKurt Anderson is the tyrannical manager of a New York department store in financial straits. He thinks nothing of firing an employee of more than 20 years or of toying with the affections of every woman he meets. One such victim is Madeline, a beautiful young woman in need of a job. Anderson hires her as a salesgirl, but not before the two spend the night together. Madeline is ashamed, especially after she falls for Martin West, a rising young star at the store. Her biggest fear is that Martin finds out the truth about her "career move."
Employees' Entrance
1933 · 27 votes
Movie9.0DramaA young woman who owns a coffee shop falls for a handsome young customer, unaware that he is a gangster.
Mary Burns, Fugitive
1935 · 1 votes
Movie6.8MusicComedyA 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.
Mississippi
1935 · 8 votes
Movie5.8DramaRomanceA farmer's widow takes on the land and her late husband's tempestuous son.
So Big!
1932 · 17 votes