Ned Sparks

Ned Sparks

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ned Sparks (born Edward Arthur Sparkman, November 19, 1883 – April 3, 1957) was a Canadian-born character actor of the American stage and screen. Sparks was known for his deadpan expression and deep, gravelly voice. Born in Guelph, Ontario, Sparks left home at age 16 and attempted to work as a gold prospector on the Klondike Gold Rush. After running out of money, he won a spot as a singer on a traveling musical company's tour. At age 19, he returned to Canada and briefly attended a Toronto seminary. After leaving the seminary, he worked for the railroad and worked in theater in Toronto. In 1907, he left Toronto for New York City to try his hand in the Broadway theatre, where he appeared in his first show in 1912. While working on Broadway, Sparks developed his trademark deadpan expression while portraying the role of a desk clerk in the play Little Miss Brown. His success on the stage soon caught the attention of MGM's Louis B. Mayer who signed Sparks to a six picture deal. Sparks began appearing in numerous silent films before finally making his "talkie" debut in the 1928 film The Big Noise. In the 1930s, Sparks became known for portraying dour-faced, sarcastic, cigar-chomping characters. He became so associated with the type that, in 1936, The New York Times reported that Sparks had his face insured for USD$100,000 with Lloyd's of London. The market agreed to pay the sum to any photographer who could capture Sparks smiling (Sparks later admitted that the story was a publicity stunt and he was only insured for $10,000). Sparks was also caricatured in cartoons including the Jack-in-the-Box character in the Disney short Broken Toys (1935), and the jester in Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (1938), a hermit crab in both Tex Avery's Fresh Fish (1939) and Bob Clampett's Goofy Groceries (1941), a chicken in Bob Clampett's Slap Happy Pappy (1940), Friz Freleng's Warner Bros. cartoon Malibu Beach Party (1940), and Tex Avery's Hollywood Steps Out (1940). Sparks also voiced the cartoon characters Heckle and Jeckle from 1947 to 1951. Sparks appeared in ten stage productions on Broadway and over 80 films. He retired from films in 1947, saying that everyone should retire at 65

  • Title: Ned Sparks
  • Popularity: 1.964
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1883-11-18
  • Place of Birth: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Edward Arthur Sparkman, Ned A. Sparks
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Ned Sparks Movies

  • 1933
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    42nd Street

    42nd Street

    6.875 1933 HD

    A producer puts on what may be his last Broadway show, and at the last moment a chorus girl has to replace the star.

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  • 1933
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    Gold Diggers of 1933

    Gold Diggers of 1933

    7.2 1933 HD

    During the Great Depression, all Broadway shows are closed down. A group of desperate unemployed showgirls find hope when a wealthy songwriter...

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  • 1933
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    Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

    6.091 1933 HD

    In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.

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  • 1933
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    Lady for a Day

    Lady for a Day

    7.1 1933 HD

    Never-wed, poor, rough around the edges Apple Annie has always written to her daughter, Louise, in Spain that she is married and a member of New...

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  • 1932
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    Blessed Event

    Blessed Event

    6.5 1932 HD

    A New York gossip columnist feuds with a singer and enjoys the power of the press.

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  • 1934
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    Sweet Adeline

    Sweet Adeline

    5.7 1934 HD

    In 1898, composer Sid Barnett manages to get his sweetheart, Adeline the beer-garden singer, to sing the lead in his new Broadway operetta; this...

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  • 1920
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    In Search of a Sinner

    In Search of a Sinner

    1 1920 HD

    Georgiana Chadbourne is a young widow. Her dead husband was such a straight arrow that it bored her, and after a proper enough mourning period, she...

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  • 1934
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    Imitation of Life

    Imitation of Life

    7 1934 HD

    A struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The two women start a successful business but face...

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  • 1929
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    The Canary Murder Case

    The Canary Murder Case

    5.5 1929 HD

    A beautiful showgirl, name "the Canary" is a scheming nightclub singer. Blackmailing is her game and with that she ends up dead. But who killed "the...

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  • 1931
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    Corsair

    Corsair

    4.2 1931 HD

    A stock market broker plans to liven up his boring life by taking up piracy on the high seas.

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  • 1920
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    Nothing But the Truth

    Nothing But the Truth

    1 1920 HD

    Robert Bennett, an idle socialite, wagers $30,000 with his three friends that he can tell nothing but the truth for a period of one week. His...

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  • 1926
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    Love's Blindness

    Love's Blindness

    1 1926 HD

    A British nobleman, heavily in debut to a moneylender, agrees to marry the man's daughter in exchange for his debt being cleared. However, since the...

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  • 1937
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    This Way Please

    This Way Please

    5.5 1937 HD

    A famous singer and matinée idol helps a pretty young theater usher in her dreams of becoming a singer, but when her career begins to take off...

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  • 1929
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    Street Girl

    Street Girl

    5.8 1929 HD

    A homeless and destitute violinist joins a combo to bring it success, but has problems with her love life.

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  • 1936
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    The Bride Walks Out

    The Bride Walks Out

    5.3 1936 HD

    Carolyn Martin is a fashion model who hastily marries her boyfriend, engineer Michael Martin. But part of the marriage arrangement requires that...

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  • 1937
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    One in a Million

    One in a Million

    7 1937 HD

    American theatrical manager discovers Greta Muller preparing for the Olympics in Switzerland and brings her to Madison Square Garden.

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  • 1932
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    Big City Blues

    Big City Blues

    5.273 1932 HD

    An Indiana boy comes into an inheritance and moves to New York City, living it up with his girlfriend until he gets in over his head and someone gets...

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  • 1934
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    Marie Galante

    Marie Galante

    4.8 1934 HD

    On the French coast, unlucky Marie Galante is abducted and forced to board an American cargo ship bound for the Panama Canal. When an escape attempt...

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  • 1925
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    Seven Keys to Baldpate

    Seven Keys to Baldpate

    1 1925 HD

    A writer, looking for some peace and quiet in order to finish a novel, takes a room at the Baldpate Inn. However, peace and quiet are the last things...

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  • 1930
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    Conspiracy

    Conspiracy

    4.45 1930 HD

    Margaret Holt and her brother Victor set out to smash a narcotics ring responsible for their father's death. Young reporter John Howell and eccentric...

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  • 1935
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    Sweet Music

    Sweet Music

    5.7 1935 HD

    A midwest band leader and his lead singer share a love-hate relationship as they try for success in New York.

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  • 1935
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    George White's 1935 Scandals

    George White's 1935 Scandals

    4 1935 HD

    A Broadway producer discovers new talent in a small Georgia town and brings them to New York for his new show.

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  • 1934
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    Sing and Like it

    Sing and Like it

    4.3 1934 HD

    While breaking into a bank safe, a gangster overhears a bank employee singing and decides to put her in a Broadway revue

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  • 1931
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    The Wide Open Spaces

    The Wide Open Spaces

    1 1931 HD

    A Wild West spoof by The Masquers Comedy Club of Hollywood.

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  • 1932
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    Big Dame Hunting

    Big Dame Hunting

    1 1932 HD

    A drunken husband tries to sneak in but his wife catches him... and that means trouble!

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  • 1923
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    The Bond Boy

    The Bond Boy

    1 1923 HD

    For the sake of his impoverished mother, Joe Newbolt bonds himself to harsh Isom Chase. Ollie Chase tires of the difficult life her husband has...

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  • 1934
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    Hi, Nellie!

    Hi, Nellie!

    6.5 1934 HD

    Managing Editor Brad Bradshaw refuses to run a story linking the disappearance of Frank Canfield with embezzlement of the bank. He considers Frank a...

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  • 1932
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    The Crusader

    The Crusader

    5 1932 HD

    Gangsters scheme to get rid of a crusading District Attorney by blackmailing him through his daughter.

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  • 1937
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    Wake Up and Live

    Wake Up and Live

    5.3 1937 HD

    Satire on radio, built around the supposed feud between bandleader Ben Bernie and journalist Walter Winchell.

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  • 1930
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    Love Comes Along

    Love Comes Along

    5 1930 HD

    An American sailor comes to a seedy banana republic, and finds a fellow yank, a stranded girl, as a saloon singer. They fall in love, but a...

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  • 1930
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    The Fall Guy

    The Fall Guy

    5.5 1930 HD

    Johnny Quinlan is so desperate for a job that he takes a gig as a "bag man" for the mob. Meanwhile, his beleaguered wife has to deal with her...

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  • 1939
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    The Star Maker

    The Star Maker

    1 1939 HD

    This is a film about the life of Gus Edwards, a well known vaudeville composer, entertainer, and producer.

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  • 1934
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    Down to Their Last Yacht

    Down to Their Last Yacht

    6 1934 HD

    Left only with their yacht after going broke in the Great Depression, a high-society family sets sail for the South Seas. Screwball comedy, with...

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  • 1947
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    Magic Town

    Magic Town

    6.655 1947 HD

    Rip Smith's opinion-poll business is a failure...until he discovers that the small town of Grandview is statistically identical to the entire...

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  • 1930
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    The Devil's Holiday

    The Devil's Holiday

    6.3 1930 HD

    Beautiful manicurist Hallie Hobart sets her sights on handsome David Stone, the son of wealthy wheat farmer Ezra Stone. Professing to hate men,...

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  • 1933
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    Too Much Harmony

    Too Much Harmony

    5 1933 HD

    A singer is involved with two women in his life, one a "good" girl and one a "bad" one."

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  • 1933
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    Secrets

    Secrets

    5.091 1933 HD

    In the 1860s, Mary Marlowe defies her father's wishes to marry a British lord and runs away with clerk John Carlton as he heads West to make his...

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  • 1938
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    Hawaii Calls

    Hawaii Calls

    5.4 1938 HD

    After being nabbed while trying to stow away on board an ocean liner en route to Hawaii, young Bobby Breen sings for his travel fare and, along with...

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  • 1932
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    The Miracle Man

    The Miracle Man

    5.6 1932 HD

    A gang of crooks evade the police by moving their operations to a small town. There the gang's leader, John Madison, encounters a faith healer and...

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  • 1927
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    The Small Bachelor

    The Small Bachelor

    1 1927 HD

    What must a man do in order to put an end to his bachelorhood? For George Finch, one of nature's white mice and probably the worst artist ever to put...

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  • 1926
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    The Hidden Way

    The Hidden Way

    1 1926 HD

    The film tells the tale of three ex-cons who finally go straight, through the redemptive power of love. After rescuing Mary from certain death, the...

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  • 1926
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    When the Wife's Away

    When the Wife's Away

    1 1926 HD

    Mistaken identity and female impersonation take place when indigents Billy Winthrop (George K. Arthur) and Ethel Winthrop (Dorothy Reviere) rent a...

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  • 1933
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    Going Hollywood

    Going Hollywood

    5.5 1933 HD

    The film tells the story of Sylvia, a French teacher at an all-girl school, who wants to find love. When she hears Bill Williams on the radio, she...

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  • 1925
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    The Only Thing

    The Only Thing

    2 1925 HD

    Thyra arrives in Chekia to wed its old and ugly king. The Duke falls in love with her. A revolution erupts and the king is assassinated. Chief...

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  • 1926
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    Mike

    Mike

    1 1926 HD

    A Modest Comedy Drama

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  • 1934
    imgMovies

    Servants' Entrance

    Servants' Entrance

    1 1934 HD

    Heiress Hedda Nillson certain that her family is about to lose all its money, takes a job as a maid. After the usual trials and tribulations, Hedda...

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  • 1934
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    Private Scandal

    Private Scandal

    1 1934 HD

    "Private Scandal" is a 1934 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Ralph Murphy and written by Vera Caspary, Garrett Fort and Bruce Manning. The...

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  • 2006
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    Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound

    Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound

    5.5 2006 HD

    Short documentary about the Great Depression's impact on film, specifically Berkeley musicals.

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  • 1931
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    Kept Husbands

    Kept Husbands

    5.474 1931 HD

    A former All-American football star, now working as a steel mill supervisor in New Jersey, falls in love with the mill owner's wealthy, very spoiled...

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  • 1943
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    Stage Door Canteen

    Stage Door Canteen

    6.1 1943 HD

    A young soldier on a pass in New York City visits the famed Stage Door Canteen, where famous stars of the theater and films appear and host a...

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  • 1930
    imgMovies

    Double Cross Roads

    Double Cross Roads

    1 1930 HD

    Based on a novel by William R. Lipman

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  • 1927
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    Alias the Lone Wolf

    Alias the Lone Wolf

    1 1927 HD

    Michael Lanyard, aka the Lone Wolf, is sailing to America when he meets pretty Eve de Montalais. Eve wants to sneak her valuable necklace through...

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  • 1929
    imgMovies

    Nothing But the Truth

    Nothing But the Truth

    5 1929 HD

    A young man bets $10,000 that for 24 hour he can tell nothing but the truth.

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  • 1931
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    Iron Man

    Iron Man

    4.8 1931 HD

    Prizefighter Mason loses his opening fight so wife Rose leaves him for Hollywood. Without her around Mason trains and starts winning. Rose comes back...

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  • 1927
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    Alias The Deacon

    Alias The Deacon

    1 1927 HD

    A hillbilly deacon, who is actually a cardsharp in disguise, becomes involved in a small-town fight game.

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  • 1926
    imgMovies

    Twinkletoes

    Twinkletoes

    7 1926 HD

    "Twinkletoes" Minasi wants to be a great dancer like her deceased mother. Twink meets Chuck Lightfoot, a noted prizefighter, who falls in love with...

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  • 1920
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    Good References

    Good References

    5.5 1920 HD

    The plot revolves around a down-on-her-luck woman named Mary whose lack of references makes it impossible for her to gain employment. When a friend...

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  • 1931
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    The Secret Call

    The Secret Call

    1 1931 HD

    The Secret Call is adapted from The Woman, a play by William C. DeMille (brother of Cecil B.) Peggy Shannon plays Wanda Kelly, the daughter of a...

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  • 1925
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    Faint Perfume

    Faint Perfume

    1 1925 HD

    After a stormy six year marriage, Barnaby Powers divorces his wife Richmiel. She returns home, taking their young son Oliver with her. Barnaby...

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  • 1925
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    His Supreme Moment

    His Supreme Moment

    1 1925 HD

    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.

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  • 1930
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    Leathernecking

    Leathernecking

    1 1930 HD

    Chick Evans is a Marine private in Honolulu, Hawaii. He falls for society girl Delphine Witherspoon, and begins to scheme as to how to win her over.

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  • 1926
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    Money Talks

    Money Talks

    1 1926 HD

    Sam Starling (Owen Moore) is deep in debt, his wife Phoebe (Claire Windsor) is leaving him and still he is confident. When Phoebe boards a luxury...

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  • 1936
    imgMovies

    Collegiate

    Collegiate

    1 1936 HD

    A Broadway playboy inherits an almost bankrupt girls' school and tries to save it by a big show.

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  • 1928
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    The Big Noise

    The Big Noise

    1 1928 HD

    John Stoval, a guard in a New York subway, thinks that Philip Hurd, who owns a concession at Coney Island, would make a good husband for his daughter...

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  • 1925
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    Bright Lights

    Bright Lights

    1 1925 HD

    Tom loves Patsy, but she lives in the city while he is every bit the country bumpkin. When an invention of his sells, he decides to take the money...

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  • 1929
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    Strange Cargo

    Strange Cargo

    6 1929 HD

    On board a yacht sailing from India to Britain, the owner of the vessel is murdered by one of the passengers. (This film was produced both in full...

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  • 1928
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    The Magnificent Flirt

    The Magnificent Flirt

    1 1928 HD

    Count D'Estrange tries to save his nephew Hubert from Denise Laverne he believes a heartless flirt. Denise's mother Mme. Florence Laverne uses all...

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  • 1941
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    For Beauty's Sake

    For Beauty's Sake

    1 1941 HD

    A woman-hater who inherits a beauty salon gets a new perspective on females after capturing a gang of thieves.

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  • 1920
    imgMovies

    The Perfect Woman

    The Perfect Woman

    1 1920 HD

    Mary Blake can charm any man, young or old, with her winning ways -- except for the one she really wants. James Stanhope is a misogynist who won't...

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  • 1919
    imgMovies

    A Temperamental Wife

    A Temperamental Wife

    5 1919 HD

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  • 1936
    imgMovies

    Two's Company

    Two's Company

    1 1936 HD

    The son of a stodgy British earl falls in love with the daughter of an American millionaire businessman. The fathers oppose the relationship.

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  • 1960
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    Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse

    Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse

    6 1960 HD

    Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse is a children's cartoon television show that was produced by Trans-Artists Productions and syndicated by Tele...

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