Edgar Selwyn
Writing
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Edgar Selwyn (October 20, 1875 – February 13, 1944) was a prominent figure in American theater and film in the first half of the 20th Century. He co-founded Goldwyn Pictures in 1916. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Selwyn flourished in the Broadway theater as an actor, playwright, director, and producer from 1899 to 1942. With his brother Archibald Selwyn (November 3, 1877 - June 21, 1959) he founded the theatrical production company The Selwyns which produced plays on Broadway from 1919 to 1932 (see, e.g., Wedding Bells). The Selwyns owned several theatres in the United States including the Park Square Theatre in Boston; the Hanna Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio; the Selwyn in Chicago; and the Selwyn, Apollo, and Times Square theatres in New York City. Selwyn also worked in Hollywood, producing and directing eight films between 1929 and 1942. Among these was The Sin of Madelon Claudet which Selwyn directed for MGM in 1931. The film starred Helen Hayes, who won an Academy Award for her performance. In addition, Selwyn wrote two screenplays and many more films were adapted from his original plays. He died in Los Angeles, California.
Known For
Jamil, a soldier in the Bedouin defense forces during a war between Syria and Turkey, deserts his regiment but later returns to save children of a missionary’s orphanage who are at risk of being enslaved or killed by the Turks.
The Arab
Marion is a factory worker who hopes to trade the assembly line for a beautiful penthouse apartment. Mark Whitney, a wealthy and influential lawyer, can make her dreams come true, but, there is only one problem; he will give her everything except a marriage proposal. Will this affair ever lead to marriage?
Possessed
Richard, a millionaire in love with his secretary, Diane, is dispirited when his wife refuses to divorce him. Concerned that Diane will now lose interest, Richard offers her an all-expense-paid cruise to Argentina so that she can think it over. While traveling, however, Diane falls in love with fellow traveler Mike. She resolves to come clean to Richard, but upon return she becomes conflicted when she finds out he was able to get divorced after all.
Chained
A dizzy young woman aranges to turn her inventor-boyfriend's vacation into a chance meeting with a possible investor who happens to be her brother's future father-in-law. And Wacky stuff happens.
Dulcy
A mild-mannered insurance salesman gets mixed up with gangsters.
The Golden Fleecing
Joe and Ethel Turp are up in arms when their faithful old mailman is fired. Unable to get satisfaction on a municipal level, Joe and Ethel plead their mailman's case to the President himself.
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
Women from various backgrounds volunteer as nurses in France at the outbreak of World War I.
War Nurse
An elderly businessman plans what he thinks is an innocent night on the town while his wife is away. Instead, he finds himself involved in a showgirl's murder.
Washington Melodrama
While recuperating in a hospital after he's hit by an automobile, a struggling shopowner dreams what his life might have been like if he'd made different choices twenty years earlier.
Turn Back the Clock
A loud-mouthed Texas cowpuncher tries his hand at polo finding himself at odds with high society and trying to save a floundering Wild West show.
The Kid From Texas
After discovering his star dancer is expecting and can't perform, film producer H.W. Workman and his publicist concoct a scheme to stage a college dance contest to find a new star.
Dancing Co-Ed
A carefree playboy with an aversion to marriage falls for a lass he meets in the French Alps.
Bridal Suite
After bank president David Dwight makes a vast loan to himself to build a remarkable skyscraper, his board questions the propriety of the loan. Despite the devotion of longtime mistress Sarah, the ruthless David, while seeking bank mergers to protect his building, tries to seduce Sarah's secretary, Lynn. David then agrees to a plot by a bank board member to inflate his bank's stock and sell short — just before the market crashes.
Skyscraper Souls
Out of jail for a crime she did not commit, Madelon turns to prostitution and thievery to send her illegitimate son to medical school.
The Sin of Madelon Claudet
Pre-code melodrama about high society marriage and fidelity.
Men Call It Love
Dr. Edward Meade and friend Richard Burton both love Sylvia Norcross. Both enlist in the military, but Meade stays back to care for deformed children. Sylvia thinks him a coward and marries Burton. After Burton is presumed dead, Meade and Sylvia are to wed, but Burton returns maimed and scarred.
For Better, for Worse
Irene Martin, hoping to find fame as an opera singer, leaves her hometown for New York but ends up a chorus girl. She meets Henry Galt, a wealthy businessman, who asks her out on a date then sends her money the next day. Offended, she demands an apology, but Galt explains he often hires showgirls to entertain prospective clients on a strictly platonic basis. On those terms Irene accepts. Over time Galt falls in love with Irene and when he discovers her family has the impression she has become a fallen woman, marries her.
The Mirage
Thanks to a series of comic mishaps, a timid, small-town office clerk finds himself wanted by the police and labeled by the media as "Public Enemy No. 2."
Baby Face Harrington
Tom, a young man in a small town, wants to marry his sweetheart Jane, but Jane's father won't allow it until Tom proves he can support her. Tom heads to New York City to make his fortune and prove to Jane's father that he has what it takes, but he meets and falls in love with Amy, a chorus girl who already has a wealthy suitor. Complications ensue.
The Country Boy
A sophisticated jewel thief tries to prove himself innocent of a string of cop murders.