Writing
The O'Donnells are a typical, everyday family -- Tad (George Hernandez) is a sensible working man, his wife (Fannie Midgely) is a good mother and their daughter Kathleen (Constance Binney) is pretty and innocent to the point of naiveté. Kathleen works in a factory and its owner, Donald Holiday (Warner Baxter), has taken a shine to her. But instead she falls for slick cab driver Harry Stanton (George Webb), who insists, "Honest, kid, you're the only girl I ever loved." Kathleen falls for this, and when her perceptive father makes clear he doesn't approve of Stanton, she moves out on her own.
Dr. Henry Jekyll believes that there are two distinct sides to men: one that is good and one that is evil. He believes that by separating the two, man can become liberated. He succeeds in his experiments with chemicals to accomplish this and transforms into Hyde to commit horrendous crimes. When he discontinues use of the drug, it is already too late.
Dr. Jekyll believes good and evil exist in everyone and creates a potion that allows his evil side, Mr. Hyde, to come to the fore. He faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run amok.
Myra Coningsby, a newlywed who is determined not to be a submissive wife but ultimately learns to find a balance in her marriage after a dramatic incident involving a faked drowning.
Rubber-legged comedian Leon Errol made his talkie starring bow in Paramount's Only Saps Work. Based on a play by Owen Davis Sr., the film casts Errol as James Wilson, a kleptomaniac who starts with picking pockets and ends up robbing a bank. Wilson's friend Lawrence Payne (Richard Arlen) inadvertently aids our hero during one of his heists, ending up in deep doo-doo with the law. Before Wilson is able to extricate Payne from his dilemma for the sake of heroine Barbara Tanner (Mary Brian), he pauses long enough to pose as a private eye -- and even gives bellboy Oscar (Stu Erwin) tips on how to spot a crook! If only all of Leon Errol's feature films had been as consistently hilarious as Only Saps Work.
Though billed second, the stunningly beautiful Louise Brooks is the focal point of the campus comedy Rolled Stockings. It's the old one about two collegiate brothers, Jim and Ralph Treadway (James Hall, Richard Arlen), in love with the same girl, Carol Fleming (Brooks).
Cowboy Tom Gallagher, escaping from a saloon fight with Black Carter and Thug Peters, rescues Little Joey and his dog--who have been sent "parcel post" to Dorothy Manning's Bar M Ranch by her sister--from an approaching train. Tom completes the delivery and is hired by Dorothy as foreman. There he finds Carter and Peters, who have been rustling Dorothy's cattle and stealing right and left from the Bar M. Peters buys up the mortgage and then kidnaps Dorothy when Tom goes away to get the money to pay it off. Tom effects her rescue with the aid of Little Joey and Bendy Mulligan, a rheumatic old cowpuncher. The mortgage is paid off, and Bendy's accidental discovery of oil while taking a mud bath solves Dorothy's financial problems. Dorothy and Tom wed.
The fiery, impulsive, yet pure-hearted Lasca lives in a Mexican settlement near the Rio Grande with her twin brother Ricardo and their aunt. She falls in love with cattle rancher Anthony Moreland, whose teasings bring out her jealous temper, but Moreland, although fond of Lasca, thinks of her as a child. Seeing the flirtatious, though engaged, Clara Vane fall in love with Anthony, Lasca, in a vicious fit, stabs his wound and begs forgiveness.
Paramount Pictures produced this French-language version of Slightly Scarlet (1930) , shot on the same sets and using some of the same actors, for the European market.
Famous actress Norma Shearer's jewels are stolen… (Star-packed promotional short film intended to raise funds for the National Variety Artists Tuberculosis Sanatorium.)
Chester Carr, owner of a dude ranch in the Rockies, caters to guests seeking the thrill of the Wild West. Among his guests are the wealthy Spruce Meadows and his daughter Susan. But the West isn't wild anymore and most of Carr's guests are bored and about to leave. He is in despair when a caravan carrying a broke-down-and-out troupe of actors---Jennifer, Judd, Mrs. Merridew and her daughter, Alice---crashes down the hill and wrecks the hotel sign.
Luke Beamish is the engineer of the Isobel, an old iron steed, and Cannonball Casey handles the throttle of the Mogul, a modern locomotive. Cannonball falls in love with Doris, Luke's daughter, who is greatly admired by Jack Sweeney, the railroad president's son. Doris rejects Casey's affections, considering him a bully, and consequently Casey challenges Jack to a wrestling match at the picnic.
A sexy young nightclub singer sets her sights on a young man she believes to be a millionaire playboy, although he is in reality only an insurance agent.
Patience Winslow is an impulsive heiress who marries a much-older man whom she really doesn't love. While honeymooning on her yacht without her new husband, Patience is marooned on a desert island with handsome Captain Edmunds. Her head full of notions that she's gleaned from radio dramas and pulp novels, Patience demands that she and Edmunds enter into an in-name-only marriage, observing the responsibilities and proprieties of matrimony without the sexual entanglements. Complications naturally arise.
After divorcing her husband in Reno, Nancy Bell is arrested for speeding and thrown into jail. Unable to pay the fine, she wires her former husband, J. Austin, for help; he comes to Nevada and gets her out of the clink. A blonde crook named Ruby becomes enamored of J. Austin, and Nancy, who still loves her former husband, does everything within her power to prevent J. Austin from falling in love with the gold digger. Eventually Ruby is arrested by the police, and Nancy and J. Austin are remarried by a bemused preacher.
Alice, an employee who is chosen by her coworkers to represent them at a banquet honoring her boss's new partner. Tasked with giving a speech and presenting a "loving cup" as a token of esteem, Alice becomes overwhelmed by her high-society surroundings. Her nervousness leads to a series of comedic blunders and a "terrible fall" during her act, though the situation is eventually salvaged.
Before handing over a large inheritance, a guardian hires three chorus girls to educate his charge about the "underside" of big-city life.
The various residents and occupants of a resort hotel await the outcome of a horse race at a nearby track, as it will affect each of their lives in different ways.
Bela, reared by Indians, learns that she is a white orphan and runs away from the Indian village to avoid marrying a brave from the tribe. She determines to marry land prospector Sam Gladding, who resists her advances but later falls in love with Bela when an Indian sage gives him some advice.
Wellman’s first all-talkie, scripted by Herman Mankiewicz, with arrogant boxer Richard Arlen romancing Mary Brian, then falling for temptress Olga Baclanova (Freaks) on the eve of the big fight.
