William Farnum
Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William Farnum (July 4, 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts – June 5, 1953 in Hollywood, California) was a major movie actor. One of three brothers, Farnum grew up in a family of actors. He made his acting debut at the age of ten in Richmond, Virginia in a production of Julius Caesar, with Edwin Booth playing the title character. His first major success was as the title character of Ben-Hur in 1900 though replacing the original actor Edward Morgan who premiered the character in 1899. Later plays Farnum appeared in were the costume epic The Prince of India (1906), The White Sister (1909) starring Viola Allen, The Littlest Rebel (1911) co-starring his brother Dustin and a child actress named Mary Miles Minter(then nine years old) & Arizona (1913) with Dustin and stage beauty Elsie Ferguson. In The Spoilers in 1914, Farnum and Tom Santschi staged a classic movie fight which lasted for a full reel. In 1930, Farnum and Stantschi coached Gary Cooper and William Boyd in the fight scene for the 1930 version of The Spoilers. Other actors influenced by the Farnum scene were Milton Sills and Noah Beery in 1922 and Randolph Scott and John Wayne in 1942. From 1915 to 1925, Farnum devoted his life to motion pictures. When becoming one of the biggest sensations in Hollywood, he also became one of the highest-paid actors, earning $10,000 a week. Farnum's silent pictures the western Drag Harlan(1920) and the drama-adventure If I Were King(1921) survive from his years contracted to Fox Films. Farnum has a "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was the younger brother of actor Dustin Farnum. He had another brother, Marshall Farnum, who was a silent film director and died in 1917. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Farnum, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
When strongman Samson rejects the love of the beautiful Philistine woman Delilah, she seeks vengeance that brings horrible consequences they both regret.
Samson and Delilah
Cattle baron Devereaux Burke is enlisted by an aging Andrew Jackson to dissuade Sam Houston from establishing Texas as a republic. Burke must fight state senator Thomas Craden, in the process winning the heart of Craden's newspaper-editor girlfriend Martha Ronda.
Lone Star
When honest ship captain Roy Glennister gets swindled out of his mine claim, he turns to saloon singer Cherry Malotte for assistance in his battle with no-good town kingpin Alexander McNamara.
The Spoilers
Frontiersman Kit Carson fights off Indian attacks on the trail to California.
Kit Carson
A female blackmailer with a disfiguring facial scar meets a plastic surgeon who offers her the possibility of looking like a normal woman.
A Woman's Face
The Scuttlers is a lost 1920 American silent drama film produced and distributed by the Fox Film Corporation and directed by J. Gordon Edwards. William Farnum and Jackie Saunders star in this adventure.
The Scuttlers
The queen of Egypt barges the Nile and flirts with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar.
Cleopatra
Cutthroat pirate William Kidd captures Admiral Blayne's treasure ship and hides the bounty in a cave. Three years later, Kidd, posing as a respectable merchant captain, offers his services to the King of England. Seeking a social position, Kidd also negotiates for Blayne's title and lands, provided he can prove Blayne was associated with piracy. Launched upon his royal mission, Kidd is unaware that Blayne's son Adam is among the crew, determined to clear his father's name.
Captain Kidd
King Richard the Lionhearted launches a crusade to preserve Christianity in Jerusalem.
The Crusades
An independent producer unwisely opens a can of worms after he decides to make a movie about the unsolved murder of a famous silent film director.
Hollywood Story
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.
If I Were King
After being buried in quicksand for the past 25 years, Kharis is set free to roam the rural bayous of Louisiana, as is the soul of his beloved Princess Ananka, still housed in the body of Amina Mansouri, who seeks help and protection at a swamp draining project.
The Mummy's Curse
Richard Dix as Dan Taylor and Preston S. Foster as Paxton Bryce are two longtime friends seeking their fortune in Texas after the war. The two men decide, not without problems, to establish a cattle empire. Paxton becoming too ambitious, distances himself from Dan and Abby, Paxton's wife. It will only be after a personal tragedy that he will come back to his senses.
American Empire
Crash Corrigan, a recent graduate of Annapolis, and Diana, a go-getting reporter, join Professor Norton for a search for the source of a string of earthquakes, Atlantis. They ride Prof. Norton's rocket submarine searching the sea and little Billy Norton, the professor's son stows away, of course. When they find Atlantis they are caught in a war between peaceful Atlanteans, note their white capes, and war-monging Atlanteans, note their black capes. After many harrowing moments for Crash, Diana, Prof. Norton and Billy, they barely get away with their lives when they escape a tower of Atlantis raised to the surface for the sole purpose of dominating or destroying the Earth (Which one depends on the compliance of the upper world dwellers.)
Sharad of Atlantis
Two down-on-their-luck loafers take a job babysitting, with a bedtime story of the titular tale turning into a wacky Abbott and Costello-faced musical retelling involving stolen cows, terrible giants, and the heroic boy with an opportunistic butcher in a castle above the clouds.
Jack and the Beanstalk
The Mesquiteers capture a horse thief who escapes justice through a crooked judge. They gather signatures urging the governor to investigate but a friend with the petition is murdered. Stony is accused.
Santa Fe Stampede
Edited version of the 1938 Republic serial "The Lone Ranger."
Hi-Yo Silver
After her brother's death, Roma Courtney becomes the heiress to his fortune. When a fake psychic claims to have a message from her dead brother, he coaxes her into participating in a séance. While her fiancé first believes the séance is nothing more than a scam, he eventually realizes that the vengeful spirit of an executed murderer has possessed Roma's body.
Supernatural
The tumultuous presidency of 19th-president Andrew Johnson is chronicled in this biopic. The story begins with Johnson's boyhood and covers his early life. During the Civil War, Johnson stays a staunch Unionist and upon Lincoln's reelection in 1864, becomes his Vice President. After Lincoln's assassination, Johnson becomes the President and became the first U.S. president ever to be impeached.
Tennessee Johnson
Commissioner Tredwell is the law of the land and he gets whatever he wants with the help of hired guns and lackey lawyer Conners. The only one who publicly stands up to Tredwell is Beecham of the Clarion. Beecham has his paper burned to the ground and when he starts a petition to make Wyoming a state, taking the power away from Tredwell, he is killed. But when Kansas Kate comes in to visit her son Conners, she sees what is going on and she takes over the paper and keeps the pressure on Tredwill. With this Conners has mixed emotions, but the boys do everything they can to protect Kate and the paper. Written by Tony Fontana