Movies: Herman J. Mankiewicz

American Civil War, 1862. After the disaster of the Second Battle of Bull Run, Major Allen, chief of the Secret Service of the Union, asks actress Gail Loveless to become one of his operators and infiltrate enemy territory....

Celeste de Givray is renowned throughout Europe as the most beautiful and best-dressed model in all Paris. Her press agent DuPont concocts an attention-getting publicity scheme by having Celeste undergo cosmetic surgery, then unveiling her "new" face...

A bandleader tries to romance a dancer by sending her boyfriend, a musician, out of town. However, things get complicated when he finds out that a gangster has designs on her too....

In love with political candidate Anthony Cowles, heroine Nancy Blair gets wind of the opposition's scheme to ruin Cowles' reputation. At the risk of her own good name, Nancy decides to turn the tables on the crooked politicos by framing Cowles' oppon...

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....

The title character is office-boy Barney. Pretending to be a deaf-mute, Barney tries to trump his detective boss Walter Babbing by tracking down the person who kidnapped Peggy Meredith, the daughter of wealthy Agnes and Trumbull Meredith....

Julie Cavendish comes from a family of great Broadway actors. Her mother Fanny staunchly continues acting. Her boisterous brother Tony is fleeing a breach of promise suit in Hollywood. Her daughter Gwen must decide between going on stage, or settling...

Aubrey cons Amy into thinking he's a railroad bigwig. When he loses his job he takes one wearing a sandwich board. After he helps Joe sell his patent for a good price and an old railroad deal comes through, he's back on top and ready to marry Amy aga...

Captain Timothy 'Two Gun' Nolan is appointed head of the New York detective force, and as his first act, rounds up every criminal in town. Gang boss 'Dapper' Frank Trent stands bail for all of them as independent minor gang-leader. Setting out to get...

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The Beagles and the Hickses are two mountain families that have been feuding all their lives. The Hickses come up with a plan to get rid of their enemies once and for all by hiring two sharpshooters to finish them off. Turns out that the "sharpshoote...

Joe, a former sea captain whose wife died during the birth of their child at sea, is now a pockmarked, disreputable divekeeper in Singapore where he indulges in shady operations with Herrick, known as The Admiral. They ship for Mandalay, where Joe's ...

A once-wealthy sister and brother rent out their Southern mansion and stay on as cook and butler....

A successful carnival barker deals with the arrival of his eager son, who he'd hoped would stay far from the carnival world, his son's entanglement with a showgirl, and his own jealous mistress....

Real-life outlaw Joaquin Murietta, who (according to this film, anyway) is a latter-day Robin Hood, dedicated to driving land-grabbers and corrupt politicians out of Spanish California....

After getting into a fight with a drunkard, Mike Moran spends 10 days on the rock pile and is disinherited by his wealthy uncle; out of luck and work, Mike joins the Marines and is soon court-martialed for kissing Vivian Marshall, a general's daughte...

A variety extra falls in love with a beautiful duchess, and tries to impress her by posing as a rajah. He tells her the truth before anything happens, and leaves. A lost film....

Gerald Sumner, a young physician and confirmed bachelor, opens his office and finds that he is without patients until a fond mother brings him her son, Bud Woodbridge, whose malady Sumner diagnoses as "love sickness."...

Figures Don't Lie is a showcase for the physical charms of lovely Esther Ralston, who in one scene proves the accuracy of the title by donning a fetching one-piece bathing suit. The main story concerns wise-guy insurance salesman Richard Arlen, who t...

The Three Maxims are trapeze artists Pat (Anna Neagle), Toni (Tuilio Carminati) and Mac (Leslie Banks). After spending most of their careers in the small time, the threesome finally get their big chance in Paris, at which point Mac realizes he's in l...