Oscar Apfel
1878 - 1938Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in 167 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927.
Apfel was born in Cleveland, Ohio. After a number of years in commerce, he decided to adopt the stage as a profession. He secured his first professional engagement in 1900, in his hometown. He rose rapidly and soon held a position as director and producer and was at the time noted as being the youngest stage director in America.[1] He spent eleven years on the stage on Broadway then joined the Edison Manufacturing Company. Apfel first directed for Thomas A. Edison, Inc. in 1911–12, where he made the innovative short film The Passer-By (1912). He also did some experimental work at Edison's laboratory in Orange, on the Edison Talking Pictures devices.
After many years as a director, he gradually returned to acting. On March 21, 1938, Apfel died in Hollywood from a heart attack.
In Search of a Thrill
Oscar Apfel
Viola Dana, Warner Baxter
After she inherits a fortune, Ann Clemance travels to Paris to indulge herself in frivolity. She meets up with an old friend, writer Adrian Torrens, who disparages her lifestyle. Ann sees him befriend an Apache dancer and she believes he finds women in need of salvation more appealing.
In Search of a Thrill
The Making of Bobby Burnit
Oscar Apfel
Edward Abeles, Bessie Barriscale
Bobby Burnit, a naïve young man, inherits $300,000 from his father, a hard-working entrepreneur. Because the will specifies that the money must be invested, Agnes Elliston, Bobby's sweetheart, suggests that he take over his father's chain of stores. Soon Bobby becomes the dupe of various swindlers and charlatans, among them Sam Stone and Bobby's shady lawyer. With the help of Bobby's friend Biff Bates and Daniel Johnson, a loyal employee of Bobby's father, the swindlers are exposed in the newspaper and Bobby's inheritance is saved. Finally, after rescuing Agnes from Stone's advances, Bobby proposes to her, thus complying with all of his late father's wishes. -From TCM.com Database, powered by the AFI.
The Making of Bobby Burnit
The Calling of Dan Matthews
Phil Rosen
Richard Arlen, Charlotte Wynters
Dan Matthews (Richard Arlen), a young parson, is in love with Hope Strong (Charlotte Wynters), the daughter of James B. Strong ('FRederick Burton'), a man who controls the town with his real estate and business interests. Strong is an upstanding citizen who has fallen into the hands of a clever racketeer, Jeff Hardy (Douglass Dumbrille), who acts as Strong's manager of some innocent-appearing amusement places that are really secret dens of vice.
The Calling of Dan Matthews
Phil-for-Short
Oscar Apfel
Evelyn Greeley, Charles Walcott
A feisty, independent young woman, Damophilia Illington ("Phil" for short, hence the title), the daughter of a progressive university professor, is devastated by the sudden death of her father. The town's banker, an arrogant stuffed shirt, wants to marry Phil and has himself declared her guardian. Not wanting to marry him, she quickly leaves town and lands a job at a nearby university as an assistant to a professor of Greek literature (an area in which her father trained her) who is bitter and resentful after the breakup of his engagement to a woman who, it turned out, had been lying to him. "Phil", however, is determined to win him over.
Phil-for-Short
Only Yesterday
John M. Stahl
Margaret Sullavan, John Boles
On the back of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, a young business man is about to commit suicide. With the note to his wife scribbled down and a gun in his hand, he notices a thick envelope addressed to him at the desk. As he begin to read, we're taken back to the days of WW1 and his meeting with a young woman named Mary Lane.
Only Yesterday
Employees' Entrance
Roy Del Ruth
Warren William, Loretta Young
Kurt Anderson is the tyrannical manager of a New York department store in financial straits. He thinks nothing of firing an employee of more than 20 years or of toying with the affections of every woman he meets. One such victim is Madeline, a beautiful young woman in need of a job. Anderson hires her as a salesgirl, but not before the two spend the night together. Madeline is ashamed, especially after she falls for Martin West, a rising young star at the store. Her biggest fear is that Martin finds out the truth about her "career move."
Employees' Entrance
Skyscraper Souls
Edgar Selwyn
Warren William, Maureen O'Sullivan
Skyscraper Souls is a Pre-Code 1932 drama film starring Warren William and Maureen O'Sullivan. The film was directed by Edgar Selwyn and is based upon the novel Skycraper by Faith Baldwin. The film depicts the aspirations and lives of several people in the Seacoast National Bank Building. Among them is David Dwight, the womanizing bank owner who keeps his estranged wife happy by paying her bills. His secretary Sarah wants him to get a divorce so they can marry.
Skyscraper Souls
Men in Her Life
William Beaudine
Lois Moran, Charles Bickford
A wealthy ex-bootlegger comes to the rescue of a formerly rich society girl after her gold-digging fiancé leaves her stranded when he finds out she's broke. The bootlegger proposes a deal: he will settle her debts if she teaches him how to be "a gentleman".
Men in Her Life
Misbehaving Ladies
William Beaudine
Lila Lee, Ben Lyon
Ellen, a young American girl who married a European prince and moved to his country, is preparing to return to the US, after having paid off all the debts left by her now-deceased husband. However, when she returns early, no one recognizes her and even her aunt Kate mistakes her for the princess' dressmaker. Her ex-boyfriend Joe, who recognizes her immediately, suggests that Ellen continue with the charade and have some fun, but a series of misunderstandings causes trouble for her.
Misbehaving Ladies
