Edwin August

Acting

Edwin August

Born — Died

1883-11-10 — 1964-03-04

Place of birth

Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

69 titles

Edwin August (born Edwin August Phillip von der Butz; November 10, 1883 – March 4, 1964) was an American actor, director, and screenwriter of the silent era. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1909 and 1947. He also directed 52 films between 1912 and 1919. August co-founded Eaco Films in 1914. He wrote novels under the pen name Montague Lawrence. [biography (excerpted) from Wikipedia]

Known for

Film credits

1940s · 5 titles

1930s · 6 titles

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington poster
7.8

After the death of a United States Senator, the idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his replacement in Washington. The naive and earnest new senator soon finds himself battling political corruption.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939

Marked Woman poster
6.6

In the underworld of Manhattan, a woman dares to stand up to one of the city's most powerful gangsters.

Marked Woman

1937

The Rage of Paris poster
5.8

Nicole has no job and is several weeks behind with her rent. Her solution to her problems is to try and snare a rich husband. Enlisting the help of her friend Gloria and the maitre'd at a ritzy New York City hotel, the trio plot to have Gloria catch the eye of Bill Duncan, a millionaire staying at the hotel. The plan works and the two quickly become engaged. Nicole's plan may be thwarted by Bill's friend, Jim Trevor, who's met Nicole before and sees through her plot.

The Rage of Paris

1938

Safety in Numbers poster
7.0

The Jones family patriarch, also mayor, is swindled into thinking the town swamp is a rich mineral deposit.

Safety in Numbers

1938

Youth Takes a Fling poster
5.5

McCrea plays Joe Meadows, whose only ambition as a Kansas farm boy was a life at sea. He moves to New York to try to get a job as a sailor, finds it more difficult than he thought, and meets Helen Brown, who falls for him and uses her feminine wiles to try to prevent him leaving.

Youth Takes a Fling

1938

Romance of the West poster
9.0

Chasing the man who had caused the death of his sister, Jack Walsh rescues Mary Winters from the unwanted attentions of a drunk, and learns that she has been lured to Mexico by the false promises of an ex-prizefighter "Kayo" Mooney. The latter kidnaps Mary but Jack wins the showdown and Mary, and finds that Mooney is the man he was looking for.

Romance of the West

1930

1920s · 5 titles

The Idol of the North poster
9.0

Dance-hall girl Colette Brissac, brought up in the Canadian Northwest, refuses the protection of New Yorker Lucky Folsom, who later marries Gloria Waldron, an ambitious woman actually in love with engineer Martin Bates. When Bates drifts into the mining town, the miners, while drunk, force him to marry Colette. She nurses him back to health and they gradually fall in love. The arrival of Folsom and Gloria threatens to break up their marriage, and Colette prevents a fight between the two men by wounding Folsom, causing the latter to come to his senses and teaching his wife a lesson.

The Idol of the North

1921

No artwork available
8.0

When a film star is killed in a car crash during the shooting of his latest pictures, the producers replace him with a near identical man and try to pretend he is still alive.

Scandal Street

1925

Side Street poster
5.9

Three New York Irish brothers cross paths as policeman, doctor and bootlegger.

Side Street

1929

No artwork available
7.0

On the day of her wedding to Paul, Mary Wheeler is given the deed to a mysterious old house that is occupied by a strange housekeeper named Nancy Crowl. Sometime later, Marc Reed, one of Mary's former suitors, arrives at the house and refuses to leave. When Marc is murdered, Mary is arrested for the crime.

Dreary House

1929

The Blonde Vampire poster
NR

Marcia Saville, thought to be a hopeless flirt by her sweetheart, Martin Kent, shows him that she prefers Tom Smith, a man from the underworld, because Tom is more authoritative. Tom is induced to enter a scheme to rob Marcia's father in a crooked deal instigated by Simon Downs. Downs plans to have Tom marry Marcia and divide the spoils, as she is to receive a sum of money when she marries. Tom is too smart for them and refuses to get involved. Meantime, Kent proves his strength of character, and Marcia is won over. Downs is exposed to her father and discharged.

The Blonde Vampire

1922

1910s · 39 titles

The School Teacher and the Waif poster
4.8

Nora, the waif, is forced to attend school. She warms to her teacher for the way that he defends her against the taunts of some of the students, but when she's made to wear a dunce cap, she flees the schoolhouse in shame. Unsupervised by her alcoholic father, Nora becomes a determined truant, wandering the town during school hours. There she catches the attention of a huckster, who convinces her that they will run away and be married. The schoolmaster, meanwhile, preoccupied by Nora's absence, leaves his other students to go find her. He encounters her at a crossroads, being spirited away by the huckster, and calls the man's bluff by saying that he'll find them a minister.

The School Teacher and the Waif

1912

One Is Business, the Other Crime poster
5.8

Griffith intercuts between the lives of two couples married on the same day. One couple is rich, the other poor. Time passes, and in desperation over joblessness, the poor husband attempts to burgle a home, only to be captured at gunpoint by the mistress of the house. It is the home of the rich couple. While holding the poor intruder at gunpoint, the rich wife accidentally discovers evidence implicating her own husband in a bribery scheme.

One Is Business, the Other Crime

1912

No artwork available
NR

The daughter of a poor seamstress takes a package to the house of her mother’s wealthy employer and meets the lady’s son. The son requests a date and eventually proposes marriage. His mother is horrified and disowns him. After the marriage they live in an elegant flat and she meets her husband’s social set at the parties that they host. Her husband becomes preoccupied with business worries, leaving her vulnerable to the attentions of a rake. After he is ruined, they are forced to move to cheaper quarters. Her husband goes out to look for work. The rake appears and proposes that she leave with him. As she is packing her bags, she finds the wreath of orange blossoms that her husband had brought to her on her wedding day, which they had stored away together after the marriage. She orders the rake out of the house and begins to clean up. Her husband, who has found a job meanwhile, comes home to a cooked supper.

A Wreath of Orange Blossoms

1911

The House with Closed Shutters poster
5.2

During the Civil War a young soldier loses his nerve in battle and runs away to his home to hide; his sister puts on his uniform, takes her brother's place in the battle, and is killed. Their mother, not wanting the shameful truth to become known, closes all the shutters (hence the film's title) and keeps her son's presence a secret for many years, though two boyhood chums stumble upon the truth...

The House with Closed Shutters

1910

The Courage of the Commonplace poster
5.5

A farmer's daughter, who devotedly endlessly gives selflessly of herself to her parents and younger siblings, dreams of going to college, which she's saved money to be able to pay for.

The Courage of the Commonplace

1913

A Broadway Scandal poster
NR

Having been misinformed that all French girls are morally suspect, American soldier David Kendall (Edwin August) is in for quite a shock when he's shipped Over There. After meeting several "nice" Frenchwomen, David returns to the states with a whole new perspective on things. It isn't long before he falls in love with Nenette (Carmel Myers), the daughter of French-born restaurateur Armande Bisson (Andrew Robson). But when Nenette is implicated in a murder, the disillusioned David instantly repudiates her -- and by extension, all Daughters of France.

A Broadway Scandal

1918

The Failure poster
4.0

A man loses his business and his fiancée, and drifts into the saloons. There he meets a similarly-downtrodden young woman. She works behind the scenes to help him recover his life, and eventually he realizes how steadfast she is.

The Failure

1911

No artwork available
8.0

A young man who visits a shady bar and gets involved with the criminals there, by a misunderstanding becomes a murder suspect. An older man who regrets his own life choices is willing to sacrifice himself to give the boy a chance, but the real culprit is caught. The young man promises to improve his life.

An Evil of the Slums

1914

No artwork available
NR

As they have breakfast in their hunting lodge Howard jokingly tells his wife to improve her coffee or he'll shoot her. Later she meets him as he's out hunting and is accidentally shot and killed by another hunter. Because the maid overheard his joke at breakfast Howard is arrested for her murder.

Conscience

1911

No artwork available
8.0

Marius goes into the lion's pit, taking his life into his hands to save the girl who has been brutally left to die by Marius' rival.

Into the Lion's Pit

1914

Winning Back His Love poster
4.0

A Husband thinks the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. His wife shows him its not.

Winning Back His Love

1910

The Making of a Man poster
6.5

A young woman becomes infatuated with the leading man of a traveling theatrical troupe. She sneaks away to join him in the next town, but her father forces her to return home...

The Making of a Man

1911

The City of Tears poster
NR

Chorus girl Rosa Carillo (Carmel Myers) finds herself in dire straits when the troupe she works with is disbanded and her last fifty dollars is stolen. Artist Billy Leeds (Earl Rodney) offers to take care of her, but she's leery of his proposition. Instead she finds work with an Italian grocer, Tony Bonchi (Edwin August). One of the other ex-members of the troupe has Tony arrested on a trumped up charge. Rosa returns to Billy and offers herself to him if only he'll get Tony out of jail.

The City of Tears

1918

The Sands of Dee poster
5.6

A young girl who lives by the sea with her parents, is the object of one fellows affection. One day she meets a wily artist painting on the beach, he seduces the young girl and gives her a ring, with the promise of marriage. When the young admiring fellow comes to propose, she proudly announces her engagement to the artist. Shocked he leaves and her parents demand meeting her husband to be. She goes to bring him home, and finds he already has a sophisticated fiancée. Distraught she hurries home, and when her father realizes what she has done, he orders her out of the house. As she wanders despondent along the sea, the young fellow who has found out about her betrayal, immediately goes to see her. Finding she has been disowned by her father, he goes looking for her...

The Sands of Dee

1912

A Beast at Bay poster
5.6

A young woman is quite taken with a man she met; in fact, he is her “ideal”. However, after her new suitor refuses to get mixed up in a street brawl, the young woman views him as a coward. Nearby, a violent convict has escaped from prison. While the couple takes a ride in the woman’s automobile, the criminal ambushes a guard, taking the officer’s clothing and gun. The young woman still argues her suitor is a coward, drops him off, and drives off alone. She is then carjacked by the on-the-lam criminal. The young man witnesses the ambush and sets out to rescue his lover.

A Beast at Bay

1912

The Lesser Evil poster
5.3

A young woman's peaceful existence is shattered when she is abducted by the crew of a boat of smugglers, who then also turn against their captain.

The Lesser Evil

1912

Lena and the Geese poster
4.9

A first-born baby girl is sent away and placed in the care of Gretchen, a trusted peasant woman, who is the widowed mother of a child about the same age. The two children grow up as sisters. Later, upon her deathbed, the noble lady repents and sends for her child to reinstate her. Gretchen takes this opportunity to make a great lady of her own daughter Lena, the goose girl, by sending her to court instead of the real heiress. Hence Lena is taken before the noble lady, happy in the belief that she has made reparation. Lena is now a great lady, but the title does not fit well-- She longs to be back with Gretchen and her "geeses".

Lena and the Geese

1912

A Child's Impulse poster
6.2

Mrs. Thurston, a socially ambitious widow, is holding one of her famous Bohemian parties. To these functions are invited the leading lights of the several professions, actors, artists, musicians, etc. Surrounded by these men and women of art and letters, she was at first entertained, but they soon palled and bored. On this evening in particular, she is especially possessed of ennui, until the appearance of Raymond Hartley, a wealthy young bachelor, who is introduced into the circle by a newspaper man. An attachment immediately springs up between the widow and Raymond.

A Child's Impulse

1910

The Mortgaged Wife poster
NR

After Ralph Carter steals $50,000 from the bank where he is employed, his wife Gloria phones bank official Jerome Harris, a wealthy man who has loved her for years, and is told that the charges against Ralph will be dropped if Gloria will offer herself as security against her husband's "loan." Accordingly, she moves into Jerome's house but rebuffs his advances, and soon he leaves her in peace. When Ralph, who has been seen in the company of chorus girls, angrily demands money from Gloria, Jerome appears and orders him from the house. Because of the covert dealings of Meyer, Jerome's secretary and a German spy, Jerome nears financial ruin, which moves Gloria to pity. Having learned of Meyer's duplicity, she confronts the spy, and as they struggle, Ralph enters and is killed. Meyer is arrested, and Gloria realizes her great love for Jerome.

The Mortgaged Wife

1918

The Long Road poster
NR

Edith enters a convent after losing her fiancé to someone else. Years later, Edith finds him again, now poverty-stricken, and secretly helps his family.

The Long Road

1911

The Good for Nothing poster
5.5

A social comedy in which the young Dick Evans is seen as a failure, and then tries to prove himself to his father and father-in-law as an editor.

The Good for Nothing

1912

A Country Cupid poster
5.6

Schoolteacher Edith breaks off her engagement after an argument with her fiancé. She writes him a note of reconciliation but throws it away. Without her knowledge, one of her students fishes it out of the trash and sends it to her fiancé. Later, Edith is alone grading papers when a man bursts in and threatens her.

A Country Cupid

1911

The Voice of the Child poster
NR

A businessman neglects his wife, who is tricked into believing he is having an affair. She packs to leave him, but is distracted by their little girl, and can't bear to go.

The Voice of the Child

1911

The Revenue Man and His Girl poster
4.5

In the Kentucky backwoods, Dorothy West helps her moonshiner father take some jugs to his still; along the way, she meets dashing Edwin August. Ms. West and Mr. August are immediately attracted to each other -- but he is "The Revenue Man ", which means, of course, trouble for the moonshiners. After August begins arresting the bootleggers, citizens dependent on the alcohol trade take up arms against the man. Even West wields a rifle; when a loved one is shot, she wants to hunt down, and kill, revenue man August.

The Revenue Man and His Girl

1911

Muggsy Becomes a Hero poster
5.0

Two spinsters on their way to church, are accosted by a couple of burly tramps. When Mabel is called to the church meeting with her mother, she sends Muggsy a note asking him to meet her after the service so he may walk home with her. Muggsy is there on time, however, the old ladies are afraid to make the return trip unaccompanied. The pastor asks that a man escort them home. Poor Muggsy gets chosen, and when the trio reach the deserted part of the road, the tramps again appear.

Muggsy Becomes a Hero

1910

No artwork available
NR

A girl's family suddenly becomes rich and rejects her long-time sweetheart.

The Message of the Violin

1910

When It Strikes Home poster
NR

Dick hastily marries a young woman, yet his wealthy father rips them apart. Unbeknownst to him, a son is born. Years later, Dick is in happy, but childless marriage when they decide to adopt a child. By chance and unknown to him, the boy is his son.

When It Strikes Home

1915

The Old Actor poster
5.4

An elderly actor who lives with his wife and daughter is dismissed from his acting job because he is considered too old. On his way home from the theatre he panics at the thought of telling his family the bad news and decides to disguise himself as a beggar. His daughter's beau accidentally gives him a five dollar gold piece, thinking that it was a smaller coin. A chase ensues with a policeman, the daughter, and her beau in hot pursuit. When caught he is recognized by his shocked daughter, but is quickly forgiven by all. Meanwhile the actor hired to replace him has already been fired and a messenger is dispatched to rehire the Old Actor to the delight of his wife, daughter, and fellow actors.

The Old Actor

1912

The Rose of Kentucky poster
5.6

A farmer takes in a young orphan after her mother's death and sends her off to school. After she's grown, he encourages her to consider his younger brother as a husband. When the younger brother proves to be a coward, she chooses the older brother instead.

The Rose of Kentucky

1911

No artwork available
3.5

Mrs. Walton wilfully and mistakenly presumes that her husband is unfaithful, and demands a divorce. Devastated by the impending breakup of her home, the Waltons’ little daughter plots to reunite her parents by pretending to be a kidnapping victim. Her absence causes such consternation in the household that her parents do indeed reconcile when she returns home after some misadventures.

A Child's Stratagem

1910

Twixt Love and Ambition poster
8.0

A falling-out between a man and his ambitious wife results in their splitting up and moving far apart. She pursues a career as an actress, taking their son with her to Europe. Alone, they are miserable and they reminisce nostalgically for when they were together.

Twixt Love and Ambition

1912

The Trail of Books poster
NR

Upset that her parents are getting ready to separate a little girl grabs a handful of books and heads off to school without anyone’s knowledge. When her mother goes to look for her the only clue is a single book on the lawn. A passing delivery man tells her he saw a lonely lass with an arm full of books and the mother goes in pursuit of her. Finding the little one being held by tramps the mother and delivery man devise a rescue after which realizing how much she is hurting her girl the mother reconciles with the father.

The Trail of Books

1911

The Eternal Mother poster
4.8

John and Mary divorce their spouses to marry each other. Mary dies after giving birth and the baby is taken in by John's first wife, Martha. She refuses all contact with John until many years later when he becomes ill and she finally forgives him for deserting her.

The Eternal Mother

1912

No artwork available
NR

Over the Kingdom of Romanda there reigned a King who was greatly influenced by his favorite, whom he devotedly loved. He presents her with a necklace of fabulous worth and enjoins that she never part with it, which command she swears by the stars to keep. About this time an impecunious cousin of the King calls to beg the loan of money, which is refused. The favorite promises to intercede for him. The cardinal and the favorite are bitter enemies because of her thwarting many of his pet schemes, and he plans a revenge by inciting jealousy in the King. The scheme he devises is to have the necklace missing and found in the cousin's pocket. The plan succeeds so well that the King condemns the seemingly guilty pair to an air-tight chamber, where they would have suffocated to death had not the lady-in-waiting, who helped in the plot, become horror-stricken and confessed.

When Kings Were the Law

1912

His Daughter poster
4.0

William promises to marry his sweetheart, Mary, after completing medical school. William's father has saved enough money to set up William's medical practice. However, Mary's alcoholic father discovers the savings and steals it.

His Daughter

1911

The Yellow Passport poster
NR

A young Russian girl is forced into a life of prostitution in Czarist Russia, and she and a British journalist find their lives endangered when she reveals to him information regarding the social crimes rampant in her country.

The Yellow Passport

1916

The Social Highwayman poster
NR

Curtis Jaffray's mother, an Italian peasant, must steal to support herself, but genetic tendencies as well as economic necessity contribute to her penchant for robbery, as it is inherited by her son. After John, his British nobleman father, catches him stealing, Curtis runs away, but rather than try to change his nature, he decides to put his mother's legacy to good use. As a result, after he has risen to a prominent position in the United States, he starts stealing from those who belong to his own wealthy social set and then distributing the money among the poor.

The Social Highwayman

1916

No artwork available
8.0

Louis Mona is left to the care of the monks of the monastery of San Luis, who have brought him up with love and care. Louis, who is devoted to his surroundings, and who knows nothing of the great outside world, and who has no great desire to learn about it in person, desires to join the order, but there is a rule that cannot be overlooked.

The Calling of Louis Mona

1913

The Song That Reached His Heart poster
5.2

A Story of the Lumber Regions of Western Canada: a lumberjack remember his past while he listens to a record of the song his fiancée used to sing him.

The Song That Reached His Heart

1910

1900s · 5 titles

The Renunciation poster
4.4

Two miners are fighting over a woman, and one is about to murder the other in his sleep. At the critical moment, the woman introduces her fiancé from the city.

The Renunciation

1909

The Son's Return poster
5.8

A son leaves to seek his fortune in the city. Many years later he returns and checks into his parents' inn. They don't recognize him, but noticing his fat wallet, plan to rob him.

The Son's Return

1909

The Cardinal's Conspiracy poster
3.7

A royal woman rejects her arranged marriage. The cardinal hatches a plan: the suitor will shave and change clothes. He arranges with 4 clowns to stage an attack on the princess which he easily repels. It works; the princess falls for him, especially when the cardinal arranges his arrest.

The Cardinal's Conspiracy

1909

The Lure of the Gown poster
3.7

"Fine feathers make fine birds", and handsome gowns make handsome women. Hence it is when Isabelle appears on the scene clad in a gown that is a masterpiece of the dressmaker's art she easily fascinates the male contingent, among whom is Enrico, the sweetheart of Veronica, a street singer. Enrico is so enraptured at the sight of Isabelle in her resplendent attire that he becomes her abject slave, casting aside the poor, peasant-clad little Italian street singer, who has loved him devotedly. Crushed almost beyond endurance the poor girl stands sobbing at the entrance of the park where the inconsistent lever left her. Her tears attract the attention of a wealthy young couple who happen to pass. In answer to their queries she tells them how contemptibly her sweetheart acted, and all because of the fascinating influence of a gown.

The Lure of the Gown

1909

Getting Even poster
3.8

All the young men in the mining camp flirt with Lucy. Bud, the youngest of them, doesn't stand a chance. At a dance, Bud dresses as a woman and all the men flirt with him and abandon Lucy. When his disguise is revealed, the other men are too embarrassed to approach Lucy, and Bud dances the rest of the night with her.

Getting Even

1909

Behind the camera

No artwork available
8.0

A young man who visits a shady bar and gets involved with the criminals there, by a misunderstanding becomes a murder suspect. An older man who regrets his own life choices is willing to sacrifice himself to give the boy a chance, but the real culprit is caught. The young man promises to improve his life.

An Evil of the Slums

1914

No artwork available
8.0

Marius goes into the lion's pit, taking his life into his hands to save the girl who has been brutally left to die by Marius' rival.

Into the Lion's Pit

1914

Bondwomen poster
NR

After five years of repressed protest, Norma, wife of Dr. Hugh Ellis, a moderately successful physician, suddenly voices denunciation regarding the average position of the American wife in the average American home today wherein she is compelled to be entirely answerable to her husband in expenditures for household and petty needs.

Bondwomen

1915

The Summer Girl poster
NR

Heiress Mary Anderson feigns poverty during her romance with struggling artist Bruce Haldeman, however her status-conscious mother puts an end to the affair. Mary secretly goes to Bruce's studio, misconstrues the situation with one of his models and tells Bruce she hates him. Upset Bruce wants to destroy his portrait of Mary, but the model stops him, enters the painting in an art contest, and explains the mix-up to Mary's father. Mr. Anderson then meets with Bruce and Mary's persistent suitor Smythe Addison pretending he has lost his fortune. Smythe quickly drops out of contention for Mary's hand, but Bruce remains eager. Resolving their differences Bruce finds out during the planning of the wedding that he has won the art contest, finding overnight fame as a painter.

The Summer Girl

1916

The Yellow Passport poster
NR

A young Russian girl is forced into a life of prostitution in Czarist Russia, and she and a British journalist find their lives endangered when she reveals to him information regarding the social crimes rampant in her country.

The Yellow Passport

1916

The Social Highwayman poster
NR

Curtis Jaffray's mother, an Italian peasant, must steal to support herself, but genetic tendencies as well as economic necessity contribute to her penchant for robbery, as it is inherited by her son. After John, his British nobleman father, catches him stealing, Curtis runs away, but rather than try to change his nature, he decides to put his mother's legacy to good use. As a result, after he has risen to a prominent position in the United States, he starts stealing from those who belong to his own wealthy social set and then distributing the money among the poor.

The Social Highwayman

1916

No artwork available
8.0

Louis Mona is left to the care of the monks of the monastery of San Luis, who have brought him up with love and care. Louis, who is devoted to his surroundings, and who knows nothing of the great outside world, and who has no great desire to learn about it in person, desires to join the order, but there is a rule that cannot be overlooked.

The Calling of Louis Mona

1913

No artwork available
NR

"Red Mike" Davis, a notorious bomb thrower, has been landed in jail through the activities of Lawrence, the district attorney. During his incarceration, dissension prevails among his lawless followers.

The Bomb Throwers

1915

No artwork available
NR

"Red Mike" Davis, a notorious bomb thrower, has been landed in jail through the activities of Lawrence, the district attorney. During his incarceration, dissension prevails among his lawless followers.

The Bomb Throwers

1915