
Acting
William Russell
Born 1884-04-12 · The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
From Wikipedia William Russell (April 12, 1884 – February 18, 1929), born William Francis Lerche, was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He appeared in over two hundred silent era motion pictures between 1910 and 1929, directing five of them in 1916 and producing two through his own production company in 1918 and 1925. Russell began his screen career in New York with the Biograph Company, where he worked for nine months before signing with the Thanhouser Company. He was also part of the company of players for the American Film Manufacturing Company and their Flying "A" Studios in Santa Barbara. In 1917, he and actress Charlotte Burton were married. They divorced in 1921. He and actress Helen Ferguson were married on June 21, 1925, at the Wilshire Boulevard Congregational Church, after a six-year romance. William Russell died at age 44 from pneumonia at Hollywood Hospital in Los Angeles.
Acting credits
NRRonald, heir to Lord Earle in Earlescourt, England, secretly loves Dora Thorne, a desirable but working-class woman. When Lord Earle hears of the relationship, he brings Valentine Charteris to the estate to distract his lovesick son. True to his love, however, Ronald refuses Valentine and marries Dora. After emigrating to Italy, Ronald earns a modest living as a painter, and Dora gives birth to twins. When Ronald receives a generous commission to paint a portrait, he asks Dora to pose for him, but overly preoccupied with the children, she refuses. Wounded by the rejection, Ronald calls on Valentine Charteris and quickly becomes infatuated with her, forcing Dora to return to Earlescourt with the twins.
Dora Thorne
1915
10.0Veteran action hero William Russell starred opposite his offscreen wife Helen Ferguson in this typical Fox oater about a miner who finds himself up against a master swindler (George Webb).
The Crusader
1922
7.0Mary Carlton, who lives with her invalid father on a cotton plantation, receives a letter from Bob, her brother, in New York, stating that he faces death in the electric chair for a crime of which he claims to be innocent. Determined to save him, she goes there, learns of his association with an underworld gang, and begins to suspect Handsome Joe of a connection with the crime.
The Girl from Chicago
1927
8.0Millionaire John Huntley-Knox, the owner of the Boston Star, fights political corruption with the aid of William Wendell, the reform district attorney.
The Torch Bearer
1916
NRKingston Hollister admires Bernice Cleveland from afar. He asks Officer Callahan, the policeman on the beat, about her and mistakenly believes she is a lady's maid. So the wealthy Hollister disguises himself as the cop so he can meet her.
Brass Buttons
1919
8.0In Jedda, Persia, American consul George Gage, known as a woman hater, is shocked when his newly arrived assistant, "Billie Baxter," whom he assumes will be a man, turns out to be an attractive woman. Despite his formerly anti-female leanings, George finds himself falling in love with Billie and is jealous when his womanizing friend, Brad Wilson, arrives in Jedda and makes a play for her. At the same time, when the ruling Pasha, Abdul Mustapha, meets Billie, he also becomes smitten and tries to have her brought to his harem. Despite their rivalry, George and Brad join forces and save Billie from the Pasha, after which she decides that George is the man she loves and wants to marry. Considered a lost film.
Woman Wise
1928
10.0Outlaw Sam Hemp attempts to induce homesteader Lang Rush, faced with foreclosure due to drought, to rob the bank as restitution. The exchange escalates into a gunfight leaving Sam and his wealthy friend, Drayton, dead. Fleeing to the mountains and the refuge of a deserted shack near Singing River Lang prospects for silver. Another former homesteader, Bert Condon, trails Lang in the hope of collecting a $5,000 reward, but befriends the fugitive and assists in filing Lang's claim when he strikes ore. On his return to town, Lang rescues the sheriff's daughter, Alice Thornton, from Hemp's gang and defeats their leader, L. W. Bransom, in a fistfight. He then clears himself of the murder charge and wins Alice.
Singing River
1920
NRIn the days long ago when knights were brave and venturesome, enchanted forests grew and mythical creatures lived among us.
Undine
1912
10.0Traveling salesman and teller of tall tales Robert Winchester McTabb arrives in Yellow Jacket, Arizona selling coffins and cradles with his motto that he "catches 'em coming and going." Celie Sterling believes McTabbs lies about his prowess and promises to buy a coffin if he will kill the man she wants to occupy it--Sheldon Lewis Kellard, who has papers which jeopardize her father's reputation.
Some Liar
1919
NRTo maintain order aboard the Southern Cross, Bull Dorgan, its fierce captain, beats Pedro, a trouble-making sailor, who swears revenge as he steers the boat toward the wild Barbary Coast.
The Sea Master
1917
5.0Dramatic three-reel film based on Wagner's opera of chivalry and spiritual struggle. Wandering minstrel Tannhauser wins the heart of Elizabeth, niece of the powerful Landgrave. Later, under the spell of Venus and her nymphs, Tannhauser passes into Venusberg, a netherworld of earthly pleasures. Returning to the Landgrave's court, he praises Venus in song and sparks the righteous anger of all present. His own prayers and those of Elizabeth free him from enchantment and he takes up the habit of a monk, devoting himself to God. He sets off to seek absolution in Rome while Elizabeth waits at court, ever weakening in his absence.
Tannhäuser
1913
10.0Bing Howard a former stockbroker, is called the "Night Wind" because he is a fugitive from justice, persistently being trailed by Clifford Rushton, a private detective who has framed Howard on a bond robbery. Rushton's failure to catch Howard forces the chief to turn the case over to Detective Katherine Maxwell, alias "Lady Kate," whose brother was sent to prison for bond robbery on the same evidence Rushton has brought against Howard.
Alias the Night Wind
1923
7.0A crook and his gang plan to con a young woman out of a cache of stolen loot they, and the police, believe she's hiding. The situation changes, however, when he falls in love with her and he sets out to save her from being imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit.
On Thin Ice
1925
NRHeroine Laura suffers spectacularly as her romance with her soldier sweetheart is destroyed by malicious gossip.
Under the Gaslight
1914
9.0Mark O'Rell is sent to New York by his wife's Aunt Cordelia to recover a valuable quilt. In the city he finds the quilt, discovers that it conceals stolen jewels, and in consequence is pursued by both police and thieves. Police catch the thieves, Mark gets the quilt, and he returns home safely.
Times Have Changed
1923
8.0A dog named Thunder, the weakling of his brood, is born in a lumber camp in the North Woods, operated by Anita Baker. The cowardly dog is cast out of the camp and adopted by forest ranger Allen Gregory. Meanwhile, Bill Martin, the brutal camp superintendent, covets both Anita and her property. When Bill attacks Anita, Thunder comes to the rescue and proves his courage by warding off the villain.
Wings of the Storm
1926
6.0John Stonehouse (William Russell) checks into a hotel, intending to commit suicide. But instead he winds up helping a girl, Gilberte Bonheur (Fritzi Brunette), out of a jam. He finds her bending over a man who she has apparently killed, and since he's about to kill himself anyway, he offers to assume the blame. Throw a valuable emerald into the works, and the fact that the dead man suddenly comes back to life, and Stonehouse -- not to mention the audience -- becomes thoroughly befuddled by it all. Everything clears up, however, when Gilberte gives him a theater ticket -- it turns out that everything he went through was the plot to a stage play, enacted in real life by the actors. The critics roasted the play, saying it wasn't true to life, and this was their proof that the situations really could happen. Gilberte retires from acting when Stonehouse proposes.
A Sporting Chance
1919
7.0To spite her fiancé, who claims to know how to handle women, Rosamond engages in reckless behavior, including racing cars and getting arrested. Climax: After surviving a car crash, she is captured by criminals but eventually rescued, leading to her submissive reform.
The Way of a Girl
1925
Jack Goodwin is a student of chemistry who is far in advance of the times. He discovers a compound that has the power to put a man to sleep for any stated period of time, after which he will be as physically fit as ever. Jack tests this marvel for the period of a week, finds that it works, and decides to take a rest of 100 years. He hires space in a safety deposit vault, has himself locked in a box and the box sent to the vault. There, according to instructions, it is to remain for 100 years, and at the end of that time sent to the Mayor of the city. Jack wakes up in 2010, as much surprised at the people as they are in him. Instead of there being any fight for "Women's Rights," it is the men who have their troubles. Jack finds a friend in the lady Mayor, and she finally wins his hand, but not until she realizes that the man from the century before intends to be master in his own house, although the indications are that he will be a kind, loving and considerate master.
Looking Forward
1910
NRThey were the model engaged couple at the summer resort until, well, until they quarreled. They were members of a crabbing party, and May caught the biggest one that had ever been seen at Cape May, but Jack foozled with the landing net and fell overboard.
Little Brother
1913
A silent film from 1928.
The Danger Patrol
1928
6.3A troubled young woman comes to live with her estranged father on the New York waterfront. A tough sailor falls in love with her, sparking conflict between her father and her suitor. What neither knows is that she has a secret that could cause her to lose both of them.
Anna Christie
1923
9.0In his last film, silent star William Russell plays the motorcycle policeman father of one of the restless and reckless new generation of late 1920s youth. The film was controversial as an early example of the rising tide of violence and disrespect for the law that would become key themes in the 1930s.
Girls Gone Wild
1929
NRLangdon, a revenue officer in search of smugglers operating along the coast of Santa Cruz Island, Cal., meets Verna. the daughter of the lighthouse keeper and they fall deeply in love.
The Smugglers of Santa Cruz
1916
Behind the camera
8.0Millionaire John Huntley-Knox, the owner of the Boston Star, fights political corruption with the aid of William Wendell, the reform district attorney.
The Torch Bearer
1916
NRTexas Ranger William Sykes, nicknamed "Captain Bonfire," leads a posse in pursuit of Mexican bandits who have hijacked a gold shipment. The lawmen arrive at the Moreno ranch, where the gang leader, known as "the Vulture," has taken refuge with his gang. After convincing the rancher and his pretty daughter Guadalupe, that the Americans are anti-Mexican marauders, the outlaws make their escape. Guadalupe intends to kill William, but she soon realizes her mistake and falls in love with him.
When a Man Rides Alone
1919
NRWealthy diamond collector Larry Hanrahan is given the opportunity to assist the beautiful, jewel-bedecked woman he admires in a Broadway café when she and her guardian are attacked by robbers. Larry is invited to visit the grateful pair, Col. Paul Gascoyne and his ward Adrienne, at the colonel's laboratory, where he is introduced to Wintermute, a chemist who produces imitation diamonds. In return, Larry asks them to view his priceless diamond collection. Although he has fallen in love with Adrienne, Larry is forced to believe that she is a thief when he is robbed by a woman wearing Adrienne's scarf. Larry finds his jewels in Gascoyne's house, but before he can escape, a group of thugs overpowers him. Adrienne assists him in contacting the police, who arrive in time to capture Gascoyne and his gang. Badly wounded, the colonel confesses that Adrienne has been his innocent dupe, whereupon Larry happily takes her to his heart.
Hearts or Diamonds?
1918
4.5Lowell Sherman's seemingly perfect marriage to Alice, which is shattered when she has an affair with his best friend, Cyril Carr; Lowell's revenge ruins Cyril, leading to suicide, after which Lowell supports Cyril's son and marries Cyril's widow, Muriel, finding a complex love amidst ruin and guilt.
Soul Mates
1916
Identical twin brothers, Ward and Clyde Kingsley lives intertwine in a scheme involving marriage, insurance fraud, and mistaken identity. Clyde marries heiress Agnes for her money, but when he plans to fake his death with the help of his dying twin Ward, Agnes falls for Ward, leading to a murder plot where Clyde is accidentally killed by his own accomplices, leaving Ward and Agnes to marry after Ward's recovery.
The Man Who Would Not Die
1916