
Acting
Fontaine La Rue
Born 1890-07-18 · Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Matilda Fernández, stage name Fontaine La Rue (July 18, 1890 in Hermosillo, Mexico – September 13, 1964) was an American silent film actress appearing in films from 1918 to 1929. Her career ended with the advent of talkies. She was one of seven children born to Diego and Carlotta Monreal Fernandez. After immigrating to the United States in 1907, Matilda married Victor Garcia Rojas. The couple had three children, Victor Paul, Matilda Garcia, and Victoria Grace. After the couple divorced, Matilda entered show business. She got her start on stage as a toe dancer and in musical comedy. She toured with the Trimble Musical Comedy Company in 1914 before breaking into films the following year in comedy shorts for Keystone. She first used the name Dora Rodgers, but reinvented herself with the name Fontaine La Rue, tiring of playing vamps. On occasions she would switch between the names. Notably she appeared in the lost film, A Blind Bargain with Lon Chaney. After a lengthy love affair with actor Nelson McDowell, Fontaine married real estate broker Wayne Hancock and retired from the screen. The Keystone Vamp died of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia on September 13, 1964, at UCLA Medical Center.
Acting credits
Lieutenant Willis returns home from France, where he was an aviation ace, to find that his father has been falsely jailed for the murder of Judson Blair.
Flyin' Thru
1925
6.0A burlesque on the historic incident of Cleopatra and Mark Antony.
Cleopatsy
1918
4.0Boots is a young servant girl who polishes shoes in an English inn. She is an incurable romantic, addicted to melodramatic stories of love and adventure. When she discovers a Bolshevik plot to blow up a government official, she takes it on herself to foil the plot.
Boots
1919
10.0Lured to New York with false promises of having her play produced, Lila Lake is forced to accept a secretarial position with Mrs. Julia Hewitt, a dashing young widow secretly married to Jimmy Duval, son of Alice Duval, a prominent society leader. Alice seeks the aid of young lawyer Philip Thorne, who hires detectives to follow Julia; the latter, however, has left town with Jimmy, and Lila has agreed to impersonate her.
His New York Wife
1926
9.0The Bearcat, alias The Singin' Kid, crosses the Rio Grande into Three Pines, singing bloodthirsty verses, but in spite of these, he makes friends with Sheriff Bill Garfield and likewise with Alys May, daughter of cattle rancher John P. May, by saving her from a runaway. As a reward, he gets a job on the ranch and falls in love with Alys, though warned she is engaged to Aitken, her brother's college chum.
The Bear Cat
1922
NRA 1922 re-edit of Fred J. Balshofer’s earlier feature—shot in 1918 as Over the Rhine and released in 1920 as An Adventuress—this version was issued to capitalize on Rudolph Valentino’s sudden stardom. The cut boosts Valentino’s presence through repeated/enlarged shots, looping and out-takes, and reframes the story in a tropical island setting; it’s widely regarded as a cash-in reissue.
The Isle of Love
1922
7.0John "Jack" Norton, before the war a society playboy and fop, returns from the trenches of World War One a two fisted American who finds his father, Raymond Norton, in jail, charged with theft of funds from the bank in which he was the president. The money, placed there by the American authorities for the Kingdom of Thorwald, and Princess Elise, is on the way to collect it. John lets his father think he is still the playboy he was before the war, but secretly dons his old 'Doughboy" uniform and sets out after the gang that framed his father.
The Social Buccaneer
1923
10.0Jim Blaine and his daughter Elsie meet Bill Carson , while en route to Weepah in search of gold. Elsie, who is much admired by Bill, plays the violin in the dance-hall managed by Steve Morton, who controls a gang of claim jumpers. Elsie's father is robbed of gold dust by one of Morton's men, Bill recovers it and indicates he knows the culprit.
Gold from Weepah
1927
9.0A traveling preacher has, through his faith, the power to heal, but loses it when he falls in love. Considered lost.
The Faith Healer
1921
10.0Marion Shipley is happily devoted to her husband, John, until Mrs. Willy Strong, a society "vampire," succeeds in capturing his affections. A jewelry salesman informs Marion of the affair, after John and Mrs. Strong enter his store together. Marion follows her husband to a restaurant, where she witnesses Mrs. Strong give John the key to her apartment. Gaining entrance to her rival's home, Marion transforms herself with the vamp's clothes and makeup, rendering herself unrecognizable to John in the dim light. Marion is in John's arms when Mrs. Strong arrives, and he denounces her for his wife.
Exit the Vamp
1921
7.0Roseanne (Ethel Clayton) has grown up near some diamond mines in South Africa. As a child, she became ill and a Malay nurse, Rachel Bangat (Fontaine La Rue) promised to cure her. That she did, but she also worked some voodoo on the child, who, as a grown up now displays a powerful desire for diamonds and the ability to throw evil curses on those who displease her.
The Sins of Rosanne
1920
8.0Fred Watson, ravaged by consumption, travels to the lonely country known as Dead Man's Gulch in hopes of regaining his health. Accompanying Fred is his family, comprised of Kate, his son Bobbie and dog Mickey. Coming upon two shacks, they meet Bill Dorgan, a rough-bearded hermit who, after leering at Kate, invites the family to occupy the deserted cabin owned by Bill Mason, imprisoned for the murder of his partner. Meanwhile, his innocence established, Mason is pardoned from jail and returns to his cabin, bitter against the world. Gradually he is softened by Kate's charms and confides to her that he is searching for the gold that he and his partner had hidden years before, but is hampered by a missing section of the treasure map which disappeared the night of his partner's death.
Two Kinds of Love
1920
NRCafé ownder Mack Swain goes gaga over a gal.
His Naughty Thought
1917
7.0When the man calling himself Everard Dominey returns home, his loved ones recognize that something about him is different. But with Europe racing toward war and England infiltrated by saboteurs, will the truth emerge before it is too late?
The Great Impersonation
1921
8.0Chaney plays two roles: mad scientist Arthur Lamb and Lamb's "experiment", known only as the Ape Man. This hideous creature was the result of Lamb's attempts to transplant animal glands into human beings. A lost film.
A Blind Bargain
1922
6.2Mabel has just gotten engaged during a housewarming party of which her mother is the hostess. When an annoying party guest persuades Mabel to dance with him, Mabel hurries through the dance and then goes to look for her fiancé, only to discover him caressing another woman. Her fiancé finds not only Mabel, but also her mother, very displeased, and not inclined to believe his explanation.
Mabel Lost and Won
1915
5.0A very young Charley Chase is a starving artist. He does not have much luck stealing fruit from a food vendor's cart. He cannot escape from his landlady, who wants the overdue rent. When a pretty girl shows up, Charley and his downstairs neighbor, who is a weightlifter, compete for her affections.
Peanuts and Bullets
1915
Farnum Walton, a dissipated artist, is engaged to illustrate Marian Emlen's new book and invites her to a disreputable restaurant, ostensibly to discuss his ideas. At dinner, Walton tries to embrace Marian, who rushes to a phone booth to call her fiancé, anti-vice crusader Austin Booth. The self-righteous Austin, however, rebukes Marian so severely that she faints. Awakening hours later, she finds herself in Walton's apartment, the artist dead beside her. Politician George Hamilton agrees to help Marian, but Austin denounces her as a murderer. Knowing that Elsa Armytage was involved with Walton, George visits the woman, who confesses that she jealously quarreled with the artist on the evening of his death. When Walton dropped dead of heart failure, Elsa, seeking revenge, had the unconscious Marian carried to his apartment. Her name cleared, Marian abandons Austin for the more trusting George.
Who Killed Walton?
1918
4.7A flustered father seeks a cook for his kitchen, his daughter seeks to elope and a pair of crooks seek to get some loot. Add the Keystone Cops and stir vigorously.
Love, Loot and Crash
1915
9.0While working in an overall factory Mary Ann McKee sends mash notes in the overalls prepared for shipment. She is involved in a robbery perpetrated by her boyfriend, Red Mike, but escapes and goes to the town from which she has received an answer to one of her notes.
The Love Letter
1923
9.0Squire Peachem (Ford Sterling) wants to marry the innkeeper's daughter (Normand). Since Peachem has a hefty mortgage on the inn, he thinks he can use it to effect a union, but the girl is not interested in him. She already has a sweetheart, handsome Randolph Roanoke (Owen Moore). Peachem and his dumb-as-dirt assistant, Blaa Blaa (Sennett), try to keep Roanoke and Mabel apart. Their feeble attempts are in vain, and Mabel easily manages to outwit them and win the man she loves. - Janiss Garza
Oh, Mabel Behave
1922
NRA pretty but poor girl leaves the young boy who loves her for a rich playboy who she believes will take care of her, but the wealthy cad has other plans for her.
Borrowed Clothes
1918
8.0A series of four 2-reelers based on the stories of George Bronson Howard, directed by Duke Worne, and starring Roy Stewart in the title role; each episode in the series was a story complete in itself. They are all presumably lost.
The Further Adventures of Yorke Norroy
1922
7.0Sergeant Bob Steele (Bob Custer), of the Texas Rangers, is assigned to put an end to the lawlessness of a gang of outlaws led by a mysterious man known as 'The Black Hawk.' Hoping to infiltrate the gang, he poses as an outlaw named "Lightning" Brady.
Trigger Fingers
1924