Harry Benham

Acting

Harry Benham

Born — Died

1884-02-25 — 1969-07-17

Place of birth

Valparaiso, Indiana, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

60 titles

From Wikipedia Harry Benham (February 26, 1884 – July 17, 1969) was an American silent film actor. Born in Valparaiso, Indiana, as a child Benham and his family moved to Chicago, where he was raised and attended school. Benham had a talent for singing and sang in his local church choir. In 1904, the production Peggy From Paris came to Chicago and, at age 20, Benham became a member of the chorus while earning a living in the wholesale paper business. Benham was soon selected to play the leading role in the production and remained in that role throughout the production's three-year run. He was subsequently able to garner more roles in other plays, such as The Sultan of Sulu, Woodland, Marryi…

Known for

Madam Blanche, Beauty Doctor poster
7.0

A good example of the clever light comedy Thanhouser produced for its Falstaff label, while other studios cranked out broad slapstick comedies. Harry Benham and Mignon Anderson were versatile and popular Thanhouser stars, here showing considerable skill in light comedy, a genre that invites plenty of satirical social observation such as the burgeoning beauty-salon industry here. Cinema technique shows much more intricate editing and freer use of closeups than just a year or two earlier.

Madam Blanche, Beauty Doctor

1915

Nicholas Nickleby poster
6.2

With The Old Curiosity Shop and David Copperfield, both released in 1911, and Nicholas Nickleby in 1912, Thanhouser established itself as producer of the best Dickens adaptations in American film.

Nicholas Nickleby

1912

Dora Thorne poster
8.0

A young lord elopes with an employee's daughter. The visit of a lady to her home causes the young wife to leave her husband. Years later the peer succeeds to his family estates. Approaching his wife for forgiveness, his entreaties are of no avail. He meets his daughter on the cliffs, and she by accident falls and is killed. The sight of the dead body causes the wife to seek the protection and consolation of her husband

Dora Thorne

1912

No artwork available
1.0

Comte Paul De Valreas is attracted to Frou Frou, the frivolous wife of Henri De Sartorys and the indifferent mother of their young son Georges. Paul persuades Frou Frou to bring her somber sister Louise, who secretly loves Henri, into the household, thus freeing her from any domestic duties.

Frou Frou

1914

The Victim poster
NR

A priest is trying to help a poor family when nearby the father is hit on the head by a criminal who then throws him off a bridge into the water below. The priest administers Last Rites then seeks to help the family and find the murderer.

The Victim

1920

Her Secret poster
9.0

The husband was stern, solemn and never could understand why anyone should laugh. The wife didn't have much sense, perhaps, but she was full of life and laughter. Why they should have married was a mystery; that there should have come a matrimonial shipwreck was hardly a surprise.

Her Secret

1912

Film credits

1920s · 6 titles

The Victim poster
NR

A priest is trying to help a poor family when nearby the father is hit on the head by a criminal who then throws him off a bridge into the water below. The priest administers Last Rites then seeks to help the family and find the murderer.

The Victim

1920

The Prey poster
7.0

Having misused funds held in his trust by investing them with his friend, Henry Lowe, Robert Reardon appeals to his future son-in-law, James Calvin, a candidate for the position of district attorney, for help. When Calvin threatens to indict Lowe for fraud if he is elected, Reardon's anger becomes so great that the engagement between Calvin and Reardon's daughter Helen is broken, resulting in Reardon's suicide. After Lowe comes into possession of a check forged by Helen's brother Jack, he uses the document to force a marriage with Helen. Treated brutally by her husband, Helen seeks Calvin's aid, but Lowe frames Calvin, now the district attorney, in a compromising situation with his ex-fiancée. Calvin is about to resign when Helen traps her husband with some marked money, causing his suicide through disgrace. Thus freed, Helen and Calvin find happiness together.

The Prey

1920

The Town That Forgot God poster
8.0

A village schoolteacher, unaware that Eben, the village carpenter, is in love with her, marries a surveyor and has a son, David. Eben, distraught at losing her, goes away, and he returns years later to find that David, now an orphan, is running away from his cruel foster father, the squire. Eben befriends David, and when the town is destroyed by a storm the two escape harm. An epilog shows David 25 years later as a successful businessman, happily married, helping to rebuild the town.

The Town That Forgot God

1922

Polly with a Past poster
6.0

Polly Shannon takes a job as a maid to earn money to go to Paris and study opera. She becomes embroiled in a scheme by her two employers to help their friend in the love of a woman who does not fancy him: She will pretend to be interested in their friend instead. The film has been lost.

Polly with a Past

1920

The Dangerous Paradise poster
7.0

To avoid marrying the elderly suitor her aunt has chosen for her, young socialite Ivis Van Astor decides to hire Horatio Worthington to pose as her husband. She hopes that as a "married woman" she will pique the romantic interest of Norman Kent, who perceives her as a sweet young thing. Ivis and her hired husband go to Newport, where she begins to flirt with Norman, who discovers her ruse and decides to teach her a lesson. He stages a duel over Ivis with Horatio and pretends to die. Once Ivis is properly chagrined, Norman "recovers," Ivis' aunt falls in love with Horatio, and all ends happily.

The Dangerous Paradise

1920

Your Best Friend poster
10.0

A Jewish mother in New York finds herself at odds with her son's new wife, a pretty Gentile girl.

Your Best Friend

1922

1910s · 54 titles

Madam Blanche, Beauty Doctor poster
7.0

A good example of the clever light comedy Thanhouser produced for its Falstaff label, while other studios cranked out broad slapstick comedies. Harry Benham and Mignon Anderson were versatile and popular Thanhouser stars, here showing considerable skill in light comedy, a genre that invites plenty of satirical social observation such as the burgeoning beauty-salon industry here. Cinema technique shows much more intricate editing and freer use of closeups than just a year or two earlier.

Madam Blanche, Beauty Doctor

1915

Nicholas Nickleby poster
6.2

With The Old Curiosity Shop and David Copperfield, both released in 1911, and Nicholas Nickleby in 1912, Thanhouser established itself as producer of the best Dickens adaptations in American film.

Nicholas Nickleby

1912

Dora Thorne poster
8.0

A young lord elopes with an employee's daughter. The visit of a lady to her home causes the young wife to leave her husband. Years later the peer succeeds to his family estates. Approaching his wife for forgiveness, his entreaties are of no avail. He meets his daughter on the cliffs, and she by accident falls and is killed. The sight of the dead body causes the wife to seek the protection and consolation of her husband

Dora Thorne

1912

No artwork available
1.0

Comte Paul De Valreas is attracted to Frou Frou, the frivolous wife of Henri De Sartorys and the indifferent mother of their young son Georges. Paul persuades Frou Frou to bring her somber sister Louise, who secretly loves Henri, into the household, thus freeing her from any domestic duties.

Frou Frou

1914

Her Secret poster
9.0

The husband was stern, solemn and never could understand why anyone should laugh. The wife didn't have much sense, perhaps, but she was full of life and laughter. Why they should have married was a mystery; that there should have come a matrimonial shipwreck was hardly a surprise.

Her Secret

1912

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde poster
5.9

Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1912

No artwork available
NR

After complaining about her dull life, shop girl Sally Manvers falls asleep on the roof of her apartment. Drenched from a downpour, Sally awakens and finds the roof entrance locked. She enters the apartment of society woman Mrs. Standish and encounters Mrs. Standish's brother, Walter Arden Savage, opening the safe. Sally protects Savage from a burglar, and after learning that he and his sister plan to steal their jewels to collect insurance money, she agrees to keep quiet if they take her with them to Newport.

The Outsider

1917

No artwork available
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

When Hungry Hamlet Fled

1915

The Old Curiosity Shop poster
8.0

A kindly shop owner whose overwhelming gambling debts allow a greedy landlord to seize his shop of dusty treasures. Evicted and with no way to pay his debts, he and his granddaughter flee.

The Old Curiosity Shop

1911

When a Count Counted poster
10.0

The pretty young stenographer in a New York lawyer's office had two weeks' vacation coining to her, and decided for once in her life she would cut a dash in society. She expended what for her was an enormous amount of money on clothes, and went to a fashionable seashore resort.

When a Count Counted

1912

No artwork available
9.0

The girl's father is Gunga Ras, a Hindu student of the occult. The girl's uncle is found dead and the lover blamed, but she personally investigates the crime. The father is suspected, but it develops that the death was really caused by use of liquid air in the hands of another

The Heart of the Princess Marsari

1915

The Dancer's Peril poster
NR

The Grand Duke Alexis has been happy with his wife, Lola, formerly the queen of the St. Petersburg ballet, and their baby daughter, Vasta. But the lowering cloud that has always hung over them through the refusal of the Russian Court to recognize their marriage breaks when the Duke learns there is an intrigue against his wife's life.

The Dancer's Peril

1917

David Copperfield poster
8.0

Thanhouser Company three-reel silent film based on Charles Dickens’s story of an English lad's tribulation-filled journey to adulthood, Thanhouser released the three films over the course of three weeks beginning on October 17, 1911, one 1,000 foot reel per week.

David Copperfield

1911

Just a Shabby Doll poster
6.5

A romantic story utilizing flashback sequences, featuring Harry Benham, Mignon Anderson and Helen Badgley (http://thanhouser.org/).

Just a Shabby Doll

1913

King Rene’s Daughter poster
7.0

This elaborate and well-staged silent version of Hertz' play is exceedingly well produced for 1913: it starts off by introducing the actors by name and role, then showing them in double exposure in street clothes and in costumes. The production values are also elaborate and the look of the set designs reminds one of the elaborate backdrops that Melies used in his shots.

King Rene’s Daughter

1913

The Warfare of the Flesh poster
NR

Melodrama in which the rich arrogant George gives money to poor Frank and Jane, so he may spend a night with Jane. Jane goes along with it because she need the money to save her sick husband.

The Warfare of the Flesh

1917

Zudora poster
NR

Zudora, not knowing she's an heiress to a $20 million fortune, lives with her uncle, a mystic and detective, who covets her inheritance. She wants to marry John Storm but her uncle is against it. However, the uncle makes a bargain; if Zudora can solve the next twenty mysteries brought to him, she can marry as she chooses. Episodes 1,2 and 8, plus another unidentified chapter, survive. The rest is believed to be lost.

Zudora

1914

No artwork available
10.0

A young girl, who had talent as a violinist, came to New York determined to win fame on the concert stage. She found the field overcrowded, but accepted an engagement as violin soloist in a cabaret restaurant. She was pretty and her playing pleased the patrons of the place. One evening a roughly dressed man came into the restaurant. His attire was in sharp contrast to the foppish men in evening dress who were languidly eating their meals. When the young violinist made her appearance the countryman showed by his manner that she had made a deep impression upon him.

The Girl of the Cabaret

1913

The Lady from the Sea poster
9.0

Ellida was the daughter of a lighthouse keeper, and spent many hours near the water's edge. While she was still scarcely more than a child, one of these ships put in for repairs at a fishing village near the lighthouse, and its second officer, while on a day's outing to kill time, visited the lighthouse. He there met Ellida, whose youth and beauty he admired. While his ship was still undergoing repairs, the second officer quarreled with his captain, and a fight ensued in which the captain was killed. The guilty man escaped from the ship, and making his way to the lighthouse, forced Ellida to assist in his flight.

The Lady from the Sea

1911

No artwork available
7.0

The greenhouse proprietor did not take any heart in his work, for he firmly believed he was destined to be a great painter. The result was he neglected business for his easel and customers gradually fell off until the inevitable happened, he went into bankruptcy. His wife, who had faith in her husband's ability with the brush and a deep and abiding love for him, supported the household by her skill as a dressmaker. One day, unexpected good fortune came to the couple, a distant relative of the wife's died and left her $1,000 in his will. The woman made all sorts of plans, but finally decided that she would pay off the mortgage on their little home. Then she noticed for the first time that her husband had left the room, and following him she demanded to know what was wrong. At first he would not tell her, but he finally explained that he wanted the money himself, for it would pay for the art course in Paris.

A Woman's Loyalty

1914

The Mischief Maker poster
NR

Effie Marchand refuses to marry a man she has never met, but who has been picked out by her mother, is exiled to boarding school Then, when sculpting teacher Jules Gerard asks her to pose for him, an always impulsive Effie quickly consents. During one of the modeling sessions, however, Jules tries to seduce her, and Effie is saved only when Al Tournay, a visitor to the studio, fights off the sculptor. Later, when Jules' latest nude statue looks just like Effie, who really only posed for the head, an outraged principal expels her. Effie then begins a romance with Al, and when they get married, Effie's mother takes the wedding as just one more sign of her daughter's impulsiveness. Mrs. Marchand soon finds out, however, that her new son-in-law is the man she had chosen for Effie long before, and so mother and daughter are quickly reconciled.

The Mischief Maker

1916

No artwork available
8.0

The wealthy old bachelor returned to his home after a visit to his club, and found waiting him news that his time on earth was pitifully brief. He had money to pay for the best of medical attention, but doctors could not save him. For the first time it struck the old millionaire that no man or woman would care whether he lived or died. Essentially selfish, he had never made friends.

Letters of a Lifetime

1912

No artwork available
7.0

Happy in the love of his devoted wife and their child, a young businessman found life's pathway pleasant. Then the greatest of sorrows came; his wife died and he was plunged into gloom.

The Warning

1912

No artwork available
8.0

The story's hero, a reformer in politics, has been accused and convicted of "padding the registration lists," but on procured evidence and on a frame-up, made by the ring leader's heeler, William Russell. He is sent to prison and the story works out to his coming home, a cleared and rehabilitated man, on Christmas Eve.

The Repeater

1912

No artwork available
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

The Girl of the Sea

1915

The Forest Rose poster
NR

Forester and Maywood, two wealthy neighbor planters, volunteered their services to defend their country when the war of the Revolution broke out. Forester was made colonel of his regiment, while Maywood became a captain. The men mortgaged their plantations and gave the benefits to the government, which was hard pressed for funds. Colonel Forester was mortally wounded at the battle of Cowpens, but before he passed away, Captain Maywood promised that he would care for Forester's motherless little girl.

The Forest Rose

1912

Coals of Fire poster
10.0

The merchant had succeeded in business because he was utterly heartless and had ground down all opposition. His employees hated him, his competitors feared him, and the servants in his home lived in mortal dread of him.

Coals of Fire

1914

Cinderella poster
6.4

Elaborately produced version of the well known George O. Nichols fairy tale interrupted by just a few summarizing intertitles, with Florence LaBadie and Harry Benham.

Cinderella

1911

No artwork available
NR

A wealthy miner, having no near relatives, leaves his two little daughters to the guardianship of a former chum of his, who had left the west with a fortune and returned to his old home in an eastern city. The guardian is rather overwhelmed by his responsibilities, but induces his old aunt to come and keep house for him, and prepares to give his charges a hearty welcome. The guardian is a young man, and is surprised to find that one of his wards is of marriageable age, beautiful and vivacious. He promptly proceeds to lose his heart to her, and while she admires him immensely the girl is finally thoroughly impressed with the idea that her guardian would gladly be rid of her. T

The Tomboy

1911

Cecilia of the Pink Roses poster
NR

Cecilia is a spunky Irish girl from a struggling family, faced with the imminent death of her mother.

Cecilia of the Pink Roses

1918

When You and I Were Young poster
9.0

Farm girl Dorothy, clashes with her traditional father over her ambition to become a writer and eventually leaves to pursue her dreams after meeting an artist.

When You and I Were Young

1917

The Last of the Carnabys poster
NR

The affluent Carnabys have now dwindled in fortune and family, leaving just Lucy and her brother, Gordon in financial straits. Situations escalate as they struggle to pay their bills and deal with Gordon's gambling debts.

The Last of the Carnabys

1917

No artwork available
10.0

In the course of a fashionable reception at her home, a young girl quarrels with her suitor. Piqued by a fancied wrong, the girl with complaisance accepts the proposal of a foreign nobleman and determines to forget The Man forever. As time progresses and the day set for her wedding to the sallow baron approaches, she is obsessed by a feeling of discontent and a yearning for her former lover.

Their Burglar

1911

No artwork available
NR

A Southern girl helps an escaped Union soldier in the midst of the Civil War.

One Flag at Last

1911

Sherlock Holmes Solves the Sign of the Four poster
10.0

An adaptation of the Arthur Conan Doyle novel starring Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes Solves the Sign of the Four

1913

East Lynne poster
10.0

Based on the novel of the same name by Mrs. Henry Wood (Ellen Wood).

East Lynne

1912

The Portrait of Lady Anne poster
6.6

The ghost of a selfish, inconsiderate woman must make up for her past transgressions by making sure that her descendant marries the man who is right for her.

The Portrait of Lady Anne

1912

No artwork available
4.0

Two girls fall in love with the same man. Out motoring one day they are thrown from the machine and carried to the hospital. One of the girls poisons the other. The story swings into a very pleasant finish.

The Voice of Conscience

1912

A Romance of the U.S.N. poster
8.0

A foolish quarrel with his sweetheart and a desire for adventure caused a young man to enlist in the United States Navy. Soon after his departure his fiancée learned that she had treated him unjustly, but was unable to get any trace of him.

A Romance of the U.S.N.

1912

No artwork available
8.0

The head of the ribbon counter was the most popular clerk in the store. Customers liked him, employees admired him and even "the boss" regarded him highly. Rival merchants vainly tried to win him away, but he refused all their offers, being thoroughly happy where he was. There came a day, however, when he found the need of friendship.

The Head of the Ribbon Counter

1913

No artwork available
7.0

An old man has an ingenious plan to circumvent the customs officials and for a time it works like a charm.

The Smuggler

1911

No artwork available
7.0

Among the suitors of a wealthy widow was a middle aged scientist, and while the woman was glad to regard him as a friend, she did not see how she could ever accept him as a husband. The widow was a great lover of athletics, and one day dragged the professor to witness a meet. As they were about to return, an effort was made to rob the widow, and only because of the bravery of one of the young athletes, was the crook captured and the pocketbook recovered. In a few days it dawned upon the professor that while he might be a big potato in the field of science, he was only a small lemon in the garden of love.

Brains vs. Brawn

1912

No artwork available
NR

J. Courtleigh Brice, son of a self-made father, lives abroad where he does little except spend the money his father has left and lament the fact that he is not of noble birth. Some business connected with his estate brings him back to America. On the wharf he is buttonholed by reporters, who put him down as one who finds American women "loud," and quote his declaration that he will marry no one except a titled gentlewoman.

Daughter of Kings

1915

The Path of Happiness poster
NR

Sick of life in the city after his fiancée deserts him, Merrill Day goes to the country for a rest with his sister and niece. There he meets Joan, who has lived in the hills for her whole life, and they quickly begin a romance. Grekko, however, a hunchback who has loved Joan for years, convinces her that Merrill's sister is really Merrill's wife.

The Path of Happiness

1916

Pamela Congreve poster
8.0

The story of country girl Pamela Congreve who driven by revenge rises through London society to seek justice against the villain who caused her father's death.

Pamela Congreve

1914

No artwork available
8.0

A painter in New York City discovers that he has inherited a harem. Since he's already married and his wife would definitely not approve, he must find a way to rid himself of his inheritance.

His Uncle's Wives

1913

No artwork available
8.0

When telegraph operator Dan Boynton is dismissed shortly after his marriage, he and his new bride Alice decide they will take their honeymoon at the road's expense, and in one of its own cars. The train crew, learning of romance, decide to wink at the violation of rules. Dan contrives to make the situation permanent sending a message purportedly from the general manager, ordering the station agent to hold the car on the siding until further orders. When his former boss Bushkirk discovers the situation the couple’s "nerve" makes a great hit with him and he appoints Dan Boynton his chief assistant.

A Freight Car Honeymoon

1915

No artwork available
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

His Two Patients

1915

Robin Hood poster
6.0

Robin Hood and his followers aid the poor and oppressed from their hideout in Sherwood Forest, pursued by the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Robin Hood

1913

Moths poster
NR

A French woman has to marry a Russian to preserve the reputation of her society mother. However she is in love with someone else.

Moths

1913

In a Garden poster
6.0

Over the years, an old gardener observes a romance develop between a young boy and girl. 20 years after they break up over a misunderstanding, the old man is instrumental in bringing them back together again.

In a Garden

1912

No artwork available
7.0

Her Ladyship, the Countess, had a faithful little page, whom she chose as her constant companion. The Lady was wooed by a wicked Baron, whom she loathed, and seldom permitted to enter her presence. The Baron retreated to his castle by the sea, and there plotted revenge on the fair lady who spurned him.

Her Ladyship's Page

1912

Get Rich Quick poster
4.0

An investment plan that tells potential investors they can "get rich quickly" turns out to be a swindle, and investors are in danger of losing all their money.

Get Rich Quick

1911

No artwork available
7.0

A lawyer is given the execution of a will, which bequeaths to the child of a disinherited son a large fortune. The disinherited son is now dead. The father, on his deathbed is penitent. By way of making amends he leaves to his son's offspring, his entire fortune. He is ignorant of his grandchild's fate, but provides that a thorough search should be made.

The Missing Heir

1911