
Acting
Alec B. Francis
Born — Died
1867-12-01 — 1934-07-06
Place of birth
London, England, UK
Known for
Acting
Credits
60 titles
English born Alec B. Francis (Alec Budd Francis) was, in America, a stage and film actor.
Known for
6.2A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I.
Mata Hari
1931
6.1In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.
Alice in Wonderland
1933
6.9Three outlaws come to the aid of a young girl after her father is killed.
3 Bad Men
1926
9.0Angela comes to Hollywood with only two things: Her dream to become a movie star, and Grandpa. She leaves an Aunt, a brother, Grandma, and her longtime boyfriend back in Centerville. Despite seeing major movie stars around every corner, and knocking on every casting office door in town, at the end of her first day she is still unemployed. To her horror, when she arrives back at their hotel, she finds that Grandpa has been cast in a movie by William DeMille and quickly becomes a star during the ensuing weeks. Her family, worried that Angela and Grandpa are getting into trouble, come to Hollywood to drag them back home. In short order Aunt, Grandma, brother, boyfriend and even the parrot become superstars, but Angela is still unemployed...
Hollywood
1923
6.6A medical researcher is sent to a plague outbreak, where he has to decide priorities for the use of a vaccine.
Arrowsmith
1931
6.0A young woman dutifully marries an older millionaire and then falls in love with a handsome nobleman-- who'd previously saved her life-- on her unhappy honeymoon.
Beyond the Rocks
1922
Film credits
1930s · 10 titles
6.2A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I.
Mata Hari
1931
6.1In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.
Alice in Wonderland
1933
6.6A medical researcher is sent to a plague outbreak, where he has to decide priorities for the use of a vaccine.
Arrowsmith
1931
5.1Dick Wallace wants to marry a minister's grand-daughter but his father, who wants him to get work on his company's business, is opposed. She takes a job with the company to prove she's okay.
His Private Secretary
1933
7.0Lee Tracy once again plays a Winchellesque newspaper reporter in Universal's I'll Tell the World. More interested in his sex life than his career, news hawk Brown nonetheless agrees to cover the activities of a European archduke on behalf of his wire service.
I'll Tell the World
1934
6.0A group of strangers find themselves aboard an unmanned ship, surrounded by fog and uncertain of their destination. As they attempt to make sense of their situation, the group of passengers discover a commonality that changes their perception of the nature of their journey. The film was later remade, with some changes, as Between Two Worlds (1944).
Outward Bound
1930
6.3Naive Ezekial Cobb, brought up by his missionary father in China returns to America to seek a wife. Corrupt politicians enlist him to run for mayor as a dummy candidate with no chance of winning. Their plan backfires as he wins and embarks upon a reform crusade.
The Cat's-Paw
1934
7.3An ordinary man is confronted by gangsters who have reason to believe a treasure is buried somewhere on his property.
Captain Applejack
1931
7.2This film earned an Oscar nomination for Sound Recording. It is the only film nominated in this category that is among the lost. No negative or print material is known to have survived. Contemporary reviews were scathing, describing the film as a vastly overlong and boring talk-fest.
The Case of Sergeant Grischa
1930
6.7An ambitious shoe salesman, Harold, unknowingly meets the boss' daughter and tells her he is a leather tycoon. The rest of the film he spends hiding his true circumstances, in the store and later on a ship. Trying to deliver a letter, he later finds himself dangling high above the street on a building's scaffolding.
Feet First
1930
1920s · 28 titles
6.9Three outlaws come to the aid of a young girl after her father is killed.
3 Bad Men
1926
9.0Angela comes to Hollywood with only two things: Her dream to become a movie star, and Grandpa. She leaves an Aunt, a brother, Grandma, and her longtime boyfriend back in Centerville. Despite seeing major movie stars around every corner, and knocking on every casting office door in town, at the end of her first day she is still unemployed. To her horror, when she arrives back at their hotel, she finds that Grandpa has been cast in a movie by William DeMille and quickly becomes a star during the ensuing weeks. Her family, worried that Angela and Grandpa are getting into trouble, come to Hollywood to drag them back home. In short order Aunt, Grandma, brother, boyfriend and even the parrot become superstars, but Angela is still unemployed...
Hollywood
1923
6.0A young woman dutifully marries an older millionaire and then falls in love with a handsome nobleman-- who'd previously saved her life-- on her unhappy honeymoon.
Beyond the Rocks
1922
5.4The murders start with the body of Robin. He is found with a arrow through the heart, but Vance deduces that the body was placed and not found where he was killed. The note found dealing with the murder was part of a nursery rhyme and signed by 'Bishop'. The only witness may have been Mrs. Drukker and Adolph, but they are not talking. As the murders progress, each one is accompanied by a nursery rhyme. It is up to Philo Vance to unravel the clues and unmask the identity of the murderer 'Bishop'.
The Bishop Murder Case
1929
3.3Colonel Maurice Taylor of the Royal Flying Corps is hopelessly injured in an airplane crash immediately following his marriage to Stella. Maurice is non-functional in most of the physical areas of marriage that count, but Stella attends to his other needs faithfully for three years. Then his brother, Colin, shows up from South America, and he and Stella fall passionately in love and are making plans to run away together. Mother Taylor is aware of the romance, as is Nurse Weyland, who is secretly in love with Maurice, and now hates Stella for her careless attitude toward Maurice's patiently-borne sufferings. Maurice is also aware of the affair. He has a talk with his wife and brother. Complications arise.
The Sacred Flame
1929
10.0When rich Jack Talbot falls in love with not-rich Rose Kirby, he doesn't marry her, fearing his mother's disapproval. Rose later marries Clyde Bainbridge, a rotter who knows that under the terms of a secret contract, Rose will inherit the Talbot iron-works. Rose finds the contract but, mistrusting her husband, does not make use of it.
Rose of the World
1925
6.5Years of failure and bad luck have made Maurice Blake a beachcomber on an island in the Samoas, earning a precarious living by diving for pearls with Philip Jardine, the disinherited son of a San Francisco millionaire. When Philip is killed by a shark, his half caste common-law wife, Rosa, informs Maurice that Philip had been forgiven by his father, and she persuades him to assume Philip's identity and return to the States - The film is now considered a lost film.
A Thief in Paradise
1925
5.0Widower Colonel Dodge enjoys being single, but when Arbutus Quilty, his former sweetheart, threatens to sue him for breach of promise, he decides its time for him and his daughter Mary to take themselves a little vacation trip to Florida.
Listen Lester
1924
8.0Lord Cyril Wimborne, a barrister, divorces his wife, Myra, and takes custody of their child, Kenyon, when he finds her name linked with the profligate Major Pollock. Myra goes into seclusion while Pollock, intending to conceal Myra's innocence, goes to Burma. A few years later Myra sees Kenyon in the park with Mrs. Debenham, a widow with designs on Wimborne. Noting the resemblance between the lady in the park (whom he calls his "princess") and a photograph of his mother, Kenyon invites Myra to dinner at a time when his father, who has curtailed the visits to the park, plans to be away. At the same time Harold Courtenay, an old family friend, sees an opportunity to reunite the estranged couple.
Evidence
1929
7.0This is not a Clara Bow vehicle, and yet it is clearly the aspect/asset of Clara Bow which elevates a fairly serious melodrama to a timeless and profound social statement. Opening the film on death row where the handsome youth awaits the chair, a stirring test of the legal system evolves after two elite types conspire to expose its inadequacies. Elite, jaded society lawyer Gordon Harrington fabricates a murder, implicating an entirely "hired" fall-guy, one Dan O'Connor, while the bored playboy-type hides away on a yacht until the points are proven and the legal system has been disgraced. Naturally, something goes wrong, the playboy really turns up murdered, and O'Connor is now the accused, imprisoned murderer scheduled to be hanged.
Capital Punishment
1925
10.0Sydney Fairchild, the daughter of a woman who was once loved by three bachelors, surprises the men with a visit. Findley, Trumbull, and Gaunt honor their former sweetheart's last request by becoming Sydney's guardians.
Three Wise Fools
1923
9.0In Southern California during the Mexican regime, Don Marcello, son of the territorial governor, returns home to find that his father's secretary, Mendozza, has seized power. The coup arouses the anger of the revolutionary faction, which forms an alliance with Don Marcello.
The Spider and the Rose
1923
7.0David Howitt, a stranger, comes among the mountain folk of the Missouri hills and, taken in by an Ozark family, becomes known as The Shepherd because of his gentle and kindly ways. Years earlier, his son betrayed a mountaineer's daughter, and The Shepherd hopes to atone for his error. When a continued drought threatens the people with starvation and ruin, they lose faith in the "miracle man" and mock him, though he begs them to keep the faith.
The Shepherd of the Hills
1928
6.5A young Acadian woman spends years searching for her lost love after the two are separated and forcibly relocated by the British.
Evangeline
1929
7.0Chorus girl Mary Brown promises to give herself to playboy cad John Duane in exchange for $2500 so she can pay back a theft her brother made from his employers. Her sweetheart, race-car driver Jimmie, learns about it and gives her a check for $2500, but the check is worthless unless he can win the Big Race that afternoon. He leads through every lap but blows a tire on the last lap and finishes fourth. It appears that Duane will soon be hugging sweet Mary, unless Jimmie can find a buyer for a race-car with a flat tire.
Soiled
1925
5.4Elizabeth Cheney has a wealthy husband, social prominence and everything she could want in life . . . except Ted Lutton, the man she loves. She must decide whether to give everything up to follow her heart and run off with Ted.
The Circle
1925
10.0Captain Duncan McTeague, ashore in Southport, finds a deserted baby boy with a note and half of a dollar bill pinned to its clothing. The note states that the mother hopes some day to return and identify the child with the other half of the dollar bill. McTeague raises the child. When he is four years old, the captain discharges his mate Martin Webber, who seeks revenge by kidnapping the boy.
Half-a-Dollar Bill
1924
10.0Son of Colonel Haddington, Bob leads a posse against raiders in a settlement. During his absence, one of the prize horses is stolen and his father is killed. Bob swears revenge and becomes known as Velantrie, leader of a band of semi-outlaws, and befriends a priest, Father Hillaire. At a mission, he meets Val, daughter of John Hannon, a wealthy ranch-owner.
North of the Rio Grande
1922
5.9A poor cobbler's son enters a $25,000 cross-country hiking contest sponsored by the footwear company that has nearly bankrupted his father. He also has fallen in love with the girl on the company's billboards, the competition's daughter, and her sweet inspiration keeps him tramping along.
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
1926
8.0After being captured by T-Man Jack Blaisdell and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor on a counterfeiting rap, Tiger McGuire is sprung from jail by his old gang. Vowing to get even with Jack, Tiger kidnaps the young man's fiancée, Helen (Holmes), bringing the girl to his hideout, a fancy yacht owned by Lucy Carlisle.
Outwitted
1925
8.0Directed by Wallace Worsley.
Is Divorce a Failure?
1923
9.0Directed by Wallace Worsley.
The Street Called Straight
1920
8.0After Bruce Morrison marries Rose Kendall, he receives information that his father is gravely ill, and not to tell him of Bruce's marriage because the father has picked Jane Penfield to be his son's wife. Jane's brother Murray, however, learns of the marriage and demands money to keep the news from Bruce's father.
What's a Wife Worth?
1921
7.5Guests at an old English manor house are stalked by a mysterious killer known only as "The Terror".
The Terror
1928
6.6A teenager with permissive parents gets too caught up in wild parties and the fast life.
The Mad Whirl
1925
10.0Sally, a girl of the tenements, is being raised by three bachelor foster-fathers, a pawnbroker, an organ-grinder and a peddler, and is very happy preparing their meals and keeping the house, while the old men bask in the attention she gives them. However, this happy home is broken up when Sally wealthy aunt appears on the scene and takes Sally back to her luxurious penthouse in order to give her the advantages of money and social position. But Sally's heart is back across the river with her plumber sweetheart, Jimmie Adams.
Sally in Our Alley
1927
9.0Perryam is going through a round of bad luck; he is thrown out of school and loses at love. In search of a change, he heads for London, where he meets Audrey Nye, a former jazz baby who has gotten a responsible job on a newspaper. She helps Perryam get hired as a reporter.
High Steppers
1926
8.0Mary's kid brother needs an operation and, in order to pay for it, Mary goes to a Hollywood studio and applies for a job as an actress. Mary is given a job as a waitress in the commissary, and gets to meet 40 actors, actresses and directors, none of whom tip big enough to enable Mary to earn enough money to pay for an operation. Will Mary become an actress and make some big money?
Mary of the Movies
1923
1910s · 21 titles
NRCardinal Mercier protects the altar of his church from desecration when German forces invade the Belgian city of Louvain during World War I. Although the soldiers commit widespread atrocities, the cardinal does his best to protect the townspeople.
The Cross Bearer
1918
7.0Lord and Lady Algy separate amicably after he breaks his promise not to gamble again on the horses. When the wife of soap magnate Brabazon Tudway, is courted by Algy's philandering elder brother, Algy tries to help his brother escape Tudway's wrath by hiding Mrs. Tudway in his apartments. Tudway discovers her there ....
Lord and Lady Algy
1919
Dick Seymour is fortunate in having a nice father and a nice girl as sweetheart. Money is coming to him. But, tempted by woman and wine on the great White Way of New York, he falls down badly. His money is in Paris. In that city he goes from bad to worse and is accused of murder. From jail and death there seems no escape. But his father and sweetheart have been loyal to him and he is proved innocent of the crime and saved. He finds happiness by shunning bad company and bad habits.
The Model
1915
6.5A short film about the friendship between a little girl and a stray dog.
Playmates
1912
9.5In early 19th century England, ambitious and ruthless orphan Rebecca Sharp advances from the position of governess to the heights of British society.
Vanity Fair
1911
NRIn The Gilded Cage, Alice Brady plays Princess Honore, who falls in love with a handsome prince who doesn't know her true identity (nor does she know his).
The Gilded Cage
1916
5.0Robin Hood is a 1912 film made by Eclair Studios when it and many other early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey at the beginning of the 20th century. The movie's costumes feature enormous versions of the familiar hats of Robin and his merry men, and uses the unusual effect of momentarily superimposing images different animals over each character to emphasize their good or evil qualities. The film was directed by Étienne Arnaud and Herbert Blaché, and written by Eustace Hale Ball. A restored copy of the 30-minute film exists and was exhibited in 2006 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Robin Hood
1912
4.8A frustrated, protective father tries to stop his secretaries from falling in love with his charming daughter, Betty. He hires two secretaries— only for them to be in on the practical jokes Betty plays on her father.
Troublesome Secretaries
1911
John Sprague, a promising young minister, wins the love and hand of a simple country girl, Margaret. Her father does not view the match favorably because of Sprague's rather advanced ideas on social relations and pleasure. He had earlier encouraged an amateur theatrical performance in which Margaret had made a success as Juliet.
Coming Home
1914
NRMarion Livingston, daughter of General Livingston, boss of the Elsinore coal mines, rescues Jack Stanton, a young superintendent of the mines, from a mob of miners led by Jim Saunders, who were enraged at his having ordered them to work after it had been found that the mine is dangerous. Jack's brother, Harold, a young district attorney, comes to visit him and falls in love with Marion.
A Woman's Way
1916
Dr. Alexander is dedicated to his young wife Isabel, but she craves a more exciting life and the company of younger people. This creates a rift between them with Isabel becoming increasingly distant. At a social gathering, she meets the artist Jack Welby and is drawn to him. As their relationship deepens, she considers eloping with him.
Duty
1914
NRVivacious little Gilberte, known as Frou Frou, is the daughter of M. Brigard, a retired merchant, who has as his companion in a life of gaiety, Comte Paul de Valreas, a much younger man. Both the Count and Henry de Sartorys are in love with Frou Frou, and when De Sartorys asks for the hand of Frou Frou, M. Brigard refers him to Louise, the elder daughter, who is in charge of the household. To Louise, who loves de Sartorys, comes the first anguish of her life, when he confides his love for Frou Frou. However, she confers with her little sister who agrees to marry De Sartorys. Paul also asks for Frou Frou's hand, but Brigard refuses, stating he is too jolly a companion to be trusted as a son-in-law.
A Hungry Heart
1917
NRA baronet's son marries a barmaid in order to qualify under the inheritance terms of a will.
After Dark
1915
5.8Giles Bateson gets expelled from college for misconduct. His angry father, the Earl, sends him a message: "Never let me see you again until you have earned a half crown and proven yourself worthy of confidence."
The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England
1914
7.0An Englishman goes undercover posing as an Egyptian sheik in order to infiltrate a conspiracy to throw off British rule. An English woman complicates things by falling in love with the sheik, unaware of his true identity.
Flame of the Desert
1919
5.0This is a visualization of the life of patriot Nathan Hale which is based on a play by Clyde Fitch. Robert Warwick plays Nathan (and does a fine job) and Gail Kane the girl whom he loves (Alice Adams).
The Heart of a Hero
1916
NRMiss Petticoats stops a runaway horse, saves a wealthy woman from death, is rewarded with position as a private secretary. Society shuns her. She goes abroad; then see how she becomes the acknowledged daughter of a French Count and falls heir to a title.
Miss Petticoats
1916
The employees of Harrison's mine have been out on strike for a long time. The men wait for him until he is leaving his office in the evening. They try to state their case but he entirely ignores them. They attack him. In terror, he flees before them, escaping by entering the home of a poor widow with two children.
A Reformed Santa Claus
1911
1.0Fernande de Ferney, a young French girl, has spent her time between the convent and the country home of her uncle, where she has learned to passionately love Roger, the son of the Marquise de Monclars. He marries her for her fortune, but does not value what he has so lightly won until she profits by the lesson taught in the little marionette play written by their friend, Nizerolles, and finds that men are much like marionettes.
The Marionettes
1918
NRA scientist resurrects his dead daughter, only to realize she now lacks a soul.
Lola
1914
4.8A young woman tells her parents and fiance (in flashback) about the recent sinking of the Titanic and her experiences as a passenger during the disaster. Her intended marriage now faces a new hazard because her fiance is a sailor and her parents have just been reminded of the dangers of the sea. Premiering in the United States just 29 days after the event, it is the earliest dramatization about the tragedy.
Saved from the Titanic
1912

