Ricardo Cortez

A gang of racketeers frames down-on-his-luck John Elman for murder. After a trial finds him guilty, evidence is brought forth proving his innocence, but it is too late and he is executed anyway. A doctor sees an opportunity to use an experimental procedure to restore him to life but is that entirely possible? Desirable? (imdb)

Newspaperman Bill Bradford becomes a special agent for the tax service trying to end the career of racketeer Nick Carston. Julie Gardner is Carston's bookkeeper. Bradford enters Carston's organization and Julie cooperates with him to land Carston in jail. An informer squeals on them. Julie is kidnapped by Carston's henchmen as she is about to testify. (imdb)

College graduate Claire McIntyre plans to conquer the business world, while her dropout boyfriend Johnny takes his swing band to Paris. Eventually, Claire catches the eye (in more ways than one) of ad executive Robert Clayton. Between her ability and her legs, she soon rises in the hierarchy. But the unexpected return of Johnny brings on an era of romantic misunderstandings. Will Clayton on one side and an obliging blonde on the other succeed in parting Claire and Johnny? (imdb)

Ann, a young lady of scandalously "advanced" ideas, has been living in near-sin with blueblood lover Dick, due to her conviction that marriage will destroy their love. Finally, social pressure forces them to marry; in due course, it looks as if Ann was right. Her solution: to separate and return to dating. Can this marriage be saved? (imdb)

Adhering closely to Dashiel Hammett's story, sleazy detective Sam Spade seeks the whereabouts of a jewel encrusted statuette and his partner's cold-blooded killer, unaware the two quests may be related. Well received in its time, today it looks like a dress-rehearsal for John Huston's definitive version made ten years later. (imdb)

Bat Morgan is nearly shanghaied on his way to the goldfields of California. Instead he kills Shanghai Duck and becomes a hero in San Francisco's Barbary Coast. He winds up the rich owner of a saloon and gambling hall and is nearly lynched for a murder o which he is innocent. (imdb)

Russian refugee Tanya Borisoff is suddenly abandoned penniless in Rangoon, Burma, by her lover, Tony Evans, who accepted a gunrunning deal from Nick, the owner of an amoral nightclub. Nick made the deal hoping to get Tanya as his main "hostess," which Tanya accepts after an initial refusal, just to make the best of a bad situation... (imdb)

Paris bargirl with tough "protector" falls for young sailor. (imdb)

An astrologer sends out ominous letters to 13 women who were part of a college group of friends. One by one his predictions seem to come true.

Just before a wedding, the bridegroom hears a complex tale painting his lovely bride as devilish and unbalanced. (imdb)

Moto thwarts a ruthless band of international agents who try to foment an international incident by mining the entrance to the Suez Canal and blaming the British. (imdb)

Mary Whitman, an old friend of Charlie's in Reno for a divorce, finds herself accused of murdering the woman her husband planned to marry after the decree became final. (imdb)

When Charlie's old friend from Scotland Yard is murdered when they attend a police convention in New York, Chan picks up the case he was working on. (imdb)

Geoffrey is desperately in love with Mavis, who lives at his boardinghouse and is also pursuing a writing career. Unable to marry her because of his poverty, in his anger he curses God for abandoning him. Soon Geoffrey meets Prince Lucio de Rimanez, a wealthy, urbane gentleman who informs Geoffrey that he has inherited a fortune, but that he must place himself in the Prince's hands in order to enjoy the fruits of his inheritance. What Geoffrey doesn't know is that Prince Lucio is actually Satan (imdb)

A young woman is on trial for murder. In flashback, we learn of her struggles to overcome poverty as a teenager -- a mistaken arrest and prison term for shoplifting and lack of employment lead to involvement with gangsters. In a brothel, she meets a young lawyer, scion of a wealthy and prestigious family, who falls for her and helps her turn around her life. But her past catches up with her, and she must face the music rather than cause him scandal. (imdb)

A peasant saves a countess during the Russian Revolution. (TCM.com)

Actress Jessica Wells, sister of actor Damon Wells, is on top of her form except when her husband Vance is around. When Vance takes her to the apartment of a theatrical producer she comes home incoherent and Vance is found dead in the vanished producer's hotel suite. (imdb)

A night club singer hosts a children's radio show in hopes of finding the child she gave up years earlier. (TCM.com)

Racketeers flood the market with counterfeit cosmetics and drugs, causing some tragedies. (imdb)

While returning to Montana from a fling in New York, wealthy Joan Prescott leaves the train, intending to return to the big city. She runs into handsome cowboy Larry and gets engaged. On their wedding night she does a sultry dance with Jeff which ends with a prolonged kiss. Larry slugs Jeff. Angry Joan entrains for New York, but train robbers kidnap her. The leader of the pretend-bandits is Larry. (imdb)

Harry and Inez are a dance team at the Wonder Bar. Inez loves Harry, but he is in love with Liane, the wife of a wealthy business man. Al Wonder and the conductor/singer Tommy are in love with Inez. When Inez finds out, that Harry wants to leave Paris and is going to the USA with Liane she kills him. (imdb)

Two days before Marian and Ned are to be married, he is killed by the husband of a woman he was seeing on the side. Marian becomes withdrawn and they send her to the Canadian Rockies for rest. While on a walk, she accidentally falls off a ledge and twists her ankle. She is found and rescued by Dan Forrester and his dog Sandy. He visits Marian every day even though she is still bitter. When it is time to go, he asks her to marry him and she accepts even though she will never love again... (imdb)

Perry Mason looks into a trio of murders heralded by the shriek of a cat. (TCM.com)

A simple-minded wrestler falls for a woman with a dark secret. (TCM.com)

A woman loses her family after being falsely convicted of a crime. (TCM.com)

Jenny Wren coerces banker Priam Andes to have a dinner party at his shorefront estate Crestwood, and instructs him to invite three other men, each of whom she plans to extort money from. Jenny plans to retire to Europe after a life of involvement with wealthy and influential men. Also at the party, among others, are Jenny's sister Esther and her fiancée, scion of the Andes' family. But death also attends and Jenny's plans are thwarted. (imdb)

A brilliant young doctor grows away from his family and his community in his drive to succeed. When tragedy strikes his family, he sees where his obligations lie, but will it be too late? (imdb)

A young girl and her father are kicked out of their house by a cruel noblewoman, and the girl's heart is broken when her sweetheart, the noblewoman's son, won't go to Paris with them. After becoming an opera star in Paris, the girl returns to her homeland and finds her romance with the nobleman rekindled. (imdb)

When her lover is killed, a straying wife tries to intercept the confession she mailed her husband. (TCM.com)

Postal inspectors track down money stolen from a railroad car. (imdb)

Soap-opera about a social-climbing Jewish man and his old-world parents who are heartbroken by his rejection of them. (imdb)

Ten cents a dance, that's what they pay her -- "her" being downtrodden taxi dancer Barbara. The only thing Barbara sells is her time, or at least that's the story she gives her jellyfish husband Eddie. But when wealthy Carlton starts making goo-goo eyes at Barbara, Eddie accuses his wife of infidelity. This, in Eddie's mind, provides him with an adequate excuse to steal money from Carlton, which action leads to the no-good husband's downfall. (allmovie.com)

Karloff is the Chinese warlord Fang, who holds a group of oilmen and missionaries hostage in a remote Chinese outpost. (imdb)

Insurance detective Steve Hastings is sent by his company to investigate the disappearance of a fellow agent. His first lead is the agent's fetching sister, Victoria, whom he trails to Mexico City. After charming his way into her confidence, Steve helps Vicki unravel the mystery. (imdb)

A family that owns a cafe in the desert has dealings with a psychotic gangster who calls himself The Ghost.

A private detective finds himself with a perfect new secretary. But after a notorious gossip columnist turns up murdered, she may prove too good to be true. (imdb)

A detective goes after a ring of phony "mediums" who are trying to swindle a rich widow out of her fortune. (imdb)

A private detective is approached by a wealthy entertainment executive to stop a blackmail scheme against him. (imdb)

Showgirl Joan Blondell, supported by her friend Ginger Rogers, fights for the custody of her son during a divorce hearing. (imdb)

Poster writes a gossip column for the Morning Gazette. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets most of his information from his gal, Peggy who is a showgirl. When Bill sees Tony stab Angelo Spinelli to death in a speak easy, he puts it front page of the Gazette. (imdb)

Mary Linden is the secretary who is the unheralded power behind successful executive James Duneen. He takes her for granted until rival Wales tries to take her away from him. (imdb)

A man is blamed for a murder that was actually committed by his wife. (imdb)

Bad Company is a 1931 gangster film directed and co-written by Tay Garnett with Tom Buckingham based on Jack Lait's 1930 novel Put On the Spot. It stars Helen Twelvetrees and Ricardo Cortez. Told from the view of a woman, the working titles of this film were The Gangster's Wife and The Mad Marriage.

The Warner Bros. annual blooper reel for 1936. (imdb)

Explorers to the South Pole in an airship Zeppelin crash in the frozen Antarctic and must struggle for survival in the land of eternal snow and ice.

A racketeer uses a waitress to get information from the district attorney whom she comes to love. (imdb)

All but forgotten today, Warner Bros.' The Firebird was based on a once-popular stage mystery by Lajos Zilhany. Prohibited from seeing her actor sweetheart Herman Brandt (Ricardo Cortez) by her tyrannical parents, sweet young Vienesse lass Mariette (Anita Louise) defies authority by regularly visiting Brandt's downstairs apartment. The lovers' signal is a song called "The Firebird," which Brandt sings whenever he wants Mariette to visit him. (allmovie.com)

Haworth is a show biz producer who has a number of ex-girlfriends that he has beaten over the years. He is now engaged to two girls- Lisa and Trenna. After drinking and starting a fight with Sim, Haworth is found dead in his apartment. Everyone has a reason to kill him, but most of the blame is falling on Sim and his love Trenna. If they are to be cleared, it is up to Aunt Melissa to find the killer - and she thinks she knows who is was. (imdb)

Native son returns from school in Spain to California in 1855 and finds corrupt politicians stealing land from old California families. He becomes a sort of Robin Hood in order to fight them. (imdb)

John Barrymore wisely turned down this contrived courtroom melodrama that instead trapped poor Ricardo Cortez. He plays Robert Mitchell, an attorney who runs into his estranged wife Dorothea (Barbara Robbins) and her lover, artist Jerry Hutchins (John Beal), in a department store, the three of them purchasing, respectively, a hat, a coat, and a pair of gloves. (imdb)

Two brothers exchange lifestyles in this drama. The older brother, a gambler, wants to lead a clean, crime-free life while his wiseacre younger brother wants to become a professional gambler. With great hesitation, the older teaches the younger all he knows. The younger brother is a quick study and ends up playing so well that he aces a group of veteran gamblers out of their money. They become convinced that anyone who is that good, must be a cheat. (allmovie.com)

The Istanbul Express provides the setting for this crime drama that centers around a courier carrying the priceless Karenina diamonds to Paris. While aboard the speeding train, the courier finds himself beleagured by different jewel thieves attempting to steal his gems. A murder occurs and one of the thieves gets arrested. The courier ends up marrying the female thief. (allmovie.com)

A condemned murderer on the eve of his execution decides to tell the authorities who hired him to commit the murder. However, he's killed by a poison dart in front of a roomful of officials and reporters before he can divulge the name. An assistant district attorney and a pretty newspaper reporter team up to discover the "mystery man" behind the murders. (imdb)

Walter and Vivian live in the country and have a difficult time keeping servants. Walter hires an private detective who has been fired for arresting the District Attorney. They only way that Walter can get Jerry to work for him is to tell Jerry that his life is in danger; the neighbor is trying to take his wife; and that Nazi spies are everywhere. Jerry needs a cook for his 'cover' so he gets his fiancée Susan to work with him. (imdb)

Jane, the school teacher, thinks that life in Coasterville is dull so she tells her pupils about the days of the Daltons Boys and the James Gang. When bank robber Kingman escapes and hides out in the school house, Jane helps him escape from town. To Hank, her intended, this is the biggest story to hit the Clarion in a long time. Even old Sheriff Hoggins wants to join the G-Men looking for Kingman. Jane soon finds that there is no truth to the stories of the gallant misunderstood outlaws. (imdb)

Hoping to get even with gambler/bookie Johnny Silk, racetrack owners and partners Dorval and Farley convince down-and-out Martha Preston to pose as a rich, single French countess, whom Silk falls in love with and asks to marry. After the marriage Martha, who has genuinely fallen in love with Silk, innocently feeds his inside betting information to Dorval, causing Silk to lose a fortune. (imdb)

Queen Helen of Troy, piqued by her husband's lack of interest in her, elopes with Paris to Sparta. Menelaus, her husband, egged on by his henchman, starts a war with Paris, finally effecting the return of Helen. The time-honoured custom demands that he have the pleasure of killing her, but her seductive loveliness restrains him.

Sue Tally waits for a brother she hasn't seen in twenty years to meet her in a French hotel. By proving her identity, she'll share in a $2,000,000 inheritance. But others are anxious to get a share of the money too, and won't stop at committing a murder or two. (imdb)

Crotchety hospital administrator Peter Melady, self-proclaimed developer of a new wonder anaesthetic, is about to undergo a delicate operation to be performed by the glib Dr. Leo Harrigan, Melady's longtime mutual adversary. Police are called when the murdered body of Harrigan is found in an elevator, and Melady, last seen being wheeled on a gurney to surgery by Harrigan, has disappeared. (imdb)

The Pony Express is a silent 1925 Western film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by James Cruze and starred his wife Betty Compson along with Ricardo Cortez, Wallace Beery, and George Bancroft.

When an old rancher (Cordoba)'s grandson is murdered, the Cisco Kid takes his place to find who's trying to take over the ranch. (imdb)

Homicide detective Bill Ryder reluctantly teams up with wise-cracking news-hound Peter Kennedy to solve a pair of murders. (imdb)

New York is a 1927 American drama silent film directed by Luther Reed and written by Barbara Chambers, Becky Gardiner and Forrest Halsey. The film stars Ricardo Cortez, Lois Wilson, Estelle Taylor, William Powell, Norman Trevor and Richard "Skeets" Gallagher. The film was released on January 30, 1927, by Paramount Pictures. (The Movie Database)

Pola Negri, Bebe Daniels, Mitzi Green, Polly Moran, Mack Sennett and Marjorie Beebe are seen relaxing at Palm Springs, a California winter resort; Barbara Stanwyck and Ricardo Cortez play golf; other celebrities are shown at Malibu Beach. (imdb)

A producer devises an elaborate gala premiere for his latest anti-Nazi propaganda epic. (imdb)

A girl reporter is trying to tack down the lady-in-the-title, as a key witness in a graft trial, which involves three murder and that many failed attempts. A prosecuting attorney in the district attorneys office is aiding her in solving the mystery of the missing lady.

Gilin, is just released from prison and now that the government has clamped down on the sale of tires, decides to enter the tire-stealing-for-resell racket. Driving home, he has a car wreck with defense workers Bill Barry and Mary Dale. His girlfriend Nikki persuades the gangster to settle Bill's claim by giving him the old car belonging to his Chinese servant Tom, who is about to enter the army.

Zabette de Chauvalons returns to Martinique to discover that her father has died and that his estate is now in the hands of her evil stepmother. Because of her dark complexion, she is forced to live in the island's mulatto district, where she is lusted after by native Quembo and admired by aristocrat Stephane Sequineau, who vows to take her away from such disagreeable surroundings. Meanwhile, a volcanic eruption is imminent nearby.

When the boyfriend of a rich, bored socialite dies from a weak heart, she finds herself attracted to the doctor who treated him, a hard-working idealist decidedly different from the usual spoiled society rich kids she is used to. (imdb)

Expressing post-war cultural internationalism, this silent film follows the mysterious Orchid and the man who loves her.

A man is employed to tutor the children of an aristocratic family and has an affair with the lady of the house.

In early-1800s New Orleans, a ball is being given to honor General Andrew Jackson. Among the attendees is a certain Captain Sazarac, who is actually the notorious buccaneer Jean Lafitte. His real identity is exposed and Gen. Jackson gives him until dawn to leave the city. However, Lafitte is soon involved in a plot, hatched by the uncle of the woman he loves, to rescue Napoleon from the island of St. Helena.