Leatrice Joy

This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.

Film clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history.

Jim and Connie's postwar New York building troubles keep Jim from working on his novel. Ex-WAC from Jim's army days Roberta moves in, further upsetting Connie but pleasing Jim's friend Ed. Tenant Charley, who marries tenant Eadie, loans money to Jim to help him keep the building, money which this Casanova obtains from rich widows.

The Hansen School for Air Hostesses, operated by Celia Hansen, welcomes a new group of students; a librarian named Ruth Jackson; Lorraine Carter, a nurse; and Jennifer White, whose husband was an aviator killed in World War II. Ruth meets a smart-alec pilot, Dennis Hogan, but complications arise as Lorraine also has an interest in him. Jennifer meets a war-buddy of her husband, Fred MacCoy. All three women, with each other's help, makes it through to graduation day.

Horse story with Dynamite, The Red Stallion...

Teenager Betty Elliott has decided to take over the business and social affairs of her father Doc Elliott. She thinks her father should marry the widowed mother, Julie Harper, of her boyfriend Chris Harper. Doc has been a real friend and father to Chris, who, under his guidance, has learned to take care of all the sick animals in town, but lack of money keeps the widow from sending Chris on to finish high school and medical training is out of the question. Wealthy Grandpa Harper sends his attorney Baker to tell Mrs. Harper that all of Jimmy's dreams could be realized if the widow, whom the grandfather dislikes, would give up custody of her son. The lawyer also begins to court Julie and this throws a kink in Betty's plans to see her father and the widow get married. Written by Les Adams

In this reworking of Cinderella, orphaned Connie Harding is sent to live with her rich aunt and uncle after graduating from boarding school. She's hardly received with open arms, especially by her snobby cousin Barbara. When the entire family is invited to a major social ball, Barbara sees to it that Connie is forced to stay home. With the aid of her uncle, who acts as her fairy godfather, Connie makes it to the ball and meets her Prince Charming in Ted Drake, her cousin's boyfriend.

A woman, raised in the most-strict New England atmosphere, marries a stern, God-fearing sea captain and is thrown suddenly into the romantic, colorful and licentious atmosphere of a South Sea island outpost. With her inhibitions and repressed desires what will be her reaction to the charms of the sensuous of the beautiful tropic nights and the call of love?

Laura Sergeant (Leatrice Joy), together with her husband, Humphrey Sergeant (Sidney Blackmer) operates a scam scheme to extort money from millionaires through blackmail and victimization until she mistakenly victimizes Tony Williams (Walter Pidgeon), the man she really loves.

"Strong Boy" is offered a promotion for saving a child from being crushed by a trunk, but to the frustration of his girlfriend Mary, he is not ambitious enough to take a white-collar position. But when he thwarts an attempted train robbery and saves the Queen of Lisonia's jewels, he is viewed as a hero and Mary finally agrees to marry him.

The Bellamy Trial is a 1929 American drama film directed by Monta Bell and written by Monta Bell and Joseph Farnham.

Herbert Pomeroy's wife Juanita spends his money extravagantly and irresponsibly, finally driving him to bankruptcy. Desperate, he sends his son Frankie to live with his friend Henderson, a South Seas trader, then commits suicide. Although Juanita spends years searching for her son, she finally gives up and takes a world cruise on the yacht of wealthy Jules Lennox. One day the yacht docks on Henderson's island and Juanita, meeting Henderson, persuades him to let her be Frankie's governess. Complications ensue, involving a poor physician, a jealous island woman and a witch doctor.

Peggy Pepper arrives in Hollywood, from Georgia, to become a great dramatic star. Things do not go entirely according to plan.

The man who loved her showed her how to hold the man she loved. A novel picture story packed with drama, thrills and laughs.

Marguerite, the beauty of an Austrian village, loves the poverty-stricken Baron Erich von Statzen, although her mother is opposed to the affair, having been made suspicious by the hunchback Ludwig, who is smitten by Marguerite's charms and insanely jealous of Statzen. Statzen's uncle would have him marry Helena Boursch, the local brewer's daughter, to save his dwindling estate. Ordered to the front when war is declared, Statzen is forced to leave without saying goodby to Marguerite.

Babe Scott, a cabaret dancer who is constantly searching for sensational material to shock her customers, conceives of burlesquing a Salvation Army girl and attends mission meetings on the East Side for atmosphere. There she meets Jerry Wilson, an honest truckdriver and friend of the Army captain. Although the act is a success, Babe is disillusioned to find Lonnie, a fellow worker who has been romancing her, stealing her money and making overtures to Big Bertha, the hard-boiled club hostess.

Barbara Fiske, a beautiful girl of social standing, is about to be married to Lloyd Van Courtland. On the eve of their marriage, she foolishly pays a visit to a colorful steamship captain aboard his ship.

A stormy marriage of 6 months between Narcissa and Peter Williams ends in a bitter quarrel, and to gain his freedom Peter offers her more alimony than he can afford. Then he meets Mary Martin, who restores his faith in marriage. With business reverses, Peter falls behind in his alimony payments and neglects his new wife. Narcissa, however, manages to support Bertie Waring, a young sofa-hound; but she protests the delayed alimony and Mary is forced to take a job with an interior decorating establishment. Peter goes to Narcissa to appeal to her generosity, at the moment when Mary (unaware of Narcissa's identity as her husband's first wife) is working in Narcissa's apartment; seeing them together, Mary leaves in humiliation and accepts an invitation from Bertie....

When a hardened businesswoman who goes by the initials A.B. overhears someone calling her an “Amazon” because of her butch ways, she agrees to a more “feminine” makeover. In the end she learns that no matter how she looks she’s still the smartest person in any room. 

A young woman visits her boyfriend, an archaeologist, at the site in Egypt where he is digging up ancient artifacts. Her frustration mounts when it appears that he is more interested in old bones and mummies than he is in the fact that she's traveled thousands of miles to see him. However, there are three men at the site who don't share her boyfriend's attitude towards her, and they make their intentions known.

After forming his own studio in 1925, Cecil B. DeMille produced this exuberant blend of orientalist melodrama and gender-bending comedy featuring his THE TEN COMMANDMENTS leading lady Leatrice Joy. An over-protective sea captain forces his daughter Eve to pass as a boy. But she craves romance and sets her sights on a handsome American tourist (Boyd) who still thinks she's a boy when she shanghais him aboard her father's ship; then a lustful Chinese pirate (Walter Long) takes them prisoner. Joy, an appealing comedienne whose career nosedived when talkies came in, sparkles in both her tomboy and love-hungry phases. -Martin Rubin, Gene Siskel Film Center

A beautiful con artist marries Hayes Hallan, the owner of a pearl-rich island. No sooner has the couple said "I do" than Beatrice's partners in crime show up, claiming to be the bride's parents.

Judy Nichols (Leatrice Joy), a poor girl from Chicago, has decided she cannot marry without money. Her sweetheart, Ronald McKane, a struggling civil engineer (Edmund Burns), is encouraging her to join him in New York, but she only goes when she is bequeathed an inheritance. Unfortunately, the amount adds up to less than ten dollars a week. When she meets banker Sanford Gillespie (Robert Edeson), she convinces him to help McKane out financially. Once McKane has become a success, Judy marries him, but then he becomes interested in another woman. Judy seeks revenge and asks Gillespie to ruin her estranged husband, offering him anything he wants in return.

An American soldier falls in love with a French maiden but their romance is thwarted when the Yanks return home. Years later she comes to America to put on a fashion show and find her long lost lover.

A bored rich housewife wants to go on the stage, but her husband won't let her. When she meets a despairing actress who looks exactly like her, she suggests they swap places for a little while, giving the actress a break while the rich husband is out of town. But the rich husband comes back early, causing havoc for the actress, plus the rich housewife is finding herself attracted to the actress's boyfriend.

At the center of the story is Ann Land. Ann is a small factory worker and has only ever dreamed of great fame, recognition as an artist and applause ...

The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt of the tablets and the worship of the golden calf. The second part shows the efficacy of the commandments in modern life through a story set in San Francisco. Two brothers, rivals for the love of Mary, also come into conflict when John discovers Dan used shoddy materials to construct a cathedral.

Edith sets out to prove that a wife can never be fooled by her husband - but will she succeed?

Gerrit Ammidon, despairing of any chance to marry his love, Nettie Vollar, because of a bitter feud between his father and her grandfather, sails to China to "get away from it all". While in Shanghai he rescues a beautiful young woman being attacked by a gang of street toughs. She turns out to be Taou Yuen, a Manchu princess. Gerrit discovers that, unless she finds a husband, she will be put to death, and he agrees to marry her. They return to Java Head, the Ammidon family home in Salem, Massachusetts, but Gerrit's "homecoming" has some unexpected consequences.

Society-girl thrillseeker Lydia's fun comes to an end when she accidentally causes the death of motorcycle policeman.

Documentary short film depicting the filmmaking activity at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood, featuring dozens of stars captured candidly and at work.

Though betrothed to fellow socialite Richard, Iris weds her chauffeur Tom leaving Richard to marry the family laundress' daughter Shamrock. Class differences lead to divorces and remarriages.

Voices of the City is a 1921 American silent crime drama film starring Leatrice Joy and Lon Chaney that was directed by Wallace Worsley. It is considered to be a lost film.

John and Katherine Colby decide to put off parenthood until he has become wealthy. Their friends, Tom and Grace Donaldson, decide to start a family right away. While John works his way up to a position of power at a steel firm, Katherine begins to question the wisdom of their decision.

A societal romance drama based on an Alice Duer Miller novel.

A romantic rivalry among members of a secret society becomes even more tense when one of the men is assigned to carry out an assassination.

A white child is adopted and raised by a Chinese citizen and brought to San Francisco, where no one surmises that she is actually not Chinese.

A woman named Bunty Bigger struggles to keep her family in line in a small Scottish village. For one, her brother Jeemy faces jail time for robbing a bank. Meanwhile, her father, Tammas, pays back the stolen money with funds given him by Susie Simpson, a woman who hopes to marry him. Susie gets angry, so Bunty borrows money to pay her back. Things turn out well when Bunty gets married in a double-wedding ceremony—during which her father not only gives her away but gets married himself. The movie is based on a play by Graham Moffat. The film is lost.

DOWN HOME is a rural drama set in New England and stars Leatrice Joy as Nancy Pelot, daughter of the town drunk. He was once a businessman and still owns a local farm, but Nancy now supports her father and herself with a mysterious job in a nearby town.

Snobbish attorney Charles 'Beauty' Steele loses his wife due to his drinking and his airs at the same time that his brother-in-law absconds with funds belonging to one of Steele's clients. In search of the thief, Steele is attacked and left for dead. He is rescued by a kindly couple, but suffers from amnesia.

Businesswoman Eleanor Lathrop becomes an advisor to Richard Emerson, an ambitious young engineer. He becomes very successful with her help, and to avoid the talk that surrounds their relationship, she suggests that he marry Mary Virginia Lee, a Southern girl from an aristocratic but impoverished family. Mary is happy to wed Emerson since she is tired of being poor. On their honeymoon, she reveals that she got married only to have luxuries, and Emerson admits that he was looking for social standing. After their confessions, they decide it's best to lead separate lives. Emerson stays at his club in New York, while Mary lives at his country home. Eleanor becomes jealous of Mary's position, even though she's the one who spends her time with Emerson.

Unknown to his proud and wealthy family, Granger Hollister marries Margery Harding, a telephone operator. Granger presents his new wife at an engagement party given for his sister Jane, but Jane's fiance, Lord Cecil Graydon, threatens to break off the betrothal unless Granger's marriage is annulled. To please his sister, Granger sacrifices Margery, who seeks work and later gives birth to a child. Following the baby's death, Margery goes West, where she befriends an old miner who later leaves her his fortune. Meanwhile, Granger becomes involved in a fraudulent mining deal, and because of George Osborne's perjured testimony, he is sent to prison for five years. When he escapes, Margery agrees to hide him and is ultimately responsible for obtaining his pardon. Granger then remarries the wife he once abandoned. - Written by Pamela Short, from IMDB.com

Chorus girl Rosa Carillo (Carmel Myers) finds herself in dire straits when the troupe she works with is disbanded and her last fifty dollars is stolen. Artist Billy Leeds (Earl Rodney) offers to take care of her, but she's leery of his proposition. Instead she finds work with an Italian grocer, Tony Bonchi (Edwin August). One of the other ex-members of the troupe has Tony arrested on a trumped up charge. Rosa returns to Billy and offers herself to him if only he'll get Tony out of jail.

Short King Bee Studios slapstick comedy featuring Billy West and Oliver Hardy

Imagine this, and you are in the world of Billy West, who looks like Chaplin, and acts something like Chaplin, but does not think like him, or come close to moving like him. In this film, West escapes a couple of cops, and fights for the Mabel Normand imitation with Oliver Hardy (who in this film is an Eric Campbell imitation). The dynamic between West in Hardy is more Popeye and Bluto (without the funny gags). The only original jokes involve our heroine's romantic assaults on Hardy's mustache.

After a luckless prospecting trip, Billy starts homeward across the desert, mounted on his little burro with his pick, shovel and pack strapped up behind him. Finally he comes in sight of Red Dog Gulch and, hungry and thirsty, he pushes on toward the city. Susie is the daughter of the town drunkard. She starts out on her horse for a little ride, and a little way from town is attacked by Pedro and Little Casino, two Mexicans, who try to steal her horse. Billy happens along, runs the Mexicans off and takes Susie back to town.

Released June 11, 1917, Her Fractured Voice is a one-reel Black Diamond Comedy filmed and produced by the United States Motion Picture Corporation (USMPC) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Donald MacTavish, the last chieftain of his clan on an island off the coast of Scotland, dies at sea. This leaves his only daughter, Marget, to assume the responsibilities of leadership. Marget's burden is partially eased by her blossoming romance with Jamie Campbell. But there is a secret from Jamie's past that neither of them know about.

His Neglected Wife is one of 24 Black Diamond Comedies that were re-edited, re-titled, and released as “Unique Comedies” in 1919. Its original title remains unknown—the year of its initial release was probably 1917. “Susie,” the recurring heroine of the series (played by Leatrice Joy) is the wife in question; fed up being married to an impecunious writer, she leaves him a note (“As a writer you are a flivver [jalopy]. I'm off to get a six cylinder start”) and flees to the city. Her husband secretly follows her, enduring a great deal of symbolic punishment along the way.

Antonio Bordiga, a young sculptor, living in the Latin Quarter of New Orleans, is commissioned by William Baker, a rich, but degenerate, clubman, to carve a statue for him. Antonio is unable to secure a woman sufficiently beautiful in body and soul to pose for the statue and loses interest in his work. He is gazing out of his studio window one sunny afternoon when his attention is attracted to a young man forcibly kissing a girl. He rushes to her aid. She is so beautiful that he begs her to pose for him. She acquiesces.

Roscoe writes of his love and announces that he will call on Irene with the ring and ask her parents' consent to their marriage. Father and mother are willing, but decide to give Roscoe a scare before accepting him for a son-in-law. Father assumes a gruff attitude but melts at the right time and Roscoe departs in high glee to prepare for a masked ball at which the engagement is to be announced. Irene jokes him about his size but he warns her that he will fool her by the mystery of his disguise. On the way home in his automobile Roscoe drives over a cliff and is taken to a hospital. There he is, out of his mind, as the guests begin to assemble at the ball.