John Emerson

Writing

John Emerson

Born May 29, 1874 · Sandusky, Ohio, USA

Died March 7, 1956 · aged 81

John Emerson (born Clifton Paden; May 29, 1874 – March 7, 1956) was an American stage actor, playwright, producer, and director of silent films (many featuring Douglas Fairbanks). Emerson was married to Anita Loos from June 15, 1919, until his death, and prior to that the couple had worked together as a writing team for motion pictures. They would continue to be credited jointly, even as Loos purs…

Known For

San FranciscoSan Francisco · 1936
San Francisco
6.61936
MovieDramaRomance
A beautiful singer and a battling priest try to reform a Barbary Coast saloon owner in the days before the great earthquake and subsequent fires in 1906.
SaratogaSaratoga · 1937
Saratoga
6.51937
MovieComedyRomance
A horse breeder's granddaughter falls in love with a scheming bookie in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Hit-the-Trail HollidayHit-the-Trail Holliday · 1918
Hit-the-Trail Holliday
1918
MovieComedy
Bartender Billy Holliday loses his job for refusing to supply drinks to minors at the behest of his employer. In the little country town he wanders into looking for work he finds two elements, the wets and the drys. When he meets the daughter of the leader of the drys, he casts in his lot with them, and when the leader of the wet faction threatens vengeance, Billy is instantly on the job. At a meeting of prohibitionists, which the brewery element seeks to disrupt by the introduction of a number of roughnecks, Holliday takes the platform and nullifies their efforts with a fiery speech. He finally succeeds in putting the wet element out of business--and in winning the love of Edith Jason.
Down to EarthDown to Earth · 1917
Down to Earth
6.01917
MovieComedyRomance
A healthy outdoors-type follows the girl he loves to a resort for wealthy hypochondriacs. In order to prove to her and the other patients that their "illnesses" are all in their minds, he hatches a scheme to take them on a boat ride, then get them stranded in the wilderness, where he can show them that they can live without their pills, doctors and "cures".
The Cowboy and the LadyThe Cowboy and the Lady · 1938
The Cowboy and the Lady
6.31938
MovieComedyRomance
Mary Smith decides after a lifetime of being a shut-in to do something wild while her father is out campaigning for the presidency, so she takes off for the family's home in West Palm Beach and inadvertently becomes romantically entangled with earnest cowboy Stretch Willoughby. Neither the dalliance nor the cowboy fit with the upper class image projected by her esteemed father, forcing her to choose.
Gentlemen Prefer BlondesGentlemen Prefer Blondes · 1928
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
10.01928
MovieComedy
Gold digging blonde Lorelei and her brunette friend Dorothy are searching for rich husbands. This film is believed lost.
The Love ExpertThe Love Expert · 1920
The Love Expert
5.91920
MovieComedyRomance
After neglecting her studies in favor of romantic experiments, Babs Hardcastle is thrown out of boarding school. In hopes of ceasing her romance studies, Babs’s father sends her to Boston to stay with her aunt. Boston, however, proves to be the perfect place for Babs’s matchmaking. When Babs falls in love with Jim Winthrop, she learns that he must find suitable men for his two sisters, Dorcas and Matilda, and his elderly aunt Cornelia, before he can marry. Babs, determined to marry Jim, takes it upon herself to find them all husbands.
Good-Bye, BillGood-Bye, Bill · 1918
Good-Bye, Bill
7.01918
MovieComedyWar
During World War I, Herr Dresser, a German-American professor from West Hoboken, New Jersey, invents a "mustache fixer," which stiffens the whiskers, making the wearer look very fierce. Much to the consternation of Dresser's daughter Elsie, a patriotic American, Kaiser Wilhelm calls them to Berlin to begin mass production of the tonic for the German army. Elsie's boyfriend, Teddy Swift, is particularly disturbed by this turn of events and decides to earn enough money to follow her to Germany. When the United States joins the war, Teddy is among the first to enlist, and soon he finds himself in Berlin trying to help Elsie escape from prison. After several narrow escapes, the two make their way to the mustache factory and blow it up. Brought before the Kaiser, they are rescued when American troops storm the palace, and the Kaiser loses his mustache and the war.

Filmography

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Good-Bye, BillGood-Bye, Bill · 1918
Good-Bye, Bill
7.01918
MovieComedyWar
During World War I, Herr Dresser, a German-American professor from West Hoboken, New Jersey, invents a "mustache fixer," which stiffens the whiskers, making the wearer look very fierce. Much to the consternation of Dresser's daughter Elsie, a patriotic American, Kaiser Wilhelm calls them to Berlin to begin mass production of the tonic for the German army. Elsie's boyfriend, Teddy Swift, is particularly disturbed by this turn of events and decides to earn enough money to follow her to Germany. When the United States joins the war, Teddy is among the first to enlist, and soon he finds himself in Berlin trying to help Elsie escape from prison. After several narrow escapes, the two make their way to the mustache factory and blow it up. Brought before the Kaiser, they are rescued when American troops storm the palace, and the Kaiser loses his mustache and the war.

Director

The Whole Town's TalkingThe Whole Town's Talking · 1926
The Whole Town's Talking
7.01926
MovieAdventureComedy
Chester Binney, a wounded war veteran, erroneously believes he is carrying a silver plate in his head and must avoid all excitement. He returns to his hometown, and there his former employer, George Simmons, attempts to arrange a match between Chester (who is to inherit a fortune) and his daughter Ethel. Ethel, however, finds Chester unexciting as a lover; and to enliven the affair, the father invents a lurid past for the boy by displaying a signed photograph of Rita Renault, a famous movie star. Rita, accompanied by her jealous husband, Jack Shields, arrives in the town for a personal appearance. By chance, Jack discovers the photograph of Rita, presumably the property of Chester, and when he sees his wife kissing Chester, a running fight ensues.

Theatre Play

Less Than the DustLess Than the Dust · 1916
Less Than the Dust
3.01916
MovieDrama
Young Hindu woman Radha, becomes best friends with Captain Raymond Townsend during his service in India, but he soon goes back to England to tend to the estate of an uncle who has just died. Then, Ramlan, the sword maker who raised Radha, is arrested for taking part in an anti-British uprising, and before he goes to jail, he decides to tell Radha the story of her birth, her real father, Captain Brooke, died of a drug overdose, and her destitute mother then entrusted her to Ramlan. After learning about her background, Radha goes to England to claim her rightful inheritance from the estate of her late grandfather, who is also Raymond's uncle. Raymond is delighted to discover that his Hindu friend is really a white woman, and after dividing the estate with Radha, he brings the fortune back together by marrying her.

Director