The Merry Widow

The Merry WidowThe Merry Widow with no singing? A silent version of an operetta may seem an unlikely venture, but this vivacious hit proved that the right ingredients make for an irresistible romantic souffl. Those ingredients include Erich von Stroheim's stylish direction (in his first film after Greed), ex Ziegfeld bombshell Mae Murray in her best role, a star making turn for John Gilbert and a mythical European kingdom straight out of fairyland. Murray plays

their marriage might be sunk before they can even announce it

he sets a trap

Basketball's Dr

When news arrives that her brother Jack (Jimmy Stewart in one of his earliest screen roles) has been wounded in a prison escape

falls in love with a wealthy girl in this modernized take on "Romeo and Juliet

which she will never find

and may be the velvet power behind the Tredway throne

Robert Montgomery and Herbert Marshall each take one side of a love triangle in this glossy romantic comedy directed with panache by Edmund Goulding (Grand Hotel

And after his young sons bust him out of the joint

He kills Katherine

tentative steps toward maturity

Benson co-produced