Tales from the Archives: The Movie Church March 1928

This parish monthly calendar dates from March 1928 and lists the movies shown that were to be shown in April. This time the format is that of a double feature followed by one short.

The first feature film shown on April 1st was the Western Pals in Paradise (1926). It seems that the film no longer exists.

The next film was Jim, the Conqueror (1927). Like Pals in Paradise it was a Western and I couldn't find much about it. It appears that this is also a lost film. The title role was played by actor William Boyd, pictured above. Boyd would become famous for playing cowboy Hopalong Cassidy in a popular film series throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

Last week we looked at a Stan Laurel short and an Oliver Hardy short. This time we finally get a short with both of them! However, it is not quite what it seems as although both comedians were in this short they were not a team yet. Not only does this short survive, but you can watch it here at YouTube.

Silence (1926) was the first feature for April 8th. The film was made by Cecil B. DeMille's DeMille Pictures Corporation. Well-known actor H.B. Warner was among the cast. It seems that this film no longer exists.

The second feature this week was Her Man o' War (1926), a World War I drama. Like Silence, it was also made by DeMille Pictures Corporation. The actress pictured is Jetta Goudal who was quite popular in the 1920s but is virtually unknown today. Her Man o' War also features William Boyd. According to IMDB a print of the film exists at the UCLA Film and Television Archives.

The short for this week was an Aesop's Fables cartoon called A Bull and a Yard Wide (1927). I wrote more about this animated series in my previous article about this Church (Feb. 1928).

The first feature for April 15th was Steel Preferred (1926). This is yet another William Boyd film, the third in this listing to be exact. The movie doesn't appear to survive.

The second feature was The Unknown Soldier (1926). The film starred Charles Emmett Mack, an actor who was discovered by D.W. Griffith and worked for Warner Brothers. Sadly Mack died in 1927 at the age of 26 in an automobile accident. According to IMDB a print of the film exists at the UCLA Film and Television Archives.

The short for the last week in this article was Should Husbands Pay? (1926). This short was co-directed and co-written by Stan Laurel. It was produced by famous comedy producer Hal Roach, pictured above.

Come back on Sunday for the Weekly Wrap-Up!