Loretta Young

A sequel to Herbert Brenon's 1926 hit Beau Geste, this pre-Code adventure sends an American (Lester Vail) into the French Foreign Legion to rescue his boyhood friend John Geste (Ralph Forbes, reprising his silent role). Filmed on location in the Sonoran Desert and on the RKO lot, the picture adapts P.C. Wren's novel with a Max Steiner score and early all-dialogue location recording. Loretta Young and Irene Rich round out the cast. The film is marked public domain on its Internet Archive item.

Adventure · Romance · War

Bedridden and convinced he's dying, George Jones (Barry Sullivan) becomes certain his wife Ellen (Loretta Young) and his doctor are planning to murder him — so he writes the district attorney a letter accusing them. Then he drops dead, and the letter is already in the mail. Ellen's desperate afternoon chasing a single envelope through a sunlit suburb makes for one of the tightest domestic noirs of the early 50s. Tay Garnett directed for MGM. The film is in the public domain.

Thriller · Drama · Crime

Herbert Brenon's silent drama about a circus clown who adopts an abandoned girl and raises her, only to fall in love with her as she grows up and to watch her turn toward a wealthy suitor instead. Lon Chaney plays Tito, a role that lets him do what he did best: contort a face into a smile that hides a wound. The film is built around the gap between the painted grin and the man beneath it, and Chaney's performance in the final scenes is the reason the film is still watched. Loretta Young was fourteen when she played Simonetta, an early role in a career that would run for another half century. The title comes from the opera Pagliacci, and the story follows its logic to its end. The 1928 film entered the United States public domain on January 1, 2024.

Drama · Romance · Silent

A 1930 American pre-Code romantic comedy directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, Myrna Loy, and Frederick Kerr. Written by Frederick Lonsdale and Benjamin Glazer, the film follows spendthrift Willie Hale (Colman), who returns penniless to his family home in London and smooth-talks his father into letting him stay. At the same time, he turns the charm on Dorothy Hope (Young), whose father is big in linoleum and who was about to become engaged to a Russian aristocrat. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn, the film features cinematography by George Barnes and Gregg Toland. The film entered the public domain due to non-renewal of its copyright.

Comedy · Romance

Orson Welles directed and stars as a Nazi war criminal hiding in a small Connecticut town, posing as a prep school teacher. Edward G. Robinson is the investigator who tracks him down. The film is the only Welles-directed film to be a commercial success during his lifetime. It is more conventional than his other work, which is why the studio let him make it. The clock tower sequence near the end is a strong set piece. Loretta Young plays Welles's wife, who slowly realizes who her husband really is. The film entered the public domain due to non-renewal of its copyright.

Drama · Thriller

The Loretta Young Show is an American anthology drama series that aired from 1953 to 1961 on NBC, created by and starring Academy Award-winning actress Loretta Young. Each episode presented a self-contained story, often with Young playing a different character, exploring themes of morality, family, and personal struggle. The series was notable for Young's signature entrance through a doorway in an elegant gown, and for its emphasis on stories with a moral or spiritual dimension. The show earned multiple Emmy Awards and was one of the most respected dramatic series of its era. Many episodes are in the public domain.

Drama · Anthology