Man with a woman tied to a chair

Here is a film still that I am trying to identify that was unlabeled in a book. To me it appears it’s from a film of the 1930s or even earlier. A man is either tying up or in the process of freeing a woman bound to a chair. The book was published in 1965, so the film must definitely predate that. If you cannot identify the film, then perhaps you could identify one of the actors.

 

26 thoughts on “Man with a woman tied to a chair

  1. Thanks, Marilyn and Clean Slate Films for your suggestions. I googled some pictures of Lois Wilson and I agree that the woman does have a strong resemblance. As for the man, I think he looks a bit more like Raymond Massey than John Carradine. Anyway, I searched the internet for images from their films of the 20s and 30s. Unfortunately, there are a lot of films, especially Lois Wilson’s, from which I could not locate a single image. Maybe more will turn up later.

  2. Before this post I did a keyword search on IMDb for “tied to a chair” in feature films and I got 24 results from 1920-1939. I found images of the tied up woman for some of these films and they did not match the mystery still. Here is a list of the remaining films: Ruth of the Range (1923), No Man’s Gold (1926), Spies (1928), The Man from New Mexico (1932), Silent Men (1933), Murder on the Campus (1933), Looking for Trouble (1934), The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934), ‘G’ Men (1935), The Adventures of Frank Merriwell (1936), The House of Secrets (1936), Stormy Trails (1936), Flaming Frontiers (1938), The Spy in Black (1939), Jamaica Inn (1939), Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939), and Zorro’s Fighting Legion (1939). IMDb’s list is probably not comprehensive, though.

  3. I’m pretty sure looking at her pictures that is silent screen serial heroine, Ruth Roland. I’m going to see if I can figure out which serial it’s from.

  4. Thanks so much Will for your input. After comparing internet pictures of the girl with both Lois Wilson and Ruth Roland, I think you are probably right. I tried looking for a video of “Ruth of the Range,” but according to Wikipedia, it is a lost serial. However, there are some publicity stills and lobby cards surviving, and after a search I found some at an auction site. Unfortunately, none of them show the “tied to the chair” scene. Here is a link to the site with the lobby cards:

    http://www.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?Ns=Time|0&Ne=1&N=1482+1899&No=48

    I also agree that the guy resembles some photos on the internet of Henry B. Wathall, but for some reason you ruled him out.

    1. I put the photo on a forum I’m on and nobody thought it was Walthall. Besides, Walthall in 1925 would have been 47 and the actor looks older.

      With most of her movies lost or with reels missing, ain’t easy to figure out. It’s not that many it could be. She earlier was in many shorts, but that appears to be from her serial period or a little later and it has to be a western, which eliminates some of them. I’m going to see if I can get it down to just her westerns.

      1. I found a clip from Ruth of the Rockies. Unfortunately, she is not dressed in that scene the exact way in that photo, although its similar, but you can clearly see by comparing the picture with the scene it is the same person. I’ll go through the cast list on that one to see if I can match the guy.

          1. Here is Lingham in The Star Packer. He isn’t in it very long and has no dialogue (I think). But he matches up pretty good with the man in the chair photo. But he is older, and the angle there isn’t in the Wayne picture, so I’m not a hundred percent sure. He shows up seven minutes into it if the link doesn’t take you exactly to the scene.

    1. Here is Lingham again a year later in another John Wayne B western. He is even briefer in this one, but at 13:34 there is a close-up of him in full face and the nose looks like a match. Which Ruth Roland movie that chair is from, I don’t know since he appeared in more than one with her. I think we got this as close as we can.

  5. 8/26/15

    Sorry, I didn’t get the link to the other film with Thomas G. Lingham

    It can be difficult to identify someone from just 1 photograph. Sometimes a person looks like someone else depending on the lighting, viewing angle and the person’s facial expression. A different hairstyle, makeup, and, in the case of men, the presence or absence of facial hair, can also cause confusion.

    I mention this because although the Star Packer photo & video of Thomas G. Lingham does resemble the mystery man, the few other photos I found of Thomas G. Lingham, do not look so much like him. I got a tip from someone else that the man could be Tully Marshall and I see a stronger resemblance to this man.

    Link to Tully Marshall: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5gWU6TFXRi0/UI0Emy06aoI/AAAAAAAAEwM/DbExy7Ss19k/s1600/Norma+Talmadge+++Tully+Marshall+-+The+Devil%27s+Needle+(1916)+2.jpg

    Unfortunately, according to the IMDb, Mr. Marshall did not make any films with Ruth Roland, but he did with Lois Wilson. Yet I think the girl looks more like the former. So I’m confused… To me it looks like an unknown film with Tully Marshall and Ruth Roland!

    1. Oops! I forgot to post it! What other pictures of LIngham did you find? The only one I could find is the one I posted. It is impossible to find a silent with Lingham because practically all of them are lost or so obscure they have less than five votes on the IMDb. Lingham specialized in playing villains and sheriffs. With third billing, he is probably playing the bad guy in his two Roland serials. He certainly can’t be the leading man with his looks. He also plays a villain in a Helen Holmes serial. By the time talkies came in he was reduced to small parts.

      I’ll post the Wayne one. I think the nose is a match.

      1. Okay, I found the other pictures you probably are referring to. The ones I am looking at are misidentified. They are autographed. The first signature I can’t make out but it clearly is not Lingham’s name. The other one is signed Bob Steele, a B cowboy actor.

        But here is a problem. I think I finally found a silent picture photo of Lingham. I think he is the one on the right. And while the nose is similar, he looks a lot younger than the one in the chair picture. But I’m not sure that’s him, except he is playing the main villain in that one and Helen Holmes is entering the bad guy’s place. He is a lot better looking there than his thirties appearances if that is him. He was, by the way, in a lot of serials, mostly with Holmes.

        http://alchetron.com/Lass-of-the-Lumberlands-44698-W

    1. Okay, I sure couldn’t find those pictures and I was googling those movies with his name. Okay, it’s not him. I don’t know who it is. Probably not the guy in the Holmes picture, either. I’ll see if going down further the cast list works.

  6. For unknown reasons, over the years the link to the picture seems to have disappeared. I am providing the link again in case anyone is still interested. (Comment if it doesn’t work.)

    http://bcotd.com/Sadism_in_the_Movies_stills_identification_project/Sadism%20in%20the%20Movies,%20p256.jpg

    (The photo that the link brings up is safe for work, but there are other pages on this website that are not, and so the entire site may be blocked by some firewalls.)

    I currently agree with the commenter who identified the girl as Ruth Roland. I’m still unsure of the man’s identity.

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