Mae Murray ( The MaskedBride 701

That "oily creep" is the great Basil Rathbone - so you're right, in this film he is an "oily creep".  "The Masked Bride" has an interesting story in it's production.  Whatever Rathbone's character's personality was, whether Sherlock or Mr. Murdstone, or Karenin, he was the consummate professional and left a treasure trove of wonderful performances.  Not so much Mae Murray.  She's remembered for a few starring roles in silent films, most notably Eric von Stroheim's, "The Merry Widow" with John Gilbert and Roy D'Arcy, but most of her fellow movie actors and performers considered her less that wonderful to work with.  Sort of like a real life version of Jean Hagen's "Lina Lamont" in "Singin' in the Rain".  "The Masked Bride" was supposed to be directed by Josef von Sternberg.  Von Sternberg was not an easy man himself, but he certainly had great talent.  The story goes he began shooting the film, and as one day of idiotic hissy fits from the star followed another he grew more and more irritated.  Finally, on the last day he tried to shepherd the film through he so got sick of Murray and her complaints, he had the cameraman shoot pictures of the studio rafters, of portions of the scenery, of the floor, and then walked off the set.  He was willing to take a serious pay cut for this, as he'd have gone crazy working with her.  Von Sternberg was replaced, and he would (officially) deny any problems he had with Murray when asked by the press.  Later, when films talked, Murray's career went downhill (she could talk, but her voice was not alluring, and she had put on weight). An early silent film, "Peacock Alley" was redone as a musical, and proved she couldn't sing or dance either.  Von Sternberg  was flying high well into the 1930s with his pet discovery, our own "Lili Marlene" Dietrich in "Der Blau Angel" and through about six other film masterpieces.