A handsome second lead in routine films of the 1920s, Gardner James often played weak and indecisive characters, such as Harry Carey's suicidal brother in Silent Sanderson (1925). Briefly making headlines for marrying Marion Blackton, the writer sister of screen pioneer J. Stuart Blackton, James' career waned precipitously after their 1932 divorce and he played bit roles until his retirement in 1940.