Van Heflin

Van Heflin

Birth : 1910-12-13, Walters, Oklahoma, USA

Death : 1971-07-23

History

Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. (December 13, 1910 – July 23, 1971) was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Johnny Eager (1942).

Profile

Van Heflin

Movies

Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress
Self (archive footage)
An account of the last two centuries of the Anthropocene, the Age of Man. How human beings have progressed so much in such a short time through war and the selfish interests of a few, belligerent politicians and captains of industry, damaging the welfare of the majority of mankind, impoverishing the weakest, greedily devouring the limited resources of the Earth.
Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire
Self (archive footage)
Actress Sally Field looks at the dramatic life and successful career of the superb actress Barbara Stanwyck (1907-90), a Hollywood legend.
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
Biography of the legendary filmmaker directed by his son.
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
Self (archive footage)
The Last Child
Senator Quincy George
In a badly-overpopulated future, where each couple is only allowed one child and where people over 65 are forbidden medical care under a very draconian set of laws, a young couple, pregnant with their second child (the first died shortly after birth) enlist the help of an elderly former US Senator to help them escape to Canada.
Airport
D. O. Guerrero
Melodrama about a bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved.
The Big Bounce
Sam Mirakian
A Vietnam veteran and ex-con is persuaded by a shady woman to rob a $50,000 payroll account on a California produce farm. But who is playing who?
Certain Honorable Men
Champ Donohue
The protégé of a powerful congressman discovers his boss's corruption.
The Ruthless Four
Sam Cooper
This superior Spaghetti western scrutinizes the greed and paranoia that afflict four men as they struggle among themselves to unearth a fortune in gold from a remote Southwestern mine without falling prey to each other's bullets.
The Man Outside
Bill MacLean
Bill MacLean is a former CIA agent living in London. He had been fired when he stuck up for one of the men in his command who turned out to be branded a Russian defector. The embittered ex-agent combines forces with another operative to deliver a top Russian secret police official for a price. Before he can deliver the Russian, a trail of corpses and double crosses changes his plans. When his partner who concocted the scheme is murdered, MacLean returns the check to the CIA. They offer him his old job back, but the proud man refuses.
Stagecoach
Marshal Curly Wilcox
A group of unlikely travelling companions find themselves on the same stagecoach to Cheyenne. They include a drunken doctor, a bar girl who's been thrown out of town, a professional gambler, a travelling liquor salesman, a banker who has decided to embezzle money, a gun-slinger out for revenge and a young woman going to join her army captain husband. All have secrets but when they are set upon by an Indian war party and then a family of outlaws, they find they must all work together if they are to stay alive.
The Thin Blue Line
Self - Narrator (voice)
The work of the US police force and the problem of fighting rising crime across the country.
Hollywood My Home Town
Self (archive footage)
Ken Murray narrates his 16mm home movies shot over 35 years in Hollywood.
Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon
Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon was the last of three documentaries William Friedkin made for producer David Wolper. It concerned the world of pro football.
The Teen-Age Revolution
Narrator/Host
Documentary about teenage life in the mid-60s.
Once a Thief
Inspector Mike Vido
Ex-convict Eddie and his wife, Kristine, attempt to build a new life for themselves and their daughter Kathy in San Francisco, but police officer Mike Vido is determined to send Eddie back to prison.
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Bar Amand
From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the execution of all the newborn males in Egypt by King Herod; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist; and the betrayal by Judas after the Last Supper that eventually leads to Christ's crucifixion and miraculous return.
Cry of Battle
Joe Trent
During World War II, the spoiled son of a wealthy businessman finds himself involved in the guerrilla movement fighting against the Japanese, and finds romance and adventure.
Hollywood Without Make-Up
Self
A collection of behind the scenes and home movies from the golden age of Hollywood.
The Wastrel
Duncan Bell
A wealthy and self-serving man, sets out on a perilous ocean voyage with his son. An unexpected incident with the vessel causes him to reflect on his not so perfect life.
Under Ten Flags
Captain Bernhard Rogge
"Under Ten Flags" is a WWII movie loosely based on the true story of the German navy commerce raider Atlantis, a converted Auxilliary Cruiser, and her Captain Bernhard Rogge. Atlantis, camouflaged as a merchant ship, cruised the South Seas ( Atlantic, Indian & Pacific) and sank or captured 22 merchant ships from May 1940 through November 22, 1941 when she was sunk by the British Cruiser HMS Devonshire. Rogge was one of the few German officers of flag rank who were not arrested by the Allies after the war ended. This was due to the very proper and ethical way he exercised his command of Atlantis. After the war he advanced to Rear Admiral in the West German Navy and became a high-ranking NATO commander.
Five Branded Women
Velko
Five Yugoslav women who consorted with the German occupiers are publicly humiliated and banished by the Yugoslav partisans but they take up arms to fend for themselves.
They Came to Cordura
Sgt. John Chawk
An army major, himself guilty of cowardice, is asked to recommended soldiers for the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Mexican Border Incursion of 1916.
Tempest
Emelyan Pugachov
A young officer in the army of Empress Catherine of Russia is on his way to his new duty station at a remote outpost. During a blinding snowstorm he comes upon a stranger who was caught in the storm and is near death from freezing. He rescues the man and eventually brings him back to health. When the man is well enough to travel, the two part company and the man vows to repay the officer for saving his life. Soon after he arrives at his new post, a revolt by the local Cossacks breaks out and the fort is besieged by the rebels. The young officer is astonished to find out that the leader of the rebellious Cossacks is none other than the stranger whose life he had saved during the storm.
Gunman's Walk
Lee Hackett
A powerful rancher always protects his wild adult son by paying for damages and bribing witnesses, until his crimes become too serious to rectify.
The Dark Side of the Earth
Col. Sten
A drama set in 1956, during the unsuccessful Hungarian uprising against the Russians.
3:10 to Yuma
Dan Evans
Dan Evans, a small time farmer, is hired to escort Ben Wade, a dangerous outlaw, to Yuma. As Evans and Wade wait for the 3:10 train to Yuma, Wade's gang is racing to free him.
Patterns
Fred Staples
Staples, a successful plant operator, is brought in from Ohio to take an executive position at Ramsey & Co. in New York. He forms a friendship with Briggs, the long-time vice president, but it soon becomes apparent that Walter Ramsey, who has inherited the position of CEO, is grooming Staples to replace Briggs. Ramsey will not fire Briggs, instead doing everything he can to humiliate and sabotage Briggs until he resigns.
Count Three and Pray
Luke Fargo
A pastor with a shady past moves into a rural town just after the Civil War.
Battle Cry
Major Sam Huxley
The dramatic story of US marines in training, in combat and in love during World War II. The story centres on a major who guides the raw recruits from their training to combat. Based on the novel by Leon Uris.
Black Widow
Peter Denver
A young stage hopeful is murdered and suspicion falls on her mentor, a Broadway producer.
Woman's World
Jerry Talbot
Needing to fill the position of general manager of his company, and believing that an executive's wife is crucial to her husband's success, auto industry mogul Gifford brings three couples to New York to size up: Jerry and Carol: he hard-driven and self-reliant, she willing to use her beauty to further her husband's career; Sid and Elizabeth, he ulcer-ridden and torn between achieving success and restoring their troubled marriage, she positive that his job will kill him, but gamely agreeing to play the good wife for the duration; and down-to-earth Bill, whose good-natured Katie fears that his promotion would spell the end of their idyllic familiy existence.
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Self
Live television broadcast of the world premiere. Described by various participants as the biggest world premiere in memory, even bigger than the Academy Awards.
The Raid
Maj. Neal Benton
A group of confederate prisoners escape to Canada and plan to rob the banks and set fire to the small town of Saint Albans in Vermont. To get the lie of the land, their leader spends a few days in the town and finds he is getting drawn into its life and especially into that of an attractive widow and her son.
Tanganyika
John Gale
A landowner in colonial Africa leads a safari through Nukumbi territory in order to capture an escaped criminal.
Wings of the Hawk
Irish Gallager
Gringo miner Gallager is caught up in the Mexican revolution of 1910-11 when corrupt administrator Ruiz appropriates his mine. Gallager saves the life of guerilla leader Raquel, then finds there's a price on his head; he becomes romantically involved with her in the course of a series of rescues and ambushes, leading up to Orozco's march on Ciudad Juarez.
Shane
Joe Starrett
A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.
South of Algiers
Nicholas Chapman
Archaeologists Van Heflin and Eric Portman undertake an expedition in Tunisia in search of an ancient mask.
My Son John
Stedman
In this Cold War drama, a woman suspects her son is a Communist spy.
Week-End with Father
Brad Stubbs
Two single parents shock their children by falling in love.
The Prowler
Webb Garwood
Los Angeles, California. A cop who, unhappy with his job, blames others for his work problems, is assigned to investigate the case of a prowler who stalks the home of a married woman.
Tomahawk
Bridger
In 1866, a new gold discovery and an inconclusive conference force the U.S. Army to build a road and fort in territory ceded by previous treaty to the Sioux...to the disgust of frontier scout Jim Bridger, whose Cheyenne wife led him to see the conflict from both sides. The powder-keg situation needs only a spark to bring war, and violent bigots like Lieut. Rob Dancy are all too likely to provide this. Meanwhile, Bridger's chance of preventing catastrophe is dimmed by equally wrenching personal conflicts. Unusually accurate historically.
East Side, West Side
Mark Dwyer
A vain businessman puts strains on his happy marriage to a rich, beautiful socialite by allowing himself to be seduced by a former girlfriend.
Madame Bovary
Charles Bovary
Based on the French literary classic, this drama presents author Gustave Flaubert narrating his tale of infidelity and narcissism. After marrying small-town doctor Charles Bovary, Emma becomes tired of her limited social status and begins to have affairs, first with the young Leon Dupuis and later with the wealthy Rodolphe Boulanger. Eventually, however, her self-involved behavior catches up with her.
Act of Violence
Frank R. Enley
A former prisoner of war, Frank Enley is hailed as a hero in his California town. However, Frank has a shameful secret that comes back to haunt him when fellow survivor Joe Parkson emerges, intent on making Frank pay for his past deeds.
The Secret Land
Narrator
This documentary, filmed entirely by military photographers, recounts the U.S. Navy's 1946-47 expedition to Antarctica, known as Operation High Jump. The expedition was under the overall command of Admiral Richard E. Byrd, no stranger to the Antarctic. This was a large undertaking involving 13 ships and over 4000 thousand men. The fleet departed from Norfolk, Virginia traveling through the Panama canal and then southward to their final destination. The trip through the ice pack was fraught with danger and forced the submarine that was part of the fleet to withdraw. The trip was a success meeting all of its scientific goals.
The Three Musketeers
Athos
Athletic adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' classic adventure about the king's musketeers and their mission to protect France.
Tap Roots
Keith Alexander
Set at the beginning of the Civil War, Tap Roots is all about a county in Mississippi which chooses to secede from the state rather than enter the conflict. The county is protected from the Confederacy by an abolitionist and a Native American gentleman. The abolitionist's daughter is courted by a powerful newspaper publisher when her fiance, a confederate officer, elopes with the girl's sister. The daughter at first resists the publisher's attentions, but turns to him for aid when her ex-fiance plans to capture the seceding county on behalf of the South.
B.F.'s Daughter
Thomas W. 'Tom' Brett
Wealthy Polly Fulton marries a progressive scholar whose attitudes toward capitalism and acquired wealth puts their marriage in jeopardy.
Possessed
David Sutton
After being found wandering the streets of Los Angeles, a severely catatonic woman tells a doctor the complex story of how she wound up there.
Green Dolphin Street
Timothy Haslam
Sophie loved Edmund, but he left town when her parents forced her to marry wealthy Octavius. Years later, Edmund returns with his son, William. Sophie's daughter, Marguerite, and William fall in love. Marguerite's sister, Marianne, also loves William. Timothy, a lowly carpenter, secretly loves Marianne. He kills a man in a fight, and Edmund helps him flee to New Zealand. William deserts inadvertently from the navy, and also flees in disgrace to New Zealand, where he and Timothy start a profitable business. One night, drunk, William writes Octavius, demanding his daughter's hand; but, being drunk, he asks for the wrong sister.
Till the Clouds Roll By
James I. Hessler
Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists, including a condensed production of his most famous: 'Showboat'.
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Sam Masterson
Three childhood friends, Martha, Walter and Sam, share a terrible secret. Over time, the ambitious Martha and the pusillanimous Walter have married. She is a cold businesswoman; he is the district attorney: a perfect combination to dominate the corrupt city of Iverstown at will. But the unexpected return of Sam, after years of absence, deeply disturbs the life of the odd couple.
Land and Live in the Desert
Narrator (voice)
Documentary short film depicting the correct methods of surviving the crash landing of a military aircraft in the desert. Methods of conserving water, providing shelter, and signaling for help are depicted.
Land and Live in the Jungle
1st Lieutenant Lynn Harrison
In this World War II military training film, a B-25 crew bails out over the jungle, and the pilot is separated from the rest of of his crew. The two groups of soldiers must survive until they can meet up and be rescued. The pilot does almost everything wrong, and the rest of his crew does almost everything right. We learn, by both bad and good example, how to survive in the jungle.
Presenting Lily Mars
John Thornway
Starstruck Indiana small-town girl Lily is pestering theatrical producer John Thornway for a role but he is reluctant.
Tennessee Johnson
Andrew Johnson
The tumultuous presidency of 19th-president Andrew Johnson is chronicled in this biopic. The story begins with Johnson's boyhood and covers his early life. During the Civil War, Johnson stays a staunch Unionist and upon Lincoln's reelection in 1864, becomes his Vice President. After Lincoln's assassination, Johnson becomes the President and became the first U.S. president ever to be impeached.
Seven Sweethearts
Henry Taggart
Little Delft, Michigan follows the customs of old-world Holland and is known for its Tulip Festival. The owner of the hotel insists that his seven daughters marry in order, from eldest to youngest.
Grand Central Murder
'Rocky' Custer
Conniving Broadway starlet Mida King has plenty of enemies, so when she's found murdered at Grand Central Station, Inspector Gunther calls together a slew of suspects for questioning. Mida's shady ex-flame, Turk, seems the most likely culprit, but when smart-mouthed private eye Rocky Custer -- also a suspect himself -- begins to piece together the crime, a few clues that Gunther has overlooked come to light.
Kid Glove Killer
Gordon McKay
Van Heflin stars as the head of a city crime lab who tries to solve the murder of the town mayor by scientifically analyzing evidence.
Johnny Eager
Jeff Hartnett
A charming racketeer seduces the DA's stepdaughter for revenge, then falls in love.
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Bill King
A man who lived his life as he was told he should, not as he would have chosen to, is brought out of his shell by a beautiful young woman.
The Feminine Touch
Elliott Morgan
A college professor who believes there's no place for jealousy in modern marriage, John Hathaway (Don Ameche) moves with his wife, Julie (Rosalind Russell), to New York where he plans to publish a book on the subject. Meeting with publisher Elliott Morgan (Van Heflin), who falls head over heels for Julie, John is assigned to his assistant Nellie (Kay Francis), who only has eyes for her boss. Working closely with Nellie, who Julie thinks is after her husband, John continues his high-minded ways while his angry spouse schemes to make him so jealous he'll knock Elliott's block clean off.
Santa Fe Trail
Rader
As a penalty for fighting fellow classmates days before graduating from West Point, J.E.B. Stuart, George Armstrong Custer and four friends are assigned to the 2nd Cavalry, stationed at Fort Leavenworth. While there they aid in the capture and execution of the abolitionist, John Brown following the Battle of Harper's Ferry.
Back Door to Heaven
John Shelley
The life of a young kid, who starts stealing small things to fit in with the "cool crowd".
Saturday's Heroes
Val
College football player is expelled for ticket scalping, and teams up with reporter to expose his school's hypocrisy.
Annapolis Salute
Clay V. Parker
The adventures of three disparate cadets at the US Naval Academy--one the son of a Navy enlisted man, the other the scion of a wealthy family, the third decent but somewhat slow-witted--and their struggles with the rigors of the academy, women, and each other.
Flight from Glory
George Wilson
Director Lew Landers' 1937 B-film, about a crew of misfit pilots working for an Argentinian air service, stars Chester Morris, Van Heflin, Whitney Bourne, Onslow Stevens, Richard Lane, Douglas Walton, Paul Guilfoyle, Solly Ward, Walter Miller and Rita LaRoy.
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
Rev. Samuel Woods
The 1937 film version of Bret Harte's story, starring Preston Foster.
A Woman Rebels
Lord Gerald Waring Gaythorne
A Victorian-era woman struggles to break free of the moral codes established by society and enforced by her father.