Percy Helton

Percy Helton

Birth : 1894-01-31, New York City, New York, USA

Death : 1971-09-11

Profile

Percy Helton

Movies

The Day of the Wolves
The Farmer
A group of six thieves selected from different areas are sent a letter that promises them a minimum of $50,000 and includes a plane ticket. The letter instructs them to grow a beard. After being given a blindfolded ride from the airport, they arrive at a ghost town and meet with the boss (Number #1, Jan Murray). All of the "Wolves" are assigned a number, wear identical overalls and instructed never to take off the gloves that they are given. They are only to address eachother by their numbers; in that way, if one is caught, he can't rat-out the others. Number #1 reveals to them that they will take over a town, and clean it out. Using the ghost town for training, they develop their tactics to fleece the town.
Head
Heraldic Messenger
In this surrealistic and free-form follow-up to the Monkees' television show, the band frolic their way through a series of musical set pieces and vignettes containing humor and anti-establishment social commentary.
The Big Mouth
Sanitation Man (uncredited)
A fisherman crosses paths with a diamond-smuggling gangster–who is his doppelgänger—and inadvertently takes his place at a resort hotel where he meets a special girl.
Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title
Diner Customer (uncredited)
A man is mistaken by foreign agents for a defecting cosmonaut and must prove his identity while evading capture.
The Sons of Katie Elder
Mr. Peevey
The four sons of Katie Elder reunite in their Hometown of Clearwater, Texas for their Mother's funeral, and discover that the family ranch is now in the hands of Morgan Hastings, the town's gunsmith.
Zebra in the Kitchen
Mr. Richardson
A young boy lets the animals out of their cages at the Zoo, to set them free, but the animals start taking over the town.
Get Yourself a College Girl
Chauffeur for Senator Morrison
A young music student faces expulsion after her instructors learn she is moonlighting as a pop-music writer.
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Funeral Director
An aging, reclusive Southern belle plagued by a horrifying family secret descends into madness after the arrival of a lost relative.
4 for Texas
Jonas Ansel
In the 1870s, two rival businessmen, Zack Thomas and Joe Jarrett, on a stagecoach heading to Galveston, Texas, must pull together to protect $100,000 from an outlaw named Matson. Once in Galveston, however, their rivalry continues, as Thomas joins up with Elya Carlson and Jarret with Maxine Richter. But Matson is still on the loose, and a scheming banker threatens both Thomas and Jarrett.
The Wheeler Dealers
Deke (uncredited)
Henry J. Tyroone leaves Texas, where his oil wells are drying up, and arrives in New York with a lot of oil money to play with in the stock market. He meets stock analyst Molly Thatcher, who tries to ignore the lavish attention he spends on her but ...
Ride the High Country
Luther Samson (uncredited)
An ex-lawman is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.
Where the Boys Are
Fairview Motel Manager (uncredited)
Good girls Merritt, Melanie, Tuggle and Angie - all students at mid-western Penmore University - are planning on going to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for spring break to get away from the mid-western snow despite not having much money to spend once there. On the drive down, they admit their real purpose is to go where the boys are.
Let No Man Write My Epitaph
Baldy (uncredited)
Nick Romano lives in a poor tenement building on the south side of Chicago with his well-meaning but drug-addicted mother, Nellie. She encourages him to pursue his piano-playing talent in hopes that it will bring him a better life. Nellie's neighbors, like the alcoholic ex-lawyer who secretly loves her, help her in keeping Nick away from Louie, the resident drug dealer. But a chance meeting between Nick and Louie could change things forever.
Ask Any Girl
Janitor (uncredited)
Meg is a young wide-eyed girl who is endures many calamities in her search for a husband in modern-day New York. After losing her suitcase at Penn Station, being kicked out by her roommate, and changing bosses because her boss made a pass at her, she finds herself looking for work at a Manhattan motivational research agency run by punctilious Miles Doughton and his playboy brother, Evan.
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!
Waldo Pike
Harry Bannerman, a Connecticut suburbanite, becomes involved in various shenanigans when his wife Grace leads a protest movement against a secret army plan to set up a missile base in their community.
The Proud Rebel
Photographer (uncredited)
Searching for a doctor who can help him get his son to speak again--the boy hadn't uttered a word since he saw his mother die in the fire that burned down the family home--a Confederate veteran finds himself facing a 30-day jail sentence when he's unfairly accused of starting a brawl in a small town. A local woman pays his fine, providing that he works it off on her ranch. He soon finds himself involved in the woman's struggle to keep her ranch from a local landowner who wants it--and whose sons were responsible for the man being framed for the fight.
The Sheepman
Station Master (uncredited)
A stranger in a Western cattle-town behaves with remarkable self-assurance, establishing himself as a man to be reckoned with. The reason appears with his stock: a herd of sheep, which he intends to graze on the range. The horrified inhabitants decide to run him out at all costs.
Jailhouse Rock
Sam Brewster (uncredited)
After serving time for manslaughter, young Vince Everett becomes a teenage rock star.
Last Stagecoach West
The coming of the railroad to Cedar City spells the end of the stagecoach as the government gives the mail contract to the fastest means of delivery. McCord loses the stagecoach line gambling with the new buyer, but has enough hidden money to buy a ranch and some cattle. To make more money, he starts a gang to rob the railroad, express offices and steal cattle. But the railroads send out special agent Cameron to end his reign of violence.
Spook Chasers
Mike Clancy
Sach and the gang (Bowery Boys) find stashed cash in an old farmhouse apparently haunted.
This Could Be the Night
Charlie (uncredited)
To earn extra money, a prim schoolteacher takes a second job as secretary to the uncouth owner of a boisterous nightclub.
The Vintage
Voice Dub for Berger (uncredited)
A young Italian fugitive and his older protective brother hide among the grape pickers at a vineyard in Provence.
The Phantom Stagecoach
Mr. Wiggins
A stagecoach is plagued by robberies, but it takes an undercover Wells Fargo agent to discover that a rival company is responsible.
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
Hiram
A TV star meets with opposition from adults who object to the opening of a rock 'n' roll palace for teens.
Terror at Midnight
Speegie
A newly promoted police sergeant discovers his girlfriend my be involved with a gang of car thieves.
Fury at Gunsight Pass
Peter Boggs
An outlaw terrorizes the citizens of Gunsight Pass while he searches for stolen bank money that mysteriously disappeared after a robbery.
Diane
Court Jester (uncredited)
Asked by Francis I to tutor his son, Diane de Poitiers becomes the future King Henry II's mistress in 1500s France.
No Man's Woman
Otto Peterson
A greedy, scheming woman is found murdered in her studio, and the police find that there is no shortage of suspects who wanted to see her dead--among them a rich husband she wouldn't divorce unless he paid her a huge settlement, a lover she caused to be fired from his job and an assistant whose fiancé she tried to seduce.
Jail Busters
Warden B.W. Oswald
Slip and Sach (Bowery Boys) go to prison to help a reporter with a story.
Kiss Me Deadly
Doc Kennedy
One evening, Hammer gives a ride to Christina, an attractive hitchhiker on a lonely country road, who has escaped from the nearby lunatic asylum. Thugs waylay them and force his car to crash. When Hammer returns to semi-consciousness, he hears Christina being tortured until she dies. Hammer, both for vengeance and in hopes that "something big" is behind it all, decides to pursue the case.
Crashout
Louis Barnes
Convict Van Duff engineers a large-scale prison break; the six survivors hide out in a forgotten mine working near the prison, then set out on a long, dangerous journey by foot, car, train and truck to retrieve Duff's bank loot. En route, as they touch the lives of "regular folks," each has his own rendezvous with destiny.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Coach Driver
A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.
White Christmas
Train Conductor (uncredited)
Two talented song-and-dance men team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business. In time they befriend and become romantically involved with the beautiful Haynes sisters who comprise a sister act.
A Star Is Born
William Gregory (uncredited)
A movie star helps a young singer-actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.
About Mrs. Leslie
Hackley
A lonely, unhappy owner of a Beverly Hills boarding house reflects on her lonely, unhappy life and the lonely, unhappy man she once loved.
Wicked Woman
Charlie Borg
A trashy blonde lures a saloon owner away from his wife.
How to Marry a Millionaire
Mr. Benton (uncredited)
Three women set out to find eligible millionaires to marry, but find true love in the process.
The Robe
Caleb, the wine merchant (uncredited)
Marcellus is a tribune in the time of Christ. He is in charge of the group that is assigned to crucify Jesus. Drunk, he wins Jesus' homespun robe after the crucifixion. He is tormented by nightmares and delusions after the event. Hoping to find a way to live with what he has done, and still not believing in Jesus, he returns to Palestine to try and learn what he can of the man he killed.
City of Bad Men
Old-Timer at Training Camp
Outlaws plan a robbery to take place during a championship prizefight in Carson City, Nevada.
The Affairs of Dobie Gillis
Mr. Hammersmith (uncredited)
Grainbelt University has one attraction for Dobie Gillis - women, especially Pansy Hammer. Pansy's father, even though and maybe because she says she's in dreamville, does not share her affection for Dobie. An English essay which almost revolutionizes English instruction, and Dobie's role in a chemistry lab explosion convinces Mr. Hammer he is right. Pansy is sent off broken-hearted to an Eastern school, but with the help of Happy Stella Kolawski's all-girl band, several hundred students and an enraged police force, Dobie secures Pansy's return to Grainbelt.
Down Laredo Way
Judge Sully
Rex Allen against diamond smugglers down Laredo way
Vice Squad
Mr. Jenner (uncredited)
A Los Angeles police captain (Edward G. Robinson) ties the case of a slain policeman to a bank robbery, all in a day.
Ride, Vaquero!
Storekeeper (uncredited)
Ranchers in New Mexico have to face Indians and bandits.
Ambush at Tomahawk Gap
Marlowe
Hodiak, Brian, Derek and Teal have just been released from prison. They return to Tomahawk Gap, now a ghost town, to retrieve the money that they stole and was buried by a partner somewhere in the town. While hunting, the Indians attack, and a life and death battle ensues.
Scared Stiff
Man in Hotel Hallway (uncredited)
A nightclub singer and his partner escape mobsters by fleeing to Cuba with a beautiful heiress, who has inherited a haunted castle on an isolated island. The trio hunt for a hidden treasure and encounter a ghost, a zombie, and a mysterious killer...
Call Me Madam
Sen. Wilkins
Washington hostess Sally Adams becomes a Truman-era US ambassador to a European grand duchy.
The Stooge
Sam Robertson (uncredited)
Bill Miller is an unsuccessful Broadway performer until his handlers convince him to enhance his act with a stooge—Ted Rogers, a guy positioned in the audience to be the butt of Bill's jokes. After Ted begins to steal the show, Bill's girlfriend and his pals advise him to make Ted an equal partner.
Three for Bedroom C
Train Passenger
After beginning their train trip to California, a famous film actress and her daughter discover their compartment has also been assigned to a handsome biology professor. Comedy.
I Dream of Jeanie
Mr. Horker
The life and career of famed American composer Stephen Foster.
The Belle of New York
Presents Angela with Flowers (uncredited)
In squeaky-clean New York at the turn of the century, playboy Charlie Hill falls so much in love that he can walk on air. The object of his affections is beautiful Angela Bonfils, a mission house worker in the Bowery. He promises to reform his dissolute life, even trying to do an honest day's work.
A Girl in Every Port
Drive-In Manager
After two sailors are conned into buying a lame race-horse, they go ashore to sort out the problem, but when they realize that the horse is one of a pair of identical twins, their plan for revenge becomes more complicated.
The Barefoot Mailman
Dewey Durgan (uncredited)
Sylvanus Hurley is a swindler who's been swindled: he's been given a deed to a large plot of mangrove swamp in the out-of-the-way community. So he decides to con the locals, some of whom are not as honest as he....
The Family Secret
Charlie
When his son accidentally kills someone, a lawyer must defend the man wrongly charged with the murder.
Chain of Circumstance
Fogel
A childless couple adopts a baby girl, but a crime committed by the husband's secretary could cause them to lose custody of the infant.
The Tall Target
Beamish (uncredited)
A detective tries to prevent the assassination of President-elect Abraham Lincoln during a train ride headed for Washington in 1861.
Darling, How Could You!
Cabbie (Uncredited)
Two absentee American parents get to know their three children again after spending five years in Panama.
Never Trust a Gambler
Sunbeam Liquor Store Clerk (uncredited)
A small-time gambler on the run from the law hides in his ex-wife's house.
Night Into Morning
Drunk (uncredited)
Berkeley university professor adjusts (using alcohol) to tragic fire deaths of wife & son.
Inside Straight
Lawyer Anderson (uncredited)
A tycoon rises to the top in 19th-century San Francisco through greed and corruption.
Three Guys Named Mike
Mr. Hawkins (uncredited)
A stewardess becomes romantically involved with an airline pilot, a college professor, and a successful businessman...all of whom are named Mike. When the three find out about each other, she has to decide which one she loves the most.
Under Mexicali Stars
Nap Wellington
Cowboy T-man, Rex Allen, and his partner, Homer Oglethorpe (Buddy Ebsen), go undercover to track down some gold smugglers.
Cyrano de Bergerac
Bellerose
France, 1640. Cyrano, the charismatic swordsman-poet with the absurd nose, hopelessly loves the beauteous Roxane; she, in turn, confesses to Cyrano her love for the handsome but tongue-tied Christian. The chivalrous Cyrano sets up with Christian an innocent deception, with tragic results.
Copper Canyon
'Scamper' Joad
A group of copper miners, Southern veterans, are terrorized by local rebel-haters, led by deputy Lane Travis. The miners ask stage sharpshooter Johnny Carter to help them, under the impression that he is the legendary Colonel Desmond. It seems they're wrong; but Johnny's show comes to Coppertown and Johnny romances lovely gambler Lisa Roselle, whom the miners believe is at the center of their troubles.
The Sun Sets at Dawn
Reporter, Feature Syndicate
A reporter investigates the story of a young man who may have been wrongly convicted and sentenced to be executed.
A Life of Her Own
Hamburger Proprietor (uncredited)
A young woman from Kansas moves to New York City, becomes highly successful at a prestigious modeling agency, and falls in love with a married man.
Fancy Pants
Mayor
An American actor, impersonating an English butler, is hired by a rich woman from New Mexico to refine her husband and headstrong daughter. The complications increase when the town believes the actor/butler to be an earl and President Roosevelt decides to pay a visit.
Riding High
Pawnbroker (uncredited)
A horse trainer who has fallen on hard times looks to his horse, Broadway Bill, to finally win the big race.
Wabash Avenue
Ship captain
Andy Clark discovers he was cheated out of a half interest in partner Mike's business, now a thriving dance hall in 1892 Chicago. Unable to win it back, Andy schemes to make Mike's position untenable. He also hopes to turn Ruby Summers, Mike's motor-mouthed burlesque queen, into a classier entertainer, and incidentally to make her his own. But at the last minute, Andy's revenge comes unravelled.
Harbor of Missing Men
'Rummy' Davis
A smuggler hides from hit men with a Greek fisherman and his daughter.
Tyrant of the Sea
Crewman (uncredited)
In 1803, the only thing standing between Napoleon and his plan of world domination is England and the British Navy. The admiralty, learning that Napoleon has assembled an invasion fleet decides to send out one of its vessels to destroy it the French flagship under cover of fog. Forced out of retirement, ruthless, tyrannical and temperamental Captain William Blake is put in command. He wields his command with sadistic fury until an epidemic of scurvy attacks the crew and, when he refuses to go ashore for needed provision, mutiny and insubordination results...and, then, the French flagship arrives.
The Secret Fury
Justice of the Peace Roy T. Palmer (uncredited)
The wedding of Ellen and David is halted by a stranger who insists that the bride is already married to someone else. Though the flabbergasted Ellen denies the charge, the interloper produces enough evidence that his accusation must be investigated. Ellen and David travel to the small coastal town where her first wedding allegedly occurred. There, they meet a number of individuals whose stories make Ellen question her own sanity.
Free For All
Joe Hershey
The discovery of a way of turning petrol into water makes a fortune and romance for the young inventor.
My Friend Irma
Mr. Clyde
Prototype dumb blonde Irma and her slacker, wheeler-dealer boyfriend Al interfere in the love life of Irma's level-headed room mate Jane.
Thieves' Highway
Roadside Bar Manager (uncredited)
Nick Garcos comes back from his tour of duty in World War II planning to settle down with his girlfriend, Polly Faber. He learns, however, that his father was recently beaten and burglarized by mob-connected trucker Mike Figlia, and Nick resolves to get even. He partners with prostitute Rica, and together they go after Mike, all the while getting pulled further into the local crime underworld.
Red Hot and Blue
Mr. Perkins, Stage Manager
A Broadway director rescues a starlet from mobsters who blame her for a shooting.
Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
Abernathy
Lost Caverns Hotel bellhop Freddie Phillips is suspected of murder. Swami Talpur tries to hypnotize Freddie into confessing, but Freddie is too stupid for the plot to work. Inspector Wellman uses Freddie to get the killer (and it isn't the Swami).
Lust for Gold
Barber
A man determined to track down the fabled Arizona gold mine known as The Lost Dutchman has an affair with a married treasure hunter, whose pursuit of the mine has lead her to double-cross her husband.
The Crooked Way
Petey
A war veteran suffering from amnesia, returns to Los Angeles from a San Francisco veterans hospital hoping to learn who he is and discovers his criminal past.
The Set-Up
Red
Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
Alias Nick Beal
Lawyer
After straight-arrow district attorney Joseph Foster says in frustration that he would sell his soul to bring down a local mob boss, a smooth-talking stranger named Nick Beal shows up with enough evidence to seal a conviction. When that success leads Foster to run for governor, Beal's unearthly hold on him turns the previously honest man corrupt, much to the displeasure of his wife and his steadfast minister.
Criss Cross
Frank
Burt Lancaster plays Steve Thompson, a man who seals his dark fate when he returns to Los Angeles to find his ex-wife Anna Dundee (Yvonne DeCarlo) eager to rekindle their love against all better judgement. She encourages their affair but then quickly marries mobster Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea). To deflect suspicion of the affair, Steve Thompson leads Dundee into a daylight armored-truck robbery.
Chicken Every Sunday
Mr. Sawyer (uncredited)
A woman takes in boarders to support her husband's harebrained financial schemes.
That Wonderful Urge
Monroe Township Jail Drunk (uncredited)
When an heiress finds out that the friendly young man she's met at Sun Valley is really an investigative reporter, she ruins his career by falsely claiming they're married.
Larceny
Charlie Jordan
John Payne is the no-good lowdown rat who tries to capitalize on postwar patriotism and grief. He finagles a war widow (Joan Caulfied) into giving up her savings for a nonexistent memorial. When Payne falls in love with the widow he has pangs of conscience, but he reckons without his con-artist boss (Dan Duryea), who tends to bolster his arguments with muscle and bullets.
Hazard
Beady Robbins
As part of a bet, a compulsive gambler agrees to marry the winner, a professional gambler. Before he can "collect," she skips town. The gambler hires a private detective to track her down so he can collect his "winnings."
Let's Live Again
Mr. President
The brother of a nuclear scientist dies but is reincarnated as a dog so he can return to Earth to protect his brother.
Call Northside 777
Mailman William Decker (uncredited)
In 1932, a cop is killed and Frank Wiecek sentenced to life. Eleven years later, a newspaper ad by Frank's mother leads Chicago reporter P.J. O'Neal to look into the case. For some time, O'Neal continues to believe Frank guilty. But when he starts to change his mind, he meets increased resistance from authorities unwilling to be proved wrong.
Miracle on 34th Street
Intoxicated Santa (uncredited)
Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.
At Home
Man from the Gas Company
The Prisoner of Swing
Messenger
Musical satire based on Anthony Hope's Ruritanian novel "The Prisoner of Zenda" in which a commoner takes the place of a lookalike king.
Du Barry Did All Right
Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
A woman living in Paris feels neglected by her husband, so she decides to go to New York City and enjoy herself.
Frankie and Johnnie
Undetermined role
The story of a woman, Frankie, and the man who has done her wrong, Johnnie.
Insinuation
Jimmie
About a woman whose life is almost ruined by the insinuations of a small-town gossip and a brother who falls in with bad company. The film ends with the woman being saved by her upstanding physician husband, whom she meets when her theatre troupe becomes stranded in the town.
Silver Wings
John
Carr plays Anna Webb, whose husband John (Lynn Hammond) invents a new kind of sewing machine. The patent makes the family wealthy, and after Webb dies, Anna takes over the business. She puts her sons John (Percy Helton) and Harry Joseph Striker) in charge of the factory, while daughter Ruth (Jane Thomas) elopes. When Harry steals some money, the blame falls on John, who leaves town.
The Offenders
Girl is held at mercy of gang of crooks, her only friend being a half-wit. A murder is committed and blame shifted to the girl. The half-wit has seen it but cannot remember. When he is cured, his testimony frees the girl.
The Master Mind
Younger brother
The defense attorney who was unable to obtain the acquittal of an innocent young man concocts a complicated and diabolical scheme to revenge himself upon the prosecutor.
The Flower of Faith
Tom Judson
Traveling evangelist Ephram Judson (Albert Tavernier) is met with some formidable opposition in the person of avowed atheist Hugh Lee (Frank Mills). It seems that Lee disavowed the existence of God when his beloved sister was stricken with blindness. Judson's daughter Ruth (Jane Grey) does her best to convert Lee, but it's a losing battle. Even worse, a series of bizarre coincidences leads the villagers to conclude (wrongly) that Lee has tried to "have his way" with the virginal Ruth. On the verge of being lynched by the angry townsfolk, Lee is saved by a timely bolt of lightning -- whereupon he embraces that Old Time Religion in a real hurry. Cast as Ruth's ne'er-do-well brother Tom is diminutive Percy Helton, best known to latter-day film buffs for his raspy-voiced character roles in such talkies as The Robe, Kiss Me Deadly and The Music Man.
The Fairy and the Waif
The Waif
Viola Drayton (Minter) has a fascination for fairies, but real life intervenes when her father, a colonel (W.T. Carleton), is called off to the European War (that's what they called World War I in early 1915). He leaves Viola in the care of the Nevisons (Herbert Wilke and Ina Brookes) and gives them thirty thousand dollars to invest on her behalf. When word arrives that Drayton has been killed in battle, Mr. Nevison takes Viola's money for himself, but he squanders it and his wife has to take in boarders. Viola hates her life at the Nevisons so she runs away and gets a job at a theater playing...a fairy.