Will Wright

Will Wright

Birth : 1894-03-26, San Francisco, California, USA

Death : 1962-06-19

History

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. William Henry "Will" Wright (March 26, 1894, San Francisco, California - June 19, 1962, Los Angeles, California) was an American character actor. He was frequently cast in westerns and in curmudgeonly roles. Over the course of his career, Wright appeared in more than 200 film and television roles. He started his acting career in vaudeville and later moved to the stage, then on to movies, radio, and television. Among the films in which Wright appeared are Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), The Major and the Minor (1943), So Proudly We Hail! (1943), Road to Utopia (1946), Mother Wore Tights (1947), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), Little Women (1949), Walk Softly, Stranger (1950), Sunset in the West (1950), People Will Talk (1951), The Happy Time (1952), River of No Return (1954), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Jeanne Eagels (1957), and Gunman's Walk (1958). One of his most famous and memorable film roles was corrupt city official Dolph Pillsbury in the Academy Award-winning All the King's Men (1949). Wright provided the voice of Friend Owl in Walt Disney's animated film Bambi (1942). He guest starred on several television series. Will Wright died of cancer in 1962.

Profile

Will Wright

Movies

Fail Safe
Bit Part (uncredited)
Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little time to prevent an atomic catastrophe from occurring.
Cape Fear
Dr. Pearsall
Sam Bowden witnesses a rape committed by Max Cady and testifies against him. When released after 8 years in prison, Cady begins stalking Bowden and his family but is always clever enough not to violate the law.
Twenty Plus Two
Newspaper morgue attendant
A famous movie star's fan club secretary has been brutally murdered. She has in her office old newspaper clippings regarding a missing heiress. Did the secretary know something about the mystery of the heiress?
The Deadly Companions
Doctor Acton
Ex-army officer accidentally kills a woman's son, tries to make up for it by escorting the funeral procession through dangerous Indian territory.
Inherit the Wind
Bible Salesman (uncredited)
Schoolteacher Bertram Cates is arrested for teaching his students Darwin's theory of evolution. The case receives national attention and one of the newspaper reporters, E.K. Hornbeck, arranges to bring in renowned defense attorney and atheist Henry Drummond to defend Cates. The prosecutor, Matthew Brady is a former presidential candidate, famous evangelist, and old adversary of Drummond.
The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock
Pentagon General
In one of his rare performances without Bud Abbott, Lou Costello plays a delivery boy who invents a machine which turns his girlfriend into a giantess.
Alias Jesse James
Titus Queasley
Insurance salesman Milford Farnsworth sells a man a life policy only to discover that the man in question is the outlaw Jesse James. Milford is sent to buy back the policy, but is robbed by Jesse. And when Jesse learns that Milford's boss is on the way out with more cash, he plans to rob him too and have Milford get killed in the robbery while dressed as Jesse, and collect on the policy.
Rock-a-Bye Baby
Fire Chief (uncredited)
An average television repairman must care for the newborn triplets of his former hometown sweetheart—now a famous movie star—so her career will not suffer.
Gunman's Walk
Judge
A powerful rancher always protects his wild adult son by paying for damages and bribing witnesses, until his crimes become too serious to rectify.
Quantrill's Raiders
Judge Wood
A Civil War guerilla gang plans an attack on a Kansas arsenal.
The Missouri Traveler
Sheriff Marvin Peavy
Byron Turner, a 15-year-old runaway from the Eatondale Orphan Asylum, receives a ride into the rural Missouri town of Delphi with rich land-owner Tobias Brown.
Jeanne Eagels
Marshal (uncredited)
Biographical film based loosely on the life of 1920's stage star Jeanne Eagels.
Johnny Tremain
Ephraim Lapham
When an injury bars him from pursuing his trade, Revolutionary War-era silversmith's apprentice Johnny Tremain (Hal Stalmaster) finds a new life in the ranks of the Sons of Liberty army, taking part in the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere's legendary ride. Based on the novel by Ester Forbes, this Disney classic was originally crafted for "Walt Disney Presents" in two segments, which have been blended into a single film for viewing.
The Wayward Bus
Van Brunt
Three strangers embark on a life-changing journey on a fateful bus ride. As the road presents challenges, each character faces his or her own shortcomings, not knowing where life will lead next.
The Iron Sheriff
Judge
Frontier peacekeeper Sheriff Galt faces a crisis of conscience in The Iron Sheriff. In the aftermath of a robbery-murder, Galt follows the trail of evidence directly to his own son, Benjie. Sworn to uphold the law at all costs, Galt is grimly determined to see that Benjie will receive a fair trial without any coercion on his part. But the townsfolk have already decided that the sheriff will try to spring the boy, and a lynch-mob mentality slows festers its way through the community. As the trial proceeds, it becomes obvious that Benjie is going to hang for his alleged crime, but there's still one or two surprises in store.
These Wilder Years
Old Cab Driver
A man tries to find a son he gave up for adoption years ago.
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
Admiral William S. Sims
A dramatization of the American general and his court martial for publically complaining about High Command's dismissal and neglect of the aerial fighting forces.
The Tall Men
Gus the Bartender (uncredited)
Two brothers discharged from the Confederate Army join a businessman for a cattle drive from Texas to Montana where they run into raiding Jayhawkers, angry Sioux, rough terrain and bad weather.
The Kentuckian
John Decker
A frontiersman and his son fight to build a new home in Texas.
Not as a Stranger
Mr. Roberts (uncredited)
Lucas Marsh, an intern bent upon becoming a first-class doctor, not merely a successful one. He courts and marries the warm-hearted Kristina, not out of love but because she is highly knowledgeable in the skills of the operating room and because she has frugally put aside her savings through the years. She will be, as he shrewdly knows, a supportive wife in every way. She helps make him the success he wants to be and cheerfully moves with him to the small town in which he starts his practice. But as much as he tries to be a good husband to the undemanding Kristina, Marsh easily falls into the arms of a local siren and the patience of the long-sorrowing Kristina wears thin.
Atomic Energy as a Force for Good
Tim Summers
Drama showing the reactions of citizens of a small town to the construction of a nuclear energy plant in their community, and their acceptance of the peaceful aspects of atomic energy.
The Raid
Josiah Anderson
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.
Johnny Guitar
Ned - Bank Teller (uncredited)
On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin' Kid and his gang. Another patron of Vienna's establishment is Johnny Guitar, a former gunslinger and her lover. When a heist is pulled in town that results in a man's death, Emma Small, Vienna's rival, rallies the townsfolk to take revenge on Vienna's saloon – even without proof of her wrongdoing.
River of No Return
Trading Post Proprietor
An itinerant farmer and his young son help a heart-of-gold saloon singer search for her estranged husband.
The Wild One
Art Kleiner
The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to raise hell. Brooding gang leader Johnny Strabler takes a liking to Kathie, the daughter of the local lawman, as another club rolls into town.
The Last Posse
Todd Mitchell
A posse's pursuit of bank robbers ends with loot missing and a sheriff (Broderick Crawford) wounded.
Niagara
Boatman
Rose Loomis and her older, gloomier husband, George, are vacationing at a cabin in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The couple befriend Polly and Ray Cutler, who are honeymooning in the area. Polly begins to suspect that something is amiss between Rose and George, and her suspicions grow when she sees Rose in the arms of another man. While Ray initially thinks Polly is overreacting, things between George and Rose soon take a shockingly dark turn.
The Happy Time
Family Doctor
A violinist and his brother guide one's son through his crush on the family maid in 1920s Ottawa.
O. Henry's Full House
Hotel Desk Clerk (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)
Five O. Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critic's acclaim was "The Cop and the Anthem". Soapy tells fellow bum Horace that he is going to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a nice jail cell. He fails. He can't even accost a woman; she turns out to be a streetwalker. The other stories are "The Clarion Call", "The Last Leaf", "The Ransom of Red Chief", and "The Gift of the Magi".
Holiday for Sinners
The Man with a Cigar
Three old friends reunite during Mardi Gras and try to forget their problems.
Lure of the Wilderness
Sheriff Brink
A young girl and her father, who is unjustly accused of murder, seek refuge in a Georgia swamp until they are befriended by a trapper who penetrates the swamp in search of his dog.
Paula
Raymond Bascom
A woman, distraught because of her recent miscarriage, accidentally injures a child in a hit-and-run accident, but she keeps the incident a secret. Overcome with guilt and remorse, she seeks out the child in the hospital and attempts to help him regain his speech, even though, if successful, it might mean he will implicate her for the crime.
Young Man with Ideas
Party Guest (uncredited)
A Montana lawyer gets distracted after moving to California with his wife and children.
The Las Vegas Story
Mike Fogarty
When newlyweds visit Las Vegas, the wife's shady past comes to the surface.
People Will Talk
Uncle John Higgins (uncredited)
Successful and well-liked, Dr. Noah Praetorius becomes the victim of a witchhunt at the hands of Professor Elwell, who disdains Praetorius's unorthodox medical views and also questions his relationship with the mysterious, ever-present Mr. Shunderson.
The Tall Target
Thomas Ogden (uncredited)
A detective tries to prevent the assassination of President-elect Abraham Lincoln during a train ride headed for Washington in 1861.
Never Trust a Gambler
Cap Douglas (uncredited)
A small-time gambler on the run from the law hides in his ex-wife's house.
Excuse My Dust
Race judge
Joe, inventor in an American Small town of 1895 has problems with his new invention, a car, driven with a gasoline motor. Everybody is making fun about his "crazy invention", only his girl friend believes in him. When he's halfway successful, another woman tries to win his heart, and his girl-friend thinks he has quit with her. But on a race for those new horse-less vehicles, he gets in trouble and only his former girl friend is able to help him.
My Forbidden Past
Luther Toplady
An 1890s New Orleans heiress tries to buy a married doctor's love with her tainted family fortune.
Vengeance Valley
Mr. Willoughby
A cattle baron takes in an orphaned boy and raises him, causing his own son to resent the boy. As they get older the resentment festers into hatred, and eventually the real son frames his stepbrother for fathering an illegitimate child that is actually his, seeing it as an opportunity to get his half-brother out of the way so he can have his father's empire all to himself.
Dallas
Judge Harper (uncredited)
After the Civil War, Confederate soldier Blayde Hollister travels to Dallas to avenge the savage murder of his family. Discovering his enemy is now an esteemed citizen, Hollister plots to expose the outlaw and his syndicate.
Walk Softly, Stranger
Jake, Poker Player (uncredited)
A petty crook moves to an Ohio town and courts a factory owner's disabled daughter.
Sunset in the West
Sheriff Tad Osborne
Roy puts a stop to gun smuggling.
No Way Out
Dr. Cheney - Coroner (uncredited)
Robbers Ray Biddle and his brother are shot and taken to the local hospital. There, the two are treated by Dr. Brooks, the hospital's only black doctor. The brothers assault Brooks with racist slurs. And, when his brother ends up dying on the operating table, Ray accuses the doctor of murdering him. Blind with rage, Ray works to turn the white community of the city against Brooks, who finds an unlikely ally in the dead man's widow, Edie.
The Savage Horde
Judge Thomas Cole
A charismatic gunfighter who is on the run takes refuge in a frontier cattle town and attempts to help a group of ranchers against a wealthy cattle baron.
A Ticket to Tomahawk
Marshal Kit Dodge
A cowboy is hired by a stagecoach boss to stop the railroad reaching his territory and putting him out of business. He uses everything from Indians to dancehall girls to try to thwart the plan. But the railroad workers, led by a female sharpshooter and an ambitious salesman, prove tough customers.
House by the River
Inspector Sarten
Wealthy writer Stephen Byrne tries to seduce the family maid, but when she resists, he kills her. Long jealous of his brother John, Stephen does his best to pin the blame for the murder on his sibling. Also affected by Stephen's arrogant dementia is his long-suffering wife Marjorie.
Mrs. Mike
Dr. McIntosh
This film is based on the novel, Mrs. Mike, which is based on the real life woman, Kathy O'Fallon Flannigan. A Boston teenager is sent to live with her uncle in frontier Canada because of her fragile health. She eventually falls in love with own of the few-if only-young, white males in the region. They marry and depart for the northern wilderness to set up house and home. The rest of the movie is about her struggles and joys of living and travelling in this rugged country.
Adam's Rib
Judge Marcasson
When a woman attempts to kill her uncaring husband, prosecutor Adam Bonner gets the case. Unfortunately for him his wife Amanda (who happens to be a lawyer too) decides to defend the woman in court. Amanda uses everything she can to win the case and Adam gets mad about it. As a result, their perfect marriage is disturbed by everyday quarrels.
All the King's Men
Dolph Pillsbury
All The King's Men is the story of the rise of politician Willie Stark from a rural county seat to the governor's mansion.
They Live by Night
Mobley
An escaped convict, injured during a robbery, falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.
Miss Grant Takes Richmond
Roscoe Johnson (uncredited)
A bookie uses a phony real estate business as a front for his betting parlor. To further keep up the sham, he hires dim-witted Ellen Grant as his secretary figuring she won't suspect any criminal goings-on. When Ellen learns of some friends who are about to lose their homes, she unwittingly drafts her boss into developing a new low-cost housing development.
Brimstone
Martin Tredwell
A U.S. Marshal goes undercover to stop a cattle smuggling gang, but when his cover is blown, the hunter becomes the hunted.
Lust for Gold
Parsons (uncredited)
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.
Big Jack
Will Farnsworth
Wallace Beery, in his final film, plays a bandit in this period drama set in Colonial America.
The Green Promise
Mr. Grenstedt
A stubborn farmer is raising his children alone. When his oldest daughter gets a suitor, the father nearly goes on the rampage, but he is forced to change his tune when he is injured, leaving her in charge of the farm.
Little Women
Mr. Grace (uncredited)
Louisa May Alcott's autobiographical account of her life with her three sisters in Concord Mass in the 1860s. With their father fighting in the civil war, the sisters: Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth are at home with their mother - a very outspoken women for her time. The story is of how the sisters grow up, find love and find their place in the world.
Act of Violence
Pop
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.
Whispering Smith
Sheriff McSwiggin
Smith is an iron-willed railroad detective. When his friend Murray is fired from the railroad and begins helping Rebstock wreck trains, Smith must go after him. He also seems to have an interest in Murray's wife (and vice versa).
An Act of Murder
Judge Jim Wilder
A man kills his terminally ill wife to prevent her further suffering.
Disaster
Pop Hansford
A construction worker wanted by the authorities is vindicated by virtue of his heroism when an airplane crashes into a skyscraper.
The Walls of Jericho
Dr. Nathan J. Patterson
In a small town in Kansas, a county attorney in an unhappy marriage falls in love with another woman.
Black Eagle
Sheriff Clancy
Black Eagle is based on The Passing of Black Eagle, a short story by O. Henry. William Bishop stars as Jason Bond, who stays out of trouble by the simple expedient of avoiding other people. Unfortunately, the plot dictates that Bond must come into contact with several characters, all of whom end up fleecing our hero in one way or another. Even so, Jason manages to enjoy a brief romance with pretty Ginny Long (Virginia Patton) before returning to his life of carefree vagabondage. A very minor film, The Black Eagle makes the most of its excellent supporting cast, including Gordon Jones, Trevor Bardette, Will Wright and stuntman extraordinaire Richard Talmadge.
Relentless
Sam - the Horse Dealer
A man wrongly accused of murder tracks the true culprit across the desert.
Green Grass of Wyoming
Jake Willis
The romance of a rancher's niece and a rival rancher's son parallels that of a stallion and a mare.
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Eph Hackett (uncredited)
An advertising executive dreams of getting out of the city and building a perfect home in the country, only to find the transition fraught with problems.
The Inside Story
J. J. Johnson
A collection agent arrives in a small town with $1000 for a local farmer. Whilst waiting for the farmer to arrive the money is put in a safe at a hotel for safe keeping. However, it is removed by mistake and solves a number of financial problems before it is returned.
California's Golden Beginning
A short documentary.
Wild Harvest
Mike Alperson
Joe is the head of an itinerant combine crew, working the harvests against rival crew boss Alperson. Joe's buddy Jim joins the crew with startup money. Farmer's niece Fay falls for Joe. He puts her off. To get back she marries Jim whom she prods into high-grading the grain (skimming off some for private sale). The last payment on Joe's machinery is due just as he discover's what his buddy has been doing.
Along the Oregon Trail
Jim Bridger
The period is the 1840's and Greg Thurston is out to establish his own empire out of a large area of the west. He needs rifles to give to the Indians but Monte Hale breaks up his attack on the supply train. But when they get them by robbing the warehouse, Monte suspects Thuston who had the other key. He follows Thurston only to be caught by him just as Thurston launches his final big attack.
Cynthia
Gus Wood, Thatcher's Real Estate Rep
Sheltered by her conservative parents, a small-town teenager finally goes out on a date.
Mother Wore Tights
Withers (uncredited)
In this chronicle of a vaudeville family, Myrtle McKinley (class of 1900) goes to San Francisco to attend business school, but ends up in a chorus line. Soon, star Frank Burt notices her talent, hires her for a "two-act", then marries her. Incidents of the marriage and the growing pains of eldest daughter Miriam are followed, interspersed with nostalgic musical numbers.
Uncle Tom's Cabaña
Uncle Tom (uncredited)
Uncle Tom tells the blood curdling story of how the evil Simon Legree tried to foreclose on Tom's simple log cabin. (Uncle Tom's Cabaña is a 1947 American animated short film directed by Tex Avery. The short is a parody of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and is Avery's second parody of the novel, the first being Uncle Tom's Bungalow in 1937 while at Warner Bros. Cartoons)
Keeper of the Bees
Dr. Grayson
Michael Worthington, an elderly owner of an apiary, befriends an embittered artist, Jamie McFarlaine, who is seeking a divorce from his wife. Jamie falls in love with Alice, but the romance is almost doomed by the gossip-spreading of a meddlesome neighbor.
Danger Street
Police Chief Bullward
Magazine owners sell a revealing photo, then play detective when the deal leads to murder.
The Long Night
Mr. Tully - the Janitor (uncredited)
City police surround a building attempting to capture a suspected murder. The suspect knows there is no escape but refuses to give in.
Blaze of Noon
Mr. Thomas
In this aerial melodrama, four brothers working as stunt pilots for a flying circus leave their jobs to become mail pilots. Because their job requires that they constantly travel, they are advised to not settle down with wives and kids. Still, one pilot falls in love and marries. Unfortunately, the woman dislikes his brothers and constantly worries that he will be killed during a flight. Her fears are not unfounded and much tragedy ensues as the story unfolds.
California
Chairman (uncredited)
"Wicked" Lily Bishop joins a wagon train to California, led by Michael Fabian and Johnny Trumbo, but news of the Gold Rush scatters the train. When Johnny and Michael finally arrive, Lily is rich from her saloon and storekeeper (former slaver) Pharaoh Coffin is bleeding the miners dry. But worse troubles are ahead: California is inching toward statehood, and certain people want to make it their private empire.
Fair Weather Fiends
Wolfie Wolf (voice)
After a storm strands them on a deserted island, Woody Woodpecker and his wolf friend end up battling themselves in a quest to find food.
Blue Skies
Dan - Stage Manager (uncredited)
Jed Potter looks back on a love triangle conducted over the course of years and between musical numbers. Dancer Jed loves showgirl Mary, who loves compulsive nightclub-opener Johnny, who can't stay committed to anything in life for very long.
Big Town
Station Agent (uncredited)
A newspaper editor goes on an anti-crime crusade, but gets carried away.
Down Missouri Way
Prof. Morris
Musical - Romance and music accompany this comedy about a film director searching for a mule to star in his new movie. - Martha O'Driscoll, John Carradine, Eddie Dean
The Inner Circle
Henry Boggs
A fresh-faced young detective gets set up, framed for murder, and alibied by a smart blonde.
Rendezvous with Annie
Elmer Snodgrass
A homesick American soldier stationed in England during World War II makes an unauthorized trip to see his wife and returns to England with only two people knowing he was home for a few hours. When she learns that she is pregnant, she does not disclose that her husband had paid her a visit as to not get him into trouble. The townspeople are unanimous in their condemnation of her. But, after his discharge, he enlists the aid of a nightclub singer, the only other person who knew he came home.
One Exciting Week
Otis Piper
The citizens of the small town of Midburg are thrilled when one of their native sons, Dan Flannery, becomes a war hero while serving in the Merchant Marines. But before arriving he is stricken with amnesia and falls in with a gang of crooks...
Without Reservations
Pullman Conductor (uncredited)
Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train, she encounters Marines Rusty and Dink, who don't know she is the author of the famous book, and who don't think much of the ideas it proposes. She and Rusty are greatly attracted, but she doesn't know how to deal with his disdain for the book's author.
They Made Me a Killer
Henry, the Blacksmith
A fugitive receives help from a victim's sister as he tries to clear his name of robbery and murder charges.
The Blue Dahlia
"Dad" Newell
Soon after a veteran's return from war his cheating wife is found dead. He evades police in an attempt to find the real murderer.
Apple Andy
Devil
Andy Panda is very fond of apples and he eats a bushel of green apples, falls asleep and has a nightmare in which the devil is trying to entice him into Hades and stuffs him full of apple juice, applesauce and more apples. (In Andy's defense, since Andy was taught not to eat green apples, the devil had spray-painted the green apples red.)
Johnny Comes Flying Home
Foreman (uncredited)
Three World War II fliers face financial obstacles threatening to ground their fledgling air-freight business.
The Hoodlum Saint
Allan 'Knucklehead' Smith - Times Editor (uncredited)
A former reporter comes back home after serving in the army during World War I and finds that it's much more difficult to find work than he expected. Desperate, one day he crashes a wedding attended by many of the city's rich and powerful, meets a beautiful girl named Kay who turns out to be his ticket to meeting those rich and powerful people, and he soon manages to land a job on a newspaper. He gets caught up in the "make money at all costs" game but receives a rude awakening when the stock market crashes in 1929.
The Madonna's Secret
The Riverman
This drama is an updated version of Ulmer's 1944 film Bluebeard. It is set in New York and follows the exploits of an eccentric Parisian painter who has come to New York to escape a controversy surrounding his work. The trouble stems when the model he has used in all his work is found floating dead in the Seine.
Prospecting for Petroleum
The Professor (voice)
All-puppet animation tells the story of how oil is formed through ages of geological change, how it is found, extracted and put to use by man.
Scarlet Street
Globe Loan Office Manager (uncredited)
Cashier and part-time starving artist Christopher Cross is absolutely smitten with the beautiful Kitty March. Kitty plays along, but she's really only interested in Johnny, a two-bit crook. When Kitty and Johnny find out that art dealers are interested in Chris's work, they con him into letting Kitty take credit for the paintings. Cross allows it because he is in love with Kitty, but his love will only let her get away with so much.
The Loose Nut
Construction Worker (voice)
Woody Woodpecker goes to the park for a game of golf, and quickly gets at odds with some city-workers who are laying a cement walk. His hooks and slices keep landing into the wet cement. But he smooths everything out by putting a couple of cement-trowels on his feet, and gliding over the surface as if it was ice.
Road to Utopia
Mr. Latimer (uncredited)
While on a ship to Skagway, Alaska, Duke and Chester find a map to a secret gold mine, which had been 'stolen' by thugs. In Alaska to recover her father's map, Sal Van Hoyden falls in with Ace Larson, who secretly wants to steal the gold mine for himself. Duke, Chester, the thugs, Ace and his henchman chase each other all over the countryside—for the map.
State Fair
Hog Judge (uncredited)
During their annual visit to the Iowa State Fair, the Frake family enjoy many adventures. Proud patriarch Abel has high hopes for his champion swine Blueboy; and his wife Melissa enters the mincemeat and pickles contest...with hilarious results.
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry
Mr. Nelson (uncredited)
George Sanders stars in this engrossing melodrama about a very domineering sister who holds a tight grip on her brother -- especially when he shows signs of falling in love.
Bewitched
Mr. Herkheimer
A girl enlists a psychic to get rid of her murderous alternate personality.
Rhapsody in Blue
Rachmaninoff
Fictionalized biography of George Gershwin and his fight to bring serious music to Broadway.
Salome, Where She Danced
Sheriff
During the Austrian-Prussian war, Anna Marie is a dancer who is forced to flee her country after she is accused of being a spy. She ends up in a lawless western town in Arizona, where she uses her charms and dancing skills to transform herself into "Salome" during her dance routines.
High Powered
Jeff Hines
Tim takes a job as a lowly chipper because he has been afraid to go high ever since a bad fall in which he was injured and another workman was killed.
Grissly's Millions
John Frey
An eccentric wealthy man is murdered, and the police set out to find his killer.
Practically Yours
Sen. Cowling (uncredited)
In this screwball comedy a WW2 US pilot bombs a Japanese aircraft carrier, is assumed to be dead, and then is misquoted in the press as fondly remembering his days back home walking his dog Piggy. Instead of his dog Piggy he is thought to be in love with Peggy, a girl he worked with. The usual farce ensues after he returns home alive and tries to play along with the mistake to save embarrassment for all.
Dangerous Passage
Postal Clerk (uncredited)
Joe Beck leaves Central America so that he can return to Texas and collect a large inheritance, but he picks a dangerous ship on which to travel.
The Town Went Wild
Judge Harry Schrank (uncredited)
Comedy concerning two feuding fathers dealing with the shocking news that their sons were switched at birth, meaning that one of their daughters is about to marry her own brother.
Wilson
Hughes Campaign Orator in Maine (uncredited)
The political career of Woodrow Wilson is chronicled, beginning with his decision to leave his post at Princeton to run for Governor of New Jersey, and his subsequent ascent to the Presidency of the United States. During his terms in office, Wilson must deal with the death of his first wife, the onslaught of German hostilities leading to American involvement in the Great War, and his own country's reticence to join the League of Nations.
Take It Big
Rodeo Judge (uncredited)
Jack Haley plays Jack North, the nether end of a vaudeville horse act who inherits a western ranch. When he heads to the Great Outdoors to take possession, Jack winds up at the wrong place: a swanky dude ranch. He immediately begins running things, at it's quite a while before his error is discovered. By the time he shows up at his own ranch, he's up to his ears in unpaid debts-which naturally requires a fund-raising musical show as a bail-out. Harriet Hilliard handles the romantic portion of the proceedings, occasionally dueting with her real-life husband, bandleader Ozzie Nelson.
In Old Oklahoma
Doctor
Cowboy Dan Somers and oilman Jim "Hunk" Gardner compete for oil lease rights on Indian land in Oklahoma, as well as for the favors of schoolteacher Cathy Allen.
Here Comes Elmer
Horace Parrot
This musical comedy stars radio star Al Pearce has a double role playing himself and Elmer Blurt, the leader of a small-town band that struggles toward stardom in the big city. Their journey begins when Elmer decides to eject their female singer because she isn't really right. Unfortunately, her angry father is their sponsor and when he finds out, he withdraws all support.
So Proudly We Hail
Colonel Clark (Uncredited)
During the start of the Pacific campaign in World War II, Lieutenant Janet Davidson is the head of a group of U.S. military nurses who are trapped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Davidson tries to keep up the spirits of her staff, which includes Lieutenants Joan O'Doul and Olivia D'Arcy. They all seek to maintain a sense of normal life, including dating, while under constant danger as they tend to wounded soldiers.
Sleepy Lagoon
Cyrus Coates
Young radio personality Judy Joyner becomes mayor of the moribund town, Sleepy Lagoon, after running on an all women ticket and promptly sets out to turn the town around.
Cowboy in Manhattan
Higgins
Bob Allen, a struggling songwriter poses as a millionaire cowboy to win Broadway star Babs Lee.
The Meanest Man in the World
Pawn Shop Owner (uncredited)
Compassionate small-town lawyer Richard Clarke moves to New York City to seek his fortune, but is unsuccessful until he takes a friend's advice and tries to convince the world he's a ruthless heel. Suddenly he's the most popular lawyer in town -- but he could lose his fiancée.
Tennessee Johnson
Alderman (uncredited)
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.
The Major and the Minor
Ticket Agent #1 (uncredited)
Susan Applegate, tired of New York after one year and twenty-five jobs, decides to return to her home town in Iowa. Discovering she hasn't enough money for the train fare, Susan disguises herself as a twelve-year-old and travels for half the price. Caught out by the conductors, she hides in the compartment of Major Philip Kirby, a military school instructor who takes the "child" under his wing.
A Letter From Bataan
A soldier pleads to the folks to home to conserve scarce wartime resources.
Wildcat
John 'Paw' Smithers
Wildcatter Johnny Maverick and his pal go to a town in oil country offering $25,000 to the person who brings in the first well. They find oil on the outskirts but have to sell a share to a promoter who hires Johnny's old enemy.
Saboteur
J.C. Lormans - Company Official (uncredited)
Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane flees across the United States after he is wrongly accused of starting the fire that killed his best friend.
Shut My Big Mouth
Jim Long
A shy horticulturist becomes involved with a local criminal in the old west.
Bambi
Friend Owl (voice) (uncredited)
Bambi's tale unfolds from season to season as the young prince of the forest learns about life, love, and friends.
USS VD: Ship of Shame
Commandant (uncredited)
This film was made by the U.S. government during World War II to show its young servicemen the results of "fooling around" with "loose women" overseas. Actual victims of such sexually transmitted diseases as syphilis and gonorrhoea are shown, along with the physical deterioration that accompanies those diseases.
Shadow of the Thin Man
Maguire
High society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles run into a variety of shady characters while investigating a race-track murder.
The Tell-Tale Heart
Second Deputy Sheriff (uncredited)
In this classic Edgar Allan Poe story, a man commits a murder, but afterward the victim's beating heart torments the murderer's mind.
Nothing But the Truth
Mr. Bart Prichard (uncredited)
Gwen Saunders teams up with her uncle's employee, Steve Bennett, in an attempt to double her $10,000 investment in the family firm. If she can reach the $20,000 mark, her uncle T.T. Ralston will match the figure. Steve bets that if he can spend an entire day without telling a lie, Ralston and his business partners must double Gwen's money. Bennett then earns the enmity of everyone involved in his attempt to win the bet.
Mob Town
Pawnbroker (uncredited)
Wayward youths get out of trouble thanks to a policeman.
Honky Tonk
Townsman at Meeting House
Fast-talking con-man and grifter Candy Johnson rises to be the corrupt boss of Yellow Creek, but his wife's alcoholic father tries to set things right.
Blossoms in the Dust
Senator
Edna marries Texan Sam Gladney, operator of a wheat mill. They have a son, who is killed when very young. Edna discovers by chance how the law treats children who are without parents and decides to do something about it. She opens a home for foundlings and orphans and begins to place children in good homes, despite the opposition of "conservative" citizens, who would condemn illegitimate children for being born out of wedlock. Eventually Edna leads a fight in the Texas legislature to remove the stigma of illegitimacy from birth records in that state, while continuing to be an advocate for homeless children.
The Richest Man in Town
Frederick Johnson
The conflicting views of two leading citizens in a small town are reconciled when they come across a promoter who is planning to defraud the town. He is reformed by the daughter of one.
Cracked Nuts
Sylvanus Boogle
A young man in a small town wins $5000 in a radio contest. He goes to New York City to propose to his girlfriend, but gets mixed up with a crooked attorney and two con men...
Maisie Was a Lady
Judge Thatcher (Uncredited)
Showgirl Maisie Ravier finds herself once again out of work. She meets a wealthy playboy who hires her to be his family's new maid. Maisie soon finds herself trying to mend the family's many problems.
You, the People
Mr. Roberts
This MGM Crime Does Not Pay series short features a big city crime boss's attempt to use his crime "machine" to fraudulently win reelection for the current corrupt mayor. By using several illegal tactics, and aided by voter apathy, the crime boss nearly continues his control of the city.
Blondie Plays Cupid
Mr. Tucker
The Bumstead family is off to see relatives in the country when Blondie runs into Charlie and Millie, an eloping couple needing her help.
It's A Small World
Courtroom spectator (uncredited)
Socialite, privileged, Jane Dale and lawyer Bill Shevlin meet in an automobile accident at night, on a dirt road, in a storm, near a hick town which fleeces travelers through corrupt law enforcement.
Pure Feud
Lem (uncredited)
Edgar Appletree learns the ins and outs of family feuding courtesy of Charlie McCarthy.