James P. Burtis

Birth : 1893-05-12,

Death : 1939-07-24

Movies

Let Us Live
Taxi Cab Mechanic (uncredited)
When a confused eyewitness identifies New York City cabbie Brick Tennant as a killer, he is sentenced to death for a murder that he wasn't involved in. Though no one is willing to listen to the innocent prisoner's pleas for freedom, Brick's faithful fiancée, Mary, knows that her lover is innocent because she was with him when the crime was committed. As the scheduled execution draws ever nearer, Mary begins to investigate the murder herself.
Men with Wings
Reporter
Reporter Nicholas Ranson is jubilant when, on 17 Dec 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright take their first airplane flight. Back home in Underwood, Maryland, however, his uncle Hiram F. Jenkins, owner and editor of the local newspaper, refuses to print the story. Nicholas quits and continues to work on his own airplane, with the devoted help of his little daughter Peggy. Peggy is actually the first in her family to fly when her friends, Patrick Falconer and Scott Barnes, induce her to get inside a large kite they have made, and run with it in a field until she is airborne. The kite is caught in a tree, however, and Peggy gets a black eye. Later, Nicholas dies when his experimental airplane crashes, leaving his wife and children alone. By Peggy's adulthood, planes are capable of flying at an altitude of 11,000 feet, and speeds of nearly 100 m.p.h. Peggy continues her father's obsession with flight by helping Scott and Pat to build a plane.
Bulldog Drummond's Peril
Sergeant
Drummond's wedding with Phyllis is interrupted when the inspector guarding their gifts is killed. He tries to trace the killers and uncovers the mystery of diamond counterfeiters.
Wells Fargo
Portly Gentleman
In the 1840s, Ramsey MacKay, the driver for the struggling Wells Fargo mail and freight company, will secure an important contract if he delivers fresh oysters to Buffalo from New York City. When he rescues Justine Pryor and her mother, who are stranded in a broken wagon on his route, he doesn't let them slow him down and gives the ladies an exhilirating ride into Buffalo. He arrives in time to obtain the contract and is then sent by company president Henry Wells to St. Louis to establish a branch office.
She Loved a Fireman
Dance Judge
A young man with a checkered past struggles to make good as a fireman.
Public Wedding
Detective
The operators of a bankrupt carnival sideshow hope to restore their fallen fortunes by staging a fake 'public wedding' in the mouth of their unprofitable giant whale. But the intended 'bridegroom' absconds with the proceeds, arranging a substitute. The bride, Flip Lane (Jane Wyman), much to her surprise, finds herself really married to a handsome stranger, whose career as an artist she decides to manage, much to his dismay.
Slave Ship
Waiter
Action-filled drama about a ship captain, ashamed of his background in the slave trade, forced against his will to again transport human cargo.
That Man's Here Again
Police Officer at Bureau
An elevator operator in a swanky apartment building falls in love with a homeless girl who sneaks in one night looking for a place to keep warm. In order to keep her near him, he wangles a job for her as a maid at the building.
General Spanky
Boat Captain
Orphaned shoeshine boy Spanky is working on a Mississippi riverboat during the Civil War. There he befriends young runaway slave Buckwheat. After wronging a vicious gambler, Spanky and Buckwheat are forced to jump ship. Finding solace at a nearby house, the two are picked by Marshall Valiant for an important mission. This inspires Spanky to organize the local kids to form a small army of their own.
The Accusing Finger
Waiter
A proud, pro-capital punishment district attorney with a 90% execution rate, finds himself wrongly convicted of murdering his estranged wife and sentenced to die. The woman he loves and his investigator rival for her affections rally to find the real killer, while he is confronted by the misery of life on death row.
Craig's Wife
Moving Man (Uncredited)
Harriet, Walter Craig's wife, is an upper-class woman obsessed with control, material possessions and social status whose behavior makes difficult her relationship with domestic service and family members.
Ghost Patrol
Henry Brownlee
A Professor has an invention that will bring down planes causing them to crash and Dawson is forcing him to use it on those carrying money. When Tim arrives to investigate he is mistaken for a noted outlaw. So he assumes that identity to force Dawson to make him a partner. But just as a plane bringing Tim help is arriving, his true identity is revealed and while he is a prisoner, Dawson forces the Professor to start his machine.
Satan Met a Lady
Detective (uncredited)
In the second screen version of The Maltese Falcon, a detective is caught between a lying seductress and a lady jewel thief.
Murder at Glen Athol
Mike 'Jeff' Jefferies
A famous detective is invited to a swanky party at an elegant mansion, but before the night is over he finds himself involved with gangsters, blackmail and murde
Dancing Feet
Stupe
Peyton Wells (Ben Lyon) rescues Judy Jones (Joan Marsh) from a very dull young man, at a sedate party given for her by her multi-millionaire grandfather Silas P. Jones (Purnell Pratt.) Judy refuses to accompany Peyton on a slumming trip to a cheap dance hall, and Peyton dances with several of the dowagers and tells them that Silas is practically dying of scarlet fever. The guests hastily depart and Joan joins Peyton at the Dreamland Dance Hall. She is mistaken by Jimmy Cassidy (Edward J. Nugent) as one of the hostesses and decides to dance with him as a lark. One thing follows another and Judy gets disinherited and takes a job at the dance hall through Jimmy and his friend Mabel(Isabel Jewell.) Jimmy confides to Judy his ambition to become a dance instructor over the radio and Judy decides to help him but can't get the needed financial backing. She gets Peyton to front the money, promising him she will reconsider his offer of marriage if Jimmy's plan fails.
Stormy
Greasy
A young man looks for a thoroughbred horse that was got lost during a train wreck.
Tailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery
Bill McGuire
A 12-episode serial in which Tailspin Tommy evades volcanoes, anti-aircraft shells, and time bombs as he foils a plan by corrupt profiteers to steal an island's oil reserves.
Confidential
Lacey
A Treasury agent gains the trust of a mob gunman while working under cover to smash a crime syndicate.
She Couldn't Take It
Motorcycle Cop
The wealthy Van Dyke family are constantly in the media for outrageous behavior, much to the frustration of the patriarch, Dan Van Dyke. His self-centered wife has a fondness for foreign imports, including "pet projects" like dancers and such and his spoiled children Tony and Carol have constant run-ins with the law. When Dan himself ends up in the clink for five years for tax evasion, he becomes bunk-mates with ex-bootlegger Joe "Spots" Ricardi. Ricardi lectures him on being such a push-over for an out-of-control family, so a dying Dan makes Ricardi his estate trustee once he is released from prison. Ricardi is then thrust into high society and must do everything he once nagged Dan to do.
Woman Wanted
Second State Trooper (uncredited)
Just after a jury finds Ann Grey guilty of murder, the car carrying her to prison crashes into another car. Ann escapes and ends up in lawyer Tony Baxter's car. Tony realizes Ann is innocent, so he vows to help her prove it, risking his neck in the process. Tony and Ann are pursued by the police and by Smiley Gordon, a mob boss who engineered Ann's escape thinking that she can lead him to a $250,000 stash.
The Daring Young Man
Convict
The Daring Young Man is hotshot-reporter Don McLane, played by James Dunn. Always on the prowl for a good story, McLane is persistently outscooped by his rival, sob sister Martha Allen (Mae Clarke). After several reels of double-crossing one another, hero and heroine give in to the inevitable and fall in love. But as Martha waits at the altar in her wedding gown, McLane is off on another crusade, this time getting himself arrested to expose corruption within the prison system.
The Keeper of the Bees
Red
A severely traumatized World War I veteran, believing that he's living on borrowed time, comes upon a peaceful little village and meets an old man called Bee Master and his protégé, Little Scout, who try to convince him that he has more to live for than he thinks he does.
Murder in the Fleet
Winch Control Operator (Uncredited)
A traitor is lurking somewhere aboard the USS Carolina, and Lt. Tom Randolph is determined to find the offender. First a revolutionary new piece of technology -- an electric firing device -- is sabotaged. Then one of the cruiser's crew is murdered. In order to catch the killer, the captain locks down the ship. With foreign dignitaries, corporate goons and even Tom's girlfriend, Betty, trapped on the vessel, there is no shortage of suspects.
Mary Jane's Pa
Motor Cop
Sam Preston is a small-town newspaper publisher who suffers from wanderlust. Leaving his family, he thinks well-provided for, he packs a suitcase and hits the road. Ten years later he comes back to find the newspaper shuttered and his family gone.
Mister Dynamite
Joe
A gambler hires a detective to investigate when a murder is committed in his casino.
The Mystery Man
Whalen
Hard-boiled newspaper reporter Larry Doyle (Robert Armstrong) goes a bit too far in celebrating a work bonus and wakes up on a train bound for St. Louis with only a buck on his person. To remedy the problem, Doyle pawns the revolver he's carrying. When the gun is subsequently used in a murder, Doyle's problems only multiply. In the meantime, he's also fallen in love with a comely stranger (Maxine Doyle) he convinced to impersonate his wife.
The Winning Ticket
Red - Newsreel Photographer
A barber tries to find the winning lottery ticket he hid from his moralistic wife.
Caravan
Card Player (Uncredited)
A countess marries a Gypsy fiddler instead of a baron's son at harvest time in Tokay wine country, Hungary.
Gentlemen Are Born
Moe
A well-cloistered and protected-against-reality group of college students get their diplomas in the heart of the Great Depression, and quickly learn that the piece of paper the diploma is written on is worth about eighteen-dollars-a-week in the job-market...for the lucky ones. Some of them fare even worse.
Opened by Mistake
Traffic Cop (uncredited)
Patsy tries to stay with Thelma at the hospital where she works, but Thelma is forced to pretend that Patsy is a patient.
The Case of the Howling Dog
George Dobbs
A very nervous man named Cartwright comes into Perry's office to have the neighbor arrested for his howling dog. He states that the howling is a sign that there is a death in the neighborhood. He also wants a will written giving his estate to the lady living at the neighbors house. It is all very mysterious and by the next day, his will is changed and Cartwright is missing, as is the lady of the house next door. Perry has a will and a retainer and must find out whether he has a client or a beneficiary.
Charlie Chan's Courage
Eddie Boston
Charlie is hired to deliver a pearl necklace to a millionaire at his ranch. When murder intervenes he disguises himself as a Chinese servant and begins sleuthing.
Here Comes the Groom
1st Cop
Piccolo player Mike Scanlon loses his girl due to his unexciting lifestyle, so he decides to commit a robbery to gain notoriety. But the robbery goes awry and Mike finds himself on the run from the police, pretending to be a famous singer whose gimmick is wearing a mask in public.
The Merry Frinks
4th Expressman (uncredited)
An heiress abandons an out-of-work husband, two sons and a lovesick daughter.
Benny, from Panama
Benny- Sailor
Jeanette and Eddie get married, but their wedding night is a fiasco. First, their wedding guests follow them, resulting in a police chase, then the guests show up at their apartment, disrupting the building. Then, a rowdy sailor friend of Eddie's shows up, accompanied by a squad of even rowdier buddies and an enormous vengeful mosquito.
Twentieth Century
Train Conductor (uncredited)
A temperamental Broadway producer trains an untutored actress, but when she becomes a star, she proves a match for him.
The Undie-World
Cab Driver
A gangster is smitten with the two girls in the next apartment. With the help of his violinist friend he gets acquainted with the girls by posing as a musician.
Hips, Hips, Hooray!
Sweeney
Hips, Hips, Hooray! is a 1934 slapstick comedy film starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Ruth Etting, Thelma Todd, and Dorothy Lee.
Sitting Pretty
Mover Foreman (uncredited)
Jack Oakie and Jack Haley are songwriters are enroute from New York to Hollywood to make their fame and fortune; Ginger Rogers, a lunchwagon proprieter, joins them.
One Sunday Afternoon
Dink Hoops (uncredited)
Middle-aged dentist Biff Grimes reminisces about his unrequited love for beautiful Virginia Brush and her husband Hugo, his ex-friend, who betrayed him.
The Bargain of the Century
Officer Butterworth
Comedy short with ZaSuPitts and Thelma Todd. After accidentally getting a policeman friend fired, the girls must come up with some way to get him re-hired or be stuck with him as an unwanted roommate.
The Racing Strain
1st Mechanic (as Jimmy Burtis)
A race-car driver whose career is on the skids because of his drinking falls for a rich society girl. That motivates him to clean up his act and resume his career, but it may be too late for that.
Show Business
Policeman (uncredited)
The girls and their pet monkey create havoc on board a train carrying a traveling Broadway troupe.
Western Limited
Eddie
A fancy masquerade party is the scene of a jewel robbery, and later several suspects in the robbery are discovered to be aboard the same train.
The Hurricane Express
The Railroad Detective's Assistant
The Wrecker wrecks trains on the L & R Railroad. One of his victims is Larry Baker's father. Baker wants to find the evildoer, among a host of suspects, but it will be difficult since the Wrecker can disguise himself to look like almost anyone
Roar of the Dragon
Mike - First Mate
A boatload of Westerners is trapped in Manchuria as bandits led by Russian renegade Voronsky ravage the area. Seeking refuge in a fortified inn, the group is led by the boat's Captain Carson, who becomes involved with a woman who "belongs" to Voronsky. Carson must contend with the bandits outside and the conflicting personalities of those trapped inside the inn, as well as dealing with spies among the inn's personnel.
Strangers of the Evening
Nolan (as James Burtis)
Bodies start mysteriously disappearing from the city morgue. An investigator tries to determine what is going on.
The Crowd Roars
Joe's Mechanic Red
Famous auto racing champion Joe Greer returns to his hometown to compete in a local race, discovering that his younger brother has aspirations to become a racing champion.
Sinister Hands
Detective Watson
During a séance at an elderly millionaire's house, the millionaire is murdered. The detectives investigating the crime discover that everyone who was at the séance had a motive for killing the man.
Suicide Fleet
Cookie
Three US sailors aboard a decoy ship fight German U-boats in World War I and try to win Sally who works on the Coney Island midway.
The Tip-Off
Men's Room Patron
A young radio repairman becomes involved with gangsters and one of their girlfriends when he repairs their radio.
Grief Street
Police Sgt. Jardine
A reporter helps the police investigate the murder of a disagreeable and philandering actor who is found strangled to death in his theater dressing room with its door and window locked from the inside.
Five Star Final
An unscrupulous newspaper editor searches for headlines at any cost.
The Lady from Nowhere
Chief of Detectives
A young couple pose as criminals in order to get the goods on their crooked bosses.
Sweepstakes
Race Track Crook
A popular jockey is disbarred from racing after he's accused of throwing a race.
The Lawless Woman
Bill
Dancer June Page is charged with the murder of gangster "Honest Ed" Baker. Allan Perry, an ambitious journalist at the dawn of his career, seeks at all costs to cover the case to obtain exclusivity and impress his hierarchy. He falls in love with the young woman, but Ed Baker's former friends, determined to take revenge, have not said their last word ...
The Finger Points
Cop (uncredited)
Lee is a fresh young kid from the South when he gets a job with The Press. His first assignment on gangsters gets his name in the paper, the police on a raid and Lee in the hospital.
The Jazz Cinderella
Ollie (as James Burtis)
Intending that her son, Herbert, marry debutante Mildred Vane, Mrs. Consuelo Carter is most dismayed when she learns that Herbert has fallen in love with Pat Murray, a model in Darrow's dress shop. Pat's emphatic refusal to take Mrs. Carter's "suggestion" that she give up Herbert leads to her being fired, and she reluctantly accepts Herbert's invitation to weekend at the Carter country home. Finally realizing the hopelessness of the situation, Pat makes a spectacle of herself at a party; but Herbert is not fooled, and their love triumphs.
Ladies in Love
Al Pine
A small town Vermont fellow falls in love with a New York City radio singing star, but she is about to be married to the radio station owner.