Walter Connolly
Nacimiento : 1887-04-08, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Muerte : 1940-05-28
Historia
The name may have been forgotten, especially today (seven decades later), but the portly, apoplectic, exasperated figure on the 1930s screen wasn't. While his film career, save a couple of silents, lasted a paltry seven years (1932-1939), character actor Walter Connolly certainly ran the distance. While some film historians complain that a number of his performances were annoying or overbaked, he was for the most part applauded for his zesty contributions to a number of comedy classics. Frank Capra's Lady for a Day (1933), Broadway Bill (1934) and It Happened One Night (1934), not to mention the Carole Lombard/Fredric March screwball farce Nothing Sacred (1937) as news reporter March's hot-headed editor boss are sure-fire examples.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native was born on April 8, 1887 and schooled there. The son of the head of the Western Union relay office, he attended St. Xavier College and the University of Dublin in Ireland before making his New York debut in 1910 in an outdoor presentation of "As You Like It". For the next year or so he was a member of E.H. Sothern's touring company and played supporting roles in a number of Shakespearean shows on the road. After a few silent pictures left him unimpressed with film-making, he turned to the Broadway stage in the 1920s and scored quite well. Somewhat short and tubby, it was not difficult for the jowly, mustachioed actor to seize laughs and he found his share in such outings as "The Talking Parrot" (1923), "Applesauce" (1925), "The Springboard" (1927), "The Happy Husband" (1928), "Stepping Out" (1929), "Your Uncle Dudley" (1930), "Anatol" (1931), "Six Characters in Search of an Author" (1931), "The Good Fairy" (1932) and "The Late Christopher Bean" (1932).
With his talents as a stage farceur firmly established, it was time to make a second attempt at a film career and Hollywood (specifically, Columbia) wisely opened their doors to him. Interestingly, his debut in a full-length talking picture came at age 45 in the form of a drama, Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932), where he was third-billed as a rather benign senator. For the next seven years Connolly, often playing older than he really was, could be found everywhere giving good fluster to the greatest and glossiest of stars -- Janet Gaynor, Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, Paul Muni, Spencer Tracy, and Ginger Rogers, among hordes of others.
His hobbies were collecting old books and theatre programmes. Connolly was married to actress Nedda Harrigan from 1923 to his death. They had one daughter, Ann (1924–2006). Connolly suffered a fatal stroke on May 28, 1940, and was buried in New St. Joseph Cemetery in Cincinnati.
Self (archive footage)
Ossie Davis narrates a history of "race films," films made before 1950 which catered to a primarily black audience.
Victor Herbert
In his last film assignment, portly Walter Connolly fills the title role (in more ways than one) in The Great Victor Herbert. Very little of Herbert's life story is incorporated in the screenplay (a closing title actually apologizes for the film's paucity of cold hard facts); instead, the writers allow the famed composer's works to speak for themselves. In the tradition of one of his own operettas, Herbert spends most of his time patching up the shaky marriage between tenor John Ramsey (Allan Jones) and Louise Hall (Mary Martin). Many of Herbert's most famous compositions are well in evidence, including "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life", "March of the Toys" and "Kiss Me Again", the latter performed con brio by teenaged coloratura Susanna Foster. Evidently, the producers were able to secure the film rights for the Herbert songs, but not for the stage productions in which they appeared, which may explain such bizarre interpolations as having a song from Naughty Marietta.
Mr. Borden
Un hombre acaudalado contrata a una pobre chica para que se haga pasar por su amante, de cara a conseguir mayor atención por parte de su desapegada familia.
Dr. MacAuley
Dr. MacAuley, a kindly, beloved country doctor, is sent to Fillmore Prison. His crime was for removing a bullet from a young man who was escaping from the police.
Tobias Bliss
Steady, dependable Coast Guard Lieutenant Raymond "Ray" Dower and reckless aviator Thomas "Speed" Bradshaw are the closest of friends. Ray saves the life of Captain Tobias Bliss, tramp steamer skipper, in a daring rescue at sea. Speed flies the injured man back to the base hospital, where the two officers later visit him. There Ray meets Nancy Bliss, Bliss' grand-daughter, and falls in love with her. Speed meets her at a dance and urges Ray to propose before some other guy does. Ray is assigned to flood rescue duty, and Speed and Nancy start going out together and discover they are in love.
Olaf Brand
Jenny Swanson, a waitress on a college campus, is dying to visit Paris. Thanks to English professor Ronald Brooke, she manages to make her dream come true. Besides seeing the sights in the French capital she makes friends with a wealthy family there, the Brands.
Dr. Theodore Grauer
A carefree playboy with an aversion to marriage falls for a lass he meets in the French Alps.
The 'King'
Adaptación de novela homónima de Mark Twain. Amante de la libertad sin ataduras de ningún tipo -¡ni siquiera la de los zapatos!-, el joven Huckleberry Finn (Mickey Rooney), aprovecha la circunstancia de que, su irresponsable padre, quiere chantajear al par de hermanas con las que ahora vive, decide escapar de casa y en el camino se encuentra a Jim (Rex Ingram), el sirviente de casa que también ha escapado, pues, ansía la libertad para reencontrarse con su familia. Como un par de fugitivos, juntos van a vivir una serie de aventuras, donde el resto de la sociedad parecerá estar contra ellos.
Mr. Brown
A wealthy playboy surreptitiously romances a scullery maid to gain access to her mistress with whom he is in love, but doesn't count on the maid falling in love with him.
Gabby MacArthur
Durante su estancia en Shanghai, desde donde informa sobre la guerra chino-japonesa, Chris Hunter, un astuto reportero, conoce a la piloto Alma Harding. Ella no confía en Chris, pero él consigue contratarla como su asistente. Durante una aventurera expedición por las selvas de Sudamérica, su opinión sobre él empieza a cambiar.
John P. Dillingwell
La reportera Jean Christy trabaja para un periódico que está a punto de quebrar debido a las desavenencias entre Pat Buckley, el propietario, y Robert Lansford, el editor jefe. Mientras tanto, Lansford, que aspira a trabajar para otro director, le hace publicidad en el periódico de Buckley con el fin de ganarse así su confianza.
Sam Lewis
After retiring from movies to get an education, a man discovers his ex-staff is trying to have him expelled.
Carter Hibbard (archive footage) (uncredited)
This was one of the annual "blooper" reels screened by the Warners Club, an organization of Warners actors, crew and executives. It was meant to poke fun at the flubs and bloopers that occurred ont the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1938.
Dist. Atty. Thomas Mathews
The story of a D.A. who becomes a prison warden and winds up overseeing the sentence of a man he prosecuted.
Carter Hibbard
A politician's wife plots for her husband to become the next U.S. President.
Oliver Stone
El reportero Wallace Cook propone a su periódico publicar una serie de historias sobre Hazel Flagg, una chica que asegura estar mortalmente intoxicada por exposición al radio. Aunque la chica llega a descubrir que lo que ha dicho es falso, acepta viajar a Nueva York con Cook. La situación se complica cuando ambos se enamoran y, además, un especialista alemán descubre que ella finge su enfermedad.
Uncle
China, durante los últimos años del dominio de la dinastía Qing. El matrimonio concertado entre Wang Lung, un humilde granjero, y O-Lan, una esclava doméstica, soportará a lo largo de los años las muchas dificultades de la vida; pero las incontables tentaciones de una frágil prosperidad pondrán en peligro su amor y la supervivencia de toda su familia.
Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe agrees to investigate a series of murders that seem to be tied in with a past Harvard hazing prank that went awry.
Joe Quinn
Let's Get Married is a 1937 American comedy film starring Ida Lupino, who plays the daughter of a political consultant, Joe Quinn. From Wikipedia
Michael Steele
Tras 17 años en la cárcel, un ladrón se reencuentra con la chica a la que raptó cuando era pequeña. Ella cree que es su padre. Cuando la devuelve a su verdadero padre, encuentra trabajo y una recompensa, pero un antiguo compañero de cárcel se interpone en su camino.
James B. Allenbury
Cuando Loy, una diva social, calumnia al periodista Tracy, éste decide contraatacar implicando en el asunto a su prometida y al desafortunado Powell, un famosísimo pescador deportivo. El plan de Tracy incluye un matrimonio improvisado, una falsa seducción, la pesca de la trucha, puñetazos, promesas rotas...
Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria
Princess is destined to marry the Emperor, until her sister steps in.
Humphrey Craig
Tycoon Humphrey Craig is fearful that a "soak the rich" bill will pass in the United States Senate.
John Mitchell
A powerful publisher John Mitchell whose pursuit of sensational headlines at the expense of all else takes a personal toll when his daughter Joan is implicated in a murder.
Malcolm Bedford
Valette Bedford es una aristócrata sudista, dueña de una plantación, a quien su vida de comodidad se verá dinamitada por la explosión del conflicto entre sudistas e unionistas. Durante esos oscuros días de penurias y desesperación lo único que la sustentará será el amor por Duncan Bedford, su primo lejano, que es oficial de los confederados. A pesar de las incursiones yankis, Valette deberá conseguir mantener unida a su familia, a pesar que su mansión sea arrasada hasta los cimientos.
Captain Bourne
A convict marries the warder's daughter after his escape and she eventually persuades him to finish his sentence.
Daniel Van Dyke
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.
Father Brown
After notorious jewel thief Flambeau meets Evelyn Fischer during a raid on a casino, he falls deeply in love with her. Later Flambeau sends notes to both Leopold Fischer, who unknown to him is Evelyn's uncle, and Father Brown, in which he vows he will steal from them the ten diamonds that comprise the "Flying Star." Flambeau intends to give these diamonds to Evelyn. Father Brown, whose gold cross contains some of the Flying Star diamonds, is determined to meet Flambeau before he is arrested, to reform and redeem his soul.
J.L. Higgins
El señor Higgins tiene cuatro hijas y tres yernos. Cada uno de ellos gestiona una de sus empresas. Dan Brooks odia dirigir la compañía de fabricación de papel. Él prefiere dedicar su atención a su caballo de carreras "Broadway Bill". Alice, la hija preferida de Higgins, animará a Dan cuando la esposa de éste se niegue a apoyarlo en las carreras. Higgins obliga a Dan a vender su caballo y a asumir sus obligaciones en la fábrica. A pesar de ello, Dan sigue obsesionado por las carreras, y Alice se enamora de él.
Captain Helquist
El periodista alcóhólico Steve Bramley se marcha en un crucero de placer para descansar, con la esperanza de dejar de beber y escribir un libro. A bordo también viajan Schulte, un amigo de Steve, detective privado que espera atrapar a un criminal que lleva una fortuna en bonos robados. Steve empieza a beber y a observar a los viajeros, algunos de los cuales no son lo que aparentan...
Judge Daly
To improve her image, a fan dancer "adopts" an old woman to be her mother.
Viktor Nilsson
Heiress Hedda Nillson certain that her family is about to lose all its money, takes a job as a maid. After the usual trials and tribulations, Hedda falls in love with humble chauffeur Eric Landstrom.
John Forrester aka Eric Jann aka Peter Korotoff
Broadway's most successful producer, John Forrester, is deeply in love with his wife Margaret and dreams of the future when his son Jack will step into his shoes. He sails to England to produce a show but the ship strikes a derelict wreckage and is sinking rapidly. In the ensuing wild panic, Forrester saves many lives, until finally, panic stricken by sudden fear, he dons a woman's clothes and is among the rescued. On the coast of Newfouldland, the villagers, not aware of his true identity, curse him but he is befriended by Alec who helps him conceal his identity. With a planned story of his survival, he returns to New York but cannot face his family or friends after he sees the plaque to his heroism on his New York theatre. Deciding to remain thought of as dead, he becomes a derelict himself, surviving on odd jobs as he watches from afar his now-grown son begin his career as a producer.
Oliver Webb
Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) es un dramaturgo y director teatral de Broadway que goza de gran prestigio, pero que tiene un carácter insoportable. En uno de los castings conoce a una joven actriz llamada Mildred (Carole Lombard), a la que escoge como protagonista de su obra. La rebautiza con el nombre de Lily Garland, que resulta mucho más comercial y llamativo. El estreno es un éxito de crítica y público, y la actriz se convierte en una estrella de Hollywood.
Dr. Walter Selby
An able nurse clashes with a new doctor at her hospital.
Short film in which Frankie Darro as a Telegram delivery boy visits various Hollywood locations to make deliveries. He visits the Los Angeles Pier and a Gala Hollywood Premiere.
Alexander Andrews
Peter Warren, es un periodista desempleado que se topa con Ellie, la hija de un millonario que huyó del barco de Alexander Andrews, su padre, porque no acepta al hombre con el que ella se quiere casar. Peter ve la oportunidad de conseguir una buena historia, pero varios hechos acaban por crear un vínculo entre ellos.
Storm
In an exclusive Swiss school for young girls, Christa Storm discovers she is going to have a baby, and keeps the secret from everyone but her lover, David Perrin, a young medical student. Having been in the private school most of her life, she can't confide in her father whom she hardly knows and, while he wishes to but can't afford to marry her, David can't get the approval of his father.a
Sam Parker
One of ten films that Fay Wray made in 1993 (including King Kong), Master of Men casts her as Kay Walling, a woman who is being ignored by her husband, Buck (played by Jack Holt). Buck owns a prosperous steel mill and they make a very good living, but he is ambitious and wants more. To this end, he is devoting considerable amounts of time to expanding his finances -- and doing quite well. Not satisfied with his success, he journeys to New York, where his wrangling further increases his bank account. Unfortunately, his stock with his wife is dropping steadily. Jealous and unhappy, she fights back by giving one of Buck's business rivals details about what he is up to.
John Lawton
A kindly, elderly couple who run a New York City boarding house form the steady center around which the lives and loves of their various residents unfold. Borrowed money, a lovelorn chorus girl, and a tragic misunderstanding set in motion the chain of events in East of Fifth Avenue’s tender pageant of life.
Ira
Melodrama ambientado en Estados Unidos en la época de la Gran Depresión.
Count Romero
Una anciana (May Robson) mantiene correspondencia con su hija, que vive en España, y le hace creer que es una gran dama de la alta sociedad que vive en un lujoso hotel. En realidad, es una alcohólica que vive de la venta ambulante de manzanas. Cuando su hija le anuncia que irá a verla para presentarle a su novio y a su suegro, miembros de una aristocrática familia, la desesperación se apodera de ella.
Major Adair
This one has Janet Gaynor as Walter Connolly's spunky Irish daughter, whose older sister (nicely played by Margaret Lindsay) is about to marry Baxter for his money and thus retire Connolly's debts, though she loves Harvey Stephens, who is in fact infinitely more appealing than Warner Baxter.
Jones
Terminada la guerra civil china, la norteamericana Megan David (Barbara Stanwyck) llega a Shanghai para casarse con el misionero Robert Strike (Gavin Gordon), pero es secuestrada por el general Yen (Nils Asther).
Bill Holt
Despite loving another man, a young woman is talked into marrying a wealthy and boorish prince in order to help her financially-strapped father.
Mossie Ennis
Johnny McCloud, a tough police inspector given more to fisticuffs than investigating has the hots for torch-singer Lola Parker, but Miss Parker is much taken with a good-looking crook named George Perry. This does not bother McCloud, as he not only gets his man behind bars but takes the man's woman also.
Senator Wylie
Button Gwinett Brown is a freshman congressman on a mission to rid Washington of corruption. He quickly runs afoul of the powerful Senator Norton...
