Roland Winters
Nacimiento : 1904-11-22, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Muerte : 1989-10-22
Historia
Roland Winters (born Roland Winternitz) was an American actor who played many character parts in films and television but today is best remembered for portraying Charlie Chan in six films in the late 1940s.
Monogram Pictures eventually selected Winters to replace Sidney Toler in the Charlie Chan film series. Winters was 44 when he made the first of his six Chan films, The Chinese Ring in 1947 and ending with Charlie Chan and the Sky Dragon (also known as Sky Dragon) in 1949. His other Chan films were "Docks of New Orleans", "Shanghai Chest", "The Golden Eye" and "The Feathered Serpent". He also had character roles in three other feature films while he worked on the Chan series.
Yunte Huang, in Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History, noted differences in the actors' appearances, especially that Winters' "tall nose simply could not be made to look Chinese." Huang also cited the actor's age, writing, "at the age of forty-four, he also looked too young to resemble a seasoned Chinese sage."
In contrast to Huang, Ken Hanke wrote in his book, Charlie Chan at the Movies: History, Filmography, and Criticism, "Roland Winters has never received his due ... Winters brought with him a badly needed breath of fresh air to the series." He cited "the richness of the approach and the verve with which the series was being tackled" during the Winters era." Similarly, Howard M. Berlin, in his book, Charlie Chan's Words of Wisdom, commented that "Winters brought a much needed breath of fresh air to the flagging film series with his self-mocking, semi-satirical interpretation of Charlie, which is very close to the Charlie Chan in Biggers' novels."
After the series finished, Winters continued to work in film and television until 1982. He was in the movies So Big and Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, played Elvis' father in Blue Hawaii and a judge in the Elvis film Follow That Dream. He made appearances as the boss on the early TV series Meet Millie as the boss and the courtroom drama Perry Mason. In one episode of the Bewitched TV series, he played the normally unseen McMann of McMann and Tate. He also portrayed Mr. Gimbel in Miracle on 34th Street in 1973.
Judge Bland
An adaptation of Thomas Wolfe's literary classic, telling of the struggles of a young writer determined to be a success in New York's literary world of the 1920s, his married lover, and the brilliant editor who sees him as a blossoming genius. The story parallels the life of Wolfe himself and his affair with stage designer Aline Bernstein.
Mr. Gimbel
A department store Santa tries to convince a little girl who doesn't believe in Santa Claus that he is Santa Claus, and winds up going on trial to prove who he is.
Plommie
Brooks Wilson is in crisis. He is torn between his wife Selma and two daughters and his mistress Grace, and also between his career as a successful illustrator and his feeling that he might still produce something worthwhile.
Watkins
An aging doctor in a small town decides to pack up his little black bag, but when a young doctor assumes his practice, the older practitioner can't resist butting in with comic results.
Henry Drummond
A timid man with money problems gets into a big card game with some high-rollers.
Judge
Los Kwimper se disponen a pasar sus vacaciones en una playa de Florida; allí conocerán a los dueños de una propiedad idónea para practicar la pesca. El azar los llevará al negocio del alquiler de embarcaciones para los amantes de esta actividad, aunque la competencia intentará desbaratar su floreciente negocio. (FILMAFFINITY)
Capt. Bollinger
Dos marineros suben a escondidas un pato hablador a su barco, lo cual produce toda una serie de complicaciones.
Fred Gates
Tras servir al ejército de su país, el joven Chad Gates regresa a Honolulu. Chad demuestra muy poco interés en el negocio familiar, él prefiere trabajar como guía turístico. Esto le permite cantar y bailar, que es lo que a él le gusta, y sobre todo, estar junto a las mujeres más hermosas de Hawai.
An ordinary girl's life is radically changed by the mistaken receipt of a $60,000 strand of pearls.
The General (Piet Wetjoen)
Theodore Hickman, a hardware salesman, makes by-yearly visits to Harry Hope's 1910-era waterfront bar for his periodical drinking binges. But on this visit he has decided to try to save the bar's patrons from their "lying pipe dreams."
Gen. Andrew Danvers
Adaptación de una novela de Cameron Hawley (""La torre de los ambiciosos""), en la que se plantea el conflicto de un ambicioso empresario que debe elegir entre sus intereses finacieros y sus intereses sentimentales. La apagada realización impide que aflore convenientemente la vena melodramática subyacente en la historia, limitándose a una fría ilustración de un guión no demasiado brillante.
Doctor
Director Charles Lederer's 1959 musical stars James Cagney as an unscrupulous longshoreman who'll resort to every dirty trick in the book to win his union's presidency.
Col. Sokolov
Un reactor ruso invade territorio americano y, a través del radar, detectan que necesita aterrizar por falta de combustible. Cuando el piloto sale del avión, descubren llenos de asombro que se trata de una bella mujer.
Sen. Burdick
Una famosa periodista, dueña del periódico, usa su publicación y sus encantos para hacer descarrilar la vertiginosa carrera de un general hacia Washington.
Dr. Ruric
Debido a una rara enfermedad, Ed Avery debe tomar una droga en experimentación que le provoca alteraciones mentales que repercutirán en su trabajo como profesor y en sus relaciones familiares.
Klaas Pool
Después de la muerte de su padre y la pérdida de su fortuna, Selina trabaja en una escuela de enseñanza en la comunidad holandesa de New Holland. Ella se queda con las piscinas y enseña al joven piano Roelf. Él está enamorado de ella, pero es con Pervus con quien se casa. Dirk es su único hijo. Después de unos años, Pervus muere. Con un niño pequeño y solo en la granja, Selina comienza su búsqueda para cultivar vegetales de alta calidad. Ella quiere más para Dirk y guía su vida hasta que él se gradúe de la universidad como arquitecto. A medida que su etiqueta de verduras prospera, ella ve a Paula controlar la vida de Dirk mientras él se aleja de la creación y entra en ventas, que no es a donde él quiere ir.
Fred Copeland
La historia, narrada en clave de comedia, habla de un matrimonio en crisis: mientras él enseña en la universidad, en donde ponen el grito en el cielo por sus métodos de enseñanza, ella se encapricha de un jovenzuelo.
Dr. Graham
La biografía del valiente campeón de golf Ben Hogan.
Sheriff Perigord
Raton Pass is a curious western based on the rules of Community Property. Dennis Morgan and Patricia Neal portray a recently married husband and wife, each of whom owns half of a huge cattle ranch. Neal is a tad more ambitious than her husband, and with the help of a little legal chicanery she tries to obtain Morgan's half of the spread. He balks, so she hires a few gunslingers to press the issue. In a 1951 western, the greedy party usually came to a sorry end; Raton Pass adheres strictly to tradition.
Alexander Tomson
A tycoon rises to the top in 19th-century San Francisco through greed and corruption.
Sam Cooper
When young Johnny York witnesses the murder of his father, he joins a travelling variety troupe and trains up as a sharpshooter so he might one day get his revenge.
Harry Eberhart
A Broadway director helps the West Point cadets put on a show, aided by two lovely ladies and assorted complications.
Dwight Barrington
Mike Brannan (Clark Gable) es un arrogante corredor de coches que despierta el odio o la admiración del público. Su mala reputación se la ganó tras ser acusado de provocar un accidente fatal durante una carrera. Decidida a comprobar qué hay de cierto en todo ello, la dura columnista Regina Forbes (Barbara Stanwyck) trata de entrevistarlo, pero él se niega.
Leo Cusick
Dos policías, enamorados de la hija de un colega asesinado, rivalizan por capturar al culpable de su muerte con el objeto de acreditar méritos ante los ojos de la muchacha.
Vernon Bradley, Attorney
Joe Hufford ha cometido un homicidio accidental. Debido a las implicaciones políticas del suceso, la pena que le imponen es más grave que en circunstancias normales. Ya en prisión empieza a comprobar la crueldad que allí se respira, pero todo empeora cuando el fiscal que le condenó es nombrado director del penal.
Stanley Becker
Después de ser despedido del periódico donde trabaja, Mike Reese se hace socio de un pequeño periódico de provincias en donde intenta poner en práctica los métodos de la prensa de la gran ciudad. Un asesinato en el que está envuelto un magnate de la prensa será la oportunidad perfecta para sus planes.
Jeffrey White
A college student takes a break and goes out to sea with his father, the captain of a shark-hunting boat. When his inexperience results in an accident in which his father and a crewman are badly injured, he tries to make up for it by rounding up another crew and going back out on the hunt. However, things don't turn out quite the way he planned.
Manfredo Acuto
Terminada la Segunda Guerra Mundial (1939-1945), el capitán norteamericano Webster Carey regresa a un pequeño pueblo italiano, donde, en una emboscada, perdió a su amada y a los soldados de su batallón. Su propósito es investigar quiénes fueron los responsables de aquella trampa mortal
Soviet Comissar Belov
Basada en las crónicas escritas por los corresponsales extranjeros destinados en Hungría, a finales de los años 40, y por los propios escritos del cardenal József Mindszenty sobre este período tan trágico de su vida.
Bruno Gruber
El idealista John Roger es reclutado para conseguir el caucho que los Estados Unidos necesitan para afrontar la guerra. Para ello, tendrá que ponerse en contacto con Carnahan, un contrabandista encarcelado en Alcatraz. Liberado Carnahan, ambos irán a la península de Malaca, que está ocupada por los japoneses.
Jerry McKay
A cop-turned-bail bondsman gets involved in a murder investigation.
Col. Head
An actor is recalled to active duty with the Army's C.I.D. to find the thief who stole historical jewels in occupied Germany and the trail leads to the boyfriend of a young debutante from Bel Air.
T. Hanley Brooks
Abbot es un detective, y Costello el botones de un hotel. Cuando uno de los huéspedes, Amos Strickland, es asesinado, se descubre que todos tenían motivos para querer desear su muerte. Pero el principal sospechoso del crimen es Costello.
Charlie Chan
All the passengers on an airplane headed for San Francisco are drugged, and when they wake up, it is discovered that a quarter-million dollars is missing. Charlie Chan--and, of course, his #1 son--must discover the identity of the person who doped the passengers and stole the money.
E.J. Ransom
Hoping to become a lawyer, Alec (Roddy McDowall) becomes a tuna fisherman in order to pay a debt. This turn of events puts Alec on the outs with his taciturn family. Eventually, the lad proves himself on all fronts, and is welcomed back into the family fold.
Charlie Chan
In order to learn the location of a fabled Aztec treasure, a professor kidnaps his colleague, the only man able to read the ancient Aztec script that is supposed to reveal the location of the treasure. Charlie Chan and his #1 and #2 sons journey to the jungles of Mexico to find the victim and bring the kidnapper and his gang to justice.
Capt. Hoseason
In Scotland in 1752, seventeen-year-old David Balfour is cheated out of his birthright by his evil uncle Ebenezer.
Colonel Wood
Tierna y simpática comedia al más puro estilo norteamericano, que narra cómo una encantadora jovencita está totalmente convencida de que su caballo es en realidad la reencarnación de su tío Willie.
Ledbetter
Un astuto y peligroso delincuente que ha matado a un policía es perseguido por un teniente de homicidios que fue su compañero de juegos durante la infancia, cuando ambos vivían en el barrio italiano (Little Italy) de Nueva York.
Charlie Chan
A gold mine in Arizona, that was formerly losing a lot of money, suddenly turns into a veritable money-making machine. However, the owner, instead of being happy about his now profitable business, insists to Charlie that something is fishy and that someone is out to murder him. Charlie and his "crew" travel to the mine, pretending to be tourists staying at a nearby dude ranch so as not to arouse suspicion, and discover that the owner may well be right--it looks like the mine is being used as a cover for criminal activities, and that someone is indeed out to murder him.
Charlie Chan
Charlie attempts to solve a triple murder in which a dead man's finger prints show up at all three murder sites, and all three victims were connected with the conviction and execution of an evidently innocent man.
Charlie Chan
Detective Charlie Chan springs into action when top officials of a New Orleans chemical company begin dropping like flies.
Charlie Chan
Soon after a Chinese princess comes to the US to buy planes for her people, she is murdered by a poison dart fired by an air rifle.
Newspaperman at Trenton Town Hall (uncredited)
Un importante financiero estadounidense, Charles Foster Kane, dueño de una importante cadena de periódicos, de una red de emisoras, de dos sindicatos y de una inimaginable colección de obras de arte, muere en su fabuloso castillo de estilo oriental, Xanadú. La última palabra que pronuncia al expirar es Rosebud. El país entero y la prensa en general quedan intrigados por saber el significado de esta palabra. Para descubrirlo, un grupo de periodistas se pone a investigar.
