Margaret Callahan

Margaret Callahan

Born: August 12, 1910
Died: November 15, 1981
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Not to be mistaken for a stage actress of that name (1890-1947), this Margaret Callahan (August 12, 1910 - November 15, 1981) was a convent-educated beauty of Irish ancestry who found herself briefly thrust into the spotlight as one of those many ornamental 1930s Hollywood ingénues. First on stage with the Stuart Walker stock company in Cincinnati, then in summer stock on Long Island, she eventually made it to Broadway in 1934 and was near top-billed in a couple of short-lived plays. Having attracted the attention of talent scouts, Margaret was signed by RKO the following year to star in Hot Tip (1935) (an agreeable racing comedy with Zasu Pitts and James Gleason), His Family Tree (1935) (a trite farce which invoked every Irish cliche in the book and flopped at the box-office) and Seven Keys to Baldpate (1935) (another remake of the classic, featuring Margaret as Gene Raymond's love interest). Easily the best of her sextet of films (despite its title) was the detective mystery Muss 'em Up (1936), a cleverly scripted minor film noir of the Raymond Chandler/Dashiell Hammett hard-boiled school, directed with some flair by Charles Vidor. Margaret co-starred opposite Preston Foster as the gal who sends the telegram which effectively puts events into motion. Her penultimate outing was Special Investigator (1936), another crime drama based on a story by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. It starred Richard Dix as a criminal defense attorney, the ever-versatile character actor J. Carrol Naish as a vicious gangster boss and Margaret as the latter's sister. Since the picture made a healthy profit of $91,000 at the box office, one cannot help wondering why Margaret's film career ended so abruptly after her swansong in a forgotten second feature western. The year 1941 saw her back on Broadway as star of the Lillian Hellman play Cuckoos of the Hearth at the Morosco Theatre. In 1944, she appeared in Ramshackle Inn, by that time no longer a headliner. After that, she faded from the scene.

Movies for Margaret Callahan...

The Last Outlaw
Title: The Last Outlaw
Character: Sally Mason
Released: June 19, 1936
Type: Movie
After serving 25 years in prison for robbery, Dean Payton returns to his home town to see his daughter, Sally, who is unaware he is her father. He befriends Cal Yates, the now semi-retired assistant sheriff who originally caught him, and Chuck Wilson, a young rancher who has eyes for Sally. Wanted criminal Al Goss holds up the local bank and makes his getaway, taking Sally hostage. Showing he still has what it takes, Payton, along with Yates and Wilson, take off into the hills on horseback to try to track Goss down. - Written by Doug Sederberg
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Special Investigator
Title: Special Investigator
Character: Virginia Selton
Released: May 8, 1936
Type: Movie
A lawyer changes from defending public enemies to bringing them to justice after his brother is killed.
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Muss 'em Up
Title: Muss 'em Up
Character: Amy Hutchins
Released: February 13, 1936
Type: Movie
Famous private detective Tip O'Neil is summoned by telegram to the estate of old friend Paul Harding, but finds the telegram was sent by Paul's attractive secretary, Amy Hutchins. Paul admits his dog was shot by extortionists to show they mean business, and shows Tip some threatening notes they sent. That night, Paul's ward, Corinne, is kidnapped by two gangsters and her driver is found dead the next morning. The kidnappers contact Tip demanding $200,000, which is delivered according to instructions. Awaiting the return of Corrine, Tip learns her fiancé, Gene Leland, is an ex-convict, and he also investigates why a thug, Maratti, was found prowling around the grounds, and why Paul's brother-in-law, Jim Glenray, was seen leaving the estate late the night before. And when the chauffeur is murdered with Amy's gun as he was about to confess some complicity, Tip has to piece together various clues to pinpoint the culprits.
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Seven Keys to Baldpate
Title: Seven Keys to Baldpate
Character: Mary Norton
Released: December 13, 1935
Type: Movie
A writer, looking for some peace and quiet in order to finish a novel, takes a room at the Baldpate Inn. However, peace and quiet are the last things he gets, as there are some very strange goings-on at the establishment.
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His Family Tree
Title: His Family Tree
Character: Elinor Murfree
Released: September 29, 1935
Type: Movie
A father leaves his native Ireland and travels to America to visit the son he hasn't heard from in many years.
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Hot Tip
Title: Hot Tip
Character: Jane McGill
Released: August 20, 1935
Type: Movie
An amateur handicapper must help his future son-in-law recoup the money he lost while playing the ponies.