William Stack

William Stack

Born: March 5, 1882
Died: January 15, 1949
in Baker, Oregon, USA
William Stack has been often mistaken as British in the scant bio information available on him - he could imitate many a British accent. He was actually born in Oregon. But like many Americans who wished to become serious stage actors and seeing New York as overly competitive, he went to London as a young man. Not much is known about his career there, but with many theaters (almost fifty) and companies around, the opportunities for a talented young man were there. From the craze for post cards with the subject of photos - and especially those of actors that ensued between about 1890 and 1914, there exist pictures of Stack as Hamlet. So Stack did find initial success, and by 1918 he tried his hand in the budding British silent film industry with not much initial interest - just one film that year and another in 1922, then back to the stage.

But by 1930 Stack was back in America - and not to Broadway (perhaps in a touring company, but at least not on record as a principal), as was a stage actor's usual course. He did end up in early Hollywood sound pictures - those with marginal sound quality - first with Fredric March as the star in Sarah and Son (1930). With a rich stage actor's voice and accents to apply where needed - and appreciated as audio technology improved - he appeared in from four to ramping up to as many as ten pictures per year through the 1930s. Moving into his 50s, bald and dignified, his roles were focused as featured character pieces - assured doctors, lawyers, judges, nobles, and several butlers. He was one of the Crawley clan in Becky Sharp (1935), the first feature-length three-color film. He perhaps gained press from being in one movie of some scandalous notoriety - Tarzan and His Mate (1934) in which Maureen O'Sullivan appeared to swim nude (somebody else in a body stocking). Although he had a few lines as a white hunter, in this and other films (of note, MGM's first and most famous version of Mutiny on the Bounty, 1935), Stack was not credited for his always believable characterizations.

The year 1936 provided Stack with some his most memorable historical roles. He played the French general Montcalm of the French and Indian War in the popular The Last of the Mohicans (1936) with Randolph Scott. The same year he played a much richer character in the film adaptation of the play Mary of Scotland (1936) directed by John Ford. Along with an assemblage of some of the best character actors of Hollywood, Stack played one among a rogues' gallery of self-seeking Scottish lords who included: Robert Barrat, Gavin Muir (another American who spent time in England and was often thought to be British), and Ian Keith. Stack is able to be most Shakespearean, vying in Scottish brogue with his fellow conspirators as the sly Lord Ruthven. Although Stack appeared in many of the best A pictures of the later 1930s, many did not give credit for his great acting skills. There were only a few movies into the 1940s, before he retired - leaving film history all the richer for his screen presence.

Movies for William Stack...

Among the Living
Title: Among the Living
Character: Minister
Released: December 12, 1941
Type: Movie
A mentally unstable man, who has been kept in isolation for years, escapes and causes trouble for his identical twin brother.
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So Ends Our Night
Title: So Ends Our Night
Character: Professor Meyer
Released: February 27, 1941
Type: Movie
An anti-Nazi on the run and a young Jewish couple race across Europe trying to escape Hitler's ever powerful influence.
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The Lady in Question
Title: The Lady in Question
Character: Mr. Marinier (uncredited)
Released: August 7, 1940
Type: Movie
When a jury member takes in the defendant he couldn't convict, she has a bad influence on his son.
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The Earl of Chicago
Title: The Earl of Chicago
Character: Coroner (uncredited)
Released: January 5, 1940
Type: Movie
A behind the times Chicago bootlegger goes to England with his lawyer to claim his estate as the Earl of Gorley.
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Gone with the Wind
Title: Gone with the Wind
Character: Minister (uncredited)
Released: December 15, 1939
Type: Movie
The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era.
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A Criminal Is Born
Title: A Criminal Is Born
Character: Judge Charles Edwin Marshall (uncredited)
Released: June 5, 1938
Type: Movie
An entry in MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series, this short tells the true story of how a young man, ignored by his parents, gets into a gang and starts a crime spree which leads to murder.
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Four Men and a Prayer
Title: Four Men and a Prayer
Character: Prosecuting Attorney
Released: April 29, 1938
Type: Movie
The sons of a disgraced British officer try to clear his name.
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Man-Proof
Title: Man-Proof
Character: Minister
Released: January 7, 1938
Type: Movie
A newspaper illustrator tries to remain best friends with the man she secretly loves, even though he recently married another woman.
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Captains Courageous
Title: Captains Courageous
Character: Elliott (uncredited)
Released: June 25, 1937
Type: Movie
Harvey, the arrogant and spoiled son of an indulgent absentee-father, falls overboard from a transatlantic steamship and is rescued by a fishing vessel on the Grand Banks. Harvey fails to persuade them to take him ashore, nor convince the crew of his wealth. The captain offers him a low-paid job, until they return to port, as part of the crew that turns him into a mature, considerate young man.
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The Soldier and the Lady
Title: The Soldier and the Lady
Character: Grand Duke
Released: April 9, 1937
Type: Movie
In the face of rebellion in Russia, Czar Alexander II sends soldier Michael Strogoff 2,000 miles away, with a critical message for Grand Duke Vladimir. On the train journey, Michael befriends a traveler and comes into contact with a mysterious spy, who both unexpectedly aid him in his quest. Once behind enemy lines, Michael is near his hometown and his mother, whom he must avoid in order to fulfill his mission.
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History Is Made at Night
Title: History Is Made at Night
Released: March 5, 1937
Type: Movie
An American woman falls in love with a romantic Parisian head waiter who tries to save her from her possessive wealthy ex-husband who wants to keep her under his control.
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Criminal Lawyer
Title: Criminal Lawyer
Character: District Attorney Hopkins
Released: January 29, 1937
Type: Movie
Barry Brandon, a criminal lawyer, visits the night club of Denny Larkin, his primary client, with Betty Walker, a spoiled society girl. The police raid the club and Brandon pleads that the whole group is guilty, just to get even with Larkin for a rebuke. On the same night in court, Madge Carter is on trial for disorderly conduct, and Brandon volunteers to defend her, and proves the case against her if a frame-up. Finding that she is penniless, Brandon hires her as his secretary, and falls in love with her. Brandon is appointed district attorney and has ambitions of becoming the state governor. Having dinner at Betty's home, she maneuvers him, while he is drunk, into marrying her. Later, Madge is a witness when Larkin shoots down a fellow gangster. By threatening Brandon's life, he forces her to commit perjury at his trial, and say he fired in self-defense. Brandon, the prosecuting attorney (who has had his marriage to Betty annulled) knows she is lying but doesn't know why.
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Stowaway
Title: Stowaway
Character: Alfred Kruikshank
Released: December 25, 1936
Type: Movie
Chin-Ching gets lost in Shanghai and is befriended by American playboy Tommy Randall. She falls asleep in his car which winds up on a ship headed for America. Susan Parker, also on the ship, marries Randall to give Chin-Ching a family.
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Pennies from Heaven
Title: Pennies from Heaven
Character: Clarence B. Carmichael
Released: November 25, 1936
Type: Movie
Larry Poole, in prison on a false charge, promises an inmate that when he gets out he will look up and help out a family. The family turns out to be a young girl, Patsy Smith, and her elderly grandfather who need lots of help. This delays Larry from following his dream and going to Venice and becoming a gondolier. Instead, he becomes a street singer and, while singing in the street, meets a pretty welfare worker, Susan Sprague. She takes a dim view of Patsy's welfare under the guardianship of Larry and her grandfather and starts proceedings to have Patsy placed in an orphanage.
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Libeled Lady
Title: Libeled Lady
Character: Editor (uncredited)
Released: October 9, 1936
Type: Movie
When a major newspaper accuses wealthy socialite Connie Allenbury of being a home-wrecker, and she files a multi-million-dollar libel lawsuit, the publication's frazzled head editor, Warren Haggerty, must find a way to turn the tables on her. Soon Haggerty's harried fiancée, Gladys Benton, and his dashing friend Bill Chandler are in on a scheme that aims to discredit Connie, with amusing and unexpected results.
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His Brother's Wife
Title: His Brother's Wife
Character: Winters
Released: August 7, 1936
Type: Movie
Epidemiologist Cliff Claybourne falls in love with Rita Wilson in a gambling house. They want to marry but Cliff's brother is convinced Rita is no good and forces Cliff to fulfill his agreement to do research in Africa in exchange for paying gambling debt. Rita, Cliff and brother are furious with each other, but Rita and Cliff are still in love.
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Mary of Scotland
Title: Mary of Scotland
Character: Ruthven
Released: July 28, 1936
Type: Movie
The recently widowed Mary Stuart returns to Scotland to reclaim her throne but is opposed by her half-brother and her own Scottish lords.
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The Last of the Mohicans
Title: The Last of the Mohicans
Character: General Montcalm
Released: July 2, 1936
Type: Movie
The story is set in the British province of New York during the French and Indian War, and concerns—in part—a Huron massacre (with passive French acquiescence) of between 500 to 1,500 Anglo-American troops, who had honorably surrendered at Fort William Henry, plus some women and servants; the kidnapping of two sisters, daughters of the British commander; and their rescue by the last Mohicans.
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Mutiny on the Bounty
Title: Mutiny on the Bounty
Character: Judge Advocate (uncredited)
Released: November 22, 1935
Type: Movie
Fletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. However, Bligh returns one year later, hell bent on revenge.
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The Perfect Gentleman
Title: The Perfect Gentleman
Character: Sir Percy Phillips (uncredited)
Released: November 22, 1935
Type: Movie
A strait-laced country vicar is very embarrassed by his father's naughty exploits with a lively actress.
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Becky Sharp
Title: Becky Sharp
Character: Pitt Crawley
Released: June 28, 1935
Type: Movie
The first feature length film to use three-strip Technicolor film. Adapted from a play that was adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's book "Vanity Fair", the film looks at the English class system during the Napoleonic Wars era.
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College Scandal
Title: College Scandal
Character: Dr. Henri Fresnel
Released: June 21, 1935
Type: Movie
Julie Fresnel is a co-ed at Redgate University and her father, Dr. Henri Fresnel, is the new French professor. Julie attraction from the make students drops a bit when two of her admirers are found murdered. When an attempt on the life of a third one is made. Seth Dunlap, an instructor at the school, decides to turn detective and find the killer. Assisted by his sister, who is in love with the third student, Dunlap begins to follow the the small trail of clues left by the killer.
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I've Been Around
Title: I've Been Around
Character: Doctor
Released: March 5, 1935
Type: Movie
Romantic problems of a society girl and an engineer.
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The Winning Ticket
Title: The Winning Ticket
Character: Jeffries
Released: February 8, 1935
Type: Movie
A barber tries to find the winning lottery ticket he hid from his moralistic wife.
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Hell in the Heavens
Title: Hell in the Heavens
Character: Capt. Andre De Laage
Released: December 12, 1934
Type: Movie
During World War I, an American pilot vows to bring down the German ace responsible for his friend's death.
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What Every Woman Knows
Title: What Every Woman Knows
Character: Tenterden, Sybil's Brother (uncredited)
Released: October 18, 1934
Type: Movie
Aspiring young Scottish politician John Shand enters into an unusual agreement with the wealthy Wylie family -- if they fund his education, he must marry their daughter, Maggie. Staying true to his word, John weds Maggie and begins a successful career, thanks largely to his savvy wife. The couple's relationship is placed in jeopardy when John faces temptation in the form of the lovely aristocrat Lady Sybil Tenterden.
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Chained
Title: Chained
Character: James (uncredited)
Released: August 31, 1934
Type: Movie
Richard, a millionaire in love with his secretary, Diane, is dispirited when his wife refuses to divorce him. Concerned that Diane will now lose interest, Richard offers her an all-expense-paid cruise to Argentina so that she can think it over. While traveling, however, Diane falls in love with fellow traveler Mike. She resolves to come clean to Richard, but upon return she becomes conflicted when she finds out he was able to get divorced after all.
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The Fountain
Title: The Fountain
Character: Commandant
Released: August 22, 1934
Type: Movie
Set during the first World War in neutral, but pro-German, Holland, Lewis Allison, an interned British officer, is paroled to the castle of Baron Von Leyden and finds living there, but now married to German officer Rupert Von Narwitz, his childhood sweetheart Julie. Long discussions between Julie and Allison, centering on family conflicts that kept them apart, take place before the severely wounded Von Narwitz returns to the castle and more long discussions ensue.
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Manhattan Melodrama
Title: Manhattan Melodrama
Character: Judge (uncredited)
Released: May 4, 1934
Type: Movie
The friendship between two orphans endures even though they grow up on opposite sides of the law and fall in love with the same woman.
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Charlie Chan's Greatest Case
Title: Charlie Chan's Greatest Case
Character: James Eagan
Released: September 14, 1933
Type: Movie
When a good-for-nothing man named Dan is stabbed to death and his arm broken, Charlie Chan is on the case. His first clue comes from the victim's sister, who noticed a prowler wearing a glow-in-the-dark wristwatch.
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Penthouse
Title: Penthouse
Character: Rutherford (uncredited)
Released: September 8, 1933
Type: Movie
Gertie Waxted knows how notorious gangster Jim Crelliman runs his rackets, because she's long been under the hoodlum's thumb. She's secretly helping lawyer Jackson Durant in a snoop job aimed at pinning a murder on the thug. Her life will be in peril when that secret gets out.
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Parachute Jumper
Title: Parachute Jumper
Character: Maitre D' (uncredited)
Released: January 28, 1933
Type: Movie
An Air Force washout and his buddy room with a pretty young lady. Desperate for jobs during the Depression, they finally land employment with the mob.
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Payment Deferred
Title: Payment Deferred
Character: A Doctor
Released: November 1, 1932
Type: Movie
Bank clerk William Marble is desperate for money to pay his family's bills. When his wealthy nephew visits, Marble asks him for a loan, but the young man refuses. Marble decides to kill his nephew. It is a twisted path to justice after Marble is transformed by the crime he committed and the wealth he gains.
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Son of India
Title: Son of India
Character: Polo Club President (uncredited)
Released: August 1, 1931
Type: Movie
An Indian jewel merchant goes from penniless to wealthy in this story about gratitude.
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The Right to Love
Title: The Right to Love
Character: Dr. Fowler
Released: December 27, 1930
Type: Movie
A woman becomes estranged from her daughter when the girl learns that she is illegitimate.
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Romance
Title: Romance
Character: Gossiping Party Guest (uncredited)
Released: August 20, 1930
Type: Movie
A beautiful opera star kept by a rich older man falls in love with a young clergyman.
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Sarah and Son
Title: Sarah and Son
Character: Cyril Belloc
Released: March 14, 1930
Type: Movie
A ne'er-do-well husband, after years of abusing his wife, disappears with their son, and winds up selling him to a wealthy family. Years later, the wife, now a world-famous opera singer, finally has enough time and money to begin a search for him.