Walter Connolly

Walter Connolly

Born: April 8, 1887
Died: May 28, 1940
in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
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.

Movies for Walter Connolly...

Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
Title: Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: April 19, 1975
Type: Movie
Ossie Davis narrates a history of "race films," films made before 1950 which catered to a primarily black audience.
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The Great Victor Herbert
Title: The Great Victor Herbert
Character: Victor Herbert
Released: December 29, 1939
Type: Movie
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.
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5th Ave Girl
Title: 5th Ave Girl
Character: Mr. Borden
Released: September 22, 1939
Type: Movie
A wealthy man hires a poor girl to play his mistress in order to get more attention from his neglectful family.
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Those High Grey Walls
Title: Those High Grey Walls
Character: Dr. MacAuley
Released: September 21, 1939
Type: Movie
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.
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Coast Guard
Title: Coast Guard
Character: Tobias Bliss
Released: August 4, 1939
Type: Movie
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.
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Good Girls Go to Paris
Title: Good Girls Go to Paris
Character: Olaf Brand
Released: June 20, 1939
Type: Movie
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.
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Bridal Suite
Title: Bridal Suite
Character: Dr. Theodore Grauer
Released: May 26, 1939
Type: Movie
A carefree playboy with an aversion to marriage falls for a lass he meets in the French Alps.
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Title: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Character: The 'King'
Released: February 10, 1939
Type: Movie
Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.
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Breakdowns of 1938
Title: Breakdowns of 1938
Character: Carter Hibbard (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: December 31, 1938
Type: Movie
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1938.
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The Girl Downstairs
Title: The Girl Downstairs
Character: Mr. Brown
Released: December 23, 1938
Type: Movie
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.
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Too Hot to Handle
Title: Too Hot to Handle
Character: Gabby MacArthur
Released: September 16, 1938
Type: Movie
While in Shanghai reporting on the Sino-Japanese war, Chris Hunter, a shrewd news reporter, meets pilot Alma Harding. She does not trust him, but he manages to hire her as his assistant. During an adventurous expedition through the jungles of South America, her opinion of him begins to change.
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Four's a Crowd
Title: Four's a Crowd
Character: John P. Dillingwell
Released: August 4, 1938
Type: Movie
A public relations man falls for his most difficult client's granddaughter.
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Start Cheering
Title: Start Cheering
Character: Sam Lewis
Released: March 3, 1938
Type: Movie
After retiring from movies to get an education, a man discovers his ex-staff is trying to have him expelled.
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Penitentiary
Title: Penitentiary
Character: Dist. Atty. Thomas Mathews
Released: February 5, 1938
Type: Movie
The story of a D.A. who becomes a prison warden and winds up overseeing the sentence of a man he prosecuted.
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First Lady
Title: First Lady
Character: Carter Hibbard
Released: December 4, 1937
Type: Movie
A politician's wife plots for her husband to become the next U.S. President.
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Nothing Sacred
Title: Nothing Sacred
Character: Oliver Stone
Released: November 25, 1937
Type: Movie
When a small-town girl is incorrectly diagnosed with a rare, deadly disease, an unknowing newspaper columnist turns her into a national heroine.
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The Good Earth
Title: The Good Earth
Character: Uncle
Released: June 2, 1937
Type: Movie
China, during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The arranged marriage between Wang Lung, a humble farmer, and O-Lan, a domestic slave, will endure the many hardships of life over the years; but the temptations of a fragile prosperity will endanger their love and the survival of their entire family.
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The League of Frightened Men
Title: The League of Frightened Men
Character: Nero Wolfe
Released: May 25, 1937
Type: Movie
Nero Wolfe agrees to investigate a series of murders that seem to be tied in with a past Harvard hazing prank that went awry.
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Let's Get Married
Title: Let's Get Married
Character: Joe Quinn
Released: April 14, 1937
Type: Movie
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
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Nancy Steele Is Missing!
Title: Nancy Steele Is Missing!
Character: Michael Steele
Released: March 12, 1937
Type: Movie
After being in jail for seventeen years a crook is met by the girl he kidnapped as a baby. She now thinks he's her father. When he returns her to her real father there's a job and a reward, but an old prisonmate gets in the way.
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Libeled Lady
Title: Libeled Lady
Character: James B. Allenbury
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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The King Steps Out
Title: The King Steps Out
Character: Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria
Released: May 27, 1936
Type: Movie
Princess is destined to marry the Emperor, until her sister steps in.
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The Music Goes 'Round
Title: The Music Goes 'Round
Character: Hector Courtney
Released: February 27, 1936
Type: Movie
Harry Wallace (Harry Richman) is the star of a musical comedy who, while on a leave of absence from Broadway, encounters a troupe of untalented showboat players and takes them to New York City. Without letting them in on the joke, he then features them in a new revue, hoping that unintentionally-funny act will bring the house down.
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Soak the Rich
Title: Soak the Rich
Character: Humphrey Craig
Released: January 17, 1936
Type: Movie
Tycoon Humphrey Craig is fearful that a "soak the rich" bill will pass in the United States Senate.
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White Lies
Title: White Lies
Character: John Mitchell
Released: December 27, 1935
Type: Movie
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.
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So Red the Rose
Title: So Red the Rose
Character: Malcolm Bedford
Released: December 20, 1935
Type: Movie
During the American Civil War, Valette Bedford waits patiently for her husband Duncan Bedford, to return home, praying that she will not become a widow.
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One Way Ticket
Title: One Way Ticket
Character: Captain Bourne
Released: November 25, 1935
Type: Movie
A convict marries the warder's daughter after his escape and she eventually persuades him to finish his sentence.
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She Couldn't Take It
Title: She Couldn't Take It
Character: Daniel Van Dyke
Released: October 8, 1935
Type: Movie
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.
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Father Brown, Detective
Title: Father Brown, Detective
Character: Father Brown
Released: December 14, 1934
Type: Movie
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.
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Broadway Bill
Title: Broadway Bill
Character: J.L. Higgins
Released: November 30, 1934
Type: Movie
Tycoon J.L. Higgins controls his whole family, but one of his sons- in-law, Dan Brooks and his daughter Alice are fed up with that. Brooks quits his job as manager of J.L.'s paper box factory and devotes his life to his racing horse Broadway Bill, but his bank- roll is thin and the luck is against him, he is arrested because of $150 he owes somebody for horse food, but suddenly a planed fraud by somebody else seems to offer him a chance...
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The Captain Hates the Sea
Title: The Captain Hates the Sea
Character: Captain Helquist
Released: November 2, 1934
Type: Movie
Alcoholic newspaperman Steve Bramley boards the San Capador for a restful cruise, hoping to quit drinking and begin writing a book. Also on board are Steve's friend Schulte, a private detective hoping to nab criminal Danny Checkett with a fortune in stolen bonds. Steve begins drinking, all the while observing the various stories of other passengers on board, several of whom turn out not to be who they seem to be.
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Lady by Choice
Title: Lady by Choice
Character: Judge Daly
Released: October 15, 1934
Type: Movie
To improve her image, a fan dancer "adopts" an old woman to be her mother.
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Servants' Entrance
Title: Servants' Entrance
Character: Viktor Nilsson
Released: September 25, 1934
Type: Movie
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.
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Whom the Gods Destroy
Title: Whom the Gods Destroy
Character: John Forrester aka Eric Jann aka Peter Korotoff
Released: July 12, 1934
Type: Movie
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.
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Twentieth Century
Title: Twentieth Century
Character: Oliver Webb
Released: May 11, 1934
Type: Movie
A temperamental Broadway producer trains an untutored actress, but when she becomes a star, she proves a match for him.
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Once to Every Woman
Title: Once to Every Woman
Character: Dr. Walter Selby
Released: March 24, 1934
Type: Movie
An able nurse clashes with a new doctor at her hospital.
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Hollywood on Parade No. B-1
Title: Hollywood on Parade No. B-1
Released: March 2, 1934
Type: Movie
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.
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It Happened One Night
Title: It Happened One Night
Character: Alexander Andrews
Released: February 22, 1934
Type: Movie
A renegade reporter and a young heiress meet on a bus heading for New York, and end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops.
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Eight Girls in a Boat
Title: Eight Girls in a Boat
Character: Storm
Released: January 5, 1934
Type: Movie
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
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Master of Men
Title: Master of Men
Character: Sam Parker
Released: November 28, 1933
Type: Movie
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.
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East of Fifth Avenue
Title: East of Fifth Avenue
Character: John Lawton
Released: November 28, 1933
Type: Movie
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.
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Man's Castle
Title: Man's Castle
Character: Ira
Released: November 20, 1933
Type: Movie
An unemployed man turns to crime when he gets his girlfriend pregnant.
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Lady for a Day
Title: Lady for a Day
Character: Count Romero
Released: September 13, 1933
Type: Movie
Never-wed, poor, rough around the edges Apple Annie has always written to her daughter, Louise, in Spain that she is married and a member of New York's high society. Upon receiving unexpected word from Louise (who hasn't seen Annie since infancy) that she is en route to America with her new fiancé and his father, a count, so the three of them can meet her, Annie panics, despairing that her beloved daughter will be destroyed by the deception.
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Paddy the Next Best Thing
Title: Paddy the Next Best Thing
Character: Major Adair
Released: September 1, 1933
Type: Movie
In Ireland, Major Adair’s older daughter Eileen is about to marry Lawrence Blake for his money in order to pay off her father’s debts, even though she really loves Jack Breen.
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The Bitter Tea of General Yen
Title: The Bitter Tea of General Yen
Character: Jones
Released: January 6, 1933
Type: Movie
An American missionary is gradually seduced by a courtly warlord holding her in Shanghai.
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No More Orchids
Title: No More Orchids
Character: Bill Holt
Released: November 25, 1932
Type: Movie
Despite loving another man, a young woman is talked into marrying a wealthy and boorish prince in order to help her financially-strapped father.
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Man Against Woman
Title: Man Against Woman
Character: Mossie Ennis
Released: November 15, 1932
Type: Movie
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.
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Washington Merry-Go-Round
Title: Washington Merry-Go-Round
Character: Senator Wylie
Released: October 15, 1932
Type: Movie
Button Gwinett Brown is a freshman congressman on a mission to rid Washington of corruption. He quickly runs afoul of the powerful Senator Norton...