Frank Orth

Frank Orth

Born: February 20, 1880
Died: March 17, 1962
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Frank Orth was an American actor born in Philadelphia. He is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Inspector Faraday in the 1951-1953 television series “Boston Blackie”. By 1897, Orth was performing in vaudeville with his wife, Ann Codee, in an act called “Codee and Orth.” In 1909, he expanded into song writing, with songs such as “The Phone Bell Rang” and “Meet Me on the Boardwalk, Dearie.” His first contact with motion pictures was in 1928, when he was part of the first foreign-language shorts in sound produced by Warner Bros. He and his wife also appeared together in a series of two-reel comedies in the early 1930s. Orth's first major screen credit was in “Prairie Thunder,” a Dick Foran western, in 1937. From then on, he was often cast as bartenders, pharmacists, and grocery clerks, and always distinctly Irish. He had a recurring role in the Dr. Kildare series of films and also in the Nancy Drew series as the befuddled Officer Tweedy. Among his better roles were the newspaper man Cary Grant telephones early in “His Girl Friday,” one of the quartet singing “Gary Owen” in “They Died with Their Boots On” (thereby giving Errol Flynn as Gen. Custer the idea of associating the tune with the 7th Cavalry), and as the little man carrying the sign reading “The End Is Near” throughout Colonel Effingham's Raid. However, Orth is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Inspector Faraday in the 1951-1953 television series “Boston Blackie.” A short, plump, round-faced man, often smoking a cigar, Orth as Faraday wore his own dark-rimmed spectacles, though rarely in feature films. In 1959, Orth retired from show business after throat surgery. His wife died in 1961 after around fifty years of marriage. Orth died on March 17, 1962. He is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills next to his wife.

Movies for Frank Orth...

Here Come the Girls
Title: Here Come the Girls
Character: Mr. Hungerford
Released: October 22, 1953
Type: Movie
Bob Hope stars as an inept member of the chorus boy in a turn of the century stage show. After being fired, he finds himself starring acting as a decoy when a killer goes after the real star.
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Houdini
Title: Houdini
Character: Mr. Hunter
Released: July 2, 1953
Type: Movie
By the early 1900s, the extraordinary Houdini earned an international reputation for his theatrical tricks and daring feats of extrication from shackles, ropes, handcuffs and... Scotland Yard's jails.
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Title: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
Character: Uncle John
Released: October 3, 1952
Type: TV
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 through March 26, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and television for a few years. The series stars Ozzie Nelson and his wife, singer Harriet Nelson, and their young sons, David and Eric "Ricky" Nelson. Don DeFore had a recurring role as the Nelsons' friendly neighbor "Thorny".
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Something to Live For
Title: Something to Live For
Character: Waiter (uncredited)
Released: March 7, 1952
Type: Movie
Advertising executive Alan Miller, a recovered alcoholic who now does interventions on behalf of Alcoholics Anonymous, is called to help Broadway actress Jenny Carey whose developing career is threatened by an increasing dependence on alcohol. Alan's growing interest in Jenny strains his marriage to Edna, with whom he has two children.
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Double Dynamite
Title: Double Dynamite
Character: Mr. Kofer
Released: December 25, 1951
Type: Movie
An innocent bank teller, suspected of embezzlement, is aided by an eccentric, wisecracking waiter.
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Title: The Adventures of Boston Blackie
Released: September 8, 1951
Type: TV
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The Petty Girl
Title: The Petty Girl
Character: Moody (process server)
Released: August 17, 1950
Type: Movie
An artist famous for his calendar portraits of beautiful women becomes fascinated by a prim and proper professor and tries to get her to pose for his arwork. She declines his offer, but he's determined not to take no for an answer.
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Father of the Bride
Title: Father of the Bride
Character: Joe
Released: May 18, 1950
Type: Movie
Proud father Stanley Banks remembers the day his daughter, Kay, got married. Starting when she announces her engagement through to the wedding itself, we learn of all the surprises and disasters along the way.
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Cheaper by the Dozen
Title: Cheaper by the Dozen
Character: Higgins (uncredited)
Released: March 31, 1950
Type: Movie
"Cheaper by the Dozen", based on the real-life story of the Gilbreth family, follows them from Providence, Rhode Island, to Montclair, New Jersey, and details the amusing anecdotes found in large families.
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The Great Rupert
Title: The Great Rupert
Character: Mr. Frank Dingle
Released: March 1, 1950
Type: Movie
Shortly before Christmas, a family moves into an apartment where Rupert the squirrel lives in the attic rafters. Just as it seems that the holiday will come and go without so much as a Christmas tree, Rupert acts as the family's guardian angel - not only saving Christmas, but changing their lives forever.
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Bride for Sale
Title: Bride for Sale
Character: Police Sergeant
Released: November 12, 1949
Type: Movie
Nora Shelley is a tax expert for the accounting company which is led by Paul Martin. She thinks she can find a suitable husband by inspecting their clients' tax documents. Martin finds out and tries to dissuade her from this approach, later enlisting the help of his friend Steve Adams, who tries to woo Shelley.
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Red Light
Title: Red Light
Character: Wallace 'Wally' Stoner
Released: September 30, 1949
Type: Movie
Nick Cherney, in prison for embezzling from Torno Freight Co., sees a chance to get back at Johnny Torno through his young priest brother Jess. He pays fellow prisoner Rocky, who gets out a week before Nick, to murder Jess... who, dying, tells revenge-minded Johnny that he'd written a clue "in the Bible." Frustrated, Johnny obsessively searches for the missing Gideon Bible from Jess's hotel room.
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Blondie's Secret
Title: Blondie's Secret
Character: Mr. Philpotts
Released: December 23, 1948
Type: Movie
Dagwood prepares for a long-delayed vacation with the family. His boss Mr. Radcliffe has promised the Bumsteads that there'll be no more postponements for their holiday. But when something comes up that requires Dagwood's presence, Radcliffe hires a couple of thugs to steal Blondie and Dagwood's luggage so that they'll have to stay in town. And that's only the beginning of the frantic fun.
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The Girl from Manhattan
Title: The Girl from Manhattan
Character: Oscar Newsome
Released: October 1, 1948
Type: Movie
A small-town girl who's made it big in New York as a fashion model returns home, only to find that her somewhat dotty uncle has mortgaged his boarding house to the hilt. In her efforts to help him keep his boarding house, she becomes involved with a handsome young minister and his superior, an older bishop.
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The Big Clock
Title: The Big Clock
Character: Burt
Released: March 18, 1948
Type: Movie
Stroud, a crime magazine's crusading editor has to post-pone a vacation with his wife, again, when a glamorous blonde is murdered and he is assigned by his publishing boss Janoth to find the killer. As the investigation proceeds to its conclusion, Stroud must try to disrupt his ordinarily brilliant investigative team as they increasingly build evidence (albeit wrong) that he is the killer.
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It Had to Be You
Title: It Had to Be You
Character: Train Conductor
Released: December 7, 1947
Type: Movie
A chronic runaway bride is haunted by her conscience, who becomes reality.
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The Gas House Kids in Hollywood
Title: The Gas House Kids in Hollywood
Character: Police Captain
Released: August 23, 1947
Type: Movie
The Gas House Kids, the very poor man's Bowery Boys, head for Hollywood.
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Heartaches
Title: Heartaches
Character: Mike Connelly, Vic's Agent
Released: June 28, 1947
Type: Movie
Up-and-coming Hollywood actor/crooner, Vic Morton, has a secret. He starts receiving death threats in the mail and an attempt on his life is made. Soon after, two of his associates are murdered. Who is behind it all?
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The Guilt of Janet Ames
Title: The Guilt of Janet Ames
Character: Danny
Released: March 6, 1947
Type: Movie
A hard-drinking reporter tries to help the embittered widow of the soldier who had saved his life during the war.
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Born to Speed
Title: Born to Speed
Character: Breezy Bradley
Released: January 12, 1947
Type: Movie
The romantic, dangerous and fast-paced world of professional midget auto racing provides the backdrop for this dramatic tale of a young driver who decides to follow in his late father's footsteps and win the big race.
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Lady in the Lake
Title: Lady in the Lake
Character: Floyd Greer (Uncredited)
Released: December 19, 1946
Type: Movie
Private eye Phillip Marlowe wants to get out of the detective racket and into crime writing. But when he's called to the office of editor Adrienne Fromsett, it's not to talk about his story ideas — she wants him to locate the missing wife of her boss, Mr. Kingsby. The assignment quickly becomes complicated when bodies start turning up.
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Wake Up and Dream
Title: Wake Up and Dream
Character: Milkman
Released: December 2, 1946
Type: Movie
Aided by her eccentric friends, a young woman goes looking for her missing brother.
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It's Great to Be Young
Title: It's Great to Be Young
Character: Franklin Johnson
Released: September 12, 1946
Type: Movie
Ricky Malone, Spud Winters and some other returning G.I.'s are trying to break into show business by the old summer resort. Terry, a runaway daughter of a big producer who is trying to stifle her show-biz career, hires on as the (dubbed) singer.
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The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Title: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Character: Hotel Clerk
Released: August 19, 1946
Type: Movie
Three childhood friends, Martha, Walter and Sam, share a terrible secret. Over time, the ambitious Martha and the pusillanimous Walter have married. She is a cold businesswoman; he is the district attorney: a perfect combination to dominate the corrupt city of Iverstown at will. But the unexpected return of Sam, after years of absence, deeply disturbs the life of the odd couple.
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The Bride Wore Boots
Title: The Bride Wore Boots
Character: Judge
Released: June 5, 1946
Type: Movie
Rich and beautiful Southern heiress Sally Warren loves horse-racing and running her horse-farm although her husband of seven years hates the four-legged mammals. Spouse Jeff Warren is a successful author, Civil War scholar, and popular lecturer on the ladies club circuit. After Jeff buys aging twelve-year old nag Albert in the mistaken belief that he's a colt and Sally purchases a desk for her husband in the naive belief that it once belonged to Jefferson Davis, it's obvious that they have few interests in common. The squabbling is complicated by Jeff's jealousy of Sally's relationship with Lance Gale, her childhood friend, neighbor, and fellow horse breeder.
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Murder in the Music Hall
Title: Murder in the Music Hall
Character: Henderson
Released: April 10, 1946
Type: Movie
An orchestra leader turns sleuth to clear his ice-skating girlfriend for murder.
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The Hoodlum Saint
Title: The Hoodlum Saint
Character: Chronicle Editor (uncredited)
Released: April 4, 1946
Type: Movie
A former reporter comes back home after serving in the army during World War I and finds that it's much more difficult to find work than he expected. Desperate, one day he crashes a wedding attended by many of the city's rich and powerful, meets a beautiful girl named Kay who turns out to be his ticket to meeting those rich and powerful people, and he soon manages to land a job on a newspaper. He gets caught up in the "make money at all costs" game but receives a rude awakening when the stock market crashes in 1929.
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Doll Face
Title: Doll Face
Character: Peters
Released: December 31, 1945
Type: Movie
Burlesque queen Doll Face Carroll is dismissed from an audition for a legitimate Broadway show because she lacks culture. Her boss/manager Mike decides that she can get both culture and plenty of publicity by writing her autobiography. He hires a ghost writer to do all the work, but doesn't count on the possibility that Doll Face and her collaborator might have more than a book on their minds.
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The Lost Weekend
Title: The Lost Weekend
Character: Opera Cloak Room Attendant
Released: November 29, 1945
Type: Movie
Don Birnam, a long-time alcoholic, has been sober for ten days and appears to be over the worst... but his craving has just become more insidious. Evading a country weekend planned by his brother and girlfriend, he begins a four-day bender that just might be his last - one way or another.
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She Went to the Races
Title: She Went to the Races
Character: Skelly
Released: November 4, 1945
Type: Movie
A group of scientists develop a system to pick winners at the racetrack. Comedy.
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Tell It to a Star
Title: Tell It to a Star
Character: Augustus T. Goodman
Released: August 16, 1945
Type: Movie
Carol (Ruth Terry), the cigarette girl at a swank Palm Springs hotel, dreams of singing in the establishment's nightclub. She gets a chance when her well-to-do uncle, "Colonel" Morgan (Alan Mowbray), and a pal blow into town ... until their visit turns out to be a con job. Carol's voice impresses the bandleader (Robert Livingston), but the hotel manager (Franklin Pangborn), still smarting from Morgan's chicanery, isn't ready to give her a chance.
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Pillow to Post
Title: Pillow to Post
Character: Clayfield Taxi Driver
Released: June 9, 1945
Type: Movie
With a war on and most men being drafted, Howard Oil Supply Company has no salesmen left. So daughter Jean hits the road and does not make one sale. She finally gets one tentative sale with the Black Hills Oil Co., but Earl wants dinner with her. With the shortage of housing due to the war, Jean needs a military husband to get a place to stay in Clayfield, which is next to Camp Clay. She gets Lt. Mallory to act as her husband just to register. Then things go wrong as his commanding officer is there and believes them to be married. It gets worse as Don's mother shows up and then Jean's father.
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Storm Over Lisbon
Title: Storm Over Lisbon
Character: Murgatroyd
Released: October 16, 1944
Type: Movie
A nightclub star helps trap an enemy agent on the trail of an American newsman.
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Greenwich Village
Title: Greenwich Village
Character: Ordway
Released: September 27, 1944
Type: Movie
In 1922, a would-be classical composer gets involved with people putting on a musical revue.
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The Impatient Years
Title: The Impatient Years
Character: Counterman
Released: September 10, 1944
Type: Movie
Standing before a divorce court judge are Sergeant Andy Anderson and Janie Anderson asking him to dissolve their marriage. Janie's father, William Smith, objects and the judge allows him to give his version of their story. They had met in San Francisco fifteen months earlier and, after knowing each other only three days, had gotten married. Andy was sent overseas the day after the wedding and when he returns and despite the fact that Janie had borne him a son, they find they are almost strangers. Mr. Smith suggests, and the judge orders, that if they retrace their actions over the four days they knew each other they would regain their love.
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Wilson
Title: Wilson
Character: Smith (uncredited)
Released: August 1, 1944
Type: Movie
The political career of Woodrow Wilson is chronicled, beginning with his decision to leave his post at Princeton to run for Governor of New Jersey, and his subsequent ascent to the Presidency of the United States. During his terms in office, Wilson must deal with the death of his first wife, the onslaught of German hostilities leading to American involvement in the Great War, and his own country's reticence to join the League of Nations.
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Summer Storm
Title: Summer Storm
Character: Cafe Maitre d' at End (uncredited)
Released: July 14, 1944
Type: Movie
It's a tale of power and passions when a Russian siren, who wants the finer things in life, sinks her hooks into a judge, a decadent aristocrat and an estate superintendent, with surprising results.
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Roger Touhy, Gangster
Title: Roger Touhy, Gangster
Character: . Comic in Theater (uncredited)
Released: June 3, 1944
Type: Movie
Set during Prohibition, the movie centers on Touhy's rise from small time thug to the city's most powerful bootlegger whose empire is rivaled only by that of Al Capone (who is referred to, but never named in the story). It is his rival who frames Touhy for kidnapping and arranges for him to serve a life-long term in Stateville prison. Determined to be free again, the desperate Touhy and his cellmate Basil "the Owl" Banghart, begin plotting a violent break out.
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Sweet Rosie O'Grady
Title: Sweet Rosie O'Grady
Character: Taxi Driver
Released: October 1, 1943
Type: Movie
An American singer becomes engaged to an English duke, but is continuously pestered over her past as a burlesque dancer by a reporter from her hometown.
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Coney Island
Title: Coney Island
Character: Bartender
Released: June 18, 1943
Type: Movie
Set at the turn of the century, smooth talking con man Eddie Johnson weasels his way into a job at friend and rival Joe Rocco's Coney Island night spot. Eddie meets the club's star attraction (and Joe's love interest), Kate Farley, a brash singer with a penchant for flashy clothes. Eddie and Kate argue as he tries to soften her image. Eventually, Kate becomes the toast of Coney Island and the two fall in love. Joe then tries to sabotage their marriage plans.
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Hello, Frisco, Hello
Title: Hello, Frisco, Hello
Character: Lou, Bartender at Sharkey's
Released: March 26, 1943
Type: Movie
In turn-of-the-century San Francisco, an ambitious vaudevillian takes his quartet from a honky tonk to the big time, while spurning the love of his troupe's star singer for a selfish heiress.
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The Ox-Bow Incident
Title: The Ox-Bow Incident
Character: Larry Kinkaid (uncredited)
Released: March 11, 1943
Type: Movie
A posse discovers a trio of men they suspect of murder and cow theft and are split between handing them over to the law or lynching them on the spot.
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The Meanest Man in the World
Title: The Meanest Man in the World
Character: Bartender
Released: February 12, 1943
Type: Movie
Compassionate small-town lawyer Richard Clarke moves to New York City to seek his fortune, but is unsuccessful until he takes a friend's advice and tries to convince the world he's a ruthless heel. Suddenly he's the most popular lawyer in town -- but he could lose his fiancée.
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Springtime in the Rockies
Title: Springtime in the Rockies
Character: Bickel (uncredited)
Released: November 6, 1942
Type: Movie
Broadway partners Vicky Lane and Dan Christy have a tiff over Christy's womanizing. Jealous Vicky takes up with her old flame and former dance partner, Victor Price, and Dan's career takes a nosedive. In hopes of rekindling their romance and getting Vicky back on the boards with him, Dan follows her to a ritzy resort in the Canadian Rockies, where she and Victor are about to open their new act. But things get complicated when Dan wakes after a bender to find that he's hired an outlandish Latin secretary, Rosita Murphy, which makes Vicky think he's just up to his old tricks again.
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Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
Title: Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
Character: Mike Ryan
Released: November 1, 1942
Type: Movie
The doctor (Lionel Barrymore) has a Kansan (Van Johnson), an Australian and an Asian from Brooklyn to choose from.
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Orchestra Wives
Title: Orchestra Wives
Character: Rex Willet
Released: September 4, 1942
Type: Movie
Connie Ward is in seventh heaven when Gene Morrison's band rolls into town. She is swept off her feet by trumpeter Bill Abbot. After marrying him, she joins the band's tour and learns about life as an orchestra wife, weathering the catty attacks of the other band wives.
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Tales of Manhattan
Title: Tales of Manhattan
Character: Secondhand Clothes Dealer (Rogers sequence)
Released: August 5, 1942
Type: Movie
Ten screenwriters collaborated on this series of tales concerning the effect a tailcoat cursed by its tailor has on those who wear it. The video release features a W.C. Fields segment not included in the original theatrical release.
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Footlight Serenade
Title: Footlight Serenade
Character: Mike
Released: August 1, 1942
Type: Movie
Conceited World Champion boxer Tommy Lundy decides to test his popularity in a Broadway show. Tommy always has an eye for the ladies and he starts paying attention to beautiful chorus girl Pat Lambert. Pat's boyfriend Bill Smith isn't impressed with Tommy even though Tommy gets him a boxing part in the show. When Tommy finds out that Pat and Bill were secretly together the night before the show opens, he angrily plans to turn the boxing scene with Bill into a real bout.
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The Magnificent Dope
Title: The Magnificent Dope
Character: Messenger
Released: July 1, 1942
Type: Movie
Dwight Dawson, who runs an unsuccessful success school, stages a contest to find the biggest failure in the USA, for publicity value when the "dope" takes his course. But winner Tad Page is contented with his idle, lazy life and threatens to convert Dawson's other students to his philosophy. Dawson captalizes on Tad's attraction to Claire Harris to win him over; but will Tad find out Claire is really engaged to Dawson?
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Henry and Dizzy
Title: Henry and Dizzy
Character: Joe McGuire
Released: June 5, 1942
Type: Movie
After accidentally sinking a borrowed motorboat, teenager Henry Aldrich scrambles to raise the replacement cash the boat's owner demands. The catch: Henry only has two days to come up with the funds, or the boat's angry owner will turn him over to the police.
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My Gal Sal
Title: My Gal Sal
Character: McGuiness
Released: April 30, 1942
Type: Movie
Biopic chronicling the early life of gay nineties-era songwriter Paul Dresser as he outgrows his job as carnival entertainer and moves up into New York society, writing one hit song after another. Despite his egotistical behavior, he manages to woo and win Sally Elliott, one of the more popular songstresses of the day
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Rings on Her Fingers
Title: Rings on Her Fingers
Released: March 20, 1942
Type: Movie
Susan Miller works behind the girdle counter in a department store and dreams about the beautiful clothes and glamour she can never hope to have. Enter May Worthington and Warren, a pair of con artists who pose as the mother and uncle of a pretty girl in order to separate millionaires from their money. They convince Susan she has an opportunity to fulfill all her dreams, and the trio heads for Palm Beach. Susan meets John Wheeler who says he is shopping for a sailboat. Believing that he is a millionaire, Warren and May sell him a boat that doesn't belong to them, and make off with his $15,000 life savings. Looking for greener pastures, they work themselves into the family of wealthy Tod Fenwick, who falls for Sue, posing as "Linda Worthington". But John shows up as a guest of Fenwick and he tells "Linda", not knowing she was part of the scam, that he has a detective after the fake captain that sold him the boat...
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Roxie Hart
Title: Roxie Hart
Character: Bar Client #2 (uncredited)
Released: February 20, 1942
Type: Movie
A café in Chicago, 1942. On a rainy night, veteran reporter Homer Howard tells an increasing audience the story of Roxie Hart and the crime she was judged for in 1927.
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Dr. Kildare's Victory
Title: Dr. Kildare's Victory
Character: Mike Ryan
Released: February 4, 1942
Type: Movie
Dr. Gillespie supports Kildare's crusade against their hospital's deal with a rival hospital.
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Over My Dead Body
Title: Over My Dead Body
Character: Detective
Released: January 15, 1942
Type: Movie
Berle plays a mystery writer who forever writes himself into corners and is never able to finish a story. While visiting his wife (Mary Beth Hughes) at the office where she works, Berle overhears several men discussing the suicide of a coworker. Struck with a brilliant notion, Berle decides to confess to the murder of the dead man, certain that he'll be able to wriggle out of the situation and thereby have plenty of material for a story.
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Blue, White, and Perfect
Title: Blue, White, and Perfect
Character: Mr. Toby
Released: January 6, 1942
Type: Movie
In order to win back his girlfriend, Mike Shayne promises to give up his detective practice and get a job as riveter in an aircraft plant. He quickly finds himself investigating the theft of industrial diamonds from the plant's safe and, utilizing a variety of false identities, traces them first to a dress factory and later to a Hawaii-bound ocean liner. Escaping several attempts on his life, he is able to uncover a Nazi smuggling ring, but the location of the missing diamonds continues to elude him.
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They Died with Their Boots On
Title: They Died with Their Boots On
Character: Barfly (uncredited)
Released: November 20, 1941
Type: Movie
The story follows General George Armstrong Custer's adventures from his West Point days to his death. He defies orders during the Civil War, trains the 7th Cavalry, appeases Chief Crazy Horse and later engages in bloody battle with the Sioux nation.
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I Wake Up Screaming
Title: I Wake Up Screaming
Character: Cemetery Caretaker
Released: October 31, 1941
Type: Movie
A young promoter is accused of the murder of Vicky Lynn, a young actress he "discovered" as a waitress while out with ex-actor Robin Ray and gossip columnist Larry Evans.
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Sergeant York
Title: Sergeant York
Character: Drummer (uncredited)
Released: September 27, 1941
Type: Movie
Alvin York a hillbilly sharpshooter transforms himself from ruffian to religious pacifist. He is then called to serve his country and despite deep religious and moral objections to fighting becomes one of the most celebrated American heroes of WWI.
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Broadway Limited
Title: Broadway Limited
Character: Lou, Cafe Proprietor
Released: June 13, 1941
Type: Movie
A publicity stunt staged on a train known as the Broadway Limited gets out of control, as no one wants to be responsible for the baby that was brought in for it.
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The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
Title: The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
Character: Mike Ryan
Released: May 2, 1941
Type: Movie
An ice skater sues Kildare (Lew Ayres) for malpractice after his roadside first aid leaves her paralyzed.
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Ride on Vaquero
Title: Ride on Vaquero
Character: Auctioneer
Released: April 18, 1941
Type: Movie
The Cisco Kid is captured while keeping a rendezvous with cantina dancer Dolores but is released by his captor, the commander of a U.S. Army regiment, to help break up a kidnap ring. On his way to Las Tables with his pal, Gordito, he makes a stop at the Martinez Rancho, where they learn that his friend Carlos has been kidnapped, from his wife Marquerita. At the Crystal Palace Saloon, Cisco runs into an old girlfriend, Sally, who he once jilted for a tight-rope walker, but she doesn't betray him when the sheriff and an army officer enter searching for Cisco.
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Come Live with Me
Title: Come Live with Me
Character: Jerry
Released: January 31, 1941
Type: Movie
Seeking US citizenship, a Viennese refugee arranges a marriage of convenience with a struggling writer.
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Respect the Law
Title: Respect the Law
Character: Peter Brennan
Released: January 4, 1941
Type: Movie
Shows how so-called "minor" lawbreakers can do more damage than major criminals.
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Michael Shayne: Private Detective
Title: Michael Shayne: Private Detective
Character: Steve
Released: December 19, 1940
Type: Movie
Millionaire sportsman Hiram Brighton hires gumshoe Michael Shayne to keep his spoiled daughter Phyllis away from racetrack betting windows and roulette wheels. After Phyllis slips away and continues her compulsive gambling, Shayne fakes the murder of her gambler boyfriend, who is also romancing the daughter of casino owner Benny Gordon, in order to frighten her. When the tout really ends up murdered, Shayne and Phyllis' Aunt Olivia, an avid reader of murder mysteries, both try to find the identity of the killer.
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You, the People
Title: You, the People
Character: Soda Jerk
Released: November 30, 1940
Type: Movie
This MGM Crime Does Not Pay series short features a big city crime boss's attempt to use his crime "machine" to fraudulently win reelection for the current corrupt mayor. By using several illegal tactics, and aided by voter apathy, the crime boss nearly continues his control of the city.
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Dr. Kildare's Crisis
Title: Dr. Kildare's Crisis
Character: Mike Ryan, Cafe Owner
Released: November 29, 1940
Type: Movie
Jimmy Kildare's impending nuptials are jeopardized by a diagnosis of possible epilepsy in his fiancee's brother.
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Father Is A Prince
Title: Father Is A Prince
Character: Drugstore Proprieter
Released: November 18, 1940
Type: Movie
Carpet-sweeper manufacturer John Bower has no patience with inefficiency, lawyers, or vacuum cleaners. He's a bit of a skinflint, too. His family thinks he works too hard. He feels inferior for not having gone to college, so now he doesn't want his children going, either. His daughter Connie is afraid to break the news of her engagement to Gary Lee, especially since not only is Gary a lawyer and a college grad, but his father owns a vacuum-cleaner company, too.
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Gallant Sons
Title: Gallant Sons
Character: Newspaper Foreman (uncredited)
Released: November 15, 1940
Type: Movie
When a teenager's father is accused of murder, the boy and his high-school classmates set out to find the real killer.
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Mexican Spitfire Out West
Title: Mexican Spitfire Out West
Character: Window Washer
Released: October 29, 1940
Type: Movie
Dennis heads west to work on an important business deal minus the Mexican Spitfire, Carmelita. His hot-tempered spouse decides to surprise him, but ends up as the surprised one when she sees him with another woman. Instead of a second honeymoon, Carmelita begins divorce proceedings
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Dr. Kildare Goes Home
Title: Dr. Kildare Goes Home
Character: Mike Ryan (uncredited)
Released: September 6, 1940
Type: Movie
A young doctor gives up big-city success to help his father set up a small-town clinic.
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Boom Town
Title: Boom Town
Character: Barber
Released: August 30, 1940
Type: Movie
Two buddies who rise from fly-by-night wildcatters to oil tycoons over a twenty year period both love the same woman. McMasters and Sand come to oil towns to get rich. Betsy comes West intending to marry Sand but marries McMasters instead. Getting rich and losing it all teaches McMasters and Sand the value of personal ties.
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Buyer Beware
Title: Buyer Beware
Character: Smith (uncredited)
Released: August 17, 1940
Type: Movie
This entry in MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" series deals with shady companies selling fake merchandise.
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Pier 13
Title: Pier 13
Character: Dead Pan Charlie
Released: August 8, 1940
Type: Movie
A policeman makes the startling discovery that his girlfriend is involved in a waterfront smuggling racket.
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Gold Rush Maisie
Title: Gold Rush Maisie
Character: Harris
Released: July 26, 1940
Type: Movie
Maisie becomes attached to a dirt-poor farmer and his family as they try to make ends meet joining hundreds of others digging for gold in a previously panned-out ghost town.
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Brother Orchid
Title: Brother Orchid
Character: Waiter at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited)
Released: June 7, 1940
Type: Movie
When retired racket boss John Sarto tries to reclaim his place and former friends try to kill him, he finds solace in a monastery and reinvents himself as a pious monk.
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Florian
Title: Florian
Character: Detective
Released: June 5, 1940
Type: Movie
Set against the backdrop of WWI Europe, a man and woman of different classes are brought together by their love of Lippizan horses.
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La Conga Nights
Title: La Conga Nights
Character: Dennis O'Brien
Released: May 31, 1940
Type: Movie
In this comedy, actor Hugh Herbert plays six different roles. Only one of the roles is a man. The story centers around a dizzy music lover, who has grown rich through real estate deals. Also figuring in the story are a cab driver/performer, and a down-on-her-luck, aspiring singer. They meet when she hails his cab as she skips out on her former boarding house because she cannot pay rent.
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The Doctor Takes a Wife
Title: The Doctor Takes a Wife
Character: New York Editor
Released: April 25, 1940
Type: Movie
A best-selling author of women's issues and a medical academic find it is to their mutual advantage to falsely claim that they are married.
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'Til We Meet Again
Title: 'Til We Meet Again
Character: Hong Kong Bartender (uncredited)
Released: April 20, 1940
Type: Movie
Dying Joan Ames meets criminal Dan Hardesty on a luxury liner as he is being transported back to America by policeman Steve Burke to face execution. Joan and Dan fall in love, their fates unbeknownst to one another.
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Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
Title: Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
Character: Mike Ryan, Sullivan's Hospital Cafe
Released: April 12, 1940
Type: Movie
Kildare tries brain surgery, advised by Dr. Gillespie, and faces a rival for nurse Lamont.
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Know Your Money
Title: Know Your Money
Character: Tobacconist (uncredited)
Released: January 27, 1940
Type: Movie
This MGM Crime Does Not Pay series short tells the fictitious story of a bill counterfeiting ring and explores the government's attempt to curb counterfeiting.
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His Girl Friday
Title: His Girl Friday
Character: Duffy
Released: January 18, 1940
Type: Movie
Walter Burns is an irresistibly conniving newspaper publisher desperate to woo back his paper’s star reporter, who also happens to be his estranged wife. She’s threatening to quit and settle down with a new beau, but, as Walter knows, she has a weakness: she can’t resist a juicy scoop.
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The Secret of Dr. Kildare
Title: The Secret of Dr. Kildare
Character: Mike Sullivan
Released: November 24, 1939
Type: Movie
Intern Kildare heals a millionaire's daughter and tricks Dr. Gillespie into taking a vacation.
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At the Circus
Title: At the Circus
Character: Chef in Diner (uncredited)
Released: October 20, 1939
Type: Movie
Jeff Wilson, the owner of a small circus, owes his partner Carter $10,000. Before Jeff can pay, Carter's accomplices steal the money so he can take over the circus. Antonio Pirelli and Punchy, who work at the circus, together with lawyer Loophole try to find the thief and get the money back.
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Fast and Furious
Title: Fast and Furious
Character: Joe Burke
Released: October 6, 1939
Type: Movie
Joel & Garda Sloan, a husband and wife detective team, who also sell rare books in New York, take a vacation to Seaside City. At Seaside, Joel's pal, Mike Stevens is managing and preparing for their beauty pageant. Joel is made one of the judges plus he has invested $5,000 in it, to Garda's dismay. Eric Bartell, promoter, arrives to dupe Stevens. When Ed Connors, New York racketeer arrives, Bartell is mysteriously murdered. Joel and Garda set out to investigate the murder.
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Dust Be My Destiny
Title: Dust Be My Destiny
Character: Wedding Witness on Stage (uncredited)
Released: September 16, 1939
Type: Movie
Embittered after serving time for a burglary he did not commit, Joe Bell is soon back in jail, on a prison farm. His love for the foreman's daughter leads to a fight between them, leading to the older man's death due to a weak heart. Joe and Mabel go on the run as he thinks no-one would believe a nobody like him.
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Thunder Afloat
Title: Thunder Afloat
Character: Old Sailor in Bilge Area (uncredited)
Released: September 15, 1939
Type: Movie
A tugboat captain serves under his rival as a U-boat chaser in World War I.
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Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
Title: Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
Character: Captain Tweedy
Released: September 9, 1939
Type: Movie
Nancy helps two aging spinsters fulfill the byzantine provisions of their father's will, but the murder of their chauffeur complicates matters.
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Stanley and Livingstone
Title: Stanley and Livingstone
Character: Newspaperman with Pills
Released: August 18, 1939
Type: Movie
When American newspaperman and adventurer Henry M. Stanley comes back from the western Indian wars, his editor James Gordon Bennett sends him to Africa to find Dr. David Livingstone, the missing Scottish missionary. Stanley finds Livingstone ("Dr. Livingstone, I presume.") blissfully doling out medicine and religion to the happy natives. His story is at first disbelieved.
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Tell No Tales
Title: Tell No Tales
Character: Vic - Bartender (uncredited)
Released: June 12, 1939
Type: Movie
A newspaper editor turns a kidnapping into the banner headlines and exclusive story that could save his publication.
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Young Mr. Lincoln
Title: Young Mr. Lincoln
Character: Loafer (uncredited)
Released: June 9, 1939
Type: Movie
In this dramatized account of his early law career in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln is born into a modest log cabin, where he is encouraged by his first love, Ann Rutledge, to pursue law. Following her tragic death, Lincoln establishes a law practice in Springfield, where he meets a young Mary Todd. Lincoln's law skills are put to the test when he takes on the difficult task of defending two brothers who have been accused of murder.
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Calling Dr. Kildare
Title: Calling Dr. Kildare
Character: Mike Sullivan - Hospital Cafe Owner (uncredited)
Released: April 28, 1939
Type: Movie
Following an argument with his young protege, the curmudgeonly Dr. Gillespie dumps Jimmy Kildare in a street clinic, hoping to teach him a lesson. While working there Kildare meets pretty nurse Mary Lamont, and ends up treating a hoodlum with a gunshot wound. He purposely fails to write a report on it, and soon finds himself in a heap of trouble. Who else would come to his rescue but good old Dr. Gillespie?
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Broadway Serenade
Title: Broadway Serenade
Character: Mr. Fellows
Released: April 7, 1939
Type: Movie
A married singer, pianist/composer team are struggling to hit it big in New York. Finally, they audition before a Broadway producer, but the producer only wants the singer, leaving the husband without a job and feeling a failure.
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Within the Law
Title: Within the Law
Character: Jim Jenks
Released: March 17, 1939
Type: Movie
A wrongly convicted woman studies law and seeks her revenge.
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Nancy Drew... Reporter
Title: Nancy Drew... Reporter
Character: Captain Tweedy (uncredited)
Released: February 18, 1939
Type: Movie
While participating in a contest at a local newspaper in which school children are asked to submit a news story, local attorney Carson Drew's daughter Nancy intercepts a real story assignment. She "covers" the inquest of the death of a woman who was poisoned. Nancy doesn't think the young woman accused of the crime is guilty and corrals her neighbor Ted into searching for a vital piece of evidence and stumbles onto the identity of the real killer.
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Fast and Loose
Title: Fast and Loose
Character: Detective Hendricks
Released: February 17, 1939
Type: Movie
The Sloanes tie murder to the theft of a Shakespeare manuscript.
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Idiot's Delight
Title: Idiot's Delight
Character: Benny Zinsser
Released: January 27, 1939
Type: Movie
A group of disparate travelers are thrown together in a posh Alpine hotel when the borders are closed at the start of WWII.
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Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
Title: Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
Character: Tim McKelvy
Released: January 13, 1939
Type: Movie
An auto mechanic suspects sabotage in a recent series of fatal racecar accidents.
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Comet Over Broadway
Title: Comet Over Broadway
Character: Cab Driver (uncredited)
Released: December 3, 1938
Type: Movie
Story of a rising stage star and the trouble she causes by her ambition.
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Nancy Drew… Detective
Title: Nancy Drew… Detective
Character: Captain Tweedy
Released: November 19, 1938
Type: Movie
After a wealthy dowager who has made a substantial donation to her alma mater suddenly disappears, Nancy Drew sets out to solve the mystery.
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Young Dr. Kildare
Title: Young Dr. Kildare
Character: Mike Ryan (uncredited)
Released: October 14, 1938
Type: Movie
A medical school graduate takes an internship at a big city hospital, only to be subjected to a rigorous (and sometimes embarrassing) testing of his knowledge by the hospital's top dog, Dr. Leonard Gillespie.
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Mr. Chump
Title: Mr. Chump
Character: Sheriff Frank Hinton
Released: August 8, 1938
Type: Movie
A naive young trumpet player inadvertently becomes involved with bank embezzlers. Comedy.
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Think It Over
Title: Think It Over
Character: Brown, Clothing Store Owner
Released: July 24, 1938
Type: Movie
A gang of 'professional torches' burn down stores for the insurance money.
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Torchy Blane in Panama
Title: Torchy Blane in Panama
Character: First Leopard (uncredited)
Released: May 7, 1938
Type: Movie
Torchy, Steve, and Gahagan are on the trail of a bank robber aboard an ocean liner traveling from New York to L.A. via the Panama Canal.
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The Patient in Room 18
Title: The Patient in Room 18
Character: Joe Higgins - Night Watchman
Released: January 8, 1938
Type: Movie
Choreographer Bob Connolly and prolific screenwriter Crane Wilbur teamed up on the direction of Warner Bros.' The Patient in Room 18. Patric Knowles delivers a delightfully comic performance as Lance, an outwardly normal young man obsessed with detective stories. When his obsession threatens to lapse over into lunacy, Lance is sent to the hospital for a nice long rest. It isn't long before he gets mixed up in a genuine murder mystery, using his second-hand knowhow to solve the case. Up-and-coming Ann Sheridan is quite amusing as Lance's nurse and confidante, while the murderer is played by a fellow who is usually cast as the murder victim.
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Missing Witnesses
Title: Missing Witnesses
Character: Gordon (uncredited)
Released: December 11, 1937
Type: Movie
A detective and his bumbling sidekick join the crackdown on racketeering in '30s New York City.
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The Footloose Heiress
Title: The Footloose Heiress
Character: Justice Abner Cuttler
Released: October 8, 1937
Type: Movie
A rich businessman brings home a homeless man who promises to tame his willful 18-year-old daughter.
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Prairie Thunder
Title: Prairie Thunder
Character: Wichita
Released: September 10, 1937
Type: Movie
To increase profits for his shipping company, Lynch has goaded the Indians to attack both the telegraph line and the new railroad. When Lynch sells rifles to the Indians, Rod Farrell captures Lynch and his gang. But Lynch's Indian friends free him and this time Farrell finds himself the prisoner.
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The Devil's Saddle Legion
Title: The Devil's Saddle Legion
Character: Judge Barko
Released: August 14, 1937
Type: Movie
Tal is in a lot of trouble. Seems that his father has been murdered while he was in Montana and they put the blame on him. Also, he has been framed and sentenced to 10 years hard labor for another murder which he did not do. The crooks need convict labor to build the dam so they convict innocent people for a pool of cheap labor. But Karan believes that Tal, using the name Smith J. Brown, could not be a killer. Unknown to her, her step brother, Hub, is part of the gang.
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Talent Scout
Title: Talent Scout
Character: Burlesque Theatre Manager (uncredited)
Released: July 24, 1937
Type: Movie
A Hollywood heartthrob helps a small-town girl achieve stardom.
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Ever Since Eve
Title: Ever Since Eve
Character: Cocktail Waiter (uncredited)
Released: July 15, 1937
Type: Movie
Madge Winton (Marion Davies), a beautiful secretary, makes herself look homely in order to avoid advances by lecherous bosses. When her new employer, writer Freddy Matthews (Robert Montgomery), accidentally sees her without her disguise, she has to pretend to be her roommate Sadie.
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Marry the Girl
Title: Marry the Girl
Character: Bar owner
Released: July 13, 1937
Type: Movie
Frantic screwball comedy about a meek personal assistant (Frank McHugh) who is promoted to managing editor of a newspaper features syndicate that is owned by and staffed with cuckoos.
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San Quentin
Title: San Quentin
Character: Convict in Bunkhouse (uncredited)
Released: May 24, 1937
Type: Movie
Ex-Army officer Jameson takes a job a prison guard at San Quentin. Joe, the brother of his new girlfriend May, is sentenced to the prison for robbery. When Jameson tries to separate lawbreakers from hardened criminals, badguy Hansen tries to stir up trouble by telling Joe about Jameson's interest in his sister.
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Land Beyond the Law
Title: Land Beyond the Law
Character: Shorty Long
Released: March 13, 1937
Type: Movie
A wild cowboy changes course and becomes a sheriff after his father is murdered.
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Polo Joe
Title: Polo Joe
Character: Bert
Released: November 4, 1936
Type: Movie
A young man allergic to horses decides he has to learn to play polo in order to impress the girl he loves. Comedy.
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Hot Money
Title: Hot Money
Character: Hank Ford
Released: July 18, 1936
Type: Movie
Salesman develops a fake stock plan in new invention before it is finished.
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Two Against the World
Title: Two Against the World
Character: Tommy - Bartender
Released: July 11, 1936
Type: Movie
Searching for ratings at any cost, an unscrupulous radio-network owner forces his program manager to air a serial based on a past murder, tormenting a woman involved.
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Unwelcome Stranger
Title: Unwelcome Stranger
Character: Jackson
Released: April 5, 1935
Type: Movie
Horse-breeder Howard Chamberlain has many superstitious quirks but his primary one is that he believes orphans are bad luck and a jinx to be around. This is bad news when 'Gimpy", an orphan, shows up at Chamberlain's horse-ranch in search of a place to stay. But Howard's soft-hearted wife, Madeline, allows the young boy to stay on and work in the barn with the horses. And "Gimpy" breaks Chamberlain's "orphan-jinx" in a big way.
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The Payoff
Title: The Payoff
Character: Porter (uncredited)
Released: January 9, 1935
Type: Movie
An honest sports columnist's greedy wife persuades him to go easy on a cheat, famous for crooked sports deals.
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Taking Ways
Title: Taking Ways
Released: April 30, 1930
Type: Movie
In this Vitaphone one-reeler, husband-and-wife team Frank Orth and Ann Codee in one of the many co-starring shorts they made together for Vitaphone, Orth is one of a pair of house-burglars who take time out from their looting to make amorous advances toward the wife of the house, Ann Codee.
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A Bird in the Hand
Title: A Bird in the Hand
Released: April 29, 1929
Type: Movie
Frank Orth strikes a conversation with a lady feeding imaginary birds.