Charley Grapewin

Charley Grapewin

Born: December 19, 1869
Died: February 2, 1956
in Xenia, Ohio, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville performer, writer and a stage and silent and sound actor, and comedian who was best known for portraying Aunt Em's husband, Uncle Henry in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's The Wizard of Oz (1939) as well as Grandpa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road (1941). He usually portrayed elderly folksy-type characters in a rustic setting, in all appearing in over 100 films. He was the oldest cast member of The Wizard of Oz.

Born in Xenia, Ohio, Charles Ellsworth Grapewin ran away from home to be a circus acrobat which led him to work as an aerialist and trapeze artist in a traveling circus before turning to acting. He traveled all over the world with the famous P. T. Barnum circus. Grapewin also appeared in the original 1903 Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz, 36 years before he would appear in the famous Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film version.

After this he continued in theatre, on and offstage, for the next thirty years, starting with various stock companies, and wrote stage plays as a vehicle for himself. His sole Broadway theatre credit was the short-lived play It's Up to You John Henry in 1905.

Grapewin married actress Anna Chance (1875–1943) in 1896, and they remained a devoted couple until her death some 47 years later. Two years after his first wife's death, Grapewin married Loretta McGowan Becker on Jan 10, 1945.

Grapewin began in silent films at the turn of the twentieth century. His very first films were two "moving image shorts" made by Frederick S. Armitage and released in November 1900; Chimmie Hicks at the Races (also known as Above the Limit) and Chimmie Hicks and the Rum Omelet, both shot in September and October 1900 and released in November of that year. During his long career, Grapewin appeared in more than one hundred films, including The Good Earth, The Grapes of Wrath, Tobacco Road, and in what is probably his best-remembered role: Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz. He also had a recurring role as Inspector Queen in the Ellery Queen film series of the early 1940s.

Grapewin died of natural causes in Corona, California at age 86, and his ashes are interred with his wife's in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California, at the Great Mausoleum's Columbarium of Inspiration.

Movies for Charley Grapewin...

The Dark Side of the Rainbow
Title: The Dark Side of the Rainbow
Character: Uncle Henry (archive footage)
Released: July 4, 2000
Type: Movie
The movie The Wizard of Oz (1939) with the soundtrack replaced by Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon (1973); several uncanny moments of synchronisation and a generally darker tone than the original film.
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Going Hollywood: The '30s
Title: Going Hollywood: The '30s
Character: (archive footage)
Released: January 1, 1984
Type: Movie
Robert Preston hosts this documentary that shows what people of the 1930s were watching as they were battling the Depression as well as eventually getting ready for another World War.
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That's Entertainment, Part II
Title: That's Entertainment, Part II
Character: (archive footage)
Released: May 16, 1976
Type: Movie
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.
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The Big Parade of Comedy
Title: The Big Parade of Comedy
Character: Mr. Bane in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: September 2, 1964
Type: Movie
Film clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history.
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When I Grow Up
Title: When I Grow Up
Character: Grandpa Reed
Released: April 19, 1951
Type: Movie
Josh is a young boy who feels neglected and misunderstood at home. Preparing to run away, he chances across an old diary once kept by his grandfather. Leafing through the yellowed pages, Josh discovers that Grandpa went through many of the same childhood travails that he is enduring at that moment. Armed with a renewed understanding of and appreciation for his elders, Josh decides to stick around for a while and see how things develop.
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Sand
Title: Sand
Character: Doug
Released: August 3, 1949
Type: Movie
Novelist Will James, a specialist in horse stories, wrote the yarn upon which 20th Century-Fox's Sand was based. Mark Stevens plays horse breeder Jeff Keane, who loses his prize stallion in a train accident. While the stallion roams wild and free, Keane enlists the aid of rancher Joan Hartley (Coleen Gray) in searching for the animal. Once the horse is located, it is clear that it has developed a mean streak, the result of various cruelties inflicted upon it by humans. Jeff and Joan combine their efforts to regain the horse's friendship. Veteran Native American actors Iron Eyes Cody and Jay Silverheels make significant supporting appearances. Sand was attractively filmed in Technicolor on location in Colorado.
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The Enchanted Valley
Title: The Enchanted Valley
Character: Grandpa
Released: March 24, 1948
Type: Movie
Armed robbers invade the home of a crippled boy and his grandfather and the effect the boy and his surroundings have on them is reforming.
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Gunfighters
Title: Gunfighters
Character: Rancher Inskip
Released: July 15, 1947
Type: Movie
Gunfighter "Brazos" Kane lays aside his guns "forever" when he is forced to shoot his best friend, and decides to join another friend, Bob Tyrell, as a cowhand on the Inskip ranch. Upon arriving there he finds the bullet-riddled body of his friend. He carries the body to the Banner ranch, the largest in the territory, and is accused by Banner of murdering Tyrell; Banner orders Deputy Sheriff Bill Yount, who is in Banner's pay, to arrest Kane. But Kane has the sympathy of Banner's daughter, Jane, who notifies Inskip of Kane's plight, and Inskip arrives in time to prevent a lynching. Sheriff Kiscade dismisses the murder charge for lack of evidence. Brazos then sets out to find the killer of his friend. Bess Bannister, Jane's sister, is in love with the Banner ranch foreman, Bard Macky, and knowing that Bard killed Tyrell and that Kane will track him down, then hampers Kane's mission somewhat by pretending to be in love with him.
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Atlantic City
Title: Atlantic City
Character: Jake Taylor
Released: September 15, 1944
Type: Movie
In 1915, Atlantic City is a sleepy seaside resort, but Brad Taylor, son of a small hotel and vaudeville house proprietor, has big plans: he thinks it can be "the playground of the world." Brad's wheeling and dealing proves remarkably successful in attracting big enterprises and big shows, but brings him little success in personal relationships. Full of nostalgic songs and acts, some with the original artists. Reissued in 1950 as "Atlantic City Honeymoon".
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The Impatient Years
Title: The Impatient Years
Character: Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy
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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Follow the Boys
Title: Follow the Boys
Character: Nick West
Released: May 5, 1944
Type: Movie
During World War II, all the studios put out "all-star" vehicles which featured virtually every star on the lot--often playing themselves--in musical numbers and comedy skits, and were meant as morale-boosters to both the troops overseas and the civilians at home. This was Universal Pictures' effort. It features everyone from Donald O'Connor to the Andrews Sisters to Orson Welles to W.C. Fields to George Raft to Marlene Dietrich, and dozens of other Universal players.
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Crash Dive
Title: Crash Dive
Character: Pop
Released: April 22, 1943
Type: Movie
A US Navy submarine, the USS Corsair, is operating in the North Atlantic, hunting German merchant raiders that are preying on Allied shipping. Its new executive officer, Lt. Ward Stewart, has been transferred back into submarines after commanding his own PT boat. At the submarine base in New London, Connecticut, he asks his new captain, Lt. Cmdr. Dewey Connors, for a weekend leave to settle his affairs before taking up his new assignment. On a train bound for Washington D.C., Stewart accidentally encounters New London school teacher Jean Hewlett and her students. Despite her initial resistance to his efforts, he charms her and they fall in love.
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Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
Title: Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
Character: Inspector Richard Queen
Released: July 30, 1942
Type: Movie
Detective Ellery Queen aids Free Dutch agents battle Nazi spies over a prize of industrial diamonds.
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A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
Title: A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
Character: Insp. Queen
Released: May 7, 1942
Type: Movie
A man is framed for embezzlement and runs off to San Francisco. His wife hires Ellery Queen to try and track him down before the police get to him.
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A Close Call for Ellery Queen
Title: A Close Call for Ellery Queen
Character: Insp. Queen
Released: January 29, 1942
Type: Movie
Amateur sleuth Ellery Queen learns the truth about a businessman's two long-lost daughters.
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They Died with Their Boots On
Title: They Died with Their Boots On
Character: California Joe
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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Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
Title: Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
Character: Insp. Queen
Released: November 18, 1941
Type: Movie
The benefactor of the Stack Memorial Hospital dies after an operation. Ellery Queen investigates when it is revealed the cause of death was murder by strangulation.
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Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
Title: Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
Character: Insp. Queen
Released: August 14, 1941
Type: Movie
Several days after one of his company's dams burst, ruining the life savings of several investors, a shady power company president is found stabbed to death. Ellery Queen gets to the bottom of the mystery.
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Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
Title: Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
Character: Insp. Queen
Released: March 24, 1941
Type: Movie
Chinese ventriloquist Gordon Cobb is murdered by a gang of jewel thieves. Baffled by the contradictory clues, Inspector Queen asks his son Ellery to help out.
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Tobacco Road
Title: Tobacco Road
Character: Jeeter Lester
Released: February 20, 1941
Type: Movie
Shiftless Jeeter Lester and his family of sharecroppers live in rural Georgia where their ancestors were once wealthy planters. Their slapstick existence is threatened by a bank's plans to take over the land for more profitable farming.
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The Texas Rangers Ride Again
Title: The Texas Rangers Ride Again
Character: Ben Caldwalder
Released: December 13, 1940
Type: Movie
With thousands of cattle being rustled from White Sage ranch the 1930's Texas Rangers are called in. They manage to get one of their agents into the gang by making them think he is the Pecos Kid on the lam.
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Ellery Queen, Master Detective
Title: Ellery Queen, Master Detective
Character: Insp. Queen
Released: November 30, 1940
Type: Movie
Famed detective and crime novelist Ellery Queen solves a case involving the suspicious death of a rich man whose inheritors fight over his estate.
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Rhythm on the River
Title: Rhythm on the River
Character: Uncle Caleb
Released: August 28, 1940
Type: Movie
Popular songwriter Oliver Courtney has been getting by for years using one ghost writer for his music and another for his lyrics. When both writers meet at an inn, they fall in love and then try to sell their songs under their own name. The problem is every song publisher thinks they're copying Courtney's style.
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Earthbound
Title: Earthbound
Character: Mr. Whimser
Released: June 6, 1940
Type: Movie
A murdered man helps his widow bring his killer to justice.
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Johnny Apollo
Title: Johnny Apollo
Character: Judge Emmett T. Brennan
Released: April 19, 1940
Type: Movie
Wall Street broker Robert Cain, Sr., is jailed for embezzling. His college graduate son Bob then turns to crime to raise money for his father's release. As assistant to mobster Mickey Dwyer, then falls for Dwyer's girl Lucky. He winds up in the same prison as his father.
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The Grapes of Wrath
Title: The Grapes of Wrath
Character: Grandpa Joad
Released: March 15, 1940
Type: Movie
Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.
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Sabotage
Title: Sabotage
Character: Major Matt Grayson
Released: October 13, 1939
Type: Movie
The night before his grandson, Tommy Grayson, a mechanic at the Midland Aircraft Corporation, is to marry Gail, a former showgirl, Major Matt Grayson, a war veteran and watchman at the plant, catches two men breaking into the machine shop. The men run, but the major shoots one of them.....
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Hero for a Day
Title: Hero for a Day
Character: Uncle Frank "Lucky" Higgins
Released: October 6, 1939
Type: Movie
When a night watchman is mistaken for a wealthy college alumnus, his family and friends help him go along with the pretense.
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Dust Be My Destiny
Title: Dust Be My Destiny
Character: Pop
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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The Wizard of Oz
Title: The Wizard of Oz
Character: Uncle Henry
Released: August 15, 1939
Type: Movie
Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.
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The Man Who Dared
Title: The Man Who Dared
Character: Ulysses Porterfield
Released: June 3, 1939
Type: Movie
An elderly grandfather proves to be heroic when he takes a stand against local city corruption.
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Sudden Money
Title: Sudden Money
Character: Grandpa Casey Patterson
Released: March 31, 1939
Type: Movie
Promises of happier times dawn for the financially distressed Patterson family when father Sweeney and brother-in-law Archibald "Doc" Finney win a $150,000 grand prize in the sweepstake contest. With their windfall, each member of the family decides to pursue a dream.
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Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
Title: Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
Character: Doc Heath
Released: January 13, 1939
Type: Movie
An auto mechanic suspects sabotage in a recent series of fatal racecar accidents.
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Stand Up and Fight
Title: Stand Up and Fight
Character: 'Old Puff'
Released: January 6, 1939
Type: Movie
A southern aristocrat clashes with a driver transporting stolen slaves to freedom.
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Artists and Models Abroad
Title: Artists and Models Abroad
Character: James Harper
Released: December 20, 1938
Type: Movie
Buck Boswell and his all-girl troupe are stranded in Paris, but Buck manages to con the manager of the 'Hotel de Navarre' in furnishing accommodations for his group, but the proprietor's wife locks them out. In his search for funds, Buck meets Patricia Harper, the fourth-richest girl in the world, but he isn't aware of that and thinks she is penniless. Patricia joins his troupe as a lark, and her father, James Harper, also pretends he is broke. Through some chicanery, Buck gets jobs for the girls as models at the Palace of Feminine Arts at the Paris International Exposition. James Harper borrows the priceless Napoleaon necklace to have a copy made for his daughter, but Buck thinks he stole it.
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Listen, Darling
Title: Listen, Darling
Character: Joe Higgins
Released: October 21, 1938
Type: Movie
To stop Pinkie's widowed, struggling mother Dottie from marrying a well-off older man they know she doesn't love, teenager Pinkie and her best friend Buzz kidnap her in the family travel trailer to live a carefree life on the open road. They then get the idea to find Dottie a financially secure husband whom both she and Pinkie would like.
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Three Loves Has Nancy
Title: Three Loves Has Nancy
Character: Grandpa Briggs
Released: September 2, 1938
Type: Movie
A small-town country homebody goes to New York to find her missing fiancé and gets romantically involved with two sophisticated men.
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Three Comrades
Title: Three Comrades
Character: Local Doctor
Released: June 2, 1938
Type: Movie
A love story centered on the lives of three young German soldiers in the years following World War I. Their close friendship is strengthened by their shared love for the same woman who is dying of tuberculosis.
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The Girl of the Golden West
Title: The Girl of the Golden West
Character: Uncle Davy
Released: March 18, 1938
Type: Movie
Mary Robbins is a moderately educated, beautiful, young woman who owns the saloon called "The Poker". She is the only woman in the town of Couldee - making her the fancy of all the men there, especially to Sheriff Jack Rance. On the way to Monterey to sing at a mass officiated by Father Sienna, her stagecoach is held up by the infamous masked bandit, Ramerez. He too takes a fancy to Mary, and decides to secretly follow her, taking on the identity of an officer named, Lieutenant Johnson. While in Monterey, he dances, sings and courts Mary, who has now fallen in love with him. He then has to make a quick getaway. In the mean-time, Sheriff Jack has set up a trap to catch Ramerez at "The Poker". When Ramerez does arrive he soon discovers that Mary is the owner, and quickly changes to the identity of Lieutenant Johnson. How long can this charade last?
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Of Human Hearts
Title: Of Human Hearts
Character: Jim Meeker
Released: February 11, 1938
Type: Movie
This is a story about family relationships, set in the time before and during the American Civil War. Ethan Wilkins is a poor and honest man who ministers to the human soul, while his son Jason yearns to be a doctor, helping people in the earthly realm. It is a rich story about striving for excellence, the tension of father-son rebellion, and the love of a mother that can never die.
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The Bad Man of Brimstone
Title: The Bad Man of Brimstone
Character: Barney Lane
Released: December 31, 1937
Type: Movie
A ruthless outlaw becomes very protective of a prizefighter when he learns the young man is his own son.
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Big City
Title: Big City
Character: Robert, the Mayor
Released: September 3, 1937
Type: Movie
Anna and Joe are newly married, playful and deeply in love. Joe is scraping by as cab driver in New York City during a period of corruption, mob control and violence between cab companies.
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Bad Guy
Title: Bad Guy
Character: Dan Gray
Released: August 27, 1937
Type: Movie
A power-company troubleshooter has his brother get him out of prison by running high voltage to the bars of his cell.
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Broadway Melody of 1938
Title: Broadway Melody of 1938
Character: James K. Blakeley
Released: August 20, 1937
Type: Movie
Steve Raleight wants to produce a show on Broadway. He finds a backer, Herman Whipple and a leading lady, Sally Lee. But Caroline Whipple forces Steve to use a known star, not a newcomer. Sally purchases a horse, she used to train when her parents had a farm before the depression and with to ex-vaudevillians, Sonny Ledford and Peter Trott she trains it to win a race, providing the money Steve needs for his show.
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Between Two Women
Title: Between Two Women
Character: Dr. Webster
Released: July 9, 1937
Type: Movie
Allen Meighan, an intern, assures himself residency at 'General Hospital', when he saves the life of a man trapped in an explosion. Allen is in love with student nurse, Claire Donahue, and she with him, but, she is married to Tom a physically abusive husband.
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Captains Courageous
Title: Captains Courageous
Character: Uncle Salters
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 Good Earth
Title: The Good Earth
Character: Old Father
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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A Family Affair
Title: A Family Affair
Character: Frank Redmond
Released: March 12, 1937
Type: Movie
Judge Hardy faces problems at work and at home. Powerful men in town are upset with his decisions and want to see him impeached; his daughters, Joan and Marion, have romantic problems; and his son, Andy discovers Polly Benedict. As usual, Judge Hardy is concerned with everyone in the family and lends wisdom and calmness to all.
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Breakdowns of 1936
Title: Breakdowns of 1936
Character: Self
Released: December 30, 1936
Type: Movie
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1936.
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Sinner Take All
Title: Sinner Take All
Character: Aaron Lampier
Released: December 18, 1936
Type: Movie
A young lawyer is determined to identify who is murdering members of a wealthy New York publishing family.
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Without Orders
Title: Without Orders
Character: J.P. Kendrick
Released: October 22, 1936
Type: Movie
At Portland, Oregon, playboy pilot Len Kendrick lands at the end of a cross-country record flight, met by his father J.P. Kendrick who owns Amalgamated Air Lines. Len is a media darling, adored by fans for his daring flights. He is in love with Amalgamated stewardess Kay Armstrong who is dating veteran pilot "Wad" Madison. Len dates her sister Penny who learns that his hard-drinking and recklessness has caused the death of his co-pilot. Penny knows that he was drinking before the fateful flight and only escaped prosecution by bribing a bartender. She leaves Len who ends up at Amalgamated as a line pilot, being tutored by Wad.
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Libeled Lady
Title: Libeled Lady
Character: Hollis Bane
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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Small Town Girl
Title: Small Town Girl
Character: Dr. Ned Fabre
Released: April 10, 1936
Type: Movie
Kay is a girl living in a small rural town whose life is just too dull and repetitious to bear. One night, she meets young, handsome, and rich Bob Dakin, who asks her for directions while drunk and then proceeds to take her out on a night on the town. Kay likes the stranger, and when the drunken Bob decides that they should get married, Kay hesitates little before consenting. The morning after the affair, Bob, once sober, regrets his mistake. His strict and upright parents, however, insist that the young couple pretend marriage for 6 months before divorcing, in order to avoid bad publicity. Bob resents Kay for standing in the way of him and his fiancée, Priscilla, but Kay still hopes that he'd have a change of heart.
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The Voice of Bugle Ann
Title: The Voice of Bugle Ann
Character: Cal Royster
Released: February 15, 1936
Type: Movie
A Missouri farmer's (Lionel Barrymore) son (Eric Linden) loves the daughter (Maureen O'Sullivan) of a neighbor who has killed the farmer's foxhound.
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The Petrified Forest
Title: The Petrified Forest
Character: Gramp Maple
Released: February 8, 1936
Type: Movie
Gabby, the waitress in an isolated Arizona diner, dreams of a bigger and better life. One day penniless intellectual Alan drifts into the joint and the two strike up a rapport. Soon enough, notorious killer Duke Mantee takes the diner's inhabitants hostage. Surrounded by miles of desert, the patrons and staff are forced to sit tight with Mantee and his gang overnight.
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Ah, Wilderness!
Title: Ah, Wilderness!
Character: Dave McComber
Released: December 25, 1935
Type: Movie
At the turn of the century, a young man graduates high school and realizes the joys and sorrows of growing up, with some loving help and guidance from his wise father. A tender, coming-of-age story, with a wonderful look at a long-gone, but fondly remembered, small town America.
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Rendezvous
Title: Rendezvous
Character: Prof. Martin
Released: October 25, 1935
Type: Movie
A decoding expert tangles with enemy spies.
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King Solomon of Broadway
Title: King Solomon of Broadway
Character: Uncle Winchester
Released: September 30, 1935
Type: Movie
An underworld character wins a Broadway nightclub in a card game.
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Alice Adams
Title: Alice Adams
Character: J. A. Lamb
Released: August 23, 1935
Type: Movie
In the lower-middle-class Adams family, father and son are happy to work in a drugstore, but mother and daughter Alice try every possible social-climbing stratagem despite snubs and embarrassment. When Alice finally meets her dream man Arthur, mother nags father into a risky business venture and plans to impress Alice's beau with an "upscale" family dinner. Will the excruciating results drive Arthur away?
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Shanghai
Title: Shanghai
Character: Truesdale
Released: July 19, 1935
Type: Movie
A New York socialite travels to Shanghai to visit her ailing aunt and falls in love with a Russian banker, who harbors a family secret.
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One Frightened Night
Title: One Frightened Night
Character: Jasper Whyte
Released: May 1, 1935
Type: Movie
Eccentric tycoon Jasper Whyte hosts a dinner at his mansion and announces that he will divide his money and give each guest a million dollars before the stroke of midnight. When his long-lost granddaughter suddenly arrives, Whyte changes his mind and proclaims that she will receive his entire fortune. A second lady appears at the estate, claiming that she is actually Whyte's granddaughter, Doris Waverly, and the first woman is found murdered in her room! With each guest possessing a motive, the mystery of the killer's identity briskly unfolds through a stirring series of surprises.
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Party Wire
Title: Party Wire
Character: Will Oliver
Released: April 27, 1935
Type: Movie
When a small-town girl's boyfriend leaves in disgrace, gossips spread false reports of her pregnancy.
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Eight Bells
Title: Eight Bells
Character: Grayson
Released: April 10, 1935
Type: Movie
A trustworthy captain is reduced in rank so that the owner's daughter's fiancé may take charge.
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In Spite of Danger
Title: In Spite of Danger
Character: Pop Sullivan
Released: March 8, 1935
Type: Movie
Bill Crane, race-car driver has an accident while racing and finds himself unable to return to the fast-paced racetrack. Looking for another occupation he meets a girl, Sally Sullivan, who runs a roadside lunch-wagon and she helps him get a job as a truck driver. They fall in love and get married. He gets a contract to haul a load of dynamite and, when coming down a steep mountain, he finds his truck's brakes have been sabotaged, just as were the brakes on his race-car.
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Caravan
Title: Caravan
Character: Notary
Released: December 30, 1934
Type: Movie
A countess marries a Gypsy fiddler instead of a baron's son at harvest time in Tokay wine country, Hungary.
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Anne of Green Gables
Title: Anne of Green Gables
Character: Dr. Tatum
Released: November 23, 1934
Type: Movie
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and to the local villagers.
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The President Vanishes
Title: The President Vanishes
Character: Richard Norton
Released: November 17, 1934
Type: Movie
The President Vanishes, released in the United Kingdom as Strange Conspiracy, is a 1934 American political drama film directed by William A. Wellman and produced by Walter Wanger. Starring Edward Arnold and Arthur Byron, the film is an adaptation of Rex Stout's political novel of the same name.
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Judge Priest
Title: Judge Priest
Character: Sergeant Jimmy Bagby
Released: September 15, 1934
Type: Movie
Judge Priest, a proud Confederate veteran, restores the justice in a small town in the Post-Bellum Kentucky using his common sense and his great sense of humanity.
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Return of the Terror
Title: Return of the Terror
Character: Jessup
Released: July 7, 1934
Type: Movie
"The Terror", a killer whose identity is unknown, occupies an English country house that has been converted into an inn.
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The Loudspeaker
Title: The Loudspeaker
Character: Pop Calloway
Released: June 1, 1934
Type: Movie
A young man from a small town hits New York City, bound and determined to become a radio star. Amazingly, he achieves his ambition, but in the process alienates everyone around him with his arrogance and egomania.
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She Made Her Bed
Title: She Made Her Bed
Character: Joe Olesen
Released: April 26, 1934
Type: Movie
"Duke" Gordon (Robert Armstrong), a circus lion-tamer, tries to tames his wife, Laura (Sally Eilers), just as he does his lions. But she is a one-man woman, married to the wrong man, and refuses to cheat on her cheating husband even though her happiness depends on doing so.
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The Quitter
Title: The Quitter
Character: Ed Tilford
Released: February 5, 1934
Type: Movie
When her husband, who founded the town's crusading local newspaper, doesn't come back from the French battlefields of World War I, a woman struggles to raise her two sons and keep the newspaper going. Matters are complicated by the fact that, several years later, one of the sons wants to turn the paper from its position as a hard-fighting champion of the working-class into an upscale society paper catering to the rich and powerful. Matters are complicated even further by rumors that their father was in fact NOT killed in France during the war but took another man's identity and is still living there.
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Two Alone
Title: Two Alone
Character: Sandy Roberts
Released: January 26, 1934
Type: Movie
Mazie, a poor orphan girl, is mistreated by cruel farmer Slag and his wife for whom she works. Mazie, who is growing into a woman, does not like they way Slag has been looking at her lately.
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Female
Title: Female
Character: Drunk at Hamburger Stand (Uncredited)
Released: November 11, 1933
Type: Movie
Alison Drake, the tough-minded executive of an automobile factory, succeeds in the man's world of business until she meets an independent design engineer.
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Wild Boys of the Road
Title: Wild Boys of the Road
Character: Mr. Cadman (uncredited)
Released: October 7, 1933
Type: Movie
At the height of the Great Depression, Tommy's mother has been out of work for months when Eddie's father loses his job. Eager not to burden their parents, the two high school Sophomores decide to hop the freight trains and look for work.
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Torch Singer
Title: Torch Singer
Character: Andrew 'Juddy' Judson
Released: September 8, 1933
Type: Movie
When she can't support her illegitimate child, an abandoned young woman puts her up for adoption and pursues a career as a torch singer. Years later, she searches for the child she gave up.
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Beauty for Sale
Title: Beauty for Sale
Character: Freddy Gordon
Released: September 1, 1933
Type: Movie
A beautiful woman lands a job at an exclusive salon that deals with the wives of wealthy businessmen. Her contact with these men leads to a series of affairs.
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Turn Back the Clock
Title: Turn Back the Clock
Character: Dr. Henderson (uncredited)
Released: August 25, 1933
Type: Movie
While recuperating in a hospital after he's hit by an automobile, a struggling shopowner dreams what his life might have been like if he'd made different choices twenty years earlier.
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Pilgrimage
Title: Pilgrimage
Character: Dad Saunders
Released: July 12, 1933
Type: Movie
A mother from Arkansas is very possessive of her grown son. To prevent him from getting married she has him drafted into WW I.
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Midnight Mary
Title: Midnight Mary
Character: Clerk
Released: June 30, 1933
Type: Movie
A young woman is on trial for murder. In flashback, we learn of her struggles to overcome poverty as a teenager -- a mistaken arrest and prison term for shoplifting and lack of employment lead to involvement with gangsters. In a brothel, she meets a young lawyer, scion of a wealthy and prestigious family, who falls for her and helps her turn around her life. But her past catches up with her, and she must face the music rather than cause him scandal.
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Don't Bet on Love
Title: Don't Bet on Love
Character: Patrick McCaffrey
Released: June 30, 1933
Type: Movie
A plumber wins big at the racetrack but then his luck runs out and almost ruins his business. His manicurist girlfriend stands by him and helps him readjust to life as a plumber.
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Heroes for Sale
Title: Heroes for Sale
Character: Pa Dennis
Released: June 17, 1933
Type: Movie
Tom Holmes is someone guided by honesty and moral rectitude, a heroic veteran of the World War I marked by the unbearable suffering caused by his battle wounds, a traumatized but courageous man who will experience, in the years to come, the pain of misfortune but also the happiness of success and hope and love for other human beings.
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The Kiss Before the Mirror
Title: The Kiss Before the Mirror
Character: Schultz
Released: May 4, 1933
Type: Movie
When a famous doctor kills his adulterous wife, he is defended by his best friend, an attorney who suspects that his own wife is having an affair.
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Hello, Everybody!
Title: Hello, Everybody!
Character: Jed
Released: February 17, 1933
Type: Movie
The setting is a farm. Kate Smith and Sally Blane play sisters; assorted relatives live with the sisters, but everyone at home, and in the whole town, depends on Kate to hold everything together. The power company wants to build a dam which will require flooding many of the farms; Kate is holding out; if Kate sells, everyone else will sell; if Kate refuses, the rest of the town will refuse as well. Randolph Scott meets Kate's beautiful sister, Sally Blane, at a dance. Randolph Scott, as it turns out, is an agent for the power company. Kate thinks he's just using Sally; Sally believes that he truly likes her. Randolph comes to the farm and appears to woo Kate. Kate remains unconvinced about selling out, but falls for Randolph.
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No Man of Her Own
Title: No Man of Her Own
Character: George, a Concessions Clerk
Released: December 30, 1932
Type: Movie
An on-the-lam New York card shark marries a small-town librarian who thinks he's a businessman.
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Wild Horse Mesa
Title: Wild Horse Mesa
Character: Sam Bass
Released: November 25, 1932
Type: Movie
Chane Weymer, an Arizona rancher, goes after a gang that is trapping wild horses by the use of barbed-wire enclosures.
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The Night of June 13
Title: The Night of June 13
Character: "Grandpop" Strawn (as Charles Grapewin)
Released: September 17, 1932
Type: Movie
Elna Curry, once a concert pianist, develops an unfounded jealousy of neighbor, Trudie Morrow. Elna who suffers from neurasthenia, believes that Trudie is having an affair with her husband, John, and vows revenge on Trudie. John explains to Trudie Elna's condition and plan. Trudie, being good-hearted tells John that she'll move. One evening, John returns late from work to discover Elna dead. John burns Elna's suicide note to protect Trudie. This results in John being charged for murder and put on trial.
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American Madness
Title: American Madness
Character: Mr. Jones (uncredited)
Released: August 15, 1932
Type: Movie
Socially-conscious banker Thomas Dickson faces a crisis when his protégé is wrongly accused of robbing the bank, gossip of the robbery starts a bank run, and evidence suggests Dickson's wife had an affair... all in the same day.
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The Washington Masquerade
Title: The Washington Masquerade
Character: Senator Simmons (uncredited)
Released: July 9, 1932
Type: Movie
An honest, talented and well respected attorney defeats a corrupt incumbent U.S. Senator. After a very good start he has to face the subtle temptations and innocent looking traps of Washington.
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The Woman in Room 13
Title: The Woman in Room 13
Character: Andy
Released: May 15, 1932
Type: Movie
Divorcee Laura marries Paul but his employer is also enamored with Laura and sends Paul on a business trip during which a murder is committed and he is accused of the crime.
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Huddle
Title: Huddle
Character: Doctor (uncredited)
Released: May 14, 1932
Type: Movie
Tony, the son of Italian immigrants, works in a smoky steel mill in Gary, Indiana. He wins a company scholarship which will enable him to attend Yale college. Over the four years of his college career he learns about football, love, and class prejudice.
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Are You Listening?
Title: Are You Listening?
Character: Pierce
Released: March 21, 1932
Type: Movie
WBLA is on the air, presenting the live music, the sudsy dramas and the sell-sell-sell of commercial interludes that keep consumers buying and sponsors smiling. But one sponsor, a producer of plumbing supplies, isn’t happy. So WBLA scriptwriter Bill Grimes is bounced from his job, setting in motion this movie’s turn from comedic to darkly tragic. William Haines, two years removed from being Tinseltown’s top male star, plays Grimes in a melodrama noted for its glimpses of live radio production and for a Depression-era ethos that includes peroxide cuties eager to land a job, a sugar daddy or both.
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The Big Timer
Title: The Big Timer
Character: Pop Baldwin
Released: March 10, 1932
Type: Movie
Loud-mouth hamburger flipper, Cooky, thinks he can box. His big chance comes when everyone else quits the gym when it is inherited by a dame.
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Hell's House
Title: Hell's House
Character: Henry Clark
Released: January 30, 1932
Type: Movie
A teenager lands in a brutal reform school for refusing to squeal on his bootlegger boss.
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For the Love of Fanny
Title: For the Love of Fanny
Character: Professor
Released: December 27, 1931
Type: Movie
Glenn (Glenn Tryon), is trying to get into a secret fraternity in order to impress his girlfriend, Fanny (Helen Mann). But his rival is the president of the fraternity and has some very special plans for Glenn. The latter soon finds himself crooning a love song to two tough policeman. and being instructed to convince his blond sweet patootie, Fanny, that he prefers a brunette sweet patootie.
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Heaven on Earth
Title: Heaven on Earth
Character: Doc Boax
Released: November 27, 1931
Type: Movie
A young boy finds out that the man he thought was his father actually killed his real father, then adopted him.
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Gold Dust Gertie
Title: Gold Dust Gertie
Character: Nicholas Hautrey
Released: June 27, 1931
Type: Movie
Early 30s pre-code comedy about a woman attempting to get her two ex-husbands to pay back alimony.
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The Millionaire
Title: The Millionaire
Character: Ed Powers
Released: May 1, 1931
Type: Movie
A millionaire automaker retires upon the advice of his doctor, but becomes so bored he buys half interest in a gas station and works it on the sly.
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Only Saps Work
Title: Only Saps Work
Character: Simeon Tanner
Released: December 5, 1930
Type: Movie
Rubber-legged comedian Leon Errol made his talkie starring bow in Paramount's Only Saps Work. Based on a play by Owen Davis Sr., the film casts Errol as James Wilson, a kleptomaniac who starts with picking pockets and ends up robbing a bank. Wilson's friend Lawrence Payne (Richard Arlen) inadvertently aids our hero during one of his heists, ending up in deep doo-doo with the law. Before Wilson is able to extricate Payne from his dilemma for the sake of heroine Barbara Tanner (Mary Brian), he pauses long enough to pose as a private eye -- and even gives bellboy Oscar (Stu Erwin) tips on how to spot a crook! If only all of Leon Errol's feature films had been as consistently hilarious as Only Saps Work.
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Above the Limit
Title: Above the Limit
Character: Chimmie Hicks
Released: November 21, 1900
Type: Movie
Filming of a character sketch by the well-known vaudevillian Charles E. Grapewin. On a bare stage backed by a dark curtain, a man dressed in a three-piece suit and overcoat holds a racing program and excitedly watches a race supposedly taking place offstage.
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Hell and High Water
Title: Hell and High Water
Character: Peck Wealin
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
The life of an avowed bachelor who tows garbage is changed when he meets a runaway taxi dancer.