Arthur O'Connell

Arthur O'Connell

Born: March 29, 1908
Died: May 18, 1981
in New York City, New York, U.S.
Arthur O'Connell (March 29, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in films (starting with a small role in Citizen Kane) in 1941 and television programs (mostly guest appearances). Among his screen appearances were Picnic, Anatomy of a Murder, and as the watch-maker who hides Jews during WWII in The Hiding Place.

A veteran vaudevillian, O'Connell, from New York City, made his legitimate stage debut in the mid 1930s, at which time he fell within the orbit of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Welles cast O'Connell in the tiny role of a reporter in the closing scenes of Citizen Kane (1941), a film often referred to as O'Connell's film debut, though in fact he had already appeared in Freshman Year (1939) and had costarred in two Leon Errol short subjects as Leon's conniving brother-in-law.

After numerous small movie parts, O'Connell returned to Broadway, where he appeared as the erstwhile middle-aged swain of a spinsterish schoolteacher in Picnic - a role he'd recreate in the 1956 film version, earning an Oscar nomination in the process. Later the jaded looking O'Connell was frequently cast as fortyish losers and alcoholics; in the latter capacity he appeared as James Stewart's boozy attorney mentor in Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and the result was another Oscar nomination. In 1962 O'Connell portrayed the father of Elvis Presley's character in the motion picture Follow That Dream, and in 1964 in the Presley-picture Kissin' Cousins.

O'Connell continued appearing in choice character parts on both TV and films during the 1960s, but avoided a regular television series, holding out until he could be assured top billing. He appeared as Joseph Baylor in the 1964 episode "A Little Anger Is a Good Thing" on the ABC medical drama about psychiatry, Breaking Point. The actor accepted the part of a man who discovers that his 99-year-old father has been frozen in an iceberg on the 1967 sitcom The Second Hundred Years, assuming he'd be billed first per the producers' agreement. Instead, top billing went to newcomer Monte Markham in the dual role of O'Connell's father and his son. O'Connell accepted the demotion to second billing as well as could be expected, but he never again trusted the word of any Hollywood executive.

Ill health forced O'Connell to significantly reduce his acting appearances in the mid '70s, but the actor stayed busy as a commercial spokesman, a friendly pharmacist who was a spokesperson for Crest toothpaste. At the time of his death from Alzheimer's disease in California in May 1981, O'Connell was appearing solely in these commercials, by his own choice.

O'Connell was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York.

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Movies for Arthur O'Connell...

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Title: Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Character: actor 'Anatomy of a Murder' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: October 28, 1991
Type: Movie
This documentary, hosted by actor Burgess Meredith, explores the life and career of movie director Otto Preminger, whose body of work includes such memorable films as Anatomy of a Murder, Exodus, Laura, Forever Amber, Advise and Consent, In Harm's Way, The Moon Is Blue, The Man with the Golden Arm, and many other movies made from the '30s through the '70s. Interviews with actors Frank Sinatra, Vincent Price, James Stewart, Michael Caine, and others who worked with the flamboyant and sometimes control-obsessed director add information and insight to the story.
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Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
Title: Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
Character: Self (from Bus Stop [1956]) (archive footage)
Released: April 19, 1986
Type: Movie
Her story is well-known — the lonely child who yearned for affection and approval which she finally seemed to find as Hollywood's greatest love goddess. But even though she scaled heights few could even dream of, she was one of the loneliest of stars.
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The Hiding Place
Title: The Hiding Place
Character: Casper ten Boom, 'Papa'
Released: May 4, 1975
Type: Movie
The Hiding Place is an account of a Dutch family who risk their lives by offering a safe haven for Jews during World War II
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Huckleberry Finn
Title: Huckleberry Finn
Character: Col. Grangerford
Released: May 24, 1974
Type: Movie
Huckleberry Finn is a 15-year-old boy who has had a difficult relationship with his often violent father for a long time. When Dad tried to kidnap him, Huck decides to run away from home, and heads out of town on a raft. Huck is soon joined by Jim, a runaway slave who is no more eager to see his master than Huck is to see his father. As the two friends make their way down the Mississippi, they're faced with a variety of challenges and adventures.
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Shootout in a One-Dog Town
Title: Shootout in a One-Dog Town
Character: Henry Gills
Released: January 9, 1974
Type: Movie
A small-town banker is forced to protect his town against a vicious gang of bank robbers determined to get the $200,000 stored in his bank.
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Title: Adam's Rib
Character: Judge
Released: September 14, 1973
Type: TV
Adam's Rib is an American situation comedy broadcast on ABC-TV from September 14 to December 28, 1973. It was produced by MGM Television and had 13 episodes. The series was a TV adaptation of the 1949 motion picture of the same name.
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Wicked, Wicked
Title: Wicked, Wicked
Character: Mr. Fenley, Hotel Engineer
Released: June 13, 1973
Type: Movie
A tongue-in-cheek psycho movie in "Duo-vision." The entire feature employs the split-screen technique used in parts of Brian De Palma's "Sisters" that same year. As a handyman at a seacoast hotel, Randolph Roberts wears a monster mask while he kills and dismembers women with blond hair. Tiffany Bolling is a singer, Scott Brady is a detective and Edd "Kookie" Burns is a lifeguard. The music is the original organ score for the silent film "Phantom of the Opera."
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The Poseidon Adventure
Title: The Poseidon Adventure
Character: John, the Chaplain
Released: December 13, 1972
Type: Movie
When their ocean liner capsizes, a group of passengers struggle to survive and escape.
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They Only Kill Their Masters
Title: They Only Kill Their Masters
Character: Ernie
Released: November 22, 1972
Type: Movie
An enigmatic young woman has been murdered in a small California coast town. The investigation by the local sheriff uncovers a complex web of relationships centering on the victim; the scattered trail of evidence ranges from a mysterious photograph to the victim's own dog. During the investigation, the sheriff meets and becomes romantically involved with a woman whose connection to the murder is ambiguous.
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Title: Ghost Story
Character: Chief Owen Huston
Released: September 15, 1972
Type: TV
Ghost Story is an American television anthology series that aired for one season on NBC from 1972 to 1973. Executive-produced by William Castle, it initially featured supernatural entities such as ghosts, vampires, and witches. By mid-season, low ratings led to a shift -- for the most part -- away from paranormal themes and a title change to Circle of Fear.
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Title: The Paul Lynde Show
Released: September 13, 1972
Type: TV
The Paul Lynde Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC. The series stars Paul Lynde and aired from September 13, 1972 to September 8, 1973.
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Ben
Title: Ben
Character: Bill Hatfield
Released: June 23, 1972
Type: Movie
A lonely boy becomes good friends with Ben, a rat. This rat is also the leader of a pack of vicious killer rats, killing lots of people.
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Title: Emergency!
Released: January 22, 1972
Type: TV
The crew of Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51, particularly the paramedic team, and Rampart Hospital respond to emergencies in their operating area.
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A Taste of Evil
Title: A Taste of Evil
Character: John
Released: October 11, 1971
Type: Movie
On her way home from a stay at a mental institution after a traumatic rape, a woman realizes that someone is deliberately trying to drive her insane.
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Title: Cannon
Released: September 14, 1971
Type: TV
Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976. The primary protagonist is the title character, private detective Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad. He also appeared on two episodes of Barnaby Jones. Cannon is the first Quinn Martin-produced series to be aired on a network other than ABC. A "revival" television film, The Return of Frank Cannon, was aired on November 1, 1980. In total, there were 124 episodes.
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The Last Valley
Title: The Last Valley
Character: Hoffman
Released: January 28, 1971
Type: Movie
People in a small German village in the last valley to remain untouched by the devastating Thirty Years' War try to exist in peace with a group of soldiers occupying the valley.
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Title: Alias Smith and Jones
Released: January 5, 1971
Type: TV
Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of cousin outlaws trying to reform. The governor offers them a conditional amnesty, as he wants to keep the pact under wraps for political reasons. The condition is that they will still be wanted— until the governor can claim they have reformed and warrant clemency.
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Title: Night Gallery
Released: December 16, 1970
Type: TV
Rod Serling narrates an anthology of fantasy, horror and sci-fi stories from a set resembling a macabre museum. A chilling work of art serves as the connective link between the stories.
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There Was a Crooked Man...
Title: There Was a Crooked Man...
Character: Mr. Lomax
Released: September 18, 1970
Type: Movie
Arizona Territorial Prison inmate Paris Pitman, Jr. is a schemer, a charmer, and quite popular among his fellow convicts — especially with $500,000 in stolen loot hidden away and a plan to escape and recover it. New warden Woodward Lopeman has other ideas about Pitman. Each man will have the tables turned on him.
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Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
Title: Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
Character: Mr. Kruft
Released: September 11, 1970
Type: Movie
War is brewing between the soldiers at an otherwise quiet army base and the civilians of a nearby Southern town. Brian Keith is an officer who tries to keep the peace. However, peace is hard to come by with Ernest Borgnine as a stereotypical dumb hick sheriff who's quick to call in the local militia. Tony Curtis plays a skirt-chasing sergeant who can't stay out of trouble and soon lands in jail. Brian Keith borrows a tank to release his friend from jail. Things get more chaotic after that.
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Title: McCloud
Released: February 17, 1970
Type: TV
Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud of the small western town of Taos, New Mexico is assigned to the metropolitan New York City Police Department (NYPD) as a special investigator.
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Title: Nanny and the Professor
Released: January 21, 1970
Type: TV
Nanny and the Professor is an American fantasy situation comedy created by AJ Carothers and Thomas L. Miller for 20th Century Fox Television. During pre-production, the proposed title was Nanny Will Do.
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Seven in Darkness
Title: Seven in Darkness
Character: Larry Wise
Released: September 23, 1969
Type: Movie
A plane carrying seven blind people to a convention for the blind in Seattle crashes in the mountains due to severe weather. Only the blind survive the crash and they must make their way back through the wilderness to civilization.
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Title: Room 222
Released: September 11, 1969
Type: TV
Room 222 is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television. The series aired on ABC for 112 episodes from September 17, 1969 until January 11, 1974. The show was broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 9:00 for its first two seasons before settling into its best-remembered time slot of Friday evenings at 9:00, following The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family, and preceding The Odd Couple and Love, American Style. In 1970, Room 222 earned Emmy Awards in three categories: Outstanding New Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
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If He Hollers, Let Him Go!
Title: If He Hollers, Let Him Go!
Character: Prosecutor
Released: October 8, 1968
Type: Movie
James Lake (Raymond St. Jacques) is an escaped black convict imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit. Leslie Whitlock (Kevin McCarthy) offers James money to kill his wife, Ellen (Dana Wynter). He declines and tries to look up his old flame Lily (Barbara McNair), but discovers his own brother is now married to the sultry nightclub singer. James returns to Leslie, and the trio travel towards a mountain retreat. James and Ellen escape and try to find the murderer who had framed James years before.
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Title: The Name of the Game
Character: Charlie Sherwin
Released: September 20, 1968
Type: TV
The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. It was a pioneering wheel series, setting the stage for The Bold Ones and the NBC Mystery Movie in the 1970s. The show had an extremely large budget for a television series.
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The Power
Title: The Power
Character: Prof. Henry Hallson
Released: February 21, 1968
Type: Movie
One by one members of a special project team are being killed by telekinesis - the ability to move things with the power of the mind alone. The race is on to determine which of the remaining team members is the murderer and to stop them.
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Title: The Second Hundred Years
Released: September 6, 1967
Type: TV
The Second Hundred Years is an American sitcom starring Monte Markham which aired on the ABC television network for one season from September 6, 1967 to March 28, 1968.
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The Reluctant Astronaut
Title: The Reluctant Astronaut
Character: Arbuckle "Buck" Fleming
Released: September 5, 1967
Type: Movie
Roy Fleming is a small-town kiddie-ride operator who is deathly afraid of heights. After learning that his father has signed him up for the space program, Roy reluctantly heads for Houston, only to find out upon arriving that his job is as a janitor, not an astronaut. Anxious to live up to the expectations of his domineering father, Roy manages to keep up a facade of being an astronaut to his family and friends. When NASA decides to launch a layperson into space to prove the worthiness of a new automated spacecraft, Roy gets the chance to confront his fears.
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Title: Ironside
Released: March 28, 1967
Type: TV
When an assassin's bullet confines him to a wheelchair for life ending his career as Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside becomes a consultant to the police department. Detective Sergeant Ed Brown and policewoman Eve Whitfield join with him to crack varied and fascinating cases. Ex-con Mark Sanger is employed by the chief as home help but eventually becomes a fully fledged member of the team also. Officer Whitfield leaves after 4 years service, and is replaced by Officer Fran Belding.
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A Covenant with Death
Title: A Covenant with Death
Character: Judge Hockstadter
Released: February 15, 1967
Type: Movie
An innocent man is found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, but as he's about to be hanged he accidentally kills his executioner. He now faces a new trial, presided over by a young and inexperienced judge.
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Fantastic Voyage
Title: Fantastic Voyage
Character: Col. Donald Reid
Released: August 24, 1966
Type: Movie
In order to save an assassinated scientist, a submarine and its crew are shrunk to microscopic size and injected into his bloodstream.
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Birds Do It
Title: Birds Do It
Character: Professor Wald
Released: August 13, 1966
Type: Movie
Melvin Byrd, who dreams of being a scientist, is a Cape Kennedy "miniscule molecular particle surveillance monitor" - in short, a janitor. His job is to keep a major rocket project completely dust-free, and this he does with his own hilariously fantastic inventions - including a literal attack on dirt by a "knight on a white horse". In his work, he meets Judy, a chimp involved in a top-secret project, which leads Melvin into the one room strictly off-limits to him. Not until he has entered the project room does Melvin learn that any man entering it will be negatively ionized - making him fly like a bird.
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The Silencers
Title: The Silencers
Character: Joe Wigman
Released: February 18, 1966
Type: Movie
Matt Helm is called out of retirement to stop the evil Big O organization who plan to explode an atomic bomb over Alamagordo, NM, and start WW III.
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Ride Beyond Vengeance
Title: Ride Beyond Vengeance
Character: The Narrator
Released: January 1, 1966
Type: Movie
Jonas Trapp falls in love with the beautiful Jessie, a wealthy girl out of his humble class. Against the wishes of her snobbish aunt, she marries him, later faking a pregnancy to win her aunt's consent. But Jonas tires of living off of his wife's family, and eventually deserts her to become a buffalo hunter. 11 years later, with his self-made fortune, he sets out to return home, only to be set upon by three sadistic marauders, who steal his money and leave him for dead. Rescued by a farmer who nurses him back to health, Jonas becomes consumed by the desire for revenge. As fate would have it, all three men live close to Jonas' former home. Matters quickly get worse when Jonas reunites with his wife, only to discover that she is now engaged to Renne.
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Title: The F.B.I.
Character: Smitty
Released: September 19, 1965
Type: TV
The F.B.I. is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1974. It was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, and the characters almost always drove Ford vehicles in the series. Alcoa was co-sponsor of Season One only.
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Title: The Wild Wild West
Released: September 17, 1965
Type: TV
The Wild Wild West is an American television series Developed at a time when the television western was losing ground to the spy genre, this show was conceived by its creator, Michael Garrison, as "James Bond on horseback." Set during the administration of President Ulysses Grant, the series followed Secret Service agents James West and Artemus Gordon as they solved crimes, protected the President, and foiled the plans of megalomaniacal villains to take over all or part of the United States. The show also featured a number of fantasy elements, such as the technologically advanced devices used by the agents and their adversaries. The combination of the Victorian era time-frame and the use of Verne-esque style technology have inspired some to give the show credit for the origins of the steam punk subculture.
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Title: The Big Valley
Character: Jubal
Released: September 15, 1965
Type: TV
The Big Valley is an American western television series which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969. The show stars Barbara Stanwyck, as the widow of a wealthy nineteenth century California rancher. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman, and produced by Levy-Gardner-Laven for Four Star Television.
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The Monkey's Uncle
Title: The Monkey's Uncle
Character: Darius Green III
Released: August 18, 1965
Type: Movie
College whiz-kid Merlin Jones concocts a method for teaching advanced information to a chimpanzee, then creates a flying machine of his own design, ultimately raising havoc on the campus.
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The Third Day
Title: The Third Day
Character: Dr. Wheeler
Released: August 4, 1965
Type: Movie
A man stumbles out of a car crash with no memory of what transpired. Everyone who he meets suggests that he is a ruthless man with an aggressive temper. Could he be deliberately blocking out memories of his past?
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The Great Race
Title: The Great Race
Character: Henry Goodbody
Released: July 1, 1965
Type: Movie
Professional daredevil and white-suited hero, The Great Leslie, convinces turn-of-the-century auto makers that a race from New York to Paris (westward across America, the Bering Straight and Russia) will help to promote automobile sales. Leslie's arch-rival, the mustached and black-attired Professor Fate vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a car of Fate's own invention.
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Nightmare in the Sun
Title: Nightmare in the Sun
Character: Sam Wilson
Released: March 6, 1965
Type: Movie
A hitchhiker sleeps with a rancher's wife and is hunted by the sheriff for her murder.
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Your Cheatin' Heart
Title: Your Cheatin' Heart
Character: Fred Rose
Released: November 4, 1964
Type: Movie
The story of the country and western singer Hank Williams.
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7 Faces of Dr. Lao
Title: 7 Faces of Dr. Lao
Character: Clint Stark
Released: March 18, 1964
Type: Movie
An old Chinese man rides into the town of Abalone, Arizona and changes it forever, as the citizens see themselves reflected in the mirror of Lao's mysterious circus of mythical beasts.
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Kissin' Cousins
Title: Kissin' Cousins
Character: Pappy Tatum
Released: March 6, 1964
Type: Movie
An Army officer returns to the Smoky Mountains and tries to convince his kinfolk to allow the Army to build a missile site on their land. Once he gets there, he discovers he has a look-alike cousin.
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Title: Petticoat Junction
Character: William Lawrence
Released: September 24, 1963
Type: TV
The Bradley family are proud owners of the Shady Rest Hotel. Kate and her three young daughters do the job of running the hotel.
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Title: Burke's Law
Character: Dr. Stuart Alexander
Released: September 20, 1963
Type: TV
Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.
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Title: The Fugitive
Character: Samuel Cole
Released: September 17, 1963
Type: TV
Richard Kimble is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death penalty. En route to death row, Kimble's train derails and crashes, allowing him to escape and begin a cross-country search for the real killer, a "one-armed man". At the same time, Dr. Kimble is hounded by the authorities, most notably dogged by Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard.
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Title: The Greatest Show on Earth
Released: September 17, 1963
Type: TV
Johnny Slate successfully manages his circus as it moves from town to town.
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Title: The Fugitive
Character: Dr. Josephus Harrison Adams
Released: September 17, 1963
Type: TV
Richard Kimble is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death penalty. En route to death row, Kimble's train derails and crashes, allowing him to escape and begin a cross-country search for the real killer, a "one-armed man". At the same time, Dr. Kimble is hounded by the authorities, most notably dogged by Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard.
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Title: Arrest and Trial
Released: September 15, 1963
Type: TV
Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 p.m. Eastern.
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Marilyn
Title: Marilyn
Character: Self ("Bus Stop") (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: April 18, 1963
Type: Movie
This 1963 documentary, released less than a year after Marilyn Monroe's death, showcases the star in memorable scenes from her 20th Century Fox films, including wardrobe tests and clips from her last, uncompleted project, "Something's Got To Give". Hosted and narrated by Rock Hudson.
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Title: Sam Benedict
Released: September 15, 1962
Type: TV
Sam Benedict is an American legal drama that aired on NBC from September 1962 to March 1963. The series was created and executive produced by E. Jack Neuman. Sam Benedict is based on real-life lawyer Jacob W. "Jake" Erlich, who served as technical consultant for the series.
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Pericles on 31st Street
Title: Pericles on 31st Street
Character: Dan Ryan
Released: April 12, 1962
Type: Movie
Racial tensions break out on 31st Street, a multi-ethnic community. Sam Peckinpah directed this original adaptation of the Harry Mark Petrakis novel for NBC, and the project became an hour-long presentation for NBC's The Dick Powell Theatre, premiering on Apr. 12, 1962.
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Follow That Dream
Title: Follow That Dream
Character: Pop Kwimper
Released: April 11, 1962
Type: Movie
When the Kwimper family car runs out of fuel on a new Florida highway and an officious state supervisor tries to run them off, Pop Kwimper digs in his heels and decides to do a little homesteading. He and his son Toby and their 'adopted' children—Holly, Ariadne, and the twins—start their own little community along a strip of the roadside.
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Pocketful of Miracles
Title: Pocketful of Miracles
Character: Count Alfonso Romero
Released: December 18, 1961
Type: Movie
A New York gangster and his girlfriend attempt to turn street beggar Apple Annie into a society lady when the peddler learns her daughter is marrying royalty.
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Title: The New Breed
Character: Peter Capples
Released: October 3, 1961
Type: TV
The New Breed is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from October 3, 1961 to June 5, 1962, with thirty-six episodes.
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A Thunder of Drums
Title: A Thunder of Drums
Character: Sgt. Karl Rodermill
Released: September 26, 1961
Type: Movie
Captain Maddocks will never be promoted beyond Captain because of a mistake that he made in the past. Lt. McQuade is a green rookie who is now under the command of the tough Captain and he does not seem to be able to do anything right. Lt. McQuade also has trouble with Tracey, but it will be the renegade Indians that will test him and teach him the importance of following orders.
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Misty
Title: Misty
Character: Grandpa Clarence Beebe
Released: June 4, 1961
Type: Movie
Every year the Chincoteague fire department rounds up the wild ponies of Assateague Island and holds an auction to thin out the herd. The young children set out to raise enough money in hopes that the Phantom will be caught in this years round up. They soon realize they will get more than they bargained for when the Phantom has a surprise for everyone: a foal named Misty.
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The Great Impostor
Title: The Great Impostor
Character: Warden J.B. Chandler
Released: December 23, 1960
Type: Movie
Fictionalized account of Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr., who stole or created fictional identities and worked in a variety of occupations, most quite successfully.
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Cimarron
Title: Cimarron
Character: Tom Wyatt
Released: December 1, 1960
Type: Movie
The epic story of a family involved in the Oklahoma Land Rush of April 22, 1889.
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Title: Route 66
Released: October 7, 1960
Type: TV
Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America in a Chevrolet Corvette sports car. The show ran weekly on Fridays on CBS from October 7, 1960 to March 20, 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for the first two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod was shown traveling on his own. Tod met Lincoln Case, played by Glenn Corbett, late in the third season, and traveled with him until the end of the fourth and final season. Among the series more notable aspects were the featured Corvette convertible, and the program's instrumental theme song, which became a major pop hit.
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Title: My Three Sons
Released: September 29, 1960
Type: TV
A widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas raises three sons with the help of his father-in-law, and later the boys' great-uncle. An adopted son, a stepdaughter, wives, and another generation of sons join the loving family in later seasons.
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Operation Petticoat
Title: Operation Petticoat
Character: Chief Motor Machinist's Mate Sam Tostin
Released: December 5, 1959
Type: Movie
A World War II submarine commander finds himself stuck with a damaged sub, a con-man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.
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Hound-Dog Man
Title: Hound-Dog Man
Character: Aaron McKinney
Released: November 11, 1959
Type: Movie
A rustic drama set in the early 20th century, Hound Dog Man is the simple story of a young man, Spud Kinney constantly in hot water for disobeying his mother. The lad should be watching the family farm, but he falls in with his older brother, Clint, and his reckless buddy Blackie Scantling who take him hunting in hillbilly country. The boy falls in love with a beautiful mountain girl, while Blackie has his own fling with another attractive hillbilly maiden, Nita Stringer, and then becomes mixed up with an older, married woman, Sussie Bell.
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Anatomy of a Murder
Title: Anatomy of a Murder
Character: Parnell Emmett McCarthy
Released: July 1, 1959
Type: Movie
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.
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Gidget
Title: Gidget
Character: Russell Lawrence
Released: April 9, 1959
Type: Movie
Due to an accident while swimming in the sea, Francis meets the surfer Moondoggie. She's fascinated with his sport and starts to hang out with his clique. Although they make fun of her at first, they teach her to surf and soon she's accepted and given the nickname "Gidget". But it's hard work to become more than a friend to Moondoggie.
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Voice in the Mirror
Title: Voice in the Mirror
Character: Bill Tobin
Released: August 13, 1958
Type: Movie
Jim Burton, chronic alcoholic, is cared for by Ellen, his incredibly patient, sexy, hard-working wife. A doctor's warning that Jim could become mentally ill strikes enough fear into him that he really wants to cure himself...but can't. One night, he meets William Tobin, a fellow drunk, and finds that he helps himself by trying to help Tobin. Thus is born, amid setbacks, a group resembling Alcoholics Anonymous.
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Man of the West
Title: Man of the West
Character: Sam Beasley
Released: June 20, 1958
Type: Movie
Heading east to Fort Worth to hire a schoolteacher for his frontier town home, Link Jones is stranded with singer Billie Ellis and gambler Sam Beasley when their train is held up. For shelter, Jones leads them to his nearby former home, where he was brought up an outlaw. Finding the gang still living in the shack, Jones pretends to be ready to return to a life crime.
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The Violators
Title: The Violators
Character: Solomon Baumgarten
Released: November 30, 1957
Type: Movie
A New York City probation officer, noted for his sympathy with delinquents, put to a severe test when his daughter falls for a boy whom circumstances force into breaking the law.
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April Love
Title: April Love
Character: Jed Bruce
Released: November 27, 1957
Type: Movie
A teenager, recently in trouble with the police, is sent to live with his aunt and uncle on their Kentucky farm in order to rediscover life's values.
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Title: Alcoa Theatre
Released: September 30, 1957
Type: TV
Alcoa Theatre is a half-hour American anthology series telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on alternate Monday nights from October 7, 1957 to September 16, 1960. The program also aired under the title Turn of Fate, with the stories depicting the difficulties faced by individuals who are suddenly thrust into unexpected and perilous dangers. Alcoa Theatre was syndicated together with Goodyear Theatre as Award Theatre. In 1955, The Alcoa Hour premiered in a one-hour format aired on Sunday nights, but it was reduced to 30 minutes, retitled Alcoa Theatre, and moved to Monday evening in 1957. The show employed an alternating rotating company of actors: David Niven, Robert Ryan, Jane Powell, Jack Lemmon and Charles Boyer. Each appeared in dramatic and light comedic roles through the first season.
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Title: DuPont Show of the Month
Released: September 29, 1957
Type: TV
DuPont Show of the Month is an acclaimed 90-minute television anthology series that aired monthly on CBS from 1957 to 1961. The DuPont Company also sponsored a weekly half-hour anthology drama series hosted by June Allyson, The DuPont Show with June Allyson. During the Golden Age of Television, DuPont Show of the Month was one of numerous anthology series telecast between 1949 and 1962. Superficially, it resembled Playhouse 90 and other anthologies, but DuPont Show of the Month focused less on contemporary dramas and more on adaptations of literary classics, including Oliver Twist, The Prince and the Pauper, Billy Budd, The Prisoner of Zenda, A Tale of Two Cities and The Count of Monte Cristo.
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Operation Mad Ball
Title: Operation Mad Ball
Character: Col. Rousch
Released: August 17, 1957
Type: Movie
In this wacky military spoof, Lemmon plays a terminally bored Army private waging a war of wits as he tries to throw a party under the nose of his obnoxious commanding officer.
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The Monte Carlo Story
Title: The Monte Carlo Story
Character: Mr. Homer Hinkley
Released: December 19, 1956
Type: Movie
Stylish, sophisticated and absolutely broke, Dino and Maria pursue a romance until they realize neither of them has any money, which forces the gold diggers to turn their attention to a wealthy widower and his daughter. A compulsive gambler who owes several anxious investors a small fortune, Dino has trouble cutting his losses, no matter how bad the losing streak.
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Title: Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Character: Lyman
Released: October 5, 1956
Type: TV
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.
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Bus Stop
Title: Bus Stop
Character: Virgil Blessing
Released: August 31, 1956
Type: Movie
Cowboys Beauregard Decker and Virgil Blessing attend a rodeo in Phoenix, where Decker falls in love with beautiful cafe singer Cherie. He wants to take Cherie back to his native Montana and marry her, but she dreams of traveling to Hollywood and becoming famous. When she resists his advances, Decker forces Cherie onto the bus back to Montana with him, but, when the bus makes an unscheduled stop due to bad weather, the tables are turned.
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The Solid Gold Cadillac
Title: The Solid Gold Cadillac
Character: Mark Jenkins
Released: August 22, 1956
Type: Movie
Laura Partridge is a very enthusiastic small stockholder of 10 shares in International Projects, a large corporation based in New York. She attends her first stockholder meeting ready to question the board of directors from their salaries to their operations.
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The Proud Ones
Title: The Proud Ones
Character: Jim Dexter
Released: May 15, 1956
Type: Movie
Robert Ryan plays an aging sheriff responsible for law and order in a frontier cattle town. Virginia Mayo plays his fiancee. As if handling wild cattle drovers isn't enough, a crooked casino operator from Ryan's past comes to town. An early scuffle in the casino leaves Ryan with vision problems that interfere with his duties. Jeffrey Hunter who came to town with a cattle drive encounters Ryan, who killed Hunter's father when Hunter was young. Feelings of animosity soon change as Hunter begins to sense Ryan is telling the truth about his father. What follows is a plot that continues to thicken to the inevitable showdown.
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The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Title: The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Character: Gordon Walker
Released: April 12, 1956
Type: Movie
Tom Rath is a suburban father and husband haunted by his memories of World War II, including a wartime romance with Italian village girl Maria, which resulted in an illegitimate son he's never seen. Pressed by his unhappy wife to get a higher-paying job, Rath goes to work as a public relations man for television network president Ralph Hopkins. Drawn into poisonous office politics, Tom finds he must choose his career or his family.
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Picnic
Title: Picnic
Character: Howard Bevans
Released: November 18, 1955
Type: Movie
Labor Day in a small Kansas farm town. Hal, a burly and resolute drifter, jumps off a dusty freight train car with the purpose of visiting Alan, a former college classmate and son of the richest man in town.
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Title: Matinee Theater
Released: October 31, 1955
Type: TV
Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1955 to 1958. The series, which ran daily in the afternoon, was frequently live. It was produced by Albert McCleery, Darrell Ross, George Cahan and Frank Price with executive producer George Lowther. McCleery had previously produced the live series Cameo Theatre which introduced to television the concept of theater-in-the-round, TV plays staged with minimal sets. Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse recalled: When Al McCleery got back to the States, he originated a most ambitious theatrical TV series for NBC called Matinee Theater: to televise five different stage plays per week live, airing around noon in order to promote color TV to the American housewife as she labored over her ironing. Al was the producer. He hired five directors and five art directors. Richard Bennett, one of our first early presidents of the Pewter Plough Corporation, was one of the directors and I was one of the art directors and, as soon as we were through televising one play, we had lunch and then met to plan next week’s show. That was over 50 years ago, and I’m trying to think; I believe the TV art director is his own set decorator —yes, of course! It had to be, since one of McCleery’s chief claims to favor with the producers was his elimination of the setting per se and simply decorating the scene with a minimum of props. It took a bit of ingenuity.
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Title: Summer Playhouse
Released: July 6, 1954
Type: TV
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Title: The Oscars
Character: Self
Released: March 19, 1953
Type: TV
An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.
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Title: Omnibus
Released: November 9, 1952
Type: TV
Omnibus is an American, commercially sponsored, educational television series.
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The Whistle at Eaton Falls
Title: The Whistle at Eaton Falls
Character: Jim Brewster
Released: August 2, 1951
Type: Movie
A newly promoted plant supervisor finds himself in the position of having to announce a layoff of his fellow workers.
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Force of Evil
Title: Force of Evil
Character: Link Hall (uncredited)
Released: December 25, 1948
Type: Movie
Lawyer Joe Morse wants to consolidate all the small-time numbers racket operators into one big powerful operation. But his elder brother Leo is one of these small-time operators who wants to stay that way, preferring not to deal with the gangsters who dominate the big-time.
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Title: Studio One
Character: Curtis
Released: November 7, 1948
Type: TV
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions.
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Title: Studio One
Character: Manachi Conners
Released: November 7, 1948
Type: TV
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions.
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The Countess of Monte Cristo
Title: The Countess of Monte Cristo
Character: Assistant Director Jensen
Released: October 31, 1948
Type: Movie
This musical tells the tales of two movie extras who abscond to an expensive resort with their costumes and pretend to be aristocrats. Included in the film are ice skating numbers and songs.
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Title: The Philco Television Playhouse
Character: Jim Elkins
Released: October 3, 1948
Type: TV
The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golden Age of Television, winning a 1954 Peabody Award and receiving eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956.
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Title: The Philco Television Playhouse
Released: October 3, 1948
Type: TV
The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golden Age of Television, winning a 1954 Peabody Award and receiving eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956.
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Title: The Philco Television Playhouse
Character: Grant
Released: October 3, 1948
Type: TV
The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golden Age of Television, winning a 1954 Peabody Award and receiving eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956.
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One Touch of Venus
Title: One Touch of Venus
Character: Reporter
Released: August 1, 1948
Type: Movie
A window dresser's kiss brings a statue of the Roman goddess of love to life.
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State of the Union
Title: State of the Union
Character: First Reporter
Released: April 30, 1948
Type: Movie
An industrialist is urged to run for President, but this requires uncomfortable compromises on both political and marital levels.
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Homecoming
Title: Homecoming
Character: Ambulance Attendant (uncredited)
Released: April 29, 1948
Type: Movie
Self-absorbed Dr. Lee Johnson enlists with the Army medical corps during World War II, more out of a feeling that it's "the thing to do" rather than deep-seated patriotism. On his first day, he's put into place by 'Snapshot', a sassy and attractive nurse. Their initial antagonism blossoms into romance. Lee then finds himself torn with guilt over being unfaithful to his wife, Penny, who's waiting for him back home.
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The Naked City
Title: The Naked City
Character: Sgt. Shaeffer (uncredited)
Released: March 4, 1948
Type: Movie
The Naked City portrays the police investigation that follows the murder of a young model. A veteran cop is placed in charge of the case and he sets about, with the help of other beat cops and detectives, finding the girl's killer.
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Open Secret
Title: Open Secret
Character: Carter
Released: February 14, 1948
Type: Movie
A couple discovers that their friend has gone missing. Their investigation leads them to believe that anti-semites are behind the disappearance.
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Hello, Annapolis
Title: Hello, Annapolis
Character: Pharmacist Mate
Released: April 23, 1942
Type: Movie
Rivals Bill Arden and Paul Herbert enter the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in order to impress a girl.
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Fingers at the Window
Title: Fingers at the Window
Character: Photographer (uncredited)
Released: April 22, 1942
Type: Movie
In Chicago, an unemployed actor aims to solve the mystery concerning a string of ax murders, apparently committed by a lunatic.
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Blondie's Blessed Event
Title: Blondie's Blessed Event
Character: Interne (uncredited)
Released: April 9, 1942
Type: Movie
Cookie is born, producing unmitigated joy in the Bumstead household. Adding to the chaos a new baby always creates is the appearance of Hans Conried as a cynical author who becomes caught up in the Bumstead lifestyle.
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Law of the Jungle
Title: Law of the Jungle
Character: Simmons
Released: February 6, 1942
Type: Movie
Nona Brooks, former member of a stranded theatrical troupe, earns a temporary living singing in a café in Duakwa, British Rhodesia, Africa. The café owner is secretly in league with two foreign agents with a goal of making the natives restless. American explorer Larry Mason leaves for the jungle with his servant, Jeff and a safari. Nona escapes the café into the jungle but is followed by the agents as, unknowing to her, she is carrying a report of the agent's activities. She joins the safari just as all hands are captured by a tribe of natives
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Man From Headquarters
Title: Man From Headquarters
Character: Goldie Shores
Released: January 23, 1942
Type: Movie
A police reporter solves a murder case in Chicago, then moves on to St. Louis-but not voluntarily, since he has been kidnapped by the minions of the Windy City gang leader against whom he is scheduled to testify.
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Citizen Kane
Title: Citizen Kane
Character: Reporter (uncredited)
Released: April 17, 1941
Type: Movie
Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.
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Hullabaloo
Title: Hullabaloo
Character: Fourth Page
Released: October 25, 1940
Type: Movie
A radio actor faces trouble when a science-fiction story causes the audience to panic.
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Dr. Kildare Goes Home
Title: Dr. Kildare Goes Home
Character: Intern (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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The Golden Fleecing
Title: The Golden Fleecing
Character: Cameraman (uncredited)
Released: August 16, 1940
Type: Movie
A mild-mannered insurance salesman gets mixed up with gangsters.
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Bested by a Beard
Title: Bested by a Beard
Character: Phil
Released: July 16, 1940
Type: Movie
Leon Errol disguises himself as a mystic, in order to fool repo men.
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'Taint Legal
Title: 'Taint Legal
Character: Book Salesman
Released: May 25, 1940
Type: Movie
Edgar Kennedy is over-joyed when told he has won a $5,000 prize in a "How To Be Happy Though Married" contest. A reporter interviews Edgar and his wife Vivien who tell him about their engagement and elopement. Then Viviens father tells them that according to a law he has found in a law-book, they aren't legally married. After a series of misadventures, they learn that the law is a new one and that the Kennedy marriage is legal.
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I Take This Oath
Title: I Take This Oath
Character: Court Clerk
Released: May 20, 1940
Type: Movie
The trials and tribulations of a group of newly sworn-in police officers.
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Two Girls on Broadway
Title: Two Girls on Broadway
Character: Reporter at Wedding (uncredited)
Released: April 19, 1940
Type: Movie
Eddie Kerns sells his song to a Broadway producer and also lands a job dancing in the musical. He sends for his dance partner-fiancée Molly Mahoney who brings her younger sister Pat. Upon seeing Molly and Pat dance, the producer picks Pat for the show and gives Molly a job selling cigarettes. A wealthy friend of the producer named "Chat" Chatsworth also has his eye on Pat. Pat is teamed with Eddie in the specialty number as Kerns and Mahoney. Pat and Eddie soon realize that they are in love and must tell Molly. Pat balks at hurting Molly and goes out with Chat who already has five ex-wives. Remake of The Broadway Melody (1929).
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And One Was Beautiful
Title: And One Was Beautiful
Character: Moroni's Parking Attendant
Released: April 5, 1940
Type: Movie
A teenager falls hard for an irresponsible playboy.
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Murder in Soho
Title: Murder in Soho
Character: Lefty
Released: February 1, 1939
Type: Movie
A London nightclub hostess pretends to fall for the mobster who killed her husband.