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Penitentiary (1938 Film)
''Penitentiary'' is a 1938 American crime film directed by John Brahm starring Walter Connolly, John Howard, Jean Parker and Robert Barrat. It was the second Columbia Pictures film adaptation of the 1929 stage play ''The Criminal Code'' by Martin Flavin, after Howard Hawk's ''The Criminal Code'' (1931) and followed by Henry Levin's ''Convicted'' (1950). Plot William Jordan (Howard) is befriended by the man who sent him to prison on a manslaughter charge, former DA (District attorney) now prison warden Matthews (Connolly). In order to give Jordan the opportunity to rehabilitate himself Matthews allows him to work as chauffeur to his daughter Elizabeth (Parker), though he's a bit uncomfortable when Elizabeth falls in love with the young convict. All of this extra effort goes out the window when Jordan, adhering to the "criminal code" of never snitching on a fellow con, allows himself to be implicated in the murder of another convict. Jordan is saved from the death penalty by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Brahm
John Brahm (August 17, 1893 – October 12, 1982) was a German film and television director. His films include '' The Undying Monster'' (1942), '' The Lodger'' (1944), ''Hangover Square'' (1945), ''The Locket'' (1946), ''The Brasher Doubloon'' (1947), and the 3D horror film, ''The Mad Magician'' (1954). Early life Brahm was born Hans Brahm in Hamburg, the son of actor Ludwig Brahm and his wife. His family was involved in theater; his paternal uncle was theatrical impresario Otto Brahm. Career Brahm started his career in the theatre as an actor. After World War I, he traveled and worked among the cities of Vienna, Berlin and Paris, which had the most artistic cultures of the time. He eventually became a director, and was appointed as resident director for acting troupes at the Deutsches Theater and the Lessing Theater, both in Berlin. With the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany in the 1930s, Brahm left the country, first moving to England. After working as a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Criminal Code
''The Criminal Code'' is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic crime drama film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Walter Huston and Phillips Holmes. The screenplay, based on a 1929 play of the same name by Martin Flavin, was written by Fred Niblo Jr. and Seton I. Miller, who were nominated for Best Adaptation at the 4th Academy Awards but the award went to Howard Estabrook for Cimarron. The film is the first of three film adaptations of the play released by Columbia Pictures. It was followed by ''Penitentiary'' (1938) and ''Convicted'' (1950). Plot Six years of hard labor in the prison jute mill has taken its toll on young Graham, convicted of manslaughter after a drunken brawl. The penitentiary's doctor and psychiatrist recommends that he be offered a change of duties before psychological damage become irreversible. When the warden recalls that it was he, as district attorney, that helped put him behind bars, he makes him his valet. Graham enjoys the change, especially the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ward Bond
Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Bert the cop in Frank Capra's '' It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) and Captain Clayton in John Ford's ''The Searchers'' (1956). Early life Bond was born in Benkelman in Dundy County, Nebraska. The Bond family, John W., Mabel L., and sister Bernice, lived in Benkelman until 1919 when they moved to Denver, Colorado, where Ward graduated from East High School. Bond attended the Colorado School of Mines and then went to the University of Southern California and played football on the same team as future USC coach Jess Hill. At 6' 2" and 195 pounds, Bond was a starting lineman on USC's first national championship team in 1928. He graduated from USC in 1931 with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. Bond and John Wayne, who as Marion R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thurston Hall
Ernest Thurston Hall (May 10, 1882 – February 20, 1958) was an American film, stage and television actor.Aylesworth, Thomas G. and Bowman, John S. (1987). ''The World Almanac Who's Who of Film''. World Almanac. . Pp. 186-187. Career Stage Hall toured with various New England stage companies during his teens, then went onto London, where he formed a small stage troupe. He also toured New Zealand and South Africa."Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. . P. 526. At 22 in 1904, Hall was in the first stage production of ''Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch''. His Broadway credits include ''The Only Girl'' (1914), ''Have a Heart'' (1917), ''Civilian Clothes'' (1919), ''The French Doll'' (1922), ''Still Waters'' (1926), ''Buy, Buy, Baby'' (1926), ''Mixed Doubles'' (1927), ''Behold the Bridegroom'' (1927), ''The Common Sin'' (1928), ''Sign of the Leopard'' (1928), ''Security'' (1929), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Halton
Charles Halton (March 16, 1876 – April 16, 1959) was an American character actor who appeared in over 180 films. Life and career Halton trained at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his Broadway debut in 1901, after which he appeared in about 35 productions during the next 50 years. From the 1920s, Halton's thinning hair, rimless glasses, stern-looking face and officious manner were also familiar to generations of American moviegoers. Whether playing the neighborhood busybody, a stern government bureaucrat or weaselly attorney, Halton's characters tried to drive the "immoral influences" out of the neighborhood, foreclose on the orphanage, evict the poor widow and her children from their apartment, or any other number of dastardly deeds, all justified usually by "...I'm sorry but that's my job." Among his highest-profile roles were Mr. Carter, the bank examiner in Frank Capra's ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946), the Polish theatre producer Dobosh in Ernst Lubits ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Elliott
Richard Damon Elliott (April 30, 1886 – December 22, 1961) was an American character actor who played in over 240 films from the 1930s until the time of his death. Early years Elliott was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Career Elliott played many different roles, typically as a somewhat blustery sort, such as a politician. A short, fat man, Elliott played Santa Claus on the Jimmy Durante, Red Skelton, and Jack Benny programs. Elliott had a couple of memorable lines in ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946), in which he scolded James Stewart, who was trying to say goodnight to Donna Reed, advising him: "Why don't you kiss her instead of talking her to death?" He also had a few memorable appearances in episodes of the '' Adventures of Superman'' television series. He appeared three times as Stanley on the CBS sitcom '' December Bride'', as well as on two of ABC/Warner Brothers' western series, ''Sugarfoot'' and ''Maverick''. He was cast as the prospector Peter Cooper and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ann Doran
Ann Lee Doran (July 28, 1911 – September 19, 2000) was an American character actress, possibly best known as the mother of Jim Stark (James Dean) in ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955). She was an early member of the Screen Actors Guild and served on the board of the Motion Picture & Television Fund for 30 years. Early years The daughter of Carrie A. Barnett and John R. Doran, her mother was a silent-film actress whose professional name was Rose Allen. Ann Doran was born in Amarillo, Texas, and attended high school in San Bernardino, California. Film career Doran began acting at the age of four. (A 1979 newspaper article said that Doran's debut came when she was 11 years old.) Rarely in a featured role, Doran appeared in more than 500 motion pictures and 1,000 episodes of television series, such as the American Civil War drama '' Gray Ghost''. Doran worked as a stand-in, then bit player, then incidental supporting player. By 1938, she was under contract to Columbia Pictures, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Van Sloan
Edward Van Sloan (born Edward Paul Van Sloun; November 1, 1882 – March 6, 1964) was an American character actor best remembered for his roles in the Universal Studios horror films such as '' Dracula'' (1931), ''Frankenstein'' (1931), and ''The Mummy'' (1932). Early years Edward Paul Van Sloun was of Dutch and German descent and was born in New Trier, Minnesota, on November 1, 1882 the son of Martinus Van Sloun and Theresa ( Breher) Van Sloun. He was living in San Francisco by 1900 with his aunt Mary (''née'' Breher) Baumann and her daughter Alma. His mother settled in San Francisco, where young Edward resided with his siblings (the artist Frank J., Mary D., Leonora M., Alma K., Josephine) and mother as he launched his acting career in theaters. Career In 1915, Van Sloan was the leading man with the Forsberg Players, based at the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Van Sloan's roles in Universal's films date from the 1930s, including '' Dracula'' (1931), ''Fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marjorie Main
Mary Tomlinson (February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975), professionally known as Marjorie Main, was an American character actress and singer of the Classical Hollywood period, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s and 1950s, and for her role as Ma Kettle in 10 Ma and Pa Kettle movies. Main started her career in vaudeville and theatre, and appeared in film classics, such as ''Dead End (1937 film), Dead End'' (1937), ''The Women (1939 film), The Women'' (1939), ''Dark Command'' (1940), ''The Shepherd of the Hills (1941 film), The Shepherd of the Hills'' (1941), ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), and ''Friendly Persuasion (1956 film), Friendly Persuasion'' (1956). Early life Mary Tomlinson was born on February 24, 1890, near Acton, Indiana, Acton, in rural Marion County, Indiana. She was the second daughter of Reverend Samuel J. Tomlinson, a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Disciples of Christ minister, and Jennie L. (McGaughey) Tomlinson. Mary's mater ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Fix
Peter Paul Fix (March 13, 1901 – October 14, 1983) was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career between 1925 and 1981. Fix was best known for portraying Marshal Micah Torrance, opposite Chuck Connors's character in ''The Rifleman'' from 1958 to 1963. He later appeared with Connors in the 1966 Western film '' Ride Beyond Vengeance'' and ''The Time Tunnel'' episode, ""End of the World". Early life and military service Paul Fix was born in Dobbs Ferry, New York, to Wilhelm Fix, a brewmaster, and the former Louise C. Walz, though some sources say he was born Paul Fix Morrison. His mother and father were German immigrants who had left their Black Forest home and arrived in New York City in the 1870s. Following the United States' entry into World War I in April 1917, Fix joined the National Guard, initially serving at Peekskill, New Yor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Curtis
Richard Dye (May 11, 1902January 3, 1952), known professionally as Dick Curtis, was an American actor who made over 230 film and television appearances during his career. Early years Curtis was born in Newport, Kentucky, the son of Frank Dye and Elizabeth Faulkner Dye. Career After having limited work in Hollywood, Curtis acted on stage in New York and toured in a variety of productions from 1926 to 1930. Standing at 6' 3", Curtis appeared in films stretching from Charles Starrett to The Three Stooges. In most of his films, he played villains or heavies. He made television appearances on '' The Lone Ranger'' and '' The Range Rider''. He appeared in ''California Gold Rush'', '' Spook Town'', '' The Gene Autry Show'', and many others. Curtis appeared in such Three Stooges films as ''Yes, We Have No Bonanza'', '' You Nazty Spy!'', and ''The Three Troubledoers''. Pioneertown With the help of his friend and actor Russell Hayden, Curtis helped develop Pioneertown, a western ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Hohl
Arthur Hohl (May 21, 1889 – March 10, 1964) was an American stage and motion-picture character actor. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and began appearing in films in the early 1920s. He played a great number of villainous or mildly larcenous roles, although his screen roles usually were small, but he also played a few sympathetic characters. Hohl's two performances seen most often today are as Pete, the nasty boat engineer who tells the local sheriff about Julie ( Helen Morgan) and her husband ( Donald Cook)'s secret interracial marriage in ''Show Boat'' (1936), and as Mr. Montgomery, the man who helps Richard Arlen and Leila Hyams to make their final escape in '' Island of Lost Souls'' (1932). He also played Brutus opposite Warren William's Julius Caesar in Cecil B. DeMille's version of ''Cleopatra'' (1934), starring Claudette Colbert. Among his other notable roles were as Olivier, King Louis XI's right-hand man, in ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1939), as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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