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The Big House (1930 Film)
''The Big House'' is a 1930 American pre-Code prison drama film directed by George Hill, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and starring Chester Morris, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone and Robert Montgomery. The story and dialogue were written by Frances Marion, who won the Academy Award for Best Writing Achievement. As one of the first prison movies, it inspired many others of this genre. Plot Kent ( Robert Montgomery), a drunk driver who carelessly kills a man, is sentenced to ten years for manslaughter. In an overcrowded prison designed for 1800 and actually holding 3000, he is placed in a cell with Butch (Wallace Beery) and Morgan (Chester Morris), the two leaders of the inmates. Butch is alternately menacing and friendly, while Morgan tries to help out the frightened, inexperienced youngster, but Kent rebuffs his overtures. When Butch is ordered into solitary confinement for sparking a protest over the prison food, he passes along his knife before being searched. It ends u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Hill (director)
George William Hill (April 25, 1895 – August 10, 1934) was an American film director and cinematographer. Career He began his film career at age 13 as a stagehand with director D. W. Griffith. A cinematographer of silent films known for his skill in lighting female stars, he worked on a series of independently produced features for Mae Marsh and others in the years following World War I and was eventually recruited by the burgeoning major studios to be a director, beginning in 1920. Hill directed ''The Midnight Express (film), The Midnight Express'' (1924), which the ''New York Times'' noted was "a far better production than one is apt to gather from the title" and also that "the story is unfolded with skill and imagination." Through the following years, Hill's directing career began to gain serious traction and his assignments allowed him access to top stars such as Marion Davies and Jackie Coogan. Hill directed Lon Chaney, Sr., Lon Chaney's biggest money-maker, ''Tell It to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prison Film
A prison film is a film genre concerned with prison life and often prison escape. These films range from acclaimed dramas examining the nature of prisons, such as '' A Man Escaped'', ''Cool Hand Luke'', '' Midnight Express'', ''Brubaker'', '' Escape from Alcatraz'', ''The Shawshank Redemption'', and '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'' to actioners like '' Lock Up'' and '' Undisputed'', and even comedies satirizing the genre like '' Stir Crazy'', ''Life'', and '' Let's Go to Prison''. Prison films have been asserted to be "guilty of oversimplifying complex issues, the end result of which is the proliferation of stereotypes". For example, they are said to perpetuate "a common misperception that most correctional officers are abusive", and that prisoners are "violent and beyond redemption". Themes Themes repeatedly visited in the prison films include escape attempts, gang activities inside the prison, efforts of wrongly convicted persons to prove their innocence, and guard and management ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Magrill
George Magrill (January 5, 1900 – May 31, 1952) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 320 films between 1923 and 1952. Magrill performed on stage before he began to work in films. Besides his acting, Magrill worked as a stunt man in films. He also served in the Navy and became a lightweight boxing champion in that service branch. Magrill was born in Brooklyn, New York, was married to Ramona Oliver, and had a daughter named Marilynn. On May 31, 1952, Magrill died in Los Angeles, California. Partial filmography * ''The Eagle's Talons'' (1923) * '' North of Nevada'' (1924) * '' The Mask of Lopez'' (1924) * '' Stolen Secrets'' (1924) * '' Duped'' (1925) * '' Wild Horse Mesa'' (1925) – Bert Manerube * ''Lord Jim'' (1925) * ''The Enchanted Hill'' (1926) * '' The Windjammer'' (1926) * '' Snowed In'' (1926) * '' The Cyclone Cowboy'' (1927) * '' Roarin' Broncs'' (1927) * '' Ride 'em High'' (1927) * '' The Desert of the Lost'' (1927) * '' Hawk of the Hills'' (1927, Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Natheaux
Louis Natheaux (born Louis F. Natho; December 10, 1894 – August 23, 1942) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than eighty films between 1919 and 1942. Biography Louis F. Natho was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on December 10, 1894. Under the surname Natheaux, he performed in vaudeville and in a Chautauqua play. He died at his home in Los Angeles on August 23, 1942. Partial filmography * '' The Super-Sex'' (1922) *'' The Fast Set'' (1924) *'' The Coming of Amos'' (1925) *'' Sunny Side Up'' (1926) *'' The Clinging Vine'' (1926) *'' The Country Doctor'' (1927) *''Dress Parade'' (1927) *'' Fighting Love'' (1927) *''Turkish Delight'' (1927) *'' The Cop'' (1928) *''Stool Pigeon'' (1928) *'' Weary River'' (1929) *'' Why Be Good?'' (1929) *'' Girls Gone Wild'' (1929) *'' Broadway Babies'' (1929) *'' This Mad World'' (1930) *'' Murder on the Roof'' (1930) *'' The Squealer'' (1930) *''Sinister Hands'' (1932) *'' Behind Jury Doors'' (1932) *''The Fighting Code ''T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosco Ates
Roscoe Blevel Ates (January 20, 1895 – March 1, 1962) was an American vaudeville performer, actor of stage and screen, comedian and musician who primarily featured in western films and television. He was best known as western character Soapy Jones. He was also billed as Rosco Ates. Early years Ates was born on January 20, 1895, in the northwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in the rural hamlet of Grange (Grange is no longer included on road maps). Ates spent much of his childhood learning how to manage a speech impediment, succeeding when he was 18. Early career Ates played violin to accompany silent films at a theater in Chickasha, Oklahoma. Following that experience, he became an entertainer as a concert violinist but found economic opportunities greater as a vaudeville comedian, appearing as half of the team of Ates and Darling. For 15 years, he was a headliner on the Orpheum Circuit, and he revived his long-gone stutter for humorous effect Military service Ates se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Wilson (actor)
Tom Wilson (August 27, 1880 – February 19, 1965) was an American film actor. Biography Wilson was born in Helena, Montana, in 1880. Appearing in more than 300 films between 1915 and 1963, Wilson had notable supporting roles in the silent film era, like "The Kindly Officer" in D. W. Griffith's epic ''Intolerance'' (1916), the angry policeman in Charlie Chaplin's '' The Kid'' (1921), and a boxing coach in Buster Keaton's comedy '' Battling Butler'' (1926). After the rise of sound film, he played smaller roles for the rest of his long film career. Wilson died in 1965 in Los Angeles, California. Selected filmography * '' Little Marie'' (1915) * '' The Highbinders'' (1915) * '' The Lucky Transfer'' (1915) * ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915) * '' Martyrs of the Alamo'' (1915) * '' A Yankee from the West'' (1915) * '' The Half-Breed'' (1916) * '' The Children Pay'' (1916) * ''Intolerance'' (1916) * '' Hell-to-Pay Austin'' (1916) * '' The Americano'' (1916) * '' Pay Me!'' (1917 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Kennedy (actor)
Thomas Aloyisus Kennedy (July 15, 1885 – October 6, 1965) was an American actor known for his roles in Hollywood comedies from the silent days, with such producers as Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, mainly supporting lead comedians such as the Marx Brothers, W. C. Fields, Mabel Normand, Shemp Howard, El Brendel, Laurel and Hardy, and the Three Stooges. Kennedy also played dramatic roles as a supporting actor. Today's viewers may know him from Warner Bros.' nine Torchy Blane features as Gahagan, the poetry-spouting cop whose running line was, "What a day! What a day!" Career For over 50 years, from 1915 to 1965, he appeared in over 320 films and television series, often uncredited. His first film was a short comedy western called ''The Lamb''. He continued making films right up until his death, his last film being a western titled '' The Bounty Killer'' (1965). Tom Kennedy has been erroneously listed in several film sources as the brother of slow-burning comedian Edga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert O'Connor (actor)
Robert O'Connor, also known professionally as Robert Emmett O'Connor and Robert E. O'Connor (March 18, 1885 – September 4, 1962) was an Irish-American actor. He had a lengthy career as a stage actor on Broadway and in vaudeville from 1905-1931; using the stage name Robert O'Connor in both musicals and plays. After transitioning to film, he also used the names Robert Emmett O'Connor or Robert E. O'Connor for his screen credits. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1919 and 1950; specializing in portraying policemen. He is probably best remembered as the warmhearted bootlegger Paddy Ryan in '' The Public Enemy'' (1931) and as police Sergeant Henderson pursuing the Marx Brothers in '' A Night at the Opera'' (1935). He also appeared as Jonesy (the older Paramount gate guard) in Billy Wilder's 1950 film ''Sunset Boulevard''. He also made an appearance at the very beginning and very end of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon short '' Who Killed Who?'' (1943). Partial list of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claire McDowell
Claire McDowell ( MacDowell; November 2, 1877 – October 23, 1966) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 350 films between 1908 and 1945. Early years Claire MacDowell was born in New York City on November 2, 1877, the daughter of Eugene A. MacDowell and Fanny Reeves. Her aunt, actress Fanny Davenport, gave her early training in acting. Fanny Davenport's second husband was Eugene's brother Melbourne MacDowell. Career When she was 17, she was an understudy in a theatrical company headed by Charles Frohman. Still something of a youthful beauty, McDowell appeared in numerous short, early feature films. She graduated to playing character and mother types. She appeared in Douglas Fairbanks' '' The Mark of Zorro'' (1920). McDowell costarred in two of the biggest films of the silent era, '' The Big Parade'' and '' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', in which she played mothers both times. McDowell's Broadway credits included ''Herod'' (1909), ''To Have and to Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathew Betz
Matthew Betz (September 13, 1881 – January 26, 1938) was an American film actor. Betz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1881. Following an extended career in the U.S. Cavalry, Betz spent eight years in Vaudeville. His first stage play was ''Ellis Island''. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1914 and 1937. He died in 1938. Partial filmography * '' Putting One Over'' (1919) * '' Good References'' (1920) * '' Pirate Gold'' (1920) * '' Salvation Nell'' (1921) * '' The Single Track'' (1921) * ''Burn 'Em Up Barnes'' (1921) * '' Boomerang Bill'' (1922) * ''My Old Kentucky Home'' (1922) * ''Sawdust'' (1923) * ''The Self-Made Wife'' (1923) * ''Anna Christie'' (1923) * '' Let's Go'' (1923) * '' Love's Whirlpool'' (1924) * '' The Siren of Seville'' (1924) * '' The Family Secret'' (1924) * '' The Lighthouse by the Sea'' (1924) * '' The Heart Bandit'' (1924) * '' The Way of a Girl'' (1925) *''White Fang'' (1925) * '' The White Desert'' (1925) * '' The Unholy Three'' (1925) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DeWitt Jennings
DeWitt Clarke Jennings (June 21, 1871 – March 1, 1937) was an American film and stage actor. He appeared in 17 Broadway plays between 1906 and 1920, and in more than 150 films between 1915 and 1937. Biography He was born in Cameron, Missouri on June 21, 1871, to Georgia S. and Oliver A. Jennings. In 1935, Jennings played Sailing Master Fryer in ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' with Clark Gable and Charles Laughton. He died in Hollywood, California on March 1, 1937. Partial filmography * '' The Deep Purple'' (1915) - Gordon Laylock * '' The Warrens of Virginia'' (1915) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''At Bay'' (1915) - Judson Flagg * ''Sporting Blood'' (1916) - Dave Garrison * ''The Little American'' (1917) - English Barrister * '' The Hillcrest Mystery'' (1918) - Tom Cameron * '' Three Sevens'' (1921) - Samuel Green * '' The Greater Claim'' (1921) - Richard Everard Sr * '' The Golden Snare'' (1921) - 'Fighting' Fitzgerald * '' Beating the Game'' (1921) - G.B. Lawson * '' The Invisi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Dane
Karl Dane (born Rasmus Karl Therkelsen Gottlieb, 12 October 1886 – 14 April 1934) was a Danish-American comedian and actor known for his work in American films, mainly of the silent film era. He became a star after portraying “Slim”, a supporting role in one of the most successful silent films of all time, '' The Big Parade'' (1925), directed by King Vidor and starring John Gilbert. After signing with MGM in 1926, he appeared in supporting roles in several popular silent films before teaming up with George K. Arthur to form the successful comedy duo Dane & Arthur. They appeared in a number of very successful silent comedy features. When sound films arrived, they made short-subject comedies and toured in vaudeville. At the peak of his career, Dane earned $1,500 a week. As the film industry transitioned from silent to sound films in the late 1920s, Dane's thick Danish accent became problematic. By 1930, Dane was relegated to less prominent roles, often with little to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
