Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in ''
Min and Bill
''Min and Bill'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code comedy-drama film, directed by George W. Hill and starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery. Adapted by Frances Marion and Marion Jackson from Lorna Moon's 1929 novel, ''Dark Star'', the film tells ...
'' (1930) opposite
Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...
, as General Director Preysing in ''
Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America.
Grand Hotel may refer to:
Hotels Africa
* Grande Hotel Beir ...
'' (1932), as
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the novel ''Treasure Island'' (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing l ...
in ''
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
'' (1934), as
in ''
Viva Villa!
''Viva Villa!'' is a 1934 American pre-Code film directed by Jack Conway and starring Wallace Beery as Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. The screenplay was written by Ben Hecht, adapted from the 1933 book '' Viva Villa!'' by Edgecumb Pinchon a ...
'' (1934), and his titular role in ''
The Champ'' (1931), for which he won the
Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
. Beery appeared in some 250 films during a 36-year career. His contract with
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
stipulated in 1932 that he would be paid $1 more than any other contract player at the studio. This made Beery the highest-paid film actor in the world during the early 1930s. He was the brother of actor
Noah Beery
Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...
and uncle of actor
Noah Beery Jr.
For his contributions to the film industry, Beery was posthumously inducted into the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
with a motion-picture star in 1960. His star is located at 7001
Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...
.
[Walk of Fame Stars-Wallace Beery]
/ref>
Early life
Beery was born the youngest of three boys in 1885 in Clay County, Missouri
Clay County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 253,335, making it the fifth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county seat is Liber ...
, near Smithville.[''Dictionary of Missouri Biography'', Lawrence O. Christensen, University of Missouri Press, 1999.] The Beery family left the farm in the 1890s and moved to nearby Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, where the father was a police officer.
Beery attended the Chase School in Kansas City and took piano lessons, as well, but showed little love for academic matters. He ran away from home twice, the first time returning after a short time, quitting school and working in the Kansas City train yards
A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
as an engine wiper. Beery ran away from home a second time at age 16, and joined the Ringling Brothers Circus
Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows is a circus founded in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling brothers: Albert, August, Otto, Alfred T., Charles, John, and Henry. The Ringling brothers were sons of a Ge ...
as an assistant elephant trainer. He left two years later, after being clawed by a leopard.
Career
Early career
Wallace Beery joined his older brother Noah in New York City in 1904, finding work in comic opera as a baritone, and began to appear on Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and in summer stock theatre
In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock the ...
. He appeared in ''The Belle of the West'' in 1905. His most notable early role came in 1907 when he starred in ''The Yankee Tourist'' to good reviews.
Comedy film star – Essanay Studios
In 1913, he moved to Chicago to work for Essanay Studios
The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago, and later developed an additional film lot in Niles Canyon, California. Its various stars included Francis X. Bushman, ...
. His first movie was likely a comedy short, ''His Athletic Wife
''His Athletic Wife'' is a 1913 short film starring Wallace Beery, Gertrude Forbes and Robert Bolder. This is currently believed to have been Beery's first film in his 36-year career of acting in more than 250 films.
Cast
Wallace Beery ...
Mr. S ...
'' (1913).
Beery was then cast as Sweedie, a Swedish maid character he played in drag in a series of short comedy films from 1914 to 1916. '' Sweedie Learns to Swim'' (1914) co-starred Ben Turpin
Bernard "Ben" Turpin (September 19, 1869 – July 1, 1940) was an American comedian and actor, best remembered for his work in silent films. His trademarks were his cross-eyed appearance and adeptness at vigorous physical comedy. Turpin wo ...
. '' Sweedie Goes to College'' (1915) starred Gloria Swanson
Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...
, whom Beery married the following year.
Other Beery films (mostly shorts) from this period included '' In and Out'' (1914), '' The Ups and Downs'' (1914), '' Cheering a Husband'' (1914), '' Madame Double X'' (1914), '' Ain't It the Truth'' (1915), '' Two Hearts That Beat as Ten'' (1915), and '' The Fable of the Roistering Blades'' (1915).
''The Slim Princess
''The Slim Princess'' is a 1920 American silent comedy film starring Mabel Normand, directed by Victor Schertzinger, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and written by Gerald C. Duffy based on a musical play of the same name by Henry Blossom and Lesl ...
'' (1915), with Francis X. Bushman, was one of his earliest feature-length films. Beery also did '' The Broken Pledge'' (1915) and '' A Dash of Courage'' (1916), both with Swanson.
Beery was a German soldier in ''The Little American
''The Little American'' is a 1917 American silent romantic war drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Mary Pickford (who also served as producer) as an American woman who is in love with both a German soldier and a French ...
'' (1917) with Mary Pickford
Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...
, directed by Cecil B. De Mille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
. He did some comedies for Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'.
Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...
, ''Maggie's First False Step
''Maggie's First False Step'' is a 1917 short film directed by Frank Griffin and Mack Sennett, and starring Charles Murray, Louise Fazenda and Wallace Beery. The short was produced by Sennett at the Keystone Film Company and distributed by Triang ...
'' (1917) and ''Teddy at the Throttle
''Teddy at the Throttle'' is a 1917 American silent comedy short film starring Bobby Vernon, Gloria Swanson, and Wallace Beery. Wallace Beery and Gloria Swanson were briefly husband and wife offscreen during this period.
Cast
* Bobby Verno ...
'' (1917), but he gradually left that genre and specialized in portrayals of villains prior to becoming a major leading man during the sound era.
Villainous roles
In 1917, Beery portrayed in ''Patria
Patria may refer to:
Entertainment
* Patria (novel), a 2016 novel by Spanish writer Fernando Aramburu
* Patria (TV series), a 2020 limited television series, based on the novel
* ''Patria'' (serial), a 1917 American serial film
Music
* "Pátri ...
'' at a time when Villa was still active in Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. (Beery reprised the role 17 years later in ''Viva Villa!
''Viva Villa!'' is a 1934 American pre-Code film directed by Jack Conway and starring Wallace Beery as Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. The screenplay was written by Ben Hecht, adapted from the 1933 book '' Viva Villa!'' by Edgecumb Pinchon a ...
''.)
Beery was a villainous German in ''The Unpardonable Sin
''The Unpardonable Sin'' is a 1919 American silent drama/propaganda film set during World War I. The film was produced by Harry Garson, directed by Marshall Neilan, written by Kathryn Stuart, and stars Neilan's wife, Blanche Sweet, who portrays ...
'' (1919) with Blanche Sweet
Sarah Blanche Sweet (June 18, 1896 – September 6, 1986) was an American silent film actress who began her career in the earliest days of the Hollywood motion picture film industry.
Early life
Born Sarah Blanche Sweet (though her first na ...
. For Paramount, he did ''The Love Burglar
''The Love Burglar'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by James Cruze, written by Walter Woods based upon a play by Jack Lait, and starring Wallace Reid, Anna Q. Nilsson, Raymond Hatton, Wallace Beery, Wilton Taylor, and Edmund Bur ...
'' (1919) with Wallace Reid; ''Victory
The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...
'' (1919), with Jack Holt; '' Behind the Door'' (1919), as another villainous German; and ''The Life Line
''The Life Line'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Jack Holt, Wallace Beery and Lew Cody. The picture was based on the play ''The Romany Rye'' by the British playwright George R. Sims. The film is ...
'' (1919) with Holt.
Beery was the villain in five major releases in 1920: ''813
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* June 22 – Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars, led by Krum, ruler ('' khan'') of the Bulgarian Empire, defeat Emperor Michael I near Edirne (modern Turkey). The Byzantine army (26,000 men) ...
''; ''The Virgin of Stamboul
''The Virgin of Stamboul'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Tod Browning and starring husband and wife team Priscilla Dean and Wheeler Oakman and featuring Wallace Beery in a supporting role.
Plot
Based upon a review in a film ...
'' for director Tod Browning
Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...
; ''The Mollycoddle
''The Mollycoddle'' is a 1920 American film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery, and directed by Victor Fleming.[Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...](_blank)
, in which Fairbanks and Beery fistfought as they tumbled down a steep mountain (see the photograph in the gallery below); and in the noncomedic Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
'' The Round-Up'' starring Roscoe Arbuckle
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked ...
as an obese cowboy in a well-received serious film with the tagline "Nobody loves a fat man." Beery continued his villainy cycle that year with ''The Last of the Mohicans
''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826.
It is the second book of the ''Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinder ...
'', playing Magua.
Beery had a supporting part in '' The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' (1920) with Rudolph Valentino. He was a villainous Tong leader in '' A Tale of Two Worlds'' (1921), and was the bad guy again in '' Sleeping Acres'' (1922), '' Wild Honey'' (1922), and '' I Am the Law'' (1922), which also featured his brother Noah Beery Sr.
Historical films
Beery had a large then-rare heroic part as King Richard I
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
(Richard the Lion-Hearted) in ''Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
'' (1922), starring Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...
as Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
. The lavish movie was a huge success and spawned a sequel the following year starring Beery in the title role of ''Richard the Lion-Hearted
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
''.
Beery had an important unbilled cameo as "the Ape-Man" in ''A Blind Bargain
''A Blind Bargain'' is a 1922 American silent horror film starring Lon Chaney and Raymond McKee, released through Goldwyn Pictures. The film was directed by Wallace Worsley and is based on Barry Pain's 1897 novel ''The Octave of Claudius''. Lo ...
'' (1922) starring Lon Chaney
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
(Beery is seen crouching, in full ape-man make-up, in the background of some of the movie's posters), and a supporting role in ''The Flame of Life
''The Flame of Life'' (also known as ''That Lass o' Lowrie's'') is a 1923 American silent drama film starring Priscilla Dean, Robert Ellis, Kathryn McGuire, and Wallace Beery. The film was written by Elliott J. Clawson from the Frances Hodgso ...
'' (1923). He played another historical king, King Philip IV of Spain in ''The Spanish Dancer
''The Spanish Dancer'' is a 1923 American silent costume epic starring Pola Negri as a gypsy fortune teller, Antonio Moreno as a romantic count, and Wallace Beery as the king of Spain. The film was directed by Herbert Brenon and also features a ...
'' (1923) with Pola Negri
Pola Negri (; born Apolonia Chalupec ; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and femme ...
.
Beery starred in an action melodrama, ''Stormswept
''Stormswept'' is a 1923 silent film starring brothers Wallace Beery and Noah Beery. The advertising phrase used for the movie was "Wallace and Noah Beery, The Two Greatest Character Actors on the American Screen." The film was written by Winif ...
'' (1923) for FBO Films alongside his elder brother, Noah Beery Sr. The tagline on the movie's posters was "Wallace and Noah Beery – The Two Greatest Character Actors on the American Screen".
Beery played his third royal, the Duc de Tours, in ''Ashes of Vengeance
''Ashes of Vengeance'' is a 1923 American drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Norma Talmadge and Wallace Beery.
Plot
At the ball celebrating the wedding of Henry of Navarre on August 23, 1572, the evil Queen Mother Catherine de' Me ...
'' (1923) with Norma Talmadge
Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among the most pop ...
, then did '' Drifting'' (1923) with Priscilla Dean
Priscilla Dean (November 25, 1896 – December 27, 1987) was an American actress popular in silent film as well as in theatre, with a career spanning two decades.
Biography
She was born on November 25, 1896 in Manhattan, New York City to an activ ...
for director Browning.
Beery had the titular role in ''Bavu
''Bavu'' is a 1923 silent American drama film directed by Stuart Paton, starring Wallace Beery in the title role, and written by Albert Kenyon and Raymond L. Schrock based upon a play by Earl Carroll. The film is a period piece involving Bolsh ...
'' (1923), about Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
and the Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
. He co-starred with Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
in the comedy ''Three Ages
''Three Ages'' is a 1923 black-and-white American feature-length silent comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton and Wallace Beery. The first feature Keaton wrote, directed, produced, and starred in (unlike ''The Saphead'', in which he only ...
'' (1923), the first feature Keaton wrote, produced, directed, and starred in.
Beery was a villain in '' The Eternal Struggle'' (1923), a Mountie
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
drama, produced by Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...
, who eventually became crucial to Beery's career. He was reunited with Dean and Browning in ''White Tiger
The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, in the Sunderbans region and ...
'' (1923), then played the title role in the aforementioned ''Richard the Lion-Hearted'' (1923), a sequel to ''Robin Hood'' based on Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
's '' The Talisman''; a print of ''Richard the Lion-Hearted'' is held at the Archives du Film du CNC in Bois d'Arcy.
Beery was in '' The Drums of Jeopardy'' (1923) and had a supporting role in ''The Sea Hawk
''The Sea Hawk'' is a 1915 novel by Rafael Sabatini. The story is set over the years 1588–1593 and concerns a retired Cornish seafaring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous half-brother. After being ...
'' (1924) for director Frank Lloyd. He also appeared in a supporting role for Clarence Brown
Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director.
Early life
Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...
's ''The Signal Tower
''The Signal Tower'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Clarence Brown and produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film stars Virginia Valli, Rockliffe Fellowes, and Wallace Beery.
Cast
*Virginia Valli as Sally Taylor
...
'' (1925) starring Virginia Valli
Virginia Valli (died September 24, 1968) was an American stage and film actress whose motion picture career started in the silent film era and lasted until the beginning of the sound film era of the 1930s.
Early life
Born Virginia McSweeney in ...
and Rockliffe Fellowes
Rockliffe St. Patrick Fellowes (17 March 1884 – 28 January 1950),''Who Was Who on Screen'' c.1977 by Evelyn Mack Truitt..Retrieved 22 June 2018 was a Canadian actor born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He starred in films such as '' Regenerat ...
.
Paramount
Beery signed a contract with Paramount Pictures. He had a support role in ''Adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
'' (1925) directed by Victor Fleming
Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best ...
.
At First National, he was given the star role of Professor Challenger
George Edward Challenger is a fictional character in a series of fantasy and science fiction stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unlike Conan Doyle's self-controlled, analytical character, Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger is an aggressive, ...
in Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
's dinosaur epic '' The Lost World'' (1925), arguably his silent performance most frequently screened in the modern era. Beery was top billed in Paramount's '' The Devil's Cargo'' (1925) for Victor Fleming, and supported in ''The Night Club
''The Night Club'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Paul Iribe and Frank Urson and written by Cecil B. DeMille, Keene Thompson, Walter Woods, and William C. deMille. The film stars Raymond Griffith, Vera Reynolds, Wallace ...
'' (1925), ''The Pony Express
The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pike ...
'' (1925) for James Cruze
James Cruze (born James Cruze Bosen; March 27, 1884 – August 3, 1942) was a silent film actor and film director.
Early years
Cruze's middle name came from the battle of Vera Cruz. He was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
, and '' The Wanderer'' (1925) for Raoul Walsh.
Beery starred in a comedy with Raymond Hatton
Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures.
Biography
Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...
, '' Behind the Front'' (1926), and he was a villain in '' Volcano!'' (1926). He was a bos'n in '' Old Ironsides'' (1926) for director James Cruze, with Charles Farrell
Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...
in the romantic lead.
Beery had the title role in the baseball movie ''Casey at the Bat Casey at the Bat is a poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer.
Casey at the Bat may also refer to:
* ''Casey at the Bat'' (1916 film), a film based on the poem
* ''Casey at the Bat'' (1927 film), a film based on the poem
* ''Casey at the Bat'', a ...
'' (1927). He was reunited with Hatton in '' Fireman, Save My Child'' (1927) and ''Now We're in the Air
''Now We're in the Air'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer, starring the late-1920s intermittent comedy team of Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton. In a supporting role, Louise Brooks plays twins, one raised Frenc ...
'' (1927). The latter also featured Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...
, who was Beery's costar in ''Beggars of Life
''Beggars of Life'' is an American film directed by William Wellman and starring Wallace Beery and Richard Arlen as hobos, and Louise Brooks as a young woman who dresses as a young man and flees the law. The film is regarded as Brooks's best Ame ...
'' (1928), directed by William Wellman
William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on a ...
, which was Paramount's first part-talkie movie.
He made a fourth comedy with Hatton, ''Wife Savers
''Wife Savers'' is a lost 1928 American comedy silent film directed by Ralph Ceder and written by Thomas J. Geraghty, Grover Jones, George Marion Jr. and Arthur Wimperis. The film stars Wallace Beery, Raymond Hatton, ZaSu Pitts, Sally Blane ...
'' (1929), then Beery starred in '' Chinatown Nights'' (1929) for Wellman, produced by a young David O. Selznick. This film was shot silent with the voices dubbed in by the actors afterward, which worked spectacularly well with Beery's resonant voice, although the technique was not used again during the silent era for another full-length feature. Beery then played in ''Stairs of Sand
''Stairs of Sand'' is a 1929 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film starring Wallace Beery, Jean Arthur and Phillips Holmes, made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Otto Brower, and written by Agnes Brand Leahy, Sam Mintz an ...
'' (1929), a Western also starring Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s.
Arthur had feature roles in three F ...
(who played the leading lady in the Western film ''Shane
Shane may refer to:
People
* Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress
* Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946)
* iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer
* Shane (name)
Shane is mainly a masculine g ...
'' 24 years later) before being fired by Paramount.
MGM
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...
signed Beery to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) as a character actor. The association began well when Beery played the savage convict Butch, a role originally intended for Lon Chaney
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
(who died that same year), in the highly successful 1930 prison film '' The Big House'', directed by George W. Hill; Beery was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
.
Beery's second film for MGM was also a huge success: ''Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...
'' (1930), an early widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
picture in which he played Pat Garrett. He supported John Gilbert in ''Way for a Sailor
''Way for a Sailor'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code film starring John Gilbert.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; November 15, 1930, page 182. The supporting cast includes Wallace Beery, Jim Tully, Leila Hyams, and Polly Moran. The film was dir ...
'' (1930) and Grace Moore
Mary Willie Grace Moore (December 5, 1898January 26, 1947) was an American operatic soprano and actress in musical theatre and film.Obituary ''Variety'', January 29, 1947, page 48. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee Nightingale." Her films helped ...
in ''A Lady's Morals
''A Lady's Morals'' is a 1930 American pre-Code film offering a highly fictionalized account of opera singer Jenny Lind. The movie features Grace Moore as Lind, Reginald Denny as a lover, and Wallace Beery as P. T. Barnum. The film contains som ...
'' (1930), portraying P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...
in the latter.
Stardom
Beery was well established as a leading man and top-rank character actor. The picture that really made him one of the cinema's foremost stars was ''Min and Bill
''Min and Bill'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code comedy-drama film, directed by George W. Hill and starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery. Adapted by Frances Marion and Marion Jackson from Lorna Moon's 1929 novel, ''Dark Star'', the film tells ...
'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...
and directed by George W. Hill, a sensational success.[Scott Eyman, ''Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer'', Robson, 2005, p. 191 ]
Beery made a third film with Hill, ''The Secret Six
''The Secret Six'' is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film starring Wallace Beery as "Slaughterhouse Scorpio", a character very loosely based on Al Capone, and featuring Lewis Stone, John Mack Brown, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Marjorie Rambeau ...
'' (1931), a gangster movie with Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
and Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
in key supporting roles. The picture was popular, but was surpassed at the box office by '' The Champ'', which Beery made with Jackie Cooper
John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...
for director King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...
. The film, especially written for Beery, was another box-office sensation. Beery shared the Best Actor Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
with Fredric March
Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...
. Though March received one vote more than Beery, Academy rules at the time—since rescinded—defined results within one vote of each other as "ties". (An alternate account has MGM head Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...
storming backstage at the Oscars and demanding that March and Beery share that year's Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
since the vote was so close.)
Beery's career went from strength to strength. ''Hell Divers
''Hell Divers'' is a 1932 American pre-Code black-and-white film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable as a pair of competing chief petty officers in early naval aviation. The film, made with the cooperation of the Unite ...
'' (1932), a naval airplane epic also starring a young Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
billed under Beery, was a big hit. So, too, was the all-star ''Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America.
Grand Hotel may refer to:
Hotels Africa
* Grande Hotel Beir ...
'' (1932), in which Beery was billed fourth, under Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...
, John Barrymore
John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...
, and Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
, one of the very few times he would not be top billed for the rest of his career. In 1932, his contract with MGM stipulated that he be paid a dollar more than any other contract player at the studio, making him the world's highest-paid actor.
Beery was a German wrestler in ''Flesh
Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, but ...
'' (1932), a hit directed by John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
, but Ford removed his directorial credit before the film opened, so the picture screened with no director listed despite being labeled "A John Ford Production" in the opening title card. Next Beery was in another all-star ensemble blockbuster, '' Dinner at Eight'' (1933), with Jean Harlow holding her own as Beery's comically bickering wife. This time, Beery was billed third, under Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...
and John Barrymore
John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...
.
Beery was lent to the new 20th Century Pictures for the boisterously fast-paced comedy/drama ''The Bowery
The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "Bo ...
'' (1933), also starring George Raft
George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...
, Jackie Cooper, and Fay Wray
Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...
, and featuring Pert Kelton, under the direction of Raoul Walsh. The picture was a smash hit.
Back at MGM, he played the title role of Pancho Villa in ''Viva Villa!'' (1933) and was reunited with Dressler in ''Tugboat Annie
''Tugboat Annie'' is a 1933 American pre-Code film directed by Mervyn LeRoy, written by Norman Reilly Raine and Zelda Sears, and starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery as a comically quarrelsome middle-aged couple who operate a tugboat. Dr ...
'' (1933), a massive hit. He was Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the novel ''Treasure Island'' (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing l ...
in ''Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
'' (1934), described as a box-office "disappointment" despite being MGM's third-largest hit of the season, and remains currently viewed as featuring one of Beery's iconic performances.
Beery returned to 20th Century Productions for ''The Mighty Barnum
''The Mighty Barnum'' is a 1934 film starring Wallace Beery as P.T. Barnum. The movie was written by Gene Fowler and Bess Meredyth, adapted from their play of the same name, and directed by Walter Lang. Beery had played Barnum four years earlie ...
'' (1934), in which he played P. T. Barnum again. Back at MGM, he was a kindly sergeant in '' West Point of the Air'' (1935) and was in an all-star spectacular, ''China Seas
The China Seas consist of a series of marginal seas in the Western Pacific Ocean, around China. They are the major components signifying the transition from the continent of Asia to the Pacific Ocean.Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li, Chun-Feng Li, ''Geolog ...
'' (1935), this time billed beneath Clark Gable.
''O'Shaughnessy's Boy
''O'Shaughnessy's Boy'' is a 1935 film starring Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper and directed by Richard Boleslawski. The picture was partly set in a circus. The cinematographer was James Wong Howe.
Plot summary
The plot involves a one-armed l ...
'' (1935) reunited Beery and Jackie Cooper. He had the lead as the drunken uncle in MGM's adaptation of ''Ah, Wilderness!
''Ah, Wilderness!'' is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on October 2, 1933. It differs from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction of a ...
'' (1936) and went back to 20th Century – now 20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
– for ''A Message to Garcia
''A Message to Garcia'' is a widely distributed essay written by Elbert Hubbard in 1899, expressing the value of individual initiative and conscientiousness in work. The essay's primary example is a dramatized version of a daring escapade perform ...
'' (1936) with Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
.
At MGM, he was in ''Old Hutch
''Old Hutch'' is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by J. Walter Ruben and starring Wallace Beery as a man who finds $100,000 in the depths of the Depression. It is a remake of the 1920 Will Rogers film '' Honest Hutch.''
Cast
*Wall ...
'' (1936) and ''The Good Old Soak
''The Good Old Soak'' is a 1937 drama film starring Wallace Beery and directed by J. Walter Ruben from a screenplay by A. E. Thomas based upon the 1922 stage play of the same name by Don Marquis. The picture's supporting cast features Una Merk ...
'' (1937), then he was back at Fox for ''Slave Ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...
'' (1937), taking second billing under Warner Baxter
Warner Leroy Baxter (March 29, 1889 – May 7, 1951) was an American film actor from the 1910s to the 1940s. Baxter is known for his role as the Cisco Kid in the 1928 film ''In Old Arizona'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at ...
, a rarity for Beery after ''Min and Bill'' catapulted his career into the stratosphere in 1931, during which he received top billing in all but six films (''Min and Bill'', ''Grand Hotel'', ''Tugboat Annie'', ''Dinner at Eight'', ''China Seas'' with Gable and Harlow, and ''Slave Ship'').
Decline
The status of Beery's films went into a decline. After an abrupt European vacation, Beery was in ''The Bad Man of Brimstone
''The Bad Man of Brimstone'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by J. Walter Ruben and starring Wallace Beery, Virginia Bruce and Dennis O'Keefe. The screenplay was written by Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum, from a story by Ruben and Maur ...
'' (1938) with Dennis O'Keefe
Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer.
Early years
Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevill ...
(and Noah Beery Sr. in a cameo role as a bartender), ''Port of Seven Seas
''Port of Seven Seas'' is a 1938 drama film starring Wallace Beery and featuring Frank Morgan and Maureen O'Sullivan. The movie was written by Preston Sturges based on the plays of Marcel Pagnol and the films based on them, and was directed by ...
'' (1938) with Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...
, ''Stablemates
''Stablemates'' is a 1938 American sports drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Wallace Beery and Mickey Rooney.
Plot
Aspiring jockey Mickey idolizes hard-drinking former veterinarian Tom Terry, who shares advice about horses with Mickey ...
'' (1938) with Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...
, '' Stand Up and Fight'' (1939) with Robert Taylor, ''Sergeant Madden
''Sergeant Madden'' is a 1939 film noir forerunner directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast in this dark police crime drama, noted for its imaginative and evocative cinematography, includes Tom Brown, Lara ...
'' (1939) with Tom Brown, ''Thunder Afloat
''Thunder Afloat'' is a 1939 World War I naval film starring Wallace Beery and Chester Morris. The movie was directed by George B. Seitz.
The submarine sequences were shot with the cooperation of the U. S. Navy at Annapolis, Maryland and aro ...
'' (1939) with Chester Morris
John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Awards, Academy Award nomination ...
, '' The Man from Dakota'' (1940) with Dolores del Río, and '' 20 Mule Team'' (1940) with Marjorie Rambeau
Marjorie Burnet Rambeau (July 15, 1889 – July 6, 1970) was an American film and stage actress. She began her stage career at age 12, and appeared in several silent films before debuting in her first sound film, '' Her Man'' (1930). She was t ...
, Anne Baxter, and Noah Beery Jr., enjoying top billing in all of them.
''Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
'' (1940) teamed Beery with 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 1 ...
. After '' The Bad Man'' (1941), which also stars Lionel Barrymore and future President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
, and was the remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
of a picture
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
, MGM reunited Beery and Main in '' Barnacle Bill'' (1941), ''The Bugle Sounds
''The Bugle Sounds'' is a 1942 American World War II movie starring Wallace Beery as a cavalry sergeant resistant to replacing horses with tanks. The supporting cast includes Marjorie Main, Lewis Stone, George Bancroft, Donna Reed, and Chill ...
'' (1941), and ''Jackass Mail
''Jackass Mail'' is a 1942 Western comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Wallace Beery and Marjorie Main.
Cast
Reception
According to MGM records the film earned $1,013,000 in the US and Canada and $292,000 elsewhere, making ...
'' (1942).
Beery did a war film, a Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
comedy titled ''Salute to the Marines
''Salute to the Marines'' is a 1943 World War II propaganda war film drama in Technicolor from MGM, produced by John W. Considine Jr., directed by S. Sylvan Simon, and starring Wallace Beery. The film co-stars Fay Bainter, Reginald Owen, Ray Co ...
'' (1943), then was back with Main in ''Rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...
'' (1944). ''Barbary Coast Gent
''Barbary Coast Gent'' is a 1944 American Western comedy film set in 1880s San Francisco's Barbary Coast and Nevada starring Wallace Beery. The movie was directed by Roy Del Ruth and features Binnie Barnes, Beery's brother Noah Beery, Sr., Joh ...
'' (1944), a broad Western comedy in which Beery played a bombastic con man, teamed him with Binnie Barnes
Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973.
Early life
Barnes was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Rosa Enoy ...
. He did another war film, ''This Man's Navy
''This Man's Navy'' (aka ''Airship Squadron No. 4.'' and ''Lighter Than Air'') is a 1945 World War II film about U.S. Navy blimps directed by William A. Wellman and starring Wallace Beery, Tom Drake, Jan Clayton and James Gleason. The supporting ...
'' (1945), then made another Western with Main, ''Bad Bascomb
Wilbur D. Bascomb Jr. is an American bass guitarist. He is the son of jazz trumpeter Wilbur "Dud" Bascomb, who played with Erskine Hawkins and Duke Ellington.
Career
In the 1970s, Bascomb worked with James Brown(1974),Margaret O'Brien
Angela Maxine O'Brien (born January 15, 1937) is an American film, radio, television, and stage actress, and is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Beginning a prolific career as a child actress in feature ...
's casting.
''The Mighty McGurk
''The Mighty McGurk'' is a 1947 American sports, drama, action, adventure, melodrama film starring Wallace Beery as a boozing ex-boxer brawling as a bouncer in a Bowery saloon.
Plot
Roy "Slag" McGurk (Wallace Beery), the former heavyweight boxing ...
'' (1947) put Beery with another child star of the studio, Dean Stockwell
Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he first came to the public's attention in films including ''Anchors A ...
. ''Alias a Gentleman
''Alias a Gentleman'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast includes Dorothy Patrick, Tom Drake, Gladys George and Sheldon Leonard.
Plot
Jim Breedin has been in priso ...
'' (1947) was the first of Beery's films to lose money during the sound era. Beery received top billing for the smash hit ''A Date with Judy
''A Date with Judy'' is a comedy radio series aimed at a teenage audience which ran from 1941 to 1950.
The series was co-created by Jerome Lawrence and Aleen Leslie, and based on Leslie's “One Girl Chorus” column in the Pittsburgh Press. La ...
'' (1949), a hugely popular musical featuring Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
. Beery's last film, again featuring Main, '' Big Jack'' (1949), also lost money according to Mannix's reckoning.[.] Beery died of a heart attack three days after the picture's release.
Personal life
First marriage
On March 27, 1916, at the age of 30, Beery married 17-year-old actress Gloria Swanson
Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...
in Los Angeles. The two had co-starred in '' Sweedie Goes to College.'' Although Beery had enjoyed popularity with his ''Sweedie'' shorts, his career had taken a dip, and during the marriage to Swanson, he relied on her as a breadwinner. According to Swanson's autobiography, Beery raped her on their wedding night, and later tricked her into swallowing an abortifacient
An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: ''abortus'' "miscarriage" and '' faciens'' "making") is a substance that induces abortion. This is a nonspecific term which may refer to any number of substances or medications, ...
when she was pregnant, which caused her to lose their child. Swanson filed for divorce in 1917 and it was finalized in 1918.
Second marriage and adoption
On August 4, 1924, Beery married actress Rita Gilman ''(née'' Mary Areta Gilman; 1898–1986) in Los Angeles. The couple adopted Carol Ann Priester (1930–2013), daughter of Rita Beery's mother's half-sister, Juanita Priester ''(née'' Caplinger; 1899–1931) and her husband, Erwin William Priester (1897–1969). After years of marriage, Rita filed for divorce on May 1, 1939, in Carson City
Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...
, Ormsby County, Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. Within 20 minutes of filing, she won the decree. Rita remarried 15 days later, on May 16, 1939, to Jessen Albert D. Foyt (1907–1945), filing her marriage license with the same county clerk in Carson City.
Alleged fatal altercation
In December 1937, comedic actor and Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
founder Ted Healy
Ted Healy (born Charles Ernest Lee Nash; October 1, 1896 – December 21, 1937) was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy th ...
was involved in a drunken altercation at Cafe Trocadero
Cafe Trocadero was an upscale nightclub that opened on the Sunset Strip in 1934 and immediately became the place where Hollywood stars went to be seen. Photographs of the stars out on the town at the Troc one night might appear in ''The Hollywood ...
on the Sunset Strip. E. J. Fleming, in his 2005 book, ''The Fixers: Eddie Mannix
Joseph Edgar Allen John Mannix (February 25, 1891 – August 30, 1963) was an American film studio executive and producer. He is remembered for his work as a " fixer", who was paid to cover up Hollywood stars' often colorful private lives to pro ...
, Howard Strickling Howard Strickling (September 25, 1896 – July 16, 1982) served as head of publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures from the late 1920s into the late 1960s.
Biography
He was born in West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalach ...
and the MGM Publicity Machine'', asserts that Healy was attacked by three men:
- Future James Bond producer
Albert "Cubby" Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at P ...
- Local mob figure
Pat DiCicco
Pasquale "Pat" DiCicco (; February 14, 1909 – October 24, 1978) was an American agent, movie producer, and occasional actor, as well as an alleged mobster working for Lucky Luciano. He was married three times, including to Thelma Todd an ...
(who was Broccoli's cousin as well as the former husband of Thelma Todd
Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Appearing in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, sh ...
and the future husband of Gloria Vanderbilt)
- Wallace Beery
Fleming writes that this beating led to Healy's death a few days later.
Second adoption
Around December 1939, Beery, recently divorced, adopted a seven-month-old girl, Phyllis Ann Beery.["Milestones,"](_blank)
''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'', December 4, 1939 Phyllis appeared in MGM publicity photos when adopted, but was never mentioned again. Beery told the press he had taken the girl in from a single mother, recently divorced, but he had filed no official adoption papers.
Working relationship with peers
Beery was considered misanthropic and difficult to work with by many of his colleagues. Robert Young described Beery as a "shitty person". On set, he often never bothered to learn his lines and instead choose to take from other actors' characters and then resent it when his theft was pointed out. When prompting for another actor's close-up, Beery would read the wrong lines, making it harder for his co-stars to meet their marks. Beery was "loathed by everybody, and happily oblivious".
Mickey Rooney was one of Beery's few co-stars to consistently speak highly of him in subsequent decades. In his memoir, Rooney described Beery as "... a lovable, shambling kind of guy who never seemed to know that his shirttail belonged inside his pants, but always knew when a little kid actor needed a smile and a wink or a word of encouragement". He did concede that "not everyone loved eeryas much as I did." Rooney noted that Howard Strickling Howard Strickling (September 25, 1896 – July 16, 1982) served as head of publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures from the late 1920s into the late 1960s.
Biography
He was born in West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalach ...
, MGM's head of publicity, once went to Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...
to complain that Beery was stealing props from the studio's sets. "And that wasn't all", Rooney continued. "He went on for some minutes about the trouble that Beery was always causing him ... Mayer sighed and said, 'Yes, Howard, Beery's a son of a bitch. But he's ''our'' son of a bitch.' Strickling got the point. A family has to be tolerant of its black sheep, particularly if they brought a lot of money into the family fold, which Beery certainly did."
Child actors, in particular, recalled unpleasant encounters with Beery. Jackie Cooper, who made several films with him early in his career, called him "a big disappointment". Cooper accused Beery of upstaging and other attempts to undermine his performances out of what Cooper presumed was jealousy. He recalled impulsively throwing his arms around Beery after one especially heartfelt scene, only to be gruffly pushed away. Child actress Margaret O'Brien
Angela Maxine O'Brien (born January 15, 1937) is an American film, radio, television, and stage actress, and is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Beginning a prolific career as a child actress in feature ...
claimed that she had to be protected by crew members from Beery's insistence on constantly pinching her.
On another occasion, after having invited 12-year-old actor Darryl Hickman
Darryl Gerard Hickman (born July 28, 1931) is an American former actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach. He started his career as a child actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood and appeared in numerous TV serials as an adult. ...
to lunch, Beery responded to Darryl's thanks with, "okay, kid, you owe me 75 cents." Beery also refused to leave tips at the MGM commissary because he explained tips are for special service, and since he was a movie star, he already got special service and therefore leaving a tip would be a waste of money.
Beery only met his match with co-star Marie Dressler. Having come up the hard and long way to her stardom, Dressler refused to take "nonsense from this baboon". She responded to one of Beery's insults by saying she would serve his head on a platter to MGM chief Louis B. Mayer. Although everyone expected Beery to explode, instead, he cowered and acted like "a little boy being very careful that Mommy didn't catch him with his hand in the cookie jar".
Future author Ray Bradbury recalled meeting Beery as a young boy on a Hollywood street, and that his autograph request resulted in Beery cursing and spitting on him.
Hobbies
Beery owned and flew his own planes,["Wallace Beery,"](_blank)
() one a Howard DGA-11. On April 15, 1933, he was commissioned a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...
at NRAB Long Beach. One of his proudest achievements was catching the largest giant black sea bass in the world — — off Santa Catalina Island in 1916, a record that stood for 35 years.
Activism against National Park Lands
A noteworthy episode in Beery's life is chronicled in the fifth episode of Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...
' documentary '' The National Parks: America's Best Idea'': In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
signed an executive order creating Jackson Hole National Monument to protect the land adjoining the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. Local ranchers, outraged at the loss of grazing lands, compared FDR's action to Hitler's taking of Austria. Led by an aging Beery, they protested by herding 500 cattle across the monument lands without a permit.
Paternity suit
On February 13, 1948, Gloria Schumm (or Gloria Smith Beery, ''née'' Florence W. Smith; 1916–1989) filed a paternity suit against Beery. Beery, through his lawyer, Norman Ronald Tyre (1910–2002), initially offered $6,000 as a settlement, but denied being the father. Gloria had given birth on February 7, 1948, to Johan Richard Wallace Schumm. Gloria, in 1944, divorced Stuttgart-born Hollywood actor Hans Schumm
Hans Josef Schumm ''(né'' Johann Josef Eugen Schumm; 2 April 1896 Stuttgart – 2 February 1990 Los Angeles) was a German-born-turned- American actor, notably, a prolific and critically acclaimed Hollywood screen character actor who appeared ...
(''né'' Johann Josef Eugen Schumm; 1896–1990), but remarried him August 21, 1947, after realizing that she was pregnant. Prior to remarrying Schumm, Gloria, on August 4, 1947, met with Beery at his home, where he gave her the name and address of a physician to submit an examination. At or around that time, she also asked Beery to marry her to "legitimatize the expected child" (her words), which Beery refused.
According to newspapers, Gloria claimed to have been intimate with Wallace Beery on or about May 1, 1947, at his home in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
(in the court proceedings, however, she claimed to have been intimate with Beery on May 17, 1947). Beery conceded that he had known Gloria for about 15 years, and that under the pseudonym "Gloria Whitney", she had played bit role
In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British televisio ...
s in six films in which he starred. She again separated from Hans Schumm on April 15, 1948.
Politics
Beery supported Thomas Dewey in the 1944 United States presidential election.
Death, estate, and continuing paternity suit
Beery died of a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
on April 15, 1949 (14 months, 1 week, and 1 day after Johan Schumm's birth) — while the suit was pending. Beery had been reading a newspaper at his Beverly Hills home when he collapsed. His body was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...
. The inscription on his grave reads, "No man is indispensable, but some are irreplaceable."
Beery died intestate
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
. In the paternity suit, Gloria Schumm's attorneys demanded $104,135 against Beery's $2,220,000 estate. In February 1952, Judge Newcomb Condee approved a $26,750 settlement from the estate. Gloria Schumm accepted the settlement, and Beery's paternity of Johan Schumm was not acknowledged.
When Mickey Rooney's father
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
died less than a year later, Rooney arranged to have him buried next to his old friend. "I thought it was fitting that these two comedians should rest in peace, side by side", he wrote.
Enduring case law
The paternity suit, and subsequent suits – including appeals – extended through about 1952 and were internationally publicized, particularly in gossip columns
A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are material written in a light, informal style, which relates the gossip columnist's opinions about the personal li ...
and tabloids. The litigation has endured as case law
Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a l ...
with, among other things, treatises addressing the rights of illegitimate
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
offspring against legitimate heirs in races for inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...
.
The upshot was that Schumm's paternity suit against Beery's estate put would-be half-siblings and other would-be family legatees, including a would-be uncle, Noah Beery Sr., in the position as ''de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' defendants. Phyllis Ann Riley was not named in Beery's will. Part of plaintiff's claim, initially, hinged on whether an oral agreement was binding. Gloria had claimed that Beery, while alive, agreed to provide for the child. However, on November 17, 1949, Judge William B. McKesson (1895–1967) threw out Gloria's claim. The judge reasoned that any oral agreement between the two, specifically any that was intended to provide for maintenance and care of a minor, was not binding because the amount allegedly agreed upon was in excess of $500, which must be made in writing.
Another matter in the case hinged on a "peppercorn
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diamet ...
" rule. That is, for any agreement, oral or written, between Wallace and Gloria to be binding, consideration
Consideration is a concept of English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions.
The court in ''Currie v Misa'' declared ...
must exist. The court, initially, found that Beery agreed to an oral contract where Gloria would (i) include the name "Wallace" in the child's name if a male, or "Wally" if a female, and (ii) refrain from filing a paternity suit that both agreed would damage Beery's "social and professional standing as a prominent motion picture star".
Generally, under California state law at the time, a father who neither marries the mother nor acknowledges paternity does not have a right to name the child. That right belongs to the mother. In exchange for Gloria's promise to name the child "Wallace" or "Wally" (the promise representing a form of consideration), Wallace Beery agreed to arrange for the payment of $100 per week to the child (as a third-party beneficiary
A third-party beneficiary, in the law of contracts, is a person who may have the right to sue on a contract, despite not having originally been an active party to the contract. This right, known as a ''ius quaesitum tertio'', arises when the third ...
under the contract), plus a lump sum of $25,000 to the child when he or she attained age 21, in addition to the customary obligation to pay for the "maintenance, support, and education according to the station in life and standard of living of Wallace Beery".
Legacy
For his contributions to the film industry, Wallace Beery posthumously received a motion-picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. His star is located at 7001 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...
.[
Beery is mentioned in the film '']Barton Fink
''Barton Fink'' is a 1991 American period black comedy psychological thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by the Coen brothers. Set in 1941, it stars John Turturro in the title role as a young New York City playwright who is hir ...
'', in which the lead character has been hired to write a wrestling screenplay to star Beery.
In the 1971 comedy ''The Projectionist'', actor and comedian Chuck McCann impersonates Beery quoting a line from ''Min and Bill''.
Selected filmography
* ''His Athletic Wife
''His Athletic Wife'' is a 1913 short film starring Wallace Beery, Gertrude Forbes and Robert Bolder. This is currently believed to have been Beery's first film in his 36-year career of acting in more than 250 films.
Cast
Wallace Beery ...
Mr. S ...
'' (1913, Short) as Mr. Strong (film debut)
* A series of at least 29 Sweedie comedy films starting with ''Sweedie the Swatter'', released 13 July 1914
* '' In and Out'' (1914, Short) as Hans
* '' The Ups and Downs'' (1914, Short)
* '' Cheering a Husband'' (1914, Short)
* '' Madame Double X'' (1914, Short) as Madame Double X
* '' Two Hearts That Beat as Ten'' (1915, Short) (with Ben Turpin
Bernard "Ben" Turpin (September 19, 1869 – July 1, 1940) was an American comedian and actor, best remembered for his work in silent films. His trademarks were his cross-eyed appearance and adeptness at vigorous physical comedy. Turpin wo ...
) as Fred
* '' Ain't It the Truth'' (1915, Short) as Harold Wallington
* ''The Slim Princess
''The Slim Princess'' is a 1920 American silent comedy film starring Mabel Normand, directed by Victor Schertzinger, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and written by Gerald C. Duffy based on a musical play of the same name by Henry Blossom and Lesl ...
'' (1915) with Francis X. Bushman) as Popova
* '' The Broken Pledge'' (1915, Short) (with Gloria Swanson
Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...
) as Percy
* '' The Fable of the Roistering Blades'' (1915, Short) as Milt
* '' A Dash of Courage'' (1916, Short) (with Gloria Swanson) as The Police Chief
* ''The Janitor's Vacation'' (1916)
* ''Patria
Patria may refer to:
Entertainment
* Patria (novel), a 2016 novel by Spanish writer Fernando Aramburu
* Patria (TV series), a 2020 limited television series, based on the novel
* ''Patria'' (serial), a 1917 American serial film
Music
* "Pátri ...
'' (1917, Serial) as
* ''Teddy at the Throttle
''Teddy at the Throttle'' is a 1917 American silent comedy short film starring Bobby Vernon, Gloria Swanson, and Wallace Beery. Wallace Beery and Gloria Swanson were briefly husband and wife offscreen during this period.
Cast
* Bobby Verno ...
'' (1917, Short) as Henry Black – Gloria's Rascally Guardian
* ''The Little American
''The Little American'' is a 1917 American silent romantic war drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Mary Pickford (who also served as producer) as an American woman who is in love with both a German soldier and a French ...
'' (1917) (with Mary Pickford
Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...
) as German Soldier (uncredited)
* ''Maggie's First False Step
''Maggie's First False Step'' is a 1917 short film directed by Frank Griffin and Mack Sennett, and starring Charles Murray, Louise Fazenda and Wallace Beery. The short was produced by Sennett at the Keystone Film Company and distributed by Triang ...
'' (1917, Short) as The Villain
* ''Johanna Enlists
''Johanna Enlists'' is a 1918 silent film comedy drama produced by and starring Mary Pickford with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by William Desmond Taylor from a short story by Rupert Hughes, ''The Mobilization of Joha ...
'' (1918) as Col. Fanner
* ''The Unpardonable Sin
''The Unpardonable Sin'' is a 1919 American silent drama/propaganda film set during World War I. The film was produced by Harry Garson, directed by Marshall Neilan, written by Kathryn Stuart, and stars Neilan's wife, Blanche Sweet, who portrays ...
'' (1919) as Col. Klemm
* ''The Love Burglar
''The Love Burglar'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by James Cruze, written by Walter Woods based upon a play by Jack Lait, and starring Wallace Reid, Anna Q. Nilsson, Raymond Hatton, Wallace Beery, Wilton Taylor, and Edmund Bur ...
'' (1919) (with Wallace Reid and Anna Q. Nilsson
Anna Quirentia Nilsson (March 30, 1888 – February 11, 1974) was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies.
Early life
Nilsson was born in Ystad, Sweden in 1888. Her middle name Quirentia is derived from her ...
) as Coast-to-Coast Taylor
* ''The Life Line
''The Life Line'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Jack Holt, Wallace Beery and Lew Cody. The picture was based on the play ''The Romany Rye'' by the British playwright George R. Sims. The film is ...
'' (1919) (with Jack Holt) as Bos
* '' Soldiers of Fortune'' (1919) as Mendoza
* ''Victory
The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...
'' (1919) (with Jack Holt and Lon Chaney Sr.
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
) as August Schomberg
* '' Behind the Door'' (1919) (with Hobart Bosworth
Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer.
Early life
Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil W ...
and Jane Novak
Jane Novak (born Johana Barbara Novak; January 12, 1896 – February 3, 1990) was an American actress of the silent film era.
Background
Jane Novak was born Johana Barbara Novak in St. Louis, Missouri to Bohemian immigrant Joseph Jerome Novak a ...
) as Lt. Brandt
* ''The Lone Wolf's Daughter
''The Lone Wolf's Daughter'' is a surviving 1919 American silent era crime/drama/thriller motion picture starring Bertram Grassby, Louise Glaum, and Thomas Holding.
Directed by William P.S. Earle and produced by J. Parker Read, Jr., the scree ...
'' (1919) as Minor Role (uncredited)
* ''The Virgin of Stamboul
''The Virgin of Stamboul'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Tod Browning and starring husband and wife team Priscilla Dean and Wheeler Oakman and featuring Wallace Beery in a supporting role.
Plot
Based upon a review in a film ...
'' (1920, directed by Tod Browning
Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...
) as Sheik Achmet Hamid
* ''The Mollycoddle
''The Mollycoddle'' is a 1920 American film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery, and directed by Victor Fleming.[Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...](_blank)
) as Henry von Holkar
* '' The Round-Up'' (1920) (with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked w ...
) as Buck McKee
* ''The Last of the Mohicans
''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826.
It is the second book of the ''Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinder ...
'' (1920) as Magua
* ''813
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* June 22 – Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars, led by Krum, ruler ('' khan'') of the Bulgarian Empire, defeat Emperor Michael I near Edirne (modern Turkey). The Byzantine army (26,000 men) ...
'' (1920) as Maj. Parbury / Ribeira
* ''The Rookie's Return
''The Rookie's Return'' is a 1920 American silent comedy film directed by Jack Nelson and written by Archer MacMackin. The film stars Douglas MacLean, Doris May, Frank Currier, Leo White, Kathleen Key, and Elinor Hancock. The film was released ...
'' (1920) as François Dupont
* ''Patsy
Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among It ...
'' (1921) as Gustave Ludermann
* '' The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' (1921) (with Rudolph Valentino) as Lieut. Col. von Richthosen
* '' A Tale of Two Worlds'' (1921 Goldwyn)(*extant; Library of Congress) as Ling Jo
* '' The Golden Snare'' (1921) as Bram Johnson
* ''The Policeman and the Baby'' (1921, Short) (with William Desmond and Elinor Fair
Elinor Virginia Martin ('' née'' Crowe; December 21, 1903 – April 26, 1957), known professionally as Elinor Fair, was an American motion picture actress.
Early years
Elinor Virginia Crowe was born on December 21, 1903, in Richmond, Virgini ...
) as The Crook
* '' The Last Trail'' (1921) as William Kirk
* '' Sleeping Acres'' (1921, Short)
* '' The Rosary'' (1922) as Kenwood Wright
* '' Wild Honey'' (1922) (with Priscilla Dean and Noah Beery Sr.) as Buck Roper
* '' The Sagebrush Trail'' (1922) as José Fagaro
* ''The Man from Hell's River
''The Man from Hell's River'', also known as simply ''Hell's River'', is a 1922 American silent Western film starring Irving Cummings, Eva Novak, and Wallace Beery. The screenplay was written by Cummings based upon the story "God of Her People" ...
'' (1922) (with Rin Tin Tin
Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (September 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier, L ...
) as Gaspard, The Wolf
* '' I Am the Law'' (1922) (with Noah Beery Sr.) as Fu Chang
* ''Hurricane's Gal
''Hurricane's Gal'' is a 1922 American silent adventure film produced, written and directed by Allen Holubar and starring his wife Dorothy Phillips. It was distributed through Associated First National Pictures.
Cast
*Dorothy Phillips as Lola ...
'' (1922) as Chris Borg
* ''Trouble
Trouble may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin
* ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film
* ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film
* ''Trouble'' ...
'' (1922) as Ed Lee, the Plumber
* ''Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
'' (1922) (with Douglas Fairbanks) as Richard the Lion-Hearted
* ''A Blind Bargain
''A Blind Bargain'' is a 1922 American silent horror film starring Lon Chaney and Raymond McKee, released through Goldwyn Pictures. The film was directed by Wallace Worsley and is based on Barry Pain's 1897 novel ''The Octave of Claudius''. Lo ...
'' (1922) (with Lon Chaney Sr.) as Beast Man (uncredited)
* '' Only a Shop Girl'' (1922) as Jim Brennan
* ''The Flame of Life
''The Flame of Life'' (also known as ''That Lass o' Lowrie's'') is a 1923 American silent drama film starring Priscilla Dean, Robert Ellis, Kathryn McGuire, and Wallace Beery. The film was written by Elliott J. Clawson from the Frances Hodgso ...
'' (1923) as Don Lowrie
* ''Stormswept
''Stormswept'' is a 1923 silent film starring brothers Wallace Beery and Noah Beery. The advertising phrase used for the movie was "Wallace and Noah Beery, The Two Greatest Character Actors on the American Screen." The film was written by Winif ...
'' (1923) (with Noah Beery Sr.) as William McCabe
* ''Bavu
''Bavu'' is a 1923 silent American drama film directed by Stuart Paton, starring Wallace Beery in the title role, and written by Albert Kenyon and Raymond L. Schrock based upon a play by Earl Carroll. The film is a period piece involving Bolsh ...
'' (1923) as Felix Bavu
* ''Three Ages
''Three Ages'' is a 1923 black-and-white American feature-length silent comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton and Wallace Beery. The first feature Keaton wrote, directed, produced, and starred in (unlike ''The Saphead'', in which he only ...
'' (1923) (with Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
) as The Villain
* ''Ashes of Vengeance
''Ashes of Vengeance'' is a 1923 American drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Norma Talmadge and Wallace Beery.
Plot
At the ball celebrating the wedding of Henry of Navarre on August 23, 1572, the evil Queen Mother Catherine de' Me ...
'' (1923) (with Norma Talmadge
Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among the most pop ...
) as Duc de Tours
* '' Drifting'' (1923) (with Priscilla Dean and Anna May Wong
Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese-American actress to gain intern ...
) as Jules Repin
* ''The Spanish Dancer
''The Spanish Dancer'' is a 1923 American silent costume epic starring Pola Negri as a gypsy fortune teller, Antonio Moreno as a romantic count, and Wallace Beery as the king of Spain. The film was directed by Herbert Brenon and also features a ...
'' (1923) (with Pola Negri
Pola Negri (; born Apolonia Chalupec ; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and femme ...
) as King Philip IV
* '' The Eternal Struggle'' (1923) as Barode Dukane
* ''Richard the Lion-Hearted
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
'' (1923; sequel to 1922's ''Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
'') as King Richard the Lion-Hearted
* '' The Drums of Jeopardy'' (1923) as Gregor Karlov
* ''White Tiger
The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, in the Sunderbans region and ...
'' (1923, directed by Tod Browning) as Count Donelli / Hawkes
* ''Unseen Hands
''Unseen Hands'' is a 1924 American silent film, silent horror film directed by Jacques Jaccard and starring Wallace Beery, Joseph J. Dowling and Fontaine La Rue. This was apparently the only horror film Jaccard directed, although he made over 80 ...
'' (1924) as Jean Scholast
* ''The Sea Hawk
''The Sea Hawk'' is a 1915 novel by Rafael Sabatini. The story is set over the years 1588–1593 and concerns a retired Cornish seafaring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous half-brother. After being ...
'' (1924) as Captain Jasper Leigh
* ''The Signal Tower
''The Signal Tower'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Clarence Brown and produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film stars Virginia Valli, Rockliffe Fellowes, and Wallace Beery.
Cast
*Virginia Valli as Sally Taylor
...
'' (1924) as Joe Standish
* '' Another Man's Wife'' (1924) as Captain Wolf
* ''The Red Lily
''The Red Lily'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo and starring Ramon Novarro, Enid Bennett, and Wallace Beery. A print of the film exists.
Plot
Marise La Noue (Enid Bennett) and Jean Leonnec (Ramon Novarro) are youn ...
'' (1924) as Bo-Bo
* '' Dynamite Smith'' (1924) as 'Slugger' Rourke
* '' Madonna of the Streets'' (1924) as Bill Smythe
* '' So Big'' (1924) as Klaus Poole
* ''Let Women Alone
''Let Women Alone'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Paul Powell and starring Pat O'Malley, Wanda Hawley and Wallace Beery.Munden p.430
Plot
After her husband is reportedly drowned at sea, his wife supports herself and their c ...
'' (1925) as Cap Bullwinkle
* ''Adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
'' (1925) as Morgan
* ''The Night Club
''The Night Club'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Paul Iribe and Frank Urson and written by Cecil B. DeMille, Keene Thompson, Walter Woods, and William C. deMille. The film stars Raymond Griffith, Vera Reynolds, Wallace ...
'' (1925) (with Raymond Griffith
Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...
and Vera Reynolds
Vera Reynolds (born Vera Nancy Reynolds; November 25, 1899 – April 22, 1962) was an American film actress.
Early life and career
Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1899, Reynolds first worked in films at age 12. She began as a dancer, worke ...
) as José
* '' The Lost World'' (1925; Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
dinosaur epic in which Beery portrayed Professor Challenger
George Edward Challenger is a fictional character in a series of fantasy and science fiction stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unlike Conan Doyle's self-controlled, analytical character, Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger is an aggressive, ...
) with Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular ''Andy H ...
as Sir John Roxton
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
(and Doyle
Doyle is a surname of Irish origin. The name is a back-formation from O'Doyle, which is an Anglicisation of the Irish (), meaning "descendant of ''Dubhghall''". There is another possible etymology: the Anglo-Norman surname ''D'Oyley'' with agglu ...
himself in a frontispiece)
* '' The Devil's Cargo'' (1925) as Ben
* '' The Great Divide'' (1925) as Dutch
* ''Coming Through
''Coming Through'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by A. Edward Sutherland starring Thomas Meighan and Lila Lee. The film was Sutherland's directorial debut.
Plot
As described in a review in a film magazine, Tom Blackford (Meigha ...
'' (1925) as Joe Lawler
* '' In the Name of Love'' (1925) as Glavis
* ''Rugged Water
''Rugged Water'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Irvin Willat and written by James Shelley Hamilton and Joseph C. Lincoln. The film stars Lois Wilson, Wallace Beery, Warner Baxter, Phyllis Haver, Dot Farley, J. P. Lockney, Jam ...
'' (1925) as Capt. Bartlett
* '' The Wanderer'' (1925) (with Greta Nissen
Greta Nissen (born Grethe Rüzt-Nissen; 30 January 1906 – 15 May 1988) was a Norwegian-American film and stage actress.
Stage and screen actress
Born Grethe Rüzt-Nissen in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, Nissen was originally a dancer. While ...
and Tyrone Power Sr.
Frederick Tyrone Edmond Power Sr. (2 May 1869 – 23 December 1931) was an English-born American stage and screen actor, known professionally as Tyrone Power. He is now usually referred to as Tyrone Power Sr. to differentiate him from his son ...
) as Pharis
* ''Pony Express
The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...
'' (1925) (with Betty Compson and George Bancroft
George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and internati ...
) as Rhode Island Red
* '' Behind the Front'' (1926) (with Raymond Hatton
Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures.
Biography
Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...
) as Riff Swanson
* '' Volcano!'' (1926) as Quembo
* '' We're in the Navy Now'' (1926) as 'Knockout' Hansen
* '' Old Ironsides'' (1926) (with Charles Farrell
Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...
and George Bancroft
George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and internati ...
) as Bos'n
* ''Casey at the Bat Casey at the Bat is a poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer.
Casey at the Bat may also refer to:
* ''Casey at the Bat'' (1916 film), a film based on the poem
* ''Casey at the Bat'' (1927 film), a film based on the poem
* ''Casey at the Bat'', a ...
'' (1927) (with Ford Sterling
Ford Sterling (born George Ford Stich Jr.; November 3, 1883 – October 13, 1939) was an American comedian and actor best known for his work with Keystone Studios. One of the 'Big 4', he was the original chief of the Keystone Cops.
Biography
...
and ZaSu Pitts
Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...
) as 'Home Run' Casey
* '' Fireman, Save My Child'' (1927) (with Raymond Hatton
Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures.
Biography
Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...
) as Elmer
* ''Now We're in the Air
''Now We're in the Air'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer, starring the late-1920s intermittent comedy team of Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton. In a supporting role, Louise Brooks plays twins, one raised Frenc ...
'' (1927) (with Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...
) (only twenty minutes survive) as Wally
* ''Two Flaming Youths
''Two Flaming Youths'' is a lost 1927 American silent comedy film directed by John Waters and written by John W. Conway, Donald Davis, Percy Heath, and Herman J. Mankiewicz. The film stars W. C. Fields, Chester Conklin, Mary Brian, Jack Luden ...
'' (1927) as Beery – of Beery and Hatton (uncredited)
* ''Wife Savers
''Wife Savers'' is a lost 1928 American comedy silent film directed by Ralph Ceder and written by Thomas J. Geraghty, Grover Jones, George Marion Jr. and Arthur Wimperis. The film stars Wallace Beery, Raymond Hatton, ZaSu Pitts, Sally Blane ...
'' (1928, lost film) (with Raymond Hatton
Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures.
Biography
Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...
and ZaSu Pitts
Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...
) as Louis Hosenozzle
* '' Partners in Crime'' (1928) as Detective Mike Doolan
* '' The Big Killing'' (1928) as Powderhorn Pete
* ''Beggars of Life
''Beggars of Life'' is an American film directed by William Wellman and starring Wallace Beery and Richard Arlen as hobos, and Louise Brooks as a young woman who dresses as a young man and flees the law. The film is regarded as Brooks's best Ame ...
'' (1928) (with Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...
and Richard Arlen
Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television.
Biography
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Arlen attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served in Canada as a ...
) as Oklahoma Red
* '' Chinatown Nights'' (1929) (with Warner Oland
Warner Oland (born Johan Verner Ölund; October 3, 1879 – August 6, 1938) was a Swedish-American actor. His career included time on Broadway and numerous film appearances. He is most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American ...
and Jack Oakie
Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on Theatre, stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin's ''T ...
) as Chuck Riley
* ''Stairs of Sand
''Stairs of Sand'' is a 1929 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film starring Wallace Beery, Jean Arthur and Phillips Holmes, made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Otto Brower, and written by Agnes Brand Leahy, Sam Mintz an ...
'' (1929) as Lacey
* ''River of Romance
''River of Romance'' is a 1929 American drama film directed by Richard Wallace and written by Ethel Doherty, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Dan Totheroh and John V.A. Weaver. The film stars Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Mary Brian, June Collyer, Henry B. W ...
'' (1929) as General Orlando Jackson
* '' The Big House'' (1930) (with Chester Morris
John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Awards, Academy Award nomination ...
, Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular ''Andy H ...
, and Robert Montgomery) as Machine Gun 'Butch' Schmidt
* ''Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...
'' (1930; widescreen) (with Johnny Mack Brown
John Brown (September 1, 1904 – November 14, 1974) was an American college football player and film actor billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career. He acted and starred mainly in Western films.
Early life
Born and raise ...
billed as "John Mack Brown") as Pat Garrett
* ''Way for a Sailor
''Way for a Sailor'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code film starring John Gilbert.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; November 15, 1930, page 182. The supporting cast includes Wallace Beery, Jim Tully, Leila Hyams, and Polly Moran. The film was dir ...
'' (1930) (with John Gilbert) as Tripod
* ''A Lady's Morals
''A Lady's Morals'' is a 1930 American pre-Code film offering a highly fictionalized account of opera singer Jenny Lind. The movie features Grace Moore as Lind, Reginald Denny as a lover, and Wallace Beery as P. T. Barnum. The film contains som ...
'' (1930) as P.T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...
* ''Min and Bill
''Min and Bill'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code comedy-drama film, directed by George W. Hill and starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery. Adapted by Frances Marion and Marion Jackson from Lorna Moon's 1929 novel, ''Dark Star'', the film tells ...
'' (1930) (with Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...
) as Bill
* ''The Stolen Jools
''The Stolen Jools'' is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy short produced by the Masquers Club of Hollywood, featuring many cameo appearances by film stars of the day. The stars appeared in the film, distributed by Paramount Pictures, to raise fu ...
'' (1931; 20-minute ensemble short) (with Edward G. Robinson and Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
) as Police Sergeant
* ''The Secret Six
''The Secret Six'' is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film starring Wallace Beery as "Slaughterhouse Scorpio", a character very loosely based on Al Capone, and featuring Lewis Stone, John Mack Brown, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Marjorie Rambeau ...
'' (1931) (with Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
and Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
) as "Slaughterhouse" Scorpio
* '' The Champ'' (1931) (with Jackie Cooper
John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...
) as Andy "Champ" Purcell (Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
-winning performance)
* ''Hell Divers
''Hell Divers'' is a 1932 American pre-Code black-and-white film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable as a pair of competing chief petty officers in early naval aviation. The film, made with the cooperation of the Unite ...
'' (1932; early military planes) (with Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
) as C.P.O. H.W. "Windy" Riker
* ''Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America.
Grand Hotel may refer to:
Hotels Africa
* Grande Hotel Beir ...
'' (1932) (with Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...
, John Barrymore
John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...
, Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...
, and Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
) as General Director Preysing
* ''Flesh
Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, but ...
'' (1932, directed by an uncredited John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
) as Polakai
* ''Tugboat Annie
''Tugboat Annie'' is a 1933 American pre-Code film directed by Mervyn LeRoy, written by Norman Reilly Raine and Zelda Sears, and starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery as a comically quarrelsome middle-aged couple who operate a tugboat. Dr ...
'' (1933) (with Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...
, Robert Young and Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...
) as Terry Brennan
* '' Dinner at Eight'' (1933) (with Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...
, Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...
, and Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
) as Dan Packard
* ''The Bowery
The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "Bo ...
'' (1933) (with George Raft
George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...
, Jackie Cooper
John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...
, Fay Wray
Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...
and Pert Kelton) as Chuck Connors
* ''Viva Villa!
''Viva Villa!'' is a 1934 American pre-Code film directed by Jack Conway and starring Wallace Beery as Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. The screenplay was written by Ben Hecht, adapted from the 1933 book '' Viva Villa!'' by Edgecumb Pinchon a ...
'' (1934, shot on location in Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
) (with Leo Carrillo
Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo (; August 6, 1880 – September 10, 1961), known professionally as Leo Carrillo, was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist.
He was best known for playing Pancho in the television ...
, Stu Erwin and Fay Wray
Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...
) as
* ''Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
'' (1934) (with Jackie Cooper
John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...
, Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...
and Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular ''Andy H ...
) as Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the novel ''Treasure Island'' (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing l ...
* ''The Mighty Barnum
''The Mighty Barnum'' is a 1934 film starring Wallace Beery as P.T. Barnum. The movie was written by Gene Fowler and Bess Meredyth, adapted from their play of the same name, and directed by Walter Lang. Beery had played Barnum four years earlie ...
'' (1934) (with Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley K ...
) as P.T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...
* '' West Point of the Air'' (1935) (with Robert Young, Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...
, Rosalind Russell
Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary ''Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the H ...
, and Robert Taylor) as Big Mike Stone
* ''China Seas
The China Seas consist of a series of marginal seas in the Western Pacific Ocean, around China. They are the major components signifying the transition from the continent of Asia to the Pacific Ocean.Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li, Chun-Feng Li, ''Geolog ...
'' (1935) (with Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
, Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
, Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular ''Andy H ...
, and Robert Benchley
Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thro ...
) as Jamesy McArdle
* ''O'Shaughnessy's Boy
''O'Shaughnessy's Boy'' is a 1935 film starring Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper and directed by Richard Boleslawski. The picture was partly set in a circus. The cinematographer was James Wong Howe.
Plot summary
The plot involves a one-armed l ...
'' (1935) (with Jackie Cooper
John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...
) as Captain Michael 'Windy' O'Shaughnessy
* ''Ah, Wilderness!
''Ah, Wilderness!'' is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on October 2, 1933. It differs from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction of a ...
'' (1935) (with Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...
, Aline MacMahon, and Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...
) as Sid Miller
* ''A Message to Garcia
''A Message to Garcia'' is a widely distributed essay written by Elbert Hubbard in 1899, expressing the value of individual initiative and conscientiousness in work. The essay's primary example is a dramatized version of a daring escapade perform ...
'' (1936) (with Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
and Alan Hale Sr.
Alan Hale Sr. (born Rufus Edward Mackahan; February 10, 1892 – January 22, 1950) was an American actor and director. He is best remembered for his many character roles, in particular as a frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn, as well as f ...
) as Sergeant Dory
* ''Old Hutch
''Old Hutch'' is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by J. Walter Ruben and starring Wallace Beery as a man who finds $100,000 in the depths of the Depression. It is a remake of the 1920 Will Rogers film '' Honest Hutch.''
Cast
*Wall ...
'' (1936) as 'Hutch' Hutchins
* ''The Good Old Soak
''The Good Old Soak'' is a 1937 drama film starring Wallace Beery and directed by J. Walter Ruben from a screenplay by A. E. Thomas based upon the 1922 stage play of the same name by Don Marquis. The picture's supporting cast features Una Merk ...
'' (1937) (with Betty Furness
Elizabeth Mary Furness (January 3, 1916 – April 2, 1994) was an American actress, consumer advocate, and current affairs commentator.
Early years
Furness was born in Manhattan, the daughter of wealthy business executive George Choate Furness ...
and Ted Healy
Ted Healy (born Charles Ernest Lee Nash; October 1, 1896 – December 21, 1937) was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy th ...
) as Clem Hawley
* ''Slave Ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...
'' (1937) (with Warner Baxter
Warner Leroy Baxter (March 29, 1889 – May 7, 1951) was an American film actor from the 1910s to the 1940s. Baxter is known for his role as the Cisco Kid in the 1928 film ''In Old Arizona'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at ...
(first-billed) and Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...
) as Jack Thompson
* ''The Bad Man of Brimstone
''The Bad Man of Brimstone'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by J. Walter Ruben and starring Wallace Beery, Virginia Bruce and Dennis O'Keefe. The screenplay was written by Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum, from a story by Ruben and Maur ...
'' (1937) (with Noah Beery Sr.) as 'Trigger' Bill
* ''Port of Seven Seas
''Port of Seven Seas'' is a 1938 drama film starring Wallace Beery and featuring Frank Morgan and Maureen O'Sullivan. The movie was written by Preston Sturges based on the plays of Marcel Pagnol and the films based on them, and was directed by ...
'' (1938; written by Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. In 1941, he won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film '' The Great McGinty'' (1940), h ...
and directed by James Whale
James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: ''Fran ...
) (with Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...
) as Cesar
* ''Stablemates
''Stablemates'' is a 1938 American sports drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Wallace Beery and Mickey Rooney.
Plot
Aspiring jockey Mickey idolizes hard-drinking former veterinarian Tom Terry, who shares advice about horses with Mickey ...
'' (1938) (with Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...
) as Doc Thomas 'Tom' Terry
* '' Stand Up and Fight'' (1939) (with Robert Taylor and Charles Bickford
Charles Ambrose Bickford (January 1, 1891 – November 9, 1967) was an American actor known for supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for '' The Song of Bernadette'' (1943), '' The F ...
) as Capt. Boss Starkey
* ''Sergeant Madden
''Sergeant Madden'' is a 1939 film noir forerunner directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast in this dark police crime drama, noted for its imaginative and evocative cinematography, includes Tom Brown, Lara ...
'' (1939, directed by Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...
) (with Laraine Day
Laraine Day (born La Raine Johnson, October 13, 1920 – November 10, 2007) was an American actress, radio and television commentator, and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) contract star. As a leading lady, she was paired opposite major film sta ...
) as Sgt. Shaun Madden
* ''Thunder Afloat
''Thunder Afloat'' is a 1939 World War I naval film starring Wallace Beery and Chester Morris. The movie was directed by George B. Seitz.
The submarine sequences were shot with the cooperation of the U. S. Navy at Annapolis, Maryland and aro ...
'' (1939) (with Chester Morris
John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Awards, Academy Award nomination ...
) as John Thorson
* '' The Man from Dakota'' (1940) (with Dolores del Río) as Sgt. 'Bar' Barstow
* '' 20 Mule Team'' (1940) (with Anne Baxter and Noah Beery Jr.) as Skinner Bill Bragg, an Alias of Ambrose Murphy
* ''Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
'' (1940) (with Ann Rutherford
Therese Ann Rutherford (November 2, 1917 – June 11, 2012) was a Canadian-born American actress in film, radio, and television. She had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict during the 1930s and 1940s in the An ...
) as 'Reb' Harkness
* '' The Bad Man'' (1941) (with Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...
, Laraine Day
Laraine Day (born La Raine Johnson, October 13, 1920 – November 10, 2007) was an American actress, radio and television commentator, and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) contract star. As a leading lady, she was paired opposite major film sta ...
, and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
) as Pancho Lopez
* '' Barnacle Bill'' (1941) (with 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 1 ...
) as Bill Johansen
* ''The Bugle Sounds
''The Bugle Sounds'' is a 1942 American World War II movie starring Wallace Beery as a cavalry sergeant resistant to replacing horses with tanks. The supporting cast includes Marjorie Main, Lewis Stone, George Bancroft, Donna Reed, and Chill ...
'' (1942) (with 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 1 ...
, Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular ''Andy H ...
, and George Bancroft
George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and internati ...
) as Sgt. Patrick Aloysius 'Hap' Doan
* ''Jackass Mail
''Jackass Mail'' is a 1942 Western comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Wallace Beery and Marjorie Main.
Cast
Reception
According to MGM records the film earned $1,013,000 in the US and Canada and $292,000 elsewhere, making ...
'' (1942) (with 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 1 ...
) as Marmaduke 'Just' Baggot
* ''Salute to the Marines
''Salute to the Marines'' is a 1943 World War II propaganda war film drama in Technicolor from MGM, produced by John W. Considine Jr., directed by S. Sylvan Simon, and starring Wallace Beery. The film co-stars Fay Bainter, Reginald Owen, Ray Co ...
'' (1943, in color) (with Noah Beery Sr.) as Sgt. Maj. William Bailey
* ''Rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...
'' (1944) (with 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 1 ...
) as Ben Barton
* ''Barbary Coast Gent
''Barbary Coast Gent'' is a 1944 American Western comedy film set in 1880s San Francisco's Barbary Coast and Nevada starring Wallace Beery. The movie was directed by Roy Del Ruth and features Binnie Barnes, Beery's brother Noah Beery, Sr., Joh ...
'' (1944) (with Chill Wills and Noah Beery Sr.) as Honest Plush Brannon
* ''This Man's Navy
''This Man's Navy'' (aka ''Airship Squadron No. 4.'' and ''Lighter Than Air'') is a 1945 World War II film about U.S. Navy blimps directed by William A. Wellman and starring Wallace Beery, Tom Drake, Jan Clayton and James Gleason. The supporting ...
'' (1945) (with Noah Beery Sr.) as Ned Trumpet
* ''Bad Bascomb
Wilbur D. Bascomb Jr. is an American bass guitarist. He is the son of jazz trumpeter Wilbur "Dud" Bascomb, who played with Erskine Hawkins and Duke Ellington.
Career
In the 1970s, Bascomb worked with James Brown(1974),Margaret O'Brien
Angela Maxine O'Brien (born January 15, 1937) is an American film, radio, television, and stage actress, and is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Beginning a prolific career as a child actress in feature ...
and 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 1 ...
) as Zeb Bascomb
* ''The Mighty McGurk
''The Mighty McGurk'' is a 1947 American sports, drama, action, adventure, melodrama film starring Wallace Beery as a boozing ex-boxer brawling as a bouncer in a Bowery saloon.
Plot
Roy "Slag" McGurk (Wallace Beery), the former heavyweight boxing ...
'' (1947) (with Dean Stockwell
Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he first came to the public's attention in films including ''Anchors A ...
and Edward Arnold) as Roy 'Slag' McGurk
* ''Alias a Gentleman
''Alias a Gentleman'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast includes Dorothy Patrick, Tom Drake, Gladys George and Sheldon Leonard.
Plot
Jim Breedin has been in priso ...
'' (1948) (with Gladys George
Gladys George (born Gladys Clare Evans; September 13, 1904 – December 8, 1954) was an American actress of stage and screen. Though nominated for an Academy Award for her leading role in ''Valiant Is the Word for Carrie'' (1936), she spent most ...
and Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard Bershad (February 22, 1907 – January 11, 1997) was an American film and television actor, producer, director, and screenwriter.
Early life
Sheldon Leonard Bershad was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of middle-clas ...
) as Jim Breedin
* ''A Date with Judy
''A Date with Judy'' is a comedy radio series aimed at a teenage audience which ran from 1941 to 1950.
The series was co-created by Jerome Lawrence and Aleen Leslie, and based on Leslie's “One Girl Chorus” column in the Pittsburgh Press. La ...
'' (1948) (with Jane Powell
Jane Powell (born Suzanne Lorraine Burce; April 1, 1929 – September 16, 2021) was an American actress, singer, and dancer who first appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s and 50s. With her soprano voice and girl-next-door image ...
, Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
and Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda, (; born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, 9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was active from the late 1920s onwards. Nicknamed "The B ...
) as Melvin Colner Foster
* '' Big Jack'' (1949) (with Richard Conte
Nicholas Peter Conte (March 24, 1910 – April 15, 1975), known professionally as Richard Conte, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from the 1940s through 1970s, including '' I'll Cry Tomorrow'', ''Ocean's 11'', and ''Th ...
, 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 1 ...
, and Edward Arnold) as Big Jack Horner (final film role)
Box office ranking
*1932 – 7th
*1933 – 5th
*1934 – 4th
*1935 – 8th
*1936 – 15th, 8th (UK)
*1937 – 15th
*1938 – 12th
*1939 – 15th
*1940 – 8th
*1941 – 19th
*1942 – 18th
*1943 – 18th
*1944 – 11th
*1946 – 11th
Behind the Door'' (1919) with Hobart Bosworth
Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer.
Early life
Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil W ...
File:The Mollycoddle 1920 - Lobby Card.jpg, ''The Mollycoddle
''The Mollycoddle'' is a 1920 American film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery, and directed by Victor Fleming.[Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...](_blank)
File:The Mollycoddle (1920) - 1.jpg, ''The Mollycoddle
''The Mollycoddle'' is a 1920 American film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery, and directed by Victor Fleming.[Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...](_blank)
File:Wallace Beery - Jul 1921 EH.jpg, Wallace Beery in 1921
File:The Policeman and the Baby (1921) - 1.jpg, ''The Policeman and the Baby'' (1921)
File:The Golden Snare (1921) - 4.jpg, '' The Golden Snare'' (1921)
File:The Golden Snare - 1921.jpg, ''The Golden Snare'' (1921) with Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular ''Andy H ...
File:The Last Trail (1921) - 8.jpg, ''The Last Trail'' (1921)
File:Last Trail lobby card 2.jpg, ''The Last Trail'' (1921) with Eva Novak
Eva Barbara Novak (February 14, 1898 – April 17, 1988) was an American film actress, who was quite popular during the silent film era.
Biography
On February 14, 1898, Eva Barbara Novak was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Joseph Jerome No ...
File:Blindbargain.jpg, ''A Blind Bargain
''A Blind Bargain'' is a 1922 American silent horror film starring Lon Chaney and Raymond McKee, released through Goldwyn Pictures. The film was directed by Wallace Worsley and is based on Barry Pain's 1897 novel ''The Octave of Claudius''. Lo ...
'' (1922) with Lon Chaney
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
File:Stormswept (1923) - 2.jpg, ''Stormswept
''Stormswept'' is a 1923 silent film starring brothers Wallace Beery and Noah Beery. The advertising phrase used for the movie was "Wallace and Noah Beery, The Two Greatest Character Actors on the American Screen." The film was written by Winif ...
'' (1923) with Noah Beery
Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...
File:Stormswept (1923) - 1.jpg, ''Stormswept'' (1923) with Noah Beery
File:Stormswept.jpg, Stormswept (1923) with Noah Beery Sr.
File:Bavu (1923) - 7.jpg, ''Bavu
''Bavu'' is a 1923 silent American drama film directed by Stuart Paton, starring Wallace Beery in the title role, and written by Albert Kenyon and Raymond L. Schrock based upon a play by Earl Carroll. The film is a period piece involving Bolsh ...
'' (1923)
File:Bavu (1923) - 2.jpg, Beery as ''Bavu'' (1923)
File:Richard the Lion-Hearted FilmPoster.jpeg, ''Richard the Lion-Hearted
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
'' (1923)
File:Bessie Love and Wallace Beery in scene from Dynamite Smith (1924).jpg, '' Dynamite Smith'' (1924) with Bessie Love
Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned e ...
File:Dynamite Smith (1924) - 1.jpg, ''Dynamite Smith'' (1924)
File:Devil's Cargo lobby card.jpg, '' The Devil's Cargo'' (1925)
File:Adventure lobby card.jpg, ''Adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
'' (1925) with Pauline Starke
Pauline Starke (January 10, 1901Some sources say she was born in 1900. – February 3, 1977) was an American silent-film actress.
Early years
Pauline Starke was born on January 10, 1901, in Joplin, Missouri, the daughter of George W. Starke ...
File:Volcano lobby card.jpg, '' Volcano!'' (1926) with Bebe Daniels
Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer.
She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such ...
and Ricardo Cortez
Ricardo Cortez (born Jacob Kranze or Jacob Krantz; September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career.
Early years
Ricardo Cortez was born Jacob K ...
File:Casey at the Bat FilmPoster.jpeg, ''Casey at the Bat Casey at the Bat is a poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer.
Casey at the Bat may also refer to:
* ''Casey at the Bat'' (1916 film), a film based on the poem
* ''Casey at the Bat'' (1927 film), a film based on the poem
* ''Casey at the Bat'', a ...
'' (1927)
File:Now We're in the Air poster.jpg, ''Now We're in the Air
''Now We're in the Air'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer, starring the late-1920s intermittent comedy team of Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton. In a supporting role, Louise Brooks plays twins, one raised Frenc ...
'' (1927) with Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...
File:Poster - Now We're in the Air 01.jpg, ''Now We're in the Air'' (1927) with Louise Brooks
File:Poster - Now We're in the Air 02.jpg, ''Now We're in the Air'' (1927) with Raymond Hatton
Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures.
Biography
Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...
File:Poster - Now We're in the Air 03.jpg, ''Now We're in the Air'' (1927) with Raymond Hatton
File:Beggars of Life poster.jpg, ''Beggars of Life
''Beggars of Life'' is an American film directed by William Wellman and starring Wallace Beery and Richard Arlen as hobos, and Louise Brooks as a young woman who dresses as a young man and flees the law. The film is regarded as Brooks's best Ame ...
'' (1928) with Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...
File:Stairs of Sand lobby card.jpg, ''Stairs of Sand
''Stairs of Sand'' is a 1929 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film starring Wallace Beery, Jean Arthur and Phillips Holmes, made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Otto Brower, and written by Agnes Brand Leahy, Sam Mintz an ...
'' (1929) with Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s.
Arthur had feature roles in three F ...
File:Min and Bill lobby card.jpg, ''Min and Bill
''Min and Bill'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code comedy-drama film, directed by George W. Hill and starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery. Adapted by Frances Marion and Marion Jackson from Lorna Moon's 1929 novel, ''Dark Star'', the film tells ...
'' (1930) with Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...
File:Thesecretsix.jpg, ''The Secret Six
''The Secret Six'' is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film starring Wallace Beery as "Slaughterhouse Scorpio", a character very loosely based on Al Capone, and featuring Lewis Stone, John Mack Brown, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Marjorie Rambeau ...
'' (1931) with Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
and Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
File:Hell Divers 1932.jpg, ''Hell Divers
''Hell Divers'' is a 1932 American pre-Code black-and-white film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable as a pair of competing chief petty officers in early naval aviation. The film, made with the cooperation of the Unite ...
'' (1931) with Clark Gable
File:Poster - Hell Divers 02.jpg, ''Hell Divers
''Hell Divers'' is a 1932 American pre-Code black-and-white film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable as a pair of competing chief petty officers in early naval aviation. The film, made with the cooperation of the Unite ...
'' (1931)
File:Poster - Hell Divers 01.jpg, ''Hell Divers'' (1931)
File:Academyawards5.jpg, Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...
presents 1931 Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
File:GrandHotelFilmPoster.jpg, ''Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America.
Grand Hotel may refer to:
Hotels Africa
* Grande Hotel Beir ...
'' (1932)
File:Grand-Hotel-Beery-Crawford-cropped.jpg, ''Grand Hotel'' (1932) with Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
File:Poster - Tugboat Annie 01.jpg, ''Tugboat Annie
''Tugboat Annie'' is a 1933 American pre-Code film directed by Mervyn LeRoy, written by Norman Reilly Raine and Zelda Sears, and starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery as a comically quarrelsome middle-aged couple who operate a tugboat. Dr ...
'' (1933) with Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...
File:Dinner at Eight lobby card.jpg, '' Dinner at Eight'' (1933) with Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
File:The Bowery 1933.jpg, ''The Bowery
The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "Bo ...
'' (1933) with George Raft
George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...
File:Viva Villa poster.jpg, ''Viva Villa!
''Viva Villa!'' is a 1934 American pre-Code film directed by Jack Conway and starring Wallace Beery as Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. The screenplay was written by Ben Hecht, adapted from the 1933 book '' Viva Villa!'' by Edgecumb Pinchon a ...
'' (1934) with Fay Wray
Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...
File:Poster - Treasure Island (1934) 01.jpg, ''Treasure Island'' (1934) with Jackie Cooper
File:Treasure Island lobby card.jpg, ''Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
'' (1934) with Jackie Cooper
John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...
File:China Seas lobby card 2.jpg, ''China Seas
The China Seas consist of a series of marginal seas in the Western Pacific Ocean, around China. They are the major components signifying the transition from the continent of Asia to the Pacific Ocean.Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li, Chun-Feng Li, ''Geolog ...
'' (1935)
File:China Seas lobby card 3.JPG, ''China Seas
The China Seas consist of a series of marginal seas in the Western Pacific Ocean, around China. They are the major components signifying the transition from the continent of Asia to the Pacific Ocean.Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li, Chun-Feng Li, ''Geolog ...
'' (1935) with Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
File:China seas.jpg, ''China Seas
The China Seas consist of a series of marginal seas in the Western Pacific Ocean, around China. They are the major components signifying the transition from the continent of Asia to the Pacific Ocean.Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li, Chun-Feng Li, ''Geolog ...
'' (1935)
File:Ah Wilderness film poster.jpg, '' Ah Wilderness!'' (1935)
File:Good Old Soak 1937.JPG, ''The Good Old Soak
''The Good Old Soak'' is a 1937 drama film starring Wallace Beery and directed by J. Walter Ruben from a screenplay by A. E. Thomas based upon the 1922 stage play of the same name by Don Marquis. The picture's supporting cast features Una Merk ...
'' (1937) with Ted Healy
Ted Healy (born Charles Ernest Lee Nash; October 1, 1896 – December 21, 1937) was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy th ...
File:The Bad Man of Brimstone FilmPoster.jpeg, ''The Bad Man of Brimstone
''The Bad Man of Brimstone'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by J. Walter Ruben and starring Wallace Beery, Virginia Bruce and Dennis O'Keefe. The screenplay was written by Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum, from a story by Ruben and Maur ...
'' (1937)
File:Stand Up and Fight lobby card.jpg, '' Stand Up and Fight'' (1939) with Robert Taylor
File:The Man from Dakota FilmPoster.jpeg, '' The Man from Dakota'' (1940)
File:Man From Dakota poster.jpg, ''The Man from Dakota'' (1940)
File:20 mule team poster.jpg, '' 20 Mule Team'' (1940) with Noah Beery Jr.
File:Wyoming poster.jpg, ''Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
'' (1940) with 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 1 ...
File:Wallace Beery in Barnacle Bill (1941).png, '' Barnacle Bill'' (1941)
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
See also
* List of actors with Academy Award nominations
References
Further reading
*Wise, James. ''Stars in Blue: Movie Actors in America's Sea Services''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1997.
External links
*
AllMovie.com/ biography
*
Photographs of Wallace Beery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beery, Wallace
1885 births
1949 deaths
20th-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male silent film actors
American male stage actors
Best Actor Academy Award winners
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Male actors from Kansas City, Missouri
Male actors from Missouri
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
Paramount Pictures contract players
People from Clay County, Missouri
Volpi Cup for Best Actor winners