Ben Alexander
Birthday: Born in 1911-05-27 in Goldfield, Nevada, USA
Deathday: 1969-07-05
Nicholas Benton "Ben" Alexander III (June 27, 1911 – July 5, 1969) was an American motion picture actor, who started out as a child actor in 1916. He is best remembered for his role as Officer Frank Smith in the Dragnet franchise.
TV Credits
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Character: Self
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show starred many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Ben Blue, Robert Paige, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Broadway dancer Wayne Lamb and Spike Jones and His City Slickers....
Batman
Character:
Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, C...
Dragnet
Character: Frank Smith
Follows the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from the police term "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects....
Felony Squad
Character: Desk Sgt. Dan Briggs
Twenty-year veteran Detective Sergeant Sam Stone is paired with rookie Briggs in a large Western metropolis....
This Is Your Life
Character: Self
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience, including special guest appearances by colleagues, friends and family. Edwards revived the show in 1971-72, while Joseph Campanella hosted a version in 1983. Edwards returned for some specials in the late 1980s, before his death in 2005. T...
Judd for the Defense
Character:
High-priced Houston lawyer Clinton Judd and his assistant Ben Caldwell take difficult cases throughout the U.S....
Movie Credits
All Quiet on the Western Front
Character: Franz Kemmerich
When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat....
The Family Honor
Character: Little Ben Tucker
Beverly Tucker, the daughter of an impoverished aristocratic Southern family, has scraped together her last pennies to put her brother Dal through college in the hope that he will support the family after graduation. However, Dal harbors no such ambition and instead spends his time gambling and drinking in a saloon owned by the town's mayor, Curran. During a raid led by Curran's crusading son Merle, a detective is killed and Dal is accused of the crime....
Shall We Dance
Character: Evans (uncredited)
Ballet star Petrov arranges to cross the Atlantic aboard the same ship as the dancer and musical star he's fallen for but barely knows. By the time the ocean liner reaches New York, a little white lie has churned through the rumour mill and turned into a hot gossip item—that the two celebrities are secretly married....
A Wife on Trial
Character: Child (uncredited)
Phyllis Narcissa, an underpaid children's librarian, eagerly accepts a dinner invitation from Horace de Guenther, one of her patrons, and happily entertains his invalid wife. Later, Mrs. de Guenther encourages Phyllis to meet with Mrs. Harrington, a dying rich woman whose son Allan, once a vigorous young man, was paralyzed in an auto accident. When Mrs. Harrington proposes to the librarian that she marry and take care of Allan in exchange for his wealth, Phyllis reluctantly consents. While strug...
The Vanishing Frontier
Character: Lucien Winfield
Its 1850 and California is under ruthless military rule. Kirby Tornell's rancho has been taken over by soldiers and when two of Kirby's men are captured, he goes there to free them. He meets the General's daughter there and attracted to her, repeatedly returns to see her. Eventually he is captured and now his men must try and rescue him....
The Hushed Hour
Character: Gondy
Judge Robert Appleton (Winter Hall) has led an exemplary life. His four children, however, fell short once they grew up and had to fend for themselves. When Appleton dies, his widow (Lydia Knott) explains that his last request was that each child spend one hour of contemplation with his body. The first is the youngest daughter, Daisy (Rosemary Theby), an artist of note who was betrayed and left with a son to raise out of wedlock. Next is Luke (Milton Sills), a wild young man who ran away at 19, ...
The Heart of Rachael
Character: Jim
Rachael (Bessie Barriscale) marries Clarence Breckenridge (Hershel Mayall) a widower much older than herself. Although she tries to be a good wife, he ignores her for the bottle. In addition, his daughter, Billy (Ella Hall), who is not much younger than Rachael, is spoiled. When Rachael meets the family doctor, Warren Gregory (Herbert Heyes), they fall in love....
Josselyn's Wife
Character: Tommy Josselyn
Bessie Barriscale and Nigel Barrie play Ellen and Gibbs Josselyn, a young married couple who have spent several years in Europe while Gibbs, an artist, developed his talent. When they return to the States, they stay with Gibbs' father (Tom Guise) and stepmother (Kathleen Kirkham). Gibbs had never cared much for his stepmother, Lillian, but now he warms up to her -- a lot. Lillian is much younger than her husband and begins spending a suspicious amount of time with her stepson....
Dragnet
Character: Officer Frank Smith
Two homicide detectives try to find just the facts behind a mobster's brutal murder....
Blue Streak McCoy
Character: Job the child
Ranger Job "Blue Streak" McCoy helps a miner and his pretty young daughter who are trying to protect their valuable mine from a gang leader who wants to take it....
Western Gold
Character: Bart
President Lincoln personally sends Bill Gibson west to see if he can stop the holdups of the needed shipments of gold. There he meets his boyhood friend Foster. When all others refuse to take out the next gold shipment due to the killings, Bill volunteers. Jeannie, afraid for his safety, tells Foster of Bill's secret route not knowing Foster is the leader of the outlaw gang....
High Pressure
Character: Geoffrey Weston
Gar Evans is a con artist, who pretends to be the owner of a "Golden Gate Artificial Rubber Company", and he is looking for investors. Finding them is relatively easy, but it becomes difficult when those want to see the inventor of the synthetic rubber......
Los Angeles Plays Itself
Character: Officer Frank Smith in Dragnet (archive footage)
From its distinctive neighborhoods to its architectural homes, Los Angeles has been the backdrop to countless movies. In this dazzling work, Andersen takes viewers on a whirlwind tour through the metropolis' real and cinematic history, investigating the myriad stories and legends that have come to define it, and meticulously, judiciously revealing the real city that lives beneath....
Convict's Code
Character: Jeff Palmer
On parole after three years in prison, a football player encounters the man who framed him....
This Day and Age
Character: Morry Dover
A modern-day tale of gangsterism and revenge. After a notorious mobster murders a Jewish tailor and is let off for the crime, a band of outraged high-school students turns into vigilante crusaders hell-bent on punishing the wrongdoers. Memorable pre-Code moment: the students torturing a gangster by dangling him over a pit filled with rats....
The Lady of the Dugout
Character: The Lady's son
Real life outlaw Al Jennings tells a "real" story about how he came to the aid of a woman who was abused by her alcoholic husband....
The Life of Vergie Winters
Character: Barry Preston
A small town politician, kept from marrying the love of his life, eventually marries another woman and his career ascends, but he secretly continues the relationship with his true love....
Grand Old Girl
Character: Tom Miller
An elderly schoolteacher is determined to rid her town of the local gambling den....
Stage Mother
Character: Francis Nolan
Kitty Lorraine has one purpose in life: turning her daughter Shirley into a star. Kitty controls every aspect of the girl's nascent career -- even blackmailing a stage manager so that Shirley can take a more prestigious gig. But Kitty goes too far when she breaks up her daughter's budding relationship with sweet artist Warren Foster. Heartbroken, Shirley sets off on a series of disastrous but profitable relationships....
The White Heather
Character: Donald Cameron
Lord Angus Cameron's marriage to a woman of his titled Scottish class is thwarted by his secret marriage years before to Marion Hume, the housekeeper of the castle. Cameron attempts to repudiate the marriage, the only record of which is a certificate in the sunken wreck of a yacht, The White Heather . Marion goes to court to prove her claim and secure the rights of her son by Cameron, but is defeated. Alec McClintock, who is in love with Marion, and Cameron both want to recover the record, so th...
Suicide Fleet
Character: Kid
Three US sailors aboard a decoy ship fight German U-boats in World War I and try to win Sally who works on the Coney Island midway....
Red Lights Ahead
Character: George Wallace
A family loses its collective head going from rags to riches in this low-budget comedy from also-ran studio Chesterfield. Former slapstick comedian Andy Clyde starred as Grandpa Tom Hopkins who, after selling his junk business, moves in with daughter Molly (Lucille Gleason), her husband Ed (Roger Imhof), and their children Mary (Ann Doran), Edna (Paula Stone), George (Ben Alexander, and Willie (Frank Coghlan Jr.). Ed, who is a member of the town lodge "the Whales," is persuaded by Whitney (Sam F...
Flirtation
Character: Dudley
A naive farmer encounters a beautiful burlesque dancer on the streets of New York and agrees to pose as her husband during her mother's visit....
Criminals Within
Character: Sgt. Paul
A young soldier uncovers a ring of spies when he investigates his brother's mysterious murder....
Are These Our Children?
Character: Nicholas 'Nick' Crosby
A tale of juvenile delinquency, about a high-school student neglecting his studies, partying hard, falling in with the wrong crowd and finally finding himself on trial for murder committed during a robbery....
Mr. Doodle Kicks Off
Character: Larry Weldon
A wealthy businessman promises to donate a huge endowment to his college alma mater, but there's one condition -- his loser of a son, a student at the school, must become a football hero. Comedy....
Roadhouse Queen
Character: Junior Knox
Walter Catlett learns his son Ben Alexander has thrown over fiancee Joyce Compton for acrobat Nora Lane. He takes lawyer Arthur Housman to the road house where she is performing to lay down the law....
The Legion of Missing Men
Character: Don Carter
Bob Carter, a member of the Foreign Legion, is glad to see his brother, Don, for the first time in ten years but is sorry that Don has joined the Legion. Bob, Don and Bob's buddies, Muggsy and Bilgey, go to a café and there Don falls for Nina, a singer in love with Bob. Bob doesn't know this and thinks she is Garccia's girl, and warns Don to have nothing to do with her. Don disregards the warning and Garcia discovers Nina and Don together and provokes Don into hitting him. Don is arrested and th...
The Outer Gate
Character: Bob Terry
Bob Terry is in love with Lois Borden the daughter of his employer, John Borden. When some bonds are missing from the office, Bob is accused and because of Borden's strong sense of obligation to his stockholders, Bob is railroaded to prison. A few years later, the real thief is apprehended and Bob is released. He now begins his plan for revenge against Borden with the aid of his prison cell mate Todd and a gangster, John Carmody. Soon, some bonds are missing again and Borden knows Bob is involve...
Most Precious Thing in Life
Character: Gideon 'Gubby' Gerhart
An unwed mother watches as her illegitimate son is raised by others. Director Lambert Hillyer's 1934 drama stars Jean Arthur, Richard Cromwell, Donald Cook, Anita Louise, Jane Darwell, Mary Forbes and Ward Bond....
The Life of the Party
Character: Orchestra Leader
A singer finds another heir (Gene Raymond) to marry, to avoid the one (Joe Penner) her mother found....
The Divine Lady
Character: Young lieutenant
Lady Hamilton's love affair with Admiral Horatio Nelson rocks the British Empire....
Man in the Shadow
Character: Ab Begley
In a modern cow town, the powerful ranch owner’s henchmen kill a ranch hand, prompting the sheriff to investigate despite facing strong opposition. He finds an unlikely ally in the rancher's overprotected daughter, but their quest for justice puts them both in danger....
Buried Alive
Character: Riley
A prison trustee rescues a despondent executioner from a bar-room brawl, and is blamed for the fight by a tabloid reporter who actually started it, and loses parole, becomes embittered, and gets blamed for murder of guard....
Tom Brown of Culver
Character: Cpl. John Clarke
Boy who thought his father a war hero finds he was really a deserter....
Once to Every Woman
Character: Joe Wilson
An able nurse clashes with a new doctor at her hospital....
The Spy Ring
Character: Capt. Don Mayhew
Two American-army officers are working on a new type of machine-gun for anti-aircraft warfare, when one of them is murdered. The other vows to get the spies that are after the invention and avenge his friend's death....
The Yankee Spirit
Character:
Very first of the Juvenile Comedies series....
The Little American
Character: Bobby Moore
A young American has her ship torpedoed by a German U-boat but makes it back to her ancestral home in France, where she witnesses German brutality firsthand....
Little Orphant Annie
Character: Orphan
Annie, left orphaned after the death of her mother, goes to live in an orphanage where she tells her fellow orphans stories of ghosts and goblins. The matron of the orphanage finds Annie's closest relative, the abusive Uncle Thomp. Her uncle who puts her to hard work doing hard labor on his farm, belittling her all the while. Big Dave, a neighbor and tough cow-poke sees this and comes to her aid. Dave becomes her protector. Eventually Annie goes to live with Squire Goode and his large family. Th...
It's a Wise Child
Character: Bill Stanton
In this comedy, a conservative family becomes alarmed when they begin believing their daughter is pregnant....
What Price Innocence?
Character: Tommy Harrow
A young woman has to pay the price for fooling around with men....
Annapolis Farewell
Character: Adams
Commodore Fitzhugh, an old retired naval officer, lives at the Annapolis Naval Academy and, unhappy with the "modern" navy, likes to talk about his days in the "old" navy, especially about his part in the Battle of Manila Bay under Adm. Dewey during the Spanish-American War, when he commanded the USS Congress. That ship, now decommissioned and docked in Annapolis harbor, is--unknown to Fitzhugh--about to be towed out to sea to be used for target practice. When Fitzhugh finds this out, he sets ou...
Hearts of the World
Character: The Boy's Littlest Brother
A group of youngsters grow up and love in a peaceful French village. But war intrudes and peace is shattered. The German army invades and occupies village, bringing both destruction and torture. The young people of the village resist, some successfully, others tragically, until French troops retake the town....
Penrod and Sam
Character: Penrod Schofield
...
The Triflers
Character:
Janet Randall, a department store clerk who longs for a fling at high society, ignores the love of the poor but honest Dan Cassidy. When vacation time comes, Janet goes to a fashionable hotel and there meets her idol, society favorite Monte Moreville. Upon requesting the bill at the end of four days, Janet discovers that the tariff is more than she can afford, and Monte comes to her rescue by offering to bail her out. In exchange, Janet must pose as his wife to fend off a woman who is threatenin...
Boy of Mine
Character: Bill Latimer
A wealthy banker is a strict disciplinarian with his nine-year-old son Bill. Finally the day comes when neither Bill nor his mother can put up any more with the father's relentlessness and heavy-handed treatment; she leaves and takes Bill with her. The father must decide what's more important--maintaining his iron discipline over his family, or his family itself....
The Wet Parade
Character: Evelyn's Friend (uncredited)
The evils of alcohol before and during prohibition become evident as we see its effects on the rich Chilcote family and the hard working Tarleton family....
Born to Gamble
Character: Paul Mathews
A wealthy man relates how gambling had tragic consequences for his family....
Many a Slip
Character: Ted Coster
Comedy centering on the question of whether a man's wife is or isn't pregnant....
The Leather Pushers
Character: Dan Brown, Announcer
A shifty boxing promoter places an amateur in fixed fights, then hands his contract over to an suspicious female investigative reporter as a raffle prize. He later regrets his actions, however, when the boxer becomes an honest champion....
Each Pearl a Tear
Character:
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The One Woman
Character: Boy
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