Chester Morris
Birthday: Born in 1901-02-16 in New York City, New York, USA
Deathday: 1970-09-11
Chester Morris (born 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 was nominated for an Academy Award. Chester Morris is best remembered today for portraying Boston Blackie, a criminal-turned-detective, in the modestly budgeted Boston Blackie film series of the 1940s.
TV Credits
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Character: Blaine Davis
Kraft Suspense Theatre is an American anthology series that was telecast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall specials once monthly. Como's production company, Roncom Films, also produced Kraft Suspense Theatre. Writer, editor, critic and radio playwright Anthony Boucher served as consultant on the series. Later syndicated under the title Crisis, it was one of the few suspense series te...
Route 66
Character: Mr. Hull
Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America in a Chevrolet Corvette sports car. The show ran weekly on Fridays on CBS from October 7, 1960 to March 20, 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for the first two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod was shown traveling on his own. Tod met Lincoln Case, played by Glenn Corbett, late in the third season, and traveled with h...
Naked City
Character: Frank Manfred
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”....
Studio One
Character: Jack Feeney
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions....
Rawhide
Character: Hugh Clements
The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama....
Cimarron Strip
Character:
Cimarron Strip is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown, the series was produced by the creators of Gunsmoke. Reruns of the original show were aired in the summer of 1971. Cimarron Strip was one of only three 90-minute weekly Western series that aired during the 1960s, and the only 90-minute series of any kind to be centered primarily around one lead character. Cimarron Strip was set in the Oklahom...
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character: The Dansker
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season....
Ben Casey
Character:
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph Ransohoff was a medical consultant for the show and may have influenced the personality of the title character....
Suspense
Character: Edwards
An anthology series adapted from the radio program of the same name. Like the radio program, many scripts were adaptations of literary classics by well-known authors. Classic authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and Charles Dickens all had stories adapted for the series, while contemporary authors such as Roald Dahl and Gore Vidal also contributed....
Robert Montgomery Presents
Character:
Robert Montgomery Presents is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950 until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its seven-year run, and the title was altered to feature the sponsor, usually Lucky Strike cigarettes, for example, Robert Montgomery Presents Your Lucky Strike Theater, ....The Johnson's Wax Program, and so on....
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Character: Frank Simmons
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961....
Tales of Tomorrow
Character:
Tales of Tomorrow is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as Frankenstein, starring Lon Chaney, Jr., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Thomas Mitchell as Captain Nemo, and many others featuring such performers as Boris Karloff, Brian Keith, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Bruce Cabot, Franchot Tone, Gene Lockhart, Walter Abel, Leslie Nielsen, and Paul Newman. The series had many similarities to ...
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Character: Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time....
Lights Out
Character:
Lights Out was an extremely popular American old-time radio program, an early example of a network series devoted mostly to horror and the supernatural, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. Versions of Lights Out aired on different networks, at various times, from January 1934 to the summer of 1947 and the series eventually made the transition to television. In 1946, NBC Television brought Lights Out to TV in a series of four specials, broadcast live and produced by Fred Coe, who also contribu...
Dr. Kildare
Character: Tom Monahan
The story of a young intern in a large metropolitan hospital trying to learn his profession, deal with the problems of his patients, and win the respect of the senior doctor in his specialty, internal medicine....
The Red Skelton Show
Character: Tony
The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as well. Although his television series is largely associated with CBS, where it appeared for more than fifteen years, it actually began and ended on NBC. During its run, the program received three Emmy Awa...
The Mike Douglas Show
Character: Self
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia....
Route 66
Character: Emmett McNeill
Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America in a Chevrolet Corvette sports car. The show ran weekly on Fridays on CBS from October 7, 1960 to March 20, 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for the first two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod was shown traveling on his own. Tod met Lincoln Case, played by Glenn Corbett, late in the third season, and traveled with h...
Diagnosis: Unknown
Character:
Diagnosis: Unknown is an American medical drama that aired on CBS from July 5 to September 20, 1960. Produced by Bob Banner, the series aired as a summer replacement for The Garry Moore Show, a variety program....
Robert Montgomery Presents
Character: Col. Bobo Nolan
Robert Montgomery Presents is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950 until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its seven-year run, and the title was altered to feature the sponsor, usually Lucky Strike cigarettes, for example, Robert Montgomery Presents Your Lucky Strike Theater, ....The Johnson's Wax Program, and so on....
Checkmate
Character: Albert DeWitt
Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by Jack Benny's production company, "JaMco Productions" in co-operation with Revue Studios. Guest stars included Charles Laughton, Peter Lorre, and Lee Marvin, among many other commensurately prominent performers....
Studio One
Character: Jack Sparling
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions....
Studio One
Character: Sam Benson
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions....
Studio One
Character: Warden Garry
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions....
Play of the Week
Character: Swanson
This syndicated anthology series staged a different play every week covering all genres, dramas, comedies, musicals, fantasies, mysteries, et al, utilizing some of the best talent appearing on Broadway....
Suspense
Character:
An anthology series adapted from the radio program of the same name. Like the radio program, many scripts were adaptations of literary classics by well-known authors. Classic authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and Charles Dickens all had stories adapted for the series, while contemporary authors such as Roald Dahl and Gore Vidal also contributed....
Movie Credits
Blondie Johnson
Character: R. Burton "Danny" Jones
A Depression-downtrodden waif uses her brains instead of her body to rise from tyro con artist to crime boss....
I've Been Around
Character: Eric Foster
Romantic problems of a society girl and an engineer....
Public Hero Number 1
Character: Jeff Crane
G-Man Jeff Crane poses as a crook to infiltrate the notorious Purple Gang, a band of hoodlums which preys upon other hoodlums. Orchestrating the jailbreak of the gang's leader, Crane joins him in a Dillinger-like flight across the country....
The Bat Whispers
Character: Detective Anderson
Infamous burglar "The Bat" commits a daring jewelry theft despite heavy police presence. Soon after, a bank theft occurs, which may be the work of the criminal as well. Meanwhile, Cornelia Van Gorder has various people arrive at her old mansion, including her niece, Dale, a bank employee, and police detective Anderson. When guests start turning up dead, Cornelia begins to suspect that The Bat may be lurking around the estate....
Alibi
Character: Chick Williams
Chick Williams, a prohibition gangster, rejoins his mob soon after being released from prison. When a policeman is murdered during a robbery, he falls under suspicion. The gangster took Joan, a policeman's daughter, to the theater, sneaked out during the intermission to commit the crime, then used her to support his alibi. The detective squad employs its most sophisticated and barbaric techniques, including planting an undercover agent in the gang, to bring him to justice....
Blind Alley
Character: Hal Wilson
A gangster takes a doctor and his family hostage....
The She-Creature
Character: Dr. Carlo Lombardi
A mysterious hypnotist reverts his beautiful assistant back into the form of a prehistoric sea monster that she was in a past life....
Blind Spot
Character: Jeffrey Andrews
A mystery writer becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation when a publisher he last saw is found dead....
The Big House
Character: John Morgan
Convicted of manslaughter for a drunken driving accident, Kent Marlowe is sent to prison, where he meets vicious incarcerated figures who are planning an escape from the brutal conditions....
Five Came Back
Character: Bill Brooks
Twelve people are aboard Coast Airline's flagship the Silver Queen enroute to South America when the airplane encounters a storm and is blown off course. Crashing into jungles known to be inhabited by head hunters, pilots Bill and Joe race against time to fix the engines and attempt a take off. The situation brings out the best and worst in the stranded dozen as they create a makeshift runway and prepare to escape before the natives attack. But damage to the plane and low fuel reserves means tha...
After Midnight with Boston Blackie
Character: Boston Blackie
Blackie is arrested when retrieving stolen gems from a safety deposit box for a friend....
Boston Blackie's Rendezvous
Character: Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black
Blackie helps the police rescue hostage from an escaped maniac on a killing spree....
A Close Call for Boston Blackie
Character: Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black / Cyrus Peyton
Blackie runs into a woman he formally loved who now is married with a kid. When her husband gets out of prison he's killed in Blackie's apartment and of course the police thing Blackie pulled the trigger. Blackie must set out to prove his innocence as well as capture the real killers....
Boston Blackie and the Law
Character: Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black
Blackie performs in a magic show at a women's prison, which gives an inmate an opportunity to escape....
Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood
Character: Boston Blackie
Blackie receives a call from a friend who asks him to retrieve some money from his apartment and deliver it to him in California. Performing this good deed, he is accused of theft, but is allowed to proceed to Hollywood to help the police find a lost diamond....
Confessions of Boston Blackie
Character: Boston Blackie
A murder is committed during the auction of a valuable statue. The prime suspect is Boston Blackie, whose reputation for living on the edge of the law makes him an easy target for the police. When the body disappears, Blackie must find it to prove his innocence....
Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion
Character: Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black
Blackie is implicated in a murder when he accidently sells a phony Charles Dickens first edition at an auction....
Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture
Character: Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black
Blackie is seen leaving a Chinese laundry where the proprietor has been murdered, and must track down the real killer in Chinatown....
The Divorcee
Character: Ted
When a woman discovers that her husband has been unfaithful, she decides to pay him back in kind....
One Mysterious Night
Character: Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black
After a rare gem is stolen from an exhibition at a posh hotel, Inspector Farraday decides to recruit former thief Boston Blackie to find the stone. Along with his assistant, "The Runt", Blackie focuses his investigation on the hotel manager, George Daley, and his sister, Eileen. Through disguises and ruses, Blackie and the Runt try to trick their way to discovering the thieves....
Meet Boston Blackie
Character: Boston Blackie
When a murder occurs on an ocean liner docked in New York, the trail leads to Coney Island and a spy ring....
Trapped by Boston Blackie
Character: Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black
Blackie is the natural suspect when an expensive pearl necklace is stolen while he is supposed to be guarding it....
Sinners in the Sun
Character: Jimmie Martin
A New York fashion model finds herself being pursued by a poor but honest garage mechanic and a rich philanderer....
Alias Boston Blackie
Character: Boston Blackie
It is the Christmas Holidays and reformed thief, Boston Blackie goes to Castle Theater to pick up players who will perform for prisoners that are still in prison. He takes a girl with him who has a brother already in prison. She has visited the prison twice in the month, so is not suppose to visit again. However when the group is completed the girl is included as well as Inspector Farrady. One of the clowns in the show is kidnapped and replaced by a con who wants to get even with two ex-partners...
Secret Command
Character: Jeff Gallagher
Sam Gallagher returns home to Los Angeles as an undercover spy for the Navy, getting a job at the shipyards where his brother, Jeff, is a foreman. Jeff still resents Sam for abandoning the family years ago and fears he may steal away Lea Damaron, his current girlfriend -- who is Sam's old flame. While Sam tries to sniff out Nazi saboteurs in the plant, he grows closer to Jill McGann, the agent tasked with pretending to be his wife....
Corsair
Character: John Hawks
A stock market broker plans to liven up his boring life by taking up piracy on the high seas....
The Phantom Thief
Character: Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black
Boston Blackie, in the 11th film of the Columbia series, indulges in some wit-trading with a squirmy spiritualist who deals in blackmail, murder and the occult. "Blackie" out to help his pal, "Runt," recover some jewels, finds himself involved in the homicides, and also finds himself as the prime suspect, and now has to find the real culprit in order to clear himself. So "Blackie,", a man of many talents and already a proved magician from cases past, shows he knows a little bit about dancing ske...
The Chance of a Lifetime
Character: Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black
A mad scramble for stolen loot ensues after Boston Blackie has prisoners released for work in a wartime defence plant....
Red-Headed Woman
Character: William 'Bill' / 'Willie' Legendre Jr.
Lil works for the Legendre Company and causes Bill to divorce Irene and marry her. She has an affair with businessman Gaerste and uses him to force society to pay attention to her....
Thunder Afloat
Character: 'Rocky' Blake
A tugboat captain serves under his rival as a U-boat chaser in World War I....
Sky Giant
Character: Kenneth 'Ken' Stockton
Given the job of training young pilots for important post-war cargo flights, hard-boiled Col. Stockton forces ex-officer Stag Cahill back into the military to be his aide at the academy. Complications arise when Stockton's son Kenneth arrives for training and Stockton, believing his son to be a slackard, looks for an excuse to drop him from the program. Rivalry develops between Stag and Ken as well, as they fall for the same girl....
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Character: Self (archive footage)
A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading to the sale of its back lot and props. By extension this provides a general history of Hollywood's Golden Age and the legendary studio system....
Sunday Night at the Trocadero
Character: Chester Morris
A series of vignettes with a loose plot. Featured are Frank Morgan, Groucho Marx, Frank McHugh, Robert Benchley and The Brian Sisters. Not bad, more interesting for the historical significance than for entertainment....
No Hands on the Clock
Character: Detective Humphrey Campbell
A wise-cracking private detective's honeymoon is interrupted by a kidnapping case....
Double Exposure
Character: Larry Burke
In New York City, a newly hired photographer becomes embroiled in a scandal when her photo is mistaken for evidence of a murder and she must try to prove her own innocence....
Society Doctor
Character: Dr. Morgan
Two surgeons (Chester Morris, Robert Taylor) in love with a nurse (Virginia Bruce) end their rivalry in the operating room....
Three Godfathers
Character: Robert 'Bob' Sangster
In a town called New Jerusalem, three bandits hold up a bank. After a gun battle with the townspeople, the three robbers retreat into the scorching Arizona desert. There, they happen upon an ill woman stranded with her child. As the mother dies, she begs the men to take care of her infant. The fugitives want to save the baby -- but to do so, they'll have to travel back to New Jerusalem, where they are wanted men. Remade as 3 Godfathers (1949)....
Pursuit
Character: Mitch Mitchell
"Mitch" Mitchell is an aviator who has been hired to take a child in a guardianship suit out of California into Mexico. He is accompanied by Maxine Rush, the secretary of the head of a private-detective agency who has been hired to care for the kid until the suit is over. (Overview written by Les Adams )...
Flight from Glory
Character: Paul Smith
Director Lew Landers' 1937 B-film, about a crew of misfit pilots working for an Argentinian air service, stars Chester Morris, Van Heflin, Whitney Bourne, Onslow Stevens, Richard Lane, Douglas Walton, Paul Guilfoyle, Solly Ward, Walter Miller and Rita LaRoy....
Tomorrow at Seven
Character: Neil Broderick
People in an old, dark mansion are menaced by a maniac called "The Black Ace"....
Law of the Underworld
Character: Gene Fillmore
A respected citizen with secret ties to the local mob is faced with revealing his criminal connections to save two innocent people from execution...
She Couldn't Say No
Character: Jerry Casey
A night club singer falls for a gangster....
The Case of Sergeant Grischa
Character: Sergeant Grischa
This film earned an Oscar nomination for Sound Recording. It is the only film nominated in this category that is among the lost. No negative or print material is known to have survived. Contemporary reviews were scathing, describing the film as a vastly overlong and boring talk-fest....
Moonlight Murder
Character: Steve Farrell
An escaped lunatic, a mysterious swami, and various lovers all have designs on a famous opera singer....
Smashing the Rackets
Character: Jim "Socker" Conway
Jim 'Socker' Conway, former boxer and FBI hero, is maneuvered for political reasons into a do-nothing job in the district attorney's office. Meanwhile, he meets wild debutante Letty Lane, girlfriend of mob mouthpiece Steve Lawrence; and Letty's much nicer sister Susan. Now the slot machine gang brutally beats Jim's friends Franz and Otto. And Jim finds a way to use his nominal position to go into the racket- busting business. But his success puts Letty in deadly peril......
Tornado
Character: Pete Ramsey
The owner of an Illinois coal mine struggles to keep his business in operation, all the while unaware that among his employees is a saboteur planning destruction and chaos....
Woman Trap
Character: Ray Malone
In Woman Trap, Hal Skelly is hard-bitten police sergeant Dan Malone, whose mission in life is to rid his community of gangsters. The revelation that Dan's own brother Ray is the secret head of all local criminal activities does not weaken Dan's resolve in the least. The barely relevant title is a reference to "heroine" Kitty Evans, the wife of a minor gang functionary. Screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz, presumably on a dare, makes a brief appearance as a crime reporter....
The Gay Bride
Character: Jimmie 'Office Boy' Burnham
Mary wants to marry a gangster because that is where the money is. Unfortunately, the life expectancy and finances of a gangster are unstable....
I Promise to Pay
Character: Eddie Lang
A man goes to a loan shark to finance his family's vacation....
Second Choice
Character: Don Warren
Vallery Grove is in love with Don Warren but her mother opposes the match because he is poor and has no social standing. Don decides to terminate his engagement to Vallery after attending a party where he meets a spoiled rich girl who is interested in him....
I Live on Danger
Character: Jeff Morrell
A cocky radio reporter sets out to prove an ex-convict is innocent in the murder of a mob boss....
Playing Around
Character: Nickey Solomon
New York girl has a dull boyfriend and seems destined for a dull marriage when she meets a rich playboy who has money to burn and places to go....
Aerial Gunner
Character: Foxy Pattis
Old rivals are pitted against each other in basic training and fight for the same woman....
Gambler's Choice
Character: Ross Hadley
The professional gambler Ross Hadley is the owner of a posh gaming establishment in the heart of New York......
The Marines Fly High
Character: Lt. Jim Malone
Marine lieutenants Dan and Jim fight bandits in the South American jungle, while competing for the attention of beautiful Joan Grant....
One Way to Love
Character: Barry Cole
A Chicago team of radio scriptwriters must split up when he takes a job with his bride-to-be's father, and the other must write commercial jingles....
Cock of the Air
Character: Lt. Roger Craig
An opera diva sets her sights on a womanizing army officer....
The Miracle Man
Character: John 'Doc' Madison
A gang of crooks evade the police by moving their operations to a small town. There the gang's leader, John Madison, encounters a faith healer and uses him to scam the gullible public of funds for a supposed chapel. But when a real healing takes place, a change comes over the gang....
Princess O'Hara
Character: Vic Toledo
When King's beloved horse dies, Princess tries to purchase a new nag, and that's how she inadvertently gets her hands on a "stolen" race horse. Our heroine nearly ends up with a lengthy prison term before the story is resolved during the climactic Big Race....
A String of Beads
Character: Walter Harmon
An ordinary girl's life is radically changed by the mistaken receipt of a $60,000 strand of pearls....
They Met in a Taxi
Character: Jimmy Donlin
A cab driver takes in a young woman who claims to be a reluctant bride, and becomes involved in the search for a stolen necklace....
The Great White Hope
Character: Pop Weaver
A black champion boxer and his white female companion struggle to survive while the white boxing establishment looks for ways to knock him down....
King for a Night
Character: Bud Williams
A prizefighter is convicted of a murder that was actually committed by his sister....
Frankie and Johnnie
Character: Johnnie Drew
The story of a woman, Frankie, and the man who has done her wrong, Johnnie....
Devil's Playground
Character: Robert Mason
A remake of Frank Capra's Submarine (1928), Devil's Playground is a snappy Columbia "B plus" picture starring Richard Dix and Chester Morris. Submarine officers Dorgan (Dix) and Mason (Morris) battle on land for the affections of dance-hall girl Carmen (Dolores del Rio). She marries Dorgan but makes a play for Mason when her husband is on duty. The romantic rivalry is forgotten when Dorgan must rescue Mason and his crew from a sunken sub....
Pacific Liner
Character: Doctor Craig
The S. S. Arcturus sails from Shanghai to San Francisco, and Dr. Jim Craig takes the post of ship's physician in order to be near Ann Grayson, the ship's nurse. Chief Engineer 'Crusher" McKay also has his eyes on Ann, and this brings an immediate conflict between the two men. When an epidemic breaks out below decks, Craig tells McKay the engine-and-fire rooms must be put under quarantine, but all of Craig's efforts to keep the disease from spreading are opposed by McKay....
Wagons Westward
Character: David Cook / Tom Cook
David Cook and twin brother Tom are poles apart in disposition and traits. When their father dies, Tom goes to New Mexico to live with his Uncle Hardtack while David remains behind to care for their mother. The grown Tom becomes an outlaw while brother David becomes a government lawman. David is charged with apprehending Tom......
Girl from God's Country
Character: Jim Holden / Dr. Gary Currier
Jim Holden, a young doctor practicing in Alaska, eagerly awaits the arrival of his new nurse, Anne Webster. All of his previous left within a few weeks by the rigors of the Alaskan winter.......
Rough, Tough and Ready
Character: Brad Crowder
The story is the old bromide about two brawling buddies, duking it out over the same girl, in this case pert Jo Matheson (Jean Rogers). Owen and Brad own a salvage company, but split up over Jo. Both separately sign up for the army, and both are reunited in the Pacific....
Counterfeit
Character: John Joseph Madden
A cop goes undercover to infiltrate and break up a counterfeiting ring....
Unchained
Character: Kenyon Scudder
This fact-based prison drama tells the tale of a band of prisoners living in the innovative 2,600-acre prison at Chino, California. The place takes a humanistic approach to reform and there are no armed guards, no lockups and no uniforms. The underlying philosophy is that if these things are not there, the prisoners will not want to escape, and will instead accept their punishment. A new inmate arrives and soon accustoms himself to the new idea. The story includes the Oscar nominated song Unchai...
Gift of Gab
Character: Doyle
Conceited radio announcer irritates everyone else at the station....
Canal Zone
Character: 'Hardtack' Hamilton
...
Show of Shows
Character: Performer in $20 Bet Sketch and 'Bicycle Built for Two' Numbers
Now hear this. The studio that gave the cinema its voice offered 1929 audiences a chance to see and hear multiple silent-screen favorites for the first time in a gaudy, grandiose music-comedy-novelty revue that also included Talkie stars, Broadway luminaries and of course, Rin-Tin-Tin. Frank Fay hosts a jamboree that, among its 70+ stars, features bicyclers, boxing champ Georges Carpentier, chorines in terpsichore kickery, sister acts, Myrna Loy in two-strip Technicolor as an exotic Far East bea...
Fast Life
Character: Paul Palmer
A man is tried and convicted for the murder of a man who flirted with his wife., and sentenced to death However, it turns out that he is innocent of the murder and that the real killer has close ties to a powerful politician....
Infernal Machine
Character: Robert Holden
This pre-Code comedy-thriller centers on Robert Holden, a broke and discouraged veteran, who meets fellow American Elinor Green at a cafe in Paris. After their first encounter, Holden's attempt to return Green's thought-to-be stolen purse ends up rendering him a stowaway on board a ship bound for America. Also aboard is a collection of characters, including Green's banker fiancé, a famed scientist, and an opera singer. Romance begins to blossom between Holden and Green, just as a radiogram claim...
Golden Harvest
Character: Chris Martin
A play by Nina Wilcox Putnam was the source for the empire-building drama Golden Harvest. Ambitious grain trader Chris Martin corners the wheat market and becomes a millionaire. Outgrowing his humble farm beginnings, Chris makes a bid for respectability by marrying Chicago socialite Cynthia Flint....
The Hollywood Gad-About
Character: Self (uncredited)
A parade highlights the Screen Actors Guild's Film Stars Frolic, hosted by Walter Winchell as Master of Ceremonies....
Pirate Party on Catalina Isle
Character: Pirate Captain (uncredited)
Various Hollywood performers put on a pirate-themed variety show on Catalina Island, with a number of amiable stars in the audience....
Complicated Women
Character: Self (archive footage)
Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered film content. No longer portrayed as virgins or vamps, the liberated female of the pre-code films had dimensions. Good girls had lovers and babies and held down jobs, while the bad girls were cast in a sympathetic light. And they did it all without apology....
Wrecking Crew
Character: Duke Mason
Follows a crew as they work under a deadline set by their boss to complete the demolition of a building. Touches on the lives of several of the crew in their lives away from the job and shows rhe comraderie of the crew in their work and even away from work....
Embarrassing Moments
Character: Jerry Randolph
Jerry Randolph is an inveterate and obnoxious practical joker. Things take a serious turn when it looks as though Jerry's latest prank has resulted in the death of his best friend....
Let's Talk It Over
Character: Mike McGann
A young sailor saves a woman from drowning. The woman turns out to be a rich heiress; unfortunately for the sailor, she was only pretending to be drowning so that another young man she had her eye on would save her....
The Big Parade of Comedy
Character: Jimmie Burnham in 'The Gay Bride' (archive footage)
Film clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history....
High Explosive
Character: Buzz Mitchell
Mike Douglas (Barry Sullivan), owner of a nitroglycerin concern hires his old friend "Buzz" Mitchell (Chester Morris), a race-driver of midget-auto cars who has been banned from racing, to go to work hauling nitro. "Buzz" makes a play for Connie Baker (Jean Parker), Mike's secretary and girlfriend, and also for Doris Lynch (Barbara Lynn), fiancée of Connie's younger brother, Jimmy ('Rand Brooks'), and gets Jimmy to replace him on a dangerous nitro haul and Jimmy, of course, has an accident and g...
Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
Character: Himself (uncredited)
Two starstruck visitors to Hollywood sneak into the famous nightclub and end up in a Conga contest and get more than they expected....