Charles Bickford
Encyclopedia
Charles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
, for The Song of Bernadette
(1943), The Farmer's Daughter (1947), and Johnny Belinda
(1948). Other notable roles include Whirlpool (1948), A Star is Born
(1954) and The Big Country
(1958).
, during the first minute of 1891. The fifth of seven children, he was a very independent and unruly child who was tried and acquitted at nine years old of the attempted murder of a trolley motorman who had callously driven over and killed his dog. In his late teens he drifted aimlessly around the United States for a time. Before breaking into acting he worked as a lumberjack, investment promoter, and for a short time, ran a pest extermination business. He was a stoker and fireman in the United States Navy when a friend dared him to get a job in Burlesque
. He did and remained on stage for the next sixteen years.
to earn an engineering degree, but while wandering the country, he became friends with the manager of a burlesque show, who convinced Bickford to take a role in the show. He debuted in Oakland, California
in 1911. Bickford enjoyed himself so much that he abandoned his plans to attend M.I.T. He made his legitimate stage debut with the John Craig Stock Company at the Castle Square Theatre
in Boston in 1912. Bickford eventually joined a road company and traveled throughout the United States for more than a decade, appearing in various productions. In 1925, while working in a Broadway
play called Outside Looking In, he and co-star James Cagney
(in his first Broadway role) received rave reviews. He was offered a role in Herbert Brenon's 1926 film of Beau Geste
, but anxious not to give up his new-found Broadway stardom, turned it down. Following his appearance in the critically praised but unsuccessful Maxwell Anderson
-Harold Hickerson drama about the Sacco and Vanzetti
case, Gods of the Lightning (Bickford was the Sacco character), Bickford was contacted by filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille
and offered a contract with MGM studios to star in DeMille's first talking picture, Dynamite
. He soon began working with MGM head Louis B. Mayer
on a number of projects.
He became a star after playing Greta Garbo
's lover in Anna Christie
(1930), but never developed into a romantic lead. Always of independent mind, strong-willed and quick with his fists, Bickford would frequently argue and nearly come to blows with Mayer. During the production of DeMille's Dynamite
, he punched out his director. He rejected numerous scripts and made no secret of his disdain for much of the material he was offered. His association with MGM was short-lived, and Bickford asked for and received a release from his contract, but found himself blacklisted at other studios. He became an independent actor for several years. Bickford was mauled by a lion and nearly died while filming East of Java in 1935. While he recovered, he lost his contract with Fox as well as his leading man status due to extensive neck scarring coupled with his advancing age. Much preferring the character roles that now became his forte, Bickford appeared in many notable films including The Farmer's Daughter, Johnny Belinda
, A Star is Born
, and Not As a Stranger
.
Bickford found his greatest success playing character actor roles, both in films and later in television. He became highly sought after; his burly frame and craggy, intense features, coupled with a gruff, powerful voice lent themselves to a wide variety of roles. Most often he played lovable father figures, stern businessmen, heavies, ship captains or authority figures of some sort. During the 1940s, he was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He served as host of the 1950s television series The Man Behind the Badge
. He continued to act in generally prestigious projects right up until his death. He guest starred in NBC
's The Barbara Stanwyck Show
and The Eleventh Hour
medical drama
. In his final years, Bickford played rancher John Grainger, owner of the Shiloh Ranch on NBC's The Virginian
western
series.
In 1965, he published his autobiography, Bulls Balls Bicycles & Actors.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
, for The Song of Bernadette
The Song of Bernadette (film)
The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 drama film which tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported 18 visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was directed by Henry King....
(1943), The Farmer's Daughter (1947), and Johnny Belinda
Johnny Belinda (1948 film)
Johnny Belinda is a 1948 American drama film based on the play of the same name by Elmer Blaney Harris. The movie was adapted to the screen by Allen Vincent and Irma von Cube, and directed by Jean Negulesco....
(1948). Other notable roles include Whirlpool (1948), A Star is Born
A Star Is Born (1954 film)
A Star Is Born is a 1954 American musical film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay written by Moss Hart was an adaptation of the original 1937 film, which was based on the original screenplay by Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker, and Alan Campbell...
(1954) and The Big Country
The Big Country
Meanwhile, Terrill insists on riding into the canyon. Initially, Leech refuses to accompany him, and the other men follow his lead. However, after Terrill rides out alone, Leech catches up with him. The remaining hands again align themselves with Leech by following. The group soon rides into a trap...
(1958).
Early life
Bickford was born in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, during the first minute of 1891. The fifth of seven children, he was a very independent and unruly child who was tried and acquitted at nine years old of the attempted murder of a trolley motorman who had callously driven over and killed his dog. In his late teens he drifted aimlessly around the United States for a time. Before breaking into acting he worked as a lumberjack, investment promoter, and for a short time, ran a pest extermination business. He was a stoker and fireman in the United States Navy when a friend dared him to get a job in Burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
. He did and remained on stage for the next sixteen years.
Acting career
Bickford had intended to attend the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
to earn an engineering degree, but while wandering the country, he became friends with the manager of a burlesque show, who convinced Bickford to take a role in the show. He debuted in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
in 1911. Bickford enjoyed himself so much that he abandoned his plans to attend M.I.T. He made his legitimate stage debut with the John Craig Stock Company at the Castle Square Theatre
Castle Square Theatre
The Castle Square Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, was located on Tremont Street in the South End.-Further reading:* : containing portraits and sketches of the principal singers and a record of the casts of characters of the various operas produced together with a short story of each. Boston:...
in Boston in 1912. Bickford eventually joined a road company and traveled throughout the United States for more than a decade, appearing in various productions. In 1925, while working in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play called Outside Looking In, he and co-star James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
(in his first Broadway role) received rave reviews. He was offered a role in Herbert Brenon's 1926 film of Beau Geste
Beau Geste
Beau Geste is a 1924 adventure novel by P. C. Wren. It has been adapted for the screen several times.-Plot summary:Michael "Beau" Geste is the protagonist. The main narrator , by contrast, is his younger brother John...
, but anxious not to give up his new-found Broadway stardom, turned it down. Following his appearance in the critically praised but unsuccessful Maxwell Anderson
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
-Harold Hickerson drama about the Sacco and Vanzetti
Sacco and Vanzetti
Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were anarchists who were convicted of murdering two men during a 1920 armed robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts, United States...
case, Gods of the Lightning (Bickford was the Sacco character), Bickford was contacted by filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
and offered a contract with MGM studios to star in DeMille's first talking picture, Dynamite
Dynamite (film)
Dynamite is a drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It stars Conrad Nagel, Kay Johnson, Charles Bickford and Julia Faye...
. He soon began working with MGM head Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
on a number of projects.
He became a star after playing Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
's lover in Anna Christie
Anna Christie (1930 film)
Anna Christie is a 1930 MGM Pre-Code drama film adaptation of the 1922 play by Eugene O'Neill. It was adapted by Frances Marion, produced and directed by Clarence Brown with Paul Bern and Irving Thalberg as co-producers. The cinematography was by William H...
(1930), but never developed into a romantic lead. Always of independent mind, strong-willed and quick with his fists, Bickford would frequently argue and nearly come to blows with Mayer. During the production of DeMille's Dynamite
Dynamite (film)
Dynamite is a drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It stars Conrad Nagel, Kay Johnson, Charles Bickford and Julia Faye...
, he punched out his director. He rejected numerous scripts and made no secret of his disdain for much of the material he was offered. His association with MGM was short-lived, and Bickford asked for and received a release from his contract, but found himself blacklisted at other studios. He became an independent actor for several years. Bickford was mauled by a lion and nearly died while filming East of Java in 1935. While he recovered, he lost his contract with Fox as well as his leading man status due to extensive neck scarring coupled with his advancing age. Much preferring the character roles that now became his forte, Bickford appeared in many notable films including The Farmer's Daughter, Johnny Belinda
Johnny Belinda (1948 film)
Johnny Belinda is a 1948 American drama film based on the play of the same name by Elmer Blaney Harris. The movie was adapted to the screen by Allen Vincent and Irma von Cube, and directed by Jean Negulesco....
, A Star is Born
A Star Is Born (1954 film)
A Star Is Born is a 1954 American musical film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay written by Moss Hart was an adaptation of the original 1937 film, which was based on the original screenplay by Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker, and Alan Campbell...
, and Not As a Stranger
Not as a Stranger
Not as a Stranger was a 1954 novel written by Morton Thompson. The romantic melodrama became widely popular, topping that year's list of bestselling novels in the United States. The novel was adapted into a 1955 film of the same name by United Artists Pictures...
.
Bickford found his greatest success playing character actor roles, both in films and later in television. He became highly sought after; his burly frame and craggy, intense features, coupled with a gruff, powerful voice lent themselves to a wide variety of roles. Most often he played lovable father figures, stern businessmen, heavies, ship captains or authority figures of some sort. During the 1940s, he was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He served as host of the 1950s television series The Man Behind the Badge
The Man Behind the Badge
The Man Behind the Badge is the title of a half-hour American television police drama series which aired on the CBS from 1953-1955 starring and hosted by character actor Charles Bickford. Years later, Bickford appeared as one of the owners of Shiloh Ranch in the NBC western series, The Vrginian.In...
. He continued to act in generally prestigious projects right up until his death. He guest starred in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Barbara Stanwyck Show
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
The Barbara Stanwyck Show is an American anthology drama television series which ran on NBC from September 1960 to September 1961. Barbara Stanwyck served as hostess, and starred in all but four of the half-hour productions. The four she did not star in were actually pilot episodes of potential...
and The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)
The Eleventh Hour is an American medical drama about psychiatry starring Wendell Corey, Jack Ging, and Ralph Bellamy, which aired sixty-two new episodes plus selected rebroadcasts on NBC from October 3, 1962, to September 9, 1964.-Series premise:...
medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
. In his final years, Bickford played rancher John Grainger, owner of the Shiloh Ranch on NBC's The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series.
In 1965, he published his autobiography, Bulls Balls Bicycles & Actors.
Death
He died in Los Angeles of a blood infection at the age of seventy-six, just days after filming a 1967 Virginian episode. He had a son, Rex and a daughter, Doris.Partial filmography
- DynamiteDynamite (film)Dynamite is a drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It stars Conrad Nagel, Kay Johnson, Charles Bickford and Julia Faye...
(1929) - Hell's HeroesHell's Heroes (film)Hell's Heroes is a western film, one of many adaptations of Peter B. Kyne's novel The Three Godfathers. Three outlaws, played by Charles Bickford, Raymond Hatton, and Fred Kohler, promise a dying woman they will save her newborn child....
(1930) - Passion Flower (1930)
- Anna ChristieAnna Christie (1930 film)Anna Christie is a 1930 MGM Pre-Code drama film adaptation of the 1922 play by Eugene O'Neill. It was adapted by Frances Marion, produced and directed by Clarence Brown with Paul Bern and Irving Thalberg as co-producers. The cinematography was by William H...
(1930) - The Sea BatThe Sea BatThe Sea Bat is a 1930 thriller film directed by Lionel Barrymore and Wesley Ruggles, starring Raquel Torres and featuring Boris Karloff. Part of the movie was filmed on location in Mazatlán, Mexico....
(1930) - East of BorneoEast of BorneoEast of Borneo is an adventure film directed by George Melford, co-written by Edwin H. Knopf and Dale Van Every, starring Rose Hobart, Charles Bickford, Georges Renavent, Lupita Tovar, and Noble Johnson, and released by Universal Studios....
(1931) - The Squaw ManThe Squaw Man (1931 film)The Squaw Man is a film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It was the third version of the same play that he filmed, and the first in sound. It stars Warner Baxter in the leading role. The film lost $150,000 in its initial release...
(1931) - The Pagan LadyThe Pagan LadyThe Pagan Lady is a 1931 American drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Evelyn Brent.- Cast :* Evelyn Brent as Dorothy 'Dot' Hunter* Conrad Nagel as Ernest Todd* Charles Bickford as Dingo Mike* Roland Young as Dr...
(1931) - This Day and AgeThis Day and Age (film)This Day and Age is a 1933 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is one of his rarest films and has not been released on DVD. In his book Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood, author Robert S...
(1933) - White WomanWhite WomanWhite Woman is a 1933 film directed by Stuart Walker and starring Carole Lombard, Charles Laughton, and Charles Bickford. A young widow remarries and accompanies her husband to his remote jungle rubber plantation. The film was based on the play Hangman's Whip by Norman Reilly Raine and Frank...
(1933) - Little Miss MarkerLittle Miss MarkerLittle Miss Marker is a 1934 American drama film directed by Alexander Hall. The screenplay was written by William R. Lipman, Sam Hellman, and Gladys Hellman after a short story by Damon Runyon. The film stars Shirley Temple, Adolphe Menjou, and Dorothy Dell in a story about a little girl held...
(1934) - The Farmer Takes a WifeThe Farmer Takes a WifeThe Farmer Takes a Wife is a 1934 play by Frank B. Elser and Marc Connelly based on the novel Rome Haul by Walter D. Edmonds. It was well-received upon its opening night on Broadway on October 30, 1934 at the 46th Street Theatre. The production was directed by Marc Connelly and used set designs by...
(1935) - The PlainsmanThe PlainsmanThe Plainsman is a 1936 American Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. The film presents a highly fictionalized account of the adventures and relationships between Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill Cody, and General George Custer, with a...
(1936) - High, Wide, and HandsomeHigh, Wide, and HandsomeHigh, Wide, and Handsome is a 1937 American musical film starring Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott, Alan Hale, Sr., Charles Bickford, and Dorothy Lamour....
(1937) - Daughter of ShanghaiDaughter of ShanghaiDaughter of Shanghai is a 1937 American motion picture directed by Robert Florey, written by Gladys Unger and Garnett Weston, and starring Anna May Wong and Philip Ahn. The film was unusual in that Asian American actors played the lead roles...
(1937) - Stand Up and FightStand Up and FightStand Up and Fight is a 1939 film starring Wallace Beery and Robert Taylor. The supporting cast includes Florence Rice, Helen Broderick, Charles Bickford, Barton MacLane, Charley Grapewin, and John Qualen, and the movie was directed by W.S. Van Dyke...
(1939) - Of Mice and MenOf Mice and Men (1939 film)Of Mice and Men is a 1939 film based on the novella of the same title by American author John Steinbeck. It stars Burgess Meredith, Betty Field, Lon Chaney, Jr., Charles Bickford, Roman Bohnen, Bob Steele and Noah Beery, Jr...
(1939) - Queen Of The YukonQueen of the YukonQueen Of The Yukon is a 1940 American western film. The film is an adaptation of Jack London's story. Filming took place in Big Bear Lake, California.-Plot:...
(1940) - Reap the Wild WindReap the Wild WindReap the Wild Wind is a serialized story written by Thelma Strabel in 1940 for The Saturday Evening Post, which was the basis for the 1942 film starring Ray Milland, John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Robert Preston, and Susan Hayward, and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, his second picture to be filmed in...
(1942) - Tarzan's New York AdventureTarzan's New York AdventureTarzan's New York Adventure is a 1942 film, the sixth Tarzan film to feature actors Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. This film was the sixth and final film in MGM's Tarzan series and was the studio's last Tarzan film until their 1958 release, Tarzan's Fight for Life, directed by H. Bruce...
(1942) - Mr. LuckyMr. Lucky (film)Mr. Lucky is a 1943 film directed by H.C. Potter, starring Cary Grant and Laraine Day. It tells the story of a romance between a shady gambler and a wealthy socialite in the early days of World War II....
(1943) - The Song of BernadetteThe Song of Bernadette (film)The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 drama film which tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported 18 visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was directed by Henry King....
(1943) - Wing and a PrayerWing and a PrayerWing and a Prayer is a black-and-white 1944 war film about the heroic crew of an American carrier in the desperate early days of World War II in the Pacific theater, directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Dana Andrews and Don Ameche...
(1944) - Fallen AngelFallen Angel (1945 film)Fallen Angel is a 1945 black-and-white film noir directed by Otto Preminger, with cinematography by Joseph LaShelle, who had also worked with Preminger on Laura a year before. The film features Alice Faye, Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, and Charles Bickford. It was the last film Faye made as a major...
(1945)
- Duel in the Sun (1946)
- The Farmer's Daughter (1947)
- The Woman on the BeachThe Woman on the BeachThe Woman on the Beach is a film noir directed by Jean Renoir, released by RKO Radio Pictures, and starring Robert Ryan, Joan Bennett, and Charles Bickford.-Overview:...
(1947) - Brute ForceBrute Force (1947 film)Brute Force is a brooding, brutal film noir, starring Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn and Charles Bickford. It was directed by Jules Dassin, with a screenplay by Richard Brooks and the cinematography by William H. Daniels....
(1947) - The Babe Ruth StoryThe Babe Ruth StoryThe Babe Ruth Story is a 1948 baseball film biography of Babe Ruth, the famed New York Yankees slugger. It stars William Bendix as the ballplayer and Claire Trevor as his wife. It was rush released while Ruth himself was still alive. It makes no mention whatsoever of Ruth's first wife,...
(1948) - Four Faces WestFour Faces WestFour Faces West is a 1948 Western film starring Joel McCrea, his real-life wife Frances Dee, and Charles Bickford. It is based on the novel Pasó por aquí by Eugene Manlove Rhodes...
(1948) - Command DecisionCommand Decision (film)Command Decision is a 1948 war film starring Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon, Van Johnson and Brian Donlevy and directed by Sam Wood, based on a stage play of the same name written by William Wister Haines, which he based on his best-selling novel. The screenplay for the film was written by George...
(1948) - Johnny BelindaJohnny Belinda (1948 film)Johnny Belinda is a 1948 American drama film based on the play of the same name by Elmer Blaney Harris. The movie was adapted to the screen by Allen Vincent and Irma von Cube, and directed by Jean Negulesco....
(1948) - Whirlpool (1949)
- Roseanna McCoyRoseanna McCoyRoseanna McCoy is a 1949 American drama film directed by Irving Reis. The screenplay by John Collier, based on the 1947 novel of the same title by Alberta Hannum, is a romanticized and semi-fictionalized account of the Hatfield-McCoy feud.-Plot:...
(1949) - Riding HighRiding High (1950 film)Riding High is a black and white musical racetrack film featuring Bing Crosby and directed by Frank Capra in which the songs were actually sung as the movie was being filmed instead of the customary lip-synching to previous recordings. The movie is a remake of an earlier Capra film called...
(1950) - BrandedBranded (film)Branded is a 1950 western film starring Alan Ladd, Mona Freeman, Charles Bickford, and Robert Keith. It was adapted from the novel Montana Rides Again by Max Brand. A gunfighter on the run from the law is talked into posing as the long-lost son of a wealthy rancher.-Plot:Choya, a gunfighter on the...
(1950) - Jim Thorpe -- All-AmericanJim Thorpe -- All-AmericanJim Thorpe – All-American is a 1951 biographical film produced by Warner Bros. and directed by Michael Curtiz, honoring Jim Thorpe, the great Native American athlete who won medals at the 1912 Olympics and distinguished himself in various sports, both in college and on professional teams.The film...
(1951) - The Raging TideThe Raging TideThe Raging Tide is an American crime film noir directed by George Sherman and written by Ernest K. Gann, based on his novel Fiddler's Green. The drama features Shelley Winters, Richard Conte, among others.-Plot:...
(1951) - A Star Is BornA Star Is Born (1954 film)A Star Is Born is a 1954 American musical film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay written by Moss Hart was an adaptation of the original 1937 film, which was based on the original screenplay by Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker, and Alan Campbell...
(1954) with Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
and James MasonJames MasonJames Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the... - The Court-Martial of Billy MitchellThe Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (film)The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell is a 1955 film directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gary Cooper as Billy Mitchell, Charles Bickford, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger and Elizabeth Montgomery in her film debut.-Plot:...
(1955) - Prince of PlayersPrince of PlayersPrince of Players is a 1955 20th Century Fox biographical film about the 19th century American actor Edwin Booth. The film was directed and produced by Philip Dunne from a screenplay by Moss Hart, based on the book by Eleanor Ruggles. The music score was by Bernard Herrmann and the cinematography...
(1955) - Not as a StrangerNot as a StrangerNot as a Stranger was a 1954 novel written by Morton Thompson. The romantic melodrama became widely popular, topping that year's list of bestselling novels in the United States. The novel was adapted into a 1955 film of the same name by United Artists Pictures...
(1955) - The Dark WaveThe Dark WaveThe Dark Wave is a 1956 short documentary film directed by Jean Negulesco. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Documentary Short and the other for Best Two-Reel Short....
(1956) - You Can't Run Away from ItYou Can't Run Away from ItYou Can't Run Away from It is a 1956 Technicolor and CinemaScope musical comedy starring June Allyson and Jack Lemmon. Directed and produced by Dick Powell, the film is a remake of the 1934 Academy Award-winning film It Happened One Night.-Plot:...
(1956) - The Big CountryThe Big CountryMeanwhile, Terrill insists on riding into the canyon. Initially, Leech refuses to accompany him, and the other men follow his lead. However, after Terrill rides out alone, Leech catches up with him. The remaining hands again align themselves with Leech by following. The group soon rides into a trap...
(1958) - The UnforgivenThe Unforgiven (1960 film)The Unforgiven is a 1960 American western film filmed in Durango, Mexico released in 1960. The film was directed by John Huston and starred Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy, Charles Bickford and Lillian Gish...
(1960) - Days of Wine and RosesDays of Wine and Roses (film)Days of Wine and Roses is a film directed by Blake Edwards with a screenplay by JP Miller adapted from his own 1958 Playhouse 90 teleplay of the same name....
(1962) - A Big Hand for the Little LadyA Big Hand for the Little LadyA Big Hand for the Little Lady is a 1966 western film, made by Eden Productions Inc. and released by Warner Bros...
(1966)