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Leon Ames (actor)
Encyclopedia
Leon Ames was an American
film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944), as Judy Garland
's father, and in Little Women
(1949).
, the son of Cora A. (née De Moss) and Charles Elmer Wycoff.
He made his film debut in Quick Millions
(1931). During the 1940s he was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
.
He appeared in a featured role in The Postman Always Rings Twice
(1946) as district attorney Kyle Sackett. Leon Ames also appeared in the Doris Day
-Gordon MacRae
film On Moonlight Bay
(1951); its sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon
(1953); and Peyton Place
(1957). He played the role of Samuel Eaton, Alfred Eaton (Paul Newman)'s father, in From the Terrace
(1960). In 1970, he played Secretary of Navy Frank Knox in the action war film Tora! Tora! Tora!
. His last film role was in Peggy Sue Got Married
(1986), as Kathleen Turner
's character's grandfather Barney Alvorg.
His television roles included leads in the adaptations of Life With Father
(1953–55) and Father of the Bride
(1961–62). He was Mr. Ed' s neighbor, Gordon "The Colonel" Kirkwood (1963–66). He also appeared in the NBC anthology series, The Barbara Stanwyck Show
.
He was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild
in 1933. He served as its president in 1957.
In 1980, after 50 years in show business, Leon Ames was presented with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
.
film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944), as Judy Garland
's father, and in Little Women
(1949).
, the son of Cora A. (née De Moss) and Charles Elmer Wycoff.
He made his film debut in Quick Millions
(1931). During the 1940s he was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
.
He appeared in a featured role in The Postman Always Rings Twice
(1946) as district attorney Kyle Sackett. Leon Ames also appeared in the Doris Day
-Gordon MacRae
film On Moonlight Bay
(1951); its sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon
(1953); and Peyton Place
(1957). He played the role of Samuel Eaton, Alfred Eaton (Paul Newman)'s father, in From the Terrace
(1960). In 1970, he played Secretary of Navy Frank Knox in the action war film Tora! Tora! Tora!
. His last film role was in Peggy Sue Got Married
(1986), as Kathleen Turner
's character's grandfather Barney Alvorg.
His television roles included leads in the adaptations of Life With Father
(1953–55) and Father of the Bride
(1961–62). He was Mr. Ed' s neighbor, Gordon "The Colonel" Kirkwood (1963–66). He also appeared in the NBC anthology series, The Barbara Stanwyck Show
.
He was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild
in 1933. He served as its president in 1957.
In 1980, after 50 years in show business, Leon Ames was presented with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
.
film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944), as Judy Garland
's father, and in Little Women
(1949).
, the son of Cora A. (née De Moss) and Charles Elmer Wycoff.
He made his film debut in Quick Millions
(1931). During the 1940s he was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
.
He appeared in a featured role in The Postman Always Rings Twice
(1946) as district attorney Kyle Sackett. Leon Ames also appeared in the Doris Day
-Gordon MacRae
film On Moonlight Bay
(1951); its sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon
(1953); and Peyton Place
(1957). He played the role of Samuel Eaton, Alfred Eaton (Paul Newman)'s father, in From the Terrace
(1960). In 1970, he played Secretary of Navy Frank Knox in the action war film Tora! Tora! Tora!
. His last film role was in Peggy Sue Got Married
(1986), as Kathleen Turner
's character's grandfather Barney Alvorg.
His television roles included leads in the adaptations of Life With Father
(1953–55) and Father of the Bride
(1961–62). He was Mr. Ed' s neighbor, Gordon "The Colonel" Kirkwood (1963–66). He also appeared in the NBC anthology series, The Barbara Stanwyck Show
.
He was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild
in 1933. He served as its president in 1957.
In 1980, after 50 years in show business, Leon Ames was presented with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
(1944), as Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy 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...
's father, and in Little Women
Little Women (1949 film)
Little Women directed by Mervyn LeRoy is based on Louisa May Alcott's novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Sally Benson, Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, and Andrew Solt...
(1949).
Life and career
Leon Ames was born Harry Wycoff on January 20, 1902 in Portland, IndianaPortland, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 6,437 people, 2,739 households, and 1,750 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,566.8 people per square mile . There were 2,928 housing units at an average density of 712.7 per square mile...
, the son of Cora A. (née De Moss) and Charles Elmer Wycoff.
He made his film debut in Quick Millions
Quick Millions
Quick Millions is a 1931 Pre-Code crime film directed by Rowland Brown. The film involves a truck driver and the wealthy woman that he covets, and also features George Raft and Leon Ames in supporting roles.-Cast:...
(1931). During the 1940s he was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
.
He appeared in a featured role in The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film)
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1946 drama-film noir based on the 1934 novel of the same name by James M. Cain. This adaptation of the novel is the best known, featuring Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Leon Ames, and Audrey Totter...
(1946) as district attorney Kyle Sackett. Leon Ames also appeared in the Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
-Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
film On Moonlight Bay
On Moonlight Bay (film)
On Moonlight Bay is a 1951 musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth which tells the story of the Winfield family at the turn of the century. The movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington. There was a 1953 sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon.-Plot:On Moonlight Bay centers on...
(1951); its sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon
By the Light of the Silvery Moon (film)
By the Light of the Silvery Moon is a 1953 musical film. It is the sequel to On Moonlight Bay. Like its predecessor, the movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington.-Plot:...
(1953); and Peyton Place
Peyton Place (film)
Peyton Place is a 1957 American drama film directed by Mark Robson. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the bestselling 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious.-Plot:...
(1957). He played the role of Samuel Eaton, Alfred Eaton (Paul Newman)'s father, in From the Terrace
From the Terrace
From the Terrace is a 1960 American drama film directed by Mark Robson and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Barbara Eden, Ina Balin, and Leon Ames....
(1960). In 1970, he played Secretary of Navy Frank Knox in the action war film Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tora! Tora! Tora!
is a 1970 American-Japanese war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars an all-star cast, including So Yamamura, E.G...
. His last film role was in Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school...
(1986), as Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
's character's grandfather Barney Alvorg.
His television roles included leads in the adaptations of Life With Father
Life with Father
Life with Father is the title of a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day, Jr., which was adapted in 1939 into a long-running Broadway play by Lindsay and Crouse, which was, in turn, made into a 1947 movie and a television series.-The book:Clarence Day wrote...
(1953–55) and Father of the Bride
Father of the Bride (TV series)
Father of the Bride is an American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1961-62 season. Produced by MGM Television, the series was based on the 1950 film of the same title...
(1961–62). He was Mr. Ed
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...
.
He was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
in 1933. He served as its president in 1957.
In 1980, after 50 years in show business, Leon Ames was presented with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
The Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award is given by the Screen Actors Guild's National Honors and Tributes Committee "for outstanding achievement in fostering the finest ideals of the acting profession." The award predates the 1st Screen Actors Guild Awards by over thirty years, having been...
.
Filmography
- Quick MillionsQuick MillionsQuick Millions is a 1931 Pre-Code crime film directed by Rowland Brown. The film involves a truck driver and the wealthy woman that he covets, and also features George Raft and Leon Ames in supporting roles.-Cast:...
(1931) - Murders in the Rue MorgueMurders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)Murders in the Rue Morgue is a 1932 horror film, loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". Bela Lugosi portrays a lunatic scientist who abducts women and injects them with blood from his ill-tempered caged ape...
(1932) - That's My BoyThat's My Boy (1932 film)That's My Boy is a 1932 film that stars Richard Cromwell and Dorothy Jordan. It features John Wayne in an uncredited role as a football player.-Cast:* Richard Cromwell - Tommy Jefferson Scott* Dorothy Jordan - Dorothy Whitney* Mae Marsh - Mom Scott...
(1932) - Uptown New YorkUptown New YorkUptown New York is a 1932 American film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Jack Oakie, Shirley Grey, and Leon Ames. It is based on the story by Vina Delmar.- Plot summary :...
(1932) - Death in the AirDeath in the AirDeath in the Air is a 1936 American film directed by Elmer Clifton.The film is also known as Murder in the Air in the United Kingdom and as The Mysterious Bombardier .-Cast:*Lona Andre*John Carroll...
(1936) - International SettlementInternational Settlement (film)International Settlement is a 1938 American drama film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Dolores del Rio, George Sanders and June Lang. It is set in the Shanghai International Settlement during the Sino-Japanese War...
(1938) - Island in the SkyIsland in the Sky (1938 film)Island in the Sky is a 1938 drama directed by Herbert I. Leeds, starring Gloria Stuart and Michael Whalen.-Cast:* Gloria Stuart as Julie Hayes* Michael Whalen as Michael Fraser* Paul Kelly as Johnny Doyle* Robert Kellard as Peter Vincent...
(1938) - SuezSuez (film)Suez is a 1938 film account of the building of the Suez Canal by Ferdinand de Lesseps, played by Tyrone Power. It was so highly fictionalized that de Lesseps' descendants sued for libel....
(1938) - Mysterious Mr. MotoMysterious Mr. MotoMysterious Mr. Moto is the fifth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto produced in 1938 by Twentieth Century Fox. The film is based on the character of Mr. Moto created by John P. Marquand, and an original screenplay by Philip MacDonald and Norman Foster.-Synopsis:The film...
(1938) - Man of ConquestMan of ConquestMan of Conquest is a 1939 Western film directed by George Nichols Jr.. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Score, Best Sound and Best Art Direction .-Cast:* Richard Dix - Sam Houston...
(1939) - Thunder AfloatThunder AfloatThunder Afloat is a 1939 World War I naval film starring Wallace Beery and Chester Morris. The movie was directed by George B. Seitz.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as Pop Thorson*Chester Morris as Rocky Blake*Douglass Dumbrille as District Commander...
(1939) - East Side KidsEast Side Kids (film)East Side Kids is a 1940 film and the first in the East Side Kids film series. It is, however, the only one not to star any of the original six Dead End Kids.-Overview:...
(1940) - Meet Me in St. LouisMeet Me in St. LouisMeet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
(1944) - Thirty Seconds Over TokyoThirty Seconds over TokyoThirty Seconds Over Tokyo is a 1944 MGM war film. It is based on the true story of America's first retaliatory air strike against Japan four months after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The movie was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist. The screenplay by...
(1944) - The Thin Man Goes HomeThe Thin Man Goes HomeThe Thin Man Goes Home is a 1945 motion picture directed by Richard Thorpe. It is the fifth of the six Thin Man films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's dapper private detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora.-Plot:...
(1945) - Son of LassieSon of LassieSon of Lassie is a 1945 feature film produced by MGM based on characters created by Eric Knight, and starring Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart and Lassie...
(1945) - Anchors AweighAnchors Aweigh (film)Anchors Aweigh is a 1945 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney in which two sailors go on a four-day shore leave in Hollywood, accompanied by music and song, meet an aspiring young singer and try to help her get an audition at MGM...
(1945) - Week-End at the WaldorfWeek-End at the WaldorfWeek-End at the Waldorf is a 1945 American comedy drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The screenplay by Samuel and Bella Spewack is based on Guy Bolton's adaptation of the Vicki Baum novel Menschen im Hotel, which was filmed as Grand Hotel in 1932.-Plot:The film focuses on various guests...
(1945) - Yolanda and the ThiefYolanda and the ThiefYolanda and the Thief is a 1945 MGM musical-comedy film set in a fictional Latin American country, and stars Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Frank Morgan, Ludwig Stossel and Mildred Natwick, with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Arthur Freed...
(1945) - They Were ExpendableThey Were ExpendableThey Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford and starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne. The film is based on the book by William L. White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese...
(1945) - The Cockeyed MiracleThe Cockeyed MiracleThe Cockeyed Miracle is a 1946 fantasy film about a ghost who, with the help of his father , stops his best friend from leaving his family penniless. The ghosts are played by Frank Morgan and Keenan Wynn, the villain by Cecil Kellaway...
(1946) - Lady in the LakeLady in the LakeLady in the Lake is a 1947 American film noir that marked the directorial debut of Robert Montgomery, who also stars in the film. The picture also features Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan, Tom Tully, Leon Ames and Jayne Meadows...
(1947) - Song of the Thin ManSong of the Thin ManSong of the Thin Man is a 1947 comedy-crime film directed by Edward Buzzell, the last of the six Thin Man films. Like the others, it stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Nick Jr. is played by Dean Stockwell...
(1947) - Alias a GentlemanAlias a GentlemanAlias a Gentleman is a 1948 film starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast includes Gladys George and Sheldon Leonard and the movie was directed by Harry Beaumont.-Cast:* Wallace Beery as Jim Breedin* Tom Drake as Johnny Lorgen...
(1948) - On an Island with YouOn an Island with YouOn an Island with You is a 1948 musical romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It stars Esther Williams, Peter Lawford, Ricardo Montalbán, Cyd Charisse and Kathryn Beaumont....
(1948) - The Velvet TouchThe Velvet TouchThe Velvet Touch is an American drama film released by RKO Radio Pictures.-Production background:The dialogue in Leo Rosten's screenplay, adapted from a story by William Mercer and Annabel Ross, anticipates the witty repartee in All About Eve and Auntie Mame .The cast, directed by Jack Gage,...
(1948) - A Date with JudyA Date with Judy (film)A Date with Judy is a 1948 MGM musical film starring Wallace Beery, Jane Powell, and Elizabeth Taylor. Directed by Richard Thorpe, the movie was based on the radio series of the same name....
(1948) - Little WomenLittle Women (1949 film)Little Women directed by Mervyn LeRoy is based on Louisa May Alcott's novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Sally Benson, Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, and Andrew Solt...
(1949) - Any Number Can PlayAny Number Can PlayAny Number Can Play is a 1949 drama film starring Clark Gable and Alexis Smith. It is based on the novel of the same name by Edward Harris Heth.-Cast:*Clark Gable as Charley Enley Kyng*Alexis Smith as Lon Kyng*Wendell Corey as Robbin Elcott...
(1949) - Battleground (1949)
- AmbushAmbush (1950 film)Ambush is a 1950 western film directed by Sam Wood and starring Robert Taylor, John Hodiak and Arlene Dahl. This was the last film directed by Sam Wood.-Plot synopsis:...
(1950) - Dial 1119Dial 1119Dial 1119 is a 1950 film noir starring Marshall Thompson as a deranged escaped killer holding the customers of a bar hostage. It was directed by Gerald Mayer, nephew of Louis B. Mayer.-Cast:*Marshall Thompson as Gunther Wyckoff*Virginia Field as Freddy...
(1950) - On Moonlight BayOn Moonlight Bay (film)On Moonlight Bay is a 1951 musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth which tells the story of the Winfield family at the turn of the century. The movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington. There was a 1953 sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon.-Plot:On Moonlight Bay centers on...
(1951) - Cattle DriveCattle DriveCattle Drive is a 1951 western film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Joel McCrea. Much of the film was shot in the Death Valley National Park, California and Paria, Utah.-Plot synopsis:...
(1951) - Angel Face (1952)
- Let's Do It Again (1953)
- Peyton PlacePeyton Place (film)Peyton Place is a 1957 American drama film directed by Mark Robson. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the bestselling 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious.-Plot:...
(1957) - From the TerraceFrom the TerraceFrom the Terrace is a 1960 American drama film directed by Mark Robson and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Barbara Eden, Ina Balin, and Leon Ames....
(1960) - The Misadventures of Merlin JonesThe Misadventures of Merlin JonesThe Misadventures of Merlin Jones is a 1964 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. Kirk plays a college student who experiments with mind-reading and hypnotism, leading to run-ins with a local judge...
(1964) - The Monkey's UncleThe Monkey's UncleThe Monkey's Uncle is a 1965 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk as genius college student Merlin Jones and Annette Funicello as his girlfriend, Jennifer. The title refers to a chimpanzee named Stanley, Merlin's legal "nephew" ; Stanley otherwise has little relevance to the plot...
(1965) - Tora! Tora! Tora!Tora! Tora! Tora!is a 1970 American-Japanese war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars an all-star cast, including So Yamamura, E.G...
(1970) - Hammersmith Is OutHammersmith Is OutHammersmith Is Out is a 1972 comedy film based on the legend of Faust. It is directed by Peter Ustinov, who starred in the film alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Beau Bridges, Leon Ames, and George Raft.-Plot:...
(1972) - Brother of the WindBrother of the WindBrother of the Wind is a 1973 independent film directed by Dick Robinson and written by John Mahon, starring Dick Robinson as Sam Monroe, a wildlife/mountain man who takes in 4 wolf pups and raises them, eventually releasing the grown wolves at the end of the film. Leon Ames provides background...
(1973) - Just You and Me, KidJust You and Me, KidJust You and Me, Kid is a 1979 comedy film that stars Brooke Shields, George Burns, Ray Bolger and Burl Ives. It was directed by Leonard Stern. It is rated PG for brief nudity and adult language.-Plot:...
(1979) - TestamentTestament (film)Testament is a drama film directed by Lynne Littman and starring Jane Alexander.The film tells the story of how one small suburban town near the San Francisco Bay Area slowly falls apart after a nuclear war destroys outside civilization....
(1983) - Jake SpeedJake SpeedJake Speed is a 1986 action/comedy film directed by Andrew Lane, produced by Lane, Wayne Crawford, and William Fay, written by Lane and Crawford, and starring Crawford in the title role.-Plot:...
(1986) - Peggy Sue Got MarriedPeggy Sue Got MarriedPeggy Sue Got Married is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school...
(1986)
External links
Leon Ames (January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
(1944), as Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy 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...
's father, and in Little Women
Little Women (1949 film)
Little Women directed by Mervyn LeRoy is based on Louisa May Alcott's novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Sally Benson, Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, and Andrew Solt...
(1949).
Life and career
Leon Ames was born Harry Wycoff on January 20, 1902 in Portland, IndianaPortland, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 6,437 people, 2,739 households, and 1,750 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,566.8 people per square mile . There were 2,928 housing units at an average density of 712.7 per square mile...
, the son of Cora A. (née De Moss) and Charles Elmer Wycoff.
He made his film debut in Quick Millions
Quick Millions
Quick Millions is a 1931 Pre-Code crime film directed by Rowland Brown. The film involves a truck driver and the wealthy woman that he covets, and also features George Raft and Leon Ames in supporting roles.-Cast:...
(1931). During the 1940s he was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
.
He appeared in a featured role in The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film)
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1946 drama-film noir based on the 1934 novel of the same name by James M. Cain. This adaptation of the novel is the best known, featuring Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Leon Ames, and Audrey Totter...
(1946) as district attorney Kyle Sackett. Leon Ames also appeared in the Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
-Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
film On Moonlight Bay
On Moonlight Bay (film)
On Moonlight Bay is a 1951 musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth which tells the story of the Winfield family at the turn of the century. The movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington. There was a 1953 sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon.-Plot:On Moonlight Bay centers on...
(1951); its sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon
By the Light of the Silvery Moon (film)
By the Light of the Silvery Moon is a 1953 musical film. It is the sequel to On Moonlight Bay. Like its predecessor, the movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington.-Plot:...
(1953); and Peyton Place
Peyton Place (film)
Peyton Place is a 1957 American drama film directed by Mark Robson. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the bestselling 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious.-Plot:...
(1957). He played the role of Samuel Eaton, Alfred Eaton (Paul Newman)'s father, in From the Terrace
From the Terrace
From the Terrace is a 1960 American drama film directed by Mark Robson and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Barbara Eden, Ina Balin, and Leon Ames....
(1960). In 1970, he played Secretary of Navy Frank Knox in the action war film Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tora! Tora! Tora!
is a 1970 American-Japanese war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars an all-star cast, including So Yamamura, E.G...
. His last film role was in Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school...
(1986), as Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
's character's grandfather Barney Alvorg.
His television roles included leads in the adaptations of Life With Father
Life with Father
Life with Father is the title of a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day, Jr., which was adapted in 1939 into a long-running Broadway play by Lindsay and Crouse, which was, in turn, made into a 1947 movie and a television series.-The book:Clarence Day wrote...
(1953–55) and Father of the Bride
Father of the Bride (TV series)
Father of the Bride is an American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1961-62 season. Produced by MGM Television, the series was based on the 1950 film of the same title...
(1961–62). He was Mr. Ed
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...
.
He was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
in 1933. He served as its president in 1957.
In 1980, after 50 years in show business, Leon Ames was presented with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
The Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award is given by the Screen Actors Guild's National Honors and Tributes Committee "for outstanding achievement in fostering the finest ideals of the acting profession." The award predates the 1st Screen Actors Guild Awards by over thirty years, having been...
.
Filmography
- Quick MillionsQuick MillionsQuick Millions is a 1931 Pre-Code crime film directed by Rowland Brown. The film involves a truck driver and the wealthy woman that he covets, and also features George Raft and Leon Ames in supporting roles.-Cast:...
(1931) - Murders in the Rue MorgueMurders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)Murders in the Rue Morgue is a 1932 horror film, loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". Bela Lugosi portrays a lunatic scientist who abducts women and injects them with blood from his ill-tempered caged ape...
(1932) - That's My BoyThat's My Boy (1932 film)That's My Boy is a 1932 film that stars Richard Cromwell and Dorothy Jordan. It features John Wayne in an uncredited role as a football player.-Cast:* Richard Cromwell - Tommy Jefferson Scott* Dorothy Jordan - Dorothy Whitney* Mae Marsh - Mom Scott...
(1932) - Uptown New YorkUptown New YorkUptown New York is a 1932 American film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Jack Oakie, Shirley Grey, and Leon Ames. It is based on the story by Vina Delmar.- Plot summary :...
(1932) - Death in the AirDeath in the AirDeath in the Air is a 1936 American film directed by Elmer Clifton.The film is also known as Murder in the Air in the United Kingdom and as The Mysterious Bombardier .-Cast:*Lona Andre*John Carroll...
(1936) - International SettlementInternational Settlement (film)International Settlement is a 1938 American drama film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Dolores del Rio, George Sanders and June Lang. It is set in the Shanghai International Settlement during the Sino-Japanese War...
(1938) - Island in the SkyIsland in the Sky (1938 film)Island in the Sky is a 1938 drama directed by Herbert I. Leeds, starring Gloria Stuart and Michael Whalen.-Cast:* Gloria Stuart as Julie Hayes* Michael Whalen as Michael Fraser* Paul Kelly as Johnny Doyle* Robert Kellard as Peter Vincent...
(1938) - SuezSuez (film)Suez is a 1938 film account of the building of the Suez Canal by Ferdinand de Lesseps, played by Tyrone Power. It was so highly fictionalized that de Lesseps' descendants sued for libel....
(1938) - Mysterious Mr. MotoMysterious Mr. MotoMysterious Mr. Moto is the fifth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto produced in 1938 by Twentieth Century Fox. The film is based on the character of Mr. Moto created by John P. Marquand, and an original screenplay by Philip MacDonald and Norman Foster.-Synopsis:The film...
(1938) - Man of ConquestMan of ConquestMan of Conquest is a 1939 Western film directed by George Nichols Jr.. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Score, Best Sound and Best Art Direction .-Cast:* Richard Dix - Sam Houston...
(1939) - Thunder AfloatThunder AfloatThunder Afloat is a 1939 World War I naval film starring Wallace Beery and Chester Morris. The movie was directed by George B. Seitz.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as Pop Thorson*Chester Morris as Rocky Blake*Douglass Dumbrille as District Commander...
(1939) - East Side KidsEast Side Kids (film)East Side Kids is a 1940 film and the first in the East Side Kids film series. It is, however, the only one not to star any of the original six Dead End Kids.-Overview:...
(1940) - Meet Me in St. LouisMeet Me in St. LouisMeet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
(1944) - Thirty Seconds Over TokyoThirty Seconds over TokyoThirty Seconds Over Tokyo is a 1944 MGM war film. It is based on the true story of America's first retaliatory air strike against Japan four months after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The movie was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist. The screenplay by...
(1944) - The Thin Man Goes HomeThe Thin Man Goes HomeThe Thin Man Goes Home is a 1945 motion picture directed by Richard Thorpe. It is the fifth of the six Thin Man films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's dapper private detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora.-Plot:...
(1945) - Son of LassieSon of LassieSon of Lassie is a 1945 feature film produced by MGM based on characters created by Eric Knight, and starring Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart and Lassie...
(1945) - Anchors AweighAnchors Aweigh (film)Anchors Aweigh is a 1945 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney in which two sailors go on a four-day shore leave in Hollywood, accompanied by music and song, meet an aspiring young singer and try to help her get an audition at MGM...
(1945) - Week-End at the WaldorfWeek-End at the WaldorfWeek-End at the Waldorf is a 1945 American comedy drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The screenplay by Samuel and Bella Spewack is based on Guy Bolton's adaptation of the Vicki Baum novel Menschen im Hotel, which was filmed as Grand Hotel in 1932.-Plot:The film focuses on various guests...
(1945) - Yolanda and the ThiefYolanda and the ThiefYolanda and the Thief is a 1945 MGM musical-comedy film set in a fictional Latin American country, and stars Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Frank Morgan, Ludwig Stossel and Mildred Natwick, with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Arthur Freed...
(1945) - They Were ExpendableThey Were ExpendableThey Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford and starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne. The film is based on the book by William L. White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese...
(1945) - The Cockeyed MiracleThe Cockeyed MiracleThe Cockeyed Miracle is a 1946 fantasy film about a ghost who, with the help of his father , stops his best friend from leaving his family penniless. The ghosts are played by Frank Morgan and Keenan Wynn, the villain by Cecil Kellaway...
(1946) - Lady in the LakeLady in the LakeLady in the Lake is a 1947 American film noir that marked the directorial debut of Robert Montgomery, who also stars in the film. The picture also features Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan, Tom Tully, Leon Ames and Jayne Meadows...
(1947) - Song of the Thin ManSong of the Thin ManSong of the Thin Man is a 1947 comedy-crime film directed by Edward Buzzell, the last of the six Thin Man films. Like the others, it stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Nick Jr. is played by Dean Stockwell...
(1947) - Alias a GentlemanAlias a GentlemanAlias a Gentleman is a 1948 film starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast includes Gladys George and Sheldon Leonard and the movie was directed by Harry Beaumont.-Cast:* Wallace Beery as Jim Breedin* Tom Drake as Johnny Lorgen...
(1948) - On an Island with YouOn an Island with YouOn an Island with You is a 1948 musical romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It stars Esther Williams, Peter Lawford, Ricardo Montalbán, Cyd Charisse and Kathryn Beaumont....
(1948) - The Velvet TouchThe Velvet TouchThe Velvet Touch is an American drama film released by RKO Radio Pictures.-Production background:The dialogue in Leo Rosten's screenplay, adapted from a story by William Mercer and Annabel Ross, anticipates the witty repartee in All About Eve and Auntie Mame .The cast, directed by Jack Gage,...
(1948) - A Date with JudyA Date with Judy (film)A Date with Judy is a 1948 MGM musical film starring Wallace Beery, Jane Powell, and Elizabeth Taylor. Directed by Richard Thorpe, the movie was based on the radio series of the same name....
(1948) - Little WomenLittle Women (1949 film)Little Women directed by Mervyn LeRoy is based on Louisa May Alcott's novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Sally Benson, Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, and Andrew Solt...
(1949) - Any Number Can PlayAny Number Can PlayAny Number Can Play is a 1949 drama film starring Clark Gable and Alexis Smith. It is based on the novel of the same name by Edward Harris Heth.-Cast:*Clark Gable as Charley Enley Kyng*Alexis Smith as Lon Kyng*Wendell Corey as Robbin Elcott...
(1949) - Battleground (1949)
- AmbushAmbush (1950 film)Ambush is a 1950 western film directed by Sam Wood and starring Robert Taylor, John Hodiak and Arlene Dahl. This was the last film directed by Sam Wood.-Plot synopsis:...
(1950) - Dial 1119Dial 1119Dial 1119 is a 1950 film noir starring Marshall Thompson as a deranged escaped killer holding the customers of a bar hostage. It was directed by Gerald Mayer, nephew of Louis B. Mayer.-Cast:*Marshall Thompson as Gunther Wyckoff*Virginia Field as Freddy...
(1950) - On Moonlight BayOn Moonlight Bay (film)On Moonlight Bay is a 1951 musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth which tells the story of the Winfield family at the turn of the century. The movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington. There was a 1953 sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon.-Plot:On Moonlight Bay centers on...
(1951) - Cattle DriveCattle DriveCattle Drive is a 1951 western film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Joel McCrea. Much of the film was shot in the Death Valley National Park, California and Paria, Utah.-Plot synopsis:...
(1951) - Angel Face (1952)
- Let's Do It Again (1953)
- Peyton PlacePeyton Place (film)Peyton Place is a 1957 American drama film directed by Mark Robson. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the bestselling 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious.-Plot:...
(1957) - From the TerraceFrom the TerraceFrom the Terrace is a 1960 American drama film directed by Mark Robson and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Barbara Eden, Ina Balin, and Leon Ames....
(1960) - The Misadventures of Merlin JonesThe Misadventures of Merlin JonesThe Misadventures of Merlin Jones is a 1964 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. Kirk plays a college student who experiments with mind-reading and hypnotism, leading to run-ins with a local judge...
(1964) - The Monkey's UncleThe Monkey's UncleThe Monkey's Uncle is a 1965 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk as genius college student Merlin Jones and Annette Funicello as his girlfriend, Jennifer. The title refers to a chimpanzee named Stanley, Merlin's legal "nephew" ; Stanley otherwise has little relevance to the plot...
(1965) - Tora! Tora! Tora!Tora! Tora! Tora!is a 1970 American-Japanese war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars an all-star cast, including So Yamamura, E.G...
(1970) - Hammersmith Is OutHammersmith Is OutHammersmith Is Out is a 1972 comedy film based on the legend of Faust. It is directed by Peter Ustinov, who starred in the film alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Beau Bridges, Leon Ames, and George Raft.-Plot:...
(1972) - Brother of the WindBrother of the WindBrother of the Wind is a 1973 independent film directed by Dick Robinson and written by John Mahon, starring Dick Robinson as Sam Monroe, a wildlife/mountain man who takes in 4 wolf pups and raises them, eventually releasing the grown wolves at the end of the film. Leon Ames provides background...
(1973) - Just You and Me, KidJust You and Me, KidJust You and Me, Kid is a 1979 comedy film that stars Brooke Shields, George Burns, Ray Bolger and Burl Ives. It was directed by Leonard Stern. It is rated PG for brief nudity and adult language.-Plot:...
(1979) - TestamentTestament (film)Testament is a drama film directed by Lynne Littman and starring Jane Alexander.The film tells the story of how one small suburban town near the San Francisco Bay Area slowly falls apart after a nuclear war destroys outside civilization....
(1983) - Jake SpeedJake SpeedJake Speed is a 1986 action/comedy film directed by Andrew Lane, produced by Lane, Wayne Crawford, and William Fay, written by Lane and Crawford, and starring Crawford in the title role.-Plot:...
(1986) - Peggy Sue Got MarriedPeggy Sue Got MarriedPeggy Sue Got Married is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school...
(1986)
External links
Leon Ames (January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
(1944), as Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy 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...
's father, and in Little Women
Little Women (1949 film)
Little Women directed by Mervyn LeRoy is based on Louisa May Alcott's novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Sally Benson, Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, and Andrew Solt...
(1949).
Life and career
Leon Ames was born Harry Wycoff on January 20, 1902 in Portland, IndianaPortland, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 6,437 people, 2,739 households, and 1,750 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,566.8 people per square mile . There were 2,928 housing units at an average density of 712.7 per square mile...
, the son of Cora A. (née De Moss) and Charles Elmer Wycoff.
He made his film debut in Quick Millions
Quick Millions
Quick Millions is a 1931 Pre-Code crime film directed by Rowland Brown. The film involves a truck driver and the wealthy woman that he covets, and also features George Raft and Leon Ames in supporting roles.-Cast:...
(1931). During the 1940s he was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
.
He appeared in a featured role in The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film)
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1946 drama-film noir based on the 1934 novel of the same name by James M. Cain. This adaptation of the novel is the best known, featuring Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Leon Ames, and Audrey Totter...
(1946) as district attorney Kyle Sackett. Leon Ames also appeared in the Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
-Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
film On Moonlight Bay
On Moonlight Bay (film)
On Moonlight Bay is a 1951 musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth which tells the story of the Winfield family at the turn of the century. The movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington. There was a 1953 sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon.-Plot:On Moonlight Bay centers on...
(1951); its sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon
By the Light of the Silvery Moon (film)
By the Light of the Silvery Moon is a 1953 musical film. It is the sequel to On Moonlight Bay. Like its predecessor, the movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington.-Plot:...
(1953); and Peyton Place
Peyton Place (film)
Peyton Place is a 1957 American drama film directed by Mark Robson. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the bestselling 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious.-Plot:...
(1957). He played the role of Samuel Eaton, Alfred Eaton (Paul Newman)'s father, in From the Terrace
From the Terrace
From the Terrace is a 1960 American drama film directed by Mark Robson and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Barbara Eden, Ina Balin, and Leon Ames....
(1960). In 1970, he played Secretary of Navy Frank Knox in the action war film Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tora! Tora! Tora!
is a 1970 American-Japanese war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars an all-star cast, including So Yamamura, E.G...
. His last film role was in Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school...
(1986), as Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
's character's grandfather Barney Alvorg.
His television roles included leads in the adaptations of Life With Father
Life with Father
Life with Father is the title of a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day, Jr., which was adapted in 1939 into a long-running Broadway play by Lindsay and Crouse, which was, in turn, made into a 1947 movie and a television series.-The book:Clarence Day wrote...
(1953–55) and Father of the Bride
Father of the Bride (TV series)
Father of the Bride is an American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1961-62 season. Produced by MGM Television, the series was based on the 1950 film of the same title...
(1961–62). He was Mr. Ed
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...
.
He was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
in 1933. He served as its president in 1957.
In 1980, after 50 years in show business, Leon Ames was presented with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
The Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award is given by the Screen Actors Guild's National Honors and Tributes Committee "for outstanding achievement in fostering the finest ideals of the acting profession." The award predates the 1st Screen Actors Guild Awards by over thirty years, having been...
.
Filmography
- Quick MillionsQuick MillionsQuick Millions is a 1931 Pre-Code crime film directed by Rowland Brown. The film involves a truck driver and the wealthy woman that he covets, and also features George Raft and Leon Ames in supporting roles.-Cast:...
(1931) - Murders in the Rue MorgueMurders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)Murders in the Rue Morgue is a 1932 horror film, loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". Bela Lugosi portrays a lunatic scientist who abducts women and injects them with blood from his ill-tempered caged ape...
(1932) - That's My BoyThat's My Boy (1932 film)That's My Boy is a 1932 film that stars Richard Cromwell and Dorothy Jordan. It features John Wayne in an uncredited role as a football player.-Cast:* Richard Cromwell - Tommy Jefferson Scott* Dorothy Jordan - Dorothy Whitney* Mae Marsh - Mom Scott...
(1932) - Uptown New YorkUptown New YorkUptown New York is a 1932 American film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Jack Oakie, Shirley Grey, and Leon Ames. It is based on the story by Vina Delmar.- Plot summary :...
(1932) - Death in the AirDeath in the AirDeath in the Air is a 1936 American film directed by Elmer Clifton.The film is also known as Murder in the Air in the United Kingdom and as The Mysterious Bombardier .-Cast:*Lona Andre*John Carroll...
(1936) - International SettlementInternational Settlement (film)International Settlement is a 1938 American drama film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Dolores del Rio, George Sanders and June Lang. It is set in the Shanghai International Settlement during the Sino-Japanese War...
(1938) - Island in the SkyIsland in the Sky (1938 film)Island in the Sky is a 1938 drama directed by Herbert I. Leeds, starring Gloria Stuart and Michael Whalen.-Cast:* Gloria Stuart as Julie Hayes* Michael Whalen as Michael Fraser* Paul Kelly as Johnny Doyle* Robert Kellard as Peter Vincent...
(1938) - SuezSuez (film)Suez is a 1938 film account of the building of the Suez Canal by Ferdinand de Lesseps, played by Tyrone Power. It was so highly fictionalized that de Lesseps' descendants sued for libel....
(1938) - Mysterious Mr. MotoMysterious Mr. MotoMysterious Mr. Moto is the fifth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto produced in 1938 by Twentieth Century Fox. The film is based on the character of Mr. Moto created by John P. Marquand, and an original screenplay by Philip MacDonald and Norman Foster.-Synopsis:The film...
(1938) - Man of ConquestMan of ConquestMan of Conquest is a 1939 Western film directed by George Nichols Jr.. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Score, Best Sound and Best Art Direction .-Cast:* Richard Dix - Sam Houston...
(1939) - Thunder AfloatThunder AfloatThunder Afloat is a 1939 World War I naval film starring Wallace Beery and Chester Morris. The movie was directed by George B. Seitz.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as Pop Thorson*Chester Morris as Rocky Blake*Douglass Dumbrille as District Commander...
(1939) - East Side KidsEast Side Kids (film)East Side Kids is a 1940 film and the first in the East Side Kids film series. It is, however, the only one not to star any of the original six Dead End Kids.-Overview:...
(1940) - Meet Me in St. LouisMeet Me in St. LouisMeet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
(1944) - Thirty Seconds Over TokyoThirty Seconds over TokyoThirty Seconds Over Tokyo is a 1944 MGM war film. It is based on the true story of America's first retaliatory air strike against Japan four months after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The movie was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist. The screenplay by...
(1944) - The Thin Man Goes HomeThe Thin Man Goes HomeThe Thin Man Goes Home is a 1945 motion picture directed by Richard Thorpe. It is the fifth of the six Thin Man films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's dapper private detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora.-Plot:...
(1945) - Son of LassieSon of LassieSon of Lassie is a 1945 feature film produced by MGM based on characters created by Eric Knight, and starring Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart and Lassie...
(1945) - Anchors AweighAnchors Aweigh (film)Anchors Aweigh is a 1945 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney in which two sailors go on a four-day shore leave in Hollywood, accompanied by music and song, meet an aspiring young singer and try to help her get an audition at MGM...
(1945) - Week-End at the WaldorfWeek-End at the WaldorfWeek-End at the Waldorf is a 1945 American comedy drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The screenplay by Samuel and Bella Spewack is based on Guy Bolton's adaptation of the Vicki Baum novel Menschen im Hotel, which was filmed as Grand Hotel in 1932.-Plot:The film focuses on various guests...
(1945) - Yolanda and the ThiefYolanda and the ThiefYolanda and the Thief is a 1945 MGM musical-comedy film set in a fictional Latin American country, and stars Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Frank Morgan, Ludwig Stossel and Mildred Natwick, with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Arthur Freed...
(1945) - They Were ExpendableThey Were ExpendableThey Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford and starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne. The film is based on the book by William L. White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese...
(1945) - The Cockeyed MiracleThe Cockeyed MiracleThe Cockeyed Miracle is a 1946 fantasy film about a ghost who, with the help of his father , stops his best friend from leaving his family penniless. The ghosts are played by Frank Morgan and Keenan Wynn, the villain by Cecil Kellaway...
(1946) - Lady in the LakeLady in the LakeLady in the Lake is a 1947 American film noir that marked the directorial debut of Robert Montgomery, who also stars in the film. The picture also features Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan, Tom Tully, Leon Ames and Jayne Meadows...
(1947) - Song of the Thin ManSong of the Thin ManSong of the Thin Man is a 1947 comedy-crime film directed by Edward Buzzell, the last of the six Thin Man films. Like the others, it stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Nick Jr. is played by Dean Stockwell...
(1947) - Alias a GentlemanAlias a GentlemanAlias a Gentleman is a 1948 film starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast includes Gladys George and Sheldon Leonard and the movie was directed by Harry Beaumont.-Cast:* Wallace Beery as Jim Breedin* Tom Drake as Johnny Lorgen...
(1948) - On an Island with YouOn an Island with YouOn an Island with You is a 1948 musical romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It stars Esther Williams, Peter Lawford, Ricardo Montalbán, Cyd Charisse and Kathryn Beaumont....
(1948) - The Velvet TouchThe Velvet TouchThe Velvet Touch is an American drama film released by RKO Radio Pictures.-Production background:The dialogue in Leo Rosten's screenplay, adapted from a story by William Mercer and Annabel Ross, anticipates the witty repartee in All About Eve and Auntie Mame .The cast, directed by Jack Gage,...
(1948) - A Date with JudyA Date with Judy (film)A Date with Judy is a 1948 MGM musical film starring Wallace Beery, Jane Powell, and Elizabeth Taylor. Directed by Richard Thorpe, the movie was based on the radio series of the same name....
(1948) - Little WomenLittle Women (1949 film)Little Women directed by Mervyn LeRoy is based on Louisa May Alcott's novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Sally Benson, Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, and Andrew Solt...
(1949) - Any Number Can PlayAny Number Can PlayAny Number Can Play is a 1949 drama film starring Clark Gable and Alexis Smith. It is based on the novel of the same name by Edward Harris Heth.-Cast:*Clark Gable as Charley Enley Kyng*Alexis Smith as Lon Kyng*Wendell Corey as Robbin Elcott...
(1949) - Battleground (1949)
- AmbushAmbush (1950 film)Ambush is a 1950 western film directed by Sam Wood and starring Robert Taylor, John Hodiak and Arlene Dahl. This was the last film directed by Sam Wood.-Plot synopsis:...
(1950) - Dial 1119Dial 1119Dial 1119 is a 1950 film noir starring Marshall Thompson as a deranged escaped killer holding the customers of a bar hostage. It was directed by Gerald Mayer, nephew of Louis B. Mayer.-Cast:*Marshall Thompson as Gunther Wyckoff*Virginia Field as Freddy...
(1950) - On Moonlight BayOn Moonlight Bay (film)On Moonlight Bay is a 1951 musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth which tells the story of the Winfield family at the turn of the century. The movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington. There was a 1953 sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon.-Plot:On Moonlight Bay centers on...
(1951) - Cattle DriveCattle DriveCattle Drive is a 1951 western film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Joel McCrea. Much of the film was shot in the Death Valley National Park, California and Paria, Utah.-Plot synopsis:...
(1951) - Angel Face (1952)
- Let's Do It Again (1953)
- Peyton PlacePeyton Place (film)Peyton Place is a 1957 American drama film directed by Mark Robson. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the bestselling 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious.-Plot:...
(1957) - From the TerraceFrom the TerraceFrom the Terrace is a 1960 American drama film directed by Mark Robson and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Barbara Eden, Ina Balin, and Leon Ames....
(1960) - The Misadventures of Merlin JonesThe Misadventures of Merlin JonesThe Misadventures of Merlin Jones is a 1964 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. Kirk plays a college student who experiments with mind-reading and hypnotism, leading to run-ins with a local judge...
(1964) - The Monkey's UncleThe Monkey's UncleThe Monkey's Uncle is a 1965 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk as genius college student Merlin Jones and Annette Funicello as his girlfriend, Jennifer. The title refers to a chimpanzee named Stanley, Merlin's legal "nephew" ; Stanley otherwise has little relevance to the plot...
(1965) - Tora! Tora! Tora!Tora! Tora! Tora!is a 1970 American-Japanese war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars an all-star cast, including So Yamamura, E.G...
(1970) - Hammersmith Is OutHammersmith Is OutHammersmith Is Out is a 1972 comedy film based on the legend of Faust. It is directed by Peter Ustinov, who starred in the film alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Beau Bridges, Leon Ames, and George Raft.-Plot:...
(1972) - Brother of the WindBrother of the WindBrother of the Wind is a 1973 independent film directed by Dick Robinson and written by John Mahon, starring Dick Robinson as Sam Monroe, a wildlife/mountain man who takes in 4 wolf pups and raises them, eventually releasing the grown wolves at the end of the film. Leon Ames provides background...
(1973) - Just You and Me, KidJust You and Me, KidJust You and Me, Kid is a 1979 comedy film that stars Brooke Shields, George Burns, Ray Bolger and Burl Ives. It was directed by Leonard Stern. It is rated PG for brief nudity and adult language.-Plot:...
(1979) - TestamentTestament (film)Testament is a drama film directed by Lynne Littman and starring Jane Alexander.The film tells the story of how one small suburban town near the San Francisco Bay Area slowly falls apart after a nuclear war destroys outside civilization....
(1983) - Jake SpeedJake SpeedJake Speed is a 1986 action/comedy film directed by Andrew Lane, produced by Lane, Wayne Crawford, and William Fay, written by Lane and Crawford, and starring Crawford in the title role.-Plot:...
(1986) - Peggy Sue Got MarriedPeggy Sue Got MarriedPeggy Sue Got Married is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school...
(1986)