Van Heflin
Encyclopedia
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. (December 13, 1910 – July 23, 1971) was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
for his performance in Johnny Eager
(1942).
, the son of Fanny Bleecker (née Shippey) and Dr. Emmett Evan Heflin, a dentist
. He was of Irish
and French
ancestry. Heflin's sister was Daytime Emmy-nominated actress Frances Heflin
. Heflin attended Classen High School in Oklahoma City and the University of Oklahoma
, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta
fraternity.
(1936), opposite Katharine Hepburn
. He was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, and was initially cast in supporting roles in films such as Santa Fe Trail
(1940), and Johnny Eager
(1942), winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
for the latter performance.
MGM began to groom him as a leading man in B movie
s, and provided him with supporting roles in more prestigious productions. Heflin continued to hone his acting skills throughout the early 1940s. He provided a compelling characterization of the embattled President Andrew Johnson
in Tennessee Johnson
(1942), playing opposite (and at odds with) Lionel Barrymore
who, in the role of Congressman Thaddeus Stevens
, failed to have Johnson convicted in an impeachment trial by the slimmest of margins. According to the IMDB (Internet Movie Database
), Heflin served during World War II
as a combat cameraman in the Ninth Air Force
in Europe
and with the First Motion Picture Unit
.
His best-known film became the 1953 classic western Shane
, in which he co-starred with Alan Ladd
. Among his other notable film credits are Presenting Lily Mars
(1943), The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
(1946), Possessed
(1947), Green Dolphin Street
(1947), Act of Violence (1948), The Three Musketeers
(1948), The Prowler
(1951) and 3:10 to Yuma (1957).
Heflin also performed on stage throughout his acting career. Credits include The Philadelphia Story
on Broadway opposite Katharine Hepburn
and Joseph Cotten
, and the Arthur Miller
plays A Memory of Two Mondays
and A View From the Bridge
.
The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was a radio detective drama that aired from June 17, 1947 through September 15, 1951, first heard on NBC in the summer of 1947 starring Van Heflin. (June 12, 1947 - Sept 9, 1947)
Heflin's last major role was in Airport (1970). He played "D. O. Guerrero", a failure who attempts to blow himself up on an airliner so that his wife (played by Maureen Stapleton
) can collect on a life insurance
policy.
He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
, for his contributions to motion pictures at 6309 Hollywood Boulevard, and for television at 6125 Hollywood Boulevard.
.
During World War II, he served as a combat cameraman in the Ninth Air Force in Europe.
On July 6, 1971, Heflin had a heart attack
while swimming in his pool. He reached the ladder where he managed to hang on unconscious for hours until he was found. He then lay unconscious for days, apparently never regaining consciousness. Van Heflin died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital
on July 23, 1971, aged 60. He had left instructions forbidding a public funeral. Instead, his cremated
remains were scattered in the ocean.
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 his performance in Johnny Eager
Johnny Eager
Johnny Eager is a 1941 film noir starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner. Van Heflin won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.The film is featured in the comedy spoof Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid .-Plot:...
(1942).
Early life
Heflin was born in Walters, OklahomaWalters, Oklahoma
Walters is a city in Cotton County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2000 census. The city, nestled in between twin creeks, is the county seat of Cotton County...
, the son of Fanny Bleecker (née Shippey) and Dr. Emmett Evan Heflin, a dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
. He was of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
ancestry. Heflin's sister was Daytime Emmy-nominated actress Frances Heflin
Frances Heflin
Mary Frances Heflin was an American actress.-Life and career:Heflin was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the daughter of Fanny Bleecker and Dr. Emmett Evan Heflin, a dentist. She was the sister of Academy Award-winning actor Van Heflin...
. Heflin attended Classen High School in Oklahoma City and the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
fraternity.
Career
Heflin began his acting career on Broadway in the early 1930s before being signed to a contract by RKO Radio Pictures. He made his film debut in A Woman RebelsA Woman Rebels
A Woman Rebels is a 1936 RKO film adapted from the novel Portrait of a Rebel by Netta Syrett and starring Katharine Hepburn as Pamela Thistlewaite, who rebels against the social mores of Victorian England...
(1936), opposite Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
. He was signed by 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...
, and was initially cast in supporting roles in films such as Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe Trail (film)
Santa Fe Trail is a 1940 western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The film was one of the top-grossing films of the year, being the seventh Flynn-de Havilland collaboration. The film also has nothing to do with its namesake, the famed Santa Fe Trail...
(1940), and Johnny Eager
Johnny Eager
Johnny Eager is a 1941 film noir starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner. Van Heflin won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.The film is featured in the comedy spoof Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid .-Plot:...
(1942), winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
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 latter performance.
MGM began to groom him as a leading man in B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s, and provided him with supporting roles in more prestigious productions. Heflin continued to hone his acting skills throughout the early 1940s. He provided a compelling characterization of the embattled President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
in Tennessee Johnson
Tennessee Johnson
Tennessee Johnson is a 1942 American film about Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States. It was directed by William Dieterle and written by Milton Gunzburg, Alvin Meyers, John Balderston, and Wells Root. It starred Van Heflin as Johnson, Lionel Barrymore as his nemesis Thaddeus...
(1942), playing opposite (and at odds with) Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
who, in the role of Congressman Thaddeus Stevens
Thaddeus Stevens
Thaddeus Stevens , of Pennsylvania, was a Republican leader and one of the most powerful members of the United States House of Representatives...
, failed to have Johnson convicted in an impeachment trial by the slimmest of margins. According to the IMDB (Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
), Heflin served during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a combat cameraman in the Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and with the First Motion Picture Unit
First Motion Picture Unit
The First Motion Picture Unit was the first unit of the United States Military to be made up entirely of motion picture personnel. It was also the title of a 1943 documentary about the unit.-Organization:...
.
His best-known film became the 1953 classic western Shane
Shane
Shane is a 1953 American Western film from Paramount. It was produced and directed by George Stevens from a screenplay by A.B. Guthrie Jr., based on the 1949 novel of the same name by Jack Schaefer. Its Oscar-winning cinematography was by Loyal Griggs...
, in which he co-starred with Alan Ladd
Alan Ladd
-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
. Among his other notable film credits are Presenting Lily Mars
Presenting Lily Mars
Presenting Lily Mars is an American musical motion picture produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and released in 1943. The film starred Judy Garland and Van Heflin and was based on the novel by Booth Tarkington...
(1943), The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is a black-and-white film noir released in the United States in 1946, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott and Kirk Douglas in his film debut. The movie is based on the short story "Love Lies Bleeding" by playwright John Patrick, using the...
(1946), Possessed
Possessed (1947 film)
Possessed is a 1947 Warner Bros. film starring Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, and Raymond Massey in a tale about an unstable woman's obsession with her ex-lover. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall and Silvia Richards was based upon a story by Rita Weiman. The film was directed by Curtis Bernhardt and...
(1947), Green Dolphin Street
Green Dolphin Street
Green Dolphin Street is a 1947 historic drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-Plot summary:In the 1840s, two sisters fall in love with the same man...
(1947), Act of Violence (1948), The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers (1948 film)
The Three Musketeers is a Technicolor adventure film adaptation of the classic novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père which starred Gene Kelly and Lana Turner...
(1948), The Prowler
The Prowler (1951 film)
The Prowler is a 1951 black-and-white thriller film directed by Joseph Losey. It stars Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes. Considered film noir, it was produced by Sam Spiegel .- Plot :...
(1951) and 3:10 to Yuma (1957).
Heflin also performed on stage throughout his acting career. Credits include The Philadelphia Story
The Philadelphia Story (play)
The Philadelphia Story is a 1939 American comic play by Philip Barry. It tells the story of a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and an attractive journalist.-Production:...
on Broadway opposite Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
, and the Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
plays A Memory of Two Mondays
A Memory of Two Mondays
A Memory of Two Mondays is a one-act play by Arthur Miller.Based on Miller's own experiences, the play focuses on a group of desperate workers earning their livings in a Brooklyn automobile parts warehouse during the Great Depression in the 1930s, a time of 25 percent unemployment in the United...
and A View From the Bridge
A View from the Bridge
A View from the Bridge is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller that was first staged on September 29, 1955 as a one-act verse drama with A Memory of Two Mondays at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The play was unsuccessful and Miller subsequently revised the play to contain two acts; this...
.
The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was a radio detective drama that aired from June 17, 1947 through September 15, 1951, first heard on NBC in the summer of 1947 starring Van Heflin. (June 12, 1947 - Sept 9, 1947)
Heflin's last major role was in Airport (1970). He played "D. O. Guerrero", a failure who attempts to blow himself up on an airliner so that his wife (played by Maureen Stapleton
Maureen Stapleton
Maureen Stapleton was an American actress in film, theater and television.-Early life:Stapleton was born Lois Maureen Stapleton in Troy, New York, the daughter of Irene and John P. Stapleton, and grew up in a strict Irish American Catholic family...
) can collect on a life insurance
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
policy.
He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
, for his contributions to motion pictures at 6309 Hollywood Boulevard, and for television at 6125 Hollywood Boulevard.
Personal life
After a six-month marriage to actress Eleanor Shaw (née Eleanor Scherr, died 2004), he married RKO contract player Frances Neal. They had two daughters, actresses Vana O'Brien and Cathleen (Kate) Heflin, and a son, Tracy. Heflin was the grandfather of actor Ben O'Brien and actress Eleanor O'Brien. Heflin was the uncle of Marta Heflin and Mady Kaplan, both actresses, and director Jonathan KaplanJonathan Kaplan
Jonathan Kaplan is an American film producer and director.Kaplan was born in Paris, France. He is the son of film composer Sol Kaplan and actress Frances Heflin; the nephew of actor Van Heflin. He is the brother of actresses Nora Heflin and Mady Kaplan...
.
During World War II, he served as a combat cameraman in the Ninth Air Force in Europe.
On July 6, 1971, Heflin had a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while swimming in his pool. He reached the ladder where he managed to hang on unconscious for hours until he was found. He then lay unconscious for days, apparently never regaining consciousness. Van Heflin died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Originally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...
on July 23, 1971, aged 60. He had left instructions forbidding a public funeral. Instead, his cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
remains were scattered in the ocean.
Filmography
- A Woman RebelsA Woman RebelsA Woman Rebels is a 1936 RKO film adapted from the novel Portrait of a Rebel by Netta Syrett and starring Katharine Hepburn as Pamela Thistlewaite, who rebels against the social mores of Victorian England...
(19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
) - The Outcasts of Poker FlatThe Outcasts of Poker Flat"The Outcasts of Poker Flat" is a short story written by renowned author of the American West Bret Harte. This story is a good example of regionalism and local color during the Gilded Generation. His compelling combination of realism and sentimentality offers readers real and known characters, yet...
(19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
) - Flight From GloryFlight From GloryFlight From Glory is a 1937 B movie about a run-down air cargo company in South America in the early days of aviation.-Plot:Ellis runs an air service transporting supplies from a tiny, remote outpost over the Andes Mountains to some mines, using worn-out planes and pilots no one else will employ...
(1937) - Annapolis Salute (1937)
- Saturday's Heroes (1937)
- Back Door to HeavenBack Door to Heaven- Cast :*Wallace Ford as Francis Rogers, as an adult*Aline MacMahon as Miss Williams*Stuart Erwin as Jud Mason*Patricia Ellis as Carol Evans, as an adult*Bert Frohman as Bert "Mouse" Gatto*Jimmy Lydon as Frankie Rogers, as a child...
(19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) - Santa Fe TrailSanta Fe Trail (film)Santa Fe Trail is a 1940 western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The film was one of the top-grossing films of the year, being the seventh Flynn-de Havilland collaboration. The film also has nothing to do with its namesake, the famed Santa Fe Trail...
(19401940 in filmThe year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
) - The Feminine TouchThe Feminine TouchThe Feminine Touch is a 1941 film directed by W. S. Van Dyke. It stars Rosalind Russell and Don Ameche.-Cast:*Rosalind Russell as Julie Hathaaway*Don Ameche as Prof. John Hathaway*Kay Francis as Nellie Woods*Van Heflin as Elliott Morgan...
(19411941 in filmThe year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
) - H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941)
- Johnny EagerJohnny EagerJohnny Eager is a 1941 film noir starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner. Van Heflin won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.The film is featured in the comedy spoof Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid .-Plot:...
(19421942 in filmThe year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
) - Kid Glove KillerKid Glove KillerKid Glove Killer is a 1942 crime film starring Van Heflin as a criminologist investigating the murder of a mayor. The B film was the feature-length directorial debut of Fred Zinnemann.-Cast:*Van Heflin as Gordon McKay*Marsha Hunt as Jane Mitchell...
(1942) - Grand Central MurderGrand Central MurderGrand Central Murder is a comedy/mystery film released in 1942. It was based on Sue MacVeigh's 1939 novel of the same name, and stars Van Heflin as a private investigator who is one of the suspects in a murder on a private train car in Grand Central Terminal. The film was directed by S...
(1942) - Seven Sweethearts (1942)
- Tennessee JohnsonTennessee JohnsonTennessee Johnson is a 1942 American film about Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States. It was directed by William Dieterle and written by Milton Gunzburg, Alvin Meyers, John Balderston, and Wells Root. It starred Van Heflin as Johnson, Lionel Barrymore as his nemesis Thaddeus...
(1942) - Presenting Lily MarsPresenting Lily MarsPresenting Lily Mars is an American musical motion picture produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and released in 1943. The film starred Judy Garland and Van Heflin and was based on the novel by Booth Tarkington...
(19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - Screen Snapshots: Hollywood in Uniform (1943)
- Land and Live in the Jungle (19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
) (documentary) - Land and Live in the Desert (19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) (short subject) (narrator) - The Strange Love of Martha IversThe Strange Love of Martha IversThe Strange Love of Martha Ivers is a black-and-white film noir released in the United States in 1946, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott and Kirk Douglas in his film debut. The movie is based on the short story "Love Lies Bleeding" by playwright John Patrick, using the...
(19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
) - Till the Clouds Roll ByTill the Clouds Roll ByTill The Clouds Roll By is a 1946 American musical film made by MGM. The film is a fictionalized biography of composer Jerome Kern, who was originally involved with the production of the film, but died before it was completed...
(1946) - PossessedPossessed (1947 film)Possessed is a 1947 Warner Bros. film starring Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, and Raymond Massey in a tale about an unstable woman's obsession with her ex-lover. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall and Silvia Richards was based upon a story by Rita Weiman. The film was directed by Curtis Bernhardt and...
(19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - Green Dolphin StreetGreen Dolphin StreetGreen Dolphin Street is a 1947 historic drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-Plot summary:In the 1840s, two sisters fall in love with the same man...
(1947) - B.F.'s DaughterB.F.'s DaughterB.F.'s Daughter is a 1948 drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Van Heflin. It is adapted from John P. Marquand's controversial 1946 novel of the same name, but the movie script soft-pedals the controversial elements and is a fairly conventional love...
(19481948 in filmThe year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
) - The Secret LandThe Secret LandThe Secret Land is a 1948 documentary film about an American expedition code-named "Operation High Jump" to explore Antarctica. It won the Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.-Cast:...
(1948) (documentary) (narrator) - Tap RootsTap RootsTap Roots is a 1948 period film set during the American Civil War. It is very loosely based on the true life story of Newton Knight, a farm owner who attempted to secede Jones County from Mississippi....
(1948) - The Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers (1948 film)The Three Musketeers is a Technicolor adventure film adaptation of the classic novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père which starred Gene Kelly and Lana Turner...
(1948) - Act of Violence (1948)
- Madame BovaryMadame Bovary (1949 film)Madame Bovary is a 1949 film adaptation of the classic novel of the same name by Gustave Flaubert. It stars Jennifer Jones, James Mason, Van Heflin, Louis Jourdan, Alf Kjellin , Gene Lockhart, Frank Allenby and Gladys Cooper....
(19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
) - East Side, West SideEast Side, West Side (1949 film)East Side, West Side is a melodramatic crime film, starring Barbara Stanwyck as a wronged wife and Ava Gardner in one of her earliest roles.-Plot:Wealthy socialite Brandon Bourne can't resist cheating on his faithful wife, Jessie...
(1949)
- TomahawkTomahawk (film)Tomahawk is a 1951 western film directed by George Sherman and starring Van Heflin and Yvonne De Carlo. The film is loosely based on events that took place in Montana in 1876 at The Battle of Powder River. The film was released as The Battle of Powder River in the UK.-Plot synopsis:In 1866 gold is...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - The ProwlerThe Prowler (1951 film)The Prowler is a 1951 black-and-white thriller film directed by Joseph Losey. It stars Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes. Considered film noir, it was produced by Sam Spiegel .- Plot :...
(1951) - Week-End with Father (1951)
- My Son John (19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) - The Golden MaskSouth of AlgiersSouth of Algiers is a 1953 British adventure film, directed by Jack Lee and starring Van Heflin, Wanda Hendrix and Eric Portman...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
) - Shane (1953)
- Wings of the Hawk (1953)
- TanganyikaTanganyika (film)Tanganyika is a 1954 action adventure film directed by André De Toth and starring Van Heflin.-Plot synopsis:In 1903 Kenya, tough colonist John Gale is leading a safari to bring in escaped murderer Abel McCracken , who is stirring up the Nukumbi tribe and endangering Gale's holdings...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) - The RaidThe RaidThe Raid is a Technicolor 1954 American film set during the American Civil War. It stars Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Richard Boone and Lee Marvin. In 1864 a group of Confederate prisoners held in a Union prison stockade at Plattsburg, New York, not many miles from the Canadian border, escape. They...
(1954) - Woman's WorldWoman's World (film)Woman's World, also known as A Woman's World, is a 1954 drama film about corporate America. Three men compete for the top job at a large company.-Plot:...
(1954) - Black WidowBlack Widow (1954 film)Black Widow is a 1954 mystery color film noir, written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson and starring Van Heflin, Ginger Rogers, Gene Tierney, and George Raft.-Plot:...
(1954) - Battle CryBattle Cry (film)Battle Cry is a 1955 CinemaScope film, starring Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, James Whitmore, Tab Hunter, Anne Francis, Dorothy Malone, Raymond Massey, and Mona Freeman...
(19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) - Count Three and PrayCount Three and Pray (film)Count Three and Pray is a 1955 CinemaScope western film starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward and Raymond Burr. It was based on the story Calico Pony Count Three and Pray is a 1955 CinemaScope western film starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward (in her film debut) and Raymond Burr. It was based on...
(1955) - PatternsPatterns (film)Patterns is a feature film starring Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, and Ed Begley. Directed by Fielder Cook, it was released March 27, 1956. The screenplay by Rod Serling was an adaptation of his teleplay Patterns originally telecast January 12, 1955 on the Kraft Television Theatre, which starred...
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - 3:10 to Yuma (19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) - La tempesta (19581958 in filmThe year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....
) - Gunman's WalkGunman's WalkGunman's Walk is a 1958 film directed by Phil Karlson. It stars Van Heflin and Tab Hunter.-Cast:*Van Heflin as Lee Hackett*Tab Hunter as Ed Hackett*Kathryn Grant as Clee Chouard*James Darren as Davy Hackett...
(1958) - They Came to CorduraThey Came To CorduraThey Came To Cordura is a 1959 Western film co-written and directed by Robert Rossen, starring Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth, and featuring Van Heflin, Tab Hunter, Richard Conte, Michael Callan, and Dick York. It was based on a 1958 novel by Glendon Swarthout.-Plot:Tom Thorn is a U.S...
(19591959 in filmThe year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) - 5 Branded Women5 Branded Women-Plot:Yugoslav partisans grimly crop the hair of a village quintet of women believed to have consorted with the occupational Nazis. Four, for various reasons, have indeed - and their seducer is a lone, swaggering sergeant whom the partisans briskly emasculate...
(19601960 in filmThe year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) - Under Ten FlagsUnder Ten FlagsUnder Ten Flags is a 1960 Italian-American war film directed by Duilio Coletti. It was entered into the 10th Berlin International Film Festival.-Plot:...
(1960) - The WastrelThe WastrelThe Wastrel is a 1961 Italian-Cypriot drama film directed by Michael Cacoyannis. It was entered into the 1961 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Ellie Lambeti - Mrs...
(19611961 in filmThe year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
) - Cry of BattleCry of BattleCry of Battle is a 1963 coming of age story and war film based on the 1951 novel Fortress in the Rice by Benjamin Appel who was a journalist and special assistant to the U.S. Commissioner for the Philippines from 1945-46. The film stars Van Heflin, James MacArthur, Rita Moreno, Leopoldo Salcedo...
(19631963 in filmThe year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
) - The Greatest Story Ever ToldThe Greatest Story Ever ToldThe Greatest Story Ever Told is a 1965 American epic film produced and directed by George Stevens and distributed by United Artists. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity through the Resurrection. This film is notable for its large ensemble cast and for being the last...
(19651965 in filmThe year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - Once a ThiefOnce a Thief (1965 film)Once a Thief is a 1965 film directed by Ralph Nelson. It was written by Zekial Marko, based on his novel Scratch A Thief. Nelson won the OCIC award at the 1965 San Sebastián International Film Festival for the film.-Plot:...
(1965) - StagecoachStagecoach (1966 film)Stagecoach is a 1966 American film, a remake of the 1939 John Ford western Stagecoach. Slim Pickens replaced Andy Devine as the driver, Alex Cord played the Ringo Kid , Ann-Margret succeeded Claire Trevor as the prostitute Dallas, and Bing Crosby played Thomas Mitchell's Oscar-winning part as the...
(19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) - The Man OutsideThe Man Outside (1967 film)The Man Outside is a British film released in 1968. It was previously exhibited in Austria and West Germany in 1967. The story is based on the novel Double Agent by Gene Stackleborg.-Cast:* Van Heflin as Bill MacLean* Heidelinde Weis as Kay Sebastian...
(19671967 in filmThe year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
) - The Ruthless FourThe Ruthless FourThe Ruthless Four is a 1968 Italian Western film directed by Giorgio Capitani and starring Van Heflin.-Cast:* Van Heflin - Sam Cooper* Gilbert Roland - Mason* Klaus Kinski - Brent the Blonde* George Hilton - Manolo Sanchez* Sarah Ross - Anna...
(19681968 in filmThe year 1968 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts.* November 1 - The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.-Top grossing films :- Awards :...
) - The Big BounceThe Big Bounce (1969 film)The Big Bounce is a 1969 film directed by Alex March, based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard. Taylor-Young was nominated for a Laurel Award for her performance in the film...
(19691969 in filmThe year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
) - Neither Are We EnemiesNeither Are We EnemiesNeither Are We Enemies is a made-for-television drama that is set in Judea at the time of Christ. It was broadcast on NBC as a Hallmark Hall of Fame Easter special on March 13, 1970.-Plot:...
(19701970 in filmThe year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
) - Airport (1970)