Frank Morgan
Encyclopedia
Frank Morgan was an American actor
. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz
.
, he attended Cornell University
where he joined Phi Kappa Psi
Fraternity. He then followed his older brother Ralph Morgan
into show business, first on the Broadway
stage and then into motion pictures.
in Raffles The Amateur Cracksman
, an independent film produced in and about New York City. Morgan's career expanded when talkies began, his most stereotypical role being that of a befuddled but good-hearted middle-aged man. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
in 1934's The Affairs of Cellini
, where he played the cuckolded Duke of Florence
and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
in 1942's Tortilla Flat
, where he played a simple Hispanic
man.
Other movies of note include Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
, The Great Ziegfeld
, The Shop Around the Corner
, The Human Comedy
, The Mortal Storm
, The White Cliffs of Dover
and his last movie, Key to the City, which was released after his death, in Beverly Hills, California
.
He also recorded a number of children's records, including the popular Gossamer Wump
, released in 1949 by Capitol Records
.
Like most character actors of the studio era, Frank Morgan had numerous roles in many motion pictures. One of his last roles was as a key supporting player in The Stratton Story
, a true story about a ballplayer (played by James Stewart
) who makes a comeback after losing a leg in a hunting accident.
(1939), in which he played the carnival
huckster "Professor Marvel", the gatekeeper of the Emerald City, the driver of the carriage drawn by "The Horse of a Different Color", the armed guard leading to the Wizard's hall, and the Wizard himself. Like Margaret Hamilton
's Wicked Witch of the West, his characters appear on screen for only a few minutes in total, but they are memorable. He was so popular that MGM gave him a lifetime contract. Morgan was cast for the role on September 22, 1938. W. C. Fields
was originally chosen for the role of the Wizard, but the studio ran out of patience after protracted haggling over his fee.
He was widely known to have had a drinking problem
, according to several who worked with him, including actress Margaret Hamilton
(the Wicked Witch of the West
in The Wizard of Oz
, 1939) and "Oz" historian Aljean Harmetz
. Morgan sometimes carried a black briefcase to work fully equipped with a small mini bar.
Frank Morgan's niece, Claudia Morgan
(née Wuppermann) was a stage and film actress, most notable for playing the role of Vera Claythorne in the first Broadway
production of Agatha Christie
's And Then There Were None
.
Morgan was also a brother of playwright Carlos Wupperman, who was killed in the Rhineland
in 1919 while on duty there with the Army of Occupation
. Wupperman had only one play produced on Broadway
. The Triumph of X opened at the Comedy Theatre in New York City
on August 24, 1921, but ran only 30 performances. The production is notable for several reasons; besides starring Frank Morgan, the play's female lead was Helen Menken
(who would marry Humphrey Bogart
in 1926), and in his first Broadway outing, character actor Robert Keith
, father of actor Brian Keith
and one-time husband of Theatre Guild
actress Peg Entwistle
, who committed suicide
by jumping from the Hollywood Sign
in 1932.
Frank Morgan entered show business on the coattails of his older brother, Ralph Morgan (July 6, 1883 – June 11, 1956), who was a Hollywood film, stage and character actor. Born in New York City as Raphael Kuhner Wuppermann, Ralph Morgan graduated from Columbia University with a law degree. However, he abandoned the world of jurisprudence for the vocation of journeyman actor, having already appeared in Columbia's annual Varsity Show. Morgan became so successful in stock and on Broadway that his younger brother, Frank, was encouraged to give acting a try. Frank's career would eventually overshadow that of his elder brother.
in 1949 while filming Annie Get Your Gun
. He was replaced in the film by Louis Calhern
. He was the one major player from The Wizard of Oz who did not live to see the film become both a television fixture and an American institution. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery
in Brooklyn
. His tombstone carries his real name on the front, while noting his appearance as the Wizard on the back.
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 1708 Vine Street.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
.
Early life
Born as Francis Phillip Wuppermann in New York City, the youngest of eleven children (six boys and five girls), to the wealthy family that distributed Angostura bittersAngostura bitters
Angostura bitters, often simply referred to as angostura, is a concentrated bitters made of water, 44.7% alcohol, gentian root, and vegetable flavoring extracts by House of Angostura in Trinidad and Tobago. They are typically used for flavoring beverages, or food...
, he attended Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
where he joined Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852. There are over a hundred chapters and colonies at accredited four year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 112,000 men have been...
Fraternity. He then followed his older brother Ralph Morgan
Ralph Morgan
Ralph Morgan was a Hollywood film, stage and character actor, and the older brother of Frank Morgan .-Early life:...
into show business, first on the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stage and then into motion pictures.
Acting career
His first film was The Suspect in 1916. In 1917 he provided support to his friend John BarrymoreJohn Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
in Raffles The Amateur Cracksman
Raffles The Amateur Cracksman (1917 film)
Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman is a 1917 silent film starring John Barrymore. The film also co-stars Frank Morgan, Evelyn Brent and Mike Donlin. The film was directed by George Irving.-Plot:...
, an independent film produced in and about New York City. Morgan's career expanded when talkies began, his most stereotypical role being that of a befuddled but good-hearted middle-aged man. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading 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...
in 1934's The Affairs of Cellini
The Affairs of Cellini
The Affairs of Cellini is a comedy film set in Florence over 400 years ago. This 1934 movie was adapted by Bess Meredyth from the play The Firebrand of Florence by Edwin Justus Mayer. It was directed by Gregory La Cava.-Plot:...
, where he played the cuckolded Duke of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and was nominated for the 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...
in 1942's Tortilla Flat
Tortilla Flat
Tortilla Flat is an early John Steinbeck novel set in Monterey, California. The novel was the author's first clear critical and commercial success....
, where he played a simple Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
man.
Other movies of note include Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
"Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" is an American folk song that responds with humorous sarcasm to unhelpful moralizing about the circumstance of being a hobo....
, The Great Ziegfeld
The Great Ziegfeld
The Great Ziegfeld is a 1936 musical film produced by MGM. A fictionalized biography of Florenz Ziegfeld from his show business beginnings to his death, it showcases a series of spectacular musical productions. The film includes original music by Walter Donaldson and Irving Berlin...
, The Shop Around the Corner
The Shop Around the Corner
-External links:* Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism, Issue 1, 2010...
, The Human Comedy
The Human Comedy (film)
The Human Comedy is a 1943 drama film directed by Clarence Brown and adapted by Howard Estabrook. It is often thought to be based on the William Saroyan novel of the same name, but actually Saroyan wrote the screenplay first, was fired from the movie project, and quickly wrote the novel and...
, The Mortal Storm
The Mortal Storm
The Mortal Storm is a drama film from MGM starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart, and directed by Frank Borzage.-Production background:...
, The White Cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover (1944 film)
The White Cliffs of Dover is a 1944 film made by Loew's and MGM. It was directed by Clarence Brown and produced by Clarence Brown and Sidney Franklin. The screenplay was by Claudine West, Jan Lustig and George Froeschel, based on the Alice Duer Miller poem titled The White Cliffs with additional...
and his last movie, Key to the City, which was released after his death, in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
.
He also recorded a number of children's records, including the popular Gossamer Wump
Gossamer Wump
Gossamer Wump is a children's record, published in 1949 by Capitol Records, about a boy who learns to play the triangle. The story is narrated by Frank Morgan, Hollywood actor best known for his role as the Wizard in the classic film The Wizard of Oz, with music by Billy May, and written by...
, released in 1949 by Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
.
Like most character actors of the studio era, Frank Morgan had numerous roles in many motion pictures. One of his last roles was as a key supporting player in The Stratton Story
The Stratton Story
The Stratton Story is a 1949 film directed by Sam Wood which tells the true story of Monty Stratton, a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1934-1938...
, a true story about a ballplayer (played by James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
) who makes a comeback after losing a leg in a hunting accident.
"The Wizard": The Wizard of Oz
Morgan's most famous performance was in The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
(1939), in which he played the carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
huckster "Professor Marvel", the gatekeeper of the Emerald City, the driver of the carriage drawn by "The Horse of a Different Color", the armed guard leading to the Wizard's hall, and the Wizard himself. Like Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz...
's Wicked Witch of the West, his characters appear on screen for only a few minutes in total, but they are memorable. He was so popular that MGM gave him a lifetime contract. Morgan was cast for the role on September 22, 1938. W. C. Fields
W. C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...
was originally chosen for the role of the Wizard, but the studio ran out of patience after protracted haggling over his fee.
Personal life
Morgan married Alma Muller in 1914; they had one son. Their marriage ended with his death in 1949.He was widely known to have had a drinking problem
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, according to several who worked with him, including actress Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz...
(the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
in The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, 1939) and "Oz" historian Aljean Harmetz
Aljean Harmetz
Aljean Harmetz is a Hollywood journalist and film historian. She has written as a Hollywood film correspondent for The New York Times since 1981....
. Morgan sometimes carried a black briefcase to work fully equipped with a small mini bar.
Frank Morgan's niece, Claudia Morgan
Claudia Morgan
Claudia Morgan was an American film, television and radio actress. She was best known for playing the role of Vera Claythorne in the first Broadway production of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians and for her portrayal of Nora Charles on the 1940s radio series, The Adventures of the Thin...
(née Wuppermann) was a stage and film actress, most notable for playing the role of Vera Claythorne in the first Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers which was changed by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940 because of the presence of a racial...
.
Morgan was also a brother of playwright Carlos Wupperman, who was killed in the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
in 1919 while on duty there with the Army of Occupation
Army of Occupation
Army of Occupation is a term for an army occupying conquered territory, and has been used for many armies in many eras including:*The Army of Occupation of the U.S...
. Wupperman had only one play produced on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. The Triumph of X opened at the Comedy Theatre in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on August 24, 1921, but ran only 30 performances. The production is notable for several reasons; besides starring Frank Morgan, the play's female lead was Helen Menken
Helen Menken
Helen Menken was an American actress, born Helen Meinken to a German-French father, Frederick Meinken, and an Irish-born mother, Mary Madden....
(who would marry Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
in 1926), and in his first Broadway outing, character actor Robert Keith
Robert Keith
Robert Keith was an American stage and film actor who appeared in several dozen films, mostly in the 1950s as a character actor.-Early life and career:...
, father of actor Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
and one-time husband of Theatre Guild
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players.Its original purpose was to...
actress Peg Entwistle
Peg Entwistle
Peg Entwistle was an English stage and screen actress who gained notoriety after her suicide at the age of 24 by leaping off of the Hollywood Sign.-Early life:...
, who committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by jumping from the Hollywood Sign
Hollywood Sign
The Hollywood Sign is a landmark and American cultural icon in the Hollywood Hills area of Mount Lee, Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles, California. The sign spells out the name of the area in and white letters. It was created as an advertisement in 1923, but garnered increasing recognition...
in 1932.
Frank Morgan entered show business on the coattails of his older brother, Ralph Morgan (July 6, 1883 – June 11, 1956), who was a Hollywood film, stage and character actor. Born in New York City as Raphael Kuhner Wuppermann, Ralph Morgan graduated from Columbia University with a law degree. However, he abandoned the world of jurisprudence for the vocation of journeyman actor, having already appeared in Columbia's annual Varsity Show. Morgan became so successful in stock and on Broadway that his younger brother, Frank, was encouraged to give acting a try. Frank's career would eventually overshadow that of his elder brother.
Death
Morgan died after suffering a heart attackMyocardial 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...
in 1949 while filming Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun (film)
Annie Get Your Gun is a 1950 American musical comedy film loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley. The Metro Goldwyn Mayer release, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon based on the 1946 stage musical of the same name, was directed by George Sidney...
. He was replaced in the film by Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern was an American stage and screen actor.- Early life :Louis Calhern was born Carl Henry Vogt on February 19, 1895 in Brooklyn, New York. His family left New York City while he was still a child and moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he grew up...
. He was the one major player from The Wizard of Oz who did not live to see the film become both a television fixture and an American institution. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. His tombstone carries his real name on the front, while noting his appearance as the Wizard on the back.
He has a star 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...
at 1708 Vine Street.
Filmography
- The Suspect (1916)
- The Daring of Diana (1916)
- The Girl Philippa (1916)
- A Modern Cinderella (1917)
- A Child of the Wild (1917)
- The Light in Darkness (1917)
- Baby MineBaby MineBaby Mine is a 1917 silent film comedy directed by both John S. Robertson and Hugo Ballin and starring Madge Kennedy. The picture marked Kennedy's screen debut and was one of the first films produced by Samuel Goldwyn as an independent after founding his own studio. It is based on a 1910 Broadway...
(1917) - Who's Your Neighbor?Who's Your Neighbor?Who's Your Neighbor? is a 1917 silent American drama film directed by S. Rankin Drew. The film is considered to be lost.- Cast :* Christine Mayo as Hattie Fenshaw* Anders Randolf as Bryant M. Harding* Evelyn Brent as Betty Hamlin...
(1917) - Raffles, the Amateur CracksmanRaffles The Amateur Cracksman (1917 film)Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman is a 1917 silent film starring John Barrymore. The film also co-stars Frank Morgan, Evelyn Brent and Mike Donlin. The film was directed by George Irving.-Plot:...
(1917) - The Knife (1918)
- At the Mercy of Men (1918)
- The Gray Towers Mystery (1919)
- The Golden Shower (1919)
- ManhandledManhandled (1924 film)Manhandled is a silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Gloria Swanson. The film was produced by Famous Players-Lasky at their East Coast Astoria Studios facility and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
(1924) - Born Rich (1924)
- The Crowded Hour (1925)
- The Man Who Found Himself (1925)
- Scarlet Saint (1925)
- Love's Greatest MistakeLove's Greatest MistakeLove's Greatest Mistake is a 1927 silent American drama film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Evelyn Brent.- Cast :* Evelyn Brent as Jane* William Powell as Don Kendall* James Hall as Harvey Gibbs* Josephine Dunn as Honey McNeil...
(1927) - Belle of the Night (1930) (short subject)
- Dangerous Nan McGrewDangerous Nan McGrewDangerous Nan McGrew is a 1930 American comedy starring Helen Kane and Victor Moore.-Story:Helen Kane takes lead role and stars as Dangerous Nan Mcgrew, an entertainer in a travelling medicine show run by her boss. Muldoon one of the members of the medicine show is a fugitive who is on the run from...
(1930) - Queen HighQueen HighQueen High is the title of an early musical-comedy produced by Paramount Pictures in 1930.Based upon a stage musical by Buddy DeSylva, Lewis Gensler, and Laurence Schwab, the storyline loosely concerns a rivalry between two businessmen that results in a game of poker...
(1930) - LaughterLaughter (film)Laughter is a 1930 film directed by Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast and starring Fredric March, Nancy Carroll and Frank Morgan.The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story.-Plot:...
(1930) - Fast and LooseFast and Loose (film)Fast and Loose is a 1930 romantic comedy film directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and starring Miriam Hopkins, Carole Lombard and Frank Morgan. The film was written by Doris Anderson, Jack Kirkland and Preston Sturges, based on the 1924 play The Best People by David Gray and Avery Hopwood...
(1930) - Secrets of the French Police (1932)
- The Half Naked Truth (1932)
- Billion Dollar Scandal (1933)
- Luxury LinerLuxury linerLuxury liner may refer to:*Passenger ships with a high standard of accommodation, especially ocean liners*Luxury Liner , a 1977 album by Emmylou Harris*"Luxury Liner" , 1948 motion picture from MGM...
(1933) - Hallelujah, I'm a BumHallelujah, I'm a Bum (film)Hallelujah, I'm a Bum is a 1933 American musical comedy film directed by Lewis Milestone in the Depression.The film stars Al Jolson as Bumper, a popular New York tramp, and both romanticizes and satirizes the hobo lifestyle that many people were forced into by the economic conditions of the time....
(1933) - Reunion in ViennaReunion in ViennaReunion in Vienna is a 1933 romantic drama produced and distributed by MGM. Sidney Franklin served as director. The film stars John Barrymore in a story taken from a stage play, Reunion in Vienna, by Robert Emmet Sherwood. -Cast:...
(1933) - The Kiss Before the MirrorThe Kiss Before the MirrorThe Kiss Before the Mirror is a suspense film directed by James Whale, starring Nancy Carroll, Frank Morgan, Gloria Stuart, and Walter Pidgeon, and released by Universal Pictures.-Plot:...
(1933) - The Nuisance (1933)
- When Ladies MeetWhen Ladies Meet (1933 film)When Ladies Meet is a 1933 Pre-Code film starring Ann Harding, Myrna Loy, Robert Montgomery, and Alice Brady. The film is the first adaptation of the 1932 Rachel Crothers play of the same name...
(1933) - Best of EnemiesBest of EnemiesBest of Enemies is a Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Supermystery novel.After the deconstruction of the Berlin Wall, an undercover agent working for the highest levels of the United States government system, the "Swallow", is turned into a target for terror, after landing on U.S soil...
(1933) - Broadway to HollywoodBroadway to Hollywood (1933 film)Broadway to Hollywood is a film directed by Willard Mack, produced by Harry Rapf, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film features many of MGM's stars of the time, including Frank Morgan, Alice Brady, Madge Evans, Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, and Jackie Cooper...
(1933) - BombshellBombshell (film)Bombshell is a Pre-Code film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Frank Morgan, C. Aubrey Smith, Mary Forbes and Franchot Tone.-Plot:...
(1933) - The Cat and the Fiddle (1934)
- Sisters Under the Skin (1934)
- Success at Any Price (1934)
- The Affairs of CelliniThe Affairs of CelliniThe Affairs of Cellini is a comedy film set in Florence over 400 years ago. This 1934 movie was adapted by Bess Meredyth from the play The Firebrand of Florence by Edwin Justus Mayer. It was directed by Gregory La Cava.-Plot:...
(1934) - A Lost LadyA Lost Lady (film)A Lost Lady is a 1934 American dramatic film directed by Alfred E. Green and Phil Rosen, and starring by Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Morgan, and Ricardo Cortez...
(1934) - There's Always TomorrowThere's Always TomorrowThere's Always Tomorrow is a 1956 drama film made by Universal Pictures, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring by Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Bernard C...
(1934) - By Your Leave (1934)
- The Mighty BarnumThe Mighty BarnumThe Mighty Barnum is a 1934 film starring Wallace Beery as P.T. Barnum. The movie was written by Gene Fowler and Bess Meredyth, and directed by Walter Lang. Beery had played Barnum four years earlier in A Lady's Morals, a highly fictionalized biography of singer Jenny Lind.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as...
(1934) - The Good FairyThe Good Fairy (film)The Good Fairy is a 1935 romantic comedy film written by Preston Sturges, based on the 1930 play A jó tündér by Ferenc Molnár as translated and adapted by Jane Hinton, which was produced on Broadway in 1931...
(1935) - Enchanted AprilEnchanted AprilEnchanted April is the second film adaptation Elizabeth von Arnim's 1922 novel, The Enchanted April. The novel was adapted as a Broadway play in 1925, and as an RKO Radio film in 1935 - both using the same title as the novel. The 1992 film release received several Golden Globe and Academy Award...
(1935) - Naughty Marietta (1935)
- LazybonesLazybones (film)Lazybones is a 1935 British film directed by Michael Powell. It was made as a Quota quickie.-Plot:Sir Reginald Ford , known as "Lazybones", is an idle baronet. He hasn't a care in the world, although he doesn't have any money either...
(1935) - EscapadeEscapade (1935 film)Escapade is a 1935 romantic comedy film starring William Powell and Luise Rainer. A philandering painter falls in love, but a prior affair with a married woman causes complications.-Cast:*William Powell as Fritz*Luise Rainer as Leopoldine Dur...
(1935) - I Live My LifeI Live My LifeI Live My Life is a 1935 film, starring Joan Crawford, Brian Aherne, and Frank Morgan, and is based on the story Claustrophobia, by A. Carter Goodloe.-Plot summary:...
(1935)
- The Perfect Gentlemen (1935)
- The Great ZiegfeldThe Great ZiegfeldThe Great Ziegfeld is a 1936 musical film produced by MGM. A fictionalized biography of Florenz Ziegfeld from his show business beginnings to his death, it showcases a series of spectacular musical productions. The film includes original music by Walter Donaldson and Irving Berlin...
(1936) - Dancing PirateDancing Pirate-Cast:*Charles Collins as Jonathan Pride*Frank Morgan as Mayor Don Emilio Perena*Steffi Duna as Serafina Perena*Luis Alberni as Pamfilo *Victor Varconi as Don Balthazar *Jack La Rue as Lt. Chago...
(1936) - Trouble for TwoTrouble for TwoTrouble for Two is a 1936 film starring Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell. It is based on The Suicide Club, a short story collection by Robert Louis Stevenson...
(1936) - DimplesDimples (film)Dimples is a 1936 American musical film directed by William A. Seiter. The screenplay was written by Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman. The film is about a young mid-nineteenth century street entertainer who is separated from her pickpocket grandfather when given a home by a wealthy New York City...
(1936) - The Last of Mrs. CheyneyThe Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937 film)The Last of Mrs. Cheyney is a 1937 drama/comedy motion picture starring Joan Crawford, William Powell, Robert Montgomery and Frank Morgan. The film tells the story of a chic jewel thief in England, who falls in love with one of her marks....
(1937) - The Emperor's CandlesticksThe Emperor's CandlesticksThe Emperor's Candlesticks is a historical novel by Baroness Orczy. Written soon after the birth of her son John, it is her first book as an author rather than translator and was a commercial failure...
(1937) - SaratogaSaratoga (film)Saratoga is a 1937 film written by Anita Loos and directed by Jack Conway. The movie stars Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in their sixth and final film collaboration....
(1937) - Sunday Night at the TrocaderoSunday Night at the TrocaderoSunday Night at the Trocadero is a 1937 short film directed by George Sidney. It appears as a special feature on the DVD version of the Marx Brothers' AFI Top 100 Film, A Night at the Opera. Cameos by dozens of then-Hollywood luminaries make this interesting viewing....
(1937) (short subject) - Beg, Borrow or Steal (1937)
- RosalieRosalie (film)Rosalie is an MGM film adaptation of the 1928 stage musical of the same name. The film was released in December 1937. The film follows the story of the musical but replaces most of the Broadway score with new songs by Cole Porter...
(1937) - Paradise for ThreeParadise for ThreeParadise for Three, titled Romance for Three in the United Kingdom, is a 1938 romantic comedy film starring Frank Morgan as a wealthy industrialist who decides to find out about his German workers by temporarily living among them incognito...
(1938) - Port of Seven SeasPort of Seven SeasPort of Seven Seas is a 1938 drama film starring Wallace Beery and featuring Frank Morgan and Maureen O'Sullivan. The movie was written by Preston Sturges based on the plays of Marcel Pagnol and the films based on them, and was directed by James Whale...
(1938) - The Crowd RoarsThe Crowd Roars (1938 film)The Crowd Roars is a 1938 film starring Robert Taylor as a boxer who gets entangled in the seamier side of the sport. It was remade in 1947 as Killer McCoy, featuring Mickey Rooney in the title role.-Cast:*Robert Taylor as Tommy "Killer" McCoy...
(1938) - SweetheartsSweethearts (film)Sweethearts is a 1938 musical romance directed by W.S. Van Dyke, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. The screenplay, by Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell, uses the “play within a play” device: a contemporary Broadway production of the 1913 Victor Herbert operetta is the setting for...
(1938) - Broadway SerenadeBroadway SerenadeBroadway Serenade is a 1939 musical drama film distributed by MGM, and directed and produced by Robert Z. Leonard. The screenplay was written by Charles Lederer, based on story by Lew Lipton, John Taintor Foote and Hanns Kräly...
(1939) - The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
(1939) - Henry Goes ArizonaHenry Goes ArizonaHenry Goes Arizona is a 1939 western film starring Frank Morgan as an actor who inherits his dead brother's ranch. While adjusting to the country there, he is threatened by a gang who is after the ranch. The film was directed by Edwin L...
(1939) - BalalaikaBalalaikaThe balalaika is a stringed musical instrument popular in Russia, with a characteristic triangular body and three strings.The balalaika family of instruments includes instruments of various sizes, from the highest-pitched to the lowest, the prima balalaika, secunda balalaika, alto balalaika, bass...
(1939) - The Shop Around the CornerThe Shop Around the Corner-External links:* Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism, Issue 1, 2010...
(1940) - Broadway Melody of 1940Broadway Melody of 1940Broadway Melody of 1940 is a 1940 MGM movie musical starring Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell and George Murphy. It was directed by Norman Taurog and features music by Cole Porter, including "Begin the Beguine"....
(1940) - The Ghost Comes Home (1940)
- The Mortal StormThe Mortal StormThe Mortal Storm is a drama film from MGM starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart, and directed by Frank Borzage.-Production background:...
(1940) - Boom TownBoom Town (film)Boom Town is a 1940 adventure drama Hollywood film starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert, Hedy Lamarr, and Frank Morgan. A story written by James Edward Grant in Cosmopolitan magazine titled "A Lady Comes to Burkburnett" provided the inspiration for the film.-Plot:"Big John"...
(1940) - HullabalooHullabaloo (film)Hullabaloo is a 1940 musical comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by Nat Perrin. It stars Frank Morgan, Virginia Grey, Dan Dailey, Billie Burke, Donald Meek, Reginald Owen and Connie Gilchrist...
(1940) - Keeping CompanyKeeping CompanyKeeping Company is a 1940 drama film starring Frank Morgan as a real estate broker with three daughters who all have their own problems. The film was followed by This Time for Keeps .-Cast:*Frank Morgan - Harry C. Thomas...
(1940) - The Wild Man of Borneo (1941)
- Washington Melodrama (1941)
- Honky TonkHonky Tonk (1941 film)Honky Tonk is a 1941 black-and-white western film starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner.-Plot:Con man "Candy" Johnson and his friend "Sniper" flee town using quick wits and magic tricks. They catch a train to Yellow Creek, Nevada, where a gold rush is in progress. Aboard, he meets Elizabeth Cotton...
(1941) - The Vanishing Virginian (1942)
- Tortilla FlatTortilla Flat (film)Tortilla Flat is a 1942 film with Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, John Garfield, Frank Morgan, Akim Tamiroff, and Sheldon Leonard based on the novel by John Steinbeck. It was directed by Victor Fleming.- Plot :...
(1942) - White CargoWhite CargoWhite Cargo is a film starring Hedy Lamarr and Walter Pidgeon and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Set in 1910, it is based on the 1923 London and Broadway hit play by Leon Gordon, which was in turn adapted from the novel Hell's Playground by Ida Vera Simonton...
(1942) - The Human ComedyThe Human Comedy (film)The Human Comedy is a 1943 drama film directed by Clarence Brown and adapted by Howard Estabrook. It is often thought to be based on the William Saroyan novel of the same name, but actually Saroyan wrote the screenplay first, was fired from the movie project, and quickly wrote the novel and...
(1943) - A Stranger in TownA Stranger in TownA Stranger in Town is a 1943 comedy-drama political film made by Loew's Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Roy Rowland and produced by Robert Sisk from an original screenplay by Isobel Lennart and William Kozlenko...
(1943) - Thousands CheerThousands CheerThousands Cheer is a 1943 American comedy musical film released by MGM. Produced at the height of the Second World War, the film was intended as a morale booster for American troops and their families.-Plot:The film is essentially a two-part program...
(1943) - The White Cliffs of DoverThe White Cliffs of Dover (1944 film)The White Cliffs of Dover is a 1944 film made by Loew's and MGM. It was directed by Clarence Brown and produced by Clarence Brown and Sidney Franklin. The screenplay was by Claudine West, Jan Lustig and George Froeschel, based on the Alice Duer Miller poem titled The White Cliffs with additional...
(1944) - KismetKismet (1944 film)Kismet is a 1944 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film in Technicolor starring Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, Joy Page, and Florence Bates. James Craig played the young Caliph of Baghdad, and Edward Arnold was the treacherous Grand Vizier...
(1944) (narrator) - Casanova BrownCasanova BrownCasanova Brown is a 1944 American romantic comedy film directed by Sam Wood, and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Frank Morgan. Written by Thomas Mitchell , Floyd Dell, and Nunnally Johnson, the film was nominated for three Academy Awards: for Best Score , Best Sound, Recording Casanova...
(1944) - 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) - The Great MorganThe Great MorganThe Great Morgan is an American musical-comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film is considered one of the more unusual in the MGM canon in that it is a compilation film built around a slight plot line, with a running time of less than 60 minutes.The film was produced for overseas The...
(1946) - Courage of LassieCourage of LassieCourage of Lassie is a 1946 MGM feature film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, and dog actor Pal in a story about a collie named Bill and his young companion, Kathie Merrick. When Bill is separated from Kathie following a vehicular accident, he is trained as a war dog, performs heroically,...
(1946) - 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 LuckLady Luck (1946 film)Lady Luck is a Hollywood comedy film released in 1946, starring Robert Young and Barbara Hale. It tells the story of a professional gambler who falls in love with a woman who hates gambling.-External links:*...
(1946) - 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) - Summer HolidaySummer Holiday (1948 film)Summer Holiday is a 1948 American musical film, starring Mickey Rooney and Gloria DeHaven. It is based on the play Ah, Wilderness! by Eugene O'Neill, which had been filmed as Ah, Wilderness! by MGM in 1935.-Cast:...
(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) - The Stratton StoryThe Stratton StoryThe Stratton Story is a 1949 film directed by Sam Wood which tells the true story of Monty Stratton, a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1934-1938...
(1949) - The Great SinnerThe Great SinnerThe Great Sinner is a 1949 American drama film directed by Robert Siodmak. Based on the 1866 short novel The Gambler written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the film stars Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Frank Morgan, Ethel Barrymore, Walter Huston, Agnes Moorehead and Melvyn Douglas.-Plot:During the 1860s in...
(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) - Key to the CityKey to the City (film)Key to the City is a 1950 romantic comedy film starring Clark Gable and Loretta Young as mayors who meet during a convention in San Francisco and, despite their contrasting personalities and views, fall in love. This was the second time that Gable and Young appeared together in a film, the first...
(1950)