Henry Kolker
Encyclopedia
Henry Kolker was an American
stage and film actor and director
. Kolker, like fellow actors Richard Bennett
and Robert Warwick, had a substantial stage career behind him before entering silent films.
On stage he appeared opposite such leading ladies as Edith Wynne Matthison
, Bertha Kalich
and Ruth Chatterton
. Kolker is best remembered for his motion picture appearances and for appearing with Barbara Stanwyck in the ground-breaking Pre-Code
film Baby Face
(1933) as the elderly CEO of the company whom Stanwyck's character seduces.
Kolker entered films as an actor in 1915 and eventually ended up trying his hand at directing. Kolker's best known directorial effort is Disraeli
(1921), starring George Arliss
which is now a lost film with only one reel remaining.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage and film actor and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. Kolker, like fellow actors Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett (actor)
Richard Bennett was an American actor who became a stage and silent screen matinee idol over the early decades of the twentieth century.-Early Life:...
and Robert Warwick, had a substantial stage career behind him before entering silent films.
On stage he appeared opposite such leading ladies as Edith Wynne Matthison
Edith Wynne Matthison
Edith Wynne Matthison was an Anglo-American stage actress who also appeared in two silent films.-Biography:...
, Bertha Kalich
Bertha Kalich
Bertha Kalich, was a Jewish actress, born in Lemberg, Galicia...
and Ruth Chatterton
Ruth Chatterton
Ruth Chatterton was an American actress, novelist, and early aviatrix.- Early life :Chatterton was born in New York City, on Christmas Eve 1892, to Walter Smith and Lillian Reed Chatterton...
. Kolker is best remembered for his motion picture appearances and for appearing with Barbara Stanwyck in the ground-breaking Pre-Code
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
film Baby Face
Baby Face (film)
Baby Face is a 1933 American dramatic film directed by Alfred E. Green, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent. Based on a story by Darryl F. Zanuck , this sexually-charged, Pre-Code Hollywood film is about an attractive young woman who uses sex to advance her social and financial status...
(1933) as the elderly CEO of the company whom Stanwyck's character seduces.
Kolker entered films as an actor in 1915 and eventually ended up trying his hand at directing. Kolker's best known directorial effort is Disraeli
Disraeli (1921 film)
Disraeli is a 1921 silent historical drama directed by Henry Kolker and starring George Arliss. This movie was Arliss's second outing in film and first screen portrayal of Disraeli as he had made famous in the play in 1911. A British film of the play had been made in 1916 with the permission of...
(1921), starring George Arliss
George Arliss
George Arliss was an English actor, author and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award.-Life and career:...
which is now a lost film with only one reel remaining.
Selected filmography
- How Molly Malone Made Good (1915) (*cameo; himself)
- Gloria's RomanceGloria's RomanceGloria's Romance is a 1916 silent film serial starring Billie Burke. It was written by Rupert Hughes and his wife and produced by George Kleine. Two men Walter Edwin and Colin Campbell served as principal directors. It is Burke's second outting as a film actress and one of the very rare occasions a...
(1916) - The Red LanternThe Red LanternThe Red Lantern is a 1919 silent film starring Alla Nazimova and directed by Albert Capellani. It is notable today for Anna May Wong's screen debut in an uncredited role. A single solitary print survives in Europe as well as rumors of a copy at Gosfilmofond, Moscow.-Synopsis:In China, a...
(1919) - The Great Well (Film) (1924)
- Sally, Irene and MarySally, Irene and MarySally, Irene, and Mary is a 1925 film starring Constance Bennett, Sally O'Neil, and Joan Crawford. The film takes a behind-the-scenes look at the romantic lives of three chorus girls and the way their preferences in men affect their lives....
(1925) - Rough House RosieRough House RosieRough House Rosie is a 1927 silent film comedy produced and released by Paramount Pictures and directed by Frank R. Strayer. The film is a starring vehicle for Paramount's reigning queen Clara Bow. Reed Howes, a model turned actor, is Bow's leading man...
(1927) - Annie Laurie (1927)
- CoquetteCoquette (film)-Plot:Norma Besant, daughter of a Southern doctor, is an incorrigible flirt and has many suitors. Her father Dr. Besant favors Stanley , who is taken with Norma. However Norma has met a simple man named Michael Jeffrey who she has fallen madly in love with. Dr. Besant disapproves of Michael...
(19291929 in film-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
) - The Valiant (1929)
- The Bad OneThe Bad OneThe Bad One is an American black-and-white musical film directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Dolores del Río and featuring Boris Karloff and is a romantic prison drama film...
(19301930 in film-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
) - I Like Your NerveI Like Your NerveI Like Your Nerve is a 1931 comedy film directed by William C. McGann, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and featuring Boris Karloff.-Cast:* Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. - Larry O'Brien* Loretta Young - Diane Forsythe* Henry Kolker - Areal Pacheco...
(19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) - Rasputin and the EmpressRasputin and the EmpressRasputin and the Empress is a 1932 film about Imperial Russia starring the Barrymore siblings—John , Ethel , and Lionel Barrymore . It is the only film in which all three appeared together...
(19321932 in film-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
) uncredited - Jewel RobberyJewel RobberyJewel Robbery is a 1932 comedy film directed by William Dieterle and starring William Powell and Kay Francis. It was based on the play Ekszerrablás a Váci-uccában by Ladislas Fodor and the English adaptation, Jewel Robbery, by Bertram Bloch.-Plot:...
(19321932 in film-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
) - FaithlessFaithless (1932 film)Faithless is a 1932 romantic drama film about a spoiled socialite who learns a sharp lesson when she loses all her money during the Great Depression. It stars Tallulah Bankhead and Robert Montgomery...
(1932) - Baby FaceBaby Face (film)Baby Face is a 1933 American dramatic film directed by Alfred E. Green, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent. Based on a story by Darryl F. Zanuck , this sexually-charged, Pre-Code Hollywood film is about an attractive young woman who uses sex to advance her social and financial status...
(19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - The Power and the Glory (1933)
- Wonder BarWonder BarWonder Bar is a 1934 pre-code movie adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created by Busby Berkeley...
(19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
) - 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) - Lady by ChoiceLady by ChoiceLady by Choice is a 1934 romantic drama film starring Carole Lombard as a fan dancer and May Robson as a homeless drunk who is asked to pose as the dancer's mother for a publicity stunt, with unexpected consequences.-Plot:...
(1934) - The Ghost WalksThe Ghost WalksThe Ghost Walks is a 1934 horror film, directed by Frank R. Strayer.-Plot:On a stormy night, a theatrical producer, his secretary, and playwright Prescott Ames are stranded when their car skids off the road and gets stuck. The three take refuge in the nearby home of Dr. Kent, a friend of Ames...
(1934) - The Black RoomThe Black Room (1935 film)The Black Room is a 1935 mystery-horror film, directed by Roy William Neill. The movie stars Boris Karloff in a dual role as twin brothers. The film also starred Marian Marsh and Robert Allen...
(19351935 in film-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
) - Great GuyGreat GuyGreat Guy is a crime film starring James Cagney and Mae Clarke. An honest inspector for the New York Department of Weights and Measures takes on corrupt merchants and politicians.-Cast:*James Cagney as Johnny Cave*Mae Clarke as Janet Henry...
(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...
) - Thoroughbreds Don't CryThoroughbreds Don't CryThoroughbreds Don't Cry is a 1937 film directed by Alfred E. Green. It stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in their first film together. Cricket West is a hopeful actress with a plan and a pair of vocal chords that bring down the house. Along with her eccentric aunt, she plays host to the local...
(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....
) - The Invisible MenaceThe Invisible MenaceThe Invisible Menace is a 1938 mystery film directed by John Farrow and starring Boris Karloff.-Cast:* Boris Karloff - Mr. Jevries, aka Dolman* Marie Wilson - Sally Wilson Pratt* Eddie Craven - Pvt. Eddie Pratt* Regis Toomey - Lt. Matthews...
(19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) - The Adventures of Marco PoloThe Adventures of Marco PoloThe Adventures of Marco Polo is a 1938 drama-adventure genre film, and one of the most elaborate and costly of Samuel Goldwyn's productions.-Plot:...
(1938) - HolidayHoliday (1938 film)Holiday is a 1938 is a film directed by George Cukor, a remake of the 1930 film of the same name. The film is a romantic comedy which tells the story of a man who has risen from humble beginnings only to be torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fiancée's family...
(1938) - Union PacificUnion Pacific (film)Union Pacific is a 1939 American dramatic western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea. Based on the novel Trouble Shooter by Western fiction author Ernest Haycox, the film is about the building of the railroad across the American West.-Plot:The 1862...
(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...
)
External links
- Henry Kolker photo portraits at NYP Library