James Burke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia James Burke (September 24, 1886 – May 23, 1968) was an American film and television actor born in New York City. He made his stage debut in New York around 1912 and went to Hollywood in 1933. He made over 200 film appearances during his career, which ranged from 1932 to 1964; he was more often than not cast as a cop, usually a none-too-bright one, most notably as Sgt. Velie in Columbia's Ellery Queen mysteries in the early 1940s. He appeared in The Maltese Falcon, At the Circus, Lone Star, and many others. One of his best roles was as Charles Ruggles' rowdy rancher pal in Ruggles of Red Gap. In the early 1950s, Burke appeared with Tom Conway in the ABC detective drama series then called Inspector Mark Saber -- Homicide Detective, later renamed, reformatted, and switched to NBC under the title Saber of London. From 1960-1961, Burke appeared in the role of Zeke Bonner in seven episodes of the ABC western television series Stagecoach West, starring Wayne Rogers, Robert Bray, and Richard Eyer. Burke suffered from a heart condition, which took his life at the age of eighty-one.
The Maltese Falcon
as LukeA private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a...
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Twentieth Century
as Sheriff (uncredited)A temperamental Broadway producer trains an untutored actress, but when she becomes a star, she...
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It Happened One Night
as Detective (uncredited)A rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from...
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Nightmare Alley
as Rural Marshal (uncredited)Stanton Carlisle joins a seedy carnival, working with "Mademoiselle Zeena" and her alcoholic...
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Dead End
as Police Officer MulliganMobster "Baby Face" Martin returns home to visit the New York neighborhood where he grew up,...
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You Can't Take It with You
as Chief Detective (uncredited)Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with...
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Lone Star
as Luther KilgoreRip-roaring big star, big budget semi-historical story about cattle baron Devereaux Burke, who...
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Anchors Aweigh
as Studio CopTwo sailors, Joe and Clarence have four days shore leave in spend their shore leave trying to...
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Body and Soul
as Arnold (uncredited)Charley Davis, against the wishes of his mother, becomes a boxer. As he becomes more successful...
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Dodge City
as Cattle Auctioneer (uncredited)In this epic Western, Wade Hatton, a wagon master turned sheriff, tames a cow town at the end of...
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The Big Clock
as O'BrienStroud, a crime magazine's crusading editor has to post-pone a vacation with his wife, again,...
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The Virginian
as Andy Jones (uncredited)Arriving at Medicine Bow, eastern schoolteacher Molly Woods meets two cowboys, irresponsible...
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Beau Geste
as Lieutenant DufourWhen three brothers join the Foreign Legion to escape a troubled past, they find themselves...
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Treasure Island
as Pirate of the Spanish MainIn this early film adaptation of the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, young Jim Hawkins...
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Queen Christina
as Blacksmith - 4th Rabble Rouser (uncredited)Queen Christina of Sweden is a popular monarch who is loyal to her country. However, when she...
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The Dawn Patrol
as Flaherty - Motorcycle DriverIn 1915 France, Major Brand commands the 39th Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. The young...
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At the Circus
as John CarterJeff Wilson, the owner of a small circus, owes his partner Carter $10,000. Before Jeff can pay,...
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The Scarlet Empress
as uncreditedDuring the 18th century, German noblewoman Sophia Frederica, who would later become Catherine...
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Call of the Wild
as OleJack Thornton has trouble winning enough at cards for the stake he needs to get to the Alaska...
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Ruggles of Red Gap
as Jeff TuttleIn this comedy of an Englishman stranded in a sea of barbaric Americans, Marmaduke Ruggles, a...
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Pot o' Gold
as Lt. GradyJimmy, the owner of a failed music shop, goes to work with his uncle, the owner of a food...
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Bombshell
as First Immigration Officer (uncredited)A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.
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Gambling Lady
as Detective Making Raid (uncredited)A businesslike syndicate runs all the gambling joints in town; least profitable is honest Mike...
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Copper Canyon
as Jeb BassettA group of copper miners, Southern veterans, are terrorized by local rebel-haters, led by deputy...
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Little Miss Marker
as Detective Reardon (uncredited)Big Steve Halloway, gambler and proprietor of New York's Horseshoe Cabaret, is in desperate need...
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The Saint Strikes Back
as Headquarters Police OfficerSuave private detective Simon "The Saint" Templar arrives in San Francisco and meets Val, a...
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Alias Nick Beal
as BumAfter straight-arrow district attorney Joseph Foster says in frustration that he would sell his...
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Denver and Rio Grande
as Sheriff Ed JohnsonJim Vesser and his team of railroading men try to build a rail line through a mountain pass,...
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Song of the Thin Man
as Policeman Callahan (uncredited)Society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles investigate a murder in a jazz club.
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We're Not Married!
as Willie's Sergeant (uncredited)A Justice of the Peace performed weddings a few days before his license was valid. A few years...
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The Unholy Wife
as Sheriff Tom WatlingA woman marries a man for his wealth, then concocts a plan to kill him, take his money, and run...
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Alias Jesse James
as Charlie (uncredited)Insurance salesman Milford Farnsworth sells a man a life policy only to discover that the man in...
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The Kennel Murder Case
as Policeman Who Lets Dog Out (uncredited)Philo Vance, accompanied by his prize-losing Scottish terrier, investigates the locked-room...
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California
as Pokey"Wicked" Lily Bishop joins a wagon train to California, led by Michael Fabian and Johnny Trumbo,...
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Dancing Feet
as Phil MoorePeyton Wells (Ben Lyon) rescues Judy Jones (Joan Marsh) from a very dull young man, at a sedate...
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All Through the Night
as Police Lt. ForbesBroadway gamblers stumble across a plan by Nazi saboteurs to blow up an American battleship.
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The Mad Miss Manton
as SullivanWhen the murdered body discovered by beautiful, vivacious socialite Melsa Manton disappears,...
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Lady Killer
as uncreditedAn ex-gangster tries to resist his old cohorts' criminal activities after he accidentally...
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Down to Earth
as Detective KellyUpset about a new Broadway musical's mockery of Greek mythology, the goddess Terpsichore comes...
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Great Guy
as Patrick James Aloysius 'Pat' HaleyA meat inspector sets out to rid his town of payoff deals affecting the quality of meat being...
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Dixie
as Riverboat Captain (uncredited)A young songwriter leaves his Kentucky home to try to make it in New Orleans. Eventually he...
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Warpath
as OldtimerJohn Vickers has spent eight years hunting for the three men who murdered the woman he loved. He...
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A Night to Remember
as Pat MurphyA woman rents a gloomy basement apartment in Greenwich Village thinking it will provide the...
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The Golden Fleecing
as SibleyA mild-mannered insurance salesman gets mixed up with gangsters.
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On Borrowed Time
as Sheriff BurlingameYoung Pud is orphaned and left in the care of his aged grandparents. The boy and his grandfather...
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Broadway Gondolier
as Uncle AndyA taxi driver travels to Venice and poses as a gondolier to land a radio singing job.
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Men with Wings
as J.A. NolanReporter Nicholas Ranson is jubilant when, on 17 Dec 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina,...
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Lucky Me
as MahoneyThree struggling theatrical performers meet a famous songwriter who is trying to convince a...
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Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
as Cop (uncredited)Eddie Tayloe's grandfather leaves him six thousand dollars and the money belt it came in,...
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The Last Outpost
as Stagecoach driver (uncredited)The cavalry defend a small town from indians.
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Raton Pass
as HankRaton Pass is a curious western based on the rules of Community Property. Dennis Morgan and...
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Two Years Before the Mast
as CarrickIn 1834, Charles Stewart (Alan Ladd), the spoiled, dissolute son of a shipping magnate, is...
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Young Widow
as Motorcycle Cop (Uncredited)A young bride tries to rebuild her life after she learns her husband has been killed in the war.
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3 Men in White
as First Policeman (uncredited)Gillespie has to finally choose his official assistant, or Red and Lee are going to kill...
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Let's Dance
as George (uncredited)Years after the death of her husband, Kitty McNeil takes her son and flees from the home of her...
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Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
as Sgt. VelieSeveral days after one of his company's dams burst, ruining the life savings of several...
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Little Nellie Kelly
as Sergeant McGowanNellie Kelly, the daughter of Irish immigrants, patches up differences between her father and...
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June Bride
as Luke PotterA magazine's staff, including bickering ex-lovers Linda and Carey, cover an Indiana wedding,...
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The Affairs of Annabel
as MuldoonWonder Pictures has been striking out at the box office lately, causing the seedy PR man to...
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Song and Dance Man
as Lt. Mike BoyleJulia and Hap are a dance team. He drinks and gambles, she succeeds for a while with the help of...
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No Time for Comedy
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)An aspiring playwright finds himself an overnight Broadway success.
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Casanova Brown
as O'Leary (uncredited)Cass Brown is about to marry for the second time; his first marriage, to Isabel was annulled....
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Friends of Mr. Sweeney
as Policeman Arresting WynnAsaph (Charles Ruggles) is a meek, mild-mannered homebody who occasionally shows some backbone...
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Dinky
as Truck DriverA mother sends her young son to military school so he won't find out she's been sentenced to a...
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Klondike Annie
as uncreditedA San Francisco singer flees Chinatown on murder charges and poses as a missionary in Alaska.
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The Mystery Man
as Managing Editor MarvinHard-boiled newspaper reporter Larry Doyle (Robert Armstrong) goes a bit too far in celebrating...
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Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American...
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The Girl in 419
as Detective JacksonA hospital surgeon (James Dunn) protects a mystery woman (Gloria Stuart) who knows too much...
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The Way of All Flesh
as FriscoPaul Kriza is a cashier of a bank in a small town, and the happy husband of Anna and the father...
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Riding High
as PeteNo relation to the 1950 Frank Capra film of the same name, the 1943 Technicolor musical Riding...
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Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
as Wilkie, house detectiveOn a cruise ship from Honolulu to San Francisco, the famous Chinese detective encounters four...
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Here Comes Cookie
as Broken-Nose ReillyA scatterbrained heiress opens her home to a succession of unemployed actors and vaudeville...
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Love Time
as Emperor Francis IRomaticized biopic about the life of composer Franz Schubert.
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Six of a Kind
as Detective (uncredited)The Whinneys share expenses for their trip to Hollywood with George and Gracie and their great...
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Easy Come, Easy Go
as Harry WestonComedy about an Irish father, who enjoys betting on horses, who keeps interfering with his...
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To the Last Man
as Kentucky Sheriff (uncredited)In Kentucky just after the Civil War, the Hayden-Colby feud leads to Jed Colby being sent to...
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Ticket to a Crime
as Detective Lt. John Aloysius McGinnisAfter a jeweler hires a private detective to help him find $50,000 missing from his company, he...
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Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
as Sgt. VelieChinese ventriloquist Gordon Cobb is murdered by a gang of jewel thieves. Baffled by the...
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The Saint Takes Over
as Patrolman MikeThe Saint Takes Over, released in 1940 by RKO Pictures, was the fifth motion picture featuring...
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All of Me
as Welfare Island Guard (uncredited)A professor tires of the direction his life is going and wants to move west, but his girlfriend...
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My Favorite Blonde
as Union SecretaryLarry Haines, a mediocre vaudeville entertainer, boards a train for Los Angeles. Aboard, he...
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Case of the Missing Man
as Police Sergeant RortyAfter an argument with his newspaper's city editor, press-photographer Jimmy Hudson quits his...
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The Horn Blows at Midnight
as Policeman (uncredited)A trumpet player in a radio orchestra falls asleep during a commercial and dreams he's Athanael,...
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The Cisco Kid and the Lady
as Pop SaundersAn orphan whose father has been killed by bandits inherits a mine. Cisco saves the mine and the...
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36 Hours to Kill
as Doyle - Process ServerDuke and Jeanie Benson, an outlaw couple hiding out under assumed names. Duke realizes that he...
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Man on the Flying Trapeze
as PatrolmanHard-working, henpecked Ambrose Ambrose Wolfinger takes off from work to go to a wrestling match...
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Torch Singer
as Taxi DriverWhen she can't support her illegitimate child, an abandoned young woman puts her up for adoption...
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Laughing at Trouble
as Bill NortonA man convicted of murder escapes from jail and hides out in the home of a small town newspaper...
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Lady by Choice
as BranniganTo improve her image, a fan dancer "adopts" an old woman to be her mother.
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Joy of Living
as MacFalling in love with the voice of Broadway chanteuse Margaret Garret, cocksure young tycoon...
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High, Wide and Handsome
as StackpoleThe setting is a small town in 1870s Pennsylvania. Sally Waterson and her father have stopped in...
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The Leathernecks Have Landed
as CorriganDishonorably discharged from the U.S. Marines after starting a barroom brawl that gets his...
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No Place for a Lady
as Police Substation Chief MoriartyA private detective and a blonde acquaintance whom he has rescued from a misdirected murder...
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The Perfect Specimen
as Constable SnodgrassRaised in seclusion to be the epitome of mental, physical and moral perfection, Gerald Beresford...
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Toughest Man in Arizona
as uncreditedMarshal Landry captures outlaw Girard and bringing him in finds a woman and two children, the...
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Sudden Money
as McPhersonPromises of happier times dawn for the financially distressed Patterson family when father...
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After the Dance
as Police LieutenantThough he was protecting her when he accidentally killed a man, Mabel Kane (Thelma Todd) refuses...
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Beyond Glory
as Jim, the Bartender (uncredited)Thinking he may have caused the death of his commanding officer Captain Daniels in Tunisia,...
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Music Is Magic
as Mickey (uncredited)An aging star finally recognizes the truth when she is replaced in her new movie by a girl from...
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So Red the Rose
as Major RushtonDuring the American Civil War, Valette Bedford waits patiently for her husband Duncan Bedford,...
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Bowery Bombshell
as Detective O'MalleySlip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall), Bobby (Bobby Jordan), Whitey (William Benedict) and Chuck...
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Make a Million
as PeteA college economics professor's "radical" ideas about capitalism get him fired. When he decides...
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Million Dollar Baby
as CallahanA sudden windfall has unexpected consequences on a working class girl during the Great Depression.
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A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
as Sgt. VelieA man is framed for embezzlement and runs off to San Francisco. His wife hires Ellery Queen to...
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Wharf Angel
as Brooklyn JackOn the wharfs of San Francisco, saloon girl Toy, also known as Mary, lives over Mother Bright's...
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Night Wind
as Sheriff HamiltonA boy tries to protect his dog, a German shepherd that served with U.S. Army forces after it...
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Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone
as The Train ConductorHarriet O'Malley tries to solve a murder aboard a train en route to New York.
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Rhythm on the Range
as WabashCowboy Jeff Larabee returns from the east and meets Doris Halloway, a young girl, that he...
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The Merry Frinks
as 3rd Expressman (uncredited)An heiress abandons an out-of-work husband, two sons and a lovesick daughter.
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Coronado
as Slug MoranSouthern California's Hotel Coronado caters to and is frequented by members of the social...
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City Limits
as King, a HoboThe wealthy president of a big railroad, who's beginning to crumble under the combined pressure...
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Can This Be Dixie?
as Sheriff N.B.F. RiderA young girl and her uncle who run a traveling medicine show lend their efforts to salvage an...
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Fast and Furious
as ClancyJoel & Garda Sloan, a husband and wife detective team, who also sell rare books in New York,...
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Ellery Queen, Master Detective
as Sgt. VelleFamed detective and crime novelist Ellery Queen solves a case involving the suspicious death of...
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Reaching for the Sun
as NormComedy of a North Woods clam-digger who journeys to Detroit to earn money for outboard motor by...
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College Humor
as Cromwell DexterA college professor and the school's star football player are both rivals for the same beautiful...
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Such Women Are Dangerous
as DetectiveAn aspiring young writer becomes infatuated with a successful romance novelist, who realizes his...
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A Very Honorable Guy
as SergeantWell respected local good guy, "Feet" Samuels finds himself heavily in debt due to an...
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Champagne Waltz
as Mr. ScribnerIn Vienna, a new jazz club featuring American trumpeter Buzzy Bellew threatens the existence of...
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Welcome Home
as Michael ShaughnessyA con artist attends a reunion in his hometown and discovers that his former classmates are...
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Face in the Sky
as Cop (uncredited)Joe and Lucky travel around New England painting barns in exchange for an advertisement on one...
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Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
as Sgt. VelieThe benefactor of the Stack Memorial Hospital dies after an operation. Ellery Queen investigates...
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Life Begins with Love
as Darby McGrawA spoiled playboy is forced to leave town to avoid the press, which latches on to his statement,...
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A Close Call for Ellery Queen
as Sgt. VelieAmateur sleuth Ellery Queen learns the truth about a businessman's two long-lost daughters.
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Flight Into Nowhere
as Ike MatthewsWhen headstrong pilot Bill Kellogg disobeys orders and takes a plane to photograph potential...
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Philo Vance's Gamble
as Lt. BurkePrivate Detective Philo Vance gets involved with a succession of murders and a mystery...
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Double Alibi
as Police Captain OrrA man's ex-wife is found murdered, and he finds himself to be the prime suspect.
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I Love a Bandleader
as Charles GibleyA painter suffering from amnesia convinces himself that he's a famous bandleader and finds...
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Shady Lady
as CraneA crook becomes the victim of a crafty card player who works for the District Attorney.
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Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
as Police Sergeant VelieDetective Ellery Queen aids Free Dutch agents battle Nazi spies over a prize of industrial diamonds.
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Buck Benny Rides Again
as Taxi DriverRadio star Jack Benny, intending to stay in New York for the summer, is forced by the needling...
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It Happened in Flatbush
as Umpire ShaunnessyA washed up baseball player returns to Brooklyn to manage his old team but an old sports...
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Frisco Waterfront
as CorriganAs California gubernatorial candidate Burton is about to cast his vote a truck crashes into the...
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Opened by Mistake
as Police Sergeant WilkinsA wise-guy reporter and a tippling sportswriter acquire an unclaimed trunk with a corpse inside.
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Within the Law
as 'Red'A wrongly convicted woman studies law and seeks her revenge.
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The Family Next Door
as PolicemanRose Pierce is discontent with her life as the wife of a small town plumber and has visions of...
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The Affair of Susan
as HoganTwo people go to Coney Island to find romance and wind up in jail.
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Army Surgeon
as BrooklynDrama about military doctors and nurses during wartime.
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The Timber Trail
as Jed BakerMonte Hale is a stagecoach driver for Jed Baker's stage-line. Jed believes his brother, Ralph,...
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A Lady's Profession
as MulroyA couple of down-and-out British aristocrats buy an American roadhouse.
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Shamrock Hill
as Michael RoganA young girl holds a special place in her heart for a place called Shamrock HIll, and she tries...
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The Gas House Kids in Hollywood
as Police Lt. BurkeThe Gas House Kids, the very poor man's Bowery Boys, head for Hollywood.
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Public Pigeon No. 1
as HarriganSwindlers con a lunchroom clerk into doing them a favor, supposedly on behalf of the FBI.
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How DOooo You Do
as DetectiveMurder occurs when several of the most popular radio personalities of the '40s converge on a...
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I Love Lucy
as Mr. WatsonCuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife....
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The 20th Century Fox Hour
as uncreditedThe 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States...
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Wanted: Dead or Alive
as Sheriff John TatumWanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the...
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Wanted: Dead or Alive
as Sheriff M. ComstockWanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the...
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Wanted: Dead or Alive
as Sheriff BloreWanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the...
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Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
as uncreditedWestinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu...
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The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
as Horse Handler (uncredited)The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour is a collection of thirteen one-hour specials airing occasionally from...
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Lassie
as uncreditedLassie is the pet of Jeff Miller, an 11-year-old farm boy. The two become best friends and enjoy...
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Cheyenne
as BuckshotCheyenne is an American western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on...
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My Little Margie
as uncreditedMy Little Margie is an American situation comedy starring Gale Storm and Charles Farrell that...
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Trackdown
as uncreditedTrackdown is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS...
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