Joseph Cotten

Born: 1905-05-15

Joseph Cheshire Cotten (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) 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. He is associated with Orson Welles, leading to appearances in Citizen Kane (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Journey into Fear (1943), for which Cotten was also credited with the screenplay, and The Third Man (1949). He was a star in his own right with films such as Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Love Letters (1945), Portrait of Jennie (1948), and The Third Man (1949).


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Citizen Kane

as Jedediah Leland
Released: 1941-04-17

Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a...

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The Third Man

as Holly Martins
Released: 1949-08-31

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a...

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Soylent Green

as William R. Simonson
Released: 1973-04-18

In the year 2022, overcrowding, pollution, and resource depletion have reduced society’s...

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Airport '77

as Nicholas St. Downs III
Released: 1977-03-11

Flight 23 has crashed in the Bermuda Triangle after a hijacking gone wrong. Now the surviving...

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Tora! Tora! Tora!

as Henry L. Stimson, U.S. Secretary of War
Released: 1970-01-26

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant...

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Touch of Evil

as Coroner (uncredited)
Released: 1958-03-30

When a car bomb explodes on the American side of the U.S./Mexico border, Mexican drug...

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Heaven's Gate

as The Reverend Doctor
Released: 1980-11-19

Harvard graduate James Averill is the sheriff of prosperous Jackson County, Wyo., when a battle...

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Gaslight

as Brian Cameron
Released: 1944-05-04

A newlywed fears she's going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.

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Niagara

as George Loomis
Released: 1953-01-26

Rose Loomis and her older, gloomier husband, George, are vacationing at a cabin in Niagara...

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The Magnificent Ambersons

as Eugene Morgan
Released: 1942-07-10

The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the...

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Shadow of a Doubt

as Charlie Oakley
Released: 1943-01-15

Just when Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Newton, is feeling especially frustrated by the lack of excitement...

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Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

as Drew Bayliss
Released: 1964-12-15

An aging, reclusive Southern belle plagued by a horrifying family secret descends into madness...

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Duel in the Sun

as Jesse McCanles
Released: 1946-12-31

Beautiful half-breed Pearl Chavez becomes the ward of her dead father's first love and finds...

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Under Capricorn

as Sam Flusky
Released: 1949-09-08

A native Briton banished to Australia for murder, and his wife, Henrietta, the disturbed sister...

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Othello

as Senator (uncredited)
Released: 1951-11-28

When a secret marriage is planned between Othello, a Moorish general, and Desdemona, the...

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The Last Sunset

as John Breckenridge
Released: 1961-06-08

Brendan O'Malley arrives at the Mexican home of old flame Belle Breckenridge to find her married...

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Journey into Fear

as Howard Graham
Released: 1943-01-07

An American ballistics expert in Turkey finds himself targeted by Nazi agents. Safe passage home...

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The Abominable Dr. Phibes

as Dr. Vesalius
Released: 1971-05-18

After a team of surgeons botches his beloved wife's operation, the distraught Dr. Phibes...

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The Hellbenders

as Colonel Jonas
Released: 1967-02-02

A Southern Colonel, his three sons, and a card shark embark on an odyssey through the Southwest...

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Love Letters

as Allen Quinton
Released: 1945-10-26

When a man asks another man more facile with words to do his wooing for him, there are always...

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Baron Blood

as Baron Otto von Kleist / Alfred Becker
Released: 1972-02-25

A young man, Peter, returns to Austria in search of his heritage. There he visits the castle of...

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Caravans

as Crandall
Released: 1978-11-02

This epic adventure-drama based on James Michener's best-selling novel concerns a young American...

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Lady Frankenstein

as Baron Frankenstein
Released: 1971-10-22

When Dr. Frankenstein is killed by a monster he created, his daughter and his lab assistant...

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Portrait of Jennie

as Eben Adams
Released: 1948-12-25

A mysterious girl inspires a struggling artist.

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Petulia

as Mr. Danner
Released: 1968-06-10

An unhappily married socialite finds solace in the company of a recently divorced doctor.

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White Comanche

as Sheriff Logan
Released: 1968-06-21

William Shatner plays two roles: cowboy Johnny Moon and his ruthless Indian twin brother, Notah....

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The Oscar

as Kenneth Regan
Released: 1966-03-04

An amoral lowlife accidentally stumbles into an acting career that sets him on a trajectory to...

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The Scopone Game

as George
Released: 1972-08-28

An aging American millionairess journeys to Rome each year with her chauffeur George to play the...

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The Hearse

as Walter Prichard
Released: 1980-06-01

A schoolteacher moves into her deceased aunt’s house in a small Californian town, and is...

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Island of the Fishmen

as Prof. Ernest Marvin
Released: 1979-01-18

After their prison ship sinks in the Caribbean, a group of prisoners and a doctor wash ashore on...

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The Grasshopper

as Richard Morgan
Released: 1970-05-27

A British Columbia teenager dreams of show business but winds up as a call girl in Las Vegas.

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F for Fake

as Self
Released: 1973-09-01

Documents the lives of infamous fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving. De Hory, who later...

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They'll Love Me When I'm Dead

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2018-08-31

As his life comes to its end, famous Hollywood director Orson Welles puts it all on the line at...

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Untamed Frontier

as Kirk Denbow
Released: 1952-07-23

The Denbow family denies access across their land to homesteaders. To evade a murder charge,...

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Since You Went Away

as Lieutenant Tony Willett
Released: 1944-06-30

While husband Tim is away during World War II, Anne Hilton copes with problems on the homefront....

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The Survivor

as Priest
Released: 1981-07-09

When a 747 crashes shortly after take-off, the sole survivor is the pilot. Virtually unhurt, he...

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A Blueprint for Murder

as Whitney 'Cam' Cameron
Released: 1953-07-24

Whitney Cameron is in a quandary: he's attracted to his beautiful sister-in-law, Lynn, but also...

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September Affair

as David Lawrence
Released: 1950-10-18

An industrialist and a pianist meet on a trip and fall in love. Through a quirk of fate, they...

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Twilight's Last Gleaming

as Arthur Renfrew - Secretary of State
Released: 1977-02-09

A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell, escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM...

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From the Earth to the Moon

as Victor Barbicane
Released: 1958-11-26

Set just after the American civil war, businessman and inventor Victor Barbicane invents a new...

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The Killer is Loose

as Detective Sam Wagner
Released: 1956-02-03

A savings-and-loan bank is robbed; later, a police wiretap identifies bank teller Leon Poole as...

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The Screaming Woman

as George Tresvant
Released: 1972-01-29

A wealthy former mental patient goes home to her estate to rest and recuperate. While walking...

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I'll Be Seeing You

as Zachary Morgan
Released: 1944-12-31

Mary Marshall, serving a six year term for accidental manslaughter, is given a Christmas...

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Too Much Johnson

as Augustus Billings
Released: 2013-10-09

This film was not intended to stand by itself, but was designed as the cinematic aspect of...

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Doomsday Voyage

as Captain Jason
Released: 1972-02-01

A political extremist on the run after assassinating a corrupt politician, poses as a French...

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Peking Express

as Michael Bachlin
Released: 1951-08-01

A group of refugees fleeing Chinese Communist rule via train are beset by a gang of terrifying...

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Latitude Zero

as Capt. Craig McKenzie / Cmdr. Glenn McKenzie
Released: 1969-07-26

A massive underwater volcano erupts and puts a group of investigative scientists in danger. They...

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Gangsters '70

as Destil
Released: 1968-04-29

An elderly gangster just released from prison plans one last job, and gathers a small crew to do...

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Half Angel

as John Raymond Jr.
Released: 1951-05-05

Nurse Nora Gilpin plans are to marry building contractor Tim McCarey and settle down. But one...

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Lydia

as Michael Fitzpatrick
Released: 1941-09-18

Lydia MacMillan, a wealthy woman who has never married, invites several men her own age to her...

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Casino

as Ed Booker
Released: 1980-08-01

Mike Connors is a suave gambler who owns a floating hotel/casino which takes a turn when the...

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AFI Life Achievement Award: 50th Anniversary Special

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2023-12-30

TCM host Ben Mankiewicz hosts this 50th anniversary special, with archival footage from 50 years...

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City Beneath the Sea

as Dr. Ziegler
Released: 1971-07-16

A group of 21st-century colonists inhabit an underwater city called Pacifica. Originally...

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Cutter's Trail

as General Spalding
Released: 1970-02-10

The Marshal of Santa Fe returns home to find his town almost wiped out by Mexican bandits and...

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The Great Sioux Massacre

as Major Marcus A. Reno
Released: 1965-04-25

Colonel Custer (Philip Carey), an outspoken believer in fair treatment for the Indians, is...

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The Halliday Brand

as Daniel Halliday
Released: 1957-01-01

Sheriff Halliday doesn't approve of his children dating or marrying half-breeds and his blind...

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Hollywood: The Selznick Years

as Self (uncredited)
Released: 1961-12-31

Henry Fonda hosts this retrospective on the career and films of iconic filmmaker David O....

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Beyond the Forest

as Doctor Louis Moline
Released: 1949-10-21

Rosa, the self-serving wife of a small-town doctor, gets a better offer when a wealthy big-city...

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Two Flags West

as Col. Clay Tucker
Released: 1950-10-12

A group of confedarate prisoners is sent to a unionist fort in the west to help the local...

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A Delicate Balance

as Harry
Released: 1973-11-12

In their nice Connecticut home, Agnes and Tobias have grown used to the imperfection and...

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Syndicate Sadists

as Paternò
Released: 1975-08-16

A biker's brother is killed while investigating the kidnapping of a young boy, the byproduct of...

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The Farmer's Daughter

as Glenn Morley
Released: 1947-03-26

After leaving her family's farm to study nursing in the city, a young woman finds herself on an...

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The Steel Trap

as Jim Osborne
Released: 1952-11-12

Joseph Cotten plays an assistant bank manager who steals $1,000,000 from the safe late on a...

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Guyana: Crime of the Century

as Richard Gable
Released: 1979-09-20

This horrific dramatization of the Guyana tragedy traces the steps of Reverend Jim Jones, a...

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The Devil's Daughter

as Judge Weatherby
Released: 1973-01-09

A young girl whose mother had sold her soul to Satan when she was born is told by Satan that she...

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Assault on the Wayne

as Admiral
Released: 1971-01-12

The U.S. submarine Anthony Wayne is underway for a top-secret mission. Onboard is a highly...

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The Tramplers

as Edith Wickett
Released: 1965-12-31

After the war of secession, the aging Cordeen, who owns thousands of acres in Texas, rules his...

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Jack of Diamonds

as Ace
Released: 1967-11-10

The protégé of a famous cat burglar reluctantly agrees to join forces with a lesser criminal in...

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Walk Softly, Stranger

as Chris Hale aka Steve
Released: 1950-10-14

A petty crook moves to an Ohio town and courts a factory owner's disabled daughter.

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Timber Tramps

as Greedy sawmill mogul
Released: 1975-12-31

A tough, hard-drinking Alaska logging foreman likes fighting only slightly less than working.

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Hers to Hold

as Bill Morley
Released: 1943-07-16

Deanna Durbin is all grown up in Hers to Hold, the unofficial sequel to her "Three Smart Girls"...

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The Bottom of the Bottle

as Pat 'P.M.' Martin
Released: 1956-02-01

An alcoholic escaped convict asks his Arizona lawyer brother to help him cross the Mexican border.

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Concorde Affair

as Milland
Released: 1979-03-23

A reporter tries to stop the crash of an aircraft after uncovering an airline's plot to save...

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Heaven's Gate: The Butcher's Cut

as The Reverend Doctor
Released: 2014-04-21

"As a dedicated cinema fan, I was obsessed with Heaven's Gate from the moment it was announced...

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The Edge of Innocence

as Robert Rainey
Released: 1957-10-31

An unscrupulous criminal lawyer falls in love with a wealthy widow and becomes involved with her...

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The House Where Death Lives

as Ivar Langrock
Released: 1981-01-23

A nurse goes to a house to care for a crippled old man. Then people in the house start being...

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The Perfect Crime

as Sir Arthur Dundee
Released: 1978-11-24

The death of a multinational company’s chairman induces the three candidates for the...

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The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case

as Dr. Joseph Francis Condon
Released: 1976-02-26

Fact-based story of the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr., son and namesake of the famed...

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The Money Trap

as Dr. Horace Van Tilden
Released: 1965-09-07

When half a million dollars disappears from a doctor office's safe, the cops assigned to the...

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Mysteries of the Gods

as Narrator
Released: 1976-03-17

William Shatner explores the theory that the U.S. government is involved in a cover-up of...

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The Man with a Cloak

as Dupin
Released: 1951-11-27

Set in 19th-century New York, this mystery begins when a Frenchwoman shows up at the home of one...

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The Angel Wore Red

as Hawthorne
Released: 1960-04-14

A clergyman travels to Spain to join the Loyalist side during the Spanish Civil War and finds...

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Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths

as (archive footage)
Released: 1990-01-01

Welcome behind the closed doors of a Hollywood that only a select few will ever get to see -- a...

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Journey to Murder

as Jeff Wheeler
Released: 1971-01-01

Television movie that consists of two episodes from the UK TV series Journey to the Unknown...

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Last In, First Out

as Foster Johnson
Released: 1978-08-30

A woman on a train becomes the center of attention when she is mistaken for a spy by opposing...

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A Whisper in the Dark

as The Professor
Released: 1976-08-12

Martino is a young child who claims to have an invisible friend called Luca. His parents assume...

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Churchill and the Generals

as Gen. George C. Marshall
Released: 1979-09-23

The complicated relationship between Winston Churchill and the leaders of the British army...

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Alexander The Great

as Antigonus
Released: 1968-01-26

An historical film that follows the life of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king that united...

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Split Second to an Epitaph

as Dr. Ben Stern
Released: 1968-09-26

In the second "Ironside" movie, the Chief has his spine jolted during a hospital encounter with...

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Return to Fantasy Island

as Simon Grant
Released: 1978-01-20

A second feature-length pilot film for the wish-fulfillment series sees six lucky people having...

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Some May Live

as Colonel Woodward
Released: 1967-01-01

During the Vietnam War U.S. decoder Kate Meredith is plagued with guilt when her husband coerces...

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Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock's Favorite Film

as Self
Released: 2000-01-03

A short documentary about the Making Of Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943).

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Do You Take This Stranger?

as Dr. Robert Carson
Released: 1971-01-17

A social climber/con artist schemes to inherit one million dollars by trading identities with a...

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Hollywood and the Stars

as Narrator
Released: 1964-05-04

NBC's pioneering documentary series, produced by the David L. Wolper Production Company, in...

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"General Electric Theater" High Green Wall

as uncredited
Released: 1959-10-03

Having survived a plane crash in the jungle, Henty finds a fortress-like home in the middle of...

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Brighty of the Grand Canyon

as Jim
Released: 1966-11-24

At the turn of the century in the Southwest, Brighty the wild burro accompanies his friend, a...

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The Lonely Profession

as Martin Bannister
Released: 1969-10-21

Private investigator Leo Gordon is hired to trail Karen Mendaros, the mistress of a reclusive...

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The Rockford Files

as Warner Jameson
First aired: 1974-09-13

Cranky but likable L.A. PI Jim Rockford pulls no punches (but takes plenty of them). An ex-con...

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The Love Boat

as Colonel Van Ryker
First aired: 1977-09-24

Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or...

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Tales of the Unexpected

as Lionel
First aired: 1979-03-24

A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and...

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Tales of the Unexpected

as Edward
First aired: 1979-03-24

A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and...

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Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Ben Harper
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

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What's My Line?

as Self - Mystery Guest
First aired: 1950-02-02

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...

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Kraft Music Hall

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-10-08

Kraft Music Hall is an umbrella title for several television series aired by NBC in the United...

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Ironside

as uncredited
First aired: 1967-03-28

When an assassin's bullet confines him to a wheelchair for life ending his career as Chief of...

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77 Sunset Strip

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-10-10

Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this...

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The Streets of San Francisco

as uncredited
First aired: 1972-09-23

Two police officers, the older Lt. Stone and the young upstart Inspector Keller, investigate...

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as William Callew
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Charlie Oakley (archive footage) (uncredited)
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Tony Gould
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Courtney Masterson
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-10-06

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu...

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The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries

as uncredited
First aired: 1977-01-30

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is a television series which aired for three seasons on ABC....

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Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

as Self
First aired: 1967-09-09

An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

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The Barbara Stanwyck Show

as Mac McClay
First aired: 1960-09-19

The Barbara Stanwyck Show is an American anthology drama television series which ran on NBC from...

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The Great Adventure

as Captain Meehan
First aired: 1963-09-27

The Great Adventure is a historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963-1964...

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Dr. Kildare

as Charles Ladovan
First aired: 1961-09-27

The story of a young intern in a large metropolitan hospital trying to learn his profession,...

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Cimarron Strip

as uncredited
First aired: 1967-09-07

Cimarron Strip is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from September 1967 to...

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Letter to Loretta

as Self - Guest Host
First aired: 1953-09-20

Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to...

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The American Film Institute Salute to ...

as Self
First aired: 1973-04-02

In 1973 the American Film Institute initiated its Life Achievement Award, to be presented to a...

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Checkmate

as uncredited
First aired: 1960-09-17

Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot,...

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Telephone Time

as uncredited
First aired: 1956-04-08

Telephone Time is an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS in 1956, and on ABC from...

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Suspicion

as Gregg Carey
First aired: 1957-09-30

Suspicion is the title of an American television mystery drama series which aired on the NBC...

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Origins of the Mafia

as The Envoy
First aired: 1976-11-19

Mini series about the origins of the Italian mafia

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Bus Stop

as uncredited
First aired: 1961-10-01

Bus Stop is a 26-episode American drama which aired on ABC from October 1, 1961, until March 25,...

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Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

as uncredited
First aired: 1951-10-05

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS....

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General Electric Theater

as Paul Henty
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

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General Electric Theater

as Captain
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

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General Electric Theater

as Private Harris
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

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Aspen

as Horton Paine
First aired: 1977-11-05

This sprawling miniseries details the trial of Lee Bishop, an Aspen man who was arrested, tried,...

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