Louise Currie

Born: 1913-04-07

a B movie and serial actress of the 1940s. Born Louise Gunter in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, she attended Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. Moving to Hollywood, Currie enrolled in Max Reinhardt's drama school. “At the time, I was not necessarily a movie fan, but once I came to California, of course, that’s what California’s all about, the movie industry.” Attracting the interest of movie scouts while appearing in one of the school’s stage productions, Currie surprised them by expressing no desire at that point to enter movies. She wanted to wait until she graduated, and was better equipped as an actress, before she decided her next career move. When she was ready, she signed with agent Sue Carol. After she made a movie at Columbia, Harry Cohn wanted to put her under contract, but Currie would have none of it – she thought it “would maybe be more interesting to freelance.” She stated in 1999 that that was “more fun for me because I was able to pick and choose and do what I wanted, rather than all the little contract players who had to do exactly as they were told and go into films that they didn’t want or like. So, I had my independence, and I chose to do it that way.” The not-overly-ambitious Currie worked steadily during the next few years, with small, uncredited parts in As and leads in Poverty Row flicks. She found herself in a bunch of Westerns – her bullwhip-carrying role in GUN TOWN was her favorite – and also as the heroine in Bela Lugosi’s THE APE MAN. She was again menaced by Bela in VOODOO MAN. Her most enduring and fondly remembered credit is ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL, considered by many the greatest cliffhanger of all time; two years later, she acted for 12 episodes opposite another serial marvel: THE MASKED MARVEL. Currie enjoyed the fast-paced shooting schedules of her B movies and serials: “Fortunately, I had enough training that I could do my scenes and not mess them up, not muff the lines. And I thought that was more stimulating and interesting than pictures like CITIZEN KANE [in which she played a reporter], where you just sat on a set for endless hours, doing nothing – which to me was just a trial and a bore. So I sort of enjoyed the activity, and the fact that you could do something quickly and do it well, and have it finished... But I’m sure that most of the people that started with big A productions would never have understood that, or been able to cope with it!” 


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Citizen Kane

as Reporter at Xanadu (uncredited)
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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Christmas Holiday

as Stewardess
Released: 1944-07-31

Don't be fooled by the title. Christmas Holiday is a far, far cry from It's a Wonderful Life....

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Adventures of Captain Marvel

as Betty Wallace
Released: 1941-03-28

On a scientific expedition to Siam young Billy Batson is given the ability to change himself...

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Backlash

as Marian Gordon
Released: 1947-03-01

In a series of flashbacks, shows that attorney John Morland has given a lift to a hitchhiker who...

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The Green Hornet Strikes Again!

as Bordine's Girlfriend
Released: 1940-12-24

Second serial featuring The Green Hornet and Kato.

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The Ape Man

as Billie Mason
Released: 1943-03-05

A scientist is turned into an ape man.

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And Baby Makes Three

as Miss Quigley
Released: 1949-12-02

A recently divorced couple see things differently after learning they are going to be parents.

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Voodoo Man

as Stella Saunders
Released: 1944-02-21

A mad doctor (Bela Lugosi) and his helpers (John Carradine, George Zucco) lure girls to his lab...

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Dude Cowboy

as Gail Sargent
Released: 1941-12-12

A Nevada rancher goes undercover for the U. S. Secret Service to help capture a gang of...

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You'll Find Out

as Marion (uncredited)
Released: 1940-11-22

The manager of Kay Kyser’s band books them for a birthday party bash for an heiress at a spooky...

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The Chinese Ring

as Peggy Cartwright
Released: 1947-12-06

Soon after a Chinese princess comes to the US to buy planes for her people, she is murdered by a...

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Stardust on the Sage

as Nancy Drew
Released: 1942-05-25

A singing cowboy (Gene Autry) and his partner (Bill Henry) thwart a foreman who wants their mine.

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The Masked Marvel

as Alice Hamilton
Released: 1943-11-06

A team of two-fisted insurance investigators (one of whom disguises himself as The Masked...

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Forty Thieves

as Katherine Reynolds
Released: 1944-06-23

When he runs for sheriff, Hoppy is beaten by Jerry Doyle, the gutless wonder voted for by every...

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Around the World

as WAAC
Released: 1943-11-27

Bandleader Kay Kyser takes his troupe of nutty musicians, goofball comics and pretty girl...

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Million Dollar Kid

as Louise Cortland
Released: 1944-02-28

The gang is friend with a millionaire because they saved him from an agression. However, the...

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Billy the Kid's Gun Justice

as Ann Roberts
Released: 1940-12-27

Escaping from the law once again, Billy, Fuzzy, and Jeff ride to the ranch of Jeff's uncle only...

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Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula

as Self
Released: 1997-06-15

Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula uncovers the life and career of legendary actor Bela Lugosi,...

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Double Trouble

as Miss Mink
Released: 1941-11-21

Harry Langdon and Charley Rogers star in this 1941 Monogram comedy, about two bumbling brothers...

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Queen for a Day

as Secretary
Released: 1951-07-07

Adapted from the TV and radio series of the same name, the producer of said show reads letters...

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The Bashful Bachelor

as Marjorie
Released: 1942-03-19

Lum Edwards is annoyed with his partner in Pine Ridge's Jot-'em-Down general store, Abner...

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Second Chance

as Joan Summers
Released: 1947-07-18

Jewel thieves battle investigators.

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Gun Town

as Buckskin Jane Sawyer
Released: 1946-01-18

Indian Agent Kip Lewis arrives in Gun Town where Buckskin Sawyer is having her payroll shipments...

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Billy the Kid Outlawed

as Molly Fitzgerald
Released: 1940-07-20

In the first of the six films Bob Steele made in PRC's "Billy the Kid" series, gun law rules in...

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Lugosi: The Forgotten King

as Self
Released: 1986-07-12

A one hour documentary on the life of one of Hollywood's neglected horror icons, hosted by fear...

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A Blitz on the Fritz

as Mrs. Egbert Slipp
Released: 1943-01-22

Harry is a patriotic citizen who starts a scrap drive but he soon encounters a group of Nazi...

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The Crimson Key

as Heidi
Released: 1947-07-02

Larry Morgan, a private detective, is hired by a woman who wants Larry to trail her husband. The...

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Look Who's Laughing

as Jane (uncredited)
Released: 1941-11-21

Fibber McGee enlists the help of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy in enticing an aircraft...

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Three on a Ticket

as Helen Brimstead
Released: 1947-04-04

A private detective, who has been shot, stumbles into the office of Michael Shayne (Hugh...

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Wild West

as Florabelle Bannister
Released: 1946-12-01

Eddie and his sidekicks have been called in to help get a new telegraph line through. Dawson and...

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The Pinto Kid

as Betty Ainsley
Released: 1941-02-05

Pinto Kid was one of Charles Starrett's last "formula" westerns before he permanently assumed...

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His Wedding Scare

as Susie - the New Bride
Released: 1943-01-15

El and his new bride go on their honeymoon; no matter where they go, they keep running into her...

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