Richard Dix

Born: 1893-07-18

Richard Dix was a major leading man at RKO Radio Pictures from 1929 through 1943. He was born Ernest Carlton Brimmer July 18, 1893, in St. Paul, Minnesota. There he was educated, and at the desires of his father, studied to be a surgeon. His obvious acting talent in his school dramatic club led him to leading roles in most of the school plays. At 6' 0" and 180 pounds, Dix excelled in sports, especially football and baseball. These skills would serve him well in the vigorous film roles he would go on to play. After a year at the University of Minnesota he took a position at a bank, spending his evenings training for the stage. His professional start was with a local stock company, and this led to similar work in New York. The death of his father left him with a mother and sister to support. He went to Los Angeles, became leading man for the Morosco Stock Company and his success there got him a contract with Paramount Pictures. His rugged good looks and dark features made him a popular player in westerns. His athletic ability led to his starring role in Paramount's Warming Up (1928), a baseball story and also the studio's first feature with synchronized score and sound effects. His deep voice and commanding presence were perfectly suited for the talkies, and he was signed by RKO Radio Pictures in 1929, scoring an early triumph in the all-talking mystery drama, Seven Keys to Baldpate (1929). In 1931 he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his masterful performance in Cimarron (1931), winner of the Best Picture Oscar that year. Throughout the 1930s Dix would be a big box-office draw at RKO, appearing in mystery thrillers, potboilers, westerns and programmers. He appeared in the "Whistler" series of mystery films at Columbia in the mid-40s. He retired from films in 1947. He first married Winifred Coe on October 20, 1931, had a daughter, Martha Mary Ellen, then divorced in 1933. He then married Virginia Webster on June 29, 1934. They had twin boys, Richard Jr. and Robert Dix and an adopted daughter, Sara Sue. Richard Dix the actor, died at age 56 on September 20, 1949.


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The Ten Commandments

as John McTavish
Released: 1923-11-23

The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his...

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Cimarron

as Yancey Cravat
Released: 1931-01-26

When the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat...

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The Ghost Ship

as Capt. Will Stone
Released: 1943-12-16

Captain Stone's newly recruited officer, Tom Merriam, idolizes his senior who treats him like a...

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Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die

as Wyatt Earp
Released: 1942-06-13

Uneven version of Wyatt Earp vs. the Clanton Gang with a little romance thrown in haphazardly.

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Mysterious Intruder

as Don Gale
Released: 1946-04-11

A private detective is hired to find a young heiress but finds himself accused of murder.

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The Stolen Jools

as Richard Dix
Released: 1931-04-04

Famous actress Norma Shearer's jewels are stolen… (Star-packed promotional short film intended...

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The Secret of the Whistler

as Ralph Harrison
Released: 1946-11-07

A deranged artist who may have murdered his wife is investigated by the Whistler.

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Stingaree

as Stingaree
Released: 1934-05-24

A young lady named Hilda who works as a servant for the wealthy Clarksons, sheep farmers, and...

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Hell's Highway

as Frank 'Duke' Ellis
Released: 1932-09-23

A prison-camp convict learns that his younger brother will soon be joining him behind bars.

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Souls for Sale

as Frank Claymore
Released: 1923-04-22

A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.

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Reno

as William Shayne
Released: 1939-12-01

A divorce lawyer prospers as a gambling tycoon.

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Sky Giant

as Capt. W.R. 'Stag' Cahill
Released: 1938-07-22

Given the job of training young pilots for important post-war cargo flights, hard-boiled Col....

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Buckskin Frontier

as Stephen Brent
Released: 1943-05-14

A railroad man and the owner of a freight line battle for control of a crucial mountain pass.

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Special Investigator

as Bill Fenwick
Released: 1936-05-08

A lawyer changes from defending public enemies to bringing them to justice after his brother is...

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Eyes of the Underworld

as Police Chief Richard Bryan
Released: 1942-10-02

Blackmail and murder in a tale of an auto-theft ring.

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Men Against the Sky

as Phil Mercedes
Released: 1940-09-06

A draftswoman, the sister of an aging, alcoholic pilot, secretly uses her brother's ideas to...

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Blind Alibi

as Paul Dover
Released: 1938-05-20

A Paris sculptor (Richard Dix) fakes blindness in Los Angeles to recover his blackmailed...

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The Power of the Whistler

as William Everest
Released: 1945-04-19

A woman uses a deck of cards to predict death within 24 hours for a stranger sitting at a bar,...

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The Mark of the Whistler

as Lee Selfridge Nugent
Released: 1944-10-09

A drifter claims the money in an old bank account. Soon he finds himself the target of two men...

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The Thirteenth Hour

as Steve Reynolds
Released: 1947-02-06

In this drama, a trucker's business is nearly destroyed after he is wrongfully accused of...

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The Marines Fly High

as Lt. Danny Darrick
Released: 1940-03-04

Marine lieutenants Dan and Jim fight bandits in the South American jungle, while competing for...

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Voice of the Whistler

as John Sinclair / John Carter
Released: 1945-10-30

A dying millionaire marries his nurse for companionship, only to experience a miracle cure.

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Here I Am a Stranger

as Duke Allen
Released: 1939-09-29

The story of a young man's discovery of his father.

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Top Man

as Tom Warren
Released: 1943-09-17

In this WW II musical, a young man suddenly finds himself in charge of his family when his...

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American Empire

as Dan Taylor
Released: 1942-12-11

Richard Dix as Dan Taylor and Preston S. Foster as Paxton Bryce are two longtime friends seeking...

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The Call of the Canyon

as Glenn Kilbourne
Released: 1923-12-16

Returning from World War I, Glenn Kilbourne travels to Arizona to regain his health. He meets a...

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The Tunnel

as Richard 'Mack' McAllan
Released: 1935-10-27

An engineer leads the building of a trans-Atlantic tunnel linking Britain and the United States.

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The Whistler

as Earl C. Conrad
Released: 1944-03-30

A guilt-ridden man blames himself for his wife's death and secretly pays an assassin to kill...

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No Marriage Ties

as Bruce Foster
Released: 1933-08-11

An unemployed reporter, fired because of his drinking, takes a job at an advertising agency. Drama.

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Devil's Playground

as Jack Dorgan
Released: 1937-01-24

A remake of Frank Capra's Submarine (1928), Devil's Playground is a snappy Columbia "B plus"...

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The Conquerors

as Roger Standish / Roger Lennox
Released: 1932-11-18

A newlywed couple journeys west to make their fortune, and begins a banking empire.

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The Lost Squadron

as Capt. 'Gibby' Gibson
Released: 1932-03-12

When World War I comes to an end, three pilots find themselves on hard times. They wind up in...

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Young Donovan's Kid

as Jim Donovan
Released: 1931-06-06

A crusader tries to keep a dope dealer from corrupting children.

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Badlands of Dakota

as James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok
Released: 1941-09-15

In the Dakotas during the days of the Great Gold Boom, brothers Jim and Bob Holliday are bumping...

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Ace of Aces

as Rex 'Rocky' Thorne
Released: 1933-10-20

A sculptor who doesn't want to have any part of World War I is shamed by his girlfriend into...

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The Roundup

as Steve Payson
Released: 1941-04-03

Originally written as a stage vehicle for corpulent character actor Macklyn Arbuckle, Ernest...

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Man of Conquest

as Sam Houston
Released: 1939-05-15

The story of Sam Houston, hero of the Texas revolution, statesman, and first president of the...

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Seven Keys to Baldpate

as William Magee
Released: 1929-12-25

A writer rents what he believes is a deserted lodge in order to complete his novel. But then six...

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Nothing But the Truth

as Robert Bennett
Released: 1929-04-20

A young man bets $10,000 that for 24 hour he can tell nothing but the truth.

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The Vanishing American

as Nophaie
Released: 1925-10-15

A tribe of Navajo live on a reservation overseen by an Indian-hating agent.

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Devil's Squadron

as Paul Redmond
Released: 1936-04-30

In this action film, a courageous test pilot works with experimental aircraft for the US Armed...

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Twelve Crowded Hours

as Nick Green
Released: 1939-02-23

An ace reporter with a girlfriend nails a numbers racketeer for murders.

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Redskin

as Wing Foot
Released: 1929-09-22

Wing Foot is a Navajo educated in an otherwise all-white school. He experiences prejudice from...

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Secret Service

as Lewis Dumont
Released: 1931-11-14

In 1864 a Secret Service agent for the Union army goes undercover in Richmond and pretends to be...

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Men and Women

as Will Prescott
Released: 1925-03-23

Will Prescott (Richard Dix) is a bank cashier whose assistant, Ned Seabury (Neil Hamilton), has...

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It Happened in Hollywood

as Tim Bart
Released: 1937-09-07

A silent Western star has trouble adjusting to the coming of sound.

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Moran of the Marines

as Michael Moran
Released: 1928-10-13

Adventures of a marine in China.

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West of the Pecos

as Pecos Smith
Released: 1934-12-27

Richard Dix stars as Pecos Smith, a strong, silent Westerner suspected of cattle rustling.

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The Kansan

as John Bonniwell
Released: 1943-09-10

Wounded while stopping the James gang from robbing the local bank, a cowboy wakes up in the...

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Roar of the Dragon

as Carson
Released: 1932-07-08

A boatload of Westerners is trapped in Manchuria as bandits led by Russian renegade Voronsky...

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Yellow Dust

as Bob Culpepper
Released: 1936-03-12

After he's accused of a series of stagecoach robberies, an innocent man has to find the real crooks.

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The Christian

as John Storm
Released: 1923-01-14

Glory Quayle and John Storm, sweethearts since childhood on the Isle of Man, go to London, Glory...

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Shooting Straight

as Larry Sheldon / Ted Walters
Released: 1930-07-20

A gambler wanted for murder hides under the guise of a clergyman.

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His Greatest Gamble

as Phillip
Released: 1934-08-10

A man escapes from jail in France to free his daughter from her mother's hold.

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The Arizonian

as Clay Tallant
Released: 1935-06-27

Clay Tallant comes to Silver City, Arizona in the 1880s and encounters wide-spread lawlessness...

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The Sin Flood

as Bill Bear
Released: 1922-11-12

Stratton's café is a popular place with the people of Cottonia, a wealthy cotton town on the...

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The Wheel of Life

as Capt. Leslie Yeullet
Released: 1929-06-15

British officer Capt. Leslie Yeullat is at present on leave in London. Falling in love with Ruth...

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The Great Jasper

as Jasper Horn
Released: 1933-03-03

Generational saga about a failed streetcar conductor, who finds success as an Atlantic City...

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The Lucky Devil

as Randy Farnum
Released: 1925-07-13

Richard Dix, a displayer in a department store, enters a raffle and wins the so-called 'hoodoo'...

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Knockout Reilly

as Dundee 'Knockout' Reilly
Released: 1927-04-16

A Malcolm St. Clair silent boxing sports romantic love triangle prison melodrama about a steel...

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Sinners in Heaven

as Alan Croft
Released: 1924-09-09

Alan Croft, a young aviator and a girl from a strict English background are stranded on a...

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Lovin' the Ladies

as Peter
Released: 1930-04-06

A man who believes that love is more animal and chemical than spiritual, bets that by...

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A Man Must Live

as Geoffrey Farnell
Released: 1925-01-19

Jeff Farnell, forced by circumstances to take a job on a New York scandal sheet while he awaits...

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The Quarterback

as Jack Stone
Released: 1926-10-11

Elmer Stone, quarterback of the 1899 Colton College football team vows to remain a student until...

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Womanhandled

as Bill Dana
Released: 1925-12-27

Bill Dana, a New York City playboy, can't resist the flaming flappers and red-hot mamas along...

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The Poverty of Riches

as John Colby
Released: 1921-11-01

John and Katherine Colby decide to put off parenthood until he has become wealthy. Their...

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Fascinating Youth

as Richard Dix
Released: 1926-03-17

Playboy Teddy Ward wants to marry Jeannie King, an artist, but his father wants him to marry...

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Day of Reckoning

as John Day
Released: 1933-10-26

In this brutal prison drama a hen-pecked husband is sentenced to prison after getting caught...

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The Bonded Woman

as Lee Marvin
Released: 1922-08-21

Angela Gaskell travels and sails around the Pacific Ocean to rescue the man she loves, John...

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Say It Again

as Bob Howard
Released: 1926-05-31

Bob Howard, a WWI wounded soldier in a army hospital, meets and falls in love with Princess...

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Paradise for Two

as Steve Porter
Released: 1927-01-23

Steve Porter, a young American bachelor and fully intending to remain as such, inherits a...

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The Public Defender

as Pike Winslow
Released: 1931-08-01

A mysterious phantom who calls himself The Reckoner vows to expose the crooked bankers who...

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A Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic

as Self
Released: 1929-05-04

A simple filmed performance featuring Cantor, done up in his stage minstrel makeup, allegedly at...

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Warming Up

as Bert Tulliver
Released: 1928-08-04

Bert, a pitcher for a baseball team in a small town, is given the opportunity to try out for a...

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To the Last Man

as Jean Isbel
Released: 1923-09-23

Feuding ranchers and sheepherders.

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Shanghai Bound

as Jim Bucklin
Released: 1927-10-15

Landing at a Chinese port, tough sea captain Bucklin and his passengers are threatened by a...

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Easy Come, Easy Go

as Robert Parker
Released: 1928-04-20

Dix plays radio announcer Robert Parker, working at a station run by his girlfriend's father....

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All's Fair in Love

as Bobby Cameron
Released: 1921-09-01

While golfing, Natalie Marshall meets and falls in love with Bobby Cameron, and after a brief...

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Cherokee Strip

as Marshal Dave Lovell
Released: 1940-10-10

Richard Dix stars as Dave Morrell, the new marshal of Goliath, Oklahoma. Immediately upon...

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The Love Doctor

as Dr. Gerald Summer
Released: 1929-01-06

Gerald Sumner, a young physician and confirmed bachelor, opens his office and finds that he is...

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Let's Get Married

as Billy Dexter
Released: 1926-03-01

College football star Billy Dexter is prone to getting into public fights. His father demands he...

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The Shock Punch

as Randall Lee Savage
Released: 1925-02-25

Dan Savage prepares his son, Randall to fight in the business world by having him trained as a...

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Racing Hearts

as Robby Smith
Released: 1923-07-15

Automobile maker John Kent is an old-fashioned sort who refuses to advertise his car line. His...

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The Gay Defender

as Joaquin Murrieta
Released: 1927-12-10

Real-life outlaw Joaquin Murietta, who (according to this film, anyway) is a latter-day Robin...

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Yellow Men and Gold

as Parrish
Released: 1922-05-20

Parrish, a young author, leaves his study during a storm to answer a call for help. He discovers...

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The Woman with Four Faces

as Richard Templar
Released: 1923-06-24

The woman with four faces is a movie about a woman who happens to be both a thief and a con...

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Manhattan

as Peter Minuit
Released: 1924-10-28

A wealthy New Yorker falls in love with a burglar's sister.

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Unguarded Women

as Douglas Albright
Released: 1924-06-22

Unguarded Women is a lost 1924 silent film drama. In a battle during the World War, Douglas...

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Too Many Kisses

as Richard Gaylord, Jr.
Released: 1925-01-11

Wanting his son to get away from his many girlfriends and buckle down to work, the New York...

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Icebound

as Ben Jordan
Released: 1924-03-02

Ben Jordan runs away after accidentally setting fire to a barn in his small New England...

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The Glorious Fool

as Billy Grant
Released: 1922-01-01

Billy Grant, a wealthy young playboy, drunkenly crashes his car and appears near death. Afraid...

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Quicksands

as Lt. Bill
Released: 1923-02-28

Stationed at the Mexican border, a young lieutenant whose job is to capture a ring of narcotics...

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The Devil Is Driving

as Paul Driscoll
Released: 1937-06-25

In the fine tradition of And Sudden Death, Columbia's The Devil is Driving tabulates the dangers...

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Not Guilty

as Paul / Arthur Ellison (twins)
Released: 1921-01-01

A drama of a fugitive from justice and a fugitive from love.

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Sporting Goods

as Richard Shelby
Released: 1928-02-11

Sports-loving inventor Richard Shelby develops an "Elasto-Tweed" golf suit then hits the road in...

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The Wall Flower

as Walt Breen
Released: 1922-05-01

Idalene Nobbin attends a village dance but, due to the constant nagging of her mother, she...

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Dangerous Curve Ahead

as Harley Jones
Released: 1921-10-02

Engaged to Harley Jones, fickle Phoebe Mabee flirts with Anson Newton. She and Harley, as a...

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Man Power

as Tom Roberts
Released: 1927-07-09

Caterpillar-tractor operator Tom Roberts' mission is to deliver a fragile cargo of dynamite, to...

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The Stranger

as Larry Darrant
Released: 1924-02-04

"The Stranger," an outcast who works in a saloon frequented by Peggy Bowlin, a poor girl...

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Fools First

as Tommy Frazer
Released: 1922-05-27

Tommy Frazer is one of a gang of crooks lead by "Tony the Wop". Frazer gets caught and is sent...

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One of Many

as James Lowery - Butler
Released: 1917-02-12

The home of Mrs. Bryson and her two daughters is happy except for the poverty that prevents the...

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