Ernest Truex Movies
American actor Ernest Truex fulfilled the dream of many a performer by playing Hamlet--at age six, in a kiddie talent show. A professional from adolescence onward, Truex appeared in several plays produced by the legendary David Belasco, including a "character juvenile" in The Good Little Devil, in which he supported Mary Pickford. Good Little Devil served as Truex's film debut in 1914, though it would be at least fifteen years and numerous plays later before he'd tackle the movies on a fulltime basis. During the '20s, Truex gained so much popularity in light domestic comedies that several writers concocted vehicles especially for him. Usually cast in wistful, milquetoast roles, Truex in real life was fiercely competitive, much to the chagrin of directors and writers who had to fight tooth and nail to keep Truex from hogging every scene he was in. Talking pictures allowed Truex a few leading roles, as in the first version of the comedy melodrama Whistling in the Dark (1933) (a role played in the remake by Red Skelton), but soon found his weight was more effectively felt in supporting parts. Many of these recycled his "downtrodden little man" routine, with such spectacular exceptions as The Warrior's Husband (1933), in which he played an outrageously campy "nance," and Roadblock (1939), where the actor went against the mild-mannered grain to play a scheming, demonic gang boss. Truex continued his stage work in the '30s and '40s, notably as the "back to the farm" homeowner in Kaufman and Hart'sGeorge Washington Slept Here (Jack Benny did the movie version). Becoming slightly more precious as he got older, Truex portrayed any number of "sly grandpop" roles in the '50s, with television providing fresh new outlets for the actor's talent. He had recurring roles in such sitcoms as Mr. Peepers, Jamie, Pete and Gladys; a potential long-lasting 1958 stint as a hotel manager on The Ann Sothern Show came to an abrupt end because Ms. Sothern, some say, was a tad intolerant of inveterate scene stealers. Like many veteran performers, Ernest Truex was given ample opportunity to shine on Rod Serling's anthology Twilight Zone, first as a prescient peddler in the 1959 episode "What You Need," then more memorably as a nursing home resident desperate to recapture his youth in 1962's "Kick the Can." Ernest Truex was married to actress Sylvia Field, herself an early-'60s TV favorite as Mrs. Wilson on Dennis the Menace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1913
Co-directed by Edwin S. Porter and J. Searle Dawley, this Pygmalion-inspired melodrama was Mary Pickford's second feature film to be released by Famous Players-Lasky. "America's Sweetheart" played Mercy Baxter, an innocent mountain girl who is accidentally shot and wounded by Jack Henderson (Owen Moore, "Mr. Pickford" in real life). Nursing her back to health, Henderson comes to love the girl, who he marries against his father's (James Gordon) wishes. When all efforts to turn the "wild" mountain girl into a proper wife fail, Mercy is sent back to her mountains. A bit later, Henderson's sister (Boots Wall) returns from boarding school with glowing reports of a certain Miss Wheeler. Jack is intrigued, and to his delight the redoubtable Miss Wheeler turns out to be none other than Mercy Baxter, to whom he is still married. Mary Pickford was taken seriously ill during the filming of Caprice, a result, it was rumored, of a botched abortion. In 1916, William Fox attempted to turn the 17-year-old June Caprice into a new Mary Pickford. One of the vehicles chosen was Caprice of the Mountains (1916), which despite the similar title doesn't seem to have been a direct remake of the Mary Pickford film. Needless to say, Miss Caprice proved no real threat to "Our Mary" in the long run. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Eclair's When Rome Ruled was an opulent if not entirely successful imitation of the Italian "epic" films then flooding the American market. Mabel Taliaferro stars as Nydia, an Early Christian girl seemingly singled out for exclusive persecution by the despotic empress of Rome. The empress' ire seems to have been aroused by the fact that her erstwhile sweetheart, handsome centurion Caius (a very young Ernest Truex) is in love with Nydia. The obligatory "throwing the Christians to the lions" scene was a disappointment, especially since the lions seemed bored at the prospect of gnawing the writhing extras. Director George Fitzmaurice would later display considerably more skill at staging action scenes in such films as Son of the Sheik. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Movie star Mary Pickford was reunited with her theatrical mentor, producer David Belasco, in this filmization of Pickford and Belasco's stage hit A Good Little Devil. Beginning with a tableau wherein Belasco conjures up visions of the play's characters, the film segues into the story of a little blind girl (Pickford, of course) who brightens up the lives of all those around her. Featured in the cast is young Ernest Truex as the male juvenile. Unfortunately, the director chosen for the film was Edwin S. Porter, who despite his ground-breaking The Great Train Robbery (1903) was a singularly uninspired filmmaker. As a result, Good Little Devil was little more than a photographed stage play, well below the standards of Pickford's earlier efforts for D.W.Griffith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
Best known to contemporary film fans for his milquetoast comedy roles, pixieish Ernest Truex was once a credible young leading man, as witness Artie, the Millionaire Kid. Based on a story by the prolific George Ade, the film casts Truex as the title character, who in the first reel is booted out of his wealthy father's home for flunking out of college. Hoping to prove his worth, Artie manages to gain control of some valuable railroad property, knowing that his Dad dearly covets the land. Thus, when Artie's pop (John T. Kelly) tries to purchase the property, he discovers that an "unknown party" is holding up the transaction, refusing to let the land go for anything less than $1,000,000. Finally acceding to these demands, the old man is both surprised and gratified to discover that his "opponent" is his own son. Supporting player John T. Kelly later became a familiar presence in the Columbia two-reel comedies of the late 1930s, especially those starring Charley Chase. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1919
The husband-wife writing team of Anita Loos and John Emerson wrote the screenplay for Good-Bye, Bill, with Emerson performing double duty as director. A WWI farce, the story would have us believe that Kaiser Wilhelm would import a professional "mustache fixer," all the way from New Jersey. Kaiser Bill is of the opinion that his army will win only if their upturned moustaches are properly waxed and trimmed. The Beast of Berlin's plan is foiled by the sweetheart (Ernest Truex) of the mustache fixer's pretty daughter (Shirley Mason). The closing gag of Truex putting an end to the scheme by cutting off the Kaiser's mustache was later reworked seriously into the plot of the WWII melodrama Hitler: Dead or Alive (1942). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1923
This comedy was based on the stage success by William Anthony McGuire and features several of the actors who appeared in it on Broadway, including Ernest Truex in the starring role. After buying a car, Richard Burton (Donald Meek) finds that his wife and daughter have become unreasonably extravagant, and is surrounded by sponging friends. So he sells the ill-starred vehicle to his newlywed neighbors, Gilbert and Marilyn Sterling (Truex and Florence Eldridge). Soon surrounded by the same bunch of moochers, Marilyn becomes a spendthrift. It gets so bad that Gilbert resorts to stealing money from his employer. Although Gilbert eventually comes to his senses and gets rid of his so-called friends, he still loses his job. The Sterlings are forced to sell their home in the suburbs and move into a tiny flat. When Gilbert sells his car to the janitor, he is able to finish paying his boss back and he is restored to his former job. Fox held onto the rights to this story and remade it as a talkie in 1931. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernest Truex, Florence Eldridge, (more)
- 1932
Based on a story by Robert Andrews, If I Had a Million is a multipart comedy-drama employing Paramount's top directorial and acting talents. Refusing to leave his fortune to his grasping relatives, dying millionaire Richard Bennett selects several people at random from the phone book and bestows upon each of them a check for one million dollars. The first recipient is henpecked husband Charlie Ruggles, who cheerily enters his former place of employment, a china shop, and smashes every bit of crockery in the place. Prostitute Wynne Gibson uses her money to escape from her sordid lifestyle and finally sleep in a bed all by herself. Forger George Raft finds that he can't convince anyone that his check is genuine, and ends up handing the check to a flophouse manager--who promptly burns it. Husband and wife W.C. Fields and Alison Skipworth, dismayed that their new car has been destroyed by a "road hog," utilize part of their million dollars to purchase a fleet of cars and then smash up every road hog in sight! Convicted murderer Gene Raymond hopes that his million will help finance a new trial, but the execution is carried out on schedule. Newly rich clerk Charles Laughton calmly makes his way through a series of offices, reaches his boss' desk, and delivers a loud Bronx cheer. Gary Cooper, Roscoe Karns and Jack Oakie play three brawling marines who think the check's a joke and sign it over to an illiterate lunch-counter owner. The last million-dollar recipient is May Robson, an elderly woman confined to a dismal nursing home. She spends her money to turn the home into a joyful resort for old people, forcing the formerly repressive nursing-home staffers to earn their paychecks by sitting all day in rocking chairs. The millionaire who started the plot rolling is given a new lease on life by May Robson's example, and he recovers from his "fatal" illness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, (more)
- 1933
In this racy (for 1933) satire set in 800 BC, an overbearing band of Amazon women rule their men with an iron fist. They live in the land of Pontus. Their buxom queen is married. Like all Pontus men, her spouse is an utter panty-waist in the face of his women. Still things are going well in the land until a veritable Greek god of a handsome hunk leads his army in for an invasion. The strong-willed women are bowled over by these indomitable, muscle men. The queen's sister soon falls in love with one of them. The other women gladly allow the conquerors to rule them. Centuries pass, and though the leadership has changed, the women are still warriors and still prefer to have their menfolk at home. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elissa Landi, Marjorie Rambeau, (more)
- 1933
In this crime-comedy, an aspiring pulp writer elopes with a young woman and ends up in a boot-legger's lair. There he decides to impress his bride and the crooks with a story about the perfect murder. The crime boss likes the idea and uses it to plot the demise of his arch rival. When the would-be author learns of the plot, he and his wife do all they can to protect the hapless victim. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernest Truex, Una Merkel, (more)
- 1936
In this sentimental drama, a nightclub singer finds herself in charge of her late sister's children. To support them properly, she leaves the nightlife behind and takes the kids to a farm. Her manager, not anxious to lose his main source of income, tries to get her declared legally incompetent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1938
Start Cheering is Columbia Pictures' idea of a college musical: Practically everyone in the cast is past the age of 30. Charles Starrett plays a movie star who wearies of Hollywood and decides to get a college education. He enrolls incognito in a small university, much to the discomfort of his managers Walter Connolly and Jimmy Durante. Durante heads for college himself, hoping to sabotage Starrett's plans and bring him back before the cameras. While Jimmy Durante is saddled with inferior material, the film gives full head to such guest stars as bandleader Louis Prima, vaudevillian Chaz Chase (who had a cigar-eating act), radio's Professor Quiz (Dr. Craig E. Earle), and Columbia's short-subject headliners The Three Stooges (with Curly!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Durante, Joan Perry, (more)
- 1938
In this lively campus-set musical comedy, a budding entrepreneur nearly loses everything after his get-rich quick scheme to earn money selling "flunk" insurance his fellow students goes terribly awry. The plan was to sell the insurance for fifty cents a shot. In exchange, any policy-holder who flunks a test will get a ten dollar settlement. At first the young fresh fellow makes a mint, but then a particularly strict professor sees fit to flunk an entire class, all of whom are insured. Keep a sharp eye peeled for a young Alan Ladd in a bit part. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dixie Dunbar, William Lundigan, (more)
- 1938
In this musical comedy, two star-struck small town kids head for the Big Apple and become famous for their jitterbug act. Their fame doesn't last long, but they had fun anyway. Songs include: "Baltimore Bubble," "Gingham Gown," "Just a Bore," "Wasn't It You," "Kaneski Waltz" (Frank Skinner, Charles Henderson). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Murray, Johnny Downs, (more)
- 1938
Veteran character actors Mary Boland and Ernest Truex are aces as the stars of Republic's Mama Runs Wild. "Mama" is social-climbing Alice Summers (Boland), the wife of milquetoast Calvin Summers (Truex). When Alice accidentally causes the arrest of a bank robber, she becomes a local heroine and mayoral candidate. But when she begins to lobby for the closing of a local tavern, the opposition party picks its own candidate -- Calvin. The ending is at once satisfying in the true "worm turns" tradition, and heartwarming in that it demonstrates the deep abiding love the Summerses have for one another. Though clearly inspired by Paramount's popular Mary Boland-Charlie Ruggles vehicles, Mama Runs Wild delivers enough chuckles to stand on its own merits. The film was directed by Ralph Staub, the guiding force behind Columbia's "Screen Snapshots" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Boland, Ernest Truex, (more)
- 1938
Ever youthful Tom Brown once more plays a campus football hero in Swing That Cheer. Undeniably talented on the gridiron, Bob Potter (Brown) is equally undeniably an arrogant pain in the posterior. So swell-headed does Potter become that he can never admit to himself that his blocking-back teammate Larry Royal (Robert Wilcox) is equally reponsible for Bob's success. To teach his pal a lesson, Larry feigns an injury and pulls out of the Big Game, forcing Bob to go it alone. Predictably, our hero will have to ingest a bit of humble pie before he can lead his team to victory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Brown, Robert Wilcox, (more)
Gary Cooper stars in this lavish and often comic retelling of the life of the famed Italian explorer. Marco Polo (Cooper) crosses the sea in search of treasure and adventure, with the help of his loyal if cowardly sidekick Binguccio (Ernest Truex), and finds both in China, where as the nation's first European visitor he is introduced to several practical innovations, such as pasta and explosives. He is also introduced to Kublai Khan (George Barbier), China's wise and benevolent Emperor, and the Emperor's lovely daughter, Princess Kukuchin (Sigrid Gurie). Romance begins to bloom between Marco and the Princess, but Ahmed (Basil Rathbone), the Emperor's ill-tempered assistant, also has his eyes on the Princess, and he is determined to win her hand and usurp Kublai Khan as China's leader. The Adventures of Marco Polo was part of a major star build-up that producer Samuel Goldwyn had engineered for actress Sigrid Gurie, but much of Goldwyn's publicity eventually backfired when it was learned that his Norwegian discovery, "The Siren of the Fjords," was born in the less exotic locale of Brooklyn, New York. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Sigrid Gurie, (more)
- 1939
- NR
Ginger Rogers slipped off her dancing shoes to play one of her best comic roles as Polly Parish, a salesgirl at a large department store. Single and with no steady beau, Polly leads a quiet life until she discovers a baby left at her doorstep. While puzzled by this development, Polly feels for the child and decides to adopt the baby. However, most of her co-workers raise their eyebrows at Polly's new status as a single mother, believing that she's actually the mother. The owner of the store where Polly works, J.B. Merlin (Charles Coburn), is taken aback, and his son David (David Niven), who has a reputation as a ladies' man, is dispatched to lead Polly back to the straight-and-narrow. Bachelor Mother was remade in 1956 as Bundle of Joy, a vehicle for then-married Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, David Niven, (more)
- 1939
In this comedy/drama, a feisty taxi-dancer (Lana Turner in her first starring role) takes on a sorority full of snooty debutantes after an equally snobbish Ivy Leaguer (Lew Ayres) who goes on a bender, meets her and invites her to his school's annual weekend bash. The next day, the fellow forgets all about the invite. When the party begins, the low-class girl shows up. The fellow then warns her that the catty debutante crowd will gleefully unsheathe their claws and rip her to shreds. The taxi-dancer is not so easily frightened and not only stays, she also stands up to every one of the wicked sorority sisters. She then gets sweet revenge by making herself the most popular girl of the weekend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, Lana Turner, (more)
- 1939
A remake of a 1930 Universal film, Little Accident was the third starring vehicle for androgynous juvenile star Baby Sandy. Hugh Herbert stars as Herbert Pearson, self-styled infant specialist on a big-city newspaper. When father Tabby Morgan (Ernest Truex) abandons his bundle of joy (Baby Sandy) on Pearson's desk, the latter is forced to play "papa"-and to play it with expertise-at the risk of losing his job. The slapstick consequences give way to thrills and spills when Baby Sandy finds himself (herself?) headed for a whirring laundry machine. Like its same-named predecessor, Little Accident was based on a play by Floyd Dell and Thomas Mitchell (yes, that Thomas Mitchell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Herbert, Florence Rice, (more)
- 1939
Finishing out her Paramount Pictures contract, opera star Gladys Swarthout sings not a single note in the tense little thriller Ambush. After pulling off a bank robbery, a clever gang of thieves squirrels itself away in a rural hideout. Complicating matters is the unexpected arrival of Jane Hartman (Swarthout), the sister of one of the crooks. Hoping to keep her brother and herself alive, Jane is obliged to coerce an honest truck driver named Tony Andrews (Lloyd Nolan) into helping the fugitives escape. Ambush is distinguished by the bravura performance of Ernest Truex, usually cast in milquetoast roles, as the brilliant but deadly "brains" of the outlaw gang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gladys Swarthout, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
- 1939
The Under-Pup served to introduce Universal's new preteen songstress--and potential Deanna Durbin replacement--Gloria Jean. Producer Joe Pasternak sagaciously based the leading character on Jean herself: A shy, self-effacing 11 year old girl, thrust into a glamorous lifestyle beyond her ken. She plays a small-town thrush who wins a music scholarship to a fancy Interlochen-style music camp. Her rich classmates snub Jean at first, but she wins them over with her indefatigable good spirits and her angelic singing voice. While The Under-Pup made Gloria Jean a star, she never did become the new Deanna Durbin as planned--partly because the old Deanna Durbin still had a decade's worth of movies left in her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Jean, Robert Cummings, (more)
- 1939
- NR
In this frothy screwball comedy, Guy Johnson (James Stewart) is a private detective who is dedicated to his job but still quite green and a bit of a bumbler. Guy is hired to keep a close watch on Willie Heyward (Ernest Truex), a footloose millionaire with a habit of getting into trouble. One night, Willie ties one on and somehow ends up accused of murder, with Guy also charged as an accomplice. After the two are convicted, Guy escapes from the train taking him to prison, and he hits the road in hopes of finding evidence that will clear both himself and Willie. En route, Guy encounters Edwina Corday (Claudette Colbert), an eccentric poetess, and essentially abducts her, forcing her to let him use her car and help him as he tries to find the real murderer. But before long, Edwina seems more amused by Guy than threatened, and she falls in love with him as he assumes a bewildering series of disguises (actor, driver, Boy Scout) while trying to find the truth before it's too late. It's a Wonderful World also features Guy Kibbee, Edgar Kennedy, Sidney Blackmer, and Hans Conried. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudette Colbert, James Stewart, (more)
- 1939
Anna May Wong and J. Carroll Naish, so memorably teamed in Paramount's Dangerous to Know, are costarred once more in Island of Lost Men. Naish plays ruthless jungle plantation owner Gregory Prin, who runs his domain like a dictatorship and treats his workers little better than slaves. Into Prin's world comes Kim Ling (Wong), daughter of a disgraced Chinese general. Kim Ling hopes to clear her father's name by bringing his primary accuser, Prin, to justice. The native-uprising finale is rendered in gloriously gruesome detail. A remake of the 1931 Charles Laughton-Carole Lombard starrer White Woman, Island of Lost Men also offers early but well-rounded performances by Anthony Quinn (as a Chinese patriot!) and Broderick Crawford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna May Wong, J. Carrol Naish, (more)
