Monte Blue

A product of the Indiana orphanage system, the part-Cherokee-Indian Monte Blue held down jobs ranging from stevedore to reporter before offering his services as a movie-studio handyman in the early 1910s. Pressed into service as an extra and stunt man, Blue graduated to featured parts in D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation (1915). Thanks to his work with Griffith and (especially) Cecil B. DeMille, Blue became a dependable box-office attraction of the 1920s, playing everything from lawyers to baseball players. He was a mainstay of the fledgling Warner Bros. studios, where the profits from his films frequently compensated for the expensive failures starring John Barrymore. In 1928 he was cast in his finest silent role, as the drink-sodden doctor in White Shadows on the South Seas. After making a successful transition to talkies, Blue decided to retire from filmmaking, taking a tour around the world to celebrate his freedom. Upon his return to the U.S. in 1931, Blue found that he had lost his fortune through bad investments, and that the public at large had forgotten him. By now too heavy-set to play romantic leads, Blue rebuilt his career from the bottom up, playing bits in "A" pictures and supporting roles in "B"s. He was busiest in the bread-and-butter westerns produced by such minor studios as Republic, Monogram and PRC; he also showed up in several serials, notably as "Ming the Merciless" clone Unga Khan in 1936's Undersea Kingdom. Movie mogul Jack Warner, out of gratitude for Blue's moneymaking vehicles of the 1920s, saw to it that Monte was steadily employed at Warner Bros., and that his name would appear prominently in the studio's advertising copy. While many of his talkie roles at Warners were bits, Blue was given choice supporting roles in such films as Across the Pacific (1942), Mask of Dimitrios (1944) and especially Key Largo (1948). Extending his activities into TV, Blue continued accepting character roles until retiring from acting in 1954. During the last years of his life, Monte Blue was the advance man for the Hamid-Morton Shrine Circus; it was while making his annual appearance in this capacity in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that Blue suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 73. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmography of Monte Blue:

The Marriage Circle with Florence Vidor , Marie Prevost , Creighton Hale , Adolphe Menjou , Harry C. Myers , Francis X. Bushman , Esther Ralston

Life With Father with William Powell , Irene Dunne , ZaSu Pitts , Clara Blandick , Emma Dunn , Edmund Gwenn , Elizabeth Taylor , Mary Field , Jimmy Lydon , Elizabeth Risdon , Martin Milner , Joseph Bernard , Arlene Dahl , Creighton Hale , George Meader , Philip vanZandt

Key Largo with Humphrey Bogart , Edward G. Robinson , Lauren Bacall , Lionel Barrymore , Claire Trevor , Thomas Gomez , Marc Lawrence , Alberto Morin , Jay Silverheels

Officer 13 with Jackie Searl , Lila Lee , Seena Owen , Mickey Rooney

Wagon Wheels with Randolph Scott , Gail Patrick , Raymond Hatton , Sam McDaniel , Lew Meehan , Ann Sheridan , J.P. McGowan

Desert Gold with Larry "Buster" Crabbe , Robert Cummings , Marsha Hunt , Raymond Hatton , Walter Miller , Leif Erickson , Philip Morris

Bells of San Fernando with Donald Woods , Paul "Tiny" Newlan

Sunset in Wyoming with Gene Autry , Smiley Burnette , George Cleveland , Robert E. Kent , Dick Elliott , Reed Howes , Ralph Peters

Young Bill Hickok with Roy Rogers , George "Gabby" Hayes , Archie Twitchell , Hal Taliaferro , Monte Montague , Iron Eyes Cody , William Desmond , Dick Elliott , Jack Kirk , Jack Rockwell , Trigger the Horse , Henry Wills

The Gold Raiders with George O'Brien , Moe Howard , Shemp Howard , Larry Fine , Sheila Ryan , Lyle Talbot , Fuzzy Knight

Rebellious Daughters with Marjorie Reynolds , Oscar O'Shea

The Road to Morocco with Bing Crosby , Bob Hope , Dorothy Lamour , Anthony Quinn , Vladimir Sokoloff , Dona Drake , Yvonne DeCarlo , Jerry Colonna , Richard Loo , Stanley Price

Bad Man of Deadwood with Roy Rogers , George "Gabby" Hayes , Henry Brandon , Herbert Rawlinson , Hal Taliaferro , Horace Murphy , Jack Kirk , Jack O'Shea , Jack Rockwell , Archie Twitchell , Bob Woodward , Yakima Canutt , George Morrell

Apache with Burt Lancaster , Jean Peters , John McIntire , John Dehner

Hangman's Knot with Randolph Scott , Donna Reed , Frank Faylen , Lee Marvin , Ray Teal , Reed Howes , Edward Earle , Frank S. Hagney , Jeanette Nolan , Guinn "Big Boy" Williams , Frank Yaconelli

Orphans of the Storm with Lillian Gish , Dorothy Gish , Joseph Schildkraut , Creighton Hale , Flora Finch , Louis Wolheim

Johnny Belinda with Jane Wyman , Lew Ayres , Charles Bickford , Agnes Moorehead , Jan Sterling , Alan Napier , Ian Wolfe , Barbara Bates , Franklin Farnum , Creighton Hale , Charles Frank Horvath , Harry "Snub" Pollard

Days of Jesse James with Roy Rogers , George "Gabby" Hayes , Don "Red" Barry , Scotty Beckett , Glenn Strange , Jack Rockwell , Fred "Snowflake" Toones , Trigger the Horse

The Palm Beach Story with Claudette Colbert , Joel D. McCrea , Mary Astor , Rudy Vallee , William Demarest , Robert Warwick , Franklin Pangborn , Dewey Robinson , Roscoe Ates , Frank Faylen , John Holland , John Farrell MacDonald , Howard M. Mitchell , Charles Moore , Mantan Moreland , Fred "Snowflake" Toones , Max Wagner

Mary of Scotland with Katharine Hepburn , Fredric March , Florence Eldridge , Douglas Walton , John Carradine , William Stack , Alan Mowbray , Donald Crisp , Mary Gordon , Robert Warwick , Wyndham Standing , Bobby Watson

Undersea Kingdom [Serial] with Smiley Burnette , Lon Jr. Chaney , Ray "Crash" Corrigan , William Farnum

Wild and Woolly with Edward Burns , Douglas Fairbanks

Amateur Crook with Jack Mulhall , Fuzzy Knight

The Affairs of Anatol with Wallace Reid , Gloria Swanson , Elliott Dexter , Bebe Daniels , Raymond Hatton , Wanda Hawley , Lucien Littlefield , Patsy Ruth Miller , Guy Oliver , Theodore Roberts

Song of the Gringo with William Desmond , Jack Kirk , Fuzzy Knight , Ethan Laidlaw , Murdock MacQuarrie , Tex Ritter , Glenn Strange

Road to Singapore with Bing Crosby , Dorothy Lamour , Bob Hope , Charles Coburn , Anthony Quinn , Jerry Colonna , Greta Granstedt , Grace Hayle , Belle Mitchell , Gaylord "Steve" Pendleton , Cyril Ring

Riders of Death Valley [Serial] with Noah Jr. Beery , Charles Bickford , Leo Carrillo , Lon Jr. Chaney , Dick Foran , Glenn Strange , Guinn "Big Boy" Williams , Buck Jones

Intolerance with Lillian Gish , Mae Marsh , Robert Harron , Miriam Cooper , Tully Marshall , Bessie Love , Eugene Pallette , Wallace Reid , George Siegmann , Carl Stockdale , Constance Talmadge , Tod Browning , Donald Crisp , Seena Owen , W.S. II VanDyke , Erich vonStroheim

Humoresque with Joan Crawford , John Garfield , Oscar Levant , J. Carrol Naish , Don McGuire , Craig Stevens , Patricia Barry , Creighton Hale , Robert Blake

Gentleman Jim with Errol Flynn , Alexis Smith , Jack Carson , Alan Sr. Hale , Ward Bond , William Frawley , Minor Watson , Rhys Williams , Arthur Shields , Dorothy Vaughan , James Flavin , Edwin Stanley , Clara Blandick , Mary Gordon , Frank S. Hagney , William Hopper , Mike Mazurki , Pat O'Malley

Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart , Ingrid Bergman , Paul Henreid , Claude Rains , Conrad Veidt , Peter Lorre , Sydney Greenstreet , S.Z. Sakall , Dooley Wilson , John Qualen , Leonid Kinskey , Helmut Dantine , Marcel Dalio , Mischa Auer , Creighton Hale , Louis Mercier , Alberto Morin , Henry Rowland , Norma Varden

The Birth of a Nation with Henry B. Walthall , Miriam Cooper , Mae Marsh , Lillian Gish , Robert Harron , Wallace Reid , George Siegmann , Bessie Love , Eugene Pallette , Donald Crisp , John Ford , Raoul Walsh , Erich vonStroheim

The Adventures of Don Juan with Errol Flynn , Viveca Lindfors , Robert Douglas , Raymond Burr , Alan Sr. Hale , Ann Rutherford , Robert Warwick , Fortunio Bonanova , Una O'Connor , Margaret Rutherford

Monte Blue Trivia

When was Monte Blue born?

Monte Blue date of birth: January 11, 1890

Who did Monte Blue play in The Marriage Circle?

Monte Blue was Dr. Franz Braun in The Marriage Circle

Who did Monte Blue play in Life With Father?

Monte Blue was Policeman in Life With Father

Who did Monte Blue play in Key Largo?

Monte Blue was Sheriff Ben Wade in Key Largo

Who did Monte Blue play in Wagon Wheels?

Monte Blue was Murdock in Wagon Wheels

Who did Monte Blue portray in Desert Gold?

Monte Blue was Chetley Kasedon in Desert Gold

Who did Monte Blue portray in Bells of San Fernando?

Monte Blue was Governor in Bells of San Fernando

Who did Monte Blue portray in Young Bill Hickok?

Monte Blue was Marshal Evans in Young Bill Hickok

Who did Monte Blue play in The Gold Raiders?

Monte Blue was Sawyer in The Gold Raiders

Who did Monte Blue play in Rebellious Daughters?

Monte Blue was Huston in Rebellious Daughters

Who did Monte Blue play in The Road to Morocco?

Monte Blue was Aide to Mullay Kasim in The Road to Morocco

Who did Monte Blue portray in Bad Man of Deadwood?

Monte Blue was Sheriff Jordan in Bad Man of Deadwood

Who did Monte Blue portray in Apache?

Monte Blue was Geronimo in Apache

Who did Monte Blue play in Hangman's Knot?

Monte Blue was Maxwell in Hangman's Knot

Who did Monte Blue portray in G-Men?

Monte Blue was Analyst in G-Men

What role did Monte Blue portray in Orphans of the Storm?

Monte Blue played Danton in Orphans of the Storm

Who did Monte Blue play in Johnny Belinda?

Monte Blue was Ben in Johnny Belinda

Who did Monte Blue play in Days of Jesse James?

Monte Blue was Fields in Days of Jesse James

Who did Monte Blue play in The Palm Beach Story?

Monte Blue was Doorman in The Palm Beach Story

Who did Monte Blue portray in Dodge City?

Monte Blue was Barlow, the Indian Agent in Dodge City

What role did Monte Blue portray in Mary of Scotland?

Monte Blue played Messenger in Mary of Scotland

Who did Monte Blue portray in Amateur Crook?

Monte Blue was Crone in Amateur Crook

Who did Monte Blue portray in The Affairs of Anatol?

Monte Blue was Amber Elliot in The Affairs of Anatol

What role did Monte Blue portray in Sullivan's Travels?

Monte Blue played Cop in slums in Sullivan's Travels

Who did Monte Blue portray in Road to Singapore?

Monte Blue was High Priest in Road to Singapore

Who did Monte Blue play in Riders of Death Valley [Serial]?

Monte Blue was Rance Davis in Riders of Death Valley [Serial]

Who did Monte Blue play in Reap the Wild Wind?

Monte Blue was Officer at tea in Reap the Wild Wind

What role did Monte Blue play in Intolerance?

Monte Blue played Strike Leader in Intolerance

Who did Monte Blue portray in Humoresque?

Monte Blue was Furniture Moving Man in Humoresque

Who did Monte Blue play in Casablanca?

Monte Blue was American in Casablanca

Who did Monte Blue play in The Adventures of Don Juan?

Monte Blue was Turnkey in The Adventures of Don Juan

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Monte Blue

Monte Blue

Filmography of Monte Blue:

Monte Blue Trivia

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Key Largo

Life With Father

The Marriage Circle

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