William Frawley
William Frawley was born in Burlington, Iowa. As a boy he sang at St. Paul's Catholic Church and played at the Burlington Opera House. His first job was as a stenographer for the Union Pacific Railroad. He did vaudeville with his brother Paul, then joined pianist Franz Rath in an act they took to San Francisco in 1910. Four years later he formed a light comedy act with his new wife Edna Louise Broedt, "Frawley and Louise", touring the Orpheum and Keith circuits until they divorced in 1927. He next moved to Broadway and then, in 1932, to Hollywood with Paramount. By 1951, when he contacted Lucille Ball about a part in her TV show I Love Lucy (1951), he had performed in over 100 films. His Fred Mertz role lasted until the show ended in 1960, after which he did a five-year stint on My Three Sons (1960). Poor health forced his retirement. He collapsed of a heart attack on March 3, 1966, aged 79, walking along Hollywood Boulevard after seeing a movie. He is buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery.
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 5.61 |
| Birthday | 1887-02-25 |
| Place of Birth | Burlington, Iowa, USA |
| Also Known As | Bill Frawley, William Clement Frawley, |
1941
Blondie in Society
7.4/5
Dagwood brings home a pedigreed Great Dane which an important company client wants and which Blondie enters in the big dog show.
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Blondie in Society
1947
Blondie's Anniversary
5.6/5
Blondie finds a valuable watch that has been hidden by hubby Dagwood. She assumes that it's a surprise wedding gift, but the truth is that Dagwood ha...
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Blondie's Anniversary
1950
Blondie's Hero
6.3/3
Dagwood enters the Army Reserve and Blondie visits only to discover that he has caused all sorts of problems which lead to numerous conflicts.
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Blondie's Hero
1945
Lady on a Train
6.5/47
While watching from her train window, Nikki Collins witnesses a murder in a nearby building. When she alerts the police, they think she has read one t...
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Lady on a Train
1944
The Fighting Seabees
6.2/46
Construction workers in World War II in the Pacific are needed to build military sites, but the work is dangerous and they doubt the ability of the Na...
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The Fighting Seabees
1935
Roberta
7/43
Football player John Kent tags along as Huck Haines and the Wabash Indianians travel to an engagement in Paris, only to lose it immediately. John and...
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Roberta
1936
The Princess Comes Across
6.1/13
A Swedish princess boards an ocean liner in Europe en route to an acting career in America and finds herself getting inconveniently attached to a band...
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The Princess Comes Across
1951
The Lemon Drop Kid
6.6/26
When the Lemon Drop Kid accidentally cheats gangster Moose Moran out of his track winnings, the Kid promises to repay Moose the money by Christmas. Cr...
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The Lemon Drop Kid
1947
Miracle on 34th Street
7.364/744
Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgivin...
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Miracle on 34th Street
1949
Red Light
5.5/20
Nick Cherney, in prison for embezzling from Torno Freight Co., sees a chance to get back at Johnny Torno through his young priest brother Jess. He pay...
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Red Light
1935
Welcome Home
0/0
A con artist attends a reunion in his hometown and discovers that his former classmates are trying to trick an old millionaire into returning to build...
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Welcome Home
1951
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
6.4/102
As novice detectives, Bud and Lou come face to face with the Invisible Man.
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Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
1945
Flame of Barbary Coast
5.6/16
Duke Fergus falls for Ann 'Flaxen' Tarry in the Barbary Coast in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. He loses money to crooked gambler Boss Tito Morell...
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Flame of Barbary Coast
1952
Rancho Notorious
6.5/105
A man in search of revenge infiltrates a ranch, hidden in an inhospitable region, where its owner, Altar Keane, gives shelter to outlaws fleeing from...
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Rancho Notorious
1940
One Night in the Tropics
5.6/20
Jim "Lucky" Moore, an insurance salesman, comes up with a novel policy for his friend, Steve: a 'love insurance policy', that will pay out $1-million...
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One Night in the Tropics
1951
Rhubarb
5.5/7
Rich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes an affectionate pet he names Rhubarb. Then T.J. dies, leaving to Rhubarb most of his money...
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Rhubarb
1948
The Babe Ruth Story
5.8/8
The baseball player goes from wayward youth to Boston Red Sox pitcher to New York Yankees home-run hero.
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The Babe Ruth Story
1942
Gentleman Jim
7.167/60
As bare-knuckled boxing enters the modern era, brash extrovert Jim Corbett uses new rules and dazzlingly innovative footwork to rise to the top of the...
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Gentleman Jim
1939
Rose of Washington Square
5.7/3
Rose Sargent, a Roaring '20s singer, becomes a Ziegfeld Follies star as her criminal husband gets deeper in trouble.
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Rose of Washington Square
1938
Mad About Music
6.875/8
A young woman at a girl's school in Switzerland makes up stories about and writes herself letters from an imaginary explorer-adventurer father; and is...
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Mad About Music
1941
Footsteps in the Dark
6.9/9
A high-society gent has a secret life - he writes murder mysteries and hangs out with the police attempting to solve crimes. This causes him no end of...
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Footsteps in the Dark
1934
The Crime Doctor
3.5/2
When he finds out that his wife is having an affair, a criminologist commits the perfect murder--and pins the crime on his wife's boyfriend so well th...
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The Crime Doctor
1950
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
6.731/39
Ralph Cotter, a ruthless criminal, escapes violently from a farm prison. Then, he seduces a dead inmate’s sister, gets back quickly into the crime bus...
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Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
1946
The Inner Circle
5.2/12
A fresh-faced young detective gets set up, framed for murder, and alibied by a smart blonde.
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The Inner Circle
1936
Rose Bowl
6/2
Paddy O'Riley and Ossie Merrill, Bellport high school football heroes, enroll in distant colleges; Paddy at a small school in the East, where he is ba...
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Rose Bowl
1938
Professor Beware
6.1/4
Egyptologist, Dean Lambert, accused of car-theft, skips bail and begins a cross-country trek to join a group in New York headed for Egypt. With the po...
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Professor Beware
1943
Whistling in Brooklyn
6.3/3
Radio crime show host "The Fox" finds himself on the trail of a serial killer while a suspect himself.
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Whistling in Brooklyn
1937
Double or Nothing
6.6/5
A philanthropist's will dictates that four people receive $5,000 apiece, with the stipulation that the first one who can double the amount -- without...
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Double or Nothing
1937
Something to Sing About
6.233/15
James Cagney has a rare chance to show his song-and-dance-man roots in this low-budget tale of a New York bandleader struggling with a Hollywood studi...
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Something to Sing About
1942
Roxie Hart
6.9/23
A café in Chicago, 1942. On a rainy night, veteran reporter Homer Howard tells an increasing audience the story of Roxie Hart and the crime she was ju...
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Roxie Hart
1946
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt
5.8/4
A criminal psychologist investigates the murder of a veteran with amnesia.
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Crime Doctor's Man Hunt
1939
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
6.412/17
Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by...
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1936
Desire
6.7/42
Madeleine steals a string of pearls in Paris and uses American engineer Tom, who is driving on his vacation to Spain, to get the pearls out of France....
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Desire
1946
The Virginian
6.1/19
Arriving at Medicine Bow, eastern schoolteacher Molly Woods meets two cowboys, irresponsible Steve and the "Virginian," who gets off on the wrong foot...
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The Virginian
1947
Mother Wore Tights
5.3/9
In this chronicle of a vaudeville family, Myrtle McKinley (class of 1900) goes to San Francisco to attend business school, but ends up in a chorus lin...
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Mother Wore Tights
1933
Moonlight and Pretzels
0/0
A song plugger is stranded in a small town. There he meets a girl who later helps him to put on a show on Broadway.
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Moonlight and Pretzels
1940
Rhythm on the River
7/2
Popular songwriter Oliver Courtney has been getting by for years using one ghost writer for his music and another for his lyrics. When both writers me...
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Rhythm on the River
1940
Golden Gloves
5/2
An amateur boxer's girlfriend inspires him to face a ring pro entered by a gangster.
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Golden Gloves
1936
Strike Me Pink
6.6/7
Meek Eddie Pink becomes manager of an amusement park beset by mobsters.
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Strike Me Pink
1954
The Dirty Look
0/0
The Dirty Look is a 1954 comedy-short film, directed by Robert Altman, with Leonard Belove and William Frawley. Duration 24 minutes. This 1954 film wa...
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The Dirty Look
1935
Alibi Ike
5.8/4
Idiosyncratic new recruit Francis "Ike" Farrell tries to help the Cubs to the pennant with his pitching and hitting.
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Alibi Ike
1949
The Lady Takes a Sailor
4.3/6
Jennifer Smith heads a "Consumer Reports"-type company and her reputation for honesty is her greatest asset. While out boating one day she encounters...
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The Lady Takes a Sailor
1962
Safe at Home!
3.3/3
A Florida boy (Bryan Russell) tells his Little League buddies that his father knows two New York Yankees (Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris).
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Safe at Home!
1934
Here Is My Heart
6.833/6
A rich and famous singer disguises himself as a waiter in order to be near the woman he loves, a European princess.
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Here Is My Heart
1950
Pretty Baby
6/4
A young woman living in Manhattan pretends to be the mother of an infant in order to get a seat on the subway.
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Pretty Baby
1949
The Lone Wolf and His Lady
4.7/3
A newspaper man, and former jewel thief, is accused of gem theft.
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The Lone Wolf and His Lady
1927
Ventriloquist
0/0
A street corner fast-pitch salesman for something called "Hoak" stops a girl walking by to give his spiel.
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Ventriloquist
1934
Bolero
6.1/9
The complicated relationship between an ambitious, ruthless nightclub dancer and the woman he loves.
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Bolero
1949
Chicken Every Sunday
6/3
A woman takes in boarders to support her husband's harebrained financial schemes.
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Chicken Every Sunday
1937
Blossoms On Broadway
4/2
A young singer hopes to become a success on Broadway.
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Blossoms On Broadway
1934
Shoot the Works
5/1
The story of seedy sideshow barker Nicky, who uses everyone he meets to get ahead. Nicky isn't even above exploiting his singing sweetheart Lily to su...
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Shoot the Works
1942
Moonlight in Havana
0/0
A talented baseball player discovers he can only sing beautifully when he has a cold, leading a nightclub manager to hilariously attempt to keep him s...
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Moonlight in Havana
1934
Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen
5/1
Miss Madeline Fane is a famous California screen star who has been devoted to her baby son Michael since her husband's death the previous year. One mo...
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Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen
1938
Sons of the Legion
5/1
Sons of The Legion is a film about a group of young men looking to start a squadron in their Legion Post. However, because the boy's father wrongfully...
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Sons of the Legion
1934
The Witching Hour
5.3/3
Jack Brookfield, a gambler with clairvoyant and hypnotic powers, is able to win at cards through his unique gift. But when he inadvertently hypnotizes...
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The Witching Hour
1936
Three Married Men
0/0
Jennie Mullins and her fiancé Peter Cary are happily in love but their families are miserable about their relationship. The Carys and Mullinses have b...
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Three Married Men
1935
College Scandal
5.2/2
Julie Fresnel is a co-ed at Redgate University and her father, Dr. Henri Fresnel, is the new French professor. Julie attraction from the make students...
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College Scandal
1940
Dancing on a Dime
5/3
Director Ted Brooks and comedians Jack Norcross, Dandy Joslyn and Phil Miller are part of a troupe of promising young players rehearsing for a WPA sho...
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Dancing on a Dime
1935
Car 99
5/1
A story of the Michigan State Police and the strong sense of loyalty and duty it instills in its men. It follows the career of a newly-inducted rookie...
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Car 99
1943
We've Never Been Licked
0/1
Young Brad Craig enters the military school with a chip on his shoulder which upperclassmen quickly knock off. Once adjusted, Craig falls in love with...
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We've Never Been Licked
1948
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
6/2
Eddie Tayloe's grandfather leaves him six thousand dollars and the money belt it came in, freeing Tayloe to leave his dull newspaper job in Texas and...
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Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
1945
Hitchhike to Happiness
5/1
An aspiring playwright gets a job in a New York City restaurant favored by celebrities in hopes of getting a break. Unfortunately, most of them believ...
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Hitchhike to Happiness
1942
Wildcat
6/1
Wildcatter Johnny Maverick and his pal go to a town in oil country offering $25,000 to the person who brings in the first well. They find oil on the o...
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Wildcat
1936
F-Man
0/0
Johnny Dime has aspiration of becoming a "G-Man" , gums up the work of Rogan, an actual government agent is his pursuit of Public Enemy No. 1. Dimes a...
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F-Man
1941
The Bride Came C.O.D.
7.1/29
A financially-strapped charter pilot hires himself to an oil tycoon to kidnap his madcap daughter and prevent her from marrying a vapid band leader.
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The Bride Came C.O.D.
1947
My Wild Irish Rose
6/6
Musical biography of Irish 19th century tenor Chauncey Olcott.
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My Wild Irish Rose
1925
Should Husbands Be Watched?
6/1
Mr. Jump has come into some money and informs his wife that they can now hire a maid and won't have to do anymore housework. Circumstances cause Mrs....
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Should Husbands Be Watched?
1937
High, Wide and Handsome
6/2
The setting is a small town in 1870s Pennsylvania. Sally Waterson and her father have stopped in town with their traveling medicine show, but when the...
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High, Wide and Handsome
1941
Cracked Nuts
0/0
A young man in a small town wins $5000 in a radio contest. He goes to New York City to propose to his girlfriend, but gets mixed up with a crooked att...
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Cracked Nuts
1947
Down to Earth
6/22
Upset at a new Broadway musical mocking The Nine Muses, Greek goddess Terpsichore comes down to earth to land a part in the show and change it.
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Down to Earth
1940
Those Were the Days!
0/0
At a family gathering, an elderly man reflects on the follies of his youth during his freshman year at college.
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Those Were the Days!
1947
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
5/1
A biopic of the career of Joe Howard (12 Feb.,1878 - 19 May, 1961), famous songwriter of the early 20th Century. Howard wrote the title song, Goodbye,...
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I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
1939
Grand Jury Secrets
0/0
A newspaper reporter gets involved with shady stock promoters when he listens in on a jury room session.
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Grand Jury Secrets
1940
The Farmer's Daughter
5/3
Broadway producer Nickie North and press agent Scoop Trimble find an investor for their next show who insists that they cast his ex-girlfriend, Claric...
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The Farmer's Daughter
1941
Gangs Of The City
0/0
Heiress Bonnie Parker, tired of newspaper stories about her society high-life, gives a false story to energetic reporter Bill Raymond, who has frequen...
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Gangs Of The City
1940
Untamed
4.3/3
A courageous doctor braves a fierce blizzard in the Canadian wilderness to save a remote community from a deadly epidemic. He has come North to visit...
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Untamed
1933
Hell and High Water
0/0
The life of an avowed bachelor who tows garbage is changed when he meets a runaway taxi dancer.
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Hell and High Water
1944
Going My Way
6.7/174
Youthful Father Chuck O'Malley led a colorful life of sports, song, and romance before joining the Roman Catholic clergy. After being appointed to a r...
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Going My Way
1946
Rendezvous with Annie
6/1
A homesick American soldier stationed in England during World War II makes an unauthorized trip to see his wife and returns to England with only two...
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Rendezvous with Annie
1935
It's a Great Life
0/0
Desperate for work, Johnny Barclay leaves Ma and Grandpop to join the newly formed Civilian Conversation Corps. On the way he meets cynical young hobo...
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It's a Great Life
1942
Treat 'Em Rough
6/1
When his father is accused of graft, a former boxer returns home to clear his name.
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Treat 'Em Rough
1947
Monsieur Verdoux
7.7/420
The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux, and his sociopathic methods of attaining income. While being both loyal and competent in his wo...
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Monsieur Verdoux
1942
It Happened in Flatbush
4.8/4
A washed up baseball player returns to Brooklyn to manage his old team but an old sports reporter is eager to prove that he is a loser.
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It Happened in Flatbush
1935
Harmony Lane
3.5/4
The life and loves of composer Stephen Foster, from his early success through his decline, degradation, and death from alcoholism.
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Harmony Lane
1939
Stop, Look and Love
5/1
Daughter has trouble holding onto boyfriends because of her critical mother until understanding father comes to her aid.
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Stop, Look and Love
1939
Ambush
5/1
Four bandits swoop down on a California bank and flee with $98,000, leaving a truck as the only clue to their identity. Jane Hartman, bank secretary,...
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Ambush
1939
Persons in Hiding
3.5/2
During a stick-up, a woman is excited by the criminal and joins him on his crime spree.
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Persons in Hiding
1938
Touchdown, Army
0/0
Prep football star Jimmy Howal gets a reception far different from what he expected when he enters West Point.
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Touchdown, Army
1940
The Quarterback
0/0
A comedy featuring Morris in a dual role as a dumb twin and a star football player, and a smart twin studying to become a college professor. They both...
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The Quarterback
1941
Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga
5/4
The brash, opinionated owner of a nightclub manages to drive everybody crazy on a boat trip to Havana.
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Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga
1942
Give Out, Sisters
5/2
The Andrews Sisters headline this musical. They play the lead act at a popular nightclub. The trouble begins when they hire a few students from a fina...
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Give Out, Sisters
1943
Larceny with Music
4/2
A former bootlegger is now the prosperous owner of a popular nightclub. A hustling promoter manages to pass off a young singer as the heir to a fortun...
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Larceny with Music
1939
St. Louis Blues
0/0
A Broadway musical comedy star tires of the same old grind and flees the city. She runs into the skipper of a showboat who befriends her, and they mak...
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St. Louis Blues
1949
East Side, West Side
7/22
A vain businessman puts strains on his happy marriage to a rich, beautiful socialite by allowing himself to be seduced by a former girlfriend.
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East Side, West Side
1953
I Love Lucy: The Movie
7.25/6
The film plays out, with three first-season episodes edited together into a single story: "The Benefit", "Breaking the Lease", and "The Ballet", with...
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I Love Lucy: The Movie
1949
Home in San Antone
0/0
Posing as unemployed musicians, Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys, are being helped by Ted Gibson owner of the Harmony Inn in San Antonio, Texas....
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Home in San Antone
1948
Good Sam
6/19
Sam Clayton has a good heart and likes to help out people in need. In fact, he likes to help them out so much that he often finds himself broke and un...
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Good Sam
1944
Lake Placid Serenade
0/0
On a peaceful, pre-war winter in Czechoslovakia, the genial godfather, Jaroslav Haschek, of Vera Hascheck, presents the young girl with her first pair...
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Lake Placid Serenade
1950
Kill the Umpire
6.2/5
Ex-baseball player Bill Johnson, failing at many jobs when his ball-playing days are over, reluctantly takes the advice of his father-in-law, Jonah Ev...
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Kill the Umpire
1934
The Lemon Drop Kid
5/2
The Lemon Drop Kid is a fast-talking racetrack bum who swindles $100 from an old, ailing man. He takes it on the lam with his sidekick, The Professor.
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The Lemon Drop Kid
1936
The General Died at Dawn
6.2/18
China, 1930s, during the ravaging civil war. General Pen entrusts O'Hara, an intrepid American adventurer, with the mission of providing a large sum o...
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The General Died at Dawn
1940
Sandy Gets Her Man
4/1
A young widow lets her baby be the deciding factor as to which eligible bachelor she should marry.
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Sandy Gets Her Man
1956
Lucy's Really Lost Moments
6.5/2
The legendary Lucille Ball as you've never seen her before! Laugh along with Lucy and Desi in these extremely rare television appearances, beautifully...
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Lucy's Really Lost Moments
1942
The Yankee Doodler
5/1
Ancestors of music videos, YANKEE DOODLER, ROSIE THE RIVETER, and DEAR ARABELLA were made during World War II for coin-operated jukebox devices found...
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The Yankee Doodler
1939
Night Work
7/1
The Fitch family is managing an apartment building when the grandfather of their adopted son Butch decides the family isn't worthy of raising his gran...
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Night Work
1939
Ex-Champ
6/1
A former prizefighter tries to help his son pay off his gambling debts.
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Ex-Champ
1948
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
6/1
Joe is scheduled for the big fight as usual. This one has more fight sequences than plot.
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Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
1945
Ziegfeld Follies
6.1/50
The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.
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Ziegfeld Follies
1940
Opened by Mistake
0/0
A wise-guy reporter and a tippling sportswriter acquire an unclaimed trunk with a corpse inside.
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Opened by Mistake
1935
Hold 'Em Yale
7/1
A pretty young socialite falls for a charming but shady hustler, who abandons her when he finds that she has been disowned by her wealthy father. Thre...
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Hold 'Em Yale
2016
I Love Lucy Christmas Special
10/1
Celebrate the holidays with the I LOVE LUCY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, a new one-hour special featuring two back-to-back colorized classic episodes of the ser...
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I Love Lucy Christmas Special
1935
Ship Cafe
0/0
The singing stoker and the vamp.
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Ship Cafe
1948
The Girl from Manhattan
5/1
A small-town girl who's made it big in New York as a fashion model returns home, only to find that her somewhat dotty uncle has mortgaged his boarding...
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