Sam Harris

Born: 11 January 1877, Sydney, Australia

Died: 22 October 1969, Los Angeles, California, USA

 

Sam Harris was a prolific dress extra in over 700 films and sometimes hard to spot.

 

Foreign Correspondent (1940) as Luncheon Guest (uncredited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magic Town (1947) as Businessman on Street / Grandview Citizen (uncredited)

Sam is in the background to the left of Jane Wyman.

Sam is later seen in one of the final scenes as a Grandview citizen.

Challenge to Lassie (1949) as Magistrate (uncredited)

Sam Harris is in the middle of the picture, next to Henry Stephenson.

Dial M for Murder (1954) as Man in Telephone Booth (uncredited)

Ray Milland, on the left, is waiting to make an 'important' phone call.

 

Blog Updates - July to September 2022

27th September 2022

 

Additional pictures added: Paul E. Burns, 

 

 

14th September 2022

 

I've been taking a break to do some real work. Just thought I would add a pic or two from films I've seen recently. Also this section of the blog is getting too big, so I will be splitting it up into quarterly blocks.

Additional pictures added: Rod Steiger, Dennis Hopper, 

 

 

23rd August 2022

 

It was about time that I watched 'Night of the Living Dead (1968)' and 'Carnival of Souls (1962)'. These two films have been on my radar for twenty years and in the public domain for much longer than that. Most of the new actors added from 'Carnival of Souls' were amateurs appearing in their only feature.

New actors added: Candace Hilligoss, Art Ellison, Sidney Berger, Frances Feist, Stan Levitt, Bill de Jarnette, Steve Boozer, Larry Sneegas, Mary Ann Harris, Sharon Scoville, Herk Harvey, Wayne Schmille, Bill Sollner, Reza Badiyi, Cari Conboy, Pamela Ballard, Karen Pyles, Dan Palmquist, Tom McGinnis, Forbes Caldwell.  

Additional pictures added: 

 

 

22nd August 2022

 

New actors added: Edgar Barrier, Donald Curtis,   

 

Additional pictures added: Emmett Lynn, 

 

 

17th August 2022

 

Additional pictures added: Sabu, John Qualen,   

 

 

15th August 2022

 

New actors added: Jeni Le Gon.

 

Additional pictures added: Maria Montez, Billy Gilbert, Jon Hall.

 

 

13th August 2022

 

More of the same as before.

 

New actors added: Helen Parrish,      

 

Additional pictures added: Fern Emmett,   

 

 

 

11th August 2022

 

Started watching 'Arabian Nights (1942)' in glorious Technicolor. Returned to the film 'In Old California (1942)' that I didn't finish watching a few months ago. I've also been skimming through a few other films that I have from 1942 and adding them and some of the actors and actresses to this blog.

 

New actors added: Acquanetta, Woody Herman, Grace McDonald, Edith Barrett  

 

Additional picture added: Marie Blake, Dick Purcell, Forrest Taylor (not looking very much like himself!), Eddie Acuff, Fay Helm, Albert Dekker,     

 

 

10th August 2022

 

Added some writing to a new Disclaimer post.

 

 

5th August 2022

 

Continuing to add pictures from 'Flamingo Road (1949)'. It is always hard to find some of the extras who are supposedly in the film, especially when the quality of the picture isn't very good. Also, I am revisitng a film I saw quite a few years ago, 'Roaring Roads (1935)' and adding pictures from that.

New actors added: Jan Kayne, Robert Strange, Helen Hunt, Lina Romay, James Gonzalez, Russ Conway, Tom Stevenson, Broderick O'Farrell,       

Additional pictures added: Fred Kelsey, Al Thompson, Sammy McKim, Larry J. Blake,   

 

 

4th August 2022

 

Continuing to add pictures from 'Flamingo Road (1949)'.

 

New actors added: David Brian, Morgan Farley, William Bailey, Dale Robertson, Leslie Kimmell, 

 

Additional pictures added: Iris Adrian, Gladys George, Roy Gordon, Alice White, Fred Clark, Sydney Greenstreet, M.A. Bogue, William Haade, John Gallaudet, Tristram Coffin, Charles Sherlock, Garry Owen, James Flavin, Dick Elliott, Pat Gleason,   

 

 

2nd August 2022

 

Began watching 'Flamingo Road (1949)' and will be adding the actors from this over the next few days.

 

New actors added: Virginia Huston, Gertrude Michael, Tito Vuolo,  

 

Additional pictures added: Sydney Greenstreet, Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott, 

 

 

 

31st July 2022

 

Adding pictures from 'Hobson's Choice (1954)' this morning, and later from 'The Side Streets of Hollywood (1953)'.

 

New actors added: Brenda de Banzie, Helen Haye, Madge Brindley, Julien Mitchell, Herbert C. Walton, Leonard Sharp, Phil Rhodes, Carol Brewster.  

 

Additional pictures added: Charles Laughton, Edie Martin, Raymond Huntley, John Laurie, Richard Wattis, Philip Stainton, Dorothy Gordon [UK], Robert Brooks Turner, Derek Blomfeld, Daphne Anderson, Prunella Scales, Gibb McLaughlin, Jack Howarth, Hal Osmond, Joseph Tomelty.     

 

 

30th July 2022

 

I happened upon a very nice version of 'Hobson's Choice (1954)' uploaded to YouTube legally by Studio Canal UK. I added another picture of John Mills to the blog from this film. It reminded me that I'd watched another John Mills film 'Ice Cold in Alex (1958)' for the first time last year. Don't know why it took me so long to get round to watching it. So I set about adding pictures from that too.

 

Also carried on watching 'Side Streets of Hollywood (1953)'. It's a terrible film and I can't seem to watch it in one sitting.

New actors added: Sylvia Syms, Arline Hunter, Thad Swift  

Additional pictures added: John Mills  

 

29th July 2022

 

Began a new section of the blog for television series. 

Watched my very first episode of 'The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952)'.

Additional pictures added: Dorothy Abbott (again), Harriet Nelson, Dick Elliott.

 

28th July 2022

 

Started watching 'Side Streets of Hollywood (1953)' also known as 'A Virgin in Hollywood'. It's a low budget independent film with dubious intentions. 

Additional pictures added: Dorothy Abbott.

 

 

27th July 2022

 

Progress is slow at the moment because of work. Today I watched the short comedy 'Run, Girl, Run (1928)'. I also looked at the film 'In Love with Alma Cogan (2012)' that I had watched a few days ago and noted the actors that would qualify for my blog. Similarly, I watched another British independent film 'Caught in the Act (1997)' and picked out the qulifying actors.

 

New actors added: Daphne Pollard, Madalynne Field, Ann Firbank, Keith Barron, John Hurt, Jim Hallett.   

 

Additional pictures added: Lionel Belmore, Carole Lombard, George Gray, Matthew 'Tijuana' Jones, Leslie Phillips, Roger Moore [USA]. I'm not very confident about the Roger Moore identification. 

 

A correction was made to Matthew 'Tijuana' Jones' post and Hayes Robertson was added to the blog. This only happened after checking with the excellent site Another Nice Mess.

 

22nd July 2022

 

Watched some of the available footage from the British television series 'A for Andromeda (1961)'. It was very dated and I wasn't able to watch a whole episode.

 

New actors added: Maurice Hedley, Peter King. 

Additional pictures added: Julie Christie, Peter Halliday.

1896 Films

1896

 

 

 

Escamotage d'une dame au théâtre Robert Houdin

 

[Georges Méliès, Jehanne d'Alcy]

 

 

Le manoir du diable aka The Haunted Castle aka The House of the Devil

[Jehanne d'Alcy, Jules-Eugène Legris, Georges Méliès]

 

Not Bess Flowers

I have created this post to prove that the listing on IMDB for Bess Flowers has become completely out of hand. There are many films on that site that give her credit (or 'uncredit') as an extra. Having watched some of these films there is either no visual evidence or the extra in question is not her. This is only my opinion, but I have studied these films in detail to find other instances of where she could appear and I think I'm right. Eventually I will provide links to video clips for you to make up your own mind.

 

 

 The real Bess Flowers

Forbidden (1932) as Gambler in Havana (uncredited)

Is this Bess on the right? I don't think so. Her nose is wrong and her cheek bones are not as prominent as the real Bess. She is tall enough, however.

Here's the clip.

The Big Timer (1932) as Fight Spectator (uncredited)

There are two fights in this film with female spectators present. The extra highlighted bottom middle of the picture is the only one of the fight spectators I can see who has similar hair to Bess, but her face is completely different.

New Morals for Old (1932) as Party Guest (uncredited)

The party guest in centre of the background is the only one who has her hair colouring and style, but she is way too short and her face is wrong.

Gordon MacRae

Born: 12 March 1921, East Orange, New Jersey, USA

Died: 24 January 1986, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

 

On Moonlight Bay (1951) as William Sherman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog Updates - April to June 2022

 

29th June 2022

 

Working mainly on the Margaret Rutherford 'Miss Marple' films today.

 

New actors added: Joyce Carpenter, Bess Rogers, George Holdcroft,

 

Additional pictures added: Duncan Lamont, Joan Ingram, 

 

 

28th June 2022

 

Working mainly on the Margaret Rutherford 'Miss Marple' films today.

 

New actors added: Gerald Cross, Gordon Harris, Vincent Harding, Robert Vossler, Ned Lynch, Aileen Lewis, John Dunbar, Robert Urquhart, Katya Douglas, James Villiers.

 

Additional pictures added: Conrad Phillips, Ronald Howard, Lucy Griffiths, Sidney Vivian, Finlay Currie, Margaret Rutherford, Flora Robson, Ron Moody, Stringer Davis, Noel Howlett. 

 

 

27th June 2022

 

Working mainly on the Margaret Rutherford 'Miss Marple' films today.

 

New actors added: Ronnie Raymond, Barbara Leake, Arthur Kennedy, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Thorley Walters (28th June), 

Additional pictures added: Stringer Davis, James Robertson Justice, Muriel Pavlow, Michael Golden, Robert Morley, Megs Jenkins. 

 

 

26th June 2022

 

Working mainly on the Margaret Rutherford 'Miss Marple' films today.

 

New actors added: Peter Butterworth, Nadia Pavlova, Richard Briers,

Additional pictures added: Margaret Rutherford, Joan Hickson,

 

 

25th June 2022

 

New actors added: Herbie Faye, Jason Robards Jr., Charlene Holt, and Michael J. Pollard.

Additional picture added: Gloria Grahame.

 

 

23rd June 2022

 

Watched 'Melvin and Howard (1980)'. Several actors who qualify for this blog were in it including Jason Robards Jr., Michael J. Pollard, Gloria Grahame, Charlene Holt and Herbie Faye. I will add them soon.

 

 

16th June 2022

 

A few months ago I watched the Margaret Rutherford films 'Murder She Said (1961)', 'Murder at the Gallop (1963)', 'Murder Most Foul (1964)' and 'Murder Ahoy (1964)' in which she plays Miss Marple from the Agatha Christie novels. Today I began to add the pictures from these films.

New actors added: Joan Benham.

 

 

15th June 2022

 

Added the pictures from 'Another Fine Mess (1930)' today. 

New actors added: Bill Knight, Bettymae Crane, Beverly Crane, and Bob Minford.

 

Additional pictures added: Gertrude Sutton, Eddie Dunn, Harry Bernard, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charles K. Gerrard, James Finlayson, Bobby Burns, and Thelma Todd. 

There is an excellent website that helps me put together this blog. The site is dedicated to all things concerning Hal Roach Studios; the films, the actors and the locations and anything else related to those films. Have a look at Another Nice Mess to find more details about some of the actors here.

Watched 'The Gibson Goddess (1909)' and re-watched 'Her First Biscuits (1909)'.

New actors added: Marion Leonard, Dorothy West, Anthony O'Sullivan, Gertrude Robinson, Jeanie Macpherson (added 16th June), Billy Quirk (added 16th June) and John R. Cumpson.

 

Additional pictures added: Mary Pickford, and George Nichols. A picture was also added to Kate Bruce after re-watching 'The Country Doctor (1909).'

Re-watched 'The Country Doctor (1909)'.

New actors added: Rose King, Kate Bruce, Adele DeGarde.

Additional pictures added: Mary Pickford.

 

 

13th June 2022

 

Don't often add actors from television shows at the moment, but I stumbled upon a show from 1956 called Private Secretary.

 

New actors added: Jesse White

 

Additional pictures added: George E. Stone.

 

 

12th June 2022

 

Watched 'Another Fine Mess (1930)' again, but this time with my son, who likes Laurel and Hardy and has seen many of the shorts. Also, I've never watched it before with the intention of adding the actors to the blog.

 

9th June 2022

 

Finished watching 'Made for Love (1926)' thank goodness. Very boring. Several unidentified actors have a featured role. One is suggested to be Malcolm Denny (Reginald Denny's brother) but I need to find another film of his to confirm before he is entered into this blog.

 

7th June 2022

 

Often, I go back to a film I've seen before to find the actors I missed the first time around. This was the case today with 'Back Door to Heaven (1939)', a film I first watched several years ago. The Louis Morrison error I mentioned on 31st May 2022 was in this film, which prompted me to have another look at it.

 

New actors added: Raymond Roe, Kenneth LeRoy, and Hugh Cameron.

Additional pictures added: Robert B. Williams.

5th June 2022

Watched a short silent comedy 'Pep Up (1929)' today starring Cliff Bowes. This is a light comedy with very little storyline. Cliff Bowes reminds me of Glenn Tryon of Hal Roach Studios and the comedy is just as weak. It was lovely to see Adrienne Dore for the first time. Also, Bobby Barber appears briefly in one of his earliest films.

New actors added: Adrienne Dore, Cliff Bowes, Marshall Ruth, and William Dale.

Additional pictures added: Emily Gerdes, and Bobby Barber.

As usual, plenty of extras to sift through to see if I recognise any of them. Unlikely, though.

3rd June 2022

Started watching the silent feature 'Made for Love (1926)' properly today. It's a difficult watch because it is so boring, but I will get through it one of these days. Lots of slow movement from Leatrice Joy in close up. Not very engaging. I only watched it because Leatrice Joy was in it, but she was dull.

 

New actors added: Leatrice Joy, Ethel Wales, Lincoln Stedman, Frank Butler, Neely Edwards, Snitz Edwards, and Bertram Grassby.

 

31st May 2022

 

Watched 'The Unholy Three (1925)' in its entirety for the first time. Previously I dipped into the film to look for Harry Earles in his baby costume to compare this version with the sound version from 1930. This is one of those situations where I tell people I love Lon Chaney and then realise I've only seen two of his films. It a realisation that happens to me more often than not. Another example was Humphrey Bogart. I really liked him, but I had only seen one of his films all the way through. I've now put that right and still like him.

 

This was a superior film for 1925, in my opinion, particularly for the performances of Chaney and Mae Busch. My dilemma with this and other films is whether to add people to the blog who are not particularly actors, like the fat lady or human skeleton that appear at the beginning. From the offset, however, I have always maintained in my own mind that this blog was more about the supporting actors, extras and others who appear in the films and less about the stars, even though it is fun adding them all. There is only one sword swallower in the film and I don't know which one he is, so I have left him out for now. Apparently, Marjorie Morton plays Mrs. Arlington. The lady I presume who was this character was almost completely obscured facially. Therefore I've not included her in the blog. Her other films are not available to me. I don't remember seeing the 'Wild Borneo Man' in the film, so John Millerta has not been added.

 

New actors added: Mickey McBan, Carrie Clark Ward, Alice Jullian, Mary Angus, Margie Angus, Carrie Daumery, Charles Wellesley, John Merkyl, Edward Connelly, William Humphrey, Louis Shank, Violet N. Cane, Percy Williams, Vera Vance, and Walter P. Cole (added 1st June).

 

Additional pictures added: Lon Chaney, Mae Busch, Matt Moore, Victor McLaglen, Matthew Betz, E. Alyn Warren, and Walter Perry.

I made a correction to Louis Morrison's post. The previous entry was wrong and has been removed. This is why I like to watch more than one film of a particular actor.

 

I rely heavily on other researchers' information for actors such as Louis Shank who was not in many films that we know of, which therefore makes confiming his identity nigh on impossible.

 

There was a lot of extras in this film. I would love to identify some of them.

 

Had a quick look at the beginning of 'Made for Love (1929)'. Added Edmund Burns to the blog.

 

Watched the surviving fragments of the otherwise lost film 'The Way of All Flesh (1927)'. An impressive performance from Emil Jannings for which he won the very first 'best actor' Academy Award. 

New actos added: Emil Jannings, Donald Keith.

30th May 2022

Finished watching 'Too Many Kisses (1926)'. Decided to continue watching films newly entered into the Public Domain this year. The main reason for watching this particular film was so that I could identify the previously mentioned Arthur Ludwig and hopefully also add his inclusion in 'Old Ironsides (1926)'. Too Many Kisses was an enjoyable film even though the plot was extremely thin. I think this is first time I've seen William Powell in a silent film.

 

New actors added: Joseph Burke, Frank Currier, Arthur Ludwig, Frances Howard and Alyce Mills.

 

Additional pictures added: Richard Dix, William Powell, Albert Tavernier, and Paul Panzer. I had already added the picture of Harpo Marx from this film some time ago, which I got from a clip on YouTube.

I have newly identified Lois Moran in 'Too Many Kiss (1926)'. Her appearance is brief in the office scene early in the film.

 

 

27th May 2022

 

Finished watching 'Old Ironsides (1926)', a film I decided to watch to see if I could find Bess Flowers in it as reported on other websites. I could not! I particularly loved the performances of Wallace Beery and George Bancroft as two veterans of the sea. It also allowed me to add the following actors and actresses to my blog: the American Charles Farrell (I already had the Irish CF), Johnnie Walker, Charles Hill Mailes, the boxer George Godfrey, William Conklin, Effie Ellsler and Guy Oliver. 

 

Added new pictures for: Wallace and George (as stated earlier), Esther Ralston, Eddie Fetherston, Fred Kohler, and Spec O'Donnell. 

 

I was looking for Arthur Ludwig but I didn't know what he looked like. As for the Fred Kohler identification, I am still only 99% sure it's him. I need to see some other films of his from that era. There is a moment in the film when Spec O'Donnell exclaims 'Ain't fightin' great!' and a minute later it appears that he is killed in battle, but then appears in close up again a few minutes after this.