Birthday:
08-02-1888
Deathday:
04-17-1959 (70 years)
Birthplace:
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cecil Cunningham (August 2, 1888 – April 17, 1959) was an American film and stage actress. With whitish hair cut like a man's, she was a Hollywood character actress, often cast in roles as a general "know-it-all". She made more than 80 appearances in movies between 1929 and 1946, many of them uncredited.
Cunningham started her working life as a switchboard operator in a commerce bank and did some sittings as a photographer's model. Her first show business job was in the chorus line of 'Mademoiselle Modiste' at the age of eighteen. Cunningham trained as a singer and appeared in opera. She worked as a vaudeville comedian at the Palace Theatre in New York City until the commencement of her movie career in 1929.
Cecil Cunningham (August 2, 1888 – April 17, 1959) was an American film and stage actress. With whitish hair cut like a man's, she was a Hollywood character actress, often cast in roles as a general "know-it-all". She made more than 80 appearances in movies between 1929 and 1946, many of them uncredited.
Cunningham started her working life as a switchboard operator in a commerce bank and did some sittings as a photographer's model. Her first show business job was in the chorus line of 'Mademoiselle Modiste' at the age of eighteen. Cunningham trained as a singer and appeared in opera. She worked as a vaudeville comedian at the Palace Theatre in New York City until the commencement of her movie career in 1929.
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Their works
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Above Suspicion
Act like Countess
event1943 star_border 6.5
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Two newlyweds spy on the Nazis for the British Secret Service during their honeymoon in Europe.
Blonde Venus
Act like Cabaret Manager in Norfolk (uncredited)
event1932 star_border 6.8
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In an effort to be able to afford expensive treatment for her gravely ill American husband, a retired German entertainer returns to the cabaret as Blonde Venus and catches the eye of a wealthy politician.
The Awful Truth
Act like Aunt Patsy
event1937 star_border 7.2
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Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance.
New Moon
Act like Governor's Wife
event1940 star_border 6.8
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A revolutionary leader romances a French aristocrat in Louisiana.
Those We Love
Act like Mrs. Henry Abbott
event1932 star_border 6
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Director Robert Florey's 1932 melodrama about a woman who suspects her husband of infidelity stars Mary Astor, Kenneth MacKenna, Tommy Conlon, Lilyan Tashman, Hale Hamilton, Cecil Cunningham and Virginia Sale.
Return of the Terror
Act like Miss Doolittle
event1934 star_border 6
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"The Terror", a killer whose identity is unknown, occupies an English country house that has been converted into an inn.
It's a Wonderful World
Act like Madame J. L. Chambers
event1939 star_border 6.4
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Detective Guy Johnson's client, Willie Heywood, is framed for murder. While Guy hides him so he can catch the real killer, both of them are nabbed by the police, tried, convicted and sentenced to jail: Guy for a year with Willie to be executed. On the way to jail, Guy comes across a clue and escapes from the police.
The Hidden Hand
Act like Lorinda Channing
event1942 star_border 6.3
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Peter Thorne is a young attorney who works for an eccentric old woman, Lorinda Channing, who uses her insane brother, John Channing, to frighten her other relatives because they are after her money. Further complications arise when another murderer arrives on the scene and plants the blame on John.
Blossoms in the Dust
Act like Mrs. Marcus Gilworth
event1941 star_border 6.5
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Edna marries Texan Sam Gladney, operator of a wheat mill. They have a son, who is killed when very young. Edna discovers by chance how the law treats children who are without parents and decides to do something about it. She opens a home for foundlings and orphans and begins to place children in good homes, despite the opposition of "conservative" citizens, who would condemn illegitimate children for being born out of wedlock. Eventually Edna leads a fight in the Texas legislature to remove the stigma of illegitimacy from birth records in that state, while continuing to be an advocate for homeless children.
Come and Get It
Act like Josie
event1936 star_border 6.8
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An ambitious lumberjack abandons his saloon girl lover so that he can marry into wealth, but years later becomes infatuated with the woman's daughter.
Daughter of Shanghai
Act like Mrs. Mary Hunt
event1937 star_border 5.4
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A Chinese-American woman tries to expose an illegal alien smuggling ring.
This Way Please
Act like Miss Eberhardt
event1937 star_border 5.5
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A famous singer and matinée idol helps a pretty young theater usher in her dreams of becoming a singer, but when her career begins to take off and she becomes engaged to a wealthy young man, he realizes he's fallen for her and plots to break up her impending marriage.
Swing High, Swing Low
Act like Murphy
event1937 star_border 5.1
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In Panama, Maggie King meets soldier Skid Johnson on his last day in the army and reluctantly agrees to a date to celebrate. The two become involved in a nightclub brawl which causes Maggie to miss her ship back to the States. Now stranded, she's forced to move in with Skid and his pal Harry. She soon falls in love with Skid. Skid gets a job playing the trumpet at a local club and becomes a big success. Fame and fortune go to his head which eventually destroys his relationship with Maggie and his career.
Kentucky Moonshine
Act like Landlady
event1938 star_border 5.3
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The Ritz Brothers pretend to be Kentucky hillbillies in order to get a booking on a radio show.
Back Street
Act like Mrs. Miller
event1941 star_border 7.2
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Previously filmed in 1932, and remade a third time in 1961, this second film version of Fannie Hurst's novel stars Margaret Sullavan as a fashion designer in love with a married banker (Charles Boyer). Directed by Robert Stevenson, the film also stars Richard Carlson, Tim Holt, Frank McHugh, Esther Dale and Cecil Cunningham.
Wives Under Suspicion
Act like "Sharpy"
event1938 star_border 5.4
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A merciless district attorney prosecutes a case that mirrors his own life.
College Swing
Act like Dean Sleet
event1938 star_border 6.8
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Gracie Alden tries to graduate from college to get an inheritance.
You and Me
Act like Mrs. Morris
event1938 star_border 6.7
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Mr. Morris, the owner of a large metropolitan department store, gives jobs to paroled ex-convicts in an effort to help them reform and go straight. Among his 'employed-prison-graduates' are Helen Roberts and Joe Dennis, working as sales clerks. Joe is in love with Helen and asks her to marry him, but she is forbidden to marry as she is still on parole, but she says yes and they are married. In spite of their poverty-level life, their marriage is a happy one until Joe discovers she has lied about her past, in order to marry him. Disillusioned, he leaves, goes back to his old gang and plans to rob the department store.
The Impatient Maiden
Act like Mrs. Rosy
event1932
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A maid's dream comes true but are not quite what she expected.
Manhattan Love Song
Act like Pancake Annie Jones
event1934 star_border 5.2
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After having been swindled out of all their money by a crooked business manager, formerly wealthy socialites Jerry and Carol discover that they owe their chauffeur and maid back wages they are unable to pay. They're forced to let their former employees live in their luxury apartment in lieu of paying the money they owe them.
Blond Cheat
Act like Genevieve Trent
event1938 star_border 6
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Socially prominent Michael Ashburn, chief assistant for a London loan broker makes a large loan during a closing time to a man for a pair of earrings. He is unaware that the collateral can not be removed from the ears in which they reside, so then Julie becomes part of the collateral.
From Hell to Heaven
Act like Mrs. Chadman
event1933 star_border 7.2
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The various residents and occupants of a resort hotel await the outcome of a horse race at a nearby track, as it will affect each of their lives in different ways.
Just a Pain in the Parlor
Act like Mrs. Smith
event1932 star_border 3
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Harry Sweet stars as a hick Olympic hero who is housed in a high society mansion and causes havoc to the high brow party in progress.
The Affairs of Martha
Act like Mrs. Llewellyn Castle
event1942 star_border 5.8
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Members of a well-to-do small community become worried when it is revealed that one of their maids is writing a telling exposé.
Kitty Foyle
Act like Grandmother
event1940 star_border 6.5
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A hard-working, white-collar girl falls in love with a young socialite, but meets with his family's disapproval.
Playboy of Paris
Act like Mlle. Hedwige
event1930 star_border 7
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Yvonne, daughter of Philibert, a Paris cafe owner, is in love with dreamy, blundering Albert, a waiter, though he pays little attention to her. Philibert plans to marry his daughter to a wealthy Parisian, but upon learning that Albert is to come into a large inheritance, he conspires to place him under a longterm contract, confident that he willingly will pay a forfeit to break it.
The Age for Love
Act like Pamela
event1931
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A comedy-drama about marriage and divorce. A wife does not want children, her husband leaves her and marries a woman who does.
Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)
Act like Madame Panoramia aka Pansy
event1931 star_border 6.4
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A young woman runs away from an abusive home and pre-arranged marriage only to be frustrated in her attempts to find happiness with a handsome engineer.
The Life of Vergie Winters
Act like Pearl Turner
event1934 star_border 5.9
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A small town politician, kept from marrying the love of his life, eventually marries another woman and his career ascends, but he secretly continues the relationship with his true love.
Their Own Desire
Act like Aunt Caroline
event1929 star_border 4.8
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Lally is a rich girl whose father writes books and plays polo. After 23 years of marriage her father decides to divorce Lally's mother and remarry to soon-to-be-divorced Beth Cheever. This sours Lally on all men. While on vacation with her mother she meets Jack, who succeeds in stealing her heart. Then Lally discovers that Jack is the son of Beth Cheever, the woman who is to marry her father.
Four Men and a Prayer
Act like Piper
event1938 star_border 6.3
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The sons of a disgraced British officer try to clear his name.
The Family Next Door
Act like Cora Stewart
event1939 star_border 5.2
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Rose Pierce is discontent with her life as the wife of a small town plumber and has visions of becoming a wealthy socialite. Consequently, when her smart aleck son Sammy hears that an electric railroad line is to be built through town, she decides that the family can become rich by purchasing the lots along the right of way. Patriarch George Pierce laughs at the idea, but when Rose and Sammy learn that Cora Stewart, the wealthy town widow, has withdrawn her savings from the bank, they jump to the conclusion that she is interested in buying the lots, and mother and son secretly invest the family bank roll in the land.
Girls' School
Act like Miss Brewster
event1938 star_border 6
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Wealthy high school girls are sent to a boarding school to learn proper etiquette. Linda Simpson stays out all night. She tells her roommate, Betty Fleet, that it was because she's planning to elope. Linda gets in trouble when the faculty finds out from a monitor's report submitted by reluctant Natalie Freeman, a poor girl attending on scholarship.
Safe in Hell
Act like Angie
event1931 star_border 6.8
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To avoid the rigors of the law, Gilda flees New Orleans and hides on a Caribbean island where the worst criminals can ask for asylum. Besieged by the scum of the earth, Gilda will soon find out that she has found refuge in hell.
Repent at Leisure
Act like Mrs. Morgan
event1941 star_border 5.7
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Everyone in a large department store knows that a rising star is married to the owner's daughter, except her husband.
We Live Again
Act like Theodosia
event1934 star_border 6.5
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Nekhludoff, a Russian nobleman serving on a jury, discovers that the young girl on trial, Katusha, is someone he once seduced and abandoned and that he himself bears responsibility for reducing her to crime. He sets out to redeem her and himself in the process.
Lady of the Tropics
Act like Countess Berichi
event1939 star_border 6.1
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Playboy Bill Carey woos a half-caste beauty in French Indochina, but her second-class legal status makes a formidable barrier.
Night Club Scandal
Act like Mrs. Alvin
event1937 star_border 4
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When Dr. Ernest Tindal's wife is murdered, evidence mounts to convict her lover, Frank Marian. But Frank knows he didn't do it.....
Artists & Models
Act like Stella
event1937 star_border 6
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An ad man gets his model girlfriend to pose as a debutante for a new campaign.
My Reputation
Act like Stella Thompson
event1946 star_border 7.1
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Tongues begin to wag when a lonely widow becomes romantically involved with a military man. Problems arise when the gossip is filtered down to her own children.
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Act like Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
event1940 star_border 7
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Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of the life of Abraham Lincoln from his departure from Kentucky until his election as President of the United States.
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Act like Minor Role (uncredited)
event1936 star_border 7.5
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Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. When small-town boy meets big-city girl anything can, and does, happen.
Hurry, Charlie, Hurry
Act like Mrs. Diana Boone
event1941 star_border 6
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In this comedy, the marital conflicts between a meek banker and his nagging wife are chronicled.
Cairo
Act like Mme. Laruga
event1942 star_border 5.8
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Reporter Homer Smith accidently draws Marcia Warren into his mission to stop Nazis from bombing Allied Conwoys with robot-planes.
In Old Oklahoma
Act like Mrs. Ames
event1943 star_border 6.2
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Cowboy Dan Somers and oilman Jim "Hunk" Gardner compete for oil lease rights on Indian land in Oklahoma, as well as for the favors of schoolteacher Cathy Allen.
The Captain Is a Lady
Act like Mrs. Jane Homans
event1940 star_border 6
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Because of a bad investment, Captain and Mrs. Peabody are evicted from their home. Mrs. Peabody finds lodging at a retirement home, but as only single women are allowed, the Captain has to make other arrangements. However, after witnessing their tearful goodbye, the home's residents vote to allow the couple to move in together. The Captain is a reluctant lodger, uncomfortable at being surrounded by so much femininity, and bristles when his pals start referring to him as "Old Lady". The time has come for Captain Peabody to reassert his manhood!
King of Gamblers
Act like Big Edna
event1937 star_border 7
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Working for a slick restaurateur who has fallen for her, a down-on-life songstress falls instead for a crusading crime reporter, unaware that her employer is the secret head of the city's major gambling machine racket and has a penchant for murdering anyone who gets in his way.
Lillian Russell
Act like Mrs. Hobbs
event1940 star_border 6.1
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Alice Faye plays the title role in this 1940 film biography of the early-20th-century stage star.
Winter Carnival
Act like Miss Ainsley
event1939 star_border 6
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A divorced glamour girl keeps warm with a professor amid sports and romance at Dartmouth College's Winter Carnival.
The Druggist's Dilemma
Act like Mrs. Finch
event1933
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Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough star as a couple of wacky soda jerks. They do a high wire act while delivering a much needed pair of pants to their boss.
Anybody's Woman
Act like Dot
event1930 star_border 5.9
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A lawyer, left by his wife, gets drunk and marries a chorus girl, or so he learns the morning after.
Laugh It Off
Act like Tess Gibson
event1939 star_border 2
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Four former actresses decide to restart their careers by opening up a nightclub.
Cowboy Serenade
Act like Priscilla Lock
event1942 star_border 5
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Gene Autry heads a cattlemen's association and calls on the inexperienced Jim Agnew to negotiate the sale of five hundred heads of cattle. Jim ends up losing the cattle in a crooked poker game, however, and Gene and his sidekick Frog set out to find the cheating gamblers. It soon becomes clear that the leader of the gamblers is none other than Asa Lock, the dastardly father of Gene's romantic interest Stephanie.
Love Is a Racket
Act like Aunt Hattie Donovan
event1932 star_border 5.6
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A gossip columnist helps a Broadway ingenue who's beholden to a penthouse gangster.
The Wife Takes a Flyer
Act like Countess Oldenburg
event1942 star_border 4.5
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Christopher Reynolds, an American flying with the R.A.F, is shot down over German-occupied Holland and is given shelter by a Dutch family. Posing as the insane husband of the daughter of the house, Anita Wolverman, Reynolds convinces the German officer quartered there, Major Zellfritz, with the necessity for her divorce decree to be granted. After the court-hearing, Anita, goes to manage a home for retired ladies and, persuaded by Reynolds, tries to gain military information from the German Officer. When her former husband escapes from the insane-asylum his exploits are blamed on Reynolds. With the help of the old ladies and Anita, who "remarries" him, Reynolds escapes to England in a stolen German airplane.
Ladies They Talk About
Act like Mrs. Arlington (uncredited)
event1933 star_border 6.1
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A moll, imprisoned after participating in a bank robbery, helps with a breakout plot.
Mata Hari
Act like Gambler Selling Ring (uncredited)
event1931 star_border 6.2
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A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I.
The Feminine Touch
Act like Party Guest (uncredited)
event1941 star_border 5.1
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A college professor who believes there's no place for jealousy in modern marriage, John Hathaway (Don Ameche) moves with his wife, Julie (Rosalind Russell), to New York where he plans to publish a book on the subject. Meeting with publisher Elliott Morgan (Van Heflin), who falls head over heels for Julie, John is assigned to his assistant Nellie (Kay Francis), who only has eyes for her boss. Working closely with Nellie, who Julie thinks is after her husband, John continues his high-minded ways while his angry spouse schemes to make him so jealous he'll knock Elliott's block clean off.
The Rich Are Always with Us
Act like Woman Talking with Julian at Party (uncredited)
event1932 star_border 5.2
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A wealthy couple's marriage is falling apart due to the man's infidelity. The wife's male friend has long loved her and sees his big opportunity.
Twin Beds
Act like Miss MacMahon, Secretary
event1942 star_border 2.7
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Mike Abbott just wants to spend a quiet evening at home with his wife, but her collection of zany friends make hash of his hopes.
Complicated Women
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2003 star_border 6.7
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Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered film content. No longer portrayed as virgins or vamps, the liberated female of the pre-code films had dimensions. Good girls had lovers and babies and held down jobs, while the bad girls were cast in a sympathetic light. And they did it all without apology.
Scandal Street
Act like Maybelle Murphy
event1938
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Joe McKnight temporarily leaves his fiancée, Nora Langdon, for an expedition in a South American jungle. Nora gets a position as librarian in the small town of Midberg, where she boards with the Smith family. Nora is befriended by her next-door neighbor Austin Brown, who, unknown to his wife, is engaged in a moneymaking scheme with James Wilson.
Love Me Tonight
Act like Laundress (uncredited)
event1932 star_border 6.6
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A Parisian tailor goes to a château to collect a bill, only to fall for an aloof young princess living there.
If I Had a Million
Act like Agnes - Emily's Friend (uncredited)
event1932 star_border 6.5
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An elderly business tycoon, believed to be dying, decides to give a million dollars each to eight strangers chosen at random from the phone directory.
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
Act like Mrs. Whitman
event1942 star_border 5.8
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A distinguished professor finds his well-ordered life tospy-turvy after he is forced to take in a pregnant widow.
Du Barry was a Lady
Act like Wife Checking Her Coat
event1943 star_border 6.1
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Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a poor dancer but wants to marry for money. When Louis wins the Irish Sweepstakes, he asks May to marry him and she accepts even though she doesn't love him. Soon after, Louis has an accident and gets knocked on the head, where he dreams that he's King Louis XV pursuing the infamous Madame Du Barry.
The Wet Parade
Act like Mrs. Twombey - Hotel Guest (uncredited)
event1932 star_border 5.8
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The evils of alcohol before and during prohibition become evident as we see its effects on the rich Chilcote family and the hard working Tarleton family.
Is My Face Red?
Act like Millionaire's Wife
event1932 star_border 5
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William Poster writes a gossip column for the Morning Gazette. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets most of his information from his showgirl gal-pal, Peggy. Eventually Bill's reckless tattling gets him in deep trouble with friends and enemies, putting his career and life in jeopardy.
People Will Talk
Act like Nellie Simpson
event1935 star_border 3
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Henry and Clarice Wilkins have been married twenty-three years and are a model suburban couple who have never had a quarrel. But when their daughter, Peggy, and her husband, Bill Trask, have a squabble, Clarice has a plan to show the daughter just how distasteful domestic bickering appears; She enters into an agreement with Henry that they will fake a fuss to serve as an object lesson. Clarice's will to play the game and her sense of humor play out at about the same time when Henry's remarks become more pointed as the charade goes on. Their fake fight is soon a real barn-burner.
Play Girl
Act like Dowager at Concert (uncredited)
event1941 star_border 6.3
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When a gold digger starts to get a little old to ply her trade, she teaches a younger woman all her tricks.
Marie Antoinette
Act like Mme. 'Feldy' de Lerchenfeld (uncredited)
event1938 star_border 6.5
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The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the rival countries. The opulent Marie indulges in various whims and flirtations. When Louis XV passes and Louis XVI ascends the French throne, his queen's extravagant lifestyle earns the hatred of the French people, who despise her Austrian heritage.
Four Star Playhouse
Act like Woman (Hotel) (1 ep.)
event1952 star_border 6.1
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Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine.
Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino.
The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.
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