William Frawley

An automotive engineer bound for a holiday in Spain meets a sultry jewel thief. (imdb)

A suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards. (imdb)

A western based on the story "Gunsight Whitman" by Silvia Richards. Vern Haskell, a nice rancher, seeks out to revenge his fiance's death when she is killed during a robbery (imdb)

A woman pretends to be royalty in order to get aboard a cruise ship. (imdb)

When a nice old man who claims to be Santa Claus is institutionalized as insane, a young lawyer decides to defend him by arguing in court that he is the real thing. (imdb)

Rich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes an affectionate pet. Then T.J. dies, leaving to Rhubarb most of his money and a pro baseball team, the Brooklyn Loons. (imdb)

Meek Eddie Pink becomes manager of an amusement park beset by mobsters. (imdb)

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 Navy to protect them. After a series of attacks by the Japanese, something new is tried, Construction Batalions (CBs=Seabees). The new CBs have to both build and be ready to fight. (imdb)

Boxer Tommy Nelson is accused of killing his manager. While detectives Bud and Lou investigate they come across an invisibility formula with which Tommy injects himself rather than face the police. This sparks an idea for trapping gangster Morgan by having Lou fight champ Rocky Hanlon, with Tommy's invisible help. (imdb)

This is the story of an egotistical nightclub dance performer named Raoul, his determination to succeed at all costs, and the only woman in his life that truly matters to him, a dancing partner named Helen. (The highlight of the film is a dance performed atop a circular stage to a truncated version of Ravel's "Bolero.") (imdb)

Upset about a new Broadway musical's mockery of Greek mythology, the goddess Terpsichore comes down to earth and lands a part in the show. She works her charms on the show's producer and he incorporates her changes into the show. Unfortunately, her changes also produce a major flop. (imdb)

A new priest shows up at the parish of a crusty old priest named Father Fitzgibbon. The new man, Father O'Malley, must ingratiate himself with both the old man and his congregation. There are various ups and downs in their relationship but on the whole, it all seems to be going rather well. Then one night, the church burns to the ground. (imdb)

In revolution-torn China, American mercenary O'Hara is entrusted with a perilous mission, to get arms for the helpless authorities in a province ravaged by warlord General Yang. On the train to Shanghai, he meets Judy Perrie, whose father is in league with Yang. Will Judy regret agreeing to lure O'Hara to his doom, and if so, can she make it up to him? The balance of power seesaws to a perilous conclusion. (imdb)

The famed slugger is played by Bendix, who resembles Ruth slightly in looks and not at all in baseball ability. The film traces the "life and times" of Ruth, including his famous "called shot" in the 1932 World Series. (imdb)

Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River. Accompanying him is Jim, a slave running away from being sold. Together the two strike a bond of friendship that takes them through harrowing events and thrilling adventures. (imdb)

As bareknuckled boxing enters the modern era, brash extrovert Jim Corbett uses new rules and dazzlingly innovative footwork to rise to the top of the top of the boxing world. (imdb)

The life of Irish tenor Chauncey Olcott is chronicled from his childhood to his days as the toast of New York. In between, his rise to the top is complicated by romances with two women: his true love Rose Donovan and stage star Lillian Russell, who wants to make him a star. (imdb)

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 eventually put in a position where she has to produce him. Interesting things happen as she talks a visiting Englishman into helping her out. (imdb)

Duke falls for Flaxen in the Barbary Coast in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. He loses money to crooked gambler Tito, goes home and PL: learns to gamble, and returns. After he makes a fortune he opens his own place with Flaxen as the entertainer. The 1906 quake destroys his place. (imdb)

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. (imdb)

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 unable to help his own family buy the things they need--like a house. (imdb)

The film debut of radio stars Abbott & Costello who play secondary roles to a love triangle (set to music). Jones is an insurance salesman who falls in love with Kelly, the fiance of Cummings. Based on the novel "Love Insurance" by Earl Derr Biggers. (movieretriever.com)

A New York bandleader journeys to Hollywood when he is offered a contract with a studio, but he is determined to do things his way and not theirs. (imdb)

A radio sleuth infiltrates the Brooklyn Dodgers to solve a murder. (tcm.com)

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 drops a bit when two of her admirers are found murdered. When an attempt on the life of a third one is made. Seth Dunlap, an instructor at the school, decides to turn detective and find the killer. Assisted by his sister, who is in love with the third student, Dunlap begins to follow the the small trail of clues left by the killer. (imdb)

A dying millionaire instructs his lawyer to drop four purses on the streets of New York City. Four honest people find them and return them to the lawyer. Under the terms of the will, each of them is given $1,000,000, which they must double within 30 days in order to claim his entire estate. However, the greedy relatives cut from the will are determined to thwart each one's plans. (imdb)

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 line. Soon, star Frank Burt notices her talent, hires her for a "two-act", then marries her. Incidents of the marriage and the growing pains of eldest daughter Miriam are followed, interspersed with nostalgic musical numbers. (imdb)

New York city in the 1920s: a singer struggles to keep her boyfriend from trouble. When she makes it to Ziegfeld, he heads for five years in jail. Lots of Faye and Jolson singing. The story is so close to the true story of Fanny Brice and Nicky Arnstein (Jules W. Arndt Stein) that he sued the studio in a case that was quickly settled out of court in his favor. (imdb)

To appease his family, a retired baseball player signs up for umpire school. (TCM.com)

Idiosyncratic new recruit Francis "Ike" Farrell tries to help the Cubs to the pennant with his pitching and hitting. (imdb)

Egyptologist, Dean Lambert (Lloyd), accused of car-theft, skips bail and begins a cross-country trek to join a group in New York headed for Egypt. With the police close on his trail he gets in and out of scrapes along the way. (imdb)

The Crime Doctor comes up against a criminal with a dual personality. (imdb)

Drake plays Patsy Douglas, an enterprising young lady who always assures herself a seat on the subway by carrying a doll wrapped in baby bunting. Through a series of complications that could only happen in a movie, it is eventually assumed that the "baby" is genuine. Patsy's bosses, advertising executives Sam Morley and Barry Holmes, hope to use Patsy's bundle of joy to land an important client, grouchy baby-food tycoon Cyrus Baxter. (allmovie.com)

A rich and famous singer disguises himself as a waiter in order to be near the woman he loves, a European princess. | (imdb)

Pennsylvania, 1859. Railroad tycoon Charles Bickford wants to take over the land of the oil-drilling framers, led by Peter Cortland. (imdb)

When a priceless diamond is stolen from a museum exhibition all suspicion falls upon the notorious Lone Wolf, a former jewel thief who became a reporter. It doesn't help that he was in the museum to write a story on the gem at the time of its theft. Now he and his gal pal must play amateur detectives in order to ring the real crooks to justice. This was the final entry in the "Lone Wolf" series. (allrovi.com)

Young Hutch Lawton brags to his Little League buddies that his dad knows Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Forced to "put up or shut up" Hutch goes to spring training camp where he is lectured about honesty being the best policy. He returns to face his buddies with the truth to find the entire Little League team invited to camp. (imdb)

A private detective finds himself with a perfect new secretary. But after a notorious gossip columnist turns up murdered, she may prove too good to be true. (imdb)

A rueful wife (circa 1910) recalls 20 years of her husband's financial fumbles, as she keeps a boarding house to support the family. (imdb)

Desi Arnaz greets the "I Love Lucy" studio audience and invites them to watch Lucille Ball and the cast film a special extended episode. (imdb)

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, recognizes the truck as one on which her brother Charles worked. Fleeing to her brother, she is trapped by the gang, composed of its master-mind, Gibbs, Sidney, a gunman, and Randall, a blackballed airplane pilot. (imdb)

Dagwood brings home a pedigreed Great Dane which an important company client wants and which Blondie enters in the big dog show. A highlight of this film is the canine burping display. (imdb)

When Blondie mistakes a gold watch Dagwood carries home as her anniversary gift, it leads Dagwood into trouble with his boss, a loan shark, and crooked building contractors. (imdb)

Dagwood accidentally enlists in the Army reserve. Blondie accompanies him to basic training camp. (imdb)

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, Ross Martin, who has joined the force at the urging of his sweetheart, Mary Adams. Martin soon distinguishes himself by his bravery in the apprehension of criminals. But when the leader of a gang of bank robbers falls into his hands and then escapes, because of carelessness on Martin's part, he is suspended from the force. (imdb)

In this film, a female con artist becomes involved in the abduction of a miner. The target of the con is a wealthy Easterner. The con artist develops a romantic interest in her chauffeur, who is actually a government investigator. (imdb)

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 that the man is convicted of the murder. (imdb)

Broadway producer Nickie North, and his press agent Scoop Trimble, land a backer for a new show, but their "angel" requires that they rehearse the show out-of-town and star Clarice Sheldon, an ex-flame whose flickerings have become unwelcome. North and Trimble establish the company on the way-out-of-town Bingham farm but are unaware the site contains a hazard...Patience Bingham, the farmer's daughter. (imdb)

Filmed with the full cooperation of the Golden Gloves Tournament Association, this Paramount programmer stars Richard Denning as promising pugilist Bill Crane. Though tempted to sign up with crooked Joe Taggerty (J. Carrol Naish) for a series of fixed bouts, Crane is saved from himself by sportswriter Wally Matson (Robert Paige), the organizer of the local Golden Gloves program. Taggerty tries to get even by pitting the amateur Crane against a seasoned professional, but to no avail. (allrovi.com)

Four young performers form an act and get a job in a nightclub. Before long, one of them gets the idea that the act is all about him, and his changes to the act, to reflect his own ego, causes the quartet to get fired. Later, all make good in other areas of show business...stage, radio and motion pictures. (imdb)

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. Three of the hustler's partners, who have also been left high and dry by heir former associate, come up with a plan to get her to the annual Yale-Harvard football game to reunite with her former sweetheart, an honest but nerdy bookworm. (imdb)

It Happened in Flatbush is a likable baseball comedy inspired by the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers' pennant win. Lloyd Nolan portrays an ace ballplayer who was disgraced while still in college and is only able to secure work as a team manager. He takes charge of an unnamed Brooklyn team and whips in into a World Series contender. (allrovi.com)

The life and loves of composer Stephen Foster, from his early success through his decline, degradation, and death from alcoholism. (imdb)

A homesick American soldier stationed in England, during WWII, makes an unauthorized (a.w.o.l) trip on an American Air Force plane to the United States to see his wife, and then hops the plane back to England, with only his wife knowing he was home for a few hours. Later, she learns that she is pregnant and, to disclose that her husband had paid her a visit would get him into trouble and she does not, the townspeople are unanimous in their condemnation of her.... (imdb)

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 attorney and two con men who are trying to sell a fake "robot." (imdb)

A former prizefighter tries to help his son pay off his gambling debts. (imdb)

In this comedy a persistent, pesky fountaineer takes to following two government agents in hopes of becoming one of them. Finally the agents reach their breaking point and begrudgingly appoint him as an F-Man. The youth takes it all very seriously and hilarity ensues until he proves his courage and mettle in the face of ruthless gangsters. (allmovie.com)

Peggy (Peggy Ryan), a messenger, delivers a telegram to The Flamingo Club where the Andrews Sisters (The Andrews Sisters) and Bob Edwards' Orchestra are appearing. Peggy learns that the club's owner, Harrison (William Frawley), intends to enlarge his show and she persuades him to give her and her friends a tryout. If they make good, they can save the dancing school run by Professor Woof ('Charles Butterworth' )) and Gribble (Walter Catlett)) . (imdb)

Posing as unemployed musicians,Roy Acuff (Roy Acuff) and his Smoky Mountain Boys (The Smoky Mountain Boys), are being helped by Ted Gibson (Bill Edwards), owner of the Harmony Inn in San Antonio, Texas. Gibson is impoverished because he keeps buying his kleptomaniac Uncle Zeke (Lloyd Corrigan)out of trouble, supports his Ma (Dorothy Vaughan), and Grandpa ('George Cleveland' ). (imdb)

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, My Lady Love; and Hello, My Baby among many others. Mark Stevens was dubbed by Buddy Clark, well known singer of the 30's and 40's. (imdb)

Joe is scheduled for the big fight as usual. This one has more fight sequences than plot. (imdb)

On a peaceful, pre-war winter in Czechoslovakia, the genial godfather, Jaroslav Haschek, of Vera Hascheck, presents the young girl with her first pair of ice skates. Soon, she astonished the warm-hearted people of her village with her skill, and she is acclaimed a marvel-on-ice. She wins the ice-skating championship of her country and is invited to skate at the fabulous Lake Placid Carnival in the United States. (imdb)

Marshall Neilan, a great silent film director on the verge of obscurity, had one last big-studio stand with The Lemon Drop Kid. Lee Tracy plays a racetrack tout who calls himself a "horse medium"--that is, he reads the horse's minds for the gullible bettors. He quits the track for the love of a good woman (Helen Mack) and settles down in a small town, determined to go straight. But when his wife falls ill, Tracy goes back to his old crooked ways to raise money for her treatment. (allmovie.com)

Jack Brookfield, a gambler with clairvoyant and hypnotic powers, is able to win at cards through his unique gift. But when he inadvertently hypnotizes young Clay Thorne, Thorne kills an enemy of Brookfield's while under a trance. No one believes Brookfield's protestations that Thorne is innocent of any murderous intent, so Brookfield teams up with retired lawyer Martin Prentice in hopes of saving the young man from the gallows. (imdb)

German actress Dorothea Wieck, who achieved international fame in Maedchen in Uniform, was given a brief shot at Hollywood stardom in 1933 and 1934. Miss Fane's Baby is Stolen stars Ms. Wieck as an actress whose child (Baby LeRoy) is kidnapped. As Wieck takes to the radio to beg for her boy's safe return, the abductors cover their trail by disguising the kid with black hair dye. (allmovie.com)

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. (imdb)

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 received a dishonorable discharge after World War I, his father cannot join the Legion and in turn his son cannot join the squadron.

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. Jump to suspect that Mr. Jump is cavorting with the new maid. (imdb)

Future Universal contractees Robert Paige and Grace MacDonald (in her film debut) star in the Paramount mini-musical Dancing on a Dime. The story concerns an entertainment troupe financed by the government's Work Projects Administration. When the WPA drops its funding, the young performers despair until they come across an abandoned roll of money. Unaware that the cash is counterfeit, the kids use this windfall to finance their upcoming show, but the Feds catch up with them on opening night. (allmovie.com)

In this drama, an ingenious journalist finds himself at odds with his brother the district attorney over his unconventional methods of investigating a story; especially when they interfere with the judicial process as they did when he began eavesdropping upon a grand jury. One of the reporter's tricks involves several ham radios strategically placed around the city. With the help of the operators, the journalist is able to get scoops. (allmovie.com)

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations. (imdb)

Widower Steve Douglas raises three sons with the help of his father-in-law, and is later aided by the boys' great-uncle. An adopted son, a stepdaughter, wives, and another generation of sons join the loving family in later seasons.

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 fortune and gets her booked at the club.

A would-be playwright and a young woman escaping from a job at a gas station meet cute and fall in love. (imdb)

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 make plans to put together a musical revue. But a competing carnival owner hatches a scheme to put an end to the show before it begins. (imdb)

A wildcatter, broke but slick, manages to acquire a lease for oil-rich land but ruthless competitors sabotage his oil company any way they can.

Ancestors of music videos, YANKEE DOODLER, ROSIE THE RIVETER, and DEAR ARABELLA were made during World War II for coin-operated jukebox devices found in restaurants, bars and train stations. On built-in glass screens, they projected 16mm films of artists performing popular tunes. These examples, although not in perfect condition, are time capsules of their era. William Frawley was a vaudevillian and musical comedy performer decades before he played Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy.

WWII morale film for Texas A&M graduates fighting overseas. Young Brad Craig (Langton) enters the military school with a chip on his shoulder which Mitchum and other upperclassmen quickly knock off. Once adjusted, Craig falls in love with a professor's beautiful daughter, only to find she is in love with his roommate, played by Noah Beery. In the meantime, Craig associates with Japanese spies bent on stealing a secret chemical compound being worked on a the University.

Jack Oakie stars as seedy sideshow barker Nicky, who uses everyone he meets to get ahead. Nicky isn't even above exploiting his singing sweetheart Lily (Dorothy Dell) to suit his purposes, but this time it is he who ends up the loser – at least until he gets wise to himself.

A wise-guy reporter and a tippling sportswriter acquire an unclaimed trunk with a corpse inside.

A beautiful but greedy woman teams up with a small-time hoodlum to become two of the most wanted criminals in the country.

Singing Johnny Norton is the star catcher of the Blue Sox baseball team but he is suspended because of insubordination. Producer Barney Crane hears Johnny singing and signs him to appear with Gloria Jackson, with the promise their first engagement will be in Havana. Johnny, hoping to get his baseball job back, is anxious to get to Cuba where the Blue Sox are having spring training. Patsy Clark, daughter of Blue Sox owner, Joe Clark, helps Johnny get another chance with the team.

The singing stoker and the vamp.

Dr. Bill Crawford, on a hunting trip to Canada, is attacked by a bear and his guide, Joe Easter, saves his life and takes the badly-mauled Crawford to his cabin home, where he lives with his beautiful young wife, Alverna. Leaning Bill there to recover, Joe goes on a prolonged hunting trip and Bill and Alverna fall in love. The local doctor, Billar, dies during an operation which Bill completes and then decides to remain in Lost Lake and continue his practice there...close to Alverna.

Fireman Bill Carey and police officer Tom Gerrity are rivals for the hand of Nan Clark. Each hopes to marry Nan so that her father, Councilman Clark, the city finance commissioner, will award their respective departments huge appropriations for new equipment. Bill really loves Nan, but she insists that her baby daughter Sandy select the man she marries. Both Fire Chief Galvin and Police Chief O'Hara support the courtships of their employees and collect money to buy a birthday gift for Sandy.

Soft-spoken Homer C. Fitch works his first day as manager of the Windsor Arms, a posh apartment building, and that night shares his problems with his wife Sybil, their daughter Patricia, adopted son Joe and Butch Smiley, an orphan whom they want to adopt. They also discuss Butch's future, for although Homer has written to Butch's grandfather concerning the adoption, they have received no response. Later in the evening, police officer Flannigan brings in Butch, whom he caught trying to run away.

Prep football star Jimmy Howal gets a reception far different from what he expected when he enters West Point. His cocky attitude earns him the enmity of many upperclassmen, especially hot-tempered southerner Brandon Culpepper, who also sees Howal as a rival for beautiful Toni Denby, daughter of West Point officer Colonel Denby. Just before the Army-Navy football game, Howals' name is posted as failing French, and the cadets fear he will be kept from playing because of it.

A famous radio singer takes time off from her career and returns to New York City to visit with old friends, who don't know she's a famous singer (she uses a stage name). She falls in love with a struggling songwriter (who also doesn't know she's a famous singer), and sets out to get his songs into a play that some producers want her to be in.

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 barely a substitute, and Ossie at a powerhouse-football school, where he is an instant star and all-American candidate. They leave behind Cheers Reynolds, who is fond of Paddy, who works in her family's drugstore, but she loves Ossie almost as much as he loves himself. Paddy makes friends with team fullback Dutch, who accompanies him on vacation.

Daughter has trouble holding onto boyfriends because of her critical mother until understanding father comes to her aid.

Two families arrive for their children's wedding and try to prove their superiority to each other.

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 are smitten with Kay Merrill as well. Of course, gamblers are also involved.

Various CBS stars appear in this one hour variety program about the opening of the brand new $7 million dollar CBS Television City Studios.

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 was used by the Gulf Oil Company as a training film on keeping your Gulf Oil filling station clean.