Known for Directing
Born
August 21, 1901
Died
June 15, 1968 (age 66)
Birthplace
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Filmography
36 films


Pocketful of Miracles
1961 · 2h 16m · US
A New York gangster and his girlfriend attempt to turn street beggar Apple Annie into a society lady when the peddler learns her daughter is marrying royalty.


The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays
1957 · 55m · US
Part of acclaimed filmmaker Frank Capra's "Wonders of Life" series of science-based films (which won an Emmy Award for Best Editing) teaches kids about the power of gamma rays and radiation.


Pal Joey
1957 · 1h 51m · US
An opportunistic singer woos a wealthy widow to boost his career.


Hemo the Magnificent
1957 · 54m
Professor Frank Baxter and some animated friends answer questions about blood. what makes it red? Why do little animals' hearts beat so quickly? And so much more.


Our Mr. Sun
1956 · 57m
One entry in a series of films produced to make science accessible to the masses—especially children—this film describes the sun in scientific but entertaining terms.


Guys and Dolls
1955 · 2h 29m · US
In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a Salvation Army missionary to Havana, and unexpectedly they fall for each other. And the bet has a hidden motive ... classic song and dance ensues!


Oklahoma!
1955 · 2h 28m · US
There's a box social coming up, and Curly asks Laurey if she'll be his date. Trouble is, Laurey thinks he's waited too long, and in a fit of pique accepts an offer from the boorish ranch hand Jud instead. Meanwhile, Laurey's friend Ado Annie is also torn between two men: cowboy Will and foreign peddler Ali Hakim. Both women struggle to know their own hearts before it's too late.


Thunder in the East
1952 · 1h 37m · US
During India's first years of independence from Britain, Steve Gibbs lands his armaments loaded plane in Ghandahar province hoping to get rich. Pacifist Prime Minister Singh hopes to reach an agreement with guerilla leader Khan, the maharajah is a fool, and the British residents are living in the past. Steve's love interest is Joan Willoughby, the blind daughter of a parson.


Here Comes the Groom
1951 · 1h 53m · US
Foreign correspondent Pete Garvey has 5 days to win back his former fiancée, or he'll lose the orphans he adopted.


Knock on Any Door
1949 · 1h 40m · US
An attorney defends a hoodlum of murder, using the oppressiveness of the slums to appeal to the court.


Magic Town
1947 · 1h 43m · US
Rip Smith's opinion-poll business is a failure...until he discovers that the small town of Grandview is statistically identical to the entire country. He and his assistants go there to run polls cheaply and easily, in total secrecy (it would be fatal to let the townsfolk get self-conscious). And of course, civic crusader Mary Peterman must be kept from changing things too much. But romantic involvement with Mary complicates life for Rip; then suddenly everything changes.


It's a Wonderful Life
1946 · 2h 11m · US
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.


Gilda
1946 · 1h 50m · US
A gambler discovers an old flame while in Argentina, but she's married to his new boss.


Along Came Jones
1945 · 1h 30m · US
An easy-going cowboy is mistaken by the townsfolk for a notorious gunman. The cowboy decides it would be best to leave town, until he meets the gunman's girlfriend.


Murder, He Says
1945 · 1h 31m · US
Pete Marshall is sent as a replacement to the mountain district town of Plainville when a public opinion surveyor who went there goes missing. Visiting the hillbilly family of Mamie Fleagle, Pete begins to suspect that she and her two sons have murdered the surveyor. Pete also believes that Mamie is slowly poisoning wealthy Grandma Fleagle, who has put a vital clue to her fortune in a nonsensical embroidered sampler.


The Outlaw
1943 · 1h 56m · US
Newly appointed sheriff Pat Garrett is pleased when his old friend Doc Holliday arrives in Lincoln, New Mexico on the stage. Doc is trailing his stolen horse, and it is discovered in the possession of Billy the Kid. In a surprising turnaround, Billy and Doc become friends. This causes the friendship between Doc and Pat to cool. The odd relationship between Doc and Billy grows stranger when Doc hides Billy at his girl Rio's place after Billy is shot.


The Glass Key
1942 · 1h 25m · US
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.


The Lady Has Plans
1942 · 1h 17m · US
Some dastardly criminals have stolen some top secret plans and tattoo them on the back of a woman so she can sell them to the highest bidder in Lisbon. This woman plans to take the place of a 'Sidney Royce', a legitimate traveler going to Lisbon as a reporter. Crossed signals allows the real Sidney to reach Portugal first, where she is pursued by those trying to obtain the plans and US government agents trying to prevent the sale.


Meet John Doe
1941 · 2h 3m · US
As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement.


The Amazing Mr. Williams
1939 · 1h 25m · US
Kenny Williams, a lieutenant on the homicide squad, is engaged to Maxine Carroll, the Mayor's secretary. Or isn't he rather married with his job? For each time he has a date with his longtime fiancée, he is prevented from keeping it by his devotion to duty. Maxine, in desperation, decides to take action and bring Kenny to the altar. Who will win, Maxine's curves or the glorious fight against crime?


Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939 · 2h 10m · US
After the death of a United States Senator, the idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his replacement in Washington. The naive and earnest new senator soon finds himself battling political corruption.


You Can't Take It with You
1938 · 2h 6m · US
Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things don't turn out the way Alice had hoped.


Penitentiary
1938 · 1h 14m · US
The story of a D.A. who becomes a prison warden and winds up overseeing the sentence of a man he prosecuted.


Speed to Spare
1937 · 1h · US
The champion race car driver Tommy Morton is the eternal rival to less-ethical speed king Larry 'Skids' Brannigan. What no one knows is that Tommy and Skids are actually brothers, separated at birth. Driven by a filial devotion that he can't explain, Tommy tries to dissuade Skids from recklessness, only to be "repaid" when Skids tries to steal away Tommy's blond girl-friend Eileen Hart.


Craig's Wife
1936 · 1h 15m · US
Harriet, Walter Craig's wife, is an upper-class woman obsessed with control, material possessions and social status whose behavior makes difficult her relationship with domestic service and family members.
Behind the Evidence
Behind the Evidence
1935 · 1h 10m · US
Norman Foster plays a millionaire who takes a job as a reporter after he's wiped out in the Stock Market. Foster's managing editor Samuel S. Hinds considers the young upstart to be a pain in the neck. But all is forgiven-at least until next time-when Foster solves a series of puzzling robberies..


Blind Date
1934 · 1h 12m · US
A young woman is torn between a wealthy suitor who wants her body and the honest young man who wants what's best for her.


One Night of Love
1934 · 1h 24m · US
Mary Barrett is an aspiring opera singer who is taken under the wings of a famous operatic maestro, Guilio Monterverdi. After spending endless working hours together and arguing, their relationship develops into love. But, jealousy and misunderstandings prevent Mary and Guilio from acknowledging their true feelings.


The Line-Up
1934 · 1h 4m · US
Bob Curtis (William Gargan), the youngest member of the New York City plain-clothes squad, is assigned to help Detective-Sergeant Doyle (Paul Hurst) uncover the people behind a number of fur robberies. Peggy Arnold (Marian Nixon), a beautiful girl, comes under suspicion, but Bob, convinced of her innocence, adopts a desperate plan to clear her and round up the real criminals.


Sisters Under the Skin
1934 · 1h 5m · US
Wealthy, aging millionaire John Hunter Yates (Frank Morgan) seeks to recapture his youth by pursuing a young actress, Blossom Bailey (Elissa Landi), leading him from America to Europe, where he finances her and a musician lover, only to realize his mistakes and return to his neglected wife, Elinor, understanding their true connection.


The 9th Guest
1934 · 1h 5m · US
Eight people are invited by an unsigned telegram to a penthouse apartment, where they find themselves locked in and greeted by their unknown host's voice via the radio, who explains that before the night is over each one will be die unless they manage to outwit the ninth guest, Death.


East of Fifth Avenue
1933 · 1h 14m · US
A kindly, elderly couple who run a New York City boarding house form the steady center around which the lives and loves of their various residents unfold. Borrowed money, a lovelorn chorus girl, and a tragic misunderstanding set in motion the chain of events in East of Fifth Avenue’s tender pageant of life.


Fog
1933 · 1h 10m · US
The murders are committed in swift succession on board a liner crossing the Atlantic in a dense fog, and many of the passengers come under suspicion before the actual killer is bought to justice with the aid of a very substantial "ghost."


Below the Sea
1933 · 1h 18m · US
A wealthy woman funds an underwater expedition to explore for marine life, but what she doesn't know is that her "colleagues" have other intentions.


Temptation's Workshop
1932 · 58m · US
A wealthy family loses all of its money, but a foreign count who has married into the family helps them out.