Known for Acting
Arthur O'Connell (March 29, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in films (starting with a small role in Citizen Kane) in 1941 and television programs (mostly guest appearances). Among his screen appearances were Picnic, Anatomy of a Murder, and as the watch-maker who hides Jews during WWII in The Hiding Place. A veteran vaudevillian, O'Connell, from New York City, made his legitimate stage debut in the mid 1930s, at which time he fell within the orbit of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Welles cast O'Connell in the tiny role of a reporter in the closing scenes of Citizen Kane (1941), a film often referred to as O'Connell's film debut, though in fact he had already appeared in Freshman Year (1939) and had costarred in two Leon Errol short subjects as Leon's conniving brother-in-law. After numerous small movie parts, O'Connell returned to Broadway, where he appeared as the erstwhile middle-aged swain of a spinsterish schoolteacher in Picnic - a role he'd recreate in the 1956 film version, earning an Oscar nomination in the process. Later the jaded looking O'Connell was frequently cast as fortyish losers and alcoholics; in the latter capacity he appeared as James Stewart's boozy attorney mentor in Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and the result was another Oscar nomination. In 1962 O'Connell portrayed the father of Elvis Presley's character in the motion picture Follow That Dream, and in 1964 in the Presley-picture Kissin' Cousins. O'Connell continued appearing in choice character parts on both TV and films during the 1960s, but avoided a regular television series, holding out until he could be assured top billing. He appeared as Joseph Baylor in the 1964 episode "A Little Anger Is a Good Thing" on the ABC medical drama about psychiatry, Breaking Point. The actor accepted the part of a man who discovers that his 99-year-old father has been frozen in an iceberg on the 1967 sitcom The Second Hundred Years, assuming he'd be billed first per the producers' agreement. Instead, top billing went to newcomer Monte Markham in the dual role of O'Connell's father and his son. O'Connell accepted the demotion to second billing as well as could be expected, but he never again trusted the word of any Hollywood executive. Ill health forced O'Connell to significantly reduce his acting appearances in the mid '70s, but the actor stayed busy as a commercial spokesman, a friendly pharmacist who was a spokesperson for Crest toothpaste. At the time of his death from Alzheimer's disease in California in May 1981, O'Connell was appearing solely in these commercials, by his own choice. O'Connell was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York. Description above from the Wikipedia article Arthur O'Connell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Born
March 29, 1908
Died
May 18, 1981 (age 73)
Birthplace
New York City, New York, USA
Filmography
77 films, 39 shows


Way of Tomorrow: The Evolution of Science Fiction Movies
2022 · 1h 3m
country: United Kingdom
Documentary on the History of Science Fiction Movies from The Day the Earth Stood Still onward.


Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991 · 2h 3m
country: Austria
This documentary, hosted by actor Burgess Meredith, explores the life and career of movie director Otto Preminger, whose body of work includes such memorable films as Anatomy of a Murder, Exodus, Laura, Forever Amber, Advise and Consent, In Harm's Way, The Moon Is Blue, The Man with the Golden Arm, and many other movies made from the '30s through the '70s. Interviews with actors Frank Sinatra, Vincent Price, James Stewart, Michael Caine, and others who worked with the flamboyant and sometimes control-obsessed director add information and insight to the story.


The Hiding Place
1975 · 2h 30m
country: United States
Corrie and Betsie ten Boom are middle-aged sisters working in their father's watchmaker shop in pre-World War II Holland. Their uneventful lives are disrupted with the coming of the Nazis. Suspected of hiding Jews and caught breaking rationing rules, they are sent to a concentration camp, where their Christian faith keeps them from despair and bitterness.


Huckleberry Finn
1974 · 1h 58m
country: United States
Huckleberry Finn is a 15-year-old boy who has had a difficult relationship with his often violent father for a long time. When Dad tried to kidnap him, Huck decides to run away from home, and heads out of town on a raft. Huck is soon joined by Jim, a runaway slave who is no more eager to see his master than Huck is to see his father. As the two friends make their way down the Mississippi, they're faced with a variety of challenges and adventures.


Shootout in a One-Dog Town
1974 · 1h 14m
country: United States
A small-town banker is forced to protect his town against a vicious gang of bank robbers determined to get the $200,000 stored in his bank.


Wicked, Wicked
1973 · 1h 35m
country: United States
Simmons, the manager of a seaside hotel in California, has a problem: Guests are turning up dead, and Sgt. Ramsey, the hotel's detective, has no information as to the identity of the murderer. The only thing anybody knows is that the killer wears a strange mask and has a fondness for blonde women. As Ramsey tracks down a list of suspects that includes the hotel handyman, Lisa, the hotel's lounge singer, finds herself in danger.


The Poseidon Adventure
1972 · 1h 57m
country: United States
When their ocean liner capsizes, a group of passengers struggle to survive and escape.


They Only Kill Their Masters
1972 · 1h 37m
country: United States
An enigmatic young woman has been murdered in a small California coast town. The investigation by the local sheriff uncovers a complex web of relationships centering on the victim; the scattered trail of evidence ranges from a mysterious photograph to the victim's own dog. During the investigation, the sheriff meets and becomes romantically involved with a woman whose connection to the murder is ambiguous.


Ben
1972 · 1h 34m
country: United States
A lonely boy becomes good friends with Ben, a rat. This rat is also the leader of a pack of vicious killer rats, killing lots of people.


A Taste of Evil
1971 · 1h 13m
country: United States
On her way home from a stay at a mental institution after a traumatic rape, a woman realizes that someone is deliberately trying to drive her insane.


The Last Valley
1971 · 2h 8m
country: United Kingdom
People in a small German village in the last valley to remain untouched by the devastating Thirty Years' War try to exist in peace with a group of soldiers occupying the valley.


There Was a Crooked Man...
1970 · 2h 3m
country: United States
A charming but ruthless criminal is sent to a remote Arizona prison, where he enlists the help of his cellmates in an escape attempt with the promise of sharing his hidden loot.


Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
1970 · 1h 53m
country: United States
War is brewing between the soldiers at an otherwise quiet army base and the civilians of a nearby Southern town. Brian Keith is an officer who tries to keep the peace. However, peace is hard to come by with Ernest Borgnine as a stereotypical dumb hick sheriff who's quick to call in the local militia. Tony Curtis plays a skirt-chasing sergeant who can't stay out of trouble and soon lands in jail. Brian Keith borrows a tank to release his friend from jail. Things get more chaotic after that.


Seven in Darkness
1969 · 1h 14m
country: United States
A plane carrying seven blind people to a convention for the blind in Seattle crashes in the mountains due to severe weather. Only the blind survive the crash and they must make their way back through the wilderness to civilization.


If He Hollers, Let Him Go!
1968 · 1h 46m
country: United States
James Lake (Raymond St. Jacques) is an escaped black convict imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit. Leslie Whitlock (Kevin McCarthy) offers James money to kill his wife, Ellen (Dana Wynter). He declines and tries to look up his old flame Lily (Barbara McNair), but discovers his own brother is now married to the sultry nightclub singer. James returns to Leslie, and the trio travel towards a mountain retreat. James and Ellen escape and try to find the murderer who had framed James years before.


The Power
1968 · 1h 48m
country: United States
One by one members of a special project team are being killed by telekinesis - the ability to move things with the power of the mind alone. The race is on to determine which of the remaining team members is the murderer and to stop them.


The Reluctant Astronaut
1967 · 1h 41m
country: United States
Roy Fleming is a small-town kiddie-ride operator who is deathly afraid of heights. After learning that his father has signed him up for the space program, Roy reluctantly heads for Houston, only to find out upon arriving that his job is as a janitor, not an astronaut. Anxious to live up to the expectations of his domineering father, Roy manages to keep up a facade of being an astronaut to his family and friends. When NASA decides to launch a layperson into space to prove the worthiness of a new automated spacecraft, Roy gets the chance to confront his fears.


A Covenant with Death
1967 · 1h 37m
country: United States
An innocent man is found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, but as he's about to be hanged he accidentally kills his executioner. He now faces a new trial, presided over by a young and inexperienced judge.


Fantastic Voyage
1966 · 1h 41m
country: United States
In order to save an assassinated scientist, a submarine and its crew are shrunk to microscopic size and injected into his bloodstream.


Birds Do It
1966 · 1h 28m
country: United States
Melvin Byrd, who dreams of being a scientist, is a Cape Kennedy "miniscule molecular particle surveillance monitor" - in short, a janitor. His job is to keep a major rocket project completely dust-free, and this he does with his own hilariously fantastic inventions - including a literal attack on dirt by a "knight on a white horse". In his work, he meets Judy, a chimp involved in a top-secret project, which leads Melvin into the one room strictly off-limits to him. Not until he has entered the project room does Melvin learn that any man entering it will be negatively ionized - making him fly like a bird.


The Silencers
1966 · 1h 42m
country: United States
Matt Helm is called out of retirement to stop the evil Big O organization who plan to explode an atomic bomb over Alamagordo, NM, and start WW III.


Ride Beyond Vengeance
1966 · 1h 41m
country: United States
Jonas Trapp falls in love with the beautiful Jessie, a wealthy girl out of his humble class. Against the wishes of her snobbish aunt, she marries him, later faking a pregnancy to win her aunt's consent. But Jonas tires of living off of his wife's family, and eventually deserts her to become a buffalo hunter. 11 years later, with his self-made fortune, he sets out to return home, only to be set upon by three sadistic marauders, who steal his money and leave him for dead. Rescued by a farmer who nurses him back to health, Jonas becomes consumed by the desire for revenge. As fate would have it, all three men live close to Jonas' former home. Matters quickly get worse when Jonas reunites with his wife, only to discover that she is now engaged to Renne.


The Monkey's Uncle
1965 · 1h 27m
country: United States
College whiz-kid Merlin Jones concocts a method for teaching advanced information to a chimpanzee, then creates a flying machine of his own design, ultimately raising havoc on the campus.


The Third Day
1965 · 1h 59m
country: United States
A man stumbles out of a car crash with no memory of what transpired. Everyone who he meets suggests that he is a ruthless man with an aggressive temper. Could he be deliberately blocking out memories of his past?


The Great Race
1965 · 2h 40m
country: United States
Professional daredevil and white-suited hero, The Great Leslie, convinces turn-of-the-century auto makers that a race from New York to Paris (westward across America, the Bering Straight and Russia) will help to promote automobile sales. Leslie's arch-rival, the mustached and black-attired Professor Fate vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a car of Fate's own invention.


Nightmare in the Sun
1965 · 1h 20m
country: United States
A hitchhiker sleeps with a rancher's wife and is hunted by the sheriff for her murder.


Your Cheatin' Heart
1964 · 1h 39m
country: United States
The story of the country and western singer Hank Williams.


7 Faces of Dr. Lao
1964 · 1h 40m
country: United States
An old Chinese man rides into the town of Abalone, Arizona and changes it forever, as the citizens see themselves reflected in the mirror of Lao's mysterious circus of mythical beasts.


Kissin' Cousins
1964 · 1h 36m
country: United States
Army officer Josh Morgan returns to the Smoky Mountains and tries to convince his kinfolk to allow a missile site to be built on their land. Once he arrives, he discovers he has a lookalike cousin.


Marilyn
1963 · 1h 23m
country: United States
This 1963 documentary, released less than a year after Marilyn Monroe's death, showcases the star in memorable scenes from her 20th Century Fox films, including wardrobe tests and clips from her last, uncompleted project, "Something's Got To Give". Hosted and narrated by Rock Hudson.


Follow That Dream
1962 · 1h 49m
country: United States
When the Kwimper family car runs out of fuel on a new Florida highway and an officious state supervisor tries to run them off, Pop digs in his heels and decides to do a little homesteading. He, his son Toby and their 'adopted' children—Holly, Ariadne, and the twins—start their own little community along a strip of the roadside.


Pocketful of Miracles
1961 · 2h 16m
country: United States
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.


A Thunder of Drums
1961 · 1h 37m
country: United States
Captain Maddocks will never be promoted beyond Captain because of a mistake that he made in the past. Lt. McQuade is a green rookie who is now under the command of the tough Captain and he does not seem to be able to do anything right. Lt. McQuade also has trouble with Tracey, but it will be the renegade Indians that will test him and teach him the importance of following orders.


Misty
1961 · 1h 31m
country: United States
Every year the Chincoteague fire department rounds up the wild ponies of Assateague Island and holds an auction to thin out the herd. The young children set out to raise enough money in hopes that the Phantom will be caught in this years round up. They soon realize they will get more than they bargained for when the Phantom has a surprise for everyone: a foal named Misty.


The Great Impostor
1960 · 1h 52m
country: United States
Fictionalized account of Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr., who stole or created fictional identities and worked in a variety of occupations, most quite successfully.


Cimarron
1960 · 2h 27m
country: United States
The epic story of a family involved in the Oklahoma Land Rush of April 22, 1889.


Operation Petticoat
1959 · 2h 4m
country: United States
A World War II submarine commander finds himself stuck with a damaged sub, a con-man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.


Hound-Dog Man
1959 · 1h 27m
country: United States
A rustic drama set in the early 20th century, Hound Dog Man is the simple story of a young man, Spud Kinney constantly in hot water for disobeying his mother. The lad should be watching the family farm, but he falls in with his older brother, Clint, and his reckless buddy Blackie Scantling who take him hunting in hillbilly country. The boy falls in love with a beautiful mountain girl, while Blackie has his own fling with another attractive hillbilly maiden, Nita Stringer, and then becomes mixed up with an older, married woman, Sussie Bell.


Anatomy of a Murder
1959 · 2h 41m
country: United States
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.


Gidget
1959 · 1h 35m
country: United States
Due to an accident while swimming in the sea, Francis meets the surfer Moondoggie. She's fascinated with his sport and starts to hang out with his clique. Although they make fun of her at first, they teach her to surf and soon she's accepted and given the nickname "Gidget". But it's hard work to become more than a friend to Moondoggie.


Man of the West
1958 · 1h 40m
country: United States
Heading east to Fort Worth to hire a schoolteacher for his frontier town home, Link Jones is stranded with singer Billie Ellis and gambler Sam Beasley when their train is held up. For shelter, Jones leads them to his nearby former home, where he was brought up an outlaw. Finding the gang still living in the shack, Jones pretends to be ready to return to a life crime.


Voice in the Mirror
1958 · 1h 43m
country: United States
Jim Burton, chronic alcoholic, is cared for by Ellen, his incredibly patient, sexy, hard-working wife. A doctor's warning that Jim could become mentally ill strikes enough fear into him that he really wants to cure himself...but can't. One night, he meets William Tobin, a fellow drunk, and finds that he helps himself by trying to help Tobin. Thus is born, amid setbacks, a group resembling Alcoholics Anonymous.


The Violators
1957 · 1h 16m
country: United States
A New York City probation officer, noted for his sympathy with delinquents, put to a severe test when his daughter falls for a boy whom circumstances force into breaking the law.


April Love
1957 · 1h 37m
country: United States
A teenager, recently in trouble with the police, is sent to live with his aunt and uncle on their Kentucky farm in order to rediscover life's values.


Operation Mad Ball
1957 · 1h 45m
country: United States
In this wacky military spoof, Lemmon plays a terminally bored Army private waging a war of wits as he tries to throw a party under the nose of his obnoxious commanding officer.


The Monte Carlo Story
1956 · 1h 42m
country: France
Stylish, sophisticated and absolutely broke, Dino and Maria pursue a romance until they realize neither of them has any money, which forces the gold diggers to turn their attention to a wealthy widower and his daughter. A compulsive gambler who owes several anxious investors a small fortune, Dino has trouble cutting his losses, no matter how bad the losing streak.


Bus Stop
1956 · 1h 35m
country: United States
Cowboys Beauregard Decker and Virgil Blessing attend a rodeo in Phoenix, where Decker falls in love with beautiful cafe singer Cherie. He wants to take Cherie back to his native Montana and marry her, but she dreams of traveling to Hollywood and becoming famous. When she resists his advances, Decker forces Cherie onto the bus back to Montana with him, but, when the bus makes an unscheduled stop due to bad weather, the tables are turned.


The Solid Gold Cadillac
1956 · 1h 39m
country: United States
Laura Partridge is a very enthusiastic small stockholder of 10 shares in International Projects, a large corporation based in New York. She attends her first stockholder meeting ready to question the board of directors from their salaries to their operations.


The Proud Ones
1956 · 1h 34m
country: United States
Robert Ryan plays an aging sheriff responsible for law and order in a frontier cattle town. Virginia Mayo plays his fiancee. As if handling wild cattle drovers isn't enough, a crooked casino operator from Ryan's past comes to town. An early scuffle in the casino leaves Ryan with vision problems that interfere with his duties. Jeffrey Hunter who came to town with a cattle drive encounters Ryan, who killed Hunter's father when Hunter was young. Feelings of animosity soon change as Hunter begins to sense Ryan is telling the truth about his father. What follows is a plot that continues to thicken to the inevitable showdown.


The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
1956 · 2h 33m
country: United States
Tom Rath is a suburban father and husband haunted by his memories of World War II, including a wartime romance with Italian village girl Maria, which resulted in an illegitimate son he's never seen. Pressed by his unhappy wife to get a higher-paying job, Rath goes to work as a public relations man for television network president Ralph Hopkins. Drawn into poisonous office politics, Tom finds he must choose his career or his family.


Picnic
1955 · 1h 54m
country: United States
Labor Day in a small Kansas farm town. Hal, a burly and resolute drifter, jumps off a dusty freight train car with the purpose of visiting Alan, a former college classmate and son of the richest man in town.


The Whistle at Eaton Falls
1951 · 1h 36m
country: United States
A newly promoted plant supervisor finds himself in the position of having to announce a layoff of his fellow workers.


Force of Evil
1950 · 1h 19m
country: United States
Lawyer Joe Morse wants to consolidate all the small-time numbers racket operators into one big powerful operation. But his elder brother Leo is one of these small-time operators who wants to stay that way, preferring not to deal with the gangsters who dominate the big-time.


The Taming of the Shrew
1950 · 1h
country: United States
Brutish, fortune-hunting scoundrel Petruchio tames his wealthy shrewish wife, Katherina.


The Countess of Monte Cristo
1948 · 1h 17m
country: United States
This musical tells the tales of two movie extras who abscond to an expensive resort with their costumes and pretend to be aristocrats. Included in the film are ice skating numbers and songs.


One Touch of Venus
1948 · 1h 22m
country: United States
A window dresser's kiss brings a statue of the Roman goddess of love to life.


State of the Union
1948 · 2h 4m
country: United States
An industrialist is urged to run for President, but this requires uncomfortable compromises on both political and marital levels.


Homecoming
1948 · 1h 53m
country: United States
Self-absorbed Dr. Lee Johnson enlists with the Army medical corps during World War II, more out of a feeling that it's "the thing to do" rather than deep-seated patriotism. On his first day, he's put into place by 'Snapshot', a sassy and attractive nurse. Their initial antagonism blossoms into romance. Lee then finds himself torn with guilt over being unfaithful to his wife, Penny, who's waiting for him back home.


The Naked City
1948 · 1h 36m
country: United States
After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.


Open Secret
1948 · 1h 8m
country: United States
A couple discovers that their friend has gone missing. Their investigation leads them to believe that antisemites are behind the disappearance.


Hello, Annapolis
1942 · 1h 2m
country: United States
Rivals Bill Arden and Paul Herbert enter the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in order to impress a girl.


Fingers at the Window
1942 · 1h 20m
country: United States
In Chicago, an unemployed actor aims to solve the mystery concerning a string of ax murders, apparently committed by a lunatic.


Blondie's Blessed Event
1942 · 1h 9m
country: United States
Cookie is born, producing unmitigated joy in the Bumstead household. Adding to the chaos a new baby always creates is the appearance of Hans Conried as a cynical author who becomes caught up in the Bumstead lifestyle.


Canal Zone
1942 · 1h 19m
country: United States
A cocky pilot at a Panama Canal bomber station clashes with his trainer over recklessness and a woman. After causing a fatal crash while hungover, he seeks redemption when his rivals crash in the jungle.


Law of the Jungle
1942 · 1h 1m
country: United States
Nona Brooks, former member of a stranded theatrical troupe, earns a temporary living singing in a café in Duakwa, British Rhodesia, Africa. The café owner is secretly in league with two foreign agents with a goal of making the natives restless. American explorer Larry Mason leaves for the jungle with his servant, Jeff and a safari. Nona escapes the café into the jungle but is followed by the agents as, unknowing to her, she is carrying a report of the agent's activities. She joins the safari just as all hands are captured by a tribe of natives


Man From Headquarters
1942 · 1h 4m
country: United States
A police reporter solves a murder case in Chicago, then moves on to St. Louis-but not voluntarily, since he has been kidnapped by the minions of the Windy City gang leader against whom he is scheduled to testify.


Citizen Kane
1941 · 1h 59m
country: United States
Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.


Hullabaloo
1940 · 1h 18m
country: United States
A radio actor faces trouble when a science-fiction story causes the audience to panic.
He Asked for It
He Asked for It
1940 · 20m
country: United States
Errol breaks the law once too often and comes up against a no nonsense judge.


Dr. Kildare Goes Home
1940 · 1h 19m
country: United States
A young doctor gives up big-city success to help his father set up a small-town clinic.


The Golden Fleecing
1940 · 1h 4m
country: United States
A mild-mannered insurance salesman gets mixed up with gangsters.


Bested by a Beard
1940 · 20m
country: United States
Leon Errol disguises himself as a mystic, in order to fool repo men.


'Taint Legal
1940 · 16m
country: United States
Edgar Kennedy is over-joyed when told he has won a $5,000 prize in a "How To Be Happy Though Married" contest. A reporter interviews Edgar and his wife Vivien who tell him about their engagement and elopement. Then Viviens father tells them that according to a law he has found in a law-book, they aren't legally married. After a series of misadventures, they learn that the law is a new one and that the Kennedy marriage is legal.


I Take This Oath
1940 · 1h 7m
country: United States
The trials and tribulations of a group of newly sworn-in police officers.


Two Girls on Broadway
1940 · 1h 13m
country: United States
Eddie Kerns sells his song to a Broadway producer and also lands a job dancing in the musical. He sends for his dance partner-fiancée Molly Mahoney who brings her younger sister Pat. Upon seeing Molly and Pat dance, the producer picks Pat for the show and gives Molly a job selling cigarettes. A wealthy friend of the producer named "Chat" Chatsworth also has his eye on Pat. Pat is teamed with Eddie in the specialty number as Kerns and Mahoney. Pat and Eddie soon realize that they are in love and must tell Molly. Pat balks at hurting Molly and goes out with Chat who already has five ex-wives. Remake of The Broadway Melody (1929).


And One Was Beautiful
1940 · 1h 10m
country: United States
A teenager falls hard for an irresponsible playboy.


Murder in Soho
1939 · 1h 10m
country: United Kingdom
A London nightclub hostess pretends to fall for the mobster who killed her husband.