Alan Walbridge Ladd was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in Westerns, such as Shane (1953), and in films noir. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in films noir, such as This Gun for Hire (1942), The Glass Key (1942), and The Blue Dahlia (1946). Ladd also appeared in ten films with William Bendix; both actors coincidentally died in 1964.
Pierre Frank Watkin was an American character actor best known for playing distinguished authority figures throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood. He is best remembered for his roles of Mr. Skinner the bank president in The Bank Dick (1940); Lou Gehrig's father-in-law Mr. Twitchell in Pride of the Yankees (1942); and the first actor to portray Perry White in the Superman serials Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950).
The Man in the Net is a 1959 American film noir starring Alan Ladd and Carolyn Jones. The taut drama was directed by Michael Curtiz. The supporting cast features Diane Brewster.
Branded is a 1950 Technicolor Western film starring Alan Ladd, Mona Freeman, Charles Bickford, and Robert Keith. It was adapted from the novel Montana Rides by Max Brand under pen name Evan Evans. A gunfighter on the run from the law is talked into posing as the long-lost son of a wealthy rancher.
The Proud Rebel is a 1958 American Technicolor Western film directed by Michael Curtiz, with a screenplay by Joseph Petracca and Lillie Hayward that was based on a story by James Edward Grant. It is the story of a widowed Confederate veteran and his mute son who struggle to make a new life among sometimes hostile neighbors in the Midwest. Despite the implications of the title, the main character in "The Proud Rebel" does not dwell much on his Southern past, but finds his life complicated by sectional prejudice.
Leonard Harrison Aleshire was a versatile American vaudeville and later country music performer from the 1920s into the 1960s. A singer, dancer and songwriter, he was also half of a musical comedy duo, Lennie and Goo Goo, with Floyd Rutledge. The pair appeared on local and national radio and television programs originating from Springfield, Missouri during the 1940s and 50s.
Jeepers Creepers is a 1939 American musical comedy starring Roy Rogers, with the popular hillbilly comedy troupe the Weaver Brothers and Elviry. Rogers plays a Sheriff in a town where a rich industrialist cheats a poor family out of their land when coal is discovered there.
Arkansas Judge is a 1941 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Roy Rogers, Spring Byington, and Veda Ann Borg.
Swing Your Lady is a 1938 country musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright, starring Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh, and Louise Fazenda. Also featured in the cast is Ronald Reagan in one of his early roles.
Calcutta is a 1947 American film noir crime film directed by John Farrow, and written and produced by Seton I. Miller. The drama features Alan Ladd, Gail Russell and William Bendix.
The Great Missouri Raid is a 1951 American Western film directed by Gordon Douglas and written by Frank Gruber. The film stars Wendell Corey, Macdonald Carey, Ellen Drew, Ward Bond, Bruce Bennett, Bill Williams and Anne Revere. The film was released on February 15, 1951, by Paramount Pictures.
Down in 'Arkansaw' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Nick Grinde and written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. The film stars Ralph Byrd with the vaudeville comedy troupe the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, along with June Storey and Pinky Tomlin. The film was released on October 8, 1938, by Republic Pictures.
Grand Ole Opry is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. The film stars the vaudeville comedy troupe the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, with Lois Ranson, Allan Lane and Henry Kolker. The film was released on June 25, 1940, by Republic Pictures.
Friendly Neighbors is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Nick Grinde and written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. The film stars the vaudeville comedy troupe the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, with Lois Ranson, Spencer Charters and Cliff Edwards. The film was released on November 17, 1940, by Republic Pictures.
Mountain Moonlight is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Nick Grinde and written by Mauri Grashin, John W. Krafft, Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. The film stars the vaudeville comedy troupe the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, with Betty Jane Rhodes, John Archer and Kane Richmond. The film was released on July 12, 1941, by Republic Pictures.
Tuxedo Junction is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Frank McDonald, written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan, and starring the vaudeville comedy troupe the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, with Thurston Hall, Frankie Darro and Sally Payne. It was released on November 25, 1941, by Republic Pictures.
Shepherd of the Ozarks is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. The film stars the vaudeville comedy troupe the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, with Marilyn Hare, Frank Albertson and Thurston Hall. The film was released on March 26, 1942, by Republic Pictures.
The Old Homestead is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. The film stars the vaudeville comedy troupe the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, with Dick Purcell, Jed Prouty and Anne Jeffreys. The film was released on August 17, 1942, by Republic Pictures.
Mountain Rhythm is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. The film stars the vaudeville comedy troupe the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, with Lynn Merrick, Frank M. Thomas and Sally Payne. The film was released on January 8, 1943, by Republic Pictures.
The Weaver Brothers and Elviry were musical comedy vaudeville and film performers, in the "hillbilly" style. The group consisted of brothers Leon "Abner" Weaver and Frank "Cicero" Weaver, with June "Elviry" Weaver. The group headlined a traveling vaudeville show with Abner as the master of ceremonies, presenting songs, comedy, dancing, acrobatic acts and barnyard imitations.
