Jean Pierre Carl Buron, known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series Dr. Christian (1937–1954) and in the film Heidi (1937). Asked how to pronounce his name, he told The Literary Digest, "In English, her'sholt; in Danish, hairs'hult." Of his total credits, 75 were silent films and 65 were sound films ; he directed four.
The Sin of Madelon Claudet is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Edgar Selwyn and starring Helen Hayes. The screenplay by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht was adapted from the play The Lullaby by Edward Knoblock. It tells the story of a wrongly imprisoned woman who turns to theft and prostitution in order to support her son.
Don Ameche was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stocks, and vaudevilles, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which led to the offer of a movie contract from 20th Century Fox in 1935.
Joseph Edward Bromberg was a Hungarian-born American character actor in motion picture and stage productions dating mostly from the 1930s and 1940s. Knowledge of his past as a member of the Communist Party led to a defiant appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee, shortly before his death.
Mamba is a 1930 American pre-Code film, released by Tiffany Pictures. It was shot entirely in Technicolor and stars Jean Hersholt, Eleanor Boardman, Ralph Forbes, Josef Swickard, Claude Fleming, William Stanton and William von Brincken. It was based on a story by Ferdinand Schumann-Heink and John Reinhardt and was advertised as the First Drama In Natural Color as all previous color features in sound had featured musical numbers.
It's in the Bag! is a 1945 comedy film featuring Fred Allen in his only starring film role. The film was released by United Artists at a time when Allen was at the peak of his fame as one of the most popular radio comedians. The film has been preserved by UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Seventh Heaven is an American romantic drama film released in 1937 by 20th Century Fox, directed by Henry King and starring Simone Simon and James Stewart. The supporting cast features Jean Hersholt, Gregory Ratoff, Gale Sondergaard, and John Qualen.
The Good Old Soak is a 1937 American drama film starring Wallace Beery and directed by J. Walter Ruben from a screenplay by A. E. Thomas based upon the 1922 stage play of the same name by Don Marquis. The picture's supporting cast features Una Merkel, Eric Linden, Betty Furness, and Ted Healy.
Happy Land is a 1943 film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Don Ameche. A World War II home front drama, it was based on the 1943 novel of the same name by MacKinlay Kantor.
Alexander's Ragtime Band is a 1938 American musical film released by 20th Century Fox that takes its name from the 1911 Irving Berlin song "Alexander's Ragtime Band" to tell a story of a society boy who scandalizes his family by pursuing a career in ragtime instead of "serious" music. The film generally traces the history of jazz music from the popularization of Ragtime in the early years of the 20th century to the acceptance of swing as an art form in the late 1930s using music composed by Berlin. The story spans more than two decades from the 1911 release of its name-sake song to some point in time after the 1933 release of "Heat Wave", presumably 1938.
Lillian Russell is a 1940 American biographical film of the life of the singer and actress. The screenplay was by William Anthony McGuire. The film was directed by Irving Cummings and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It stars Alice Faye in the title role, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda and Edward Arnold as Diamond Jim Brady.
Tin Pan Alley is a 1940 musical film directed by Walter Lang and starring Alice Faye and Betty Grable as vaudeville singers/sisters and John Payne and Jack Oakie as songwriters in the years before World War I.
The Battle of the Sexes is a 1928 American comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Jean Hersholt, Phyllis Haver, Belle Bennett, Don Alvarado, and Sally O'Neil, and released by United Artists. The film was a remake by Griffith of an earlier film he directed in 1914, which starred Lillian Gish. Both films are based on the novel The Single Standard by Daniel Carson Goodman; the story was adapted for this production by Gerrit J. Lloyd.
Four Sons is a 1940 war film directed by Archie Mayo. It stars Don Ameche and Eugenie Leontovich. It is a remake of the 1928 film of the same name.
One in a Million is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Sonja Henie, Adolphe Menjou and Don Ameche. It marked the Hollywood debut of the ice skater Henie. It was the first of a series of Twentieth Century-Fox musicals made by Henie, although she had previously made a silent film in her native Norway. The film features footage from the 1936 Winter Olympic Games.
The Old Soak is a 1926 American silent comedy crime film directed by Edward Sloman. The film stars Jean Hersholt, George J. Lewis, and June Marlowe, and is based on a 1922 Broadway play of the same title by Don Marquis. The play was later adapted into the 1937 release The Good Old Soak starring Wallace Beery.
Tough Guy is a 1936 American action film directed by Chester Franklin, written by Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf, and starring Jackie Cooper, Joseph Calleia, Rin Tin Tin, Jr., Harvey Stephens, Jean Hersholt, and Edward Pawley. It was released on January 24, 1936, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Gateway is a 1938 American drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker and written by Lamar Trotti. The film stars Don Ameche, Arleen Whelan, Gregory Ratoff, Binnie Barnes, Gilbert Roland, Raymond Walburn and John Carradine. The film was released on August 5, 1938, by 20th Century Fox.
