The following is an overview of 1936 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe II was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimming event, which launched his career on the silver screen and later television. He starred in a variety of popular feature films and movie serials released between 1933 and the 1950s, portraying the top three syndicated comic-strip heroes of the 1930s: Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers.
Edward Gildea De Corsia was an American radio, film, and television actor, best remembered for his chilling debut in The Lady from Shanghai (1947), as the ex-wrestler murderer Willie Garzah in the film The Naked City (1948), and as a gangster who turned state's evidence in the film The Enforcer (1951).
Walter Reed was an American stage, film and television actor.
Ride, Vaquero! is a 1953 American Western film photographed in Ansco Color made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). It was directed by John Farrow and produced by Stephen Ames from a screenplay by Frank Fenton and John Farrow. The music score was by Bronislau Kaper and the cinematography by Robert Surtees.
Mackenzie's Raiders is an American Western television series starring Richard Carlson that was broadcast in syndication and produced in 1958–1959. The series is narrated by Art Gilmore, and was produced by Ziv Television Programs.
Baby Face Nelson is a 1957 American film noir crime film based on the real-life 1930s gangster, directed by Don Siegel, co-written by Daniel Mainwaring—who also wrote the screenplay for Siegel's 1956 sci-fi thriller Invasion of the Body Snatchers—and starring Mickey Rooney, Carolyn Jones, Cedric Hardwicke, Leo Gordon as Dillinger, Anthony Caruso, Jack Elam, John Hoyt and Elisha Cook Jr.
Anthony Caruso was an American character actor in more than one hundred American films, usually playing villains and gangsters, including the first season of Walt Disney's Zorro as Captain Juan Ortega.
The Californians is a half-hour American Western television series, set during the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, which was broadcast by NBC from September 24, 1957, through August 27, 1959.
Code 3 is an American crime drama that aired in syndication in 1956 and 1957. The stories were all based on actual files of the Los Angeles sheriff's office.
Illegal Traffic is a 1938 American crime film directed by Louis King and written by Robert Yost, Lewis R. Foster and Stuart Anthony. The film stars J. Carrol Naish, Mary Carlisle, Robert Preston, Judith Barrett, Pierre Watkin, Buster Crabbe and George McKay. The film was released on November 4, 1938, by Paramount Pictures.
Tip-Off Girls is a 1938 American crime film directed by Louis King, written by Maxwell Shane, Robert Yost and Stuart Anthony, and starring Mary Carlisle, Lloyd Nolan, Roscoe Karns, Buster Crabbe, J. Carrol Naish, Evelyn Brent and Anthony Quinn. It was released on April 1, 1938, by Paramount Pictures.
Hunted Men is a 1938 American drama film directed by Louis King and written by William R. Lipman and Horace McCoy. The film stars Lloyd Nolan, Mary Carlisle, Lynne Overman, J. Carrol Naish, Delmar Watson and Buster Crabbe. The film was released on May 27, 1938, by Paramount Pictures.
Arizona Mahoney is a 1936 American Western film directed by James P. Hogan and written by Stuart Anthony and Robert Yost. The film stars Joe Cook, Robert Cummings, June Martel, Buster Crabbe, Marjorie Gateson and John Miljan. It is based on the short story "Stairs of Sand" by Zane Grey. The film was released on December 4, 1936, by Paramount Pictures.
The Colorado Kid is a 1937 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Charles F. Royal. The film stars Bob Steele, Marion Weldon, Karl Hackett, Ernie Adams, Ted Adams and Frank LaRue. The film was released on December 6, 1937, by Republic Pictures.
Nevada is a 1935 American Western film directed by Charles Barton and written by Garnett Weston and Stuart Anthony. It is based on the 1928 novel Nevada by Zane Grey. The film stars Buster Crabbe, Kathleen Burke, Syd Saylor, Monte Blue, William Duncan and Richard Carle. The film was released on November 29, 1935, by Paramount Pictures.
Desert Pursuit is a 1952 American Western film directed by George Blair and starring Wayne Morris, Virginia Grey and George Tobias. The film is based on the story "Horse Thieves' Hosanna" by Kenneth Perkins, originally published in the December 1948 issue of Blue Book. IMDb and other sources credit the screenplay to a novel called "Starlight Canyon." However, Perkins never published a novel under that title. Among his papers at the Bancroft Library is a typescript story titled "Starlight Canyon" with a handwritten note identifying the title under which it was published.
Border Badmen is a 1945 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Milton Raison. The film stars Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Lorraine Miller, Charles King, Ray Bennett and Arch Hall Sr. The film was released on October 10, 1945, by Producers Releasing Corporation.
Billy the Kid's Smoking Guns is a 1942 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Milton Raison and George Wallace Sayre. The film stars Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Dave O'Brien, John Merton, Milton Kibbee and Ted Adams. The film was released on May 1, 1942, by Producers Releasing Corporation.
Law and Order is a 1942 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Sam Robins. The film stars Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Dave O'Brien, Sarah Padden, Wanda McKay and Charles King. The film was released on August 21, 1942, by Producers Releasing Corporation.
