
Jean Porter
Actor · 1922 – 2018 · Cisco, Texas, USA
One of MGM's more vivacious secondary stars during the 40s, petite and lovely Jean Porter was born in Texas in 1922 but left the state at a young age to pursue her dream as an actress. Following some vaudeville experience, she made her uncredited film debut in 1939 (age 14) and slowly graduated to sweet-natured ingénues in light, wholesome "B" fare. Most were sentimental trifles, such as Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944) and Easy to Wed (1946), or western action with such obvious titles as Heart of the Rio Grande (1942) and Home in Wyomin' (1942). Despite her promise and talent, none of her approximately 30 films managed to set her apart and top stardom remained elusive. Jean's finest screen roles perhaps came with The Youngest Profession (1943) and Till the End of Time (1946), where she met future husband, director Edward Dmytryk. They married in 1948 and had three children: Richard, Victoria and Rebecca, the latter becoming a wildlife rescuer and rehabilitator. Not long into their marriage, Dmytryk was branded a Communist as one of the "Hollywood Ten" (he was admittedly once a member of The American Communist Party) and the next decade or so would be a dark period of time for them. Unable to work, the blacklisted director moved his family to England where he found some employment. In 1951, however, Dmytryk decided to return to the States and was jailed for six months before giving testimony and being granted a reprieve. As a result, he was allowed to return to directing. Jean's last film would be The Left Hand of God (1955) starring Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney, which was directed by her husband. Throughout their ordeal Jean and Edward remained a loyal couple and in later years wrote a book together called "On Screen Acting" in 1984. Happily married until his death at age 90 of heart and kidney failure in 1999, Jean continued to be a regular attendee of film-related events and a by-line contributor for "Classic Images", a popular magazine for classic film fans, in which she reminisced about Old Hollywood. She died in 2018 at the age of 95.
Movies24
Movie5.9MusicComedyAfter breaking up with her fiancé, a gym teacher returns to work at a women's college, but a legal loophole allows him to enroll as one of her students.
Bathing Beauty
1944 · 33 votes
Movie6.3DramaAdventureA man in priestly robes, seemingly the long-awaited Father O'Shea, arrives at a little-frequented Catholic mission in 1947 China. Though the man seems curiously uncomfortable with his priestly duties, his tough tactics prove very successful in the Seven Villages, as around them China disintegrates in civil war and revolution. But he has a secret, and his friendship with mission nurse Anne (an attractive war widow) seems to be taking on an unpriestly tone.
The Left Hand of God
1955 · 45 votes
Movie6.6ComedyMusicA soldier falls in love with a newly-married woman after her husband abandons her for a business meeting on their honeymoon.
Thrill of a Romance
1945 · 7 votes
Movie5.8FantasyActionOne Million B.C. is a 1940 American fantasy film produced by Hal Roach Studios and released by United Artists. It is also known by the titles Cave Man, Man and His Mate, and Tumak. The film stars Victor Mature as protagonist Tumak, a young cave man who strives to unite the uncivilized Rock Tribe and the peaceful Shell Tribe, Carole Landis as Loana, daughter of the Shell Tribe chief and Tumak's love interest, and Lon Chaney, Jr. as Tumak's stern father and leader of the Rock Tribe.
One Million B.C.
1940 · 39 votes
Movie6.4DramaWarThree former marines have a hard time readjusting to civilian life. Perry can't deal with the loss of the use of his legs. William is in trouble with bad debts. And Cliff can't decide what he wants to do with his life, although he gets encouragement from war widow Pat Ruscomb.
Till the End of Time
1946 · 20 votes
Movie5.4ComedyWarAn Army corporal and his con-man sidekick take a shortcut to heroism in World War II France.
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
1945 · 5 votes
Movie7.2MusicComedyOlsen and Johnson, a pair of stage comedians, try to turn their play into a movie and bring together a young couple in love, while breaking the fourth wall every step of the way.
Hellzapoppin'
1941 · 115 votes
Movie6.9ComedyNever Give a Sucker an Even Break is a 1941 film about a man who wants to sell a film story to Esoteric Studios. On the way he gets insulted by little boys, beaten up for ogling a woman, and abused by a waitress. W. C. Fields' last starring role in a feature-length film.
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
1941 · 40 votes
Movie6.6ComedyTwo Army sergeants disrupt a bar, a party and an Army-Navy dance.
About Face
1942 · 5 votes
Movie5.8ComedyWhen two bumbling barbers act as agents for a talented but unknown singer, they stage a phony murder in order to get him a plum role.
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
1945 · 30 votes
Movie4.1ActionAdventureGermany's Adolf Hitler, with his Axis-stooges, Italy's Mussolini and Japan's Suki Yama, although he tried to avoid taking them, is on his way, via submarine, to a tropical country to negotiate a treaty with the High Chief Paj Mab. However, an American P.T-boat crew is already there and have some plans for schickenbit-grubber and his buddies.
Nazty Nuisance
1943 · 14 votes
Movie5.3ComedyRomanceBest friends Joan and Patricia are teenage autograph seekers who spend most of their day bumping into and having tea with movie stars like Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Based on disinformation from a meddling governess, Joan also devotes some time to working on the no-problem marriage of her parents.
The Youngest Profession
1943 · 8 votes
Movie7.0DramaMusicJulia and Hap are a dance team. He drinks and gambles, she succeeds for a while with the help of producer Alan.
Song and Dance Man
1936 · 1 votes
Movie6.2ComedyFamilyAndy is going to Wainwright College as did his father. He sees a pretty blonde on the train and he is alternately winked at or slapped every time he sees her. Andy is clueless. On the train Andy meets Kay and Dr. Standish who are both headed for Wainwright. Andy likes Kay, but Dr. Standish also seems to take an interest in her. Things are going well at College with Kay, but the blonde is nice one minute and ignores Andy the next. When Andy finds out that the blonde is really identical twins, he tries to help them out with their father but gets caught at their rooming house after midnight.
Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
1944 · 10 votes
Movie6.5MusicNew York chorus girl Cindy Lou Bethany becomes frustrated when she prepares for an audition for a Broadway musical, but the auditions close and her roommate, Gwen Abbott, is hired to be secretary to Top Rumson, the show's financial backer. Gwen tells Cindy that the director, Lloyd Lloyd, and composer, Dick Rayburn, have been sent to the South on a talent search for a classic Southern belle type to star in the show, although their shows usually feature Myra Stanhope, an actress whose style is hopelessly inappropriate for this show. Desperate for work, Cindy returns to her aunt Lily Lou and uncle Jefferson Davis Bethany's home in the South and schemes to get Lloyd and Rayburn to audition her.
Kiss the Boys Goodbye
1941 · 2 votes
Movie6.0ComedyMusicSocialite Cathy Abbott is working in the chorus of a Broadway show instead of being enrolled at an exclusive girl's school as her parents think. When the show closes, she brings two of her chorus friends home with her. In addition to trying to make her friends acceptable to the snooty society of which her family is part, she is also being blackmailed by a rival.
Two Blondes and a Redhead
1947 · 2 votes
Movie6.7CrimeThrillerAfter serving five years of a life sentence, Rocky Mulloy hopes to clear his friend who's still in prison for the same crime.
Cry Danger
1951 · 57 votes
Movie10.0A stableboy and his uncle make a winner out of a doomed colt with a split hoof.
Racing Blood
1954 · 1 votes
Movie9.0AdventureComedyAs foreman of a dude ranch, Gene has two problems. One is a guest, the spoiled daughter of a millioniare, and the other is the disgruntled ex-foreman that Gene replaced, now just a ranch hand. Gene eventually gets the daughter straightened out but has to fire the ex-foreman and this leads to trouble when he returns intent on revenge.
Heart of the Rio Grande
1942 · 2 votes
Movie5.3DramaMary Hagen lives in a small town in Ohio and goes to Jordon Junior College. For years, there has been whispers, rumors and gossip about who are her real parents. When Tom Bates returns to town, he takes over the house and practice that Judge Merrivale left him when he died. As Tom has been away a number of years, this leads to more gossip and Mary believes that he is her father. The popular and rich Ken loves Mary, but his family and friends constantly remind him that she is 'not one of us'. Julia, a teacher at school encourages Mary but Mary cannot get a break in anything she does, or is accused of doing. Tom knows the answer to her true identity, and he is silent.
That Hagen Girl
1947 · 10 votes
Movie7.0ComedyRomanceA love-smitten cowpoke accidentally causes a horse stampede.
Calaboose
1943 · 2 votes
Movie6.5ComedyAn Army sergeant's photographic memory puts him in conflict with a Nazi spy.
Fall In
1942 · 4 votes
Movie7.5ComedyStephanie and Terry are identical twins who have been raised separately since their parents divorced seven years earlier. Each envies the lifestyle of the other; and they decide, without telling Jeff or Mary, to switch families for a day or two. They soon find that it is harder to do what the other person is expected to do, and that looking alike is not enough. When they find that their charade may bring their parents back together, they agree to continue it. A major complication begins when Alice, Jeff's girlfriend and co-worker, finds out the real story.
Twice Blessed
1945 · 2 votes
Movie8.0MusicComedyUpon leaving finishing school, Judy Gibson goes to meet her presumed wealthy and socially prominent relatives. However they are penniless Broadway characters and take possession of a Long Island mansion owned by an incarcerated thief so Judy doesn't find out the truth. Judy arrives with her fiancé and his father, who tries to sell worthless stock to Judy's family. They give him $200,000, part of the stashed loot they found belonging to the home-owner thief.
Little Miss Broadway
1947 · 1 votes
Series5
TV3.8DramaMysteryClimax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.
Climax!
1954 · 12 votes
TV7.2CrimeDramaStu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this Warner Brothers drama. They work out of an office located at 77 Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California, right next door to a snazzy restaurant where Kookie works as a valet. The finger-snapping, slang-talking Kookie occasionally helps Stu and Jeff with their cases, and eventually becomes a full-fledged member of the detective agency. Rex Randolph and J.R. Hale also join the firm, and Suzanne is their leggy secretary.
77 Sunset Strip
1958 · 26 votes
TV6.7Action & AdventureDramaSea Hunt is an American adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular in syndication for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges as ex-Navy frogman Mike Nelson, and was produced by Ivan Tors.
Sea Hunt
1958 · 20 votes
TV7.2ComedyBud and Lou are unemployed actors living in Mr. Fields’ boarding house. Lou’s girlfriend Hillary lives across the hall. Many situations arise leading to slapstick and puns.
The Abbott and Costello Show
1952 · 22 votes
TV9.0DocumentaryEd Asner tells the story of RKO Pictures from the 1920s to the 1960s.
The RKO Story: Tales From Hollywood
1987 · 2 votes