William Stack
Actor · 1882 – 1949 · Baker, Oregon, USA
William Stack has been often mistaken as British in the scant bio information available on him - he could imitate many a British accent. He was actually born in Oregon. But like many Americans who wished to become serious stage actors and seeing New York as overly competitive, he went to London as a young man. Not much is known about his career there, but with many theaters (almost fifty) and companies around, the opportunities for a talented young man were there. From the craze for post cards with the subject of photos - and especially those of actors that ensued between about 1890 and 1914, there exist pictures of Stack as Hamlet. So Stack did find initial success, and by 1918 he tried his hand in the budding British silent film industry with not much initial interest - just one film that year and another in 1922, then back to the stage. But by 1930 Stack was back in America - and not to Broadway (perhaps in a touring company, but at least not on record as a principal), as was a stage actor's usual course. He did end up in early Hollywood sound pictures - those with marginal sound quality - first with Fredric March as the star in Sarah and Son (1930). With a rich stage actor's voice and accents to apply where needed - and appreciated as audio technology improved - he appeared in from four to ramping up to as many as ten pictures per year through the 1930s. Moving into his 50s, bald and dignified, his roles were focused as featured character pieces - assured doctors, lawyers, judges, nobles, and several butlers. He was one of the Crawley clan in Becky Sharp (1935), the first feature-length three-color film. He perhaps gained press from being in one movie of some scandalous notoriety - Tarzan and His Mate (1934) in which Maureen O'Sullivan appeared to swim nude (somebody else in a body stocking). Although he had a few lines as a white hunter, in this and other films (of note, MGM's first and most famous version of Mutiny on the Bounty, 1935), Stack was not credited for his always believable characterizations. The year 1936 provided Stack with some his most memorable historical roles. He played the French general Montcalm of the French and Indian War in the popular The Last of the Mohicans (1936) with Randolph Scott. The same year he played a much richer character in the film adaptation of the play Mary of Scotland (1936) directed by John Ford. Along with an assemblage of some of the best character actors of Hollywood, Stack played one among a rogues' gallery of self-seeking Scottish lords who included: Robert Barrat, Gavin Muir (another American who spent time in England and was often thought to be British), and Ian Keith. Stack is able to be most Shakespearean, vying in Scottish brogue with his fellow conspirators as the sly Lord Ruthven. Although Stack appeared in many of the best A pictures of the later 1930s, many did not give credit for his great acting skills. There were only a few movies into the 1940s, before he retired - leaving film history all the richer for his screen presence.
Movies24
Movie7.9DramaWarThe spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era.
Gone with the Wind
1939 · 4.5K votes
Movie7.4AdventureDramaFletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. However, Bligh returns one year later, hell bent on revenge.
Mutiny on the Bounty
1935 · 407 votes
Movie7.4AdventureDramaHarvey, the arrogant and spoiled son of an indulgent absentee-father, falls overboard from a transatlantic steamship and is rescued by a fishing vessel on the Grand Banks. Harvey fails to persuade them to take him ashore, nor convince the crew of his wealth. The captain offers him a low-paid job, until they return to port, as part of the crew that turns him into a mature, considerate young man.
Captains Courageous
1937 · 196 votes
Movie7.3ComedyRomanceWhen a major newspaper accuses wealthy socialite Connie Allenbury of being a home-wrecker, and she files a multi-million-dollar libel lawsuit, the publication's frazzled head editor, Warren Haggerty, must find a way to turn the tables on her. Soon Haggerty's harried fiancée, Gladys Benton, and his dashing friend Bill Chandler are in on a scheme that aims to discredit Connie, with amusing and unexpected results.
Libeled Lady
1936 · 136 votes
Movie7.0CrimeDramaThe friendship between two orphans endures even though they grow up on opposite sides of the law and fall in love with the same woman.
Manhattan Melodrama
1934 · 81 votes
Movie6.3WesternAdventureThe story is set in the British province of New York during the French and Indian War, and concerns—in part—a Huron massacre (with passive French acquiescence) of between 500 to 1,500 Anglo-American troops, who had honorably surrendered at Fort William Henry, plus some women and servants; the kidnapping of two sisters, daughters of the British commander; and their rescue by the last Mohicans.
The Last of the Mohicans
1936 · 42 votes
Movie6.7RomanceDramaAn American woman seeking divorce from her wealthy, controlling husband falls for a romantic Parisian who saves her from his entrapment.
History Is Made at Night
1937 · 55 votes
Movie6.2DramaHistoryThe recently widowed Mary Stuart returns to Scotland to reclaim her throne but is opposed by her half-brother and her own Scottish lords.
Mary of Scotland
1936 · 43 votes
Movie5.7DramaRomanceIn early 19th century England, ambitious and ruthless orphan Rebecca Sharp advances from the position of governess to the heights of British society. The first feature length film to use three-strip Technicolor.
Becky Sharp
1935 · 28 votes
Movie6.3WarDramaAn anti-Nazi refugee on the run and a young Jewish couple race across Europe trying to escape Hitler's ever powerful influence.
So Ends Our Night
1941 · 13 votes
Movie6.7RomanceComedyWhen a jury member takes in the defendant he couldn't convict, she has a bad influence on his son.
The Lady in Question
1940 · 26 votes
Movie7.0RomanceDramaRichard, a millionaire in love with his secretary, Diane, is dispirited when his wife refuses to divorce him. Concerned that Diane will now lose interest, Richard offers her an all-expense-paid cruise to Argentina so that she can think it over. While traveling, however, Diane falls in love with fellow traveler Mike. She resolves to come clean to Richard, but upon return she becomes conflicted when she finds out he was able to get divorced after all.
Chained
1934 · 18 votes
Movie5.8DramaRomanceEpidemiologist Cliff Claybourne falls in love with Rita Wilson in a gambling house. They want to marry but Cliff's brother is convinced Rita is no good and forces Cliff to fulfill his agreement to do research in Africa in exchange for paying gambling debt. Rita, Cliff and brother are furious with each other, but Rita and Cliff are still in love.
His Brother's Wife
1936 · 10 votes
Movie6.7AdventureFamilyChin-Ching gets lost in Shanghai and is befriended by American playboy Tommy Randall. She falls asleep in his car which winds up on a ship headed for America. Susan Parker, also on the ship, marries Randall to give Chin-Ching a family.
Stowaway
1936 · 27 votes
Movie6.5AdventureMysteryThe sons of a disgraced British officer try to clear his name.
Four Men and a Prayer
1938 · 13 votes
Movie6.5DramaRomanceA beautiful opera star kept by a rich older man falls in love with a young clergyman.
Romance
1930 · 19 votes
Movie6.3DramaA behind the times Chicago bootlegger goes to England with his lawyer to claim his estate as the Earl of Gorley.
The Earl of Chicago
1940 · 7 votes
Movie7.3AdventureHistoryIn the face of rebellion in Russia, Czar Alexander II sends soldier Michael Strogoff 2,000 miles away, with a critical message for Grand Duke Vladimir. On the train journey, Michael befriends a traveler and comes into contact with a mysterious spy, who both unexpectedly aid him in his quest. Once behind enemy lines, Michael is near his hometown and his mother, whom he must avoid in order to fulfill his mission.
The Soldier and the Lady
1937 · 3 votes
Movie6.9CrimeDramaGertie Waxted knows how notorious gangster Jim Crelliman runs his rackets, because she's long been under the hoodlum's thumb. She's secretly helping lawyer Jackson Durant in a snoop job aimed at pinning a murder on the thug. Her life will be in peril when that secret gets out.
Penthouse
1933 · 21 votes
Movie5.0DramaDuring World War I, an American pilot vows to bring down the German ace responsible for his friend's death.
Hell in the Heavens
1934 · 5 votes
Movie4.2ComedyA barber tries to find the winning lottery ticket he hid from his moralistic wife.
The Winning Ticket
1935 · 4 votes
Movie5.7DramaRomanceAn Indian jewel merchant goes from penniless to wealthy in this story about gratitude.
Son of India
1931 · 3 votes
Movie6.8DramaMysteryJulie Fresnel is a co-ed at Redgate University and her father, Dr. Henri Fresnel, is the new French professor. Julie attraction from the make students drops a bit when two of her admirers are found murdered. When an attempt on the life of a third one is made. Seth Dunlap, an instructor at the school, decides to turn detective and find the killer. Assisted by his sister, who is in love with the third student, Dunlap begins to follow the the small trail of clues left by the killer.
College Scandal
1935 · 3 votes
Movie8.0MysteryWhen a good-for-nothing man named Dan is stabbed to death and his arm broken, Charlie Chan is on the case. His first clue comes from the victim's sister, who noticed a prowler wearing a glow-in-the-dark wristwatch.
Charlie Chan's Greatest Case
1933 · 2 votes