
Zasu Pitts
Actor · 1894 – 1963 · Parsons, Labette County, Kansas, USA
Zasu Pitts (January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the advent of sound films. She may be best known for her performance in Erich von Stroheim's epic silent film Greed. Based on her performance, von Stroheim labeled Pitts "the greatest dramatic actress". He also featured her in his films The Honeymoon (1928), The Wedding March (1928), War Nurse (1930) and Walking Down Broadway, released as Hello, Sister! (1933). However, for the most part, with the advent of sound Pitts was mostly relegated to comedy parts. A bitter disappointment was when she was replaced in the classic war drama All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) by Beryl Mercer after her initial appearance in previews drew unintentional laughs, despite her intense performance. She had viewers rolling in the aisles in Finn and Hattie (1931), The Guardsman (1931), Blondie of the Follies (1932), Sing and Like It (1934) and Ruggles of Red Gap (1935). In 1936 and 1937 she portrayed Hildegarde Withers in two movies, succeeding Edna May Oliver as the spinster sleuth, but they were not well received. In the 1950s she started focusing on television. This culminated in her best known series role, playing second banana to Gale Storm on CBS's The Gale Storm Show (1956) (also known as Oh, Susannah) in the role of Elvira Nugent ("Nugie"), the shipboard beautician. In 1961, Pitts was cast opposite Earle Hodgins in the episode "Lonesome's Gal" on the ABC sitcom, Guestward, Ho!, set on a dude ranch in New Mexico. In 1962, Pitts appeared in an episode of CBS's Perry Mason, "The Case of the Absent Artist". Her final role was as Gertie, the switchboard operator in the Stanley Kramer comedy epic It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).
Movies24
Movie7.0AdventureComedyA group of strangers come across a man dying after a car crash who proceeds to tell them about the $350,000 he buried in California. What follows is the madcap adventures of those strangers as each attempts to claim the prize for himself.
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963 · 717 votes
Movie7.3DramaCrimeWhen housewife Trina wins the lottery, her comfortable life with her dentist husband John slowly deteriorates, in part by her own increasing paranoia and partly by the machinations of villainous acquaintance Marcus.
Greed
1924 · 206 votes
Movie7.1ComedyRomanceA housewife's sudden rise to fame as a soap spokesperson leads to chaos in her home life.
The Thrill of It All
1963 · 88 votes
Movie6.7ComedyFamilyA straitlaced turn-of-the-century father presides over a family of boys and the mother who really rules the roost.
Life with Father
1947 · 73 votes
Movie5.8ComedyFamilyDuring World War II, a junior American Army officer, Lt. Peter Stirling, gets sent to the psychiatric ward whenever he insists that an Army mule named Francis speaks to him.
Francis
1950 · 28 votes
Movie6.3RomanceDramaA struggling writer divorces his wife to pursue his career without interference, but they meet in Europe years later after she has remarried.
Westward Passage
1932 · 6 votes
Movie5.8ComedyCrimeAfter crooked nightclub owner murders a police informant, he blackmails his piano player to allow him to stay at his eccentric mother's boarding house.
It All Came True
1940 · 22 votes
Movie6.5RomanceMusicA reformer's daughter wins the lead role in a scandalous Broadway show.
Dames
1934 · 43 votes
Movie5.6WesternJim Vesser and his team of railroading men try to build a rail line through a mountain pass, while a group of less scrupulous construction workers sabotages the entire operation in the hopes that they can get their tracks laid first and get the money from the railroad.
Denver and Rio Grande
1952 · 16 votes
Movie6.5ComedyZaSu Pitts and Slim Summerville meet when both are sold deeds to an abandoned ranch in the California desert. Their lonely lives become much more crowded when a drifter discovers gold on the property—though all he’s found is Slim’s missing filling. (adapted from MoMA capsule)
Love Birds
1934 · 2 votes
Movie5.4DramaA bored society woman invites scandal and heartache when she falls in love with her low-born chauffeur.
Passion Flower
1930 · 11 votes
Movie5.6DramaMarianne falls in love with con man Valentine who uses their relation to get her father's endorsement on a money-raising scheme. He runs off with the money and Marianne, later dumping her. Her sister Laura loves Dr. Lindley although she knows he loves Marianne. Marianne returns and marries a wealthy young man, and Lindley turns his love toward Laura.
The Bad Sister
1931 · 25 votes
Movie7.2ComedyDocumentaryFilm clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history.
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964 · 6 votes
Movie7.4DramaA young French soldier in World War I is overcome with guilt when he kills a German soldier who, like himself, is a musically gifted conscript, each having attended the same musical conservatory in France. The fact that the incident occurred in war does not assuage his guilt. He travels to Germany to meet the man's family.
Broken Lullaby
1932 · 46 votes
Movie6.7DramaRomanceA waitress falls for a wealthy young man but has to fight his mother to find happiness.
Shopworn
1932 · 14 votes
Movie5.8DramaComedyBehind in the mortgage on Sunnybrook Farm and barely managing to feed seven hungry mouths, mother sends young Rebecca off to Riverboro to be raised by her wealthy Aunt Miranda. The little girl is treated like a prisoner by her strict Aunt, yet she gamely does her best to get an education. When spoiled girls at school mock the spirited Rebecca as "missy poor-house," she soon makes them come to eat their words. Despite many difficulties, Rebecca manages to help the less fortunate and spread joy in Riverboro, dreaming that her reward will come when she is "all growed up." This version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter Frances Marion.
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1917 · 19 votes
Movie6.1ComedyDramaTo earn extra money, a prim schoolteacher takes a second job as secretary to the uncouth owner of a boisterous nightclub.
This Could Be the Night
1957 · 14 votes
Movie6.0DramaRomanceWhile Peggy deeply falls in love with Jimmy, her best friend Millie becomes increasingly frustrated with men and very jealous with Peggy, so she tries everything to destroy the new love.
Hello, Sister!
1933 · 15 votes
Movie6.8ComedyMusicDonald Hardwick (Dick Powell) is a stuffed-shirt, classical music professor. His family and small-town music college that he works are of equal mindset. When Don visits his black-sheep aunt in New York in order to find a buyer for his Rhapsody he is exposed to her shocking swing music crowd. His life begins to make dramatic changes after drinking a "lemonade" that turns out to be a Hurricane.
Naughty but Nice
1939 · 8 votes
Movie6.0ComedyRomanceRadio singer Glory Eden is publicized as the ideal of American womanhood in order to sell the sponsor's product Ippsie-Wippsie Washcloths. In reality, Glory would like to at least sample booze, jazz, gambling, and men. When the strain of representing "purity" brings her to rebellion, the sponsor and his nutty henchmen pick her a public-relations "sweetheart" from fan mail, who turns out to be a hayseed.
Professional Sweetheart
1933 · 5 votes
Movie6.4RomanceComedyA grocery clerk, longing to become a cowboy actor, goes to Hollywood in search of fame and fortune. Unfortunately, his acting ability is non-existent.
Make Me a Star
1932 · 5 votes
Movie6.1ComedyFantasyPeter Stirling (with his old friend the talking mule) is recalled to active duty...in the WACs!
Francis Joins the WACS
1954 · 14 votes
Movie6.3DramaComedyNew York City tenement dwelling neighbors Blondie and Lottie are longtime best friends. When Lottie makes the cast of the Follies and moves up in the world, she arranges for Blondie, as well, to join the cast and gain the advantages. But the friendship goes awry when Lottie's sweetheart, wealthy Larry Belmont, falls for Blondie and she for him.
Blondie of the Follies
1932 · 11 votes
Movie5.9DramaComedyAnita, engaged to solid Don Barnes, is swept off her feet by magician Arturo. Before you can say presto, she's his wife and stage assistant on a lengthy world tour. But Anita is annoyed by Arturo's constant flirtations, and his death-defying stunts give her nightmares. And forget her plan to retire to a farmhouse. Eventually, she has had enough and disappears.
Eternally Yours
1939 · 22 votes
Series11
TV7.0FamilyComedyFour panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.
What's My Line?
1950 · 29 votes
TV7.7MysteryDramaThe cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.
Perry Mason
1957 · 139 votes
TV6.6DramaThe Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golden Age of Television, winning a 1954 Peabody Award and receiving eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956.
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948 · 8 votes
TV6.3DramaBurke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.
Burke's Law
1963 · 12 votes
TV6.0DramaThe 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title Hour of Stars. The season one episode Overnight Haul, starring Richard Conte and Lizabeth Scott, was released in Australia as a feature film.
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955 · 10 votes
TV6.7ComedyThe Gale Storm Show is an American sitcom starring Gale Storm. The series premiered on September 29, 1956, and ran until 1960 for 143 half-hour black-and-white episodes, initially on CBS and in its last year on ABC. The Gale Storm Show was co-produced by Independent Television Corporation and Hal Roach Studios. The series was aired under the title Oh, Susanna in syndication.
The Gale Storm Show
1956 · 3 votes
TV7.0ComedyDramaPresented by Eastman Kodak, this show was a series of original scripts directed by acclaimed directors and featuring well-known performers. The stories ranged from musicals to comedies and dramas.
Screen Director's Playhouse
1955 · 5 votes
TV6.0ComedyPrivate Secretary is an American sitcom that aired from February 1, 1953 to September 10, 1957 on CBS, alternating with The Jack Benny Program on Sundays at 7:30pm EST. The series stars Ann Sothern as Susan Camille "Susie" MacNamara, devoted secretary to handsome talent agent Peter Sands, played by Don Porter.
Private Secretary
1953 · 2 votes
TV6.5ComedyGuestward, Ho! is an American situation comedy which aired on the ABC network in the 1960-1961 television season, based on the 1956 book of the same title by Patrick Dennis, author of Auntie Mame.
Guestward, Ho!
1960 · 2 votes
TV7.5ComedyThe Dennis O'Keefe Show is a 1959-1960 sitcom produced by United Artists Television which aired on CBS for sponsor General Motors' Oldsmobile division. It was not a ratings success during its original run, and was largely forgotten until a "Best Of" DVD release by Alpha Video during 2004. Certain episodes of the show can also be seen at the Internet Archive. It appears the series has entered the public domain.
The Dennis O'Keefe Show
1959 · 2 votes
TV6.8ComedyDramaGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.
General Electric Theater
1953 · 6 votes