Richard Dix
Actor · 1893 – 1949 · Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Richard Dix was a major leading man at RKO Radio Pictures from 1929 through 1943. He was born Ernest Carlton Brimmer July 18, 1893, in St. Paul, Minnesota. There he was educated, and at the desires of his father, studied to be a surgeon. His obvious acting talent in his school dramatic club led him to leading roles in most of the school plays. At 6' 0" and 180 pounds, Dix excelled in sports, especially football and baseball. These skills would serve him well in the vigorous film roles he would go on to play. After a year at the University of Minnesota he took a position at a bank, spending his evenings training for the stage. His professional start was with a local stock company, and this led to similar work in New York. The death of his father left him with a mother and sister to support. He went to Los Angeles, became leading man for the Morosco Stock Company and his success there got him a contract with Paramount Pictures. His rugged good looks and dark features made him a popular player in westerns. His athletic ability led to his starring role in Paramount's Warming Up (1928), a baseball story and also the studio's first feature with synchronized score and sound effects. His deep voice and commanding presence were perfectly suited for the talkies, and he was signed by RKO Radio Pictures in 1929, scoring an early triumph in the all-talking mystery drama, Seven Keys to Baldpate (1929). In 1931 he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his masterful performance in Cimarron (1931), winner of the Best Picture Oscar that year. Throughout the 1930s Dix would be a big box-office draw at RKO, appearing in mystery thrillers, potboilers, westerns and programmers. He appeared in the "Whistler" series of mystery films at Columbia in the mid-40s. He retired from films in 1947. He first married Winifred Coe on October 20, 1931, had a daughter, Martha Mary Ellen, then divorced in 1933. He then married Virginia Webster on June 29, 1934. They had twin boys, Richard Jr. and Robert Dix and an adopted daughter, Sara Sue. Richard Dix the actor, died at age 56 on September 20, 1949.
Movies24
Movie10.0AdventureDramaLanding at a Chinese port, tough sea captain Bucklin and his passengers are threatened by a marauding war lord, who intends to kill the captain and hold the others hostage as part of his campaign of destruction against all white men.
Shanghai Bound
1927 · 1 votes
Movie9.0ComedyRomanceBert, a pitcher for a baseball team in a small town, is given the opportunity to try out for a team in the big leagues. Unfortunately, he incurs the enmity of McRae, the league's leading home-run hitter. In addition, he falls for the team owner's daughter, who McRae has designs on.
Warming Up
1928 · 1 votes
Movie6.5DramaHistoryThe first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt of the tablets and the worship of the golden calf. The second part shows the efficacy of the commandments in modern life through a story set in San Francisco. Two brothers, rivals for the love of Mary, also come into conflict when John discovers Dan used shoddy materials to construct a cathedral.
The Ten Commandments
1923 · 94 votes
Movie6.1ComedyAdventureA young lady named Hilda who works as a servant for the wealthy Clarksons, sheep farmers, and dreams of being a great singer. An upcoming visit by Sir Julian, a famous composer arriving from London, drives jealous Mrs. Clarkson (an interfering biddy who fancies she can sing - but can't) to send away Hilda, so he doesn't hear Hilda has a good voice. Meanwhile, an infamous outlaw named Stingaree has just arrived in town and kidnaps Sir Julian, then poses as him at the Clarksons, where he meets Hilda a few hours before she is to leave.
Stingaree
1934 · 11 votes
Movie7.0DramaUnguarded Women is a lost 1924 silent film drama. In a battle during the World War, Douglas Albright has a moment of cowardice which causes the death of his friend, Captain Banning. When Albright comes back from the war, his fiancée, Helen Castle and her father, George, can see that something is bothering him. So Castle sends him to take care of business in China -- and to pull himself together. While in China, Albright runs across Bannings' widow, Breta, who has buried her sorrows behind a mask of revelry and fast living. Because he feels responsible for what she has become, Albright attempts to regenerate her and proposes marriage.
Unguarded Women
1924 · 1 votes
Movie5.0WesternRichard Dix as Dan Taylor and Preston S. Foster as Paxton Bryce are two longtime friends seeking their fortune in Texas after the war. The two men decide, not without problems, to establish a cattle empire. Paxton becoming too ambitious, distances himself from Dan and Abby, Paxton's wife. It will only be after a personal tragedy that he will come back to his senses.
American Empire
1942 · 5 votes
Movie5.5WesternDramaWhen the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A newspaperman, lawyer, and just about everything else, Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage. Once the town is established, however, he begins to feel confined once again, and heads for the Cherokee Strip, leaving his family behind. During this and other absences, his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right.
Cimarron
1931 · 156 votes
Movie6.0ThrillerMysteryA guilt-ridden man blames himself for his wife's death and secretly pays an assassin to kill him. But then he finds out that his wife isn't dead at all. And now the assassin is on his trail, with no way to call off the hit.
The Whistler
1944 · 30 votes
Movie5.8DramaThrillerA dying millionaire marries his nurse for companionship, only to experience a miracle cure.
Voice of the Whistler
1945 · 16 votes
Movie5.9CrimeMysteryA woman uses a deck of cards to predict death within 24 hours for a stranger sitting at a bar, then tries to help him remember who he is based on items in his pockets.
The Power of the Whistler
1945 · 19 votes
Movie6.3ThrillerMysteryCaptain Stone's newly recruited officer, Tom Merriam, idolizes his senior who treats him like a friend. But when a couple of his crew members die mysteriously, Tom starts doubting Stone's authority.
The Ghost Ship
1943 · 76 votes
Movie9.0DramaWesternReal-life outlaw Joaquin Murietta, who (according to this film, anyway) is a latter-day Robin Hood, dedicated to driving land-grabbers and corrupt politicians out of Spanish California.
The Gay Defender
1927 · 1 votes
Movie9.0ComedyMusicIn this WW II musical, a young man suddenly finds himself in charge of his family when his father is called to war. To help the flagging spirits of local factory workers, the plucky lad, his siblings and his schoolmates put on a lively little show. With a little work, he even convinces Count Basie to come with his band.
Top Man
1943 · 1 votes
Movie6.3ComedyDramaA young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.
Souls for Sale
1923 · 22 votes
Movie5.6DramaHistoryThe story of Sam Houston, hero of the Texas revolution, statesman, and first president of the Republic of Texas.
Man of Conquest
1939 · 7 votes
Movie6.0WesternIn the Dakotas during the days of the Great Gold Boom, brothers Jim and Bob Holliday are bumping heads over the affections of pretty Anne Grayson. While all this is going on, Wild Bill Hickok does his best to neutralize the local criminal element-and to fend off the romantic overtures of boisterous Calamity Jane.
Badlands of Dakota
1941 · 10 votes
Movie10.0ComedyRomanceGerald Sumner, a young physician and confirmed bachelor, opens his office and finds that he is without patients until a fond mother brings him her son, Bud Woodbridge, whose malady Sumner diagnoses as "love sickness."
The Love Doctor
1929 · 1 votes
Movie6.0CrimeMysteryIn this drama, a trucker's business is nearly destroyed after he is wrongfully accused of killing a policeman with whom he recently quarreled.
The Thirteenth Hour
1947 · 19 votes
Movie6.2CrimeDramaA Paris sculptor (Richard Dix) fakes blindness in Los Angeles to recover his blackmailed sister's love letters.
Blind Alibi
1938 · 3 votes
Movie5.6ComedyFamous actress Norma Shearer's jewels are stolen… (Star-packed promotional short film intended to raise funds for the National Variety Artists Tuberculosis Sanatorium.)
The Stolen Jools
1931 · 34 votes
Movie6.0RomanceWesternWounded while stopping the James gang from robbing the local bank, a cowboy wakes up in the hospital to find that he's been elected town marshal. He soon comes into conflict with the town banker, who controls everything in town and is squeezing the townspeople for every penny he can get out of them.
The Kansan
1943 · 8 votes
Movie5.9DramaWarA sculptor who doesn't want to have any part of World War I is shamed by his girlfriend into joining the fight. He becomes a fighter pilot, and undergoes a complete personality change.
Ace of Aces
1933 · 9 votes
Movie5.5WesternRichard Dix stars as Dave Morrell, the new marshal of Goliath, Oklahoma. Immediately upon arrival, Morrell finds himself at odds with banker Coy Barrett (Victor Jory), who is actually the leader of all local criminal activities.
Cherokee Strip
1940 · 4 votes
MovieDramaRomanceIdalene Nobbin attends a village dance but, due to the constant nagging of her mother, she believes herself to be a constitutional wallflower. By great luck she gets a dance with college football star Roy Duncan, although Roy has eyes for the village belle Prue Nickerson.
The Wall Flower
1922