
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones
Actor · 1906 – 1962 · North Carolina, USA
Fred "Snowflake" Toones was a character actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1928 and 1951. He often worked under contract for Republic Pictures, appearing in about 40 of its films. He played a bootblack or shoeshine man in at least six of his movies, and Toones actually ran the shoeshine stand at Republic Studios. He first appeared as a porter in 1932 in The Hurricane Express and was usually typecast as a porter - appearing in over 50 films in such a role. He also played a variety of other service-oriented or domestic worker roles such as stable grooms, janitors, elevator operators, valets, cooks, bellhops, doormen, butlers, and bartenders. Like other actors of the time, i.e. Anna May Wong and Franklin Pangborn, Toones is a prime example of racial and social stereotyping in the Hollywood film industry. His standard characterization was that of a middle-aged "colored" man with a high-pitched voice and childlike mannerisms. "Snowflake" was the stage name Toones was best known by, and he used this name as his credit as early as his third film, 1931's Shanghaied Love. Likewise, in Shanghaied Love and over 35 other films, "Snowflake" was also Toones' character name. He acted in films such as Mississippi (1935), Hawk of the Wilderness (1938), and Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939) with Bruce Bennett and in many "B" westerns such as The Lawless Nineties (1936) with John Wayne. He also appeared in dozens of two-reelers such as Columbia's Woman Haters (1934) with the Three Stooges, and had a bit role in Laurel and Hardy's classic feature Way Out West (1937). Toones is also a familiar face in four Preston Sturges comedies: Twentieth Century (1934), Remember the Night (1940), Christmas in July (1940), and The Palm Beach Story (1942). He died on 13 February 1962 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Movies24
Movie7.8ComedyDramaAfter the death of a United States Senator, the idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his replacement in Washington. The naive and earnest new senator soon finds himself battling political corruption.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939 · 1.2K votes
Movie7.6DramaLongtime alcoholic Don Birnam has been sober for ten days and appears to be over the worst... but his craving has just become more insidious. Evading a country weekend planned by his brother and girlfriend, he begins a four-day bender that just might be his last – one way or another.
The Lost Weekend
1945 · 685 votes
Movie7.8DramaCrimeA World War I veteran’s dreams of becoming a master architect evaporate in the cold light of economic realities. Things get even worse when he’s falsely convicted of a crime and sent to work on a chain gang.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
1932 · 234 votes
Movie7.1ComedyWesternStan and Ollie try to deliver the deed to a valuable gold mine to the daughter of a dead prospector. Unfortunately, the daughter's evil guardian is determined to have the gold mine for himself and his saloon-singer wife.
Way Out West
1937 · 231 votes
Movie6.9WesternIn this epic Western, Wade Hatton, a wagon master turned sheriff, tames a cow town at the end of a railroad line.
Dodge City
1939 · 115 votes
Movie7.2DramaRomanceEsther Blodgett is just another starry-eyed farm kid trying to break into the movies. Waitressing at a Hollywood party, she catches the eye of her idol Norman Maine, is sent for a screen test, and before long attains stardom as newly minted Vicki Lester. She and Norman marry, though his career soon dwindles to nothing due to his chronic alcoholism.
A Star Is Born
1937 · 244 votes
Movie7.2ComedyDramaWhen all Broadway shows are shut down during the Depression, a trio of desperate showgirls scheme to bilk a repugnant high society man of his money to keep their show going.
Gold Diggers of 1933
1933 · 182 votes
Movie7.0ComedyRomanceA New York inventor, Tom Jeffers, needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife, Gerry, decides to raise it by divorcing him and marrying an eccentric Florida millionaire, J. D. Hackensacker III.
The Palm Beach Story
1942 · 213 votes
Movie7.3ComedyRomanceUnexpected love blossoms when an assistant district attorney agrees to take a recidivist shoplifter home so she doesn't have to spend Christmas alone in jail.
Remember the Night
1940 · 129 votes
Movie7.0CrimeDramaMembers of a teenage gang are sent to the State Reformatory, presided over by the callous Thompson. Soon Patsy Gargan, a former gangster appointed Deputy Commissioner, arrives and takes over the administration to run the place on radical principles. Thompson needs a quick way to discredit him.
The Mayor of Hell
1933 · 33 votes
Movie7.0DramaRomanceA struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.
Imitation of Life
1934 · 88 votes
Movie6.1ComedyRomanceThe partners of stage-producer J. J. Hobart gamble away the money for his new show. They enlist a gold-digging chorus girl to help get it back by conning an insurance company. But they don’t count on the persistence of insurance man Rosmer Peck and his secretary Norma Perry.
Gold Diggers of 1937
1936 · 22 votes
Movie6.4ComedyThrillerIn a far off country, their king is critically wounded after an assassination attempt and the only heir is a timid New York radio personality, Michael Valentine (Bob Hope). After reluctantly traveling to his father's homeland, Michael is not happy that he's become the target of the same terrorist organization that attacked the king.
Where There's Life
1947 · 7 votes
Movie7.0ComedyRomanceAn office clerk loves entering contests in the hopes of someday winning a fortune and marrying the girl he loves. His latest attempt is the Maxford House Coffee Slogan Contest. As a joke, some of his co-workers put together a fake telegram which says that he won the $25,000 grand prize.
Christmas in July
1940 · 91 votes
Movie7.0RomanceComedyA manicurist and an engaged loafer, both planning to marry money, meet and fall in love.
Hands Across the Table
1935 · 21 votes
Movie6.9DramaCrimeSocially-conscious banker Thomas Dickson faces a crisis when his protégé is wrongly accused of robbing the bank, gossip of the robbery starts a bank run, and evidence suggests Dickson's wife had an affair... all in the same day.
American Madness
1932 · 49 votes
Movie6.8ComedyRomanceA temperamental Broadway producer trains an untutored actress, but when she becomes a star, she proves a match for him.
Twentieth Century
1934 · 114 votes
Movie6.3ComedyCrimeSassy manicurist Eve Fallon is recruited as an even more brassy reporter and she helps police detective boyfriend Danny Barr break a jewel theft ring and solve the murder of a baby.
Big Brown Eyes
1936 · 30 votes
Movie6.3DramaSharecropper's son Marvin tries to help his community overcome poverty and ignorance.
The Cabin in the Cotton
1932 · 21 votes
Movie6.8DramaRomanceAn ambitious lumberjack abandons his saloon girl lover so that he can marry into wealth, but years later becomes infatuated with the woman's daughter.
Come and Get It
1936 · 46 votes
Movie7.2MusicDramaAn irresponsible Broadway star gets mixed up with gambling and gangsters.
Go Into Your Dance
1935 · 5 votes
Movie8.0DramaA con man poses as a hillbilly preacher.
Half a Sinner
1934 · 1 votes
Movie6.3ComedyMusicAbigail Chandler has written her stuffy Boston relatives that she's a successful opera singer in New York. In reality, she works at a burlesque house and is billed as High-C Susie. When her sister Martha comes for a visit, Abigail tries to hide the truth from her.
Two Sisters from Boston
1946 · 6 votes
Movie6.0DramaAviator Jim Blaine and his brother Neil are rivals not only as daredevil flyers, but also for the love of parachutist Jill Collins.
Central Airport
1933 · 13 votes
Series1
TV6.5DramaAction & AdventureRacket Squad is an American TV crime drama series starring Reed Hadley as Captain John Braddock, a fictional detective working for the San Francisco, California Police Department. The show aired in syndication for a season before being picked up by CBS for three seasons. The series was filmed at Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California, and was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris, hence there was a pack of the sponsor's brand on Braddock's desk at the beginning and end of the episode, as well as occasional scenes of him or other characters "lighting up".
Racket Squad
1951 · 4 votes