William B. Davidson
Birthday: 1888-06-16 Place of Birth: Dobbs Ferry, New York, USA
Synopsis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William B. Davidson (June 16, 1888 – September 28, 1947) was an American film actor. Davidson attended Columbia University where he played football. He became a popular football star. This fame eventually led to his foray into motion pictures after he had spent some time as a lawyer. He started in films in 1914 with Vitagraph and supported well known stage and film actresses such as Ethel Barrymore, Mabel Taliaferro, Charlotte Walker, Olga Petrova, Viola Dana, June Caprice, Edna Goodrich, and Mae West. He appeared in 318 films between 1915 and 1949. He was born in Dobbs Ferry, New York, and died in Santa Monica, California. His first Hollywood film was For the Honor of the Crew. Afterward, he appeared in many films, his best-known role was perhaps the Ship's captain in The Most Dangerous Game. He remained in show business until his sudden death after surgery in 1947.
Acting
Dick Tracy's Dilemma
Dick Tracy investigates the theft of a fortune of fur coats, a possible insurance swindle and several murders, all linked to a huge thug who wears a hook in place of his right hand.
The Notorious Lone Wolf
Ex-thief Lone Wolf and his valet don turbans to solve a museum jewel theft.
Ding Dong Williams
Ding Dong Williams, a clarinet player who can neither read nor write music is employed at a motion picture studio. The studio plans to use him and his six-piece band but his musical deficiencies are discovered and the plan scrapped. But the secretary of the head of the music department intercedes on his behalf and he is given a chance in the film.
The Plainsman and the Lady
Film about the early days of the Pony Express and the crooked businessman who opposed it.
Murder on the Waterfront
A sailor and his wife become involved in a murder investigation.
Calaboose
A love-smitten cowpoke acciidentally causes a horse stampede.
Careful, Soft Shoulders
In this espionage movie, set in Washington during WW II, the daughter of an ex-senator has become a dress model. She is approached by an American counter-espionage agent who offers her a chance to serve her country. The carefree son of a naval official receives a similar offer. He is asked to secure secret Naval plans. Unbeknownst to them, the man they work for is actually a Nazi spy. The two dupes finally figure it out, and the spy kidnaps them. Somehow they escape and break up the spy ring.
The Great Man's Lady
In Hoyt City, a statue of founder Ethan Hoyt is dedicated, and 100 year old Hannah Sempler Hoyt (who lives in the last residence among skyscrapers) is at last persuaded to tell her story to a 'girl biographer'. Flashback: in 1848, teenage Hannah meets and flirts with pioneer Ethan; on a sudden impulse, they elope. We follow their struggle to found a city in the wilderness, hampered by the Gold Rush, star-crossed love, peril, and heartbreak. The star "ages" 80 years.
Man-Made Monster
Mad scientist turns a man into an electrically-controlled monster to do his bidding.
Sun Valley Serenade
When Phil Corey's band arrives at the Idaho ski resort its pianist Ted Scott is smitten with a Norwegian refugee he has sponsored, Karen Benson. When soloist Vivian Dawn quits, Karen stages an ice show as a substitute.
Granny Get Your Gun
An elderly woman turns sheriff to clear her granddaughter of murder charges.
Half a Sinner
Although young and beautiful, schoolteacher Anne Gladden fears a dull future. She finally decides to take a walk on the wild side, splurging on some fashionable new clothes and setting off to find adventure. Her new confidence inspires her to flirt with complete strangers. When a gangster pays unwanted attention to her, she ditches him and flees in his car, unaware that there's a corpse in the trunk. Determined to recover his stolen vehicle and its incriminating cargo the thug begins a desperate search. The oblivious Anne, comes to the aid of a handsome young man stranded alongside the road. Romance blooms, but after the shocking discovery of a body in the trunk, the duo decide they have to return the car. The bickering lovebirds head back to the city, trailed by both the angry gangster and the cops, who suspect the young couple of murder.
Midnight Court
After losing his bid for district attorney, an aspiring young lawyer agrees to defend a ring of car thieves.
Marry the Girl
Frantic screwball comedy about a meek personal assistant (Frank McHugh) who is promoted to managing editor of a newspaper features syndicate that is owned by and staffed with cuckoos.
Love on Toast
The plot concerns a female press agent who must select a "Mr. Manhattan" and "Miss Brooklyn" for an ad campaign mounted by a soup company. The Mr. Manhattan chosen is a singing soda jerk, who doesn't want to play along until he is given the honor of choosing his own Miss Brooklyn.
Gold Diggers of 1937
The 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.
Road Gang
A crusading young reporter planning a series of articles about a corrupt politician is framed for a crime and sentenced to serve five years at a prison farm.
Devil Dogs of the Air
Two Marine pilots vie for romance and glory.
Special Agent
Newspaperman Bill Bradford becomes a special agent for the tax service trying to end the career of racketeer Nick Carston. Julie Gardner is Carston's bookkeeper. Bradford enters Carston's organization and Julie cooperates with him to land Carston in jail. An informer squeals on them. Julie is kidnapped by Carston's henchmen as she is about to testify
Woman Wanted
Just after a jury finds Ann Grey guilty of murder, the car carrying her to prison crashes into another car. Ann escapes and ends up in lawyer Tony Baxter's car. Tony realizes Ann is innocent, so he vows to help her prove it, risking his neck in the process. Tony and Ann are pursued by the police and by Smiley Gordon, a mob boss who engineered Ann's escape thinking that she can lead him to a $250,000 stash.
In Person
Carol Corliss, a beautiful movie star so insecure about her celebrity that she goes around in disguise, meets a rugged outdoorsman who is unaffected by her star status.
Bordertown
An ambitious Mexican-American gets mixed up with the neurotic wife of his casino boss.
Laughing Boy
A young Navajo defies tribal custom to marry an outcast.
Sky Devils
Wilkie and Mitchell, trying to desert their draft into the army, stow away on a ship which takes them into the war zone. While AWOL, the rivals for Mary's affections accidently destroy an ammunition dump.
The Most Dangerous Game
When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.
Guilty or Not Guilty
Ruth Payne, innocent to begin with, is trying to extradite herself from the clutches of a gang-mob who obtained her release from prison on a falsified confession because they thought she knew something they didn't want known.
The Menace
A man framed for murder escapes from prison in order to prove his innocence.
The Vice Squad
A diplomat is blackmailed by crooked vice cops into helping them frame prostitutes.
Hook, Line and Sinker
Two fast-talking insurance salesmen meet Mary, who is running away from her wealthy mother, and they agree to help her run a hotel that she owns. When they find out that the hotel is run down and nearly abandoned, they launch a phony PR campaign that presents the hotel as a resort favored by the rich. Their advertising succeeds too well, and many complications soon arise.
