Herbert Mundin
Birthday: 1898-08-21
Place of Birth: St Helens, Lancashire, UK
Synopsis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Herbert Mundin (21 August 1898 – 5 March 1939) was an English-born Hollywood character actor. He was frequently typecast in films as an older cheeky eccentric, a type helped by his jowled features and cheerful disposition.
He was born Herbert Thomas Mundin in St Helens, then in Lancashire (now part of Merseyside). His father was a nomadic, Primitive Methodist home missionary. His family moved within a short time of his birth to St Albans in Hertfordshire (the 1901 census data reveal that the family lived at St Helens Villa, Paxton Road, St Albans; his parents William and Jane apparently naming their house after the town where they first met and where Herbert was born).
Mundin was educated at St Albans School, and joined the Royal Navy during World War I. He began his acting career on the London stage during the 1920s. Mundin first travelled to America on 18 December 1923 for a series of theatrical engagements in New York. He sailed from Southampton on the RMS Aquitania and described himself in ship’s passenger manifest as 5'7" tall with a fair complexion, brown hair, blue eyes and a scar over his left eye. His big break as an actor was arguably with Gertrude Lawrence and Beatrice Lillie in Charlot's Revue when it appeared on Broadway in 1925.
In 1931, after working in Australia and London, he permanently moved to the US, where he received a contract with Twentieth Century Fox Studios and enjoyed a successful career as a character actor in over 50 films.
Perhaps his most celebrated role was as Much in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), alongside Errol Flynn. Other film appearances included Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) with Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, and MGM's David Copperfield (1935).
He died in Van Nuys, California following a car crash. He was killed instantly when the car in which he was riding collided with another car at a street intersection. The force of the impact threw open the door and hurled Mundin to the street.He received a fractured skull and crushed chest.He was 40 years old. The other occupants of the car were not injured.
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Acting
Lord Jeff
as Bosun 'Crusty' Jelks
Spoiled child Geoffrey Bramer teams up with a pair of small time crooks to pose as an aristocrat and steal jewelry from exclusive shops. During a a caper, Geoffrey is caught and is sentenced to a reformatory where young men are trained to be sailors. He is befriended by model in-mate Terry O'Mulvaney but soon starts to get them both in trouble.
You Can't Beat Love
as Jasper 'Meadows' Hives
The film begins with a knuckle-head playboy (Preston Foster) working on a road crew dressed in a tux in order to win a bet. Apparently, this guy will take on any bet or act on a whim. This becomes very apparent when he disrupts a food giveaway hosted by the mayor's daughter and as a result of this, he announces he's running for mayor--though he seems very much apolitical and has no interest in the job. Later, when he once again meets up with the mayor's daughter (Joan Fontaine) they supposedly fall in love--although there seemed to be little chemistry between them and it made very little sense for Fontaine to suddenly love a guy she so quickly hated at the beginning of the film. Plus, she really had plenty of reason to dislike the guy.
Angel
as Mr. Greenwood
A woman and her husband take separate vacations, and she falls in love with another man.
Another Dawn
as Wilkins, Wister's Orderly
Colonel John Wister, on duty with the British army in the desert region of Dubik, returns to England on leave. There he falls in love with Julia Ashton, who cares deeply for him but believes herself incapable of love following the death of her fiancé; some time before. Wister convinces her that he loves her enough to live without her romantic love and that she should marry him. She does so and returns to Dubik with him. There she meets his adjutant, Captain Denny Roark. Roark is a dashing young man who reminds Julia thoroughly of her lost love. Soon she finds she is indeed capable of love, but it is Roark with whom she falls in love, not her husband. As warfare with the local tribes heats up and as Wister gains awareness of the unconsummated romance growing between his wife and best friend, tragedy lurks.
Charlie Chan's Secret
as Baxter
Allen Colby, heir to a huge fortune, is presumed drowned after an ocean liner sinks off the coast of Honolulu. Mysteriously, Colby reappears at his mansion only to be murdered soon after. When his body is discovered during a seance, everyone in attendance becomes a suspect, and it's up to Chan to find the murderer before he or she strikes again.
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King of Burlesque
as English Impresario
Warner Baxter plays the ambitious producer of a burlesque show who rises to the big time on Broadway. Alice Faye is the loyal burleycue singer who helps make Baxter a success. His head turned by sudden fame, Baxter falls under the spell of a society woman (Mona Barrie) who has theatrical aspirations of her own. She marries Baxter, then convinces him to produce a string of "artistic" plays rather than his extravagant musical revues. The plays are flops, and the woman haughtily divorces Baxter. Faithful Alice Faye, who'd gone to London when her ex-beau was married, returns to the penniless Baxter. She and her burlesque buddies team up to pull Baxter out of his rut and put him on top again.
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Under Two Flags
as Rake
Sergeant Victor comes to the French Foreign Legion after taking the blame for his brother's crime. Cigarette falls in love with him though Major Doyle is in love with her. Doyle sends Victor on dangerous assignments to be rid of him. He falls in love with Lady Venetia Cunningham, a visitor to the garrison
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Tarzan Escapes
as Rawlins
White hunter Captain Fry tries to take Tarzan back to civilization, caged for public display. He arrives in the jungle with Jane's cousins, Eric and Rita, who want Jane's help in claiming a fortune left her.
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The Perfect Gentleman
as Frederick Hitch
A strait-laced country vicar is very embarrassed by his father's naughty exploits with a lively actress.
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Black Sheep
as Oscar
On an ocean liner crossing a professional gambler comes to the aid of a naive young man victimized by a jewel thief. The young man turns out to be his son he's not seen since infancy.
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Mutiny on the Bounty
as Smith
Fletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. However, Bligh returns one year later, hell bent on revenge.
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Ever Since Eve
as Horace Saunders
Neil Rogers, a young man who owns a substantial share of a Western gold mine, comes East and falls in love with the rather wild Elizabeth Vandegrift.
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Cavalcade
as Alfred Bridges
A cavalcade of English life from New Year's Eve 1899 until 1933 is seen through the eyes of well-to-do Londoners Jane and Robert Marryot. Amongst events touching their family are the Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic, and the Great War.
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The Devil's in Love
as Bimpy
The French Foreign Legion is the setting for this episodic adventure yarn. Victor Jory plays a Legion doctor falsely accused of murdering his commander over the love of Loretta Young. Jory escapes prosecution by heading for parts unknown, but when a deadly illness strikes his old fort, he returns to aid his comrades. He is arrested, but clears himself of the murder charge and ends up with Young. Devil's in Love is distinguished by the surprise appearance of Bela Lugosi, who shows up unbilled as a relentless prosecuting attorney in the courtroom scenes.
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Adorable
as Detective Pipac
Rebellious Princess Marie "Mitzi" Christine must try to marry the man she loves, instead of the stuffy old prince her parents want her to marry.
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Hoopla
as Hap Spissel
A hula dancer at a carnival sets out to seduce the naive son of the show's manager.
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Pleasure Cruise
as Henry
Shirley, a married woman, who is fed up of her husband's incessant nagging, decides to go on a cruise. Her husband also gets on the cruise as a worker in the barber shop to keep an eye on her.
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Arizona to Broadway
as Kingfish Miller
In the small town of Larrup, Arizona, Smiley, a con-artist traveling with cohorts Kingfish, Morris and Ambrose, persuades Lynn Martin, a traveling demonstrator of pancake making, to accompany him to a carnival, where Kingfish sells a large number of bottles of Bambo, an elixir...
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Sherlock Holmes
as George
Moriarty is sentenced to death, and Sherlock Holmes prepares to retire to the country and marry his girl. But Moriarty has sworn that Holmes, Lt. Col. Gore-King of Scotland Yard, and his trial judge shall all be hanged too. When Moriarty escapes and proceeds to put his threat into operation, Holmes has to postpone his retirement.
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The Trial of Vivienne Ware
as William Boggs
Vivienne Ware is defended by her ex-beau when she's accused of killing her faithless fiance.
