William Farnum
Birthday: 1876-07-04 Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Synopsis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William Farnum (July 4, 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts – June 5, 1953 in Hollywood, California) was a major movie actor. One of three brothers, Farnum grew up in a family of actors. He made his acting debut at the age of ten in Richmond, Virginia in a production of Julius Caesar, with Edwin Booth playing the title character. His first major success was as the title character of Ben-Hur in 1900 though replacing the original actor Edward Morgan who premiered the character in 1899. Later plays Farnum appeared in were the costume epic The Prince of India (1906), The White Sister (1909) starring Viola Allen, The Littlest Rebel (1911) co-starring his brother Dustin and a child actress named Mary Miles Minter(then nine years old) & Arizona (1913) with Dustin and stage beauty Elsie Ferguson. In The Spoilers in 1914, Farnum and Tom Santschi staged a classic movie fight which lasted for a full reel. In 1930, Farnum and Stantschi coached Gary Cooper and William Boyd in the fight scene for the 1930 version of The Spoilers. Other actors influenced by the Farnum scene were Milton Sills and Noah Beery in 1922 and Randolph Scott and John Wayne in 1942. From 1915 to 1925, Farnum devoted his life to motion pictures. When becoming one of the biggest sensations in Hollywood, he also became one of the highest-paid actors, earning $10,000 a week. Farnum's silent pictures the western Drag Harlan(1920) and the drama-adventure If I Were King(1921) survive from his years contracted to Fox Films. Farnum has a "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was the younger brother of actor Dustin Farnum. He had another brother, Marshall Farnum, who was a silent film director and died in 1917. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Farnum, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acting
Jack and the Beanstalk
A young boy trades the family cow for magic beans. Ascending the beanstalk with the butcher who sold him the beans, he faces the giant terrorizing his village.
Lone Star
Rip-roaring big star, big budget semi-historical story about cattle baron Devereaux Burke, who is enlisted by an aging Andrew Jackson to dissuade Sam Houston from establishing Texas as a republic. Burke must fight state senator Thomas Craden, in the process winning the heart of Craden's newspaper-editor girlfriend Martha Ronda.
Daughter of the West
A convent-raised woman (Martha Vickers) learns of her American Indian heritage through romance with an educated Navajo (Philip Reed) during the 1880s.
Samson and Delilah
When strongman Samson rejects the love of the beautiful Philistine woman Delilah, she seeks vengeance that brings horrible consequences they both regret.
God's Country
Lee Preston, aka Leland Bruce, kills a man in self defense but flees to the redwood country when the law makes it a murder charge. There he meets Lynn O'Malley, the niece of Sandy McTavish who runs the trading post. Lee learns the reason why this is good trapping country is because the timber barons across the lake are ruthlessly cutting the trees and driving the animals across the river. The trappers appeal to him to take a petition to the Governor which would prohibit the timber people from coming to their side of the lake. At first, because he is a wanted man, he refuses but does so later for the sake of the people even though he knows it will lead to his arrest.
Captain Kidd
Cutthroat pirate William Kidd captures Admiral Blayne's treasure ship and hides the bounty in a cave. Three years later, Kidd, posing as a respectable merchant captain, offers his services to the King of England. Seeking a social position, Kidd also negotiates for Blayne's title and lands, provided he can prove Blayne was associated with piracy. Launched upon his royal mission, Kidd is unaware that Blayne's son Adam is among the crew, determined to clear his father's name.
Wildfire
Fanning has his men rustle horses and then blame it on a wild horse named Wildfire. Happy and Alkali arrive and immediately get into trouble with Fanning and his men. When Alkali is shot, Happy catches the outlaws but the Judge not only releases them, he discharges the Sheriff and tries to arrest Happy for rustling. Happy escapes and he and the Sheriff then set out to prove who the real rustlers are.
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Hoping to increase its box-office allure by adopting the title of a popular song, Deep in the Heart of Texas (clap!clap!clap!clap!) was the first Johnny Mack Brown western of the 1942-43 season. The plot concerns a group of insurrectionists who intend to keep Texas separate from the rest of the USA.
The Silver Bullet
A cowboy heads for the town where his father was murdered to find out who was responsible.
Men of Texas
A Chicago reporter (Robert Stack) and photographer focus on a Confederate outlaw (Brod Crawford) in post-Civil War Texas.
Today I Hang
Henry Courtney, a wealthy importer is found murdered and the famous DeNormand necklace has been stolen. The false testimony of two witnesses, Rand and Hobbs, puts Jim O'Brien in the shadow of the hangman's noose. Martha Courtney, widow of the murdered man and Jim's former sweetheart is convinced he isn't guilty, and promises crooked lawyer Roger Lanning the necklace - which Jim doesn't have - if he can arrange for Jim's escape. Rand and Lanning killed Courtney, but Lanning doesn't know that Rand has the necklace.
The Spoilers
When honest ship captain Roy Glennister gets swindled out of his mine claim, he turns to saloon singer Cherry Malotte for assistance in his battle with no-good town kingpin Alexander McNamara.
Gangs of Sonora
Commissioner Tredwell is the law of the land and he gets whatever he wants with the help of hired guns and lackey lawyer Conners. The only one who publicly stands up to Tredwell is Beecham of the Clarion. Beecham has his paper burned to the ground and when he starts a petition to make Wyoming a state, taking the power away from Tredwell, he is killed. But when Kansas Kate comes in to visit her son Conners, she sees what is going on and she takes over the paper and keeps the pressure on Tredwill. With this Conners has mixed emotions, but the boys do everything they can to protect Kate and the paper. Written by Tony Fontana
Adventures of Red Ryder
Calvin Drake employs a group of low-lifes to drive away land owners along the path of a new railroad; Red Ryder opposes this strategy.
Convicted Woman
A reporter and a lawyer investigate a women's prison and help an inmate who does not belong there.
Mexicali Rose
Gene Autry and his sidekick Frog look into a phony oil scam being perpetrated on a mission orphanage.
Santa Fe Stampede
The Mesquiteers capture a horse thief who escapes justice through a crooked judge. They gather signatures urging the governor to investigate but a friend with the petition is murdered. Stony is accused.
Shine On Harvest Moon
A rustler's son (Roy Rogers) courts a rancher's daughter (Mary Hart) during a range war.
Git Along Little Dogies
When war breaks out between oilmen and cattle ranchers, Gene sides with the ranchers until he learns that oil will bring a railraod to town.
Public Cowboy No. 1
Deputies Gene Autry and Frog go up against modern cattle rustlers. These rustlers use technology such as, airplanes, radios and refrigerated trucks to steal the cows, butcher them in the field and ship them out before getting caught. This causes the town to bring in a modern NYC detective to catch the crooks, but will Autry and Frog be permanently out of a job?
The Kid Ranger
Ranger Ray plans to marry stage driver Bill Mason's daughter Mary, but there are problems ahead....
The Vigilantes Are Coming
A masked hero called "The Eagle" leads California ranchers in a struggle against Russian Cossacks who are plotting to take over California and turn it into a Russian colony.
Custer's Last Stand
Kit Cardigan seeks the killer of his father...among other plot threads leading up to the famous historical incident.
Sharad of Atlantis
Crash Corrigan, a recent graduate of Annapolis, and Diana, a go-getting reporter, join Professor Norton for a search for the source of a string of earthquakes, Atlantis. They ride Prof. Norton's rocket submarine searching the sea and little Billy Norton, the professor's son stows away, of course. When they find Atlantis they are caught in a war between peaceful Atlanteans, note their white capes, and war-monging Atlanteans, note their black capes. After many harrowing moments for Crash, Diana, Prof. Norton and Billy, they barely get away with their lives when they escape a tower of Atlantis raised to the surface for the sole purpose of dominating or destroying the Earth (Which one depends on the compliance of the upper world dwellers.)
The Eagle's Brood
When the outlaw El Toro saves Hoppy's life, Hoppy agrees to find his missing grandson.
Between Men
When his young son is shot, John Wellington kills the culprit and flees. But his son Johnny recovers and is raised by Sir George. Some twenty years later Johnny sets out to find Sir George's missing granddaughter.
Million Dollar Haul
Special Insurance-Investigator Dan Kennedy and his wonder dog, Tarzan the Police Dog, are called in to investigate the persistent robbing of a shipping-and-storage warehouse in Los Angeles.
The Silver Streak
A high-speed train becomes the star of the film as it rushes from Chicago to Hoover Dam to transport an iron lung to a needy patient.
The Brand of Hate
Trouble starts when Bill Larkins and his two sons move in with his brother Joe. They start rustling cattle and then kill Rod's father with Joe's gun. The Sheriff and Rod think they did it and are after proof.
Supernatural
After her brother's death, Roma Courtney becomes the heiress to his fortune. When fake psychic Paul Bavian claims to have a message from Roma's dead brother, he coaxes Roma into participating in a séance. Although Roma's fiancé, Grant, first believes the séance is nothing more than a scam, he eventually realizes that the vengeful spirit of an executed murderer has possessed Roma's body.
