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Private Detective

NR

Mystery

6/10(2 ratings)

A female private eye joins forces with a police detective to investigate the suspicious murder of a millionaire.

12-09-1939

55 min

Private Detective

Backdrop for Private Detective

Main Cast

Movie Details

Production Info

Director:: Noel M. Smith

Production:: Warner Bros. Pictures

Key Crew

Screenplay:: Earle Snell

Screenplay:: Raymond L. Schrock

Producer:: Bryan Foy

Executive Producer:: Hal B. Wallis

Executive Producer:: Jack L. Warner

Locations and Languages

Country:: US

Filming:: US

Languages:: en

Main Cast

Jane Wyman

Jane Wyman

Jane Wyman (born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007) was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades. She received an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Johnny Belinda (1948), and later achieved success during the 1980s for her leading role in the television series Falcon Crest. Wyman was the first wife of Ronald Reagan. They married in 1940 and divorced in 1948, before Reagan ran for public office. She is the only person to have won an Oscar and married a future President of the United States. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jane Wyman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Stage Fright

Stage Fright

1950

The Lost Weekend

The Lost Weekend

1945

Pollyanna

Pollyanna

1960

Dick Foran

Dick Foran

John Nicholas 'Dick' Foran (June 18, 1910 – August 10, 1979) was an American actor, known for his performances in western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures. Foran was still billed as Nick Foran when he signed a contract with Fox in 1934. In 1935, Foran, who stood 6-foot-2 and had red hair, was hired by Warner Bros. as a supporting actor, changing his first name to Dick. He would also croon when called upon in films such as Change of Heart (1934) with Janet Gaynor, made for Fox Film Corporation. His handsome appearance and good-natured personality made him a natural choice for the supporting cast. He first appeared as a singing cowboy in his first starring role, in Moonlight on the Prairie (1935). Other singing cowboy features included Song of the Saddle (1936), Guns of the Pecos (1937), Empty Holsters (1937) and Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938). In 1938 Foran moved to Universal Studios, where he acted in many different genres of film from horror to comedies with Abbott and Costello such as Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942). In 1942, Foran starred as Lon Prentice in a 68-minute war support film, Private Buckaroo. Foran starred in The Petrified Forest (1936), The Sisters (1938), Rangers of Fortune (1940), The Mummy's Hand (1940) and Keep 'Em Flying (1941). One of his last film roles was a small one in Donovan's Reef (1963), starring his longtime friend John Wayne. His final film appearance was as the prospector "Old Timer" in the sentimental film Brighty of the Grand Canyon (1967) with Joseph Cotten, Pat Conway and Karl Swenson Description above from the Wikipedia article Dick Foran, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Fort Apache

Fort Apache

1948

Donovan's Reef

Donovan's Reef

1963

The Mummy's Hand

The Mummy's Hand

1940

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Lady of Burlesque

Lady of Burlesque

1943

Dolly Baxter

They Won't Forget

They Won't Forget

1937

Sybil Hale

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

1983

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Maxie Rosenbloom

Maxie Rosenbloom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Max Everitt Rosenbloom (November 1, 1907 – March 6, 1976) was an American boxer, actor, and television personality. Born in Leonard Bridge, Connecticut, Rosenbloom was nicknamed "Slapsie Maxie" by a journalist due to his open-gloved style of boxing. In 1930, he won the New York light heavyweight title. In 1932, he won the World Light Heavyweight Championship. He held and defended the title until November 1934, when he lost it to Bob Olin. As a professional boxer, Rosenbloom relied on hitting and moving to score points. He was very difficult to hit cleanly with a power punch and his fights often went the full number of required rounds. In his boxing career, he received thousands of punches to the head, which eventually led to the deterioration of his motor functions. In 1937, he accepted a role in a Hollywood film. He became a character actor, portraying comical "big guys" in movies that included Each Dawn I Die, and Maxie retired from boxing permanently in 1939. Slapsy Maxie's, the first comedy club, opened in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He continued acting on radio, television, and in a number of films, usually playing comedy roles as a big, clumsy, punch-drunk—but lovable—character. He appeared in a number of episodes (playing himself) of The Fred Allen Show—including a skit with Marlene Dietrich. Rosenbloom played an important part in television's first 90-minute drama, Requiem for a Heavyweight, written by Rod Serling, and starring Jack Palance as a boxer at the end of his career. Rosenbloom played an ex-boxer, whose life revolved around retelling old boxing stories night after night to other ex-boxers in a down-and-out bar. It is the fate that looms for Mountain McClintock, Palance's character, if he cannot adjust to a new life outside the ring. Slapsy Maxie's, his nightclub, is prominently featured in a 2013 crime film, Gangster Squad, which is set in 1949. The club, which actually operated in 1939 at 7165 Beverly Blvd and from 1943 to 1947, was located at 5665 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles.

Known For

The Bellboy

The Bellboy

1960

Nothing Sacred

Nothing Sacred

1937

Punch Drunks

Punch Drunks

1934

John Ridgely

John Ridgely

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Ridgely (born John Huntington Rea, September 6, 1909 – January 18, 1968) was an American film character actor with over 175 film credits. He appeared in the 1946 Humphrey Bogart film The Big Sleep as blackmailing gangster Eddie Mars and had a memorable role as a suffering heart patient in the film noir Nora Prentiss (1947). He appeared in a large number of other Warner Bros. films in the 1930s and 1940s. Freelancing after 1948, John Ridgely continued to essay general-purpose parts until he left films in 1953. Thereafter, he worked in summer-theater productions and television until his death from a heart attack at the age of 58 in 1968.

Known For

Arsenic and Old Lace

Arsenic and Old Lace

1944

The Greatest Show on Earth

The Greatest Show on Earth

1952

The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep

1946

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Looking for Trouble

Looking for Trouble

1934

Dan Sutter

Brother Orchid

Brother Orchid

1940

Philadelphia Powell

The Spellbinder

The Spellbinder

1939

Mr. Carrington

John Eldredge

John Eldredge

John Eldredge was an American stage, screen, and television actor.

Known For

Somebody Up There Likes Me

Somebody Up There Likes Me

1956

Scaramouche

Scaramouche

1952

An American in Paris

An American in Paris

1951

Joseph Crehan

Joseph Crehan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Joseph Crehan (July 15, 1883 – April 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1916 and 1965, and notably played Ulysses S. Grant nine times between 1939 and 1958, most memorably in Union Pacific and They Died With Their Boots On. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland and died in Hollywood, California from a stroke. Crehan often played alongside Charles C. Wilson with whom he is sometimes confused.

Known For

The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep

1946

They Died with Their Boots On

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

Texas

Texas

1941

William B. Davidson

William B. Davidson

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.

Known For

Scarface

Scarface

1932

The Most Dangerous Game

The Most Dangerous Game

1932

My Darling Clementine

My Darling Clementine

1946

Selmer Jackson

Selmer Jackson

Selmer Jackson (May 7, 1888 - March 30, 1971) was an American stage, film and television actor who appeared in nearly 400 films between 1921 and 1963.

Known For

They Died with Their Boots On

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld

1936

The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath

1940

Vera Lewis

Vera Lewis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Vera Lewis (June 10, 1873 – February 8, 1956) was an American film and stage actress, beginning in the silent film era. She appeared in 183 films between 1915 and 1947. She was married to actor Ralph Lewis. She was born in Manhattan, where she began acting in stage productions. Her film career started in 1915 with the film Hypocrites, which starred Myrtle Stedman and Courtenay Foote. From 1915 to 1929 she appeared in 63 silent films, including the film classic Intolerance (1916) where she played the "old maid" Miss Jenkins. Unlike many silent film stars, she made a smooth transition to "talking films", starting with her 1930 appearance in Wide Open, starring Patsy Ruth Miller and Edward Everett Horton. Though never what is referred to as a "premier star", she appeared in 58 films during the 1930s, and another 60 during the 1940s. She retired after 1947, and resided at the Motion Picture Country House in Woodland Hills, California at the time of her death on February 8, 1956.

Known For

They Died with Their Boots On

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

The Killers

The Killers

1946

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Honeymoon Deferred

Honeymoon Deferred

1940

Eve Blades

Jack Mower

Jack Mower

Jack Mower (born Benjamin Allen Mower) was an American screen and television actor. He appeared in hundreds of films between 1914 and 1964. Mower also, during the mid 1920s, produced seven silent films.

Known For

Mildred Pierce

Mildred Pierce

1945

The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon

1941

They Died with Their Boots On

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Foreign Correspondent

Foreign Correspondent

1940

Man (uncredited)

At the Circus

At the Circus

1939

Undetermined Role (uncredited)

Maisie Was a Lady

Maisie Was a Lady

1941

Boy Walking at Carnival (Uncredited)

Willie Best

Willie Best

William “Willie” Best (May 27, 1916 - February 27, 1962), sometimes known as “Sleep n' Eat,” was an American television and film actor. Best was one of the first African-American film actors and comedians to become well known. In the 21st century, his work, like that of Stepin Fetchit, is sometimes reviled because he was often called upon to play stereotypically lazy, illiterate, and/or simple-minded characters in films. Of the 124 films he appeared in, he received screen credit in at least 77, an unusual feat for an African-American bit player. Willie Best appeared in more than one hundred films of the 1930s and 1940s. Although several sources state that for years he was billed only as “Sleep n' Eat,” Best received credit under this moniker instead of his real name in only six movies: his first film as a bit player (Harold Lloyd's Feet First) and in Up Pops the Devil (1931), The Monster Walks (1932), Kentucky Kernels and West of the Pecos (both 1934), and Murder on a Honeymoon (1935). Best was first loved as a great clown, then later in the 20th century reviled and pitied, before being forgotten in the history of film. Hal Roach called him one of the greatest talents he had ever met. Comedian Bob Hope similarly acclaimed him as “the best actor I know,” while the two were working together in 1940 on The Ghost Breakers. As a supporting actor, Best, like many black actors of his era, was regularly cast in domestic worker or service-oriented roles (though a few times he played the role echoing his previous occupation as a private chauffeur). He was often seen making a brief comic turn as a hotel, airline or train porter, as well as an elevator operator, custodian, butler, valet, waiter, deliveryman, and at least once as a launch pilot (in the 1939 movie Mr. Moto in Danger Island). Willie Best received screen credit most of the time, which was unusual for “bit players,” most in the 1930s and '40s were not accorded due credit. This also happened to white actors in small roles, but black actors were not credited even when their roles were larger. In more than 80 of his movies, he was given a proper character name (as opposed to simple descriptions such as “room service waiter” or “shoe-shine boy”), beginning with his second film. Best played “Chattanooga Brown” in two Charlie Chan films —The Red Dragon in 1945 and Dangerous Money in 1946. He also played the character of “Hipp” in three of RKO’s six Scattergood Baines films with Guy Kibbee: Scattergood Baines (1941), Scattergood Survives a Murder (1942), and Cinderella Swings It in 1943. (Actor Paul White, who played a young version of Best’s “Hipp” in the first film, went on to play “Hipp” in the next three films. Best returned to the role in the last two.) After a drug arrest ended his film career, he worked in television for a while and became known to early TV audiences as “Charlie the Elevator Operator” on CBS's My Little Margie, from 1953 to 1955. He also played Willie, the house servant, handyman and close friend of the title character of ABC’s The Trouble with Father, for its entire run from 1950 to 1955.

Known For

Cabin in the Sky

Cabin in the Sky

1943

Vivacious Lady

Vivacious Lady

1938

High Sierra

High Sierra

1941

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Women in the Wind

Women in the Wind

1939

Aviatrix (uncredited)

Espionage Agent

Espionage Agent

1939

American Tourist

Torchy Blane in Chinatown

Torchy Blane in Chinatown

1939

Maid (uncredited)

Frank Dae

Frank Dae

Known For

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man

1951

Secret Beyond the Door...

Secret Beyond the Door...

1947

Young Mr. Lincoln

Young Mr. Lincoln

1939

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

The Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties

1939

Narrator (voice)

Confessions of a Nazi Spy

Confessions of a Nazi Spy

1939

Narration by

Old Glory

Old Glory

1939

Uncle Sam (voice) (uncredited)

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Mystery of the Wax Museum

Mystery of the Wax Museum

1933

Policeman (Uncredited)

Charlie Chan at the Opera

Charlie Chan at the Opera

1936

Cop (uncredited)

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse

1938

Fingerprint Expert (uncredited)

Leo Gorcey

Leo Gorcey

Leo Gorcey's parents were actor Bernard Gorcey (born 1888) who stood 4' 10", and Josephine Condon (born 1901), who stood 4' 11" and weighed 95 pounds; they worked in vaudeville in New York. In 1915, 14-year-old Josephine gave birth to Fred. In 1917, Leo was born, a large baby at 12 lb. 3 oz.; as an adult he would be 5' 6". In 1921 his brother David Gorcey was born. In 1935, Leo and David appeared in the stage play "Dead End." In 1937, this was made into a movie, and Leo became one of the busiest actors for the next 20 years -- from 1937-1939 he starred in seven Dead End Kids movies, from 1940-1945 in 21 East Side Kids films, from 1946-1956 in 41 Bowery Boys movies. In 1939, Leo married 17-year-old dancer Kay Marvis, who appeared in four of his movies. They divorced in 1944 after five years of marriage; she went on to marry Groucho Marx. In 1945, Leo married Evalene Bankston; they divorced in 1948. Leo was to have paid her $50,000 in a divorce settlement; however, when two detectives she hired broke into his home, he retaliated by firing his gun at them. They sued, and Leo countersued for illegal entry and won $35,000 back. In 1949, Leo married Amelita Ward, whom he met while filming Smugglers' Cove (1948). Their marriage produced Leo Gorcey Jr. in 1949, and a baby girl they named Jan (after Leo's producer and manager, Jan Grippo) in 1951. They divorced in 1956. That year Leo married his young nanny, Brandy, who was taking care of his two kids. They had a baby girl, Brandy Jo, in 1958. The couple divorced in 1962. Leo went to the altar one last time in February, 1968, marrying Mary Gannon. He stayed married to her until his death from liver failure on June 2, 1969, in Oakland, California.

Known For

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

1963

Dead End

Dead End

1937

Out of the Fog

Out of the Fog

1941

Sol Gorss

Sol Gorss

Sol Gorss was born on March 22, 1908 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He is known for his work on "Climax! (1954)", "Flowing Gold (1940)" and "China Girl (1942)". He died on September 10, 1966 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Known For

Spartacus

Spartacus

1960

Arsenic and Old Lace

Arsenic and Old Lace

1944

Warlock

Warlock

1959

Al Herman

Al Herman

Known For

The Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties

1939

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

1936

Fury

Fury

1936

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Racket Busters

Racket Busters

1938

Angry Woman at Strike (uncredited)

One Foot in Heaven

One Foot in Heaven

1941

First Mother (uncredited)

Frank Mayo

Frank Mayo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Frank Mayo (June 28, 1889 – July 9, 1963) was an American actor. He appeared in 310 films between 1911 and 1949. He was born in New York, New York, and died in Laguna Beach, California, from a heart attack. He was married to actress Dagmar Godowsky from 1921-1928. The marriage was annulled in August 1928 on the ground that Mayo had another wife. Mayo was buried at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Known For

They Died with Their Boots On

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

Gilda

Gilda

1946

The Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties

1939

Dick Rich

Dick Rich

Known For

The Adventures of Robin Hood

The Adventures of Robin Hood

1938

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

1954

Somebody Up There Likes Me

Somebody Up There Likes Me

1956

Cyril Ring

Cyril Ring

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Cyril Ring (December 5, 1892 – July 17, 1967) was an American film actor. He began his career in silent films in 1921. By the time of his final performance in 1951, he had appeared in over 350 films, almost all in small and/or uncredited parts. He is probably best remembered today for his role as Harvey Yates, a con artist captured and hand-cuffed to fellow con artist Penelope, played by Kay Francis at the very end of the Marx Brothers first film The Cocoanuts (1929).

Known For

Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane

1941

The Great Dictator

The Great Dictator

1940

Laura

Laura

1944

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Naughty But Nice

Naughty But Nice

1939

Miss Danning (uncredited)

Women in the Wind

Women in the Wind

1939

Aviatrix (uncredited)

Espionage Agent

Espionage Agent

1939

American Tourist

Leo White

Leo White

Leo White (born Leo Weiss) grew up in England and began his stage career there. In 1910 he came to the United States and the following year started working in Silent films. Typically cast as a dapper continental villain or a nobleman, White frequently played uncredited bit parts and as a character actor in many Charlie Chaplin productions. Multiple online sites indicate that he was born in 1882. However his grave marker clearly presents birth year as having been 1873.

Known For

Casablanca

Casablanca

1943

Arsenic and Old Lace

Arsenic and Old Lace

1944

The Great Dictator

The Great Dictator

1940

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Casablanca

Casablanca

1943

Waiter (uncredited)

House of Wax

House of Wax

1953

Elevator Operator (uncredited)

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

1936

Courtroom Reporter (uncredited)

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

The Graduate

The Graduate

1967

Welcoming Party Guest (uncredited)

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

1939

Lady of the Court (uncredited)

Dark Victory

Dark Victory

1939

Judith's Friend (uncredited)