
Porter Hall
Highest Rated: 100% Intruder in the Dust (1949)
Lowest Rated: 80% Unconquered (1947)
Birthday: Sep 19, 1888
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Cincinnati native Porter Hall made a name for himself by almost exclusively portraying evil, low-life characters in the 1930s and 1940s. While he was a gentle-mannered, church-going man in real life, Hall did very well for himself with his bad-guy image, aided in no small part by his bug-eyes and cold exterior. He originally mastered his acting chops on the theater stage, but it wasn't long before Hall made his way to the bright lights of Hollywood, debuting on-screen with two uncredited 1931 roles in the George Abbott-directed dramas "Secrets of a Secretary" and "The Cheat." He eventually graduated to side roles in films like the 1936 Cecile B. DeMille western, "The Plainsman," but Hall truly broke out in the late '30s, particularly with a role as Senator Martin Monroe in the 1939 James Stewart-starring courtroom drama, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." Though Hall always found work playing side characters, never fully moving to leading man status, he became a reliable character presence throughout the 1940s and 1950s, popping up in many high-profile pictures, including the 1940 Howard Hawks screwball comedy, "His Girl Friday," the 1944 Billy Wilder film noir, "Double Indemnity," and George Seaton's 1947 Christmas feel-good film, "Miracle on 34th Street."
Photos
Highest Rated Movies
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
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No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Return to Treasure Island | Maximillian "Maxie" Harris (Character) | - | 1954 |
No Score Yet | 19% | Pony Express | Jim Bridger (Character) | - | 1953 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Girl in Room 17 | Jack Hartrampf (Character) | - | 1953 |
No Score Yet | 54% | Carbine Williams | Sam Markley (Character) | - | 1952 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Half-Breed | Kraemer (Character) | - | 1952 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Holiday for Sinners | Louie (Character) | - | 1952 |
92% | 92% | Ace in the Hole | Jacob Q. Boot (Character) | - | 1951 |
100% | 82% | Intruder in the Dust | Nub Gowrie (Character) | - | 1949 |
No Score Yet | 57% | Chicken Every Sunday | Sam Howell (Character) | - | 1949 |
No Score Yet | 47% | That Wonderful Urge | Attorney Ketchell (Character) | - | 1949 |
No Score Yet | 44% | You Gotta Stay Happy | Mr. Caslon (Character) | - | 1948 |
No Score Yet | 17% | Singapore | Mr. Gerald Bellows (Character) | - | 1947 |
80% | 64% | Unconquered | Leach (Character) | - | 1947 |
96% | 87% | Miracle on 34th Street | Granville Sawyer (Character) | - | 1947 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Kiss and Tell | Bill Franklin (Character) | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet | 53% | Weekend at the Waldorf | Stevens (Character) | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet | 35% | Blood on the Sun | Arthur Bickett (Character) | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Standing Room Only | Hugo Farenhall (Character) | - | 1944 |
83% | 20% | The Great Moment | President Franklin Pierce (Character) | - | 1944 |
86% | 83% | The Miracle of Morgan's Creek | Justice of the Peace (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Mark of the Whistler | Joe Sorsby (Character) | - | 1944 |
97% | 95% | Double Indemnity | Mr. Jackson (Character) | - | 1944 |
81% | 75% | Going My Way | Mr. Belknap (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet | 67% | A Stranger in Town | Judge Austin Harkley (Character) | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet | 52% | The Desperadoes | Stanley Clanton (Character) | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Woman of the Town | Mayor Dog Killey (Character) | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Butch Minds the Baby | Brandy Smith (Character) | - | 1942 |
No Score Yet | 33% | Mr. and Mrs. North | Asst. District Attorney George Heyler (Character) | - | 1942 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Remarkable Andrew | Chief Clerk Art Slocumb (Character) | - | 1942 |
100% | 89% | Sullivan's Travels | Mr. Hadrian (Character) | - | 1941 |
No Score Yet | 71% | The Dark Command | Angus McCloud (Character) | - | 1940 |
No Score Yet | 53% | Arizona | Lazarus Ward (Character) | - | 1940 |
98% | 90% | His Girl Friday | Murphy, reporter (Character) | - | 1940 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Trail of the Vigilantes | Sheriff Korley (Character) | - | 1940 |
No Score Yet | 67% | They Shall Have Music | Mr. Flower (Character) | - | 1939 |
96% | 94% | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Sen. Monroe (Character) | - | 1939 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Tom Sawyer, Detective | Uncle Silas (Character) | - | 1938 |
100% | 93% | Make Way for Tomorrow | Harvey Chase (Character) | - | 1937 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Wells Fargo | James Oliver (Character) | - | 1937 |
No Score Yet | 50% | Souls at Sea | Court Prosecutor (Character) | - | 1937 |
No Score Yet | 10% | Bulldog Drummond Escapes | Merridew (Character) | - | 1937 |
100% | 80% | The Petrified Forest | Jason Maple (Character) | - | 1936 |
100% | 74% | The Story of Louis Pasteur | Dr. Rossignol (Character) | - | 1936 |
100% | 53% | The Plainsman | Jack McCall (Character) | - | 1936 |
No Score Yet | 21% | Satan Met a Lady | Milton Ames (Character) | - | 1936 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Snowed Under | Arthur Layton (Character) | - | 1936 |
86% | 48% | The General Died at Dawn | Peter Perrie (Character) | - | 1936 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Case of the Lucky Legs | Col. Bradbury (Character) | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet | 17% | Murder in the Private Car | Murray (Character) | - | 1934 |
98% | 94% | The Thin Man | MacCauley (Character) | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet | 67% | The Cheat | Unknown (Character) | - | 1931 |
QUOTES FROM Porter Hall CHARACTERS
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