James Dunn

James Dunn

James Dunn worked on the stage, in vaudeville and as an extra in silent movies before he was signed by Fox in 1931. His first movie with Fox was 1931's Sob Sister (1931). While at Fox, he appeared with Shirley Temple in her first three features: Baby Take a Bow (1934), Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) and Bright Eyes (1934). Dunn's screen character was usually the boy next door or the nice guy. In 1935 musicals at the new 20th Century-Fox were out and Dunn would move to the "B" list, from which he would never return. In The Payoff (1935) he plays the nice guy newspaper columnist whose wife ruins his career. By the late 1930s he was drinking heavily and become unemployable. He would appear in small roles in films during the early 1940s, but those parts were few. In 1945 he was able to make a comeback and win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), but his rejuvenated career would not continue. By 1951 he would again be unemployed and bankrupt. Television would later supply some work and he would be a regular on the series It's a Great Life (1954). Dunn was born 2 November 1901, New York City, New York, USA, and he died 1 September 1967, Santa Monica, California, USA  (following abdominal surgery)

  • Title: James Dunn
  • Popularity: 10.492
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1901-11-02
  • Place of Birth: New York City, New York, USA
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: James Howard Dunn, Jimmy Dunn
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James Dunn Movies

  • 1945
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    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

    7.6 1945 HD

    In Brooklyn circa 1900, the Nolans manage to enjoy life on pennies despite great poverty and Papa's alcoholism. We come to know these people well...

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  • 1934
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    Baby Take a Bow

    Baby Take a Bow

    5.5 1934 HD

    Eddie Ellison is an ex-con who spent time in Sing-Sing prison. Kay marries him as soon as he serves his time. Five years later, Eddie and his...

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  • 1935
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    Welcome Home

    Welcome Home

    1 1935 HD

    A con artist attends a reunion in his hometown and discovers that his former classmates are trying to trick an old millionaire into returning to...

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  • 1942
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    The Living Ghost

    The Living Ghost

    4.3 1942 HD

    A detective investigating kidnapping case discovers the victim, who may be a zombie.

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  • 1934
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    Bright Eyes

    Bright Eyes

    6.6 1934 HD

    An orphaned girl is taken in by a snobbish family at the insistence of their rich, crotchety uncle, even as her devoted aviator godfather fights for...

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  • 1934
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    Stand Up and Cheer!

    Stand Up and Cheer!

    4.8 1934 HD

    President Franklin Roosevelt appoints a theatrical producer as the new Secretary of Amusement in order to cheer up an American public still suffering...

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  • 1943
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    The Ghost and the Guest

    The Ghost and the Guest

    5.2 1943 HD

    Newlyweds Webster and Jackie Frye spend their honeymoon in a sinister old country house. Before long, they are besieged by a gang of crooks,...

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  • 1943
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    Government Girl

    Government Girl

    5.2 1943 HD

    An aviation engineer and a government secretary are thrown together by the war effort.

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  • 1931
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    Bad Girl

    Bad Girl

    5.9 1931 HD

    A man and woman, skeptical about romance, nonetheless fall in love and are wed, but their lack of confidence in the opposite sex haunts their...

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  • 1966
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    The Oscar

    The Oscar

    5.1 1966 HD

    An amoral lowlife accidentally stumbles into an acting career that sets him on a trajectory to Hollywood stardom. But everyone on whom he steps on...

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  • 1947
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    Killer McCoy

    Killer McCoy

    6 1947 HD

    Tommy McCoy grew up poor and scrappy. As a young man he discovers that he can fight with his powerful right arm. He becomes successful at boxing,...

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  • 1936
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    Hearts in Bondage

    Hearts in Bondage

    4.5 1936 HD

    Best friends Kenneth Reynolds and Raymond Jordan are U.S. Navy officers, and Kenneth is engaged to Raymond's sister. But the eruption of the Civil...

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  • 1962
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    Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man

    Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man

    4.8 1962 HD

    Young and restless Nick Adams, the only son of a domineering mother and a weak but noble doctor father, leaves his rural Michigan home to embark on...

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  • 1945
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    The Caribbean Mystery

    The Caribbean Mystery

    4 1945 HD

    The Caribbean Mystery is a remake of Mr. Moto on Danger Island (1939)-which in turn was a remake of Murder in Trinidad. James Dunn stars as Mr....

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  • 1936
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    Two-Fisted Gentleman

    Two-Fisted Gentleman

    1 1936 HD

    Mickey, is a prizefighter whose bright career hits the skids when he comes under the guidance of Ginger, a female fight promoter, when he becomes...

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  • 1933
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    The Girl in 419

    The Girl in 419

    4.3 1933 HD

    A hospital surgeon (James Dunn) protects a mystery woman (Gloria Stuart) who knows too much about a card-game murder.

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  • 1933
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    Arizona to Broadway

    Arizona to Broadway

    7 1933 HD

    A team of con men trying to double-cross a woman they are supposedly helping to get some stolen money back wind up getting crossed themselves... by...

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  • 1957
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    Mr. Broadway

    Mr. Broadway

    1 1957 HD

    A musical television special chronicling the early career of playwright George M. Cohan, focusing primarily on his vaudeville years as part of his...

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  • 1935
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    George White's 1935 Scandals

    George White's 1935 Scandals

    4 1935 HD

    A Broadway producer discovers new talent in a small Georgia town and brings them to New York for his new show.

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  • 1935
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    The Payoff

    The Payoff

    4.9 1935 HD

    An honest sports columnist's greedy wife persuades him to go easy on a cheat, famous for crooked sports deals.

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  • 1940
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    Hold That Woman!

    Hold That Woman!

    5 1940 HD

    A skip tracer--someone who collects late payments from people who've purchased appliances, etc., or takes them back them when they don't...

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  • 1934
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    Have a Heart

    Have a Heart

    7 1934 HD

    Sally (Jean Parker) is engaged to be married, loves dancing and kids. But her life is ruined when an accident cripples her and her betrothed...

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  • 1946
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    That Brennan Girl

    That Brennan Girl

    5.3 1946 HD

    Raised by Natalie Brennan, a flamboyant and irresponsible mother, Ziggy Brennan gets involved in hustling men at a young age. She hangs around with a...

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  • 1944
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    Leave It to the Irish

    Leave It to the Irish

    3.5 1944 HD

    A private eye (James Dunn) investigates the murder of a fur dealer. Monogram.

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  • 1937
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    We Have Our Moments

    We Have Our Moments

    5.8 1937 HD

    A trio of American crooks board a ship bound for Europe, intending to get rid of $100,000 in stolen dough. With detective John Wade breathing down...

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  • 1948
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    Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven

    Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven

    6 1948 HD

    Eddie Tayloe's grandfather leaves him six thousand dollars and the money belt it came in, freeing Tayloe to leave his dull newspaper job in Texas and...

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  • 1934
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    Change of Heart

    Change of Heart

    6.3 1934 HD

    Catherine and Mack and their close friends Chris and Madge graduate from a West Coast college and fly to New York City to find work.

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  • 1933
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    Hello, Sister!

    Hello, Sister!

    6 1933 HD

    Peggy and her friend Millie are strolling down Broadway while Jimmy and Mac are trolling Broadway, and the four get together...

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  • 1932
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    Society Girl

    Society Girl

    6 1932 HD

    Johnny is training for a championship fight. Judy distracts him, so his manager Briscoe walks out on him. Then so does Judy.

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  • 1933
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    Sailor's Luck

    Sailor's Luck

    5 1933 HD

    U.S. sailor Jimmy Harrigan, on shore leave in San Pedro, meets and falls for Sally Brent She promises to wait for him when he ships out to San...

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  • 1931
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    Over the Hill

    Over the Hill

    8.2 1931 HD

    In their farm house in a New York village, Ma Shelby prepares breakfast for her four children, Isaac, Tommy, Johnny and Susan, and then awakens them....

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  • 1938
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    Shadows Over Shanghai

    Shadows Over Shanghai

    5.7 1938 HD

    A pilot carrying a valuable amulet is shot down over China by a ruthless Russian agent, who also wants the amulet.

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  • 1934
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    365 Nights in Hollywood

    365 Nights in Hollywood

    1 1934 HD

    Down-on-his-luck film director Jimmie Dale takes a job at a fly-by-night acting school. He is drawn into the plans of the school's owner to bilk a...

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  • 1935
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    Bad Boy

    Bad Boy

    5 1935 HD

    An unemployed loafer who spends his time playing pool decides he's ready to look for a job so he can secure his girlfriend's parents' approval for...

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  • 1936
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    Mysterious Crossing

    Mysterious Crossing

    1 1936 HD

    While crossing on the train ferry to New Orleans, roving reporter Addison Francis Murphy borrows money from singing hillbilly "Carolina," then loses...

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  • 1976
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    The Biggest Little Star of the 30's

    The Biggest Little Star of the 30's

    1 1976 HD

    A compilation of Shirley Temple newsreel appearances from the 1930's.

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  • 1950
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    A Wonderful Life

    A Wonderful Life

    1 1950 HD

    Sponsored by The Protestant Film Commission, this religiously-affiliated tale centers around citizen Henry Wood (played by Oscar winner James Dunn...

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  • 1937
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    Living on Love

    Living on Love

    5.8 1937 HD

    A man and woman, who've never met, are forced by circumstances to share the same apartment. A remake of the 1933 film "Rafter Romance".

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  • 1968
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    Shadow Over Elveron

    Shadow Over Elveron

    8.3 1968 HD

    A corrupt sheriff knows the secrets of everyone in town and uses that information to go unchallenged. But after the arrest of an innocent teenager,...

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  • 1935
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    The Daring Young Man

    The Daring Young Man

    1 1935 HD

    The Daring Young Man is hotshot-reporter Don McLane, played by James Dunn. Always on the prowl for a good story, McLane is persistently outscooped by...

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  • 1939
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    Pride of the Navy

    Pride of the Navy

    1 1939 HD

    A disruptive Annapolis naval cadet refuses to tow the line and so gets booted out of the prestigious academy. Later, he takes to designing...

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  • 1934
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    Hold That Girl

    Hold That Girl

    1 1934 HD

    "That girl" is newspaper sob-sister Tony Bellamy (Claire Trevor), whose nose for news gets her into one jam after another, especially when she poses...

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  • 1939
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    Mercy Plane

    Mercy Plane

    1 1939 HD

    Air-race champions "Speed" Leslie and Branda Fowler combine to open a very profitable airplane service that flies patients to other cities for...

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  • 1950
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    The Golden Gloves Story

    The Golden Gloves Story

    6 1950 HD

    Joe Riley is a boxing referee whose life-code is the same as the sporting rules of the prizefight ring. Two Golden Glove (a tournament for amateur...

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  • 1960
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    The Bramble Bush

    The Bramble Bush

    5.5 1960 HD

    A young doctor returns to his Massachusetts home town at the request of a terminally ill old friend.

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  • 1957
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    The Ninth Day

    The Ninth Day

    1 1957 HD

    After World War III a small group of people live in the desert. A young man tries to run away, hoping to find other communities of survivors, but is...

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  • 1932
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    Dance Team

    Dance Team

    1 1932 HD

    Jimmy Mulligan and Poppy Kirk, both out of work, strike up a conversation outside a radio shop and discover a shared dream of hitting it big dancing...

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  • 1940
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    Son of the Navy

    Son of the Navy

    5.5 1940 HD

    A runaway boy pretends to be the son of a Navy man, only to turn both their lives upside down.

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  • 1933
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    Take a Chance

    Take a Chance

    4 1933 HD

    Take a Chance was based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name, though only one of the original songs, Eadie Was a Lady, has been retained. The...

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  • 1930
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    The Song Plugger

    The Song Plugger

    4 1930 HD

    'Blind Bob' has written a song and the folks at the music publishing company think that Joe Frisco, his old friend from the Bowery is just right for...

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  • 1936
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    Come Closer, Folks

    Come Closer, Folks

    1 1936 HD

    A fast-talking pitchman working the con-games on the streets, works himself up into an executive position of a large department store, with the aide...

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  • 1975
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    Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

    Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

    5.7 1975 HD

    Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.

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  • 1933
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    Jimmy and Sally

    Jimmy and Sally

    4 1933 HD

    Jimmy is a wiseguy press agent whose efforts to promote a meat-packing firm come to naught. Our hero is fired from his job, whereupon his sweetheart...

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  • 1937
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    Venus Makes Trouble

    Venus Makes Trouble

    3.5 1937 HD

    A fast-talking, street-wise con-man forsakes the tank-towns of Pennsylvania for the greener pastures in Manhattan, and gains fame-and-fortune as New...

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  • 1944
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    Take It or Leave It

    Take It or Leave It

    4 1944 HD

    A young husband becomes a game-show participant in the hopes of winning the cash to pay his pregnant wife's doctor.

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  • 1932
    imgMovies

    Handle with Care

    Handle with Care

    1 1932 HD

    Bill Gordon (James Dunn), whose lot-in-life is rising, falls in love with Helen Barlow (Boots Mallory), who is raising two cute motherless children...

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  • 1982
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    Hollywood’s Children

    Hollywood’s Children

    1 1982 HD

    A documentary about child actors, since the beginning of motion pictures (narrated by Roddy McDowell).

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  • 1933
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    Hold Me Tight

    Hold Me Tight

    1 1933 HD

    Newly married sweethearts Chuck Evans and Molly Roberts work at Blair's Department Store and Molly plans to quit to be a stay-at-home wife and...

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  • 1931
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    Sob Sister

    Sob Sister

    1 1931 HD

    Jane Ray, a very clever reporter of crimes of passion, or "sob sister," for a New York tabloid, begins to feel depressed by the sordidness of her...

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  • 1929
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    In the Nick of Time

    In the Nick of Time

    1 1929 HD

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  • 1963
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    The Great Adventure

    The Great Adventure

    1 1963 HD

    The Great Adventure is a historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963-1964 television season. The series, narrated each week by Van...

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  • 1960
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    Route 66

    Route 66

    6.4 1960 HD

    Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America in a Chevrolet Corvette sports car. The show ran weekly on Fridays...

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  • 1958
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    Naked City

    Naked City

    5.3 1958 HD

    Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the...

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  • 1948
    imgS10 E47

    Studio One

    Studio One

    4.727 1948 HD

    An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One,...

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  • 1953
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    General Electric Theater

    General Electric Theater

    6 1953 HD

    General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was...

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  • 1962
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    Going My Way

    Going My Way

    5 1962 HD

    Going My Way is an American comedy-drama series

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  • 1959
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    Rawhide

    Rawhide

    7 1959 HD

    The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with...

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  • 1963
    imgS4 E30

    The Fugitive

    The Fugitive

    7.2 1963 HD

    Richard Kimble is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death penalty. En route to death row, Kimble's train derails and crashes,...

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  • 1962
    imgS9 E24

    The Virginian

    The Virginian

    6.429 1962 HD

    The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It...

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  • 1950
    imgS7 E52

    Lux Video Theatre

    Lux Video Theatre

    6 1950 HD

    Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original...

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  • 1951
    imgS2 E33

    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

    7 1951 HD

    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was...

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  • 1954
    imgS4 E37

    Climax!

    Climax!

    3 1954 HD

    Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary...

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  • 1963
    imgS4 E26

    Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

    Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

    5.5 1963 HD

    Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre is an American anthology series, sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, which ran on NBC from 1963 through 1967....

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  • 1955
    imgS3 E135

    Matinee Theater

    Matinee Theater

    4.6 1955 HD

    Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1955 to 1958. The series, which ran daily...

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  • 1965
    imgS2 E32

    Branded

    Branded

    6.4 1965 HD

    Branded is an American Western series which aired on NBC from 1965 through 1966, sponsored by Procter & Gamble in its Sunday night 8:30 p.m. Eastern...

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  • 1958
    imgS3 E26

    Wanted: Dead or Alive

    Wanted: Dead or Alive

    6.9 1958 HD

    Wanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the bounty hunter Josh Randall. It aired on CBS for three...

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  • 1961
    imgS5 E26

    Ben Casey

    Ben Casey

    5.7 1961 HD

    Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a...

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  • 1950
    imgS8 E39

    Robert Montgomery Presents

    Robert Montgomery Presents

    5.167 1950 HD

    Robert Montgomery Presents is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950 until June 24, 1957. The live...

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  • 1963
    imgS5 E5

    Vacation Playhouse

    Vacation Playhouse

    1 1963 HD

    The concept of the series was the showing of unaired and unsold television pilots that did not make the television lineup for CBS. The show was...

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  • 1954
    imgS2 E39

    It's a Great Life

    It's a Great Life

    1 1954 HD

    It's a Great Life is an American situation comedy which aired on NBC from 1954 to 1956. Frances Bavier, six years before being cast as Aunt Bee in...

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  • 1951
    imgS2 E33

    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

    7 1951 HD

    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was...

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  • 1948
    imgS10 E47

    Studio One

    Studio One

    4.727 1948 HD

    An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One,...

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  • 1954
    imgS4 E37

    Climax!

    Climax!

    3 1954 HD

    Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary...

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  • 1955
    imgS1 E35

    Screen Director's Playhouse

    Screen Director's Playhouse

    6.5 1955 HD

    Presented by Eastman Kodak, this show was a series of original scripts directed by acclaimed directors and featuring well-known performers. The...

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