Minerva Urecal

Acting

Minerva Urecal

Born — Died

1894-09-20 — 1966-02-26

Place of birth

Eureka, California, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

78 titles

A stage actress, Urecal made her screen debut in 1934. For the remainder of her career and two hundred plus movies, she played cleaning women, landladies, shopkeepers and the like. She was known as a Marjorie Main type actress and later went on to a career in television playing in such shows as "Tugboat Annie" and "Peter Gunn." Minerva claimed her name was an amalgam of her hometown, Eureka, California.

Known for

Film credits

1960s · 3 titles

1950s · 7 titles

Niagara poster
6.8

Rose Loomis and her older, gloomier husband, George, are vacationing at a cabin in Niagara Falls. The couple befriend Polly and Ray Cutler, who are honeymooning in the area. Polly begins to suspect that something is amiss between Rose and George, and her suspicions grow when she sees Rose in the arms of another man. While Ray initially thinks Polly is overreacting, things between George and Rose soon take a shockingly dark turn.

Niagara

1953

Marty poster
7.5

Marty, a butcher who lives in the Bronx with his mother, is unmarried at 34. Good-natured but socially awkward, he faces constant badgering from family and friends to get married but has reluctantly resigned himself to bachelorhood. He then meets Clara, an unattractive school teacher. Realising their emotional connection, Marty promises to call, but family and friends try to convince him not to.

Marty

1955

Quicksand poster
6.1

Young auto mechanic Dan Brady takes $20 from a cash register at work to go on a date with blonde femme fatale Vera Novak. Brady intends to put the money back before it is missed, but the garage's bookkeeper shows up earlier than scheduled. As Brady scrambles to cover evidence of his petty theft, he fast finds himself drawn into an ever worsening "quicksand" of crime.

Quicksand

1950

A Man Alone poster
5.8

A gunfighter, stranded in the desert, comes across the aftermath of a stage robbery, in which all the passengers were killed. He takes one of the horses to ride to town to report the massacre, but finds himself accused of it. He also finds himself accused of the murder of the local banker, and winds up hiding in the basement of a house where the local sheriff, who is very sick, lives with his daughter.

A Man Alone

1955

Lost in Alaska poster
6.2

After two volunteer firemen rescue a gold prospector from suicide, they discover that the police mistakenly want them for murder.

Lost in Alaska

1952

Woman They Almost Lynched poster
6.6

Led by its female mayor, a neutral town on the Arkansas-Missouri border during the Civil War attempts to stay peaceful. A newcomer looking for her brother is pulled into the town’s violence.

Woman They Almost Lynched

1953

The Raging Tide poster
5.1

A San Francisco hood is rubbed out by rival Bruno Felkin, who himself reports the crime to Homicide Lt. Kelsey in an alibi scheme which fails. To escape, he stows away on a fishing boat. At sea, skipper Hamil Linder receives Bruno kindly, teaching him fishing; Bruno enlists Hamil's wayward son Carl to tend his slot machines. Then Carl takes an interest in Bruno's girl Connie. Climax in a storm at sea.

The Raging Tide

1951

1940s · 37 titles

Shadow of a Doubt poster
7.5

In sleepy Santa Rosa, restless young Charlie’s world brightens when her sophisticated Uncle Charlie arrives for a long visit. But as his behavior grows increasingly strange, she begins to suspect that her beloved uncle may be hiding a terrible secret—and that danger has quietly entered her home.

Shadow of a Doubt

1943

The Dark Corner poster
6.6

Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his spunky secretary, Kathleen Stewart, he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers.

The Dark Corner

1946

Night Has a Thousand Eyes poster
6.8

When heiress Jean Courtland attempts suicide, her fiancée Elliott Carson probes her relationship with John Triton. In flashback, we see how stage mentalist Triton starts having terrifying flashes of true precognition. Now years later, he desperately tries to prevent tragedies in the Courtland family.

Night Has a Thousand Eyes

1948

Mr. Skeffington poster
6.8

A beautiful but vain woman who rejects the love of her older husband must face the loss of her youth and beauty.

Mr. Skeffington

1944

A Bell for Adano poster
6.0

Major Joppolo and his men are assigned to restore order to the war-torn Italian town of Adano. He has to manage getting supplies into town without interfering with troop movements, all the while dealing with colorful citizens of the town. One of his quests is to replace the bell which orders the town's life.

A Bell for Adano

1945

They Died with Their Boots On poster
6.7

The story follows General George Armstrong Custer's adventures from his West Point days to his death. He defies orders during the Civil War, trains the 7th Cavalry, appeases Chief Crazy Horse and later engages in bloody battle with the Sioux nation.

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

The Bells of St. Mary's poster
6.8

Father O'Malley is sent to St. Mary's, a run-down parochial school on the verge of condemnation. He and Sister Benedict work together in an attempt to save the school, though their differing methods often lead to good-natured disagreements.

The Bells of St. Mary's

1945

Down to the Sea in Ships poster
7.2

During a whaling expedition in the late 1800's, the aging Captain Bering Joy (Lionel Barrymore) and his new first mate, Dan Lunceford (Richard Widmark) engage in a battle of wills concerning the education of the captain's struggling grandson.

Down to the Sea in Ships

1949

Sitting Pretty poster
7.1

Tacey and Harry King are a suburban couple with three sons and a serious need of a babysitter. Tacey puts an ad in the paper for a live-in babysitter, and the ad is answered by Lynn Belvedere. But when she arrives, she turns out to be a man. And not just any man, but a most eccentric, outrageously forthright genius with seemingly a million careers and experiences behind him.

Sitting Pretty

1948

The Trap poster
6.8

When a troupe of showgirls with their impresario and press agent vacation at a Malibu Beach resort, two of them are garroted. Charlie takes on the case assisted by Number Two Son Jimmy and faithful chauffeur Birmingham Brown.

The Trap

1946

State Fair poster
6.6

During their annual visit to the Iowa State Fair, the Frake family enjoy many adventures. Proud patriarch Abel has high hopes for his champion swine Blueboy; and his wife Melissa enters the mincemeat and pickles contest...with hilarious results.

State Fair

1945

The Virginian poster
6.0

Arriving at Medicine Bow, eastern schoolteacher Molly Woods meets two cowboys, irresponsible Steve and the "Virginian," who gets off on the wrong foot with her. To add to his troubles, the Virginian finds that his old pal Steve is mixed up with black-hatted Trampas and his rustlers...then finds himself at the head of a posse after said rustlers; and Molly hates the violent side of frontier life.

The Virginian

1946

Without Reservations poster
6.3

Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train, she encounters Marines Rusty and Dink, who don't know she is the author of the famous book, and who don't think much of the ideas it proposes. She and Rusty are greatly attracted, but she doesn't know how to deal with his disdain for the book's author.

Without Reservations

1946

The Noose Hangs High poster
6.9

Two window washers are mistaken for crooks by gangsters who are missing money.

The Noose Hangs High

1948

Good Sam poster
6.3

Sam Clayton has a good heart and likes to help out people in need. In fact, he likes to help them out so much that he often finds himself broke and unable to help his own family buy the things they need--like a house.

Good Sam

1948

A Man Betrayed poster
5.5

A bucolic lawyer takes on big-city corruption, setting out to prove that an above-suspicion politician is actually a crook - all while falling in love with the politician's daughter.

A Man Betrayed

1941

Undercover Maisie poster
8.0

Maisie Revere, a showgirl stranded in Los Angeles, decides to join the local police department on the persuasion of Lieutenant Paul Scott who wants to use her as an undercover agent to expose a conman.

Undercover Maisie

1947

Undercover Maisie poster
8.0

Maisie Revere, a showgirl stranded in Los Angeles, decides to join the local police department on the persuasion of Lieutenant Paul Scott who wants to use her as an undercover agent to expose a conman.

Undercover Maisie

1947

No, No, Nanette poster
6.2

Perky young Nanette attempts to save the marriage of her uncle and aunt by untangling Uncle Jimmy from several innocent but ensnaring flirtations. Attempting one such unentanglement, Nanette enlists the help of theatrical producer Bill Trainor, who promptly falls in love with her. The same thing happens when artist Tom Gillespie is called on for help. But soon Uncle Jimmy's flirtations become too numerous, and Nanette's romances with Tom and Bill run into trouble. Will Uncle Jimmy's marriage survive, and will Nanette find happiness with Tom, Bill, or somebody else?

No, No, Nanette

1940

The Lost Moment poster
6.3

In a long flashback, a New York publisher is in Venice pursuing the lost love letters of an early-19th-century poet, Jeffrey Ashton, who disappeared mysteriously. Using a false name, Lewis Venable rents a room from Juliana Bordereau, once Jeffrey Ashton's lover, now an aged recluse. Running the household is Juliana's severe niece, Tina, who mistrusts Venable from the first moment. He realizes all is not right when late one night he finds Tina, her hair unpinned and wild, at the piano. She calls him Jeffrey and throws herself at him. The family priest warns Venable to tread carefully around her fantasies, but he wants the letters at any cost, even Tina's sanity.

The Lost Moment

1947

Voice of the Whistler poster
5.8

A dying millionaire marries his nurse for companionship, only to experience a miracle cure.

Voice of the Whistler

1945

Salty O'Rourke poster
6.0

A gambler and his buddy find a wise-guy jockey for their long-shot horse.

Salty O'Rourke

1945

Hit the Ice poster
6.0

After Flash Fulton and Weejie McCoy take pictures of a bank robbery, they're lured to the mountain resort hideout of the robbers, where they meet an old friend and his band.

Hit the Ice

1943

The Corpse Vanishes poster
4.3

A scientist keeps his wife young by killing, stealing the bodies of, and taking the gland fluid from virgin brides.

The Corpse Vanishes

1942

Take One False Step poster
5.4

Catherine Sykes disappears after a midnight drive with Professor Andrew Gentling . When she's presumed murdered, his friend Martha convinces him that he's a prime suspect and should investigate before he's arrested.

Take One False Step

1949

The Devil Thumbs a Ride poster
6.6

Steve Morgan kills a man in a holdup and hitches a ride to Los Angeles with Fergie. At a gas station, they pick up two women. Encountering a roadblock, Morgan takes over and persuades the party to spend the night at an unoccupied beach house. The police close in as one by one, the others learn that Morgan is a killer.

The Devil Thumbs a Ride

1947

California poster
6.8

"Wicked" Lily Bishop joins a wagon train to California, led by Michael Fabian and Johnny Trumbo, but news of the Gold Rush scatters the train. When Johnny and Michael finally arrive, Lily is rich from her saloon and storekeeper (former slaver) Pharaoh Coffin is bleeding the miners dry. But worse troubles are ahead: California is inching toward statehood, and certain people want to make it their private empire.

California

1947

April Showers poster
6.5

A married couple who have a song-and-dance act in vaudeville are in trouble. Their struggling act is going nowhere, they're almost broke and they have to do something to get them back on top or they'll really be in trouble. They decide to put their young son in the act in hopes of attracting some new attention. The boy turns out to be a major talent, audiences love him and the act is on its way to the top. That's when an organization whose purpose is to stop children from performing on stage shows up, and they're dead set on breaking up the act.

April Showers

1948

A Medal for Benny poster
5.6

Outcast Benny Martin joined the army to escape public scorn. But when townspeople learn that he is to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, they pretend that he and his family are cherished, eminent citizens.

A Medal for Benny

1945

When Strangers Marry poster
6.2

A naive small-town girl comes to New York City to meet her husband, and discovers that he may be a murderer.

When Strangers Marry

1944

My Favorite Blonde poster
6.5

Larry Haines, a mediocre vaudeville entertainer, boards a train for Los Angeles. Aboard, he meets an attractive, blonde British agent carrying a coded message hidden in a brooch—and is being pursued by Nazi agents.

My Favorite Blonde

1942

In Old California poster
5.3

Boston pharmacist Tom Craig comes to Sacramento, where he runs afoul of local political boss Britt Dawson, who exacts protection payment from the citizenry. Dawson frames Craig with poisoned medicine, but Craig redeems himself during a Gold Rush epidemic.

In Old California

1942

Lady for a Night poster
5.5

Gambling boat operator Jenny Blake throws over her gambler beau Jack Morgan in order to marry into high society.

Lady for a Night

1942

Ghosts on the Loose poster
4.2

The East Side Kids try to fix up a house for newlyweds, but find the place next door "haunted" by mysterious men.

Ghosts on the Loose

1943

The Kid Sister poster
7.0

A madcap comedy about a kid sister who tries to steal her older sister's boyfriend. Her plan involves joining forces with a burglar to rob the unfortunate suitor's home.

The Kid Sister

1945

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break poster
6.9

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break is a 1941 film about a man who wants to sell a film story to Esoteric Studios. On the way he gets insulted by little boys, beaten up for ogling a woman, and abused by a waitress. W. C. Fields' last starring role in a feature-length film.

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break

1941

The Powers Girl poster
7.0

Two small-town sisters who've come to New York City for very different reasons find themselves competing for the affections of a brash magazine photographer. Comedy.

The Powers Girl

1943

1930s · 13 titles

Destry Rides Again poster
7.2

Tom Destry, son of a legendary frontier peacekeeper, doesn’t believe in gunplay. Thus he becomes the object of widespread ridicule when he rides into the wide-open town of Bottleneck, the personal fiefdom of the crooked Kent.

Destry Rides Again

1939

Golden Boy poster
6.5

Despite his talent as a musician, a city boy decides to become a boxer. He's successful as a fighter — much to the dismay of his father. When gangsters try to buy a piece of him, he begins to have second thoughts.

Golden Boy

1939

Charlie Chan at the Olympics poster
6.8

Get ready for a Gold Medal murder mystery! This "tense, thrilling mystery" ('California Congress of Parents and Teachers') pits Charlie Chan against international spies who are using the Berlin Olympic games as the perfect cover...for cold-blooded murder!

Charlie Chan at the Olympics

1937

Fury poster
7.5

Joe, who owns a gas station along with his brothers and is about to marry Katherine, travels to the small town where she lives to visit her, but is wrongly mistaken for a wanted kidnapper and arrested.

Fury

1936

Three Godfathers poster
6.9

In a town called New Jerusalem, three bandits hold up a bank. After a gun battle with the townspeople, the three robbers retreat into the scorching Arizona desert. There, they happen upon an ill woman stranded with her child. As the mother dies, she begs the men to take care of her infant. The fugitives want to save the baby -- but to do so, they'll have to travel back to New Jerusalem, where they are wanted men. Remade as 3 Godfathers (1949).

Three Godfathers

1936

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man poster
7.0

Fields plays "Larsen E. Whipsnade", the owner of a shady carnival that is constantly on the run from the law. Whipsnade is struggling to keep a step ahead of foreclosure, and clearly not paying his performers, including Bergen and McCarthy, who try to coax money out of him, or in McCarthy's case, steal some outright.

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man

1939

Love on a Bet poster
7.0

An aspiring theater producer convinces his wealthy uncle to finance a play on the condition that he lives the play’s far-fetched plot: making a cross-country trip with no money.

Love on a Bet

1936

She Loved a Fireman poster
7.5

A young man with a checkered past struggles to make good as a fireman.

She Loved a Fireman

1937

Second Fiddle poster
5.1

Studio publicist discovers Minnesota skating teacher and takes her to Hollywood. She goes back to Minnesota but he follows her.

Second Fiddle

1939

No Place to Go poster
8.0

An elderly war veteran feels lonely and unwanted while living with his son and daughter-in-law, but he learns his life still has purpose when he befriends a neighborhood child with a troubled family life.

No Place to Go

1939

Bombshell poster
6.5

A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.

Bombshell

1933

Student Tour poster
6.7

A philosophy professor accompanies his school's rowing team on a worldwide tour.

Student Tour

1934

The Go-Getter poster
6.2

A Navy veteran with one leg fights to make himself a success.

The Go-Getter

1937

Series credits

Perry Mason poster
7.7

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.

Perry Mason

1957

Perry Mason poster
7.7

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.

Perry Mason

1957

Petticoat Junction poster
5.9

The Bradley family are proud owners of the Shady Rest Hotel. Kate and her three young daughters do the job of running the hotel.

Petticoat Junction

1963

Petticoat Junction poster
5.9

The Bradley family are proud owners of the Shady Rest Hotel. Kate and her three young daughters do the job of running the hotel.

Petticoat Junction

1963

Peter Gunn poster
6.6

Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series. Filmed in a film noir atmosphere and featuring Henry Mancini music that could tell you the action with your eyes closed, Peter Gunn worked in style. Known as Pete to his friends and simply as Gunn to his enemies, he did his job in a calm cool way.

Peter Gunn

1958

Alfred Hitchcock Presents poster
7.8

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

The Danny Thomas Show poster
6.2

Danny Thomas, an entertainer, tries to balance his home life with the needs of his career, with hilarious results.

The Danny Thomas Show

1953

The Abbott and Costello Show poster
7.2

Bud and Lou are unemployed actors living in Mr. Fields’ boarding house. Lou’s girlfriend Hillary lives across the hall. Many situations arise leading to slapstick and puns.

The Abbott and Costello Show

1952

The Abbott and Costello Show poster
7.2

Bud and Lou are unemployed actors living in Mr. Fields’ boarding house. Lou’s girlfriend Hillary lives across the hall. Many situations arise leading to slapstick and puns.

The Abbott and Costello Show

1952

The Abbott and Costello Show poster
7.2

Bud and Lou are unemployed actors living in Mr. Fields’ boarding house. Lou’s girlfriend Hillary lives across the hall. Many situations arise leading to slapstick and puns.

The Abbott and Costello Show

1952

The Gene Autry Show poster
4.7

The Gene Autry Show is an American western/cowboy television series which aired for 91 episodes on CBS from July 23, 1950 until August 7, 1956, originally sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum.

The Gene Autry Show

1950

The Adventures of Jim Bowie poster
5.3

The Adventures of Jim Bowie is an American Western television series that aired on ABC from 1956 to 1958. Its setting was the 1830s-era Louisiana Territory. The series was an adaptation of the book Tempered Blade, by Monte Barrett. The series stars Scott Forbes as the real-life adventurer Jim Bowie. The series initially portrayed Jim Bowie as something of an outdoors-man, riding his horse through the wilderness near his home in Opelousas, where he would stumble across someone needing his assistance. He was aided by the Bowie Knife, his ever-present weapon. He designed it in the first episode, The Birth of the Blade.

The Adventures of Jim Bowie

1956

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok poster
5.3

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok is an American Western television series which ran for eight seasons from 1951 through 1958. The Screen Gems series began in syndication, but ran on CBS from 1955 through 1958, and, at the same time, on ABC from 1957 through 1958.

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

1951

Cavalcade of America poster
4.6

Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds. This was consistent with DuPont's overall conservative philosophy and legacy as an American company dating back to 1802. The company's motto, "Maker of better things for better living through chemistry," was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.

Cavalcade of America

1952

The Roy Rogers Show poster
6.8

Roy Rogers is the owner of the RR Ranch in the Mineral City area, which he runs with the help of the German shepherd dog Bullet and his horse Trigger. Roy, supported by his friend Pat Brady, is often helping the weakest usually threatened by cattle thieves, dishonest sheriffs and villains of various kinds. Pat Brady works as a cook at the Eureka Café, owned by Dale Evans.

The Roy Rogers Show

1951

Angel poster
4.2

Angel is an American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1960–1961 television season. The series was created and executive produced by Jess Oppenheimer, and stars Annie Fargé as the title character.

Angel

1960

No artwork available
8.5

Meet Mr. McNutley is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS Television from 1953–1955, with Ray Milland in the role of fastidious Professor Ray McNutley, the head of the English Department at the fictitious Lynnhaven College for girls. Phyllis Avery portrayed McNutley's wife, Peggy. The half-hour series aired on Thursday evenings opposite Groucho Marx's NBC program, You Bet Your Life. The show aired concurrently on radio during its first season. Both versions were sponsored by General Electric, and originally presented under the umbrella title of The General Electric Comedy Theatre.

Meet Mr. McNutley

1953

The Adventures of Tugboat Annie poster
9.0

The Adventures of Tugboat Annie is a 1957 Canadian-filmed television series starring Minerva Urecal as Annie Brennan, the role originated by Marie Dressler in the 1933 screen classic Tugboat Annie. Urecal was the fourth actress to portray Tugboat Annie; the others were Dressler, Marjorie Rambeau in Tugboat Annie Sails Again, and Jane Darwell in Captain Tugboat Annie. Norman Reilly Raine's stories of the salty tugboat captain Annie Brennan, a character based on the life of Thea Foss, first appeared in prose form in the weekly US journal Saturday Evening Post in the late 1920s. She was soon developed into a movie character, depicted in three films, portrayed by a different actress in each. Finally, in 1954, a television series was commissioned by the independent American production company TPA. The pilot took two whole years to complete, at a then-record cost of $129,000. Elsa Lanchester, Jay C. Flippen, and Chill Wills were all in line for major roles at one point or another at this early stage. The series was filmed in Toronto harbor and was first shown in Canada, having attracted ratings good enough to interest American television stations. What had succeeded in Canada proved a disappointment in the United States, where the viewing audiences had presumably become accustomed to greater sophistication than the simplistic humor of this series.

The Adventures of Tugboat Annie

1958