Otto Hoffman

Acting

Otto Hoffman

Born — Died

1879-05-01 — 1944-06-23

Place of birth

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

61 titles

Known for

Foreign Correspondent poster
7.0

American crime reporter John Jones is reassigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent to cover the imminent war. When he walks into the middle of an assassination and stumbles on a spy ring, he seeks help from a beautiful politician’s daughter and an urbane English journalist to uncover the truth.

Foreign Correspondent

1940

The Ghost of Frankenstein poster
5.8

Frankenstein's unscrupulous colleague, Dr. Bohmer, plans to transplant Ygor's brain so he can rule the world using the monster's body, but the plan goes sour when he turns malevolent and goes on a rampage.

The Ghost of Frankenstein

1942

Cimarron poster
5.5

When the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A newspaperman, lawyer, and just about everything else, Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage. Once the town is established, however, he begins to feel confined once again, and heads for the Cherokee Strip, leaving his family behind. During this and other absences, his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right.

Cimarron

1931

Ball of Fire poster
7.4

A group of academics have spent years shut up in a house working on the definitive encyclopedia. When one of them discovers that his entry on slang is hopelessly outdated, he ventures into the wide world to learn about the evolving language. Here he meets Sugarpuss O’Shea, a nightclub singer, who’s on top of all the slang—and, it just so happens, needs a place to stay.

Ball of Fire

1941

Mystery of the Wax Museum poster
6.5

A wax sculptor opens a new museum years after he is severely injured during a fire that destroyed his original collection. The disappearance of both people and corpses coincides with this grand reopening and leads a reporter to start investigating.

Mystery of the Wax Museum

1933

This Land Is Mine poster
7.1

Somewhere in Europe, in a city occupied by the Nazis, a gentle school teacher finds himself torn between collaboration and resistance, cowardice and courage.

This Land Is Mine

1943

Film credits

1940s · 12 titles

Foreign Correspondent poster
7.0

American crime reporter John Jones is reassigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent to cover the imminent war. When he walks into the middle of an assassination and stumbles on a spy ring, he seeks help from a beautiful politician’s daughter and an urbane English journalist to uncover the truth.

Foreign Correspondent

1940

The Ghost of Frankenstein poster
5.8

Frankenstein's unscrupulous colleague, Dr. Bohmer, plans to transplant Ygor's brain so he can rule the world using the monster's body, but the plan goes sour when he turns malevolent and goes on a rampage.

The Ghost of Frankenstein

1942

Ball of Fire poster
7.4

A group of academics have spent years shut up in a house working on the definitive encyclopedia. When one of them discovers that his entry on slang is hopelessly outdated, he ventures into the wide world to learn about the evolving language. Here he meets Sugarpuss O’Shea, a nightclub singer, who’s on top of all the slang—and, it just so happens, needs a place to stay.

Ball of Fire

1941

This Land Is Mine poster
7.1

Somewhere in Europe, in a city occupied by the Nazis, a gentle school teacher finds himself torn between collaboration and resistance, cowardice and courage.

This Land Is Mine

1943

The Mummy's Tomb poster
5.5

A high priest of Karnak travels to America with the living mummy Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.) to kill all those who had desecrated the tomb of the Egyptian princess Ananka thirty years earlier.

The Mummy's Tomb

1942

Stranger on the Third Floor poster
6.5

Newspaper reporter Michael Ward plunges into a nightmare of guilt, fearing that his "evidence" has sentenced the wrong man to death.

Stranger on the Third Floor

1940

The Blue Bird poster
5.9

Peasant children Mytyl and Tyltyl are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness by the fairy Berylune. On their journey, they're accompanied by the anthropomorphized presences of a Dog, a Cat, Light, Fire, and Bread, among other entities.

The Blue Bird

1940

Texas poster
6.7

Two Virginians are heading for a new life in Texas when they witness a stagecoach being held up. They decide to rob the robbers and make off with the loot. To escape a posse, they split up and don't see each other again for a long time. When they do meet up again, they find themselves on different sides of the law. This leads to the increasing estrangement of the two men, who once thought of themselves as brothers.

Texas

1941

My Little Chickadee poster
6.4

On her way by stagecoach to visit relatives out west, Flower Belle Lee is held up by a masked bandit who also takes the coach's shipment of gold. When he abducts Flower Belle and they arrive in town, Flower Belle is suspected of being in collusion with the bandit.

My Little Chickadee

1940

Sagebrush Law poster
6.7

Tom Weston arriving in town just as the Doctor announces his father's death a suicide, sees the gun is in the wrong hand. When the Bank Examiner announces the bank has no money and Tom's identity becomes known, the townsmen attempt to hang him. Escaping he finds the phony examiner and gets a a confession. Then he plans a trap for the murderer.

Sagebrush Law

1943

This Is the Life poster
6.0

18-year-old Angela, reared in a New England town by her Aunt Betsy, receives an inheritance which she uses to go to New York, ostensibly for voice training, but she is pursuing Major Hilary Jarret, an Army surgeon with whom she has become infatuated. Her departure depresses her childhood friend Jimmy Plum. Dr. Plum devises an errand on which to send his love-sick son to New York, where Jimmy discovers Angela thinks she is Jarret's fiancée. Jimmy also renews acquaintances with a group of show people, including Sally McGuire, who attempts to console him. Jimmy meets Jarret's divorced wife, Harriet, famed photographer. Jimmy engineers a meeting of Jarret and Harriet with Angela present, which forms the beginning of an understanding that Jarret is not for her. Jimmy is inducted into the Army.

This Is the Life

1944

Lucky Partners poster
6.1

Two strangers split a sweepstake prize to go on a fake honeymoon with predictable results.

Lucky Partners

1940

1930s · 32 titles

Cimarron poster
5.5

When the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A newspaperman, lawyer, and just about everything else, Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage. Once the town is established, however, he begins to feel confined once again, and heads for the Cherokee Strip, leaving his family behind. During this and other absences, his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right.

Cimarron

1931

Mystery of the Wax Museum poster
6.5

A wax sculptor opens a new museum years after he is severely injured during a fire that destroyed his original collection. The disappearance of both people and corpses coincides with this grand reopening and leads a reporter to start investigating.

Mystery of the Wax Museum

1933

Mad Love poster
7.0

An insane surgeon's obsession with an actress leads him to replace her wounded pianist husband's hands with those of a knife-throwing murderer.

Mad Love

1935

Death Takes a Holiday poster
6.3

After years of questioning why people fear him, Death takes on human form so he can mingle among the mortals and find an answer. However, events soon spiral out of control as he falls in love with the beautiful young Grazia, the only woman not afraid of him. As he falls in love with her, her father sees him for what he is and begs him to return to his duties. Death must decide whether or not to seek his own happiness or sacrifice it so that Grazia may live.

Death Takes a Holiday

1934

Captain Hurricane poster
6.0

Zenas Brewster is a seafaring man with a bad reputation. Notorious for his tempestuous nature, Brewster has earned the nickname of "Captain Hurricane." Brewster is smitten with neighbor Abbie Howland, but she doesn't like his temperament. After a period of retirement, a bad investment puts Brewster back at work on the sea. And when fire overtakes his ship, Hurricane proves heroic, selflessly rescuing his crew from a grisly and deadly fate.

Captain Hurricane

1935

The Story of Alexander Graham Bell poster
6.3

Alexander Graham Bell falls in love with deaf girl Mabel Hubbard while teaching the deaf and trying to invent means for telegraphing the human voice. She urges him to put off thoughts of marriage until his experiments are complete. He invents the telephone, marries and becomes rich and famous, though his happiness is threatened when a rival company sets out to ruin him.

The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

1939

The Last Train from Madrid poster
4.8

The story of seven people: their lives and love affairs in Madrid during the Civil War.

The Last Train from Madrid

1937

Murder at the Vanities poster
5.7

Shortly before the curtain goes up the first time at the latest performance of Earl Carroll's Vanities, someone is attempting to injure the leading lady Ann Ware, who wants to marry leading man Eric Lander. Stage manager Jack Ellery calls in his friend, policeman Bill Murdock, to help him investigate. Bill thinks Jack is offering to let him see the show from an unusual viewpoint after he forgot to get him tickets for the performance, but then they find the corpse of a murdered woman and Bill immediately suspects Eric of the crime.

Murder at the Vanities

1934

Moby Dick poster
5.6

Herman Melville's mad Capt. Ahab (John Barrymore) spends years hunting the white whale that got his leg.

Moby Dick

1930

Hot Tip poster
7.0

An amateur handicapper must help his future son-in-law recoup the money he lost while playing the ponies.

Hot Tip

1935

Fight for Your Lady poster
5.6

Wrestling trainer puts himself in charge of a singer's love life when the singer is jilted by a rich girl.

Fight for Your Lady

1937

Hello Trouble poster
7.0

After killing a friend in a gunfight, Jeff Douglas quits the Texas Rangers. He arrives at the Kenyon ranch just as Jonathan Kenyon apparently commits suicide. He and Janet Kenyon then become the new half owners. At first, he refuses to wear a gun and is believed to be a coward, but as trouble mounts, he straps it on once again.

Hello Trouble

1932

Abraham Lincoln poster
5.5

An episodic dramatization of the 18th President of the United States' life, including his early years, affair with Ann Rutledge, courtship of Mary Todd, debates with Stephen A. Douglas, the election of 1860, his presidency during the Civil War, and finally his assassination at Ford's Theater in 1865.

Abraham Lincoln

1930

Bachelor Bait poster
6.5

After being fired from his job at the Marriage License Bureau, a clerk turns to matchmaking.

Bachelor Bait

1934

The Woman I Love poster
7.0

In World War I France, a pilot falls in love with the wife of his friend and superior officer.

The Woman I Love

1937

Night Flight poster
5.6

Story of South American mail pilots, and the dangers they face flying at night.

Night Flight

1933

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

Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence poster
6.6

New York store clerk joins a hobo and an illegal immigrant heading for his newly bought land in Arizona.

Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence

1939

When Tomorrow Comes poster
5.4

A waitress destined for a better life falls in love with a handsome stranger, only to find that he is already married.

When Tomorrow Comes

1939

Haunted Gold poster
5.1

John Mason returns to the Sally Ann mine to claim his half share. Janet Cater also returns although her father lost his half share to Joe Ryan. Ryan and his gang are also there to get the gold. A mysterious Phantom is also present. Mason's plan to expose Ryan as an outlaw and to force him to turn his share to Janet works. But when distracted by the Phantom, John is made a prisoner by the gang.

Haunted Gold

1932

Downstairs poster
6.6

In the Austrian manor of Baron and Baroness von Burgen, the relationship between the upstairs aristocracy and the downstairs staff is quite positive. The servants seem to enjoy their time together, and some even fall in love, as head butler Albert and maid Anna have done. But when lecherous new chauffeur Karl Schneider enters the house, affairs and blackmail follow, and the harmony of the home is slowly destroyed.

Downstairs

1932

Wedding Present poster
6.2

Charlie Mason and Rusty Fleming are star reporters on a Chicago tabloid who are romantically involved as well. Although skilled in ferreting out great stories, they often behave in an unprofessional and immature manner. After their shenanigans cause their frustrated city editor to resign, the publisher promotes Charlie to the job, a decision based on the premise that only a slacker would be able crack down on other shirkers and underachievers. His pomposity soon alienates most of his co-workers and causes Rusty to move to New York. Charlie resigns and along with gangster friend Smiles Benson tries to win Rusty back before she marries a stuffy society author.

Wedding Present

1936

Smart Girl poster
7.0

Socialite Pat Reynolds (Ida Lupino) is forced to become the "smart girl" of the title when her wealthy father commits suicide, leaving nothing but a pile of debts. Pat sets up a successful hat-designing business, providing the sole support for herself and her sister Kay (Gail Patrick). So devoted is Pat to Kay's welfare that she stands by in stoic silence as Kay begins romancing Pat's sweetie Nick Graham (Kent Taylor).

Smart Girl

1935

The Criminal Code poster
6.1

After young Robert Graham commits a murder while drunk and defending his girlfriend, he is prosecuted by ambitious Mark Brady and sentenced to 10 years. Six years later, Brady becomes the prison warden and offers the beleaguered Robert a job as his chauffeur. Robert cleans up his act, but, on the eve of his pardon, his cellmate drags him back into the world of violence, and he faces a difficult choice that could return him to prison.

The Criminal Code

1931

Our Leading Citizen poster
8.0

Lem Schofield, a lawyer in a one-time small-town turned industrialized big city, runs his firm on examples set by Abraham Lincoln and is a friend to the poor. Clay Clinton, his late partner's son joins the firm but is anxious for fast success and considers Schofield's old-fashioned principles antiquated. Being in love with Schofield's daughter and impatient for success he moves to offices supplied by the city's most powerful industrialist, J.T. Tapley, who has plans to use Clay's good family lineage as a stepping stone to political power. The unscrupulous Tapley precipitates a strike in his factory mill which causes a rupture between the former partners. Schofield sets out to bring Tapley and his political henchmen to justice.

Our Leading Citizen

1939

My Grandfather's Clock poster
8.0

At Phwitterby-on-Thames, England, a murder has occurred and Philo Holmes and Dr. Watkins are out to investigate it. It seems as though there was a second will and changes have been made as to who will receive what. Philo is the ace detective, and he brings everyone from the nightclub to see him solve the case.

My Grandfather's Clock

1934

The Jury's Secret poster
5.0

A reporter covering a murder trial guesses that the murderer of a ruthless businessman is her ex-fiancé and persuades him to confess and clear the innocent man on trial.

The Jury's Secret

1938

Kid Millions poster
6.7

A musical comedy about a Brooklyn boy who inherits a fortune from his archaeologist father, but has to go to Egypt to claim it.

Kid Millions

1934

Show Them No Mercy! poster
7.5

A young couple and their child fall prey to kidnappers when a storm drives them into a seemingly abandoned farmhouse.

Show Them No Mercy!

1935

Union Depot poster
6.1

Among the travelers of varied backgrounds that meet and interact on one night at Union Depot, a metropolitan train station, are Chick and his friend Scrap Iron, both newly released from prison after serving time for vagrancy. Hungry and desperate for a break, Chick fortuitously comes across across a valise abandoned by a drunken traveler. In it he finds a shaving kit and a suit of clothes with a bankroll, which help transform the affable tramp into a dashing gent. After buying himself a meal, Chick seeks some female companionship among the many hustlers who walk the station. He propositions Ruth Collins, a stranded, out-of-work showgirl and takes her to the station's hotel.

Union Depot

1932

Back Page poster
6.9

A former New York reporter (Peggy Shannon) is hired as editor of a failing, small town newspaper in California.

Back Page

1933

Side Show poster
5.6

A circus side show performer tries to discourage her younger sister from following in her footsteps.

Side Show

1931

1920s · 14 titles

The Eagle poster
6.4

A wanted Russian lieutenant becomes a masked vigilante seeking vengeance upon the man who stole his family's land, only to fall for his charming daughter.

The Eagle

1925

Noah's Ark poster
6.4

The Biblical story of Noah and the Great Flood, with a parallel story of soldiers in the First World War.

Noah's Ark

1928

The Valley of the Giants poster
7.0

Bryce Cardigan struggles to protect his Redwood inheritance from a railroad-owner, who is also the guardian of the woman Bryce loves.

The Valley of the Giants

1927

Secrets of the Night poster
6.7

At a lavish house party, bank president Robert Andrews stages his own “murder” to distract a visiting bank examiner from uncovering a shortage, setting off a whodunit where nearly everyone has a motive. The investigation spirals until Andrews is found alive and admits the frame-up—after the deficit is repaid. A silent black-and-white Universal mystery-melodrama-comedy directed by Herbert Blaché; long thought lost, a print resurfaced in 2017.

Secrets of the Night

1924

Trimmed poster
7.0

Returning from service in the A. E. F., Dale Garland is given a rousing reception by his townsmen. County political boss Nebo Slayter persuades the community to nominate Dale for sheriff--thinking he can be easily manipulated--against John Millard, the incumbent, who refuses political compromises. Dale easily wins and pledges to give the citizens an honest deal. Millard's daughter, Alice, who is Dale's childhood sweetheart, learns of Slayter's dishonest schemes and sees his men murder a moonshiner for whom they had been furnishing protection.

Trimmed

1922

This Woman poster
9.0

Facing poverty, Carol Drayton is prevented from suicide by Rose, a woman of the streets, who buys Carol a meal in a cafe of questionable reputation. The cafe is raided, and Carol is arrested and jailed on the false testimony of wealthy Gordon Duane. When she is released, Carol is again penniless until intoxicated Bobby Bleeker pays her to sing beneath the window of his sweetheart, Aline Sturdevant, where she is discovered by Stratini, a famous impresario. While studying with Stratini, Carol is blackmailed by the butler. Whitney Duane (Gordon's brother) falls in love with her but doubts her because of the gossip, and Carol incurs Aline's wrath by borrowing money from Bobby for Rose. Carol finally realizes her love for Stratini, who has remained loyal to her, and they are married.

This Woman

1924

Silk Hosiery poster
5.0

In a prologue, as a woman pages through a book, male figures, including a musketeer, a cowboy, a swordsman and a military officer, appear and bow. In the main story, the visit of Prince Ferdinandi sends New York society ladies scurrying to purchase gowns for the upcoming ball. The woman seen earlier looking longingly at the book, model Marjorie Bowen, fights off the advances of Cadwallader Smith, who accompanies a patron. When handsome Sir Derwain Leeds, the prince's aide-de-camp, arrives to see his fiancée Yvette Fernau outfitted, Marjorie exchanges a shy smile with him.

Silk Hosiery

1920

Ridin' Wild poster
8.0

Trained by his Quaker mother to be gentle, Cyril Henderson receives only laughter from the townspeople when he tries to act tough to impress Grace Nolan, who is allowing Art Jordan, the town bully, to occupy her time so as to pique Cyril. The murder of Andrew McBride, who holds the mortgage on the Henderson's property, is blamed on the elder Henderson, and Cyril unsuccessfully tries to take the blame.

Ridin' Wild

1922

On With the Show! poster
5.7

With unpaid actors and staff, the stage show Phantom Sweetheart seems doomed. To complicate matters, the box office takings have been robbed and the leading lady refuses to appear. Can the show be saved?

On With the Show!

1929

Daddies poster
6.0

A group of confirmed bachelors finds their informal "anti-matrimony club" turned into a home for adopted orphans when six orphaned children are suddenly foisted on them.

Daddies

1924

The Power of the Press poster
6.4

The naive newspaper cub Clem lands a scoop when he's sent out to cover a murder. In his enthusiasm he writes that the main suspect is Jane. When she confronts Clem, she convinces him to help her prove her innocence.

The Power of the Press

1928

The Desert Song poster
6.2

French General Birabeau has been sent to Morocco to root out and destroy the Riffs, a band of Arab rebels, who threaten the safety of the French outpost in the Moroccan desert. Their dashing, daredevil leader is the mysterious "Red Shadow". Margot Bonvalet, a lovely, sassy French girl, is soon to be married at the fort to Birabeau's right-hand man, Captain Fontaine. Birabeau's son Pierre, in reality the Red Shadow, loves Margot, but pretends to be a milksop to preserve his secret identity. Margot tells Pierre that she secretly yearns to be swept into the arms of some bold, dashing sheik, perhaps even the Red Shadow himself. Pierre, as the Red Shadow, kidnaps Margot and declares his love for her.

The Desert Song

1929

The Price She Paid poster
5.3

In order to save her extravagant mother from bankruptcy, shame and scandal, young society girl Mildred Gower is forced to accept the proposal of Lemuel Siddall, a wealthy man she loathes.

The Price She Paid

1924

Gas, Oil and Water poster
9.0

George Watson may seem like a harmless gas-station attendant, but in reality he is a secret government agent, intent on ferreting out a gang of smugglers on the Mexican border.

Gas, Oil and Water

1922

Behind the camera