Writing

Samuel Ornitz

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Mark of the Vampire poster
6.2

Sir Borotyn, a prominent Prague resident, is discovered murdered in his home, with all indications pointing to a vampire assault. The victim's friend, Baron Otto, and the physician who analyzes the body, are certain that the vampire is the mysterious Count Mora or his daughter. Receiving little help from the law, Professor Zelen, an expert in the occult, is called in to assist with their investigation.

Mark of the Vampire

1935

Secrets of the French Police poster
6.6

When a flower girl is kidnapped by a deranged White Russian, to impersonate the missing Princess Anastasia Romanoff while under his hypnotic spell, the French police attempt to solve the case with forensic method and the aide of a gentleman thief.

Secrets of the French Police

1932

Three Faces West poster
5.7

Viennese surgeon Dr. Braun and his daughter Leni come to a small town in North Dakota as refugees from Hitler. When the winds of the Dust Bowl threaten the town, John Phillips leads the townsfolk in moving to greener pastures in Oregon. He falls for Leni, but she is betrothed to the man who helped her and her father escape from the Third Reich. She must decide between the two men.

Three Faces West

1940

Army Girl poster
6.8

A young captain hoping to replace the U.S. Army's horses with mechanized vehicles faces court-martial after his commanding officer, who's opposed to modern changes, is killed.

Army Girl

1938

Thirteen Women poster
6.4

Thirteen women who were schoolmates ask a swami to cast their horoscopes. The news they receive is not good for any of them.

Thirteen Women

1932

Men Of America poster
6.0

Bank robbers and killers cause mayhem in a small western town.

Men Of America

1932

3 Kids and a Queen poster
6.8

An eccentric, wealthy spinster, 'Queenie' Baxter is erroneously presumed to be kidnapped. She subsequently pretends to indeed be kidnapped, , in order to allow a reward of $50,000 to benefit an impecunious family headed by Tony Orsatti and his three sons, Blackie, Doc and Flash.

3 Kids and a Queen

1935

One Exciting Adventure poster
8.0

One Exciting Adventure is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Ernst L. Frank. It is a remake of the 1933 German film What Women Dream.

One Exciting Adventure

1934

Two Wise Maids poster
10.0

The two leading ladies are cast as Prudence and Agatha, a pair of old-fashioned schoolteachers in an old-fashioned small town. Disdaining the wimpy theories of "progressive" education, Prudence and Agatha stick to the reliable "Three R's," often teaching to the tune of a hickory stick. Though ridiculed for their so-called outmoded methods, the heroines manage to turn out quite a few prize students, earning the undying gratitude of the local citizenry.

Two Wise Maids

1937

Fatal Lady poster
10.0

On her debut as an opera star, Marion Stuart is interrogated and possibly implicated in the death of a male acquaintance. Released, although thoroughly shaken-up, Marion attempts to perform but loses her voice onstage. Humiliated, but driven to sing, she travels to South America under the assumed name of Maria Delasano, and works in an opera company under the tutelage of Feodor Glinka, who wants her to shun men and save herself for her art. Mary resists the persistent attentions of wealthy young Phil Roberts, who follows the company in hopes of marrying her. ...

Fatal Lady

1936

A Doctor's Diary poster
9.0

A Doctor's Diary is told through the eyes of Dr. Dan Norris (John Trent), resident physician in a private hospital. In his search for a cure for spinal meningitis, Norris recklessly runs roughshod over the feelings of his colleagues. The doctor's older, wiser supervisor, Dr. Clem Driscoll (George Bancroft), tries to curb Norris' impatience, pointing out that nothing takes place overnight. Angrily, Norris accuses Driscoll of malpractice and is forced to resign from the clinic -- just when a meningitis epidemic breaks out.

A Doctor's Diary

1937

No artwork available
8.0

Annie (Ann Gillis), an orphan, (based on Harold Gray's comic strip but who is at no point in the film called 'Little Orphan Annie), is befriended by a fight manager, 'Pop' Corrigan (J. Farrell MacDonald). She brings him Johnny Adams (Robert Kent), a promising prizefighter. Annie gets the people of the neighborhood to finance his training. But on the night of Johnny's big fight, a gambling syndicate locks him in a gymnasium and it appears the neighborhood folks will lose their investment.

Little Orphan Annie

1938

China's Little Devils poster
6.0

In this propaganda film, a courageous group of Chinese children risk their lives to assist downed American pilots escape the ruthless Japanese oppressors.

China's Little Devils

1945

Miracle on Main Street poster
5.4

On Christmas Eve in the Spanish quarter of L.A. police try to arrest a couple running a shady floor show. Hiding in a church, the young woman finds an abandoned baby and uses it as cover to escape capture.

Miracle on Main Street

1939

Hell's Highway poster
6.1

A prison-camp convict learns that his younger brother will soon be joining him behind bars.

Hell's Highway

1932

The Hit Parade poster
6.3

Agent Pete Garland is fired by society singer Monica Barrett after he got her a new radio contract, because she thinks her lawyer friend Teddy Leeds fits in better with her social status. To get even, Pete wants to make an unknown singer into a star. He finds Ruth Allison, drives her hard through rehearsals and makes her a star. But she is worried about her past, something she hasn't told Pete: She's an ex-convict and jumped bail in order to keep her partners in crime out of it. Further she's in love with Pete, but feels that he's still carrying a torch for Monica. When Monica's popularity is decreasing, Pete is able to get Ruth a stint on the program, the result is Monica is fired and Ruth get her job, but Monica takes revenge by revealing Ruth's past. Ruth considers it is best for her to disappear before being arrested, but she has become a star in public opinion. Will she get Pete or will she go to prison again?

The Hit Parade

1937

One Man's Journey poster
6.7

Dr. Eli Watt, a widower, comes to a small town, considering himself a failure in his attempt to have a meaningful career in New York. He raises his son Jimmy as well as Letty, a baby whose mother has died in childbirth and whose father blames Watt and abandons the child. Watt dreams of returning to do research studies, but always something gets in the way: an epidemic, his children's needs, or the needs of his generally ungrateful patients. Only with the passing years does he come to find that his future isn't over and his past isn't quite the failure he believed.

One Man's Journey

1933

It Could Happen to You poster
3.0

A politically charged story about a man who dabbles in crime, with disastrous results, to gain the capital he needs to purchase a school where immigrants are prepared for American citizenship. The school's European teacher dreams of a fascist America. Based on a story by Nathanael West and Samuel Ornitz, who was one of the Hollywood Ten blacklisted during the McCarthy Era.

It Could Happen to You

1937

Follow Your Heart poster
9.0

An eccentric musical family is kept in order by a talented daughter with modest ambitions.

Follow Your Heart

1936

The Great Jasper poster
8.0

Generational saga about a failed streetcar conductor, who finds success as an Atlantic City fortune teller, and his son.

The Great Jasper

1933

They Live in Fear poster
8.0

After witnessing the killing of a professor in concentration camp "Dachau" German student Paul emigrates to the USA. Here an American fellow student endangers Paul's new American existence and his family's which stayed in Germany.

They Live in Fear

1944