William Austin

Acting

William Austin

Born — Died

1884-06-10 — 1975-06-15

Place of birth

Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]

Known for

Acting

Credits

60 titles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. William Austin  (12 June 1884 – 15 June 1975) was a British character actor who was born on a sugar plantation in Georgetown in British Guiana (now Guyana). On the death of his father he was brought to England to complete his education. He later filled a business post in Shanghai and on being sent to San Francisco by the company he worked for, he decided to stay in America and take up acting on the stage and later in films. He appeared in many American films and serials between the 1920s and the 1940s, though the vast majority of his roles were small and uncredited. He was the brother of actor Albert Austin. He died in Newport Beach, California. Of th…

Known for

National Velvet poster
7.2

Mi Taylor is a young wanderer and opportunist who finds himself in the quiet English countryside home of the Brown family. The youngest daughter, Velvet, has a passion for horses and when she wins the spirited steed Pie in a town lottery, Mi is encouraged to train the horse.

National Velvet

1945

The Gay Divorcee poster
6.9

Seeking a divorce from her absentee husband, Mimi Glossop travels to an English seaside resort. There she falls in love with dancer Guy Holden, whom she later mistakes for the corespondent her lawyer hired.

The Gay Divorcee

1934

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes poster
6.9

Having once again avoided criminal conviction, Professor Moriarity develops a murderous plan to “finish off” his last major nemesis, Sherlock Holmes, by making him fail to prevent the perfect crime. Does it involve a family curse, the crown jewels of England, or something else…

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

1939

Batman poster
6.2

Japanese master spy Daka operates a covert espionage-sabotage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo, which turns American scientists into pliable zombies. The great crime-fighters Batman and Robin, with the help of their allies, are in pursuit.

Batman

1943

The Return of the Vampire poster
6.1

In 1918, an English family is terrorized by a vampire, until they learn how to deal with it. They think their troubles are over, but German bombs in WWII free the monster. He reclaims the soul of his wolfman ex-servant, and assuming the identity of a scientist who has just escaped from a concentration camp, he starts out on a plan to get revenge upon the family.

The Return of the Vampire

1943

Alice in Wonderland poster
6.1

In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.

Alice in Wonderland

1933

Film credits

1940s · 7 titles

National Velvet poster
7.2

Mi Taylor is a young wanderer and opportunist who finds himself in the quiet English countryside home of the Brown family. The youngest daughter, Velvet, has a passion for horses and when she wins the spirited steed Pie in a town lottery, Mi is encouraged to train the horse.

National Velvet

1945

Batman poster
6.2

Japanese master spy Daka operates a covert espionage-sabotage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo, which turns American scientists into pliable zombies. The great crime-fighters Batman and Robin, with the help of their allies, are in pursuit.

Batman

1943

The Return of the Vampire poster
6.1

In 1918, an English family is terrorized by a vampire, until they learn how to deal with it. They think their troubles are over, but German bombs in WWII free the monster. He reclaims the soul of his wolfman ex-servant, and assuming the identity of a scientist who has just escaped from a concentration camp, he starts out on a plan to get revenge upon the family.

The Return of the Vampire

1943

The Ghost Goes Wild poster
6.0

Young artist Monte Crandell is being sued for an unauthorized caricature. To escape arrest, he disguises himself as a mystic, only to conjure up a genuine ghost during a seance. Things come to a head during his trial, where the invisible ghost takes the witness stand on Our Hero's behalf.

The Ghost Goes Wild

1947

Charley's Aunt poster
6.3

In 1890, two students at Oxford force their rascally friend and fellow student to pose as an aunt from Brazil--where the nuts come from.

Charley's Aunt

1941

Alias Mr. Twilight poster
6.1

Geoffrey Holden (Lloyd Corrigan) is an elderly con-man who is a lovable old man when providing his beloved granddaughter (Gigi Perreau) with the simple luxuries of life, yet has no qualms when working a racket devised to relieve his victims of their property. Trudy Marshall is the governess of the granddaughter, and is in love with a detective (Michael Duane) who is about to expose the old man's unsuspected activities.

Alias Mr. Twilight

1946

Swingin' on a Rainbow poster
7.0

A young girl goes to New York to find a band leader who has stolen all the songs she wrote and is passing them off as his own.

Swingin' on a Rainbow

1945

1930s · 24 titles

The Gay Divorcee poster
6.9

Seeking a divorce from her absentee husband, Mimi Glossop travels to an English seaside resort. There she falls in love with dancer Guy Holden, whom she later mistakes for the corespondent her lawyer hired.

The Gay Divorcee

1934

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes poster
6.9

Having once again avoided criminal conviction, Professor Moriarity develops a murderous plan to “finish off” his last major nemesis, Sherlock Holmes, by making him fail to prevent the perfect crime. Does it involve a family curse, the crown jewels of England, or something else…

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

1939

Alice in Wonderland poster
6.1

In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.

Alice in Wonderland

1933

The Private Life of Henry VIII poster
6.4

Renowned for his excess, King Henry VIII goes through a series of wives during his rule. With Anne Boleyn, his second betrothed, executed on charges of treason, Henry weds maid Jane Seymour, but that wedded bliss also ends in tragedy. Not one to be single for long, the tyrannical king chooses German-born Anne of Cleves, but their union lasts only months before an annulment is granted, and so Henry's reign of spousal terror continues.

The Private Life of Henry VIII

1933

Imitation of Life poster
7.0

A struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.

Imitation of Life

1934

The Goose and the Gander poster
4.7

When Georgiana Summers learns that the woman who stole and married her husband is planning a romantic tryst with a new love, she hatches a giddy plot to expose the rendezvous and pay her back.

The Goose and the Gander

1935

Let's Go Native poster
7.7

The company of a musical comedy gets shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited by a "king" from Brooklyn and his coterie of wild native girls.

Let's Go Native

1930

Live, Love and Learn poster
5.6

A starving, uncompromising artist and an heiress fall in love at first sight and immediately get married. She loves his outrageous behaviour, his strange roommate, and the best apartment poverty can buy.

Live, Love and Learn

1937

The Garden Murder Case poster
5.7

Two people with ties to rich murdered socialite Lowe Hammle die from unusual suicides—but Vance suspects foul play.

The Garden Murder Case

1936

Oil for the Lamps of China poster
7.2

An American oil company representative risks sacrificing his marriage for his career in the rural lands of China.

Oil for the Lamps of China

1935

Embarrassing Moments poster
10.0

A couple meet, fall in love and get married in a 24-hour period.

Embarrassing Moments

1930

Corsair poster
4.4

A stock market broker plans to liven up his boring life by taking up piracy on the high seas.

Corsair

1931

The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu poster
5.3

The sinister Dr. Fu Manchu returns to destroy the people he holds responsible for the death of his family.

The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu

1930

Redheads on Parade poster
9.0

A film star finds herself in trouble with her co-star when she has to flirt with the backer to prevent him from withdrawing his support.

Redheads on Parade

1935

The Man from Blankley's poster
7.0

When a nobleman loses his way in the fog and enters a house where there's a party going on, he's mistaken for a hired butler.

The Man from Blankley's

1930

Three Men in a Boat poster
7.5

An adaptation of Jerome K. Jerome’s classic story charting the comic misadventures of three friends – and a dog – as they take a boating holiday on the Thames.

Three Men in a Boat

1933

County Hospital poster
6.8

Ollie is in the hospital with a broken leg. When Stan comes to visit him, total chaos ensues.

County Hospital

1932

The Flirting Widow poster
5.7

An older daughter invents a fiancé so that her father will allow her younger sister to marry. However, the lie comes back to haunt her.

The Flirting Widow

1930

Rule 'Em and Weep poster
10.0

King Bool returns to Bulvania to claim his throne and his girl.

Rule 'Em and Weep

1932

A Tailor-Made Man poster
7.0

John Paul Bart is just a pants-presser in a tailor's shop, but he has big ambitions. One night, he borrows the clothes of a wealthy client and bluffs his way into a high society party. After meeting wealthy businessman Abraham Nathan, John Paul quickly rises to the top of Nathan's company. Suffering during The Depression, John Paul helps Nathan save his company with a radical program of cooperative ownership between workers and management. Meanwhile, John Paul makes an enemy of Gustav, who is engaged to Tanya - the daughter of Mr. Huber, owner of the tailor shop. John Paul maintains a friendship with Tanya, provoking jealousy in Gustav. Gustav threatens to reveal John Paul's plain origins to Nathan, and John Paul briefly resigns from Nathan's company. However, John Paul's plan is a success, and Nathan hires him back immediately. Tanya leaves Gustav and ends up with John Paul.

A Tailor-Made Man

1931

Paramount on Parade poster
5.9

This 1930 film, a collection of songs and sketches showcasing Paramount Studios' contract stars, credits 11 directors

Paramount on Parade

1930

$1,000 a Minute poster
5.8

Two rich and wealthy millionaires who have a lot of money bet that reporter Wally Jones can't spend $720,000 in twelve hours.

$1,000 a Minute

1935

No artwork available
9.0

A young woman on the run from gangsters runs into a rich society man who's looking for a woman to enter into a "limited" marriage.

Once to Every Bachelor

1934

Along Came Youth poster
7.3

Broke and stranded in England, American sportsman Larry Brooks and his pal Ambrose take on increasingly odd jobs to remain in proximity to the aristocratic lady that Larry would woo.

Along Came Youth

1930

1920s · 29 titles

The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu poster
6.0

A Chinese doctor vows revenge against the allied troops who killed his wife and child during the Boxer Rebellion.

The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

1929

It poster
6.9

A flapper shopgirl woos her rich boss with animal magnetism -- the captivating personal quality otherwise known as "it."

It

1927

Rich Men's Wives poster
4.0

Wealthy John and Gay Masters lead a busy social life to the neglect of their son, Jackie. Also feeling herself slighted, Gay innocently flirts with Juan Camillo but is caught in a compromising situation and is sent away by John. Gay, forbidden to see her son, is penniless and miserable, while John also is unhappy and takes to drink. Gay slips into Master's house during a night of revelry to see Jackie, whom she rescues from playing the role of a cupid for the entertainment of the guests. Gay then upbraids John, who repents and asks forgiveness, thus reuniting the family.

Rich Men's Wives

1922

Fig Leaves poster
5.9

Adam, a plumber, is happily married to Eve, a wardrobe-obsessed housewife, until she accidentally meets a supercilious fashion designer. At the prompting of her neighbor, who has secret designs on Adam, Eve secretly becomes a fashion model by day, knowing that her husband would disapprove.

Fig Leaves

1926

What a Night! poster
7.0

The daughter of an industrialist, Dorothy Winston, arranges to work on a newspaper in which her father places a substantial amount of advertising, Joe Madison, the reporter son of the paper's editor, offers to show her the ropes. A gunman employed by Mike Corney lands in jail, and Dorothy succeeds in interviewing him, getting him to divulge the whereabouts of a canceled check that will link Corney to Patterson, a corrupt political boss. Dorothy and Joe get the check, and Joe telephones his father to urge him to print an exposé of Patterson. Corney recovers the check, however, and Patterson institutes a damaging libel suit against the paper. Dorothy gets the check back and obtains photographic evidence to further incriminate Patterson and Corney. Dorothy and Joe decide to write the story of their life with each another. A lost film.

What a Night!

1928

Silk Stockings poster
8.0

Sam and Molly Thornhill, a married couple very much in love, are nevertheless continually quarreling. On the eve of their wedding anniversary, Sam fails to notice a pair of silk stockings slipped into his pocket by a lady.

Silk Stockings

1927

The World At Her Feet poster
3.3

In a reversal of the usual situation, it is the wife, not the husband, who is the neglectful one. As hubby sits at home twiddling his thumbs, Jane starts her own prosperous business, becoming so absorbed that she has no time for anything else. Not unexpectedly, her husband begins keeping time with a gorgeous blonde, whereupon Jane wins back her mate by simultaneously inaugurating an affair with the blonde's husband.

The World At Her Feet

1927

Sweetie poster
6.6

Chorus girl Barbara Pell (Nancy Carroll) inherits a school for boys, and uses her position to sabotage the football career of the boy who jilted her.

Sweetie

1929

The Fifty-Fifty Girl poster
10.0

Strong-willed Kathleen O'Hara, believes in equality of sexes, makes a pact with her sweetheart, Jim Donahue, when they become joint owners of a California gold mine. According to the agreement, Donahue will do the housekeeping while Kathleen runs the mine; the first to call for help loses his share of the mine.

The Fifty-Fifty Girl

1928

The Enemy Sex poster
8.5

A well-known sextet has been invited to a society gathering, and when one of them turns up missing, their manager asks Dodo to fill in. At the party, she meets four new men. She's smart enough to steer clear of two of them -- corrupt society leader Albert Sasson and powerful newspaper publisher Harrigan Blood. Instead she becomes passionately involved with Judge Massingale. The man who really steals her heart, however, is Garry Lindaberry, who seems to be a hopeless drunk.

The Enemy Sex

1924

What Happened to Jones? poster
6.6

On the night before his wedding, a young man plays poker with friends. When the game is raided by the police, he escapes into a Turkish bath on ladies night, ending up disguised in drag and with difficult explanations to make.

What Happened to Jones?

1926

The Cowboy King poster
9.0

"Hadley, owner of a nearby ranch, had fenced off a water hole belonging to Miss Dunlap, thus depriving her stock of water. Undaunted, the young Eastern woman and her two-fisted fighting foreman fought back...

The Cowboy King

1922

Illusion poster
9.0

A vaudeville magician team is broken up when Carlee, an ex--circus performer, becomes infatuated with socialite Hilda Schmittlap. Meanwhile his vaudeville partner, Claire, has chosen a new partner, but her "heart isn't in it" because she is disconsolate over Carlee. Curious about her new act, Carlee attends a performance and sees Claire nearly killed when she fails to substitute fake bullets for real ones. Rushing to her aid, Carlee realizes how much Claire means to him.

Illusion

1929

One Hour of Love poster
9.0

Jerry McKay (Jacqueline Logan), a spoiled and willful society girl, on the eve of a flighty engagement, decides to accompany her father to inspect some property he owns, managed by a handsome young engineer, James Warren (Robert Frazer). Jerry demonstrates her prowess as a marksman, though Warren has forbidden the use of firearms; and Tom Webb (Henry Sedley), an unscrupulous rancher, accuses Warren of inciting his men against him. Warren's stern rebuking infuriates Jerry, and she bets her friends that she can get him to propose within a week. She succeeds in winning his approval and then falls in love with him, but they are temporarily parted when he learns of the wager. She returns, however, to seek his forgiveness.

One Hour of Love

1927

Just Married poster
7.0

After many outrageous moments, a young girl marries her former acquaintance, not with her fiancee.

Just Married

1928

Ruggles of Red Gap poster
7.0

An English valet brought to the American west assimilates into the American way of life.

Ruggles of Red Gap

1923

In Love with Love poster
9.0

Ann Jordan, flirtatious and pampered daughter of a wealthy contractor, is engaged to Robert Metcalf, a relaxed and boring young man. She then meets Frank Oaks, who aggressively sweeps her off her feet, and she is presently engaged to him also. Mr. Jordan, Ann's father, becomes interested in one of Robert's friends, Jack Gardner, an engineer who is preparing a design for a bridge competition. The elder Jordan invites Jack to the house and covertly copies Jack's plans for the bridge.

In Love with Love

1924

Common Sense poster
10.0

Dan Bowers, embittered and disillusioned by an unhappy marriage, seeks solitude in the Maine woods, with a lame dog as his only companion. One day he meets Violet Manners who, with her invalid mother Marion, is visiting in a nearby village. Marion is haunted by memories of the past, and one day when Violet takes Dan to meet her mother, she discovers that he is the husband who deserted her years ago. The shock causes Marion's death, but before she dies, she justifies her past behavior toward Dan. -From the AFI Catalog of Feature FIlms.

Common Sense

1920

The Far Cry poster
7.0

Possibly lost film starring Blanche Sweet

The Far Cry

1926

The Reckless Age poster
5.7

Lord Harrowby takes out an $100,000 insurance policy to be paid if his wedding to Cecilia Meyrick is cancelled. The insurance company sends Dick Minot to make sure the wedding takes place, but he falls in love with the bride.

The Reckless Age

1924

Her Big Night poster
8.0

Tom Barrett, a motion picture press agent, noting Frances Norcross' resemblance to film star Daphne Dix, offers her passes to the star's personal appearance. While waiting for her fiancé, Johnny Young, Frances is offered $1,000 to impersonate Daphne and successfully appears in her place, assuaging the fears of Myers, a producer, who knows Daphne is with millionaire Harmon on a yacht. Reporter J. Q. Adams has his suspicions aroused and sends a cub reporter to impersonate Daphne's husband.

Her Big Night

1926

The Fate of a Flirt poster
8.0

Sir James Gilbert, a British peer, wagers that he can win the love of a particular young American woman for whom he has his heart set. Disguised as a chauffeur, James shows his love to Mary Burgess, niece of his wealthy employer, John Burgess. To obtain the consent of Mary's aunt, the couple involves her in a harmless trick. A villain threatens blackmail and attempts to pass himself off as the Sir James Gilbert. After a variety of adventures, the blackmailer's schemes are defeated. The young woman's hitherto hostile relatives are surprised and pleased when, instead of a chauffeur, Mary becomes the bride of Sir Gilbert.

The Fate of a Flirt

1925

Someone to Love poster
8.0

A poor but honest sheet-music salesman is parted from his wealthy fiancée when she mistakenly comes to believe he’s nothing but a gold digger. But circumstance places him on the board of an exclusive girls’ school, where he can prove his integrity as well as his love. This film is believed lost.

Someone to Love

1928

The Garden of Weeds poster
8.0

The title refers to the estate owned by Flagg, a man of great wealth and few morals. He installs chorus girls there until he grows tired of them

The Garden of Weeds

1924

Duck Soup poster
6.4

Fleeing a group of forest rangers, who are rounding up tramps to serve as firefighters, they take refuge in a mansion. The owner has gone on vacation and the servants are away, so Hardy pretends to be the owner and offers to rent the house to an English couple. Hardy gets Laurel to pose as the maid. Unfortunately, the owner returns and tells the would-be renters that he owns the house; Laurel and Hardy then flee again and are caught by the rangers and forced to fight wildfires.

Duck Soup

1927

Swim Girl, Swim poster
7.0

Serious university co-ed Alice Smith, is wholly engrossed, it would appear, in chasing butterflies and rare insects under the guidance of her friend, Mr. Spangle, Ph. D., though she secretly yearns to be an athlete and thus win the admiration of Jerry Marvin, a popular schoolmate. She takes up swimming, making herself the campus joke because of her ideas on the subject.

Swim Girl, Swim

1927

The Flaming Forest poster
9.0

North-West Mounted Police Sgt. David Carrigan takes a breather from fighting as he brings a convict to trial and woos the lovely Jeanne-Marie.

The Flaming Forest

1926

Honeymoon Hate poster
8.0

Gail Grant, the impetuous daughter of a Pittsburgh steel magnate, arrives at a hotel in Venice and demands the Imperial Suite; in London, George Banning-Green, a persistent admirer, believes that she has gone to Berlin. Searching for "imperial" furnishings, the hotel manager goes to the palace of Prince Dantarini, who is selling the contents of his villa as an aftermath of the war. Dantarini agrees to be her guide in Venice, and when he proposes in his garden, Gail accepts.

Honeymoon Hate

1927

West of Broadway poster
9.0

Priscilla Dean starred in this comedy-Western as Eastern golf pro Freddy Hayden who is hired by a Western dude ranch. Assumed to be a man because of the name, Freddy creates a sensation appearing at a dance in the newest creation from Paris, and later incurs the ire of all when she accidentally causes a stampede. Ranch foreman Bruce Elwood (Arnold Gray) eventually wins the heart of the leading lady when he rescues Freddy from a villainous cattle rustler. A year after this light comedy, Dean began to wind down her career, and played a foil to Laurel and Hardy in Slipping Wives.

West of Broadway

1926