
Acting
Claude Gillingwater
Born 1870-08-01 · Louisiana, Missouri, USA
Tall, balding character actor in US films from 1921 until the year he died, usually portraying obstinate or irascible types. A man so disagreeable on celluloid, Claude Gillingwater's characters seemed to subsist on a steady diet of persimmons. Fondly recalled as the cranky old skinflint whose seemingly cold heart could only be warmed by the actions of a cute little tyke, the tall and rangy Gillingwater invariably played much older than he was. He, with the omnipresent bushy brows, crop of silver hair and perpetually sour puss, had a much more versatile career than perhaps realized -- on both stage and in film. Most assuredly, this caustic screen image he perfected belied a softer, gentler off-screen demeanor for he was a kind and sympathetic gent and devoted husband to wife Carlyn Stiletz (or Stellith). Their only child, Claude Gillingwater Jr., briefly became an actor himself. Sadly, Gillingwater Sr.'s thriving character career ended on a grim and tragic note in 1939. A serious accident on the movie set of the picture Florida Special (1936) (he fell from a platform and injured his back) damaged his health and threatened his career, and the death of his long-time wife Carlyn left him irrevocably depressed. Fearing the possibility of becoming an invalid and wishing not to become a serious burden to anyone, the 69-year-old actor committed suicide at his Beverly Hills home with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Gillingwater left a fine Hollywood legacy and the fun of some of his old films is watching his vinegar turn to sugar. Date of Birth 2 August 1870, Louisiana, Missouri Date of Death 2 November 1939, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California (suicide)
Acting credits
6.8A young pacifist, after refusing on principle to defend her sweetheart's honor and being banished in disgrace, joins a riverboat troupe as a singer, acquires a reputation as a crackshot after a saloon brawl in which the villain of the piece accidentally kills himself with his own gun, falls in love with his former fianceé's sister and finally bullies an apprehensive family into accepting him.
Mississippi
1935
6.9After healing the leg of the murderer John Wilkes Booth — responsible for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln — Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, considered part of the atrocious conspiracy, is sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to the sinister Shark Island Prison.
The Prisoner of Shark Island
1936
7.0Standish, a wealthy Northerner, deserts his untutored Southern wife shortly after their daughter Primrose's birth, preferring to wed the cultured but haughty Emily. After her mother's death, Primrose is placed in the care of her uncle, who rears her as a refined and educated young lady. Longing for his daughter, Standish sends for her, and although Primrose, deeply resentful of her father, exaggerates the role of the uncouth mountain girl, he and his ward, Jack Wilton, come to love her deeply.
Wild Primrose
1918
7.0Newlyweds experience marital problems when the wife's highly successful job as an attorney overshadows her husband's stagnant career.
Ann Carver's Profession
1933
6.8Set against the conditions leading up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, French doctor Alexandre Manette serves an 18-year imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris, followed by his release to live in London with the daughter he has never met.
A Tale of Two Cities
1935
6.5An orphan is provisionally adopted by the manager of a hotel populated by show business people. The hotel's owner doesn't like the entertainers and wants the girl returned to the orphanage.
Little Miss Broadway
1938
6.6A Polish countess is dispatched by her country to become Napoleon Bonaparte's mistress at the urging of Polish leaders, who feel she might influence him to support Polish independence.
Conquest
1937
3.3An unprincipled hustler who makes his living getting--or making up--evidence in divorce cases finds that he's framing his own daughter.
Unknown Blonde
1934
6.0Early 30s pre-code comedy about a woman attempting to get her two ex-husbands to pay back alimony.
Gold Dust Gertie
1931
7.0On the eve of her wedding Lady Kay Rutfield runs off aboard her sloop. A storm carries her out to sea and she is rescued by a passing rumrunner bound for the Long Island Sound. Once they arrive in the States, Kay makes her escape and hides in the deserted mansion of Jimmy Winter. Jimmy is due to marry the following day. He comes home to the mansion unexpectedly, and finds Kay, who persuades him to let her pose for a night as his wife.
Oh Kay!
1928
6.6Cossetted and bored, Barbara Barry is finally sent off to school by her busy if doting widowed soap manufacturer father. When her nurse is injured en route, Barbara finds herself alone in town, ending up as part of radio song-and-dance act Dolan and Dolan sponsored by a rival soap company.
Poor Little Rich Girl
1936
Running Hollywood is a comedy short.
Running Hollywood
1932
6.3A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.
Souls for Sale
1923
5.3A young man visiting Hollywood on family business gets into trouble when he sees a bank robbery in progress, and thinks it is a movie scene.
45 Minutes from Hollywood
1926
6.8A brash young American aristocrat attending Oxford University gets a chance to prove himself and win the heart of his antagonist's sister.
A Yank at Oxford
1938
6.0A 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
6.0A professional equestrian marries a polo player from a once-wealthy family, only to face the scorn of his snobbish relatives. When she becomes entangled in a murder trial, she must choose between protecting her reputation and saving the man she loves.
The Woman in Red
1935
5.6Ann, a young woman with outrageously advanced ideas, has been living in sin with Dick, her lover, because of her conviction that marriage would destroy their love; but social pressure ends up paying off, so Ann and Dick get married.
Illicit
1931
9.0Naughty But Nice was based on The Bigamists, a story by Lewis Alen Brown. Gawky country girl Berenice Summers (Colleen Moore) is catapulted head-first into High Society when her Uncle Seth (Burr McIntosh) strikes oil. Shipped off to a fancy boarding school, Berenice suffers at the hands of her snooty classmates, but the last straw comes when she's publicly humiliated by local wise-guy Paul Carroll (Donald Reed).
Naughty But Nice
1927
5.3Stephen Ghent, a mineowner, falls in love with Ruth Jordan, an arrogant girl from the East, unaware that she is the daughter of his dead partner. Ruth is vacationing in Arizona and Mexico with a fast set of friends, including her fiancé, Edgar. Manuella, a Spanish halfbreed hopelessly in love with Ghent, causes Ruth to return to her fiancé when she insinuates that Ghent belongs to her. Ghent follows Ruth, kidnaps her, and takes her into the wilderness to endure hardship. There she discovers that she loves Ghent, and she discards Edgar in favor of him.
The Great Divide
1929
9.0The blissful marriage of Homer and Marcia Bigelow is disrupted when Marcia hosts a party for one J. Hugh Ramsay, author of the bestselling book, "Marriage—The Living Death".
Wives Never Know
1936
6.3Aubrey cons Amy into thinking he's a railroad bigwig. When he loses his job he takes one wearing a sandwich board. After he helps Joe sell his patent for a good price and an old railroad deal comes through, he's back on top and ready to marry Amy again.
The Show-Off
1934
7.0A Florida-bound train is filled with romance and intrigue when one of the passengers disappears while carrying $11-million in unset jewels.
Florida Special
1936
7.5A man on his way to closing a million dollar deal has an accident and gets amnesia.
Ticket to Paradise
1936