Ben Alexander

Acting

Ben Alexander

Born — Died

1911-05-27 — 1969-07-05

Place of birth

Goldfield, Nevada, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

68 titles

Nicholas Benton "Ben" Alexander III (June 27, 1911 – July 5, 1969) was an American motion picture actor, who started out as a child actor in 1916. He is best remembered for his role as Officer Frank Smith in the Dragnet franchise.

Known for

Batman poster
7.3

Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin.

Batman

1966

Dragnet poster
6.5

Follows the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from the police term "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.

Dragnet

1951

The Colgate Comedy Hour poster
6.9

The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show starred many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Ben Blue, Robert Paige, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Broadway dancer Wayne Lamb and Spike Jones and His City Slickers.

The Colgate Comedy Hour

1950

Felony Squad poster
6.5

Twenty-year veteran Detective Sergeant Sam Stone is paired with rookie Briggs in a large Western metropolis.

Felony Squad

1966

This Is Your Life poster
6.5

This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience, including special guest appearances by colleagues, friends and family. Edwards revived the show in 1971-72, while Joseph Campanella hosted a version in 1983. Edwards returned for some specials in the late 1980s, before his death in 2005. The show originated as a radio show on NBC Radio airing from 1948 to 1952.

This Is Your Life

1952

Judd, for the Defense poster
7.7

High-priced Houston lawyer Clinton Judd and his assistant Ben Caldwell take difficult cases throughout the U.S.

Judd, for the Defense

1967

Film credits

1930s · 31 titles

All Quiet on the Western Front poster
7.8

When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.

All Quiet on the Western Front

1930

Shall We Dance poster
7.3

Ballet star Petrov arranges to cross the Atlantic aboard the same ship as the dancer and musical star he's fallen for but barely knows. By the time the ocean liner reaches New York, a little white lie has churned through the rumour mill and turned into a hot gossip item—that the two celebrities are secretly married.

Shall We Dance

1937

The Life of Vergie Winters poster
5.7

A small town politician, kept from marrying the love of his life, eventually marries another woman and his career ascends, but he secretly continues the relationship with his true love.

The Life of Vergie Winters

1934

The Wet Parade poster
6.2

The evils of alcohol before and during prohibition become evident as we see its effects on the rich Chilcote family and the hard working Tarleton family.

The Wet Parade

1932

Mr. Doodle Kicks Off poster
8.0

A wealthy businessman promises to donate a huge endowment to his college alma mater, but there's one condition -- his loser of a son, a student at the school, must become a football hero. Comedy.

Mr. Doodle Kicks Off

1938

The Life of the Party poster
6.2

A singer finds another heir (Gene Raymond) to marry, to avoid the one (Joe Penner) her mother found.

The Life of the Party

1937

The Spy Ring poster
5.6

Two American-army officers are working on a new type of machine-gun for anti-aircraft warfare, when one of them is murdered. The other vows to get the spies that are after the invention and avenge his friend's death.

The Spy Ring

1938

Once to Every Woman poster
6.1

An able nurse clashes with a new doctor at her hospital.

Once to Every Woman

1934

Are These Our Children? poster
6.8

A tale of juvenile delinquency, about a high-school student neglecting his studies, partying hard, falling in with the wrong crowd and finally finding himself on trial for murder committed during a robbery.

Are These Our Children?

1931

This Day and Age poster
5.0

A modern-day tale of gangsterism and revenge. After a notorious mobster murders a Jewish tailor and is let off for the crime, a band of outraged high-school students turns into vigilante crusaders hell-bent on punishing the wrongdoers. Memorable pre-Code moment: the students torturing a gangster by dangling him over a pit filled with rats.

This Day and Age

1933

Grand Old Girl poster
7.0

An elderly schoolteacher is determined to rid her town of the local gambling den.

Grand Old Girl

1935

Buried Alive poster
5.1

A prison trustee rescues a despondent executioner from a bar-room brawl, and is blamed for the fight by a tabloid reporter who actually started it, and loses parole, becomes embittered, and gets blamed for murder of guard.

Buried Alive

1939

Tom Brown of Culver poster
6.8

Boy who thought his father a war hero finds he was really a deserter.

Tom Brown of Culver

1932

It's a Wise Child poster
6.2

In this comedy, a conservative family becomes alarmed when they begin believing their daughter is pregnant.

It's a Wise Child

1931

Convict's Code poster
5.3

On parole after three years in prison, a football player encounters the man who framed him.

Convict's Code

1939

High Pressure poster
5.8

Gar Evans is a con artist, who pretends to be the owner of a "Golden Gate Artificial Rubber Company", and he is looking for investors. Finding them is relatively easy, but it becomes difficult when those want to see the inventor of the synthetic rubber...

High Pressure

1932

The Outer Gate poster
5.0

Bob Terry is in love with Lois Borden the daughter of his employer, John Borden. When some bonds are missing from the office, Bob is accused and because of Borden's strong sense of obligation to his stockholders, Bob is railroaded to prison. A few years later, the real thief is apprehended and Bob is released. He now begins his plan for revenge against Borden with the aid of his prison cell mate Todd and a gangster, John Carmody. Soon, some bonds are missing again and Borden knows Bob is involved but because Bob has suffered at his hands before, Borden assumes the responsibility and is about to be sentenced to prison. Todd is shot while trying to steal the bonds back from Carmody, but gets the bonds back to Bob and, before he dies, begs Bob to return them to the owner.

The Outer Gate

1937

The Legion of Missing Men poster
6.7

Bob Carter, a member of the Foreign Legion, is glad to see his brother, Don, for the first time in ten years but is sorry that Don has joined the Legion. Bob, Don and Bob's buddies, Muggsy and Bilgey, go to a café and there Don falls for Nina, a singer in love with Bob. Bob doesn't know this and thinks she is Garccia's girl, and warns Don to have nothing to do with her. Don disregards the warning and Garcia discovers Nina and Don together and provokes Don into hitting him. Don is arrested and thrown into the company brig. Nina, with the aid of an Arabian sheik, Ul Ahmed, helps Don escape. Bob, Muggsy and Bilgey follow but are captured and taken to Ul Hamid's headquarters. The sheik tortures Don to force Bob to work some captured machine guns for him. Ah Hamid and his tribe attack the fort, but Bob manages to turn the machine guns against his captors, and the fort is saved.

The Legion of Missing Men

1937

Most Precious Thing in Life poster
5.8

An unwed mother watches as her illegitimate son is raised by others. Director Lambert Hillyer's 1934 drama stars Jean Arthur, Richard Cromwell, Donald Cook, Anita Louise, Jane Darwell, Mary Forbes and Ward Bond.

Most Precious Thing in Life

1934

Suicide Fleet poster
5.0

Three US sailors aboard a decoy ship fight German U-boats in World War I and try to win Sally who works on the Coney Island midway.

Suicide Fleet

1931

Reckless Roads poster
8.0

Edith Adams, burdened by her family’s financial struggles, faces pressure from her mother to marry well.

Reckless Roads

1935

Annapolis Farewell poster
8.0

Commodore Fitzhugh, an old retired naval officer, lives at the Annapolis Naval Academy and, unhappy with the "modern" navy, likes to talk about his days in the "old" navy, especially about his part in the Battle of Manila Bay under Adm. Dewey during the Spanish-American War, when he commanded the USS Congress. That ship, now decommissioned and docked in Annapolis harbor, is--unknown to Fitzhugh--about to be towed out to sea to be used for target practice. When Fitzhugh finds this out, he sets out to either save his beloved vessel or "go down with his ship".

Annapolis Farewell

1935

Stage Mother poster
6.3

Kitty Lorraine has one purpose in life: turning her daughter Shirley into a star. Kitty controls every aspect of the girl's nascent career -- even blackmailing a stage manager so that Shirley can take a more prestigious gig. But Kitty goes too far when she breaks up her daughter's budding relationship with sweet artist Warren Foster. Heartbroken, Shirley sets off on a series of disastrous but profitable relationships.

Stage Mother

1933

Flirtation poster
5.6

A naive farmer encounters a beautiful burlesque dancer on the streets of New York and agrees to pose as her husband during her mother's visit.

Flirtation

1934

What Price Innocence? poster
6.5

A young woman has to pay the price for fooling around with men.

What Price Innocence?

1933

Many a Slip poster
10.0

Comedy centering on the question of whether a man's wife is or isn't pregnant.

Many a Slip

1931

Western Gold poster
9.0

President Lincoln personally sends Bill Gibson west to see if he can stop the holdups of the needed shipments of gold. There he meets his boyhood friend Foster. When all others refuse to take out the next gold shipment due to the killings, Bill volunteers. Jeannie, afraid for his safety, tells Foster of Bill's secret route not knowing Foster is the leader of the outlaw gang.

Western Gold

1937

Red Lights Ahead poster
5.6

A family loses its collective head going from rags to riches in this low-budget comedy from also-ran studio Chesterfield. Former slapstick comedian Andy Clyde starred as Grandpa Tom Hopkins who, after selling his junk business, moves in with daughter Molly (Lucille Gleason), her husband Ed (Roger Imhof), and their children Mary (Ann Doran), Edna (Paula Stone), George (Ben Alexander, and Willie (Frank Coghlan Jr.). Ed, who is a member of the town lodge "the Whales," is persuaded by Whitney (Sam Flint) the "Grand Harpoon," to buy $5,000 worth of shares in a promising gold mine, mortgaging the family home to do so. Soon the family is rich and everyone except Molly takes on airs.

Red Lights Ahead

1936

No artwork available
4.7

An insurance investigator falls in love with a society girl, unaware that her uncle and his boss are conspiring to commit insurance fraud by overvaluing a decrepit warehouse and its contents and burning the building to the ground.

The Fire-Trap

1935

Born to Gamble poster
5.2

A wealthy man relates how gambling had tragic consequences for his family.

Born to Gamble

1935

The Vanishing Frontier poster
8.0

Its 1850 and California is under ruthless military rule. Kirby Tornell's rancho has been taken over by soldiers and when two of Kirby's men are captured, he goes there to free them. He meets the General's daughter there and attracted to her, repeatedly returns to see her. Eventually he is captured and now his men must try and rescue him.

The Vanishing Frontier

1933

1920s · 10 titles

The Notorious Mrs. Sands poster
8.0

Member of a socially prominent but impoverished family, Mary Ware, is in love with the equally poor Ronald Cliffe, but Mary's mother convinces her to save the family from debt by marrying the wealthy Grey Sands. Ronald is sent to work in the oil fields out West, and Mary, married to a man she doesn't love, is cold to her husband, who then vows revenge.

The Notorious Mrs. Sands

1920

The Divine Lady poster
5.3

Lady Hamilton's love affair with Admiral Horatio Nelson rocks the British Empire.

The Divine Lady

1928

Jealous Husbands poster
10.0

When a man's wife is accused of adultery, her insanely jealous husband gives her young son away to a traveling band of gypsies. Years later, when the son grows up, he sets out to prove that his mother wasn't guilty of adultery but was actually trying to help her sister-in-law escape the clutches of a blackmailer.

Jealous Husbands

1923

Through Eyes of Men poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Through Eyes of Men

1920

Boy of Mine poster
9.0

A wealthy banker is a strict disciplinarian with his nine-year-old son Bill. Finally the day comes when neither Bill nor his mother can put up any more with the father's relentlessness and heavy-handed treatment; she leaves and takes Bill with her. The father must decide what's more important--maintaining his iron discipline over his family, or his family itself.

Boy of Mine

1923

No artwork available
10.0

Young Sonny's dying father leaves him in the care of Breezy, a hobo he has mistaken for a wealthy businessman.

A Self-Made Failure

1924

Blue Streak McCoy poster
10.0

Ranger Job "Blue Streak" McCoy helps a miner and his pretty young daughter who are trying to protect their valuable mine from a gang leader who wants to take it.

Blue Streak McCoy

1920

Penrod and Sam poster
7.5

Penrod and his gang don't want to let neighborhood "goodie-goodie" Georgie Bassett into their club, but Penrod's father pressures him to allow the boy in because his parents are wealthy and prominent members of the town. Finally the boys agree to let Georgie join, but first they demand that he undergo an "initiation", and they're determined to make it one that Georgie won't soon forget.

Penrod and Sam

1923

The Family Honor poster
8.0

Beverly Tucker, the daughter of an impoverished aristocratic Southern family, has scraped together her last pennies to put her brother Dal through college in the hope that he will support the family after graduation. However, Dal harbors no such ambition and instead spends his time gambling and drinking in a saloon owned by the town's mayor, Curran. During a raid led by Curran's crusading son Merle, a detective is killed and Dal is accused of the crime.

The Family Honor

1920

No artwork available
10.0

Author David Marshall is sandbagged by holdup men and loses his memory. He finds his way to a bookshop run by his friend Ladd, who takes him in with the hope of helping him to regain his memory. David there meets Hope Masterson and falls in love with her. Bill Dorgan, a gangster in love with Hope, kidnaps her, and David comes to her rescue. David is hit again on the head, and this time he regains his memory. He still recognizes Hope, however, and they look forward to a long and happy life together.

The Highbinders

1926

1910s · 15 titles

Hearts of the World poster
6.1

A group of youth come of age in a peaceful French village. But war intrudes and peace is shattered. The German army invades and occupies, bringing both destruction and torture. The youngsters resist, some successfully, others tragically, until French troops retake the town.

Hearts of the World

1918

Big Tremaine poster
NR

John spies his girlfriend embracing his brother. Stunned, John deposits the family's money and leaves the country. Years later he returns to find his brother dead, the plantation in ruins, and that he is suspected of stealing the money.

Big Tremaine

1916

The Lady of the Dugout poster
5.9

Real life outlaw Al Jennings tells a "real" story about how he came to the aid of a woman who was abused by her alcoholic husband.

The Lady of the Dugout

1918

The Turn in the Road poster
9.0

Paul Perry, the son of Perryville's wealthiest citizen, marries Reverend Matthew Barker's younger daughter Evelyn, while her sister June, who disputes her father's sermons preaching that it is God's will that sends affliction, hides her own love for Paul. When Evelyn dies in childbirth, Paul nearly goes insane.

The Turn in the Road

1919

Josselyn's Wife poster
7.0

Bessie Barriscale and Nigel Barrie play Ellen and Gibbs Josselyn, a young married couple who have spent several years in Europe while Gibbs, an artist, developed his talent. When they return to the States, they stay with Gibbs' father (Tom Guise) and stepmother (Kathleen Kirkham). Gibbs had never cared much for his stepmother, Lillian, but now he warms up to her -- a lot. Lillian is much younger than her husband and begins spending a suspicious amount of time with her stepson.

Josselyn's Wife

1919

The Heart of Rachael poster
8.0

Rachael (Bessie Barriscale) marries Clarence Breckenridge (Hershel Mayall) a widower much older than herself. Although she tries to be a good wife, he ignores her for the bottle. In addition, his daughter, Billy (Ella Hall), who is not much younger than Rachael, is spoiled. When Rachael meets the family doctor, Warren Gregory (Herbert Heyes), they fall in love.

The Heart of Rachael

1918

The Mayor of Filbert poster
7.0

Corrupt saloonkeeper and mayor Johnson Schmidt hits his head during a reform conference, leading activists to mistakenly believe he is dead. Finding a down-and-out stranger named Charles Smith who looks identical to Schmidt, the group gets him to pose as the mayor. The real Schmidt survives with amnesia, while Smith falls in love and reforms after saving a woman from a brawl. Henchmen accidentally shoot the real Schmidt upon his return, revealing the two men are twin brothers; Smith wins the next election and marries.

The Mayor of Filbert

1919

The Better Wife poster
1.0

Charmian Page has developed a great affection for the child of Sir Richard. When the child is seriously hurt in a car crash that has killed his mother Lady Beverly, who was on her way to see her lover, Charmian persuades her wealthy father to pay for the operation that saves the child. Sir Richard marries Charmian for his child's sake, but remains aloof towards her for the memory of Beverly. When he learns the truth about his late wife's infidelity, he begs for Charmian's forgiveness, realizing she is the better wife.

The Better Wife

1919

A Wife on Trial poster
NR

Phyllis Narcissa, an underpaid children's librarian, eagerly accepts a dinner invitation from Horace de Guenther, one of her patrons, and happily entertains his invalid wife. Later, Mrs. de Guenther encourages Phyllis to meet with Mrs. Harrington, a dying rich woman whose son Allan, once a vigorous young man, was paralyzed in an auto accident. When Mrs. Harrington proposes to the librarian that she marry and take care of Allan in exchange for his wealth, Phyllis reluctantly consents. While struggling to cheer up the eternally gloomy Allan, Phyllis welcomes the visits of his friend, a doctor who informs her that her husband's paralysis may be psychosomatic.

A Wife on Trial

1917

The Little American poster
6.3

A young American has her ship torpedoed by a German U-boat but makes it back to her ancestral home in France, where she witnesses German brutality firsthand.

The Little American

1917

Each Pearl a Tear poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Each Pearl a Tear

1916

Little Orphant Annie poster
5.3

Annie, left orphaned after the death of her mother, goes to an orphanage where she tells her fellow orphans stories of ghosts and goblins. The matron of the orphanage finds Annie's closest relative, the abusive Uncle Thomp. Big Dave, a neighbor comes to her aid, becoming her protector. Eventually Annie goes to live with Squire Goode and his large family. There, she entertains the children of the household with her stories, but sees her abusive aunt and uncle as her chief tormentors. She tells stories of how the goblins will take away the children if they are not good. War breaks out and Dave, who Annie adores, enlists. In a feverish vision triggered by her distress—revealed later as a nightmare—she imagines receiving news of Dave's battlefield death, delivered mockingly by her uncle, leading to her heartbroken collapse and apparent deathbed vigil.

Little Orphant Annie

1918

The White Heather poster
7.0

Lord Angus Cameron's marriage to a woman of his titled Scottish class is thwarted by his secret marriage years before to Marion Hume, the housekeeper of the castle. Cameron attempts to repudiate the marriage, the only record of which is a certificate in the sunken wreck of a yacht, The White Heather. Marion goes to court to prove her claim and secure the rights of her son by Cameron, but is defeated. Alec McClintock, who is in love with Marion, and Cameron both want to recover the record, so they don diving suits and descend to the wreck. An underwater struggle ensues and Cameron severs his own air tube and drowns while attempting to cut off his rival's air supply. Alec then recovers the marriage record and wins Marion. —AFI

The White Heather

1919

The Hushed Hour poster
8.0

Judge Robert Appleton (Winter Hall) has led an exemplary life. His four children, however, fell short once they grew up and had to fend for themselves. When Appleton dies, his widow (Lydia Knott) explains that his last request was that each child spend one hour of contemplation with his body. The first is the youngest daughter, Daisy (Rosemary Theby), an artist of note who was betrayed and left with a son to raise out of wedlock. Next is Luke (Milton Sills), a wild young man who ran away at 19, and even though he is now married and a father, he still can't quite settle down. The eldest son, Bob (Wilfred Lucas), is next -- he wed a wealthy woman, but the marriage has no love.

The Hushed Hour

1919

The One Woman poster
NR

Denounced for preaching socialism Reverend Frank Gordon founds his own "Temple of Man." financed by Kate Ransom, the woman Gordon has fallen in with love and entered into a common-law agreement with after divorcing his wife. With the outbreak of World War I, however, the members of his new congregation oppose conscription while he wholeheartedly supports the Allied cause. Driven from his own church, he returns home to find Kate in banker Mark Overman's arms, enraged he strangles the banker. Sentenced to life imprisonment, his ex-wife Ruth pleads with Governor Morrison to pardon the errant clergyman. Gordon is allowed to return to his family.

The One Woman

1918

Series credits

Batman poster
7.3

Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin.

Batman

1966

Dragnet poster
6.5

Follows the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from the police term "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.

Dragnet

1951

The Colgate Comedy Hour poster
6.9

The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show starred many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Ben Blue, Robert Paige, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Broadway dancer Wayne Lamb and Spike Jones and His City Slickers.

The Colgate Comedy Hour

1950

Felony Squad poster
6.5

Twenty-year veteran Detective Sergeant Sam Stone is paired with rookie Briggs in a large Western metropolis.

Felony Squad

1966

This Is Your Life poster
6.5

This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience, including special guest appearances by colleagues, friends and family. Edwards revived the show in 1971-72, while Joseph Campanella hosted a version in 1983. Edwards returned for some specials in the late 1980s, before his death in 2005. The show originated as a radio show on NBC Radio airing from 1948 to 1952.

This Is Your Life

1952

Judd, for the Defense poster
7.7

High-priced Houston lawyer Clinton Judd and his assistant Ben Caldwell take difficult cases throughout the U.S.

Judd, for the Defense

1967

No artwork available
7.8

The Ford Show is an American variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on NBC on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961. Beginning in September 1958, the show began to be telecast in color. Ford first gained attention as the host of Hometown Jamboree in Los Angeles. In 1954, he hosted a brief revival of Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge, a quiz show on NBC. His subsequent The Ford Show was frequently among the Top 20 programs.

The Ford Show

1956

No artwork available
NR

About Faces is an American game show that aired from January 4, 1960 to June 30, 1961 that was created by Ralph Edwards. The host was Ben Alexander and the show's announcer was famed game show host Tom Kennedy.

About Faces

1960