Lionel Atwill

Acting

Lionel Atwill

Born — Died

1885-02-27 — 1946-04-22

Place of birth

Croydon, London, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

60 titles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Lionel Atwill (1 March 1885 – 22 April 1946) was an English stage and film actor born in Croydon, London, England. He studied architecture before his stage debut at the Garrick Theatre, London in 1904. He become a star in Broadway theatre by 1918, and made his screen debut in 1919. He acted on the stage in Australia but was most famous for his U.S. horror roles in the 1930s. His two most memorable parts were as the crazed, disfigured sculptor in Mystery of the Wax Museum (Warner Brothers, 1933), and as Inspector Krogh in Son of Frankenstein (1939), memorably sent up by Kenneth Mars in Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein (1974). When he was not cast in ma…

Known for

Film credits

1940s · 26 titles

House of Frankenstein poster
6.1

Deranged scientist, Gustav Niemann, escapes from prison and overtakes the director of a traveling chamber of horrors, soon reviving the infamous Count Dracula, the frozen Frankenstein Monster, and the Wolf Man.

House of Frankenstein

1944

To Be or Not to Be poster
7.8

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

To Be or Not to Be

1942

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man poster
6.2

After being resurrected by grave robbers, Larry Talbot searches for Dr. Frankenstein in the hopes of being cured of his lycanthropy. The mad scientist may turn out to be dead, but his monster is just waiting to be found…

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

1943

Johnny Apollo poster
6.8

Wall Street broker Robert Cain, Sr., is jailed for embezzling. His college graduate son Bob then turns to crime to raise money for his father's release. As assistant to mobster Mickey Dwyer, then falls for Dwyer's girl Lucky. He winds up in the same prison as his father.

Johnny Apollo

1940

House of Dracula poster
5.5

A scientist working on cures for rare afflictions, such as a bone softening agent made from molds to allow him to correct the spinal deformity of his nurse, finds the physical causes of lycanthropy in wolf-man Larry Talbot and of vampirism in Count Dracula, but himself becomes afflicted with homicidal madness while exchanging blood with Dracula.

House of Dracula

1945

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon poster
6.4

In the midst of World War II, Sherlock Holmes rescues the Swiss inventor of a new bomb-sight from the Gestapo and brings him to England, where he quickly falls into the clutches of the evil Professor Moriarty.

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon

1942

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

Man-Made Monster poster
6.1

Mad scientist turns a man into an electrically-controlled monster to do his bidding.

Man-Made Monster

1941

Boom Town poster
7.0

Two buddies who rise from fly-by-night wildcatters to oil tycoons over a twenty year period both love the same woman. McMasters and Sand come to oil towns to get rich. Betsy comes West intending to marry Sand but marries McMasters instead. Getting rich and losing it all teaches McMasters and Sand the value of personal ties.

Boom Town

1940

Girl in 313 poster
5.6

A priceless necklace goes missing at a plush party. Police close in on the jewel thieves but is one cop getting too close to one of the crooks?

Girl in 313

1940

Captain America poster
5.3

Superhero Captain America battles the evil forces of the archvillain called The Scarab, who poisons his enemies and steals a secret device capable of destroying buildings by sound vibrations.

Captain America

1944

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx poster
5.2

Private eye Jerry Church is hired by a criminal defense lawyer after five mobsters he has gotten acquitted are apparently strangled by a serial killer.

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx

1942

Charlie Chan in Panama poster
6.8

Charlie impersonates an employee of the U.S. government to foil an espionage plot which would destroy part of the Panama Canal, trapping a Navy fleet on its way to the Pacific after maneuvers in the Atlantic.

Charlie Chan in Panama

1940

Fog Island poster
5.5

Leo, a former convict, is living in seclusion on an island with his step-daughter, the daughter of his late wife. Leo was framed by a group of former business associates, and he also suspects that one of them killed his wife. He has invited the group to his island, tempting them by hinting about a hidden fortune, and he has installed a number of traps and secret passages in his home. He is aided in his efforts by a former cell-mate who holds a grudge against the same persons. When everyone arrives, the atmosphere of mutual suspicion and the thick fog that covers the island promise a tense and hazardous weekend for everyone.

Fog Island

1945

Pardon My Sarong poster
6.5

A pair of bus drivers accidentally steal their own bus. With the company issuing a warrant for their arrest, they tag along with a playboy on a boat trip that finds them on a tropical island, where a jewel thief has sinister plans for them.

Pardon My Sarong

1942

Crime, Inc. poster
4.8

A crime reporter writes book to expose names and methods of the criminal leaders. He is held on a charge after refusing to explain how he got his information, but is released and helps to expose the syndicate.

Crime, Inc.

1945

Raiders of Ghost City poster
7.0

During the latter stages of the Civil War, a gang of supposed Confederates, headed by Alex Morel (Lionel Atwill), raid all gold shipments destined for Washington from Oro Grande, California. Can they be brought to justice?

Raiders of Ghost City

1944

Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise poster
6.8

On a cruise ship from Honolulu to San Francisco, the famous Chinese detective encounters four more murders while trying to figure out the murder of a Scotland Yard friend.

Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise

1940

The Great Profile poster
6.8

An alcoholic film star attempts a comeback. Director Walter Lang's 1940 comedy stars John Barrymore, Mary Beth Hughes, Anne Baxter, John Payne, Lionel Atwill and Edward Brophy.

The Great Profile

1940

Lost City of the Jungle poster
6.5

A movie serial in 13 chapters, and Lionel Atwill's final film: Following the end of WWII, war-monger Sir Eric Hazarias sets the wheel in motion for WWIII. His search for Meteorium 245, the only practical defence against the atomic bomb, leads him to mythical Pendrang. Obstructing his sinister plan to rule the world are Rod Stanton, United Peace Foundation investigator, Tal Shan , Pendrang native, and Marjorie Elmore, daughter of scientist Dr. Elmore, unwilling assistant to Sir Eric.

Lost City of the Jungle

1946

Cairo poster
6.3

Reporter Homer Smith accidently draws Marcia Warren into his mission to stop Nazis from bombing Allied Conwoys with robot-planes.

Cairo

1942

Genius at Work poster
6.7

Two actors who play detectives on the radio find themselves investigating a real crime masterminded by an arch-criminal named the Cobra.

Genius at Work

1946

Secrets of Scotland Yard poster
6.2

Secrets of Scotland Yard is Republic's spin on a plotline first elucidated in the old E. Phillips Oppenheim novel The Great Impersonation. After losing WW I, the German high command, with remarkable foresight, prepares for the next war by planting a spy in the British Admiralty. Edgar Barrier plays the dual role of the German spy and his British twin brother. When one twin is killed, the other assumes his identity. The question: is the surviving brother the "good" one or the bad? It is up to C. Aubrey Smith, cast as Scotland Yard inspector Sir Christopher Belt, to sort out the mystery. Though it owes a great deal to the aforementioned Oppenheim yarn, Secrets of Scotland Yard is actually based on a novel by Denison Clift, who also wrote the screenplay.

Secrets of Scotland Yard

1944

Junior G-Men of the Air poster
6.3

A group of street kids battle a terrorist gang led by a Japanese spy.

Junior G-Men of the Air

1942

Night Monster poster
6.2

Kurt Ingston, a rich recluse, invites the doctors who left him a hopeless cripple to his desolate mansion in the swamps as one by one they meet horrible deaths.

Night Monster

1942

The Mad Doctor of Market Street poster
5.5

A fugitive doctor tries to raise the dead for South Sea Islanders.

The Mad Doctor of Market Street

1942

1930s · 31 titles

Captain Blood poster
7.3

Dr. Peter Blood, unjustly convicted of treason and exiled from England, becomes a notorious pirate.

Captain Blood

1935

Son of Frankenstein poster
6.7

One of the sons of late Dr. Henry Frankenstein finds his father's ghoulish creation in a coma and revives him, only to find out the monster is controlled by Ygor who is bent on revenge.

Son of Frankenstein

1939

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 vampiric assault. The victim's friend, Baron Otto, and the physician who analyzes the body, are certain that the vampire is either the mysterious Count Mora or his daughter. Receiving little help from the law, occult expert Professor Zelen is sought to assist with their investigation.

Mark of the Vampire

1935

The Age of Innocence poster
5.2

An engaged attorney and a divorcee fall for each other in 1870s Manhattan.

The Age of Innocence

1934

The Hound of the Baskervilles poster
7.1

When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

1939

Three Comrades poster
7.2

A love story centered on the lives of three young German soldiers in the years following World War I. Their close friendship is strengthened by their shared love for the same woman who is dying of tuberculosis.

Three Comrades

1938

Murders in the Zoo poster
5.9

Dr. Gorman is a millionaire adventurer, traveling the world in search of dangerous game. His bored, beautiful, much younger wife entertains herself in the arms of other men. In turn, Gorman uses his animals to kill these men. When a New York City zoo suggests a fundraising gala, Gorman sees a prime opportunity to dispatch the dashing Roger and anyone else who might cross him.

Murders in the Zoo

1933

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

Doctor X poster
6.0

A wisecracking New York reporter intrudes on a research scientist's quest to unmask The Moon Killer.

Doctor X

1932

The Devil Is a Woman poster
6.4

In the carnival in Spain in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the exiled republican Antonio Galvan comes from Paris masquerade to enjoy the party and visit his friend Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar. However, he flirts with the mysterious Concha Perez and they schedule to meet each other later. When Antonio meets Pasqualito, his old friend discloses his frustrated relationship with the promiscuous Concha and her greedy mother and how his life was ruined by his obsession for the beautiful demimondaine. Pasqualito makes Antonio promise that he would not see Concha. However, when Antonio meets Concha, she seduces him and the long friendship between Antonio and Pasqualito is disrupted

The Devil Is a Woman

1935

Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation poster
6.6

Mr. Moto is in Egypt to thwart a criminal mastermind determined to steal the priceless crown of the Queen of Sheba. When the precious treasure is transported to America, Mr. Moto must race against time to unmask the cunning thief who will stop at nothing—not even murder—to get what he wants.

Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation

1939

The Song of Songs poster
6.1

After her father dies, Lily moves to the city to live with her strict aunt. During the day Lily works in her aunt's bookstore, and at night she sneaks across the street to model for Richard, a sculptor with whom she falls in love. A patron of Richard's, Baron von Merzbach, develops an interest in Lily that may not be with the best of intentions.

The Song of Songs

1933

Rendezvous poster
4.9

A decoding expert tangles with enemy spies.

Rendezvous

1935

The Sphinx poster
5.1

A man known to be a mute is suspected of committing a murder, as he was noticed at the scene. However, witnesses saw and heard him talking as he was leaving the scene of the crime. The police must determine if he is the actual killer or if he is being framed.

The Sphinx

1933

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

The Great Waltz poster
5.9

Composer Johann Strauss risks his marriage over his infatuation with a beautiful singer.

The Great Waltz

1938

The Murder Man poster
7.1

Steve Grey, reporter for the Daily Star, has a habit of scooping all the other papers in town. When Henry Mander is investigated for the murder of his shady business partner, Grey is one step ahead of the police to the extent that he often dictates his story in advance of its actual occurrence. He leads the police through an 'open and shut' case resulting in Mander being tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Columnist Mary Shannon is in love with Steve but she sees him struggle greatly with his last story before Mander's execution. When she starts typing out the story from his recorded dictation, she realizes why.

The Murder Man

1935

The Gorilla poster
4.8

When an escaped circus gorilla appears to have gone on a murderous rampage, a threatened attorney calls on the detective trio of Garrity, Harrigan and Mullivan to act as bodyguards. In short order, we discover that there is more to the attorney than meets the eye, and the ape may be innocent after all. When a pretty young heiress faces peril, it's up to our heroic trio to save the day.

The Gorilla

1939

The Three Musketeers poster
6.0

A parodic remake of the story of the young Gascon D'Artagnan, who arrives in Paris, his heart set on joining the king's Musketeers. He is taken under the wings of three of the most respected and feared Musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos. Together they fight to save France and the honor of a lady from the machinations of the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.

The Three Musketeers

1939

The Secret of Madame Blanche poster
4.2

A murder trial reunites a former chorus girl and her son, a grandson of an English aristocrat.

The Secret of Madame Blanche

1933

Stamboul Quest poster
5.2

In 1915, German Counter-Intelligence Chief Von Sturm learns that someone is providing the British with critical strategic planning for the Turkish theater. He suspects Ali Bey, Turkish commander for the Dardanelles, and dispatches Annemarie to Constantinople to secure the proof. En route, she becomes involved with Douglas Beall, a footloose American. Complications ensue, requiring Annemarie to engage in some dangerous improvisations.

Stamboul Quest

1934

The Vampire Bat poster
5.5

A German village is stricken by a series of murders that appear to be the work of vampires.

The Vampire Bat

1933

The Sun Never Sets poster
5.5

The Randolph family have a tradition of working in the British colonial service. Clive comes home from a mission in the Gold Coast of Africa accompanied by his wife Helen. He discovers his younger brother John, is not keen on following in his footsteps. John is then persuaded to try colonial service by his grandfather. He is accompanied by Clive who has been sent to investigate the source of a series of radio broadcasts that are sewing unrest throughout the world. These may be linked to Hugo Zurof, a man plotting to rule the world.

The Sun Never Sets

1939

Nana poster
6.0

Young Parisian Nana wards off of a boozed-up military officer at a local restaurant, and fellow diner Gaston Greiner is so impressed with her pluck that he decides to make her a performer at his musical theater. Soon, Nana is a star, and the girlfriend of Greiner and two other men. But when he learns that she's been getting around, Greiner fires her. As she tries to reclaim her singing job while dodging yet another suitor, her treachery might get the better of her.

Nana

1934

The Secret of Dr. Kildare poster
6.1

Intern Kildare heals a millionaire's daughter and tricks Dr. Gillespie into taking a vacation.

The Secret of Dr. Kildare

1939

Till We Meet Again poster
5.2

In London, August 1914, Austrian star Elsa Duranyi (Gertrude Michael) and English matinee idol Alan Barclay (Herbert Marshall) are in love and plan an immediate marriage. But the War comes and Elsa mysteriously disappears. Alan's ease in speaking German results in his appointment to the British Intelligence and, to aid his use as a spy, they announce he was killed in action. He takes the name and personality of "shell-shocked" Hans Teller, a German prisoner, and is sent into Germany on an exchange of prisoners.

Till We Meet Again

1936

Secret of the Blue Room poster
5.6

According to a legend, the mansion's "blue room" is cursed -- everyone who has ever spent the night in that room has met with an untimely end. The three suitors of the heroine wager that each can survive a night in the forbidding blue room.

Secret of the Blue Room

1933

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head poster
6.0

A writer discovers he's being used as a pawn by greedy businessmen.

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head

1934

Absolute Quiet poster
5.6

Escaped convicts Jack and Judy stumble upon an airstrip on the Western ranch of arrogant business tycoon Gerald Axton. Taking Axton and his secretary hostage, the convicts inadvertently cause the crash-landing of a small plane ferrying Axton's political adversary, Gov. Sam Pruden, and a nosy reporter. As the long night unfolds, each person's rivalries and weaknesses are prodded by the others.

Absolute Quiet

1936

Lancer Spy poster
6.0

An Englishman impersonates an imprisoned German officer and "returns" to Germany to become a national hero. A female German spy is assigned to check him out but falls in love with him.

Lancer Spy

1937

The Wrong Road poster
4.8

A young married couple whose plans for their life together haven't turned out as expected decide to rob the bank where the husband works of $100,000, then hide the money in a safe place and return for it after they serve out their sentences. All goes according to plan until they get out of prison, when they find that they're being trailed by an insurance investigator and the husband's old cellmate, who has decided that he wants a cut of the money.

The Wrong Road

1937