Lewis Stone

Acting

Lewis Stone

Born 1879-11-14 · Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American actor known for his role as Judge James Hardy in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Andy Hardy film series and as an MGM contract player. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts to Bertrand Stone and Philena Heald Ball, Lewis Stone's hair turned gray prematurely (reportedly by age 20). Lewis served in the United States Army in the Spanish–American War, then returned to a career as a writer. He soon began acting. Stone was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1929 for The Patriot. After that, he appeared in seven films with Greta Garbo, spanning both the silent and early sound periods. He played the role of Dr. Otternschlag in the Garbo film Grand Hotel, in which he utters the famous closing line: "Grand Hotel. People coming. Going. Nothing ever happens." He played a larger role in the 1933 Garbo film Queen Christina. His appearance in the successful prison film The Big House furthered his career. He played adventurers in the dinosaur epic The Lost World (1925) with Wallace Beery and The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) with Boris Karloff, and a police captain in Bureau of Missing Persons (1933). In 1937, Stone essayed the role which would become his most famous, that of Judge James Hardy in the Mickey Rooney Andy Hardy series. Stone appeared as the judge in fifteen movies, beginning with You're Only Young Once (1937). Stone died in Hancock Park, Los Angeles on September 12, 1953, aged 73. Lewis Stone was later honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6524 Hollywood Blvd.

Acting credits

Grand Hotel poster
7.0

Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through worry, scandal, and heartache.

Grand Hotel

1932

Angels in the Outfield poster
7.0

The short-tempered manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates mends his ways in return for a little divine assistance.

Angels in the Outfield

1951

Scaramouche poster
7.0

In 18th-century France, a young man masquerades as an actor to avenge his friend's murder.

Scaramouche

1952

Treasure Island poster
6.5

In this early film adaptation of the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, young Jim Hawkins is caught up with the pirate Long John Silver in search of buccaneer Captain Flint's buried treasure.

Treasure Island

1934

Mata Hari poster
6.2

A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I.

Mata Hari

1931

Queen Christina poster
6.9

Popular monarch Queen Christina of Sweden must choose between love and loyalty to her nation when she unexpectedly falls for a Spanish envoy.

Queen Christina

1934

Passion Flower poster
5.4

A bored society woman invites scandal and heartache when she falls in love with her low-born chauffeur.

Passion Flower

1930

Red-Headed Woman poster
6.6

Lil works for the Legendre Company and causes Bill to divorce Irene and marry her. She has an affair with businessman Gaerste and uses him to force society to pay attention to her.

Red-Headed Woman

1932

Stars in My Crown poster
7.0

An orphaned man recalls his upbringing with his aunt and her husband, the parson, in a small Western town during the Reconstruction.

Stars in My Crown

1950

Stolen Heaven poster
7.0

Two attractive jewel thieves, one female (Olympe Bradna), one male (Gene Raymond) escape together after their latest escapade and hide out in the home of an aged concert pianist (Lewis Stone). To cover their tracks and keep the old man from turning them in, the thieves pretend to arrange his comeback concert. The artifice becomes reality, the pianist makes a triumphant return, and the thieves reform. This 1938 film is not a remake of 1932's Stolen Heaven, which wove an entirely different story about a suicide pact.

Stolen Heaven

1938

The Lost World poster
6.7

The first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam.

The Lost World

1925

State of the Union poster
6.8

An industrialist is urged to run for President, but this requires uncomfortable compromises on both political and marital levels.

State of the Union

1948

The Prisoner of Zenda poster
6.9

A kingdom's ascending heir, marked for assassination, switches identities with a lookalike, who takes his place at the coronation. When the real king is kidnapped, his followers try to find him, while the stand-in falls in love with the king's intended bride, the beautiful Princess Flavia.

The Prisoner of Zenda

1952

David Copperfield poster
6.7

A young man journeys from a difficult childhood to maturity, exploring social injustice, personal development, and the complexities of human relationships.

David Copperfield

1935

Three Wise Fools poster
5.7

An orphan girl melts the hearts of three crusty old men.

Three Wise Fools

1946

The Patriot poster
5.8

In 18th-Century Russia, the Czar, Paul, is surrounded by murderous plots and trusts only Count Pahlen. Pahlen wishes to protect his friend, the mad king, but because of the horror of the king's acts, he feels that he must remove him from the throne.

The Patriot

1928

Hollywood on Parade No. B-1 poster
7.3

Short film in which Frankie Darro as a Telegram delivery boy visits various Hollywood locations to make deliveries. He visits the Los Angeles Pier and a Gala Hollywood Premiere.

Hollywood on Parade No. B-1

1934

Small Town Girl poster
6.0

Kay is a girl living in a small rural town whose life is just too dull and repetitious to bear. One night, she meets young, handsome, and rich Bob Dakin, who asks her for directions while drunk and then proceeds to take her out on a night on the town. Kay likes the stranger, and when the drunken Bob decides that they should get married, Kay hesitates little before consenting. The morning after the affair, Bob, once sober, regrets his mistake. His strict and upright parents, however, insist that the young couple pretend marriage for 6 months before divorcing, in order to avoid bad publicity. Bob resents Kay for standing in the way of him and his fiancée, Priscilla, but Kay still hopes that he'd have a change of heart.

Small Town Girl

1936

The Mask of Fu Manchu poster
5.4

The villainous Dr. Fu Manchu races against a team of Englishmen to find the tomb of Ghengis Khan, because he wants to use the relics to cause an uprising in the East to wipe out the white race.

The Mask of Fu Manchu

1932

China Seas poster
6.3

Captain Alan Gaskell sails the perilous waters between Hong Kong and Singapore with a secret cargo: a fortune in British gold. That's not the only risky cargo he carries; both his fiery mistress and his refined fiancee are aboard!

China Seas

1935

That's Entertainment, Part II poster
7.0

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.

That's Entertainment, Part II

1976

Vanessa: Her Love Story poster
6.2

The Victorian wife of a mad baron waits years for a British soldier sent to Egypt.

Vanessa: Her Love Story

1935

All the Brothers Were Valiant poster
6.1

In the South Pacific islands, two brothers, one good and one bad, fight over the same girl and over a bag of pearls.

All the Brothers Were Valiant

1953

Outcast poster
8.0

A physician in a small town suddenly finds himself the object of vilification and persecution when one of his patients commits suicide.

Outcast

1937

Behind the camera