Roscoe Karns

Acting

Roscoe Karns

Born — Died

1891-09-06 — 1970-02-06

Place of birth

San Bernardino, California, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

67 titles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Roscoe Karns (September 7, 1891 – February 6, 1970) was an American actor who appeared in nearly 150 films between 1915 and 1964. He specialized in cynical, wise-cracking (and often tipsy) characters, and his rapid-fire delivery enlivened many comedies and crime thrillers in the 1930s and 1940s. Though he appeared in numerous silent films, such as Wings and Beggars of Life, his career didn't really take off until sound arrived. Arguably his best-known film role was the annoying bus passenger Oscar Shapeley, who tries to pick up Claudette Colbert in the Oscar-winning comedy It Happened One Night (1934), quickly followed by one of his best performances …

Known for

The Lucy Show poster
7.1

The Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962–68. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965–66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program for its second season, remained. For the first three seasons, Vivian Vance was the co-star. The earliest scripts were entitled The Lucille Ball Show, but when this title was declined, producers thought of calling the show This Is Lucy or The New Adventures of Lucy, before deciding on the title The Lucy Show. Ball won consecutive Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the series' final two seasons, 1966–67 and 1967–68.

The Lucy Show

1962

December Bride poster
6.2

December Bride is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959, adapted from the original CBS radio network series that aired from June 1952 through September 1953.

December Bride

1954

Richard Diamond, Private Detective poster
6.8

Richard Diamond, Private Detective is an American detective drama which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960.

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

1957

Hennesey poster
7.7

Hennesey is an American military sitcom/drama television series with Jackie Cooper in the title role that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1962. Cooper played a United States Navy physician, Lt. Charles J. "Chick" Hennesey, with Abby Dalton as Navy nurse Lt. Martha Hale. In the story line, they are assigned to the hospital at the U.S. Naval Station in San Diego, California.

Hennesey

1959

His Girl Friday poster
7.4

Walter Burns is an irresistibly conniving newspaper publisher desperate to woo back his paper’s star reporter, who also happens to be his estranged wife. She’s threatening to quit and settle down with a new beau, but, as Walter knows, she has a weakness: she can’t resist a juicy scoop.

His Girl Friday

1940

It Happened One Night poster
7.8

A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.

It Happened One Night

1934

Film credits

1940s · 18 titles

His Girl Friday poster
7.4

Walter Burns is an irresistibly conniving newspaper publisher desperate to woo back his paper’s star reporter, who also happens to be his estranged wife. She’s threatening to quit and settle down with a new beau, but, as Walter knows, she has a weakness: she can’t resist a juicy scoop.

His Girl Friday

1940

Woman of the Year poster
7.0

Rival reporters Sam Craig and Tess Harding fall in love and get married, only to find their relationship strained when Sam comes to resent Tess' hectic lifestyle.

Woman of the Year

1942

They Drive by Night poster
6.9

Joe and Paul Fabrini are Wildcat, or independent, truck drivers who have their own small one-truck business. The Fabrini boys constantly battle distributors, rivals and loan collectors, while trying to make a success of their transport company.

They Drive by Night

1940

Stage Door Canteen poster
6.3

A young soldier on a pass in New York City visits the famed Stage Door Canteen, where famous stars of theatre and film appear and host a recreational center for servicemen during the war. The soldier meets a pretty young hostess and they enjoy the many entertainers and a growing romance.

Stage Door Canteen

1943

The Inside Story poster
6.6

A collection agent arrives in a small town with $1000 for a local farmer. Whilst waiting for the farmer to arrive the money is put in a safe at a hotel for safe keeping. However, it is removed by mistake and solves a number of financial problems before it is returned.

The Inside Story

1948

You Can't Escape Forever poster
6.0

A demoted reporter (George Brent) and his girlfriend (Brenda Marshall) seek to expose a crime kingpin.

You Can't Escape Forever

1942

The Navy Way poster
6.2

The experiences of a disparate group of young men as they make their way through Navy boot camp.

The Navy Way

1944

Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven poster
5.8

Eddie Tayloe's grandfather leaves him six thousand dollars and the money belt it came in, freeing Tayloe to leave his dull newspaper job in Texas and move to New York to become a playwright. Along the way, his car breaks down and a girl walking along the highway asks for a lift. It turns out she's a nice girl, named Perry, running away from a job at a gasoline station. Soon they're off to New York together, but part ways once they arrive. Time passes and Eddie is failing to sell his play; Perry is failing to find a job. Odd circumstances, involving an old pickpocket named Mandy, bring them together again.

Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven

1948

That's My Man poster
6.7

A poor young man is finally able to achieve his dream of running a horse at the track, but when he starts becoming successful, he begins to lose sight of what mattered to him before.

That's My Man

1947

Old Acquaintance poster
7.1

Two writers, friends since childhood, fight over their books and lives.

Old Acquaintance

1943

Petticoat Politics poster
9.0

Pa Higgins has decided to retire but winds up being forced to run for mayor. Ladd is both boyfriend to the Higgins girl and the son of Pa's opponent.

Petticoat Politics

1941

Footsteps in the Dark poster
7.0

A high-society gent has a secret life - he writes murder mysteries and hangs out with the police attempting to solve crimes. This causes him no end of problems when his wife wants to know about his little disappearances and exceptionally late nights out.

Footsteps in the Dark

1941

My Son, The Hero poster
7.0

Learning that his long-unseen son is soon to arrive for a visit, a small-time con-man enlists the help of his cronies to help him pretend to be a wealthy and important businessman. Comedy.

My Son, The Hero

1943

His Butler's Sister poster
7.2

Aspiring singer Ann Carter visits her stepbrother in New York, hoping to make it on Broadway.

His Butler's Sister

1943

The Gay Vagabond poster
9.0

Farce of identical twins and a wife who takes up real estate business.

The Gay Vagabond

1941

Ladies Must Live poster
7.0

A small town farmer, who happens to be very wealthy, meets and falls for an actress, but his friends warn him she's only interested in his money.

Ladies Must Live

1940

Saturday's Children poster
6.9

An inventor and his bride get testy in the city as they try to make ends meet.

Saturday's Children

1940

Minstrel Man poster
5.5

Unusually elaborate for a PRC film, Minstrel Man is a lively musical drama built around the talents of veteran vaudevillian Benny Fields. The star is cast as Dixie Boy Johnson, who rises from the ranks of minstrel shows to become a top Broadway attraction. On the opening night of his greatest stage triumph, Dixie Boy's wife dies in childbirth. Profoundly shaken, he walks out of the show, leaving the baby to be raised by his showbiz pals Mae and Lasses White (Gladys George, Roscoe Karns). The kid grows up to be an attractive young woman named Caroline (Judy Clark), who follows in her dad's footsteps by billing herself as-that's right-Dixie Girl Johnson. This leads to a tearful reunion between Caroline and the father she'd long assumed to be dead. If Minstrel Man seems at times to be a dress rehearsal for Columbia's The Jolson Story (1946), it shouldn't surprising: the PRC film was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, who went on to helm Jolson Story's musical highlights.

Minstrel Man

1944

1930s · 27 titles

It Happened One Night poster
7.8

A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.

It Happened One Night

1934

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

Twentieth Century poster
6.8

A temperamental Broadway producer trains an untutored actress, but when she becomes a star, she proves a match for him.

Twentieth Century

1934

One Way Passage poster
7.3

A terminally ill woman and a debonair murderer facing execution meet and fall in love on a trans-Pacific crossing, each without knowing the other's secret.

One Way Passage

1932

You and Me poster
6.6

Mr. Morris, the owner of a large metropolitan department store, gives jobs to paroled ex-convicts in an effort to help them reform and go straight. Among his 'employed-prison-graduates' are Helen Roberts and Joe Dennis, working as sales clerks. Joe is in love with Helen and asks her to marry him, but she is forbidden to marry as she is still on parole, but she says yes and they are married. In spite of their poverty-level life, their marriage is a happy one until Joe discovers she has lied about her past, in order to marry him. Disillusioned, he leaves, goes back to his old gang and plans to rob the department store.

You and Me

1938

The Woman in Red poster
6.0

A 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

If I Had a Million poster
6.5

An elderly business tycoon, believed to be dying, decides to give a million dollars each to eight strangers chosen at random from the phone directory.

If I Had a Million

1932

Week-End Marriage poster
5.5

In this comedy, a hard-working husband loses his job and his wife becomes the bread winner.

Week-End Marriage

1932

Dirigible poster
5.5

Dirigible commander Jack Braden and Navy pilot 'Frisky' Pierce fight over the glory associated with a successful expedition to the South Pole and the love of beautiful Helen, Frisky's wife. After Braden's dirigible expedition fails, Frisky tries an expedition by plane. Unfortunately he crashes and strands his party at the South Pole. Braden must decide between a risky rescue attempt by dirigible and remaining safely at home with Helen.

Dirigible

1931

They Call It Sin poster
6.0

A young, innocent small-town church organist is thrown out of her home, told she was adopted, and that her mother was an evil woman. She follows a crush to the big city and is left fending for herself.

They Call It Sin

1932

Cain and Mabel poster
6.4

A chorus girl and a heavyweight boxer are paired romantically as a publicity stunt.

Cain and Mabel

1936

King of Chinatown poster
5.6

A Chinese-American surgeon faces a moral dilemma after operating on the mob boss in charge of vice and protection rackets in her city's Chinatown.

King of Chinatown

1939

The Women in His Life poster
4.3

An immensely successful criminal lawyer is blindsided when he learns that his new case involves his ex-wife, who left him.

The Women in His Life

1933

Ladies of the Big House poster
6.0

A woman tries to save her husband from the electric chair after both are sent to prison for a murder they didn't commit.

Ladies of the Big House

1931

The Crooked Circle poster
5.3

A group of amateur detectives sets out to expose The Crooked Circle, a secretive group of hooded occultists.

The Crooked Circle

1932

That's Right – You're Wrong poster
6.2

J. D. Forbes, head of the almost-bankrupt Four Star Studios in Hollywood contacts band leader Kay Kyser, who puts on a radio and-live theatre program called "The Kollege of Musical Knowledge," to appear in films. When manager Chuck Deems gets the studio offer, he and band members Ginny Simms, Sully Mason, Ish Kabiddle, Harry Babbitt and the others are all fired up at the prospect of going to Hollywood and working in the movies, but band-leader Kay is all against it and says his old grandmother has told him to stay in his own back yard, but he relents. Once there, Stacey Delmore, a Four Star associate producer left in charge of the studio while Forbes is out of town, discovers that the screenplay writers have prepared a script that has Kay Kyser playing a glamorous lover in an exotic European setting.

That's Right – You're Wrong

1939

Everything's on Ice poster
5.3

Comedy about a little girl who's uncle makes her an ice skating star, only to take all of her money.

Everything's on Ice

1939

Four Hours to Kill! poster
5.7

A detective who has "four hours to kill" before delivering his prisoner, an escaped killer, spends the time in the lobby of a Broadway theater where a musical is playing. The film focuses on the relationship between the two men, and also between various characters in the theater audience, staff and cast.

Four Hours to Kill!

1935

Thanks for the Memory poster
5.8

Steve Merrick is an out of work writer who stays home and plays house husband while his wife goes to work for her former fiancé and Merrick's publisher who is still carrying a torch for her.

Thanks for the Memory

1938

Dangerous to Know poster
6.6

Racketeer Steve Recka, art patron and political power-maker, rules his town and Madame Lan Ying, his beautiful friend and hostess (read:mistress), with an iron hand. He meets Margaret Van Kase, a socialite not impressed by his power nor his wealth, having no money herself, and Steve makes frantic efforts to win her and turns away from the loyal Lin Yang.

Dangerous to Know

1938

A Lady's Profession poster
7.0

A couple of down-and-out British aristocrats buy an American roadhouse.

A Lady's Profession

1933

Woman Trap poster
8.0

A gangland murder is the motivating factor of this fast-moving crime drama. George Murphy stars as reporter Kent Shevlin, whose investigation of the murder leads to a tenure as a temporary FBI agent.

Woman Trap

1936

On Such a Night poster
7.0

When her husband is accused of murder, an actress tries to prove his innocence.

On Such a Night

1937

The Roadhouse Murder poster
5.0

After he stumbles across a murder, a young reporter devises an elaborate scene to keep his newspaper stories about the crime front-page news.

The Roadhouse Murder

1932

Alibi Ike poster
6.2

Idiosyncratic new recruit Francis "Ike" Farrell tries to help the Cubs to the pennant with his pitching and hitting.

Alibi Ike

1935

I Sell Anything poster
5.0

Auctioneer Spot Cash Cutler is planning the scam of a lifetime, but will he get burned?

I Sell Anything

1934

The Costello Case poster
8.0

An Irish policeman handles gangsters, a mystery woman and a wise-guy reporter.

The Costello Case

1930

1920s · 13 titles

The Jazz Singer poster
6.1

A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer. This is the first full length feature film to use synchronized sound, and is the original film musical.

The Jazz Singer

1927

Wings poster
7.2

Two young men, one rich, one middle class, both in love with the same woman, become US Air Corps fighter pilots and, eventually, heroic flying aces during World War I. Devoted best friends, their mutual love of the girl eventually threatens their bond. Meanwhile, a hometown girl who's the lovestruck lifelong next door neighbor of one of them pines away.

Wings

1927

The Ten Commandments poster
6.4

The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt of the tablets and the worship of the golden calf. The second part shows the efficacy of the commandments in modern life through a story set in San Francisco. Two brothers, rivals for the love of Mary, also come into conflict when John discovers Dan used shoddy materials to construct a cathedral.

The Ten Commandments

1923

The Midnight Express poster
4.7

Wastrel son of a railroad magnate, Jack's father becomes frustrated with his son's wild ways. To prove himself, Jack goes to work in the railroad yard as a laborer. An escaped convict, Silent Bill Brachley, steals Jack's car, and the chase leads to a meeting between Jack, the engineer of the Midnight Express, and the engineer's pretty daughter, Mary. As he is led back to jail, Brachley swears revenge.

The Midnight Express

1924

Conquering the Woman poster
8.0

Wealthy, spoiled society girl Judith Stafford accepts a marriage proposal from rich European Count Henri and adopts his arrogance and contempt for American "barbarians". This angers her father Tobias, who arranges for Judith and a cowboy friend of his, Larry Saunders, to be marooned on a South Sea island to teach her a lesson and break her spirit. At first the "test" has no effect on her, but she soon begins to warm to Larry--until her snobbish fiance' shows up.

Conquering the Woman

1922

You'd Be Surprised poster
7.0

A diamond is stolen at a houseboat party given by the district attorney. He gives the thief a chance to return it by putting an empty box on a table and turning out the lights. When the lights are turned back on the box is gone, and the district attorney has a knife in his back and is quite dead. The police and the coroner arrive. There are several attempts made on the life of the coroner. Ruth Whitman is found hiding in a grandfather-clock, holding the gem box. She claims the box was pushed into her hands and she was pushed into the clock. The district attorney's butler/valet tells the coroner he saw who killed his employer and a few minutes later he is also murdered. The mystery deepens.

You'd Be Surprised

1926

The Trail of '98 poster
6.1

Fortune hunters from all over the country rushing to the Klondike in 1897 to seek their fortunes in the gold are tested by hardships of the journey.

The Trail of '98

1928

Warming Up poster
9.0

Bert, a pitcher for a baseball team in a small town, is given the opportunity to try out for a team in the big leagues. Unfortunately, he incurs the enmity of McRae, the league's leading home-run hitter. In addition, he falls for the team owner's daughter, who McRae has designs on.

Warming Up

1928

Something Always Happens poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Something Always Happens

1928

Bluff poster
10.0

Desperately needing money for her sick brother, Betty Hallowell passes herself off as missing fashion designer Nina Loring. She becomes successful, but suddenly she is arrested--the real Nina Loring turns out to have been an embezzler.

Bluff

1924

The Shopworn Angel poster
9.0

Shortly after the United States enters World War I in 1917, a Broadway actress agrees to let a naive soldier court her in order to impress his friends, but a real romance soon begins.

The Shopworn Angel

1928

Object: Alimony poster
7.0

Ruth Butler, a clerk in an emporium, marries Jimmy Rutledge and thereby greatly displeases his mother, the owner of the emporium, because of Ruth's lowly origins. Renaud Graham, one of Mrs. Rutledge's friends, becomes interested in Ruth, forces his way into her apartment, and attempts to make violent love to her. Jimmy walks in on their embrace and, suspecting the worst, leaves Ruth. In the family way, Ruth finds refuge in a boardinghouse where she meets Al Bryant, an aspiring writer. Ruth tells Al her life story, and he makes it into a bestselling novel and then into a play. Jimmy sees the play and comes to his senses, winning Ruth's forgiveness.

Object: Alimony

1928

The Life of the Party poster
5.6

An attorney is thrust into wild adventures by an attractive young woman.

The Life of the Party

1920

Series credits

The Lucy Show poster
7.1

The Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962–68. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965–66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program for its second season, remained. For the first three seasons, Vivian Vance was the co-star. The earliest scripts were entitled The Lucille Ball Show, but when this title was declined, producers thought of calling the show This Is Lucy or The New Adventures of Lucy, before deciding on the title The Lucy Show. Ball won consecutive Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the series' final two seasons, 1966–67 and 1967–68.

The Lucy Show

1962

December Bride poster
6.2

December Bride is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959, adapted from the original CBS radio network series that aired from June 1952 through September 1953.

December Bride

1954

December Bride poster
6.2

December Bride is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959, adapted from the original CBS radio network series that aired from June 1952 through September 1953.

December Bride

1954

Richard Diamond, Private Detective poster
6.8

Richard Diamond, Private Detective is an American detective drama which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960.

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

1957

Hennesey poster
7.7

Hennesey is an American military sitcom/drama television series with Jackie Cooper in the title role that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1962. Cooper played a United States Navy physician, Lt. Charles J. "Chick" Hennesey, with Abby Dalton as Navy nurse Lt. Martha Hale. In the story line, they are assigned to the hospital at the U.S. Naval Station in San Diego, California.

Hennesey

1959

No artwork available
6.5

Rocky King, Inside Detective is an American television series broadcast on the DuMont Television Network on Sundays at 9pm ET from January 15, 1950 to December 26, 1954. This series was one of DuMont's most popular programs, and was a live crime series set in New York City. The show not only kept Roscoe Karns from retirement, but cast him opposite his son, Todd Karns. The DuMont offices and corridors were used as sets. At the end of each program, King would exchange telephone small talk with his unseen wife Mabel and, after hanging up, say to no one in particular, "Great girl, that Mabel".

Rocky King, Detective

1950

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Inside Detective

1950