Mary Murphy

Acting

Mary Murphy

Born 1931-01-26 · Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Mary Murphy (January 26, 1931 – May 4, 2011) was an American film actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She was born in Washington, D.C., before moving to Los Angeles. Shortly out of high school she was signed to appear in films for Paramount Pictures in the late 1940s. Murphy first gained attention in 1953, when she played a good-hearted girl who tries to reform Marlon Brando in The Wild One. The following year, she appeared opposite Tony Curtis in Beachhead, and the year after that as Fredric March's daughter in the thriller The Desperate Hours, which also starred Humphrey Bogart. She co-starred with actor-director Ray Milland in his Western A Man Alone, and appeared in dozens of television series including Perry Mason, I Spy and Ironside. She was long absent from the big screen before acting in 1972 with Steve McQueen in the Sam Peckinpah film Junior Bonner. She had retired from acting by the 1980s. Murphy died from heart disease complications on May 4, 2011; she was 80 years old. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mary Murphy (actress), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

The Intimate Stranger poster
6.1

Film producer Reggie Wilson is worried he may have a dual personality. Fleeing Hollywood, he finds himself in England and married to the studio boss's daughter after which he quickly rises through the studio ranks. Then the letters begin to appear from a lovesick American actress who wants to know why he has thrown her over.

The Intimate Stranger

1956

The Mad Magician poster
6.9

Don Gallico is an inventor of stage magic effects who aspires to become a star in his own right. Just before his first performance his act is shut down by capricious manager Ross Ormond who wants Gallico's brilliant buzz saw effect for the act of The Great Rinaldi, an established star. With this defeat, and the humiliation of having already lost his wife Claire to Ormond, Gallico decides it is time to take matters into his own hands.

The Mad Magician

1954

Westward the Women poster
7.0

There's a deficit of good, honest women in the West, and Roy Whitman wants to change that. His solution is to bring a caravan of over 100 mail-order brides from Chicago to California. It will be a long, difficult and dangerous journey for the women. So Whitman hires hardened, cynical Buck Wyatt to be their guide across the inhospitable frontier. But as disaster strikes on the trail, Buck just might discover that these women are stronger than he thinks.

Westward the Women

1951

The Desperate Hours poster
7.0

Escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage.

The Desperate Hours

1955

The Wild One poster
6.6

The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to raise hell. Brooding gang leader Johnny Strabler takes a liking to Kathie, the daughter of the local lawman, as another club rolls into town.

The Wild One

1953

When Worlds Collide poster
6.4

When a group of astronomers calculate a star is on a course to slam into Earth, a few days before, it's accompanying planet will first pass close enough to the Earth to cause havoc on land and sea. They set about building a rocket so a few selected individuals can escape to the planet.

When Worlds Collide

1951

A Man Alone poster
5.8

A gunfighter, stranded in the desert, comes across the aftermath of a stage robbery, in which all the passengers were killed. He takes one of the horses to ride to town to report the massacre, but finds himself accused of it. He also finds himself accused of the murder of the local banker, and winds up hiding in the basement of a house where the local sheriff, who is very sick, lives with his daughter.

A Man Alone

1955

Carrie poster
6.4

In the late 1890s, the ambitious, innocent Carrie arrives in Chicago’s South Side and stays with her nagging, dullish married sister. She then runs for help to traveling salesman Charles Drouet. She soon becomes his mistress, but falls in love with married restaurant manager George Hurstwood.

Carrie

1952

Junior Bonner poster
6.1

With his bronco-busting career on its last legs, Junior Bonner heads to his hometown to try his luck in the annual rodeo. But his fond childhood memories are shattered when he finds his family torn apart by his greedy brother and hard-drinking father.

Junior Bonner

1972

Sitting Bull poster
5.3

Chief Sitting Bull of the Sioux tribe is forced by the Indian-hating General Custer to react with violence, resulting in the famous Last Stand at Little Bighorn. Parrish, a friend to the Sioux, tries to prevent the bloodshed, but is court- martialed for "collaborating" with the enemy. Sitting Bull, however, manages to intercede with President Grant on Parrish's behalf.

Sitting Bull

1954

Born Innocent poster
6.3

A constant runaway is given over to the care of the state and finds herself in a remand centre for girls. She is soon caught between the uncaring bureaucracy, the sometimes brutal treatment from her peers and her own abusive family, and only one care worker sees her potential to rise above her tragic circumstances.

Born Innocent

1976

The Maverick Queen poster
5.8

Kit Banion, a Virginia-born beauty and product of post-Civil War chaos, has settled in Wyoming and prospered; acquiring a fortune and a hotel, which, like the owner bears the name of "The Maverick Queen."---a title picked up by Kit in her earlier days in Wyoming when she took every unbranded steer and put her own brand on it. Love and trouble enter her life in the person of a Pinkerton detective posing as Jeff Younger, nephew of the infamous Younger brothers. He is dedicated to catching Butch Cassidy and the members of The Wild Bunch

The Maverick Queen

1956

The Turning Point poster
6.3

Special prosecutor John Conroy hopes to combat organized crime in his city and appoints his cop father Matt as chief investigator. John doesn't understand why Matt is reluctant, but cynical reporter Jerry McKibbon thinks he knows: he's seen Matt with mob lieutenant Harrigan. Jerry's friendship with John is tested by the question of what to do about Matt, and by his attraction to John's girl Amanda. Meanwhile, the threatened racketeers adopt increasingly violent means of defense.

The Turning Point

1952

Sailor Beware poster
6.3

Meeting in a navy recruiting line, Al Crowthers and Melvin Jones become friends. Al has tried to enlist before, but was always rejected. He keeps trying so that he can impress women. Melvin, is allergic to women's cosmetics and his doctor prescribed ocean travel, so he decided to join the navy.

Sailor Beware

1952

Harlow poster
5.6

Jean Harlow arrives in Los Angeles as a teenager, pushed into showbiz by her mother and stepfather. Kindhearted agent Arthur Landau becomes Jean's mentor, while a devious Howard Hughes-like mogul grows infatuated with the beautiful young actress. Harlow herself falls for producer Paul Bern before tragedy strikes.

Harlow

1965

Live Fast, Die Young poster
5.8

A teenager finds her wayward sister running with thieves in San Francisco.

Live Fast, Die Young

1958

Main Street to Broadway poster
7.3

In New York, a surly, down-on-his-heels playwright meets a country girl who's giving up trying to act and returning home. He goes with her for inspiration when his agent convinces a stage star to take his next effort. When he returns to Broadway, his girl stays behind and starts seeing a local businessman.

Main Street to Broadway

1953

Hell's Island poster
5.5

Down-on-his-luck Mike Cormack is hired to fly to a Caribbean island to retrieve a missing ruby. On the island, possibly involved with the ruby's disappearance, is his ex-girlfriend.

Hell's Island

1955

The Lemon Drop Kid poster
6.5

When the Lemon Drop Kid accidentally cheats gangster Moose Moran out of his track winnings, the Kid promises to repay Moose the money by Christmas. Creating a fake charity for "Apple Annie" Nellie Thursday, the Kid tricks his gang into donning Santa suits and "collecting dough for old dolls" like Nellie who have nowhere to live.

The Lemon Drop Kid

1951

Katherine poster
6.4

A harrowing look at the 60s and early 70s through the eyes of Katherine Alman, a wealthy debutante who slowly, but inexorably spirals down into a fight for the causes that shook a nation, leading a path to the underground life. Written by Miguel Cane

Katherine

1975

Footsteps poster
6.5

A football coach is hired by a small college to shape up its football team, and he finds himself in trouble with local gamblers who don't want the team to improve.

Footsteps

1972

40 Pounds of Trouble poster
5.5

Hilarity ensues when a casino manager spends a day at Disneyland with a cute but troublesome little girl.

40 Pounds of Trouble

1962

Beachhead poster
5.7

On a Japanese-occupied island during World War II, only two soldiers remain alive after a mission attempt goes horribly wrong. Trapped on the island, they must escort a scientist and his daughter to the other side of the island where their ship awaits. They must battle nature, hard terrain, and advancing Japanese troops.

Beachhead

1954

Off Limits poster
5.9

Wally Hogan has things going his way. He is the manager-trainer of Bullet Bradley, a fighter who has just won the lightweight championship. However, life suddenly takes a not-so-happy turn when Bullet gets drafted.

Off Limits

1952