James Donlan

Acting

James Donlan

Born — Died

1888-07-23 — 1938-06-07

Place of birth

San Francisco, California, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

60 titles

James Donlan was an American stage and screen actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1929 and 1939.

Known for

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford poster
6.2

A doctor is driven into an investigation of sinister goings-on at a horse race track by his mystery writer ex-wife.

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

1936

20,000 Years in Sing Sing poster
6.4

Brash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.

20,000 Years in Sing Sing

1932

The Whole Town's Talking poster
6.9

Ordinary man-in-the-street Arthur Ferguson Jones leads a very straightforward life. He's never late for work and nothing interesting ever happens to him. One day everything changes: he oversleeps and is fired as an example, he's then mistaken for evil criminal killer Mannion and is arrested. The resemblance is so striking that the police give him a special pass to avoid a similar mistake. The real Mannion sees the opportunity to steal the pass and move around freely and chaos results.

The Whole Town's Talking

1935

Thirteen Women poster
6.4

Thirteen women who were schoolmates ask a swami to cast their horoscopes. The news they receive is not good for any of them.

Thirteen Women

1932

The Daring Young Man poster
10.0

The Daring Young Man is hotshot-reporter Don McLane, played by James Dunn. Always on the prowl for a good story, McLane is persistently outscooped by his rival, sob sister Martha Allen (Mae Clarke). After several reels of double-crossing one another, hero and heroine give in to the inevitable and fall in love. But as Martha waits at the altar in her wedding gown, McLane is off on another crusade, this time getting himself arrested to expose corruption within the prison system.

The Daring Young Man

1935

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

Film credits

1930s · 57 titles

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford poster
6.2

A doctor is driven into an investigation of sinister goings-on at a horse race track by his mystery writer ex-wife.

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

1936

20,000 Years in Sing Sing poster
6.4

Brash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.

20,000 Years in Sing Sing

1932

The Whole Town's Talking poster
6.9

Ordinary man-in-the-street Arthur Ferguson Jones leads a very straightforward life. He's never late for work and nothing interesting ever happens to him. One day everything changes: he oversleeps and is fired as an example, he's then mistaken for evil criminal killer Mannion and is arrested. The resemblance is so striking that the police give him a special pass to avoid a similar mistake. The real Mannion sees the opportunity to steal the pass and move around freely and chaos results.

The Whole Town's Talking

1935

Thirteen Women poster
6.4

Thirteen women who were schoolmates ask a swami to cast their horoscopes. The news they receive is not good for any of them.

Thirteen Women

1932

The Daring Young Man poster
10.0

The Daring Young Man is hotshot-reporter Don McLane, played by James Dunn. Always on the prowl for a good story, McLane is persistently outscooped by his rival, sob sister Martha Allen (Mae Clarke). After several reels of double-crossing one another, hero and heroine give in to the inevitable and fall in love. But as Martha waits at the altar in her wedding gown, McLane is off on another crusade, this time getting himself arrested to expose corruption within the prison system.

The Daring Young Man

1935

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

Babes in Arms poster
6.4

Mickey Moran, son of two vaudeville veterans, decides to put up his own vaudeville show with his girlfriend Patsy Barton. But child actress Rosalie wants to make a comeback and replace Patsy both professionally and as Mickey's girl.

Babes in Arms

1939

The Front Page poster
6.4

Hildy Johnson is an investigative reporter looking for a bigger paycheck. When an accused murderer escapes from custody, Hildy sees an opportunity for the story of a lifetime. But when he finds the criminal, he learns that the man may not be guilty. With the help of his editor, Hildy attempts to hide the convict, uncover the conspiracy and write the scoop of his career.

The Front Page

1931

The Mayor of Hell poster
7.1

Members of a teenage gang are sent to the State Reformatory, presided over by the callous Thompson. Soon Patsy Gargan, a former gangster appointed Deputy Commissioner, arrives and takes over the administration to run the place on radical principles. Thompson needs a quick way to discredit him.

The Mayor of Hell

1933

Design for Living poster
7.1

Independent Gilda is resigned fo a life of married tedium when Tom and George, having gotten past their jealousy, come to America and whisk Gilda away to live an exciting polyamorous life in Paris.

Design for Living

1933

It Happened in Hollywood poster
6.3

A silent Western star has trouble adjusting to the coming of sound.

It Happened in Hollywood

1937

Hi, Nellie! poster
6.7

Managing Editor Brad Bradshaw refuses to run a story linking the disappearance of Frank Canfield with embezzlement of the bank. He considers Frank a straight shooter and he goes easy on the story. Every other paper goes with the story that Frank took the money and Brad is demoted, by the publisher, to the Heartthrob column - writing advice to the lovelorn. After feeling sorry for himself for two months, he takes the column seriously and makes it the talk of the town. But Brad still wants his old job back so he will have to find Canfield and the missing money.

Hi, Nellie!

1934

Night Work poster
6.3

Willie, as an assistant window-dresser, is the lowest man on the totem pole at a department store. To add insult-to-injury Willie is also the store's designated 'Fired Man."; when a disgruntled customer demands that somebody-must-be-fired, Willie is summoned and summarily fired, only to be rehired when the now-satisfied customer has departed. Willie inadvertently adopts a four-year-old orphan at a cost of ten-dollars a week, and things go from bad to worse since Willie doesn't make ten-dollars a week. But, with the help of Mary, a beautiful young nurse, Willie manages to turn some corners and improve his lot in life, albeit with some skids along the way.

Night Work

1930

Now I'll Tell poster
5.1

A two-bit gambler somehow claws his way to the top. His love for riches is only matched by his love for his wife, but he is sometimes confused by which he loves most.

Now I'll Tell

1934

The Penguin Pool Murder poster
5.9

New York schoolmarm Hildegarde Withers assists a detective when a body of unscrupulous stockbroker Gerald Parker suddenly appears in the penguin tank at the aquarium.

The Penguin Pool Murder

1932

The Death Kiss poster
5.2

When a movie actor is shot and killed during production, the true feelings about the actor begin to surface. As the studio heads worry about negative publicity, one of the writers tags along as the killing is investigated and clues begin to surface.

The Death Kiss

1932

Music for Madame poster
6.3

An Italian immigrant singer, Nino, hoping to succeed in Hollywood, falls in with a gang of crooks who use his talent to distract everyone at a party while they steal the jewels.

Music for Madame

1937

Back Street poster
6.4

A woman's love for and devotion to a married man results in her being relegated to the "back streets" of his life.

Back Street

1932

A Free Soul poster
6.2

An alcoholic lawyer who successfully defended a notorious gambler on a murder charge objects when his free-spirited daughter becomes romantically involved with him.

A Free Soul

1931

The Working Man poster
6.5

A successful shoe manufacturer named John Reeves goes on vacation and meets the grown children of his recently deceased and much-respected competitor; they're on the verge of losing the family legacy through their careless behavior. Reeves takes it upon himself to save his rival's company by teaching the heirs a lesson in business.

The Working Man

1933

I Loved a Woman poster
4.8

The son of a ruthless meatpacking king goes through a number of changes in ideals and motivations as he reluctantly inherits the mantle and falls in love.

I Loved a Woman

1933

The Fall Guy poster
6.3

Johnny Quinlan is so desperate for a job that he takes a gig as a "bag man" for the mob. Meanwhile, his beleaguered wife has to deal with her bizarre, unemployed, wise-cracking brother and various neighbors while keeping house in their Brooklyn tenement.

The Fall Guy

1930

The Cat's-Paw poster
6.3

Naive Ezekial Cobb, brought up by his missionary father in China returns to America to seek a wife. Corrupt politicians enlist him to run for mayor as a dummy candidate with no chance of winning. Their plan backfires as he wins and embarks upon a reform crusade.

The Cat's-Paw

1934

Belle of the Nineties poster
6.1

Nightclub entertainer Ruby Carter moves from St. Louis to New Orleans to escape Tiger Kid. At Ace Lamont's club, she gains fame but faces drama with Ace's ex Molly. A jewel theft and fixed fight lead to confrontations.

Belle of the Nineties

1934

Paris Interlude poster
4.0

Expatriates and foreign correspondents mix in a Paris bistro...

Paris Interlude

1934

Murder on a Bridle Path poster
5.4

When the body of Violet Feverel is discovered on the Central Park bridle path, Inspector Oscar Piper presumes her death was accidental, until his friend, amateur detective Hildegarde Withers, locates Violet’s horse and discovers it is streaked with blood.

Murder on a Bridle Path

1936

Life Begins at Forty poster
10.0

A small-town newspaper publisher finds himself in opposition to the local banker on the return to town of a lad jailed possibly wrongly for a theft from the bank.

Life Begins at Forty

1935

Five Star Final poster
6.6

Searching for headlines at any cost, an unscrupulous newspaper owner forces his editor to print a serial based on a past murder, tormenting a woman involved.

Five Star Final

1931

The Case of the Curious Bride poster
6.0

After giving the District Attorney another stinging defeat, Perry plans to take a vacation in China. That is, he was, until Rhoda, his old flame, meets him at a restaurant. It seems that her husband Moxley, who had been allegedly dead for four years, is alive and demanding money as she has married into wealth. The case escalates when the police find the body of Moxley and charge her with the murder.

The Case of the Curious Bride

1935

The Good Bad Girl poster
6.5

A woman's former association with a gangster threatens to destroy her marriage to an upstanding young man.

The Good Bad Girl

1931

Here Comes the Band poster
7.0

In this musical, a songwriter goes to court to claim the rights to his song that was stolen by an unscrupulous music publisher. He brings his girlfriend with him. Also going to court are the Jubilee singers, hillbillies, and some cowboys and Indians who demonstrate that the composer wrote his song by rearranging four folk tunes. He wins his song back and $50,000 in damages. Songs include: "Heading Home," "Roll Along Prairie Moon," "Tender Is the Night," "You're My Thrill," "I'm Bound for Heaven," and "The Army Band."

Here Comes the Band

1935

Sporting Blood poster
5.4

A horse with great potential is reluctantly sold by the breeder and by chance passes through multiple hands who do not treat him well.

Sporting Blood

1931

Exclusive Story poster
7.2

A reporter and his newspaper's attorney try to gather evidence that will put a notorious gangster behind bars.

Exclusive Story

1936

The Sins of the Children poster
4.7

A barber turns down a promising business venture in order to take his sick son to a drier climate out west.

The Sins of the Children

1930

Danger Lights poster
6.1

Head railroad man Dan is as ugly as he is honorable. When he spots a drifter who'd hopped a freight held up by a landslide, Dan offers the man a job; then he finds the man was a railroader, too, and takes him under his wing. Engaged to Mary, Dan doesn't notice the growing attraction between his protégé and his intended but focuses instead on running the railroad.

Danger Lights

1931

What! No Beer? poster
5.7

When Prohibition ends, a barber tries to get in the liquor business only to come up against mobsters.

What! No Beer?

1933

This Is My Affair poster
7.3

President McKinley asks Lt. Richard L. Perry to go underground to identify some obviously very well briefed Mid-Western bank robbers based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

This Is My Affair

1937

Boulder Dam poster
5.7

Fate brings a job at Boulder Dam and romance with a saloon singer into the life of a young man on the run.

Boulder Dam

1936

The Final Edition poster
6.5

A reporter gets the best story of her life when she goes under cover to take down the head of a crime syndicate.

The Final Edition

1932

The Plot Thickens poster
6.3

A priceless Cellini silver cup is stolen from a local museum with both Hildegarde and Oscar on the case.

The Plot Thickens

1936

Dance, Fools, Dance poster
6.4

When misfortune hits hard on the Jordan family of Chicago's upper class, Bonnie Jordan, a dazzling and witty girl, finds a job as an aspiring reporter; however, her naive younger brother Rodney takes a twisted path and gets involved with the wrong people.

Dance, Fools, Dance

1931

Under Pressure poster
5.2

Two members of a crew of "sandhogs", men who work on an underwater tunnel project, battle each other over the same woman and a rival team of sandhogs to see who will finish their half of the tunnel first, with the winning team getting more money and guaranteed future work.

Under Pressure

1935

The Nuisance poster
6.0

Fast-talker extraordinaire Tracy gives one of his quintessential wiseguy performances as a conniving ambulance chaser who falls in love with Evans, unaware she's a special investigator for a streetcar company he's repeatedly victimized.

The Nuisance

1933

College Humor poster
5.6

A college professor and the school's star football player are both rivals for the same beautiful coed.

College Humor

1933

The Painted Desert poster
5.2

Western pardners Jeff and Cash find a baby boy in an otherwise deserted emigrants' camp, and clash over which is to be "father." They are still bitterly feuding years later when they own adjacent ranches. Bill, the foundling whom Cash has raised to young manhood, wants to end the feud and extends an olive branch toward Jeff, who now has a lovely daughter. But during a mining venture, the bitterness escalates. Is Bill to be set against his own adoptive father?

The Painted Desert

1931

Mothers Cry poster
5.7

Having raised four children alone, widow Mary Williams still manages to love her eldest son, vicious and sadistic Danny Williams, who has led a life of crime and now returns to inflict his insane behavior on the family household.

Mothers Cry

1930

Air Mail poster
5.5

A group of air mail pilots risk their lives to deliver important mail through bad weather conditions.

Air Mail

1932

Huddle poster
7.0

Tony, the son of Italian immigrants, works in a smoky steel mill in Gary, Indiana. He wins a company scholarship which will enable him to attend Yale college. Over the four years of his college career he learns about football, love, and class prejudice.

Huddle

1932

Doctor Bull poster
6.7

In this engaging adaptation of James Gould Cozzen's novel The Last Adam, film icon Will Rogers portrays Dr. George Bull, a compassionate, highly regarded small-town physician who often prescribes a healthy dose of common sense! But when Bull begins dating a widow (Vera Allen), the local gossips misconstrue the story. To make matters worse, Bull's plainspoken manner earns him an enemy in the wealthy owner of a nearby construction camp. But once it's learned that the camp has caused illness by polluting the local water supply, the good doctor steps in to try to restore the town's health - and his reputation!

Doctor Bull

1933

Dr. Socrates poster
6.6

Dr. Socrates gives up his brilliant surgical career at a prominent hospital following the death of his betrothed under his knife. He is now a struggling doctor in a small town that has a gangster's hideout.

Dr. Socrates

1935

We're Only Human poster
6.5

A cop, who plays by his own rules, brings down a notorious gangster.

We're Only Human

1935

Traveling Saleslady poster
6.1

A toothpaste magnate's mischievous daughter, tired of her father's traditional ways of conducting business, joins forces with her father's rival and a crazy inventor. Together they create "Cocktail Toothpaste". The new concoction tastes like whiskey in the morning, a martini at suppertime, and champagne at night.

Traveling Saleslady

1935

Hot Tip poster
7.0

An amateur handicapper must help his future son-in-law recoup the money he lost while playing the ponies.

Hot Tip

1935

A Very Honorable Guy poster
6.0

Well respected local good guy, "Feet" Samuels finds himself heavily in debt due to an uncharacteristic gambling binge. Feet decides the only way to settle the bill is by selling his body to an ambitious doctor who agrees to allow him one last month to live life to the fullest, then kill himself.

A Very Honorable Guy

1934

The Avenger poster
8.0

A disgraced former District Attorney plots his revenge on the members of a criminal gang who had him framed and sent to prison.

The Avenger

1933

Men of Chance poster
6.0

A gambler falls for a fake countess.

Men of Chance

1931

Beau Bandit poster
4.2

Mexican-bandit Montero and his deaf-mute sidekick Coloso are being pursued through the sand-dunes of southern Arizona by lawman Bob-Cat Manners and his posse. Montero has intentions of robbing the bank owned by skinflint Lucius Perkins, but is sidetracked by the attractions of singing-teacher Helen Wardell. He learns that Perkins has marital designs on Helen and holds the mortgage on her ranch. But Helen is in love with Bill Howard. Perkins offers Montero money to kill his rival.

Beau Bandit

1930

1920s · 3 titles