Charley Grapewin

Acting

Charley Grapewin

Born — Died

1869-12-20 — 1956-02-02

Place of birth

Xenia, Ohio, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

61 titles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville performer, writer and a stage and silent and sound actor, and comedian who was best known for portraying Aunt Em's husband, Uncle Henry in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's The Wizard of Oz (1939) as well as Grandpa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road (1941). He usually portrayed elderly folksy-type characters in a rustic setting, in all appearing in over 100 films. He was the oldest cast member of The Wizard of Oz. Born in Xenia, Ohio, Charles Ellsworth Grapewin ran away from home to be a circus acrobat which led him to work as an aerialis…

Known for

The Wizard of Oz poster
7.6

Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.

The Wizard of Oz

1939

MGM Parade poster
7.5

The original concept of the show was to allow the viewer to see the inner workings of a movie studio and featured interviews with MGM stars and explanations of how movies were made. Later, the format changed to show edited versions of MGM films.

MGM Parade

1955

The Grapes of Wrath poster
7.8

Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.

The Grapes of Wrath

1940

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

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

They Died with Their Boots On poster
6.7

The story follows General George Armstrong Custer's adventures from his West Point days to his death. He defies orders during the Civil War, trains the 7th Cavalry, appeases Chief Crazy Horse and later engages in bloody battle with the Sioux nation.

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

Film credits

1940s · 10 titles

The Grapes of Wrath poster
7.8

Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.

The Grapes of Wrath

1940

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

They Died with Their Boots On poster
6.7

The story follows General George Armstrong Custer's adventures from his West Point days to his death. He defies orders during the Civil War, trains the 7th Cavalry, appeases Chief Crazy Horse and later engages in bloody battle with the Sioux nation.

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

Crash Dive poster
6.4

A US Navy submarine, the USS Corsair, is operating in the North Atlantic, hunting German merchant raiders that are preying on Allied shipping. Its new executive officer, Lt. Ward Stewart, has been transferred back into submarines after commanding his own PT boat. At the submarine base in New London, Connecticut, he asks his new captain, Lt. Cmdr. Dewey Connors, for a weekend leave to settle his affairs before taking up his new assignment. On a train bound for Washington D.C., Stewart accidentally encounters New London school teacher Jean Hewlett and her students. Despite her initial resistance to his efforts, he charms her and they fall in love.

Crash Dive

1943

Gunfighters poster
5.6

Gunfighter "Brazos" Kane lays aside his guns "forever" when he is forced to shoot his best friend, and decides to join another friend, Bob Tyrell, as a cowhand on the Inskip ranch. Upon arriving there he finds the bullet-riddled body of his friend. He carries the body to the Banner ranch, the largest in the territory, and is accused by Banner of murdering Tyrell; Banner orders Deputy Sheriff Bill Yount, who is in Banner's pay, to arrest Kane. But Kane has the sympathy of Banner's daughter, Jane, who notifies Inskip of Kane's plight, and Inskip arrives in time to prevent a lynching. Sheriff Kiscade dismisses the murder charge for lack of evidence. Brazos then sets out to find the killer of his friend. Bess Bannister, Jane's sister, is in love with the Banner ranch foreman, Bard Macky, and knowing that Bard killed Tyrell and that Kane will track him down, then hampers Kane's mission somewhat by pretending to be in love with him.

Gunfighters

1947

The Texas Rangers Ride Again poster
5.6

With thousands of cattle being rustled from White Sage ranch the 1930's Texas Rangers are called in. They manage to get one of their agents into the gang by making them think he is the Pecos Kid on the lam.

The Texas Rangers Ride Again

1940

Follow the Boys poster
5.7

During World War II, all the studios put out "all-star" vehicles which featured virtually every star on the lot--often playing themselves--in musical numbers and comedy skits, and were meant as morale-boosters to both the troops overseas and the civilians at home. This was Universal Pictures' effort. It features everyone from Donald O'Connor to the Andrews Sisters to Orson Welles to W.C. Fields to George Raft to Marlene Dietrich, and dozens of other Universal players.

Follow the Boys

1944

Tobacco Road poster
6.8

Shiftless Jeeter Lester and his family of sharecroppers live in rural Georgia where their ancestors were once wealthy planters. Their slapstick existence is threatened by a bank's plans to take over the land for more profitable farming.

Tobacco Road

1941

Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime poster
5.8

Several days after one of his company's dams burst, ruining the life savings of several investors, a shady power company president is found stabbed to death. Ellery Queen gets to the bottom of the mystery.

Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime

1941

The Impatient Years poster
6.5

Standing before a divorce court judge are Sergeant Andy Anderson and Janie Anderson asking him to dissolve their marriage. Janie's father, William Smith, objects and the judge allows him to give his version of their story. They had met in San Francisco fifteen months earlier and, after knowing each other only three days, had gotten married. Andy was sent overseas the day after the wedding and when he returns and despite the fact that Janie had borne him a son, they find they are almost strangers. Mr. Smith suggests, and the judge orders, that if they retrace their actions over the four days they knew each other they would regain their love.

The Impatient Years

1944

1930s · 45 titles

The Wizard of Oz poster
7.6

Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.

The Wizard of Oz

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

Alice Adams poster
6.7

In the lower-middle-class Adams family, father and son are happy to work in a drugstore, but mother and daughter Alice try every possible social-climbing stratagem despite snubs and embarrassment. When Alice finally meets her dream man Arthur, mother nags father into a risky business venture and plans to impress Alice's beau with an "upscale" family dinner. Will the excruciating results drive Arthur away?

Alice Adams

1935

Libeled Lady poster
7.3

When a major newspaper accuses wealthy socialite Connie Allenbury of being a home-wrecker, and she files a multi-million-dollar libel lawsuit, the publication's frazzled head editor, Warren Haggerty, must find a way to turn the tables on her. Soon Haggerty's harried fiancée, Gladys Benton, and his dashing friend Bill Chandler are in on a scheme that aims to discredit Connie, with amusing and unexpected results.

Libeled Lady

1936

Heroes for Sale poster
7.1

World War I veteran Tom Holmes is marked by the unbearable suffering caused by his battle wounds. Over the years, he comes to experience both the pain of misfortune and a love for other human beings.

Heroes for Sale

1933

Broadway Melody of 1938 poster
6.6

Steve Raleight wants to produce a show on Broadway. He finds a backer, Herman Whipple and a leading lady, Sally Lee. But Caroline Whipple forces Steve to use a known star, not a newcomer. Sally purchases a horse, she used to train when her parents had a farm before the depression and with to ex-vaudevillians, Sonny Ledford and Peter Trott she trains it to win a race, providing the money Steve needs for his show.

Broadway Melody of 1938

1937

American Madness poster
6.9

Socially-conscious banker Thomas Dickson faces a crisis when his protégé is wrongly accused of robbing the bank, gossip of the robbery starts a bank run, and evidence suggests Dickson's wife had an affair... all in the same day.

American Madness

1932

Captains Courageous poster
7.4

Harvey, the arrogant and spoiled son of an indulgent absentee-father, falls overboard from a transatlantic steamship and is rescued by a fishing vessel on the Grand Banks. Harvey fails to persuade them to take him ashore, nor convince the crew of his wealth. The captain offers him a low-paid job, until they return to port, as part of the crew that turns him into a mature, considerate young man.

Captains Courageous

1937

The Good Earth poster
6.3

China, during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The arranged marriage between Wang Lung, a humble farmer, and O-Lan, a domestic slave, will endure the many hardships of life over the years; but the temptations of a fragile prosperity will endanger their love and the survival of their entire family.

The Good Earth

1937

The Petrified Forest poster
7.1

Gabby, the waitress in an isolated Arizona diner, dreams of a bigger and better life. One day penniless intellectual Alan drifts into the joint and the two strike up a rapport. Soon enough, notorious killer Duke Mantee takes the diner's inhabitants hostage. Surrounded by miles of desert, the patrons and staff are forced to sit tight with Mantee and his gang overnight.

The Petrified Forest

1936

Hello, Everybody! poster
7.0

The setting is a farm. Kate Smith and Sally Blane play sisters; assorted relatives live with the sisters, but everyone at home, and in the whole town, depends on Kate to hold everything together. The power company wants to build a dam which will require flooding many of the farms; Kate is holding out; if Kate sells, everyone else will sell; if Kate refuses, the rest of the town will refuse as well. Randolph Scott meets Kate's beautiful sister, Sally Blane, at a dance. Randolph Scott, as it turns out, is an agent for the power company. Kate thinks he's just using Sally; Sally believes that he truly likes her. Randolph comes to the farm and appears to woo Kate. Kate remains unconvinced about selling out, but falls for Randolph.

Hello, Everybody!

1933

A Family Affair poster
5.9

Judge Hardy faces problems at work and at home. Powerful men in town are upset with his decisions and want to see him impeached; his daughters, Joan and Marion, have romantic problems; and his son, Andy discovers Polly Benedict. As usual, Judge Hardy is concerned with everyone in the family and lends wisdom and calmness to all.

A Family Affair

1937

Big City poster
7.7

Anna and Joe are newly married, playful and deeply in love. Joe is scraping by as cab driver in New York City during a period of corruption, mob control and violence between cab companies.

Big City

1937

Of Human Hearts poster
6.0

This is a story about family relationships, set in the time before and during the American Civil War. Ethan Wilkins is a poor and honest man who ministers to the human soul, while his son Jason yearns to be a doctor, helping people in the earthly realm. It is a rich story about striving for excellence, the tension of father-son rebellion, and the love of a mother that can never die.

Of Human Hearts

1938

No Man of Her Own poster
6.5

An on-the-lam New York card shark marries a small-town librarian who thinks he's a businessman.

No Man of Her Own

1932

The Kiss Before the Mirror poster
5.6

When a famous doctor kills his adulterous wife, he is defended by his best friend, an attorney who suspects that his own wife is having an affair.

The Kiss Before the Mirror

1933

Stand Up and Fight poster
6.0

A southern aristocrat clashes with a driver transporting stolen slaves to freedom.

Stand Up and Fight

1939

She Made Her Bed poster
4.5

"Duke" Gordon (Robert Armstrong), a circus lion-tamer, tries to tames his wife, Laura (Sally Eilers), just as he does his lions. But she is a one-man woman, married to the wrong man, and refuses to cheat on her cheating husband even though her happiness depends on doing so.

She Made Her Bed

1934

Super Speed poster
7.0

A scientist invents a "superspeed" device that makes people fight for its ownership.

Super Speed

1935

Return of the Terror poster
6.5

"The Terror", a killer whose identity is unknown, occupies an English country house that has been converted into an inn.

Return of the Terror

1934

Judge Priest poster
6.4

Judge Priest, a proud Confederate veteran, restores the justice in a small town in the Post-Bellum Kentucky using his common sense and his great sense of humanity.

Judge Priest

1934

Wild Boys of the Road poster
6.8

At the height of the Great Depression, Tommy's mother has been out of work for months when Eddie's father loses his job. Eager not to burden their parents, the two high school sophomores decide to hop the freight trains and look for work.

Wild Boys of the Road

1933

Beauty for Sale poster
7.2

A beautiful woman lands a job at an exclusive salon that deals with the wives of wealthy businessmen. Her contact with these men leads to a series of affairs.

Beauty for Sale

1933

Midnight Mary poster
6.8

While on trial for her life, a young woman recalls her tough upbringing and her involvement with the men who brought her to this current state of affairs.

Midnight Mary

1933

Ah, Wilderness! poster
6.8

At the turn of the century, a young man graduates high school and realizes the joys and sorrows of growing up, with some loving help and guidance from his wise father. A tender, coming-of-age story, with a wonderful look at a long-gone, but fondly remembered, small town America.

Ah, Wilderness!

1935

Dust Be My Destiny poster
6.5

Embittered after serving time for a burglary he did not commit, Joe Bell is soon back in jail, on a prison farm. His love for the foreman's daughter leads to a fight between them, leading to the older man's death due to a weak heart. Joe and Mabel go on the run as he thinks no-one would believe a nobody like him.

Dust Be My Destiny

1939

Turn Back the Clock poster
5.4

While recuperating in a hospital after he's hit by an automobile, a struggling shopowner dreams what his life might have been like if he'd made different choices twenty years earlier.

Turn Back the Clock

1933

Torch Singer poster
5.4

When she can't support her illegitimate child, an abandoned young woman puts her up for adoption and pursues a career as a torch singer. Years later, she searches for the child she gave up.

Torch Singer

1933

The Washington Masquerade poster
6.8

An honest, talented and well respected attorney defeats a corrupt incumbent U.S. Senator. After a very good start he has to face the subtle temptations and innocent looking traps of Washington.

The Washington Masquerade

1932

Breakdowns of 1936 poster
NR

Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1936.

Breakdowns of 1936

1936

Three Loves Has Nancy poster
4.2

A small-town country homebody goes to New York to find her missing fiancé and gets romantically involved with two sophisticated men.

Three Loves Has Nancy

1938

The Night of June 13 poster
7.5

Elna Curry, once a concert pianist, develops an unfounded jealousy of neighbor, Trudie Morrow. Elna who suffers from neurasthenia, believes that Trudie is having an affair with her husband, John, and vows revenge on Trudie. John explains to Trudie Elna's condition and plan. Trudie, being good-hearted tells John that she'll move. One evening, John returns late from work to discover Elna dead. John burns Elna's suicide note to protect Trudie. This results in John being charged for murder and put on trial.

The Night of June 13

1932

The Loudspeaker poster
8.0

A young man from a small town hits New York City, bound and determined to become a radio star. Amazingly, he achieves his ambition, but in the process alienates everyone around him with his arrogance and egomania.

The Loudspeaker

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

Hell's House poster
5.2

A teenager lands in a brutal reform school for refusing to squeal on his bootlegger boss.

Hell's House

1932

Hero for a Day poster
6.5

When a night watchman is mistaken for a wealthy college alumnus, his family and friends help him go along with the pretense.

Hero for a Day

1939

Listen, Darling poster
6.7

To stop Pinkie's widowed, struggling mother Dottie from marrying a well-off older man they know she doesn't love, teenager Pinkie and her best friend Buzz kidnap her in the family travel trailer to live a carefree life on the open road. They then get the idea to find Dottie a financially secure husband whom both she and Pinkie would like.

Listen, Darling

1938

Burn 'Em Up O'Connor poster
6.3

An auto mechanic suspects sabotage in a recent series of fatal racecar accidents.

Burn 'Em Up O'Connor

1939

Sabotage poster
6.6

The night before his grandson, Tommy Grayson, a mechanic at the Midland Aircraft Corporation, is to marry Gail, a former showgirl, Major Matt Grayson, a war veteran and watchman at the plant, catches two men breaking into the machine shop. The men run, but the major shoots one of them.....

Sabotage

1939

The Girl of the Golden West poster
5.3

A bandit disguises himself as an officer in an attempt to woo a saloon singer.

The Girl of the Golden West

1938

Rendezvous poster
4.9

A decoding expert tangles with enemy spies.

Rendezvous

1935

Party Wire poster
8.3

When a small-town girl's boyfriend leaves in disgrace, gossips spread false reports of her pregnancy.

Party Wire

1935

The Millionaire poster
7.6

A millionaire automaker retires upon the advice of his doctor, but becomes so bored he buys half interest in a gas station and works it on the sly.

The Millionaire

1931

Heaven on Earth poster
5.3

A young boy finds out that the man he thought was his father actually killed his real father, then adopted him.

Heaven on Earth

1931

The Bad Man of Brimstone poster
6.8

A ruthless outlaw becomes very protective of a prizefighter when he learns the young man is his own son.

The Bad Man of Brimstone

1937

Series credits