Esther Howard

Acting

Esther Howard

Born — Died

1892-04-02 — 1965-03-08

Place of birth

Butte, Montana, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

60 titles

Esther Howard (April 4, 1892 – March 8, 1965) was an American stage and film character actress who played a wide range of supporting roles, from man-hungry spinsters to amoral criminals, appearing in 108 films in her 23-year screen career. From 1940 to 1949, Howard was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in seven films written and directed by Sturges. From 1937, Howard was a regular player in short-subjects produced at Columbia Pictures, where she was frequently cast opposite comedian Andy Clyde. Her last film was a Columbia comedy short, Caught on the Bounce (1952), in which she played Joe Besser's aunt. From Wikipedia.

Known for

Film credits

1940s · 32 titles

I Married a Witch poster
6.9

A 17th-century witch returns to wreak havoc in the life of a descendant of the Puritan witch hunter who burned her, but runs afoul of her father when she discovers that her mischief might have found her true love.

I Married a Witch

1942

The Palm Beach Story poster
7.0

A New York inventor, Tom Jeffers, needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife, Gerry, decides to raise it by divorcing him and marrying an eccentric Florida millionaire, J. D. Hackensacker III.

The Palm Beach Story

1942

The Crooked Way poster
6.2

A war veteran suffering from amnesia, returns to Los Angeles from a San Francisco veterans hospital hoping to learn who he is and discovers his criminal past.

The Crooked Way

1949

Murder, My Sweet poster
7.2

After being hired to find an ex-con's former girlfriend, Philip Marlowe is drawn into a deeply complex web of mystery and deceit.

Murder, My Sweet

1944

The Lady Gambles poster
6.1

When Joan Boothe accompanies husband-reporter David to Las Vegas, she begins gambling to pass the time while he is doing a story. Encouraged by the casino manager, she gets hooked on gambling, to the point where she "borrows" David's expense money to pursue her addiction. This finally breaks up their marriage, but David continues trying to help her.

The Lady Gambles

1949

June Bride poster
7.1

A magazine's staff, including bickering ex-lovers Linda and Carey, cover an Indiana wedding, which goes slightly wrong.

June Bride

1948

Song of the Thin Man poster
6.7

While attending a glamorous jazz cruise on New York’s East River, Nick and Nora Charles witness the fatal shooting of a wealthy patron. When suspicion falls on a young bandleader and his musicians, the couple steps in to clear their friends and uncover the real killer. Their investigation leads through a lively world of jazz clubs, radio personalities, high society, and backstage rivalries, where almost everyone has a secret and the next clue may be hidden in the music.

Song of the Thin Man

1947

Detour poster
7.2

The life of Al Roberts, a pianist in a New York nightclub, turns into a nightmare when he decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to visit his girlfriend.

Detour

1945

Sullivan's Travels poster
7.4

Successful movie director John L. Sullivan, convinced he won't be able to film his ambitious masterpiece until he has suffered, dons a hobo disguise and sets off on a journey, aiming to "know trouble" first-hand. When all he finds is a train ride back to Hollywood and a beautiful blonde companion, he redoubles his efforts, managing to land himself in more trouble than he bargained for when he loses his memory and ends up a prisoner on a chain gang.

Sullivan's Travels

1941

Dick Tracy vs. Cueball poster
5.4

A police detective uses his girlfriend to track down a homicidal maniac.

Dick Tracy vs. Cueball

1946

The Virginian poster
6.0

Arriving at Medicine Bow, eastern schoolteacher Molly Woods meets two cowboys, irresponsible Steve and the "Virginian," who gets off on the wrong foot with her. To add to his troubles, the Virginian finds that his old pal Steve is mixed up with black-hatted Trampas and his rustlers...then finds himself at the head of a posse after said rustlers; and Molly hates the violent side of frontier life.

The Virginian

1946

Without Reservations poster
6.3

Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train, she encounters Marines Rusty and Dink, who don't know she is the author of the famous book, and who don't think much of the ideas it proposes. She and Rusty are greatly attracted, but she doesn't know how to deal with his disdain for the book's author.

Without Reservations

1946

Born to Kill poster
6.7

A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with a hotheaded murderer.

Born to Kill

1947

The Great McGinty poster
7.0

Told in flashback, Depression-era bum Dan McGinty is recruited by the city's political machine to help with vote fraud. His great aptitude for this brings rapid promotion from "the boss," who finally decides he'd be ideal as a new, nominally "reform" mayor; but this candidacy requires marriage. His in-name-only marriage to honest Catherine proves the beginning of the end for dishonest Dan...

The Great McGinty

1940

Hail the Conquering Hero poster
7.1

Having been discharged from the Marines for a hayfever condition before ever seeing action, Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith delays the return to his hometown, feeling that he is a failure. While in a moment of melancholy, he meets up with a group of Marines who befriend him and encourage him to return home to his mother by fabricating a story that he was wounded in battle with honorable discharge.

Hail the Conquering Hero

1944

Adventure poster
6.4

A rough and tumble man of the sea falls for a meek librarian.

Adventure

1945

Champion poster
6.7

An unscrupulous boxer fights his way to the top, but eventually alienates all of the people who helped him on the way up.

Champion

1949

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek poster
6.8

A small-town girl with a soft spot for American soldiers wakes up the morning after a wild farewell party for the troops to find that she married someone she can't remember.

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

1944

My Favorite Blonde poster
6.5

Larry Haines, a mediocre vaudeville entertainer, boards a train for Los Angeles. Aboard, he meets an attractive, blonde British agent carrying a coded message hidden in a brooch—and is being pursued by Nazi agents.

My Favorite Blonde

1942

Jackass Mail poster
7.5

An unknowing orphan idolizes the horse thief/mail robber who has shot his father.

Jackass Mail

1942

True to Life poster
8.0

A writer for a radio program needs some fresh ideas to juice up his show. For inspiration, he rents a room with a typical American family and begins to secretly write about their true life antics. The show becomes a big hit, but he begins to feel guilty about his charade when he falls in love with the family's pretty older daughter.

True to Life

1943

The Great Flamarion poster
6.1

A beautiful but unscrupulous female performer manipulates all the men in her life in order to achieve her aims.

The Great Flamarion

1945

Hellfire poster
6.4

Zeb Smith is a gambler with a larcenous streak, but when an itinerant preacher takes a bullet meant for him, Zeb vows to fulfill the preacher's mission of building a church. Frustrated in his attempts to get donations, Zeb attempts to capture fugitive Doll Brown in order to obtain the reward. But he finds that there's more to Doll than meets the eye. When his old friend Bucky McLean shows up gunning for Doll, Zeb sees a chance to redeem them all... one way or another.

Hellfire

1949

Wedlock Deadlock poster
7.0

Newlyweds Eddie (Joe DeRita) and Betty (Christine McIntyre) barely moved into their new house before Betty's mother (Esther Howard), aunt (Patsy Moran) and brother (Charles Williams) show up and give every indication of becoming permanent free-loading guests. Dick (William Newell) gives Eddie a plan that will cause his unwanted guests to vacate the premises, by having Dick and his wife, Ruby (Dorothy Granger), move in as Eddie's relatives, and even bigger pests, thereby causing Betty's relatives to move out. The plan works and Eddie and Betty are pleased until Dick announces that he and Ruby have intentions of staying on.

Wedlock Deadlock

1947

The Velvet Touch poster
6.2

Stage actress Valerie Stanton is locked in a bitter feud with her producer and ex Gordon Dunning. When he attempts to blackmail her into remaining under contract with his company, Stanton, in a fit of passion, clubs Dunning with a statuette, killing him. Her gloves have prevented fingerprints but her perfect alibi quickly unravels as Captain Danbury begins investigating.

The Velvet Touch

1948

San Francisco Docks poster
7.3

Longshoreman Johnny Barnes is in love with Kitty Tracy, barmaid at her father's waterfront saloon, and he beats up Cassidy, a crooked politician who has been annoying her. Cassidy is murdered that night and Johnny is jailed for the crime. Kitty, her father Andy Tracy, and waterfront-priest Father Cameron believe Johnny is innocent but all evidence points to his guilt.

San Francisco Docks

1940

Boobs in the Woods poster
6.7

Andy's annoying brother-in-law Gus gets him fired from his job, and then tag-a-longs on a vacation with Andy and his wife.

Boobs in the Woods

1940

The Falcon's Alibi poster
5.4

A society sleuth sets out on the trail of a society matron's lost jewels.

The Falcon's Alibi

1946

The Lady from Cheyenne poster
5.7

Fictionalized story of the 1869 adoption of women's suffrage in Wyoming Territory. In the new-founded railroad town of Laraville, Boss Jim Cork hopes to manipulate the sale of town lots to give him control, but Quaker schoolmarm Annie Morgan bags one of the key lots. Cork's lawyer Steve Lewis tries romancing Annie to get the lot back, finding her so overpoweringly liberated she leaves him dizzy. Still, Steve attains his nefarious object...almost...then has cause to deeply regret having aroused the sleeping giant of feminism!

The Lady from Cheyenne

1941

The Big Noise poster
6.2

During World War II Stan and Ollie find themselves as improbable bodyguards to an eccentric inventor and his strategically important new bomb.

The Big Noise

1944

Alex in Wonderland poster
9.0

In this Warner Bros. short film, Alex visits his sister Belinda and her husband Fred. It looks like Alex is going to be around for a while, much to Fred's displeasure. Alex in is New York to look for a job and he sees an ad for a champagne salesman. He decides to crash a swank party given by railroad tycoon J.D. Swinnerton and his wife. Alex has his own zany way of getting an introduction to the man. Mayhem ensues when several of the guests come as Robin Hood and one of them is a jewel thief.

Alex in Wonderland

1940

A Letter for Evie poster
6.9

During World War II, Evie O'Connor, a secretary at Trojan Shirt Company, yearns for a tall, strong man to love her. When she slides an anonymous note into a shirt-pocket meant for a dashing man, oafish Edgar 'Wolf' Larson receives the shirt and disregards the letter. After hearing Evie's words, short and bumbling John McPherson writes back, claiming to be Wolf. But trouble arises when Evie asks to meet him in person.

A Letter for Evie

1946

1930s · 25 titles

Dead End poster
7.0

The lives of a young man and woman, an infamous gangster and a group of street kids converge one day in a volatile New York City slum.

Dead End

1937

Marie Antoinette poster
6.6

The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the rival countries. The opulent Marie indulges in various whims and flirtations. When Louis XV passes and Louis XVI ascends the French throne, his queen's extravagant lifestyle earns the hatred of the French people, who despise her Austrian heritage.

Marie Antoinette

1938

Klondike Annie poster
6.3

Singer Rose Carlton, otherwise known as 'The San Francisco Doll', accidentally kills her controlling boyfriend when he tries to prevent her from leaving. To evade the police, Rose sets sail for Nome with captain Bull Bracket. When the ship takes on another passenger, reformer Annie Alden, Carlton's life is changed forever, and she sets out to honor a deeply personal debt.

Klondike Annie

1936

Merrily We Go to Hell poster
6.4

A drunken newspaperman, Jerry Corbett, is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress, Joan Prentice, whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.

Merrily We Go to Hell

1932

The Best Man Wins poster
6.6

A diver saves his best friend's life but loses his own arm in doing so. Later, unable to find work because of his missing arm, he is forced to go to work for a criminal searching for lost treasures. Meanwhile his friend, who has since become a policeman, finds himself assigned to break up the crook's operation and bring in his gang--including the man who saved his life.

The Best Man Wins

1935

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 Gracie Allen Murder Case poster
6.3

Super-sleuth Philo Vance faces the zaniest case of his career when Gracie Allen "helps" him try to solve the murder of an escaped convict. As she attempts to clear the name of a friend accused of the killing, her wacky, scatterbrained ways constantly impede the investigation.

The Gracie Allen Murder Case

1939

Stand-In poster
6.5

An east coast efficiency expert, who stakes his reputation on his ability to turn around a financially troubled Hollywood studio, receives some help from a former child star who now works as a stand-in for the studio.

Stand-In

1937

A Fool's Advice poster
6.7

An elevator operator invents a machine that he believes can help to defeat a corrupt politician in the city's upcoming mayoral election.

A Fool's Advice

1932

Second Hand Wife poster
5.5

A daughter and devious ex-wife complicate an executive's marriage to his secretary.

Second Hand Wife

1933

Florida Special poster
7.0

A Florida-bound train is filled with romance and intrigue when one of the passengers disappears while carrying $11-million in unset jewels.

Florida Special

1936

Life Begins poster
6.2

A day in the maternity ward from the lens of accepted morals and medical attitudes of 1932. The ward includes women from all walks of life and situations.

Life Begins

1932

Broadway Serenade poster
6.6

A married singer, pianist/composer team are struggling to hit it big in New York. Finally, they audition before a Broadway producer, but the producer only wants the singer, leaving the husband without a job and feeling a failure.

Broadway Serenade

1939

Stars Over Broadway poster
5.6

An aggressive agent turns a hotel porter into an overnight sensation.

Stars Over Broadway

1935

Rhythm in the Clouds poster
7.5

Judy Walker is a poor songwriter who, through mistaken identity, gets her songs played on the radio.

Rhythm in the Clouds

1937

Grand Slam poster
4.6

In New York City, Russian waiter Peter Stanislavsky becomes a national celebrity after he develops a 'system' for winning at contract bridge.

Grand Slam

1933

The Yellow Ticket poster
5.1

A young Russian girl is forced into a life of prostitution in Czarist Russia, and she and a British journalist find their lives endangered when she reveals to him information regarding the social crimes rampant in her country.

The Yellow Ticket

1931

The Vice Squad poster
6.8

A diplomat is blackmailed by crooked vice cops into helping them frame prostitutes.

The Vice Squad

1931

Partners in Crime poster
8.0

Detective Hank Hyer investigates a blackmail case involving a candidate for mayor.

Partners in Crime

1937

Scandal Street poster
8.0

Joe McKnight temporarily leaves his fiancée, Nora Langdon, for an expedition in a South American jungle. Nora gets a position as librarian in the small town of Midberg, where she boards with the Smith family. Nora is befriended by her next-door neighbor Austin Brown, who, unknown to his wife, is engaged in a moneymaking scheme with James Wilson.

Scandal Street

1938

Straight from the Heart poster
9.0

In this romance, a slightly crooked and highly ambitious mayoral candidate convinces a woman to help him blackmail the incumbent by using a little baby as evidence in a paternity suit. The girl goes along with it until she learns that the mayor is innocent.

Straight from the Heart

1935

Swing, Sister, Swing poster
8.0

In this musical comedy, two star-struck small town kids head for the Big Apple and become famous for their jitterbug act. Their fame doesn't last long, but they had fun anyway. Songs include: "Baltimore Bubble," "Gingham Gown," "Just a Bore," "Wasn't It You," "Kaneski Waltz" (Frank Skinner, Charles Henderson).

Swing, Sister, Swing

1938

Sweepings poster
5.8

Daniel Pardway, starting with almost nothing after the great Chicago fire, builds the biggest department store in town. He wants to pass on the business to his three sons and daughter, but has to deal with their lack of interest or aptitude.

Sweepings

1933

Below the Sea poster
6.7

A wealthy woman funds an underwater expedition to explore for marine life, but what she doesn't know is that her "colleagues" have other intentions.

Below the Sea

1933

Wicked poster
5.5

Margot Rande, a basically decent woman, is led down the path to perdition by her bank robber husband.

Wicked

1931