Acting
Joel McCrea
Born November 5, 1905 · South Pasadena, California, USA
Died October 20, 1990 · aged 84
Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he became best known. He appeared in over one hundred films, starring in over eighty, among them Alfred Hitchcock's espionage thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940), Pr…
Known For
Ride the High Country · 1962Ride the High Country
★ 7.01962
MovieWestern
An ex-lawman is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.
Sullivan's Travels · 1941Sullivan's Travels
★ 7.41941
MovieComedyRomance
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.
The More the Merrier · 1943The More the Merrier
★ 7.01943
MovieComedyRomance
It's World War II and there is a severe housing shortage everywhere - especially in Washington, D.C. where Connie Milligan rents an apartment. Believing it to be her patriotic duty, Connie offers to sublet half of her apartment, fully expecting a suitable female tenent. What she gets instead is mischievous, middle-aged Benjamin Dingle. Dingle talks her into subletting to him and then promptly sublets half of his half to young, irreverent Joe Carter - creating a situation tailor-made for comedy and romance.
Kept Husbands · 1931Kept Husbands
★ 5.31931
MovieDrama
A former All-American football star, now working as a steel mill supervisor in New Jersey, falls in love with the mill owner's wealthy, very spoiled daughter.
The Oklahoman · 1957The Oklahoman
★ 5.81957
MovieWestern
After his wife dies in childbirth, a doctor settles down in the small Oklahoma town of Cherokee Wells to raise his newborn daughter. Unfortunately, not all the citizens there are hospitable, especially when the doctor hires a pretty Indian teenager as his child's nanny.
He Married His Wife · 1940He Married His Wife
★ 5.61940
Movie
Race horse owner pays so much attention to business he winds up divorced from his wife. His alimony payments are so steep he plots with his lawyer to get her married off.
Foreign Correspondent · 1940Foreign Correspondent
★ 7.01940
MovieThrillerMystery
American crime reporter John Jones is reassigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent to cover the imminent war. When he walks into the middle of an assassination and stumbles on a spy ring, he seeks help from a beautiful politician’s daughter and an urbane English journalist to uncover the truth.
Night of 100 Stars · 1982Night of 100 Stars
★ 5.81982
MovieComedyMusic
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
Movies
Ride the High Country · 1962Ride the High Country
★ 7.01962
MovieWestern
An ex-lawman is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.
Sullivan's Travels · 1941Sullivan's Travels
★ 7.41941
MovieComedyRomance
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.
The More the Merrier · 1943The More the Merrier
★ 7.01943
MovieComedyRomance
It's World War II and there is a severe housing shortage everywhere - especially in Washington, D.C. where Connie Milligan rents an apartment. Believing it to be her patriotic duty, Connie offers to sublet half of her apartment, fully expecting a suitable female tenent. What she gets instead is mischievous, middle-aged Benjamin Dingle. Dingle talks her into subletting to him and then promptly sublets half of his half to young, irreverent Joe Carter - creating a situation tailor-made for comedy and romance.
Kept Husbands · 1931Kept Husbands
★ 5.31931
MovieDrama
A former All-American football star, now working as a steel mill supervisor in New Jersey, falls in love with the mill owner's wealthy, very spoiled daughter.
The Oklahoman · 1957The Oklahoman
★ 5.81957
MovieWestern
After his wife dies in childbirth, a doctor settles down in the small Oklahoma town of Cherokee Wells to raise his newborn daughter. Unfortunately, not all the citizens there are hospitable, especially when the doctor hires a pretty Indian teenager as his child's nanny.
He Married His Wife · 1940He Married His Wife
★ 5.61940
Movie
Race horse owner pays so much attention to business he winds up divorced from his wife. His alimony payments are so steep he plots with his lawyer to get her married off.
Foreign Correspondent · 1940Foreign Correspondent
★ 7.01940
MovieThrillerMystery
American crime reporter John Jones is reassigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent to cover the imminent war. When he walks into the middle of an assassination and stumbles on a spy ring, he seeks help from a beautiful politician’s daughter and an urbane English journalist to uncover the truth.
Night of 100 Stars · 1982Night of 100 Stars
★ 5.81982
MovieComedyMusic
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
Chance at Heaven · 1933Chance at Heaven
★ 5.81933
MovieDramaRomance
A young woman's ambitious boyfriend falls for a ditzy socialite.
The Most Dangerous Game · 1932The Most Dangerous Game
★ 6.91932
MovieThrillerAdventure
When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.
The Young Rounders · 1966The Young Rounders
★ 7.01966
MovieWestern
Our Little Girl · 1935Our Little Girl
★ 5.21935
MovieComedyDrama
Don Middleton is so caught up with his work he neglects his wife Elsa. Lonely Elsa begins to spend more time with Don's best friend and they become attracted to one another. Don and Elsa decide to get a divorce, unaware of the effect their problems are having on their daughter Molly. When Elsa announces plans to remarry, Molly runs away from home.
Half a Sinner · 1934Half a Sinner
★ 8.01934
MovieDrama
A con man poses as a hillbilly preacher.
Wichita · 1955Wichita
★ 6.31955
MovieWestern
Former buffalo hunter and entrepreneur Wyatt Earp arrives in the lawless cattle town of Wichita Kansas. His skill as a gun-fighter makes him a perfect candidate for Marshal, but he refuses the job until he feels morally obligated to bring law and order to this wild town.
Union Pacific · 1939Union Pacific
★ 6.71939
MovieDramaWestern
One of the last bills signed by President Lincoln authorizes pushing the Union Pacific Railroad across the wilderness to California. But financial opportunist Asa Barrows hopes to profit from obstructing it. Chief troubleshooter Jeff Butler has his hands full fighting Barrows' agent, gambler Sid Campeau; Campeau's partner Dick Allen is Jeff's war buddy and rival suitor for engineer's daughter Molly Monahan. Who will survive the effort to push the railroad through at any cost?
Two in a Crowd · 1936Two in a Crowd
★ 8.01936
MovieRomanceComedy
When two halves of a thousand-dollar bill are discovered in the snow, the penniless pair that individually grabs each half must come to terms. Actress Julia Wayne needs the whole $1,000, and so does sportsman Larry Stevens. Since compromise will serve neither of their needs, they are stalemated - until complications arise.
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line · 1997Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
★ 7.71997
MovieDocumentary
Born Ruby Stevens, she was orphaned when she was four. A chance audition led to a chorus job. By 17 she was a Ziegfeld Girl. At 20 she earned excellent reviews for a bit part in a Broadway play — and she had a new name: Barbara Stanwyck.
Colorado Territory · 1949Colorado Territory
★ 6.91949
MovieWesternCrime
After escaping from jail, outlaw Wes McQueen is convinced by his old partner in crime to do one last heist.
Dead End · 1937Dead End
★ 7.01937
MovieCrimeDrama
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.
The Lost Squadron · 1932The Lost Squadron
★ 6.51932
MovieDramaAction
When World War I comes to an end, three pilots find themselves on hard times. They wind up in Hollywood, where they work as stunt fliers for a sadistic director.
So This Is College · 1929So This Is College
★ 4.71929
MovieComedyDrama
Scheming coed Babs comes between college buddies Eddie and Biff.
The Tall Stranger · 1957The Tall Stranger
★ 6.61957
MovieWestern
A Union soldier returns to his western home at the end of the Civil War and finds himself caught in the middle of a land war between his greedy half-brother and a wagon train of Confederate homesteaders.
Stranger on Horseback · 1955Stranger on Horseback
★ 5.81955
MovieWestern
A circuit judge in the old west attempts to bring a suspected killer to justice. The judge runs afoul of the killer's rich cattle baron father in the process.
Once a Sinner · 1931Once a Sinner
★ 8.01931
MovieRomance
As Diana Barry is preparing to leave New York to marry inventor Tommy Mason she is offered financial assistance from her ex-lover Dick Kent, who still has a thing for her. Refusing she heads to Sparta, where she informs Tommy of her affair with the older man. Tommy tells her that he doesn't want to know the man's name or any details and Diana is happy to forget the past and move on. This decision comes to bite them a year later though, when Kent returns into the picture.
TV Shows
The Merv Griffin Show · 1962The Merv Griffin Show
★ 6.61962
Series
The Ed Sullivan Show · 1948The Ed Sullivan Show
★ 6.81948
SeriesComedy
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows.
In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
Wichita Town · 1959Wichita Town
★ 4.91959
SeriesWestern
Wichita Town is a half-hour western television series starring Joel McCrea, Jody McCrea, Carlos Romero, and George Neise that aired on NBC from September 30, 1959, until April 6, 1960.
Joel McCrea played Marshal Mike Dunbar, in charge of keeping the peace the booming cowtown of Wichita, Kansas. His deputies were Ben Matheson, played by McCrea's real life son, Jody, and Rico Rodriquez, portrayed by Carlos Romero. Making occasional appearances were the town doctor, Nat Wyndham, the blacksmith, Aeneas MacLinahan, and the bartender in the local saloon, Joe Kingston, played in six episodes by Robert Foulk.
The model for shows such as these had already been laid out by other western programs such as Gunsmoke, Lawman, and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, so Wichita Town may not have been unique in its plotting and structure. The two most unusual features about the series were the presence of Joel McCrea, a favorite of Western movie audiences for his performance in such films as Union Pacific, Buffalo Bill, and Ramrod, and the fact that his real life son was in Wichita Town, but did not play his son. Wichita Town was produced by Mirisch Company and Joel McCrea's Production company for Four Star Television and aired for a single season.