"was as James Stewart's somewhat befuddled but kind-hearted guardian angel Clarence Odbody in Frank Capra's 1946 film ""It's a Wonderful Life"". Traver's character saves Stewart's from committing suicide, and shows him how wonderful his life really is. Though the film was a financial flop, it later became a Christmas classic and one of the most beloved films in American cinema. However, despite his long life, Travers would never know that his performance as Clarence would become his most celebrated, as the film only became a Christmas television perennial in the 1970s and 1980s, long after the actor's death. Travers retired"
"Greer Garson and Ronald Colman in ""Random Harvest"" (1942) and with Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman in ""The Bells of St. Mary's"" (1945). Alfred Hitchcock used Travers as a Comic relief in ""Shadow of a Doubt"" (1943), where he played a bank clerk with a passion for criminal magazines. The character actor also portrayed the Railway Station Master Mr. Ballard with a love for roses who finally wins the annual flower show in his village shortly before dying in a bombardment in ""Mrs. Miniver"". He received an Academy Award-nomination as Best Supporting Actor for this appearance. Travers's most famous role"
"company, Rainbow Productions. ""The Bells of St. Mary's"" has come to be commonly associated with the Christmas season, due most likely to the inclusion of a scene involving a Christmas pageant at the school, a major plot point involving an unlikely (yet prayed for) gift, and the fact that the film was released in December 1945. A reference to it is made in the 1946 film ""It's a Wonderful Life"", in which Henry Travers, a co-star of ""The Bells of St. Mary's"", played the guardian angel. The film is referenced in The Godfather (1972). Michael and Kay see it at"
"The Trap (1946 film) The Trap is a 1946 crime film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring Sidney Toler and Victor Sen Yung. The main premise is that two members of a show troupe are murdered, and detective Charlie Chan is called in to solve the case. The title credit mentions ""Charlie Chan"" as appearing in the film, as if he were an actor and not a fictional character portrayed by Toler. This was Toler's 22nd and final appearance as Chan, and his final film of any kind. Suffering from cancer during his last few films, Toler was often so"
"Clarence Odbody Clarence Odbody (born May 1653) is a fictional angel in Frank Capra's 1946 film ""It's a Wonderful Life"", where he was portrayed by Henry Travers, and in the 1990 sequel, ""Clarence"", where he was played by Robert Carradine. Odbody is loosely based on ""a stranger"", a character in Philip Van Doren Stern's 1943 booklet ""The Greatest Gift"". In 1977's ""It Happened One Christmas"", a remake of the 1946 film, a gender-reversed Clarence appeared as Clara Oddbody, played by Cloris Leachman. The 1986 musical ""A Wonderful Life"" features Odbody, who was played by David Hyde Pierce in its 2005"
"(1950). Travers had a slightly bigger part in ""The Browning Version"" (1951) and a good role on TV in ""Albert"" (later filmed as ""Albert R.N."") for ""BBC Sunday-Night Theatre"" (1951). Travers could be seen in ""Hindle Wakes"" (1952), ""The Planter's Wife"" (1952), ""The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men"" (1952), ""It Started in Paradise"" (1952), ""Mantrap"" (1953), ""Street of Shadows"" (1953), and ""The Square Ring"" (1953). He was in ""The Heel"" for ""Douglas Fairbanks Jr Presents"". Travers remained a supporting player in ""Counterspy"" (1953) and had a good part in ""Romeo and Juliet"" (1954) as Benvolio. His best"
"the film and recreates the opening scene and classic characters from the film who are portrayed by each band member. Saturday Night Fever Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 American musical drama film directed by John Badham. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a working-class young man who spends his weekends dancing and drinking at a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as Stephanie Mangano, his dance partner and eventual confidante; and Donna Pescow as Annette, Tony's former dance partner and would-be girlfriend. While in the disco, Tony is the champion dancer. His circle of friends and weekend dancing"
"The Strange Woman The Strange Woman is a 1946 American drama film noir thriller film and directed by Edgar G. Ulmer starring Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders and Louis Hayward. Originally released by United Artists, the film is now in the public domain. In Bangor, Maine in 1824, a cruel young girl named Jenny Hager pushes a terrified Ephraim Poster into a river knowing he cannot swim. She is prepared to let him drown until Judge Saladine (Alan Napier) happens by, at which point Jenny jumps into the water and takes credit for saving the boy's life. About ten years later,"
"380 performances in two years. In the Oscar-winning movie ""You Can't Take It With You"", Lionel Barrymore played the role which Travers had portrayed on Broadway. Like many other theatre actors, he made his first movie only with the advent of sound films. His first was ""Reunion in Vienna"" in 1933. In the same year, he played the father of Gloria Stuart in the horror classic ""The Invisible Man"". He often portrayed doctors, judges, and fathers of the main figures in supporting roles. Travers specialized on portraying slightly wry and bumbling but friendly and lovable old men. He appeared with"
"bringing her to heaven for a brief visit with her husband. During his time on Earth he also shows that he has the power to take on the looks of a human, in this case Rachel's son Brent, whom he portrays so the boy doesn't get expelled from high school. Clarence Odbody Clarence Odbody (born May 1653) is a fictional angel in Frank Capra's 1946 film ""It's a Wonderful Life"", where he was portrayed by Henry Travers, and in the 1990 sequel, ""Clarence"", where he was played by Robert Carradine. Odbody is loosely based on ""a stranger"", a character in"
"melodrama, another hit. Also popular was ""Caesar and Cleopatra"", supporting Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh; this film lost money because of its high production cost but was widely seen, and was the first of Granger's films to be a hit in the USA. At the end of 1945 British exhibitors voted Granger the second-most popular British film star, and the ninth-most popular overall. ""The Times"" reported that ""this six-foot black-visaged ex-soldier from the Black Watch is England's Number One pin up boy. Only Bing Crosby can match him for popularity."" ""Caravan"" (1946), starring Granger and Kent, was the sixth most"
"stars, describing it as ""filled with all the things that are guaranteed to make audiences jump out of their seats, such as hidden passageways, a hooded grave robber, eerie shadows, and mysterious killings."" The Unknown (1946 film) The Unknown is a 1946 mystery film directed by Henry Levin made by Columbia Pictures as the third and final part of its ""I Love a Mystery"" series based on the popular radio program. The previous films were ""I Love a Mystery"" (1945) and ""The Devil's Mask"" (1946). It was a loose adaptation of the I Love a Mystery radio episode ""Faith, Hope,"
"The film went over budget by $1 million but was a moderate success at the box office. The Strange Woman The Strange Woman is a 1946 American drama film noir thriller film and directed by Edgar G. Ulmer starring Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders and Louis Hayward. Originally released by United Artists, the film is now in the public domain. In Bangor, Maine in 1824, a cruel young girl named Jenny Hager pushes a terrified Ephraim Poster into a river knowing he cannot swim. She is prepared to let him drown until Judge Saladine (Alan Napier) happens by, at which point"
"popular films released in the US that year, ""Los Angeles Times"" describing it as ""a phenomenal hit"". ""Variety"" listed it as the tenth most popular movie of 1946. Two Years Before the Mast (film) Two Years Before the Mast is a 1946 adventure film based on Richard Henry Dana Jr.'s travel book of the same name. It stars Alan Ladd, Brian Donlevy, William Bendix, and Barry Fitzgerald. In 1834, Charles Stewart (Alan Ladd), the spoiled, dissolute son of a shipping magnate, is shanghaied aboard the ""Pilgrim"", one of his father's own ships. He embarks upon a long, hellish sea voyage"
"the De Havilland Law. According to Warner Bros records the film earned $2,358,000 domestically and $659,000 foreign. One More Tomorrow (film) One More Tomorrow is a 1946 American film directed by Peter Godfrey and written by Charles Hoffman, Catherine Turney, Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. The film, starring Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Alexis Smith, Jane Wyman and Reginald Gardiner, is a remake of the 1932 film ""The Animal Kingdom"". It was released by Warner Bros. on June 1, 1946. Wealthy socialite Tom Collier (Dennis Morgan) is bored by his father's aspirations for him and by his"
"scientist who disappeared during an expedition to South America. TV Guide called it an ""enjoyable programmer."" The Devil's Mask The Devil's Mask is a 1946 American crime film directed by Henry Levin and starring Anita Louise, Jim Bannon and Michael Duane. The film was the second of three B pictures based on the popular radio series ""I Love a Mystery"". As well as its crime theme, the film also incorporates elements of horror. Two private detectives are asked to go to a museum to meet a woman who claims she is about to be murdered by her stepdaughter. The case"
"Caravan (1946 film) Caravan is a 1946 British black-and-white drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree. It was one of the Gainsborough melodramas and is based on a novel ""Caravan"" by Eleanor Smith. In late 19th-century London, destitute Richard Darrell (Stewart Granger) rescues Don Carlos (Gerard Heinz) from two robbers. When Richard returns for the manuscript he inadvertently left behind, he is encouraged by Don Carlos to talk about his background. The son of a poor country doctor, he met the upper class Oriana Camperdene and Francis Castleton during their childhood; he and Francis became rivals for Oriana's affections. Oriana and"
"Saturday Night Fever Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 American musical drama film directed by John Badham. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a working-class young man who spends his weekends dancing and drinking at a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as Stephanie Mangano, his dance partner and eventual confidante; and Donna Pescow as Annette, Tony's former dance partner and would-be girlfriend. While in the disco, Tony is the champion dancer. His circle of friends and weekend dancing help him to cope with the harsh realities of his life: a dead-end job, clashes with his unsupportive and squabbling"
"The Unknown (1946 film) The Unknown is a 1946 mystery film directed by Henry Levin made by Columbia Pictures as the third and final part of its ""I Love a Mystery"" series based on the popular radio program. The previous films were ""I Love a Mystery"" (1945) and ""The Devil's Mask"" (1946). It was a loose adaptation of the I Love a Mystery radio episode ""Faith, Hope, and Charity, Sisters"", which was remade in a later version of the radio series, in '49, as ""The Thing That Cries in the Night,"" starring Russell Thorson, Jim Boles, and Tony Randall as"
"Crime of the Century (1946 film) Crime of the Century is a 1946 American crime drama directed by Philip Ford. Hank Rogers is released from prison after serving time for a minor crime. He arranges to meet his brother Jim, a newspaper reporter, in a bar, where Hank is distracted by attractive Audrey Brandon. His brother doesn't show up, and at Jim's apartment, Audrey drugs his drink, rendering Hank unconscious. With his brother missing, Hank tracks him to the mansion of a wealthy industrialist, whose daughter Margaret Waldham eyes him suspiciously. Hank ultimately finds that the industrialist is dead, but"
"and kills him, after which Holmes kills the Creeper, before the police finally arrive. Holmes smashes the final bust and recovers the pearl ""with the blood of five more victims on it"". Universal Studios attempted to capitalise on Rondo Hatton's effective portrayal of the Hoxton Creeper, casting him in two more (unrelated) films as ""the Creeper"": ""House of Horrors"" (filmed in 1945, but not released until 1946, after Hatton's death) and ""The Brute Man"" (1946, also released posthumously). The Pearl of Death The Pearl of Death is a 1944 Sherlock Holmes film starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce"
"Turner Classic Movies. In March 2009, ""Spring Fever"" was released on manufactured-on-demand DVD through the Warner Archive Collection. Spring Fever (1927 film) Spring Fever is a 1927 American silent comedy film starring William Haines, Joan Crawford, and George K. Arthur, and directed by Edward Sedgwick. Based on the 1925 play of the same name by Vincent Lawrence, this was the second film starring Haines and Crawford, and their first onscreen romantic teaming. ""Spring Fever"" was remade as the musical film ""Love in the Rough"" in 1930, starring Robert Montgomery and Dorothy Jordan. Haines plays a shipping clerk named Jack Kelly."
"office hit. It earned over $3 million in the US and was the 14th most popular movie of the year in France in 1948. The sets built for the film were reused in the Three Stooges shorts ""Squareheads of the Round Table"", ""Fiddlers Three"", and ""The Hot Scots"", and again for the 1948 film ""The Prince of Thieves"". The Bandit of Sherwood Forest The Bandit of Sherwood Forest is a 1946 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Henry Levin & George Sherman and starring Cornel Wilde, Anita Louise, Jill Esmond and Edgar Buchanan. Robin Hood's son (Cornel Wilde) returns to"
"which was released in 1946 starring Robert Walker as Kern. In the film, Kern's songs are sung by Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Lena Horne, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury, among others, and Gower Champion and Cyd Charisse appear as dancers. Many of the biographical facts are fictionalized. In the fall of 1945, Kern returned to New York City to oversee auditions for a new revival of ""Show Boat"", and began to work on the score for what would become the musical ""Annie Get Your Gun"", to be produced by Rodgers and Hammerstein. On November 5, 1945,"
"a Wonderful Life"" (1946) and ""Stairway to Heaven"" (1946), perhaps tapping into so many people's experience of loss of loved ones and offering a kind of consolation."" In December 2017, a digitally restored version was shown in British Cinemas. Kevin Maher, writing in ""The Times"", said the restoration was ""crisp"" whilst describing the film as being a ""..definitive fantasy classic"" and also as ""essential viewing."" The Academy Film Archive preserved ""A Matter of Life and Death"" in 1999. According to Powell in his ""A Life in Movies"", the United States was the only market in which the film's name was"
"Tangier (1946 film) Tangier is a 1946 black-and-white thriller film set in the city of Tangier, Morocco that was directed by George Waggner and filmed on Universal's backlot. It was one of the last Universal Pictures films before it merged into Universal-International in July 1946. The film features a variety of well-known Universal players completing their contracts, such as Maria Montez, Robert Paige and Louise Allbritton, and well-known 1940s stars Preston Foster and Sabu who sings ""She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain"". The film was made at the insistence of Maria Montez who was sick of being typecast in Technicolor"
"ordinary existence and financial troubles. Driven to suicide on Christmas Eve, he is led to reassess his life by Clarence Odbody, an ""angel, second class"" played by Henry Travers. Although ""It's a Wonderful Life"" was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Stewart's third Best Actor nomination, it received mixed reviews and only disappointingly moderate success at the box office. However, in the decades since the film's release, it grew to define Stewart's film persona and is widely considered as a sentimental Christmas film classic and, according to the American Film Institute, one of the 100 best American movies ever made."
"and ""State of the Union"" (1948). The first of these was a box office disappointment, but was nominated for five Academy Awards. While the film did not resonate with audiences in 1946, its popularity has grown through the years. In 1998, the American Film Institute (AFI) named it one of the best films ever made, putting it at 11th on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list of the top American films of all time. In 2006, the AFI put the film at the top of its AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers list, ranking what AFI considers the most inspirational American movies of"
"Dressed to Kill (1946 film) Dressed to Kill, released in 1946, also known as Prelude to Murder (working title) and Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code in the United Kingdom, is the last of fourteen films starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson. A convicted thief in Dartmoor prison (played by an uncredited Cyril Delevanti) hides the location of stolen Bank of England printing plates inside three music boxes (each of which plays a subtly different version of ""The Swagman""). The boxes are sold at a local auction house. The brain of the gang belongs"
"popular film at the British box office in 1946. Also well liked was ""The Magic Bow"" (1946), with Calvert and Kent, where Granger played Niccolò Paganini That year he was voted the third-most popular British star, and the sixth-most popular overall. Granger went over to Rank, for whom he made a series of historical dramas: ""Captain Boycott"" (1947), set in Ireland, directed by Frank Launder; ""Blanche Fury"" (1948), with Valerie Hobson; and ""Saraband for Dead Lovers"" (1948), an Ealing Studios production. Granger was cast as the outsider, the handsome gambler Philip Christoph von Königsmarck who is perceived as 'not quite"
"until he reached an Allied position. In 1945, Travers was promoted to the rank of major, and he joined Force 136 Special Operations Executive and was parachuted into Malaya. Travers was responsible for training and tactical decisions with the main resistance movement, the communist-led Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA). Major Travers left the armed forces in 1947. Travers got out of the army in 1947 and decided to become an actor. He began working on stage in 1949, then a year later made his film debut in ""Conspirator"" (1949). He had unbilled parts in ""Trio"" (1950), and ""The Wooden Horse"""
"being kept on ice by Margaret and her cronies, who also have made Jim their prisoner. Hank rescues his brother with Audrey's help, whereupon Jim jokingly invites him to meet again later at the same bar. Crime of the Century (1946 film) Crime of the Century is a 1946 American crime drama directed by Philip Ford. Hank Rogers is released from prison after serving time for a minor crime. He arranges to meet his brother Jim, a newspaper reporter, in a bar, where Hank is distracted by attractive Audrey Brandon. His brother doesn't show up, and at Jim's apartment, Audrey"
"The Strange Love of Martha Ivers The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is a 1946 American film noir drama directed by Lewis Milestone from a screenplay written by Robert Rossen (and an uncredited Robert Riskin), based on the short story ""Love Lies Bleeding"" by playwright John ""Jack"" Patrick. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott and features Kirk Douglas in his film debut. The film was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival. In 1974, the film entered the public domain in the United States because the claimants did not renew its copyright"