Morris Ankrum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum, August 28, 1896 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television and film character actor.
Before signing with Paramount Pictures in the 1930s, Nussbaum had already changed his last name to Ankrum. Upon signing with the studio, he chose to use the name "Stephen Morris" before changing it to Morris Ankrum in 1939.
Ankrum's stern visage and sharply defined features helped cast him in supporting roles as stalwart authority figures, including scientists, military men (particularly army officers), judges and even psychiatrists in more than 150 films, mostly B movies. One standout role was in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's production of Tennessee Johnson (1942), a biographical film about Andrew Johnson, the 17th U.S. president. As Sen. Jefferson Davis, Ankrum movingly addresses the United States Senate upon his resignation to lead the Confederate States of America as that republic's first—and only—president. Ankrum's film career was extensive and spanned 30 years. His credits were largely concentrated in the western and science-fiction genres.
Ankrum appeared in such westerns as Ride 'Em Cowboy in 1942, Vera Cruz opposite Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, Apache (1954), and Cattle Queen of Montana with Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan.
In the sci-fi genre, he appeared in Rocketship X-M (1950), Flight to Mars (1951), as a Martian, Red Planet Mars (1952), playing the United States Secretary of Defense; the cult classic Invaders From Mars (1953), playing a United States Army officer; and as an Army general in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956). In 1957 he played a psychiatrist in the cult sci-fi classic Kronos and had military-officer roles in Beginning of the End and The Giant Claw.
Known for
Perry Mason
Judge
Perry Mason
Judge Hoyt
Studio One
Considine
Maverick
Joshua Haines
The Rifleman
Cheyenne
John Clements
Four Star Playhouse
Warden
Four Star Playhouse
Mr. Mason
Four Star Playhouse
Mr. Raymond
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Henry
Gunsmoke
Merle
Sea Hunt
M Squad
Police Inspector Dean
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
Walter Harwood
Desire Me
Hector Martin
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
Cherokee Strip
Hawk Barrett
Swing Fever
Dan Conlon
Fighting Back
Robert J. Higby
Roxie Hart
Martin S. Harrison
Chain Lightning
Ed Bostwick
Fall Guy
District Attorney (uncredited)
Hiawatha
Iagoo
Cowboy G-Men
Omar Khayyam
Sharain's Father
My Favorite Spy
Gen. Frazer
Badman's Country
Mayor Coleman
Souvenirs of Death
Gangster (uncredited)
Dr. Fu Manchu
Professor Rutledge
Stand Up and Cheer!
Washington Press Correspondent
Crashout
Head Guard
Silver Lode
Zachary Evans
Fighting Coast Guard
Navy Captain
High Wall
Dr. Stanley Griffin
Tarawa Beachhead
Chief of Staff, Pearl Harbor (uncredited)
In a Lonely Place
Lloyd Barnes
Sky Commando
Gen. W.R. Combs
The Movie Orgy
Self (archive footage)
Invaders from Mars
Col. Fielding
Son of Ali Baba
Ali Baba
Mexican Manhunt
Tip Morgan
Colorado Territory
United States Marshal
I Beheld His Glory
Peter
Rationing
Morgan
Hell's Crossroads
Wheeler
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Judge (uncredited)
Joan of Arc
Poton de Xaintrailles, Captain
Two Guns and a Badge
Sheriff Jackson
Song of the Thin Man
Inspector (uncredited)
The Redhead and the Cowboy
Sheriff
Rocketship X-M
Dr. Ralph Fleming
The Green Years
Dr. Galbraith
The Harvey Girls
Rev. Claggett
Naked Gun
Sheriff Jim Jackson (as Morrie Ankrum)
Wide Open Town
Jim Stuart
Tales of Manhattan
Judge
The Fountainhead
Prosecutor (uncredited)
Beginning of the End
Gen. John Hanson
The Sea of Grass
A.J. Crane
Reunion in France
Martin
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
Brig. Gen. John Hanley
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Adm. William F. Halsey - Captain of the 'Hornet' (uncredited)
Phantoms, Inc.
Narrator (voice)
Lady in the Lake
Eugene Grayson
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
Mr. Bowhead (uncredited)
Vera Cruz
Gen. Ramírez
Road Agent
Big John Morgan
Borderline
Bill Whittaker
Bad Men of Tombstone
Mr. Jones
The Cross of Lorraine
Col. Demas (uncredited)
Flight to Mars
Ikron
Apache
Dawson
Purity Squad
Dr. Adams (uncredited)
The Giant Claw
Lt. Gen. Edward Considine
Courage of Lassie
Farmer Crews
Taza, Son of Cochise
Grey Eagle
The Steel Cage
Prison Board Member Garvey, segment "The Hostages"
We Were Strangers
M. Seymour
Along the Great Divide
Ed Roden
The Thin Man Goes Home
Willoughby Peavy
The Man Behind The Gun
Bram Creegan
I Wake Up Screaming
Assistant District Attorney
Because of You
Dr. Travis
Cattle Queen of Montana
J.I. 'Pop' Jones
From the Earth to the Moon
President Ulysses S. Grant
Chief Crazy Horse
Red Cloud
Adventure
Mr. Ludlow - Farmer (uncredited)
The Damned Don't Cry
Jim Whitehead
Zombies of Mora Tau
Dr. Jonathan Eggert
Red Planet Mars
Secretary of Defense Sparks
Cynthia
Mr. Phillips, Principal
Tower of London
The Archbishop
Mutiny
Capt. Radford
Guns of Diablo
Ray Macklin
Best Foot Forward
Col. Harkrider
The Heavenly Body
Dr. Green
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
Wood
Duel on the Mississippi
Magistrate (uncredited)
How to Make a Monster
Police Capt. Hancock
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Ace Anderson
Giant from the Unknown
Dr. Frederick Cleveland
Half Human: The Story of the Abominable Snowman
Dr. Carl Jordan
Time to Kill
Alexander Morny
Drango
Henry Calder
Devil's Canyon
Ed
Kronos
Dr. Albert Stern
Fort Vengeance
Chief Crowfoot
Merton of the Movies
Goodfellow's Club Manager (uncredited)
The Raiders
Thomas Ainsworth
Drums Across the River
Chief Ouray
The Lion Hunters
Tom Forbes
Fort Osage
Arthur Pickett
Tennessee's Partner
Judge Parker
The Last Command
Curse of the Faceless Man
Narrator (unconfirmed)
The Mighty McGurk
Fowles
Walk the Proud Land
Gen. Wade
Return from Nowhere
Doctor (uncredited)
Meet the People
Monte Rowland
The Showdown
Baron Rendor
Let's Face It
Man in Sun Shell Cafe
Tennessee Johnson
Jefferson Davis
Good News
Dean Griswold
The Cockeyed Miracle
Dr. Wilson
The Saga of Hemp Brown
Bo Slauter
The Roundup
'Parenthesis'
Short Grass
Hal Fenton
The Power of the Resurrection
Annas
Barbary Coast Gent
Alec Veeder
Border Vigilantes
Dan Forbes
The Moonlighter
Alexander Prince
Main Street Today
Mayor Charlie Maxwell (uncredited)
Tomorrow Is Another Day
Hugh Wagner
The Eternal Sea
Vice-Adm. Arthur Dewey Struble
Southside 1-1000
Eugene Deane
The Hidden Eye
Ferris (henchman)
The Little Lamb: A Christmas Story
Azar the Shepherd
The Omaha Trail
Henchman Job
Young and Wild
Police Capt. Egan
Little Mister Jim
Col. W.I. Starwell
Borderland
Loco
Arena
Bucky Hillberry
Southwest Passage
Dr. Stanton
Knights of the Range
Gamecock
Rustlers' Valley
Glen Randall
Doomed Caravan
Stephen Westcott
Most Dangerous Man Alive
Capt. Davis
The Light of Western Stars
Nat Hayworth
Twilight for the Gods
Sea Captain
In Old Colorado
Weiler, Davidson's Foreman
Flight Nurse
Interrogation Officer
For the Love of Mary
Adm. Walton
Quincannon, Frontier Scout
Col. Harry Conover
No Man's Woman
Capt. Hostedder
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe
Mr. Graham
Three Young Texans
Jeff Blair
The Bandit Trail
Red Haggerty
The Desperados Are in Town
Mr. Rutherford
North of the Rio Grande
Henry Stoneham
Dark Shadows
Lt. Pat McKay
This Woman Is Mine
Roussel
Three Men from Texas
Bruce Morgan
Hopalong Cassidy Returns
Blackie Felton
Buck Benny Rides Again
Second Outlaw
The Silver Star
Charlie Childress
Pirates on Horseback
Ace Gibson
Gentle Annie
Deputy Gansby
Marriage Is a Private Affair
Ed Scofield
Fury at Gunsight Pass
Doc Phillips
A Star Shall Rise
King Herod
Dixie Dugan
Editor
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
Gen. Lew Wallace
The Outlaw Stallion
Sheriff
When Gangland Strikes
Leo Fantzler
Hills of Old Wyoming
Andrews
Trail Dust
Tex Anderson
Frontier Gun
Andrew Barton
The Fabulous Fraud
Blind Girl's Father