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