James Dunn
James Dunn worked on the stage, in vaudeville and as an extra in silent movies before he was signed by Fox in 1931. His first movie with Fox was 1931's Sob Sister (1931). While at Fox, he appeared with Shirley Temple in her first three features: Baby Take a Bow (1934), Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) and Bright Eyes (1934). Dunn's screen character was usually the boy next door or the nice guy. In 1935 musicals at the new 20th Century-Fox were out and Dunn would move to the "B" list, from which he would never return. In The Payoff (1935) he plays the nice guy newspaper columnist whose wife ruins his career. By the late 1930s he was drinking heavily and become unemployable. He would appear in small roles in films during the early 1940s, but those parts were few. In 1945 he was able to make a comeback and win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), but his rejuvenated career would not continue. By 1951 he would again be unemployed and bankrupt. Television would later supply some work and he would be a regular on the series It's a Great Life (1954).
Dunn was born 2 November 1901, New York City, New York, USA, and he died 1 September 1967, Santa Monica, California, USA (following abdominal surgery)
Acted in
Hollywood’s Children
1982
as Self (archive footage)
The Biggest Little Star of the 30's
1976
as Self(archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
as Self (archive footage)
Shadow Over Elveron
1968
as Luke Travers
The Oscar
1966
as TV executive
Branded
1965
The Great Adventure
1963
as Indian Agent McLean
The Fugitive
1963
as Lou Bragan
Vacation Playhouse
1963
as P.J. Cunningham
Going My Way
1962
The Virginian
1962
as Congressman Matthew J. Cosgrove
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man
1962
as Telegrapher
Ben Casey
1961
Route 66
1960
The Bramble Bush
1960
as Stew Schaffer
Rawhide
1959
Naked City
1958
as Peter Wilkin
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
as Gabe Henshaw
Mr. Broadway
1957
The Ninth Day
1957
Matinee Theater
1955
Screen Director's Playhouse
1955
as Sheriff Garrett
Climax!
1954
as Eldon Abernathy
Climax!
1954
as Warren
It's a Great Life
1954
as Earl Morgan
General Electric Theater
1953
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Dan McLain
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Joey
A Wonderful Life
1950
as Henry Wood
The Golden Gloves Story
1950
as Joe Riley
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
Studio One
1948
Studio One
1948
as Frank Gabriel
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
1948
as Mike
Killer McCoy
1947
as Brian McCoy
That Brennan Girl
1946
as Denny Reagan
The Caribbean Mystery
1945
as Mr. Smith
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1945
as Johnny Nolan
Leave It to the Irish
1944
as Terry Moran
Take It or Leave It
1944
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Government Girl
1943
as Sergeant Joe Blake
The Ghost and the Guest
1943
as Webster Frye
The Living Ghost
1942
as Nick Trayne
Hold That Woman!
1940
as Jimmy Parker
Son of the Navy
1940
as Chief Gunners Mate Mike Malone
Mercy Plane
1939
as 'Speed' Leslie
Pride of the Navy
1939
as Speed Brennan
Shadows Over Shanghai
1938
as Johnny McGinty
Living on Love
1937
as Gary Martin
Venus Makes Trouble
1937
as Buzz Martin
We Have Our Moments
1937
as John Wade
Mysterious Crossing
1936
as Addison Francis Murphy
Come Closer, Folks
1936
as Jim Keene
Two-Fisted Gentleman
1936
as Mickey
Hearts in Bondage
1936
as Lt. Kenneth Reynolds
Bad Boy
1935
as Eddie Nolan
Welcome Home
1935
as Richard Foster
The Daring Young Man
1935
as Don McLane
George White's 1935 Scandals
1935
as Eddie
The Payoff
1935
as Joe McCoy
Bright Eyes
1934
as Loop Merritt
365 Nights in Hollywood
1934
as James 'Jimmy' Dale
Have a Heart
1934
as James 'Jimmie' Flaherty
Baby Take a Bow
1934
as Eddie Ellison
Change of Heart
1934
as Mark McGowan
Stand Up and Cheer!
1934
as Jimmy Dugan
Hold That Girl
1934
as Barney Sullivan
Take a Chance
1933
as Duke Stanley
Jimmy and Sally
1933
as Jimmy O'Connor
Arizona to Broadway
1933
as Smiley Wells
The Girl in 419
1933
as Dr. Daniel French
Hold Me Tight
1933
as Chuck
Hello, Sister!
1933
as Jimmy
Sailor's Luck
1933
as Jimmy Fenimore Harrigan
Handle with Care
1932
as Bill Gordon
Society Girl
1932
as Johnny Malone
Dance Team
1932
as Jimmy Mulligan
Over the Hill
1931
as Johnny Shelby as an Adult
Sob Sister
1931
as Garry Webster
Bad Girl
1931
as Eddie Collins
The Song Plugger
1930
as Man in Record Shop
In the Nick of Time
1929