dbinia
William Stack

William Stack

William Stack has been often mistaken as British in the scant bio information available on him - he could imitate many a British accent. He was actually born in Oregon. But like many Americans who wished to become serious stage actors and seeing New York as overly competitive, he went to London as a young man. Not much is known about his career there, but with many theaters (almost fifty) and companies around, the opportunities for a talented young man were there. From the craze for post cards with the subject of photos - and especially those of actors that ensued between about 1890 and 1914, there exist pictures of Stack as Hamlet. So Stack did find initial success, and by 1918 he tried his hand in the budding British silent film industry with not much initial interest - just one film that year and another in 1922, then back to the stage.

But by 1930 Stack was back in America - and not to Broadway (perhaps in a touring company, but at least not on record as a principal), as was a stage actor's usual course. He did end up in early Hollywood sound pictures - those with marginal sound quality - first with Fredric March as the star in Sarah and Son (1930). With a rich stage actor's voice and accents to apply where needed - and appreciated as audio technology improved - he appeared in from four to ramping up to as many as ten pictures per year through the 1930s. Moving into his 50s, bald and dignified, his roles were focused as featured character pieces - assured doctors, lawyers, judges, nobles, and several butlers. He was one of the Crawley clan in Becky Sharp (1935), the first feature-length three-color film. He perhaps gained press from being in one movie of some scandalous notoriety - Tarzan and His Mate (1934) in which Maureen O'Sullivan appeared to swim nude (somebody else in a body stocking). Although he had a few lines as a white hunter, in this and other films (of note, MGM's first and most famous version of Mutiny on the Bounty, 1935), Stack was not credited for his always believable characterizations.

The year 1936 provided Stack with some his most memorable historical roles. He played the French general Montcalm of the French and Indian War in the popular The Last of the Mohicans (1936) with Randolph Scott. The same year he played a much richer character in the film adaptation of the play Mary of Scotland (1936) directed by John Ford. Along with an assemblage of some of the best character actors of Hollywood, Stack played one among a rogues' gallery of self-seeking Scottish lords who included: Robert Barrat, Gavin Muir (another American who spent time in England and was often thought to be British), and Ian Keith. Stack is able to be most Shakespearean, vying in Scottish brogue with his fellow conspirators as the sly Lord Ruthven. Although Stack appeared in many of the best A pictures of the later 1930s, many did not give credit for his great acting skills. There were only a few movies into the 1940s, before he retired - leaving film history all the richer for his screen presence.

Among the Living

1941

as Minister

So Ends Our Night

1941

as Professor Meyer

The Lady in Question

1940

as Mr. Marinier (uncredited)

The Earl of Chicago

1940

as Coroner (uncredited)

Gone with the Wind

1939

as Minister (uncredited)

A Criminal Is Born

1938

as Judge Charles Edwin Marshall (uncredited)

Four Men and a Prayer

1938

as Prosecuting Attorney

Man-Proof

1938

as Minister

Captains Courageous

1937

as Elliott (uncredited)

The Soldier and the Lady

1937

as Grand Duke

History Is Made at Night

1937

Criminal Lawyer

1937

as District Attorney Hopkins

Stowaway

1936

as Alfred Kruikshank

Pennies from Heaven

1936

as Clarence B. Carmichael

Libeled Lady

1936

as Editor (uncredited)

His Brother's Wife

1936

as Winters

Mary of Scotland

1936

as Ruthven

The Last of the Mohicans

1936

as General Montcalm

The Perfect Gentleman

1935

as Sir Percy Phillips (uncredited)

Mutiny on the Bounty

1935

as Judge Advocate (uncredited)

Becky Sharp

1935

as Pitt Crawley

College Scandal

1935

as Dr. Henri Fresnel

I've Been Around

1935

as Doctor

The Winning Ticket

1935

as Jeffries

Hell in the Heavens

1934

as Capt. Andre De Laage

What Every Woman Knows

1934

as Tenterden, Sybil's Brother (uncredited)

Chained

1934

as James (uncredited)

The Fountain

1934

as Commandant

Manhattan Melodrama

1934

as Judge (uncredited)

Charlie Chan's Greatest Case

1933

as James Eagan

Penthouse

1933

as Rutherford (uncredited)

Parachute Jumper

1933

as Maitre D' (uncredited)

Payment Deferred

1932

as A Doctor

Son of India

1931

as Polo Club President (uncredited)

The Right to Love

1930

as Dr. Fowler

Romance

1930

as Gossiping Party Guest (uncredited)

Sarah and Son

1930

as Cyril Belloc