James Gleason
James Gleason was born in New York City to William Gleason and Mina Crolius, who were both in the theatre. He was married to Lucile Gleason (born Lucile Webster), and had a son, Russell Gleason. As a young man James fought in the Spanish-American War. After the war he joined... Read full bio →
Featured Characters
Roles you can spot in Whatthemovie snapshots
The Last Hurrah
Frank Skeffington is an old Irish-American political boss, running for re-election as mayor of a U.S. town for the last time.
The Female Animal
Jaded movie star Vanessa Windsor, saved from a studio accident by handsome extra Chris Farley, pursues him, and soon he's the 'caretaker' of her beach house. Vanessa's sexy, alcoholic adult daughter Penny accidentally meets Chris, who rescues her from an 'octopus' boyfriend.
Rock-a-Bye Baby
A Movie star has triplets, but does not want her beloved public to find out. Has she made a mistake in hiring Jerry Lewis as the babysitter ?
Money, Women and Guns
Celebrated detective traces and finds beneficiaries to the will of a gold prospector murdered by bushwhackers.
Man in the Shadow
In a modern cow town, the powerful ranch owner’s henchmen kill a ranch hand, prompting the sheriff to investigate despite facing strong opposition. He finds an unlikely ally in the rancher's overprotected daughter, but their quest for justice puts them both in danger.
Loving You
Deliveryman Deke Rivers is discovered by publicist Glenda Markle and country-western musician Tex Warner who want to promote him to fame and fortune, giving him every break he deserves. Romantic complications arise as Susan, another singer in the group, offers him devoted admiration as Glenda leads him on with promises of a golden future.
Star in the Dust
A sheriff planning on legally hanging a killer, has to contend with farmers who want to lynch him, and cattlemen who want to help him escape.
The Night of the Hunter
A religious fanatic marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real daddy hid $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.
Suddenly
In the city of Suddenly, three gangsters trap the Benson family in their own house, on the top of a hill nearby the railroad station, with the intention of killing the president of the USA.
What Price Glory
Two soldiers compete for the love if a young Frenchwoman during World War I.
We're Not Married!
A Justice of the Peace performed weddings a few days before his license was valid. A few years later five couples learn they have never been legally married. Annabel Norris, already Mrs. Mississippi and ready to enter the Mrs. America contest, is now free to enter the Miss Mississippi contest.
Joe Palooka in Triple Cross
Joe and Anne Palooka, along with Joe's trainer Knobby, are vacationing when they a kidnapped by The Professor and his gang. The Professor plans to make Joe throw a fight (and shows up at the fight dressed as Anne's aunt).
Come Fill the Cup
Director Gordon Douglas' 1951 drama stars James Cagney as a newspaperman battling his alcoholism. The cast also includes Gig Young (Oscar nominee, Best Supporting Actor), Phyllis Thaxter, Raymond Massey, James Gleason, Selena Royle, Larry Keating, Sheldon Leonard and King Donovan.
The Yellow Cab Man
A clumsy, accident-prone taxicab driver, after inventing elastic glass, risks losing his valuable invention to a group of con men led by a crooked lawyer, but the pretty lady owner of the Yellow Cab Co. comes to his aid.
Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle
Joe is witness to a mob killing. Two of the killers are after him. He is drugged before the big fight which is watched on TV by his manager Knobby and the thugs who are holding Knobby hostage.
Take One False Step
Catherine Sykes disappears after a midnight drive with Professor Andrew Gentling . When she's presumed murdered, his friend Martha convinces him that he's a prime suspect and should investigate before he's arrested.
When My Baby Smiles at Me
Bonny Kane and 'Skid' Johnson are vaudeville performers in the 1920s. The two of them suffer marital difficulties when Skid gets an offer to appear on Broadway while Bonny gets left behind on the road.
Tycoon
Engineer Johnny Munroe is enlisted to build a railroad tunnel through a mountain to reach mines. His task is complicated, and his ethics are compromised, when he falls in love with his boss's daughter
The Bishop's Wife
A debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.
Down to Earth
A goddess angered by a musical's take on Greek myths joins the show's cast and convinces the producer to make changes, but her revisions turn it into a failure.
The Clock
A G.I. en route to Europe falls in love during a whirlwind two-day leave in New York City.
Captain Eddie
WWI flyer Eddie Rickenbaker remembers his life which brought him from a car salesman, race driver and pilot in WWI, to an important person in the early years of civil airline service, after his plane crashed in the South Pacific in late 1942.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
In Brooklyn circa 1900, the Nolans manage to enjoy life on pennies despite great poverty and Papa's alcoholism.
The Keys of the Kingdom
A Scottish priest spends more than 50 years spreading Christianity in China.
Once Upon a Time
A cash-strapped theater producer promotes a nine-year-old boy's dancing caterpillar.
Arsenic and Old Lace
The American screwball comedy from 1944 based off of the theatrical piece of the same name from Joseph Kesselring adapted from the author Julius J. Epstein. Cary Grant’s hands are full when his crazy family neglects his marriage.
Crash Dive
A submarine lieutenant and his commander fall in love with the same girl.
A Guy Named Joe
A dead World War II bomber pilot, Pete Sandidge becomes the guardian angel of another pilot, Ted Randall. He guides Ted through battle and helping him to romance his old girlfriend, despite her excessive devotion to Sandidge's memory.
The Falcon Takes Over
A society sleuth and a lady reporter try to track down a murderous thug's lost girlfriend.Based on the Raymond Chandler book "Farewell, My Lovely".
Tales of Manhattan
Ten screenwriters collaborated on this series of tales concerning the effect a tailcoat cursed by its tailor has on those who wear it. The video release features a W.C. Fields segment not included in the original theatrical release.
My Gal Sal
Biopic chronicling the early life of gay nineties-era songwriter Paul Dresser as he outgrows his job as carnival entertainer and moves up into New York society, writing one hit song after another. Despite his egotistical behavior, he manages to woo and win Sally Elliott, one of the more popular songstresses of the day
Hay Foot
Colonel Barkley is very proud of his assistant, Sergeant Doubleday, who has a photographic memory. Doubleday shows off his book knowledge on firearms during a class given by Sergeant Ames, embarrassing him.
A Date with the Falcon
A scientist has discovered how to make synthetic diamonds and a criminal gang (closely pursued by the Falcon) are out to discover the formula.
Meet John Doe
A penniless drifter is recruited by an ambitious columnist to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Boxer Joe Pendleton dies 50 years too soon due to a heavenly mistake and is given a new life as a millionaire playboy.
Babes on Broadway
Penny Morris and Tommy Williams are both starstruck young teens but nobody seems to give them any chance to perform. Instead they decide to put up their own show to collect money for a summer camp for the kids.
Forty Naughty Girls
Hildegarde Withers (ZaSu Pitts) and Inspector Piper (James Gleason) try to solve a murder while attending the opening-night performance of a Broadway show. Comedy-mystery.
The Plot Thickens
A priceless Cellini silver cup is stolen from a local museum with both Hildegarde and Oscar on the case.
Murder on a Bridle Path
When the body of Violet Feverel is discovered on the Central Park bridle path, Inspector Oscar Piper is about to declare her death accidental from a thrown horse, until his friend and amateur detective Hildegarde Withers locates the horse and discovers blood on the horse.
Murder on a Honeymoon
A schoolteacher and amateur sleuth suspects foul play when a fellow passenger on a sea-plane gets sick and dies. The third and last film with Edna May Oliver and James Gleason as the astute schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers and the New York Police Inspector Oscar Piper busy solving crimes. Based on a series of crime novels by Stuart Palmer.
Search for Beauty
Three con artists dupe two Olympians into serving as editors of a new health and beauty magazine which is only a front for salacious stories and pictures.
Murder on the Blackboard
There are plenty of guilty secrets at the school where Hildegarde Withers teaches. When she finds the body of the pretty music teacher, she calls in her old friend Inspector Piper, who promptly arrests the obvious suspect. Clues multiply and everyone looks suspicious as Piper and Miss Withers continue their battle of the sexes.
Penguin Pool Murder
The body of unscrupulous stockbroker Gerald Parker suddenly appears in the penguin tank at the aquarium.
A Free Soul
An alcoholic lawyer who successfully defended a notorious gambler on a murder charge objects when his free-spirited daughter becomes romantically involved with him.
Her Man
A prostitute sees a friendly sailor as a way out of Havana's grimy underworld.
The Broadway Melody
A pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.