Maurice Black
Maurice Black (January 14, 1891 – January 18, 1938) was an American character actor known for his portrayal of mobsters. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1928 to 1938, when he died of pneumonia, four days after his 47th birthday. He was married to Edythe... Read full bio →
Featured Characters
Roles you can spot in Whatthemovie snapshots
Walking Down Broadway
Five closely knit showgirls sign a pact to reunite one year after the closing of their Broadway production, but the lives of all five take many different turns, often for the worse.
Ellis Island
It opens in 1926 when three bank robbers, Theodore Kedrich, Jan Imarski, and Petra Lonelli, stage a daring daylight bank robbery and get away with a million dollars in cash. They are soon apprehended and sent to prison for ten years but the money is not recovered.
Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein begins where James Whale's Frankenstein from 1931 ended. Dr. Frankenstein has not been killed as previously portrayed and now he wants to get away from the mad experiments. Yet when his wife is kidnapped by his creation, Frankenstein agrees to help him create a new monster, this time a woman.
Bonnie Scotland
Stan and Ollie stow away to Scotland expecting to inherit the MacLaurel estate. When things don't quite turn out that way, they unwittingly enlist in the Scottish army and are posted to India.
Twin Husbands
The wife of a businessman and his secretary attempt to trick her husband's double into impersonating him so they can get their hands on what remains of his wealth.
Picture Snatcher
An ex-con uses his street smarts to become a successful photojournalist.
Flying down to Rio
A bandleader woos a Latin flame who is already engaged to his employer.
Blondie Johnson
A Depression-downtrodden waif uses her brains instead of her body to rise from tyro con artist to crime boss.
A Shriek in the Night
Pat Morgan and Ted Kord are rival newspaper reporters always trying to outscoop each other. They join together to solve a series of murders being committed in an apartment building.
While Paris Sleeps
To save his daughter Manon from falling into the hands of a vicious gang of pimps, convict Jacques Costard escapes from jail. Jacques' problems are twofold: he must keep Manon from being abducted into a life of prostitution, and he must also hide his true identity from the girl, who has been raised to believe that Jacques died a hero in WWI.
Tiger Shark
A Portuguese tuna fisherman (Edward G. Robinson) catches his bride (Zita Johann) with his first mate (Richard Arlen).
The King Murder
A beautiful blonde makes a career out of seducing and then blackmailing wealthy married men. She is found murdered after demanding a $5000 payoff from her latest victim, and the detective investigating the case finds out that she was involved in a lot more than just blackmail.
Scarface
Scarface is a brutal gangster film from 1932 from director Howard Hawks that depicts the fall of a Chicago gangster.
The Front Page
Hildy Johnson is an investigative reporter looking for a bigger paycheck. When an accused murderer escapes from custody, Hildy sees an opportunity for the story of a lifetime. But when he finds the criminal, he learns that the man may not be guilty.
Smart Money
A Greek barber has uncommon skills in playing poker and soon rises in the seedy world of illegal gambling, but pretty blondes remain his Achilles' heel.
Little Caesar
A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?
The Sea God
The Sea God is an early sound melodrama about two men vying for Fay Wray and wealth in the South Pacific.
Framed
Woman swears revenge against an Inspector who was responsible for her father's death.
Abraham Lincoln
A biopic dramatizing Abraham Lincoln's life through a series of vignettes depicting its defining chapters: his romance with Ann Rutledge; his early years as a country lawyer; his marriage to Mary Todd; his debates with Stephen A. Douglas; the election of 1860; his presidency during the Civil War; and his assassination in Ford’s Theater in 1865.
Captain Swagger
Hugh Drummond goes broke living too high and turns to crime in order to pay his bills.