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Willie Best
Actor 1913 - 1962

Willie Best

Sunflower, Mississippi, USA

William “Willie” Best (May 27, 1916 - February 27, 1962), sometimes known as “Sleep n' Eat,” was an American television and film actor. Best was one of the first African-American film actors and comedians to become well known. In the 21st century, his work, like that of Stepin... Read full bio →

Filmography

Every title this person appears in

31 titles
Shanghai Chest

Shanghai Chest

William Beaudine 1948 1h 5m 6.5

Charlie attempts to solve a triple murder in which a dead man's finger prints show up at all three murder sites.

The Face of Marble

The Face of Marble

William Beaudine 1946 1h 12m 6.0

In his isolated seaside home, Dr. Randolph is so obsessed with re-animating the dead in his lab that he doesn't realize his wife is in love with his assistant. The web of intrigue grows when Randolph sends for his assistant's fiancée.

The Bride Wore Boots

The Bride Wore Boots

Irving Pichel 1946 1h 25m 6.0

A bookish historian is married to a steely Southern belle who raises horses, an animal that he doesn't care for. However, the cute young neighbor girl doesn't feel that way about him and makes no bones about letting him know it.

Dangerous Money

Dangerous Money

Terry O. Morse 1946 1h 6m 5.3

A treasury agent on the trail of counterfeit money confides to fellow ocean liner passenger, Charlie Chan, that there have been two attempts on his life.

The Red Dragon

The Red Dragon

Phil Rosen 1945 1h 4m 4.0

Chan is faced with suspects in a stolen atomic bomb formula case, that are being killed with bullets that are not fired from a gun.

Hold That Blonde!

Hold That Blonde!

George Marshall 1945 1h 16m 6.0

A kleptomaniac falls in love with a woman who is member of a gang of jewel thieves, although he's initially unaware of her true occupation.

The Mark of the Whistler

The Mark of the Whistler

William Castle 1944 1h 2m 5.5

A drifter claims the money in an old bank account. Soon he finds himself the target of two men who turn out to be the sons of the man's old partner, who is now in prison because of a conflict with him over the money in that account.

Music for Millions

Music for Millions

Henry Koster 1944 1h 57m

Six year old "Mike" joins her sister Barbara Ainsworth who plays in a classical orchestra during WWII

Cabin in the Sky

Cabin in the Sky

Vincente Minnelli 1943 1h 38m

When compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson dies in a drunken fight, he awakens in purgatory, where he learns that he will be sent back to Earth for six months to prove that he deserves to be in heaven.

A-Haunting We Will Go

A-Haunting We Will Go

Alfred L. Werker 1942 1h 8m 6.0

Stan and Ollie get involved with con men, crooks, a genial magician, and two interchangeable coffins with disastrous but funny results.

Road Show

Road Show

Hal Roach 1941 1h 27m 6.0

Rich playboy Drogo Gaines is in imminent danger of marrying a gold digger, and escapes by feigning insanity. The joke's on him when he wakes up in an asylum full of comical lunatics. There he befriends Colonel Carraway, and together they escape, catching a ride with a beautiful blonde who proves to be Penguin Moore, carnival owner.

High Sierra

High Sierra

Raoul Walsh 1941 1h 40m 7.9

See Bogie at his best as world weary "Mad Dog Roy Earle" Given a pardon from jail he gets back into the swing of things as he robs a swanky resort.

The Ghost Breakers

The Ghost Breakers

George Marshall 1940 1h 25m 6.5

After intrepid working girl Mary Carter becomes the new owner of a reputedly haunted mansion located off the Cuban coast, a stranger phones warning her to stay away from the castle.

I Take This Woman

I Take This Woman

W.S. Van Dyke 1940 1h 38m 3.0

On return from Europe Dr. Decker foils glamour girl Georgi from jumping overboard. At Decker's suggestion to keep busy, she assists at his clinic in the slums.

Blondie on a Budget

Blondie on a Budget

Frank R. Strayer 1940 1h 12m 6.0

Dagwood wants to join the trout club and Blondie wants a fur coat. Jealousy reigns when Dag's old girlfriend Joan shows up, but nothing else matters when a drawing at the movie theatre provides money for the coat.

The Saint Strikes Back

The Saint Strikes Back

John Farrow 1939 1h 4m

The Saint returns... but this time he's up to his old tricks in San Francisco.

Slightly Honorable

Slightly Honorable

Tay Garnett 1939 1h 25m 6.0

A lawyer is framed for the murder of a young party girl and tries to clear his name.

Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter

Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter

William Clemens 1939 1h 8m

When a close friend of the Drew family is accused of murder in a rural community, Nancy, aided by boyfriend Ted, helps her lawyer father expose the real killers.

Mr. Moto in Danger Island

Mr. Moto in Danger Island

Herbert I. Leeds 1939 1h 4m 8.0

In Puerto Rico to investigate a glut of contraband diamonds that are flooding the world's jewel market, Mr. Moto and his sidekick, a wrestler, find themselves involved in murders by thrown daggers, the frame-up of an overstressed Army colonel, and a pirate gang led by an unknown boss who has inside knowledge of the ensuing investigation.

Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation

Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation

Norman Foster 1939 1h 5m 7.0

Mr. Moto is in Egypt to thwart a criminal mastermind determined to steal the priceless crown of the Queen of Sheba. When the precious treasure is transported to America, Mr. Moto must race against time to unmask the cunning thief who will stop at nothing—not even murder—to get what he wants.

Blondie Brings Up Baby

Blondie Brings Up Baby

Frank R. Strayer 1939 1h 12m 6.0

Baby Dumpling, the six-year-old son of Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead disappears from sight during his first day at school.

At the Circus

At the Circus

Edward Buzzell 1939 1h 27m

The Marx Brothers try to help the owner of a circus recover some stolen funds before he finds himself out of a job.

Vivacious Lady

Vivacious Lady

George Stevens 1938 1h 30m 6.0

On a quick trip to the city, young university professor Peter Morgan falls in love with nightclub performer Francey Brent and marries her after a whirlwind romance. But when he goes back home, he can't bring himself to tell his conservative, ultra-respected family about it.

Blondie

Blondie

Frank R. Strayer 1938 1h 10m 5.0

Blondie and Dagwood are about to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary but this happy occasion is marred when the bumbling Dagwood gets himself involved in a scheme that is promising financial ruin for the Bumstead family.

Murder on a Bridle Path

Murder on a Bridle Path

William Hamilton, Edward Killy 1936 1h 6m 6.0

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.

The Littlest Rebel

The Littlest Rebel

David Butler 1935 1h 10m 6.0

Virgie Cary's father, a rebel officer, sneaks back to his rundown plantation to see his dying wife and is arrested. A Yankee officer takes pity and sets up an escape. Everyone is captured and the officers are to be executed. Virgie and Uncle Billy beg President Lincoln to intercede.

Murder on a Honeymoon

Murder on a Honeymoon

Lloyd Corrigan 1935 1h 14m 7.0

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.

Little Miss Marker

Little Miss Marker

Alexander Hall 1934 1h 19m 8.0

Bookie Sorrowful Jones receives a little girl as an IOU.

The Monster Walks

The Monster Walks

Frank R. Strayer 1932 1h 5.0

People in an old dark house on a stormy night are menaced by a killer ape.

Ladies of Leisure

Ladies of Leisure

Frank Capra 1930 1h 40m 7.0

An upper-crust artist hires a 'party girl' as a model; romance follows.

Feet First

Feet First

Clyde Bruckman 1930 1h 31m 6.0

Ambitious shoe salesman, Harold, unknowingly meets the boss' daughter and tells her he is a leather tycoon. The rest of the film he spends hiding his true circumstances, in the store and later on a ship. Trying to deliver a letter, he later finds himself dangling high above the street on a building's scaffolding.

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