Porter Hall
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1888-09-18
Day of Death
1953-10-06 (65 years old)
Place of Birth
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Porter Hall
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clifford Porter Hall (September 19, 1888 – October 6, 1953) was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s. Hall played movie villains or comedic incompetent characters. Hall was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and began his career touring as a stage actor with roles in productions of The Great Gatsby and Naked in 1926. Hall made his film debut in the 1931 drama Secrets of a Secretary. He made his last onscreen appearance in the 1954 film Return to Treasure Island, which was released after his death.
He was probably best remembered for four roles: a senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, an atheist in Going My Way, the nervous, ill-tempered Granville Sawyer, who administers a psychological test to Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street, and a train passenger who encounters a man (Fred MacMurray) who has just committed a murder in Double Indemnity.
On October 6, 1953, Hall died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California at the age of 65. His interment was at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery. Hall had two children, David and Sarah Jane.
Known For
Acting
(1954)
Return to Treasure Island
as Maximillian 'Maxie' Harris
(1953)
Pony Express
as Jim Bridger
(1953)
Vice Squad
as Jack Hartrampf
(1952)
Carbine Williams
as Sam Markley
(1952)
The Half-Breed
as Kraemer
(1952)
Holiday for Sinners
as Louie
(1951)
Ace in the Hole
as Jacob Q. Boot
(1949)
Intruder in the Dust
as Nub Gowrie
(1949)
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend
as Judge O'Toole
(1949)
Chicken Every Sunday
as Sam Howell
(1948)
That Wonderful Urge
as Attorney Ketchell
(1948)
You Gotta Stay Happy
as Mr. Caslon
(1947)
Miracle on 34th Street
as Granville Sawyer
(1947)
Unconquered
as Leach
(1947)
Singapore
as Mr. Bellows
(1945)
Blood on the Sun
as Arthur Bickett
(1945)
Murder, He Says
as Mr. Johnson
(1945)
Week-End at the Waldorf
as Stevens
(1945)
Bring on the Girls
as Dr. Efrington
(1945)
Kiss and Tell
as Bill Franklin
(1944)
Double Indemnity
as Mr. Jackson
(1944)
Going My Way
as Mr. Belknap
(1944)
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
as Jacob Woodson, Justice of the Peace
(1944)
The Great Moment
as President Franklin Pierce
(1944)
The Mark of the Whistler
as Joe Sorsby
(1944)
Standing Room Only
as Hugo Farenhall
(1943)
The Desperadoes
as Banker Clanton
(1943)
The Woman of the Town
as Mayor Dog Killey
(1943)
A Stranger in Town
as Judge Austin Harkley
(1942)
The Remarkable Andrew
as Chief Clerk Art Slocumb
(1942)
Mr. and Mrs. North
as George Heyler
(1942)
Butch Minds the Baby
as Brandy Smith
(1941)
Sullivan's Travels
as Mr. Hadrian
(1941)
The Parson of Panamint
as Jonathan Randall
(1940)
His Girl Friday
as Murphy
(1940)
Dark Command
as Angus McCloud
(1940)
Arizona
as Lazarus Ward
(1940)
Trail of the Vigilantes
as Sheriff Korley
(1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Senator Monroe
(1939)
They Shall Have Music
as Mr. Flower
(1939)
Henry Goes Arizona
as Banker Edward G. Walsh (uncredited)
(1939)
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
as Man in Drummond's Dream
(1939)
Grand Jury Secrets
as Anthony Pelton
(1938)
Men with Wings
as Hiram F. Jenkins
(1938)
Prison Farm
as Chiston R. Bradby
(1938)
Dangerous to Know
as Mayor Bradley
(1938)
King of Alcatraz
as Matthew Talbot
(1938)
Bulldog Drummond's Peril
as Dr. Botulian
(1938)
Scandal Street
as James Wilson
(1938)
Tom Sawyer, Detective
as Uncle Silas Phelps
(1938)
Stolen Heaven
as 'Von' Offer
(1938)
The Arkansas Traveler
as Mayor Daniels
(1937)
Bulldog Drummond Escapes
as Norman Merridew
(1937)
Wells Fargo
as James Oliver
(1937)
Make Way for Tomorrow
as Harvey Chase
(1937)
Souls at Sea
as Court Prosecutor
(1937)
True Confession
as Mr. Hartman
(1937)
King of Gamblers
as George Kramer
(1937)
Wild Money
as Bill Court
(1937)
This Way Please
as S.J. Crawford
(1936)
The Petrified Forest
as Jason Maple
(1936)
The Story of Louis Pasteur
as Dr. Rossignol
(1936)
The Plainsman
as Jack McCall
(1936)
Satan Met a Lady
as Milton Ames
(1936)
The General Died at Dawn
as Peter Perrie
(1936)
The Princess Comes Across
as Darcy
(1936)
Snowed Under
as Arthur Layton
(1936)
Let's Make a Million
as Spencer
(1936)
Too Many Parents
as Mrs. Saunders
(1936)
And Sudden Death
as District Attorney
(1935)
The Case of the Lucky Legs
as Col. Bradbury
(1934)
The Thin Man
as Herbert MacCaulay
(1934)
Murder in the Private Car
as Alden Murray
(1931)
Secrets of a Secretary
as Drunk
(1931)
The Cheat
as Leslie (uncredited)