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)
Chicken Every Sunday
as Sam Howell
(1949)
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend
as Judge O'Toole
(1948)
That Wonderful Urge
as Attorney Ketchell
(1948)
You Gotta Stay Happy
as Mr. Caslon
(1947)
Singapore
as Mr. Bellows
(1947)
Miracle on 34th Street
as Granville Sawyer
(1947)
Unconquered
as Leach
(1945)
Blood on the Sun
as Arthur Bickett
(1945)
Murder, He Says
as Mr. Johnson
(1945)
Kiss and Tell
as Bill Franklin
(1945)
Bring on the Girls
as Dr. Efrington
(1945)
Week-End at the Waldorf
as Stevens
(1944)
Going My Way
as Mr. Belknap
(1944)
Double Indemnity
as Mr. Jackson
(1944)
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
as Jacob Woodson, Justice of the Peace
(1944)
The Great Moment
as President Franklin Pierce
(1944)
Standing Room Only
as Hugo Farenhall
(1944)
The Mark of the Whistler
as Joe Sorsby
(1943)
The Desperadoes
as Banker Clanton
(1943)
A Stranger in Town
as Judge Austin Harkley
(1943)
The Woman of the Town
as Mayor Dog Killey
(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)
Arizona
as Lazarus Ward
(1940)
Dark Command
as Angus McCloud
(1940)
Trail of the Vigilantes
as Sheriff Korley
(1939)
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
as Man in Drummond's Dream
(1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Senator Monroe
(1939)
Grand Jury Secrets
as Anthony Pelton
(1939)
They Shall Have Music
as Mr. Flower
(1939)
Henry Goes Arizona
as Banker Edward G. Walsh (uncredited)
(1938)
Prison Farm
as Chiston R. Bradby
(1938)
Dangerous to Know
as Mayor Bradley
(1938)
The Arkansas Traveler
as Mayor Daniels
(1938)
King of Alcatraz
as Matthew Talbot
(1938)
Tom Sawyer, Detective
as Uncle Silas Phelps
(1938)
Bulldog Drummond's Peril
as Dr. Botulian
(1938)
Men with Wings
as Hiram F. Jenkins
(1938)
Scandal Street
as James Wilson
(1938)
Stolen Heaven
as 'Von' Offer
(1937)
Bulldog Drummond Escapes
as Norman Merridew
(1937)
Souls at Sea
as Court Prosecutor
(1937)
True Confession
as Mr. Hartman
(1937)
Make Way for Tomorrow
as Harvey Chase
(1937)
This Way Please
as S.J. Crawford
(1937)
Wells Fargo
as James Oliver
(1937)
Wild Money
as Bill Court
(1937)
King of Gamblers
as George Kramer
(1936)
And Sudden Death
as District Attorney
(1936)
Too Many Parents
as Mrs. Saunders
(1936)
The Story of Louis Pasteur
as Dr. Rossignol
(1936)
Let's Make a Million
as Spencer
(1936)
The Petrified Forest
as Jason Maple
(1936)
The Princess Comes Across
as Darcy
(1936)
The Plainsman
as Jack McCall
(1936)
Snowed Under
as Arthur Layton
(1936)
The General Died at Dawn
as Peter Perrie
(1936)
Satan Met a Lady
as Milton Ames
(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)
The Cheat
as Leslie (uncredited)
(1931)
Secrets of a Secretary
as Drunk