Morris Ankrum
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1896-08-28
Day of Death
1964-09-02 (68 years old)
Place of Birth
Danville, Illinois, USA
Morris Ankrum
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum, August 28, 1896 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television and film character actor.
Before signing with Paramount Pictures in the 1930s, Nussbaum had already changed his last name to Ankrum. Upon signing with the studio, he chose to use the name "Stephen Morris" before changing it to Morris Ankrum in 1939.
Ankrum's stern visage and sharply defined features helped cast him in supporting roles as stalwart authority figures, including scientists, military men (particularly army officers), judges and even psychiatrists in more than 150 films, mostly B movies. One standout role was in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's production of Tennessee Johnson (1942), a biographical film about Andrew Johnson, the 17th U.S. president. As Sen. Jefferson Davis, Ankrum movingly addresses the United States Senate upon his resignation to lead the Confederate States of America as that republic's first—and only—president. Ankrum's film career was extensive and spanned 30 years. His credits were largely concentrated in the western and science-fiction genres.
Ankrum appeared in such westerns as Ride 'Em Cowboy in 1942, Vera Cruz opposite Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, Apache (1954), and Cattle Queen of Montana with Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan.
In the sci-fi genre, he appeared in Rocketship X-M (1950), Flight to Mars (1951), as a Martian, Red Planet Mars (1952), playing the United States Secretary of Defense; the cult classic Invaders From Mars (1953), playing a United States Army officer; and as an Army general in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956). In 1957 he played a psychiatrist in the cult sci-fi classic Kronos and had military-officer roles in Beginning of the End and The Giant Claw.
Known For
Acting
(1968)
The Movie Orgy
as Self (archive footage)
(1964)
Guns of Diablo
as Ray Macklin
(1963)
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
as Mr. Bowhead (uncredited)
(1962)
Tower of London
as The Archbishop
(1961)
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
as Gen. Lew Wallace
(1961)
Most Dangerous Man Alive
as Capt. Davis
(1958)
The Power of the Resurrection
as Annas
(1958)
Badman's Country
as Mayor Coleman
(1958)
Tarawa Beachhead
as Chief of Staff, Pearl Harbor (uncredited)
(1958)
The Saga of Hemp Brown
as Bo Slauter
(1958)
From the Earth to the Moon
as President Ulysses S. Grant
(1958)
How to Make a Monster
as Police Capt. Hancock
(1958)
Giant from the Unknown
as Dr. Frederick Cleveland
(1958)
Twilight for the Gods
as Sea Captain
(1958)
Young and Wild
as Police Capt. Egan
(1958)
Frontier Gun
as Andrew Barton
(1958)
Curse of the Faceless Man
as Narrator (unconfirmed)
(1958)
Half Human: The Story of the Abominable Snowman
as Dr. Carl Jordan
(1957)
The Giant Claw
as Lt. Gen. Edward Considine
(1957)
Beginning of the End
as Gen. John Hanson
(1957)
Kronos
as Dr. Albert Stern
(1957)
Drango
as Henry Calder
(1957)
Omar Khayyam
as Sharain's Father
(1957)
Zombies of Mora Tau
as Dr. Jonathan Eggert
(1957)
Hell's Crossroads
as Wheeler
(1956)
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
as Brig. Gen. John Hanley
(1956)
Walk the Proud Land
as Gen. Wade
(1956)
Naked Gun
as Sheriff Jim Jackson (as Morrie Ankrum)
(1956)
The Desperados Are in Town
as Mr. Rutherford
(1956)
Quincannon, Frontier Scout
as Col. Harry Conover
(1956)
Fury at Gunsight Pass
as Doc Phillips
(1956)
When Gangland Strikes
as Leo Fantzler
(1955)
(1955)
Chief Crazy Horse
as Red Cloud
(1955)
Crashout
as Head Guard
(1955)
The Eternal Sea
as Vice-Adm. Arthur Dewey Struble
(1955)
Duel on the Mississippi
as Magistrate (uncredited)
(1955)
Tennessee's Partner
as Judge Parker
(1955)
No Man's Woman
as Capt. Hostedder
(1955)
The Silver Star
as Charlie Childress
(1955)
The Little Lamb: A Christmas Story
as Azar the Shepherd
(1954)
Apache
as Dawson
(1954)
Vera Cruz
as Gen. Ramírez
(1954)
Silver Lode
as Zachary Evans
(1954)
Drums Across the River
as Chief Ouray
(1954)
Cattle Queen of Montana
as J.I. 'Pop' Jones
(1954)
Southwest Passage
as Dr. Stanton
(1954)
Taza, Son of Cochise
as Grey Eagle
(1954)
Three Young Texans
as Jeff Blair
(1954)
The Steel Cage
as Prison Board Member Garvey, segment "The Hostages"
(1954)
The Outlaw Stallion
as Sheriff
(1954)
Two Guns and a Badge
as Sheriff Jackson
(1953)
Invaders from Mars
as Col. Fielding
(1953)
Arena
as Bucky Hillberry
(1953)
Flight Nurse
as Interrogation Officer
(1953)
The Man Behind The Gun
as Bram Creegan
(1953)
The Moonlighter
as Alexander Prince
(1953)
Devil's Canyon
as Ed
(1953)
Sky Commando
as Gen. W.R. Combs
(1953)
I Beheld His Glory
as Peter
(1953)
Mexican Manhunt
as Tip Morgan
(1953)
Fort Vengeance
as Chief Crowfoot
(1952)
Red Planet Mars
as Secretary of Defense Sparks
(1952)
Fort Osage
as Arthur Pickett
(1952)
Mutiny
as Capt. Radford
(1952)
Son of Ali Baba
as Ali Baba
(1952)
Because of You
as Dr. Travis
(1952)
Hiawatha
as Iagoo
(1952)
The Raiders
as Thomas Ainsworth
(1952)
A Star Shall Rise
as King Herod
(1951)
Flight to Mars
as Ikron
(1951)
Along the Great Divide
as Ed Roden
(1951)
My Favorite Spy
as Gen. Frazer
(1951)
The Redhead and The Cowboy
as Sheriff
(1951)
Fighting Coast Guard
as Navy Captain
(1951)
Tomorrow Is Another Day
as Hugh Wagner
(1951)
The Lion Hunters
as Tom Forbes
(1950)
In a Lonely Place
as Lloyd Barnes
(1950)
Borderline
as Bill Whittaker
(1950)
Short Grass
as Hal Fenton
(1950)
The Damned Don't Cry
as Jim Whitehead
(1950)
Southside 1-1000
as Eugene Deane
(1950)
Rocketship X-M
as Dr. Ralph Fleming
(1950)
Chain Lightning
as Ed Bostwick
(1949)
The Fountainhead
as Prosecutor (uncredited)
(1949)
Colorado Territory
as United States Marshal
(1949)
We Were Strangers
as M. Seymour
(1949)
Bad Men of Tombstone
as Mr. Jones
(1948)
Joan of Arc
as Poton de Xaintrailles, Captain
(1948)
Fighting Back
as Robert J. Higby
(1948)
For the Love of Mary
as Adm. Walton
(1948)
The Fabulous Fraud
as Blind Girl's Father
(1948)
Souvenirs of Death
as Gangster (uncredited)
(1947)
Song of the Thin Man
as Inspector (uncredited)
(1947)
The Sea of Grass
as A.J. Crane
(1947)
Good News
as Dean Griswold
(1947)
Cynthia
as Mr. Phillips, Principal
(1947)
High Wall
as Dr. Stanley Griffin
(1947)
Desire Me
as Hector Martin
(1947)
The Mighty McGurk
as Fowles
(1947)
Merton of the Movies
as Goodfellow's Club Manager (uncredited)
(1947)
Little Mister Jim
as Col. W.I. Starwell
(1946)
The Postman Always Rings Twice
as Judge (uncredited)
(1946)
Lady in the Lake
as Eugene Grayson
(1946)
The Harvey Girls
as Rev. Claggett
(1946)
Courage of Lassie
as Farmer Crews
(1946)
The Green Years
as Dr. Galbraith
(1946)
The Cockeyed Miracle
as Dr. Wilson
(1945)
Adventure
as Mr. Ludlow - Farmer (uncredited)
(1945)
Purity Squad
as Dr. Adams (uncredited)
(1945)
Phantoms, Inc.
as Narrator (voice)
(1945)
The Hidden Eye
as Ferris (henchman)
(1945)
Fall Guy
as District Attorney (uncredited)
(1944)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
as Adm. William F. Halsey - Captain of the 'Hornet' (uncredited)
(1944)
The Thin Man Goes Home
as Willoughby Peavy
(1944)
Rationing
as Morgan
(1944)
Gentle Annie
as Deputy Gansby
(1944)
The Heavenly Body
as Dr. Green
(1944)
Meet the People
as Monte Rowland
(1944)
Barbary Coast Gent
as Alec Veeder
(1944)
Marriage Is a Private Affair
as Ed Scofield
(1944)
Dark Shadows
as Lt. Pat McKay
(1944)
Main Street Today
as Mayor Charlie Maxwell (uncredited)
(1944)
Return from Nowhere
as Doctor (uncredited)
(1943)
Dixie Dugan
as Editor
(1943)
Swing Fever
as Dan Conlon
(1943)
Let's Face It
as Man in Sun Shell Cafe
(1943)
Best Foot Forward
as Col. Harkrider
(1942)
Reunion in France
as Martin
(1942)
Tales of Manhattan
as Judge
(1942)
Tales of Manhattan
as Judge Tom Barnes (Robinson sequence)
(1942)
Ride 'Em Cowboy
as Ace Anderson
(1942)
Roxie Hart
as Martin S. Harrison
(1942)
Tennessee Johnson
as Jefferson Davis
(1942)
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe
as Mr. Graham
(1942)
(1942)
The Omaha Trail
as Henchman Job
(1942)
Time to Kill
as Alexander Morny
(1941)
I Wake Up Screaming
as Assistant District Attorney
(1941)
Doomed Caravan
as Stephen Westcott
(1941)
The Roundup
as 'Parenthesis'
(1941)
Wide Open Town
as Jim Stuart
(1941)
Road Agent
as Big John Morgan
(1941)
This Woman Is Mine
as Roussel
(1941)
In Old Colorado
as Weiler, Davidson's Foreman
(1941)
Pirates on Horseback
as Ace Gibson
(1941)
Border Vigilantes
as Dan Forbes
(1941)
The Bandit Trail
as Red Haggerty
(1940)
Three Men from Texas
as Bruce Morgan
(1940)
Buck Benny Rides Again
as Second Outlaw
(1940)
Light of Western Stars
as Nat Hayworth
(1940)
The Showdown
as Baron Rendor
(1940)
Cherokee Strip
as Hawk Barrett
(1940)
Knights of the Range
as Gamecock
(1937)
Borderland
as Loco
(1937)
Rustlers' Valley
as Glen Randall
(1937)
Hills of Old Wyoming
as Andrews
(1937)
North of the Rio Grande
as Henry Stoneham
(1936)
Trail Dust
as Tex Anderson
(1936)
Hopalong Cassidy Returns
as Blackie Felton
(1934)
Stand Up and Cheer!
as Washington Press Correspondent