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)
Most Dangerous Man Alive
as Capt. Davis
(1961)
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
as Gen. Lew Wallace
(1958)
How to Make a Monster
as Police Capt. Hancock
(1958)
From the Earth to the Moon
as President Ulysses S. Grant
(1958)
The Saga of Hemp Brown
as Bo Slauter
(1958)
Curse of the Faceless Man
as Narrator (unconfirmed)
(1958)
Badman's Country
as Mayor Coleman
(1958)
Giant from the Unknown
as Dr. Frederick Cleveland
(1958)
Twilight for the Gods
as Sea Captain
(1958)
Tarawa Beachhead
as Chief of Staff, Pearl Harbor (uncredited)
(1958)
The Power of the Resurrection
as Annas
(1958)
Half Human: The Story of the Abominable Snowman
as Dr. Carl Jordan
(1958)
Young and Wild
as Police Capt. Egan
(1958)
Frontier Gun
as Andrew Barton
(1957)
Beginning of the End
as Gen. John Hanson
(1957)
Omar Khayyam
as Sharain's Father
(1957)
The Giant Claw
as Lt. Gen. Edward Considine
(1957)
Kronos
as Dr. Albert Stern
(1957)
Drango
as Henry Calder
(1957)
Hell's Crossroads
as Wheeler
(1957)
Zombies of Mora Tau
as Dr. Jonathan Eggert
(1956)
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
as Brig. Gen. John Hanley
(1956)
Walk the Proud Land
as Gen. Wade
(1956)
The Desperados Are in Town
as Mr. Rutherford
(1956)
Quincannon, Frontier Scout
as Col. Harry Conover
(1956)
Naked Gun
as Sheriff Jim Jackson (as Morrie Ankrum)
(1956)
Fury at Gunsight Pass
as Doc Phillips
(1956)
When Gangland Strikes
as Leo Fantzler
(1955)
Chief Crazy Horse
as Red Cloud
(1955)
Duel on the Mississippi
as Magistrate (uncredited)
(1955)
(1955)
Crashout
as Head Guard
(1955)
The Eternal Sea
as Vice-Adm. Arthur Dewey Struble
(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)
Three Young Texans
as Jeff Blair
(1954)
Taza, Son of Cochise
as Grey Eagle
(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)
The Man Behind The Gun
as Bram Creegan
(1953)
The Moonlighter
as Alexander Prince
(1953)
Devil's Canyon
as Ed
(1953)
Flight Nurse
as Interrogation Officer
(1953)
Fort Vengeance
as Chief Crowfoot
(1953)
I Beheld His Glory
as Peter
(1953)
Arena
as Bucky Hillberry
(1953)
Sky Commando
as Gen. W.R. Combs
(1953)
Mexican Manhunt
as Tip Morgan
(1952)
Mutiny
as Capt. Radford
(1952)
Fort Osage
as Arthur Pickett
(1952)
Son of Ali Baba
as Ali Baba
(1952)
Red Planet Mars
as Secretary of Defense Sparks
(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)
The Redhead and The Cowboy
as Sheriff
(1951)
Along the Great Divide
as Ed Roden
(1951)
Flight to Mars
as Ikron
(1951)
Fighting Coast Guard
as Navy Captain
(1951)
My Favorite Spy
as Gen. Frazer
(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)
The Damned Don't Cry
as Jim Whitehead
(1950)
Rocketship X-M
as Dr. Ralph Fleming
(1950)
Short Grass
as Hal Fenton
(1950)
Chain Lightning
as Ed Bostwick
(1950)
Southside 1-1000
as Eugene Deane
(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)
For the Love of Mary
as Adm. Walton
(1948)
Souvenirs of Death
as Gangster (uncredited)
(1948)
Fighting Back
as Robert J. Higby
(1948)
The Fabulous Fraud
as Blind Girl's Father
(1947)
Good News
as Dean Griswold
(1947)
Song of the Thin Man
as Inspector (uncredited)
(1947)
The Sea of Grass
as A.J. Crane
(1947)
Cynthia
as Mr. Phillips, Principal
(1947)
High Wall
as Dr. Stanley Griffin
(1947)
Desire Me
as Hector Martin
(1947)
Little Mister Jim
as Col. W.I. Starwell
(1947)
The Mighty McGurk
as Fowles
(1947)
Merton of the Movies
as Goodfellow's Club Manager (uncredited)
(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 Cockeyed Miracle
as Dr. Wilson
(1946)
The Green Years
as Dr. Galbraith
(1945)
Adventure
as Mr. Ludlow - Farmer (uncredited)
(1945)
The Hidden Eye
as Ferris (henchman)
(1945)
Purity Squad
as Dr. Adams (uncredited)
(1945)
Phantoms, Inc.
as Narrator (voice)
(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)
The Heavenly Body
as Dr. Green
(1944)
Marriage Is a Private Affair
as Ed Scofield
(1944)
Main Street Today
as Mayor Charlie Maxwell (uncredited)
(1944)
Barbary Coast Gent
as Alec Veeder
(1944)
Rationing
as Morgan
(1944)
Meet the People
as Monte Rowland
(1944)
Gentle Annie
as Deputy Gansby
(1944)
Return from Nowhere
as Doctor (uncredited)
(1944)
Dark Shadows
as Lt. Pat McKay
(1943)
Best Foot Forward
as Col. Harkrider
(1943)
Swing Fever
as Dan Conlon
(1943)
Let's Face It
as Man in Sun Shell Cafe
(1943)
Dixie Dugan
as Editor
(1942)
Tales of Manhattan
as Judge
(1942)
Tales of Manhattan
as Judge Tom Barnes (Robinson sequence)
(1942)
Tennessee Johnson
as Jefferson Davis
(1942)
Reunion in France
as Martin
(1942)
(1942)
Roxie Hart
as Martin S. Harrison
(1942)
Ride 'Em Cowboy
as Ace Anderson
(1942)
Time to Kill
as Alexander Morny
(1942)
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe
as Mr. Graham
(1942)
The Omaha Trail
as Henchman Job
(1941)
I Wake Up Screaming
as Assistant District Attorney
(1941)
Doomed Caravan
as Stephen Westcott
(1941)
Wide Open Town
as Jim Stuart
(1941)
This Woman Is Mine
as Roussel
(1941)
The Bandit Trail
as Red Haggerty
(1941)
The Roundup
as 'Parenthesis'
(1941)
In Old Colorado
as Weiler, Davidson's Foreman
(1941)
Border Vigilantes
as Dan Forbes
(1941)
Pirates on Horseback
as Ace Gibson
(1941)
Road Agent
as Big John Morgan
(1940)
Light of Western Stars
as Nat Hayworth
(1940)
Buck Benny Rides Again
as Second Outlaw
(1940)
Three Men from Texas
as Bruce Morgan
(1940)
Knights of the Range
as Gamecock
(1940)
The Showdown
as Baron Rendor
(1940)
Cherokee Strip
as Hawk Barrett
(1937)
Borderland
as Loco
(1937)
North of the Rio Grande
as Henry Stoneham
(1937)
Hills of Old Wyoming
as Andrews
(1937)
Rustlers' Valley
as Glen Randall
(1936)
Hopalong Cassidy Returns
as Blackie Felton
(1936)
Trail Dust
as Tex Anderson
(1934)
Stand Up and Cheer!
as Washington Press Correspondent