#edward brophy

Top 10 character actors in the 1940s.

This list is of top chubby character actors of the 1940s, based on number of films and number of times their name appeared on Movie Posters and Ads and if they were most often in A pictures or B pictures. These are the actors that most often played secondary or tertiary roles or sidekicks, but not listed alongside the star’s names.

1.       Smiley Burnette Thoughout the 1930s, Smiley Burnette played comic sidekick Frog Millhouse, with trademark black floppy hat and frog croak imitation, to country/western star Gene Autry.  In the early 1940s he continued playing sidekick to Autry until Autry left for WWII service. He was then teamed up with cowboys Roy Rogers, Eddie Dew, Bob Livingston or Sunset Carson, playing Frog in 30 films. In 1946 he continued playing the sidekick, now under his own name, Smiley to cowboy star Charles Starrett. He co-starred in 34 films with Starrett in the 1940s. In all his name appeared on all 64 movie posters of the movies he appeared in, most often 2^nd billing, sometimes first, as co-star. Smiley was also a singer/songwriter, singing in many of the movies. Some may remember him in the 1960s TV comedy Petticoat Junction, as Charlie the engineer. These Westerns were B pictures but I can’t discount the 100% on posters.

2.       Gene Lockhart. Gene Lockhart was a respected stage actor before becoming a film actor. Gene appeared in 50 films in the 1940s and 48 times his name appeared on the posters. He often played a man in a suit, but was versatile. He seemed to enjoy playing characters who were not white collar, city-dwellers.  He was usually billed in the 2^nd or 3^rd tier of names and most often in A movies. Some of his most notable films of the 1940s were His Girl Friday, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, One Foot in Heaven, Meet John Doe, All That Money Can Buy, Going My Way, and Miracle on 34^thStreet

3.       Edgar Buchanan, with his gravelly voice and calm demeanor began his movie career in 1939 at age 36. It didn’t take him long to become a fan favorite after he played Apple Jack in the Cary Grant/IreneDunne film Penny Serenade. He was often used to lighten the mood. He appeared in 41 films in the 1940s with his name on 34 posters, 8 times as co-star.

4.       Eugene Pallette was the go-to guy to provide comedy with his large presence, grouchy demeanor and foghorn voice in the 1940s RomComs. He was in 35 films in the 40s and his name was almost always on the posters.

5.       Thomas Gomez. His name appeared on 30 posters of the 32 films he made in the 1940s. Unlike most of the names on this list, he was not a comedic actor. He was Nominated for an Oscar for Ride The Pink Horse in 1947. His most popular movies in the 40s were Key Largo and Force of Evil.

6.       S.Z. Sakall known to friends as Cuddles was a comedic actor with a cherubic face and a heavy German accent. He a flair for mixing American slang phrases. He appeared in 33 movies in the 1940s and his name appeared on 25 of the posters.

7.       Billy Gilbert, excitable and overly loud, did mostly B movies in the 1940s. He appeared in 39 films, his name appearing on 29 posters, 4 times starring or co-starring. Thrice he co-starred with Shemp Howard. Billy always seemed to be a comic in search of a partner. He also starred in 4 comedy shorts. His best role in the 1940s was as Herring in Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator.

8.       Lloyd Corrigan appeared in 77 films in the 1940s, but his name appeared on less than half of the posters. He was usually in B comedies and often played the proverbial nice guy.

9.       Edward Brophy appeared in 38 films in the 1940s. His comedy was in his Brooklyn accent and he often played as comedy relief in Detective Movies. He appeared on 23 movie posters in this time.

10.   J. Edward Bromberg was a dramatic actor that would’ve played leading roles if he wasn’t short and stocky. His best attribute was to take mundane roles and make them sympathetic. He appeared on 22 of 29 posters.