Porter Hall
Born: 1888-09-18 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Died: 1953-10-06
Known For: Acting
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.
Filmography
1954
- Return to Treasure Island as Maximillian 'Maxie' Harris
1953
- Pony Express as Jim Bridger
- Vice Squad as Jack Hartrampf
1952
- Four Star Playhouse as J. R. Martin
- Carbine Williams as Sam Markley
- The Half-Breed as Kraemer
- Holiday for Sinners as Louie
1951
- Ace in the Hole as Jacob Q. Boot
1949
- Chicken Every Sunday as Sam Howell
- Intruder in the Dust as Nub Gowrie
- The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend as Judge O'Toole
1948
- That Wonderful Urge as Attorney Ketchell
- You Gotta Stay Happy as Mr. Caslon
1947
- Miracle on 34th Street as Granville Sawyer
- Unconquered as Leach
- Singapore as Mr. Bellows
1945
- Murder, He Says as Mr. Johnson
- Blood on the Sun as Arthur Bickett
- Kiss and Tell as Bill Franklin
- Bring on the Girls as Dr. Efrington
- Week-End at the Waldorf as Stevens
1944
- Double Indemnity as Mr. Jackson
- Going My Way as Mr. Belknap
- The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek as Jacob Woodson, Justice of the Peace
- Standing Room Only as Hugo Farenhall
- The Great Moment as President Franklin Pierce
- The Mark of the Whistler as Joe Sorsby
1943
- The Desperadoes as Banker Clanton
- The Woman of the Town as Mayor Dog Killey
- A Stranger in Town as Judge Austin Harkley
1942
- The Remarkable Andrew as Chief Clerk Art Slocumb
- Mr. and Mrs. North as George Heyler
- Butch Minds the Baby as Brandy Smith
1941
- Sullivan's Travels as Mr. Hadrian
- The Parson of Panamint as Jonathan Randall
1940
- Arizona as Lazarus Ward
- Dark Command as Angus McCloud
- His Girl Friday as Murphy
- Trail of the Vigilantes as Sheriff Korley
1939
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as Senator Monroe
- Grand Jury Secrets as Anthony Pelton
- They Shall Have Music as Mr. Flower
- Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police as Man in Drummond's Dream
- Henry Goes Arizona as Banker Edward G. Walsh (uncredited)
1938
- Prison Farm as Chiston R. Bradby
- Stolen Heaven as 'Von' Offer
- Men with Wings as Hiram F. Jenkins
- Bulldog Drummond's Peril as Dr. Botulian
- King of Alcatraz as Matthew Talbot
- Dangerous to Know as Mayor Bradley
- Tom Sawyer, Detective as Uncle Silas Phelps
- The Arkansas Traveler as Mayor Daniels
- Scandal Street as James Wilson
1937
- Wild Money as Bill Court
- True Confession as Mr. Hartman
- Wells Fargo as James Oliver
- Make Way for Tomorrow as Harvey Chase
- Souls at Sea as Court Prosecutor
- This Way Please as S.J. Crawford
- Bulldog Drummond Escapes as Norman Merridew
- King of Gamblers as George Kramer
1936
- Snowed Under as Arthur Layton
- The Plainsman as Jack McCall
- The Story of Louis Pasteur as Dr. Rossignol
- The Princess Comes Across as Darcy
- The Petrified Forest as Jason Maple
- Too Many Parents as Mrs. Saunders
- The General Died at Dawn as Peter Perrie
- Let's Make a Million as Spencer
- And Sudden Death as District Attorney
- Satan Met a Lady as Milton Ames
1935
- The Case of the Lucky Legs as Col. Bradbury
1934
- Murder in the Private Car as Alden Murray
- The Thin Man as Herbert MacCaulay
1931
- The Cheat as Leslie (uncredited)
- Secrets of a Secretary as Drunk