Frank Reicher
Born: 1875-12-02 in Munich, German Empire [now Germany]
Died: 1965-01-19
Known For: Acting
Biography
Frank Reicher (December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American stage and film actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film King Kong. Reicher made his Broadway debut the year he came to America playing Lord Tarquin in Harrison Fiske's production of Becky Sharp, a comedy by Langdon Mitchell based on William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. His early career was spent in legitimate theater on and off Broadway. He was head of the Brooklyn Stock Company when Jacob P. Adler performed The Merchant of Venice in Yiddish while the rest of the cast remained in English. Reicher was for a number of years affiliated with the Little Theatre on West Forty-Fourth Street as an actor and manager and would remain active on Broadway as actor, director or producer well into the 1920s. On stage, Reicher starred in such plays as the first Broadway production of Georg Kaiser's From Morning to Midnight (as the cashier), and the original production of Percy MacKaye's The Scarecrow (in the title role). Frank Reicher is probably more familiar to modern audiences as a supporting character actor in films. He began his cinema career with an uncredited role in the 1915 film The Case for Becky and would go on to work in over two hundred motion pictures. He is probably best remembered for playing the character of Captain Englehorn in King Kong and The Son of Kong, and for his work in such films as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950). His last Hollywood role was in the very first theatrical Superman movie, Superman and the Mole Men, in 1951. Frank Reicher died at a hospital in Inglewood, California, aged 89. He was survived by his sister and a brother. His interment was at Inglewood Park Cemetery.
Filmography
2021
- Titans of Destruction: The Evolution of Giant Monster Movies as Self - (archive footage)
1951
- Superman and the Mole Men as Hospital Superintendent
- The Lady and the Bandit as Count Eckhardt
1950
- Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye as Darius 'Doc' Green
1949
- Samson and Delilah as Village Barber
- Barbary Pirate as Cathcart
1948
- I, Jane Doe as Doctor
- Carson City Raiders as Razor the Barber
- The Gallant Blade as Major
- Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad as Dr. MacKenzie
1947
- Monsieur Verdoux as Doctor (uncredited)
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as Karel Maasdam
- Escape Me Never as The Minister
- Violence as Pop, apartment concierge
- Yankee Fakir as H.W. Randall
1946
- Sister Kenny as Dr. Chuter (uncredited)
- A Guy Could Change as Doctor
- Home in Oklahoma as Jason Cragmyle
- The Shadow Returns as Michael Hasdon
1945
- The Jade Mask as Harper
- Blonde Ransom as Judge
- Phantoms, Inc. as Philip Kenneson, Sr.
- Voice of the Whistler as Dr. Rose (uncredited)
- A Medal for Benny as Father Bly (uncredited)
- The Strange Mr. Gregory as William Riker, the Butler
- The Tiger Woman as Coroner
1944
- House of Frankenstein as Frederick Ullman
- Captain America as Lyman
- The Mummy's Ghost as Prof. Matthew Norman
- The Conspirators as Casino Attendant (uncredited)
- The Big Bonanza as Dr. Ballou
- Address Unknown as Professor Schmidt
- Gildersleeve's Ghost as Dr. Wells
1943
- Mission to Moscow as General von Koestrich - German ambassador (uncredited)
- Above Suspicion as Colonel Gerold (Uncredited)
- Bomber's Moon as Dr. Hartman
- Background to Danger as Rudick - the Assasin
- Tornado as Linden, Sr.
- Plan for Destruction as Karl Ernst Haushofer
- Yanks Ahoy as German Soldier (uncredited)
1942
- To Be or Not to Be as Polish Official (uncredited)
- Night Monster as Dr. Timmons
- The Mummy's Tomb as Professor Matthew Norman
- Nazi Agent as Fritz
- The Mystery of Marie Roget as Magistrate
- Beyond the Blue Horizon as Sneath
- The Gay Sisters as Dr. Thomas Bigelow
- Secret Enemies as Henry Bremmer
- Scattergood Survives a Murder as Thaddeus Quentin
1941
- Underground as Professor Baumer
- The Face Behind the Mask as Dr. Ronald Cheever (uncredited)
- Four Mothers as Festival Committee Member (uncredited)
- Dangerously They Live as Jarvis, Goodwin's Butler
- Shining Victory as Dr. Esterhazy
- One Foot in Heaven as Board Member (uncredited)
- Flight from Destiny as Edvaard Kreindling
- They Dare Not Love as Captain
- The Nurse's Secret as Wiley Henderson
1940
- Dr. Cyclops as Prof. Kendall
- All This, and Heaven Too as Police Official (uncredited)
- Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet as Old Man
- Typhoon as Doctor
- Sky Murder as Dr. Crattan
- The Lady in Question as President
- The Man I Married as Friehof
- South to Karanga as Dr. Greenleaf
1939
- Ninotchka as Soviet Lawyer (uncredited)
- Juarez as Duc de Morny (uncredited)
- Nurse Edith Cavell as Baron von Bissing
- Sabotage as (uncredited)
- Society Smugglers as Jones
- The Escape as Dr. Shumaker
- Sons of Liberty as Lyons the Storekeeper (uncredited)
- Never Say Die as Man in Charge of Duel
- Devil's Island as President of Assize Court
- Everything Happens at Night as Pharmacist
- The Magnificent Fraud as Mendietta Garcia
- Woman Doctor as Dr. Mathews
- South of the Border as Don Diego Mendoza
- Our Neighbors - The Carters as Dr. Proser
- Mystery of the White Room as Dr. Amos Thornton
1938
- The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse as Professor O.J. Ludwig (uncredited)
- Suez as General Changarnier
- City Streets as Dr. Ferenc Waller
- I'll Give a Million as Prefect of Police
- Letter of Introduction as Second Doctor (uncredited)
- The Girl Downstairs as Police Official (uncredited)
- Torchy Gets Her Man as The Professor - Henchman
- Rascals as Dr. C.M. Garvey
- Prison Nurse as Doctor Hartman
1937
- Stage Door as Stage Director
- Night Key as Carl - gang engineer
- Espionage as Von Cram
- On Such a Night as Horace Darwin
- The Mighty Treve as Eben McClelland
- The Road Back as Ernst's Father
- Beg, Borrow or Steal as Monsieur Debillon (uncredited)
- The Emperor's Candlesticks as Pavloff
- The Great O'Malley as Dr. Larson
- Stolen Holiday as Rainer
- West Bound Limited as Pop Martin
- Prescription for Romance as Jozsef
- Under Cover of Night as Rudolph Brehmer
- Man Of The People as Robinson
- Fit for a King as Kurtz
- Midnight Madonna as Vincent Long II
1936
- Camille as Creditor Agent (uncredited)
- The Ex-Mrs. Bradford as Henry Strand (uncredited)
- The Story of Louis Pasteur as Dr. Pfeiffer
- Anthony Adverse as Coachman to Paris
- The Invisible Ray as Professor Meiklejohn
- The Devil-Doll as Doctor (uncredited)
- The Country Doctor as Dr. Paul Luke
- The Gorgeous Hussy as Commander of U.S.S. Constitution (uncredited)
- Girls' Dormitory as Dr. Hoffenreich
- Under Two Flags as French General
- Laughing at Trouble as Dr. Larson
- The Murder of Dr. Harrigan as Dr. Coate
- Murder on a Bridle Path as Dr. Peters
- Along Came Love as Planetarium Lecturer
- Sutter's Gold as Governor Felipe Vega
- Second Wife as Headmaster
- Star for a Night as Doctor Heimkin
- Till We Meet Again as Colonel Von Diegel
- Sinner Take All as Theo Drukker (uncredited)
1935
- Charlie Chan in Egypt as Dr. Jaipur
- Kind Lady as Gustave Roubet (as Frank Reigher)
- Life Returns as Dr. James
- The Florentine Dagger as Von Stein
- A Dog of Flanders as Herr Vanderkloot
- The Casino Murder Case as Assistant Coroner (uncredited)
- Straight from the Heart as Coroner
- The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo as 2nd Assistant Director
- The Great Impersonation as Dr. Trenk
- Rendezvous as Dr. R.A. Jackson
- Star of Midnight as Abe Ohlman (uncredited)
- Magnificent Obsession as Dr. Rochard
1934
- The Fountain as Doctor
- Hi, Nellie! as Danny
- Men in White as Doctor (uncredited)
- Mills of the Gods as Barrett
- The Case of the Howling Dog as Dr. Carl Cooper
- Let's Talk It Over as Richards
- The Countess of Monte Cristo as Police Commissioner
- No Greater Glory as Doctor
- British Agent as Mr. X
- Return of the Terror as Franz Reinhardt
- I Am a Thief as Max Bolen
- The Line-Up as Abraham Schultz (uncredited)
- Journal of a Crime as Herr Winterstein
- Secret of the Chateau as Auctioneer
1933
- King Kong as Captain Englehorn
- The Son of Kong as Captain Englehorn
- Before Dawn as Joe Valerie
- Topaze as Dr. Stegg
- Captured! as Herr Hauptman
- Employees' Entrance as Garfinkle
- Jennie Gerhardt as Old Weaver (uncredited)
- A Bedtime Story as Aristide
1932
- A Woman Commands as The General
- Flesh as Warden in Germany (uncredited)
- Scarlet Dawn as Plotsky (Uncredited)
- The Crooked Circle as Rankin
1931
- Mata Hari as The Cook - Spy
- The Sin of Madelon Claudet as Arresting Detective (uncredited)
- Suicide Fleet as Holtzmann
- We’re Switching to Hollywood ... (Director)
- Beyond Victory as German Hospital Chief
- Gentleman's Fate as Francesco Tomasulo
1930
- Billy the Kid as General Lew Wallace (uncredited)
- Anna Christie ... (Screenplay)
- Girl of the Port
- Strictly Unconventional as Duke of Brocklehurst
- The Grand Parade
- Every Woman's Longing
1929
- Strange Cargo as Dr. Stecker
- Her Private Affair as State's Attorney
- Mister Antonio as Milton Jorny
- Paris Bound
- His Captive Woman
- Black Waters as Randall
1928
- Four Sons as The Schoolmaster
- Someone to Love as Simmons
- The Masks of the Devil as Count Zellner
- Sins of the Fathers as The Eye Specialist
- Beau Sabreur as Gen. de Beaujolais
- The Blue Danube as Baron
- Napoleon's Barber as Napoleon's Barber
1926
- Her Man o' War as Professor Krantz
1921
- Behind Masks ... (Director)
- Idle Hands ... (Director)
1919
- The Trap ... (Director)
- The American Way ... (Director)
- The Battler ... (Director)
- Suspense ... (Director)
- The Black Circle ... (Director)
1918
- The Prodigal Wife ... (Director)
- The Only Road ... (Director)
- The Sea Waif ... (Director)
1917
- An American Widow ... (Director)
- The Trouble Buster ... (Director)
- The Eternal Mother ... (Director)
- The Sacrifice ... (Director)
- Betty to the Rescue ... (Director)
- Unconquered ... (Director)
- The Inner Shrine ... (Director)
- The Black Wolf ... (Director)
- Castles for Two ... (Director)
- Lost and Won ... (Director)
1916
- For the Defense ... (Director)
- Alien Souls ... (Director)
- The Sowers ... (Director)
- Witchcraft ... (Director)
- The Storm ... (Director)
- Pudd'nhead Wilson ... (Director)
- The Love Mask ... (Director)
- Public Opinion ... (Director)
1915
- The Secret Sin ... (Director)
- The Clue ... (Director)
- The Chorus Lady ... (Director)
- The Case of Becky ... (Director)
- Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo ... (Director)
- The Secret Orchard ... (Director)