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
- Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad as Dr. MacKenzie
- I, Jane Doe as Doctor
- The Gallant Blade as Major
- Carson City Raiders as Razor the Barber
1947
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as Maasdam
- Monsieur Verdoux as Doctor (uncredited)
- Escape Me Never as The Minister
- Yankee Fakir as H.W. Randall
- Violence as Pop, apartment concierge
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
- Voice of the Whistler as Dr. Rose (uncredited)
- A Medal for Benny as Father Bly (uncredited)
- Phantoms, Inc. as Philip Kenneson, Sr.
- The Tiger Woman as Coroner
- The Strange Mr. Gregory as William Riker, the Butler
- The Jade Mask as Harper
- Blonde Ransom as Judge
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)
- Address Unknown as Professor Schmidt
- The Big Bonanza as Dr. Ballou
- Gildersleeve's Ghost as Dr. Wells
1943
- Watch on the Rhine as Admiral (uncredited)
- Above Suspicion as Colonel Gerold (Uncredited)
- Mission to Moscow as General von Koestrich - German ambassador (uncredited)
- Background to Danger as Rudick (uncredited)
- Bomber's Moon as Dr. Hartman
- Yanks Ahoy as German Soldier (uncredited)
- Tornado as Linden, Sr.
- Plan for Destruction as Karl Ernst Haushofer
1942
- To Be or Not to Be as Polish Official (uncredited)
- The Mummy's Tomb as Professor Matthew Norman
- The Mystery of Marie Roget as Magistrate
- Beyond the Blue Horizon as Sneath
- The Gay Sisters as Dr. Thomas Bigelow
- Nazi Agent as Fritz
- Night Monster as Dr. Timmons
- Scattergood Survives a Murder as Thaddeus Quentin
- Secret Enemies as Henry Bremmer
1941
- The Face Behind the Mask as Dr. Ronald Cheever (uncredited)
- One Foot in Heaven as Board Member (uncredited)
- They Dare Not Love as Captain
- The Nurse's Secret as Wiley Henderson
- Dangerously They Live as Jarvis, Goodwin's Butler
- Four Mothers as Festival Committee Member (uncredited)
- Underground as Professor Baumer
- Shining Victory as Dr. Esterhazy
- Flight from Destiny as Edvaard Kreindling
1940
- All This, and Heaven Too as Police Official (uncredited)
- Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet as Old Man
- Dr. Cyclops as Prof. Kendall
- The Lady in Question as President
- The Man I Married as Friehof
- Sky Murder as Dr. Crattan
- Typhoon as Doctor
- South to Karanga as Dr. Greenleaf
1939
- Ninotchka as Soviet Lawyer (uncredited)
- Juarez as Duc de Morny (uncredited)
- Mystery of the White Room as Dr. Amos Thornton
- Nurse Edith Cavell as Baron von Bissing
- Devil's Island as President of Assize Court
- South of the Border as Don Diego Mendoza
- Woman Doctor as Dr. Mathews
- Everything Happens at Night as Pharmacist
- Our Neighbors - The Carters as Dr. Proser
- Sons of Liberty as Lyons the Storekeeper (uncredited)
- Society Smugglers as Jones
- Sabotage as (uncredited)
- Never Say Die as Man in Charge of Duel
- The Escape as Dr. Shumaker
- The Magnificent Fraud as Mendietta Garcia
1938
- The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse as Professor O.J. Ludwig (uncredited)
- I'll Give a Million as Prefect of Police
- Torchy Gets Her Man as The Professor - Henchman
- Suez as General Changarnier
- Letter of Introduction as Second Doctor (uncredited)
- The Girl Downstairs as Police Official (uncredited)
- City Streets as Dr. Ferenc Waller
- Prison Nurse as Doctor Hartman
- Rascals as Dr. C.M. Garvey
1937
- Stage Door as Stage Director
- The Emperor's Candlesticks as Pavloff
- The Great O'Malley as Dr. Larson
- On Such a Night as Horace Darwin
- Fit for a King as Kurtz
- Night Key as Carl - gang engineer
- Under Cover of Night as Rudolph Brehmer
- Beg, Borrow or Steal as Monsieur Debillon (uncredited)
- Man Of The People as Robinson
- Prescription for Romance as Jozsef
- The Road Back as Ernst's Father
- Midnight Madonna as Vincent Long II
- The Mighty Treve as Eben McClelland
- Stolen Holiday as Rainer
- West Bound Limited as Pop Martin
- Espionage as Von Cram
1936
- Camille as Creditor Agent (uncredited)
- The Story of Louis Pasteur as Dr. Pfeiffer
- The Invisible Ray as Professor Meiklejohn
- The Devil-Doll as Doctor (uncredited)
- Anthony Adverse as Coachman to Paris
- Girls' Dormitory as Dr. Hoffenreich
- The Ex-Mrs. Bradford as Henry Strand (uncredited)
- The Gorgeous Hussy as Commander of U.S.S. Constitution (uncredited)
- Under Two Flags as French General
- Murder on a Bridle Path as Dr. Peters
- Till We Meet Again as Colonel Von Diegel
- The Murder of Dr. Harrigan as Dr. Coate
- Sutter's Gold as Governor Felipe Vega
- Star for a Night as Doctor Heimkin
- The Country Doctor as Dr. Paul Luke
- Laughing at Trouble as Dr. Larson
- Sinner Take All as Theo Drukker (uncredited)
- Along Came Love as Planetarium Lecturer
- Second Wife as Headmaster
1935
- Charlie Chan in Egypt as Dr. Jaipur
- The Casino Murder Case as Assistant Coroner (uncredited)
- A Dog of Flanders as Herr Vanderkloot
- Straight from the Heart as Coroner
- Magnificent Obsession as Dr. Rochard
- The Florentine Dagger as Von Stein
- Star of Midnight as Abe Ohlman (uncredited)
- Rendezvous as Dr. R.A. Jackson
- The Great Impersonation as Dr. Trenk
- The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo as 2nd Assistant Director
- Life Returns as Dr. James
- Kind Lady as Gustave Roubet (as Frank Reigher)
1934
- Hi, Nellie! as Danny
- The Case of the Howling Dog as Dr. Carl Cooper
- British Agent as Mr. X
- Mills of the Gods as Barrett
- I Am a Thief as Max Bolen
- Return of the Terror as Franz Reinhardt
- No Greater Glory as Doctor
- Secret of the Chateau as Auctioneer
- The Countess of Monte Cristo as Police Commissioner
- Journal of a Crime as Herr Winterstein
- Men in White as Doctor (uncredited)
- Let's Talk It Over as Richards
- The Line-Up as Abraham Schultz (uncredited)
- The Fountain as Doctor
1933
- King Kong as Captain Englehorn
- The Son of Kong as Captain Englehorn
- Before Dawn as Joe Valerie
- A Bedtime Story as Aristide
- Employees' Entrance as Garfinkle
- Topaze as Dr. Stegg
- Captured! as Herr Hauptman
- Jennie Gerhardt as Old Weaver (uncredited)
1932
- Flesh as Warden in Germany (uncredited)
- A Woman Commands as The General
- 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)
- Gentleman's Fate as Francesco Tomasulo
- We’re Switching to Hollywood ... (Director)
- Beyond Victory as German Hospital Chief
- Suicide Fleet as Holtzmann
1930
- Anna Christie ... (Screenplay)
- Girl of the Port
- Every Woman's Longing
- Billy the Kid as General Lew Wallace (uncredited)
- The Grand Parade
- Strictly Unconventional as Duke of Brocklehurst
1929
- Mister Antonio as Milton Jorny
- Paris Bound
- Black Waters as Randall
- Her Private Affair as State's Attorney
- His Captive Woman
- Strange Cargo as Dr. Stecker
1928
- Four Sons as The Schoolmaster
- Sins of the Fathers as The Eye Specialist
- The Blue Danube as Baron
- Napoleon's Barber as Napoleon's Barber
- Someone to Love as Simmons
- The Masks of the Devil as Count Zellner
- Beau Sabreur as Gen. de Beaujolais
1926
- Her Man o' War as Professor Krantz
1921
- Idle Hands ... (Director)
- Behind Masks ... (Director)
1919
- Suspense ... (Director)
- The Trap ... (Director)
- The Battler ... (Director)
- The American Way ... (Director)
- The Black Circle ... (Director)
1918
- The Sea Waif ... (Director)
- The Prodigal Wife ... (Director)
- The Only Road ... (Director)
1917
- The Sacrifice ... (Director)
- Betty to the Rescue ... (Director)
- The Inner Shrine ... (Director)
- The Trouble Buster ... (Director)
- Castles for Two ... (Director)
- Lost and Won ... (Director)
- The Eternal Mother ... (Director)
- Unconquered ... (Director)
- An American Widow ... (Director)
- The Black Wolf ... (Director)
1916
- Public Opinion ... (Director)
- Alien Souls ... (Director)
- The Sowers ... (Director)
- For the Defense ... (Director)
- Witchcraft ... (Director)
- The Love Mask ... (Director)
- Pudd'nhead Wilson ... (Director)
- The Storm ... (Director)
1915
- The Secret Orchard ... (Director)
- The Case of Becky ... (Director)
- Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo ... (Director)
- The Chorus Lady ... (Director)
- The Secret Sin ... (Director)
- The Clue ... (Director)
1914
- The Lambs' All-Star Gambol as Self