J.P. McGowan
J.P. McGowan is known for Stagecoach (1939), The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936), Les Misérables (1935).
Biography
From Wikipedia
John Paterson McGowan (February 24, 1880 – March 26, 1952) was a pioneering Hollywood actor and director and occasionally a screenwriter and producer. J. P. McGowan, as he was usually known, remains the only Australian to have been made a life member of the Screen Directors Guild (now Directors Guild of America).
Born in the then-bustling railway centre of Terowie in South Australia, McGowan grew up in Adelaide (Islington) and Sydney. He was a capable horseman and served in the Second Boer War with Montmorency's Scouts as a special dispatch rider.
McGowan directed and often acted in the first 33 episodes of Kalem's 1914 adventure film series, The Hazards of Helen, which eventually ran to 54 episodes, some still with McGowan's participation. While filming he began a relationship with Helen Holmes, the film's star, and the two married. They left Kalem to set up their own production company, Signal Films, which successfully made a series of railroad melodramas but lost out when their distributor (Mutual) failed. The collaboration ended when they divorced in 1925. There was an adopted daughter, Kaye.
McGowan successfully made the transition from silent film to talkies. While never a major star, in a busy career that spanned four decades he is credited with acting in 232 films—mostly strong roles like sheriff or villain—writing 26 screenplays and directing 242 productions. In 1932 he directed a young John Wayne in the 12-episode rail vs airplane serial The Hurricane Express for the independent Mascot Pictures. From 1938 to 1951, as Executive Secretary of the Screen Directors Guild, he fought to secure recognition for the director within the studio systems of the film and emerging television industry.
J.P. McGowan died in 1952 in Hollywood and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Questions about J.P. McGowan
How many J.P. McGowan films are in the catalogue?
The CineQuiz catalogue has 56 films with J.P. McGowan, from 1915 to 1956.
What is the best rated J.P. McGowan film?
The best rated J.P. McGowan film in the catalogue is Stagecoach (1939), rated 7.6.
What was the first J.P. McGowan film?
The first J.P. McGowan film in the catalogue is Les Misérables, from 1935.
People data: TMDb.
Known for
Trivia
- Also works as
- film director · screenwriter · film producer · film editor · director
- Spouse
- Helen Holmes
Trivia from Wikidata, licensed CC0.
Full filmography
164 films — 56 in the catalogue
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7.0 Savage Fury
1956 · Ship's Captain
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6.8 The Lady and the Bandit
1951 · Old Man
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7.6 Stagecoach
1939 · Bit Part (uncredited)
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4.7 Code of the Fearless
1939 · Undetermined Minor Role
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9.0 The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1938 · Scudder
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6.0 Kidnapped
1938 · Clansman
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5.7 Hunted Men
1938 · Cop
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6.4 The Buccaneer
1938 · Jailer
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4.3 Prairie Thunder
1937 · Col. Stanton
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8.0 Heart of the Rockies
1937 · Ed Dawson
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9.0 Rough Riding Rhythm
1937 · Pete Hobart
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8.0 Empty Holsters
1937 · U.S. Marshal Billy O'Neill
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5.6 She Had to Eat
1937 · Police Sergeant (uncredited)
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5.1 Slave Ship
1937 · Helmsman
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6.0 Hit the Saddle
1937 · Rance McGowan
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7.5 Borderland
1937 · El Rio Sheriff
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5.4 Jungle Jim
1937 · Ship Captain J.S. Robinson
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4.9 Sinner Take All
1936 · Police Officer Murphy (uncredited)
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9.0 Stampede
1936 · Matt Stevens
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5.8 The Accusing Finger
1936 · Inner Guard
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7.0 Fury and the Woman
1936 · Anderson
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7.0 Em Pé de Guerra
1936 · Brack Canfield
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10.0 Ride 'Em Cowboy
1936 · Jim Howard
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5.8 Guns and Guitars
1936 · Dave Morgan
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9.0 Secret Patrol
1936 · Blacksmith Barstow
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5.2 Robin Hood of El Dorado
1936 · Danglong
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6.9 The Prisoner of Shark Island
1936 · Ship's Captain (uncredited)
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10.0 Silverspurs
1936 · Webb Allison
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6.7 Bar 20 Rides Again
1935 · Buck Peters
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7.5 East of Java
1935 · Sergeant, Rescue Party
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6.5 The Silent Code
1935 · Commissioner
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6.5 Diamond Jim
1935 · Engineer
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7.0 Border Brigands
1935 · Inspector Winston - RCMP
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6.6 Murder in the Fleet
1935 · Chief of Police (Uncredited)
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10.0 Whispering Smith Speaks
1935 · Caboose Passenger (uncredited)
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7.1 Les Misérables
1935 · Javert's Plainclothesman
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6.0 The Call of the Savage
1935 · Freighter Captain
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6.8 Mississippi
1935 · Dealer (uncredited)
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9.0 The Outlaw Tamer
1935 · Sheriff Jim Porter
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8.5 Rustlers of Red Dog
1935 · Capt. Trent [Chs. 3-4]
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7.5 When Lightning Strikes
1934 · Lafe Broderick
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5.1 Wagon Wheels
1934 · Couch
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7.0 The Red Rider
1934 · Scotty McKee
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4.8 No More Women
1934 · Captain of The Hawk
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5.1 Somewhere in Sonora
1933 · Monte Black
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6.2 Flaming Gold
1932 · Mack
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4.5 Lawless Valley
1932 · Big Mike Carter, aka El Lobo, aka Texas Rand
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8.0 Quick Trigger Lee
1931 · Brings note / Director
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9.0 The Canyon of Missing Men
1930 · Slug Sagel
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10.0
Covered Wagon Trails
1930
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10.0
Breezy Bill
1930 · Sheriff
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10.0 O'Malley Rides Alone
1930 · Angus McGregor
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7.0 A Texas Cowboy
1929 · Brute Kettle
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7.0 Señor Americano
1929 · Maddox
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7.0 The Oklahoma Kid
1929
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9.0 Pioneers of the West
1929 · Tom Dorgan
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7.0
The Invaders
1929
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8.0 The Cowboy and the Outlaw
1929 · Pepper Hardcastle
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9.0 The Law of the Plains
1929 · Seagrue
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8.0 The Fighting Terror
1929
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7.0 The Last Roundup
1929 · Hash
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8.0 Plunging Hoofs
1929 · Jim Wales
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10.0 Bad Men's Money
1929 · Sheriff Bud Jennings
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9.0 The Lawless Legion
1929 · Matson
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8.0 Headin' Westward
1929 · Sneezer Clark
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4.0 Below the Deadline
1929 · Taggart
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8.0 'Neath Western Skies
1929 · Dugan
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8.0 Ships of the Night
1928 · Motilla
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9.0 Two Outlaws
1928 · Abner Whitcomb
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The Old Code
1928 · Raoul de Valle
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7.0
The Lightnin’ Shot
1928
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10.0 The Black Ace
1928
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9.0 The Chinatown Mystery
1928
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3.7
Arizona Days
1928 · Ed Hicks
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10.0 The Code of the Scarlet
1928 · Blake
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5.5
The Devil’s Tower
1928 · George Stilwell
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7.0
Dugan of the Dugouts
1928 · Capt. von Brinken
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10.0
The Slaver
1927 · ’Iron' Larsen
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10.0 Gun Gospel
1927 · Bill Brogan
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8.0 The Red Raiders
1927 · Captain Ortwell
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9.0 Arizona Nights
1927 · Jeff Decker
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8.0
The Royal American
1927 · Capt. Burke
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8.0
The Lost Limited
1927 · Thomas Webber
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9.0 Red Signals
1927 · Jim Twyler
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7.5 Perils of the Rail
1926 · Barker's Accomplice at Smelter Junction
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6.0 Crack O' Dawn
1926 · Earle Thorpe Sr.
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9.0 The Lost Express
1926 · Train Engineer
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7.0 Moran of the Mounted
1926 · Sgt. Churchill
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10.0 Senor Daredevil
1926 · Jesse Wilks
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8.0 The Patent Leather Pug
1925 · James Curtis
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4.5 The Fast Freight
1925
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3.0 Red Blood
1925 · Eagle Custer
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8.0 Duped
1925 · 'Hard Rock' Ralston
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9.0 Barriers of the Law
1925 · Steve Redding
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8.0 Outwitted
1925 · Tiger McGuire
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10.0 Crossed Trails
1924 · 'Pepper' Baldwin
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8.0 A Two Fisted Tenderfoot
1924 · Stephen Lawlor
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7.0
The Whipping Boss
1924 · Livingston
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8.0 Baffled
1924 · Jack Norton
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8.0 Stormy Seas
1923 · Capt. Morgan
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10.0 Hills of Missing Men
1922 · Capt. Brandt / The Dragon
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Cold Steel
1921 · Steele Weir
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8.0 Do or Die
1921 · Capt. Alvarez / Satan
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8.0 King of the Circus
1920
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8.0 Elmo the Fearless
1920
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The Railroad Raiders
1917 · Thomas Desmond
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The Hazards of Helen
1917 · Various roles
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Medicine Bend
1916 · Whispering Smith
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Whispering Smith
1916 · Whispering Smith
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10.0
A Desperate Leap
1915
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7.0 The Mettle of Jerry McGuire
1915 · Jerry McGuire
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The Broken Rail
1915 · Trow - of the Working Crew
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A Railroader's Bravery
1915 · Thomas - the Chief of the Gang
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The Broken Train
1915 · Warren - Railroad Employee
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The Railroad Raiders of '62
1915 · Lockwood - the old one-armed Flagman
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The Leap from the Water Tower
1915 · Rand - the Fireman
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The Girl Telegrapher's Peril
1915 · Blake - a Lineman
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The Girl and the Game
1915 · Spike
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The Escape on the Limited
1914 · Brandt - a Defaulting Cashier
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The Black Diamond Express
1914 · Dan Haddon - a Cowboy
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The Flying Freight's Captive
1914 · Rand - a Yeggman
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10.0 His Nemesis
1914 · Mammoth - Manning's Business Rival
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Helen's Sacrifice
1914 · Benton
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8.0
Kaintucky Bill
1914 · Kaintucky Bill - a Moonshiner
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The Wives of Jamestown
1913 · The O’Rourke
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7.0
The Shaughraun
1912 · Corry Kinchela
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10.0 Ireland, the Oppressed
1912 · Lord Kilhannack
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The Mayor from Ireland
1912 · Shamus Foley
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9.0 The Kerry Gow
1912 · Valentine Hay
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5.1 Da Manjedoura à Cruz
1912 · Wise Man 1
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7.0 The Poacher's Pardon
1912 · Mr. Wallace - the Gamekeeper
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10.0 The Grit of the Girl Telegrapher
1912
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8.0 Winning a Widow
1912
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9.0 Tragedy of the Desert
1912 · The Arab Sheik
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10.0 Captured by Bedouins
1912 · Lt. Greig
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7.0 An Arabian Tragedy
1912
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Dust of the Desert
1912 · Sheik Mohammad
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Far from Erin's Isle
1912
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Vagabonds
1912 · Big Jim
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5.5 His Mother
1912 · John Foster
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The Fishermaid of Ballydavid
1911 · Policeman
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7.4 The Colleen Bawn
1911 · Hardress Cregan
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5.2 Rory O'More
1911 · Commander of the English troops
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8.0
The Special Messenger
1911 · Royal
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5.0 Railroad Raiders of '62
1911 · Federal Officer
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When the Dead Return
1911 · Jacques
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7.0
The Fiddler’s Requiem
1911 · Dolores' father
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6.0
Slim Jim's Last Chance
1911 · The Rancher
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6.7 By a Woman's Wit
1911
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A Sawmill Hero
1911
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4.0
When Lovers Part
1910
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5.4 The Lad from Old Ireland
1910 · Election Agent
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8.0
Danger Quest
no date · Col. Spiffy
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5.4 The Hurricane Express
1932
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7.5 Roaring Six Guns
1937
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7.0 What Price Vengeance
1937
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6.0 Mark of the Spur
1932
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5.5 The Lure of the Circus
1918
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6.0 Deadwood Pass
1933
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6.5 When a Man Rides Alone
1933
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10.0 Tangled Fortunes
1932
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5.0 Canyon Hawks
1930
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9.0 The Call of the Desert
1930
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8.0 Perils of the Yukon
1922
People data: TMDb.
Cast