Russell Gleason
Acting
Biography
Russell Gleason (February 6, 1908 – December 25, 1945) was an American actor who began his career at the very beginning of the talking film era. Born into an acting family, one of his earliest roles was in the 1930 classic film, All Quiet on the Western Front. While still in the middle of a successful acting career, Gleason joined the U.S. Army in late 1943, during World War II. While awaiting deployment to Europe in December 1945 in New York City, Gleason fell to his death from a hotel window. He was the son of actors Lucille and James Gleason.
Known For
When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.
All Quiet on the Western Front
Joe Collins arrives at Hanford College to begin his second year with $200 to pay his tuition, is enticed into a craps game, and loses all in this nostalgic slice of college, replete with songs, romance, prom dances and the inevitable big football game.
The Sophomore
On board a yacht sailing from India to Britain, the owner of the vessel is murdered by one of the passengers. (This film was produced both in full sound and silent versions, the latter for theaters that had not yet been wired for sound.)
Strange Cargo
In Chicago, an unemployed actor aims to solve the mystery concerning a string of ax murders, apparently committed by a lunatic.
Fingers at the Window
A series of vignettes with a loose plot. Featured are Frank Morgan, Groucho Marx, Frank McHugh, Robert Benchley and The Brian Sisters. Not bad, more interesting for the historical significance than for entertainment.
Sunday Night at the Trocadero
Street-smart Maisie from Brooklyn lands a job at an airplane assembly plant during WWII and falls in love with handsome pilot "Breezy" McLaughlin. Breezy, however, falling in love with and getting engaged to Maisie's conniving roommate Iris, doesn't realize she's using him and it's up to Maisie to convince him.
Swing Shift Maisie
Comedy about a bandleader with hypnotic powers.
Swing Fever
This late entry in the popular "The Jones Family" series of '30s comedies has the family contending with a troublesome (and possibly crooked) uncle while trying to cut household expenses.
Love on a Budget
It is a comic book propaganda film which has Beery as a retired USMC NCO who, when the Japanese invade the Philippines, leads a heroic defense, first by strangling a Nazi agent, and then dying in his dress blues uniform while blowing up a bridge.
Salute to the Marines
In this episode of the Higgins Family series, pandemonium ensues when Ma enters a dog biscuit contest. The prize is a whopping $50,000.
Money To Burn
The Jones family encounters new theories of childrearing when an author arrives in town to lecture on the topic.
Everybody's Baby
The Jones family is in an uproar when Dad's campaign for mayor appears sabotaged by an anonymous newspaper article.
Hot Water
A railway postal clerk goes after a sweepstakes counterfeiting ring.
Undercover Agent
An amateur handicapper must help his future son-in-law recoup the money he lost while playing the ponies.
Hot Tip
After a series of murders, a man finds out that his mother was bitten by a vampire bat during her pregnancy, and he believes that he may be the vampire committing the murders.
Condemned to Live
An elderly gentleman comes to a young woman's aid by pretending to be her uncle. Comedy.
Unexpected Uncle
The Jones Family heads to Gay Paree in celebration of the 25th wedding anniversary of Pa and Ma Jones. It doesn't take long for the Joneses to be victimized by clever Parisian con artists.
A Trip to Paris
Excitement runs high when a family's farm is chosen as the site for a big cornhusking contest.
Down on the Farm
The police use a gangster's son to get to him.
Homicide Squad
Joe and Lil Higgins invest their life savings in a frontier hotel. Upon arrival, the family discovers that the establishment is smack dab in the middle of a ghost town that hasn't seen a human face in years.