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James Stephenson

James Stephenson

Acting

Biography

British stage actor James Stephenson made his film debut quite late in life, at the age of 49, in 1937, making four pictures that year. Warner Bros. got a glimpse of this distinguished gent and signed him to a contract where he indulged himself in urbane villainy. Proving a reliable support in such films as Boy Meets Girl (1938), You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), and the classic adventure The Sea Hawk (1940), he was entrusted by director William Wyler and mega-star Bette Davis to play the sympathetic role of the family attorney Howard Joyce in The Letter (1940). It was the role of a lifetime and he didn't let them down for he earned an Oscar nomination in the process. Stephenson was soon on a roll, playing the titular sleuth in Calling Philo Vance (1940) and was first-billed in the above-average "B" movie Shining Victory (1941) when he died suddenly in 1941 of a heart attack at the rather young age of 53. Date of Death:  29 July 1941, Pacific Palisades, California  (heart attack)

Known For

The Letter
7.3

After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.

The Letter

1940
The Sea Hawk
7.2

Dashing pirate Geoffrey Thorpe plunders Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and falls in love with Dona Maria, a beautiful Spanish royal he captures.

The Sea Hawk

1940
When Were You Born
5.2

A San Francisco astrologer correctly predicts a ship passenger's death and then helps the police look for the murderer.

When Were You Born

1938
Beau Geste
7.0

Brothers Beau, John and Digby Geste join the Foreign Legion, where they fall under the rule of tyrannical Sergeant Markoff. Beau and John are assigned to Fort Zinderneuf, where Markoff tries to break their spirit, aware of a dark family secret concerning a fabulous jewel one of them carries. As tensions rise, Arabs attack the fort and rivalries must be thrown aside in a desperate battle for life.

Beau Geste

1939
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
6.3

This period drama frames the tumultuous affair between Queen Elizabeth I and the man who would be King of England.

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

1939
The Old Maid
7.1

The lives of two cousins are complicated by the return of an ex-boyfriend and an illegitimate child.

The Old Maid

1939
Confessions of a Nazi Spy
6.1

FBI agent Ed Renard investigates the pre-War espionage activities of the German-American Bund.

Confessions of a Nazi Spy

1939
Espionage Agent
6.3

When Barry Corvall discovers that his new bride is a possible enemy agent, he resigns from the diplomatic service to go undercover to route out an espionage ring planning to destroy American industrial capability.

Espionage Agent

1939
King of the Underworld
6.5

Physician Carole Nelson, suspected of having ties to notorious gangster Joe Gurney, must prove her innocence or the Medical Board will revoke her license. When Gurney seeks her out for treatment after being shot, it could be the break Nelson needs. Now she has a chance to use her medical know-how to outwit Gurney and his goons and reestablish her professional reputation.

King of the Underworld

1939
Heart of the North
5.2

A two-fisted Canadian Mountie leads lawmen in pursuit of the thieves who stole an Edmonton-bound freighter's cargo.

Heart of the North

1938
Flight from Destiny
5.8

After his doctor informs him he will die in six months, Professor Henry Todhunter decides to spend his last days killing someone who contributes nothing but harm to society. When Henry learns that his friend Betty's husband, Michael, has been painting forgeries of ancient paintings for gallery owner Ketti Moret, he investigates the fraudulent dealer's life. Judging that Ketti is truly evil, Henry prepares to murder her.

Flight from Destiny

1941
Nancy Drew… Detective
6.5

After a wealthy dowager who has made a substantial donation to her alma mater suddenly disappears, Nancy Drew sets out to solve the mystery.

Nancy Drew… Detective

1938
Shining Victory
6.1

In a Scottish sanitarium, a brilliant research psychiatrist works on a treatment for dementia praecox. He falls for his altruistic female lab assistant and they begin a passionate, tragic relationship.

Shining Victory

1941
Devil's Island
5.7

A French doctor sentenced for treason performs brain surgery on the prison commandant's daughter.

Devil's Island

1939
A Dispatch from Reuters
6.2

German Julius Reuter sends 19th-century news by carrier pigeon and then by wire, founding a news agency.

A Dispatch from Reuters

1940
Secret Service of the Air
6.3

Brass Bancroft and his sidekick Gabby Watters are recruited onto the secret service and go undercover to crack a ruthless gang that smuggles illegal aliens.

Secret Service of the Air

1939
Murder in the Air
5.2

Enemy agents are everywhere and they are sabotaging all important war deliveries. The body of a hobo found in a train wreck had a money belt with $50,000 and a tattoo of a circle and arrow. This is a tattoo for saboteurs for hire and Brass must impersonate the dead man to find out what his orders are. As Steve Coe, he meets with the band of enemy agents in California and everything goes well until the wife of the dead 'Hobo' shows up. Luckily, Gabby is able to save Brass and Brass learns what is his assignment. He is to board the USN airship 'Mason', which is testing the super secret Inertia Projector, and destroy the airship.

Murder in the Air

1940
Torchy Blane in Chinatown
7.0

Torchy Blane joins her police-detective fiance to solve a series of murders involving a set of Chinese grave tablets taken and sold to a collector and death-threats written in Chinese characters.

Torchy Blane in Chinatown

1939
On Trial
6.1

An ambitious attorney (Edward Norris) tries to prove a man (John Litel) who killed to protect his wife's (Margaret Lindsay) honor was justified.

On Trial

1939
Cowboy from Brooklyn
7.0

A singing cowboy turns out to be a tenderfoot.

Cowboy from Brooklyn

1938