Acting
James Dunn
Biography
James Dunn worked on the stage, in vaudeville and as an extra in silent movies before he was signed by Fox in 1931. His first movie with Fox was 1931's Sob Sister (1931). While at Fox, he appeared with Shirley Temple in her first three features: Baby Take a Bow (1934), Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) and Bright Eyes (1934). Dunn's screen character was usually the boy next door or the nice guy. In 1935 musicals at the new 20th Century-Fox were out and Dunn would move to the "B" list, from which he would never return. In The Payoff (1935) he plays the nice guy newspaper columnist whose wife ruins his career. By the late 1930s he was drinking heavily and become unemployable. He would appear in small roles in films during the early 1940s, but those parts were few. In 1945 he was able to make a comeback and win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), but his rejuvenated career would not continue. By 1951 he would again be unemployed and bankrupt. Television would later supply some work and he would be a regular on the series It's a Great Life (1954). Dunn was born 2 November 1901, New York City, New York, USA, and he died 1 September 1967, Santa Monica, California, USA (following abdominal surgery)
Movies with James Dunn
Government Girl
1943
The Oscar
1966
Hello, Sister!
1933
Bad Girl
1931
Stand Up and Cheer!
1934
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1945
Mercy Plane
1939
Sob Sister
1931
Bright Eyes
1934
Society Girl
1932
Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man
1962
Don’t Get Personal
1936
That Brennan Girl
1946
The Living Ghost
1942
We Have Our Moments
1937
Killer McCoy
1947
The Girl in 419
1933
Over the Hill
1931
Change of Heart
1934
Hold That Girl
1934
The Bramble Bush
1960
The Ninth Day
1957
Living on Love
1937
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
1948
Handle with Care
1932
Baby Take a Bow
1934
Hollywood’s Children
1982
The Payoff
1935
Journey to the Day
1960
Leave It to the Irish
1944
Shadow Over Elveron
1968
Take It or Leave It
1944
Shadows Over Shanghai
1938
Arizona to Broadway
1933
Son of the Navy
1940
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
George White's 1935 Scandals
1935
Sailor's Luck
1933
Bad Boy
1935
The Daring Young Man
1935
Welcome Home
1935
Take a Chance
1933
Have a Heart
1934
Mr. Broadway
1957
365 Nights in Hollywood
1934
The Ghost and the Guest
1943
Mysterious Crossing
1936
Hold That Woman!
1940
The Last Stop
1956
A Wonderful Life
1950
Come Closer, Folks
1936
The Song Plugger
1930
In the Nick of Time
1929
The Golden Gloves Story
1950
The Biggest Little Star of the 30's
1976
Pride of the Navy
1939
Jimmy and Sally
1933
Deliverance
1919
The Caribbean Mystery
1945
Hearts in Bondage
1936
Two-Fisted Gentleman
1936
Venus Makes Trouble
1937
Hold Me Tight
1933
Dance Team
1932
TV Shows with James Dunn
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
The Fugitive
1963
Climax!
1954
The Virginian
1962
Rawhide
1959
Ben Casey
1961
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
Naked City
1958
Studio One
1948
Route 66
1960
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
Matinee Theater
1955
Branded
1965
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
Vacation Playhouse
1963
The Great Adventure
1963
Lux Video Theatre
1950
Screen Director's Playhouse
1955
The Investigators
1961
Going My Way
1962
It's a Great Life
1954
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
General Electric Theater
1953