James Stephenson Filmography

Shining Victory

Actors: James Stephenson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, Barbara O'Neil, Montagu Love

Synopsis: In this melodrama, a loyal research psychologist escapes from Budapest after the nature of his work is discovered. He resettles in Scotland and soon resumes his work. His benefactors provide him a female assistant, and at first the stubborn scientist is not pleased. Eventually the two fall in Read More

International Squadron

Actors: Ronald Reagan, Olympe Bradna, James Stephenson, William Lundigan, Joan Perry

Synopsis: A remake of Ceiling Zero (1936), International Squadron stars Ronald W. Reagan (in the old James Cagney role) as a hotshot flying who joins the Royal Air Force in England. Reagan refuses to mend his barnstorming ways, and thanks to his recklessness two pilots are killed. The headstrong young flyer Read More

Devil's Island

Actors: Boris Karloff, Nedda Harrigan, James Stephenson, Adia Kuznetzoff, Rolla Gourvitch

Synopsis: Veteran movie heavy Boris Karloff plays a sympathetic role in Devil's Island. Karloff portrays a humanitarian physician, arrested for treating the wounds of a treasonous fugitive. Sent to the Devil's Island penal colony, Dr. Karloff runs afoul of sadistic commandant James Stephenson, who seems Read More

Murder in the Air

Actors: Ronald Reagan, John Litel, Lya Lys, James Stephenson, Eddie Foy, Jr.

Synopsis: In this actioner, heroic G-man Brass Bancroft must assume the identity of a notorious spy who died in a train wreck so he can expose a suspected spy. Brass meets the spy and is told to get aboard a Navy dirigible and get information concerning a top-secret "inertia projector" the Americans are Read More

River's End

Actors: Dennis Morgan, George Tobias, Elizabeth Earl, Victor Jory, James Stephenson

Synopsis: Previously filmed in 1920 and 1931, James Oliver Curwood's River's End was given a third go-round by Warner Bros. in 1940. Dennis Morgan plays a dual role as falsely accused murderer John Keith and stalwart Canadian mountie Sgt. Conniston. When Conniston is accidently killed, Keith takes his Read More

A Dispatch from Reuters

Actors: Edward G. Robinson, Edna Best, Eddie Albert, Albert Basserman, Gene Lockhart

Synopsis: As part of his new contract with Warner Bros., Edward G. Robinson agreed to appear in the gangster comedy Brother Orchid on the condition that the studio permit him to play the leading role in the lavish biopic A Dispatch from Reuters. Robinson is cast as Baron Paul Julius Reiter, who in 1833 Read More

South of Suez

Actors: George Brent, Brenda Marshall, George Tobias, James Stephenson, Lee Patrick

Synopsis: South of Suez is where diamond-mine foreman John Gamble (George Brent) plies his trade. When his boss is murdered, Gamble is held for murder, forcing him to take it on the lam. With the reluctant aid of heroine Katherine Sheffield (Brenda Marshall), Gamble endeavors to prove his innocence. He is Read More

Wolf of New York

Actors: Edmund Lowe, Rose Hobart, James Stephenson, Jerome Cowan, William Demarest

Synopsis: In this crime drama, a brilliant lawyer is renowned for getting guilty-as-sin-but-powerful crime figures acquitted. He has never lost a case until he defends an innocent man. The hapless client ends up imprisoned and executed for killing a policeman. The loss traumatizes the lawyer and compels him Read More

The Letter

Actors: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort, Gale Sondergaard, Sen Yung

Synopsis: William Wyler's dark and poisonous melodrama, based on the W. Somerset Maugham novel, features Bette Davis in one of her nastiest roles. The story begins in the shimmering moonlight on a tropical Malayan rubber plantation. Shots ring out and a wounded man, Geoffrey Hammond (David Newell) staggers Read More

The Sea Hawk

Actors: Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Flora Robson, Donald Crisp

Synopsis: In the 1580s, the Sea Hawks -- the name given to the bold privateers who prowl the oceans taking ships and treasure on behalf the British crown -- are the most dedicated defenders of British interests in the face of the expanding power of Philip of Spain. And Captain Geoffrey Thorpe (Errol Flynn) Read More

Calling Philo Vance

Actors: James Stephenson, Margot Stevenson, Henry O'Neill, Edward S. Brophy, Ralph Forbes

Synopsis: Calling Philo Vance is a perfunctory remake of 1933's The Kennel Murder Case, which many aficionados consider the best of the "Vance" films. James Stephenson plays the titular gentleman sleuth, who must solve the murder of the inventor of a revolutionary new bombsight (the original film concerned Read More

The Monroe Doctrine

On Trial

Actors: John Litel, Margaret Lindsay, Edward Norris, Janet Chapman, James Stephenson

Synopsis: This second film version of Elmer Rice's play On Trial stars Edward Norris as a green lawyer on his first case. He is assigned to defend alleged killer John Litel, who makes Norris' job doubly hard by refusing to defend himself. Through flashbacks, Norris discovers the reason behind Litel's Read More

Wanted by Scotland Yard

Actors: James Stephenson, Betty Lynne, Leslie Perrins, Nadine March

Synopsis: In this crime drama, a sophisticated thief is working on a caper involving precious rubies when he sees that the owner of the stones is the man who caused his ex-girl friend to kill herself. Thoughts of thieving are replaced by plans for revenge. The thief becomes obsessed and is not paying Read More

Secret Service of the Air

Actors: John Litel, Ila Rhodes, James Stephenson, Eddie Foy, Jr.

Synopsis: In this, the premiere entry in the "Brass" Bancroft series (starring the man who would-be President, Ronald Reagan), Brass is seen as an ex-Army pilot who works as a commercial airline pilot. One day he quits his well-paying, safe job to become an agent for the Secret Service. His first assignment Read More

We Are Not Alone

Actors: Paul Muni, Jane Bryan, Flora Robson, Raymond Severn, Una O'Connor

Synopsis: A violin-playing British doctor's life changes forever after he takes in a distraught Austrian ballerina who tries to kill herself after breaking her wrist. He hires the sad girl as a nanny for his bright son, whom he wants to keep away from his neurotic, overbearing wife. The trouble starts when Read More

King of the Underworld

Actors: Humphrey Bogart, James Stephenson, John Eldredge, Jessie Busley

Synopsis: A remake of Dr. Socrates (1935), this middling melodrama features Kay Francis as Carol Nelson, a medical doctor blaming gangster Joe Gurney (Humphrey Bogart) for the death of her husband (John Eldredge) during a police raid. Determined to get even, Dr. Nelson sets up practice in a small town where Read More

The Adventures of Jane Arden

Actors: William Gargan, Rosella Towne, James Stephenson, Benny Rubin

Synopsis: This minor but entertaining screen version of the Monte Barrett-Russell E. Ross comic strip The Adventures of Jane Arden stars Warner contractee Rosella Towne as the title character. Dapper villain Dr. Vanders (James Stephenson) has been using beautiful, gullible young women as pawns in a clever Read More

Confessions of a Nazi Spy

Actors: Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders, Paul Lukas, Lya Lys, Henry O'Neill

Synopsis: Bold for its time (just prior to World War II), Confessions of a Nazi Spy is an expose of a genuine Nazi espionage ring operating in the United States. Dedicated National Socialist Paul Lukas arrives in America to conduct Bund rallies and enlist German-Americans in the service of Hitler. His Read More

Espionage Agent

Actors: Joel McCrea, Brenda Marshall, Jeffrey Lynn, George Bancroft, Stanley Ridges

Synopsis: Unlike many another pre-WW II spy melodramas, Espionage Agent clearly identifies the villains as Germans. Joel McCrea plays Barry Corvall, the son of a recently deceased US diplomat. Boarding a Berlin-bound train, Corvall attempts to swipe a briefcase stuffed with documents which will prove that Read More

Beau Geste

Actors: Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward

Synopsis: This second of three movie versions of P.C. Wren's adventure novel Beau Geste is a virtual scene-for-scene remake of the 1927 silent version. We open on the now-famous scenes of a remote, burning desert fort, manned by the dead Foreign Legionnaires, then flash back to the early lives of the Geste Read More

The Old Maid

Actors: Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, George Brent, Donald Crisp, Jane Bryan

Synopsis: When Zoë Akins' play The Old Maid (based on a novel by Edith Wharton) won the 1934-1935 Pulitzer Prize, the selection was roundly condemned by critics, who felt that Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour was more deserving, but had lost because of its lesbian theme. Certainly, Akins' story of the Read More

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

Actors: Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Vincent Price, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale

Synopsis: It is no secret that Bette Davis and Errol Flynn were at each other's throats throughout the filming of The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. Boiled down to essentials: Davis felt that Flynn was unprofessional, while Flynn thought that Davis took herself too damned seriously. Besides, Davis Read More

It's in the Blood

Synopsis: In this comedy, a meek, mild-mannered movie lover travels to Boulogne and ends up entangled in a great adventure that begins when he is mugged by a gang of British robbers. He then must return home aboard an onion boat. Later he and his gal try to catch the gang. They then discover that they are Read More

Nancy Drew - Detective

Actors: Bonita Granville, John Litel, James Stephenson, Frankie Thomas, Frank Orth

Synopsis: Nancy Drew -- Detective was the first in a series of breezy B-pictures based on the teenaged sleuth created by Carolyn Keene. Bonita Granville is perfectly cast as Nancy, while John Litel and Frankie Thomas are equally effective as Nancy's attorney father, Carson Drew, and erstwhile boyfriend, Ted Read More

When Were You Born?

Actors: Margaret Lindsay, Anna May Wong, Lola Lane, Anthony Averill, Charles Wilson

Synopsis: Astrology and murder meet head-on in the Warner Bros. programmer When Were You Born? When horoscope specialist Mary Lee Liang (Anna May Wong) predicts the death of importer Philip Corey (James Stephenson), her prophecy comes true in a surprisingly short time thanks to a mysterious killer. Mary Read More

Mr. Satan

Synopsis: In this action drama, a war correspondent finds a gun-runners agent and ends up falling in love with her. To escape those that pursue him, the ring-leader pretends to suicide. Then to start a war, he sinks a ship. Later he is killed by his agent. Unfortunately, during the scuffle, she is mortally Read More

White Banners

Actors: Claude Rains, Fay Bainter, Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville, Henry O'Neill

Synopsis: Based on another of Lloyd C. Douglas' "better living through faith" short stories, White Banners stars Claude Rains as a chemistry professor who invents an icebox that requires no ice. The invention is stolen, throwing Rains and his faithful young assistant Jackie Cooper into a deep depression. Rains Read More

Torchy Blane in Chinatown

Actors: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy, Patric Knowles, Henry O'Neill

Synopsis: Number seven in Warner Bros.' "Torchy Blaine" series was Torchy Blaine in Chinatown, with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane returning as fast-talking gal reporter Torchy and her ever-lovin' police lieutenant boyfriend Steve McBride. Actually, there's very little of Chinatown in the storyline Read More

The Cowboy from Brooklyn

Actors: Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell, Priscilla Lane, Dick Foran, Ann Sheridan

Synopsis: Dick Powell stars as a Brooklynite who becomes a cowboy in spite of himself. Drifting into a small western town, Powell takes the only job available as a ranch hand. He likes to sing in his spare time, which attracts the attention of talent scout Pat O'Brien. Before you can say Gene Autry, Powell Read More

The Dark Stairway

Synopsis: In this British crime drama an argument over a new anaesthetic results in the murder of a hospital doctor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Boy Meets Girl

Actors: James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Marie Wilson, Ralph Bellamy, Frank McHugh

Synopsis: Once a staple of summer stock and community theatres, Bella and Samuel Spewack's Broadway farce Boy Meets Girl dates rather badly when seen today. The 1938 movie version is also a bit mildewed, though it is saved by the dynamo-like energy of James Cagney and Pat O'Brien. The stars are cast as Read More

Heart of the North

Actors: Dick Foran, Gloria Dickson, Gale Page, Allen Jenkins, Patric Knowles

Synopsis: In this North Woods adventure a courageous Canadian Mounted Policeman takes on the outlaws who robbed a freighter heading for Edmonton. After the heist, the crooks got away with furs and gold leaving an innocent trapper to take the blame. Just as the hapless trapper is to be lynched the Mountie Read More

The Man Who Made Diamonds

Synopsis: When assistant Noel Madison kills professor J. Fisher White for his diamond formula, White's daughter Brook examines the case and gets into danger when she is saved by detective George Galleon. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

You Live and Learn

Actors: Glenda Farrell, Claude Hulbert, Glen Alyn, John Carol, James Stephenson

Synopsis: In this comedy, an American chorine travels to France with a low-budget revue and nearly ends up stranded there. Fortunately, a handsome Frenchman proposes to her. Believing that he is wealthy, she accepts. Unfortunately, he deceived her and now the bride must live in a ramshackle hovel with his Read More

The Perfect Crime

Synopsis: In this British thriller, a mild-mannered bank clerk has a sort of breakdown, gets tired of seeing other people always get the money, and robs the bank. He then sets up an elaborate scheme whereby it looks as if he felt so much remorse at his actions that he has ended his life by jumping overboard Read More

Take It from Me

Synopsis: The riotous world of boxing provides the backdrop of this comedy that centers on young-fighter Kid Brody who is taken under the wing of the lovely coquette Lady Foxham after he beats her previous favorite. Together the two embark on a cruise to England. During the voyage, the Kid's manager finds Read More