Lew Ayres Filmography

Born:: December 28, 1908 in Minneapolis, MN
Occupation:: Actor
Biography:: The son of a court reporter, actor Lew Ayres began his performing career upon high school graduation when he attempted to make a living as a banjo player. Ayres' college-boy good looks led to extra work in the movies, and before he was 21 the young actor was starring opposite Greta Garbo in The Kiss...Read More

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Cast the First Stone

Actors: Jill Eikenberry, Joe Spano, Richard Masur

Synopsis: Returning from a Catholic retreat, public school teacher Jill Eikenberry picks up a hitchhiker--who repays her hospitality by brutally raping her. Plunged into shame and self-hatred by the incident, she does not report the attack to the police. Only when she becomes pregnant does she tell the Read More

1989
Under Siege

Actors: Hal Holbrook, Peter Strauss

Synopsis: Under Siege was first telecast in February 1986, a time when the notion of foreign terrorists in America was still speculative fiction. A militant group sets off explosives at US Army bases, then branches out to such civilian targets as crowded shopping centers. FBI director Peter Strauss Read More

1986
Lime Street

Synopsis: First telecast on September 21, 1985, the 2-hour pilot for the TV series Lime Street stars Robert Wagner as James Greyson Culver, an investigator for a prestigious London insurance company. His assignment is to get to the bottom of a plot to assassinate the royal family of a British principality. Read More

1986
The A-Team: The Grey Team

Synopsis: Believing that her father plans to sell a briefcase full of government secrets to the KGB, Paula Anderson (Moya Kordick) steals the briefcase herself and hides out at Silver Creek Retirement Home, where she has befriended a sprightly senior citizen named Bernie Greene (Lew Ayres). It is up to the Read More

1986
Highway to Heaven: The Right Thing

Synopsis: This episode of Highway to Heaven reunites star-writer Michael Landon with his former Little House on the Prairie co-star Matthew Laborteaux. Be that as it may, the episode's emphasis is on guest performer Lew Ayres, cast as elderly widower Harry Haynes. Placed in a retirement home by his Read More

1985
Quincy, M.E.: The Law Is a Fool

Synopsis: Quincy (Jack Klugman) is an unwilling key player in an elaborate vengeance scheme concocted by arrogant paralegal Carl Norman (Jeff Pomerantz). After the 7-year-old granddaughter of law professor Henry Hillman (Lew Ayres) is kidnapped in broad daylight, Norman calmly walks into police headquarters Read More

1983
Of Mice and Men

Actors: Randy Quaid, Cassie Yates, Robert Blake

Synopsis: This TV movie adaptation of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men was a labor of love for producer-star Robert Blake, who utilized the screenplay from the 1939 Hollywood version as his guide--a screenplay personally presented to Blake by the original film's director, Lewis Milestone. Blake and Randy Quaid Read More

1981
Magnum, P.I.: The Curse of the King Kameameha Club

Synopsis: During a major surf-ski competition, a Kahuna named Makua (Sol Bright) places a curse on Rick's club. At first, neither Rick (Larry Manetti) nor anyone else takes the curse seriously, but soon bad things begin happening--including at least one death. In his efforts to investigate this phenomenon Read More

1981
Reunion

Synopsis: In this drama, a married man attends his high school reunion and finds himself falling for his ex-sweetheart's daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

1980
Greatest Heroes of the Bible: Noah - The Deluge

Synopsis: This entry in the "Greatest Heroes of the Bible" series looks at the circumstances surrounding God's greatest flood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

1979
Deluge

Synopsis: Part of "The Greatest Heroes of the Bible"series this story looks at Noah and the Ark. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

1979
Letters from Frank

Synopsis: Frank is Frank Miller (Art Carney), a 65 year old newspaper man. His letters are to his oldest son Richard (Mike Farrell), and they're decidedly on the vitriolic side. Frank, you see, was involuntarily retired from his job and replaced by a computer. But with the help and support of his wife Betty Read More

1979
Battlestar Galactica

Actors: Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, Jane Seymour, Dirk Benedict

Synopsis: This feature-length movie is a re-edited version of the first few episodes of the TV series. The story line concerns a spaceship full of survivors of a doomed planet who are headed to the Earth. Led by Commander Adama (Lorne Greene), they encounter villainous robots, threatening their journey to Read More

1979
Salem's Lot

Actors: David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Reggie Nalder

Synopsis: Novelist David Soul returns to his hometown of Salem, finding that things have changed a bit. More than a bit, in fact: the previously warm and friendly community is downright sinister. Soul suspects that the bizarre behavior of his onetime friends and neighbors is the handiwork of oddball antique Read More

1979
Greatest Heroes of the Bible [TV Series]

Synopsis: Originally titled Stories from the Bible, Greatest Heroes of the Bible was designed as a seven-part TV miniseries; evidently the specter of low ratings forced the network execs to telescope the presentation into four installments. The series began with the story of David (Roger Kern) and Read More

1978
Suddenly, Love

Actors: Joan Bennett

Synopsis: Suddenly, Love is a tried and true "class conscious" TV movie set in the Manhattan of the 1960s. Cindy Williams stars as a Brooklyn girl who cuts the family strings at age 16 to head for the Big Apple. While studying to be an architect, Williams falls in love with a wealthy Yale law school Read More

1978
Battlestar Galactica: Saga of a Star World, Part 1

Actors: Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, Herbert Jefferson, Jr., John Colicos

Synopsis: In part one of Battlestar Galactica's pilot episode, the 12 colonies of humankind are poised to sign a peace treaty with the Cylons, a race of mechanical men with whom the colonies have waged war for the past millennium. In truth, however, the peace conference is a trap, arranged by traitorous Read More

1978
Damien: Omen II

Actors: William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Robert Foxworth, Lew Ayres, Lucas Donat

Synopsis: Satan's son comes of age in this horror sequel. Shortly after the events of The Omen, a pair of anthropologists uncovers an ancient crypt that depicts the face of the Antichrist -- that of Damien Thorn (Jonathan Scott-Taylor), recently orphaned scion of a wealthy industrialist. Before they can Read More

1978
The End of the World

Synopsis: Dr. Andrew Boran (Kirk Scott) is picking up strange signals from outer space that seem to predict natural disasters. When he and his wife (Sue Lyon) decide to investigate, they find themselves held captive in a convent that's been infiltrated by aliens with plans to destroy the world. As alien Read More

1977
Altars of the World: The Western Religions

Crew: Cinematographer, Director, Editor, Producer

Synopsis: This video explores the sacred sites and practices of the religions of the western world including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Hosted by Lew Ayres, this video grants viewers extraordinary access to the practices of these ancient faiths. Also included are sobering examinations of how these Read More

1976
Altars of the World: The Eastern Religions

Crew: Cinematographer, Director, Editor, Producer

Synopsis: This feature-length documentary views religious people and their ceremonies around the world, devoting most of its time to the then little-known Asian religions. This wide-ranging film is of particular interest to students of comparative religions, but those searching for a comprehensive review of Read More

1976
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident

Synopsis: Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy is a TV dramatization of the notorious Cold War incident of 1960. The story is told from the point of view of Powers (Lee Majors), an American pilot who was shot down over Russia while taking photographs on behalf of the CIA. The event occurs just Read More

1976
McMillan and Wife: Requiem for a Bride

Actors: Rock Hudson

Synopsis: The made-for-TV Requiem for a Bride opens with San Francisco police commissioner McMillan (Rock Hudson) congratulating an old friend (Henry Darrow) on the friend's recent marriage. McMillan's words ring hollow when the bride (Susan Sullivan) is murdered. Complicating the issue is the growing Read More

1975
Heat Wave

Synopsis: Ben Murphy and Bonnie Bedelia star in the made-for-TV suspenser Heat Wave. Murphy plays a young clerk, and Bedelia portrays his young and pregnant wife. During a record-breaking hot spell, the power in their mountain community goes out, and the water supply is dirty and stagnant. The balance of Read More

1974
Battle for the Planet of the Apes

Actors: Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy, Severn Darden, Lew Ayres, John Huston

Synopsis: The fifth and last of the original series of motion pictures based upon author Pierre Boulle's imaginative novel Monkey Planet, this science fiction film was the least-liked by the series' legion of fans. Roddy McDowall returns as Caesar, the rebellious intelligent chimp of the previous film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Read More

1973
The Streets of San Francisco: The House on Hyde Street

Synopsis: A forbidding old mansion in a residential San Francisco neighborhood is the centerpiece of this grim story. When a young boy disappears, and is subsequently found dead, the neighbors suspect the mysterious recluse residing within the walls of the mansion. It is up to Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller Read More

1973
The Questor Tapes

Synopsis: This sci-fi film chronicles the exploits of an incredibly strong android that is totally devoid of emotion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

1973
Blood Feud

Synopsis: Blood Feud is a 90-minute episode of the TV series Hawkins. Folksy lawyer/detective Hawkins (Jimmy Stewart) is faced with a murder in his own family. The killing was apparently the outgrowth of a century-old feud between the Hawkinses and their unfriendly neighbors. Lew Ayres guest stars as a Read More

1973
The Stranger

Synopsis: Astronaut Neil Stryker (Glenn Corbett) returns from space, only to find himself held incommunicado by government security people he's never seen before, in a hospital facility that he's never heard of. He escapes from the hospital and, to his shock, sees a night sky lit up by three moons. He now Read More

1973
The Man

Actors: Elizabeth Ross, James Earl Jones, Martin Balsam, Burgess Meredith, Lew Ayres, William Windom

Synopsis: Rod Serling, a master of speculative scriptwriting, penned the screenplay of The Man. Set a few days into the future, the story contrives to kill off the President, the vice president, and virtually everyone in line of succession in a bizarre accident. This turn of events elevates Read More

1972
Tomorrow's Champion

1972
The Biscuit Eater

Actors: Earl Holliman, Lew Ayres, Godfrey Cambridge, Pat Crowley, Beah Richards

Synopsis: In this touching adventure, a remake of the popular 1940 film, two Georgia boys ignore their racial differences to team up and befriend a feral bird dog, whom they train to participate in a fence-jumping contest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

1972
The Last Generation

1971
Earth 2

Synopsis: The all-purpose science fiction title Earth 2 was utilized in 1971 for this TV pilot film. Producer/writers Allan Balter and William Read Woodfield consulted both NASA and the Rockwell Corporation to guarantee a modicum of authenticity for their futuristic teleplay. The story takes place in "Earth Read More

1971
She Waits

Actors: Patty Duke, David McCallum, Lew Ayres, Beulah Bondi, Dorothy McGuire

Synopsis: She Waits, directed by Delbert Mann, an above average, frightening made-for-TV horror film tells the very familiar story of a young couple who move into a old house only to find out that they are being haunted by the ghost of the man's ex-wife, who gradually takes possession of the young wife. Read More

1971
Marcus Welby, M.D. [TV Series]

Synopsis: The launching pad for the long-running ABC medical series Marcus Welby, M.D. was this feature-length pilot film, first aired March 26, 1969. Robert Young of course stars as Dr. Welby, a crusty but golden-hearted general practitioner forced by a mild coronary to take on a partner. At first, Welby Read More

1968
Hawaii Five-O [TV Series]

Actors: Lew Ayres, Jack Lord

Synopsis: The 2-hour pilot for the marathon TV cop series Hawaii Five-O was unveiled on September 20, 1968; the series itself premiered the following week. In the opener, Honolulu special officer Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) investigates the death of a close friend. Purportedly an accident, the death was Read More

1968
Kill No More

1966
The Carpetbaggers

Actors: George Peppard, Alan Ladd, Martha Hyer, Elizabeth Ashley, Carroll Baker

Synopsis: Edward Dmytryk brings Harold Robbins' trashy, dirt-dishing Hollywood best-seller to the screen with George Peppard starring as Jonas Cord, a rancidly-sketched portrait of Howard Hughes. In 1925, when his father dies of a stroke, Jonas inherits the Cord Chemical factory, a manufacturer of dynamite Read More

1964
Advise and Consent

Actors: Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray, Walter Pidgeon, Gene Tierney

Synopsis: The first of Allen Drury "all names changed to protect the guilty" political novels, Advise and Consent was brought to the screen by producer/director Otto Preminger. The film hinges upon the appointment of Robert Leffingwell (Henry Fonda) to Secretary of State. Leffingwell has been hand-picked by Read More

1962
Playhouse 90: The Family Nobody Wanted

Synopsis: Adapted from the autobiography of Helen Doss, this 90-minute TV version of The Family Nobody Wanted stars Nanette Fabray as Helen and Lew Ayres as her clergyman husband, Carl Doss. Unable to have children of their own, Helen and Carl contact virtually every adoption agency in the country, only to Read More

1956
Altars of the East

Crew: Producer, Screenwriter

1955
City on a Hunt

Actors: Lew Ayres, Marjorie Steele, Sonny Tufts, Lewis Martin, Charles Cane

Synopsis: Also known as City on a Hunt, No Escape stars Lew Ayres and Marjorie Steele as mixed-up victims of circumstance. John Tracy (Ayres), a drunken songwriter, has reason to believe that he's murdered artist Peter Hayden (James Griffith). So does Pat Peterson (Steele), a blue-collar girl whom Hayden Read More

1953
Donovan's Brain

Actors: Lew Ayres, Gene Evans, Nancy Davis, Steve Brodie, Lisa Howard

Synopsis: Felix E. Feist directed this second adaptation of the novel by Curt Siodmak (filmed previously in 1944 as The Lady and the Monster and later in 1963 as The Brain), which tells the story of a brilliant brain specialist (Lew Ayres) whose attempts to save the life of an accident victim result in the Read More

1953
Four Star Playhouse, Vol. 3

Synopsis: A drama from the early television series: "A Measure of Faith." ~ All Movie Guide Read More

1952
New Mexico

Actors: Lew Ayres, Marilyn Maxwell, Robert Hutton, Andy Devine, Raymond Burr

Synopsis: Filmed in Ansco Color (a fancy name for Eastmancolor), New Mexico stars Lew Ayres as Capt. Hunt, a U.S. Cavalry Captain stationed in Indian territory. Sympathetic to the plight of the long-suffering Native Americans, Hunt sets out to sign a peace treaty with the local chief (Ted de Corsia). En Read More

1951
The Capture

Actors: Lew Ayres, Teresa Wright, Victor Jory, Jacqueline White, Jimmy Hunt

Synopsis: Virtually ignored at the time of its release, Capture has built up a small but enthusiastic following since its lapse into public domain. American oil man Lew Ayres kills a coworker whom he suspects of robbery. Thinking it over, Ayres wonders whether or not the man was innocent. He seeks out his Read More

1950
Johnny Belinda

Actors: Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford, Agnes Moorehead, Stephen McNally, Jan Sterling

Synopsis: After years of dumb-blonde and best-friend roles, Jane Wyman proved her skills as a dramatic actress -- and won an Academy Award in the bargain -- in Johnny Belinda. Adapted from a stage play by Elmer Harris, the story takes place in Nova Scotia, where deaf-mute Belinda (Wyman) leads a lonely Read More

1948
The Unfaithful

Actors: Ann Sheridan, Lew Ayres, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden

Synopsis: Though not readily apparent at first, The Unfaithful is a remake of the 1940 Bette Davis vehicle The Letter, which in turn was adapted from the play by W. Somerset Maugham. The locale of the Maugham original has been shifted from the jungles of Malaya to the cozy confines of a middle-sized Read More

1947
The Dark Mirror

Actors: Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres, Thomas Mitchell, Richard Long, Charles Evans

Synopsis: Olivia De Havilland, with the assistance of some eye-popping special photographic effects, plays twins in The Dark Mirror. One twin commits a murder: The "good" twin is blamed, but provides no alibi in her own defense, since she can't believe that the "bad" twin is guilty. Psychologist Lew Ayres Read More

1946
Fingers at the Window

Actors: Lew Ayres, Laraine Day, Basil Rathbone, Walter Kingsford, Miles Mander

Synopsis: A fun though abortive bid to pair crime-solving duo Lew Ayres and Laraine Day for a series of thrillers, this murder mystery benefits from good performances by the leads. The plot involves a series of axe murders in Chicago being perpetrated by the patients of an insane asylum, all of whom have Read More

1942
Dr. Kildare's Victory

Actors: Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Ann Ayars, Robert Sterling, Jean Rogers

Synopsis: In this episode of the popular medical series, Kildare finds himself involved in a dispute between to competing hospitals. The trouble begins when an intern rushes a beautiful girl to Kildare's hospital. She has a shard of glass imbedded in her heart. The girl survives the surgery, and the intern Read More

1941
The People vs. Dr. Kildare

Actors: Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Bonita Granville

Synopsis: Dr. Jim Kildare (Lew Ayres) plays Good Samaritan with potentially disastrous results in The People vs. Dr. Kildare. Happening upon the scene of a motor accident, Kildare performs an emergency operation on crash victim Frances Marlowe (Bonita Granville), an ice-skating star. While recovering in Read More

1941
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day

Actors: Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Red Skelton, Alma Kruger

Synopsis: When MGM decided to move up-and-coming star Laraine Day out of the "Dr. Kildare" series, the studio did so in a startlingly dramatic fashion. In Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day, Dr. Jim Kildare (Lew Ayres) and nurse Mary Lamont (Laraine Day) are finally able to exchange their marital vows. Alas, the Read More

1941
Maisie Was a Lady

Actors: Ann Sothern, Lew Ayres, Maureen O'Sullivan, C. Aubrey Smith, Joan Perry

Synopsis: Out of work as usual, showgirl Maisie Revier (Ann Sothern) takes a job as the maid for a wealthy family. She wins over the young man of the household (Lew Ayres), but the rest of the family is too wrapped up in its own problems to benefit from Maisie's good-natured personality. The daughter (Maureen O'Sullivan Read More

1941
Dr. Kildare's Crisis

Actors: Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Robert Young, Nat Pendleton

Synopsis: Dr. Kildare's Crisis is actually one suffered by his fiancee, nurse Mary Lamont (Laraine Day). Mary's financier brother Douglas Lamont (Robert Young) is subject to unpredictable seizures, and for a while it seems that he is suffering from hereditary epilepsy. This being 1940, Douglas' affliction Read More

1940
Dr. Kildare Goes Home

Actors: Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Gene Lockhart, Samuel S. Hinds

Synopsis: Appointed resident assistant at the Byng State Hospital by his mentor Dr. Leonard Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore), young Doctor James Kildare (Lew Ayres) has every reason to celebrate. His euphoria, however, is short-lived: Kildare is forced to return to his hometown when his general-practitioner Read More

1940
The Golden Fleecing

Actors: Lew Ayres, Rita Johnson, Lloyd Nolan, Virginia Grey, Nat Pendleton

Synopsis: Dumb but honest insurance agent Henry Twinkle (Lew Ayres) is in love with Mary Blake (Rita Johnson), the secretary of Henry's boss. To impress Mary, Henry sells a huge policy to wealthy Gus Fender (Lloyd Nolan), who turns out to be a notorious gangster on the lam from the law. If he wants to save Read More

1940
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case

Actors: Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Shepperd Strudwick, Samuel S. Hinds

Synopsis: This fourth entry in MGM's "Dr. Kildare" series once again stars Lew Ayres as Kildare, Laraine Day as his sweetheart Mary Lamont, and Lionel Barrymore as crusty Dr. Gillespie. In this outing, surgeon Gregory Lane (Sheppard Strudwick) begins pitching woo at Mary himself, much to Kildare's dismay. Read More

1940
These Glamour Girls

Actors: Lew Ayres, Lana Turner, Richard Carlson, Jane Bryan

Synopsis: In this comedy/drama, a feisty taxi-dancer (Lana Turner in her first starring role) takes on a sorority full of snooty debutantes after an equally snobbish Ivy Leaguer (Lew Ayres) who goes on a bender, meets her and invites her to his school's annual weekend bash. The next day, the fellow forgets Read More

1939
The Secret of Dr. Kildare

Actors: Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Lionel Atwill, Helen Gilbert, Nat Pendleton

Synopsis: In this third installment of MGM's "Dr. Kildare" series, Dr. James Kildare (Lew Ayres) comes to the rescue when his supervisor/mentor Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) nearly collapses from overwork. Gillespie is seeking a permanent cure for pneumonia, and must ask Kildare for assistance when the Read More

1939
Remember?

Actors: Robert Taylor, Greer Garson, Lew Ayres, Billie Burke, Reginald Owen

Synopsis: In this off-beat love story, wealthy socialite Linda Bronson (Greer Garson) is about to marry Sky Ames (Lou Ayres) but then falls in love with handsome Jeff Holland (Robert Taylor). They become engaged. Unfortunately, Jeff is obsessed with work and has no time for an elaborate wedding. Instead Read More

1939
Calling Dr. Kildare

Actors: Lionel Barrymore, Lew Ayres, Laraine Day, Lana Turner, Nat Pendleton

Synopsis: The second of MGM's "Dr. Kildare" series, Calling Dr. Kildare finds the title character (Lew Ayres) transferred to Blair General's downtown outpatient clinic by his crusty superior Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore). It is Gillespie's hope that Kildare will gain valuable experience by working in Read More

1939
The Ice Follies of 1939

Actors: Joan Crawford, James Stewart, Lew Ayres, Lewis Stone, Bess Ehrhardt

Synopsis: Comedy, romance, and song hit the ice in this musical. Larry Hall (James Stewart) is a professional ice skater whose act with his friend Eddie Burgess (Lew Ayres) breaks up when Larry weds Mary McKay (Joan Crawford). Mary is also a skater, and she teams up with Larry to perform, but their on-stage Read More

1939
Broadway Serenade

Actors: Jeanette MacDonald, Lew Ayres, Ian Hunter, Frank Morgan, Wally Vernon

Synopsis: Jeanette MacDonald and Lew Ayres make strange bedfellows in the overproduced MGM musical Broadway Serenade. She plays aspiring singer Mary Hale, and he plays her husband, struggling songwriter James Geoffrey Seymour. The couple's vaudeville act breaks up when Mary is hired for a big-time Broadway Read More

1939
Spring Madness

Actors: Maureen O'Sullivan, Lew Ayres, Ruth Hussey, Burgess Meredith, Ann Morriss

Synopsis: In this collegiate romance, the love affair between two seniors is threatened by their different graduation plans. The fellow and his roommate are planning a two-year trek through Europe after the ceremony. This doesn't set well with the you