George Bancroft (actor)
Encyclopedia
George Bancroft was an American
Hollywood film actor of the 1920s and '30s.
, in 1882. During his early days as a sailor he staged plays on board ship. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy
, but left the Navy to become a "black face" song and dance comedian in revue. After that he turned to melodrama and musical comedy. He later became one of the top Hollywood stars of the 1920s. Bancroft's first starring role was in The Pony Express
(1925), and the next year he played an important supporting role in a cast including Wallace Beery
and Charles Farrell
in the period naval widescreen
epic Old Ironsides
(1926), then went from historical pictures to the gritty world of the underground in Paramount Pictures
productions such as von Sternberg
's Underworld
(1927) and The Docks of New York
(1928). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
in 1929 for Thunderbolt
, played the title role in The Wolf of Wall Street (1929, released just prior to the Wall Street Crash), and appeared in Paramount's all-star revue Paramount on Parade
(1930) and Rowland Brown's Blood Money (1933), condemned by the censors because they feared the film would "incite law-abiding citizens to crime."
Those who knew him, such as Budd Schulberg
, said that he developed an inflated ego. Reportedly he refused to fall down on set after a prop revolver was fired at him, saying "Just one bullet can't stop Bancroft!" By 1934, he had slipped to being a supporting actor, although he still appeared in reduced roles in such classics as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
(1936), Angels with Dirty Faces
(1938), Each Dawn I Die
(1939), and Stagecoach (1939). In 1942 he left Hollywood to be a rancher. He died in Santa Monica, California
, and was interred there in the Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Hollywood film actor of the 1920s and '30s.
Biography
Bancroft was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, in 1882. During his early days as a sailor he staged plays on board ship. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
, but left the Navy to become a "black face" song and dance comedian in revue. After that he turned to melodrama and musical comedy. He later became one of the top Hollywood stars of the 1920s. Bancroft's first starring role was in The Pony Express
The Pony Express (1925 film)
The Pony Express is a silent 1925 Western film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by James Cruze and starred his wife Betty Compson along with Ricardo Cortez, Wallace Beery, and George Bancroft. Prints of this film survive but it hasn't...
(1925), and the next year he played an important supporting role in a cast including Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
and Charles Farrell
Charles Farrell
Charles Farrell was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor...
in the period naval widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
epic Old Ironsides
Old Ironsides (1926 film)
Old Ironsides is a silent film starring Charles Farrell, Esther Ralston, Wallace Beery, and George Bancroft.-Production background:The movie was directed by James Cruze in a widescreen process that Paramount promoted as "Magnascope"....
(1926), then went from historical pictures to the gritty world of the underground in Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
productions such as von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg — born Jonas Sternberg — was an Austrian-American film director. He is particularly noted for his distinctive mise en scène, use of lighting and soft lens, and seven-film collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich.-Youth:Von Sternberg was born Jonas Sternberg to a Jewish...
's Underworld
Underworld (1927 film)
Underworld is a 1927 silent crime film directed by Josef von Sternberg.-Plot:Boisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend.-Cast:* George Bancroft as "Bull" Weed* Evelyn Brent as "Feathers"...
(1927) and The Docks of New York
The Docks of New York
The Docks of New York is a silent film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring George Bancroft, Betty Compson and Baclanova. It tells the story of a prostitute who tries to rise above her life on the docks by finding love...
(1928). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
in 1929 for Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt (1929 film)
Thunderbolt is a 1929 proto-noir which tells the story of a criminal, facing execution, who wants to kill the man in the next cell for being in love with his girlfriend. It stars George Bancroft, Fay Wray, Richard Arlen, Tully Marshall and Eugenie Besserer....
, played the title role in The Wolf of Wall Street (1929, released just prior to the Wall Street Crash), and appeared in Paramount's all-star revue Paramount on Parade
Paramount on Parade
Paramount on Parade is a all-star revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Victor Heerman, Lothar Mendes, Otto Brower, Edwin H...
(1930) and Rowland Brown's Blood Money (1933), condemned by the censors because they feared the film would "incite law-abiding citizens to crime."
Those who knew him, such as Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his 1941 novel, What Makes Sammy Run?, his 1947 novel The Harder They Fall, his 1954 Academy-award-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront, and his 1957 screenplay for A Face in the...
, said that he developed an inflated ego. Reportedly he refused to fall down on set after a prop revolver was fired at him, saying "Just one bullet can't stop Bancroft!" By 1934, he had slipped to being a supporting actor, although he still appeared in reduced roles in such classics as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is a 1936 American screwball comedy film directed by Frank Capra, and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role...
(1936), Angels with Dirty Faces
Angels with Dirty Faces
Angels with Dirty Faces is a 1938 American gangster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, the Dead End Kids and Humphrey Bogart, along with Ann Sheridan and George Bancroft...
(1938), Each Dawn I Die
Each Dawn I Die
Each Dawn I Die is a 1939 gangster film featuring James Cagney and George Raft in their only movie together as leads, although Raft had made an unbilled appearance in a 1932 Cagney vehicle called Taxi! in which he won a dance contest against Cagney, after which he and Cagney brawl...
(1939), and Stagecoach (1939). In 1942 he left Hollywood to be a rancher. He died in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, and was interred there in the Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery.