Porter Hall
Actor
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clifford Porter Hall (September 19, 1888 – October 6, 1953) was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s. Hall played movie villains or comedic incompetent characters. Hall was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and began his career touring as a stage actor with roles in productions of The Great Gatsby and Naked in 1926. Hall made his film debut in the 1931 drama Secrets of a Secretary. He made his last onscreen appearance in the 1954 film Return to Treasure Island, which was released after his death.
He was probably best remembered for four roles: a senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, an atheist in Going My Way, the nervous, ill-tempered Granville Sawyer, who administers a psychological test to Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street, and a train passenger who encounters a man (Fred MacMurray) who has just committed a murder in Double Indemnity.
On October 6, 1953, Hall died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California at the age of 65. His interment was at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery. Hall had two children, David and Sarah Jane.
Filmography
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Senator Monroe 1939
His Girl Friday
as Murphy 1940
Miracle on 34th Street
as Granville Sawyer 1947
Ace in the Hole
as Jacob Q. Boot 1951
The Thin Man
as Herbert MacCaulay 1934
Sullivan's Travels
as Mr. Hadrian 1941
Make Way for Tomorrow
as Harvey Chase 1937
The Petrified Forest
as Jason Maple 1936
Going My Way
as Mr. Belknap 1944
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
as Jacob Woodson, Justice of the Peace 1944
Unconquered
as Leach 1947
Dark Command
as Angus McCloud 1940
Intruder in the Dust
as Nub Gowrie 1949
The Story of Louis Pasteur
as Dr. Rossignol 1936
Blood on the Sun
as Arthur Bickett 1945
The Plainsman
as Jack McCall 1936