Grant Mitchell (born John Grant Mitchell Jr.) was an American stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for his portrayals of fathers, husbands, bank clerks, businessmen, school principals and similar type characters, usually supporting, in films of the 1930s and 1940s.
Mitchell, a Yale post graduate at Harvard Law, gave up his law practice to become an actor, making his stage debut at age 27. He appeared in lead roles on Broadway in such plays as "It Pays to Advertise", "The Champion", "The Whole Town's Talking", and "The Baby Cyclone", the last which was specially written for him by George M. Cohan.
His screen career took off with the advent of sound (years earlier he had appeared in at least two silent films). He appeared primarily in B films, though from time to time enjoyed being a part of A-quality productions such as Dinner at Eight (1933), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).
Grant Mitchell retired from show business in 1948. He died, age 82, in Los Angeles in 1957.
Known For
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939)
Senator MacPherson
Arsenic and Old Lace
(1944)
Reverend Harper
The Grapes of Wrath
(1940)
Caretaker
Leave Her to Heaven
(1945)
Carlson (uncredited)
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Prison Priest (uncredited)
Conflict
(1945)
Dr. Grant
Dinner at Eight
(1933)
Ed Loomis
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
(1947)
Al Farrow
Tobacco Road
(1941)
George Payne
Gold Diggers of 1935
(1935)
Louis Lamson
My Sister Eileen
(1942)
Walter Sherwood
The Life of Emile Zola
(1937)
Georges Clemenceau
Three on a Match
(1932)
Mr. Gilmore (uncredited)
It All Came True
(1940)
Rene Salmon
Nothing But the Truth
(1941)
Mr. Bishop
The Man Who Came to Dinner
(1941)
Ernest W. Stanley
Full Filmography
Acting
The Misleading Lady
(1916)
Stephen Weatherbee
The Man from M.A.R.S.
(1922)
Arthur Wyman
Man to Man
(1930)
Barber John Martin Bolton
The Star Witness
(1931)
Pa Leeds
No Man of Her Own
(1932)
Charlie Vane
Three on a Match
(1932)
Mr. Gilmore (uncredited)
The Famous Ferguson Case
(1932)
Martin Collins
A Successful Calamity
(1932)
Connors
Week-End Marriage
(1932)
Doctor
Big City Blues
(1932)
Station Agent
20,000 Years in Sing Sing
(1932)
Tester of Convicts' IQs (uncredited)
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Prison Priest (uncredited)
Dancing Lady
(1933)
Jasper Bradley Sr.
Heroes for Sale
(1933)
George Gibson
Wild Boys of the Road
(1933)
James Smith
Lilly Turner
(1933)
Dr. Hawley
Central Airport
(1933)
Mr. Blaine
Tomorrow at Seven
(1933)
Austin Winters
Our Betters
(1933)
Thornton Clay
Convention City
(1933)
J.B. Honeywell
Dinner at Eight
(1933)
Ed Loomis
The Stranger's Return
(1933)
Allen
King for a Night
(1933)
Rev. John Williams
I Love That Man
(1933)
Dr. Crittenden - Dentist
He Learned About Women
(1933)
Appleby
Saturday's Millions
(1933)
Ezra Fowler
The Cat's-Paw
(1934)
Silk Hot McGee
The Case of the Howling Dog
(1934)
District Attorney Claude Drumm
The Secret Bride
(1934)
Willis Martin
The Poor Rich
(1934)
Tom Hopkins
We're Rich Again
(1934)
Wilbur Page
Gridiron Flash
(1934)
Howard Smith
365 Nights in Hollywood
(1934)
J. Walter Delmar
Twenty Million Sweethearts
(1934)
Sharpe
The Show-Off
(1934)
Mr. 'Pa'
One Exciting Adventure
(1934)
Fussli
A Midsummer Night's Dream
(1935)
Egeus
One More Spring
(1935)
Henry Sheridan
Seven Keys to Baldpate
(1935)
Thomas Hayden
In Person
(1935)
Judge Thaddeus Parks
Broadway Gondolier
(1935)
E.V. Richards, Radio Producer
Men Without Names
(1935)
Andrew Webster
Traveling Saleslady
(1935)
Rufus Twitchell
It's in the Air
(1935)
W. R. Gridley
Redheads on Parade
(1935)
Minor Role (uncredited)
A Dream Comes True
(1935)
Egeus (archive footage) (uncredited)
Things You Never See on the Screen
(1935)
Self
Gold Diggers of 1935
(1935)
Louis Lamson
Straight from the Heart
(1935)
Austin
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
(1936)
John Summers, Luxury's Owner
Next Time We Love
(1936)
Michael Jennings
The Garden Murder Case
(1936)
District Attorney Markham
Piccadilly Jim
(1936)
Herbert Pett
My American Wife
(1936)
Robert Cantillon
Moonlight Murder
(1936)
Paul Adams
The Devil Is a Sissy
(1936)
Paul Krumpp
Her Master's Voice
(1936)
Horace J. Twilling
Parole!
(1936)
Marty Crawford
The Last Gangster
(1937)
Warden
First Lady
(1937)
Ellsworth T. Banning
Lady Behave!
(1937)
Burton Williams
The Life of Emile Zola
(1937)
Georges Clemenceau
Music for Madame
(1937)
District Attorney Ernest Robinson
Hollywood Hotel
(1938)
B.L. Faulkin
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
(1938)
Henry Peck
Women Are Like That
(1938)
Mr. Snell
Youth Takes a Fling
(1938)
Duke
That Certain Age
(1938)
Jeweler
The Headleys at Home
(1938)
Ernest Headley
Reformatory
(1938)
Arnold Frayne
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939)
Senator MacPherson
The Monroe Doctrine
(1939)
John Quincy Adams
Hell's Kitchen
(1939)
Hiram Krispan
On Borrowed Time
(1939)
Mr. Pilbeam
6,000 Enemies
(1939)
Warden Alan Parkhurst
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
(1939)
John Xerxes Archley
The Grapes of Wrath
(1940)
Caretaker
New Moon
(1940)
Governor of New Orleans
It All Came True
(1940)
Rene Salmon
Father Is A Prince
(1940)
John W. Bower
My Love Came Back
(1940)
Dr. Kobbe
Edison, the Man
(1940)
Snade
We Who Are Young
(1940)
Jones
Castle on the Hudson
(1940)
Dr. Ames - the Psychologist (uncredited)
The Man Who Came to Dinner
(1941)
Ernest W. Stanley
Footsteps in the Dark
(1941)
Wellington Carruthers
Tobacco Road
(1941)
George Payne
One Foot in Heaven
(1941)
Clayton Potter
The Feminine Touch
(1941)
Dean Hutchinson
Skylark
(1941)
Frederick Vantine
Nothing But the Truth
(1941)
Mr. Bishop
The Penalty
(1941)
Judge
The Great Lie
(1941)
Joshua Mason
My Sister Eileen
(1942)
Walter Sherwood
Cairo
(1942)
Mr. O.H.P. Boggs
Larceny, Inc.
(1942)
Mr. Aspinwall
Meet the Stewarts
(1942)
Mr. Goodwin
The Gay Sisters
(1942)
Gilbert Wheeler
Orchestra Wives
(1942)
Dr. Ward
March On, America!
(1942)
John Quincy Adams (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
(1943)
Edgar Holliday
Dixie
(1943)
Mr. Mason
All by Myself
(1943)
J.D. Gibbons
Arsenic and Old Lace
(1944)
Reverend Harper
Step Lively
(1944)
Dr. Gibbs
And Now Tomorrow
(1944)
Uncle Wallace
When the Lights Go On Again
(1944)
Arnold Benson
The Impatient Years
(1944)
Hotel Clerk
See Here, Private Hargrove
(1944)
Uncle George
Conflict
(1945)
Dr. Grant
Crime, Inc.
(1945)
Wayne Clark
A Medal for Benny
(1945)
Mayor of Pantera
Guest Wife
(1945)
House Detective
Leave Her to Heaven
(1945)
Carlson (uncredited)
Bring on the Girls
(1945)
Ralph Neely
Watchtower Over Tomorrow
(1945)
Passenger with newspaper
Her Favorite Patient
(1945)
Mr. Pope
Easy to Wed
(1946)
Homer Henshaw
Blondie's Holiday
(1947)
Samuel Breckenridge
Blondie's Anniversary
(1947)
Samuel Breckenbridge
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
(1947)
Al Farrow
The Corpse Came C.O.D.
(1947)
Mitchell Edwards
Honeymoon
(1947)
Congressman Crenshaw
Who Killed Doc Robbin?
(1948)
Judge
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
(1961)
'Dinner at Eight' (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Big Parade of Comedy
(1964)
Ed Loomis in 'Dinner at Eight' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
(1975)
Self (archive footage)