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Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum, August 28, 1896 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television and film character actor.
Before signing with Paramount Pictures in the 1930s, Nussbaum had already changed his last name to Ankrum. Upon signing with the studio, he chose to use the name "Stephen Morris" before changing it to Morris Ankrum in 1939.
Ankrum's stern visage and sharply defined features helped cast him in supporting roles as stalwart authority figures, including scientists, military men (particularly army officers), judges and even psychiatrists in more than 150 films, mostly B movies. One standout role was in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's production of Tennessee Johnson (1942), a biographical film about Andrew Johnson, the 17th U.S. president. As Sen. Jefferson Davis, Ankrum movingly addresses the United States Senate upon his resignation to lead the Confederate States of America as that republic's first—and only—president. Ankrum's film career was extensive and spanned 30 years. His credits were largely concentrated in the western and science-fiction genres.
Ankrum appeared in such westerns as Ride 'Em Cowboy in 1942, Vera Cruz opposite Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, Apache (1954), and Cattle Queen of Montana with Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan.
In the sci-fi genre, he appeared in Rocketship X-M (1950), Flight to Mars (1951), as a Martian, Red Planet Mars (1952), playing the United States Secretary of Defense; the cult classic Invaders From Mars (1953), playing a United States Army officer; and as an Army general in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956). In 1957 he played a psychiatrist in the cult sci-fi classic Kronos and had military-officer roles in Beginning of the End and The Giant Claw.
Known For
Joan of Arc
(1948)
Poton de Xaintrailles, Captain
Vera Cruz
(1954)
Gen. Ramírez
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
(1963)
Mr. Bowhead (uncredited)
Apache
(1954)
Dawson
The Postman Always Rings Twice
(1946)
Judge (uncredited)
In a Lonely Place
(1950)
Lloyd Barnes
Invaders from Mars
(1953)
Col. Fielding
The Fountainhead
(1949)
Prosecutor (uncredited)
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
(1956)
Brig. Gen. John Hanley
The Thin Man Goes Home
(1944)
Willoughby Peavy
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
(1944)
Adm. William F. Halsey - Captain of the 'Hornet' (uncredited)
My Favorite Spy
(1951)
Gen. Frazer
Ride 'Em Cowboy
(1942)
Ace Anderson
I Wake Up Screaming
(1941)
Assistant District Attorney
Borderline
(1950)
Bill Whittaker
Flight To Mars
(1951)
Ikron
Full Filmography
Acting
Hopalong Cassidy Returns
(1936)
Blackie Felton
Trail Dust
(1936)
Tex Anderson
Hills of Old Wyoming
(1937)
Andrews
North of the Rio Grande
(1937)
Henry Stoneham
Borderland
(1937)
Loco
Rustlers' Valley
(1937)
Glen Randall
The Showdown
(1940)
Baron Rendor
Three Men from Texas
(1940)
Bruce Morgan
Cherokee Strip
(1940)
Hawk Barrett
Light of Western Stars
(1940)
Nat Hayworth
Buck Benny Rides Again
(1940)
Second Outlaw
Knights of the Range
(1940)
Gamecock
I Wake Up Screaming
(1941)
Assistant District Attorney
Doomed Caravan
(1941)
Stephen Westcott
Wide Open Town
(1941)
Jim Stuart
In Old Colorado
(1941)
Weiler, Davidson's Foreman
Pirates on Horseback
(1941)
Ace Gibson
The Bandit Trail
(1941)
Red Haggerty
This Woman Is Mine
(1941)
Roussel
Border Vigilantes
(1941)
Dan Forbes
The Roundup
(1941)
'Parenthesis'
Road Agent
(1941)
Big John Morgan
Time to Kill
(1942)
Alexander Morny
Roxie Hart
(1942)
Martin S. Harrison
Ride 'Em Cowboy
(1942)
Ace Anderson
The Omaha Trail
(1942)
Henchman Job
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe
(1942)
Mr. Graham
Tales of Manhattan
(1942)
Judge
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
(1942)
Wood
Reunion in France
(1942)
Martin
Tennessee Johnson
(1942)
Jefferson Davis
Swing Fever
(1943)
Dan Conlon
Dixie Dugan
(1943)
Editor
Best Foot Forward
(1943)
Col. Harkrider
The Heavenly Body
(1944)
Dr. Green
The Thin Man Goes Home
(1944)
Willoughby Peavy
Rationing
(1944)
Morgan
Barbary Coast Gent
(1944)
Alec Veeder
Gentle Annie
(1944)
Deputy Gansby
Meet the People
(1944)
Monte Rowland
Marriage Is a Private Affair
(1944)
Ed Scofield
Return from Nowhere
(1944)
Doctor (uncredited)
Main Street Today
(1944)
Mayor Charlie Maxwell (uncredited)
Dark Shadows
(1944)
Lt. Pat McKay
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
(1944)
Adm. William F. Halsey - Captain of the 'Hornet' (uncredited)
The Hidden Eye
(1945)
Ferris (henchman)
Adventure
(1945)
Mr. Ludlow - Farmer (uncredited)
Purity Squad
(1945)
Dr. Adams (uncredited)
Phantoms, Inc.
(1945)
Narrator (voice)
Fall Guy
(1945)
District Attorney (uncredited)
Lady in the Lake
(1946)
Eugene Grayson
The Postman Always Rings Twice
(1946)
Judge (uncredited)
Courage of Lassie
(1946)
Farmer Crews
The Cockeyed Miracle
(1946)
Dr. Wilson
The Harvey Girls
(1946)
Rev. Claggett
High Wall
(1947)
Dr. Stanley Griffin
Desire Me
(1947)
Hector Martin
Cynthia
(1947)
Mr. Phillips, Principal
Good News
(1947)
Dean Griswold
Merton of the Movies
(1947)
Goodfellow's Club Manager (uncredited)
Little Mister Jim
(1947)
Col. W.I. Starwell
The Mighty McGurk
(1947)
Fowles
Song of the Thin Man
(1947)
Inspector (uncredited)
The Sea of Grass
(1947)
A.J. Crane
The Fabulous Fraud
(1948)
Blind Girl's Father
For the Love of Mary
(1948)
Adm. Walton
Fighting Back
(1948)
Robert J. Higby
Souvenirs of Death
(1948)
Gangster (uncredited)
Joan of Arc
(1948)
Poton de Xaintrailles, Captain
Colorado Territory
(1949)
United States Marshal
We Were Strangers
(1949)
M. Seymour
Bad Men of Tombstone
(1949)
Mr. Jones
The Fountainhead
(1949)
Prosecutor (uncredited)
The Damned Don't Cry
(1950)
Jim Whitehead
Rocketship X-M
(1950)
Dr. Ralph Fleming
Borderline
(1950)
Bill Whittaker
In a Lonely Place
(1950)
Lloyd Barnes
Southside 1-1000
(1950)
Eugene Deane
Chain Lightning
(1950)
Ed Bostwick
Short Grass
(1950)
Hal Fenton
Tomorrow Is Another Day
(1951)
Hugh Wagner
Flight To Mars
(1951)
Ikron
My Favorite Spy
(1951)
Gen. Frazer
The Redhead and The Cowboy
(1951)
Sheriff
The Lion Hunters
(1951)
Tom Forbes
Along the Great Divide
(1951)
Ed Roden
Fighting Coast Guard
(1951)
Navy Captain
Son of Ali Baba
(1952)
Ali Baba
Mutiny
(1952)
Capt. Radford
A Star Shall Rise
(1952)
King Herod
Fort Osage
(1952)
Arthur Pickett
Red Planet Mars
(1952)
Secretary of Defense Sparks
Hiawatha
(1952)
Iagoo
Because of You
(1952)
Dr. Travis
The Raiders
(1952)
Thomas Ainsworth
Invaders from Mars
(1953)
Col. Fielding
The Man Behind The Gun
(1953)
Bram Creegan
Sky Commando
(1953)
Gen. W.R. Combs
Devil's Canyon
(1953)
Ed
Fort Vengeance
(1953)
Chief Crowfoot
Flight Nurse
(1953)
Interrogation Officer
The Moonlighter
(1953)
Alexander Prince
Mexican Manhunt
(1953)
Tip Morgan
I Beheld His Glory
(1953)
Peter
Arena
(1953)
Bucky Hillberry
Silver Lode
(1954)
Zachary Evans
Apache
(1954)
Dawson
Taza, Son of Cochise
(1954)
Grey Eagle
Drums Across the River
(1954)
Chief Ouray
The Steel Cage
(1954)
Prison Board Member Garvey, segment "The Hostages"
Southwest Passage
(1954)
Dr. Stanton
Vera Cruz
(1954)
Gen. Ramírez
Cattle Queen of Montana
(1954)
J.I. 'Pop' Jones
The Outlaw Stallion
(1954)
Sheriff
Two Guns and a Badge
(1954)
Sheriff Jackson
Three Young Texans
(1954)
Jeff Blair
Crashout
(1955)
Head Guard
Tennessee's Partner
(1955)
Judge Parker
No Man's Woman
(1955)
Capt. Hostedder
The Eternal Sea
(1955)
Vice-Adm. Arthur Dewey Struble
The Little Lamb: A Christmas Story
(1955)
Azar the Shepherd
The Silver Star
(1955)
Charlie Childress
Chief Crazy Horse
(1955)
Red Cloud
The Last Command
(1955)
Duel on the Mississippi
(1955)
Magistrate (uncredited)
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
(1956)
Brig. Gen. John Hanley
When Gangland Strikes
(1956)
Leo Fantzler
Quincannon, Frontier Scout
(1956)
Col. Harry Conover
Fury at Gunsight Pass
(1956)
Doc Phillips
The Desperados Are in Town
(1956)
Mr. Rutherford
Naked Gun
(1956)
Sheriff Jim Jackson (as Morrie Ankrum)
Walk the Proud Land
(1956)
Gen. Wade
The Giant Claw
(1957)
Lt. Gen. Edward Considine
Kronos
(1957)
Dr. Albert Stern
Zombies of Mora Tau
(1957)
Dr. Jonathan Eggert
Beginning of the End
(1957)
Gen. John Hanson
Hell's Crossroads
(1957)
Wheeler
Omar Khayyam
(1957)
Sharain's Father
Drango
(1957)
Henry Calder
From the Earth to the Moon
(1958)
President Ulysses S. Grant
Giant from the Unknown
(1958)
Dr. Frederick Cleveland
Half Human: The Story of the Abominable Snowman
(1958)
Dr. Carl Jordan
How to Make a Monster
(1958)
Police Capt. Hancock
Curse of the Faceless Man
(1958)
Narrator (unconfirmed)
The Power of the Resurrection
(1958)
Annas
Badman's Country
(1958)
Mayor Coleman
The Saga of Hemp Brown
(1958)
Bo Slauter
Frontier Gun
(1958)
Andrew Barton
Tarawa Beachhead
(1958)
Chief of Staff, Pearl Harbor (uncredited)
Twilight for the Gods
(1958)
Sea Captain
Young and Wild
(1958)
Police Capt. Egan
Most Dangerous Man Alive
(1961)
Capt. Davis
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
(1961)
Gen. Lew Wallace
Tower of London
(1962)
The Archbishop
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
(1963)
Mr. Bowhead (uncredited)
Guns of Diablo
(1964)
Ray Macklin
The Movie Orgy
(1968)
Self (archive footage)