Image of James Stephenson

James Stephenson

British stage actor James Stephenson made his film debut quite late in life, at the age of 49, in 1937, making four pictures that year. Warner Bros. got a glimpse of this distinguished gent and signed him to a contract where he indulged himself in urbane villainy. Proving a reliable support in such films as Boy Meets Girl (1938), You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), and the classic adventure The Sea Hawk (1940), he was entrusted by director William Wyler and mega-star Bette Davis to play the sympathetic role of the family attorney Howard Joyce in The Letter (1940). It was the role of a lifetime and he didn't let them down for he earned an Oscar nomination in the process. Stephenson was soon on a roll, playing the titular sleuth in Calling Philo Vance (1940) and was first-billed in the above-average "B" movie Shining Victory (1941) when he died suddenly in 1941 of a heart attack at the rather young age of 53. Date of Death:  29 July 1941, Pacific Palisades, California  (heart attack)


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Born:
Apr 14, 1889 In Selby, Yorkshire, England, UK
Movie/TV Credits:
32
First Appeared:
In the movie You Live and Learn 1937-09-01
Latest Project:
Movie Hijack 1999-08-31
Known For
Poster of On Trial
Poster of The Adventures of Jane Arden
Poster of Nancy Drew… Detective
Poster of When Were You Born
Filmography
Movie Hijack Jack Carpenter 1999-08-31
Movie Flight from Destiny Dr. Lawrence 'Larry' Stevens 1941-02-08
Movie Shining Victory Dr. Paul Venner 1941-05-30
Movie Calling Philo Vance Philo Vance 1940-02-03
Movie Wolf of New York Hiram Rogers 1940-01-23
Movie The Sea Hawk Abbott 1940-08-10
Movie Murder in the Air Joe Garvey 1940-06-01
Movie The Letter Howard Joyce 1940-11-21
Movie River's End McDowell 1940-08-10
Movie South of Suez Inspector Thornton 1940-11-16
Movie A Dispatch from Reuters Carew 1940-10-19
Movie On Trial Gerald Trask 1939-04-01
Movie The Adventures of Jane Arden Dr. George Vanders 1939-03-18
Movie Secret Service of the Air Jim Cameron 1939-03-04
Movie King of the Underworld Bill Stevens 1939-01-14
Movie Confessions of a Nazi Spy British Military Intelligence Agent 1939-05-06
Movie Devil's Island Col. Armand Lucien 1939-01-07
Movie Torchy Blane in Chinatown Dr. Mansfield 1939-02-02
Movie The Old Maid Jim Ralston 1939-08-16
Movie We Are Not Alone Sir William Clintock 1939-11-25
Movie Sons of Liberty Colonel Tillman 1939-05-20
Movie The Monroe Doctrine Senor De La Torre 1939-10-14
Movie The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex Sir Thomas Egerton 1939-11-11
Movie Espionage Agent Dr. Anton Rader 1939-09-30
Movie Beau Geste Major Henri de Beaujolais 1939-07-24
Movie White Banners Thomas Bradford 1938-06-23
Movie When Were You Born Phillip Corey 1938-06-18
Movie Cowboy from Brooklyn Prof. Landis 1938-07-09
Movie Heart of the North Stephen Gore 1938-12-10
Movie Boy Meets Girl Major Thompson 1938-08-27
Movie Nancy Drew… Detective Challon 1938-11-19
Movie You Live and Learn Sam Brooks 1937-09-01