Ian Wolfe - Turner Classic Movies

Ian Wolfe


Actor
Ian Wolfe

About

Also Known As
Ian Wolf, Ien Wulf, Ian Macwolfe
Birth Place
Canton, Illinois, USA
Born
November 04, 1896
Died
January 23, 1992
Cause of Death
Natural Causes

Biography

Prolific supporting player with a piercing stare, familiar from the hundreds of films in which he played mean or menacing characters in the course of a seven-decade career. After appearing on the Broadway stage, Wolfe made his film debut in his late 30s and quickly won notice as Captain Bligh's cruel storekeeper and stool pigeon Maggs in "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935). Wolfe went on to ma...

Family & Companions

Elizabeth Schroder
Wife
Australian; married in the 1920s for over 50 years.

Notes

Wolfe was a scholar of comparative religions and philosophies.

An outdoorsman, Wolfe climbed Mt. Whitney alone in 1954.

Biography

Prolific supporting player with a piercing stare, familiar from the hundreds of films in which he played mean or menacing characters in the course of a seven-decade career. After appearing on the Broadway stage, Wolfe made his film debut in his late 30s and quickly won notice as Captain Bligh's cruel storekeeper and stool pigeon Maggs in "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935). Wolfe went on to make more than 150 film appearances, often playing English or clerical characters, in films including the horror comedy "Homebodies" (1974, a starring role), Mike Nichols' "The Fortune" (1975, as the dithery old justice of the peace), "Creator" (1985), "Checking Out" (1988), and "Dick Tracy" (1990). Wolfe also played Wizard Tranquil on the 1983 TV series, "Wizards and Warriors."

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

Dick Tracy (1990)
Checking Out (1989)
Mr D'Amato
LBJ: The Early Years (1987)
Creator (1985)
Mae West (1982)
Reds (1981)
Trouble in High Timber Country (1980)
Up The Academy (1980)
The Frisco Kid (1979)
The Seniors (1978)
Mean Dog Blues (1978)
Dynasty (james A. Michener's) (1976)
Dr Klauber
The New, Original Wonder Woman (1975)
Homebodies (1974)
Mr Loomis
The Terminal Man (1974)
Mr. Sycamore (1974)
The Devil's Daughter (1973)
THX 1138 (1971)
PTO
Games (1967)
Dr. Edwards
One Man's Way (1964)
Bishop Hardwick
Diary of a Madman (1963)
Pierre
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)
Gruber
All in a Night's Work (1961)
O'Hara
The Lost World (1960)
Burton White
Pollyanna (1960)
Mr. Neely
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Carter
Diane (1956)
Lord Tremouille
Gaby (1956)
Registrar
The King's Thief (1955)
Fell
Moonfleet (1955)
Tewkesbury
The Silver Chalice (1955)
Theron
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Lecturer
Sincerely Yours (1955)
Mr. Rojeck
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
President Calvin Coolidge
The Steel Cage (1954)
Face in painting
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Rev. Elcott
Her Twelve Men (1954)
Roger Frane
About Mrs. Leslie (1954)
Mr. Pope
Julius Caesar (1953)
[Casius] Ligarius
Young Bess (1953)
Stranger
Houdini (1953)
Fante
The Actress (1953)
Mr. Bagley
Scandal at Scourie (1953)
Councilman Hurdwell
99 River Street (1953)
Waldo Daggett
Les Miserables (1952)
Presiding judge
Captain Pirate (1952)
Viceroy
On Dangerous Ground (1952)
Sheriff Carrey
Something for the Birds (1952)
Foster
Holiday for Sinners (1952)
Monsignor Lavaud
The Captive City (1952)
Reverend Nash
A Place in the Sun (1951)
Dr. Wyeland
The Great Caruso (1951)
Hutchins
Mask of the Avenger (1951)
Signor Donner
Here Comes the Groom (1951)
Uncle Adam
The Magnificent Yankee (1951)
Adams
No Way Out (1950)
Watkins
Emergency Wedding (1950)
Dr. White
The Petty Girl (1950)
President Webb
Please Believe Me (1950)
Edward Warrender
Copper Canyon (1950)
Mr. Henderson
Bride of Vengeance (1949)
Councillor
The Younger Brothers (1949)
Chairman
Colorado Territory (1949)
Homer Wallace
They Live by Night (1949)
Hawkins
The Judge Steps Out (1949)
Hector Brown
Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch (1949)
Professor Lillinquist
Homicide (1949)
Reeder
The Miracle of the Bells (1948)
Grave digger
Julia Misbehaves (1948)
Hobson
Angel in Exile (1948)
Health officer
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
Smith
Johnny Belinda (1948)
Rector
Three Daring Daughters (1948)
Butler
Silver River (1948)
Deputy
If Winter Comes (1948)
Doctor
Pursued (1947)
Coronor
That Way with Women (1947)
L. B. Crandall
The Marauders (1947)
[Edwin "Deacon"] Black
California (1947)
President Polk
Wild Harvest (1947)
Martin
The Verdict (1946)
Jury foreman
The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946)
Lord Mortimer
The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946)
Adam Wheelright
Dressed to Kill (1946)
Scotland Yard commissioner
Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)
Norton
The Searching Wind (1946)
Sears
The Falcon's Adventure (1946)
Professor J. D. Denison
Bedlam (1946)
Sidney Long
Gentleman Joe Palooka (1946)
Editor Dwight
Three Strangers (1946)
Gillkie
Without Reservations (1946)
Charlie Gibbs
This Love of Ours (1945)
Dr. Straus
The Song of Bernadette (1945)
Minister of interior
Confidential Agent (1945)
Dr. Bellows
A Song to Remember (1945)
Pleyel's clerk
The Brighton Strangler (1945)
Mayor
The Fighting Guardsman (1945)
Berton
Zombies on Broadway (1945)
Professor Hopkins
Blonde Ransom (1945)
Oliver
Strange Confession (1945)
Frederick
Counter-Attack (1945)
Ostrovski
Love Letters (1945)
Vicar
Wilson (1945)
Reporter
Government Girl (1944)
Hotel clerk
The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
Skipper
The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)
[Jim] Feeney
Murder in the Blue Room (1944)
Edwards
Are These Our Parents (1944)
Pa Henderson
The Merry Monahans (1944)
Clerk
The Scarlet Claw (1944)
Drake
The Pearl of Death (1944)
Amos Hodder
Her Primitive Man (1944)
Caleb
The Impostor (1944)
Sergeant clerk
Seven Days Ashore (1944)
Process server
Babes on Swing Street (1944)
Ansel
In Society (1944)
Butler
The National Barn Dance (1944)
Minister
Reckless Age (1944)
Professor Mettasagus
Once Upon a Time (1944)
Reporter
The Iron Major (1943)
Professor Runnymead
Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
Librarian
Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)
Clerk
The Moon Is Down (1943)
Joseph
The Falcon and the Co-eds (1943)
Eustace Herley
The Falcon in Danger (1943)
Thomas
The Man from Down Under (1943)
Emaciated soldier
Holy Matrimony (1943)
Stawley
Corvette K-225 (1943)
Paymaster commander
Random Harvest (1942)
Registrar
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Dentist
Eagle Squadron (1942)
Sir Charles Porter
Born to Sing (1942)
Critic
Now, Voyager (1942)
Lloyd
Saboteur (1942)
Robert
Secret Agent of Japan (1942)
Captain [Karl] Larsen
Nightmare (1942)
Abbington's butler
Paris Calling (1942)
Thin workman
The Great Commandment (1941)
Tax gatherer
Hudson's Bay (1941)
Mayor
The Trial of Mary Dugan (1941)
Dr. Winston
Adventure in Washington (1941)
Emerson
Love Crazy (1941)
Doctor
The Son of Monte Cristo (1941)
Conrad Stadt
Shining Victory (1941)
Bank manager
Singapore Woman (1941)
Melrose
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
Foreign Correspondent (1940)
Stiles
Earthbound (1940)
Totten
We Who Are Young (1940)
Judge
Allegheny Uprising (1939)
Poole
On Borrowed Time (1939)
Charles Wentworth
Society Lawyer (1939)
[Frederick] Schmidt
Fast and Loose (1939)
Wilkes
Blondie Brings Up Baby (1939)
Police judge
Tell No Tales (1939)
Fritz
Orphans of the Street (1938)
Eli Thadius Bunting
Blondie (1938)
Judge
You Can't Take It with You (1938)
Kirby's secretary
Arsene Lupin Returns (1938)
[A.] Le Marchand
Conquest (1937)
Metternich
The Devil Is Driving (1937)
Elias Sanders
The Firefly (1937)
Izquierdo
The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
Proprietor of thieves' booth
The League of Frightened Men (1937)
Nicholas Cabot
The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937)
Leon
The White Angel (1936)
Patient
The Leavenworth Case (1936)
Hudson
The Bold Caballero (1936)
Priest
The Devil Is a Sissy (1936)
Pawnbroker
The Music Goes 'Round (1936)
Doctor
Mad Love (1935)
Henry Orlac
The Raven (1935)
Col. Bertram Grant
$1,000 a Minute (1935)
Davidson
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
Maggs
Clive of India (1935)
Mr. Kent
The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934)
Harry Bevan
The Fountain (1934)
Van Arkel
The Mighty Barnum (1934)
Swedish consul

Cast (Special)

America, You're On (1975)
Harley Dibble
The Ambassador (1974)
Is There a Doctor in the House? (1971)
Mr. Tutt (1958)
The Defender (1957)
Judge Marsala

Cast (Short)

Famous Boners (1942)
Keep 'Em Sailing (1942)
Lincoln in the White House (1939)
Captain Kidd's Treasure (1938)
Romance of Louisiana (1937)

Life Events

1919

Made stage debut in "The Claw" starring Lionel Barrymore

1934

Went to Hollywood; supported Lionel Barrymore in the radio series "Mayor of the Town"; made film acting debut in a small part in Irving Thalberg's production of "The Barretts of Wimpole Street"

Videos

Movie Clip

Diary Of A Madman (1963) -- (Movie Clip) He's A Strange Fish Initiating a flashback after the funeral, gallery owner D’Arville and his daughter (Edward Colmans, Elaine Devry), with Capt. Rennedon (Stephen Roberts) attending, begin executing the will of magistrate Cordier (Vincent Price, introduced here), early in Diary Of A Madman, 1963.
Diary Of A Madman (1963) -- (Movie Clip) Hatred Is Evil Judge Cordier (Vincent Price) seems to be cracking up after killing a convicted murder in self defense, and has just accused his butler Pierre (Ian Wolfe) of surprising him by hanging a picture of his long-dead wife and son where he would find it, in Diary Of A Madman, 1963.
Diary Of A Madman (1963) -- (Movie Clip) Death Is A Truth French judge Cordier (Vincent Price) now narrating, after he’s begun hearing voices, after he accidentally killed a condemned murderer, who claimed he’d been possessed by a mysterious force that put a green light in his eyes, evidence now supporting him, in Diary Of A Madman, 1963.
Reds (1981) -- (Movie Clip) What Haven't We Covered? Portland, Oregon, 1915, a somewhat-contrived version of the meeting of the principals (writer-director Warren Beatty as journalist John "Jack" Reed, Diane Keaton as native Louise Bryant), M. Emmet Walsh the pompous orator at a local civic club, early in Reds, 1981.
Reds (1981) -- (Movie Clip) They Are Waiting For Your Example Moscow, 1917, writer-director Warren Beatty as American radical journalist John “Jack” Reed, with Diane Keaton as his colleague and wife Louise Bryant, swept into supporting a general strike, though not recreating a specific historic event, in Reds, 1981.
Colorado Territory (1949) -- (Movie Clip) Payin' For Past Sins Conductor and inside-man Wallace (Ian Wolfe) is alarmed to find escaped outlaw Wes (Joel McCrea) casing the train they're planning to rob, en route to visit their backer Dave (Basil Ruysdael), to whom he owes a favor, in Raoul Walsh's Western re-make of his own High Sierra, Colorado Territory, 1949.
Witness For The Prosecution (1957) -- (Movie Clip) Steady Drip Of Baby Talk Indulgence for the star in the opening act, Sir Wilfrid (Charles Laughton) back from hospital confiding with his man Carter (Ian Wolfe), Miss Plimsoul (Elsa Lanchester, Mrs. Laughton) intruding, in Bill Wilder's film from Agatha Christie's play, Witness For The Prosecution, 1957.
On Borrowed Time (1939) -- (Movie Clip) We're Not Going Far An efficient MGM opening, after a prologue linking the story to Chaucer, we infer that the hitchhiker (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) is not mortal, whereupon we meet Demetria (Eily Malyon) the reverend and Charlie (Charles Waldron, Ian Wolfe), then the stars Grandpa Julian (Lionel Barrymore) and Pub (Bobs Watson), in On Borrowed Time, 1939.

Trailer

Witness For The Prosecution - (Original Trailer) A British barrister gets caught up in a couple's tangled marital affairs when he defends the husband for murder in Witness for the Prosecution (1957).
Gaby - (Original Trailer) Gaby (1956), Waterloo Bridge in color and widescreen with Leslie Caron as the woman left behind in World War II.
Foreign Correspondent - (Original Trailer) A camera with gun attachment, trick windmills and a mid-ocean plane crash are some of the predicaments facing Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940).
Firefly, The - (Original Trailer) A Spanish spy (Jeanette MacDonald) masquerades as a singer to sabotage Napoleon's forces in this MGM adaptation of the Rudolf Friml operetta.
Counter-Attack - (Original Trailer) A Russian officer (Paul Muni) is trapped in a bombed building with seven Nazi soldiers in Counter-Attack (1945).
Her Twelve Men - (Original Trailer) A dedicated teacher turns around the troublesome students at a boy's school in Her Twelve Men (1954) starring Greer Garson.
Arsene Lupin Returns - (Original Trailer) A reformed jewel thief (Melvyn Douglas) helps detectives track down a criminal in Arsene Lupin Returns (1938).
Singapore Woman - (Original Trailer) A woman who believes she's cursed, takes refuge on a rubber plantation in Singapore Woman (1941) starring Brenda Marshall.
Silver River - (Original Trailer) A ruthless gambler's rise to power is cut short by character flaws in Silver River (1948) starring Errol Flynn.
Johnny Belinda - (Original Trailer) Jane Wyman won a Best Actress Award portraying a deaf-mute girl who learns to communicate with the help of a small town doctor (Lew Ayres) in Johnny Belinda (1948), directed by Jean Negulesco.
Allegheny Uprising - (Re-issue Trailer) It's John Wayne versus the Redcoats as a rebel in Colonial America in Allegheny Uprising (1939) co-starring Claire Trevor and George Sanders.
Without Reservations - (Re-issue trailer) John Wayne and Claudette Colbert star in Without Reservations (1946) about a woman writer and a war hero.

Family

Moya Kelsey
Daughter
Mother Elizabeth Schroder.
Deirdre Wolfe
Daughter
Mother Elizabeth Schroder.

Companions

Elizabeth Schroder
Wife
Australian; married in the 1920s for over 50 years.

Bibliography

Notes

Wolfe was a scholar of comparative religions and philosophies.

An outdoorsman, Wolfe climbed Mt. Whitney alone in 1954.