Porter Hall
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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.
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.
Known for
Return to Treasure Island
Vice Squad
Pony Express
Holiday for Sinners
The Half-Breed
Carbine Williams
Ace in the Hole
Intruder in the Dust
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend
Chicken Every Sunday
That Wonderful Urge
You Gotta Stay Happy
Unconquered
Singapore
Miracle on 34th Street
Kiss and Tell
Murder, He Says
Blood on the Sun
Bring on the Girls
The Mark of the Whistler
The Great Moment
Double Indemnity
Going My Way
Standing Room Only
The Woman of the Town
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
The Desperadoes
A Stranger in Town
Butch Minds the Baby
The Remarkable Andrew
Mr. and Mrs. North
Sullivan's Travels
The Parson of Panamint
Arizona
Trail of the Vigilantes
Dark Command
His Girl Friday
Henry Goes Arizona
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
They Shall Have Music
Grand Jury Secrets
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
Tom Sawyer, Detective
The Arkansas Traveler
King of Alcatraz
Men with Wings
Prison Farm
Stolen Heaven
Bulldog Drummond's Peril
Dangerous to Know
Scandal Street
Wells Fargo
True Confession
This Way Please
Souls at Sea
Wild Money
Make Way for Tomorrow
King of Gamblers
Bulldog Drummond Escapes
The General Died at Dawn
The Plainsman
Let's Make a Million
Satan Met a Lady
And Sudden Death
The Princess Comes Across
Snowed Under
The Story of Louis Pasteur
The Petrified Forest
The Case of the Lucky Legs
Murder in the Private Car
The Thin Man
The Cheat
Secrets of a Secretary