
Person
Grant Mitchell
Acting · 1874–1957 · Columbus, Ohio, USA
Biography
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

The Grapes of Wrath
Caretaker

Arsenic and Old Lace
Reverend Harper

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Senator MacPherson

Central Airport
Mr. Blaine

Convention City
J.B. Honeywell

Parole!
Marty Crawford

Guest Wife
House Detective

Dixie
Mr. Mason

Step Lively
Dr. Gibbs

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Egeus
Filmography
- 1975Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?Self (archive footage)
- 1964The Big Parade of ComedyEd Loomis in 'Dinner at Eight' (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1948Who Killed Doc Robbin?Judge
- 1947Blondie's AnniversarySamuel Breckenbridge
- 1947The Corpse Came C.O.D.Mitchell Edwards
- 1947HoneymoonCongressman Crenshaw
- 1947It Happened on Fifth AvenueAl Farrow
- 1947Blondie's HolidaySamuel Breckenridge
- 1946Easy to WedHomer Henshaw
- 1945Leave Her to HeavenCarlson (uncredited)
- 1945Guest WifeHouse Detective
- 1945Bedside MannerMr. Pope
- 1945ConflictDr. Grant
- 1945A Medal for BennyMayor of Pantera
- 1945Crime, Inc.Wayne Clark
- 1945Bring on the GirlsRalph Neely
- 1945Watchtower Over TomorrowPassenger with newspaper
- 1944And Now TomorrowUncle Wallace
- 1944When the Lights Go On AgainArnold Benson
- 1944The Impatient YearsHotel Clerk
- 1944Arsenic and Old LaceReverend Harper
- 1944Step LivelyDr. Gibbs
- 1944See Here, Private HargroveUncle George
- 1943DixieMr. Mason
- 1943All by MyselfJ.D. Gibbons
- 1943The Amazing Mrs. HollidayEdgar Holliday
- 1942My Sister EileenWalter Sherwood
- 1942Orchestra WivesDr. Ward
- 1942CairoMr. O.H.P. Boggs
- 1942The Gay SistersGilbert Wheeler
- 1942March On, America!John Quincy Adams (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1942Meet the StewartsMr. Goodwin
- 1942Larceny, Inc.Mr. Aspinwall
- 1941The Man Who Came to DinnerErnest W. Stanley
- 1941SkylarkFrederick Vantine
- 1941One Foot in HeavenClayton Potter
- 1941Nothing but the TruthMr. Bishop
- 1941The Feminine TouchDean Hutchinson
- 1941The Great LieJoshua Mason
- 1941The PenaltyJudge
- 1941Footsteps in the DarkWellington Carruthers
- 1941Tobacco RoadGeorge Payne
- 1940Father Is A PrinceJohn W. Bower
- 1940The Bride Wore CrutchesE.J. Randall
- 1940We Who Are YoungJones
- 1940My Love Came BackDr. Kobbe
- 1940New MoonGovernor of New Orleans
- 1940Edison, the ManSnade
- 1940It All Came TrueRene Salmon
- 1940The Grapes of WrathCaretaker
- 1940Castle on the HudsonDr. Ames - the Psychologist (uncredited)
- 1939The Secret of Dr. KildareJohn Archley
- 1939Mr. Smith Goes to WashingtonSenator MacPherson
- 1939The Monroe DoctrineJohn Quincy Adams
- 1939Hell's KitchenHiram Krispan
- 1939On Borrowed TimeMr. Pilbeam
- 19396,000 EnemiesWarden Alan Parkhurst
- 1938Peck's Bad Boy with the CircusHenry Peck
- 1938The Headleys at HomeErnest Headley
- 1938That Certain AgeJeweler
- 1938Youth Takes a FlingDuke
- 1938ReformatoryArnold Frayne
- 1938Women Are Like ThatMr. Snell
- 1938Hollywood HotelB.L. Faulkin
- 1937Lady Behave!Burton Williams
- 1937First LadyEllsworth T. Banning
- 1937The Last GangsterWarden
- 1937Music for MadameDistrict Attorney Ernest Robinson
- 1937The Life of Emile ZolaGeorges Clemenceau
- 1936The Devil Is a SissyPaul Krumpp
- 1936Piccadilly JimHerbert Pett
- 1936My American WifeRobert Cantillon
- 1936Parole!Marty Crawford
- 1936The Ex-Mrs. BradfordJohn Summers, Luxury's Owner
- 1936Moonlight MurderPaul Adams
- 1936The Garden Murder CaseDistrict Attorney Markham
- 1936Next Time We LoveMichael Jennings
- 1936Her Master's VoiceHorace J. Twilling
- 1935A Dream Comes TrueEgeus (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1935Seven Keys to BaldpateThomas Hayden
- 1935Things You Never See on the ScreenSelf
- 1935In PersonThaddeus Parks
- 1935It's in the AirW. R. Gridley
- 1935A Midsummer Night's DreamEgeus
- 1935Redheads on ParadeMinor Role (uncredited)
- 1935Broadway GondolierE.V. Richards, Radio Producer
- 1935Men Without NamesAndrew Webster, banker
- 1935Traveling SalesladyRufus Twitchell
- 1935Straight from the HeartAustin
- 1935Gold Diggers of 1935Louis Lamson
- 1935One More SpringHenry Sheridan
- 1934The Secret BrideWillis Martin
- 1934365 Nights in HollywoodJ. Walter Delmar
- 1934Gridiron FlashHoward Smith
- 1934The Case of the Howling DogDistrict Attorney Claude Drumm
- 1934One Exciting AdventureFussli
- 1934The Cat's-PawSilk Hot McGee
- 1934We're Rich AgainWilbur Page
- 1934Twenty Million SweetheartsSharpe
- 1934The Show-OffMr. 'Pa'
- 1934The Poor RichTom Hopkins
- 1933Dinner at EightEd Loomis
- 1933Convention CityJ.B. Honeywell
- 1933King for a NightRev. John Williams
- 1933Shadows of Sing SingJoe Martel
- 1933Dancing LadyJasper Bradley Sr.
- 1933Wild Boys of the RoadJames Smith
- 1933Saturday's MillionsEzra Fowler
- 1933The Stranger's ReturnAllen
- 1933I Love That ManDr. Crittenden - Dentist
- 1933Heroes for SaleGeorge Gibson
- 1933Tomorrow at SevenAustin Winters
- 1933Lilly TurnerDr. Hawley
- 1933Central AirportMr. Blaine
- 1933Our BettersThornton Clay
- 1933He Learned About WomenAppleby
- 1932No Man of Her OwnVane
- 193220,000 Years in Sing SingTester of Convicts' IQs (uncredited)
- 1932If I Had a MillionPrison Priest (uncredited)
- 1932Three on a MatchMr. Gilmore (uncredited)
- 1932Big City BluesStation Agent
- 1932A Successful CalamityConnors
- 1932Week-End MarriageDoctor
- 1932The Famous Ferguson CaseMartin Collins
- 1931The Star WitnessPa Leeds
- 1930Man to ManBarber John Martin Bolton
- 1922The Man from M.A.R.S.Arthur Wyman
- 1916The Misleading LadyStephen Weatherbee
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