Acting
Ricardo Cortez
SV, EN, FR cinema · 114 credits
Born
17 September 1900
Died
28 April 1977 (aged 76)
Birthplace
New York City, New York, USA
Also known as Jacob Krantz · Jack Crane
Ricardo Cortez (September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American film actor who began his career during the silent film era. Born Jacob Krantz in New York City into a Jewish family, he worked on Wall Street in a broker's office and as a boxer before his looks got him into the film business. Hollywood executives changed his name to Cortez to appeal to film-goers as a "Latin lover" to compete with such highly popular actors of the era as Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro and Antonio Moreno. When rumour began to circulate that Cortez was not actually Spanish, the studios tried to pass him off as a different type of Latin, French, before they finally admitted his (supposedly) Viennese origin. Cortez appeared in over 100 films. He played opposite Joan Crawford in Montana Moon in 1930, played Sam Spade in the original The Maltese Falcon in 1931, co-starred with Charles Farrell and Bette Davis in The Big Shakedown and Wonder Bar (with Al Jolson and Dolores del Río) in 1934. He also played Perry Mason in the 1936 film The Case of the Black Cat. Although he began his career playing romantic leads with actresses like Greta Garbo, when sound cinema arrived, his powerful delivery and New York accent made him an ideal villain and conman, and he switched from sex symbol to character actor. Cortez was married to silent film actress Alma Rubens until her death of pneumonia in 1931. When he retired from the film business, Cortez went to work as a stockbroker for Solomon Brothers on New York's Wall Street. He died in New York City in 1977 and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx. He was the older brother of noted cinematographer Stanley Cortez (born Stanislaus Krantz).
Known for
Filmography
Stars of the Silver Screen - Greta Garbo
as Self (archive footage)
Complicated Women
as Self (archive footage)
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
as Self as Don Rafael Brull (archive footage)
The Last Hurrah
as Sam Weinberg
Bunco Squad
as Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells
Mystery in Mexico
as John Norcross
Blackmail
as Ziggy Cranston
The Locket
as Drew Bonner
The Inner Circle
as Duke York
Make Your Own Bed
as Wilson / Fritz Alden
Tomorrow We Live
as The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin
Rubber Racketeers
as Gilin
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
as Anthony Pearce
I Killed That Man
as Roger Phillips
Romance of the Rio Grande
as Ricardo de Vega
A Shot in the Dark
as Phillip Richards
World Premiere
as Mark Saunders
Murder Over New York
as George Kirby
City of Chance
Director
Girl in 313
Director
Free, Blonde and 21
Director
Charlie Chan in Reno
as Dr. Ainsley
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
as Fabian
Inside Story
Director
The Escape
Director
Chasing Danger
Director
City Girl
as Charles Blake
West of Shanghai
as Gordon Creed
The Californian
as Ramon Escobar
Her Husband Lies
as J. Ward Thomas
The Walking Dead
as Nolan
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
as George Lambert
The Case of the Black Cat
as Perry Mason
Postal Inspector
as Inspector Bill Davis
Man Hunt
as Frank Kingman
Talk of the Devil
as Ray Allen
Special Agent
as Alexander Carston
Frisco Kid
as Paul Morra
The White Cockatoo
as Jim Sundean
Manhattan Moon
as Dan Moore
The Man with Two Faces
as Ben Weston
The Big Shakedown
as Dutch Barnes
Wonder Bar
as Harry
I Am a Thief
as Pierre Londais
Hat, Coat and Glove
as Robert Mitchell
A Lost Lady
as Ellinger
The Firebird
as Herman Brandt
Mandalay
as Tony Evans
Hollywood Newsreel
as Himself
The House on 56th Street
as Bill Blaine
Torch Singer
as Tony Cummings
Broadway Bad
as Craig Cutting
Big Executive
as Victor Conway
The Phantom of Crestwood
as Gary Curtis
Thirteen Women
as Police Sergeant Barry Clive
Flesh
as Nicky
Is My Face Red?
as William Poster
No One Man
as Bill Hanaway
White Shoulders
as Lawrence Marchmont
The Maltese Falcon
as Sam Spade
Bad Company
as Goldie Gorio
Ten Cents a Dance
as Bradley Carlton
Illicit
as Price Baines
Transgression
as Don Arturo de Borgus
Big Business Girl
as Robert J. Clayton
Behind Office Doors
as Ronnie Wales
Men of Chance
as Johnny Silk
Montana Moon
as Jeff
Her Man
as Johnnie
The Phantom in the House
as Paul Wallis
The Younger Generation
as Morris Goldfish
The Lost Zeppelin
as Tom Armstrong
New Orleans
as Jim Morley
Midstream
as James Stanwood
Woman of Destiny
as Yoanes Etchegarry
Excess Baggage
as Val D'Errico
Ladies of the Night Club
as George Merrill
Prowlers of the Sea
as Carlos De Neve
Mockery
as Dimitri
New York
as Michael Angelo Cassidy
By Whose Hand?
as Agent X-9
Torrent
as Don Rafael Brull
The Sorrows of Satan
as Geoffrey Tempest
The Eagle of the Sea
as Captain Sazarac
Volcano
as Stéphane Séquineau
In the Name of Love
as Raoul Melnotte
The Spaniard
as Don Pedro de Barrego
The Swan
as Dr. Walter, the Tutor
The Pony Express
as Jack Weston
Not So Long Ago
as Billy Ballard
The Bedroom Window
as Robert Delano
Feet of Clay
as Tony Channing
The Next Corner
as Don Arturo
This Woman
as Whitney Duane
A Society Scandal
as Harrison Peters
Argentine Love
as Juan Martin
The City That Never Sleeps
as Mark Roth
Hollywood
as Ricardo Cortez
Children of Jazz
as Ted Carter
The Call of the Canyon
as Larry Morrison
Sixty Cents an Hour
as William Davis