Acting
Henry B. Walthall
EN cinema · 217 credits
Born
15 March 1878
Died
17 June 1936 (aged 58)
Birthplace
Shelby County, Alabama, USA
Also known as Henry B. Walthal · H. B. Walthall · H.B. Walthall · Henry Walthall · William Walthall · Henry Brazeale Walthall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915). In New York in 1901, Walthall won a role in Under Southern Skies by Charlotte Blair Parker. He performed in the play for three years, in New York and on tour. With the company of Henry Miller he gained recognition on Broadway in plays including Pippa Passes, The Only Way and William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide (1906–08). His fellow cast member James Kirkwood introduced Walthall to D. W. Griffith, and at the conclusion of that engagement, Walthall joined the Biograph Company. His career in movies began in 1909 at Biograph Studios in New York with a leading role in the film A Convict's Sacrifice. This film also featured James Kirkwood, and was directed by D. W. Griffith, a director that played a huge part in Walthall's rise to stardom. As the industry grew in size and popularity, Griffith emerged as a director and Walthall found himself a mainstay of the Griffith company, frequently working alongside such Griffith regulars as Owen Moore, Kate Bruce, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Mae Marsh, Bobby Harron and Jack and Mary Pickford. He followed Griffith's departure from New York's Biograph to California's Reliance-Majestic Studios in 1913. After a few months with Reliance, he joined Pathé for a short period. He decided to go into the producing business and formed The Union Feature Film Company, the first to be devoted entirely to full-length films. The venture was not successful, however, and he again became associated with Griffith's company. Given the relatively short length of films in the early years, Walthall frequently found himself cast in dozens of films each year. He gained national attention in 1915 for his role as Colonel Ben Cameron in Griffith's highly influential and controversial epic, The Birth of a Nation. Walthall's portrayal of a Confederate veteran rounding up the Ku Klux Klan won him large-scale fame, and Walthall was soon able to emerge as a leading actor in the years leading up to the 1920s, parting ways with Griffith. Walthall continued working in films through the 1920s, appearing in The Plastic Age with Gilbert Roland and Clara Bow. He portrayed Roger Chillingworth in Victor Seastrom's 1926 adaptation of The Scarlet Letter opposite Lillian Gish. Walthall continued his career into the 1930s. After his performance in director John Ford's 1934 film Judge Priest starring Will Rogers he enjoyed a golden period of his career. He portrayed Dr. Manette in A Tale of Two Cities (1935), starring Ronald Colman. In 1936 he appeared as Marcel in The Devil-Doll. He was gravely ill during his final film, China Clipper. Frank Capra wanted Walthall to portray the High Lama in his 1937 film, Lost Horizon. "Frail and failing, he died before we could test him," Capra wrote. Walthall has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard.
Known for
Filmography
I Am Not a Racist
as Ben (archive footage) (uncredited)
London After Midnight
as Sir James Hamlin (archive footage)
Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists
as Col. Ben Cameron (archive footage)
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
as Self (archive footage)
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
as Self (archive footage)
The Devil-Doll
as Marcel
Hearts in Bondage
as Capt. Buchanan
The Last Outlaw
as Cal Yates
The Mine with the Iron Door
as David Burton
China Clipper
as Dad Brunn
The Garden Murder Case
as Dr. Garden
A Tale of Two Cities
as Dr. Manette
Helldorado
as Abner Meadows
Dante's Inferno
as Pop McWade
Judge Priest
as Reverend Ashby Brand
Viva Villa!
as Francisco Madero
The Scarlet Letter
as Roger Chillingworth
Love Time
as Duke Johann von Hatzfeld
Men in White
as enry B. Walthall
Dark Hazard
as Schultz
Beggars in Ermine
as Marchant the Blind Man
The Murder in the Museum
as Bernard Latham Wayne, alias Prof. Mysto
City Park
as Colonel Henry Randolph Ransome
A Girl of the Limberlost
as Dr. Amon
The Lemon Drop Kid
as Jonas Deering
42nd Street
as Concerned Actor (uncredited)
Somewhere in Sonora
as Bob Leadly
The Flaming Signal
as Rev. Mr. James
Her Forgotten Past
as Mr. Maynard
The Wolf Dog
as Jim Courtney
Hold Your Man
as Clergyman in Alternate Version (uncredited)
The Whispering Shadow
as J. D. Bradley
Headline Shooter
as Judge Beacon (uncredited)
The Sin of Nora Moran
as Father Ryan
Ride Him, Cowboy
as John Gaunt
Chandu the Magician
as Robert Regent
Strange Interlude
as Professor Leeds
Hotel Continental
as Winthrop
Klondike
as Mark Armstrong
Police Court
as Nathaniel "Nat" Barry
Central Park
as Eby
Alias Mary Smith
as Atwell
The Cabin in the Cotton
as Eph Clinton
Me and My Gal
as Sarge
Self Defense
as Doctor Borden
Anybody's Blonde
as Mr. Evans
Is There Justice?
as District Attorney John Raymond
Abraham Lincoln
as Colonel Marshall
Tol'able David
as Amos Hatburn
Temple Tower
as Blackton
The Love Trader
as Captain Adams
The Trespasser
as Fuller
Stark Mad
as Capt. Rhodes - Yacht Commander
The Phantom in the House
as Boyd Milburn
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
as Father Juniper
The River of Romance
as General Jeff Rumford
Black Magic
as Dr. Bradbroke
From Headquarters
as Buffalo Bill Ryan
Speakeasy
as Piano player
Blaze o' Glory
as Burke
The Jazz Age
as Mr Maxwell
In Old California
as Don Pedro De León
Retribution
as Henry / Tommy Mooney
Freedom of the Press
as John Ballard
A Light in the Window
as Johann Graff
London After Midnight
as Sir James Hamlin
The Scarlet Letter
as Roger Prynne aka Roger Chillingworth
Wings
as Mr. Armstrong
Love Me and the World Is Mine
as Van Denbosch
Fighting Love
as Filipo Navarro
The Road to Mandalay
as Father James
The Barrier
as Gale Gaylord
Three Faces East
as George Bennett
Everybody's Acting
as Thorpe
The Unknown Soldier
as John Phillips
The Golden Bed
as Col. Peake
Kentucky Pride
as Mr. Beaumont
Kit Carson Over the Great Divide
as Dr. Samuel Webb
The Girl Who Wouldn't Work
as William Hale
The Plastic Age
as Henry Carver
Dollar Down
as Alec Craig
The Woman on the Jury
as Prosecuting Attorney
Single Wives
as Franklin Dexter
The Face on the Barroom Floor
as Robert Stevens
The Unknown Purple
as Peter Marchmont / Victor Cromport
Gimme
as John McGimsey
Boy of Mine
as William Latimer
The Kickback
as Aaron Price
One Clear Call
as Henry Garnett
The Long Chance
as Harley P. Hennage
The Able-Minded Lady
as Breezy Bright
Flower of the North
as Philip Whitemore
A Splendid Hazard
as Karl Breitman
The Confession
as Father Bartlett
Parted Curtains
as Joe Jenkins
Modern Husbands
as Stephen Duane
The False Faces
as Michael Lanyard
The Long Arm of Mannister
as George Mannister
The Long Lane's Turning
as Harry Sevier
The Boomerang
as George Gray
The Great Love
as Sir Roger Brighton
Humdrum Brown
as Hector 'Humdrum' Brown
His Robe of Honor
as Julian Randolph
The Misleading Lady
as Jack Craiger
Pillars of Society
as Karsten Bernick
The Strange Case of Mary Page
as Phil Langdon, Attorney
The Sting of Victory
as David Whiting / Walker Whiting
The Birth of a Nation
as Col. Ben Cameron, Assistant Director
Ghosts
as Captain Alving / Oswald
The Raven
as Edgar Allan Poe
Rod of Wrath
1915
Rod of Wrath
as Erickson's Son
The Outer Edge
as Dr. Rownlee
The Circular Path
1915
The Circular Path
as Reverend Darwin Kirby
Temper
1915
Temper
as Frank Bradbury
The Avenging Conscience
as The Nephew
Lord Chumley
1914
Lord Chumley
as Lord Chumley
The Odalisque
1914
The Odalisque
as Joe, in love with May
Judith of Bethulia
as Holofernes
Strongheart
as Soangataha / Strongheart
Home, Sweet Home
as John Howard Payne
The Old Man
1914
The Old Man
as The Old Man
The Floor Above
1914
The Floor Above
as Stephen Pryde
The Mountain Rat
as Douglas Williams
Classmates
1914
Classmates
as Duncan Irving
The Awakening of Donna Isolla
1914
The Awakening of Donna Isolla
as The President of the Republic
The Sheriff's Baby
as First Bandit
Love in an Apartment Hotel
1913
Love in an Apartment Hotel
as The Young Woman's Fiance
During the Round-Up
1913
During the Round-Up
as The Stranger
If We Only Knew
as The Father
The Tenderfoot's Money
as The Prospector
The Stolen Loaf
1913
The Stolen Loaf
as The Poor Man
The Mirror
1913
The Mirror
as The Station Agent
A Gambler's Honor
1913
A Gambler's Honor
as Beth's Brother
The Battle at Elderbush Gulch
as The Indian Chief's Son
Death's Marathon
as The Husband
The Wanderer
as The Wanderer
The Switchtower
as The Switchman
Three Friends
as The Husband
A Woman in the Ultimate
as Badger Gang Member
Broken Ways
as The Road Agent
The Little Tease
as The Valley Man
Two Men of the Desert
as First Partner
Oil and Water
as The Idealist
The Lady and the Mouse
as The First Rival
In the Aisles of the Wild
as Jim Watson
Two Daughters of Eve
as The Father
Brutality
as Actor In Oliver Twist
My Hero
1912
My Hero
as Indian Charlie
Friends
as Dandy Jack
The Burglar’s Dilemma
as The Householder's Weakling Brother
The Informer
as The False Brother
My Baby
as The Husband
The One She Loved
1912
The One She Loved
as The Husband
A Feud in the Kentucky Hills
as A Psalm Singer
So Near, Yet So Far
as In Club
The God Within
1912
The God Within
as The Woodsman
The Honor of His Family
1910
The Honor of His Family
as George Pickett Jr.
A Flash of Light
as Younger John Rogers
The House with Closed Shutters
as Charles Randolph - The Confederate Soldier
Wilful Peggy
as The Lord
Rose o' Salem Town
as The Trapper
The Oath and the Man
as Henri Prevost
Ramona
as Alessandro
A Child of the Ghetto
as The Farmer
Love Among the Roses
as The Lord
In Old California
as Perdita's Son
The Thread of Destiny
as Estrada
The Usurer
as One of the Second Debtors
In Life's Cycle
as Vincent, as an Adult
The Call to Arms
as The Lord
His Last Burglary
1910
His Last Burglary
as William Standish
The Face at the Window
1910
The Face at the Window
as Ralph Bradford
The Gold Seekers
1910
The Gold Seekers
as The Prospector
The Kid
1910
The Kid
as Walter Holden
The Call
1910
The Call
as Billy Harvey
On the Reef
1910
On the Reef
as Mr. Wilson
In the Border States
as Confederate Corporal
The Newlyweds
as A Friend / At Station Reception
The Tenderfoot's Triumph
as A Horse Thief
Gold Is Not All
1910
Gold Is Not All
as Man at Party
The Sealed Room
as The Troubador
A Corner in Wheat
as Wheat King's Assistant
Getting Even
as Miner
In Old Kentucky
as Robert, the Confederate son
The Mended Lute
as Indian
A Strange Meeting
as A Thief
The Broken Locket
as Mexican Man
The Day After
as Party Guest
The Heart of an Outlaw
1909
The Heart of an Outlaw
as The Mexican Lover
A Trap for Santa Claus
as Arthur Rogers (uncredited)
Pranks
as Sunbather
The Little Darling
as In Boarding House
In Little Italy
1909
In Little Italy
as Victor Ratazzi
Rescued from an Eagle's Nest
as Woodsman