Tag Archives: Nat Pendleton

Watching 1939: Another Thin Man (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult. 

1939 film: 
Another Thin Man (1939)

Release date: 
Nov. 17, 1939

Cast: 
William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith, Ruth Hussey, Nat Pendleton, Patric Knowles, Tom Neal, Phyllis Gordon, Don Costello, Harry Bellaver, William A. Poulsen, Muriel Hutchison, Marjorie Main, Abner Biberman, Dick Elliott (uncredited), Shemp Howard (uncredited), Carmen D’Antonio (uncredited), Miguel Fernández Mila (uncredited),

Studio: 
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director: 
W.S. Van Dyke

Plot:
Nick (Powell) and Nora (Loy) Charles return to New York after a vacation with their dog Asta and their one-year-old baby Nickie, Jr. (Poulsen). An old family friend, Colonel MacFay (Smith) calls them to his home, because he believes there is a threat on his life as he receives threats. When he is killed, Nick and Nora investigate the murder. Suspects include the Colonel’s adopted daughter (Grey), a strange nurse (Hussey), the daughter’s boyfriend (Neal) and the person sending threats to the Colonel, Phil Church (Leonard).

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Watching 1939: On Borrowed Time (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult. 

1939 film: 
On Borrowed Time (1939)

Release date: 
July 6, 1939

Cast: 
Lionel Barrymore, Cedric Hardwicke, Beulah Bondi, Bobs Watson, Una Merkel, Nat Pendleton, Henry Travers, Grant Mitchell, Eily Malyon, James Burke, Ian Wolfe, Phillip Terry, Sonny Bupp (uncredited)

Studio: 
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director: 
Harold S. Bucquet

Plot:
When Pud’s (Watson) parents die, he goes to live with his grandparents Julian Northrup (Barrymore) and Granny Nellie (Bondi). Because of Pud’s inheritance, his aunt Demetria (Malyon) tries to adopt Pud using his grandfather’s bad influence as an excuse. When Death, named Mr. Brink (Hardwicke), visits to take Gramps, Gramps traps Death in a tree so he can stay with Pud and keep him away from Aunt Demetria.

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Olympics to Hollywood: Nat Pendleton

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Nat Pendleton in 1935.

Nat Pendleton in 1935.

This November 2013 post was minimally edited on Aug. 2, 2016, for a series on Olympians who went on to be actors. This series coincides with the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.

Whether he was an affable lug or a dangerous mobster, the face of the dark-haired 6 foot character actor is one film fans recognized in the 1930s and 1940s.

Character actor Nat Pendleton acted in uncredited and supporting roles from 1926 to 1947.

But before Pendleton performed as Sandow the Great in the biographical film “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936), he was flexing his muscles for different reasons.

Pendleton’s fame originally came in the form of an Olympic silver medal in the super heavyweight freestyle wrestling division at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. That year, the United States won 41 gold, 27 silver and 27 bronze medals — winning the most medals by any of the 29 nations attending. Born in Davenport, Iowa, Pendleton was Iowa’s first Olympic medal winner, according to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

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