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George Montgomery
Acting
Biography
George Montgomery was boxing champion at the University of Montana, where he majored in architecture and interior design. Dropping out a year later, he decided to take up boxing more seriously, and moved to California, where he was coached by ex-heavyweight world champion James J. Jeffries. While in Hollywood, he came to the attention of the studios (not least, because he was an expert rider) and was hired as a stuntman in 1935. After doing this for four years, George was offered a contract at 20th Century Fox in 1939, but found himself largely confined to leads in B-westerns. He did not secure a part in anything even remotely like a prestige picture, until his co-starring role in Roxie Hart…
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George Montgomery was boxing champion at the University of Montana, where he majored in architecture and interior design. Dropping out a year later, he decided to take up boxing more seriously, and moved to California, where he was coached by ex-heavyweight world champion James J. Jeffries. While in Hollywood, he came to the attention of the studios (not least, because he was an expert rider) and was hired as a stuntman in 1935. After doing this for four years, George was offered a contract at 20th Century Fox in 1939, but found himself largely confined to leads in B-westerns. He did not secure a part in anything even remotely like a prestige picture, until his co-starring role in Roxie Hart (1942), opposite Ginger Rogers. Next, in Orchestra Wives (1942), he played the perfunctory love interest for Ann Rutherford -- though both, inevitably, ended up playing second trombone to Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. In 1947, George got his first serious break, being cast as Raymond Chandler's private eye Philip Marlowe, in The Brasher Doubloon (1947). Reviewers, however, compared his performance unfavourably with that of Humphrey Bogart and found the film 'pallid' overall. So it was back to the saddle for George. Unable to shake his image as a cowboy actor, he starred in scores of films with titles like Belle Starr's Daughter (1948), Dakota Lil (1950), Jack McCall Desperado (1953) and Masterson of Kansas (1954) at Columbia, and for producer Edward Small at United Artists. When not cleaning up the Wild West with his six-shooter, he branched out into adventure films set in exotic locales (notably as Harry Quartermain in Watusi (1959)). During the 60's, he also wrote, directed and starred in several long-forgotten, low-budget wartime potboilers made in the Philippines. At the height of his popularity, George attracted as much publicity for his acting, as for his liaisons with glamorous stars, like Ginger Rogers, Hedy Lamarr (to whom he was briefly engaged) and singer Dinah Shore (whom he married in 1943). After his retirement from the film business, he devoted himself to his love of painting, furniture-making and sculpting bronze busts, including one of his close friend Ronald Reagan.
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BODY OF WORK
George Montgomery's Filmography
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Ransom
as Inspector Marks
Wild Wind
as Major Nestorovic
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
as Self
The Daredevil
as Paul Tunney
Satan's Harvest
as Cutter Murdock
Ride the Tiger
Strangers at Sunrise
as Grant Merrick
Warkill
as Col. John Hannegan
Bomb at 10:10
as Steve Corbett / Stiv Korbet
Hostile Guns
as Gid McCool
Hallucination Generation
as Eric
Battle of the Bulge
as Sgt. Duquesne
Django the Condemned
as Pat O'Brien
Guerillas in Pink Lace
as Murphy
Hell of Borneo
as John Dirkson
Samar
as Dr. John David Saunders
The Steel Claw
as Capt. John Larsen
King of the Wild Stallions
as Randy Burke
Watusi
as Harry Quartermain
Badman's Country
as Pat Garrett
The Toughest Gun in Tombstone
as Capt. Matt Sloane
Man from God's Country
as Dan Beattie
Black Patch
as Clay Morgan
Pawnee
as Paul 'Pale Arrow' Fletcher
Street of Sinners
as John Dean
Gun Duel in Durango
as Will Sabre
Last of the Badmen
as Dan Barton
Huk!
as Greg Dickson
Canyon River
as Steve Patrick
Claire
as Dr. Stanley Wayne
Robbers' Roost
as Jim 'Tex' Wall
Seminole Uprising
as Cam Elliott
Masterson of Kansas
as Bat Masterson
Battle of Rogue River
as Maj. Frank Archer
The Lone Gun
as Cruze
Gun Belt
as Billy Ringo
Fort Ti
as Capt. Jed Horn
Jack McCall, Desperado
as Jack McCall
The Pathfinder
as Pathfinder
Cripple Creek
as Bret Ivers / Iverson
Indian Uprising
as Capt. Chase McCloud
The Texas Rangers
as Johnny Carver
The Sword of Monte Cristo
as Captain Renault
The Iroquois Trail
as Nat Cutler / Hawkeye
Dakota Lil
as Tom Horn / Steve Garrett
Davy Crockett, Indian Scout
as Davy Crockett
Belle Starr's Daughter
as Marshal Tom Jackson
The Girl from Manhattan
as Rev. Tom Walker
Lulu Belle
as George Davis
The Brasher Doubloon
as Philip Marlowe
Three Little Girls in Blue
as Van Damm Smith
Take It or Leave It
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
No Poster
Troop Carrier Airplanes: Cockpit Procedure
as Lt. Warren
Bomber's Moon
as Capt. Jeffrey Dakin
Coney Island
as Eddie Johnson
China Girl
as Johnny Williams
Orchestra Wives
as Bill Abbot
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
as Joe Dawson
Roxie Hart
as Homer Howard
Cadet Girl
as Tex Mallory
Riders of the Purple Sage
as Lassiter
Last of the Duanes
as Buck Duane
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
as Self
Accent on Love
as John Worth Hyndman
The Cowboy and the Blonde
as Lank Garrett
Jennie
as Franz Schermer
Charter Pilot
as Charlie Crane
Young People
as Mike Shea
Hi-Yo Silver
as Jim Clark
Star Dust
as Ronnie
The Cisco Kid and the Lady
as Tommy Bates
South of the Border
as Bandit
Saga of Death Valley
as Henchman
The Arizona Kid
as Soldier
In Old Monterey
as Soldier
Wall Street Cowboy
as Cowhand
In Old Caliente
as Henchman
S.O.S Tidal Wave
The Night Riders
as Mob Member
Frontier Pony Express
as Lieutenant Harris
Southward Ho!
Rough Riders' Round-up
as Patrolman Joe
The Mysterious Miss X
as Policeman
Army Girl
as Soldier
The Lone Ranger
as Jim Clark
Springtime in the Rockies
as Cowhand at Dance (uncredited)