Bruce Bennett
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- May 19, 1906
- Died
- February 24, 2007
- Birthplace
- Tacoma, Washington, USA
Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix) was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. His first career was as an athlete. At the University of Washington, where he majored in economics, he played football (tackle) in the 1926 Rose Bowl and was a track-and-field star. Two years later, he won the Silver medal for the shot put in the 1928 Olympic Games. Brix moved to Los Angeles in 1929 after being invited to compete for the Los Angeles Athletic Club and befriended actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who arranged a screen test for him at Paramount. In 1931, MGM, adapting author Edgar Rice Burroughs's popular Tarzan adventures for the screen, selected Brix to play the title character. Brix, however, broke his shoulder filming the 1931 football film Touchdown, so swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller replaced Brix and became a major star. After Ashton Dearholt convinced Burroughs to allow him to form Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises, Inc., and make a Tarzan serial film, Dearholt cast Brix in the lead. Pressbook copy has it that Burroughs made the choice himself, but, in fact, in his biography, Brix confirmed that Burroughs never even saw him until after the contract was signed, and then only briefly. The film was begun on location in Guatemala, under rugged conditions (jungle diseases and cash shortages were frequent). Brix did his own stunts, including a fall to rocky cliffs below. The Washington Post quoted Gabe Essoe's passage from his book Tarzan of the Movies: "Brix's portrayal was the only time between the silents and the 1960s that Tarzan was accurately depicted in films. He was mannered, cultured, soft-spoken, a well educated English lord who spoke several languages, and didn't grunt."[4] Brix shown in the opening credits of the serial The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935). Due to financial mismanagement, Dearholt had to complete filming of much of the serial back in Hollywood, and Brix, although his travel and daily living expenses in Guatemala were covered throughout the shoot, never received his contracted salary, along with the rest of the cast. The finished film, The New Adventures of Tarzan, was released in 1935 by Burroughs-Tarzan, and offered to theatres as a 12-chapter serial or a seven-reel feature. A second feature, Tarzan and the Green Goddess, was culled from the footage in 1938.
Filmography
Tarzan: Lord of the Movies 2017
as Tarzan (Archive Footage)
Discovering Treasure: The Story of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre' 2003
as James Cody (archive footage)
Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of Tarzan 1996
as Tarzan (archive footage)
Laat de dokter maar schuiven 1980
as John
The Clones 1973
as Clone Lab Assistant
Deadhead Miles 1972
as Johnny Mesquitero
Lassie: Well of Love 1970
as Bert Daniels
Torpedo of Doom 1966
as Lt. Frank Corley
The Outsider 1961
as Gen. Bridges
Fiend of Dope Island 1960
as Charlie Davis, Writer
The Alligator People 1959
as Dr. Eric Lorimer
The Cosmic Man 1959
as Dr. Karl Sorenson
Flaming Frontier 1958
as Capt. Jim Hewson
Ain't No Time for Glory 1957
as Lt. Col. Steven Granville
Three Violent People 1956
as Commissioner Harrison
Love Me Tender 1956
as Maj. Kincaid
Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer 1956
as Daniel Boone
The Three Outlaws 1956
as Charlie Trenton
The Bottom of the Bottle 1956
as Brand
Hidden Guns 1956
as Stragg
Robbers' Roost 1955
as 'Bull' Herrick
Strategic Air Command 1955
as Gen. Espy
The Big Tip Off 1955
as Bob Gilmore
Dragonfly Squadron 1954
as Dr. Stephen Cottrell
With This Ring 1954
as Frederick C. Miller
Dream Wife 1953
as Charlie Elkwood
Sudden Fear 1952
as Steve Kearney
Angels in the Outfield 1951
as Saul Hellman
The Last Outpost 1951
as Col. Jeb Britton
The Great Missouri Raid 1951
as Cole Younger
The Second Face 1950
as Paul Curtis
Shakedown 1950
as David Glover
Mystery Street 1950
as Dr. McAdoo
Undertow 1949
as Reckling
Without Honor 1949
as Fred Bandle
The Doctor and the Girl 1949
as Dr. Alfred Norton
The House Across the Street 1949
as Matthew J. Keever
The Younger Brothers 1949
as Jim Younger
To the Victor 1948
as Henderson
Smart Girls Don't Talk 1948
as Marty Fain
Silver River 1948
as Stanley Moore
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948
as James Cody
Dark Passage 1947
as Bob
Cheyenne 1947
as Ed Landers
Nora Prentiss 1947
as Dr. Joel Merriam
The Man I Love 1946
as San Thomas
A Stolen Life 1946
as Jack R. Talbot
Beer Barrel Polecats 1946
as Prison Guard (archive footage)
Danger Signal 1945
as Dr. Andrew Lang
Mildred Pierce 1945
as Albert 'Bert' Pierce
I'm from Arkansas 1944
as Bob Hamlin
U-Boat Prisoner 1944
as Archie Gibbs
There's Something About a Soldier 1943
as Frank Molloy
Sahara 1943
as Waco Hoyt
Frontier Fury 1943
as Clem Hawkins (uncredited)
The More the Merrier 1943
as FBI Agent Evans
Murder in Times Square 1943
as Supai George
Underground Agent 1942
as Lee Graham
Sabotage Squad 1942
as Lieutenant John Cronin
Atlantic Convoy 1942
as Capt. Morgan
Submarine Raider 1942
as 1st Office Russell
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp! 1942
as Tommy Lydel
Honolulu Lu 1941
as Skelly
Three Girls About Town 1941
as Reporter
The Officer and the Lady 1941
as Bob Conlon
Two Latins from Manhattan 1941
as Federal Agent
Dutiful But Dumb 1941
as Vulgarian Soldier in General's Office (uncredited)
So Long Mr. Chumps 1941
as Prison Guard / Truck Driver (uncredited)
The Phantom Submarine 1940
as Paul Sinclair
The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date 1940
as Scotty
West of Abilene 1940
as Frank Garfield
No Census, No Feeling 1940
as Football Player #20 (uncredited)
Glamour for Sale 1940
as Cop (uncredited)
The Spook Speaks 1940
as Mordini's former assistant
Before I Hang 1940
as Dr. Paul Ames
The Secret Seven 1940
as Patrick Norris
How High Is Up? 1940
as Workman with Leaky Lunchpail (uncredited)
Girls of the Road 1940
as Officer Sullavan
The Taming of the Snood 1940
as Detective
Babies for Sale 1940
as Policeman
Boobs in the Woods 1940
as Park Ranger (uncredited)
The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady 1940
as McManus
Escape to Glory 1940
as Ship's gunnery officer
Island of Doomed Men 1940
as Hazen - Guard (uncredited)
The Man from Tumbleweeds 1940
as Prison Warden
The Man with Nine Lives 1940
as State Trooper (uncredited)
Blazing Six Shooters 1940
as Geologist Winthrop
Hi-Yo Silver 1940
as Bert Rogers
The Heckler 1940
as Ole Margarine
Five Little Peppers at Home 1940
as Jim - King's Chauffeur
Convicted Woman 1940
as Reporter (uncredited)
Cafe Hostess 1940
as Budge
Invisible Stripes 1939
as Rich Man (uncredited)
My Son Is Guilty 1939
as Lefty
Blondie Brings Up Baby 1939
as Mason's Chauffeur (uncredited)
Five Little Peppers And How They Grew 1939
as Tom - King's Chauffeur
Daredevils of the Red Circle 1939
as Tiny Dawson
Hawk of the Wilderness 1938
as Lincoln Rand Jr / Kioga
Land of Fighting Men 1938
as Fred Mitchell
The Fighting Devil Dogs 1938
as Lieutenant Frank Corby
Tarzan and the Green Goddess 1938
as Tarzan
The Lone Ranger 1938
as Bert Rogers
Amateur Crook 1937
as Jimmy Baxter
Danger Patrol 1937
as Joe
Sky Racket 1937
as Eric Lane - Agent 17
Million Dollar Racket 1937
as Larry Duane
Flying Fists 1937
as Hal "Chopper' Donovan, aka Hal Smith
A Million to One 1936
as Johnny Kent
Silks and Saddles 1936
as Jimmy Shay
Two Minutes to Play 1936
as Martin Granville
Shadow of Chinatown 1936
as Martin Andrews
Shadow of Chinatown 1936
as Martin Andrews
The New Adventures of Tarzan 1935
as Tarzan
The New Adventures of Tarzan 1935
as Tarzan
Student Tour 1934
as Hercules
Death on the Diamond 1934
as Man on Ticket Line (uncredited)
Treasure Island 1934
as Man at Tavern (uncredited)
Riptide 1934
as Man at Cannes Bar (uncredited)
Meet the Baron 1933
as Train Passenger (uncredited)
College Humor 1933
as Student
Movie Crazy 1932
as Dinner Guest (Uncredited)
Million Dollar Legs 1932
as Klopstokian Athlete (uncredited)
Credits from TMDB.