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Leo F. Forbstein is a Actor and Sound American born on 16 october 1892 at St. Louis (USA)

Leo F. Forbstein

Leo F. Forbstein
Leo F. Forbstein participated to 297 films (as actor, director or script writer).
Among those, 21 have good markets following the box office.

Here are the best films classified by number of entries :

Sound

A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2h13
Directed by William Dieterle, Max Reinhardt
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Théâtre, Les fées, Films based on plays, Films based on works by William Shakespeare
Actors Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Dick Powell, Mickey Rooney, Hobart Cavanaugh, Olivia de Havilland
Roles Music Director
Rating67% 3.396763.396763.396763.396763.39676
Part one A beautiful young woman named Hermia (Olivia de Havilland) is in love with Lysander (Dick Powell) and wishes to marry him. Her father Egeus (Grant Mitchell), however, has instructed her to marry Demetrius (Ross Alexander), whom he has chosen for her. When Hermia refuses to obey, stating she is in love with Lysander, her father invokes before Duke Theseus of Athens (Ian Hunter) an ancient Athenian law that states a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by her father, or else face death. Theseus offers her another choice—to live a life of chastity as a nun and worship the goddess Diana.
Sergeant York, 2h14
Directed by Don Siegel, Howard Hawks
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Biography, Action, Historical, Romance
Themes Political films
Actors Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie, George Tobias, Stanley Ridges, Margaret Wycherly
Roles Music Director
Rating76% 3.846883.846883.846883.846883.84688
Alvin York (Gary Cooper), a poor young Tennessee hillbilly, is an exceptional marksman, but a ne'er-do-well prone to drinking and fighting, which does not make things any easier for his patient mother (Margaret Wycherly). He changes when he meets Gracie Williams (Joan Leslie), and works night and day to buy a good farm so she'll marry him. When he's cheated out of it at the last minute, he returns to his dissolute ways.
Casablanca
Casablanca (1943)
, 1h42
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Crime, Melodrama, Romance
Themes Films set in Africa, Political films, Films based on plays
Actors Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet
Roles Music Director
Rating84% 4.248654.248654.248654.248654.24865
Set in December, 1941, American expatriate Rick Blaine is the proprietor of an upscale nightclub and gambling den in Casablanca. "Rick's Café Américain" attracts a varied clientele: Vichy French, Italian, and German officials; refugees desperate to reach the still neutral United States; and those who prey on them. Although Rick professes to be neutral in all matters, it is later revealed he ran guns to Ethiopia during its war with Italy and fought on the Loyalist side against the fascist Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.
Mildred Pierce, 1h51
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Noir, Crime, Romance
Actors Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Ann Blyth, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Moroni Olsen
Roles Music Director
Rating78% 3.947493.947493.947493.947493.94749
While the novel is told by a third-person narrator in strict chronological order, the film uses voice-over narration (the voice of Mildred). The story is framed by Mildred's interrogation by police after they discover the body of her second husband, Monte Beragon. The film, in noir fashion, opens with Beragon (Zachary Scott) having been shot. He murmurs the name "Mildred" before he dies. The police tell Mildred (Joan Crawford) that they believe the murderer is her first husband, Bert Pierce (Bruce Bennett). Bert has already been interrogated, and confessed to the crime. Mildred protests that he is too kind and gentle to commit murder, and goes on to relate her life story in flashback.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 2h6
Directed by John Huston
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Western
Themes Films about capital punishment, L'Or
Actors Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett, Barton MacLane, Alfonso Bedoya
Roles Music Director
Rating81% 4.098974.098974.098974.098974.09897
In 1925 in the Mexican oil-town of Tampico, Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) and Curtin (Tim Holt), two Americans cheated out of promised wages and down on their luck, meet old prospector Howard (Walter Huston). When one of them wins a small jackpot in the lottery, they have the bankroll to finance a gold prospecting journey to the remote Sierra Madre mountains.
The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1h42
Directed by Michael Curtiz, William Keighley
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Swashbuckler, Action, Adventure, Historical, Romance
Themes Political films, Films about royalty
Actors Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette
Roles Music Director
Rating78% 3.947073.947073.947073.947073.94707
In 1191, Richard the Lionheart (Ian Hunter), the King of England, is taken captive by Leopold V, Duke of Austria while returning from the Third Crusade. Richard’s treacherous brother Prince John (Claude Rains) usurps the throne and proceeds to oppress the Saxons, raising taxes supposedly to pay Richard's ransom, but in reality to secure his own position.
Romance on the High Seas, 1h39
Directed by Michael Curtiz, Busby Berkeley
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, Doris Day, Oscar Levant, S.Z. Sakall
Roles Music Director
Rating69% 3.4959553.4959553.4959553.4959553.495955
Elvira Kent (Janis Paige) and her husband Michael (Don DeFore) suspect each other of cheating. For their wedding anniversary, Elvira books an ocean cruise to Rio de Janeiro but her husband claims that unexpected business will prevent him from going. Seeing an opportunity, Elvira pretends to take the trip alone, but in fact sends singer Georgia Garrett (Doris Day), a woman she'd met at the travel agency, in her place and under her name. By secretly staying behind, Elvira hopes to find out if Michael is indeed sneaking around behind her back. Michael, however, is suspicious over Elvira's supposed willingness to go on the trip alone, and so hires private detective Peter Virgil (Jack Carson) to see if she is sneaking around behind his back.
Gold Diggers of 1933, 1h36
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, Busby Berkeley
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers
Roles Conductor
Rating76% 3.844653.844653.844653.844653.84465
The "gold diggers" are four aspiring actresses: Polly the ingenue (Ruby Keeler), Carol the torch singer (Joan Blondell), Trixie the comedienne (Aline MacMahon), and Fay the glamour puss (Ginger Rogers).
42nd Street, 1h29
Directed by Busby Berkeley, Lloyd Bacon
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, Ruby Keeler, George Brent, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers
Roles Conductor
Rating72% 3.6463853.6463853.6463853.6463853.646385
It is 1932, the depth of the Depression, and noted Broadway producers Jones (Robert McWade) and Barry (Ned Sparks) are putting on Pretty Lady, a musical starring Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels). She is involved with wealthy Abner Dillon (Guy Kibbee), the show's "angel" (financial backer), but while she is busy keeping him both hooked and at arm's length, she is secretly seeing her old vaudeville partner, out-of-work Pat Denning (George Brent).
Meet John Doe, 2h2
Directed by Frank Capra
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Films about writers, Films about journalists
Actors Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan, Spring Byington, James Gleason
Roles Music Director
Rating75% 3.796623.796623.796623.796623.79662
Infuriated at being told to write one final column after being laid off from her newspaper job, Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) prints a letter from a fictional unemployed "John Doe" threatening suicide on Christmas Eve in protest of society's ills. When the letter causes a sensation among readers, and the paper's competition suspects a fraud and starts to investigate, editor Henry Connell (James Gleason) is persuaded to rehire Mitchell, who schemes to boost the newspaper's sales by exploiting the fictional John Doe. From a number of derelicts who show up at the paper claiming to have written the original letter, Mitchell and Connell hire John Willoughby (Gary Cooper), a former baseball player and tramp in need of money to repair his injured arm (by Bonesetter Brown), to play the role of John Doe. Mitchell starts to pen a series of articles in Doe's name, elaborating on the original letter's ideas of society's disregard for people in need.
The Great Lie, 1h48
Directed by Edmund Goulding
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Melodrama, Romance
Actors Bette Davis, George Brent, Mary Astor, Lucile Watson, Hattie McDaniel, Jerome Cowan
Roles Music Director
Rating69% 3.4977353.4977353.4977353.4977353.497735
When concert pianist Sandra Kovak (Mary Astor) and her aviator husband Peter Van Allen (George Brent) discover their impulsive marriage is invalid because her divorce had not been finalized before they wed, he leaves her and marries his old flame Maggie Patterson (Bette Davis). Peter travels to Brazil on business and, when his aircraft goes missing, it is presumed it crashed in the jungle and he was killed.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, 1h33
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Crime
Themes Prison films, Évasion
Actors Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Helen Vinson, Preston Foster, Noel Francis, Allen Jenkins
Roles Original Music Composer
Rating81% 4.0959654.0959654.0959654.0959654.095965
Sergeant James Allen (Paul Muni) returns to civilian life after World War I but his war experience makes him restless. His family feels he should be grateful for a tedious job as an office clerk, and when he announces that he wants to become an engineer, they react with outrage. He leaves home to find work on any sort of project, but unskilled labor is plentiful and it's hard for him to find a job. Wandering and sinking into poverty, he accidentally becomes caught up in a robbery and is sentenced to ten years on a brutal Southern chain gang.
The Story of Louis Pasteur, 1h27
Directed by William Dieterle, Irving Rapper
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Historical
Themes Medical-themed films
Actors Paul Muni, Josephine Hutchinson, Anita Louise, Donald Woods, Fritz Leiber, Akim Tamiroff
Roles Music Director
Rating72% 3.644483.644483.644483.644483.64448
In nineteenth century chemist Louis Pasteur (Paul Muni) believes that diseases are caused by unseen microbes. His radical theory is dismissed by most doctors, particularly his most vocal critic, Dr. Charbonnet (Fritz Leiber, Sr.). Nonetheless, Pasteur carries on, with the assistance of a small group of loyal researchers, and finds a cure for anthrax. He also campaigns to have doctors wash their hands and sterilize their instruments before operating.
The Life of Emile Zola, 1h56
Directed by William Dieterle, Irving Rapper
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Comedy-drama, Historical
Themes Films about writers, Spy films, Seafaring films, Prison films, Films about racism, Films about religion, Transport films, Films about capital punishment, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Paul Muni, Gloria Holden, Gale Sondergaard, Joseph Schildkraut, Donald Crisp, Henry O'Neill
Roles Music Director
Rating71% 3.5949953.5949953.5949953.5949953.594995
Set in the mid through late 19th century, it depicts Zola's friendship with Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, and his rise to fame through his prolific writing, with particular focus on his involvement late in life in the Dreyfus affair.
Jezebel
Jezebel (1938)
, 1h44
Directed by William Wyler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Actors Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Crisp, Fay Bainter
Roles Music Director
Rating73% 3.696793.696793.696793.696793.69679
In 1852 New Orleans, spoiled, strong-willed belle Julie Marsden (Bette Davis) is engaged to banker Preston "Pres" Dillard (Henry Fonda). In retaliation for Pres refusing to drop his work and accompany her while she shops for a dress, she orders a brazen red one for the most important ball of the year, one where white dresses for unmarried women are expected. All of Julie's friends are shocked, but no one can convince her to give up her whim.