Eduardo Ciannelli

(aka Edward Ciannelli)
August 30, 1889 - October 8, 1969
Born in Ischia, Italy

See Internet Movie Database Filmography

A Lot of Favorite Memories of Eduardo Ciannelli

• As "Maurice Stern" in The Scoundrel (1935), written, produced and directed collaboratively by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Starring Noel Coward as a ruthless, unlovable publisher who is killed in a plane crash, and whose restless ghost can't find peace until someone mourns for him. With Julie Haydon, Stanley Ridges, Ernest Cossart, Lionel Stander, Harry Davenport and Alexander Woollcott.
  
  
• As gangster "Trock Estrella," who gets away with having another man executed for his crime until the innocent man's son starts digging around in Winterset (1936), based on a play by Maxwell Anderson, and directed by Alfred Santell. Starring Burgess Meredith (the son), Margo, John Carradine (the executed father), Maurice Moscovitch, Paul Guilfoyle, Edward Ellis, Stanley Ridges, Mischa Auer, Willard Robertson, Myron McCormick, Paul Fix and Lucille Ball.
  
  
• As another ruthless gangster, "Johnny Vanning," getting away with murder until the D.A. convinces one of his victims to testify against him in Marked Woman (1937), directed by Lloyd Bacon and (uncredited) Michael Curtiz. Starring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, with Lola Lane, Isabel Jewel, Mayo Methot, Allen Jenkins, John Litel, Ben Welden, Henry O'Neill, Raymond Hatton, Kenneth Harlan, Robert Strange, Jack Norton, Ralph Dunn, Frank Faylen, John Harron, Theodore Lorch, Guy Usher, Emmett Vogan and Pierre Watkin.
  
  
• As "Paul Chapin," a bitter man crippled by a college prank, lead suspect in the murder of his guilty classmates in The League of Frightened Men (1937), directed by Alfred E. Green. From a screenplay by Guy Endore and Eugene Solow, based on the novel by Rex Stout. Starring Walter Connolly as private investigator Nero Wolfe, and Lionel Stander as his assistant Archie Goodwin. With Irene Hervey, Victor Kilian, Walter Kingsford, Leonard Mudie, Rafaela Ottiano, Ian Wolfe, Jonathan Hale, James Flavin and Clara Blandick.
  
  
• As house-of-horrors showman "Professor Herman," who writes poison-pen letters threatening to kill bad actors in the comedy-mystery Super-Sleuth (1937), directed by Benjamin Stoloff. Starring Jack Oakie as the dim-witted titular movie detective, with Ann Sothern, Edgar Kennedy, Joan Woodbury, Bradley Page, Paul Guilfoyle, Richard Lane, Willie Best, Paul Hurst, Fred Kelsey, Robert Emmett O'Connor and John George.
  
  
• As the fanatical guru who sacrifices his own life to incite his murderous thugee cult against the British Army in Gunga Din (1939), directed by George Stevens, based on the poem by Rudyard Kipling. The fanatic's selfless zeal is no match for three fun-loving sergeants, not to mention a better Man than we are, Gunga Din. Starring Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as the soldier heroes, and Sam Jaffe as Din. With Joan Fontaine, Montagu Love, Robert Coote, Abner Biberman, Lumsden Hare, Cecil Kellaway, Reginald Sheffield (Kiping) and Roland Varno.
  
  
• As villainous "Henri Armides" in the series mystery Bulldog Drummond's Bride (1939), directed by James P. Hogan. Starring John Howard as Drummond, Heather Angel, H.B. Warner, Reginald Denny and E.E. Clive. With Elizabeth Patterson, Gerald Hamer, John Sutton, Neil Fitzgerald and Adia Kuznetzoff.
  
  
• As mob boss "Alfred Martino," corrupting not-so-tender youths in The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939), directed by Ray Enright. Starring Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan and the "Dead End Kids" (Billy Halop, Bernard Punsly, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell and Bobby Jordan). With Bonita Granville, Frankie Thomas, Henry O'Neill, Berton Churchill, Margaret Hamilton, Marjorie Main, Cy Kendall, Grady Sutton, Robert Strange, Egon Brecher, John Hamilton, Frank Coghlan Jr., John Harron and Charles Trowbridge.
  
  
• As "Mr. Krug," one of the more sinister enemy agents in the WWII-era espionage thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940), Starring Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall and George Sanders, with fine support from Albert Bassermann, Robert Benchley, Edmund Gwenn, Harry Davenport, Martin Kosleck, Ian Wolfe, Charles Halton, Barbara Pepper, Marten Lamont, Holmes Herbert, Leonard Mudie, E.E. Clive, Gino Corrado, Elspeth Dudgeon, James Finlayson, John George, Alexander Granach, Eily Malyon and Alfred Hitchcock (man with newspaper on street).
  
  
• As the dying "High Priest of Karnak," first in a long cinematic line of tana leaf theologians, in Universal's first of four "Kharis the Mummy" films, The Mummy's Hand (1940). Directed by Christy Cabanne, from a screenplay by Griffin Jay and Maxwell Shane based on Jay's story. Eduardo's character has only got minutes to live when we meet him, but he manages to turn the job over to his successor before he expires — even the tricky stuff about brewing the tea for Kharis. Starring Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, Wallace Ford, George Zucco (as Professor Andoheb, the next High Priest) and Cecil Kellaway. With Tom Tyler (as Kharis), Charles Trowbridge, Sig Arno, Michael Mark and Leon Belasco.
  
  
• As the unforgettable title villain in Republic's classic cliffhanger The Mysterious Dr. Satan (1940), pitting his naked visage (no disguise, just a simple business suit) and his diabolical science projects (especially the robot that looks like a water heater) against the low-maintenance heroics of "The Copperhead," who keeps his disguise (a metal-mesh mask) in his pocket. Absolutely preposterous, but great fun with real thrills. Directed by William Witney and John English. Co-starring Robert Wilcox (as Bob Wayne, alias The Copperhead, with William Newell, C. Montague Shaw, Ella Neal, Charles Trowbridge, Jack Mulhall, Edwin Stanley, Walter McGrail, Bud Geary, Ken Terrell, Yakima Canutt, Tristram Coffin, Kenneth Harlan, Marten Lamont, Eddie Parker, David Sharpe, Tom Steele, Bud Wolfe and Bill Yrigoyen.
  
  
• As "Count Brett," one of the usual suspects in the series mystery Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941). Written by "Ellery Queen" (Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee) with Eric Taylor, and directed by James P. Hogan. Starring Ralph Bellamy as private investigator Ellery Queen, Charles Grapewin as his father Inspector Queen, and Margaret Lindsay. With Anna May Wong, James Burke, Frank Albertson, Ann Doran, Noel Madison, Charles Lane, Russell Hicks, Tom Dugan, Mantan Moreland, Theodore von Eltz, Chester Gan and Richard Loo.
  
  
• As "Felix Lynx," head of the enemy agents trying to steal America's new fighter plane in Universal's aviation-action serial Sky Raiders (1941), directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor. Starring Donald Woods, Billy Halop, Robert Armstrong and Kathryn Adams, with soaring support from Bill Cody Jr., Jacqueline Dalya, Jean Fenwick, Reed Hadley, Roy Barcroft, Tristram Coffin, Pat O'Malley, Stanley Price, Tom Steele, Stanley Blystone, Ed Cassidy, Lane Chandler, William Desmond, Kenneth Harlan, Jack Perrin, Walter Sande and Ken Terrell. Stunts by Dave O'Brien, Tom Steele and Ken Terrell.
  
  
• As "Kurt von Heuger," a nasty Nazi Gestapo chief suspected of being an even more treacherous enemy agent, "The Black Hangman," in Universal's high-flying cliffhanger Adventures of the Flying Cadets (1943), directed by Lewis D. Collins and Ray Taylor. Starring Johnny Downs, Bobby Jordan, Robert Wood, and Billy Benedict as the Cadets, with Robert Armstrong, Regis Toomey, Charles Trowbridge, Joseph Crehan, Addison Richards, Leyland Hodgson, Ian Keith, Selmer Jackson, Jennifer Holt, William Forrest, Kenneth Harlan, Kermit Maynard, John Merton, Bud Osborne, Jack Perrin, Stanley Price and Gene Roth.
  
  
• As "Nick Petroni" in the series mystery Crime Doctor's Warning (1945), based on a radio show, and directed by William Castle. Warner Baxter as Dr. Robert Ordway, with John Litel, Dusty Anderson, Miles Mander, John Abbott, Alma Kruger and J.M. Kerrigan.
  
  
• As "Jacques Antoine" in PRC's swashbuckling box-office success, The Wife of Monte Cristo (1946), directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Starring Lénore Aubert as Countess of Monte Cristo Haydee, John Loder as the villainous Prefect of Police De Villefort, and Martin Kosleck in a rare heroic role as Edmund Dantes, the Count of Monte Cristo. With Charles Dingle, Fritz Kortner, Fritz Feld, Eva Gabor, Anthony Warde, Crane Whitley, Egon Brecher, Francis Ford and Virginia Christine.
  
  
• As "Florini," a mobster muscling in on a legitimate boxing manager's business in the first feature in Monogram's prizefighting series, Joe Palooka, Champ (1946). Directed by Reginald Le Borg, based on Ham Fisher's newspaper comic strip. Starring Leon Errol as Knobby Walsh, Joe Kirkwood Jr.as Palooka, and Elyse Knox as Anne Howe. With Joe Sawyer, Elisha Cook Jr., Warren Hymer, Robert Kent, Sam McDaniel, Sarah Padden, Dave Willock, J. Farrell MacDonald, Carol Hughes, Emmett Vogan, Michael Mark (Pop Palooka), and cameos by heavyweight champion Joe Louis and other fighters.
  
  
• As "Cargan," creepy caretaker of a sinister lodge full of crimes and suspicious characters, in Seven Keys to Baldpate (1947), based on a novel by "Charlie Chan" creator Earl Der Biggers, and directed by Lew Landers. Starring Phillip Terry and Jacqueline White, with Margaret Lindsay, Arthur Shields, Jimmy Conlin, Tom Keene, Jason Robards Sr., Robert Bray and Pierre Watkin.
  
  
• As "Maurice Duval" in another of the mystery series, Crime Doctor's Gamble (1947), directed by William Castle. Starring Warner Baxter, with Marcel Journet, Micheline Cheirel, Roger Dann, Maurice Marsac, Steven Geray, Henri Letondal, Emory Parnell and Alphonse Martell.
  
  
• As the mad scientist "Dr. Van Glock" in a horror whodunit about a serum that turns a man into a cat-like killer, The Creeper (1948), directed by Jean Yarbrough. Co-starring Onslow Stevens and Ralph Morgan, with June Vincent, Janis Wilson, John Baragrey, Richard Lane, Philip Ahn, Lotte Stein and Ralph Peters.
  
  
• Starring in "The Fall of the House of Usher" episode of the TV series Matinee Theater (August 6, 1956).
  
  
• As "Dr. Crespi," one of a party of jungle explorers captured by a tribe of women who want to use them as Love Slaves of the Amazon (1957), written and directed by Curt Siodmak. With Don Taylor, Gianna Segale, Harvey Chalk, Wilson Viana, Eugenio Carlos, Tom Payne, Gilda Nery, Ana Maria Nabuco as the Amazon Queen.
  
  
• As "Eduardo D'Alessio" in the "Nightmare" episode of the TV series Panic! (August 16, 1957).
  
  
• As "Mahri," jungle guide for a scientific expedition investigating giant killer wasps created by radiation, in the low-budget horror Monster from Green Hell (1958), directed by Kenneth G. Crane. With Jim Davis, Robert Griffin, Joel Fluellen, Barbara Turner, Vladimir Sokoloff , Tim Huntley and LaVerne Jones.
  
  
• As "Waldo," owner of the Greenwich Village club frequented by hipster pianist-gumshoe Johnny Staccato, a jazz-themed TV detective show starring John Cassavetes and Bert Freed (1959-60).
  
  
• In two episodes of the TV mystery-horror anthology series Thriller hosted by Boris Karloff:
  
  
  • As the "Inspector" in "Man in a Cage" (January 17, 1961)
    
    
  • As "General De La Varra" in "The Bride Who Died Twice" (March 19, 1962)
  
  
• In two episodes of the TV mystery anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, hosted by Hitchcock:
  
  
  • As the "Priest" in "Strange Miracle" (February 13, 1962)
    
    
  • As "Mr. Marino" in "The Test" (February 20, 1962)
  
  
• As "Carlo Farenti" in "The Children's Day Affair" episode of the TV spy series Man from U.N.C.L.E. (December 10, 1965). Starring Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, and Leo G. Carroll.
  
  
• As mobster "Arturo 'Fingers' Stilletto" in a comedy-thriller feature film based on the TV series "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," The Spy in the Green Hat (1966) directed by Henry W. George and Joseph Sargent. Starring Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Jack Palance, Janet Leigh and Leo G. Carroll, with Allen Jenkins, Jack La Rue, Will Kuluva, Joan Blondell, Letícia Román, Ludwig Donath, Frank Puglia, Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, Vince Barnett and Elisha Cook Jr.
  
  
• As "Jack Rycher" in the two-part episode "The Council" of the TV spy show "Mission: Impossible" (November 19 and 26, 1966), directed by Paul Stanley. Starring Peter Graves, Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris and Peter Lupus, with Vincent Gardenia, Nicholas Colasanto, Vic Perrin, Joan Staley and Nelson Olmsted. Later released as the first feature film based on the series, Mission Impossible Versus the Mob (1968).
  
  
• As "Galba" in "The Ghost of Nero" episode of the TV sci-fi / fantasy series The Time Tunnel (January 20, 1967).
  
  
• As "Prairie Dog," the dying Indian whose treasure map leads to lots of trouble and adventure in the star-packed, sprawling epic western Mackenna's Gold (1969), directed by J. Lee Thompson. Starring Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif and Camilla Sparv, with Telly Savalas, Keenan Wynn, Julie Newmar, Ted Cassidy, Lee J. Cobb, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Anthony Quayle, Edward G. Robinson, Eli Wallach, Trevor Bardette and the voice of Victor Jory narrating.

Last revised May 9 2021 by George "E-gor" Chastain.

Maintained by George "E-gor" Chastain (e-mail: egorschamber@gmail.com)