Chester Morris

American actor Chester Morris (1901-1970) was a Broadway star who billed himself as 'the youngest leading man in the country'. With his dark, good looks and chiselled jaw, he became a film star in the sound era. Morris was Oscar-nominated for Alibi (1929), but his greatest success was The Big House (1930). However, his star dimmed and by the end of the decade, he was appearing in B-pictures, From 1941, the Boston Blackie series at Columbia Pictures revived his career. In all, he appeared in 14 films as a detective.


Dutch postcard by JosPe, no. 709. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.


Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 18. Photo: United Artists. Chester Morris and Yola d'Avril in Cock of the Air (Tom Buckingham, 1932).


Spanish postcard by Dümmatzen, no. 114. Photo: United Artists. Chester Morris in Corsair (Roland West, 1931).


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 1025.

The youngest leading man in the country

Chester Morris was born John Chester Brooks Morris in New York City, in 1901. He was the son of Broadway stage actor William Morris and comedienne Etta Hawkins. His siblings were screenwriter-actor Gordon Morris, actor Adrian Morris, and actress Wilhelmina Morris.  Another brother, Lloyd Morris, had died young.

Morris dropped out of school and began his Broadway career at 15 years old in the play 'The Copperhead' (1918), in support of the great Lionel Barrymore.

A year earlier, Chet Morris had made his film debut in the silent comedy-drama An Amateur Orphan (Van Dyke Brooke, 1917), but he didn't become a real film actor until the sound era. Instead, Morris appeared on Broadway in the plays 'Thunder' and 'The Mountain Man' in 1919.

He returned to the Great White Way in 1922 in the comedy 'The Exciters'. He followed it up with the comedy-drama 'Extra' in 1923. Now established, Chester Morris began billing himself as 'The youngest leading man in the country'.

In 1923, Morris joined his parents, sister, and two brothers, Gordon and Adrian, on the vaudeville circuit. They performed William Morris' original sketch called 'All the Horrors of Home', which premiered at the Palace Theatre, New York, then on the Keith-Orpheum circuit for two years, including Proctor's Theatre, Mount Vernon, New York, and culminating in Los Angeles in 1925. Morris returned to Broadway with roles in 'The Home Towners' (1926) and 'Yellow' (1927). While appearing in the 1927 play 'Crime', he was spotted by a talent agent and was signed to a film contract.


Dutch postcard. Chester Morris and Sally Eilers in She Couldn't Say No (Lloyd Bacon, 1930).


Spanish leaflet by Films Selectos, Suplemento Artistico, no. 134, 6.5.1933. Photo: United Artists. Billie Dove and Chester Morris in Cock of the Air (Tom Buckingham, 1932).


Vintage postcard. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Chester Morris in Thunder Afloat (George B. Seitz, 1939).


American collector card. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Chester Morris in Thunder Afloat (George B. Seitz, 1939).

A natural for movie stardom

Chester Morris' dark, good looks and chiselled jaw made him a natural for movie stardom. He appeared without credit in Cecil B. DeMille's The Road to Yesterday (1925), but it wasn't until the transition from silent pictures to talkies that he became a real film actor.

He was one of the first actors to be nominated for an Academy Award when in 1930 (the second year of the as-yet non-nicknamed Oscars) he was recognised with a nod as Best Actor for Alibi (Roland West, 1929) with Harry Stubbs and Mae Busch. It was his first talking picture. He followed with roles in Woman Trap (William A. Wellman, 1929) with Evelyn Brent, The Case of Sergeant Grischa (Herbert Brenon, 1930) and The Divorcee (Robert Z. Leonard, 1930), starring Norma Shearer.

The film for which he is best known is the archetype prison break picture The Big House (George W. Hill, Ward Wing, 1930), with Wallace Beery and Robert Montgomery. With his role as a convict in love, he broke through to stardom. From 1930 through the middle of the decade, he was a star with good roles in first-rate pictures, such as the comedy-drama Red-Headed Woman (Jack Conway, 1932) opposite Jean Harlow. He usually played tough guys.

However, his star dimmed and by the end of the decade, he was appearing in B-pictures. In 1941, the success of the crime comedy Meet Boston Blackie (Robert Florey, 1941) and the following 'Boston Blackie'film series at Columbia Pictures revived his career. In all, he appeared in 14 pictures as the criminal-turned-detective. He reprised the role of Boston Blackie for the radio series in 1944. He later segued to TV work in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in the occasional film such as his last one, The Great White Hope (Martin Ritt, 1970), starring James Earl Jones.

The film was released after his death. Chester Morris had been a working film actor for seven decades. Although he was afflicted with cancer, it is unclear whether he took his own life as he was apparently in good spirits and left no note in 1970. Morris was married twice. He first married Suzanne Kilbourne in 1926. They had two children, John Brooks and Cynthia. The couple divorced in 1939. In 1940, Morris married socialite Lillian Kenton Barker at the home of actor Frank Morgan. They had a son, Kenton, born in 1944. The couple remained married until Morris died in 1970.


British Art Photo postcard, no. 67. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures.


British postcard by Film Weekly. Photo: First National. Joan Blondell and Chester Morris in the pre-Code Gangster film Blondie Johnson (Ray Enright, 1933).


British postcard by Film Weekly. Photo: First National. Joan Blondell and Chester Morris in the pre-Code Gangster film Blondie Johnson (Ray Enright, 1933).


British postcard by Film Weekly. Photo: First National. Joan Blondell and Chester Morris in the pre-Code Gangster film Blondie Johnson (Ray Enright, 1933).

Sources: Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.