Biography
Walter Abel (June 6, 1898 – March 26, 1987) was an American stage and film character actor. His eyes were brown and his (adult) height was five foot ten inches. Abel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Christine (née Becker) and Richard Michael Abel. Abel graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts where he had studied in 1917 and joined a touring company. He made his Broadway debut in Forbidden in 1919. His many theatre credits include As You Like It, Desire Under the Elms, Mo...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Grace Quigley
1985
as Homer Morrison
Grace Quigley is nearing the end of her life, living alone in her New York apartment. On the day she's being evicted, she witnesses a murder being com...

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival fo...

The American Woman: Portraits of Courage
1976
as Judge
Developed from Anne Grant's book, Our North American Foremothers, this film recreates historical moments and women who fought for equality and freedom...

The Man Without a Country
1973
as Col. A.B. Morgan
At his court-martial, an American Army officer renounces his country. For his punishment he is ordered to spend the rest of his life on a ship that sa...

Night of the Dark Full Moon
1972
as Mayor Adams
A man investigates the grisly crimes that occurred in a former insane asylum, unsettling the locals who all seem to have something to hide.

Mirage
1965
as Charles Stewart Calvin
In New York City, David Stillwell struggles to recover his memory before the people who are trying to kill him succeed. Who is he, who are they, and w...

The Human Duplicators
1965
as Dr. Munson
An alien is dispatched from a faraway galaxy to take over the Earth by "duplicating" humans and creating a race of zombies.
Israel: The Story of the Jewish People
1965
as Narrator
One of the first American film introductions to Israel, this vitally interesting country - both objective and thought-provoking. Philip Stapp's animat...

The Confession
1964
as The Thief
Madame Rinaldi, owner of a bordello, helps thief Mario Forni locate an ancient buried treasure.

Handle with Care
1958
as Prof. Roger Bowden
A law student working on a class project discovers a real-life crime.

Raintree County
1957
as T.D. Shawnessy
In 1859, idealist John Wickliff Shawnessey, a resident of Raintree County, Indiana, is distracted from his high school sweetheart Nell Gaither by Susa...

Bernardine
1957
as Mr. Beaumont
A teenager pines for (and sings about) his dream girl.

Color and Texture in Aluminum Finishes
1956
Film from the leading American producer of aluminum illustrating the versatility of the material in building and design. Color and Texture in Aluminum...

The Steel Jungle
1956
as Warden Bill Keller
The tale of a young bookie, married to a beautiful woman who goes to jail, and becomes involved with hoodlums.

The Indian Fighter
1955
as Captain Trask
A scout leading a wagon train through hostile Indian country gets involved with a Sioux chief's daughter.

Twelve Angry Men
1954
as Juror #4
Twelve Angry Men is a 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose for the Studio One anthology television series. Initially staged as a CBS live production on 20 S...

Night People
1954
as Maj. R.A. Foster
A US intelligence officer, stationed in Germany, is caught in a political dilemma when the Russians kidnap a young Army private, the son of prominent ...

Island in the Sky
1953
as Col. Fuller
A C-47 transport plane, named the Corsair, makes a forced landing in the frozen wastelands of Labrador, and the plane's pilot, Captain Dooley, must ke...

So This Is Love
1953
as Col. James Moore
Film biography of opera star Grace Moore, released in 1953.

That Lady in Ermine
1948
as Major Horvath / Benvenuto
Circa 1861, Angelina, ruling countess of an Italian principality, is at a loss when invaded by a Hungarian army. Her lookalike ancestress Francesca, w...

Dream Girl
1948
as George Allerton
A young woman spends much of her time fantasizing about what might be, but a realistic admirer tries to convince her to live the life she has.

Picture in Your Mind
1948
as Narrator
Sent by the U.S. government as a participant in the Marshall Plan with a specific mission to assist the French in re-gearing their animation studios, ...

Variety Girl
1947
as Walter Abel (uncredited)
Dozens of star and character-actor cameos and a message about the Variety Club (a show-business charity) are woven into a framework about two hopeful ...

The Fabulous Joe
1947
as Milo Terkel
Milo Terkel's life is never the same after he is willed a dog named Joe. Milo buys his wife a diamond necklace for their anniversary, but when he retu...

13 Rue Madeleine
1947
as Charles Gibson
Bob Sharkey, an instructor of would-be spies for the Allied Office of Strategic Services, becomes suspicious of one of the latest batch of students, B...

The Kid from Brooklyn
1946
as Gabby Sloan
Shy milkman Burleigh Sullivan accidentally knocks out drunken Speed McFarlane, a champion boxer who was flirting with Burleigh's sister. The newspaper...

Kiss and Tell
1945
as Harry Archer
Film adaptation of the Broadway hit, about the comic mayhem that erupts in a small town when a 15-year old high-schooler (Shirley Temple) is wrongly s...

Duffy's Tavern
1945
as Director
The staff of a record factory drown their sorrows at Duffy's Tavern, while the company owner faces threats of bankruptcy.

The Affairs of Susan
1945
as Richard Aiken
Susan is about to be married, but the wedding may get called off after her fiancé summons three former beaus. Each reveals a different portrait of Sus...

Mr. Skeffington
1944
as George Trellis
A beautiful but vain woman who rejects the love of her older husband must face the loss of her youth and beauty.

Follow the Boys
1944
as Walter Abel (uncredited)
During World War II, all the studios put out "all-star" vehicles which featured virtually every star on the lot--often playing themselves--in musical ...

The Hitler Gang
1944
as Narrator (voice)
The Hitler Gang adopts the style of a gangster film as it charts Adolf Hitler’s rise from small-time politico to dictator of Germany.

An American Romance
1944
as Howard Clinton
A European immigrant becomes a master of industry but almost loses his family.

So Proudly We Hail
1943
as Chaplain
During the start of the Pacific campaign in World War II, Lieutenant Janet Davidson is the head of a group of U.S. military nurses who are trapped beh...

The Last Will and Testament of Tom Smith
1943
as Jack, a Flyer, Opening Narrator
Tom Smith, an American pilot, is shot down and captured by the Japanese. While imprisoned and awaiting execution, he recalls his life at home in the U...

Fired Wife
1943
as Chris McClelland
A Broadway producer's Girl Friday must make sure that her recent marriage is kept secret. If it gets out, she will lose her job. Unfortunately, her ne...

Wake Island
1942
as Cmdr. Roberts
In late 1941, with no hope of relief or re-supply, a small band of United States Marines tries to keep the Japanese Navy from capturing their island b...

Beyond the Blue Horizon
1942
as Prof. Thornton
A young girl's parents are killed on a tropical island, and the girl is raised and protected by the jungle animals. When she is found, as a grown woma...

Star Spangled Rhythm
1942
as B.G. DeSoto
Pop, a security guard at Paramount has told his son that he's the head of the studio. When his son arrives in Hollywood on shore leave with his buddie...

Holiday Inn
1942
as Danny Reed
Lovely Linda Mason has crooner Jim Hardy head over heels, but suave stepper Ted Hanover wants her for his new dance partner after fickle Lila Dixon gi...

Glamour Boy
1941
as Anthony J. Colder
Former child star Jackie Cooper headlines this sentimental behind-the-scenes comedy drama. He plays an ex-child star who now jerks sodas for a living ...

Skylark
1941
as George Gore
As her fifth wedding anniversary approaches, a woman realizes that she is fed up with always coming in second to her husband's advertising business. J...

Hold Back the Dawn
1941
as Inspector Hammock
Romanian-French gigolo Georges Iscovescu wishes to enter the USA. Stopped in Mexico by the quota system, he decides to marry an American, then desert ...

Michael Shayne: Private Detective
1940
as Elliott Thomas
Millionaire sportsman Hiram Brighton hires gumshoe Michael Shayne to keep his spoiled daughter Phyllis away from racetrack betting windows and roulett...

Arise, My Love
1940
as Phillips
A dashing pilot and a vivacious reporter have romantic and dramatic adventures in Europe as World War II begins.

Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
1940
as Dr. George Benedict
When a much-despised matriarch is murdered, or apparently murdered, all of her relatives and "friends" fall under suspicion. Sheriff Gregory is the of...

Dance, Girl, Dance
1940
as Judge
Judy O'Brien is an aspiring ballerina in a dance troupe. Also in the company is Bubbles, a brash mantrap who leaves the struggling troupe for a career...

Miracle on Main Street
1939
as Jim Foreman
On Christmas Eve in the Spanish quarter of L.A. police try to arrest a couple running a shady floor show. Hiding in a church, the young woman finds an...
First Offenders
1939
as Gregory Stone
A crusading and reform-minded District Attorney gives up his position in order to open establish a farm that gives juvenile delinquents and first-offe...

King of the Turf
1939
as Robert Barnes
Mason is a former race-horse owner who gave up everything and started to drink after the death of one of his jockeys. One day he meets Goldie who has ...

Racket Busters
1938
as Hugh Allison
A trucker with a pregnant wife fights a New York mobster's protection racket.

Men with Wings
1938
as Nick Ranson
Reporter Nicholas Ranson is jubilant when, on 17 Dec 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright take their first airplane flight. ...

Law of the Underworld
1938
as Special Prosecutor Warren Rogers
A respected citizen with secret ties to the local mob is faced with revealing his criminal connections to save two innocent people from execution

Wise Girl
1937
as Karl
Snooty heiress decides to track down her dead sister's kids, who are living a Bohemian life with their uncle in Greenwich Village. Once she finds them...

Portia on Trial
1937
as Dan Foster
Lady lawyer Portia Merryman (Frieda Inescourt) defends woebegone Elizabeth Manners (Heather Angel), who is on trial for shooting her lover Earle Condo...

Green Light
1937
as John Stafford
A brilliant young surgeon takes the blame for a colleague when a botched surgery causes a patient's death and buries himself at a wilderness research ...

Second Wife
1936
as Kenneth Carpenter Sr.
Kenneth discovers that his son by his first wife is ill in a remote Swiss village, and is forced to leave Wife Number Two alone during childbirth.
We Went to College
1936
as Phil Talbot
Middle-aged couples try to reclaim their youth at a college homecoming.

Fury
1936
as District Attorney
Joe, who owns a gas station along with his brothers and is about to marry Katherine, travels to the small town where she lives to visit her, but is wr...

The Witness Chair
1936
as James Trent
Late one night, secretary Paula Young (Ann Harding) leaves the office of her boss, Stanley Whittaker (Douglas Dumbrille, locking the door and taking t...

The Lady Consents
1936
as Stanley Ashton
Civilized wife doesn't protest when husband runs off with uncivilized professional golfer pretending to be civilized.

Two in the Dark
1936
as Ford Adams
Ford Adams regains consciousness in Boston, bloody and suffering from amnesia. Information he eventually uncovers (with the help of Marie Smith) conne...

The Three Musketeers
1935
as D'Artagnan
The young Gascon D'Artagnan arrives in Paris, his heart set on joining the king's Musketeers. He is taken under the wings of three of the most respect...

Liliom
1930
as Carpenter
A carousel barker falls in love with a young woman. Both are fired from their jobs, and when the young woman becomes pregnant, the carousel barker tri...

The North Wind's Malice
1920
as Tom