Person Details

Birthday:

Aliases: James Cullen Landis , J. Cullen Landis

Gender: Male

Place of birth: Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 46

TV Involvements: 0


Most Famous Work

Biography

Cullen Landis (July 9, 1896 – August 26, 1975) was an American motion picture actor and director whose career began in the early ears of the silent film era. James Cullen Landis was the middle of three siblings (two sons and a daughter) raised by Lulan and Margaret (née Cullen) Landis in Nashville, Tennessee, where his father supported his family as a stock broker. As a boy, James was a train enthusiast and dreamed to be an railroad engineer. Though the ambition eventually faded, his interest in railroads did not, and some years later he helped design for himself a model train set powered by steam. He began working in the fledgling film industry at age 18 around the time his older sister, Margaret Landis, appeared in her first film. In 1928 Cullen Landis starred in the first ‘all talking’ motion picture, Lights of New York. He once confided in a friend that talkies were perfect for musicals and that he was no "song and dance man". He left Hollywood for Detroit in 1930 to produce and direct industrial films for automobile companies. Landis began as a movie director, only turning to acting after his lead player broke a leg and it was discovered that the actor’s costumes fit him. He went on to become one of the more popular lead actors of the silent era, appearing in some one hundred films over 14 years. During World War II, he served as a captain with US Army Signal Corps producing training films in the South Pacific. By war’s end he was twice decorated and promoted to major. In the post war years he made documentaries for the US State Department that took him to the far corners of the world. James Cullen Landis died on August 28, 1975, aged 79, at a nursing home in Bloomfield, Michigan, three months after the death of his wife, Jane. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Most Famous Work

Soul of the Beast
Average
6

Soul of the Beast

(1923) Paul Nadeau
With Davy Crockett at the Fall of the Alamo
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0
Remembrance
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0

Remembrance

(1922) Seth Smith
We're All Gamblers
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0

We're All Gamblers

(1927) Georgie McCarver
Lights of New York
Average
5

Lights of New York

(1928) Eddie Morgan
The Voice That Thrilled the World
Average
5

The Voice That Thrilled the World

(1943) Self (segment 'Lights of New York') (archive footage)
The Fighting Failure
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0

The Fighting Failure

(1926) Denny O'Brien
One Law for the Woman
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0

One Law for the Woman

(1924) Ben Martin

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
1943 Self (segment 'Lights of New York') (archive footage)
1930 Kenneth Avery
1928 Jules Barbier
Eddie Morgan
John Dubray
Pertio
Bud
1927 George Minafer
Georgie McCarver
N/A
1926 Denny O'Brien
Ed
Danny Grovan
Bob Hastings
Davy Crockett
'Sunrise' Smith
Herbert Brown
Gordon Kent
Coast Guard Captain Tom Norris
1925 David Henderson
Jerry Chandler
Doctor Phil
John Grayson
Ronald Steel
George Minafer
1924 Donald Dillingham
Jack Le Moyne
Ben Martin
Hart Henderson
Tom Rumford
1923 Harold Trevis
Chaser
Dick Halpin
Paul Nadeau
Jack Dale / Jack Plains
Cons Saunders
Alan Fair
Nathan Forge
1922 Oliver Newell
Tim O'Brien
Seth Smith
Peter Armitage
Elmer Slocum
N/A
1921 Jimmy
Max Hildreth
Young Man in Restaurant (uncredited)
Jim at 22-32
Pete Garth
Rab
1920 Stoddard
Bob DeWitt
1919 Slicker Evans
Jerry Wilson
Lemuel Stallings
Billy Lanyon / Tommy Oakhurst
Ned Caldwell (as J. Cullen Landis)
1918 The Boyfriend
Jack
Jack
Jack Random
1917 Tommy Hale
Thomas
Year Character Movie/Tv

Directing

Year Role Movie/Tv
1940 Director
1939 Director
Year Role Movie/Tv

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