
James Dunn worked on the stage, in vaudeville and as an extra in silent movies before he was signed by Fox in 1931. His first movie with Fox was 1931's Sob Sister (1931). While at Fox, he appeared with Shirley Temple in her first three features: Baby Take a Bow (1934), Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) and Bright Eyes (1934). Dunn's screen character was usually the boy next door or the nice guy. In 1935 musicals at the new 20th Century-Fox were out and Dunn would move to the "B" list, from which he would never return. In The Payoff (1935) he plays the nice guy newspaper columnist whose wife ruins his career. By the late 1930s he was drinking heavily and become unemployable. He would appear in small roles in films during the early 1940s, but those parts were few. In 1945 he was able to make a comeback and win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), but his rejuvenated career would not continue. By 1951 he would again be unemployed and bankrupt. Television would later supply some work and he would be a regular on the series It's a Great Life (1954). Dunn was born 2 November 1901, New York City, New York, USA, and he died 1 September 1967, Santa Monica, California, USA (following abdominal surgery)

Over the Hill

The Wonderful World of Disney

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Rawhide

The Fugitive

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

Arizona to Broadway

Have a Heart

Wanted: Dead or Alive

輝く瞳

Branded

Shadow Over Elveron

Screen Director's Playhouse

General Electric Theater

バージニアン

Route 66

Change of Heart

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Killer McCoy

Society Girl

Living on Love

The Golden Gloves Story

Bad Girl

We Have Our Moments

Hello, Sister!

Going My Way

Baby Take a Bow

Ben Casey

Robert Montgomery Presents

Son of the Navy

裸の町

Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven

The Ghost and the Guest

Government Girl

Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man

That Brennan Girl

The Caribbean Mystery

Hold That Woman!

Sailor's Luck

Bad Boy

Studio One

Matinee Theater

The Investigators

Stand Up and Cheer!

The Payoff

The Oscar

Shadows Over Shanghai

The Bramble Bush

Hearts in Bondage

The Living Ghost

George White's 1935 Scandals

The Song Plugger

Jimmy and Sally

Take It or Leave It

The Girl in 419

Climax!

Leave It to the Irish

Welcome Home

Two-Fisted Gentleman

Mr. Broadway

365 Nights in Hollywood

Mysterious Crossing

The Daring Young Man

Hold That Girl

The Ninth Day

Dance Team

Come Closer, Folks

Handle with Care

Hollywood’s Children

Hold Me Tight

Sob Sister

Journey to the Day

The Great Adventure