(30 September 1882, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania - 2 October 1956, Santa Monica, California)
Being
a big man with dark features, he was a natural for heavies. And it
seemed that early Westerns were an easy fit as well after his first
four films. Through 1924 and into 1925, he did four, culminating
with pay dirt in his appealing performance as rogue Jack Slade in
the James Cruze Western The Pony Express (1925). With him was
another up-and-coming character actor, Wallace Beery. Bancroft's
acting made Paramount Pictures take a look at him as star material.
His roles as tough guy took on more flesh into the later 1920s,
especially in association with director Josef von Sternberg and his
well-honed gangster films that started with Underworld (1927). Their
work culminated with Sternberg's Thunderbolt (1929) for which
Bancroft received an Oscar nomination.
Being
a big man with dark features, he was a natural for heavies. And it
seemed that early Westerns were an easy fit as well after his first
four films. Through 1924 and into 1925, he did four, culminating
with pay dirt in his appealing performance as rogue Jack Slade in
the James Cruze Western The Pony Express (1925). With him was
another up-and-coming character actor, Wallace Beery. Bancroft's
acting made Paramount Pictures take a look at him as star material.
His roles as tough guy took on more flesh into the later 1920s,
especially in association with director Josef von Sternberg and his
well-honed gangster films that started with Underworld (1927). Their
work culminated with Sternberg's Thunderbolt (1929) for which
Bancroft received an Oscar nomination.