8.0
8.0
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
1986
as Self as Don Rafael Brull (archive footage)
Ricardo Cortez
Acting
Born:September 17, 1900
Died:April 28, 1977(aged 76)
Birthplace:New York City, New York, USA
Nationality:United States
Education:DeWitt Clinton High School
N/A
CommunityBiography
Ricardo Cortez (September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American film actor who began his career during the silent film era. Born Jacob Krantz in New York City into a Jewish family, he worked on Wall Street in a broker's office and as a boxer before his looks got him into the film business. Hollywood executives changed his name to Cortez to appeal to film-goers as a "Latin lover" to compete with such highly popular actors of the era as Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro and Antonio Moreno. When rumour began to circulate that Cortez was not actually Spanish, the studios tried to pass him off as a different type of Latin, French, before they finally admitted his (supposedly) Viennese origin. Cortez appeared in over 100 films. He played opposite Joan Crawford in Montana Moon in 1930, played Sam Spade in the original The Maltese Falcon in 1931, co-starred with Charles Farrell and Bette Davis in The Big Shakedown and Wonder Bar (with Al Jolson and Dolores del Río) in 1934. He also played Perry Mason in the 1936 film The Case of the Black Cat. Although he began his career playing romantic leads with actresses like Greta Garbo, when sound cinema arrived, his powerful delivery and New York accent made him an ideal villain and conman, and he switched from sex symbol to character actor. Cortez was married to silent film actress Alma Rubens until her death of pneumonia in 1931. When he retired from the film business, Cortez went to work as a stockbroker for Solomon Brothers on New York's Wall Street. He died in New York City in 1977 and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx. He was the older brother of noted cinematographer Stanley Cortez (born Stanislaus Krantz).
Filmography (107 movies)
8.0
8.0
Free, Blonde and 21
1940
Director
7.2
7.2
The Last Hurrah
1958
as Sam Weinberg
6.9
6.9
Torrent
1926
as Don Rafael Brull
6.8
6.8
Midnight Mary
1933
as Leo
6.8
6.8
Ten Cents a Dance
1931
as Bradley Carlton
6.8
6.8
Frisco Kid
1935
as Paul Morra
6.7
6.7
The Sorrows of Satan
1926
as Geoffrey Tempest
6.7
6.7
Mockery
1927
as Dimitri
6.6
6.6
The Case of the Black Cat
1936
as Perry Mason
6.6
6.6
The Man with Two Faces
1934
as Ben Weston
6.5
6.5
The Younger Generation
1929
as Morris Goldfish
6.4
6.4
The Locket
1946
as Drew Bonner
6.3
6.3
The Maltese Falcon
1931
as Sam Spade
6.3
6.3
Thirteen Women
1932
as Police Sergeant Barry Clive
6.3
6.3
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
1939
Director
6.2
6.2
The Walking Dead
1936
as Nolan
6.2
6.2
Charlie Chan in Reno
1939
as Dr. Ainsley
6.2
6.2
Shadow of Doubt
1935
as Sim
6.2
6.2
Special Agent
1935
as Alexander Carston
6.2
6.2
Postal Inspector
1936
as Inspector Bill Davis
6.1
6.1
Murder Over New York
1940
as George Kirby
6.0
6.0
The Swan
1925
as Dr. Walter, the Tutor
6.0
6.0
No One Man
1932
as Bill Hanaway
6.0
6.0
I Killed That Man
1941
as Roger Phillips
6.0
6.0
I Am a Thief
1934
as Pierre Londais
6.0
6.0
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
1960
as Self
6.0
6.0
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
1931
as Self
6.0
6.0
Breakdowns of 1937
1937
as Self
6.0
6.0
City Girl
1938
as Charles Blake
6.0
6.0
Her Husband Lies
1937
as J. Ward Thomas
6.0
6.0
Big Business Girl
1931
as Robert J. Clayton
6.0
6.0
Chasing Danger
1939
Director
5.9
5.9
The Pony Express
1925
as Jack Weston
5.9
5.9
Bunco Squad
1950
as Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells
5.9
5.9
The Phantom of Crestwood
1932
as Gary Curtis
5.9
5.9
Wonder Bar
1934
as Harry
5.8
5.8
Mystery in Mexico
1948
as John Norcross
5.8
5.8
Men of Chance
1931
as Johnny Silk
5.8
5.8
Make Your Own Bed
1944
as Wilson / Fritz Alden
5.6
5.6
A Lost Lady
1934
as Ellinger
5.6
5.6
The Big Shakedown
1934
as Dutch Barnes
5.6
5.6
Flesh
1932
as Nicky
5.6
5.6
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
1936
as George Lambert
5.6
5.6
Illicit
1931
as Price Baines
5.6
5.6
Mandalay
1934
as Tony Evans
5.5
5.5
The Firebird
1934
as Herman Brandt
5.5
5.5
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
1939
as Fabian
5.5
5.5
Hat, Coat and Glove
1934
as Robert Mitchell
5.5
5.5
The Escape
1939
Director
5.4
5.4
Girl in 313
1940
Director
5.4
5.4
The White Cockatoo
1935
as Jim Sundean
5.4
5.4
West of Shanghai
1937
as Gordon Creed
5.4
5.4
Symphony of Six Million
1932
as Felix
5.2
5.2
Torch Singer
1933
as Tony Cummings
5.2
5.2
The Inner Circle
1946
as Duke York
5.2
5.2
City of Chance
1940
Director
5.1
5.1
Her Man
1930
as Johnnie
5.0
5.0
World Premiere
1941
as Mark Saunders
5.0
5.0
A Shot in the Dark
1941
as Phillip Richards
4.8
4.8
The Lost Zeppelin
1929
as Tom Armstrong
4.7
4.7
Is My Face Red?
1932
as William Poster
4.7
4.7
Behind Office Doors
1931
as Ronnie Wales
4.6
4.6
Bad Company
1931
as Goldie Gorio
4.6
4.6
Broadway Bad
1933
as Craig Cutting
4.6
4.6
The House on 56th Street
1933
as Bill Blaine
4.5
4.5
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
1942
as Anthony Pearce
4.4
4.4
Montana Moon
1930
as Jeff
4.3
4.3
Rubber Racketeers
1942
as Gilin
4.3
4.3
Tomorrow We Live
1942
as The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin
4.0
4.0
Hollywood Newsreel
1934
as Himself
4.0
4.0
The Phantom in the House
1929
as Paul Wallis
3.9
3.9
Blackmail
1947
as Ziggy Cranston
3.8
3.8
Romance of the Rio Grande
1941
as Ricardo de Vega
3.5
3.5
The Private Life of Helen of Troy
1927
as Paris
3.4
3.4
Transgression
1931
as Don Arturo de Borgus
3.0
3.0
Reckless Living
1931
as Curly
1.0
1.0
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
1936
Feet of Clay
1924
as Tony Channing
Woman of Destiny
1928
as Yoanes Etchegarry
Man Hunt
1936
as Frank Kingman
White Shoulders
1931
as Lawrence Marchmont
Breakdowns of 1936
1936
as Self
Not So Long Ago
1925
as Billy Ballard
The Bedroom Window
1924
as Robert Delano
Manhattan Moon
1935
as Dan Moore
New York
1927
as Michael Angelo Cassidy
New Orleans
1929
as Jim Morley
The Next Corner
1924
as Don Arturo
Talk of the Devil
1936
as Ray Allen
This Woman
1924
as Whitney Duane
The Call of the Canyon
1923
as Larry Morrison
The Cat's Pajamas
1926
Midstream
1929
as James Stanwood
A Society Scandal
1924
as Harrison Peters
Big Executive
1933
as Victor Conway
Argentine Love
1924
as Juan Martin
Volcano
1926
as Stéphane Séquineau
In the Name of Love
1925
as Raoul Melnotte
The Spaniard
1925
as Don Pedro de Barrego
The Californian
1937
as Ramon Escobar
Children of Jazz
1923
as Ted Carter
The Gentleman from America
1923
The City That Never Sleeps
1924
as Mark Roth
The Eagle of the Sea
1926
as Captain Sazarac
Excess Baggage
1928
as Val D'Errico
Inside Story
1939
Director
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