Biography
Al Bridge was an American character actor, a fixture both in Westerns and in the comedies of Preston Sturges. Although frequently billed as Alan Bridge, he was born Alfred Morton Bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1891 (not as Alford Bridge in 1890, as his tombstone erroneously states). Following service as a corporal in the U.S. Army infantry in the first World War, Bridge joined a theatrical troupe. He dabbled in writing and in 1930 sold a script to a short film, Her Hired Husband (1930). He followed this with a B-Western script, God's Country and the Man (1931), in which he made his film debut as an actor. For the next quarter century, he managed the atypical achievement of maintaining a career in both B-Westerns and in bigger dramatic and comedy features. Ten films for director Preston Sturges represent probably his most familiar contribution to Hollywood history. Bridge also appeared frequently on television until his death in 1957 at 66.
Acted in 199
1950s
- 1954
Hell's Outpost
Banker (uncredited)
Jubilee Trail
Mr. Turner (uncredited)
Born in Freedom: The Story of Colonel Drake
Hotel Desk Clerk
- 1953
Iron Mountain Trail
Marshal
- 1952
Barbed Wire
Homesteader McGraw
The Last Musketeer
Lem Shaver
- 1951
Utah Wagon Train
Sam Sickle
All That I Have
John Biddle
In Old Amarillo
Sheriff (uncredited)
- 1950
Hunt the Man Down
Ulysses Grant Sheldon (uncredited)
A Woman of Distinction
Editor
1940s
- 1949
Squadron of Doom
Wyckoff
The Devil's Henchmen
Elmer Hood
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend
Sheriff
- 1948
Quick on the Trigger
Judge Kormac
Unfaithfully Yours
House Detective
- 1947
Messenger of Peace
Harry Franzmeirer
Black Gold
Dr. Jonas - Veterinarian
The Fabulous Joe
Florida Club Bartender
Down to Earth
Police Captain (uncredited)
Framed
(uncredited)
California
Town Marshal (uncredited)
The Mighty McGurk
Toothless Derelict (uncredited)
- 1946
Singin' in the Corn
Honest John Richards
Alias Mr. Twilight
Sam Bartlett
Cross My Heart
Detective Flynn
Below the Deadline
Turner
The Falcon's Alibi
Police Inspector Blake
Deadline at Dawn
Detective Smiley (uncredited)
Miss Susie Slagle's
Cab Driver (uncredited)
- 1945
She Wouldn't Say Yes
Conductor (uncredited)
Salty O'Rourke
Bartender (uncredited)
The Jade Mask
Sheriff Mack
- 1944
The Missing Juror
Deputy Sheriff Ben (uncredited)
Hail the Conquering Hero
Political Boss
- 1943
Nobody's Darling
Bum (uncredited)
Idaho
Jailer
Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground
Matt Warner
- 1942
A Man's World
Captain Peterson
Bad Men of the Hills
Mace Arnold
Lady in a Jam
Furniture Mover (uncredited)
Meet the Stewarts
Police Turnkey (uncredited)
In This Our Life
Worker (uncredited)
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
Trustee
The Man Who Returned to Life
Hobo
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
Man
Pardon My Stripes
Guard (uncredited)
- 1941
Honolulu Lu
Shooting Gallery Proprietor
Fighting Bill Fargo
Tom Houston
Sullivan's Travels
The Mister
Rawhide Rangers
Rawlings
Law of the Range
Jamison
The Lady from Cheyenne
Mr. Matthews
The Face Behind the Mask
Flop House Manager (uncredited)
The Lone Rider Rides On
Bob Cameron
- 1940
The Green Hornet Strikes Again!
Ship's Captain
Christmas in July
Mr. Hillbeiner
Flowing Gold
Highway Patrolman (uncredited)
When the Daltons Rode
Movie
Winners of the West
Captain
Dark Command
Slave Trader
Blazing Six Shooters
Bert Karsin
The Courageous Dr. Christian
Sheriff
Pioneers of the Frontier
Marshal Larsen
My Little Chickadee
Barfly Drinking Straight Whiskey (uncredited)
1930s
- 1939
The Stranger from Texas
Jeff Browning
Oklahoma Frontier
Kentuck
Thunder Afloat
Fisherman (uncredited)
The Man from Sundown
Slick Larson
Sons of Liberty
Prisoner (uncredited)
Blue Montana Skies
Marshal
Buck Rogers
Dynamo Room Floor Guard
Romance of the Redwoods
Boss Whittaker
Devil's Island
Captain of the Guards
- 1938
Adventure in Sahara
Cpl. Dronov
Colorado Trail
Mark Sheldon
Gunsmoke Trail
Sheriff chasing Loma
Crime School
Mr. Burke
Two Gun Justice
Sheriff (as Al Bridges)
Little Miss Roughneck
Sheriff
- 1937
Tim Tyler's Luck
Capt. Trowbridge
Springtime in the Rockies
Briggs
Western Gold
Holman (as Alan Bridge)
They Won't Forget
Mob Leader Outside Governor's Mansion (uncredited)
Wild West Days
Steve Claggett, Henchman
One Man Justice
Red Grindy
Woman Chases Man
Process Server (uncredited)
Two Gun Law
Kipp Faulkner
Westbound Mail
'Bull' Feeney
Jungle Jim
Slade
- 1936
Dodge City Trail
Dawson
Trail Dust
Babson
Ace Drummond
Paul Wyckoff
They Met in a Taxi
Detective
Crash Donovan
Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Public Enemy's Wife
Swartzman
Call of the Prairie
Sam Porter
The Lawless Nineties
Steele
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
Henchman Black
Fast Bullets
Travis
- 1935
Gallant Defender
Salty Smith
Rendezvous
Sergeant (uncredited)
The New Frontier
Kit
Melody Trail
Matt Kirby
Confidential
Hanover - Walsh's Henchman
Alibi Racket
Chief Inspector August Wilmer
The Gay Deception
Jail Attendant (uncredited)
Diamond Jim
Poker Player on Train
The Adventures of Rex and Rinty
Mitchell
The Murder Man
Judge John C. Garfield (uncredited)
Silent Valley
Jim Farley
Alias Mary Dow
Ditch-Digger (uncredited)
Circumstantial Evidence
John Cassidy (uncredited)
Transient Lady
Sheriff Angel Verner
North of Arizona
George Tully
Outlaw Rule
Deputy Bat Lindstrom
- 1934
Mystery Mountain
Tom Henderson
The Curtain Falls
Mover
We're Not Dressing
Ship's Officer in Rescue Party (uncredited)
Honor of the Range
Townsman (uncredited)
- 1933
Twin Husbands
Highway Patrolman (uncredited)
Fighting With Kit Carson
Reynolds
Fighting Texans
Gur Durkin
The Lone Avenger
Burl Adams
Son of the Border
Tupper
Black Beauty
Hack Driver
Sucker Money
George Hunter
Drum Taps
Lariat Smith
The Cheyenne Kid
Denver Ed
When a Man Rides Alone
Montana Slade
- 1932
The Wyoming Whirlwind
Steve Cantrell
The Devil Horse
Henchman Curley Bates
The Forty-Niners
Squaw O'Hara
Slightly Married
Tenant
The Cowboy Counsellor
Sheriff Matt Farraday
Blonde Venus
Bouncer (uncredited)
Broadway to Cheyenne
Al
The Thirteenth Guest
Policeman (uncredited)
The Hurricane Express
The Station Agent
Million Dollar Legs
Secret Emissary #3 (uncredited)
A Man's Land
Steve - Rustler
The Spirit of the West
Tom Fallon
Police Court
Movie
South of Santa Fe
Henchman Wooly
- 1931
Galloping Thru
Sandy Thompson
The Ridin' Fool
Nikkos (as Al Bridges)
God's Country and the Man
Livermore
Wrote 1
1930s
- 1931
God's Country and the Man
Screenplay