Paul Hurst

Biography

Paul Hurst (October 15, 1888 - February 27, 1953) was an American character actor of prodigious output who also directed and wrote silent films. Much of his early work was in low budget western films. A native of central California, Hurst had a first-hand knowledge of Western lore, growing up surrounded by the multi-million acre Lux & Miller ranches which ran cattle throughout the state. Visiting San Francisco as a young man, Hurst became involved in amateur theatricals and thereafter traveled to Los Angeles to join in the emerging film industry there. He began appearing in films as early as 1912, most of them Westerns. By 1916, he was directing them as well (some sources report that he served in the First World War as a member of the French Foreign Legion, but the dates of his film projects make this story highly suspect). In the early 1920s, Hurst wrote several scenarios for films he directed and appeared in. He proved adept at working as a director for some of the cheapest producers along Gower Gulch, where movies were normally shot on location in a week or less and where stunt men were often the highest paid folks on the set. Within a few years, he focused all of his energies …

Movies & TV Shows

1. Gone with the Wind (1939) — Yankee Deserter
2. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) — Monty Smith
3. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) — 1st Deputy (uncredited)
4. Island of Lost Souls (1932) — Capt. Donahue
5. Queen Christina (1934) — Swedish Soldier Betting on 6 (uncredited)
6. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) — Emeralda's Torturer (uncredited)
7. They Drive by Night (1940) — Pete Haig (uncredited)
8. The Westerner (1940) — Chickenfoot
9. Angel and the Badman (1947) — Frederick Carson
10. Yellow Sky (1948) — Drunk (uncredited)
11. Each Dawn I Die (1939) — Garsky
12. In Old Chicago (1938) — Mitch
13. The Sun Shines Bright (1953) — Jimmy Bagby
14. Dakota (1945) — Captain Spotts
15. Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938) — Bill Mulligan
16. Big Jim McLain (1952) — Mr. Lexiter
17. Topper Takes a Trip (1938) — Charlie - the Bartender
18. December 7th (1943) — World War I Ghost Soldier
19. Edison, the Man (1940) — Sheriff
20. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938) — Mug
21. The Virginian (1946)
22. The Sky's the Limit (1943) — Dock Foreman (uncredited)
23. The Thirteenth Guest (1932) — Detective Grump
24. Hold Your Man (1933) — Aubrey C. Mitchell (uncredited)
25. The Case of the Curious Bride (1935) — Fibo Morgan (uncredited)
26. Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937) — Captain
27. Caught in the Draft (1941) — Sgt. Burns
28. The Secret Six (1931) — Nick Mizoski - the Gouger
29. The Big Stampede (1932) — 'Arizona' Frank Bailey
30. The Sphinx (1933) — Detective Terrence Aloysius Hogan
31. This Is My Affair (1937) — Bowler
32. Riffraff (1936) — Belcher
33. Midnight Manhunt (1945) — Murphy
34. The Racketeer (1929) — Mehaffy - Policeman
35. Castle on the Hudson (1940) — Guard (uncredited)
36. Prison Break (1938) — Soapy
37. Who Killed Doc Robbin? (1948) — Jailer
38. Summer Storm (1944) — Orloff
39. The Gay Deception (1935) — Bell Captain
40. Something for the Boys (1944) — Defense Plant Foreman (uncredited)

Directed

1. Branded a Bandit (1924) — Director
2. South of Northern Lights (1922) — Director
3. The Midnight Message (1926) — Director
4. The Demon Rider (1925) — Director
5. Golden Silence (1923) — Director
6. Haunted Range (1926) — Director
7. Shadows of the West (1921) — Director
8. Roaring Road (1926) — Director
9. Lightning Bryce (1919) — Director
10. The Passing of Wolf MacLean (1924) — Director
11. Blue Streak O'Neil (1926) — Director
12. A Western Engagement (1925) — Director
13. The Heart of a Texan (1922) — Director
14. Rangeland (1922) — Director
15. King Fisher's Roost (1921) — Director
16. Table Top Ranch (1922) — Director
17. Battling Bunyan (1924) — Director
18. The Tiger's Trail (1919) — Director
19. Outlaw's Paradise (1927) — Director
20. The Fighting Ranger (1926) — Director
21. The Fighting Cub (1925) — Director
22. The Law of the Snow Country (1926) — Director
23. The Crow's Nest (1922) — Director
24. Folly of Youth (1925) — Director
25. The Further Adventures of Stingaree (1917) — Director
26. The Red Signal (1915) — Director
27. Play Straight or Fight (1918) — Director
28. The Woman in the Web (1918) — Director
29. A Lass of the Lumberlands (1916) — Director
30. The Were-Tiger (1925) — Director
31. The Railroad Raiders (1917) — Director
32. The Man Who Would Not Die (1924) — Director