Ricardo Cortez

Biography

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 …

Movies & TV Shows

1. The Walking Dead (1936) — Nolan
2. The Last Hurrah (1958) — Sam Weinberg
3. The Maltese Falcon (1931) — Sam Spade
4. The Locket (1946) — Drew Bonner
5. Thirteen Women (1932) — Police Sergeant Barry Clive
6. Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939) — Fabian
7. Midnight Mary (1933) — Leo
8. Her Man (1930) — Johnnie
9. Illicit (1931) — Price Baines
10. Wonder Bar (1934) — Harry
11. Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) — Dr. Ainsley
12. Murder Over New York (1940) — George Kirby
13. Behind Office Doors (1931) — Ronnie Wales
14. The Phantom of Crestwood (1932) — Gary Curtis
15. Ten Cents a Dance (1931) — Bradley Carlton
16. Mandalay (1934) — Tony Evans
17. The Big Shakedown (1934) — Dutch Barnes
18. Montana Moon (1930) — Jeff
19. Special Agent (1935) — Alexander Carston
20. Flesh (1932) — Nicky
21. A Lost Lady (1934) — Ellinger
22. Blackmail (1947) — Ziggy Cranston
23. The Inner Circle (1946) — Duke York
24. The Man with Two Faces (1934) — Ben Weston
25. The Sorrows of Satan (1926) — Geoffrey Tempest
26. This Is Your Life (1952) — Self
27. The Younger Generation (1929) — Morris Goldfish
28. Mystery in Mexico (1948) — John Norcross
29. Complicated Women (2003) — Self (archive footage)
30. Bunco Squad (1950) — Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells
31. Torch Singer (1933) — Tony Cummings
32. Mockery (1927) — Dimitri
33. Torrent (1926) — Don Rafael Brull
34. Frisco Kid (1935) — Paul Morra
35. West of Shanghai (1937) — Gordon Creed
36. The Case of the Black Cat (1936) — Perry Mason
37. The White Cockatoo (1935) — Jim Sundean
38. The House on 56th Street (1933) — Bill Blaine
39. Is My Face Red? (1932) — William Poster
40. The Pony Express (1925) — Jack Weston

Directed

1. Girl in 313 (1940) — Director
2. City of Chance (1940) — Director
3. Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence (1939) — Director
4. Free, Blonde and 21 (1940) — Director
5. The Escape (1939) — Director
6. Chasing Danger (1939) — Director
7. Inside Story (1939) — Director