Frank Whitbeck

AKA:
0.0865

1882-07-17

Rochester, New York, USA

Biography

Frank Whitbeck was the longtime chief of publicity/exploitation at MGM. He also narrated several hundred theatrical trailers for MGM features.

Crew Roles

Lest We Forget
Director
The Romance of Celluloid
Sound Effects
Cast RolesCast Roles Played = {28}

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1940-10-26 7.2

Eyes of the Navy

Produced by MGM in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, this short film follows U.S. naval aviators through their basic training in Florida and advanced training in California. ...
Genre :Documentary

Radio News Announcer (voice) (uncredited)

1937-05-22 6.5

The Grand Bounce

A man writes a check for $1,000 to cover a gambling debt. The problem is that he doesn't have enough money in his bank account to cover it. The check was written on Friday afternoon, but cannot be cas ...
Genre :Comedy, Drama

Radio Announcer (voice)

1937-01-27 7

Man Of The People

An Italian immigrant studying the law gets mixed up with crooks. ...
Genre :Drama

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1940-01-20 5.833

The Old South

This short film chronicles the importance of cotton to the economy and culture of America's Old South. ...
Genre :Documentary, History

Trailer Announcer (voice) (uncredited)

1939-10-10 6.4

Babes in Arms

Mickey Moran, son of two vaudeville veterans, decides to put up his own vaudeville show with his girlfriend Patsy Barton. But child actress Rosalie wants to make a comeback and replace Patsy both prof ...
Genre :Comedy, Music

Radio Broadcaster (voice) (uncredited)

1938-02-25 5.8

Arsène Lupin Returns

A woman and a man vying for a woman's affection: the usual love trio? Not quite so since the belle in question is Lorraine de Grissac, a very wealthy and alluring society woman, while one of the two r ...
Genre :Mystery

Narrator (voice)

1940-02-10 5

Northward, Ho!

Behind-the-scenes promotional featurette to publicize the epic outdoor adventure Northwest Passage filmed on location in Idaho. ...
Genre :Documentary

Trailer Narrator (voice)

1940-05-10 6.6

Edison, the Man

In flashback, fifty years after inventing the light bulb, an 82-year-old Edison tells his story starting at age twenty-two with his arrival in New York. He's on his way with the invention of an early ...
Genre :History, Drama

Narrator (voice)

1940-03-15 5.6

Young Tom Edison

Inventor Thomas Edison's boyhood is chronicled and shows him as a lad whose early inventions and scientific experiments usually end up causing disastrous results. As a result, the towns folk all think ...
Genre :Drama

Trailer Announcer (voice)

1940-06-20 7.232

The Mortal Storm

The Roth family leads a quiet life in a small village in the German Alps during the early 1930s. After the Nazis come to power, the family is divided and Martin Breitner, a family friend, is caught up ...
Genre :Drama

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1938-11-21 0

The City of Little Men

The story of Boys Town, founded by Father Edward Flanagan in 1917 as a haven for wayward, homeless, and neglected boys. ...
Genre :Documentary

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1944-01-01 6

Twenty Years After

This short celebrates the 20th anniversary of MGM. Segments are shown from several early hits, then from a number of 1944 releases. ...
Genre :Documentary

Narrator

1942-01-01 4.1

We Must Have Music

A short history of movie music is presented, from silent films accompanied by a single piano, to the elaborate song scores for musicals (with scenes from MGM's musicals) and background music for drama ...
Genre :Documentary, Music

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1938-12-31 4.8

Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power

This short begins at Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam). The electricity generated here by the Colorado River is sent to Hollywood, where movie studios need it to make movies. After a tour of the MGM studio ...
Genre :Documentary

Narrator

1940-05-29 5.5

Hollywood: Style Center of the World

This short promotes the premise that movies often create a demand for the fashions seen in them. It starts with a vignette in rural America. A mother and daughter go to town to buy a new dress. In the ...
Genre :Documentary

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1937-08-27 7

The Romance of Celluloid

Several behind the scenes aspects of the movie-making business, which results in the enjoyment the movie going public has in going to the theater, are presented. They include: the production of cellul ...
Genre :Documentary

Self

1940-10-24 6.7

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

This short documentary, presented and directed by MGM sound engineer Douglas Shearer, goes behind the scenes to look at how the sound portion of a talking picture is created. ...
Genre :Documentary

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1938-07-07 7

Hollywood Goes to Town

This short shows how Hollywood gets ready for the world premiere of an "important" movie. The film celebrated here is Marie Antoinette (1938), which had its premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre. We ...
Genre :

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1946-10-24 0

The Horse with the Human Mind

This short film focuses on Bess, considered to be the smartest horse in the movies, as she works with her trainer. ...
Genre :Documentary

Trailer Narrator (voice)

1943-04-29 6.1

Presenting Lily Mars

Starstruck Indiana small-town girl Lily is pestering theatrical producer John Thornway for a role but he is reluctant. ...
Genre :Music, Romance

Trailer Announcer (Voice) (uncredited)

1942-04-22 5.4

Fingers at the Window

In Chicago, an unemployed actor aims to solve the mystery concerning a string of ax murders, apparently committed by a lunatic. ...
Genre :Mystery, Thriller

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1938-02-05 5

Another Romance of Celluloid

This second entry in MGM's "Romance of Film" series documents how celluloid movie film is processed and features behind-the-scenes glimpses of current MGM productions. ...
Genre :Documentary

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1941-05-23 5.5

You Can't Fool a Camera

This short starts out as a documentary. In a dramatization, Eadward Muybridge's photographic experiments prove that when a horse gallops, there are times when all four of the animal's feet are off the ...
Genre :Documentary

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1937-01-01 6

The Candid Camera Story (Very Candid) of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures 1937 Convention

This short film chronicles various events associated with MGM's 1937 convention for the studio's national sales and distribution staff. ...
Genre :Documentary

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1942-01-01 0

Personalities

In this "Romance of Celluloid", MGM showcases performers whose careers are just starting. Excerpts from their recently released films are included. The narrator says that moviegoers will have to decid ...
Genre :Documentary

Radio Announcer (uncredited)

1939-03-10 5.6

The Ice Follies of 1939

Mary and Larry are are a modestly successful skating team. Shortly after their marriage, Mary gets a picture contract, while Larry is sitting at home, out of work. ...
Genre :Music, Drama

Narrator (voice, uncredited)

1937-05-01 0

Lest We Forget

MGM hosts a salute to Will Rogers (1875-1935) shortly after his death. After a few words from Gary Cooper and Harry Carey, a look at Rogers' fatal trip with Wiley Post, clips from Rogers' movies, a pr ...
Genre :Documentary

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1941-05-20 0

America, Preferred

Short documentary pitching sales of U.S. Defense Bonds and Savings Stamps. ...
Genre :Documentary