Maurice Costello
Date of birth: 1877-02-20
Place of birth: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Maurice George Costello
Biography
From Wikipedia Maurice George Costello (February 22, 1877 – October 29, 1950) was an American prominent vaudeville actor of the late 1890s and early 1900s, who later played a principal role in early American films, as both a leading man, supporting player and a director. Costello was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Irish immigrants Ellen and Thomas Costello. He appeared in his first motion picture in 1905, in which he had the honour of appearing in the first serious film to feature the character of Sherlock Holmes in the movie Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, in which Costello played the title role. He continued to work for Vitagraph, being a member of the first motion picture stock company ever formed, playing opposite Florence Turner. Among some of his best known pictures are A Tale of Two Cities, The Man Who Couldn't Beat God and For the Honor of the Family. After an absence of some years he returned to the screen. He was married to actress Mae Costello (née Altschuk). His descendants include two daughters, actresses Dolores Costello and Helene Costello, a grandson John Drew Barrymore, and a great granddaughter Drew Barrymore. He was one of the world's first leading men in early American cinema, but like a lot of other silent screen stars, he found the transition to "talkies" extremely difficult, and his leading man status was over. However, Costello was a trouper, and continued to appear in movies, often in small roles and bit parts, right up until his death in 1950.
Movie Credits
The Love of Chrysanthemum
1910-05-28
A little tragedy of Japan wherein a tourist fails to realize that love is a sacred thing the world r
The Story Without a Name
1924-10-27
Alan Holt is a radio expert who has invented a death ray machine for the U.S. government. Internati
A Man Betrayed
1941-03-07
A bucolic lawyer takes on big-city corruption, setting out to prove that an above-suspicion politici
Siren of the Sea
1911-01-01
Fantasy short starring Annette Kellerman as a Siren.
Johnny Get Your Hair Cut
1927-01-15
An orphan is adopted by a kindly old racehorse owner. He decides to pay back his benefactor by train
Man and Wife
1923-03-25
Dora Perkins is a country girl who runs away to New York City. She gets work as a nurse and marries
Alice in Movieland
1940-03-03
Alice wins a free trip to Hollywood and dreams about her arrival.
The Inherited Taint
1911-03-31
Herbert Warning inherits a fortune. He becomes engaged to a society girl who leaves him for another
The Sleep Walker
1911-06-23
A young woman does strange things, which are explained when it is discovered she is a sleep walker.
Barriers Burned Away
1911-06-24
John and Edwin Martin, two brothers, occupy, each with his own family, a double house; they are all
How She Won Him
1910-09-09
Some possess youth; others good looks, and still others have money, but Muriel Hanson has all three
For Her Brother's Sake
1911-06-06
The black sheep of the family is protected by his sister.
A Quaker Mother
1911-06-27
Mrs. Pearson is a little different from most mothers, at least in her general appearance, for she ha
A Princess of Bagdad
1913-09-01
A caliph imprisons the cobbler's son his daughter has fallen in love with, but the cobbler's discove
She Came, She Saw, She Conquered
1911-07-26
Rose Leigh is a young schoolteacher. She sees a paragraph in the paper, saying that in a certain sma
For Love and Glory
1911-08-14
Young Lieut. Osmond, of the British Army, is engaged to be married to Rose Seaton. His father object
Richard III, a Shakespearian Tragedy
1908-09-28
Vitagraph production of Shakespeare's Richard III.
The Last Alarm
1926-06-15
Firemen Tom and Joe each loves the other's sister, although neither is able to support a wife. Tom's
Conscience
1912-07-15
More a cautionary moral tale than anything else, Conscience makes use of a setting that was to becom
A Midsummer Night's Dream
1909-12-25
An early film adaptation of the Bard's comic fantasy-- and perhaps the first screen adaptation of a
Leah the Forsaken
1908-10-10
Leah, a Jewish woman fleeing persecution in Hungary, arrives in the town and captures the heart of R
Fellow Voyagers
1913-11-26
Miss Marbury comes on deck and looks haughtily at Mrs. Cray, an attractive young widow, half suspect
The Geranium
1911-07-15
One glance at the poor and disordered home of the Tunisons shows us there is something still lacking
His Sister's Children
1911-09-26
Harry Burton's sister and her husband are suddenly called away for a few days on business and telegr
Some Steamer Scooping
1914-02-12
The Baron Lafitte is in love with and proposes to Adelaide Burton, daughter of Andrew Burton, a weal
Etta of the Footlights
1914-05-23
Etta Lang, a chorus girl, is the principal support of an invalid mother and her sister and brother,
Too Much Burglar
1914-11-19
An exceptionally capable girl, Trixie Joyce, proves a great help, to her mother, a widow with a larg
The Evil Men Do
1915-01-19
As childhood sweethearts, David Horton and Beatrice Elton are inseparable. Fifteen years later Beatr
For the Honor of the Family
1912-01-27
On account of his extravagance and dissipation, Col. Ryder disowns his son and casts him off. Guy, r
Some Good in All
1911-12-25
John Lane is a prosperous businessman, a widower, who lives in a large house with his seven-year-old
The Money Kings
1912-07-15
Three part chronicle of how the rumor of war triggers greed in some men and the comeuppance they suf
The Heart of Jim Brice
1915-04-01
Jovial and big-hearted, Jim Brice, of the Howard Detective Agency, is sent to trap bribetakers in a
Wanted... a Grandmother
1912-08-09
Kitty Mallory, the young actress, finds herself in straightened circumstances. Looking for the immed
Her Grandchild
1912-08-19
Mrs. Grant, a widow, has one son, Donald. He is not really a bad fellow, but is full of devilment an
Bobby's Father
1912-09-23
Dick Ramsay is a "cracksman" and burglar. His wife, Jane, is a good woman and tries to persuade her
The Hindoo Charm
1913-09-17
Advised by his friends to seek a second wife so that his children, Helen and Dolores, may know a mot
A Tale of Two Cities
1911-02-20
An early film version of the Charles Dickens classic about the French Revolution and its subsequent
A Vitagraph Romance
1912-09-17
After meeting a handsome writer, Senator Carter's daughter leaves home and enters the employ of the
Roulette
1924-01-19
Before he can avenge a crooked card game, Dan Carrington suffers heart failure and dies in his chair
The First Violin
1912-02-02
Old Von Shultz, the first violin, finds as he grows older a longing for companionship. Hurrying from
The Adventure of the Ambassador's Disappearance
1913-01-10
A gang of crooks are employed to get possession of valuable papers of international importance, held
On the Pupil of His Eye
1912-07-05
The household of Senator Walker consists of himself, his ward, Mary, and his nephew, Herbert. The ot
The Black Sheep
1912-07-19
You would think that the death of his wife through his dissipation and neglect would have brought Ja
The Sacrifice
1911-06-09
During Nick Austin's imprisonment, his wife passes away. Before she dies, she writes a note to her h
The Two Battles
1912-08-17
Just previous to his departure for South Africa and the Boer War, Gordon Frazier, a young officer in
Getting Up a Practice
1913-03-27
Becoming impatient waiting for patients, young Doctor Bob Lyons is about discouraged. To add to his
The Sale of a Heart
1913-07-18
To avoid ruin, an impoverished count arranges a marriage between his daughter and a wealthy man she
Iron and Steel
1914-02-21
Herr Ludwig Kronitz is a king in his own works and rules with a controlling hand. He is known as the
Lady from Louisiana
1941-04-22
Northern lawyer John Reynolds travels to New Orleans to try and clean up the local crime syndicate b
Water Lilies
1911-01-13
Albertina is a celebrated dancer whose fame is widespread. However, she has overtaxed her strength,
Richelieu; or: The Conspiracy
1910-01-02
Directed by J. Stuart Blackton.
The Wagon Show
1928-02-19
Colonel Beldan runs a Wild West show. When Beldan's star attraction switches to his unscrupulous com
Little Nemo
1911-04-08
Cartoon figures announce, via comic strip balloons, that they will move - and move they do, in a wil
Citizen Kane
1941-04-17
Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich
A Man to Remember
1938-10-14
On the day of his funeral, a dedicated smalltown doctor is remembered by his neighbors and patients.
The Roaring Twenties
1939-10-28
After World War I, Armistice Lloyd Hart goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally
The Crimson Stain Mystery
1916-08-21
In attempting to develop a chemical which would make a person super-intelligent, Dr. Montrose fails
It's a Wonderful World
1939-05-19
Detective Guy Johnson's client, Willie Heywood, is framed for murder. While Guy hides him so he can
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939-10-19
After the death of a United States Senator, idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his replaceme
The Picture Idol
1912-05-31
A short comedy about a girl (played by Clara Kimball Young) who is in love with a movie star (Mauric
Practically Yours
1944-12-20
In this screwball comedy a WW2 US pilot bombs a Japanese aircraft carrier, is assumed to be dead, an
Comet Over Broadway
1938-12-03
Story of a rising stage star and the trouble she causes by her ambition.
Hollywood Boulevard
1936-08-20
With a full Hollywood background and settings but more an expose of scandal-and-gossip magazines of
Dr. LaFleur's Theory
1912-05-05
Dr. Lafleur is convinced that crime is an illness and can be treated like that.
The Glass Key
1942-09-08
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help d
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
1941-08-07
Boxer Joe Pendleton, flying to his next fight, crashes...because a Heavenly Messenger, new on the jo
All This, and Heaven Too
1940-07-05
When lovely and virtuous governess Henriette Deluzy comes to educate the children of the debonair Du
The New Stenographer
1911-02-18
A capable but homely new hire becomes ill and recommends her beautiful cousin during leave. The boss
Five Little Peppers And How They Grew
1939-08-22
The first of four films in the "Five Little Peppers" series, based on Margaret Sinclair's popular bo
The Spider's Web
1912-05-14
Banker Graham Lawlor is convinced to invest in Silver Shield Mines and becomes president, unaware th
Search for Beauty
1934-02-02
Three con artists dupe two Olympians into serving as editors of a new health and beauty magazine whi
Edison, the Man
1940-05-10
In flashback, fifty years after inventing the light bulb, an 82-year-old Edison tells his story star
Half a Hero
1912-06-07
A little country village comedy in which Mr. Costello plays a young grocer's clerk. This clerk and t
The Merchant of Venice
1908-12-22
A rich merchant, Antonio is depressed for no good reason, until his good friend Bassanio comes to te
Fog Bound
1923-05-27
Silent film directed by Irvin Willat
The Mad Marriage
1925-01-30
Mary Jane is a girl born out of wedlock whose mother, Alice, attempts to offer her respectability by
The Way of the Cross, The Story of Ancient Rome
1909-08-21
A story of ancient Rome. The scene of this story is laid in Rome in the days of Nero. Rome has recen
The Days of Terror; or, In the Reign of Terror
1912-06-13
During the French Revolution, the Duke and Duchess of Bérac are captured by a mob. The Duchess agree
Aunty's Romance
1912-05-12
Romantic comedy in which a woman who no longer wants to marry her fiance when it turns out he doesn'
The Loyalty of Sylvia
1912-09-12
The daughter of an old friend is staying with Dr. Laurence. Sylvia is a naughty girl; she puts sneez
Delayed Proposals
1913-06-19
It is sometimes decidedly difficult to get a little privacy on shipboard. Several times Jack Hardy a
As You Like It
1912-10-06
After the overthrowing of Duke Senior by his tyrannical brother, Senior's daughter Rosalind disguise
The Lonely Princess
1913-09-03
A young American millionaire in Venice falls in love with the beautiful princess Ione.
Julius Caesar, an Historical Tragedy
1908-12-01
Biographical drama, adaptation of Shakespeare's play.
Eagle of the Night
1928-10-20
1928 was the last year when silent films dominated the market, and this aviation-based action serial
Foreign Correspondent
1940-08-16
American crime reporter John Jones is reassigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent to cover the i
Tin Pan Alley
1940-11-29
Songwriters Calhoun and Harrigan get Katie and Lily Blane to introduce a new one. Lily goes to Engla
The Sea Hawk
1940-08-10
Dashing pirate Geoffrey Thorpe plunders Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and falls in love with D
Third Finger, Left Hand
1940-10-11
Magazine editor Margot Merrick pretends to be married in order to avoid advances from male colleague
Johnny Apollo
1940-04-19
Wall Street broker Robert Cain, Sr., is jailed for embezzling. His college graduate son Bob then tur
The Meeting of the Ways
1912-01-12
Tom and Dick are brothers and are being educated at the same college. Tom is a studious fellow and g
Lulu's Doctor
1912-06-09
Magde leaves her fiancé Lewis in order to take care of Lulu, the child of her deceased sister, in Ne
It All Came Out in the Wash
1912-12-29
A romance between Mr. Wall and the girl from the laundry, who encounter each other for the first tim
Mrs. 'Enry 'Awkins
1912-03-13
Noah Clayton, an old coster, who has made a bit of money, lives with his daughter Liza. He is very c
The Show Girl
1911-05-18
Audrey, a charming actress, but classed among the show girls, is invited with some of her stage comp
When Persistency and Obstinacy Meet
1912-10-08
Short comedy about a arguing couple in which the man is doing everything to make up with his girlfri
The Peacemaker
1914-10-14
The Crown Prince's Double
1916-02-07
A prince, aiming to avoid an unwanted marriage, hires an American as a double to evade his pursuing
Camille
1927-09-04
Based on the 1852 novel and play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils.
Ride 'Em Cowboy
1941-11-17
Two peanut vendors at a rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train h
Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever
1939-07-21
Young Andy develops a crush on his drama teacher. When his play is chosen as the school's annual pro
The Shamrock and the Rose
1927-04-14
The neighborly "feud" between a Jewish and an Irish families escalates when two of their youngsters
Antony and Cleopatra, a Love Story of the Noblest Roman and the Most Beautiful Egyptian
1908-11-03
A short film based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name. It was the first film to dramatiz
Du Barry Was a Lady
1943-08-13
Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a p
Happily Buried
1939-04-14
For some unexplained reason, sales of waffle irons have plummeted. Evelyn Foster, president of the M
The Bride of Lammermoor
1909-01-05
Sir Walter Scott adaptation, existing in fragmentary form in the Library of Congress paper print col
Auld Lang Syne
1911-11-07
Among the green hills of Scotland dwelt two farmer lads, Tammas and Geordie, fast friends tried and
Rose Leaves
1910-08-27
Mrs. String, sitting under the rose bushes with her baby, Helen, on her knee, is approached lovingly
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
1911-06-30
This patriotic and historic picture portrays the writing of the famous national hymn by Mrs. Julia W
The Adventure of the Italian Model
1912-09-21
Master detective, Lambert Chase, unravels a case of poisoning
The Old Silver Watch
1912-03-19
Mary Collins dies leaving two children; Mildred ('Lucie') and Frank. On her deathbed, she gives Fran
The Glimpses of the Moon
1923-03-25
Although Susan Branch is herself without finances, she has many wealthy friends who supply her with
Proving His Love; or, The Ruse of a Beautiful Woman
1911-06-16
An unfortunate twist of fate provides the opportunity for a reporter to demonstrate the depth of his
What a Change of Clothes Did
1913-01-20
Tired of being sought only for his money, a rich man goes on a fishing trip.
The Moonstone of Fez
1914-07-07
While touring Algiers, Mrs. Osborne and her daughter, Winnifred, make the acquaintance of Schuyler V
The Mysterious Lodger
1914-08-27
Returning home from a matinee, Ralph Brent, a poor actor, finds his step-child dead. The child's mot
Salome; or, The Dance of the Seven Veils
1908-08-29
King Herod is enchanted by Salome's dance and grants her wish for the head of John the Baptist.
The Dancer and the King, a Romantic Story of Spain
1908-12-19
A dancer enchants a leacherous king but rebuffs his advances, resulting in his vengeful anger.
The Climax
1944-10-20
Dr. Hohner, theatre physician at the Vienna Royal Theatre, murders his mistress, the star soprano wh
The Ghost Comes Home
1940-03-08
Comic mayhem results when a small town pet store owner, mistakenly believed killed during a sea voya
His Mother
1911-05-09
Donald Gray, living with his mother in Scotland, through the friendship of the family physician, is
Dead Man’s Honor
1911-05-23
Hugh and Henry Watson, two brothers, are in love with Helen Mallory. She rejects Hugh and accepts He
Over the Garden Wall
1910-06-10
Making the best of her genteel poverty, our heroine prepares to attend the dance to which she has be
The Changing of Silas Warner
1911-06-10
Silas Warner dictates a letter commanding his son Harry to leave college at once and enter his offic
A Fig Leaf for Eve
1944-07-04
A nightclub dancer, raised in an orphanage, learns she might be the long-lost heiress to a hair toni
None So Blind
1923-02-19
Aaron Abrams' daughter Rachel died broken-hearted after her marriage was cruelly annulled by her fat
Love of Women
1924-06-30
Cynthia Redfield elopes with Ernest Herrick, against the wishes of her socially ambitious mother and
Rags and the Girl
1915-09-29
Wealthy young broker Tom Raine is set upon in a lonely wood by a tramp, knocked out, and stripped of
Saul and David
1909-02-27
Tells the biblical story of Saul's jealousy of the young David, taken from the book of Samuel
The Tower of Jewels
1919-12-08
Emily Cottrell, one of the most respected members of a large gang of crooks headed by Fraser Grimste
Deadline at Eleven
1920-03-15
When socialite Helen Stevens obtains a job on a New York newspaper, she is met by much derision from
The Cambric Mask
1919-04-07
John Sark is the owner of a piece of land coveted by Henry Murden, leader of the band of "White Ride
Virtuous Liars
1924-05-18
A high-society woman, mingling with the artistic set in New York City, gets snared in a tangle of li
Week End Husbands
1924-02-10
William Randall becomes a bootlegger to provide his wife with the luxuries she demands. As a consequ
The Captain's Captain
1919-01-06
Louise Grayling escapes from a straight-laced aunt on a plea that she wants to visit her uncle, Capt