--- name: "Oscar O'Shea" canonical: "https://film.one/person/oscar-oshea" roles: ["Actor"] born: "7 October 1881" died: "6 April 1960" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 75 average_as: "actor" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-09-20T00:23:37.932292+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Oscar O'Shea Actor. Born 7 October 1881 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Died 6 April 1960. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 7 October 1881, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada - **Died:** 6 April 1960 - **Active:** 1937–1941 - **Titles on Fi1m:** 4: 3 acting, 1 other - **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as actor, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 84 (3), 1940s 58 (1) - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 3, Adventure 1, Family 1, Romance 1 - **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_O%27Shea, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4340934, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642679/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/80569 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*Of Mice and Men*](https://film.one/film/of-mice-and-men.md) (84) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Biography Oscar O'Shea was a Canadian-American character actor. He appeared in over 100 films between 1937 and 1953, often in supporting or uncredited roles. His first screen credit was as Captain Walt Cushman in *Captains Courageous* (1937). O'Shea began in theatre, operating the Oscar O'Shea Players repertory company at the Embassy Theatre in Ottawa from 1929. He later managed a theatre and stock company in Chicago. He had previously worked as a comic actor but lost a substantial fortune during the Great Depression. His first straight stage role was in a Federal Theatre Project production of *It Can't Happen Here*. Among his other film appearances were roles in *Angels with Dirty Faces* (1938), *Of Mice and Men* (1939), *Love Affair* (1939), *Stranger on the Third Floor* (1940) and *The Mummy's Ghost* (1944). O'Shea was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, and died in Hollywood, California, in 1960. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) ### Performed in (3) — the average rests on these - *Blossoms in the Dust* (1941), Fi1m 58, as Dr. West — [page](https://film.one/film/blossoms-in-the-dust.md) - *Of Mice and Men* (1939), Fi1m 84, as Jackson — [page](https://film.one/film/of-mice-and-men.md) - *Captains Courageous* (1937), Fi1m 84, as Captain Walt Cushman — [page](https://film.one/film/captains-courageous.md) ### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Love Affair* (1939), Fi1m 85, as Priest (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/love-affair.md) ## Complete filmography (85) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *One Sunday Afternoon* (1948), as Toby - *My Wild Irish Rose* (1947), as Pat Daly - *Sport of Kings* (1947), as Judge Sellers - *The Brute Man* (1946), as Mr. Haskins - Grocer (uncredited) - *Personality Kid* (1946), as Officer O'Brien - *Without Reservations* (1946), as Conductor (uncredited) - *Senorita from the West* (1945), as Dusty - *Bewitched* (1945), as Capt. O'Malley - *Here Come the Waves* (1944), as Commodore (uncredited) - *Mystery of the Riverboat* (1944), as Capt. Ethan Perrin - *Haunted Harbor* (1944), as John Galbraith [Chs. 1, 7, 15] - *The Mummy's Ghost* (1944), as Museum Watchman - *South of Dixie* (1944), as Colonel Hatcher - *Her Primitive Man* (1944), as Jonathan - *Happy Land* (1943), as Father Case (uncredited) - *Corvette K-225* (1943), as Capt. Smith - *Two Tickets to London* (1943), as Mr. Tinkle - *City Without Men* (1943), as Joseph Barton - *Half Way to Shanghai* (1942), as Doctor McIntyre - *Henry Aldrich, Editor* (1942), as Judge Sanders - *The Postman Didn't Ring* (1942), as Judge Barrington - *I Was Framed* (1942), as Cal Beamish - *The Bashful Bachelor* (1942), as Squire Skimp - *Dudes Are Pretty People* (1942), as Cardigan, working ranch owner - *Torpedo Boat* (1942), as Captain Mike - *Fly By Night* (1942), as Pa Prescott - *The Tell-Tale Heart* (1941), as First Deputy Sheriff (uncredited) - *The Officer and the Lady* (1941), as Dan Regan - *Riders of the Purple Sage* (1941), as Noah Judkins - *Lydia* (1941), as Doctor Richards - *Harmon of Michigan* (1941), as 'Pop' Branch - *Blossoms in the Dust* (1941), as Dr. West — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/blossoms-in-the-dust.md) - *Ringside Maisie* (1941), as Conductor - *Mutiny in the Arctic* (1941), as Capt. Bob Morrissey - *Sleepers West* (1941), as McGowan, a Engineer - *Four Mothers* (1941), as George Edwards (uncredited) - *The Phantom Submarine* (1940), as Captain Velsar - *Always a Bride* (1940), as Uncle Dan Jarvis - *Wildcat Bus* (1940), as Charles Dawson - *Stranger on the Third Floor* (1940), as The Judge - *Pier 13* (1940), as Skipper Kelly - *Susan and God* (1940), as Sam (uncredited) - *You Can't Fool Your Wife* (1940), as Dr. Emery - *20 Mule Team* (1940), as Train Conductor - *Forty Little Mothers* (1940), as Janitor at Train Station - *Zanzibar* (1940), as Captain Craig - *Of Mice and Men* (1939), as Jackson — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/of-mice-and-men.md) - *Missing Evidence* (1939), as John C. 'Pop' Andrews - *The Night of Nights* (1939), as Mr. Conway (uncredited) - *The Roaring Twenties* (1939), as Customer (uncredited) - *Those High Grey Walls* (1939), as Warden - *The Star Maker* (1939), as Mr. Flannigan - *She Married a Cop* (1939), as Pa Duffy - *Tell No Tales* (1939), as Sam O'Neil - *Invitation to Happiness* (1939), as Divorce Judge - *S.O.S Tidal Wave* (1939), as Mike Halloran - *Lucky Night* (1939), as Police Lieutenant - *Big Town Czar* (1939), as Pa Daley - *Undercover Agent* (1939), as Pat Murphy - *Love Affair* (1939), as Priest (uncredited) — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/love-affair.md) - *King of the Turf* (1939), as Bartender - *Angels with Dirty Faces* (1938), Actor - *The Shining Hour* (1938), as Charlie Collins - *Stablemates* (1938), as Pete Whalen - *Youth Takes a Fling* (1938), as Captain Walters - *Campus Cinderella* (1938), as Horace Howard - *Racket Busters* (1938), as Pop Wilson - *Rebellious Daughters* (1938), as Dad Elliott - *The Main Event* (1938), as Captain Rorty - *Numbered Woman* (1938), as Desk Sgt. Rourke - *Snow Gets in Your Eyes* (1938), as Gibson (uncredited) - *Hold That Kiss* (1938), as Pop - Man Bringing Usher's Clothes - *International Crime* (1938), as Heath - *King of the Newsboys* (1938), as Mr. Stephens - *Border Wolves* (1938), as Judge Coleman - *The Canary Comes Across* (1938), as Warden Clayton - *Mannequin* (1938), as 'Pa' Cassidy - *Love Is a Headache* (1938), as Pop Sheeman, Stage Doorman (uncredited) - *Man-Proof* (1938), as Gus the Bartender - *Rosalie* (1937), as Mr. Callahan - *You're Only Young Once* (1937), as Sheriff (uncredited) - *Double Wedding* (1937), as Turnkey (uncredited) - *Big City* (1937), as John C. Andrews - *Captains Courageous* (1937), as Captain Walt Cushman — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/captains-courageous.md) - *The Good Old Soak* (1937), as Jake ## Gallery - ![Cropped and edited lobby card for the 1944 film The Mummy's Ghost, featuring Lon Chaney Jr. This image is assumed to be in the public domain, as no copyright no](https://film.one/media/person/1229645/gallery-61b757ac1d05.jpg) Cropped and edited lobby card for the 1944 film The Mummy's Ghost, featuring Lon Chaney Jr. This image is assumed to be in the public domain, as no copyright no — Universal Studios, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/LonChaneyMummysGhost1944.jpg/1280px-LonChaneyMummysGhost1944.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Oscar O'Shea](https://film.one/media/person/1229645/gallery-b349f240a20a.jpg) Oscar O'Shea — Image via TMDB --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/oscar-oshea