--- name: "Warren William" canonical: "https://film.one/person/warren-william" roles: ["Actor"] born: "2 December 1894" died: "24 September 1948" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-19T22:20:20.076103+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." --- # Warren William Actor. Born 2 December 1894 in Aitkin, Minnesota, USA. Died 24 September 1948. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 2 December 1894, Aitkin, Minnesota, USA - **Died:** 24 September 1948 - **Also known as:** Warren William Krech, Warren Krech, King of Pre-Code - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_William, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q950857, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0929925/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/76974 ## Fi1m on Warren William > Warren William was the pre-Code cad with the beautiful voice: the lawyer, the tycoon, the charlatan you were not supposed to like and did. When the Production Code arrived, it took his parts with it. The Warren William character talks first and thinks later. He is a lawyer or a tycoon or a swindler, he wants something that is not his, and he explains why he should have it in a voice so well made that you agree before you know what to. He was often compared to John Barrymore, and you can see why: the profile, the crisp diction, a man who has never had to raise his voice to be heard. What William added was speed. His cads did not brood. They moved. He came to films late, after more than twenty Broadway plays and two silents, and Warner Bros signed him in 1931. *The Mouthpiece* (1932) set the type: Vincent Day, a fast-talking attorney who defends mobsters. *Employees' Entrance* (1933) is the one most often named for what pre-Code Hollywood let its leading men get away with: charm and sleaze in the same suit. He was a millionaire snob in *Gold Diggers of 1933*, and in 1934 he played Julius Caesar in *Cleopatra* and the romantic lead in *Imitation of Life*, both opposite Claudette Colbert. Joan Blondell made five films with him. The one we would send you to first is the exception. In Frank Capra's *Lady for a Day* (1933) he is Dave the Dude, the gangster who passes an apple seller off as a society lady, and he plays it as a man embarrassed to be kind who does it anyway. It was one of his few sympathetic parts before the Code, and perhaps the best use of him, since the voice and the dash now work against the man's decency rather than for his greed. He moved us more than we expected, and it was the embarrassment that did it: a man who has spent his life getting away with things discovers he cannot get away with being good, and is irritated about it. Ned Sparks and Guy Kibbee take the bigger laughs and William, sensibly, does not compete. Then came the Production Code, and the parts that had made him went with it. There was no longer room for the amoral lawyer the audience was allowed to enjoy, and William, typecast as exactly that, moved down the bill. He was the first screen Perry Mason, in *The Case of the Howling Dog* (1934), played the Lone Wolf nine times, and was Dr Lloyd in *The Wolf Man* (1941). It is respectable work and not what he was for. His last film was in 1947. To see why the pre-Code years are talked about as they are, start with William: a leading man whose whole appeal was that he should not have been allowed. Begin with *Lady for a Day*, where he is on his best behaviour and hates it, then work backwards to the men who were not. ## Biography Warren William (born Warren William Krech) was an American stage and screen actor. He was born on 2 December 1894 in Aitkin, Minnesota, and died on 24 September 1948 in Hollywood, California. He trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and appeared in more than twenty Broadway productions between 1920 and 1931 before moving to Hollywood. William became a leading man in early 1930s pre-Code films and was later nicknamed the 'King of Pre-Code'. He is known for roles including Dave the Dude in *Lady for a Day* (1933), Lawrence in *Gold Diggers of 1933* (1933), Julius Caesar in *Cleopatra* (1934), Stephen Archer in *Imitation of Life* (1934), and Dr Lloyd in *The Wolf Man* (1941). He was the first actor to portray Perry Mason on screen. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Lady for a Day* (1933), Fi1m 78, as Dave the Dude — [page](https://film.one/film/lady-for-a-day.md) ## Complete filmography (68) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood* (2008), as Various Roles (archive footage) - *The Private Affairs of Bel Ami* (1947), as Laroche-Mathieu - *Fear* (1946), as Police Capt. Burke - *Strange Illusion* (1945), as Brett Curtis - *Passport to Suez* (1943), as Michael Lanyard / The Lone Wolf - *One Dangerous Night* (1943), as Michael Lanyard / The Lone Wolf - *Counter-Espionage* (1942), as Michael Lanyard - *Wild Bill Hickok Rides* (1942), as Harry Farrel - *The Wolf Man* (1941), as Dr. Lloyd - *Secrets of the Lone Wolf* (1941), as Michael Lanyard - *Wild Geese Calling* (1941), as Blackie Bedford - *The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance* (1941), as Michael Lanyard - *Arizona* (1940), as Jefferson Carteret - *Trail of the Vigilantes* (1940), as Mark Dawson - *The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date* (1940), as Michael Lanyard - *The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady* (1940), as Michael Lanyard - *Lillian Russell* (1940), as Jesse Lewisohn - *The Lone Wolf Strikes* (1940), as Michael Lanyard - *Day-time Wife* (1939), as Bernard Dexter - *The Man in the Iron Mask* (1939), as D'Artagnan - *The Gracie Allen Murder Case* (1939), as Philo Vance - *The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt* (1939), as Michael Lanyard - *Wives Under Suspicion* (1938), as Jim Stowell - *The First Hundred Years* (1938), as Harry Borden - *Arsène Lupin Returns* (1938), as Steve Emerson - *The Firefly* (1937), as Major de Rouchemont - *Madame X* (1937), as Bernard Fleuriot - *Midnight Madonna* (1937), as Blackie Denbo - *Outcast* (1937), as Dr. Wendell Phillips / Phil Jones - *Go West Young Man* (1936), as Morgan - *Stage Struck* (1936), as Fred Harris - *Satan Met a Lady* (1936), as Ted Shane - *The Case of the Velvet Claws* (1936), as Perry Mason - *Times Square Playboy* (1936), as Victor 'Vic' Arnold - *The Widow from Monte Carlo* (1935), as Allan Chepstow - *The Case of the Lucky Legs* (1935), as Perry Mason - *Don't Bet on Blondes* (1935), as Oscar 'Odds' Owen - *The Case of the Curious Bride* (1935), as Perry Mason - *Living on Velvet* (1935), as Walter 'Gibraltar' Pritcham - *The Secret Bride* (1934), as Robert Sheldon - *Imitation of Life* (1934), as Stephen 'Steve' Archer - *Cleopatra* (1934), as Julius Caesar - *The Case of the Howling Dog* (1934), as Perry Mason - *The Dragon Murder Case* (1934), as Philo Vance - *Dr. Monica* (1934), as John Braden - *Smarty* (1934), as Tony - *Upperworld* (1934), as Alexander Stream - *Hollywood on Parade No. B-1* (1934), Actor - *Bedside* (1934), as Bob Brown - *Lady for a Day* (1933), as Dave the Dude — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/lady-for-a-day.md) - *Goodbye Again* (1933), as Kenneth L. 'Ken' Bixby - *Gold Diggers of 1933* (1933), as Lawrence - *The Mind Reader* (1933), as Chandra - *Employees' Entrance* (1933), as Kurt Anderson - *Just Around the Corner* (1933), as Mr. Sears - *The Match King* (1932), as Paul Kroll - *Three on a Match* (1932), as Robert Kirkwood - *Skyscraper Souls* (1932), as David Dwight - *The Dark Horse* (1932), as Hal Samson Blake - *Beauty and the Boss* (1932), as Baron Josef von Ullrich - *The Mouthpiece* (1932), as Vincent 'Vince' Day - *The Woman from Monte Carlo* (1932), as Lieutenant d'Ortelles - *Under Eighteen* (1932), as Raymond Harding - *Expensive Women* (1931), as Neil Hartley - *Honor of the Family* (1931), as Captain Boris Barony - *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 7: 'The Spoon'* (1931), as Warren William - the Husband (uncredited) - *Plunder* (1923), as Mr. Jones - *The Town That Forgot God* (1922), as Eben ## Gallery - ![Photo of American film and stage actor Warren William (1930)](https://film.one/media/person/1226349/gallery-0772d171b9dd.jpg) Photo of American film and stage actor Warren William (1930) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Warren_William.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Warren William](https://film.one/media/person/1226349/gallery-72b91c95eb4e.jpg) Warren William — Trailer screenshot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Warren_William_in_Goodbye_Again_trailer.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Screenshot of Warren William from the trailer for the film Cleopatra. (1934)](https://film.one/media/person/1226349/gallery-6a23328d2818.jpg) Screenshot of Warren William from the trailer for the film Cleopatra. (1934) — Trailer screenshot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Warren_William_as_Julius_Caesar.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Pictured here with Warren William who is making, for Columbia, "The lone wolf strikes", is Mrs Hedda Dyson, Editor of the N.Z. Women's Weekly. (Alexander Turnbu (1940)](https://film.one/media/person/1226349/gallery-3d3dbf18f810.jpg) Pictured here with Warren William who is making, for Columbia, "The lone wolf strikes", is Mrs Hedda Dyson, Editor of the N.Z. Women's Weekly. (Alexander Turnbu (1940) — Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Hedda_Dyson_with_Warren_William.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Warren William](https://film.one/media/person/1226349/gallery-cec203ece575.jpg) Warren William — Image via TMDB - ![Warren William](https://film.one/media/person/1226349/gallery-addc7b21b823.jpg) Warren William — Image via TMDB - ![Warren William](https://film.one/media/person/1226349/gallery-948a53ac5bb6.jpg) Warren William — Image via TMDB - ![Promotional photograph of the film Lady for a Day starring Warren William and May Robson (1936)](https://film.one/media/person/1226349/gallery-fe8db64cf999.jpg) Promotional photograph of the film Lady for a Day starring Warren William and May Robson (1936) — Columbia Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Lady-for-a-Day-William-Robson.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Warren William](https://film.one/media/person/1226349/gallery-b5f602d2afa3.jpg) Warren William — 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/warren-william