Sam Flint (born Samuel A. Ethridge; October 19, 1882 – October 17, 1980) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films, and is perhaps most familiar to today's audiences from Charlie Chan mysteries, adventure serials (notably The Phantom as the Phantom's father), It's a Wonderful Life (as the relieved bank manager mopping his brow in Mr. Potter's office), and the Three Stooges short Micro-Phonies (as singer Christine McIntyre's wealthy father).
Flint was born in Gwinnett County, Georgia.The International 1946-47 International Motion Picture Almanac, Terry Ramsaye, ed., Quigley Publications, p, 98. As a young man, he became interested in the theater and appeared in many dramatic plays.
By 1933, he was a member of the Los Angeles company appearing in the hit play The Drunkard, under his real name of Sam Ethridge, and broke into movies with the small, independent Monogram Pictures. Comedian W. C. Fields wanted to include The Drunkard in one of his films, and arranged for Paramount Pictures to sign members of the company -- including Ethridge -- to movie contracts.The Hollywood Reporter, Apr. 21, 1934, p. 3. While most of the actors returned to the live theater, Ethridge continued to work in pictures. Under the screen name Sam Flint, he became familiar for his weathered face, distinguished mustache, and dignified bearing, typecasting him profitably as authority figures: doctors, lawyers, judges, ship's captains, military officers, bankers, racetrack stewards, and senior officials. His last film was the satirical feature Head (1968), starring The Monkees.
Personal life Flint was married to actress Ella Ethridge, whom he met after she watched him in a play in Galveston, Texas. Later they had an agreement: "Neither will accept a part with any company unless the contract includes the other."
Selected filmography
Sensation Hunters (1933) - Ship's Captain Devil's Mate (1933) - Prison Doctor (uncredited) Broken Dreams (1933) - Dr. Greenwood (uncredited) Ace of Aces (1933) - Army Doctor (uncredited) Mr. Skitch (1933) - General Matthews (uncredited) One Is Guilty (1934) - Coroner (uncredited) The Murder in the Museum (1934) - Councilman Blair Newgate Such Women Are Dangerous (1934) - Doane, Doorman (uncredited) Money Means Nothing (1934) - Police Sergeant (uncredited) The Old Fashioned Way (1934) - Mary Wilson's father (credited as Samuel Ethridge) I Give My Love (1934) - Business Man (uncredited) The Girl from Missouri (1934) - Senator #2 (uncredited) Chained (1934) - Gun Repair Clerk (uncredited) Death on the Diamond (1934) - Baseball Commissioner (uncredited) Belle of the Nineties (1934) - Fire Chief (uncredited) Wake Up and Dream (1934) - Theatre Patron (uncredited) Student Tour (1934) - Captain (uncredited) Tomorrow's Youth (1934) - Jim Lawton - Mrs. Hall's Attorney Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934) - Railroad Agent Jenkins (uncredited) Evelyn Prentice (1934) - Dr. Lyons (uncredited) I'll Fix It (1934) - Minor Role (uncredited) Broadway Bill (1934) - Racetrack Official Fugitive Lady (1934) - Conductor (uncredited) The Best Man Wins (1935) - Doctor (uncredited) Helldorado (1935) - Hale (uncredited) The County Chairman (1935) - (uncredited) Wings in the Dark (1935) - Rockwell (uncredited) The Winning Ticket (1935) - Captain (uncredited) The Mystery Man (1935) - Jerome Roberts, Publisher The Whole Town's Talking (1935) - City Commissioner (uncredited) Car 99 (1935) - Bank President (scenes deleted) In Spite of Danger (1935) - Sanders (uncredited) It Happened in New York (1935) - Ship's Officer (uncredited) I'll Love You Always (1935) - First Business Man (uncredited) Reckless (1935) - Jo Mercer's Father (uncredited) Mister Dynamite (1935) - Mr. Hollaner (uncredited) Vagabond Lady (1935) - Ship's Captain (uncredited) The Awakening of Jim Burke (1935) - Lawyer (uncredited) People Will Talk (1935) - Mr. Quimby (uncredited) Chinatown Squad (1935) - Ship's Captain (uncredited) Pursuit (1935) - Dr. Byers, a Veterinarian (uncredited) The Crusades (1935) - Captain of Hospitalers (uncredited) Atlantic Adventure (1935) - Colonel Barnett (uncredited) Anna Karenina (1935) - Husband - Second Couple (uncredited) Diamond Jim (1935) - Man at Bar (uncredited) Metropolitan (1935) - Bank Director (uncredited) The New Frontier (1935) - Milt Dawson Grand Exit (1935) - Mr. French (uncredited) Lawless Range (1935) - Sam Middleton (uncredited) Another Face (1935) - Police Sergeant (uncredited) A Tale of Two Cities (1935) - Aristocrat (uncredited) My Marriage (1936) - Simpson (uncredited) A Face in the Fog (1936) - Harrison - Newspaper Editor The Lawless Nineties (1936) - Justice Department Official Red River Valley (1936) - George Baxter Big Brown Eyes (1936) - Martin (uncredited) Florida Special (1936) - Doctor (uncredited) Champagne Charlie (1936) - Board Member (uncredited) The Lonely Trail (1936) - Governor of Texas The Crime of Dr. Forbes (1936) - Faculty Doctor (uncredited) Winds of the Wasteland (1936) - Dr. William Forsythe Public Enemy's Wife (1936) - Doctor (uncredited) Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) - Ship's Captain (uncredited) Wives Never Know (1936) - Doctor (uncredited) Two Minutes to Play (1936) - Martin Granville Sr. Along Came Love (1936) - Dinner Party Guest (uncredited) The Accusing Finger (1936) - District Attorney Benton Red Lights Ahead (1936) - Franklin Q. Whitney The Devil Diamond (1937) - Board Member (uncredited) Man of the People (1937) - Hearing Leader (uncredited) Blake of Scotland Yard (1937) - Chief Insp. Henderson Breezing Home (1937) - Steward (uncredited) Sea Devils (1937) - Yacht Captain (uncredited) Dick Tracy (1937, Serial) - Meeting Chairman (uncredited) Midnight Court (1937) - Judge (uncredited) Her Husband Lies (1937) - Crapshooter (uncredited) 23 1/2 Hours' Leave (1937) - Chief of Police (uncredited) Racketeers in Exile (1937) - Finance Man (uncredited) Jim Hanvey, Detective (1937) - Bit (uncredited) I Promise to Pay (1937) - Police Sergeant (uncredited) You Can't Buy Luck (1937) - Judge (uncredited) Criminals of the Air (1937) - Chafin (uncredited) It Could Happen to You (1937) - President of Faculty (uncredited) Topper (1937) - Board Member (uncredited) Saratoga (1937) - Racetrack Judge (uncredited) Windjammer (1937) - Marvin T. Bishop Sea Racketeers (1937) - Sam Collins (uncredited) Roaring Six Guns (1937) - George Ringold Smashing the Vice Trust (1937) - Martin Standish, Lawyer Merrily We Live (1938) - Mr. Fleming (uncredited) State Police (1938) - Deputy Joe Palmer Over the Wall (1938) - Judge (uncredited) The Last Stand (1938) - Calhourn Female Fugitive (1938) - Edward J. Howard The Fighting Devil Dogs (1938, Serial) - Colonel Grayson [Chs. 1–2, 7] Delinquent Parents (1938) - Hospital Doctor (uncredited) Crime Takes a Holiday (1938) - Governor's Advisor (uncredited) Forgotten Girls (1940) - Judge (uncredited) Saturday's Children (1940) - City Hospital Doctor (uncredited) I Take This Oath (1940) - Uncle Jim Kelly The Way of All Flesh (1940) - First Director (uncredited) Double Date (1941) - Doctor The Singing Hill (1941) - Rancher (uncredited) Under Fiesta Stars (1941) - Fry Flying Blind (1941) - Army Officer (uncredited) Tuxedo Junction (1941) - Judge Lewis Marry the Boss's Daughter (1941) - Vice-President (uncredited) Road to Happiness (1941) - Col. Gregory South of Santa Fe (1942) - Harold Prentiss Reap the Wild Wind (1942) - Surgeon (uncredited) Shepherd of the Ozarks (1942) - Mr. Clark (uncredited) Spy Smasher (1942, Serial) - Adm. Corby Hello, Annapolis (1942) - Adm. Jones (uncredited) The Old Homestead (1942) - Politician (uncredited) Wildcat (1942) - Banker Giles (uncredited) American Empire (1942) - Doctor (uncredited) The Traitor Within (1942) - Businessman (uncredited) Mountain Rhythm (1943) - Pierce Thundering Trails (1943) - Judge Morgan Dead Men Walk (1943) - Minister My Son, the Hero (1943) - Sam Duncan (uncredited) Chatterbox (1943) - Production Assistant (uncredited) Swing Your Partner (1943) - Teal Dixie (1943) - Southern Colonel (uncredited) The Stranger from Pecos (1943) - Ward - Banker Batman (1943, Serial) - Dr. G.H. Borden [Ch. 1] (uncredited) The Masked Marvel (1943, Serial) - Police Sergeant (uncredited) The Kansan (1943, Serial) - Walter McIntire (uncredited) Outlaws of Stampede Pass (1943) - Jeff Lewis - Blacksmith False Colors (1943) - Judge Stevens (uncredited) The Crime Doctor's Strangest Case (1943) - Addison Burns (uncredited) The Phantom (1943, Serial) - Phantom's Father (uncredited) Casanova in Burlesque (1944) - Audience Member (uncredited) Lady in the Death House (1944) - Gov. Harrison Cover Girl (1944) - Coudair's Butler (uncredited) The Monster Maker (1944) - Dr. Adams The Lady and the Monster (1944) - G. Phipps - Bank Manager (uncredited) Gambler's Choice (1944) - Family Court Judge (uncredited) The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944) - Dr. Holmes' Board Member (uncredited) The Contender (1944) - Maj. Palmer The Chinese Cat (1944) - Thomas P. Manning Boss of Boomtown (1944) - Blaine Cornwall Stars on Parade (1944) - Executive (uncredited) Take It Big (1944) - Rodeo Official (uncredited) Man from Frisco (1944) - Chief of Police (uncredited) Goodnight, Sweetheart (1944) - Mort (uncredited) Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944) - Army Doctor at Induction Center (uncredited) Silver City Kid (1944) - Business Man Allergic to Love (1944) - Dick (uncredited) Wilson (1944) - Orator (uncredited) Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944) - Bit Role (uncredited) Goin' to Town (1944) - Dr. Crane Lights of Old Santa Fe (1944) - Sheriff The Missing Juror (1944) - Judge (uncredited) The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) - Hotel Clerk (uncredited) Song of the Range (1944) - John Winters Together Again (1944) - Minor Role (uncredited) She Gets Her Man (1945) - Dignified Man (uncredited) A Guy, a Gal and a Pal (1945) - Judge (uncredited) I'll Remember April (1945) - Board Member (uncredited) Crime, Inc. (1945) - Judge Poole (uncredited) Circumstantial Evidence (1945) - Prison Board Member (uncredited) Swing Out, Sister (1945) - Mr. Bradstreet I'll Tell the World (1945) - Stockholder (uncredited) Nob Hill (1945) - Politician (uncredited) The Man from Oklahoma (1945) - Mayor Witherspoon Incendiary Blonde (1945) - Patron at Nick's (uncredited) Ziegfeld Follies (1945) - Majordomo's Assistant ('This Heart of Mine') (uncredited) Along the Navajo Trail (1945) - Breck Alastair Song of the Prairie (1945) - 2nd Sheriff (uncredited) Shadow of Terror (1945) - Sheriff Dixon Johnny Angel (1945) - Barnes - Theatre Manager (uncredited) The Windjammer (1945) - Arkansas Banker Captain Tugboat Annie (1945) - Fire Chief Who's Guilty? (1945) - Horace Black Gilda (1946) - American Cartel Member (uncredited) Lost City of the Jungle (1946, Serial) - Chairman of the Peace Foundation (uncredited) Junior Prom (1946) - Mr. Forrest Somewhere in the Night (1946) - Bank Guard Night and Day (1946) - Professor (uncredited) My Pal Trigger (1946) - Sheriff Big Town (1946) - Newsman (uncredited) Singing on the Trail (1946) - Terrence Mallory The Crimson Ghost (1946, Serial) - Maxwell Nocturne (1946) - Mr. Barnes—Movie Theater Manager (uncredited) Criminal Court (1946) - Insp. Carson - 18th Precinct (uncredited) Sioux City Sue (1946) - Doctor (uncredited) Magnificent Doll (1946) - Waters (uncredited) Lone Star Moonlight (1946) - Jim Mahoney The Locket (1946) - District Attorney (uncredited) It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - Relieved Banker in Potter's Office (uncredited) California (1947) - Higgins (uncredited) Hit Parade of 1947 (1947) - Janitor (uncredited) Lost Honeymoon (1947) - Colonel Lawlor (uncredited) A Likely Story (1947) - Doctor (uncredited) Prairie Raiders (1947) - Meeker - Secretary of Interior (uncredited) Swing the Western Way (1947) - Senator Darrow