X-Nico

12 unusual facts about William Powell


Counsellor at Law

Edward G. Robinson, Joseph Schildkraut, and William Powell were considered before Laemmle decide to cast against type and offer the role to John Barrymore in order to capitalize on his box office appeal.

Libeled Lady

Libeled Lady is a 1936 screwball comedy film starring Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy, written by George Oppenheimer, Howard Emmett Rogers, Wallace Sullivan, and Maurine Dallas Watkins, and directed by Jack Conway.

Warren Haggerty (Spencer Tracy), the managing editor, turns in desperation to former reporter and suave ladies' man Bill Chandler (William Powell) for help.

Loring Smith

He also intermittently appeared in films, playing supporting parts in 1941's Keep 'Em Flying, with Abbott and Costello and Shadow of the Thin Man, fourth in the William PowellMyrna Loy series of Nick and Nora Charles mysteries.

Love Crazy

Love Crazy is a 1941 screwball comedy film pairing William Powell and Myrna Loy as a couple whose marriage is on the verge of being broken up by the husband's old girlfriend and the wife's disapproving mother.

Shadow of the Law

Shadow of the Law is a 1930 film starring William Powell.

The Canary Murder Case

A film, The Canary Murder Case, was made by Paramount Pictures in 1929, directed by Malcolm St. Clair and Frank Tuttle and starring William Powell as Philo Vance and Louise Brooks as the Canary.

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

William Powell and Jean Arthur star as a divorced couple who investigate a murder at a racetrack.

Wealthy murder mystery writer Paula Bradford (Jean Arthur) returns from her worldwide travels to see her former husband, surgeon Dr. Lawrence "Brad" Bradford (William Powell).

The Happy Highwayman

When originally published in 1939, several major stars of the day were referenced, specifically William Powell, John Barrymore and Greta Garbo.

Wife vs. Secretary

The picture was the second time that year that Harlow and Loy worked together, also both appearing during 1936 in Libeled Lady also starring William Powell and Spencer Tracy, with Harlow billed first.

William and Mousie Powell Award

It was established by Mousie Powell, an honorary member and longtime supporter of the LPGA, and named in honor of Powell and her husband, William Powell, a legendary Hollywood actor of the mid-twentieth century.


Herbert Yardley

The film, starring William Powell and Rosalind Russell, and directed by William K. Howard, concerns a German spy ring stealing U.S. government codes during World War I, as well as U.S. Army efforts to crack German codes.

The Kennel Murder Case

The film was directed by Michael Curtiz and starred William Powell as Philo Vance, reprising the role after appearing as Vance in three films for Paramount, and Mary Astor as Hilda Lake, the victims' niece.

The Thin Man Goes Home

It is the fifth of the six Thin Man films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's dapper private detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora.