Minerva Urecal

Acting

Minerva Urecal

Born September 20, 1894 · Eureka, California, USA

Died February 26, 1966 · aged 71

A stage actress, Urecal made her screen debut in 1934. For the remainder of her career and two hundred plus movies, she played cleaning women, landladies, shopkeepers and the like. She was known as a Marjorie Main type actress and later went on to a career in television playing in such shows as "Tugboat Annie" and "Peter Gunn." Minerva claimed her name was an amalgam of her hometown, Eureka, …

Known For

Shadow of a DoubtShadow of a Doubt · 1943
Shadow of a Doubt
7.51943
MovieThrillerMystery
In sleepy Santa Rosa, restless young Charlie’s world brightens when her sophisticated Uncle Charlie arrives for a long visit. But as his behavior grows increasingly strange, she begins to suspect that her beloved uncle may be hiding a terrible secret—and that danger has quietly entered her home.
NiagaraNiagara · 1953
Niagara
6.81953
MovieCrimeThriller
Rose Loomis and her older, gloomier husband, George, are vacationing at a cabin in Niagara Falls. The couple befriend Polly and Ray Cutler, who are honeymooning in the area. Polly begins to suspect that something is amiss between Rose and George, and her suspicions grow when she sees Rose in the arms of another man. While Ray initially thinks Polly is overreacting, things between George and Rose soon take a shockingly dark turn.
Mr. SkeffingtonMr. Skeffington · 1944
Mr. Skeffington
6.81944
MovieDramaRomance
A beautiful but vain woman who rejects the love of her older husband must face the loss of her youth and beauty.
MartyMarty · 1955
Marty
7.51955
MovieDramaRomance
Marty, a butcher who lives in the Bronx with his mother, is unmarried at 34. Good-natured but socially awkward, he faces constant badgering from family and friends to get married but has reluctantly resigned himself to bachelorhood. He then meets Clara, an unattractive school teacher. Realising their emotional connection, Marty promises to call, but family and friends try to convince him not to.
Destry Rides AgainDestry Rides Again · 1939
Destry Rides Again
7.21939
MovieWesternComedy
Tom Destry, son of a legendary frontier peacekeeper, doesn’t believe in gunplay. Thus he becomes the object of widespread ridicule when he rides into the wide-open town of Bottleneck, the personal fiefdom of the crooked Kent.
Good SamGood Sam · 1948
Good Sam
6.31948
MovieComedyDrama
Sam Clayton has a good heart and likes to help out people in need. In fact, he likes to help them out so much that he often finds himself broke and unable to help his own family buy the things they need--like a house.
Without ReservationsWithout Reservations · 1946
Without Reservations
6.31946
MovieComedyRomance
Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train, she encounters Marines Rusty and Dink, who don't know she is the author of the famous book, and who don't think much of the ideas it proposes. She and Rusty are greatly attracted, but she doesn't know how to deal with his disdain for the book's author.
Mr. Hobbs Takes a VacationMr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation · 1962
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation
6.51962
MovieFamilyComedy
Banker Roger Hobbs wants to spend his vacation alone with his wife, Peggy, but she insists on a family vacation at a California beach house that turns out to be ugly and broken down. Daughter Katey, embarrassed by her braces, refuses to go to the beach, as does TV-addicted son Danny. When the family is joined by Hobbs' two unhappily married daughters and their husbands, he must help everyone with their problems to get some peace.

Filmography

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City StreetsCity Streets · 1938
City Streets
6.01938
MovieDrama
When her mother dies, wheel-chair bound Winnie Brady is taken in by shopkeeper and neighbor "Uncle" Joe Carmine. Joe convinces Father Ryan to let him informally adopt her. Joe and Winnie live together with Tommy Devlin and his grandmother, Mrs. Devlin, and a dog Winnie names Muriel. Joe sells his shop to pay for an unsuccessful operation on Winnie's legs. This bankrupts Carmine, who then earns a meager living selling fruits and vegetables on the streets. Winnie is sent to live in an orphanage, and Carmine is discouraged from continuing his relationship with her. Carmine is so distraught by grief that he slowly begins to die. Winnie is brought to him by Father Ryan, and she finds the strength to stand and walk to his bedside and sings his favorite song, "Santa Maria." Later, after Winnie has acquired full use of her legs, Joe, in his new catering truck, takes the children on a picnic in the country.

Mrs. Grimley (uncredited)

Cavalcade of AmericaCavalcade of America · 1952
Cavalcade of America
4.61952
SeriesDrama
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds. This was consistent with DuPont's overall conservative philosophy and legacy as an American company dating back to 1802. The company's motto, "Maker of better things for better living through chemistry," was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.
The Adventures of Tugboat AnnieThe Adventures of Tugboat Annie · 1958
The Adventures of Tugboat Annie
9.01958
Series
The Adventures of Tugboat Annie is a 1957 Canadian-filmed television series starring Minerva Urecal as Annie Brennan, the role originated by Marie Dressler in the 1933 screen classic Tugboat Annie. Urecal was the fourth actress to portray Tugboat Annie; the others were Dressler, Marjorie Rambeau in Tugboat Annie Sails Again, and Jane Darwell in Captain Tugboat Annie. Norman Reilly Raine's stories of the salty tugboat captain Annie Brennan, a character based on the life of Thea Foss, first appeared in prose form in the weekly US journal Saturday Evening Post in the late 1920s. She was soon developed into a movie character, depicted in three films, portrayed by a different actress in each. Finally, in 1954, a television series was commissioned by the independent American production company TPA. The pilot took two whole years to complete, at a then-record cost of $129,000. Elsa Lanchester, Jay C. Flippen, and Chill Wills were all in line for major roles at one point or another at this early stage. The series was filmed in Toronto harbor and was first shown in Canada, having attracted ratings good enough to interest American television stations. What had succeeded in Canada proved a disappointment in the United States, where the viewing audiences had presumably become accustomed to greater sophistication than the simplistic humor of this series.