6 Best Erville Alderson Movies

By Vlad Zakh · July 16, 2026

Erville Alderson brought a weathered, authoritative presence to Hollywood’s golden age and appeared in hundreds of films as judges, farmers and small-town authority figures. The Grapes of Wrath journeys a dispossessed family to California, Sergeant York makes a pacifist farmer a hero, Hangmen Also Die! shelters a Czech assassin, and The Spiral Staircase targets a mute servant girl. The Scarlet Empress and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang round out the list.

The Spiral Staircase (1946)

TMDB ★ 7.0

Dorothy McGuire plays a mute servant girl who becomes the target of a serial killer preying on women with disabilities.

Directed by Robert Siodmak · 1h 23m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: FlixFling, Bloodstream · Rent or buy: FlixFling

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Hangmen Also Die! (1943)

TMDB ★ 6.9

Czech resistance fighters shelter the assassin of a brutal Nazi official as the Gestapo hunts them down.

Directed by Fritz Lang · 2h 14m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Sergeant York (1941)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A pacifist farmer becomes one of the most decorated American soldiers of the First World War.

Directed by Howard Hawks · 2h 14m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

TMDB ★ 7.8

A displaced farming family journeys to California looking for work and dignity during the Great Depression.

Directed by John Ford · 2h 09m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Scarlet Empress (1934)

TMDB ★ 6.9

Edward Van Sloan features in this von Sternberg and Dietrich epic about a naive German princess who transforms into the ruthless, scheming empress of Russia.

Directed by Josef von Sternberg · 1h 44m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: FlixFling · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

TMDB ★ 7.8

A war veteran wrongly imprisoned on a brutal chain gang makes a desperate escape.

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy · 1h 32m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Erville Alderson Movies

The Spiral Staircase (1946)

Hangmen Also Die! (1943)

Sergeant York (1941)

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

The Scarlet Empress (1934)

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

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