Skip to content
MovieCove
Laurence Criner

Laurence Criner

Actor · Born July 19, 1898 (128) · Waco, Texas, USA

In his time was considered one of the most popular Black actors of stage and screen from the 1920s to the early 1950s starring in close to 30 films. He started his career as one of the members of the famed acting group The Lafayette Players. In 1926, he first starred in independently produced silent productions "The Flying Ace" and "Black Gold." In 1927, he starred in legendary Black film-maker Oscar Micheaux's "The Millionaire" and then in 1928 co-starred on Broadway in the hit "Meek Mose." In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Lawrence became a leading man of "race films," starring in 12 films produced by Hollywood's first Black studio, Million Dollar Productions, and his leading ladies were (then legends in the making) Lena Horne in "The Duke Is Tops," Nina Mae McKinney in "Gang Smashers," Theresa Harris in "Gangsters on the Loose," Louise Beavers in "Life Goes On," Ruby Dee in "What A Guy," and a young Dorothy Dandridge played Lawrence's daughter in "Four Shall Die." His Hollywood screen credits were "Black Moon," "Up Jumped The Devil," "King of the Zombies" (where Lawrence played a Doctor, a far cry from Hollywood's usual stereotyping of Black males), "The Gang's All Here," "Sullivan's Travels," "Freckles Come Home," and "Law of the Jungle" where he was teamed with comedy legend Mantan Moreland. "One Dark Night," "Mr. Smith Goes Ghost," "Gang War," "While Thousands Cheer," "Am I Guilty?" "Pigmeat's Laugh Hepcats," and "Miracle in Harlem" are his other film credits. His last film was "The Jackie Robinson Story" where he gave a memorable performance as the minister who encourages Jackie Robinson to accept the offer to be the first Black to play in major league baseball. Lawrence Criner is honored in African American film history for helping in the development and enhancement of films with people of color by providing positive images and non-stereotypes. Another one of his achievements was he served in both WWI and in the Navy in WWII.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
July 19, 1898 (128)
From
Waco, Texas, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
9 on MovieCove · 23 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Up 6% in 30 days

What are Laurence Criner's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Genres

Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 14th percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Crime2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 25th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
33%
Bonds
20%
Survival
18%
Power
16%
Self
13%
Justice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 2 · Dark 1

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 7 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 2

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

6 analyzed roles

Usually the Shadow: 4 of 6 analyzed roles.

Shadow
4 of 6
Mentor
2 of 6

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
5
Melancholic
4
Thrilling
2
Absurd
2
Romantic
2
Other
4

How their films linger

Fun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet1
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Laurence Criner's films?

As of October 24, 2026, all 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Laurence Criner's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

23 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Jackie Robinson Story(1950)

    as Minister - Reverend Carter (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Miracle in Harlem(1948)

    as Albert Marshall

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • What a Guy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    Actor

  • Pigmeat's Laugh Hepcats (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    Actor

  • Law of the Jungle(1942)

    as Chief Mojobo

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Freckles Comes Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Roxbury B. Brown, III

  • The Gang's All Here(1941)

    as Ham Shanks

    Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films

  • King of the Zombies(1941)

    as Dr. Couillie

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • Up Jumped the Devil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    as Sheriff

  • Four Shall Die (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Roger Fielding

  • While Thousands Cheer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Green

  • Mr. Smith Goes Ghost (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Actor

  • Am I Guilty? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Trigger Bennett

  • Gang War(1940)

    as Lew Baron (as Lawrence Criner)

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • Midnight Shadow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    as Prince Alihabad

  • Gang Smashers(1938)

    as Gat Dalton

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Duke Is Tops(1938)

    as Doc Dorando (as Lawrence Criner)

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Life Goes On (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Bull Connors

  • Bargain with Bullets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Actor

  • Black Moon(1934)

    as Kala, the priest

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Black Gold (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    Actor

  • The Millionaire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    Actor

  • The Flying Ace (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Capt. Billy Stokes

Career shape

Star power in the 37th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 23 titles from 1926 to 1950.

Highest rated

Black Moon (1934)

Midcredits 33rd

Most popular right now

King of the Zombies (1941)

Film career

  • 1934Screen debut· Black Moon

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting23 of 23: 23 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score22nd

By decade

1920s3 · acting1930s6 · acting1940s13 · acting1950s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Laurence Criner's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 22nd percentile, the median of all 9; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 28th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

28thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

17thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

18thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 9 titles, by percentile

  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th5

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 9 titles are Mixed.

  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · actor

Gang Smashers (1938)

72nd percentile spread · 32% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)

Midcredits 54th · 50% liked

Reviewers score the acting 50/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 65, detractors 31. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Laurence Criner work with?

People who share at least 2 of Laurence Criner's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Leo C. Popkin shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers

Producers

Mixed roles