The Blue Dahlia
The Pennington role would spark a long and steady career in movies, usually a step or two behind Hollywood's elite, in "To Have and Have Not" (prominently featured as the fisherman who tries to cheat Bogie), in "Along Came Jones", "The Blue Dahlia", "Dark City" and "Bad Day at Black Rock", among hundreds of others. A regular authoritative presence in such classic sci-fi films as "Red Planet Mars", "The War of the Worlds" and "Invaders from Mars", he also had a recurring featured part in the 1940s "Boston Blackie" film series playing Detective Matthews alongside Chester Morris, former thief-turned-crime hero.