AllMovie

A Rice Institute graduate, James Craig took his first acting lessons from prominent character player Cyril Delevanti. After taking a few extra jobs, Craig was given a speaking role in 1937's Sophie Lang Goes West. He appeared in the serials Fighting G-Men (1938) and Winners of the West (1940), and showed up in such two-reelers as the Three Stooges'Oil's Well that Ends Well (1939), before landing his first important "A" picture role opposite Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle (1940). Craig was then showered with critical praise for his portrayal of Jabez Stone, the New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul to the Devil in 1941's All That Money Can Buy (aka The Devil and Daniel Webster). During the war, Craig became an MGM leading man, chiefly by virtue of his resemblance to Clark Gable; his best films during this period include Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945) and a few interesting program westerns. His films declined in importance throughout the 1950s. By the mid-1960s, Craig was of one of several old-timers appearing in the inexpensive Technicolor westerns being produced by A.C. Lyles and Alex Gordon. After retiring from films, James Craig became a successful real estate agent.