His first big role was on radio as Daddy Warbucks in the Little Orphan Annie series, where he starred from 1931 to 1936. He appeared in more than 250 movies, which included Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Beau Geste, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Ox-Bow Incident, It's a Wonderful Life, State of the Union, The Lemon Drop Kid,Superman and the Mole Men (the very first theatrical Superman film); his final film role in Cry Terror! in 1958.