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Alias a Gentleman

1948 film by Harry Beaumont

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ4725605
Source-derived summary

Alias a Gentleman is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Wallace Beery with a supporting cast that includes Dorothy Patrick, Tom Drake, Gladys George and Sheldon Leonard. It was produced by Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Plot

Jim Breedin has been in prison for 15 years but his daughter Nora doesn't know it. He has had no contact with her since she was a child. On an honor farm where he is foreman, Jim meets new convict Johnny Lorgen, who mouths off until Jim sets him straight. They become friendly and talk about their futures.

About to get out, Jim is offered $250,000 for his Oklahoma farm by an oil company. Nora, who had been living on the farm, is not there, Jim unaware that she has died. He accepts the money and begins living a life of luxury. A mob boss, Matt Enley, tries to persuade Jim to come work for him, without success.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Alias a Gentleman” as 1948 film by Harry Beaumont. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Alias, Gentleman and film.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1948—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1948-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Alias, Gentleman and film providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Alias a Gentleman”, the useful work is to connect “1948 film by Harry Beaumont” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4725605. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1948.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Alias a Gentleman”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Alias a Gentleman primary sources, Alias a Gentleman archive and Alias research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Alias a Gentleman”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Alias a Gentleman” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.