Jane Adams

Jane Adams

Betty Jane Bierce, better known by her stage name Jane "Poni" Adams was an American actress in radio, film, and television in the 1940s and 1950s. Adams was born in San Antonio, Texas, but her family moved to California when she was two. During her high school years, she studied violin and drama, and she was selected to be a concert mistress of the all-city high school orchestra of Los Angeles. She received a full scholarship to Juilliard, which she turned down to spend years studying at the Pasadena Playhouse. After the Playhouse, she got her start on Lux Radio Theatre, and then with the Harry Conover Modeling Agency, where she was given her nickname "Poni". This was supposedly due to her love of horses, but in reality it was to provide her with a more memorable stage name.(In the book Westerns Women: Interviews with 50 Leading Ladies of Movie and Television Westerns from the 1930s to the 1960s, Adams said: "I was given that name at the Harry Conover Modeling Agency. Why, I don't know!" She returned to using her real name in 1945. Military personnel played a role in her change of names from Poni Adams to Jane Adams. A photograph printed in newspapers in 1946 carried the caption: "GI JANE — Jane Adams — formerly Poni Adams — holds some of 32,851 letters her press agent said came from GIs after she appealed for aid in choosing a new name." Adams' first screen appearance was in So You Want to Give Up Smoking, a short film in 1942. She may be best known for her role as Nina in House of Dracula, but she also has the distinction of acting in early adaptations of both major DC Comics franchises: Batman, where she played Vicki Vale in the second Batman serial, Batman and Robin, and also a character in the first Superman television series. On May 21, 2014, Adams died in Bellingham, Washington, at the age of 95. She was buried (as Betty J. Turnage) beside her husband in Arlington National Cemetery.

  • Title: Jane Adams
  • Popularity: 0.3098
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1918-08-07
  • Place of Birth: San Antonio, Texas, USA
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Poni Adams
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Jane Adams Movies

  • 1945
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    House of Dracula

    House of Dracula

    5.539 1945 HD

    A scientist working on cures for rare afflictions, such as a bone softening agent made from molds to allow him to correct the spinal deformity of his nurse, finds the physical causes of lycanthropy in wolf-man Larry Talbot and of vampirism in Count Dracula, but himself becomes afflicted with homicidal madness while exchanging blood with Dracula.

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  • 1949
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    He Walked by Night

    He Walked by Night

    6.673 1949 HD

    Roy Martin aka Roy Morgan is a burglar and former war-time Radio & Electronics Engineer who listens in to radio police calls, allowing him to stay one step ahead of the cops.

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  • 1946
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    The Brute Man

    The Brute Man

    4.5 1946 HD

    A facially disfigured and mentally unhinged man wreaks his revenge on those he blames for his condition.

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  • 1949
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    Batman and Robin

    Batman and Robin

    5.632 1949 HD

    This 15-chapter serial pits Batman and Robin against The Wizard, who uses a device that allows him to control machinery to hold the city hostage.

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  • 1946
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    Smooth as Silk

    Smooth as Silk

    4.808 1946 HD

    An attorney enraged over the prosecution of two innocent people goes on a killing spree.

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  • 1949
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    Gun Law Justice

    Gun Law Justice

    1 1949 HD

    Jimmy Wakely befriends Hank Carrdigan, a former outlaw who has served his sentence and wants to go straight. Jimmy, after clearing Hank of a wrongful shooting charge, helps him get a job as an express messenger. Hank drives off some bandits in an attempted hold-up, but recognizes his son Tom as one of the bandits. A later robbery is blamed on Hank but Jimmy and his sidekick Cannonball Taylor bring in the real culprits and clear Hank's name.

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  • 1946
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    Lost City of the Jungle

    Lost City of the Jungle

    5.9 1946 HD

    A movie serial in 13 chapters, and Lionel Atwill's final film: Following the end of WWII, war-monger Sir Eric Hazarias sets the wheel in motion for WWIII. His search for Meteorium 245, the only practical defence against the atomic bomb, leads him to mythical Pendrang. Obstructing his sinister plan to rule the world are Rod Stanton, United Peace Foundation investigator, Tal Shan , Pendrang native, and Marjorie Elmore, daughter of scientist Dr. Elmore, unwilling assistant to Sir Eric.

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  • 2014
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    Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film

    Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film

    7.5 2014 HD

    Join foremost experts discussing true Horror Classics - Frankenstein, Dracula, The Black Cat, Wolfman, King Kong, Bride of Frankenstein, and more. Grab the popcorn and take a deep breath as we conjure up the thrills, chills and magic of Monster Madness!

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  • 1946
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    Lawless Breed

    Lawless Breed

    1 1946 HD

    Government agents Ted Everett and Tumbleweed are sent to Spearville, Texas, where the law agencies have failed to stop a series of bank robberies. Arriving incognito, they become involved with the gang, and end up being accused of murdering banker Bartlet Mellon. They escape a lynch mob and return with evidence that Mellon has faked his death, hoping to gain the insurance, and is also leading the gang under another name.

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  • 1950
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    Outlaw Gold

    Outlaw Gold

    1 1950 HD

    Johnny Mack Brown dodges bullets while he tries to figure out who stole the Mexican gold and who killed the newspaper editor.

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  • 1946
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    Rustler's Round-up

    Rustler's Round-up

    1 1946 HD

    A cowboy sets out to break up a gang of rustlers.

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  • 1945
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    Salome, Where She Danced

    Salome, Where She Danced

    3.7 1945 HD

    During the Austrian-Prussian war, Anna Marie is a dancer who is forced to flee her country after she is accused of being a spy. She ends up in a lawless western town in Arizona, where she uses her charms and dancing skills to transform herself into "Salome" during her dance routines.

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  • 1949
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    Master Minds

    Master Minds

    6 1949 HD

    When Sach eats too much sugar, he goes into a trance whereby he's able to predict the future. Slip tries to make some money off of Sach by using him as a fortune teller in a carnival, until a mad scientist kidnaps Sach to use him in an intelligence-switching experiment with a monster.

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  • 1950
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    The Girl from San Lorenzo

    The Girl from San Lorenzo

    1 1950 HD

    Cisco and Pancho set out to clear their names in a series of stage robberies committed by two thugs who are impersonating them.

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  • 1950
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    Law of the Panhandle

    Law of the Panhandle

    1 1950 HD

    Johnny Mack Brown follows his tried-and-true western formula in Law of the Panhandle. This time, U.S. Marshal Brown backs up Sheriff Tom Stocker (Riley Hill) in an ongoing battle against a marauding outlaw gang. The thieves, led by snarling Henry Faulkner (Myron Healey), hope to scare all the local ranchers off the land that will soon be purchased by the railroad that's coming through the territory.

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  • 1953
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    Secret of Outlaw Flats

    Secret of Outlaw Flats

    1 1953 HD

    Two episodes from the "Wild Bill Hickok" TV series edited together and released as a feature.

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  • 1945
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    Code of the Lawless

    Code of the Lawless

    1 1945 HD

    In this western, the hero fights the bad guys by impersonating the son of a rancher. The outlaws have been making the good landowners pay fake taxes. Not only does the good guy succeed in catching the bad guys, he also catches himself the postmistress.

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  • 1945
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    Trail to Vengeance

    Trail to Vengeance

    1 1945 HD

    A cowboy investigating his brother's murder finds himself going up against a banker who holds the deed to the cowboy's family ranch.

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  • 1946
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    Gunman's Code

    Gunman's Code

    1 1946 HD

    Wells Fargo agents Jack Douglas (Kirby Grant) and Bosco O'Toole (Fuzzy Knight) are sent after a gang of stage robbers. Danny Burton (Bernard Thomas, brother of Laura Burton (Jane Adams, is implicated before Jack is able to prove that saloon owner Lee Fain (Danny Morton) is the man behind the outlaw gang.

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  • 1949
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    Western Renegades

    Western Renegades

    5 1949 HD

    Brown's principal antagonist this time is the town boss, an outlaw who has killed the community's leading citizen. The dead man's grown children want to investigate the killing, but the outlaw puts a stop to this by hiring a dance-hall dame to pose as the kids' long-lost mother. Johnny isn't fooled by this subterfuge nor is his sidekick.

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  • 1945
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    Lady on a Train

    Lady on a Train

    6.6 1945 HD

    While watching from her train window, Nikki Collins witnesses a murder in a nearby building. When she alerts the police, they think she has read one too many mystery novels. She then enlists a popular mystery writer to help her solve the crime on her own, but her sleuthing attracts the attentions of suitors and killers.

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  • 1951
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    Street Bandits

    Street Bandits

    1 1951 HD

    A lawyer (Robert Clarke) defends a slot-machine king, and his bride (Penny Edwards) and partner (Ross Ford) don't like it.

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  • 1989
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    Batmania: From Comics to Screen

    Batmania: From Comics to Screen

    7.8 1989 HD

    This is the fully documented story of Batman—his genesis, his development, and his overall entertainment career. Told with dramatic insight, this action-filled documentary will satisfy every fan who has ever delighted in Batmania.

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  • 1946
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    Night in Paradise

    Night in Paradise

    4 1946 HD

    Aesop of fable fame poses as an old man and woos away a princess who wants a king for his gold.

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  • 1952
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    Adventures of Superman

    Adventures of Superman

    6.6 1952 HD

    It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a syndicated TV adaptation of the beloved DC Comics superhero! You know the drill: When he isn't fighting for truth, justice and the American way, the man in tights dons a suit and glasses for his secret identity as Daily Planet newspaper reporter Clark Kent, who works alongside friends Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen for gruff boss Perry White.

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  • 1950
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    The Cisco Kid

    The Cisco Kid

    5.9 1950 HD

    The Cisco Kid is a half-hour American Western television series starring Duncan Renaldo in the title role, The Cisco Kid, and Leo Carrillo as the jovial sidekick, Pancho. Cisco and Pancho were technically desperados, wanted for unspecified crimes, but instead viewed by the poor as Robin Hood figures who assisted the downtrodden when law enforcement officers proved corrupt or unwilling to help. It was also the first television series to be filmed in color, although few viewers saw it in color until the 1960s.

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  • 1949
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    Batman and Robin

    Batman and Robin

    1 1949 HD

    Join superheroes Batman (Robert Lowery) and Robin (John Duncan) as they help Commissioner Gordon (Lyle Talbot) battle The Wizard, a villainous madman who steals a top-secret remote device allowing him to control all the moving vehicles in Gotham. Between The Wizard trying to destroy them and Bruce Wayne's love interest Vicky Vale (Jane Adams) working to uncover their identities, The Dynamic Duo careen from one cliffhanger to the next as they set out to save Gotham and foil The Wizard's plan for world domination.

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