Scarce vintage pencil signature on a 4x6-inch tan autograph album page, acquired in-person in the 1930s. In good condition, with the page lighter than might be suggested by the image shown here. Dark, physically imposing George Bancroft began his career playing heavies in westerns like James Cruze's The Pony Express (1925), but with the advent of talkies, was more commonly cast in gangster roles, most notably Josef Von Sternberg's The Docks of New York (1928), Underworld (1929) and Thunderbolt (1929).  For the latter, he received his only Oscar nomination.  Nearly impossible to work with as his ego grew to outrageous proportions, Bancroft was increasing relegated to character roles by the late 1930s, adding life to films like Mr. Deed Goes to Town (1936), A Doctor's Diary (1937), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Each Dawn I Die (1939), and John Ford's Stagecoach (1939).

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