Charles Ruggles

Charles Ruggles had one of the longest careers in Hollywood, lasting more than 60 years and encompassing more than 100 films. He made his film debut in 1914 in The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) and worked steadily after that. He was memorably paired with Mary Boland in a series of comedies in the early 1930s, and was one of the standouts in the all-star comedy If I Had a Million (1932), as a harried, much-put-upon man who finally goes berserk in a china shop. Ruggles' slight stature and distinctive mannerisms - his fluttery, jumpy manner of speaking, his often befuddled look whenever events seemed about to overwhelm him, which was often - endeared him to generations of moviegoers. Memorable as Maj. Applegate the big-game hunter in the classic screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby (1938). Many will remember him as the narrator of the "Aesop's Fables" segment of the animated cartoon The Bullwinkle Show (1961). He was the brother of director Wesley Ruggles.

2 3 4 5

A Stolen Life (1946)

A twin takes her deceased sister's place as wife of the man they both love.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Curtis Bernhardt
CAST:  Bette Davis  •  Glenn Ford  •  Dane Clark  •  Walter Brennan

A twin takes her deceased sister's place as wife of the man they both love.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Curtis Bernhardt
CAST:  Bette Davis  •  Glenn Ford  •  Dane Clark  •  Walter Brennan

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

UpliftingClassicCuteFun

David Huxley is waiting to get a bone he needs for his museum collection. Through a series of strange circumstances, he meets Susan Vance, and the duo have a series of misadventures which include a leopard called Baby.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Howard Hawks
CAST:  Katharine Hepburn  •  Cary Grant  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Walter Catlett

David Huxley is waiting to get a bone he needs for his museum collection. Through a series of strange circumstances, he meets Susan Vance, and the duo have a series of misadventures which include a leopard called Baby.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Howard Hawks
CAST:  Katharine Hepburn  •  Cary Grant  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Walter Catlett

Follow Me, Boys! (1966)

Lem Siddons is part of a traveling band who has a dream of becoming a lawyer. Deciding to settle down, he finds a job as a stockboy in the general store of a small town. Trying to fit in, he volunteers to become scoutmaster of the newly formed Troop 1. Becoming ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Norman Tokar
CAST:  Fred MacMurray  •  Vera Miles  •  Lillian Gish  •  Charles Ruggles

Lem Siddons is part of a traveling band who has a dream of becoming a lawyer. Deciding to settle down, he finds a job as a stockboy in the general store of a small town. Trying to fit in, he volunteers to become scoutmaster of the newly formed Troop 1. Becoming ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Norman Tokar
CAST:  Fred MacMurray  •  Vera Miles  •  Lillian Gish  •  Charles Ruggles

It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)

A New Yorker hobo moves into a mansion and along the way he gathers friends to live in the house with him. Before he knows it, he is living with the actual home owners.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Roy Del Ruth
CAST:  Don DeFore  •  Ann Harding  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Victor Moore

A New Yorker hobo moves into a mansion and along the way he gathers friends to live in the house with him. Before he knows it, he is living with the actual home owners.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Roy Del Ruth
CAST:  Don DeFore  •  Ann Harding  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Victor Moore

Love Me Tonight (1932)

A Parisian tailor finds himself posing as a baron in order to collect a sizeable bill from an aristocrat, only to fall in love with an aloof young princess.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Rouben Mamoulian
CAST:  Maurice Chevalier  •  Jeanette MacDonald  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Charles Butterworth

A Parisian tailor finds himself posing as a baron in order to collect a sizeable bill from an aristocrat, only to fall in love with an aloof young princess.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Rouben Mamoulian
CAST:  Maurice Chevalier  •  Jeanette MacDonald  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Charles Butterworth

One Hour with You (1932)

Andre and Colette Bertier are happily married. When Colette introduces her husband to her flirtatious best friend, Mitzi, he does his best to resist her advances. But she is persistent, and very cute, and he succumbs. Mitzi's husband wants to divorce her, and has ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ernst Lubitsch
CAST:  Maurice Chevalier  •  Jeanette MacDonald  •  Genevieve Tobin  •  Charles Ruggles

Andre and Colette Bertier are happily married. When Colette introduces her husband to her flirtatious best friend, Mitzi, he does his best to resist her advances. But she is persistent, and very cute, and he succumbs. Mitzi's husband wants to divorce her, and has ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ernst Lubitsch
CAST:  Maurice Chevalier  •  Jeanette MacDonald  •  Genevieve Tobin  •  Charles Ruggles

Ramrod (1947)

A cattle-vs.-sheepman feud loses Connie Dickason her fiance, but gains her his ranch, which she determines to run alone in opposition to Frank Ivey, "boss" of the valley, whom her father Ben wanted her to marry. She hires recovering alcoholic Dave Nash as foreman ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  André de Toth
CAST:  Joel McCrea  •  Veronica Lake  •  Don DeFore  •  Donald Crisp

A cattle-vs.-sheepman feud loses Connie Dickason her fiance, but gains her his ranch, which she determines to run alone in opposition to Frank Ivey, "boss" of the valley, whom her father Ben wanted her to marry. She hires recovering alcoholic Dave Nash as foreman ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  André de Toth
CAST:  Joel McCrea  •  Veronica Lake  •  Don DeFore  •  Donald Crisp

Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)

In this comedy of an Englishman stranded in a sea of barbaric Americans, Marmaduke Ruggles, a gentleman's gentleman and butler to an Earl is lost in a poker game to an uncouth American cattle baron. Ruggles's life is turned upside down as he's taken to the USA, is ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Leo McCarey
CAST:  Charles Laughton  •  Mary Boland  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Zasu Pitts

In this comedy of an Englishman stranded in a sea of barbaric Americans, Marmaduke Ruggles, a gentleman's gentleman and butler to an Earl is lost in a poker game to an uncouth American cattle baron. Ruggles's life is turned upside down as he's taken to the USA, is ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Leo McCarey
CAST:  Charles Laughton  •  Mary Boland  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Zasu Pitts

The Invisible Woman (1940)

Kitty Carroll, an attractive store model, volunteers to become a test subject for a machine that will make her invisible so that she can use her invisibility to exact revenge on her ex-boss.  (more)

DIRECTION:  A. Edward Sutherland
CAST:  Virginia Bruce  •  John Barrymore  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Oskar Homolka

Kitty Carroll, an attractive store model, volunteers to become a test subject for a machine that will make her invisible so that she can use her invisibility to exact revenge on her ex-boss.  (more)

DIRECTION:  A. Edward Sutherland
CAST:  Virginia Bruce  •  John Barrymore  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Oskar Homolka

The Parent Trap (1961)

CharmingClassicCuteFun

Two identical twin sisters, separated at birth by their parents' divorce, are reunited years later at a summer camp, where they scheme to bring their parents back together. The girls, one of whom has been living with their mother and the other with their father, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  David Swift
CAST:  Hayley Mills  •  Maureen O'Hara  •  Brian Keith  •  Charles Ruggles

Two identical twin sisters, separated at birth by their parents' divorce, are reunited years later at a summer camp, where they scheme to bring their parents back together. The girls, one of whom has been living with their mother and the other with their father, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  David Swift
CAST:  Hayley Mills  •  Maureen O'Hara  •  Brian Keith  •  Charles Ruggles

Trouble in Paradise (1932)

Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ernst Lubitsch
CAST:  Miriam Hopkins  •  Kay Francis  •  Herbert Marshall  •  Charles Ruggles

Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ernst Lubitsch
CAST:  Miriam Hopkins  •  Kay Francis  •  Herbert Marshall  •  Charles Ruggles

The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)

A simple wink, intended by Austrian palace guard Lt. Nikolaus von Preyn for girlfriend, Franzi, is accidentally intercepted -- and misread -- by the visiting Princess Anna. As a result, the soldier has no choice but to marry the royal lady and move with her to the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ernst Lubitsch
CAST:  Maurice Chevalier  •  Claudette Colbert  •  Miriam Hopkins  •  Charles Ruggles

A simple wink, intended by Austrian palace guard Lt. Nikolaus von Preyn for girlfriend, Franzi, is accidentally intercepted -- and misread -- by the visiting Princess Anna. As a result, the soldier has no choice but to marry the royal lady and move with her to the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ernst Lubitsch
CAST:  Maurice Chevalier  •  Claudette Colbert  •  Miriam Hopkins  •  Charles Ruggles

Alice in Wonderland (1933)

In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Norman Z. McLeod
CAST:  Charlotte Henry  •  Richard Arlen  •  Roscoe Ates  •  William Austin

In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Norman Z. McLeod
CAST:  Charlotte Henry  •  Richard Arlen  •  Roscoe Ates  •  William Austin

The House That Shadows Built (1931)

The House That Shadows Built (1931) is a short feature, roughly 48 minutes long, from Paramount Pictures made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the studio's founding in 1912. It was a promotional film for exhibitors and never had a regular theatrical release and ...  (more)

DIRECTION: 
CAST:  Groucho Marx  •  Harpo Marx  •  Chico Marx  •  Zeppo Marx

The House That Shadows Built (1931) is a short feature, roughly 48 minutes long, from Paramount Pictures made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the studio's founding in 1912. It was a promotional film for exhibitors and never had a regular theatrical release and ...  (more)

DIRECTION: 
CAST:  Groucho Marx  •  Harpo Marx  •  Chico Marx  •  Zeppo Marx

Ben and Me (1953)

A revisionist version of American history as a small mouse comes to live with Benjamin Franklin and turns out to be responsible for many of his ideas; including the beginning of the Declaration of Independance!  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hamilton Luske
CAST:  Sterling Holloway  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Hans Conried  •  Bill Thompson

A revisionist version of American history as a small mouse comes to live with Benjamin Franklin and turns out to be responsible for many of his ideas; including the beginning of the Declaration of Independance!  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hamilton Luske
CAST:  Sterling Holloway  •  Charles Ruggles  •  Hans Conried  •  Bill Thompson

This Is the Night (1932)

When Stephen, the husband of Gerald’s mistress, Claire, discovers a pair of tickets for their planned trip to Venice, Gerald must invent a wife to cover their tracks. He is then forced to hire a woman to play “his wife” when Stephen insists he and Claire accompany ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Frank Tuttle
CAST:  Cary Grant  •  Thelma Todd  •  Roland Young  •  Charles Ruggles

When Stephen, the husband of Gerald’s mistress, Claire, discovers a pair of tickets for their planned trip to Venice, Gerald must invent a wife to cover their tracks. He is then forced to hire a woman to play “his wife” when Stephen insists he and Claire accompany ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Frank Tuttle
CAST:  Cary Grant  •  Thelma Todd  •  Roland Young  •  Charles Ruggles

If I Had a Million (1932)

An elderly business tycoon, believed to be dying, decides to give a million dollars each to eight strangers chosen at random from the phone directory.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Norman Taurog  •  Ernst Lubitsch  •  H. Bruce Humberstone  •  Norman Z. McLeod  •  William A. Seiter  •  Lothar Mendes  •  James Cruze  •  Stephen Roberts
CAST:  Gary Cooper  •  Charles Laughton  •  George Raft  •  Jack Oakie

An elderly business tycoon, believed to be dying, decides to give a million dollars each to eight strangers chosen at random from the phone directory.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Norman Taurog  •  Ernst Lubitsch  •  H. Bruce Humberstone  •  Norman Z. McLeod  •  William A. Seiter  •  Lothar Mendes  •  James Cruze  •  Stephen Roberts
CAST:  Gary Cooper  •  Charles Laughton  •  George Raft  •  Jack Oakie

Queen High (1930)

The two partners of a ladies' garter business are constantly feuding with each other. When they ask their lawyer to dissolve their partnership, he proposes that instead the two of them play a single poker hand: the loser to become the winner's personal manservant ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Fred C. Newmeyer
CAST:  Charles Ruggles  •  Frank Morgan  •  Ginger Rogers  •  Betty Garde

The two partners of a ladies' garter business are constantly feuding with each other. When they ask their lawyer to dissolve their partnership, he proposes that instead the two of them play a single poker hand: the loser to become the winner's personal manservant ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Fred C. Newmeyer
CAST:  Charles Ruggles  •  Frank Morgan  •  Ginger Rogers  •  Betty Garde

The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935)

The wisp of a storyline involves two-bit radio station owner Spud Miller, who doubles as the station's sole announcer while his comic partner Smiley serves as the house crooner. On the verge of bankruptcy, Spud is receptive to the wacky notions of George and Gracie ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Norman Taurog
CAST:  Jack Oakie  •  George Burns  •  Gracie Allen  •  Lyda Roberti

The wisp of a storyline involves two-bit radio station owner Spud Miller, who doubles as the station's sole announcer while his comic partner Smiley serves as the house crooner. On the verge of bankruptcy, Spud is receptive to the wacky notions of George and Gracie ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Norman Taurog
CAST:  Jack Oakie  •  George Burns  •  Gracie Allen  •  Lyda Roberti

Murder in the Private Car (1934)

Ruth Raymond works on the telephone switchboard of a large NYC office building. One day, a private detective informs her that she is actually the daughter of railroad tycoon Luke Carson, and that she had been kidnapped as a baby 14 years ago by Luke's vindictive ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Harry Beaumont
CAST:  Charles Ruggles  •  Una Merkel  •  Mary Carlisle  •  Russell Hardie

Ruth Raymond works on the telephone switchboard of a large NYC office building. One day, a private detective informs her that she is actually the daughter of railroad tycoon Luke Carson, and that she had been kidnapped as a baby 14 years ago by Luke's vindictive ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Harry Beaumont
CAST:  Charles Ruggles  •  Una Merkel  •  Mary Carlisle  •  Russell Hardie
2 3 4 5