Wesley Ruggles

Wesley Ruggles

Born: June 10, 1889
Died: January 8, 1972
in Los Angeles, California, USA
Wesley Ruggles (June 11, 1889 – January 8, 1972) was an American film director.

He was born in Los Angeles, a younger brother of actor Charles Ruggles. He began his career in 1915 as an actor, appearing in a dozen or so silent films, on occasion with Charles Chaplin.

In 1917, he turned his attention to directing, making more than 50 mostly forgettable films — including a silent film version of Edith Wharton's novel The Age of Innocence (1924) — before he won acclaim with Cimarron in 1931. The adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel Cimarron, about homesteaders settling in the prairies of Oklahoma, was the first Western to win an Academy Award as Best Picture.

Although Ruggles followed this success with the light comedy No Man of Her Own (1932) with Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, the comedy I'm No Angel (1933) with Mae West and Cary Grant , College Humor (1933) with Bing Crosby, and Bolero (1934) with George Raft and Carole Lombard, few of his later films were in any way memorable (an exception is Arizona).

His career was on the downslide when he teamed with the Rank Organisation in 1946 to produce and direct London Town with Sid Field and Petula Clark, based on a story he wrote. The film — British cinema's first attempt at a Technicolor musical extravaganza — is notable as being one of the biggest critical and commercial failures in that country's film history. Ironically, Ruggles had been hired to helm it because as an American, it was thought, he was better equipped to handle a musical — despite the fact that nothing in his past had prepared him to work in the genre. It was his last film. An abridged version was released in the U.S. under the title My Heart Goes Crazy by United Artists in 1953.

Ruggles died in 1972 in Santa Monica and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

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Movies for Wesley Ruggles...

A Burlesque on the Opera Carmen
Title: A Burlesque on the Opera Carmen
Released: March 1, 1951
Type: Movie
Peter Sellers makes funny voice narration over the Chaplin film A Burlesque on Carmen (1915).
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A Trip Through the World's Greatest Motion Picture Studios
Title: A Trip Through the World's Greatest Motion Picture Studios
Character: Himself
Released: August 15, 1920
Type: Movie
A Trip Through the World's Greatest Motion Picture Studios (1920) presents a fascinating glimpse into the Thomas H. Ince studios at Culver City.
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Triple Trouble
Title: Triple Trouble
Character: Crook
Released: August 11, 1918
Type: Movie
As Colonel Nutt is experimenting with explosives, a new janitor is joining his household. The inept janitor proceeds to make life difficult for the rest of staff.
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Her Torpedoed Love
Title: Her Torpedoed Love
Character: Messenger Inside the House
Released: May 13, 1917
Type: Movie
A wealthy invalid tries to add his hard-working cook to his will, but the conniving butler gets in the way.
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Behind the Screen
Title: Behind the Screen
Character: Actor (uncredited)
Released: November 13, 1916
Type: Movie
During the troubled shooting of several movies, David, the prop man's assistant, meets an aspiring actress who tries to find work in the studio. Things get messy when the stagehands decide to go on strike.
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The Pawnshop
Title: The Pawnshop
Character: Ring Client (uncredited)
Released: October 2, 1916
Type: Movie
A pawnbroker's assistant deals with his grumpy boss, his annoying co-worker and some eccentric customers as he flirts with the pawnbroker's daughter, until a perfidious crook with bad intentions arrives at the pawnshop.
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Beatrice Fairfax
Title: Beatrice Fairfax
Character: #15 Wristwatches
Released: August 7, 1916
Type: Movie
Beatrice Fairfax, the original advice-to-the-lovelorn reporter and her friend and not-so-secret admirer Jimmy Barton investigate calls for help and escape exotic perils and dangers. Episodes include exciting and fun stories of baby-napping, blackmail, jewel thievery, disguise, counterfeiting, and the long-unseen episode featuring entrancing cult starlet Olive Thomas and the real New York Yankees and Giants playing a game in the Polo Grounds.
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Police
Title: Police
Character: Jailbird and Thief
Released: May 27, 1916
Type: Movie
Charlie is released from prison and immediately swindled by a fake parson. A fellow ex-convict convinces Charlie to help burglarize a house.
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The Floorwalker
Title: The Floorwalker
Character: Policeman (uncredited)
Released: May 15, 1916
Type: Movie
An impecunious customer creates chaos in a department store while the manager and his assistant plot to steal the money kept in the establishment's safe.
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A Submarine Pirate
Title: A Submarine Pirate
Character: His accomplice / Sub Officer
Released: December 26, 1915
Type: Movie
A waiter tricks his way into command of a sub in order to rob a ship carrying gold bullion.
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Her Painted Hero
Title: Her Painted Hero
Character: Effeminate Party Guest (uncredited)
Released: November 20, 1915
Type: Movie
A stage-struck young woman becomes an heiress, and hopes to use her new-found wealth to fulfill a fantasy.
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A Night in the Show
Title: A Night in the Show
Character: Second Man in Balcony Front Row
Released: November 20, 1915
Type: Movie
Mr. Pest tries several theatre seats before winding up in front in a fight with the conductor. He is thrown out. In the lobby he pushes a fat lady into a fountain and returns to sit down by Edna. Mr. Rowdy, in the gallery, pours beer down on Mr. Pest and Edna. He attacks patrons, a harem dancer, the singers Dot and Dash, and a fire-eater.
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Shanghaied
Title: Shanghaied
Character: Shipowner
Released: October 4, 1915
Type: Movie
A shipowner intends to scuttle his ship on its last voyage to get the insurance money. Charlie, a tramp in love with the owner's daughter, is grabbed by the captain and promises to help him shanghai some seamen. The daughter stows away to follow Charlie. Charlie assists in the galley and attempts to serve food during a gale.
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A Lover's Lost Control
Title: A Lover's Lost Control
Character: Shoe Clerk
Released: August 2, 1915
Type: Movie
Mr. and Mrs. Gussle get up to some hijinks in this Keystone comedy.
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Gussle Rivals Jonah
Title: Gussle Rivals Jonah
Character: Ship Steward / Ship Passenger
Released: April 25, 1915
Type: Movie
Gussle Rivals Jonah is a silent comedy
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Gussle's Wayward Path
Title: Gussle's Wayward Path
Character: Clergyman
Released: April 9, 1915
Type: Movie
Gussle (Syd Chaplin) comes home with a cute little dog but doesn't want the wife to see it--leading up to a rather funny bit you'll have to see for yourself. The marriage, at first, seems ideal and Gussle and his wife seem devoted. However, it soon seems that this is an act for Syd and it's obvious he's quite the philanderer. Eventually, the wife catches on and sets out to catch him--leading to a rather cute and unexpected ending.
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Caught in a Park
Title: Caught in a Park
Character: The Cop
Released: February 6, 1915
Type: Movie
Featuring Charlie Chaplin's half-brother as The Husband, Phyllis Allen as The Wife, Slim Summerville as The Boy Friend, Cecile Arnold as The Girl Friend, and Mack Swain as The Bartender.