Ronald Colman
British leading man of primarily American films, one of the great stars of the Golden Age. Raised in Ealing, the son of a successful silk merchant, he attended boarding school in Sussex, where he first discovered amateur theatre. He intended to attend Cambridge and become an engineer, but his father's death cost him the financial support necessary. He joined the London Scottish Regionals and at the outbreak of World War I was sent to France. Seriously wounded at the battle of Messines--he was gassed--he was invalided out of service scarcely two months after shipping out for France. Upon his recovery he tried to enter the consular service, but a chance encounter got him a small role in a London play. He dropped other plans and concentrated on the theatre, and was rewarded with a succession of increasingly prominent parts. He made extra money appearing in a few minor films, and in 1920 set out for New York in hopes of finding greater fortune there than in war-depressed England. After two years of impoverishment he was cast in a Broadway hit, "La Tendresse". Director Henry King spotted him in the show and cast him as Lillian Gish's leading man in The White Sister (1923). His success in the film led to a contract with Samuel Goldwyn, and his career as a Hollywood leading man was underway. He became a vastly popular star of silent films, in romances as well as adventure films. The coming of sound made his extraordinarily beautiful speaking voice even more important to the film industry. He played sophisticated, thoughtful characters of integrity with enormous aplomb, and swashbuckled expertly when called to do so in films like The Prisoner of Zenda (1937). A decade later he received an Academy Award for his splendid portrayal of a tormented actor in A Double Life (1947). Much of his later career was devoted to "The Halls of Ivy", a radio show that later was transferred to television "The Halls of Ivy" (1954). He continued to work until nearly the end of his life, which came in 1958 after a brief lung illness. He was survived by his second wife, actress Benita Hume, and their daughter Juliet Benita Colman.
Around the World in Eighty Days
as Railway OfficialBased on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the...
Movie page
The Talk of the Town
as Michael LightcapHilarity ensues when a falsely accused fugitive from justice hides at the house of his childhood...
Movie page
A Tale of Two Cities
as Sydney CartonThe exciting story of Dr. Manette, who escapes the horrors of the infamous Bastille prison in...
Movie page
Random Harvest
as Charles RainierWandered away from his asylum, an amnesiac World War I veteran falls in love with a music hall...
Movie page
The Prisoner of Zenda
as Major Rudolf Rassendyll / The Prisoner of ZendaAn Englishman who resembles the king of a small European nation gets mixed up in palace intrigue...
Movie page
Lost Horizon
as Robert " Bob " ConwayBritish diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash land in the Himalayas, and...
Movie page
A Double Life
as Anthony JohnA Shakespearian actor starring as Othello opposite his wife finds the character's jealous rage...
Movie page
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time...
Movie page
The Devil to Pay!
as Willie HaleSpendthrift Willie Hale again returns penniless to the family home in London. His father is none...
Movie page
Kismet
as HafizHafiz, a rascally beggar on the periphery of the court of Baghdad, schemes to marry his daughter...
Movie page
Under Two Flags
as Sgt. VictorSergeant Victor comes to the French Foreign Legion after taking the blame for his brother's...
Movie page
The Late George Apley
as George ApleyGeorge and Catherine Apley of Boston lead a proper life in the proper social circle, as did the...
Movie page
Champagne for Caesar
as Beauregard BottomleyWhen jobless genius Beauregard Bottomley interviews with Burnbridge Waters for a position at...
Movie page
Clive of India
as Robert CliveFort St. David, Cuddalore, southern India, 1748. While colonial empires battle to seize an...
Movie page
The Story of Mankind
as The Spirit of ManThe devil and the spirit of mankind argue as to whether or not humanity is ultimately good or evil.
Movie page
Arrowsmith
as Dr. Martin ArrowsmithA medical researcher is sent to a plague outbreak, where he has to decide priorities for the use...
Movie page
Cynara
as James WarlockA London barrister's marriage is under strain after his affair with a shopgirl who is out to...
Movie page
Beau Geste
as Michael 'Beau' GesteMichael "Beau" Geste leaves England in disgrace and joins the infamous French Foreign Legion. He...
Movie page
Lady Windermere's Fan
as Lord DarlingtonA society woman believes her husband is having an affair, a misconception which may have dire...
Movie page
If I Were King
as François VillonKing Louis XI masquerades as a commoner in Paris, seeking out the treachery he is sure lurks in...
Movie page
The Light That Failed
as Dick HeldarA London artist struggles to complete one last painting before going blind.
Movie page
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
as Captain Hugh 'Bulldog' DrummondBulldog Drummond finds himself immersed in another adventure when he stumbles upon a corpse in...
Movie page
Condemned!
as MichelSuave thief Colman is sent to Devil's Island, where he becomes romantically involved with the...
Movie page
Lucky Partners
as David GrantTwo strangers split a sweepstake prize to go on a fake honeymoon with predictable results.
Movie page
The Winning of Barbara Worth
as Willard HolmesWhile building an irrigation system for a Southwestern desert community, an engineer vies with a...
Movie page
Bulldog Drummond
as Captain Hugh 'Bulldog' DrummondBulldog Drummond is a British WWI veteran who longs for some excitement after he returns to the...
Movie page
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
as Self (archive footage)This documentary revisits the making of Gone with the Wind via archival footage, screen tests,...
Movie page
The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo
as Paul GaillardA Russian prince goes to Monte Carlo just after World War I with money supplied to him by...
Movie page
Romola
as Carlo BucelliniIn Renaissance Florence, a Florentine trader meets a shipwrecked stranger, who introduces...
Movie page
Stella Dallas
as Stephen DallasAn eccentric lower class woman struggles to gain respect in high society after marrying a...
Movie page
Two Lovers
as Mark van RyckeSet during the 16th-century Spanish occupation of Flanders, the story concentrates on the...
Movie page
The White Sister
as Capt. Giovanni SeveriAngela Chiaromonte is the daughter of a wealthy Italian prince who is killed in a fall from his...
Movie page
Her Night of Romance
as Paul MenfordAn impoverished British lord (Paul Menford) impersonates a doctor in order to woo an ailing...
Movie page
Raffles
as A.J. RafflesA distinguished English gentleman has a secret life--he is the notorious jewel thief the press...
Movie page
The Art Director
as Self - from 'Late George Apley' (archive footage) (uncredited)A film's art director is in charge of the set, from conception to construction to furnishing....
Movie page
A Thief in Paradise
as Maurice BlakeYears of failure and bad luck have made Maurice Blake a beachcomber on an island in the Samoas,...
Movie page
The Night of Love
as MonteroMontero, son of a Gypsy leader, is about to take a bride according to primitive ritual, when the...
Movie page
Her Sister from Paris
as JosephHelen has a twin sister, who is a famous actress named "La Perry". Helen and her sister decide...
Movie page
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
as 'A Tale of Two Cities' (archive footage) (uncredited)Henry Fonda hosts this retrospective on the career and films of iconic filmmaker David O....
Movie page
My Life with Caroline
as Anthony MasonA man thinks his high-spirited wife is cheating on him.
Movie page
The Masquerader
as Sir John Chilcote / John LoderA drug-addicted member of Parliament needs to take time off and secretly pull his life together,...
Movie page
The Unholy Garden
as Barrington HuntAt a hotel in the middle of the Sahara, an old man and his daughter try to keep the location of...
Movie page
The Rescue
as Tom LingardThe English adventurer Tom Lingard gets involved with islanders on a South Seas island, and he...
Movie page
Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies
as Self (archive footage)The life and work of Samuel Goldwyn, a Polish-born glove salesman who became one of Hollywood's...
Movie page
His Supreme Moment
as John DouglasJohn Douglas, a down-on-his-luck engineer, takes his sweetheart, Sara Deeping, to a play...
Movie page
The Magic Flame
as Tito the Clown / The CountThe Magic Flame (1927) is a feature film directed by Henry King, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and...
Movie page
Kiki
as Victor RenalKiki, a poor young woman who sells newspapers on the street corners of Paris, is able to land a...
Movie page
The Dark Angel
as Captain Alan TrentAlan Trent (Ronald Colman), his cousin Gerald Shannon (Wyndham Standing) and neighbor Kitty Vane...
Movie page
Governor C.C. Young Hails Greater Talkie Season
as uncreditedRonald Colman introduces the governor of California, who urges moviegoers to attend the cleaner,...
Movie page
The Jack Benny Program
as Ronald ColmanLaugh along with funnyman Jack Benny as he brings his underplayed humor to TV along with regular...
TV Show page
The Ed Sullivan Show
as SelfThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...
TV Show page
General Electric Theater
as GrahamGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...
TV Show page