Virginia Bruce

Born: 1910-09-29

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Virginia Bruce (September 29, 1910 – February 24, 1982) was an American actress and singer. Born Helen Virginia Briggs in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1928, she moved with her family to Los Angeles intending to enroll in the University of California, Los Angeles when a friendly wager sent her seeking film work. She got it as an extra in Why Bring That Up?. In 1930 she appeared on Broadway in the musical Smiles, followed by America's Sweetheart in 1931. She returned to Hollywood in 1932, where on August 10, 1932, she married John Gilbert, her co-star in the film Downstairs. She retired briefly after the birth of their daughter Susan Ann Gilbert. The couple divorced in 1934, and Virginia returned to a hectic schedule of film appearances. Gilbert died two years later in 1936. Bruce introduced the Cole Porter standard "I've Got You Under My Skin" in the film Born to Dance and co-starred in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical The Great Ziegfeld. One of her final film appearances was in Strangers When We Meet. In 1949, Bruce starred in a daily 30-minute radio drama. Make Believe Town was an afternoon program on CBS. Bruce married her second husband, film director J. Walter Ruben, in 1937, making the Wallace Beery western The Bad Man of Brimstone with him that year. Together they had a son named Christopher (b. 1941), before Ruben's death in 1942. In 1946, Bruce married Ali Ipar. They divorced in 1951 in order for him to receive a commission in the Turkish Military (which forbade promotions of men married to foreigners), but remarried in 1952 before divorcing again in 1964. Bruce died of cancer on February 24, 1982, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She was 71.


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Born to Dance

as Lucy James
Released: 1936-11-27

On leave, a sailor falls in love with a young lady aspiring to become a Broadway dancer, but...

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The Invisible Woman

as Kitty Carroll
Released: 1940-12-28

Kitty Carroll, an attractive store model, volunteers to become a test subject for a machine that...

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The Great Ziegfeld

as Audrey Dane
Released: 1936-04-08

Lavish biography of Flo Ziegfeld, the producer who became Broadway's biggest starmaker.

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Raffles

as Gwen's Friend (uncredited)
Released: 1930-07-11

A distinguished English gentleman has a secret life--he is the notorious jewel thief the press...

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Action in Arabia

as Yvonne
Released: 1944-02-18

Reporter Michael Gordon uncovers intrigue in Damascus, where the Allies and Nazis struggle for...

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Night Has a Thousand Eyes

as Jenny
Released: 1948-08-20

When heiress Jean Courtland attempts suicide, her fiancée Elliott Carson probes her relationship...

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That's Entertainment!

as (archive footage)
Released: 1974-06-21

Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50...

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The Love Parade

as Lady-in-Waiting
Released: 1930-01-18

The queen of mythical Sylvania marries a courtier, who finds his new life unsatisfying.

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Strangers When We Meet

as Mrs. Wagner
Released: 1960-06-29

A suburban architect loves his wife but is bored with his marriage and with his work, so he...

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Whoopee!

as Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)
Released: 1930-09-26

Western sheriff Bob Wells is preparing to marry Sally Morgan; she loves part-Indian Wanenis,...

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Shadow of Doubt

as Trenna
Released: 1935-02-15

When a Hollywood producer is murdered, the most likely suspect is a man who is smitten with the...

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Land of Liberty

as (archive footage)
Released: 1939-06-15

This film tells the history of the United States from pre-Revolution through 1939.

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Society Lawyer

as Pat Abbott
Released: 1939-03-21

Society lawyer Christopher Durant agrees to defend his friend Phil Siddall when Siddall is...

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The Mighty Barnum

as Jenny Lind
Released: 1934-12-23

20th Century Fox's highly fabricated film biography of circus showman P. T. Barnum stars Wallace...

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Between Two Women

as Patricia Sloan
Released: 1937-07-09

Allen Meighan, an intern, assures himself residency at 'General Hospital', when he saves the...

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The Man Who Talked Too Much

as Joan Reed
Released: 1940-07-16

A young law graduate joins his older brother's legal practice, only to discover the firm's...

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Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

as Self
Released: 1940-07-31

This 1940 presentation features highlights of earlier (1928 onward) Oscar ceremonies including...

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Women of Glamour

as Gloria Hudson
Released: 1937-03-09

A girl with a reputation falls for a wealthy playboy.

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Safety in Numbers

as Alma McGregor
Released: 1930-05-30

Before handing over a large inheritance, a guardian hires three chorus girls to educate his...

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James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1988-11-22

Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.

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Let Freedom Ring

as Maggie Adams
Released: 1939-02-24

A Harvard man fights a railroad baron with a disguise and the power of the press.

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Pardon My Sarong

as Joan Marshall
Released: 1942-08-07

A pair of bus drivers accidentally steal their own bus. With the company issuing a warrant for...

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Brazil

as Nicky Henderson
Released: 1944-11-30

Brazil is perhaps the best of the handful of US films made by Brazilian singing sensation Tito...

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Dangerous Corner

as Ann Beale
Released: 1934-12-04

Friends uncover a dark secret when they compare notes about a theft and suicide.

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Society Doctor

as Madge
Released: 1935-01-25

Two surgeons (Chester Morris, Robert Taylor) in love with a nurse (Virginia Bruce) end their...

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Woman Trap

as Nurse
Released: 1929-09-28

In Woman Trap, Hal Skelly is hard-bitten police sergeant Dan Malone, whose mission in life is to...

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River of Romance

as Southern Belle
Released: 1929-06-28

Mississippi, 1830's. Tom Rumsford comes back to Magnolia Landing, his parents'estate. Having...

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Paramount on Parade

as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Released: 1930-04-22

This 1930 film, a collection of songs and sketches showcasing Paramount Studios' contract stars,...

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Hollywood Hobbies

as Self (uncredited)
Released: 1939-05-03

In this short film, two starstruck movie fans hire a tour guide and see a plethora of Hollywood...

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Woman Against Woman

as Maris Kent
Released: 1938-06-24

A newlywed unhappily discovers that her husband's scheming ex-wife still has a controlling...

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A Dream Comes True

as Herself (uncredited)
Released: 1935-12-31

A promotional short to hype the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935).

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The Murder Man

as Mary Shannon
Released: 1935-07-12

Steve Grey, reporter for the Daily Star, has a habit of scooping all the other papers in town....

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Kongo

as Ann
Released: 1932-10-01

The ruthless Flint, a disabled man, rules an isolated region of Kongo like an omnipotent god,...

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Winner Take All

as Joan Gibson
Released: 1932-07-16

Overworked boxer Jim goes to a health ranch in New Mexico to recover where he falls in love with...

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Love, Honor and Goodbye

as Roberta Baxter
Released: 1945-09-15

A lawyer's wife walks out on him, then poses as a French nurse to spy on him.

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There's That Woman Again

as Sally Reardon
Released: 1938-12-24

Bill Reardon, a private detective, is working on a case involving stolen items from a local...

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Downstairs

as Anna
Released: 1932-08-06

In the Austrian manor of Baron and Baroness von Burgen, the relationship between the upstairs...

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Follow Thru

as Woman in Ladies' Locker Room (uncredited)
Released: 1930-09-26

Lora Moore, the club champion, loses a golf match to a woman from another golf club. Then Jerry...

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The Garden Murder Case

as Zalia Graem
Released: 1936-02-21

Detective Philo Vance is in charge of the investigation of several mysterious murders. Things...

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Jane Eyre

as Jane Eyre
Released: 1934-08-15

Jane Eyre is an orphan who was raised by her aunt until she came to Thornfield Hall as governess...

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Metropolitan

as Anne Merrill
Released: 1935-10-17

Opera prima donna leaves the Metropolitan to form her own company with Tibbett as leading man....

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Careful, Soft Shoulders

as Connie Mathers
Released: 1942-09-18

In this espionage movie, set in Washington during WW II, the daughter of an ex-senator has...

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There Goes My Heart

as Joan Butterfield
Released: 1938-10-14

An heiress takes a job as a department store clerk.

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The Reluctant Bride

as Laura Weeks
Released: 1955-08-01

A money-to-burn and girl-chasing Texas oilman, and a sensitive, dignified entomologist find...

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Yellow Jack

as Frances Blake
Released: 1938-05-19

A fairly accurate historical account of Walter Reed's search for the cause of "Yellow Jack" or...

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Pirate Party on Catalina Isle

as Virginia Bruce (uncredited)
Released: 1935-11-20

Various Hollywood performers put on a pirate-themed variety show on Catalina Island, with a...

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Hired Wife

as Phyllis Walden
Released: 1940-09-13

Ad man Stephen Dexter asks his secretary Kendall to marry him as a loophole in order to protect...

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The First Hundred Years

as Lynn Conway
Released: 1938-03-12

David and Lynn are a happily married couple. When David gets his dream job in another state,...

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Hollywood Goes to Town

as Self
Released: 1938-07-07

This short shows how Hollywood gets ready for the world premiere of an "important" movie. The...

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Young Eagles

as Florence Welford
Released: 1930-03-20

Lieut. Robert Banks, an American aviator on leave in Paris, meets Mary Gordon, a young American...

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The Miracle Man

as Margaret Thornton
Released: 1932-04-01

A gang of crooks evade the police by moving their operations to a small town. There the gang's...

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State Department: File 649

as Marge
Released: 1949-02-11

Kenneth Seeley, member of the U. S. State Department's Foreign Service Bureau, and Marge Weldon,...

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Adventure in Washington

as Jane Scott
Released: 1941-05-29

A troubled youth is offered the opportunity to serve as a Senate page in Washington, DC.

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Pointed Heels

as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Released: 1929-12-20

Fay Wray plays a beautiful showgirl who falls for a rich Park Avenue guy played by Phillips...

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Lilies of the Field

as Doris
Released: 1930-01-05

Mildred Harker loses custody of her child in a messy divorce settlement. Leaving her hometown in...

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Arsène Lupin Returns

as Lorraine de Grissac
Released: 1938-02-25

A woman and a man vying for a woman's affection: the usual love trio? Not quite so since the...

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Butch Minds the Baby

as Susie O'Neill
Released: 1942-03-20

Aloysius 'Butch' Grogan leads a life of criminal activities motivated to provide for a widow and...

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Let 'em Have It

as Eleanor Spencer
Released: 1935-05-15

Let 'Em Have It is a 1935 gangster film. It was also known as The Legion of Valour and False...

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Here Comes the Band

as Margaret
Released: 1935-08-30

In this musical, a songwriter goes to court to claim the rights to his song that was stolen by...

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Stronger Than Desire

as Elizabeth Flagg
Released: 1939-06-30

An attorney handling a murder case in unaware his own wife played a crucial role in the killing.

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When Love Is Young

as Wanda Werner
Released: 1937-03-26

In this drama, a girl from a small town in Pennsylvania dreams of being a star while she goes to...

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Flight Angels

as Mary Norvell
Released: 1940-05-18

Federal Airlines ace pilot Chick Faber is grounded by Flight Superintendent Bill Graves when a...

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The Social Lion

as Society Girl
Released: 1930-06-21

Marco Perkins is a garage mechanic and a would-be-prizefighter who gets a place on the ritzy...

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Let's Go Native

as Wendell Sr.'s Secretary (uncredited)
Released: 1930-08-15

The company of a musical comedy gets shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited by a "king" from...

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Escapade

as Gerta
Released: 1935-07-05

A romantic comedy-drama-musical of mistaken identity, infidelity and farce, set in Vienna at the...

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Times Square Lady

as Toni Bradley
Released: 1935-03-08

A young Iowa woman inherits her late estranged father's New York business, but the dead man's...

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Complicated Women

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2003-05-06

Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound...

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Wife, Doctor and Nurse

as Nurse Stephens
Released: 1937-09-17

Social butterfly marries Park Avenue doctor and learns that his nurse is in love with him.

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The Bad Man of Brimstone

as Loretta Douglas
Released: 1937-12-31

A ruthless outlaw becomes very protective of a prizefighter when he learns the young man is his...

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Only the Brave

as Elizabeth
Released: 1930-03-07

Cooper is a Union Army officer who after being jilted by girlfriend, Virginia Bruce, volunteers...

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Fugitives

as Extra (uncredited)
Released: 1929-01-27

Nightclub singer Alice Carroll is found in the office of club owner Al Barrow, who is lying dead...

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Sky Bride

as Ruth Dunning
Released: 1932-04-19

Barnstorming pilots Speed Condon, Bill Adams, and Eddie Smith travel the country with their...

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The Plague

as Nurse
Released: 1954-01-01

A nurse in the Red Crescent (the Turkish equivalent of the Red Cross) fights to save the...

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Hard to Get

as Young Woman (uncredited)
Released: 1929-08-04

A dress shop employee falls in love with a millionaire.

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Slightly Scarlet

as Enid Corbett
Released: 1930-02-22

Passing herself off as a countess, glamorous Lucy Stavrin hobnobs with the rich and famous along...

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Matinee Theater

as uncredited
First aired: 1955-10-31

Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of...

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Letter to Loretta

as Dee Norman
First aired: 1953-09-20

Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to...

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General Electric Theater

as Adele
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

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