Charles Laughton is the acting equal of Olivier, Gielgud and Richardson combined.
People tend to refer to acting giants like Olivier and Gielgud. However, the name of Charles Laughton deserves to be included. He was an actor of much versatility and usually returned to the theatre, even after achieving success in films. On the one occasion Charles Laughton directed a film, he received critical acclaim for his efforts. Perhaps he should have pursued that vocation further?
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- DirectorAlexander KordaStarsCharles LaughtonRobert DonatFranklin DyallKing Henry VIII marries five more times after his divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon.Laughton is Henry VIII personified.
- DirectorAlexander KordaStarsCharles LaughtonGertrude LawrenceElsa LanchesterThe respected painter takes to drink and faces down scandal after his wife dies.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsCharles LaughtonMary BolandCharles RugglesAn English valet brought to the American west assimilates into the American way of life.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsCharles LaughtonBela LugosiRichard ArlenA mad doctor conducts ghastly genetic experiments on a remote island in the South Seas, much to the fear and disgust of the shipwrecked sailor who finds himself trapped there.A controversial but good film, Laughton relishing his role!
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsCharles LaughtonMaureen O'HaraGeorge SandersA mild-mannered school teacher in a German-occupied town during World War II finds himself torn between collaboration and resistance.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsCharles LaughtonMaureen O'HaraCedric HardwickeIn 15th-century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.To this day after 30 years when I saw this film, there's something remotely haunting in Laughton's performance.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsCharles LaughtonJohn MillsBrenda de BanzieWidower Henry Hobson refuses to let his three daughters get married because he doesn't want to pay settlements, so they'll just have to outsmart him.
- DirectorStanley KubrickAnthony MannStarsKirk DouglasLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsThe slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsTyrone PowerMarlene DietrichCharles LaughtonA veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.Steals the film almost effortlessly.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsBoris KarloffMelvyn DouglasCharles LaughtonSeeking shelter from a storm, five travelers are in for a bizarre and terrifying night when they stumble upon the Femm family estate.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsCharles LaughtonClark GableFranchot ToneFirst mate Fletcher Christian leads a revolt against his sadistic commander, Captain Bligh, in this classic seafaring adventure, based on the real-life 1789 mutiny.Laughton takes the acting honours once again. His unyielding sadism as Captain Bligh is quite disturbing.
- DirectorJules DassinNorman Z. McLeodStarsCharles LaughtonRobert YoungMargaret O'BrienThe descendent of a ghost imprisoned for cowardice hopes to free the spirit by displaying courage when under duress.
- DirectorSidney FranklinStarsNorma ShearerFredric MarchCharles LaughtonElizabeth Barrett's tyrannical father has forbidden any of his family to marry. Nevertheless, Elizabeth falls in love with the poet Robert Browning.
- DirectorRichard BoleslawskiStarsFredric MarchCharles LaughtonCedric HardwickeIn early-19th-century France, an ex-convict who failed to report to parole is relentlessly pursued over a 20-year period by an obsessive policeman.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsFranchot ToneLew AyresHenry FondaThe polarizing search for a new Secretary of State has far-reaching consequences.
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsCharles LaughtonBoris KarloffSally ForrestNoble-born cad Denis (Stapley) has been tricked into a forced stay at the eerie manor of the Sire de Maletroit (Laughton), an evil madman who can't get over the death of his beloved, 20 years after she married his brother (Cavanagh) instead, then passed away during childbirth. Maletroit is determined to have his revenge: the brother has been stowed away in the dungeon for two decades, while he's convinced his disreputable house guest will make a suitably hellish husband for his niece. As luck would have it, the young couple manage to fall in love, and with the help of manservant Voltan (Karloff), they try to make their escape, but not before a final confrontation with Maletroit in the dungeon's crushing deathtrap.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMaureen O'HaraRobert NewtonCharles LaughtonIn Cornwall, 1819, a young woman discovers she's living near a gang of criminals who arrange shipwrecks for profit.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsCharles LaughtonElla RainesDean HarensAn unhappily married man begins a flirtation with a younger woman. When his wife threatens to ruin her, he decides to take action.
- DirectorHenry HathawayHoward HawksHenry KingStarsFred AllenAnne BaxterJeanne CrainJohn Steinbeck introduces a quintet of five of O. Henry's most celebrated stories from his New York Period (1902-1910) in this anthology film.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsFredric MarchClaudette ColbertElissa LandiA Roman soldier becomes torn between his love for a Christian woman and his loyalty to Emperor Nero.
- DirectorBurgess MeredithIrving AllenCharles LaughtonStarsCharles LaughtonFranchot ToneBurgess MeredithFrench police inspector Maigret investigates the murder of a rich Paris widow and ends up chasing the killer up the Eiffel Tower's girders.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsRay MillandMaureen O'SullivanCharles LaughtonA magazine tycoon commits a murder and pins it on an innocent man, who then tries to solve the murder himself.
- DirectorPeter HallStarsGeorgine AndersonStephanie BidmeadMichael BlakemoreMistaken identity, unrequited love, and the supernatural are combined in Shakespeare's classic set in the woods of Greece on a moonlit night.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardVincente MinnelliStarsRobert TaylorAva GardnerCharles LaughtonFederal agent Rigby, in Central America to trace stolen plane engines, falls for the gorgeous wife of the chief suspect.Total rubbish from beginning to end.
- DirectorCharles LaughtonStarsRobert MitchumShelley WintersLillian GishA self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.A natural film director is in evidence.
- DirectorLothar MendesStarsCharles LaughtonMaureen O'SullivanRay MillandA man poisons his nephew out of desperation for money.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsJean SimmonsStewart GrangerDeborah KerrThe early life of Elizabeth I, from her childhood until her accession to the throne of England in 1558.
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtBusby BerkeleyStarsJane WymanCharles LaughtonJoan BlondellLouise Mason is a young widow who fills her empty life with the task of becoming a children's nurse. As the years pass, and the widow tries to find her own place in life, her young charges, the children of various employers, grow and soon find themselves ready to face the world. When it seems that she will be alone, the nurse finds that her 'children' have ideas of their own in regards to helping their beloved mentor.
- DirectorCharles LamontStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloCharles LaughtonRocky and Puddin' Head are waiting tables at an inn on Tortuga when a letter given them by Lady Jane for delivery to Martingale gets switched with a treasure map. Kidd and Bonney kidnap them to Skull Island to find said treasure.
- DirectorTim WhelanStarsCharles LaughtonVivien LeighRex HarrisonPickpocket Libby gets support from street performer Charles, and her dancing leads to her invitation to theater patron Harley's party which in turn launches Libby's stage career while Charles keeps on struggling in the streets.
- DirectorGarson KaninStarsCarole LombardCharles LaughtonWilliam GarganWhile courting a young woman by mail, a rich farmer sends a photograph of his foreman instead of his own, which leads to complications when she accepts his marriage proposal.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsDeanna DurbinCharles LaughtonRobert CummingsIn order to please his dying father, a man convinces a hat-check girl to impersonate his fiancée, but complications arise when the father's health suddenly improves.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsRobert TaylorBrian DonlevyCharles LaughtonDuring WW2, two Navy officers take command of an obsolete, World War I-vintage, destroyer that is assigned to convoy-escort duty in the Japanese-controlled waters of the South Pacific.
- CreatorJay DratlerStarsJoel AldrichTim GrahamJean ByronThis dramatic anthology series went into open syndication when the DuMont Television Network ceased operations.
- CreatorJoe ConnellyStarsRonald ReaganDon HerbertNancy ReaganAn American anthology series, with a new episode and different actors and actresses each week. Hosted by Ronald Reagan, the series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.
- DirectorRowland V. LeeStarsCharles LaughtonRandolph ScottBarbara BrittonThe unhistorical adventures of pirate Captain Kidd revolve around treasure and treachery.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsRita HayworthStewart GrangerCharles LaughtonAfter her banishment from Rome, Jewish Princess Salome returns to her Roman-ruled native land of Galilee, where prophet John the Baptist preaches against Salome's parents, King Herod and Queen Herodias.
- StarsRichard JoyPaul LambertHelen KleebOf the many anthology series, this is considered the most ambitious with outstanding talent in front of the camera. Attracting top ranked directors and scripts, it was often filmed live including the entire first season.
- DirectorRichard WallaceStarsDeanna DurbinCharles LaughtonFranchot ToneA young woman who wants to break into the theater schemes to become the protege of a famous Broadway star.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsGregory PeckAnn ToddCharles LaughtonA happily married London barrister falls in love with the accused poisoner he is defending.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsCharles BoyerRita HayworthGinger RogersA formal tailcoat that gets passed from one owner to another affects each life in a significant way.
- DirectorErich PommerStarsCharles LaughtonElsa LanchesterRobert NewtonIn the Dutch islands, the sister of a pious missionary attempts to reform a womanizing, drunken beach bum.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingCedric HardwickeFrank LloydStarsGeorge KirbyDoreen MunroeMay BeattyDuring World War II, an American travels to Britain to sell an old house near London that belongs to his family. However, he meets Leslie Trimble who lives in the house and who is resolutely against the sale. While they spend the night in an air-raid shelter she tells him the story of the building from its construction in 1804 until the present.
- DirectorCharles VidorStarsCharles LaughtonJon HallPeggy DrakeAfter a long absence from the island, Chester Tuttle returns to Tahiti to find that little has changed. His large family, particularly his scheming Uncle Jonas, would rather dance and romance than earn a living. When Jonas loses the family plantation in a cockfight, Chester saves the day by towing in a large ship abandoned at sea and claiming the salvage. But opening a joint bank account in the name of the Tuttle clan may not have been a wise decision..
- CreatorEric AmblerStarsAnthony GeorgeDoug McClureSebastian CabotDon Corey and Jed Sills operate Checkmate, Inc., a very high-priced detective agency in San Francisco. Helping them protect the lives of their clients is British criminologist (once an Oxford professor) Carl Hyatt.
- DirectorDuilio ColettiStarsVan HeflinCharles LaughtonMylène DemongeotGerman raider, using various disguises, forces British ship to surrender. Story told from German point of view.
- StarsJoseph CottenRobert MiddletonEverett SloaneAn anthology series hosted by and occasionally starring Joseph Cotten. The show often included court trials or individual's personal trials. The show was technically only "On Trial" but was popularly known as The Joseph Cotten Show.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsDorothy LamourGeorge MontgomeryCharles LaughtonTom Walker,former All-American fullback who gave up football to enter the ministry, returns to his old home town for his first assignment under the church Bishop , an old friend of his father. And Carol Maynard , a local girl who has become New York's most famous model, comes home to visit her uncle, Homer Purdy, a boarding-house keeper.She is dismayed to learn that the money she has been sending him to pay off his $3000 mortgage has been going to a bunch of non-paying guests, among them Aaror Goss, a radio contest fanatic, and a broken-down actress, Mrs. Brooke. Tom and Carol resume their romance which was interrupted when he went away to college and she to New York. This upsets the Bishop. Mr. Birch, holds the mortgage on Purdy's boarding house and is going to foreclose, and donate the property to Tom's church for a new building. Tom, clearly, has a conflict-of-interest situation on his hands.
- StarsSimon Callow
- StarsCharles LaughtonLaughton reads aloud the words of plays and poems.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsDeanna DurbinCharles LaughtonRobert CummingsIn order to please his dying father, a man convinces a hat-check girl to impersonate his fiancée, but complications arise when the father's health suddenly improves.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsCharles LaughtonMerle OberonEmlyn WilliamsThe life and times of the Roman Emperor Claudius (10 B.C. to 54 A.D.).The film was never completed.
- DirectorJames CruzeH. Bruce HumberstoneErnst LubitschStarsGary CooperCharles LaughtonW.C. FieldsA dying tycoon gives million-dollar windfalls to eight people picked from the city directory.
- DirectorMarion GeringStarsTallulah BankheadGary CooperCharles LaughtonA man sets out for revenge after learning of his wife's affair.
- DirectorPeter GodfreyStarsCharles LaughtonJane BaxterHarold HuthA customs investigator and his fiancee track down a gang of smugglers whose leader may be a murderer.
- DirectorAlbert de CourvilleStarsCharles LaughtonDorothy GishMalcolm KeenAn outlaw leader fakes a draw for a sick girl so he can help her escape.
- DirectorEwald André DupontStarsGilda GrayAnna May WongJameson ThomasA young Chinese woman working in the kitchen at a London dance club is given the chance to become the club's main act, which leads to a plot of betrayal, forbidden love, and murder.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsCharles LaughtonBinnie BarnesRichard CarlsonA crusty old Sergeant of the Queen's Australian army in World War I befriends a small orphaned boy and his tiny sister on the night he is to go back to Australia. The Sergeant emotionally decides to take them with him. He raises the boy and sends the girl to a prominent girl's school. As adults, the boy becomes the national boxing champion of Australia and the girl is a polished and beautiful young woman. As it is mentioned at the beginning of the movie, the boy has become orphaned, and the girl was a ward of the family, without either child's knowledge. This is a lovely film. However, the growing love between the boy and girl are a bit unbelievable beyond sibling love, but yes, it goes there. Afraid, they separate. This is an innocently presented movie about the old guy, his care and affection for the children even through adulthood, his desire to make them happy and safe, and the "miracle" that the kids are not siblings after all, since they are in love.
- DirectorRay McCareyStarsElsa LanchesterGordon OliverLenore AubertA British cleaning woman believes a glass eye has magical powers that will protect her from harm. She travels from London to Berlin and manages to obtain a job as a cleaning woman at Hitler's headquarters. However, her assassination plan is foiled. But, she and other secret agents manage to escape to London during RAF bombing raid of the Reich Chancery.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsIngrid BergmanCharles BoyerCharles LaughtonIllegal refugees lead dark lives in pre-World War II Paris.
- StarsBarry NormanJonathan RossDavid ThomsonDocumentary series profiling various Hollywood stars of yesteryear and more recent times.