Charles Laughton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English-American stage and film actor, director, producer and screenwriter. Laughton was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future wife Elsa Lanchester, with whom he lived and worked until his death.
He played a wide range of classical and modern parts, making an impact in Shakespeare at the Old Vic. His film career took him to Broadway and then Hollywood, but he also collaborated with Alexander Korda on notable British films of the era, including The Private Life of Henry VIII, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the title character. He portrayed everything from monsters and misfits to kings. Among Laughton's biggest film hits were The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Mutiny on the Bounty, Ruggles of Red Gap, Jamaica Inn, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Big Clock. In his later career, he took up stage directing, notably in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, and George Bernard Shaw's Don Juan in Hell, in which he also starred. He directed one film, the thriller The Night of the Hunter.
Daniel Day-Lewis cited Laughton as one of his inspirations, saying: "He was probably the greatest film actor who came from that period of time. He had something quite remarkable. His generosity as an actor, he fed himself into that work. As an actor, you cannot take your eyes off him."
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 9.9 |
| Birthday | 1899-06-30 |
| Place of Birth | Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK |
| Also Known As | Чарльз Лотон, 찰스 로턴, 찰스 로튼, Чарльз Лаутон, 查尔斯·劳顿, |
1960
Spartacus
7.545/2125
The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena,...
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Spartacus
1932
Island of Lost Souls
6.9/233
An obsessed scientist conducts profane experiments in evolution, eventually establishing himself as the self-styled demigod to a race of mutated, half...
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Island of Lost Souls
1952
O. Henry's Full House
6.4/34
Five O. Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critics' acclaim was "The Cop and the Anthem". Soapy tells fellow bum Horace that he is...
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O. Henry's Full House
1932
The Old Dark House
6.7/257
In a remote region of Wales, five travelers beset by a relentless storm find shelter in an old mansion.
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The Old Dark House
1947
The Paradine Case
6.2/234
Attorney Anthony Keane agrees to represent Londonite Mrs. Paradine, who has been fingered in her husband's murder. From the start, the married lawyer...
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The Paradine Case
1939
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
7.2/186
Paris, France, 1482. Frollo, Chief Justice of benevolent King Louis XI, gets infatuated by the beauty of Esmeralda, a young Romani girl. The hunchback...
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1939
Jamaica Inn
6.042/213
In coastal Cornwall, England, during the early 19th Century, a young woman who's come there to visit her aunt, discovers that she's married an innkeep...
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Jamaica Inn
1945
The Suspect
6.7/61
Genial shopkeeper Philip has to endure the constant nagging of a shrewish wife while he secretly yearns for a pretty young stenographer. When the henp...
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The Suspect
1949
The Bribe
6.3/30
United States Federal agent Rigby travels to the Central American island Carlotta to investigate a stolen aircraft engines smuggling racket.
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The Bribe
1982
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
6.6/379
Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist...
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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1941
It Started with Eve
7.1/26
A young man asks a hat check girl to pose as his fiancée in order to make his dying father's last moments happy. However, the old man's health takes a...
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It Started with Eve
1935
Mutiny on the Bounty
7.3/332
Fletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. However, Bligh returns one year later, hell bent...
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Mutiny on the Bounty
1942
Tales of Manhattan
6.2/30
Ten screenwriters collaborated on this series of tales concerning the effect a tailcoat cursed by its tailor has on those who wear it. The video relea...
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Tales of Manhattan
1979
The Horror Show
6/2
A history of horror movies.
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The Horror Show
1953
Salome
5.8/42
In the reign of emperor Tiberius, Gallilean prophet John the Baptist preaches against King Herod and Queen Herodias. The latter wants John dead, but H...
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Salome
1948
Arch of Triumph
5.9/32
In the winter of 1938, Paris is crowded with refugees from the Nazis, who live in the black shadows of night, trying to evade deportation. One such is...
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Arch of Triumph
1932
Payment Deferred
5.9/15
Bank clerk William Marble is desperate for money to pay his family's bills. When his wealthy nephew visits, Marble asks him for a loan, but the young...
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Payment Deferred
1935
Ruggles of Red Gap
7/69
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...
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Ruggles of Red Gap
1957
Witness for the Prosecution
8.2/1390
An ailing famous barrister agrees to defend Leonard Vole in a sensational murder trial where his self-possessed wife's testimony makes the case diffic...
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Witness for the Prosecution
1933
The Private Life of Henry VIII
6.3/77
Renowned for his excess, King Henry VIII goes through a series of wives during his rule. With Anne Boleyn, his second wife, executed on charges of tre...
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The Private Life of Henry VIII
1943
Forever and a Day
7.2/8
In World War II, American Gates Trimble Pomfret is in London during the Blitz to sell the ancestral family house. The current tenant, Leslie Trimble,...
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Forever and a Day
1945
Captain Kidd
6/28
Cutthroat pirate William Kidd captures Admiral Blayne's treasure ship and hides the bounty in a cave. Three years later, Kidd, posing as a respectable...
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Captain Kidd
1934
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
6/18
Remarkable poet Elizabeth Barrett is slowly recovering from a crippling illness with the help of her siblings, especially her youngest sister, Henriet...
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The Barretts of Wimpole Street
1935
Les Misérables
7.2/49
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both me...
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Les Misérables
1953
Young Bess
5.9/17
The mother died under the executioner's axe; the daughter rose to become England's greatest monarch -- the brilliant and cunning Queen Elizabeth I. Je...
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Young Bess
1943
This Land Is Mine
7.121/62
Somewhere in Europe, in a city occupied by the Nazis, a gentle school teacher finds himself torn between collaboration and resistance, cowardice and c...
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This Land Is Mine
1952
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
5.9/25
Two hapless waiters in a tavern on the Spanish Main play cupid between aristocratic Lady Jane and tavern co-worker Bruce Martindale, but the two bumpk...
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Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
1946
Because of Him
6.2/5
A young woman who wants to break into the theater schemes to become the protege of a famous Broadway star.
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Because of Him
1954
Hobson's Choice
7.3/129
Henry Hobson owns and tyrannically runs a successful Victorian boot maker’s shop in Salford, England. A stingy widower with a weakness for overindulgi...
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Hobson's Choice
1949
The Man on the Eiffel Tower
5.3/19
A down-and-out student is hired to kill a wealthy woman. When someone else is suspected of the crime, the student taunts police until they realize tha...
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The Man on the Eiffel Tower
1962
Advise & Consent
7.193/106
Proposed by the President of the United States to fill the post of Secretary of State, Robert Leffingwell appears before a Senate committee, chaired b...
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Advise & Consent
1951
The Strange Door
6.1/28
The wicked Alain plots an elaborate revenge against his younger brother Edmund, leading to a deadly confrontation in his dungeon deathtrap.
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The Strange Door
1944
The Canterville Ghost
6.615/39
The descendent of a ghost imprisoned for cowardice hopes to free the spirit by displaying courage when under duress.
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The Canterville Ghost
1936
Rembrandt
6.6/32
A character study depicting the life of Rembrandt Van Rijn at the height of his fame in the mid 1600s. Beginning with the death of his wife, Rembrandt...
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Rembrandt
1932
The Sign of the Cross
6.1/38
After burning Rome, Emperor Nero decides to blame the Christians, and issues the edict that they are all to be caught and sent to the arena. Two old C...
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The Sign of the Cross
1929
Piccadilly
6.4/30
A young Chinese woman, working in the kitchen at a London dance club, is given the chance to become the club's main act.
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Piccadilly
1948
The Big Clock
7.253/158
Stroud, a crime magazine's crusading editor has to post-pone a vacation with his wife, again, when a glamorous blonde is murdered and he is assigned b...
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The Big Clock
1932
Devil and the Deep
4.9/9
Naval commander Charles Storm has made life miserable for his wife Diana due to his insane jealousy over every man she speaks to. His obsessive behavi...
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Devil and the Deep
1983
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
6.5/2
Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival fo...
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Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1940
They Knew What They Wanted
5.4/6
While 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 accept...
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They Knew What They Wanted
1942
Stand by for Action
7/10
U. S. Navy Lieutenant Gregg Masterman, of The Harvard and Boston Back Bay Mastermans, learned about the sea while winning silver cups sailing his yach...
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Stand by for Action
1932
If I Had a Million
6.6/39
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.
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If I Had a Million
1972
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
6/2
A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading to the sale of its back lot and props. By extension th...
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Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1938
St. Martin's Lane
7.2/21
On the sidewalks of the London theater district the buskers (street performers) earn enough coins for a cheap room. Charles, who recites dramatic mono...
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St. Martin's Lane
1951
The Blue Veil
6.6/7
A World War I widow loses her only child and spends the rest of her life as a children's nurse.
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The Blue Veil
1960
Under Ten Flags
5.4/16
"Under Ten Flags" is a WWII movie loosely based on the true story of the German navy commerce raider Atlantis, a converted Auxilliary Cruiser, and he...
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Under Ten Flags
2014
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
6.6/107
The story of the insane scandals related to the remake of “Island of Dr. Moreau” —originally a novel by H. G. Wells—, which was brought to the big scr...
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Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
1942
The Tuttles of Tahiti
5.5/6
After a long absense from the island, Chester Tuttle returns to Tahiti to find that little has changed. His large family, particularly his scheming Un...
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The Tuttles of Tahiti
1948
The Girl from Manhattan
5/1
A small-town girl who's made it big in New York as a fashion model returns home, only to find that her somewhat dotty uncle has mortgaged his boarding...
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The Girl from Manhattan
1938
Vessel of Wrath
6.7/10
Ginger Ted, AKA Edward Claude Wilson, a drunkard and womanizer, and Miss Jones, a missionary, live in the Alas Islands. During a cholera epidemic, Gin...
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Vessel of Wrath
1982
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
6/1
A collection of bloopers and outtakes from an enormous selection of Hollywood classic productions spanning from the 1930s through the 1980s.
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Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1969
The Epic That Never Was
6.6/5
The story of the aborted 1937 filming of "I, Claudius", starring Charles Laughton, with all of its surviving footage.
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The Epic That Never Was
1933
White Woman
5.7/8
A nightclub singer marries the rich owner of a rubber plantation. When she returns with him to his estate in Malaysia, she finds out that he is cruel,...
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White Woman
1943
The Man from Down Under
6.5/2
An Australian blowhard raises two orphaned children as his own in the years leading up to WWII.
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The Man from Down Under
2014
Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film
7.5/4
Join foremost experts discussing true Horror Classics - Frankenstein, Dracula, The Black Cat, Wolfman, King Kong, Bride of Frankenstein, and more. Gra...
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Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film
1928
Blue Bottles
6.5/2
As criminals assemble for a convention, a policeman investigates and is abducted. A young woman finds his whistle and blows it. The full forces of the...
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Blue Bottles
2002
Charles Laughton Directs 'The Night of the Hunter'
5.7/5
An assembled compilation of footage from rushes, outtakes, and behind-the-scenes moments featuring Charles Laughton directing The Night of the Hunter,...
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Charles Laughton Directs 'The Night of the Hunter'
1928
Daydreams
0/0
A young cleaning woman in a boarding-house relieves the drudgery of her job by daydreaming that a foreign student at the house, who she believes is in...
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Daydreams
1928
The Tonic
0/0
The family of the very wealthy but infirm Great Aunt Louisa await her untimely demise in the hopes of inheriting her great fortune.
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The Tonic
1930
Comets
0/0
A Musical Revue featuring a number of prominent vaudeville and theatrical British artists of the day in songs, dances, dramatic and musical sketches.
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Comets
1930
Wolves
0/0
An outlaw leader fakes a draw for a sick girl so he can help her escape
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Wolves
1931
Down River
0/0
A murderous skipper involved in dope trafficking.
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Down River
1947
Leben des Galilei
0/0
Galileo, an eminent professor and scientist in the 17th century Venetian Republic, is short of money. A prospective student tells him about a novel in...
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Leben des Galilei
1940
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
6.5/3
This 1940 presentation features highlights of earlier (1928 onward) Oscar ceremonies including Shirley Temple and Walt Disney, plus acceptance speeche...
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Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1933
The Clerk
5/1
When clerk Phineas V. Lambert receives his check in the mail, he shows little emotion. (Originally appeared as a segment of the film "If I Had a Milli...
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The Clerk
1949
The Art Director
0/0
A film's art director is in charge of the set, from conception to construction to furnishing. This short film walks the viewer through art directors'...
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The Art Director
1991
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
7.7/6
This documentary, hosted by actor Burgess Meredith, explores the life and career of movie director Otto Preminger, whose body of work includes such me...
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Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
2009
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
7.5/12
This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips and insight into what made the year so special.
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1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
1948
On Our Merry Way
5.5/14
Oliver Pease gets a dose of courage from his wife Martha and tricks the editor of the paper (where he writes lost pet notices) into assigning him the...
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On Our Merry Way
1999
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
6.9/9
Starting with "The Wolf Man" (in 1941), Universal Studios made five movies featuring The Wolf Man, a character portrayed by Lon Chaney, Jr. Monster by...
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