Ann Rutherford
Ann Rutherford was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The daughter of a former Metropolitan Opera singer, John Rutherford, and her actress mother, Lillian Mansfield, Ann was destined for show business. Not long after her birth, her family moved to California, where she made her stage debut in 1925.
Ann appeared in many plays and on radio for the next nine years before making her first screen appearance in Waterfront Lady (1935). Ann's talent was readily apparent, and she was signed to three films in 1935: Waterfront Lady (1935), Melody Trail (1935), and The Fighting Marines (1935). By now, she was a leading lady in the fabled Westerns with two legends, John Wayne and Gene Autry.
By the time Ann was 17, she inked a deal with MGM, where she would gain the status of superstar for her portrayal of Polly Benedict in the popular Andy Hardy series with Mickey Rooney. Ann's first role as Polly was in 1938, in You're Only Young Once (1937). Three more Hardy films were produced that same year: Out West with the Hardys (1938), Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), and Judge Hardy's Children (1938). Ann found time to play in other productions, too. One that is still loved today is the Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol (1938), in which she played the sweet role of the Spirit of Christmas Past.
In 1939, Ann played the role of Annie Hawks in Of Human Hearts (1938) in addition to three more Andy Hardy films. But that year also saw Ann land a role in the most popular film in film history. She played Careen O'Hara, Scarlett's little sister, in Gone with the Wind (1939). Plenty of fans of the Andy Hardy series went to see it just for Ann. The film was unquestionably a super hit. Ann then resumed making other movies.
While working for MGM, Ann, along with the other stars, was under the watchful eye of movie mogul Louis B. Mayer. The bottom line was profit, and Mayer kept performers' salaries minimized as much as possible. Most tried to get raises and failed. Even Mickey Rooney was decidedly underpaid during his glory years at MGM. But not Ann Rutherford. When she asked for a raise, she took out her bankbook and, showing him the amount it contained, told Mayer she had promised her mother a new house. Ann got her raise.
In 1942 at the age of 22, Ann appeared in her last Andy Hardy film, Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942). She then left MGM and freelanced her talent. Ann was still in demand. In 1943, she appeared in Happy Land (1943), but it was a little later in her career when she appeared in two big hits. In 1947, she played Gertrude Griswold in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and Donna Elena in Adventures of Don Juan in 1948.
After that, Ann appeared in several TV programs and didn't return to the silver screen until 1972, in They Only Kill Their Masters (1972). Her last role came in 1976 in the dismal Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), whereupon she retired. Ann was approached to play the older Rose in 1998's mega hit Titanic (1997) but turned it down. She happily enjoyed her retirement being constantly deluged with fan mail and granting several interviews and appearances.
Ann Rutherford died at her Beverly Hills home on June 11, 2012 with her close friend Anne Jeffreys by her side. She was 94 years old.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 7.699 |
Birthday | 1917-11-02 |
Place of Birth | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
Also Known As | Therese Ann Rutherford, |
1939
Gone with the Wind
7.9/4048
The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruc...
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Gone with the Wind
1946
Inside Job
5.6/7
A pair of married ex-convicts trying to go straight get jobs at a department store. A gangster who knows about their past threatens to expose it unles...
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Inside Job
1938
A Christmas Carol
7/140
Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his yout...
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A Christmas Carol
1948
Adventures of Don Juan
6.4/34
Spanish Lothario Don Juan, the legendary lover and adventurer returns to Spain following a scandal and comes to the aid of his queen, who is under thr...
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Adventures of Don Juan
1947
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
6.7/126
Walter Mitty, a daydreaming writer with an overprotective mother, likes to imagine that he is a hero who experiences fantastic adventures. His dream b...
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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
1946
The Madonna's Secret
5.9/5
This drama is an updated version of Ulmer's 1944 film Bluebeard. It is set in New York and follows the exploits of an eccentric Parisian painter who h...
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The Madonna's Secret
1945
Her Favorite Patient
5.8/5
A beautiful female doctor visits her small hometown on her way back to Chicago. Her overworked uncle, who is the town's doctor, wants her to stay and...
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Her Favorite Patient
1942
Andy Hardy's Double Life
4.6/9
Andy is about to head off to college but he's got a few things to take care of before leaving. For starters, he must try and sell his junk car for $20...
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Andy Hardy's Double Life
1942
Orchestra Wives
5.8/10
Connie Ward is in seventh heaven when Gene Morrison's band rolls into town. She is swept off her feet by trumpeter Bill Abbot. After marrying him, she...
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Orchestra Wives
1941
Andy Hardy's Private Secretary
5.3/7
All set to graduate from high school , Andy Hardy flunks his English exam -- in spite of the fact that Aunt Milly is his teacher, and that the Judge h...
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Andy Hardy's Private Secretary
1945
Two O'Clock Courage
6.2/23
A cab driver nearly hits a man with amnesia, then helps him unravel his past, only to discover he's a murder suspect as she falls for him.
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Two O'Clock Courage
1941
Life Begins for Andy Hardy
5.7/6
With his high school graduation behind him, Andy Hardy decides that as an adult, it's time to start living his life. Judge Hardy had hoped that his so...
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Life Begins for Andy Hardy
1940
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
5.1/8
Judge Hardy takes his family to New York City, where Andy quickly falls in love with a socialite. He finds the high society life too expensive, and ev...
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Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
1940
Pride and Prejudice
6.9/140
Mrs. Bennet wishes to wed her five unmarried daughters and is overjoyed when a wealthy bachelor begins living nearby, but misunderstandings make happi...
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Pride and Prejudice
1939
Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever
5.5/11
Young Andy develops a crush on his drama teacher. When his play is chosen as the school's annual production, Andy seizes the opportunity to spend as m...
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Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever
1938
Love Finds Andy Hardy
6.1/25
Andy Hardy becomes entangled with three different girls all at the same time.
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Love Finds Andy Hardy
1972
They Only Kill Their Masters
5.3/11
An enigmatic young woman has been murdered in a small California coast town. The investigation by the local sheriff uncovers a complex web of relation...
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They Only Kill Their Masters
1942
Flag of Mercy
0/0
The 1939 dramatic short "Angel of Mercy," about Red Cross founder Clara Barton, is reedited to relate the story to America's involvement in World War...
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Flag of Mercy
1942
The Courtship of Andy Hardy
5.6/8
While Judge Hardy handles a couple's divorce, Andy takes a shine to their shy daughter.
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The Courtship of Andy Hardy
1941
Whistling in the Dark
5.8/14
The operators of 'Silver Haven', a cultish group bilking gullible rich people out of money, is set to inherit a large sum after the deceased woman's h...
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Whistling in the Dark
1942
Whistling in Dixie
5/3
Radio sleuth Wally 'The Fox' Benton travels to Georgia with his fiancé Carol to be married; and to help Carol's college chum, Ellamae Downs, solve a m...
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Whistling in Dixie
1943
Whistling in Brooklyn
6.3/3
Radio crime show host "The Fox" finds himself on the trail of a serial killer while a suspect himself.
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Whistling in Brooklyn
1941
Badlands of Dakota
5.875/8
In the Dakotas during the days of the Great Gold Boom, brothers Jim and Bob Holliday are bumping heads over the affections of pretty Anne Grayson. Whi...
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Badlands of Dakota
1942
This Time for Keeps
6/1
A young newlywed (Robert Sterling) finds working for his nasty father-in-law difficult.
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This Time for Keeps
1938
Out West with the Hardys
6.3/6
Judge Hardy goes to his friend's Arizona ranch to help her in a legal dispute, and he takes his family with him.
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Out West with the Hardys
1939
Judge Hardy and Son
5.3/5
Judge Hardy guides Andy through problems with girls, money and an essay contest.
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Judge Hardy and Son
1936
The Lawless Nineties
5.3/9
Federal Agents Tipton and Bridger have been sent to Wyoming where the vote on statehood is imminent. Plummer and his gang are out to make sure the vot...
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The Lawless Nineties
1946
Murder in the Music Hall
4.6/4
An orchestra leader turns sleuth to clear his ice-skating girlfriend for murder.
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Murder in the Music Hall
1939
Four Girls in White
6.3/3
Young Women go through Nursing School together, each with their own motivation for being there. They learn more than how to be a Nurse.
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Four Girls in White
1938
Of Human Hearts
5.8/21
This is a story about family relationships, set in the time before and during the American Civil War. Ethan Wilkins is a poor and honest man who minis...
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Of Human Hearts
1940
The Ghost Comes Home
5/2
Comic mayhem results when a small town pet store owner, mistakenly believed killed during a sea voyage, turns up very much alive.
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The Ghost Comes Home
1937
You're Only Young Once
5.5/9
Andy Hardy and his sister find romance during a family vacation in Catalina.
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You're Only Young Once
1936
The Lonely Trail
4.9/10
Though he fought for the North in the Civil War, John is asked by the Governor of Texas to get rid of some troublesome carpetbaggers. He enlists the h...
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The Lonely Trail
1935
The Singing Vagabond
7/1
Tex rides to the rescue when badguys led by LaCrosse and Utah Joe kidnap Lettie.
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The Singing Vagabond
1935
Waterfront Lady
5.5/2
When a young man is befriended by a gambling ship operator and made a partner in the business, he becomes involved in a police manhunt after he covers...
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Waterfront Lady
1937
Public Cowboy No. 1
5.7/3
Deputies Gene Autry and Frog go up against modern cattle rustlers. These rustlers use technology such as, airplanes, radios and refrigerated trucks to...
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Public Cowboy No. 1
1935
The Fighting Marines
6/1
Corporal Larry Grant and Sergeant "Mac" McGowan, of the United States Marine Corps, are rival for the love of Frances Schiller, but team up to hunt do...
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The Fighting Marines
1950
Operation Haylift
5/1
A pilot devises a plan to airlift hay to thousands of ranch cattle stranded and dying due to severe winter weather.
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Operation Haylift
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
1938
Dramatic School
6.2/4
Aspiring actress Louise Muban attends the prestigious Paris School of Drama during the day and works at a dreary factory assembling gas meters at nigh...
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Dramatic School
1939
These Glamour Girls
5.5/8
A drunken college student invites a dance hostess to the big college dance and then forgets he asked her. When she shows up at school, he tries to get...
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These Glamour Girls
1936
Down to the Sea
4.5/2
Greek sponge divers in Tarpon Springs, Florida duel over diving methods and fight over the same girl, and only one will survive.
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Down to the Sea
1936
Comin' 'Round the Mountain
0/0
His horse Champion steals the show from Gene when what's at stake is a horse race and a bull fight.
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Comin' 'Round the Mountain
1935
Melody Trail
4.7/3
Gene goes after the badguys after they kidnap the baby he should have been babysitting.
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Melody Trail
1936
The Harvester
0/0
In a small town in Indiana in the 1890s, the domineering and ambitious Mrs. Biddle arranges a marriage between her spoiled daughter Thelma and the tow...
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The Harvester
1938
Judge Hardy's Children
6.3/5
Judge Hardy takes a business trip to Washington, DC, where Andy promptly falls for the French ambassador's daughter.
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Judge Hardy's Children
1943
Happy Land
6.2/3
An Iowa drugstore owner becomes embittered when his son is killed in World War II. The druggist believes that the boy's life was cut short before he h...
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Happy Land
1941
Washington Melodrama
5/4
An elderly businessman (Frank Morgan) plans what he thinks is an innocent night on the town while his wife is away. Instead, he finds himself involved...
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Washington Melodrama
1937
The Devil Is Driving
5/1
In the fine tradition of And Sudden Death, Columbia's The Devil is Driving tabulates the dangers of drunken driving in an exciting, unabashedly melodr...
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The Devil Is Driving
1936
Doughnuts and Society
0/0
Kate Flannagan and Belle Dugan operate a downtown coffee shop and, while dispensing their locally-famous doughnuts, engage in their favorite pastime,...
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Doughnuts and Society
1940
Keeping Company
6.4/4
Wholesome comedy about newlyweds (and the bride's understanding--but sometimes interfering--parents) discovering married life isn't always bliss.
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Keeping Company
1940
Wyoming
5.9/4
With the army after him and his partner deserting, Reb decides that a change of scenery would be nice so he heads for Wyoming with Dave.
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Wyoming
1939
The Hardys Ride High
6/3
Sixth of the Judge Hardy series. Judge James K. Hardy is brought the fabulous news from attorney George Irving, that he could be the heir to 2 million...
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The Hardys Ride High
1939
Dancing Co-Ed
6.2/4
After discovering his star dancer is expecting and can't perform, film producer H.W. Workman and his publicist concoct a scheme to stage a college dan...
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Dancing Co-Ed
1936
The Oregon Trail
0/0
Army Captain takes a leave of absence to find out what happened to his missing father.....
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The Oregon Trail
1937
Espionage
6.5/4
Two reporters pose as man and wife in order to get the goods on a munitions supplier and the rumours of war in Europe.
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Espionage
1940
Andy Hardy's Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics... and Other Things
0/0
Andy wants to buy a new car so he goes into the judge's home office where his father is about to write a $200 check to charity. He asks his dad for th...
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Andy Hardy's Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics... and Other Things
1944
Bermuda Mystery
6/1
A private eye and a niece investigate when six World War I veterans start dying in the same week.
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Bermuda Mystery
1939
Angel of Mercy
6/1
This MGM Passing Parade series short tells the story of Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross.
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Angel of Mercy
1936
Annie Laurie
5/2
In late 18th century Scotland, Annie Laurie and William Douglas love each other, but their clans are on opposite sides of the country's civil war. The...
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Annie Laurie
1937
Carnival in Paris
6/1
In this short, the janitor of a Paris museum's Egyptology department agrees to help a girl hide from the police.
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Carnival in Paris
1934
Student Tour
5/2
A philosophy professor accompanies his school's rowing team on a worldwide tour.
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Student Tour
1943
Show-Business at War
7/3
A multi-studio effort to show the newsreel audience the progress of the Hollywood war effort.
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Show-Business at War
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
1940
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
5.5/2
This short promotes the premise that movies often create a demand for the fashions seen in them. It starts with a vignette in rural America. A mother...
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Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1976
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
4.1/15
A would-be filmmaker and actress shake up the industry with a trick dog who gets discovered by a studio bus driver in the 1920s.
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Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1988
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
8/3
This documentary revisits the making of Gone with the Wind via archival footage, screen tests, insightful interviews and rare film footage.
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The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1944
Take It or Leave It
4/1
A young husband becomes a game-show participant in the hopes of winning the cash to pay his pregnant wife's doctor.
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Take It or Leave It
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
1937
The Bride Wore Red
6.7/21
A poor singer in a bar masquerades as a rich society woman thanks to a rich benefactor.
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