Biography
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 ...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
2014
as Self (archive footage)
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...

Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film
2014
as Dr. Moreau (archive footage)
Join foremost experts discussing true Horror Classics - Frankenstein, Dracula, The Black Cat, Wolfman, King Kong, Bride of Frankenstein, and more. Gra...

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009
as Self (archive footage)
This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips and insight into what made the year so special.

Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
1999
as Self (archive footage)
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...

Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
1994
as Self (archive footage)
Jerry Seinfeld celebrates the lives and careers of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Featured are clips from their movies and TV shows, plus home movies, n...

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991
as actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited)
This documentary, hosted by actor Burgess Meredith, explores the life and career of movie director Otto Preminger, whose body of work includes such me...

Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
1988
Famous Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival fo...

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
as (in "The Bribe") (archive footage)
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...

Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982
as Self (archive footage)
A collection of bloopers and outtakes from an enormous selection of Hollywood classic productions spanning from the 1930s through the 1980s.

The Horror Show
1979
as (archive footage)
A history of horror movies.

Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
as Self (archive footage)
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...

The Epic That Never Was
1969
as Tiberius Claudius (archive footage)
The story of the aborted 1937 filming of "I, Claudius", starring Charles Laughton, with all of its surviving footage.
The Life of Galileo
1964
Translator
BBC version of Brecht's epic account of Galileo's persecution for his 'heretical' idea that the earth moved around the sun.

Advise & Consent
1962
as Senator Seabright Cooley
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...

Spartacus
1960
as Sempronius Gracchus
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,...

Under Ten Flags
1960
as Admiral Russell
"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...

Witness for the Prosecution
1957
as Sir Wilfrid
An ailing barrister agrees to defend a man in a sensational murder trial where the unconvincing testimony of the defendant's wife becomes a subject of...

The Night of the Hunter
1955
Screenplay, Director
In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.

Hobson's Choice
1954
as Henry Horatio Hobson
Henry Hobson owns and tyrannically runs a successful Victorian boot maker’s shop in Salford, England. A stingy widower with a weakness for overindulgi...

Young Bess
1953
as King Henry VIII
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...

Salome
1953
as King Herod
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...

Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
1952
as Capt. William Kidd
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...

O. Henry's Full House
1952
as Soapy (segment "The Cop and the Anthem")
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...

The Blue Veil
1951
as Fred K. Begley
A World War I widow loses her only child and spends the rest of her life as a children's nurse.

The Strange Door
1951
as Sire Alain de Maletroit
The wicked Alain plots an elaborate revenge against his younger brother Edmund, leading to a deadly confrontation in his dungeon deathtrap.

The Man on the Eiffel Tower
1949
as Inspector Jules Maigret
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...

The Art Director
1949
as Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
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' ...

The Bribe
1949
as J.J. Bealer
United States Federal agent Rigby travels to the Central American island Carlotta to investigate a stolen aircraft engines smuggling racket.

The Girl from Manhattan
1948
as The Bishop
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...

The Big Clock
1948
as Earl Janoth
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...

Arch of Triumph
1948
as Ivon Haake
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...

On Our Merry Way
1948
as Reverend
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 ...

The Paradine Case
1947
as Judge Lord Thomas Horfield
Attorney Anthony Keane agrees to represent Londonite Mrs. Paradine, who has been fingered in her husband's murder. From the start, the married lawyer ...

Leben des Galilei
1947
as Galileo Galilei
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...

Leben des Galilei
1947
Writer
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...

Because of Him
1946
as John Sheridan
A young woman who wants to break into the theater schemes to become the protege of a famous Broadway star.

Captain Kidd
1945
as Captain Kidd
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...

The Suspect
1945
as Philip Marshall
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...

The Canterville Ghost
1944
as Sir Simon de Canterville / The Ghost
The descendent of a ghost imprisoned for cowardice hopes to free the spirit by displaying courage when under duress.

The Man from Down Under
1943
as Jocko Wilson
An Australian blowhard raises two orphaned children as his own in the years leading up to WWII.

This Land Is Mine
1943
as Albert Lory
Somewhere in Europe, in a city occupied by the Nazis, a gentle school teacher finds himself torn between collaboration and resistance, cowardice and c...

Forever and a Day
1943
as Bellamy
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, ...

Stand by for Action
1942
as Rear Admiral Stephen Thomas
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...

Tales of Manhattan
1942
as Charles Smith
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...

The Tuttles of Tahiti
1942
as Jonas
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...

It Started with Eve
1941
as Jonathan Reynolds
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...

They Knew What They Wanted
1940
as Tony Patucci
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...

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940
as Self
This 1940 presentation features highlights of earlier (1928 onward) Oscar ceremonies including Shirley Temple and Walt Disney, plus acceptance speeche...

The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1939
as The Hunchback Quasimodo
Paris, France, 1482. Frollo, Chief Justice of benevolent King Louis XI, gets infatuated by the beauty of Esmeralda, a young Romani girl. The hunchback...

Jamaica Inn
1939
as Sir Humphrey Pengallan
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...

Jamaica Inn
1939
Producer
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...

St. Martin's Lane
1938
as Charles Staggers
On the sidewalks of the London theater district the buskers (street performers) earn enough coins for a cheap room. Charles, who recites dramatic mono...

St. Martin's Lane
1938
Producer, Additional Writing
On the sidewalks of the London theater district the buskers (street performers) earn enough coins for a cheap room. Charles, who recites dramatic mono...

Vessel of Wrath
1938
as Ginger Ted
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...

Vessel of Wrath
1938
Producer
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...

Rembrandt
1936
as Rembrandt van Rijn
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...

Mutiny on the Bounty
1935
as Captaine Bligh
Fletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. However, Bligh returns one year later, hell bent ...

Les Misérables
1935
as Inspector Emile Javert
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both me...

Ruggles of Red Gap
1935
as Marmaduke Ruggles
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...

The Barretts of Wimpole Street
1934
as Edward Moulton-Barrett
Remarkable poet Elizabeth Barrett is slowly recovering from a crippling illness with the help of her siblings, especially her youngest sister, Henriet...

White Woman
1933
as Horace H. Prin
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,...

The Private Life of Henry VIII
1933
as Henry VIII
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...

The Clerk
1933
as Phineas V. Lambert
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...

Island of Lost Souls
1932
as Dr. Moreau
An obsessed scientist conducts profane experiments in evolution, eventually establishing himself as the self-styled demigod to a race of mutated, half...

The Sign of the Cross
1932
as Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar
A Roman soldier becomes torn between his love for a Christian woman and his loyalty to Emperor Nero.

If I Had a Million
1932
as Phineas V. Lambert
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.

Payment Deferred
1932
as William Marble
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 ...

The Old Dark House
1932
as Sir William Porterhouse
In a remote region of Wales, five travelers beset by a relentless storm find shelter in an old mansion.

Devil and the Deep
1932
as Cmdr. Charles Sturm
Naval commander Charles Sturm has made life miserable for his wife Diana due to his insane jealousy over every man she speaks to. His obsessive behavi...

Down River
1931
as Captain Grossman
A murderous skipper involved in dope trafficking.

Comets
1930
as Himself
A Musical Revue featuring a number of prominent vaudeville and theatrical British artists of the day in songs, dances, dramatic and musical sketches.

Wolves
1930
as Captain Job
An outlaw leader fakes a draw for a sick girl so he can help her escape

Piccadilly
1929
as A Continental Visitor
A young Chinese woman, working in the kitchen at a London dance club, is given the chance to become the club's main act.

Blue Bottles
1928
as Burglar
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...

Daydreams
1928
as Lecherous Boarder / Ram Das in Dream Sequence
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...

The Tonic
1928
as Father of the Family
The family of the very wealthy but infirm Great Aunt Louisa await her untimely demise in the hopes of inheriting her great fortune.