Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton

1899-06-30 Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK 77 Credits

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

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Complete Filmography

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau

2014

as Self (archive footage)

6.7
Acting

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

Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film

2014

as Dr. Moreau (archive footage)

7.5
Acting

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

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

2009

as Self (archive footage)

7.5
Acting

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'

Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'

1999

as Self (archive footage)

6.9
Acting

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

Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld

1994

as Self (archive footage)

7.0
Acting

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

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

1991

as actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited)

7.7
Acting

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

Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies

1988

Acting

Famous Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

1983

as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

6.5
Acting

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

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

1982

as (in "The Bribe") (archive footage)

6.6
Acting

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!

Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!

1982

as Self (archive footage)

6.0
Acting

A collection of bloopers and outtakes from an enormous selection of Hollywood classic productions spanning from the 1930s through the 1980s.

The Horror Show

The Horror Show

1979

as (archive footage)

3.8
Acting

A history of horror movies.

Hollywood: The Dream Factory

Hollywood: The Dream Factory

1972

as Self (archive footage)

6.0
Acting

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

The Epic That Never Was

1969

as Tiberius Claudius (archive footage)

6.7
Acting

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

Advise & Consent

1962

as Senator Seabright Cooley

7.2
Acting

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

Spartacus

1960

as Sempronius Gracchus

7.5
Acting

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

Under Ten Flags

1960

as Admiral Russell

5.4
Acting

"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

Witness for the Prosecution

1957

as Sir Wilfrid

8.2
Acting

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

The Night of the Hunter

1955

Screenplay, Director

7.9
Writing Directing

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

Hobson's Choice

1954

as Henry Horatio Hobson

7.3
Acting

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

Young Bess

1953

as King Henry VIII

5.8
Acting

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

Salome

1953

as King Herod

5.8
Acting

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

Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd

1952

as Capt. William Kidd

5.9
Acting

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

O. Henry's Full House

1952

as Soapy (segment "The Cop and the Anthem")

6.5
Acting

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

The Blue Veil

1951

as Fred K. Begley

6.6
Acting

A World War I widow loses her only child and spends the rest of her life as a children's nurse.

The Strange Door

The Strange Door

1951

as Sire Alain de Maletroit

6.2
Acting

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

The Man on the Eiffel Tower

1949

as Inspector Jules Maigret

5.3
Acting

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

The Art Director

1949

as Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)

Acting

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

The Bribe

1949

as J.J. Bealer

6.2
Acting

United States Federal agent Rigby travels to the Central American island Carlotta to investigate a stolen aircraft engines smuggling racket.

The Girl from Manhattan

The Girl from Manhattan

1948

as The Bishop

5.0
Acting

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

The Big Clock

1948

as Earl Janoth

7.3
Acting

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

Arch of Triumph

1948

as Ivon Haake

5.8
Acting

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

On Our Merry Way

1948

as Reverend

5.5
Acting

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

The Paradine Case

1947

as Judge Lord Thomas Horfield

6.2
Acting

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

Leben des Galilei

1947

as Galileo Galilei

Acting

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

Leben des Galilei

1947

Writer

Writing

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

Because of Him

1946

as John Sheridan

6.2
Acting

A young woman who wants to break into the theater schemes to become the protege of a famous Broadway star.

Captain Kidd

Captain Kidd

1945

as Captain Kidd

6.0
Acting

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

The Suspect

1945

as Philip Marshall

6.7
Acting

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

The Canterville Ghost

1944

as Sir Simon de Canterville / The Ghost

6.7
Acting

The descendent of a ghost imprisoned for cowardice hopes to free the spirit by displaying courage when under duress.

The Man from Down Under

The Man from Down Under

1943

as Jocko Wilson

6.5
Acting

An Australian blowhard raises two orphaned children as his own in the years leading up to WWII.

This Land Is Mine

This Land Is Mine

1943

as Albert Lory

7.1
Acting

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

Forever and a Day

1943

as Bellamy

7.4
Acting

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

Stand by for Action

1942

as Rear Admiral Stephen Thomas

6.8
Acting

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

Tales of Manhattan

1942

as Charles Smith

6.3
Acting

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

The Tuttles of Tahiti

1942

as Jonas

5.5
Acting

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

It Started with Eve

1941

as Jonathan Reynolds

7.1
Acting

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

They Knew What They Wanted

1940

as Tony Patucci

5.5
Acting

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

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

1940

as Self

6.5
Acting

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

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1939

as The Hunchback Quasimodo

7.3
Acting

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

Jamaica Inn

1939

as Sir Humphrey Pengallan

6.1
Acting

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

Jamaica Inn

1939

Producer

6.1
Producing

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

St. Martin's Lane

1938

as Charles Staggers

7.1
Acting

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

St. Martin's Lane

1938

Producer, Additional Writing

7.1
Producing

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

Vessel of Wrath

1938

as Ginger Ted

6.7
Acting

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

Vessel of Wrath

1938

Producer

6.7
Producing

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

Rembrandt

1936

as Rembrandt van Rijn

6.8
Acting

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

Mutiny on the Bounty

1935

as Captaine Bligh

7.4
Acting

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

Les Misérables

1935

as Inspector Emile Javert

7.2
Acting

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

Ruggles of Red Gap

1935

as Marmaduke Ruggles

7.1
Acting

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

The Barretts of Wimpole Street

1934

as Edward Moulton-Barrett

6.0
Acting

Remarkable poet Elizabeth Barrett is slowly recovering from a crippling illness with the help of her siblings, especially her youngest sister, Henriet...

White Woman

White Woman

1933

as Horace H. Prin

5.7
Acting

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

The Private Life of Henry VIII

1933

as Henry VIII

6.4
Acting

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

The Clerk

1933

as Phineas V. Lambert

5.0
Acting

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

Island of Lost Souls

1932

as Dr. Moreau

6.9
Acting

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

The Sign of the Cross

1932

as Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar

6.2
Acting

A Roman soldier becomes torn between his love for a Christian woman and his loyalty to Emperor Nero.

If I Had a Million

If I Had a Million

1932

as Phineas V. Lambert

6.7
Acting

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

Payment Deferred

1932

as William Marble

5.9
Acting

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

The Old Dark House

1932

as Sir William Porterhouse

6.7
Acting

In a remote region of Wales, five travelers beset by a relentless storm find shelter in an old mansion.

Devil and the Deep

Devil and the Deep

1932

as Cmdr. Charles Sturm

5.0
Acting

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

Down River

1931

as Captain Grossman

Acting

A murderous skipper involved in dope trafficking.

Comets

Comets

1930

as Himself

Acting

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

Wolves

Wolves

1930

as Captain Job

Acting

An outlaw leader fakes a draw for a sick girl so he can help her escape

Piccadilly

Piccadilly

1929

as A Continental Visitor

6.4
Acting

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

Blue Bottles

1928

as Burglar

6.5
Acting

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

Daydreams

1928

as Lecherous Boarder / Ram Das in Dream Sequence

Acting

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

The Tonic

1928

as Father of the Family

7.0
Acting

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