Ruth Clifford Movies
Veteran American silent-screen actress Ruth Clifford began her career at the tender age of 16, starring for various Universal companies. Britisher Monroe Salisbury, the teenage Clifford's leading man in melodramas such as The Savage (1917), Hungry Eyes (1918), and The Millionaire Pirate (1919), was a paunchy gent no longer in the bloom of youth and sporting an ill-fitting hairpiece. According to the actress, although ever the gentleman, Mr. Salisbury's appearance made love scenes somewhat uneasy. Clifford played Ann Rutledge in Abraham Lincoln (1924), but overall her career was on the wane when she struck up a lifelong friendship with director John Ford in the late 1920s. Along with another early silent-screen actress, Mae Marsh, Clifford would turn up in about every other Ford film, usually playing pioneer women. In more glamorous surroundings, Clifford and Marsh stole the limelight for a brief moment as aging saloon belles in Three Godfathers (1948) and, away from Ford, Clifford was the studio head's secretary in Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950). Her last recorded appearance was in Ford's Two Rode Together in 1961; she was billed merely as "Woman." Although not known for enjoying interviews, Clifford was keenly interested in film history and made appearances in two documentaries on the subject: the 1984 Ulster Television program A Seat in the Stars: The Cinema and Ireland and historian Anthony Slide's ground-breaking The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors. In the latter, she discussed the work of Elsie Jane Wilson, Clifford's director on both The Lure of Luxury (1918) and The Game's Up (1919). As old as the century, Ruth Clifford was one of the last remaining leading ladies of the early, silent era when she died at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Woodland Hills on December 1, 1998. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1917
Two men, "Tuolumne John" Silverwood (Rupert Julian, who also directed the film), and "Kentuck" Windfield Gordon (Harry Carter) are partners in a California mine. When an attempt is made on their claim by the Long brothers (Eddie Polo and Frank Lanning), Gordon is killed. Silverwood sends Gordon's daughter Nannie (Ruth Clifford) back home to Kentucky to live with her uncle, Henry Gordon (also played by Carter). But Uncle Henry has gotten remarried to a widow (Aurora Pratt) who has her own daughter, Rachel (Myrtle Reeves -- trivia buffs might like to know that she later became the wife of Oliver Hardy). Mrs. Gordon is very cruel to Nannie, but the girl is protected by mammy Aunt Chlorindy (Lucretia Harris). She sends Nannie to live with nice widow Mrs. Morgan (Gretchen Lederer), and eventually Nannie wins Tom Boiling (Emory Johnson) away from Rachel. When the pair are getting married, Silverwood arrives with a big present -- the fact that the mine has struck it big. This story, which took place in the 1860s, was loaded with comic touches involving "ignorant" Negro slaves -- the kind of stuff that people in the 1910s found amusing but today is justifiably considered highly offensive. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
A Man Called Peter is the story of Scottish-born Presbyterian minister and world-renowned author Peter Marshall, here played by Richard Todd. In his youth, Marshall moves to Washington DC, where he becomes pastor of the Church of the Presidents. His wisdom and conviction enables Marshall to communicate with men of all faiths. In private life, the pastor is given moral support by his loyal wife Catherine Marshall (Jean Peters). At the time of his comparatively early death, Marshall has become chaplain of the US Senate. Interestingly enough, while Marshall and his family are identified by name, the peripheral political characters are given fictional monickers--and sometimes, as in the case of the President played by William Forrest, no names at all. Director Henry Koster expertly avoids filming Marshall's sermons in a static, declamatory fashion. As Catherine Marshall, Jean Peters does wonders with a comparatively limited role; her best scene is her last, when she overcomes her lifelong fear of the ocean for the sake of her son (Billy Chapin). A Man Called Peter was certainly not conceived out of any box-office considerations, but it still paid its way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Jean Peters, (more)
- 1924
This epic covers all of Lincoln's life. His birth in a blizzard; his boyhood (depicted by Danny Hey as young Lincoln); his romance with the ill-fated Anne Rutledge (Ruth Clifford) and courtship of Mary Todd (Nell Craig), who he married; his debates with Stephen Douglas (William Humphreys); and his rise to the presidency. The Civil War is covered, including the surrender of Lee (James Welch), then Lincoln's assassination by John Wilkes Booth (William Moran). Playing Lincoln as an adult is George A. Billings, an uncanny lookalike. Because of its scope, the film seems a bit sketchy at times, but its sincerity is always obvious. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Hunt
- 1941
Tim Holt and sidekicks Ray Whitley and Emmett Lynn join an outlaw gang in this RKO Western filmed on-location at Victorville, CA, and at the Walker and Jauregui movie ranches. When their friend Pop Edwards is shot (in the back, no less) by Doc Randall (Robert Fiske) and his crew, Jeff (Holt), Smokey (Whitley), and Whopper (Lynn) take it upon themselves to avenge him. They do so by infiltrating the gang, and, in time, are awarded assistance by the sheriff (Hal Taliaferro) and café singer Mary Loring (Betty Jane Rhodes). The latter sings "My Grand Pap" and "Old Monterey Moon," both by Whitley and Fred Rose. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Holt, Ray Whitley, (more)
- 1923
Danny O'Rourke (Kenneth Harlan) is the son of a cop who died in the line of duty. His sweetheart is Maggie Muldoon (Colleen Moore), whose father (Tom McGuire) is a police lieutenant. Danny is looking forward to joining the force, but to the disappointment of his mother (Myrtle Vane), he fails his examinations. Danny neglects his sweetheart in favor of society girl Miriam Welton (Ruth Clifford), who is doing settlement work. Danny's sister, Shannon (Priscilla Bonner), is arrested for shoplifting, and Danny takes up prize fighting to save her. He works his way up to the championship, but it turns out the fight is rigged. Although he announces this fact, the fight goes on and he is soundly licked. But all is not lost -- it turns out that a mistake was made with Danny's examination papers and he is able to join the police force after all. And Maggie is waiting faithfully for him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth Harlan, Colleen Moore, (more)
- 1925
Stalwart Milton Sills stars in a role that's nearly as virile as the one he played in The Sea Hawk. Major John Craig (Sills) is a British Army surgeon who is based at an East Indian post. He knocks Colonel Carringford (Paul Nicholson) cold during a fight. When the Colonel is killed by a servant, Evelyn Beaudine (Rosemary Theby), a woman of questionable motivation and morals, accuses him of the murder. As a result, Craig flees India, leaving behind his former sweetheart, Gloria Gordon (Ruth Clifford), and heads for the South Seas. He becomes a successful pearl fisher and meets Pandora La Croix, a native dancing girl (Viola Dana). Craig gives a beating to Gorilla Bagsley, a pearl poacher (Tom Kennedy), when he bothers Pan. After that, Pan believes that Craig is hers, and they marry. Craig's real identity is discovered, and the British officials are notified. Gloria arrives with Watkins (Frank Leigh), who informs him that he has been proven innocent. Gorilla, who's still harboring a grudge against Craig, tries to kill him, but Pan steps in and takes the bullet. With her death, Craig and Gloria are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Milton Sills, Viola Dana, (more)
- 1926
Lionel Barrymore was at a low career ebb when he agreed to appear in the independently produced Brooding Eyes. Barrymore emulates his brother John in the role of Slim Jim Carey, the "black sheep" of an aristocratic British family. A professional blackmailer, Carey suddenly and mysteriously disappears from sight, prompting his partner in crime Pat Calaghan (Montagu Love) to take over Carey's operation. Part of Calaghan's game plan is to claim an earldom which was to have been inherited by his "late" partner. But Carey, who is still alive, squashes Calaghan's scheme by showing up in his ancestral home as the family butler. In this guise, he prevents Calaghan from getting his slimy hands on the mistress of the manor, Maria De Costa (Alma Bennett) -- who is actually Carey's long-estranged daughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Robert Ellis, (more)
- 1924
Universal Studios star Laura LaPlante has a rather unsympathetic role in this drama, based on the novel by Kathleen Norris. Hillary Collier (Ruth Clifford) promises her dying mother that she will give her sister, Dora (LaPlante), every chance to develop her skills as a violinist. She goes to work as a stenographer so that Dora can have a musical education. Dora's anything but grateful, however; she takes advantage of Hillary's unselfishness. She even marries Craig Spaulding (Kenneth Harlan), the man her sister loves. Then both women fall in love with eccentric musical genius Konrad Kronski (Norman Kerry). Doris decides she must leave her husband to be with him, but this time Hillary refuses to let go of the man she wants. It looks like this will cause a bitter row between the sisters, but Spaulding finally makes Dora see the light. Hillary and Kronski are then able to consummate their romance. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Livingston, Kenneth Harlan, (more)
- 1948
The opening scene of Robert Siodmak's grim film noir depicts police lieutenants Candella (Victor Mature) and Collins (Fred Clark) observing wounded cop killer Martin Rome (Richard Conte) receive last rites. Though Rome recovers, he still must elude Candella and Collins in his desperate attempt to escape his fate. Rome has two visitors in the hospital: his girlfriend, Teena (Debra Paget), who goes into hiding, and Niles (Berry Kroeger), a crooked lawyer. Niles tries to bribe Rome to take a jewel theft and homicide rap for a client of his since Rome is facing the electric chair anyway. When Rome refuses, Niles threatens to frame Teena as the client's female accomplice. Worried that Candella might find Teena, Rome breaks out of jail and goes to Niles' office to accept the offer, but he actually plans to leave the country with Teena. When Niles reneges, Rome kills him, but not before learning the accomplice's identity and discovering the stolen jewels in the lawyer's safe. Rome finds the accomplice, Rose Given (Hope Emerson), and offers to trade the jewelry for the means to leave the country. She agrees, and they arrange a meeting in the subway, but Rome informs Candella of the plan. When the police arrive, Candella is shot, Rose is arrested, and Rome escapes to meet up with Teena in a church. As he is trying to convince Teena to run away with him, a wounded Candella shows up and tells Teena how Rome uses people and that everyone who helped in his escape will be paying a price. Teena rejects Rome, and he runs again, only to be shot down by Candella. The moral order is ultimately restored, but no one has been left unscarred. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Richard Conte, (more)
- 1935
Carnival barker Spencer Tracy befriends elderly concessionaire Henry B. Walthall, who owns a picturesque but stodgy display depicting Dante's Inferno. Walthall is more interested in the spiritual aspects of Man's fascination with Hell, but Tracy uses hoopla and exaggeration to get the suckers into the Inferno. His interest isn't altruistic; Tracy is enamored of Walthall's niece, Claire Trevor. Through his publicity savvy, Tracy builds the Inferno into a major attraction, complete with full orchestra and scantily clad "devil girls". He also buys up the rest of the carnival, using cold-blooded tactics that result in the suicide of a fellow concessionaire. Within five years, Tracy is a millionaire tycoon of the Entertainment industry. While loved by his wife (Trevor) and son (Scotty Beckett), Tracy conducts his business ruthlessly, bribing a city official to look the other way regarding structural defects in his Inferno display. When this duplicity results in a disastrous accident at the exhibit, the bribed official kills himself. Tracy is exonerated thanks to legal chicanery, but his wife is fed up; she walks out on him, taking their son along. Injured in the accident, Inferno creator H. B. Walthall warns Tracy of the pitfalls of success, using an illustrated edition of Dante to make his point. For nearly ten minutes, the movie audience is treated to a lavish depiction of Hell, magnificently photographed by Rudolph Mate. When the plot resumes, Tracy is on hand for his latest venture, a sumptuous gambling ship. Thanks to the drunken negligence of the crew, the ship catches fire, and it is only upon learning that his son has sneaked aboard that Tracy realizes the consequences of his greed. Tracy labors heroically to rescue the passengers--and, incidentally, to atone for his past sins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Claire Trevor, (more)
- 1923
This society drama only existed to give moviegoers of the Roaring Twenties a chance to see the wealthy behave scandalously in luxurious surroundings. Gerald Walden (Gaston Glass) and Maud Barhyte (Miriam Cooper), members of high society, become engaged. While Paris, they are invited to a party thrown by Sally Malakoff (Ruth Clifford), who was once Walden's childhood sweetheart. Sally married Count Malakoff (Stuart Holmes) only to please her mother (Truly Shattuck), and she is scheming to get Walden back. She arranges it so that Maud is put in a compromising position with her unwanted husband, and Walden fights a duel with him. In the ensuing scandal, Sally divorces the Count and weds Walden, who believes that Maud doesn't love him anymore. But when he finds out about Sally's machinations, she commits suicide, and he is once again free to marry Maud. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miriam Cooper, Gaston Glass, (more)
- 1917
With a title like Desire of the Moth, it was somewhat astonishing that this film's plotline had nothing to do with an innocent girl being drawn to the "flame" of sin and degradation. Instead, the story concerned a reformed horse thief named Christopher Fry, played by Monroe Salisbury. Upon announcing his intention to "go straight," Pringle is dry-gulched by his gang and left for dead. He is rescued, in more ways than one, by heroine Stella Vorhis (Ruth Clifford), whose fascination with Pringle very nearly results in her own demise. Rupert Julian, the film's director, played a colorful supporting character named "John Wesley Pringle." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1929
MGM contractee Dorothy Sebastian paid a brief visit to Tiffany-Stahl to star in this bit of South Seas exotica. Unable to pay for her passage when she sails to the tropics to meet her mail-order husband, Dorothy Ryan (Sebastian) assumes the identity of a wealthy passenger who is presumed to have died. Rather enjoying the preferential treatment she receives, Dorothy continues the masquerade when she arrives at her destination. She forgets all about her husband-to-be and falls in love with local aristocrat John Rice (Larry Kent). The party comes to an end when the woman whom Dorothy is pretending to be suddenly shows up, very much alive and very angry. Disgraced in the eyes of John's family, Dorothy wanders into the jungle where she is captured by the natives and sentenced to be burned at the stake. She is spared this grisly fate by John Rice, who still loves her despite her deception. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Sebastian, Larry Kent, (more)
- 1917
The Door Between was based on Anthony the Absolute, a novel by Samuel Merwyn. The story begins in Japan, where American musicologist Anthony Eckert (Monroe Salisbury) is busily collecting records of authentic Japanese folk songs. While thus preoccupied, Eckert makes the acquaintance of a drunkard who has vowed to track down and murder his errant wife. The scene shifts to a hotel in Beijing, China, where Anthony happens to hear a beautiful female voice emanating from an adjoining room. The voice belongs to Heloise (Ruth Clifford), who happens to be the estranged wife of the vengeful drunkard. When the latter shows up in Beijing to carry out his murder threat, he is stopped by Anthony. A fight ensues, with Anthony emerging as the winner. Thoroughly dejected, the husband thoughtfully kills himself, leaving Anthony free to marry Heloise -- and, as an afterthought, to introduce her splendid singing voice to the rest of the world. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1934
Elmer and Elsie was adapted from To the Ladies, a play by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. Former movie tough guy George Bancroft is uncharacteristically cast as Elmer Beebe, mildly henpecked husband of frail but formidable Elsie Beebe (Frances Fuller, in the role originated on Broadway by Helen Hayes). In the company of his pal John Kincaid (George Barbier), likewise wed to a browbeating wife, Elmer expansively espouses the theory that a woman should "know her place" and stay out of her husband's affairs. But when he tries to practice this theory at home, our hero meets strong resistance from Elsie, who has become convinced that hot-shot Rocky Cott (Roscoe Karns) will lead her hubby to financial success. It's a cute bit of domestic whimsy, but hardly a landmark in the career of George Bancroft. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Bancroft, Frances Fuller, (more)
- 1917
Paul, a French artist (Douglas Gerrard), paints a portrait of country girl Mignon (Ruth Clifford), that wins a prize. He heads for the Latin Quarter of Paris, promising Mignon he will return, but he promptly forgets her. Mignon walks all the way to Paris, only to find Paul with another woman. She tries to kill herself, but she is saved by a rich man who dies shortly thereafter and leaves his fortune to her. Paul, meanwhile, loses himself in the high life, which quickly becomes the low life as he descends into an alcoholic stupor. But he's not hopeless, since his friends convince Mignon to come to his aid. She does and helps effect a cure. Gerrard both directed and acted in this film in the most cliched manner possible. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1949
A remake of Wife, Husband and Friend (1938), Everybody Does It is a frantic satire of the opera world. Businessman Paul Douglas is forced to suffer in silence when his wife (Celeste Holm) decides to become an opera star. Compelled to bankroll a concert for his missus, Douglas meets genuine opera diva Linda Darnell at the concert. While passing the time, Darnell discovers that Douglas in fact has a magnificent singing voice. Partly because he is flattered by Darnell's attentions, and partly to show up his wife, Douglas embarks on his own operatic career. But on the night of his debut, Douglas suffers a severe attack of stage fright, gets "doped up" on medicine in order to survive the performance, and hilariously humiliates himself in front of everyone. Darnell l angrily stalks out of the scene, and the sadder-but-wiser Douglas and Celeste Holm return to each other's arms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Douglas, Linda Darnell, (more)
- 1923
The G. Marion Burton poem served as inspiration for several films (including the 1914 comic satire by Charles Chaplin), but this melodrama, directed by John Ford, was the most sincerely done. In a barroom, artist Robert Stevens (Henry Walthall) drunkenly relates his sad story -- he was engaged to marry a society girl, Marion (Ruth Clifford), when her brother took advantage of a fisherman's daughter, who commits suicide. To protect Marion's brother, Stevens takes the blame for the girl's sad end. Marion leaves him and he begins his descent into the gutter. Stevens is falsely accused of a crime and imprisoned. He is pardoned, however, because he has saved the life of the governor (Norval McGregor). Stevens completes his sorry tale by painting Marion's face on the barroom floor. Because someone recognizes the likeness he is able to locate her. He manages to pull himself out of his alcoholic haze and the couple are reconciled. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Clifford, Walter Emerson, (more)
- 1949
First came 20th Century-Fox's Mother Was a Freshman; then, a few months later, the same studio's Father Was a Fullback. Fred MacMurray stars as college football coach George Cooper, whose team can't win a game to save its life. George finds some comfort in the arms of his wife Elizabeth (Maureen O'Hara), but his young daughters Connie (Betty Lynn) and Ellen (Natalie Wood) are too concerned with boys to pay their dad any attention. Connie causes no end of trouble for George by printing a highly imaginative article about her various romances. On the verge of losing his job, George is saved by the arrival of football champ Joe Burch (Richard Tyler). Rudy Vallee virtually repeats his stuffy-suitor characterization from Mother is a Freshman in Father Was a Fullback. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Maureen O'Hara, (more)
- 1918
The last of director Rupert Julian's five 1918 releases, The Fires of Youth starred Ruth Clifford as Lucille, the neglected and misunderstood young wife of wealthy middle-ager John Linforth (Ralph Lewis). Out of boredom, Lucille begins spending time with Linforth's best friend Ronald Standish (George Fisher). At first, Linforth is happy that his wife has found a companion but soon begins to suspect that Lucille and Ronald are more than just chums. He is right, of course: the two young people have fallen desperately in love, but out of respect for her husband Lucille does not consummate the romance. This doesn't prevent an oily blackmailer from threatening to blow the whistle on Lucille and Ronald unless she pays up immediately. Hoping to spare her sweetheart a scandal, Lucille confesses all to her husband, promising to give up Ronald. But Linforth is more understanding than has been previously indicated, and he magnanimously offers to give Lucille a divorce -- and a huge cash settlement -- so that she can be free to wed the man she loves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1938
This saga spans the globe as the three young heroes search for the man who killed their much-admired, beloved father, a cashiered officer who was wrongly dishonorably discharged before he was murdered. Their quest takes them from India to South America, London, Egypt, and the U.S. As the progress, they begin to discover the disturbing truth about the murder of the father they idolized. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Richard Greene, (more)
- 1919
This comedy was the last film directed by cinema pioneer Elsie Jane Wilson. Ruth Clifford plays Ruth Elliott, who travels to the big city, determined to forge a career as an artist. Because she writes home of her exciting life and marvelous successes, her friend, Mildred Colburn (Mildred Lee), is dying to come out and visit. Ruth, of course, has been spinning tall tales this whole time and is in a panic over what to do. Her answer is to spend her last 15 dollars on an automobile tour, and she begs the chauffeur, Peter Neyland (Al Ray), to pose as her employee. They show Mildred a wonderful time, but it turns out that she is planning to stay for a whole week. With Neyland's help, Ruth continues her ruse, although it almost lands the both of them in jail. In the end, she finds romance with Neyland who, it happens, is not a chauffeur at all, but comes from a wealthy family. Wilson, who was married to fellow director Rupert Julian, gave up her career once she finished this picture, claiming that directing was a man's work. Her words have been proven wrong by a number of female film directors ever since. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1918
After striking it rich in Alaska, Smith (Monroe Salisbury) is robbed of his gold by Amy (Betty Schade) and her partner (Sam deGrasse). He unsuccessfully pursues them through a snow storm and when he is finally saved by Harkness (Alfred Allen), he has been rendered mute from an injury. But Amy and Sam haven't gone very far and they decide to make Harkness their next victim -- easy enough since Smith can't talk and spill the beans (no one ever explains, however, why he doesn't write Harkness a note). Amy entices Harkness into marrying her, and after they are wed, he takes off for his claim. While he is away, his daughter Mary (Ruth Clifford) arrives and she believes that Smith and Amy are involved. Amy has a child and Mary believes Smith to be the father -- so does Harkness when he gets back, and he shoots Smith. But an Indian rounds up Amy and Sam and makes them 'fess up -- they're actually married to each other. Harkness lets them go for the sake of their child. Smith recovers from the gunshot wound and his voice is restored. But he doesn't have to say much, since his innocence has already been explained. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1918
This Western begins with Dan Stuyvesant (W.H. Bainbridge) on his way to record his claim. He is shot and gambler Jack Dedlow (Al Filson) decides to take a gang with him to jump the claim. But as they head for the cabin, so does Dago Sam (Monroe Salisbury), who has overheard them talking. At the cabin, they discover Stuyvesant's daughter Hilda (Ruth Clifford). The gang drags Hilda from her hiding place and they decide to draw for her. Sam insists to be let in on the draw, and then he dashes off with the girl. It turns out that Sam is pals with Hilda's sweetheart, Tom Flynn (Rupert Julian), and he intends to bring them back together. Before that can happen, however, there's a lot the usual riding and shooting found in unoriginal Western melodramas such as this one. Rupert Julian also directed the picture -- this was a lesser vehicle from a lesser silent film talent. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
