Charles Ray Movies
The son of a railroad man, American actor Charles Ray settled with his family in Los Angeles in the early 1900s. While attending Los Angeles Business College, Ray became stagestruck, and began appearing in local productions for an average of $1 per performance. He went on to stock productions, where he first discovered how much he enjoyed the star spotlight. At the age of 20, Ray walked into the Santa Monica film studios of Thomas Ince, offering his services in any capacity; he worked as assistant director, technician, and extra before given his chance to play the juvenile lead in The Favorite Son (1913). Ray's big break came as the teenaged hero of The Coward (1915), a Civil War drama; he remained one of Ince's major players until he struck out on his own in 1919.Specializing in bucolic country-boy roles, Ray made up to nine features per year, earning $35,000 per picture. Ray's popularity was greatest in rural areas, where fans demanded to see their favorite in virtually the same role from one picture to the next. Usually, Ray played the naive hick who is taken advantage of by city slickers, and who pines for the leading lady but dares not speak up for her. He varied this characterization in such films as The Busher (1917), wherein he'd play a small-time hero whose outsized ego would alienate all those around him. The latter characterization was closer to the real Charles Ray, who was known to be quite arrogant and demanding on the set. He became his own producer in 1920, setting up a small studio which would later be the headquarters of Monogram Pictures -- and still later, served as the site of Los Angeles' public TV station. Anxious to break loose from his confining screen image, Ray poured all his resources into a costume epic, The Courtship of Miles Standish (1923). The film was a disaster, bankrupting Ray and destroying him as an independent producer. He continued starring in films for various studios, vainly hoping to recapture his public; in 1928 he attempted a complete character switch as the ultra-sophisticated "roue" hero of The Garden of Eden. But Ray's time had passed, and he'd made too many enemies in Hollywood to be given a break when talkies came in. He appeared briefly in vaudeville, then returned to movies as an extra and bit player. Occasionally he'd have the lead in a poverty-row production like Just My Luck (1936), but otherwise Charles Ray was forgotten. Reports differ as to how he reacted to this reversal of fortune: certain contemporaries insist that he hounded casting offices for character parts (he did manage a good role in A Yank in the RAF [1942]), while writer/director Garson Kanin claims that Ray told him he was content to be an extra and wouldn't take a comeback role if it was offered him. In 1942, Charles Ray died of a tooth infection at the age of 52. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1942
The tumultuous presidency of 17th-president Andrew Johnson is chronicled in this biopic. The story begins with Johnson's boyhood and covers his early life. During the Civil War, Johnson stays a staunch Unionist and upon Lincoln's reelection in 1864, becomes his Vice President. After Lincoln's assassination, Johnson becomes the President. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Heflin, Ruth Hussey, (more)
- 1942
Columbia Pictures evidently felt that ex-boxer "Slapsy" Maxie Rosenbloom was the funniest man on earth, despite the fact that he consistently proved otherwise in vehicles like Harvard, Here I Come. This little masterpiece finds Rosenbloom, playing himself, receiving an award from the satirical Harvard Lampoon for his well-known stupidity. Instead of being enrage, Slapsie Maxie is delighted by the "honor", and promptly tries to enroll at the ivy-league university. Upon arriving on campus, our punchy hero is pounced upon by a group of eccentric scientists led by Professor Alvin (Byron Foulger), who is convinced that Rosenbloom is the "missing link" that science has long been searching for. The professors subsidize Maxie's education, which seems to consist exclusively of fraternity hazings and product endorsements! Though a zaftig Yvonne de Carlo shows up in several publicity stills for Harvard, Here I Come, she is nowhere to be seen in the film itself; instead, the leading-lady duties were handled by Marie Wilson, whose character comes across as even dumber than Maxie Rosenbloom, if such a thing is possible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom, Arline Judge, (more)
- 1941
Married Bachelor is a cute little MGM situation comedy, designed for the bottom half of the studio's double bills. Robert Young plays an married author who has penned several books on how to stay single. Naturally, he has to pose as a bachelor for publicity purposes...but wife Ruth Hussey is expecting. The only other leading-man material in the cast is the feckless Lee Bowman, so it is he who must pose as Hussey's husband. Married Bachelor was adapted by future MGM head man Dore Schary from a story by Manuel Seff (we don't know if Seff was married or not). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Young, Ruth Hussey, (more)
- 1940
Teenaged soprano Gloria Jean plays the Little-Miss-Fixit heroine in Universal's Little Bit of Heaven. The most precocious member of an impoverished 10th Avenue family, little Midge (Gloria Jean) makes an impulsive appearance on a "man in the street" radio interview show. Catapulted to stardom, Midge becomes the primary support for her family, all of whom begin behaving atrociously and overspended insanely. The only one who doesn't go over the top is Midge's lovable Grandpa (C. Aubrey Smith), with whom our heroine concocts a scheme (straight out of Shirley Temple!) to teach her relatives a lesson. In the previous Gloria Jean starrer If I Had My Way, Universal featured several former Broadway favorites, including Blanche Ring and Julian Eltinge, in cameo roles: the studio repeats this stunt in Little Bit of Heaven, showcasing such silent-movie greats as Maurice Costello, Noah Beery Sr., Charles Ray, Monte Blue, William Desmond and Pat O'Malley as the heroine's "adopted uncles". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Jean, Robert Stack, (more)
- 1936
Hollywood Boulevard is a trenchant look at the underside of Tinseltown. Though the nominal hero is a disillusioned screenwriter played by Robert Cummings (whose dialogue anticipates the lines spoken by William Holden in 1950's Sunset Boulevard), the focus of the story is John Halliday as a washed-up film star. Desperately, Halliday accepts the offer from a sleazy "tell all" magazine to write his memoirs. The actor's estranged family is devastated by the resultant scandal, and out love for his daughter (Marsha Hunt), Halliday tries to break his contract. But the publisher (C. Henry Gordon) threatens to ruin Halliday's comeback attempt if he refuses to write the rest of his memoirs. In a scuffle, the publisher kills Halliday, and the blame falls on the actor's daughter. But wise guy screenwriter Cummings gets to the truth of the mystery. A slick B-plus crime melodrama, Hollywood Boulevard has the added bonus of several well-known silent film personalities (Charles Ray, Francis X. Bushman, Maurice Costello, Mae Marsh etc.) in cameo roles, as well as a guest appearance by Gary Cooper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Halliday, Marsha Hunt, (more)
- 1935
Produced by M.H. Hoffman's Liberty Pictures, School for Girls is based on Reginald Wright Kauffman's story Our Undisciplined Daughters. It all begins when innocent heroine Annette Eldridge (Sidney Fox) gets mixed up with a slimy jewel thief. Taking the rap for her boyfriend, Annette ends up doing a three-year stretch in a girl's reformatory, where she's subjected to the sadistic excesses of brutal matron Miss Keeble (Lucille La Verne) (the same actress who later provided the voice of the Wicked Queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). Thankfully, young prison-board appointee Gary Waltham (Paul Kelly) dedicates himself to helping Annette -- and by extension, the rest of the unfortunate female inmates. The supporting cast of School for Girls reads like a "B"-picture Who's Who: Lona Andre, Russell Hopton, Kathleen Burke, Fred Kelsey, Edward Le Saint, and former silent-film favorites Anna Q. Nilsson, Charles Ray, Myrtle Stedman and Helene Chadwick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Fox, Paul Kelly, (more)
- 1935
In this emotional but fast-paced comedy, a husband/businessman creates an ingenious cure for his mid-life crisis. He suggest to his wife that they take separate vacations and not discuss them with each other afterward. The wife isn't sure, but being a loving and understanding woman, agrees to the terms. The husband, dreaming of all the luscious young girls to be had, is happy as a kid in a candy store. Unfortunately for him, things don't happen as planned and he gets zippo. His wife, on the other hand, ends up falling for a younger man. When he proposes, the wife is sorely tempted, but then realizes she really does love her husband. The would-be wayward husband also reawakens to love and domestic bliss ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Genevieve Tobin, Neil Hamilton, (more)
- 1935
In this comedy, a con artist gets elected to the chamber of commerce in his home town. He then goes there with three fellow grifters who are not welcome until they pay off the bad bonds they sold the town. Fortunately, the protagonist wins a fortune at the track and pays the debt. Despite this, the three persist with their con games and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Arline Judge, (more)
- 1934
This bottom-barrel quickie is elevated by its cast, comprised chiefly of old silent-film favorites. Ralph Graves stars as private eye Clay Holt, perennial "friendly enemy" of police lieutenant McGinniss (James Burke). Time and time again, McGinniss is forced to rely on Holt's expertise to crack a difficult case, leading to a never-ending stream of wisecracks and insults. On this occasion, our heroes are determined to solve a robbery-murder involving $50,000 in stolen pearls. Among the suspects is Courtney Mallory, played by former screen star Charles Ray just before his descent into extra roles. Lola Lane, of the Lane sisters, plays Holt's "girl Friday" secretary Peggy Cummings, whom our hero considers a drudge until she removes her glasses (Yes, that old gimmick is in here, too!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Graves, Lois Wilson, (more)
- 1934
In this romantic comedy, a Parisian businessman heads for South American for a busman's holiday. There he hopes to have some fun and negotiate a deal concerning the mining of valuable nitrate deposits. Naturally, he carries the necessary contract with him. Knowing this, two con-artists conspire to steal it from him. The unwitting businessman is also pursued by a man-hungry spinster and a love-struck, nosy switchboard operator who taps his phone and ultimately saves his bacon. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Frances Drake, (more)
- 1928
Having worn out his welcome in country-bumpkin roles, silent film star Charles Ray made an effort to re-establish himself in sophisticated parts. The Garden of Eden finds the dinner-jacketed Ray as a urbane Parisian bachelor, with Corinne Griffith co-starring as a wide-eyed rural lass. While visiting Paris, the nonplused Corinne is transformed into an elegant fashion plate by a mysterious "fairy godmother." Directed by Lewis Milestone, The Garden of Eden featurs art-direction courtesy of William Cameron Menzies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corinne Griffith, Louise Dresser, (more)
- 1928
Veteran stage actor/playwright James Gleason made his film debut in the Universal comedy The Count of Ten. In fact, Gleason received top billing over onetime screen favorite Charles Ray, an indication that Ray's days of prominence were numbered. Returning to the "yokel" characterization that won him popularity in the teen years, Ray is cast as Johnny McKinney, a gullible prizefighter who permits his wife, family and friends to squander all his money. In dire financial straits, Johnny talks his manager Billy Williams (James Gleason) into arranging a $5000 bout with the champ. Billy doesn't want to do it, inasmuch as Johnny has a broken hand, but he has no choice. Our hero wins the fight, only to discover that his purse is to be used to square his brother-in-law's gambling debts. On the verge of walking out on his parasitic family, Johnny is dissuaded by his wife Betty (Jobyna Ralston), who promises never to take advantage of him again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Gleason, Charles Ray, (more)
- 1927
Although Vanity was one of Leatrice Joy's most successful films, it can hardly be considered one of her best. Joy is cast as spoiled society girl Barbara Fiske, who, out of boredom, begins romancing roughneck tramp-steamer skipper Dan Morgan (Alan Hale). She offers to spend the night with Morgan on his vessel, which does not sit well with Barbara's wealthy fiance Lloyd Van Courtland (Charles Ray). During her nocturnal voyage, Barbara is nearly raped by the brutish ship's cook (Noble Johnson). Scurrying to the rescue, Morgan is killed by the cook, who in turn is shot dead by the terrified Barbara. Having had her fill of sea life, Barbara gladly returns to Van Courtland's arms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leatrice Joy, Charles Ray, (more)
- 1927
As a follow-up to the successful marital farce Up in Mabel's Room, PDC Productions came out with a film version of the evergreen Avery Hopwood stage comedy Getting Gertie's Garter. Charles Ray, once again trying vainly to shed his "boy next door" image, stars as a bachelor lawyer who gives a jeweled garter and a photograph to his girlfriend Marie Prevost. Upon becoming engaged, however, Ray realizes that his bride-to-be is not the understanding type. Thus, he spends the rest of the picture trying to retrieve the garter from Prevost, who isn't about to give up the precious -- and embarrassing -- keepsake. Famed fan dancer Sally Rand shows up in a supporting role, as does that ubiquitous movie fussbudget Franklin Pangborn. Getting Gertie's Garter was remade in 1944 with Dennis O'Keefe and Marie McDonald. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Rand, Harry Myers, (more)
- 1927
Popular leading lady Leatrice Joy was copacetically teamed with "fading star" Charles Ray in Nobody's Widow. After a whirlwind courtship, American gal Roxanna Smith (Joy) marries rakish English aristocrat John Clayton (Charles Ray). It isn't long before Roxanna becomes convinced that her new husband is unfaithful. Rather than face the humiliation of a failed marriage, our heroine pretends to be a widow when she returns home. But her "dead" husband soon shows up and wins her love all over again. Nobody's Widow was based on a play by Avery Hopwood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leatrice Joy, Charles Ray, (more)
- 1926
The screen popularity of "All American Boy" Charles Ray was fading in the mid-1920s, forcing the 34-year-old actor to return to his old bumpkin-makes-good formula in the inexpensively produced Sweet Adeline. Ray plays small-towner Ben Wilson, who's so incredibly bashful that he can only sulk in the shadows when his obnoxious older brother Bill (Jack Clifford) begins to flirt with his sweetheart Adeline (Gertrude Olmstead). Hoping to prove his worth in the Big City, Ben tries to get a job as a nightclub singer, only to be laughed off the stage because of his rubelike demeanor. But Ben finally wins over the urban wise-guys with a heartfelt rendition of the old standard Sweet Adeline. Almost instantly, Ben is hired by a Broadway impresario, earning our hero fame, fortune, and, of course, the eternal devotion of the real Sweet Adeline. Though it might have passed muster during Charles Ray's peak in the pre-1920 years, Sweet Adeline seemed hopelessly anachronistic in the jazz-age 1920s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Ray, Jack Clifford, (more)
- 1926
The career of Charles Ray was on a downhill slide by the time he made this picture, based on a novel by Rex Beach. It had been filmed once before, in 1917, but this version, made by MGM, played up its comedy aspects. As wealthy city boy Bob Wharton, Ray goes against his usual rube type with mixed results. Wharton is a spendthrift who elopes with Lory Knight (Eleanor Boardman), a beauty contest winner from South Carolina. When she realizes that Wharton knows more about going out on the town than he does about honest, hard work, she leaves him and returns to South Carolina. Wharton follows after her and gets a job as a shoe salesman. While he's making good, Carter Lane (Ernest Gillen) tries to win Lory over. Lane's sister, Bernice (Sally O'Neil), meanwhile, vamps Wharton and compromises him. The irate Lane men are determined that Wharton must marry Bernice or die, but she finally confesses that the situation was all her doing, and he is innocent. Having proved he can be a success, Wharton reunites with Lory. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Ray, Eleanor Boardman, (more)
- 1926
Ruined financially by a series of misguided business ventures, popular leading man Charles Ray was forced to relinquish his own production company and sign on as a "hired hand" at MGM. The third of Ray's four MGM vehicles was Paris, in which the former "All-American boy" tried to shed his image in the role of Jerry, a wealthy, worldly American tourist. Falling in love with a Parisian apache dancer (Joan Crawford) he follows her to a seedy dive, where he is stabbed by her jealous lover (Douglas Gilmore). Hoping to save her lover from execution, the girl takes the seriously wounded Jerry to her apartment and nurses him back to health. Jerry falls in love with the girl, but ultimately she ditches him in favor of her Gallic sweetheart. While Paris did nothing for Charles Ray's fading career, it worked wonders on the ascending stardom of Joan Crawford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Ray, Joan Crawford, (more)
- 1926
Arguably the best of Charles Ray's four MGM vehicles, The Fire Brigade casts Ray as the youngest in a large and rambunctious family of Irish-American firemen. While his older siblings busy themselves with extinguishing blazes, Ray spends his time a-courting May McAvoy, the daughter of a wealthy absentee landlord. A crisis of conscience arises when McAvoy discovers that her father's tenements are dangerous fire-traps; she storms out of her family mansion to inform Ray of the facts before it's too late. The climax of The Fire Brigade is a spectacular conflagration, expertly blending authentic fire footage, double exposures, and flawless miniature work. As a bonus, the final scene boasts a bizarre vignette in which the ghosts of firemen killed in the line of duty urge Ray on to rescue the helpless tenement dwellers! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- May McAvoy, Charles Ray, (more)
- 1925
After The Courtship of Miles Standish bombed, a bankrupted Charles Ray had to go back to working for other studios and trying to regain the audience he had lost. His role in this rural comedy was much like those that had made him famous -- the country boy who eventually gets the girl -- but Ray was past his prime, and he did not see a return to his previous success. Lem Blossom (Ray) is the fire chief in the rural village of Mosville. He is in love with Mary Griggs (Duane Thompson), as is Tom Perkins, a pumpkin purchaser for a cannery (Hallam Cooley). Perkins frequently interrupts Mary's dates with Lem by sounding false fire alarms. A pumpkin crop in the North is ruined by frost and Lem comes up with the idea of cornering the pumpkin market. Perkins, of course, does everything he can to put an end to this plan. The Griggs home catches fire and Lem rescues Mary and her family with the aid of a pump he invented himself. Father Griggs (Bert Woodruff) helps Lem sell his pumpkins at a premium, and Lem wins Mary. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Ray, George Fawcett, (more)
- 1925
Early silent-screen star Charles Ray's career was in a dramatic decline when he starred in this average western melodrama about a sheltered youth who makes his way out West by playing the fiddle. Like so many before and after him, Ray proves his true manliness by foiling the nefarious plans of a gang of land grabbers. Produced by the Thomas Ince Corporation for release by Pathé, this Ray vehicle benefitted from a slightly tongue-in-cheek script and colorful performances from the likes of Victor McLaglen and that outrageous silent screen vamp Betty Blythe. Stunt-man William Harbaugh drowned in the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona during the making of this film. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Marion, Louise Dresser, (more)
- 1925
Charles Ray's career had been declining for some time when he made this comedy-drama. Unfortunately, this attempt to return to the characterization that brought him fame -- that of an unsophisticated country boy -- didn't win him back the fans he had lost. Actress Pansi Delaney (Pauline Starke) is tired of the big city and its flashy, phony men, so she's glad to return to the farm back home and visit her mother. She meets a country boy, Tom Corbin, and his naive, wholesome ways win her over. Tom, however, feels out of place amongst Pansi's city friends -- he doesn't realize that the qualities that make him appear awkward are just what she likes. When he visits Chicago and sees one of the slick city types trying to make time with Pansi, Tom decides to make himself over. But instead of being cool and sophisticated, he comes off as a jerk and Pansi is disgusted. One of her friends tips Tom off, so he returns to his country boy demeanor, and wins back his girl. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Ray, Pauline Starke, (more)
- 1923
Charles Ray returns to playing a bashful rural boy in this character study, loosely based on the James Whitcomb Riley poem. He's John Middleton, who protests furiously when his mother (Edythe Chapman) tells him that she has adopted an orphan girl. But John grows to love Mary (Patsy Ruth Miller) -- in fact, he falls in love with her. On their way home from a dance, he proposes but she turns him down, explaining that she is already engaged to his rival, Willie Brown (Ramsey Wallace). The startled John loses control of the horses and is thrown out of the carriage. While going through a semi-conscious dream state, he has a pair of visions. In the first he embraces Mary so violently that he kills her. In the second, he shoots Willie and then himself. He awakens from these nightmares determined to overcome these inner demons. Although broken-hearted, he stays out of Mary and Willie's romance. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Ray, Patsy Ruth Miller, (more)
