Ruth Taylor Movies
A vivacious blond Mack Sennett comedienne, Ruth Taylor nabbed the most sought-after role of 1928, that of Lorelei Lee in the screen version of Anita Loos' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. According to Taylor, she was one of 200 hopefuls testing for the role. Taylor had been in the Follies prior to signing with Sennett in 1925 and remained proud of the fact that she was never even asked to appear in a bathing suit. She was not so proud when losing a leading role in What Price Glory to fellow Sennett alumna Phyllis Haver, however. "Another Sennett girl makes good," she wrote. "Wonder if I will." The answer came sooner than she may have anticipated when chosen to play opposite Alice White in Loos' popular satire. Many critics thought her letter-perfect as the quintessential dumbbell and there are those who prefer her performance to Marilyn Monroe's in the 1953 remake. Strangely, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes did not make Taylor a major contender for stardom, although she was voted a 1928 WAMPAS Baby Star, an honor she shared with Lina Basquette, June Collyer, and the Mexican spitfire herself, Lupe Velez. College Coquette (1929), a weak co-ed comedy ruined by poor sound recording, may have been the main reason that she basically turned her back on Hollywood and today she is mainly remembered as the mother of prolific actor/screenwriter Buck Henry. A different actress with the same name appeared in a few films in the late 1910s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1953
Frank Randle tones down the impurities of his music hall routines in the British service comedy It's a Grand Life. Randle plays a put-upon private, while zaftig Diana Dors co-stars as a female corporal. Surprise: Randle's not in love with Dors, but his friend Dan Young is head over heels. In time-honored Cyrano tradition, Randle gets Dors' attention by rescuing her from the unwanted advances of sergeant-major Michael Brennan, then points her in Young's direction. As was his custom, Frank Randle collaborated on the screenplay of It's A Grand Life, reserving for himself as many smirky one-liners as the footage would allow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1933
In this British comedy, a ghost hunter believing he accidentally shot his boss, stuffs the body into a steamer trunk and races to the river where he will dispose of the body. Unfortunately before he can, the trunk gets mixed up with an exact duplicate. The one containing the body is taken by a woman who takes him into the supposedly haunted house where she stays. Meanwhile, deep within the trunk, the boss is waking up. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1932
This comic farce tells of Clarke attempting to impress his future in-laws through the use of a borrowed apartment with numerous gadgets and devices. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1932
This musical concerns the opening of a luxury hotel and some of its residents, including an alcoholic who is being blackmailed and a wallet-stealing prostitute. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- 1929
Demure college coed Doris Marlowe (Jobyna Ralston) wants desperately to be accepted by her peers, so she links up with campus "coquette" Betty Forrester (Ruth Taylor). Unfortunately, Betty plays fast and loose, keeping company with such unsavory types as lothario Tom Marion (William Collier Jr.) Set up on a date with Marion, Doris sacrifices her virtue to him, only to discover that he has no intention of making a lasting commitment. Subsequently, Doris is killed in a freak accident, laying a heavy guilt trip upon Betty. A former Mack Sennett bathing beauty, College Coquette leading lady Ruth Taylor had also been the original Lorelei Lee in the 1928 screen version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; she was also the mother of comedian/screenwriter Buck Henry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Taylor, William Collier, Jr., (more)
- 1929
In this comedy, a lonesome fellow returns from Peru with a fortune and begins looking for a wife. While still single, he has a real estate agent show him a home or two. The agent invites him to dinner. During the meal the agent and his wife bicker constantly, causing the poor fellow to rethink the idea of matrimony. He decides that he still wants to share his new home with someone and so ends up having the agent's sister-in-law move in. She performs all the wifely duties but one... The two go on dating other people until they both realize that they have fallen in love with each other. Look carefully for brand new starlet Jean Harlow in a bit part. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Constance Bennett, (more)
- 1928
In this low-budget romantic comedy, a beautiful model from Paris sets her sights on the heart of an American ex-lover and so sets sail to stop him from marrying his newest girl friend. During the long voyage, the model must evade the persistent romantic advances of a passenger head-over-heels in love with her. After much chaos and many merry mix-ups involving all four main characters the proper romantic alignments are reached and marital bliss ensues all around. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Hall, Ruth Taylor, (more)
- 1928
The present unavailability of 1928's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is especially frustrating for those who'd like to compare this first version of the classic Anita Loos comic novel to the 1953 Marilyn Monroe-Jane Russell remake. The blonde in question is Miss Lorelei Lee, a dumb-like-a-fox golddigger on the prowl for a rich husband. With her best friend Dorothy Shaw (Alice White), Lorelei takes a trip to Gay Paree, where among other adventures she gets mixed up with roguish old millionaire Sir Francis Beekman (Mack Swain). Eventually she finds that true love doesn't come with a price tag, or does it? Ford Sterling and Holmes Herbert co-star as Lorelei and Dorothy's middle-aged swains. Lorelei herself is played by Ruth Taylor, a onetime Mack Sennett bathing beauty who retired from films upon her marriage to a Manhattan stockbroker (life imitates art!) Incidentally, Taylor was the mother of humorist Buck Henry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Taylor, Alice White, (more)
- 1919
Told in flashback by an aging clergyman, Wild Honey is the story of the relationship between young frontier pastor Holbrook (Frank Mills and a raucous dance-hall gal named Wild Honey (Doris Kenyon). Sunday after Sunday, Holbrook denounces the "sinful" heroine from the pulpit, but for some reason Wild Honey never misses a church service. It seems that the heroine carries a torch for the dynamic young pastor, ultimately taking a bullet in her head to save his life. His story over, the elderly clergyman, who of course is Pastor Holbrook, introduces his matronly wife, who of course is the former Wild Honey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1918
George Walsh plays the "prodigal" hero in this fast-moving star vehicle from the Fox factory. An incurable cut-up, Jack Spurlock throws a college campus in an uproar when he shows up the first day of classes with his pet bear. Needless to say, Jack is immediately booted out of college, infuriating his big-businessman father (Dan Mason). Our hero finally makes good when he assumes command of the Onion Workers Union, calling a strike against the Newark plant owned by his own father -- and forcing dear daddy to cave in to the union's demands. Baseball star "Turkey" Mike Donlin contributed an amusing cameo as a pugnacious factory foreman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
