Stanley Ridges
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Biography
1890s
Birthday: 17 July, 1891
Place of birth: Southampton, Hampshire, Great Britain
Nationality: British
1900s
1910s
Stanley became acquainted with Beatrice Lillie (born in Canada in 1894), a future
star of musical comedies, who had come to the UK as part of a singing troupe, "The
lillie Trio", making her London debut in a 1914 revue.Stanley made his London
stage debut in "O' Boy". Beatrice married Sir Robert Peel in 1920.
1920s
Both Beatrice and Stanley, like many actors of the time, went to the USA. Beatrice
made her Broadway debut in the hit Charlot's Revue of 1924, and Stanley starred as
a romantic lead in several Broadway plays. His first film appearance was in 1923's
'Success', made in New York at Tec-Studios.
1930s
His film career did not begin to take off until he was 43 in 1934's 'Crime Without
Passion' opposite Claude Rains, filmed in New York. Stanley found himself cast in
character roles, as his graying hair put his romantic leading man days at an end.Nevertheless
he excelled in dignified, underplayed and distinctly non-British character roles.
1940s
He was expertly cast in the 1940 horror film 'Black Friday' opposite Boris Karloff
as a loved professor who becomes the innocent victim of a shooting. To save him Karloff's
character transplants part of the brain of the criminal, who shot Stanley's character.
Stanley then goes on to steal the film doing a Jekyll and Hyde act going from the
beloved professor to the crass and uncouth criminal. He would be cast in other memorable
films, 'The Sea Wolf' (1941), 'Sergeant York' (1941), 'To Be Or Not To Be' (1942),
and 'The Suspect' (1944).
With work being divided between New York and Hollywood, Stanley commuted to Hollywood
from the Eastern USA.
1950s
His last film was 1951's 'The Groom Wore Spurs' with Ginger Rogers.
Date of death: 22 April, 1951
Place of death: Westbrook, Connecticut, USA
Career Highlights:
Black Friday (1940)
He plays a schizophrenic professor-turned-criminal.Appears alongside Anne
Gwynne, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff.
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
He plays the treacherous Professor Seletzky in Ernst Lubitsch's matchless black
comedy.
Tarzan Triumphs (1943)
He plays the unfeeling, brutish, and ambitious Colonel von Reichart. Lusting
after the helpless princess, he promises her that they may rule together in the new
order. Originally, Martin Kosleck had been slated for the role of number one bad
guy, but Stanley was eventually chosen.
No Way Out (1950)
One of his last performances was as the kindly mentor of young doctor Sidney
Poitier in this race-relations melodrama.
Filmography:
1. Du Pont Story, The (1952)
2. Groom Wore Spurs, The (1951) .... Harry Kallen
3. Paid in Full (1950) .... Dr. Winston
4. No Way Out (1950) .... Dr. Sam Moreland
5. File on Thelma Jordon, The (1949) .... Kingsley Willis
... aka Thelma Jordon (1949)
6. Task Force (1949) .... Senator Bentley
7. You're My Everything (1949) .... Mr. Henry Mercer
8. Streets of Laredo (1949) .... Major Bailey
9. Act of Murder, An (1948) .... Doctor Walter Morrison
... aka Live Today for Tomorrow (1948)
10. Possessed (1947) .... Dr. Harvey Williard
11. Because of Him (1946) .... Charles Gilbert
12. Mr. Ace (1946) .... Toomey
13. Canyon Passage (1946) .... Jonas Overmire
14. Captain Eddie (1945) .... Colonel Adamson
15. Phantom Speaks, The (1945) .... Dr. Paul Renwick
16. God Is My Co-Pilot (1945) .... Colonel Meriam Cooper
17. I'll Be Seeing You (1944) (uncredited) .... Warden
18. Master Race, The (1944) .... Maj. Philip Carson
19. Suspect, The (1944) (as Stanley C. Ridges) .... Inspector Huxley, Scotland Yard
20. Wilson (1944) .... Dr. Cary Grayson
21. Story of Dr. Wassell, The (1944) .... Commander William 'Bill' B. Goggins
22. This Is the Army (1943) .... Father of Soldier
23. False Faces (1943) .... District Attorney Stanley Harding
... aka Attorney's Dilemma, The (1943) (UK)
24. Tarzan Triumphs (1943) .... Colonel Von Reichart
25. Air Force (1943) .... Major Mallory
26. Big Shot, The (1942) .... Martin T. Fleming
27. Eagle Squadron (1942) .... Air Minister
28. Eyes in the Night (1942) (as Stanley C. Ridges) .... Hansen
29. To Be or Not to Be (1942) .... Professor Siletsky
30. Lady Is Willing, The (1942) .... Kenneth Hanline
31. They Died with Their Boots On (1941) .... Major/General Romulus Taipe
32. Sergeant York (1941) .... Major Buxton
33. Mr. District Attorney (1941) .... D.A. Winton
34. Sea Wolf, The (1941) .... Johnson
35. Black Friday (1940) .... Professor George Kingsley/Red Cannon
36. Let Us Live! (1939) .... District Attorney
37. Nick Carter - Master Detective (1939) .... Doctor Frankton
38. Union Pacific (1939) .... General Casement
39. Espionage Agent (1939) .... Hamilton Peyton
40. Dust Be My Destiny (1939) .... Charles 'Charlie' Garreth
41. I Stole a Million (1939) .... George Downs
42. Each Dawn I Die (1939) .... Convict Meuller
... aka Killer Meets Killer (1939)
43. There's That Woman Again (1939) .... Tony Croy
44. Silver on the Sage (1939) .... Earl Brennan/Dave Talbot
45. Yellow Jack (1938) .... Doctor James Carroll
46. If I Were King (1938) .... Rene de Montigny
47. Mad Miss Manton, The (1938) .... Edward 'Eddie' Norris
48. They're Always Caught (1938) .... Doctor Pritchart
49. Internes Can't Take Money (1937) .... Dan Innes
... aka You Can't Take Money (1937) (UK)
50. Sinner Take All (1937) .... Mackelvey
51. Winterset (1936) .... Shadow
52. Scoundrel, The (1935) .... Paul Decker
53. Crime Without Passion (1934) .... Eddie White
54. Sign of the Cross, The (1932) (uncredited) .... Chaplain Lloyd (1944 prologue)
55. Success (1923) .... Gilbert Gordon
Notable TV guest appearances:
1. "Studio One" (1948) in episode: "Track of the Cat" (episode
# 3.21) 1/15/1951
2. "Philco Television Playhouse, The" (1948) in episode: "Bonanza"
(episode # 3.14) 12/10/1950
3. "Studio One" (1948) in episode: "Berkeley Square" (episode
# 3.8) 10/16/1950
4. "Studio One" (1948) in episode: "Mist with the Tamara Geba"
(episode # 3.3) 9/11/1950
5. "Studio One" (1948) in episode: "Man Who Had Influence, The"
(episode # 2.38) 5/29/1950
6. "Studio One" (1948) in episode: "Survivors, The" (episode
# 2.28) 3/20/1950
7. "Studio One" (1948) in episode: "Father and the Angels" (episode
# 2.21) 1/30/1950
8. "Studio One" (1948) in episode: "Beyond Reason" (episode #
2.18) 1/9/1950
9. "Studio One" (1948) in episode: "Sharp Knives, The" (episode
# 2.10) 11/14/1949
10. "Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, The" (1948) in episode: "Passenger to
Bali, A" (episode # 1.33) 5/9/1949
The Fleischmann Hour (NBC)
The Fleischmann Hour, one of the first great variety hours, started in the
fall of 1929 and was the top-rated program of all for several seasons. Crooning MC
Rudy Vallee always managed to perform three or four songs during the course of the
1-hour show, while at the same time played host to acts ranging from vaudeville comics
to concert pianists. Fleischmann dropped its sponsorship in the summer of 1936 but
Rudy Vallee continued in a virtually identical show for Royal Gelatin which ran until
1939.
3 Jan, 1935 Philip Merivale, Stanley Ridges, Harry Green, Juano Hernandez,
George Stone
Stage:
Eugene O'Neill
Days without End Produced by Theatre Guild.
Guild Theatre, New York
January 8, 1934, with Earle Larimore and Stanley Ridges.
DVDs:
Land of Liberty (1939)
Released: 7 November 2001
By : Studio Canal
Zone : 2
Origin : France
ASIN : B00005NFS3