Ruth Hussey

Acting

Ruth Hussey

Born 1911-10-30 · Providence, Rhode Island, USA

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ruth Carol Hussey (October 30, 1911 – April 19, 2005) was an American actress best known for her Academy Award-nominated role as photographer Elizabeth Imbrie in The Philadelphia Story. After working as an actress in summer stock, she returned to Providence and worked as a radio fashion commentator on a local station. She wrote the ad copy for a Providence clothing store and read it on the radio each afternoon. She was encouraged by a friend to try out for acting roles at the Providence Playhouse. The theater director there turned her down, saying the roles were cast only out of New York City. Later that week, she journeyed to New York City and on her first day there, she signed with a talent agent who booked her for a role in a play starting the next day back at the Providence Playhouse. In New York City, she also worked for a time as a model. She then landed a number of stage roles with touring companies. Dead End toured the country in 1937 and the last theater on the road trip was at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, where she was spotted on opening night by MGM talent scout Billy Grady. MGM signed her to a players contract and she made her film debut in 1937. She quickly became a leading lady in MGM's "B" unit, usually playing sophisticated, worldly roles. For a 1940 "A" picture role, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her turn as Elizabeth Imbrie, the cynical magazine photographer and almost-girlfriend of James Stewart's character Macaulay Connor in The Philadelphia Story. In 1941, exhibitors voted her the third-most popular new star in Hollywood. Hussey also worked with Robert Taylor in Flight Command (1940), Robert Young in Northwest Passage (1940) and H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), Van Heflin in Tennessee Johnson (1942), Ray Milland in The Uninvited (1944), and Alan Ladd in The Great Gatsby (1949). In 1946, she starred on Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play State of the Union. Her 1949 role in Goodbye, My Fancy on Broadway caused a Billboard reviewer to write: "Miss Hussey brings a splendid aliveness and warmth to the lovely congresswoman...." She filled in for Jean Arthur in the 1955 Lux Radio Theater presentation of Shane, playing Miriam Start, alongside original film stars Alan Ladd and Van Heflin. In 1960, she co-starred in The Facts of Life with Bob Hope. Hussey was also active in early television drama.

Acting credits

The Philadelphia Story poster
7.5

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.

The Philadelphia Story

1940

The Women poster
7.2

A happily married woman lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband strays.

The Women

1939

The Uninvited poster
6.9

A pair of siblings from London purchase a surprisingly affordable, lonely cliff-top house in Cornwall, only to discover that it actually carries a ghostly price—and soon they’re caught up in a bizarre romantic triangle from beyond the grave.

The Uninvited

1944

Within the Law poster
6.5

Shopgirl Mary Turner, sentenced to prison for someone else's theft, is released and takes revenge upon those who wronged her in powerful but lawful ways.

Within the Law

1939

Marie Antoinette poster
6.6

The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the rival countries. The opulent Marie indulges in various whims and flirtations. When Louis XV passes and Louis XVI ascends the French throne, his queen's extravagant lifestyle earns the hatred of the French people, who despise her Austrian heritage.

Marie Antoinette

1938

Northwest Passage poster
6.6

Based on the Kenneth Roberts novel of the same name, this film tells the story of two friends who join Rogers' Rangers, as the legendary elite force engages the enemy during the French and Indian War. The film focuses on their famous raid at Fort St. Francis and their marches before and after the battle.

Northwest Passage

1940

The Great Gatsby poster
5.4

Nick Carraway, a young Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifetyle of his landlord, the nouveau riche Jay Gatsby. He is drawn into Gatsby's circle, becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy.

The Great Gatsby

1949

Susan and God poster
6.5

A flighty socialite neglects her family to promote a new religious group.

Susan and God

1940

Our Wife poster
6.8

A musician's ex-wife wants him back after he finds love and success.

Our Wife

1941

Flight Command poster
5.9

A rookie flyer, Ens. Alan Drake, joins the famous Hellcats Squadron right out of flight school in Pensacola. He doesn't make a great first impression when he is forced to ditch his airplane and parachute to safety when he arrives at the base but is unable to land due to heavy fog. On his first day on the job, his poor shooting skills results in the Hellcats losing an air combat competition. His fellow pilots accept him anyways but they think he's crossed the line when they erroneously conclude that while their CO Billy Gray is away, Drake has an affair with his wife Lorna. Drake is now an outcast and is prepared to resign from the Navy but his extreme heroism in saving Billy Gray's life turns things around.

Flight Command

1940

No artwork available
NR

Two autograph hounds attend an air show at Santa Anita racetrack.

Soaring Stars

1942

Another Thin Man poster
7.1

Nick and Nora Charles are back—and this time, they have a baby, a wealthy new client, and another murder to solve! Retired detective Nick is enjoying family life with Nora and their young son, Nick Jr., when eccentric industrialist Colonel MacFay asks for protection after receiving threatening messages. When MacFay is found dead at his isolated estate, Nick and Nora spring into action, questioning a houseful of suspicious guests and uncovering greed, blackmail, family secrets, and a dangerous inheritance plot. With their trademark wit and sophistication, the glamorous couple balances parenthood, parties, and peril as they race to expose the killer. William Powell and Myrna Loy return as Hollywood’s favorite married sleuths, joined by the lovable wire-haired terrier Asta. Directed by W. S. Van Dyke, Another Thin Man is a stylish and entertaining 1939 mystery-comedy filled with sparkling banter, romance, suspense, and classic Nick-and-Nora charm.

Another Thin Man

1939

Tennessee Johnson poster
6.7

The tumultuous presidency of 19th-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 and became the first U.S. president ever to be impeached.

Tennessee Johnson

1942

Tender Comrade poster
5.7

Jo Jones, a young defense plant worker whose husband is in the military during World War II, shares a house with three other women in the same situation.

Tender Comrade

1944

Madame X poster
6.1

An alcoholic woman was charged and tried for murder and a young defense attorney, unaware that she is his mother, takes the assignment to defend her in court.

Madame X

1937

H.M. Pulham, Esq. poster
7.1

A middle-aged businessman who has lived a conservative life according to the routine conventions of society, still remembers the beautiful young woman who once brought him out of his shell.

H.M. Pulham, Esq.

1941

That's My Boy poster
5.9

Jack Jackson, the greatest football player in Ridgefield College history, is disappointed that his only son Junior is an uncoordinated, allergy-ridden bookworm. He uses his athletic reputation and standing as #1 alumni contributor to pressure the coach to take Junior onto the team. In addition, he pays the tuition of Junior's financially needy classmate Bill Baker, a potential all-American, with the understanding that he will room with Junior and mentor him athletically and socially. Junior's initial efforts as quarterback prove disastrous and further complications arise when the room mates both fall in love with the same co-ed.

That's My Boy

1951

Mr. Music poster
6.5

A golf-crazy songwriter tries to avoid the long, solitary hours of concentration needed to produce a hit musical. His producer and his secretary conspire to get him back on track.

Mr. Music

1950

I, Jane Doe poster
6.4

While stationed in France during World War II, an American fighter pilot marries a French girl but leaves her behind when he returns to the U.S. The French woman follows him to America only to discover he’s already married to a successful lawyer.

I, Jane Doe

1948

Married Bachelor poster
6.4

A man's marriage suffers when he pretends to be a bachelor while promoting "his" best-selling book about married life (actually written by an eccentric professor) in order to pay off a debt to a gangster.

Married Bachelor

1941

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound poster
6.8

This short documentary, presented and directed by MGM sound engineer Douglas Shearer, goes behind the scenes to look at how the sound portion of a talking picture is created.

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

1940

The Lady Wants Mink poster
8.0

A woman raises mink to get the coat she's always wanted.

The Lady Wants Mink

1953

Spring Madness poster
4.9

Harvard senior Sam Thatcher and his best friend and roommate, known as "The Lippencott", plan to go to Russia after graduation, a decision Sam has kept from his girlfriend, Alexandra Benson.

Spring Madness

1938

Honolulu poster
6.5

Wanting a break from his overzealous fans, a famous movie star hires a Hawaiian plantation owner to switch places with him for a few weeks.

Honolulu

1939