Robert Ryan

Acting

Robert Ryan

Born — Died

1909-11-11 — 1973-07-11

Place of birth

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

76 titles

Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American  actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains. Ryan was born in Chicago, Illinois, the first child of Timothy Ryan and his wife Mabel Bushnell Ryan.  He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1932, having held the school's heavyweight boxing title all four years of his attendance. After graduation, the 6'4" Ryan found employment as a stoker on a ship, a WPA worker, and a ranch hand in Montana. Ryan attempted to make a career in show business as a playwright, but had to turn to acting to support himself. He studied acting in Hollywood and appeared on stage and in small film parts during the early 1940s. In …

Known for

Film credits

1970s · 6 titles

The Outfit poster
6.7

A two-bit criminal takes on the Mafia to avenge his brother's death. Earl Macklin is a small time criminal who is released from prison after an unsuccessful bank robbery only to discover that a pair of gunmen killed his brother.

The Outfit

1973

Executive Action poster
6.5

Rogue intelligence agents, right-wing politicians, greedy capitalists, and free-lance assassins plot and carry out the JFK assassination in this speculative agitprop.

Executive Action

1973

Lawman poster
6.5

While passing through the town of Bannock, a bunch of drunken cattlemen go overboard with their celebrating and accidentally kill an old man with a stray shot. They return home to Sabbath unaware of his death. Bannock lawman Jered Maddox later arrives there to arrest everyone involved on a charge of murder. Sabbath is run by land baron Vince Bronson, a benevolent despot, who, upon hearing of the death, offers restitution for the incident.

Lawman

1971

The Iceman Cometh poster
6.2

Set in 1912, inside a dive bar named The Last Chance Saloon, its destitute patrons eagerly await the arrival of Hickey, who arrives annually and props everyone up with free drinks and spirited stories of his travels. However, when Hickey does show up this year, it is with a message of temperance and an exhortation to give up hopeless dreams and face reality.

The Iceman Cometh

1973

Lolly-Madonna XXX poster
5.9

In the early 1970s, a young woman passing through rural Tennessee unintentionally gets caught in a feud between two local neighboring clans, the Feathers and the Gutshalls.

Lolly-Madonna XXX

1973

And Hope to Die poster
6.3

Young pilot Tony Cardot goes on the run after inadvertently crashing his plane into a group of Gypsy children. He reaches Montreal and crosses paths with American gangster Charley Ellis, who forces him to join in his gang's latest scheme.

And Hope to Die

1972

1960s · 14 titles

The Longest Day poster
7.6

The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"

The Longest Day

1962

The Professionals poster
7.1

An arrogant Texas millionaire hires four adventurers to rescue his kidnapped wife from a notorious Mexican bandit.

The Professionals

1966

The Dirty Dozen poster
7.6

12 American military prisoners in World War II are ordered to infiltrate a well-guarded enemy château and kill the Nazi officers vacationing there. The soldiers, most of whom are facing death sentences for a variety of violent crimes, agree to the mission and the possible commuting of their sentences.

The Dirty Dozen

1967

The Wild Bunch poster
7.6

An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.

The Wild Bunch

1969

Battle of the Bulge poster
6.9

In the winter of 1944, the Allied Armies stand ready to invade Germany at the coming of a New Year. To prevent it, Hitler orders an all-out offensive to re-take French territory and capture the major port city of Antwerp.

Battle of the Bulge

1965

Anzio poster
5.7

American troops land unopposed on Italian beaches during World War II, but instead of pushing on to Rome, they dig in and the Germans fight back ferociously.

Anzio

1968

Hour of the Gun poster
6.5

Marshal Wyatt Earp kills a couple of men of the Clanton-gang in a fight. In revenge Clanton's thugs kill the marshal's brother. Thus, Wyatt Earp starts to chase the killers together with his friend Doc Holliday.

Hour of the Gun

1967

Custer of the West poster
6.0

The story of U.S. Army commander George Armstrong Custer, a flamboyant hero of the Civil War who later fought and was exterminated with his entire command by warring Sioux and Cheyenne tribes at the battle of Little Big Horn in 1876.

Custer of the West

1967

King of Kings poster
7.2

Who is Jesus, and why does he impact all he meets? He is respected and reviled, emulated and accused, beloved, betrayed, and finally crucified. Yet that terrible fate would not be the end of the story.

King of Kings

1961

The Dirty Game poster
6.0

A U.S. intelligence general recalls three Cold War cases of Soviet, French and Italian spies.

The Dirty Game

1965

Billy Budd poster
7.3

Billy is an innocent, naive seaman in the British Navy in 1797. When the ship's sadistic master-at-arms is murdered, Billy is accused and tried.

Billy Budd

1962

Captain Nemo and the Underwater City poster
5.6

Survivors of a sinking ship are rescued by Captain Nemo and his submarine crew. They are taken to an underwater city where they may spend the rest of their lives.

Captain Nemo and the Underwater City

1969

Ice Palace poster
6.3

Alaska: America's last great wilderness frontier. A land of primitive grandeur, of glaciers, mountains and ice-fields. And of ambitious cannery tycoon Zeb "Czar" Kennedy and rugged activist leader Thor Storm, two rough-hewn men whose bitter 40-year rivalry mirrored their powerful land's struggle for statehood.

Ice Palace

1960

Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America poster
NR

“Songs of America” shows the two on stage, in the studio and on a concert tour across a turbulent country. Their ambitious Bridge Over Troubled Water album had yet to be released and the glorious title song was heard here by the general public for the very first time. The program showed news clips of labor leader/activist Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, the Poor People’s Campaign’s march on Washington, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, JFK and Robert Kennedy and other events that were emblematic of the era. “Songs of America” was originally sponsored by the Bell Telephone Company, but the execs there got cold feet when they saw what they’d paid for—legend has it that they looked at the footage of JFK, RFK and MLK during the (powerful!) “Bridge Over Troubled Water” segment (approx 12 minutes in) and asked for more Republicans! (Not assassinated Republicans, just more Republicans...you know, for balance!) The special was eventually picked up by CBS.

Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America

1969

1950s · 25 titles

Bad Day at Black Rock poster
7.3

One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.

Bad Day at Black Rock

1955

The Tall Men poster
6.4

Two brothers discharged from the Confederate Army join a businessman for a cattle drive from Texas to Montana where they run into raiding Jayhawkers, angry Sioux, rough terrain and bad weather.

The Tall Men

1955

Clash by Night poster
6.7

An embittered woman seeks escape in marriage, only to fall for her husband’s best friend.

Clash by Night

1952

The Racket poster
6.3

The big national crime syndicate has moved into town, partnering up with local crime boss Nick Scanlon. McQuigg, the only honest police captain on the force, and his loyal patrolman, Johnson, take on the violent Nick.

The Racket

1951

House of Bamboo poster
6.2

Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.

House of Bamboo

1955

Odds Against Tomorrow poster
6.9

An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tensions flare.

Odds Against Tomorrow

1959

City Beneath the Sea poster
5.1

Divers Brad and Tony arrive in Jamaica to attempt salvage of the Lady Luck, sunk with all hands and a million in gold. They charter the American Beauty, skippered by attractive Terry, but cannot find the ship. But there's more to the Lady Luck than meets the eye, and undersea skullduggery forms a counterpoint to Brad's romance with Terry, and Tony's with cabaret singer Venita.

City Beneath the Sea

1953

Day of the Outlaw poster
6.8

Blaise Starrett is a rancher at odds with homesteaders when outlaws hold up the small town. The outlaws are held in check only by their notorious leader, but he is diagnosed with a fatal wound and the town is a powder keg waiting to blow.

Day of the Outlaw

1959

Flying Leathernecks poster
5.8

Major Daniel Kirby takes command of a squadron of Marine fliers just before they are about to go into combat. While the men are well meaning, he finds them undisciplined and prone to always finding excuses to do what is easy rather than what is necessary. The root of the problem is the second in command, Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin. Griff is the best flier in the group but Kirby finds him a poor commander who is not prepared to make the difficult decision that all commanders have to make - to put men in harm's way knowing that they may be killed.

Flying Leathernecks

1951

Back from Eternity poster
6.7

A South American plane loaded with an assortment of characters crash lands in a remote jungle area in the middle of a storm. The passengers then discover they are in an area inhabited by vicious cannibals and must escape before they are found. A remake of Five Came Back (1939).

Back from Eternity

1956

The Naked Spur poster
7.0

A bounty hunter trying to bring a murderer to justice is forced to accept the help of two less-than-trustworthy strangers.

The Naked Spur

1953

Horizons West poster
6.3

Following the Civil War, brothers Dan and Neil Hammond return to Texas, where ambitious Dan turns to rustling and then shady land deals to build an empire. Being held for a murder, he's rescued from a lynch mob by Neil, now the Marshal, but they have an inevitable falling-out.

Horizons West

1952

Inferno poster
6.2

When selfish and arrogant millionaire Donald Carson fractures his leg during a desert vacation, his wife, Geraldine, leaves with their friend Joseph Duncan to supposedly get help. However, the two of them are really lovers who are leaving Carson to die in the heat. Slowly, Carson realizes he is on his own and vows revenge on the traitorous couple. Having had a privileged life, Carson must now use his wits to stay alive.

Inferno

1953

Men in War poster
6.6

In Korea, on 6 September 1950, Lieutenant Benson's platoon finds itself isolated in enemy-held territory after a retreat. Soon they are joined by Sergeant Montana, whose overriding concern is caring for his catatonic colonel. Benson and Montana can't stand each other, but together they must get the survivors to Hill 465, where they hope the division is waiting. It's a long, harrowing march, fraught with all the dangers the elusive enemy can summon.

Men in War

1957

The Proud Ones poster
6.5

Robert Ryan plays an aging sheriff responsible for law and order in a frontier cattle town. Virginia Mayo plays his fiancee. As if handling wild cattle drovers isn't enough, a crooked casino operator from Ryan's past comes to town. An early scuffle in the casino leaves Ryan with vision problems that interfere with his duties. Jeffrey Hunter who came to town with a cattle drive encounters Ryan, who killed Hunter's father when Hunter was young. Feelings of animosity soon change as Hunter begins to sense Ryan is telling the truth about his father. What follows is a plot that continues to thicken to the inevitable showdown.

The Proud Ones

1956

Beware, My Lovely poster
6.1

A psychopath on the run takes a job as a handyman at the house of a lonely widow.

Beware, My Lovely

1952

Hard, Fast and Beautiful! poster
6.2

When most people look at Florence Farley, they see a pretty teenager. But when Milly Farley looks at her daughter she sees something else: a tennis prodigy who could be Milly’s ticket to money and fame.

Hard, Fast and Beautiful!

1951

Born to Be Bad poster
6.0

Christabel Caine has the face of angel and the heart of a swamp rat. She'll step on anyone to get what she wants, including her own family. A master of manipulation, she covertly breaks off the engagement of her trusting cousin, Donna, to her fabulously wealthy beau, Curtis Carey. Once married to Curtis herself, Christabel continues her affair with novelist Nick Bradley, who knows she's evil, but loves her anyway.

Born to Be Bad

1950

Escape to Burma poster
6.2

A fugitive in British Burma hides on a tea plantation, thanks to a mutual attraction with owner Gwen Moore.

Escape to Burma

1955

On Dangerous Ground poster
6.6

A big-city cop is reassigned to the country after his superiors find him too angry to be an effective policeman. While on his temporary assignment he assists in a manhunt of a suspected murderer.

On Dangerous Ground

1951

About Mrs. Leslie poster
7.4

A lonely, unhappy owner of a Beverly Hills boarding house reflects on her lonely, unhappy life and the lonely, unhappy man she once loved.

About Mrs. Leslie

1954

Best of the Badmen poster
6.5

After the North defeats the South, Union Maj. Jeff Clanton heads to Missouri to provide the Confederacy's Quantrill's Raiders a chance to claim allegiance to the Union, thereby clearing their wanted status. But standing in Clanton's way are the corrupt lawmen Joad and Fowler, who would rather keep the men outlaws to collect the reward on their heads. After Joad and Fowler frame Clanton for murder, he manages to escape, becoming an outlaw himself.

Best of the Badmen

1951

The Secret Fury poster
5.5

The wedding of Ellen and David is halted by a stranger who insists that the bride is already married to someone else. Though the flabbergasted Ellen denies the charge, the interloper produces enough evidence that his accusation must be investigated. Ellen and David travel to the small coastal town where her first wedding allegedly occurred. There, they meet a number of individuals whose stories make Ellen question her own sanity.

The Secret Fury

1950

The Great Gatsby poster
NR

Adaptation of the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald for "Playhouse 90." A Midwesterner becomes fascinated with his wealthy neighbor, who obsesses over his lost love.

The Great Gatsby

1958

God's Little Acre poster
6.2

In the 1950s, a poor Georgia cotton farmer and his sons search for the gold presumably buried on the farm by their grandfather but problems related to poverty, marital infidelity, unemployment and booze threaten to destroy their family.

God's Little Acre

1958

1940s · 13 titles

The Set-Up poster
7.4

Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.

The Set-Up

1949

The Ghost Breakers poster
6.5

After intrepid working girl Mary Carter becomes the new owner of a reputedly haunted mansion located off the Cuban coast, a stranger phones warning her to stay away from the castle. Undaunted, Mary sets sail for Cuba with a stowaway in her trunk—wise-cracking Larry Lawrence, a radio announcer who helps Mary get to the bottom of the voodoo magic, zombies and ghosts that supposedly curse the spooky estate.

The Ghost Breakers

1940

The Boy with Green Hair poster
6.2

Peter, an orphaned boy, is adopted by Gramp Frye after his parents are killed in Europe while doing war relief work. The boy feels safe with his new caretaker, but when he is taunted for being an orphan, he gets demoralized. The next day Peter wakes up with green hair. Embarrassed and further ridiculed, Peter seeks solace in a nearby forest. To his surprise, he finds other orphans in the woods, who encourage him to spread news of the injustices of war.

The Boy with Green Hair

1948

Trail Street poster
6.5

Bat Masterson's old friend Billy Burns convinces him to become marshal of Liberal, Kansas and help the residents fight drought and a destructive range war.

Trail Street

1947

Act of Violence poster
6.9

A former prisoner of war, Frank Enley is hailed as a hero in his California town. However, Frank has a shameful secret that comes back to haunt him when fellow survivor Joe Parkson emerges, intent on making Frank pay for his past deeds.

Act of Violence

1949

Berlin Express poster
6.3

In post-war Europe, a diverse group of passengers aboard a U.S. Army train to bombed-out Frankfurt becomes involved in a Nazi assassination plot.

Berlin Express

1948

The Woman on the Beach poster
6.1

A sailor suffering from post-traumatic stress becomes involved with a beautiful and enigmatic seductress married to a blind painter.

The Woman on the Beach

1947

Return of the Bad Men poster
6.3

US Marshall Vance is assigned to rid the Oklahoma Territory of outlaws.

Return of the Bad Men

1948

North West Mounted Police poster
6.4

Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers ("Isn't that a contradiction in terms?", another character asks him) travels to Canada in the 1880s in search of Jacques Corbeau, who is wanted for murder. He wanders into the midst of the Riel Rebellion, in which Métis (people of French and Native heritage) and Natives want a separate nation. Dusty falls for nurse April Logan, who is also loved by Mountie Jim Brett. April's brother is involved with Courbeau's daughter Louvette, which leads to trouble during the battles between the rebels and the Mounties. Through it all Dusty is determined to bring Corbeau back to Texas (and April, too, if he can manage it.)

North West Mounted Police

1940

The Texas Rangers Ride Again poster
5.6

With thousands of cattle being rustled from White Sage ranch the 1930's Texas Rangers are called in. They manage to get one of their agents into the gang by making them think he is the Pecos Kid on the lam.

The Texas Rangers Ride Again

1940

Caught poster
6.6

Wide-eyed and poor young Leonora weds an obsessive millionaire named Ohlrig, but the marriage is loveless. Even worse, Ohlrig seems to have manic, violent tendencies. Eventually, young Leonora escapes her unhappy life and begins working with New York City doctor Larry Quinada, who she soon falls for. Unfortunately, Ohlrig refuses to grant his wife a divorce, and things get even darker for Leonora when she realizes she's pregnant with his child.

Caught

1949

Crossfire poster
6.7

A man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of soldiers just out of the army. But which one? And why?

Crossfire

1947

The Iron Major poster
5.7

William 'Frank' Cavanaugh is a top football coach who gave up his career to enter WWI where he became a hero. After the war he went back to coaching where he ended up having one of the best winning percentages in football history.

The Iron Major

1943

Series credits

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson poster
7.6

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962

What's My Line? poster
7.0

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.

What's My Line?

1950

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre poster
6.2

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

1956

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre poster
6.2

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

1956

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre poster
6.2

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

1956

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre poster
6.2

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

1956

No artwork available
5.9

No synopsis available yet.

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

1963

The Oscars poster
7.1

An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.

The Oscars

1953

The Steve Allen Show poster
6.2

No synopsis available yet.

The Steve Allen Show

1956

Kraft Suspense Theatre poster
6.5

No synopsis available yet.

Kraft Suspense Theatre

1963

Alcoa Theatre poster
7.0

Alcoa Theatre is a half-hour American anthology series telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on alternate Monday nights from October 7, 1957 to September 16, 1960. The program also aired under the title Turn of Fate, with the stories depicting the difficulties faced by individuals who are suddenly thrust into unexpected and perilous dangers. Alcoa Theatre was syndicated together with Goodyear Theatre as Award Theatre. In 1955, The Alcoa Hour premiered in a one-hour format aired on Sunday nights, but it was reduced to 30 minutes, retitled Alcoa Theatre, and moved to Monday evening in 1957. The show employed an alternating rotating company of actors: David Niven, Robert Ryan, Jane Powell, Jack Lemmon and Charles Boyer. Each appeared in dramatic and light comedic roles through the first season.

Alcoa Theatre

1957

Alcoa Theatre poster
7.0

Alcoa Theatre is a half-hour American anthology series telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on alternate Monday nights from October 7, 1957 to September 16, 1960. The program also aired under the title Turn of Fate, with the stories depicting the difficulties faced by individuals who are suddenly thrust into unexpected and perilous dangers. Alcoa Theatre was syndicated together with Goodyear Theatre as Award Theatre. In 1955, The Alcoa Hour premiered in a one-hour format aired on Sunday nights, but it was reduced to 30 minutes, retitled Alcoa Theatre, and moved to Monday evening in 1957. The show employed an alternating rotating company of actors: David Niven, Robert Ryan, Jane Powell, Jack Lemmon and Charles Boyer. Each appeared in dramatic and light comedic roles through the first season.

Alcoa Theatre

1957

The David Susskind Show poster
7.0

The David Susskind Show is an American television talk show hosted by David Susskind. The program began its existence in 1958 as Open End, and was broadcast by WNTA-TV in New York City. The title referred to the fact that the program continued until Susskind or his guests were too tired to continue late on a Sunday night.

The David Susskind Show

1959

No artwork available
6.8

Goodyear Theatre is a 30-minute dramatic television anthology series telecast on NBC from 1957 to 1960 for a total of 55 episodes. The live show was directed by Don Taylor, Arthur Hiller and James Sheldon. It followed Goodyear Television Playhouse.

Goodyear Theatre

1957

No artwork available
7.7

This historical survey of the First World War was produced and aired by CBS to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the opening of hostilities. The series used footage that was shot during the era of the war. Much of the footage had never been aired on television before.

World War One

1964

No artwork available
8.0

One of the most comprehensive World War 1 documentary series ever made recalls the causes conduct, and aftermath of "The War to End All Wars". Along with the social, political, and economic fabric of the times, the roles of key figures are analyzed in depth. Produced during the Golden Age of CBS TV documentaries, this series, narrated by Robert Ryan, contains some of the highest quality World War 1 footage known to exist.

World War I: The Complete Story

1964