Roy Del Ruth

Directing

Roy Del Ruth

Born — Died

1893-10-18 — 1961-04-27

Place of birth

New Castle, Delaware, USA

Known for

Directing

Credits

41 titles

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893 – April 27, 1961) was a Hollywood film director. Del Ruth, who started out as a screenwriter in 1915 writing gags for Mack Sennett, began directing feature films in the 1920s. He became known for directing urban and crime dramas including the 1931 version of The Maltese Falcon. He also directed the universally panned The Babe Ruth Story (1948) and the 20th Century Fox B-movie Alligator People (1959). Roy Del Ruth died in 1961 at age 67 and was interred in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California. For his contributions to the motion picture industry, he was awarded a star on the Hollywo…

Known for

Film credits

Behind the camera

Ziegfeld Follies poster
6.0

The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.

Ziegfeld Follies

1945

Topper Returns poster
6.5

Topper is once again tormented by a fun-loving spirit. This time, it's Gail Richards, accidentally murdered while vacationing at the home of her wealthy friend, Ann Carrington, the intended victim. With Topper's help, Gail sets out to find her killer with the expected zany results.

Topper Returns

1941

Phantom of the Rue Morgue poster
6.2

When several women are found mutilated and murdered, the Paris police are baffled as to who the killer may be. All evidence points to Dupin, but soon it becomes apparent that it is someone (or something) stronger and deadlier than a human.

Phantom of the Rue Morgue

1954

Happy Landing poster
6.2

Bandleader and manager discover skater in Norway. They become rivals as she returns with them to America.

Happy Landing

1938

The West Point Story poster
5.8

A Broadway director helps the West Point cadets put on a show, aided by two lovely ladies and assorted complications.

The West Point Story

1950

The Alligator People poster
5.6

Under therapeutic hypnosis, a seemingly well-adjusted young woman tells a fantastic story, verified by lie detector, of her forgotten marriage to a man who disappeared on the day of their honeymoon, and of her search for him which takes her to a lonely mansion in a remote section of swampland tenanted by snakes, alligators, a drunken one-armed lout, a mysterious doctor, and a cold-hearted elderly woman who lives alone in a brooding manse.

The Alligator People

1959

It Happened on Fifth Avenue poster
7.1

A New Yorker hobo moves into a mansion and along the way he gathers friends to live in the house with him. Before he knows it, he is living with the actual home owners.

It Happened on Fifth Avenue

1947

It Happened on Fifth Avenue poster
7.1

A New Yorker hobo moves into a mansion and along the way he gathers friends to live in the house with him. Before he knows it, he is living with the actual home owners.

It Happened on Fifth Avenue

1947

The Little Giant poster
7.0

Prohibition is ending so bootlegger Bugs Ahearn decides to crack California society. He leases a house from down-on-her-luck Ruth and hires her as social secretary. He rescues Polly Cass from a horsefall and goes home to meet her dad who sells him some phony stock certificates. When he learns about this he sends to Chicago for mob help.

The Little Giant

1933

Du Barry Was a Lady poster
6.5

Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a poor dancer but wants to marry for money. When Louis wins the Irish Sweepstakes, he asks May to marry him and she accepts even though she doesn't love him. Soon after, Louis has an accident and gets knocked on the head, where he dreams that he's King Louis XV pursuing the infamous Madame Du Barry.

Du Barry Was a Lady

1943

Broadway Melody of 1938 poster
6.6

Steve Raleight wants to produce a show on Broadway. He finds a backer, Herman Whipple and a leading lady, Sally Lee. But Caroline Whipple forces Steve to use a known star, not a newcomer. Sally purchases a horse, she used to train when her parents had a farm before the depression and with to ex-vaudevillians, Sonny Ledford and Peter Trott she trains it to win a race, providing the money Steve needs for his show.

Broadway Melody of 1938

1937

On Moonlight Bay poster
6.5

The Winfield family moves into a new house in a small town in Indiana. Tomboy Marjorie Winfield begins a romance with William Sherman who lives across the street. Marjorie has to learn how to dance and act like a proper young lady. Unfortunately William Sherman has unconventional ideas for the time. His ideas include not believing in marriage or money, which causes friction with Marjorie's father, who is the local bank vice president

On Moonlight Bay

1951

The Maltese Falcon poster
6.4

A lovely dame with dangerous lies employs the services of a private detective, who is quickly caught up in the mystery and intrigue of a statuette known as the Maltese Falcon.

The Maltese Falcon

1931

Bureau of Missing Persons poster
5.7

A young woman goes to the police looking for her missing husband. When it turns out her husband is both a murder victim and a bachelor - and that she is the primary suspect - tough cop Butch Saunders comes up with a scheme to crack the case.

Bureau of Missing Persons

1933

Lady Killer poster
6.9

An ex-gang member tries to resist his old cohorts' criminal influence after he suddenly becomes a Hollywood movie star.

Lady Killer

1933

Folies Bergère de Paris poster
6.0

An impersonates look-alike, causing confusion wife girlfriend.

Folies Bergère de Paris

1935

Upperworld poster
6.1

A railroad tycoon, disillusioned with his marriage, starts seeing a showgirl. Things go agreeably until the woman's manager decides to blackmail the millionaire.

Upperworld

1934

Born to Dance poster
6.1

On leave, a sailor falls in love with a young lady aspiring to become a Broadway dancer, but their relationship is jeopardized by an established Broadway star, who is also enamored by him.

Born to Dance

1936

He Married His Wife poster
5.6

Race horse owner pays so much attention to business he winds up divorced from his wife. His alimony payments are so steep he plots with his lawyer to get her married off.

He Married His Wife

1940

Captured! poster
5.5

While waiting out World War I in a German POW camp, Captain Fred Allison discovers that his oldest and dearest friend Digby has also been captured and put into the same camp with him. Fred longs for news of his wife, Monica, but Digby speaks little of her. Digby knows a secret about Monica, a secret he must keep from his friend, and it wears at his conscience so much that he attempts a reckless escape.

Captured!

1933

The Life of the Party poster
6.6

Two female song-pluggers decide to become ruthless gold-diggers, with comic results.

The Life of the Party

1930

Broadway Melody of 1936 poster
6.5

Lovely, gifted Irene Foster hopes that her childhood sweetheart-turned Broadway producer Robert Gordon will recognize her--and her talent. Gordon is too busy sparring with a dirt-dishing gossip columnist to notice, but his wisecracking, heart-of-gold secretary certainly does. She and Irene must use their wits to show him what he's missing!

Broadway Melody of 1936

1935

Side Show poster
5.6

A circus side show performer tries to discourage her younger sister from following in her footsteps.

Side Show

1931

Taxi! poster
6.8

Amidst a backdrop of growing violence and intimidation, independent cab drivers struggling against a consolidated juggernaut rally around hot-tempered Matt Nolan. Nolan is determined to keep competition alive on the streets, even if it means losing the woman he loves.

Taxi!

1932

Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back poster
5.6

Bulldog Drummond finds himself immersed in another adventure when he stumbles upon a corpse in the mysterious London mansion of Prince Achmed. Enlisting the help of his old friend Algy and the beautiful Lola, Drummond uncovers a scheme to ship illegal cargo into the country. He must rely on his cunning to survive when the prince offers a reward for his capture.

Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back

1934

Kid Millions poster
6.7

A musical comedy about a Brooklyn boy who inherits a fortune from his archaeologist father, but has to go to Egypt to claim it.

Kid Millions

1934

Beauty and the Boss poster
7.0

An ultra-efficient Plain Jane secretary blossoms when she accompanies her boss on a business trip to Paris.

Beauty and the Boss

1932

Starlift poster
6.6

To impress a movie star, a U.S. Air Force crewman pretends he is soon to see combat. When his lie gets out, chaos ensues.

Starlift

1951

Blonde Crazy poster
7.0

The adventures of a cocky con man and his beautiful accomplice.

Blonde Crazy

1931

My Past poster
4.0

A stage star finds herself torn between a wealthy older man and a handsome younger one.

My Past

1931

Tail Spin poster
6.3

Trixie is a female pilot looking to win a big race to advance her career. During one race, however, her plane becomes damaged, and she needs help to repair it. She meets a Navy pilot named "Tex" Price and tries to gain his aid. Tex soon meets another pilot, Gerry, a novice who seeks to win an important upcoming race. Tex, concerned for Gerry's safety, tries to convince her not to race. But Gerry, now a rival of Trixie's, is determined to fly.

Tail Spin

1939

Private Number poster
6.7

Ellen Neal, a young and inexperienced maid, becomes romantically involved with her employers son which causes various complications. The head butler also has an infatuation for the young girl but his intentions are not that good.

Private Number

1936

I Married an Angel poster
6.0

A count who ignores an infatuated secretary thinks he has met his match when an angel from Heaven shows up.

I Married an Angel

1942

Maisie Gets Her Man poster
6.7

Struggling performers, Sothern and Skelton's lives are thrown off gear when they are caught with a bagful of hard cash robbed by a goon. With Skelton in prison, how will Sothern prove their innocence?

Maisie Gets Her Man

1942

Why Must I Die poster
5.3

A night club singer who is the daughter of a small-town crook is tried and convicted of murder.

Why Must I Die

1960

If I Were Single poster
9.0

Rich girl Joan Whitney does her flirtatious best to break up the marriage of May and Ted Howard and almost succeeds, but not before May Howard has a light flirtation with a light-in-the-slippers specimen named Claude.

If I Were Single

1927

Three Sailors and a Girl poster
7.0

A group of sailors invest in a musical revue.

Three Sailors and a Girl

1953

The Mind Reader poster
6.2

Con-man Chandler and his partner Frank decide to start a clairvoyant act. Chandler falls for Sylvia, one of their marks, but their relationship is challenged when his deception impacts others' lives and Sylvia urges him to reform.

The Mind Reader

1933

My Lucky Star poster
5.9

George Cabot Jr., the son of a department store owner, enrolls Kristina Nielsen, the store's sports clerk, at a university to use her as an advertisement for their fashion department. She falls for Larry Taylor, a teacher, and gets expelled.

My Lucky Star

1938

Always Leave Them Laughing poster
4.4

A self-absorbed comedian steps all over his friends and colleagues in order to achieve success.

Always Leave Them Laughing

1949