Ronald Colman filmography

Ronald Colman in a publicity still for The Prisoner of Zenda (1937).

Ronald Colman began his career as an actor on the stage following his service in the British Army during World War I. He made his film debut in an unreleased two-reeler titled The Live Wire (1917). After achieving minor success on the stage and in British films, he immigrated to the United States in 1920. There he continued his acting with only moderate success until he was offered the lead opposite Lillian Gish in The White Sister (1923). The film's popularity and critical acclaimed led to Colman becoming a major star and also a romantic idol of the silent cinema. As a contract player for Samuel Goldwyn, Colman was cast (frequently on loan-out) as leading man to many of the top actress as the silent era. In five of his silents he formed a romantic team with Hungarian actress Vilma Bánky.

Colman made a successful transition to sound with his first talking feature, Bulldog Drummond (1929) followed by Raffles (1930) and the much underrated The Unholy Garden (1931). After leaving Goldwyn in 1933, Colman continued his career as a free-lance performer and starred in a succession of critically acclaimed films (A Tale of Two Cities, Under Two Flags, Lost Horizon, The Prisoner of Zenda, If I Were King, and The Light That Failed). In 1948 Colman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Double Life.

The filmography below lists all of Colman's films and is sub-divided into four sections: His British silent films, his American silents, his sound films, and a listing of short films in which he appeared as himself. In addition to his film appearances, Colman's television credits are also listed.

Filmography

British silents

Year	Title	Role	Director	Co-stars	Notes
1917	The Live Wire	The Young Man	George Dewhurst	Phyllis Titmuss	Two reels Never released; now lost[1]
1919	The Toilers	Bob	George Dewhurst	Manora Thew	Two reels survive[2]
	A Daughter of Eve	Bit Part	Walter West	Violet Hopson	Lost,[3] Uncredited
	Sheba	Bit Part	Cecil M. Hepworth	Alma Taylor	Lost,[4] Uncredited
	Snow in the Desert	Rupert Sylvester	Walter West	Violet Hopson	Lost[5]
1920	A Son of David	Maurice Phillips	Hay Plumb	Poppy Wyndham	Lost[6]
	Anna the Adventuress	Brendan	Cecil M. Hepworth	Alma Taylor	Lost[7]
	The Black Spider	Vicomte de Beaurais	William J. Humphrey	Lydia Kyasht	Lost[8]

American silents

Year	Title	Role	Director	Co-stars	Notes
1921	Handcuffs or Kisses	Lodyard	George Archainbaud	Elaine Hammerstein, Julia Swayne Gordon
1923	The White Sister	Capt. Giovanni Severini	Henry King	Lillian Gish	Extant
	The Eternal City	Extra	George Fitzmaurice	Barbara La Marr, Bert Lytell	Lost,[9] Uncredited
1924	Twenty Dollars a Week	Chester Reeves	Hamon F. Weight	George Arliss
	Tarnish	Emmet Carr	George Fitzmaurice	May McAvoy, Marie Prevost	(*Extant;..George Eastman House, Rochester, New York)
	Her Night of Romance	Paul Menford	Sidney Franklin	Constance Talmadge, Jean Hersholt	Extant
	Romola	Carlo Bucellini	Henry King	Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, William Powell	Extant
1925	A Thief in Paradise	Maurice Blake	George Fitzmaurice	Doris Kenyon, Aileen Pringle	Lost[10]
	The Sporting Venus	Donald MacAllan	Marshall Neilan	Blanche Sweet, Lew Cody	Extant
	His Supreme Moment	John Douglas	George Fitzmaurice	Blanche Sweet, Belle Bennett, Ned Sparks	Technicolor sequences; Lost[11]
	Her Sister from Paris	Joseph Weyringer	Sidney Franklin	Constance Talmadge
	The Dark Angel	Captain Alan Trent	George Fitzmaurice	Vilma Bánky, Wyndham Standing	Lost[12]
	Stella Dallas	Stephen Dallas	Henry King	Belle Bennett, Alice Joyce, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Lois Moran, Jean Hersholt	Extant
	Lady Windermere's Fan	Lord Darlington	Ernst Lubitsch	May McAvoy, Bert Lytell	Extant
1926	Kiki	Victor Renal	Clarence Brown	Norma Talmadge, Gertrude Astor	Extant
	Beau Geste	Michael "Beau" Geste	Herbert Brenon	Neil Hamilton, Ralph Forbes, Noah Beery, Alice Joyce, Mary Brian, William Powell	Extant
	The Winning of Barbara Worth	Willard Holmes	Henry King	Vilma Bánky, Gary Cooper	Extant
1927	The Night of Love	Montero	George Fitzmaurice	Vilma Bánky, Montagu Love
	The Magic Flame	Tito the Clown / The Count	Henry King	Vilma Bánky, Gustav von Seyffertitz	Survives incomplete[13]
1928	Two Lovers	Mark Van Rycke	Fred Niblo	Vilma Bánky, Noah Beery	Survives incomplete[14]
1929	The Rescue	Tom Lingard	Herbert Brenon	Lily Damita	Survives incomplete[15]

Sound films

Year	Title	Role	Director	Co-stars	Notes
1929	Bulldog Drummond	Capt. Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond	F. Richard Jones	Claude Allister, Joan Bennett, Montagu Love	Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor
	Condemned	Michel	Wesley Ruggles	Ann Harding, Louis Wolheim, Dudley Diggs	Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor
1930	Raffles	Raffles	George Fitzmaurice Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast	Kay Francis, Frederick Kerr, Bramwell Fletcher, Frances Dade
	The Devil to Pay!	Willie Hale	George Fitzmaurice	Loretta Young, Frederick Kerr, Myrna Loy
1931	The Unholy Garden	Barrington Hunt	George Fitzmaurice	Fay Wray, Warren Hymer
	Arrowsmith	Dr. Martin Arrowsmith	John Ford	Helen Hayes, Richard Bennett, Myrna Loy
1932	Cynara	Jim Warlock	King Vidor	Kay Francis, Phyllis Barry, Henry Stephenson
1933	The Masquerader	Sir John Chilcote / John Loder	Richard Wallace	Elissa Landi
1934	Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back	Capt. Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond	Roy Del Ruth	Loretta Young, Warner Oland, Charles Butterworth, Una Merkel, C. Aubrey Smith
1935	Clive of India	Robert Clive	Richard Boleslawski	Loretta Young, Colin Clive
	The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo	Paul Gaillard	Stephen Roberts	Joan Bennett, Nigel Bruce, Colin Clive
	A Tale of Two Cities	Sydney Carton	Jack Conway	Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver, Reginald Owen, Basil Rathbone, Blanche Yurka
1936	Under Two Flags	Sgt. Victor	Frank Lloyd	Claudette Colbert, Victor McLaglen, Rosalind Russell
1937	Lost Horizon	Robert Conway	Frank Capra	Jane Wyatt, Edward Everett Horton, Thomas Mitchell, Margo, Isabel Jewell, H.B. Warner, Sam Jaffe	Seven minutes of film missing, though the soundtrack is intact.
	The Prisoner of Zenda	Maj. Rudolf Rassendyll / King Rudolf V	John Cromwell	Madeleine Carroll, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey, Mary Astor	Presented in sepiatone[16]
1938	If I Were King	François Villon	Frank Lloyd	Frances Dee, Basil Rathbone
1939	The Light That Failed	Dick Heldar	William Wellman	Walter Huston, Ida Lupino
1940	Lucky Partners	David Grant	Lewis Milestone	Ginger Rogers, Jack Carson
1941	My Life with Caroline	Anthony Mason	Lewis Milestone	Anna Lee, Charles Winninger
1942	The Talk of the Town	Professor Michael Lightcap	George Stevens	Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Edgar Buchanan, Glenda Farrell
	Random Harvest	Charles Rainier	Mervyn LeRoy	Greer Garson, Philip Dorn, Susan Peters	Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
1944	Kismet	Hafiz	William Dieterle	Marlene Dietrich, James Craig, Edward Arnold, Joy Ann Page	Technicolor
1947	The Late George Apley	George Apley	Joseph L. Mankiewicz	Peggy Cummins, Edna Best
	A Double Life	Anthony John	George Cukor	Signe Hasso, Edmund O'Brien, Shelley Winters	Academy Award for Best Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor
1950	Champagne for Caesar	Beauregard Bottomley	Richard Whorf	Celeste Holm, Vincent Price, Barbara Britton, Art Linkletter
1956	Around the World in 80 Days	Great Indian Peninsular Railway Official	Michael Anderson	David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Newton	Todd-AO EastmanColor
1957	The Story of Mankind	The Spirit of Man	Irwin Allen	Vincent Price, Cedric Hardwicke	Technicolor, (Last appearance)

Short film appearances as himself

Year	Title	Notes
1925	Screen Snapshots	Colman appears with Blanche Sweet and director George Fitzmaurice.
1928	Movie Industry Commercial	Colman appears with California governor Clement C. Young. Filmed in Technicolor.
1937	Screen Snapshots #9	A behind the scenes look during the shooting of Lost Horizon.
1942	It Happened One Noon	Colman, Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and director George Stevens promote the British film The Invaders (1942).
	Hearst Metrotone News	Colman is seen en route to Washington, D.C., to appear in the "Stars Over America" war campaign.
1949	21st Academy Awards footage	Colman presents the Academy Award for Best Actress to Jane Wyman for her performance in Johnny Belinda.
1952	24th Academy Awards footage	Filmed in color.
	Hearst Metrotone News	Colman presents the Academy Award for Best Actress to Vivien Leigh for her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire.
1953	25th Academy Award footage	16mm kinescope.
	Hearst Metrotone News	At the Academy Awards Colman announces Shirley Booth as the Best Actress winner for her performance in Come Back, Little Sheba.
	The Globe Playhouse	Colman narrates this documentary short.

^[17]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Director	Co-stars	Network
1952	Four Star Playhouse Episode: "The Lost Silk Hat"	Gentleman Caller	Robert Florey	Richard Whorf	CBS
1953	The 25th Annual Academy Awards	Himself Presenter: Best Actress	Bill Bennington	Bob Hope and Conrad Nagel (MCs), Shirley Booth (Best Actress Award winner)	NBC
	Four Star Playhouse Episode: "The Man Who Walked Out on Himself"	John Cameron	Robert Florey	Francis Pierlot	CBS
	Four Star Playhouse Episode: "Ladies in His Mind"	Dr. Matthew Bosnaquent	Robert Florey	Benita Hume, Patricia Morison, Hillary Brooke	CBS
1954	Four Star Playhouse Episode: "A String of Beads"	Somerset Maugham	William Cameron Menzies	Angela Lansbury, George Macready, Nigel Bruce	CBS
1954–55	The Halls of Ivy (39 episodes)	Dr. William Todd Hunter	Norman Z. McLeod William Cameron Menzies William D. Russell	Benita Hume, Mary Wickes, Ray Collins, Arthur Q. Bryan	CBS
1956	Studio 57 Episode: "Perfect Likeness"	Painter	Don Weis	Kim Hunter	Syndicated
	The Jack Benny Program Episode: "The Mistaken Dinner Invitation"	Himself	Ralph Levy	Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Don Wilson	CBS
1957	General Electric Theater Episode: "The Chess Game"	Mr. Graham	Herschel Daughtery	Clifford Tatum	CBS

^[18]

References

Notes

1. Entry on The Live Wire
2. Frank, Sam (1997). Ronald Colman: A Bio-Bibliography. Bio-Bibliographies in the Performing Arts (No. 74). Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-26433-3. p. 61.
3. Entry on A Daughter of Eve
4. Entry on Sheba
5. Entry on Snow in the Desert
6. Entry on A Son of David
7. Entry on Anna the Adventuress
8. Entry on The Black Spider
9. Entry on The Enternal City
10. Entry on A Thief in Paradise
11. Entry on His Supreme Moment
12. Entry on The Dark Angel
13. Frank, p. 82
14. Entry on Two Lovers
15. Entry on The Rescue
16. Frank, p. 106
17. Frank, pp. 59-130
18. Frank, pp. 207-218

Bibliography

• Frank, Sam (1997). Ronald Colman: A Bio-Bibliography. Bio-Bibliographies in the Performing Arts (No. 74). Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-26433-3.
• Quirk, Lawrence J. (1977). The Films of Ronald Colman. Citadel Press.
• Ronald Colman at the Internet Movie Database