
Charles Laughton
Biography
Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English-American stage and film actor, director, producer and screenwriter. Laughton was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future wife Elsa Lanchester, with whom he lived and worked until his death.
He played a wide range of classical and modern parts, making an impact in Shakespeare at the Old Vic. His film career took him to Broadway and then Hollywood, but he also collaborated with Alexander Korda on notable British films of the era, including The Private Life of Henry VIII, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the title character. He portrayed everything from monsters and misfits to kings. Among Laughton's biggest film hits were The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Mutiny on the Bounty, Ruggles of Red Gap, Jamaica Inn, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Big Clock. In his later career, he took up stage directing, notably in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, and George Bernard Shaw's Don Juan in Hell, in which he also starred. He directed one film, the thriller The Night of the Hunter.
Daniel Day-Lewis cited Laughton as one of his inspirations, saying: "He was probably the greatest film actor who came from that period of time. He had something quite remarkable. His generosity as an actor, he fed himself into that work. As an actor, you cannot take your eyes off him."
Acting (72 movies)

Spartacus
1960

Island of Lost Souls
1932

O. Henry's Full House
1952

The Old Dark House
1932

The Paradine Case
1947

The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1939

Jamaica Inn
1939

The Suspect
1945

The Bribe
1949

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982

It Started with Eve
1941

Mutiny on the Bounty
1935

Tales of Manhattan
1942

The Horror Show
1979

Salome
1953

Arch of Triumph
1948

Payment Deferred
1932

Ruggles of Red Gap
1935

Witness for the Prosecution
1957

The Private Life of Henry VIII
1933

Forever and a Day
1943

Captain Kidd
1945

The Barretts of Wimpole Street
1934

Les Misérables
1935

Young Bess
1953

This Land Is Mine
1943

Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
1952

Because of Him
1946

Hobson's Choice
1954

The Man on the Eiffel Tower
1949

Advise & Consent
1962

The Strange Door
1951

The Canterville Ghost
1944

Rembrandt
1936

The Sign of the Cross
1932

Piccadilly
1929

The Big Clock
1948

Devil and the Deep
1932

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983

They Knew What They Wanted
1940

Stand by for Action
1942

If I Had a Million
1932

Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972

St. Martin's Lane
1938

The Blue Veil
1951

Under Ten Flags
1960

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
2014

The Tuttles of Tahiti
1942

The Girl from Manhattan
1948

Vessel of Wrath
1938

Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982

The Epic That Never Was
1969

White Woman
1933

The Man from Down Under
1943

Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film
2014

Blue Bottles
1928

Daydreams
1928

The Tonic
1928

Comets
1930

Wolves
1930

Down River
1931

Leben des Galilei
1947

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940

The Clerk
1933

The Art Director
1949

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009

On Our Merry Way
1948

Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
1999

Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
1994

Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
1988

In the Presence of Mine Enemies
1960
Directing (1 movie)
| Title | Year | Job | 
|---|---|---|
| Vessel of Wrath | 1938 | Producer | 
| St. Martin's Lane | 1938 | Producer | 
| Jamaica Inn | 1939 | Producer | 
| Leben des Galilei | 1947 | Writer | 
| The Night of the Hunter | 1955 | Screenplay | 
