Menu
Wesley Ruggles

Wesley Ruggles

Known For Directing
Birthday Jun 10, 1889
Died Jan 08, 1972 (82)
Birthplace Los Angeles, California, USA
Popularity 2 (history)
Updated Aug 03, 2025
Entry Date Apr 13, 2024
Links TMDb IMDb
Biography

Wesley Ruggles (June 11, 1889 – January 8, 1972) was an American film director. He was born in Los Angeles, a younger brother of actor Charles Ruggles. He began his career in 1915 as an actor, appearing in a dozen or so silent films, on occasion with Charles Chaplin. In 1917, he turned his attenti ... on to directing, making more than 50 mostly forgettable films — including a silent film version of Edith Wharton's novel The Age of Innocence (1924) — before he won acclaim with Cimarron in 1931. The adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel Cimarron, about homesteaders settling in the prairies of Oklahoma, was the first Western to win an Academy Award as Best Picture. Although Ruggles followed this success with the light comedy No Man of Her Own (1932) with Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, the comedy I'm No Angel (1933) with Mae West and Cary Grant , College Humor (1933) with Bing Crosby, and Bolero (1934) with George Raft and Carole Lombard, few of his later films were in any way memorable (an exception is Arizona). His career was on the downslide when he teamed with the Rank Organisation in 1946 to produce and direct London Town with Sid Field and Petula Clark, based on a story he wrote. The film — British cinema's first attempt at a Technicolor musical extravaganza — is notable as being one of the biggest critical and commercial failures in that country's film history. Ironically, Ruggles had been hired to helm it because as an American, it was thought, he was better equipped to handle a musical — despite the fact that nothing in his past had prepared him to work in the genre. It was his last film. An abridged version was released in the U.S. under the title My Heart Goes Crazy by United Artists in 1953. Ruggles died in 1972 in Santa Monica and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Description above from the Wikipedia article Wesley Ruggles, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Known For

Headshots

Profile
Profile
Filmography

Triple Trouble

Triple Trouble

1918

as Crook

Her Torpedoed Love

Her Torpedoed Love

1917

as Messenger Inside the House

Police

Police

1916

as Jailbird and Thief

Behind the Screen

Behind the Screen

1916

as Actor (uncredited)

The Pawnshop

The Pawnshop

1916

as Ring Client (uncredited)

The Floorwalker

The Floorwalker

1916

as Policeman (uncredited)

Beatrice Fairfax

Beatrice Fairfax

1916

as #15 Wristwatches

A Submarine Pirate

A Submarine Pirate

1915

as His accomplice / Sub Officer

Shanghaied

Shanghaied

1915

as Shipowner

Gussle's Wayward Path

Gussle's Wayward Path

1915

as Clergyman

Gussle Rivals Jonah

Gussle Rivals Jonah

1915

as Ship Steward / Ship Passenger

Caught in a Park

Caught in a Park

1915

as The Cop

A Night in the Show

A Night in the Show

1915

as Second Man in Balcony Front Row

Her Painted Hero

Her Painted Hero

1915

as Effeminate Party Guest (uncredited)

A Lover's Lost Control

A Lover's Lost Control

1915

as Shoe Clerk

London Town

London Town

1946

Story

The Plastic Age

The Plastic Age

1925

Continuity

London Town

London Town

1946

Director

Slightly Dangerous

Slightly Dangerous

1943

Director

Somewhere I'll Find You

Somewhere I'll Find You

1942

Director

You Belong to Me

You Belong to Me

1941

Director

Arizona

Arizona

1940

Director

Too Many Husbands

Too Many Husbands

1940

Director

Invitation to Happiness

Invitation to Happiness

1939

Director

Sing, You Sinners

Sing, You Sinners

1938

Director

True Confession

True Confession

1937

Director

I Met Him in Paris

I Met Him in Paris

1937

Director

Mississippi

Mississippi

1935

Director

The Gilded Lily

The Gilded Lily

1935

Director

The Bride Comes Home

The Bride Comes Home

1935

Director

Accent on Youth

Accent on Youth

1935

Director

Bolero

Bolero

1934

Director

Shoot the Works

Shoot the Works

1934

Director

College Humor

College Humor

1933

Director

The Monkey's Paw

The Monkey's Paw

1933

Director

I'm No Angel

I'm No Angel

1933

Director

Roar of the Dragon

Roar of the Dragon

1932

Director

No Man of Her Own

No Man of Her Own

1932

Director

Are These Our Children?

Are These Our Children?

1931

Director

Cimarron

Cimarron

1931

Director

Honey

Honey

1930

Director

The Sea Bat

The Sea Bat

1930

Director

Condemned

Condemned

1929

Director

Street Girl

Street Girl

1929

Director

Girl Overboard

Girl Overboard

1929

Director

Scandal

Scandal

1929

Director

The Fourflusher

The Fourflusher

1928

Director

Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers

1928

Director

The Relay

The Relay

1927

Director

Breaking Records

Breaking Records

1927

Director

Flashing Oars

Flashing Oars

1927

Director

Beware of Widows

Beware of Widows

1927

Director

Around the Bases

Around the Bases

1927

Director

The Cinder Path

The Cinder Path

1927

Director

The Collegians

The Collegians

1926

Director

Hooked at the Altar

Hooked at the Altar

1926

Director

A Man of Quality

A Man of Quality

1926

Director

The Last Lap

The Last Lap

1926

Director

A Broadway Lady

A Broadway Lady

1925

Director

The Plastic Age

The Plastic Age

1925

Director

The Age of Innocence

The Age of Innocence

1924

Director

Slippy McGee

Slippy McGee

1923

Director

The Heart Raider

The Heart Raider

1923

Director

If I Were Queen

If I Were Queen

1922

Director

Uncharted Seas

Uncharted Seas

1921

Director

The Desperate Hero

The Desperate Hero

1920

Director

The Leopard Woman

The Leopard Woman

1920

Director

Sooner or Later

Sooner or Later

1920

Director

Love

Love

1920

Director

Piccadilly Jim

Piccadilly Jim

1919

Director

The Incredible World of James Bond

The Incredible World of James Bond

1965

Associate Producer

London Town

London Town

1946

Producer

You Belong to Me

You Belong to Me

1941

Producer

Arizona

Arizona

1940

Producer

Too Many Husbands

Too Many Husbands

1940

Producer

Invitation to Happiness

Invitation to Happiness

1939

Producer

Sing, You Sinners

Sing, You Sinners

1938

Producer

I Met Him in Paris

I Met Him in Paris

1937

Producer

The Bride Comes Home

The Bride Comes Home

1935

Producer

Cimarron

Cimarron

1931

Producer

The Sea Bat

The Sea Bat

1930

Producer

Street Girl

Street Girl

1929

Producer

Organization Category Movie
Television Credits

No data available

No data available

Popularity Metrics

Popularity History


Year Month Avg Max Min
2024 6 3 4 1
2024 7 6 12 1
2024 8 7 16 3
2024 9 3 7 1
2024 10 2 5 1
2024 11 1 2 1
2024 12 1 3 1
2025 1 4 10 1
2025 2 2 4 1
2025 3 1 1 1
2025 5 1 2 1
2025 6 1 1 1
2025 7 0 0 0
2025 8 1 5 0
2025 9 2 2 1
2025 10 2 2 2

Trending Rank


Year Month Avg Rank Max Rank
2025 8 595 548
2025 9 640 569

Return to Top