Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was best known for his role as producer "Max Fabian" in ''

All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does ...

'' (1950).

Biography

Ratoff was born in

Samara, Russia Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population of ...

, to Jewish parents. His mother was Sophie (née Markison) who claimed to have been born on September 1, 1878, but was married on June 14, 1894, when she would have been 15, to Benjamin Ratner (born 1864), with whom she had four children, the eldest of whom was Grigory, whose date of birth she gave as April 7, 1895 but later April 20 was cited as Gregory Ratoff's birthdate, and the year given as 1893, 1896 and 1897, variously. Sophie Ratner later adopted her son's stage surname (Ratoff) when she herself became a naturalized United States citizen. Sophie Ratoff died on August 27, 1955. Her date of birth is given as September 13, 1877 in the California Death Index (1940–1997), which would have made her a teenager when Gregory was born, as young as 15 if 1893 is the correct year of Gregory Ratoff's birth. Although his father's name was Benjamin, Gregory adopted the less Jewish-sounding patronymic of "Vasilyevich". Ratoff was pursuing a law degree at the

University of St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public university, public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a de ...

until his education was interrupted by service in the Czar's army in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the war, he abandoned law to join the

Moscow Art Theater The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

, where he began to make a name for himself as an actor. An eyewitness to the chaos of the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...

, Ratoff fled Russia with his parents in 1922 and settled in Paris, where he wooed Evgenia Konstantinovna Leontovich (later known as actress

Eugenie Leontovich Eugenie Leontovich (born Evgenia Konstantinovna Leontovich; russian: Евге́ния Константиновна Леонто́вич, tr. ; March 21 or April 3 "Eugenie Leontovich, 93; actress, writer, director", ''Chicago Tribune'', April ...

), the daughter of a Czarist army officer, who, too, had escaped to Paris. They were both performing in a Paris production of the ''Russe Revue'' in 1922 when the New York impresario,

Lee Shubert Lee Shubert (born Levi Schubart; March 25, 1871– December 25, 1953) was a Lithuanian-born American theatre owner/operator and producer and the eldest of seven siblings of the theatrical Shubert family. Biography Born to a Jewish family, the so ...

, founder of the Shubert Theaters, brought this show to Broadway, and the young couple along with it. They decided to stay in the United States, and the couple married on January 19, 1923. Leontovich gave Ratoff's year of birth as 1896 in her naturalization papers but did not include the month or day. A border crossing manifest, dated September 23, 1922, gives both her age and that of Gregory Ratner as 29, indicating 1893 as the year of birth of both.

Career

Ratoff joined in the thriving

Yiddish theater Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revu ...

in New York City, producing, directing and acting for the Yiddish Players as he became something of an theatrical impresario, even performing in a Yiddish film. He graduated to Broadway later in the decade, appearing in Shubert productions as he learned English, though his mastery of the language always was heavily accented and this, in fact, became his stock-in-trade in his busy future career as a character actor. When the Depression hit Broadway, Ratoff headed to Hollywood, as part of the exodus of New York theater pros who were quickly snapped up by producers terrified of films with dialogue, the "talkies". He arrived in 1931 and caught a lucky break: in

Gregory La Cava Gregory La Cava (March 10, 1892 – March 1, 1952) was an American film director of Italian descent best known for his films of the 1930s, including ''My Man Godfrey'' and ''Stage Door'', which earned him nominations for Academy Award for Best ...

's '' Symphony of Six Million'', producer David O. Selznick had insisted, very unusually for the time, that this

Fannie Hurst Fannie Hurst (October 18, 1889 – February 23, 1968) was an American novelist and short-story writer whose works were highly popular during the post-World War I era. Her work combined sentimental, romantic themes with social issues of the d ...

story of a brilliant Jewish doctor escaping his tenement roots be cast with authentic Yiddish actors from the Lower East Side. His role as the beloved immigrant father who dies on his son's operating table led to five more jobs in quick succession, ranging from a George Kaufman comedy to a prestigious Selznick production, ''

What Price Hollywood? ''What Price Hollywood?'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor and starring Constance Bennett with Lowell Sherman. The screenplay by Gene Fowler, Rowland Brown, Jane Murfin and Ben Markson is based on a story by A ...

'' (1932) directed by

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head of ...

.With these early critical and box-office winners, Ratoff was in constant demand as a character actor throughout the 1930s, many in B-pictures but increasingly with young directors who later had important careers. His role as a comic showbiz caricature was also popular, especially in such

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

films as ''

I'm No Angel ''I'm No Angel'' is a 1933 pre-Code film directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Mae West and Cary Grant. West received sole story and screenplay credit. It is one of her films that was not subjected to heavy censorship. Plot Tira (Mae West ...

'' (1933), as

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

's character's lawyer. Due to his large frame and uncertain command of English, he was often typecast as a villain in an American setting or as a foreigner in the dozens of 1930s films that recreated a glamorous fictional Europe on the Hollywood backlot. In

Frank Lloyd Frank William George Lloyd (2 February 1886 – 10 August 1960) was a British-born American film director, actor, scriptwriter, and producer. He was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was its president ...

's '' Under Two Flags'' (1936), he was in the French Foreign Legion. In

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A v ...

' ''

The Road to Glory ''The Road to Glory'' is a 1936 dramatic film depiction of World War I trench warfare in France directed by Howard Hawks, starring Fredric March, Warner Baxter, Lionel Barrymore, and June Lang, and produced by 20th Century Fox. It is vaguely i ...

'' (1936), he was a Russian sergeant in World War I France. In 1936, although he acted in six films, he first moved behind the camera, co-directing (with Otto Brower) ''

Sins of Man ''Sins of Man'' is a 1936 American drama film, directed by Otto Brower and released by 20th Century Fox. It stars Jean Hersholt, Don Ameche, and Allen Jenkins. Plot Cast *Jean Hersholt as Christopher Freyman *Don Ameche as Karl Freyman / Mario ...

'' for Twentieth Century-Fox. He followed with his first screenwriting effort, ''

Cafe Metropole ''Cafe Metropole'' is a 1937 American romantic comedy film directed by Edward H. Griffith, released by 20th Century Fox and starring Loretta Young, Tyrone Power and Adolphe Menjou. Plot In Paris in 1937, Victor Lobard owns the very exclusive C ...

'' (1937), and soon directed on his own with ''

Lancer Spy ''Lancer Spy'' is a 1937 American thriller film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Dolores Del Rio and George Sanders. Its plot concerns an Englishman who impersonates a German officer and a female German spy who falls in love with him. Plo ...

'' (1937), starring

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

, Dolores del Río and

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...

. Ratoff directed five movies by 1939, all under contract for Fox, while still also acting. He directed '' Intermezzo: A Love Story'' (1939), when David O. Selznick was loaned Ratoff by Fox to direct his new Swedish protege

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...

in her American debut. The original director,

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of O ...

, had walked out after a quarrel with Selznick. The story was a remake of the Swedish film that had made Bergman a star, a tale of doomed love between a celebrated but married violin virtuoso (

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director and producer.Obituary ''Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Vanity Fair'' and was one ...

) and his brilliant young piano accompanist (Bergman). Bergman was none too impressed with Ratoff, reportedly because she was struggling with English herself and found Ratoff difficult to follow. Ratoff, however, saw her as "sensational", as he told ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

''. Leslie Howard had been talked into the part with the promise of a co-producer credit. Ratoff never reached such heights again, and he never entered the top ranks of Hollywood directors. He dropped acting and left Fox in 1941 for a Columbia directing contract.

Later years

For the next decade, Ratoff directed comedies, musicals, crime dramas, war films, thrillers and swashbucklers—all solid but unspectacular fare in the wide range of genres then given to directors under contract. ''

Song of Russia ''Song of Russia'' is a 1944 American war film made and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The picture was credited as being directed by Gregory Ratoff, though Ratoff collapsed near the end of the five-month production, and was replaced by Lás ...

'' (1944), another love story between musical performers ( Robert Taylor and

Susan Peters Susan Peters (born Suzanne Carnahan; July 3, 1921 – October 23, 1952) was an American actress who appeared in over twenty films over the course of her decade-long career. Though she began her career in uncredited and ingénue roles, she woul ...

), was set in Russia at the beginning of the Nazi invasion. Ratoff had been lent out for this MGM project because the musical romance had become one of his specialties after his work in ''Intermezzo''. He collapsed near the end of shooting and had to be replaced by another emigre, Hungarian Laszlo Benedek. Taylor was a friendly witness for the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

, and its two writers were hauled before the committee, questioned and harassed. Ratoff's directing career in Hollywood never recovered, and he returned to acting, playing his most famous role as the befuddled producer Max Fabian in ''

''. Ratoff found his remaining opportunities outside of the U.S. The English comedy ''

Abdulla the Great ''Abdulla the Great'' (also known as ''Abdullah's Harem'') is a 1955 comedy film. It was directed and produced by Gregory Ratoff who also stars in the title role from a screenplay by Boris Ingster and George St. George, based on the novel ''My K ...

'' (1955), which he produced, directed, and starred in as a Middle Eastern potentate, proved a complete failure, but his low-budget film of Jo Eisinger's play ''

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

'' (1960) won plaudits for

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

in the title role, while

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...

was commended for his role as the barrister who destroys Wilde on the witness stand. He was one of the two producers (with Michael Garrison) to have purchased and developed the original rights to the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

franchise from

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

in 1955, which subsequently became the subject of a bitter legal dispute. Ratoff was awarded a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

in February 1960, just months before his death in Switzerland. One of his last roles as an actor was in the epic film ''

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

'' (1960), for

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

, a director with whom he had first worked in the early 1930s.

Death

Ratoff died on December 14, 1960, in Solothurn, Switzerland from leukemia, aged 67. His body was returned to the United States for burial at Mount Hebron Cemetery, Flushing, New York. Divorced from Leontovich since 1949, he had remarried and was survived by his widow, Maria Ratoff. He was interred under a gravestone marked "Beloved Husband". His death was reported in the U.S. Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974 (Basel, Switzerland, December 16, 1960).

Filmography

Director

* ''

'' (1936) * ''

'' (1937) * ''

Wife, Husband and Friend ''Wife, Husband and Friend'' is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Loretta Young, Warner Baxter and Binnie Barnes in the three title roles, respectively. The film, based on a script by Nunnally Johnson, tells the ...

'' (1939) * ''

Rose of Washington Square ''Rose of Washington Square'' is a 1939 American musical drama film, featuring the already well-known popular song with the same title. Set in 1920s New York City, the film focuses on singer Rose Sargent and her turbulent relationship with con ar ...

'' (1939) * ''

Hotel for Women ''Hotel for Women'' (or ''Elsa Maxwell's Hotel for Women'') is a 1939 American drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Ann Sothern, Linda Darnell, and James Ellison. It was Darnell's screen debut. Plot When she is jilted by her boyfr ...

'' (1939) * ''

Intermezzo In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...

'' (1939) * '' Day-Time Wife'' (1939) * ''

Barricade Barricade (from the French ''barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denot ...

'' (1939) * ''

I Was an Adventuress ''I Was an Adventuress'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Vera Zorina, Richard Greene, Erich von Stroheim, and Peter Lorre. Actress/ballerina Countess Tanya Vronsky (Vera Zorina) works as decoy for two internati ...

'' (1940) * '' Public Deb No. 1'' (1940) * ''

Adam Had Four Sons ''Adam Had Four Sons'' is a 1941 American romantic drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Ingrid Bergman, Warner Baxter, Susan Hayward, and Fay Wray Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/America ...

'' (1941) * ''

The Corsican Brothers ''The Corsican Brothers'' (french: Les Frères corses) is a novella by Alexandre Dumas, père, first published in 1844. It is the story of two conjoined brothers who, though separated at birth, can still feel each other's physical distress. It h ...

'' (1941) * '' The Men in Her Life'' (1941) * ''

Two Yanks in Trinidad ''Two Yanks in Trinidad'' is a 1942 American comedy spy film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Pat O'Brien, Brian Donlevy and Janet Blair. The film was in production when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, leading to America's en ...

'' (1942) * ''

Footlight Serenade ''Footlight Serenade'' is a 1942 musical comedy film directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Betty Grable, John Payne, and Victor Mature. Plot Tommy Lundy is an arrogant champion boxer who is hired by Broadway promoter Bruce McKay to star in a sta ...

'' (1942) * '' Something to Shout About'' (1943) * ''

The Heat's On ''The Heat's On'' (1943) is a musical movie starring Mae West, William Gaxton, and Victor Moore, and released by Columbia Pictures. Plot Broadway star Fay Lawrence (West) is a temperamental diva who is reluctantly persuaded by a Broadway produ ...

'' (1943) * ''

'' (1944) * ''

Irish Eyes Are Smiling ''Irish Eyes Are Smiling'' is a 1944 United States musical film which chronicles the life of popular Irish song composer Ernest R. Ball. The screenplay by Earl Baldwin and John Tucker Battle is based on a story by E. A. Ellington. The film was di ...

'' (1944) * '' Where Do We Go from Here?'' (1945) * '' Paris Underground'' (1945) * ''

Do You Love Me "Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three in 1962 and eleven in 1988 ...

'' (1946) * ''

Carnival in Costa Rica ''Carnival in Costa Rica'' is a 1947 American musical film directed by Gregory Ratoff and written by Samuel Hoffenstein, John Larkin, and Elizabeth Reinhardt. It was released in Technicolor by Twentieth Century-Fox. Dick Haymes, Vera-Ellen, ...

'' (1947) * ''

Moss Rose Moss Rose, known as The Leasing.com Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, which is the home ground of Macclesfield F.C., and the former home of Macclesfield Town, a club wound up in September ...

'' (1947) * ''

That Dangerous Age ''That Dangerous Age'' is a 1949 British romance film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Myrna Loy, Roger Livesey and Peggy Cummins. It was adapted from the play ''Autumn'' by Margaret Kennedy and Ilya Surguchev. The film was released und ...

'' (1949) * ''

Black Magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...

'' (aka ''

Cagliostro Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (, ; 2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795) was the alias of the Italian occultist Giuseppe Balsamo (; in French usually referred to as Joseph Balsamo). Cagliostro was an Italian adventurer and self-styled magician. ...

'') (1949) * '' My Daughter Joy'' (1950) * ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

'' (1953) * ''

'' (1955) * ''

'' (1960)

Actor

* ''Dubrowsky, der Räuber Ataman'' (1921) (film debut) * '' Symphony of Six Million'' (1932) — Meyer Klauber * ''

'' (1932) — Julius Saxe * ''

Skyscraper Souls ''Skyscraper Souls'' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic drama film starring Warren William, Anita Page, Maureen O'Sullivan, Gregory Ratoff, and Verree Teasdale. Directed by Edgar Selwyn, it is based on the 1931 novel ''Skyscraper'' by Faith ...

'' (1932) — Vinmont * '' Once in a Lifetime'' (1932) — Herman Glogauer * ''

Under-Cover Man ''Under Cover Man'' is a 1932 American pre-Code crime film directed by James Flood and starring George Raft and Nancy Carroll.Everett Aaker, ''The Films of George Raft'', McFarland & Company, 2013, page 34. Plot Criminal Nick Darrow goes under ...

'' (1932) — H.L. Martoff * ''

Secrets of the French Police ''Secrets of the French Police'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code crime film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Gwili Andre, Gregory Ratoff, and Frank Morgan. The film was made as a B film by RKO Radio Pictures, using some of the sets fr ...

'' (1932) — Han Moloff * ''

Sweepings ''Sweepings'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by John Cromwell, written by Lester Cohen, and starring Lionel Barrymore, Eric Linden, William Gargan, Gloria Stuart and Alan Dinehart. It was released on April 14, 1933, by RKO Pictu ...

'' (1933) — Abe Ullman * ''

Professional Sweetheart ''Professional Sweetheart'' is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic comedy directed by William A. Seiter from a screenplay by Maurine Watkins. It stars Ginger Rogers in her first film for RKO Radio Pictures, with Norman Foster, ZaSu Pitts and F ...

'' (1933) — Samuel 'Sam' Ipswich * ''

Headline Shooter ''Headline Shooter'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama about the life of a newsreel photographer. Director Otto Brower intertwined the screenplay written by Agnes Christine Johnston, Allen Rivkin, and Arthur Kober, with actual newsreel footage ...

'' (1933) — Hermie Gottlieb * ''

'' (1933) — Benny Pinkowitz * ''

Broadway Through a Keyhole ''Broadway Through a Keyhole'', also billed as ''Broadway Thru a Keyhole'', is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film produced by Twentieth Century Pictures and released by United Artists. New York City speakeasy proprietress Texas Guinan appea ...

'' (1933) — Max Mefoofski * '' Sitting Pretty'' (1933) — Tannenbaum * ''

Girl Without a Room ''Girl Without a Room'' is a 1933 American pre-Code musical comedy film starring Charles Farrell, Charles Ruggles, and Marguerite Churchill. This early light comedy farce set in Paris was written by Claude Binyon, Frank Butler, and Jack Lait, ...

'' (1933) — The General / Grand Duke Serge Alexovich * ''

Let's Fall in Love "Let's Fall in Love" is a song written by Harold Arlen (music) and Ted Koehler (lyrics) for the film '' Let's Fall in Love'' and published in 1933. In the film, it is heard during the opening credits and later sung by Art Jarrett and chorus, a ...

'' (1933) — Max * ''

George White's Scandals ''George White's Scandals'' were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W. C. Fie ...

'' (1934) — Nicholas Mitwoch * ''

Falling in Love Falling in love is the development of strong feelings of attachment and love, usually towards another person. The term is metaphorical, emphasizing that the process, like the physical act of falling, is sudden, uncontrollable and leaves the ...

'' (1934) — Oscar Marks * ''

Forbidden Territory ''Forbidden Territory'' is a 1934 British thriller film directed by Phil Rosen and starring Gregory Ratoff, Ronald Squire and Binnie Barnes. It was based on the 1933 novel '' The Forbidden Territory'' by Dennis Wheatley.Shaw p.15 The film, abo ...

'' (1934) — Alexei Leshki * ''

18 Minutes ''18 Minutes'' is a 1935 British drama film directed by Monty Banks and starring Gregory Ratoff, John Loder and Benita Hume. It was shot at Walton Studios near London. Plot A lion tamer adopts an orphaned girl and marries her, only to find ...

'' (1935) — Nikita * ''

Hello, Sweetheart ''Hello, Sweetheart'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Claude Hulbert, Gregory Ratoff and Jane Carr. The film was made by the British subsidiary of Warner Brothers at the company's Teddington Studios.Wood p.86 I ...

'' (1935) — Joseph Lewis * '' Remember Last Night?'' (1935) — Faronea * ''

King of Burlesque ''King of Burlesque'' is a 1936 musical film about a former burlesque producer played by Warner Baxter who moves into a legitimate theatre and does very well, until he marries a socialite. Sammy Lee received an Academy Award nomination for the n ...

'' (1936) — Kolpolpeck * '' Here Comes Trouble'' (1936) — Ivan Petroff * '' Under Two Flags'' (1936) — Ivan * ''

'' (1936) — Russian Soldier * ''

Sing, Baby, Sing ''Sing, Baby, Sing'' is a 1936 American film. Richard A. Whiting and Walter Bullock received an Academy Award nomination in Best Original Song at the 9th Academy Awards for their song "When Did You Leave Heaven". Plot After Joan Warren (Alice ...

'' (1936) — Nicholas K. Alexander * ''

Under Your Spell ''Under Your Spell'' is a 1936 American romantic comedy film with music directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Frances Hyland and Saul Elkins is based on a story by Sy Bartlett and Bernice Mason. Plot New York City opera star Anthony All ...

'' (1936) — Petroff * '' Seventh Heaven'' (1937) — Boul the Cab Driver * '' Top of the Town'' (1937) — J.J. Stone * '' Café Metropole'' (1937) — Paul * '' Sally, Irene and Mary'' (1938) — Baron Alex Zorka * '' Gateway'' (1938) — Prince Michael Boris Alexis * ''

The Great Profile ''The Great Profile'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Walter Lang and starring John Barrymore, Mary Beth Hughes, Gregory Ratoff and John Payne. Synopsis Barrymore lampoons himself. A famous actor, given to drink, nearly destroys the ...

'' (1940) — Boris Mefoofsky * '' My Daughter Joy'' (1950) — Marcos * ''

'' (1950) — Max Fabian * ''

O. Henry's Full House ''O. Henry's Full House'' is a 1952 American anthology film made by 20th Century Fox, consisting of five films, each based on a story by O. Henry. The film was produced by André Hakim and directed by five directors from five screenplays with di ...

'' (1952) — Behrman (segment "The Last Leaf") * ''

The Moon Is Blue ''The Moon Is Blue'' is a play by F. Hugh Herbert. A comedy in three acts, the play consists of one female and three male characters. Performance history ''The Moon Is Blue'' premiered at The Playhouse in Wilmington, Delaware on February 16, 19 ...

'' (1953) — Taxi Driver * '' Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach'' (1953) — Taxi Fahrer * ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'' (1953) — Himself * ''

'' (1955) — Abdulla * ''

The Sun Also Rises ''The Sun Also Rises'' is a 1926 novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, his first, that portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the b ...

'' (1957) — Count Mippipopolous * ''

Once More, with Feeling! ''Once More, with Feeling!'' is a 1960 British comedy film starring Yul Brynner and Kay Kendall in her final film appearance and directed and produced by Stanley Donen from a screenplay by Harry Kurnitz, based on his play. The film was relea ...

'' (1960) — Maxwell Archer * ''

'' (1960) — Lakavitch * '' The Big Gamble'' (1961) — Kaltenberg (final film)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratoff, Gregory 1890s births 1960 deaths Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (New York City) Russian male film actors Russian film directors Russian film producers Russian people of Jewish descent Actors from Samara, Russia American people of Russian-Jewish descent American male film actors American film directors American film producers Deaths from cancer in Switzerland Propaganda film directors Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States 20th-century American male actors Jewish American male actors 20th-century American Jews