''Ruthless'' is a 1948 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Edgar G. Ulmer starring

Zachary Scott Zachary Scott (February 21, 1914 – October 3, 1965)Obituary '' Variety'', October 6, 1965. was an American actor who was known for his roles as villains and "mystery men". Early life Scott was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Sallie L ...

Sydney Greenstreet Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (December 27, 1879 – January 18, 1954) was a British-American actor. While he did not begin his career in films until the age of 61, he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career lasting throu ...

and

Louis Hayward Louis Charles Hayward (19 March 1909 – 21 February 1985) was a Johannesburg-born, British-American actor. Biography Born in Johannesburg, Louis Hayward lived in South Africa and was educated in France and England, including Latymer Upper Scho ...

Plot

Horace Vendig shows himself to the world as a rich philanthropist. In fact, the history of his rise from his unhappy broken home shows this to be far from true. After being taken in by richer neighbors he started to exhibit an obsessive and selfish urge to make more and more money, loving and leaving women at will to further this end.

Cast

as Horace Vendig *

as Vic Lambdin *

Diana Lynn Diana Marie Lynn (born Dolores Eartha Loehr, July 5, 1926 – December 18, 1971) was an American actress. Early years Lynn was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Louis Loehr, was an oil supply executive, and her mother, Martha Loe ...

as Martha / Mallory *

as Mansfield * Lucille Bremer as Christa Mansfield *

Martha Vickers Martha Vickers (born Martha MacVicar; May 28, 1925 – November 2, 1971) was an American model and actress. Early life Vickers was born Martha MacVicar in Ann Arbor, Michigan; her father was an automobile dealer. She began her career as a mo ...

as Susan Duane *

Dennis Hoey Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. Early life Hoey was born Samuel David ...

as Mr. Burnside *

Edith Barrett Edith Barrett (born Edith Barrett Williams; January 19, 1907 – February 22, 1977) was an American actress. She was a romantic star on Broadway and in the Little Theatre Movement in New England summer stock from the mid-1920s to the late 1930s ...

as Mrs. Burnside *

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas '' Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

as Peter Vendig * Joyce Arling as Kate Vendig * Charles Evans as Bruce McDonald * Bob Anderson as Horace as a child * Arthur Stone as Vic as a child *

Ann Carter Ann Carter (June 16, 1936 – January 27, 2014) was an American child actress, who worked with dozens of film stars, compiling an "unimaginably distinguished résumé" despite an acting career which lasted only slightly more than a decade.Luca ...

as Martha as a child *

Edna Holland Edna Milton Holland (September 20, 1895 – May 4, 1982) was an American actress. Her stage, screen and television lasted from the beginning of the 20th century to 1965. Holland was the daughter of comedian Edmund Milton Holland and actress ...

as Libby Sims * Frederick Worlock as J. Norton Sims * Claire Carleton as Bella *

Larry Steers Lawrence Wells Steers (February 14, 1888 – February 15, 1951) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 550 films between 1917 and 1951. He was born in Indiana, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Partial filmography * ...

as Dinner Attendee (uncredited)

Critical reception

At the time of its release, the staff at ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine panned the film: "Despite a sextet of name players, ''Ruthless'' is a victim of clichéd and outmoded direction and of weary dialog to which no actor could do justice. Performances are handicapped by the direction of Edgar G. Ulmer. Adaptation from the Dayton Stoddart novel, ''Prelude to Night'', is involved and confusing. Plot’s denouement is also telegraphed long before the finale. Hayward contribs a fair interpretation of Scott’s associate, who eventually breaks from him. Diana Lynn, in a dual role, is wistful and appealing as a pawn in Scott’s affections. Sydney Greenstreet, cast as a utilities magnate who’s ousted by Scott, tends to overact." In 2013, film critic

Glenn Erickson Glenn Erickson is an American film editor and film critic. A graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, he started in the film industry in 1975 as an editor of low-budget films and later worked in minor technical crew capacitie ...

gave the film a positive review, writing, "Financed as a one-shot project by an agent-turned producer, ''Ruthless'' plays its quietly subversive theme right out to the bitter end. It has excellent performances by a cast of not-quite big stars, some of them recently relieved of studio contracts. Its main player is the biggest surprise: Zachary Scott gives the performance of his career ... ''Ruthless'' is the Edgar G. Ulmer picture that shows him operating with a decent set of cinematic Tinkertoys, and he does very well indeed."Erickson, Glenn
''DVD Savant'', film and DVD review, April 22, 2013. Accessed: July 11, 2013.

References

External links

* * * * {{Edgar G. Ulmer 1948 films 1948 drama films Adultery in films American business films American drama films American black-and-white films Eagle-Lion Films films Film noir Films about businesspeople Films based on American novels Films directed by Edgar G. Ulmer Films scored by Werner Janssen 1940s English-language films 1940s American films