Sig Ruman
Date of birth: 1884-10-10
Place of birth: Hamburg, Germany
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Sig Rumann, Siegfried Rumann, Sigfried Rumann, Siegfried Carl Alban Rumann
Biography
Sig Ruman was a German-American actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypical Teutonic officials or villains. Ruman made his film debut in Lucky Boy (1929). He became a favorite of the Marx Brothers, appearing in A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, and A Night in Casablanca. His German accent and large stature kept him busy during World War II, playing sinister Nazi characters in a series of wartime thrillers. During this period, he also appeared in several films by director Ernst Lubitsch including Ninotchka and To Be or Not to Be. Ruman continued playing over-the-top German characters later in his career for Billy Wilder in The Emperor Waltz, Stalag 17, and The Fortune Cookie.
Movie Credits
The Last of the Secret Agents?
1966-05-25
Marty and Steve, American tourists in France, are given a multipurpose umbrella and pitted against a
To Be or Not to Be
1942-03-06
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's effor
Stalag 17
1953-05-29
After two American prisoners are killed by guards in the act of escaping from a German POW camp in W
House of Frankenstein
1944-12-15
Deranged scientist, Gustav Niemann, escapes from prison and overtakes the director of a traveling ch
Ninotchka
1939-11-16
A stern Russian woman sent to Paris on official business finds herself attracted to a man who repres
It Happened Tomorrow
1944-03-31
A young turn-of-the-century newspaper man finds he can get hold of the next day's paper. This brings
The Great Waltz
1938-11-04
Composer Johann Strauss risks his marriage over his infatuation with a beautiful singer.
Love Crazy
1941-05-23
Circumstance, an old flame and a mother-in-law drive a happily married couple to the verge of divorc
The Princess Comes Across
1936-05-22
A Swedish princess boards an ocean liner in Europe en route to an acting career in America and finds
A Day at the Races
1937-06-11
Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's sanitarium by winning a big race with a
Comrade X
1940-12-13
An American reporter smuggling news out of Soviet Moscow is blackmailed into helping a beautiful Com
A Night in Casablanca
1946-05-10
The Marx Brothers are employed at a hotel in postwar Casablanca, where a ring of Nazis is trying to
Border Incident
1949-10-28
The story concerns two agents, one Mexican (PJF) and one American, who are tasked to stop the smuggl
Outside the Three-Mile Limit
1940-03-07
Government Agent Conway, posing as a crew member of a ship, is investigating the flood of counterfei
Crossroads
1942-07-23
A French diplomat who's recovered from amnesia is blackmailed over crimes he can't remember.
Houdini
1953-07-02
By the early 1900s, the extraordinary Houdini earned an international reputation for his theatrical
Nothing Sacred
1937-11-25
When a small-town girl is incorrectly diagnosed with a rare, deadly disease, an unknowing newspaper
That Uncertain Feeling
1941-04-20
A happily married woman sees a psychoanalyst and develops doubts about her husband.
Only Angels Have Wings
1939-05-15
A traveling performer arrives at a remote South American port town where the head of an air freight
36 Hours
1964-11-26
Germans kidnap an American major and try to convince him that World War II is over, so that they can
A Night at the Opera
1935-11-15
The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly busin
Thin Ice
1937-09-03
A Swiss hotel ski instructor falls in love with a man who goes skiing every morning.
3 Ring Circus
1954-12-22
Jerry and Pete are two friends with no money and are looking for a job. They finally find employment
The Wings of Eagles
1957-01-31
The story of Frank W. "Spig" Wead - a Navy-flyer turned screenwriter.
The Glenn Miller Story
1954-01-04
A vibrant tribute to one of America's legendary bandleaders, charting Glenn Miller's rise from obscu
The Saint in New York
1938-05-25
A crime spree in New York forces the police commissioner to turn to Englishman Simon Templar, who fi
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
1942-07-30
Detective Ellery Queen aids Free Dutch agents battle Nazi spies over a prize of industrial diamonds.
Summer Storm
1944-07-14
It's a tale of power and passions when a Russian siren, who wants the finer things in life, sinks he
Many Rivers to Cross
1955-02-04
Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker star as a Kentucky backwoodsman and the woman who will NOT let anyt
China Girl
1942-12-09
Two-fisted newsreel photographer Johnny Williams is stationed in Burma and China in the early stage
Government Girl
1943-11-05
An aviation engineer and a government secretary are thrown together by the war effort.
Tarzan Triumphs
1943-01-20
Zandra, white princess of a lost civilization, comes to Tarzan for help when Nazis invade the jungle
The World in His Arms
1952-10-09
A boisterous sea captain in the Pacific Coast, circa 1850, has a plan to buy Alaska from the Russian
The Wagons Roll at Night
1941-04-25
An escaped circus lion provides the impetus for the meeting of carnival owner Nick Coster and Matt V
Think Fast, Mr. Moto
1937-07-23
When his import/export business infiltrated by international diamond smugglers, Mr. Moto must follow
Thank You, Mr. Moto
1937-12-24
Mr. Moto Heads to China on a quest for seven ancient scrolls that reveal the location of Genghis Kha
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
1940-02-23
True story of the doctor who considered it was not immoral to search for a drug that would cure syph
Mother Wore Tights
1947-08-20
In this chronicle of a vaudeville family, Myrtle McKinley (class of 1900) goes to San Francisco to a
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972-01-10
A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading to t
Lancer Spy
1937-10-08
An Englishman impersonates an imprisoned German officer and "returns" to Germany to become a nationa
Four Sons
1940-06-14
Four Sons is a 1940 film directed by Archie Mayo. It stars Don Ameche and Eugenie Leontovich. It is
Never Say Die
1939-03-08
Bob Hope is being stalked by a predatory widow who is a widow of wealthy husbands many times over. M
Carolina Cannonball
1955-01-28
Judy and her grandpa run a trolley between a train depot and a ghost town in Nevada, near the Califo
The Farmer Takes a Wife
1935-07-05
A farmer tries to convince a girl to leave her life on a canal boat to live with him on his farm.
Girls on Probation
1938-10-22
A dizzy young girl falls into crime but wins her lawyer's heart.
Spy Chasers
1955-07-31
Slip and the gang foil foes of the exiled, incognito king of Truania.
The Bold Caballero
1936-12-01
The Commandant is making life rough for the colonials in Spanish California. While trying to help, Z
Remember?
1939-12-19
Sky and Linda meet on vacation and become engaged. When Sky introduces Linda to his best friend, Jef
Desperate Journey
1942-09-26
During WWII, when an allied bomber is shot down over Germany, the five surviving crew are captured b
Give My Regards to Broadway
1948-06-08
A family vaudeville act is threatened when the eldest son is offered a contract to play baseball. Mu
Paradise for Three
1938-06-04
A businessman mingles with German laborers to learn more about their lives.
Shining Victory
1941-05-30
In a Scottish sanitarium, a brilliant research psychiatrist works on a treatment for dementia praeco
Honolulu
1939-02-03
Wanting a break from his overzealous fans, a famous movie star hires a Hawaiian plantation owner to
Bitter Sweet
1940-11-08
A woman runs away with her music teacher in order to escape an arranged marriage, but they struggle
She Went to the Races
1945-11-04
A group of scientists develop a system to pick winners at the racetrack. Comedy.
Suez
1938-10-28
Ferdinand de Lesseps, disappointed in love, is sent as a junior diplomat to the Isthmus of Suez, and
They Came to Blow Up America
1943-05-07
Based on a true incident that occurred in 1942 when nine Nazi saboteurs were put ashore on the coast
The Girl on The Roof
1953-12-16
A comedy of manners, the film centers on virtuous actress Patty O'Neill, who meets playboy architect
The Emperor Waltz
1948-07-02
A brash American gramophone salesman tries to get Emperor Franz Joseph's endorsement in turn-of-the-
The Wedding Night
1935-03-08
While working on a novel in his country home in Connecticut, married writer Tony Barrett develops ro
I'll Give a Million
1938-07-27
After saving a tramp from suicide, a millionaire takes his clothing and disappears. Word is out that
I Was an Adventuress
1940-05-10
Posing as the fabulously glamorous Countess Tanya Vronsky, a poor young ballet dancer and her two ac
Under Pressure
1935-02-02
Two members of a crew of "sandhogs", men who work on an underwater tunnel project, battle each other
Midnight Taxi
1937-04-04
A federal agent goes to work for a taxi company believing it to be a front for a gang of counterfeit
The Hitler Gang
1944-04-26
The Hitler Gang adopts the style of a gangster film as it charts Adolf Hitler’s rise from small-time
Faithful in My Fashion
1946-08-21
A U.S. Army sergeant is home on leave to reconnect with his girlfriend he hopes to marry. However, i
The Great Hospital Mystery
1937-05-14
A nurse's brother who's pursued by the mob, hides out in a hospital by pretending to be a patient.
On the Avenue
1937-02-12
A new Broadway show starring Gary Blake shamelessly lampoons the rich Carraway family. To get her ow
The Song of Bernadette
1943-12-21
In 1858 Lourdes, France, adolescent peasant Bernadette has a vision of "a beautiful lady" in the Mas
Berlin Correspondent
1942-08-17
Bill Roberts is an American radio commentator station in Berlin in the months before Pearl Harbor.
Confessions of a Nazi Spy
1939-05-06
FBI agent Ed Renard investigates the pre-War espionage activities of the German-American Bund.
O. Henry's Full House
1952-08-07
Five O. Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critics' acclaim was "The Cop and the
Remember Pearl Harbor
1942-01-02
A man tries to redeem himself after ducking out on his comrades before the fatal attack.
Victory
1940-12-21
A hermit's idyllic life on an island is disturbed by the arrival of a bunch of cutthroats.
One, Two, Three
1961-12-15
In Cold War-era West Berlin, American Coca-Cola executive C.R. 'Mac' MacNamara is tasked with playin
The World Moves On
1934-06-27
Two families, cotton merchants in England and America, with branches in France and Prussia swear to
Father Is a Bachelor
1950-02-22
Johnny Rutledge is a drifter who comes to and discovers a cabin in the forest where five kids: Janua
Love Under Fire
1937-08-20
A suspense-thriller-comedy set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War.
This Is My Affair
1937-05-28
President McKinley asks Lt. Richard L. Perry to go underground to identify some obviously very well
Living It Up
1954-08-04
Homer Flagg (Lewis) is a railroad worker in the small town of Desert Hole, New Mexico. One day he fi
Breakdowns of 1941
1941-11-14
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1941.
If You Knew Susie
1948-02-07
In the small town of Brookford, everybody can trace their ancestors back to the Revolutionary War, e
Marie Galante
1934-10-25
On the French coast, unlucky Marie Galante is abducted and forced to board an American cargo ship bo
The Dolly Sisters
1945-11-14
Two sisters from Hungary become famous entertainers in the early 1900s. Fictionalized biography with
Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation
1952-10-27
The Kettles are in Paris along with their daughter-in-law's parents the Parkers. Pa tries to buy rac
This Woman Is Mine
1941-08-22
Three seafaring fur traders fall in love with a female stowaway they discover aboard their ship. Ma
Way... Way Out
1966-10-26
A platonically wed American couple run a lunar weather station near an unwed Soviet couple.
Sweet Rosie O'Grady
1943-10-01
An American singer becomes engaged to an English duke, but is continuously pestered over her past as
So Ends Our Night
1941-02-27
An anti-Nazi refugee on the run and a young Jewish couple race across Europe trying to escape Hitler
The Man Who Lost Himself
1941-03-21
John Evans encounters his lookalike, Malcolm Scott. When Scott is killed in an accident, Evans finds
Heidi
1937-10-15
Heidi is orphaned and her uncaring maternal Aunt Dete takes her to the mountains to live with her re
Die Königsloge
1929-11-21
Maytime
1937-03-26
An aging opera singer looks back on her long life, including her relationships with her vocal teache
The Fortune Cookie
1966-10-19
TV cameraman Harry Hinkle is injured while filming a football game. Seeing big dollar signs, his uns
On the Riviera
1951-04-20
In this fast-paced remake of the Maurice Chevalier vehicle Folies Bergère, talented Danny Kaye plays
Seventh Heaven
1937-03-25
A Parisian sewer worker longs for a rise in status and a beautiful wife. He rescues a girl from the
Men in Her Diary
1945-09-14
Singer/Dancer Peggy Ryan neither sings nor dances in this comedy in which she plays a secretary, who
The Errand Boy
1961-11-28
Paramutual Pictures wants to know where all the money is going so they hire Morty to be their spy. M
White Christmas
1954-10-14
Two talented song-and-dance men team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show busi
A Royal Scandal
1945-03-26
Catherine the Great falls in love with an army officer who is plotting against her.
East of Java
1935-12-01
Survivors of a shipwreck find refuge on a tropical island--but so do the ship's cargo of lions and t
Doom of Dracula
1966-01-01
An EIGHT minute excerpt from the 1944 feature, House of Frankenstein, released in the 1960's to the
Night and Day
1946-07-02
When his first stage show fails, songwriter Cole Porter goes off to fight in WWI until, injured, he
Robin and the 7 Hoods
1964-06-24
Set in Prohibition era Chicago, bootlegger Robbo and his cronies refuse to pay the greedy Guy Gisbor
World Premiere
1941-08-21
A movie-making publicity man screwball comedy about a movie producer who wants to create publicity f
Spring Tonic
1935-06-27
Betty Ingals walks out on her fiancé in search of adventure. She gets more than she bargained for wh
Servants' Entrance
1934-09-25
Heiress Hedda Nillson certain that her family is about to lose all its money, takes a job as a maid.
Lucky Boy
1929-02-02
A young Jewish man works in his father's jewelry business, but he doesn't like it at all--he wants t
Around the World with Nellie Bly
1960-01-03
Made-for-TV musical inspired by the real-life travels of a celebrated 1800s female newspaper columni