DramaThriller

Ruthless

- Money and Power

Horace Vendig always gets what he wants. Even as a poor youth, he charmed his way into high society by getting the father of his friend, Martha, to foot the bill for his Harvard education. When Vic, another childhood pal, is invited to Horace's mansion for a party, he brings along Mallory Flagg, who happens to bear a striking resemblance to Martha. As Vic and Horace reunite, old resentments rise to the surface.

Release Date : 1948-04-16

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Arthur S. Lyons ProductionsEagle-Lion Films (US)

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Horace Woodruff 'Woody' Vendig

Original Name : Zachary Scott

Gender : Male

Character Name : Vic Lambdin

Original Name : Louis Hayward

Gender : Male

Character Name : Martha Burnside / Mallory Flagg

Original Name : Diana Lynn

Gender : Female

Character Name : Buck Mansfield

Original Name : Sydney Greenstreet

Gender : Male

Character Name : Christa Mansfield

Original Name : Lucille Bremer

Gender : Female

Character Name : Susan Duane

Original Name : Martha Vickers

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mr. Burnside

Original Name : Dennis Hoey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Burnside

Original Name : Edith Barrett

Gender : Female

Character Name : Pete Vendig

Original Name : Raymond Burr

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kate Vendig

Original Name : Joyce Arling

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bruce Endicott McDonald

Original Name : Charles Evans

Gender : Male

Character Name : Horace Vendig as a Child

Original Name : Robert J. Anderson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Vic Lambdin as a Child

Original Name : Arthur Stone

Gender : Male

Character Name : Martha Burnside as a Child

Original Name : Ann Carter

Gender : Female

Character Name : Libby Sims

Original Name : Edna Holland

Gender : Female

Character Name : J. Norton Sims

Original Name : Frederick Worlock

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bradford Duane

Original Name : John Good

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bella

Original Name : Claire Carleton

Gender : Female

Character Name : Lawyer Nevin (Uncredited)

Original Name : Harry Cheshire

Gender : Male

Character Name : George (Uncredited)

Original Name : Douglas Evans

Gender : Male

Character Name : Phillips, Mansfield's Servant (Uncredited)

Original Name : Jesse Graves

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man in Office (Uncredited)

Original Name : Sam Harris

Gender : Male

Character Name : Freddie Atwood (Uncredited)

Original Name : George McDonald

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prescott (Uncredited)

Original Name : Bert Moorhouse

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Vendig's Lover (Uncredited)

Original Name : Fred Nurney

Gender : Male

Character Name : Servant (Uncredited)

Original Name : Dick Ryan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Political Dinner Dais Attendee (Uncredited)

Original Name : Larry Steers

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

I don't want to be a man. Never! I wish there weren't any men in the whole world. Ruthless is directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and adapted to screenplay by S.K. Lauren, Gordon Kahn and Alvah Bessie from Dayton Stoddart's novel Prelude to Night. It stars Zachary Scott, Louis Hayward, Sydney Greenstreet, Diana Lynn, Lucille Bremer and Martha Vickers. Music is by Werner Jansen and cinematography by Bert Glennon. Even as a boy Horace Vendig always got what he wanted. Then into adulthood and he manipulates himself into high society. Now a fully fledged tyro of commerce he is even more cruel and impervious to how his actions harm others. But when Horace (Scott) reunites with his old best friend Vic Lambdin (Hayward) and he falls a foul of the bitter Buck Mansfield (Greenstreet), all the resentments come crashing together as one! "Animals kill for food or love. You and I spoil the jungle because we kill for profit, a taste of victory and revenge. Then we destroy each other after" It was a one time hard to locate picture, where even in early releases it had been shorn of 25 minutes, but now it's out there, a full one hour and forty four minutes of Ruthlessness! Ok, that might be over selling it a touch, but this is a pretty spicy piece of greedy film noir, a scathing attack on capitalism, a telling of the corruption of a man's soul and the bitter treatment he hands out to those who care for him. Tagged as a sort of baby brother to Citizen Kane, which is fair enough in fact, but that be in narrative drive more than visual panache. There's some nice expressionistic touches, with Glennon (Crime Wave) proving what a very talented cinematographer he was (see his Westerns output), but the pic does lack for noirish visual menace to marry up with the sour lead characterisation. Which is a crime given it's Ulmer (The Black Cat/Bluebeard/Detour/Strange Illusion) in the directors chair. However, where the pic shines bright is with the performances, Ulmer getting his cast to turn in impressive portrayals of the human condition. The ladies are especially great (Lynn has a dual role) as they nail the respective heartbeats of women buffeted by Horace's duality of twisted emotions and lofty avarice ambitions. In short we get very mature turns in a film that's very much mature in thematics. Add it to your Ulmer "to see lists" post haste. 7.5/10