Alma Kruger
Encyclopedia
Career
Born in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Kruger had a long career on stage before appearing in films. From 1907 to 1935, she starred in many theatre plays on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, mostly in Shakespearean
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
plays such as Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
(as Gertrude), Twelfth Night (as Olivia), Taming of the Shrew (Widow), and The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
(Nerissa).
She appeared in her first film while in her sixties, These Three
These Three
These Three is a 1936 American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Lillian Hellman is based on her 1934 play The Children's Hour....
(1936). She then proceeded to act in over forty films in the space of little more than a decade. Among her notable roles was Nurse Molly Byrd, the superintendent of nurses in the popular Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
film series, appearing in all but the first two of the sixteen movies.
She portrayed Empress Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
in Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette (1938 film)
Marie Antoinette is a 1938 film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starred Norma Shearer as Marie Antoinette...
and the almost mother-in-law of Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
's lead character in His Girl Friday
His Girl Friday
His Girl Friday is a 1940 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, an adaptation by Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur of the play The Front Page by Hecht and MacArthur...
. In 1942, she appeared as the subversive society matron Henrietta Sutton in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Saboteur
Saboteur (film)
Saboteur is a 1942 Universal film directed by Alfred Hitchcock with a screenplay written by Peter Viertel, Joan Harrison, and Dorothy Parker. The movie stars Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, and Norman Lloyd...
. Kruger's last film appearance was in the racy 1947 film, Forever Amber
Forever Amber (film)
Forever Amber is a 1947 film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde. It was based on the book of the same name. It also starred Richard Greene, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Richard Haydn, Dolores Hart, and Jessica Tandy...
.
Filmography
- These ThreeThese ThreeThese Three is a 1936 American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Lillian Hellman is based on her 1934 play The Children's Hour....
(1936) - Craig's WifeCraig's Wife (film)Craig's Wife is a 1936 drama film starring Rosalind Russell as a domineering wife. It was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play of the same name by George Kelly , and directed by Dorothy Arzner...
(1936) - Love Letters of a Star (1936)
- The Mighty Treve (1937)
- Breezing Home (1937)
- The Man in Blue (1937)
- Vogues of 1938Vogues of 1938Vogues of 1938 is a 1937 musical film distributed by United Artists, directed by Irving Cummings, written by Bella Spewack and Sam Spewack, and starring by Warner Baxter and Joan Bennett...
(1937) - One Hundred Men and a GirlOne Hundred Men and a GirlOne Hundred Men and a Girl is a 1937 musical comedy film, written by Charles Kenyon, Bruce Manning and James Mulhauser from a story by Hanns Kräly and directed by Henry Koster...
(1937) - The Toy WifeThe Toy WifeThe Toy Wife is a 1938 drama film directed by Richard Thorpe. The period film was produced by Merian C. Cooper, written by Zoe Akins and had Luise Rainer and Melvyn Douglas in the leading roles.-Plot:...
(1938) - Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette (1938 film)Marie Antoinette is a 1938 film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starred Norma Shearer as Marie Antoinette...
(1938) - Mother Carey's Chickens (1938)
- Tarnished Angel (1938)
- The Great WaltzThe Great Waltz (film)The Great Waltz is a 1938 American biographical film based very loosely on the life of Johann Strauss II. It starred Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravet and Miliza Korjus. Rainer received top billing at the producer's insistence, but her role is comparatively minor as Strauss' wife, Poldi Volgelhuber...
(1938) - Made for Each OtherMade for Each Other (1939 film)Made for Each Other is a 1939 drama film directed by John Cromwell and produced by David O. Selznick. It stars Carole Lombard and James Stewart as a couple who get married after only knowing each other very briefly.-Plot:...
(1939) - Calling Dr. Kildare* (1939)
- The Secret of Dr. Kildare* (1939)
- BalalaikaBalalaika (film)Balalaika is a 1939 American musical romance film based on the 1936 London stage musical of the same name. Produced by Lawrence Weingarten and directed by Reinhold Schunzel, it starred Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey....
(1939) - His Girl FridayHis Girl FridayHis Girl Friday is a 1940 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, an adaptation by Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur of the play The Front Page by Hecht and MacArthur...
(1940) - Dr. Kildare's Strange CaseDr. Kildare's Strange Case- Cast :*Lew Ayres as Dr. Kildare*Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Leonard Gillespie*Laraine Day as Nurse Mary Lamont*Shepperd Strudwick as Dr. Gregory 'Greg' Lane*Samuel S. Hinds as Dr. Stephen Kildare*Emma Dunn as Mrs. Martha Kildare...
* (1940) - Anne of Windy PoplarsAnne of Windy PoplarsAnne of Windy Poplars, also published as Anne of Windy Willows in the UK, Australia and Japan, is an epistolary novel by L. M. Montgomery. First published in 1936 by McClelland and Stewart, it details Anne Shirley's experiences over three years teaching at a high school in Summerside, Prince Edward...
(1940) - Dr. Kildare Goes Home* (1940)
- You'll Find OutYou'll Find OutYou'll Find Out is a 1940 comedy film directed by David Butler and starring Boris Karloff. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 1941 for Best Original Song...
(1940) - Dr. Kildare's Crisis* (1940)
- Blonde Inspiration (1941)
- The Trial of Mary DuganThe Trial of Mary DuganThe Trial of Mary Dugan is a play written by Bayard Veiller.The melodrama concerns a sensational courtroom trial of a showgirl accused of killing of her millionaire lover. Her defense attorney is her brother, Jimmy Dugan. It was first presented on Broadway in 1927, with Ann Harding in the title...
(1941) - The People vs. Dr. Kildare* (1941)
- Puddin' Head (1941)
- Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day* (1941)
- Dr. Kildare's Victory* (1942)
- SaboteurSaboteur (film)Saboteur is a 1942 Universal film directed by Alfred Hitchcock with a screenplay written by Peter Viertel, Joan Harrison, and Dorothy Parker. The movie stars Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, and Norman Lloyd...
(1942) - Calling Dr. Gillespie* (1942)
- That Other Woman (1942)
- Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant* (1942)
- Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case* (1943)
- Three Men in White* (1943)
- Mrs. ParkingtonMrs. ParkingtonMrs. Parkington is a 1944 drama film. It tells the story of a woman's life, told in flashbacks, from hotel maid to society matron. The movie was adapted by Polly James and Robert Thoeren from the novel by Louis Bromfield...
(1944) (uncredited) - Our Hearts Were Young and GayOur Hearts Were Young and GayOur Hearts Were Young and Gay is the title of a book by actress Cornelia Otis Skinner and journalist Emily Kimbrough, published in 1942. The book presents a description of their European tour in the 1920s, when they were fresh out of college from Bryn Mawr. Skinner wrote of Kimbrough, "To know...
(1944) - Babes on Swing Street (1944)
- Between Two WomenBetween Two WomenBetween Two Women is a 1950s set feature film by British writer-director Steven Woodcock. It tells the story of Ellen, a factory worker’s wife trapped in an unhappy marriage amidst the grime and industrial noise of north England.-Plot:...
* (1945) - Crime Doctor's Warning (1945) (uncredited)
- Colonel Effingham's RaidColonel Effingham's RaidColonel Effingham's Raid is a 1946 comedy film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Irving Pichel. The screenplay was written by Kathryn Scola, based on a novel by Berry Fleming. The music score is by Cyril J. Mockridge...
(1946) (uncredited) - Do You Love MeDo You Love Me"Do You Love Me" is a 1962 hit single recorded by The Contours for Motown's Gordy Records label. Written and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., "Do You Love Me?" was the Contours' only Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Notably, the record achieved this feat...
(1946) (uncredited) - A Scandal in ParisA Scandal in ParisA Scandal in Paris is a fictionalized 1946 biographical film, directed by Douglas Sirk and starring George Sanders. It depicts the life of Eugène François Vidocq, a French criminal who reformed and became a famous French prefect of police during the Napoleonic era.-Plot:The rogue who would later...
(1946) - Fun on a Weekend (1947)
- Dark Delusion* (1947)
- Forever AmberForever Amber (film)Forever Amber is a 1947 film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde. It was based on the book of the same name. It also starred Richard Greene, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Richard Haydn, Dolores Hart, and Jessica Tandy...
(1947)