--- name: "Ronald Colman" canonical: "https://film.one/person/ronald-colman" roles: ["Actor"] born: "8 February 1891" died: "19 May 1958" reviewed_on_fi1m: 5 average_fi1m_score: 73 average_as: "actor" average_over: 5 updated: "2026-09-20T00:47:17.641690+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Ronald Colman Actor. Born 8 February 1891 in Richmond, Surrey, England, UK. Died 19 May 1958. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 8 February 1891, Richmond, Surrey, England, UK - **Died:** 19 May 1958 - **Active:** 1931–1942 - **Also known as:** Ronald Charles Colman - **Frequently works with:** [Sidney Buchman](https://film.one/person/sidney-buchman.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 2 nominated) - **Average Fi1m score:** 73, as actor, over 5 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 71 (3), 1940s 76 (2) - **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 5 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 4 of 5 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 5, Romance 4, Adventure 2, Comedy 1, Fantasy 1, History 1 - **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $9m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Colman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q181786, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0172903/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/29522 ## Streaming the US now - **Tubi:** [*The Talk of the Town*](https://film.one/film/the-talk-of-the-town.md) (75) - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Arrowsmith*](https://film.one/film/arrowsmith.md) (70) - **The Roku Channel:** [*Lost Horizon*](https://film.one/film/lost-horizon.md) (68) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Ronald Colman > Ronald Colman is the finished English gentleman of early sound cinema, and the voice does half the work before he has moved. When the part is a gentleman with something to lose he is hard to beat; when it needs hunger, he gives us manners. Watch where directors put him. In *Arrowsmith* (1931) John Ford and his cameraman Ray June stand Colman in doorways and at the far ends of rooms, and before he has crossed the floor you know he will be courteous when he arrives. The moustache is tidy, the collar is done up, and then the voice comes, low and unhurried, and the scene tilts towards him. He arrived in talking pictures with that voice already made, in *Bulldog Drummond* (1929), and for the next two decades it was the sound Hollywood reached for when it wanted an Englishman who had been to a good school. He had been a silent star first. He went to America in 1920, was a leading man opposite Lillian Gish in *The White Sister* (1923), and spent the rest of the decade under contract to Samuel Goldwyn, often paired with Vilma Bánky. Sound, which finished many of his contemporaries, made him. Through the 1930s and 1940s he worked freelance and took the parts the manner suited: Sydney Carton in *A Tale of Two Cities* (1935), Robert Conway in Frank Capra's *Lost Horizon* (1937), two men at once in *The Prisoner of Zenda* (1937), Charles Rainier in *Random Harvest* (1942), and an actor whose role gets into his life in *A Double Life* (1947). The self-sacrificing hero is the part that fits him best, because giving things up gracefully is what a gentleman is for. The limit is *Arrowsmith*, and it is worth seeing for that reason. Martin Arrowsmith is a young doctor who has not yet worked out what he wants, and he should be raw. Colman plays him as a gentleman who has mislaid something. He is good in the institute scenes, where being a disappointed gentleman is the job, and he is good against Helen Hayes, who plays the wife with her eyes open and quietly takes the film. But we sat through the laboratory scenes waiting for him to forget himself for a minute, to look unfed while the culture grew, and he never did; the posture held, and the picture stayed politely cool where it needed to burn. That smoothness is also why he has been undervalued. Nothing looks like effort, so it is easy to assume nothing is being done, and the double role in *The Prisoner of Zenda* is the usual example of work mistaken for ease. He is an actor of small adjustments, the head, the pause, the drop in the voice, and he trusted them when the fashion was for more. Start with *Arrowsmith*, to see exactly where the manner stops. Then go to 1937 and see how little that mattered when the part was built for it. ## Biography Ronald Colman was a British actor who became a leading man in Hollywood films. Born in Richmond, Surrey, England, he served in the First World War before pursuing a stage career. He moved to the United States in 1920 and made his breakthrough in the silent film *The White Sister* (1923). Colman starred in numerous films including *Arrowsmith* (1931), *A Tale of Two Cities* (1935), *Lost Horizon* (1937), *The Prisoner of Zenda* (1937), *Random Harvest* (1942), *The Talk of the Town* (1942) and *A Double Life* (1947), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He also appeared in *Around the World in 80 Days* (1956). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (5) - *Random Harvest* (1942), Fi1m 76, as Charles Rainier — [page](https://film.one/film/random-harvest.md) - *The Talk of the Town* (1942), Fi1m 75, as Michael Lightcap — [page](https://film.one/film/the-talk-of-the-town.md) - *Lost Horizon* (1937), Fi1m 68, as Robert " Bob " Conway — [page](https://film.one/film/lost-horizon.md) - *A Tale of Two Cities* (1935), Fi1m 76, as Sydney Carton — [page](https://film.one/film/a-tale-of-two-cities.md) - *Arrowsmith* (1931), Fi1m 70, as Dr. Martin Arrowsmith — [page](https://film.one/film/arrowsmith.md) ## Complete filmography (57) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *That's Entertainment, Part II* (1976), as (archive footage) - *The Story of Mankind* (1957), as The Spirit of Man - *Around the World in 80 Days* (1956), as Railway Official - *The Halls of Ivy* (1954), series, Actor - *General Electric Theater* (1953), series, as Graham - *Four Star Playhouse* (1952), series, as Caller, Cameron, Dr. Bosanquent · Narrator, Writer - *The Jack Benny Program* (1950), series, as Ronald Colman - *Champagne for Caesar* (1950), as Beauregard Bottomley - *A Double Life* (1947), as Anthony John - *The Late George Apley* (1947), as George Apley - *Kismet* (1944), as Hafiz - *Random Harvest* (1942), as Charles Rainier — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/random-harvest.md) - *The Talk of the Town* (1942), as Michael Lightcap — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/the-talk-of-the-town.md) - *My Life with Caroline* (1941), as Anthony Mason - *Lucky Partners* (1940), as David Grant - *The Light That Failed* (1939), as Dick Heldar - *If I Were King* (1938), as François Villon - *The Prisoner of Zenda* (1937), as Major Rudolf Rassendyll / The Prisoner of Zenda - *Lost Horizon* (1937), as Robert " Bob " Conway — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/lost-horizon.md) - *Under Two Flags* (1936), as Sgt. Victor - *A Tale of Two Cities* (1935), as Sydney Carton — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/a-tale-of-two-cities.md) - *The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo* (1935), as Paul Gaillard - *Clive of India* (1935), as Robert Clive - *Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back* (1934), as Captain Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond - *The Masquerader* (1933), as Sir John Chilcote / John Loder - *Cynara* (1932), as James Warlock - *Arrowsmith* (1931), as Dr. Martin Arrowsmith — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/arrowsmith.md) - *The Unholy Garden* (1931), as Barrington Hunt - *Governor C.C. Young Hails Greater Talkie Season* (1930), Actor - *The Devil to Pay!* (1930), as Willie Hale - *Terra Melophon Magazin Nr. 1* (1930), Actor - *Raffles* (1930), as A.J. Raffles - *Condemned!* (1929), as Michel - *Bulldog Drummond* (1929), as Captain Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond - *The Rescue* (1929), as Tom Lingard - *Two Lovers* (1928), as Mark van Rycke - *The Magic Flame* (1927), as Tito the Clown / The Count - *The Night of Love* (1927), as Montero - *The Winning of Barbara Worth* (1926), as Willard Holmes - *Beau Geste* (1926), as Michael 'Beau' Geste - *Kiki* (1926), as Victor Renal - *Lady Windermere's Fan* (1925), as Lord Darlington - *Stella Dallas* (1925), as Stephen Dallas - *The Dark Angel* (1925), as Captain Alan Trent - *Her Sister from Paris* (1925), as Joseph - *A Thief in Paradise* (1925), as Maurice Blake - *The Sporting Venus* (1925), as Donald MacAllan - *His Supreme Moment* (1925), as John Douglas - *Romola* (1924), as Carlo Bucellini - *Her Night of Romance* (1924), as Paul Menford - *Tarnish* (1924), as Emmet Carr - *Twenty Dollars a Week* (1924), as Chester Reeves - *The White Sister* (1923), as Capt. Giovanni Severi - *Handcuffs or Kisses* (1921), as Lodyard - *The Black Spider* (1920), as Vicomte de Beaurais - *Anna the Adventuress* (1920), as Brendan - *The Toilers* (1919), as Bob ## Gallery - ![Ronald Colman](https://film.one/media/person/1225373/gallery-5328f2e2566b.jpg) Ronald Colman — Studio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Ronald_Colman_-_publicity.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Film actor Ronald Colman. Subjects (LCTGM): actors (1930)](https://film.one/media/person/1225373/gallery-d77ebbcb58e6.jpg) Film actor Ronald Colman. Subjects (LCTGM): actors (1930) — Unknown photographerUnknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Film_actor_Ronald_Colman_%28SAYRE_20929%29.jpg/1280px-Film_actor_Ronald_Colman_%28SAYRE_20929%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Taken from the August, 1929 edition of Photoplay Magazine.](https://film.one/media/person/1225373/gallery-1ab3d971975f.png) Taken from the August, 1929 edition of Photoplay Magazine. — Photoplay, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Photoplay_-_1929.08_-_24_-_Ronald_Colman.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Silent film actor Ronald Colman. Subjects (LCTGM): actors (1929)](https://film.one/media/person/1225373/gallery-ac650b7ef7d2.jpg) Silent film actor Ronald Colman. Subjects (LCTGM): actors (1929) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Silent_film_actor_Ronald_Colman_%28SAYRE_21146%29.jpg/1280px-Silent_film_actor_Ronald_Colman_%28SAYRE_21146%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Ronald Colman](https://film.one/media/person/1225373/gallery-f74d34059396.jpg) Ronald Colman — Image via TMDB - ![Ronald Colman](https://film.one/media/person/1225373/gallery-9feab6308af1.jpg) Ronald Colman — Image via TMDB - ![Ronald Colman as Sergeant Victor in uniform. (1936)](https://film.one/media/person/1225373/gallery-522b4d6374c2.jpg) Ronald Colman as Sergeant Victor in uniform. (1936) — 20th Century-Fox, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Ronald_Colman_as_Sergeant_Victor_in_uniform.jpg/1280px-Ronald_Colman_as_Sergeant_Victor_in_uniform.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Ronald Colman and Madeleine Carroll in the American film The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) - publicity still.](https://film.one/media/person/1225373/gallery-55c1274e6d0d.jpg) Ronald Colman and Madeleine Carroll in the American film The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) - publicity still. — Selznick International Pictures; photograph by Fred Parrish, still photographer for The Prisoner of Zenda per International Photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/The_Prisoner_of_Zenda_%281937%29_1.jpg/1280px-The_Prisoner_of_Zenda_%281937%29_1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 1 won, 2 nominated - 1948: Best Actor (won), for *A Double Life* - 1943: Best Actor (nominated), for *Random Harvest* - 1930: Best Actor (nominated), for *Condemned* ### Golden Globes — 1 won - 1948: Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (won), for *A Double Life* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ronald-colman