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What's After the Movie?
Horror film

Ruby (1977): Cast & Plot

Ruby (1977) movie poster

Ruby is a 1977 horror film directed by Curtis Harrington, starring Piper Laurie as Ruby, Sal Vecchio and Janit Baldwin. It runs 1 hour 25 minutes.

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Ruby (1977) movie poster
Released
Runtime
1h 25m (85 min)
Genre
Horror
Original language
English
After the credits
No No extra scene
The story

What Is Ruby About?

The premise of Ruby without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

On the night Ruby turns sixteen, she throws a birthday bash at her family's drive‑in theater. The celebration spirals into terror when a series of bizarre murders begin, echoing the gruesome killing of her gangster boyfriend sixteen years earlier, a past shrouded in blood and sin.

Ruby Themes & Keywords

· 49 tags
  • psychotronic film
  • 1930s
  • 1950s
  • incestuous overtones
  • mother daughter incest
  • year 1951
  • year 1935
  • gore
  • character name as title
  • forename as title
  • supernatural power
  • film projector
+37 more
  • film reel
  • projection booth
  • jukebox
  • drive in speaker
  • dr. pepper the soda
  • one word title
  • reference to attack of the 50 foot woman
  • mute
  • drive in
  • murder
  • drive in movie
  • drive in movie theatre
  • gangster
  • revenge
  • redheaded woman
  • possessed by a ghost
  • evil girl
  • abusive husband
  • husband wife relationship
  • evil father
  • swamp
  • haunting
  • dark past
  • vending machine
  • movie theater
  • drive in theater
  • satire
  • ghost
  • blood
  • possession
  • back from the dead
  • rampage
  • nostalgia
  • violence
  • mother daughter relationship
  • independent film
  • character name in title
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Cast & crew

Ruby Cast & Characters

Piper Laurie leads the cast as Ruby, with Sal Vecchio as Nicky Rocco and Janit Baldwin as Leslie. Directed by Curtis Harrington; 19 actors are credited in all.

Also Starring in Ruby

· 15 more
From the director

More from Curtis Harrington

More films directed by Curtis Harrington: Mata Hari, Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell, The Dead Don’t Die and Killer Bees.

Full filmography
Plot

Ruby Plot Summary

What happens in Ruby from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

In 1935 Florida, a lowlife mobster named Nicky Rocco is betrayed and executed in the swampy backwoods as his pregnant gun moll Ruby Claire, Piper Laurie, watches. He swears vengeance with his dying breath, and then she suddenly goes into labor. Sixteen years later in 1951, Ruby is now running a drive-in theater in the backwoods near her home and employs ex-mobsters to run the place. Her 16-year-old daughter, Leslie Claire, Janit Baldwin is mute since birth, and resides in the home with Ruby, her lover and henchman Vince, Stuart Whitman, and Jake Miller, a blind, wheelchair-bound former mobster who had his eyes cut out. Ruby spends her days overseeing the theater’s operations as well as lamenting her short-lived career as a lounge singer.

Full summary

The whole story of Ruby, scene by scene

Read the full summary
Videos

Ruby Trailers & Videos

2 videos: 2 trailers.

Original Trailer
  • Trailer 4K UHD & Blu-ray Promo Trailer
Quiz

How Well Do You Know Ruby?

10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.

Question 1 of 10

  1. Question 1: not answered
  2. Question 2: not answered
  3. Question 3: not answered
  4. Question 4: not answered
  5. Question 5: not answered
  6. Question 6: not answered
  7. Question 7: not answered
  8. Question 8: not answered
  9. Question 9: not answered
  10. Question 10: not answered

Which actress portrays Ruby Claire in the film?

Cars

Cars in Ruby

29 cars on screen, including the 1934 Chrysler Six and the 1930 Ford Model A.

All 29 cars
  • 1934 Chrysler Six in Ruby 1934 Chrysler Six Important role
  • 1930 Ford Model A in Ruby 1930 Ford Model A Important role
  • 1952 Oldsmobile 98 in Ruby 1952 Oldsmobile 98 Important role
  • 1949 Plymouth Special De Luxe in Ruby 1949 Plymouth Special De Luxe Important role
Details

Ruby Also Known As

3 alternative titles, including “Blutige Ruby – Der Geist des Todes” and “血红宝石”.

Also known as
  • Blutige Ruby – Der Geist des Todes
  • 血红宝石
  • Tehlike Yakında

Seen Ruby?

FAQ

Ruby FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date

Runtime, release date, director, cast and post-credit scenes of Ruby, each answered in a sentence.

How long is Ruby?

Ruby runs 1 hour 25 minutes (85 minutes).

When was Ruby released?

Ruby was released on June 23, 1977.

Who directed Ruby?

Ruby was directed by Curtis Harrington.

More films by Curtis Harrington

Who is in the cast of Ruby?

Ruby stars Piper Laurie as Ruby, Sal Vecchio as Nicky Rocco and Janit Baldwin as Leslie, among 19 credited actors.

Does Ruby have a post-credit scene?

No. Ruby has no extra scene during or after the credits.

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