sentences:  Eventually making his way to America, Ridges began as a song-and-dance man on Broadway, but later turned to dramatic roles onstage, appearing in such plays as Maxwell Anderson's "Mary of Scotland" (as Lord Morton) and "Valley Forge" (as Lieutenant Colonel Lucifer Tench), becoming a romantic leading man.Ridges' silent film debut was in "Success" (1923).With his excellent diction and rich speaking voice, he easily made the transition into sound films, with his career taking off at age 43, in "Crime Without Passion" (1934), with Claude Rains.