Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English
gentlemanThe term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a well-educated man of good family and distinction, analogous to the Latin generosus...
representing
the EstablishmentThe Establishment is a term used to refer to a visible dominant group or elite that holds power or authority in a nation. The term suggests a closed social group which selects its own members...
. In
Movie Encyclopedia, film critic
Leonard MaltinLeonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
describes Morley as "recognizable by his ungainly bulk, bushy eyebrows, thick lips, and double chin, […] particularly effective when cast as a pompous windbag". More politely,
Ephraim KatzEphraim Katz was a writer, journalist, and filmmaker who devoted his life to gathering the information in his book, The Film Encyclopedia, first published in 1979....
in his
International Film Encyclopaedia describes Morley as a "a rotund, triple-chinned, delightful character player of the British and American stage and screen."
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English
gentlemanThe term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a well-educated man of good family and distinction, analogous to the Latin generosus...
representing
the EstablishmentThe Establishment is a term used to refer to a visible dominant group or elite that holds power or authority in a nation. The term suggests a closed social group which selects its own members...
. In
Movie Encyclopedia, film critic
Leonard MaltinLeonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
describes Morley as "recognizable by his ungainly bulk, bushy eyebrows, thick lips, and double chin, […] particularly effective when cast as a pompous windbag". More politely,
Ephraim KatzEphraim Katz was a writer, journalist, and filmmaker who devoted his life to gathering the information in his book, The Film Encyclopedia, first published in 1979....
in his
International Film Encyclopaedia describes Morley as a "a rotund, triple-chinned, delightful character player of the British and American stage and screen."
Life and career
Morley was born in
SemleySemley is a village in Sedgehill and Semley civil parish in Wiltshire. The village is about north-east of Shaftesbury in neighbouring Dorset.-Manor:...
,
WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of Gertrude Emily (née Fass) and Robert Wilton Morley, a Major in the British Army. His mother came from a German family that had emigrated to
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Morley attended
Elizabeth CollegeElizabeth College is an independent school in the town of St Peter Port, Guernsey, founded in 1563 under the orders of Queen Elizabeth I.- History :...
(an independent school in
GuernseyGuernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
), followed by
RADARada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
, and made his
West EndWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
stage debut in 1929 in
Treasure Island at the
Strand TheatreThe Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
and his
BroadwayBroadway 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...
debut in 1938 in the title role of
Oscar WildeThe play Oscar Wilde, written by Leslie & Sewell Stokes, is based on the life of the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde in which Wilde's friend, the controversial author and journalist Frank Harris, appears as a character...
at the
Fulton TheatreThe Fulton Theatre was a Broadway Theatre located at 210 West 46th Street in New York that was opened in 1911. It was re-named the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1955. The theatre was demolished in 1982...
. Although soon won over to the big screen, Morley remained both a busy West End star and successful author, as well as tirelessly touring.
A versatile actor, especially in his younger years, he played roles as divergent as those of
Louis XVILouis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
, for which he received an Academy Award Nomination as Best Supporting Actor (
Marie AntoinetteMarie 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). He gave powerful performances in
Oscar WildeOscar Wilde is a 1960 biographical film about Oscar Wilde, made by Vantage Films and released by 20th Century Fox.-Production:The film was directed by Gregory Ratoff and produced by William Kirby, from a screenplay by Jo Eisinger, based on the play Oscar Wilde by Leslie Stokes and Sewell Stokes...
(
1960)The year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
and as a
missionaryA missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
in
The African Queen (1951), but did not receive Oscar nominations for either.
As a playwright he co-wrote and adapted several plays for the stage, having outstanding success in London and New York with
Edward, My SonEdward, My Son is a 1949 American/British drama film directed by George Cukor that stars Spencer Tracy and Deborah Kerr. The screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart is based on the play by Noel Langley and Robert Morley.-Plot:...
, a gripping family drama written in 1947 (with
Noel LangleyNoel Langley was a successful novelist, playwright, screenwriter and director. While under contract to MGM he was one of the screenwriters for The Wizard of Oz...
) in which he played the central role of Arnold Holt. But the disappointing film version, directed by
George CukorGeorge Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
at MGM
ElstreeElstree is a village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire on the A5 road, about 10 miles north of London. In 2001, its population was 4,765, and forms part of the civil parish of Elstree and Borehamwood, originally known simply as Elstree....
in 1949, instead starred the miscast Spencer Tracy, who turned Holt, an unscrupulous English businessman, into a blustering Canadian expatriate. His 1937 play
Goodness, How Sad was turned into a 1940
Ealing StudiosEaling Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
film
Return to YesterdayReturn to Yesterday is a 1940 British drama film directed by Robert Stevenson. It stars Clive Brook and Anna Lee. It was based on the play Goodness How Sad! by Robert Morley.-Cast:* Clive Brook as Robert Maine* Anna Lee as Carol Sands...
directed by
Robert StevensonRobert Stevenson was an English film writer and director. He was educated at Cambridge University where he became the president of both the Liberal Club and the Cambridge Union Society....
.
Morley also personified the conservative Englishman in many comedy and
caper filmsThe caper story is a subgenre of crime fiction. The typical caper story involves one or more crimes perpetrated by the main characters in full view of the reader...
. He was also the face of BOAC (British Airways) in television commercials of the 1970s. British Airways: 'We'll take more care of you'. Later in his career, he received critical acclaim and numerous accolades for his performance in
Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? is a 1978 comedy mystery film starring George Segal, Jacqueline Bisset, and Robert Morley. It was based on a novel entitled Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe by Nan and Ivan Lyons...
. Renowned for repartee and for being an eloquent conversationalist, Morley gained the epitheton of being a "
witWit is a form of intellectual humour, and a wit is someone skilled in making witty remarks. Forms of wit include the quip and repartee.-Forms of wit:...
".
Morley was honoured by being the first
King of Moomba appointed by the
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
MoombaMoomba is Australia's largest free community festival and one of the longest running festivals in Australia. Held annually in the city of Melbourne, Australia, Moomba is celebrated during the Labour Day long weekend , and has been celebrated since 1955...
festival committee and, in typical humility, he accepted the crown in bare feet. Morley was in Australia touring his one-man show,
The Sound of Morley.
He married Joan Buckmaster (1910–2005), a daughter of Dame
Gladys CooperDame Gladys Constance Cooper, DBE was an English actress whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television....
. Their elder son,
Sheridan MorleySheridan Morley was an English author, biographer, critic, director, actor and broadcaster. He was the eldest son of actor Robert Morley and grandson of actress Dame Gladys Cooper, and wrote biographies of both...
was a well-known writer and critic. They also had a daughter Annabel and another son Wilton.
He was appointed a Commander of the
Order of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) in 1957. He was also offered a knighthood during the Wilson government but declined it.
He died in
Reading, BerkshireReading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
from a
strokeA stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, aged 84. He was cremated and his ashes scattered across the graveyard of the parish church at Wargrave, Berkshire.
Theatre career
- First stage appearance in Dr Syn (Hippodrome, Margate, 28 May 1928)
- First London role, a pirate in Treasure Island
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
(Strand TheatreThe Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
, Christmas 1929)
- Touring, plus Playhouse Oxford and Festival Cambridge repertory, (1931–1933)
- Oakes in Up In the Air (Royalty Theatre
The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho and opened on 25 May 1840 as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. The architect was Samuel Beazley, a resident in Soho Square, who also designed St James's Theatre, among...
, London 1933)
- Touring with Sir Frank Benson (1934–35)
- Ran a repertory company with Peter Bull
Peter Cecil Bull, DSC was a British character actor.- Biography :He was the fourth and youngest son of Hammersmith MP Sir William James Bull, 1st Bt..Bull was educated at Winchester College...
(PerranporthPerranporth is a small seaside resort on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is southwest of Newquay and northwest of Truro. Perranporth and its long beach face the Atlantic Ocean....
, CornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, 1935)
- Title role in Oscar Wilde
The play Oscar Wilde, written by Leslie & Sewell Stokes, is based on the life of the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde in which Wilde's friend, the controversial author and journalist Frank Harris, appears as a character...
(Gate Theatre StudioThe history of London's Gate Theatre Studio, often referred to as simply the Gate Theatre, is typical of many small independent theatres of the period....
, Villiers Street, London, 1936)
- Alexandre Dumas in The Great Romancer (Strand Theatre and New Theatre
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by...
, 1937)
- Henry Higgins in Pygmalion
Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
(Old Vic Theatre, 1937)
- Title role in Oscar Wilde
The play Oscar Wilde, written by Leslie & Sewell Stokes, is based on the life of the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde in which Wilde's friend, the controversial author and journalist Frank Harris, appears as a character...
(Fulton TheatreThe Fulton Theatre was a Broadway Theatre located at 210 West 46th Street in New York that was opened in 1911. It was re-named the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1955. The theatre was demolished in 1982...
, New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, October 1938)
- Title role in Springtime for Henry
Springtime for Henery is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Otto Kruger, Nancy Carroll and Nigel Bruce. It was based on a play of the same name by Benn W. Levy which enjoyed an eight month run on Broadway.-Plot:...
(Perranporth, 1939)
- Descius Heiss in Play with Fire (try-out version of The Shop at Sly Corner, Theatre Royal, Brighton
The Theatre Royal, Brighton is a theatre in Brighton, England, United Kingdom presenting a range of West End and touring musicals and plays, along with performances of opera and ballet and a Christmas pantomime.-History:...
, 1941)
- Sheridan Whiteside in The Man Who Came to Dinner
The Man Who Came to Dinner is a comedy in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. It then enjoyed a number of New York and London revivals. The first London production was staged at The Savoy Theatre starring Robert...
(Savoy TheatreThe Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
— and on tour — 1941–1943)
- Charles in Staff Dance (also wrote, touring UK, 1944)
- Prince Regent in The First Gentleman
The First Gentleman is a 1948 British historical drama film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Jean-Pierre Aumont, Joan Hopkins and Cecil Parker. It portrays the relationships and marriage of George, Prince Regent and his tense dealings with other members of his family such as Princess...
(New Theatre and Savoy, 1945–46)
- Arnold Holt in Edward, My Son
Edward, My Son is a 1949 American/British drama film directed by George Cukor that stars Spencer Tracy and Deborah Kerr. The screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart is based on the play by Noel Langley and Robert Morley.-Plot:...
(also co-wrote, His Majesty's TheatreHis Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen is the largest theatre in north-east Scotland, seating more than 1400. The theatre is sited on Rosemount Viaduct, opposite the city's Union Terrace Gardens. It was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1906...
, 1947; also played this role at the Martin Beck Theatre New York 1948, and in Australia and New Zealand, 1949–50)
- Philip in The Little Hut
The Little Hut is a 1957 British-American romantic comedy film made by MGM. It was directed by Mark Robson, produced by Mark Robson and F. Hugh Herbert, from a screenplay by F. Hugh Herbert, adapted by Nancy Mitford from the play La petite hutte by André Roussin...
(Lyric TheatreThe Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
, 1950)
- Hippo in Hippo Dancing (also adapted, Lyric, 1954)
- Oswald Petersham in A Likely Tale (Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
, 1956)
- Panisse in the musical Fanny
Fanny is a musical with a book by S. N. Behrman and Joshua Logan and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. A tale of love, secrets, and passion set in and around the old French port of Marseille, it is based on Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of plays entitled Marius, Fanny and César.The musical premiered on...
(Drury LaneDrury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
, 1956
- The Tunnel of Love
The Tunnel of Love is a 1958 romantic comedy film based on the Broadway hit by Peter De Vries and Joseph Fields. The film follows a married suburban couple who for reasons unknown, are unable to conceive a child and soon endure endless red tape on a path of adopting a child. The film is the first...
(directed, Her Majesty's, 1957)
- Sebastian Le Boeuf in Hook, Line and Sinker
Hook, Line and Sinker may refer to:* Hook, line and sinker, fishing equipment* Hook, Line and Sinker , a slapstick comedy starring Wheeler & Woolsey* Hook, Line & Sinker , a comedy starring Jerry Lewis...
(also adapted, Piccadilly TheatreThe Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...
, 1958)
- Once More, with Feeling (directed, New Theatre, 1959)
- Mr Asano in A Majority of One
-Plot:The comedy involves Mrs. Jacoby, a Jewish widow from Brooklyn, New York, and Koichi Asano, a millionaire widower from Tokyo. Mrs. Jacoby is sailing to Japan with her daughter and foreign service officer son-in-law who is being posted to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo...
(Phoenix TheatrePhoenix Theatre may refer to:*Phoenix Arts Centre, former name was Phoenix Theatre in Leicester, UK*Phoenix Theatre , a West End theatre*Phoenix Theatre , a professional alternative theatre*Phoenix Theatre , a regional theatre...
, 1960)
- Title role in Mr Rhodes (Theatre Royal Windsor, 1961)
- The Bishop in A Time to Laugh (Piccadilly, 1962)
- The Sound of Morley (One-man show, touring Australia 1966–67)
- Sir Mallalieu Fitzbuttress in Halfway Up the Tree (Queen's Theatre
The Queen's Theatre is a West End theatre located in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. It opened on 8 October 1907 as a twin to the neighbouring Gielgud Theatre which opened ten months earlier. Both theatres were designed by W.G.R...
, 1967)
- Frank Foster in How the Other Half Loves (Lyric, 1970; also North America, 1972, and Australia, 1973)
- Barnstable in A Ghost on Tiptoe (also co-wrote, Savoy, 1974)
- Pound in Banana Ridge
Banana Ridge is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Walter C. Mycroft and starring Robertson Hare, Alfred Drayton and Isabel Jeans. The film is based on a 1938 stage play of the same name by Ben Travers...
(Savoy, 1976)
- Toured Robert Morley Talks to Everyone (1978)
- Picture of Innocence (co-wrote and toured UK and Canada, 1978)
- Hilary in Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
's The Old Country (Theatre Royal, SydneyThe Theatre Royal in Sydney is Australia's oldest theatrical institution. Sydney's original Theatre Royal was built in 1827 behind the Royal Hotel, but burned to the ground in 1840. The name was dormant for 35 years until 1875 when a new Theatre Royal was built in the location where the current...
, 1980)
Filmography
- Marie Antoinette
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) (King Louis XVI)
- Major Barbara
Major Barbara is a 1941 British film starring Wendy Hiller and Rex Harrison. The film was produced and directed by Gabriel Pascal and edited by David Lean. It was adapted for the screen by Marjorie Deans and Anatole de Grunwald, based on the 1905 play Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw...
(1941) (Andrew Undershaft)
- The Foreman Went to France
The Foreman Went to France, also known as Somewhere in France, is a 1942 British World War II war film starring Clifford Evans, Tommy Trinder, Constance Cummings and Gordon Jackson...
(1942) (Mayor Coutare of Bivary)
- The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) (Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
)
- The Ghosts of Berkeley Square
The Ghosts of Berkeley Square is a 1947 British comedy film, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer. The film is an adaptation of the novel No Nightingales by Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon, inspired by the enduring reputation of the property at 50 Berkeley Square as...
(1947) (Gen. "Jumbo" Burlap)
- The African Queen (1951) (Reverend Samuel Sayer)
- Outcast of the Islands
Outcast of the Islands is a 1951 film directed by Carol Reed based on by Joseph Conrad's novel An Outcast of the Islands. The film features Robert Morley, Trevor Howard, Ralph Richardson, and Wendy Hiller....
(1952) (Almayer)
- The Final Test
The Final Test is a 1953 British sports film written by Terence Rattigan, directed by Anthony Asquith, and starring Jack Warner, Robert Morley, George Relph and Ray Jackson. A number of leading cricketers also appear including Denis Compton, Len Hutton and Cyril Washbrook.-Plot:The film is a comedy...
(1953)
- The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan
The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan is a 1953 British technicolor film that dramatises the story of the collaboration between W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Gilbert and Sullivan authored 14 comic operas, later referred to as the Savoy Operas, which became the most popular series of musical...
(1953) (W. S. GilbertSir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
)
- Beat the Devil
Beat the Devil is a 1953 film directed by John Huston. It was co-authored by Huston and Truman Capote, and loosely based upon a novel of the same name by British journalist and critic Claud Cockburn, writing under the pseudonym James Helvick...
(1953) (Peterson)
- The Good Die Young
The Good Die Young is a crime thriller made in the United Kingdom by Remus Productions, featuring a number of American characters. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert. The screenplay was based on the book of the same name written by Richard Macaulay....
(1954)
- The Rainbow Jacket
The Rainbow Jacket is a 1954 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden, and featuring Robert Morley, Kay Walsh, Bill Owen, Honor Blackman and Sid James.-Cast:* Robert Morley as Lord Logan* Kay Walsh as Barbara Crain...
(1954) (Lord Logan)
- Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell, born as George Bryan Brummell , was the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV...
(1954) (King George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
)
- The Adventures of Quentin Durward
The Adventures of Quentin Durward, known also as Quentin Durward, is a 1955 historical film released by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman...
(1955) (Louis XI of FranceLouis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
)
- Loser Takes All
Loser Takes All is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Glynis Johns, Rossano Brazzi and Robert Morley. It was based on a screenplay by Graham Greene.-Cast:* Glynis Johns as Cary* Rossano Brazzi as Bertrand...
(1956)
- Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) (Ralph in the Reform Club)
- Law and Disorder
Law and Disorder is a 1958 British comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Michael Redgrave, Robert Morley, Joan Hickson, Lionel Jeffries and John Le Mesurier. It was based on the 1954 novel Smugglers' Circuit by Denys Roberts. The film was started by director Henry Cornelius who died...
(1958)
- The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw
The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw is a 1958 British western comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Kenneth More and Jayne Mansfield.-Synopsis:...
(1958)
- The Journey
The Journey is a 1959 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. A group of Westerners tries to flee Hungary after the Soviet Union moves to crush the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. It stars Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Jason Robards. Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner were paired again since they...
(1959)
- The Doctor's Dilemma
The Doctor's Dilemma is a 1958 British comedy drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Leslie Caron, Dirk Bogarde, Alastair Sim, Robert Morley and Terence Alexander. It is based on the 1906 play The Doctor's Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw....
(1959) (Sir Ralph Bloomfield-Bonington)
- The Battle of the Sexes
The Battle of the Sexes is a 1959 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers and directed by Charles Crichton, based on the short story The Catbird Seat, by James Thurber. The story was adapted by Monja Danischewsky.-Cast:* Peter Sellers as Mr...
(1959) (Robert MacPherson)
- Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde is a 1960 biographical film about Oscar Wilde, made by Vantage Films and released by 20th Century Fox.-Production:The film was directed by Gregory Ratoff and produced by William Kirby, from a screenplay by Jo Eisinger, based on the play Oscar Wilde by Leslie Stokes and Sewell Stokes...
(1960) (Oscar Wilde)
- The Young Ones
The Young Ones may refer to:* The Young Ones , a 1961 musical starring Cliff Richard.** The Young Ones , the soundtrack to the film.*** "The Young Ones" , the film's title track....
with Cliff RichardSir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
(1961) (Hamilton Black)
- Go to Blazes
Go to Blazes is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Michael Truman and starring Dave King, Robert Morley, Norman Rossington, Daniel Massey, Dennis Price, Maggie Smith, David Lodge. It also featured Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier, later to feature prominently in Dad's Army...
(1962) (Arson Eddie)
- The Road to Hong Kong
The Road to Hong Kong starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Joan Collins, was the last in the long-running Road to … series and the only episode not produced by Paramount Pictures, though reference to the other films in the series are shown in Maurice Binder's opening title sequence...
(1962) (Leader of the 3rd Echelon)
- The Old Dark House
The Old Dark House is a comedy-horror film directed by William Castle. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name directed by James Whale. The film was based on the novel by J. B. Priestley originally published under the name Benighted, and the new screenplay was written by Robert Dillon...
(1963) (Roderick Femm)
- Murder at the Gallop
Murder at the Gallop is the second of four films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on the novel After the Funeral by Agatha Christie, and starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Charles "Bud" Tingwell as Inspector Craddock and Stringer Davis as Mr. Stringer. The film changes the action...
(1963) (Hector Enderby) (opposite Margaret RutherfordDame Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE was an English character actress, who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest...
)
- Ladies Who Do
Ladies Who Do 1963 British comedy film starring Peggy Mount, Robert Morley and Harry H. Corbett.-Cast:*Peggy Mount as Mrs. Cragg*Robert Morley as Colonel Whitforth*Harry H. Corbett as James Ryder*Miriam Karlin as Mrs. Higgins...
(1963) (Colonel Whitforth)
- Take Her, She's Mine
Take Her, She's Mine is a 1963 comedy film starring James Stewart and Sandra Dee. The film was written by Henry Ephron, Phoebe Ephron, and Nunnally Johnson, with Dee's character based on the then 22-year-old Nora Ephron, and directed by Henry Koster...
(1963) (Mr. Pope-Jones)
- Of Human Bondage
Of Human Bondage is a 1964 British drama film directed by Ken Hughes. The MGM release, the third screen adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's 1915 novel, was written by Bryan Forbes.-Synopsis:...
(1964) (Dr. Jacobs)
- Topkapi
Topkapi is a heist film made by Filmways Pictures and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by the emigre American film director, Jules Dassin...
(1964) (Cedric Page)
- Hot Enough for June
Hot Enough for June is a 1964 British spy comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and featuring Dirk Bogarde, Sylva Koscina, Robert Morley, Leo McKern, John Le Mesurier and Roger Delgado. It was based on the 1960 novel "The Night of Wenceslas" by Lionel Davidson and directed by Ralph Thomas. It was...
(1964) (Colonel Cuncliffe)
- Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan is a 1965 film depicting the life and conquests of the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan. It was released in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1965 by Columbia Pictures, and was directed by Henry Levin, and starred Omar Sharif, who that same year starred in another epic, Doctor...
(1965) (Emperor of China)
- Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes is a 1965 British comedy film starring Stuart Whitman and directed and co-written by Ken Annakin...
(1965) (Lord Rawnsley)
- The Loved One
The Loved One is a 1965 black comedy film about the funeral business in Los Angeles, which is based on The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy , a short satirical novel by Evelyn Waugh...
(1965) (Sir Ambrose Ambercrombie)
- A Study in Terror
A Study in Terror is a 1965 British thriller film directed by James Hill and starring John Neville as Sherlock Holmes and Donald Houston as Dr. Watson...
(1965) (Mycroft Holmes)
- Life at the Top
Life at the Top is a 1965 drama film made by Romulus Films and released by Columbia Pictures. It is a sequel to Room at the Top. It was directed by Ted Kotcheff and produced by James Woolf with William Kirby as associate producer. The screenplay was by Mordecai Richler, based on the novel Life at...
(1965) (Tiffield)
- The Alphabet Murders
The Alphabet Murders is a 1965 British detective film based on the novel The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie, starring Tony Randall as Hercule Poirot. The part of Poirot had originally been intended for Zero Mostel but the film was delayed because Agatha Christie objected to the script. The...
(aka The ABC Murders) (1965) (Captain Arthur HastingsCaptain Arthur Hastings, OBE, is a fictional character, the amateur sleuthing partner and best friend of Agatha Christie's Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot...
)
- The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics (1965) (Narrator)
- Hotel Paradiso
Hotel Paradiso is a 1966 film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Peter Glenville and based on the play Hotel du Libre Echange by Maurice Desvallières and Georges Feydeau.-Synopsis:...
(1966) (Henri Cotte)
- The Trygon Factor
The Trygon Factor is a 1966 British-German comedy crime film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Stewart Granger, Susan Hampshire and Robert Morley. Its German title was Das Geheimnis Der Weissen Nonne. It is based on the Edgar Wallace novel Kate Plus Ten.-Cast:* Stewart Granger - Supt...
(1966)
- Way...Way Out
Way...Way Out is a 1966 American film comedy starring Jerry Lewis and released by 20th Century Fox on October 21, 1966.-Plot:The year is 1989, and the United States decides to send a married couple to live on the moon and operate a U.S. weather station...
(1966) (Harold Quonset)
- Hot Millions
Hot Millions is an 1968 crime comedy film made by MGM. It was directed by Eric Till and produced by Mildred Freed Alberg, from a collaborative screenplay by Ira Wallach and star Peter Ustinov. The music score was composed by Laurie Johnson, featuring the single "This Time" from Scottish singer Lulu...
(1968) (Caesar Smith)
- Cromwell
Cromwell is a 1970 film, based on the life of Oliver Cromwell who led the Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War and, as Lord Protector, ruled Great Britain and Ireland in the 1650s. It features an all-star cast led by Richard Harris as Cromwell and Alec Guinness as King Charles I...
(1970) (The Earl of Manchester)
- When Eight Bells Toll
When Eight Bells Toll is a 1971 action film set in Scotland, based upon Scottish author Alistair MacLean's 1965 novel of the same name. Producer Elliott Kastner planned to produce a string of realistic gritty espionage thrillers to rival the James Bond series, but the film's poor box office...
(1971) (Uncle Arthur)
- Theatre of Blood
Theatre of Blood is a horror film starring Vincent Price as vengeful actor Edward Lionheart and Diana Rigg as his daughter Edwina Lionheart. The cast includes such distinguished actors as Harry Andrews, Coral Browne, Robert Coote, Jack Hawkins, Michael Hordern, Arthur Lowe, Joan Hickson, Robert...
(1973) (Meredith Merridew)
- Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
(1974) (ITC TVM) (Uncle Pumblechook)
- The Blue Bird
The Blue Bird is a 1976 American/Soviet fantasy film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Hugh Whitemore, Alfred Hayes, and Aleksei Kapler is based on L'Oiseau bleu by Maurice Maeterlinck. It was the fifth screen adaptation of the play, following two silent films, the studio's 1940 version...
(1976) (Father Time)
- Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?
Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? is a 1978 comedy mystery film starring George Segal, Jacqueline Bisset, and Robert Morley. It was based on a novel entitled Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe by Nan and Ivan Lyons...
(aka Too Many Chefs) (1978) (Max)
- The Human Factor
The Human Factor is an espionage novel by Graham Greene, first published in 1978 and adapted into a 1979 film, directed by Otto Preminger using a screenplay by Tom Stoppard.-Plot summary:...
(1979) (Dr Percival)
- Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger Hunt is a 1979 comedy film with a large ensemble cast, in the mold of the 1963 comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.-Plot summary:...
(1979) (Estate Lawyer)
- The Great Muppet Caper
The Great Muppet Caper is a 1981 mystery comedy film directed by Jim Henson. It is the second of a series of live-action musical feature films, starring Jim Henson's Muppets. This film was produced by Henson Associates, ITC Entertainment and Universal Pictures, and premiered on 26 July 1981. The...
(1981) (British Gentlemen)
- The Old Men at the Zoo
The Old Men at the Zoo is a novel written by Angus Wilson, first published in 1961 by Secker and Warburg, and by Penguin books in 1964. It was adapted into a 1983 BBC Television serial by scriptwriter Troy Kennedy Martin.-Cast:...
(1982) (BBC TV mini-series) (Lord Godmanchester)
- High Road to China
High Road to China is a 1983 adventure-comedy film, set in the 1920s, starring Tom Selleck as a hard-drinking biplane pilot hired by society heiress Eve 'Evie' Tozer to find her missing father . The supporting cast includes Robert Morley and Brian Blessed. The Golden Harvest film was directed by...
(1983) (Bentik)
- Alice in Wonderland (1985) (CBS TV mini-series) (King of Hearts)
- Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit is a 1988 film adaptation of the novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin. The music, by Giuseppe Verdi, was arranged by Michael Sanvoisin.The film stars Derek Jacobi as Arthur...
(1988) (Lord Decimus Barnacle)
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