Robert Newton
Encyclopedia
Robert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn
, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. He was cited as a role model by actors Tony Hancock
, Oliver Reed
, and drummer Keith Moon
.
Newton is best remembered for portraying the feverish-eyed Long John Silver
in the Walt Disney version of Treasure Island
, which became the standard for screen portrayals of pirates. A West Country
native where many famous English pirates hailed from, Newton is credited with popularizing the stereotypical West Country "pirate voice" by exaggerating his West Country accent. Newton has become the "patron saint
" of the annual International Talk Like a Pirate Day
on September 19.
, Dorset
, a son of landscape painter Algernon Newton, R.A. He was educated in Lamorna
near Penzance
, Cornwall
, and later at St Bartholomew's School in Newbury, Berkshire
. His acting career began at the age of 16 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
in 1921 and he followed this by performing in many plays in the West End of London
, including Bitter Sweet
by Noël Coward
and Horatio to Laurence Olivier
's Hamlet
at the Old Vic
. He also appeared in Private Lives
on Broadway. From 1932 to 1934 he was the manager of the Shilling Theatre in Fulham
, London.
Newton's film career included notable ruffians and villains, mostly comedic ones like Bill Walker in George Bernard Shaw
's Major Barbara (1941) and Long John Silver
in Walt Disney
's Treasure Island
(1950), but also deadly serious Bill Sikes
in David Lean
's 1948 film version of Oliver Twist
. One interesting exception shows his acting versatility; in Alfred Hitchcock's film Jamaica Inn
, he played a virtuous law-officer who is alert, benevolent, serious, dedicated, professional, gallant and calm in the face of danger, modest and altogether unlike Long John Silver. He portrayed disciplinarians such as Inspector Javert
in the 1952 Les Misérables
, Dr. Arnold in the 1951 film version of Tom Brown's Schooldays
and Inspector Fix in his last film, Around the World in 80 Days (1956), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Newton appeared in major roles in two films based on the novella The Vessel of Wrath
by W. Somerset Maugham
. He played the Dutch contrôleur in the 1938 version (released in the U.S. as The Beachcomber), and the lead role of Edward "Ginger Ted" Wilson in The Beachcomber
(1954). He starred as the Scottish
hatter, James Brodie, in Hatter's Castle
, a 1941 film based on the novel by A. J. Cronin
. He also played Ancient Pistol in Laurence Olivier
's 1944 film of Henry V
and Lukey in Carol Reed
's Odd Man Out
; this performance was later immortalised in Harold Pinter
's play Old Times
. In 1949, he played against type as Dr. Clive Riordan in the thriller Obsession
. A good example of Newton playing a sympathetic lead role is Noel Coward
's This Happy Breed
directed by David Lean
in 1944.
He again played Long John Silver in a 1954 Australia
n-made film, Long John Silver
. It was shot at Pagewood Studios, Sydney
and directed by Byron Haskin
, who had directed Treasure Island. The company went on to make a 26-episode 1955 TV series, The Adventures of Long John Silver, in which Newton also starred.
With his strong West Country accent, Newton portrayed Bristol
's other famous pirate Blackbeard the Pirate
, but was never able to shake off the legacy of Long John Silver.
, which led to his death from a heart attack
in Beverly Hills, California
in 1956 at the age of 50. Newton married four times and had three children: Sally Newton (b. 1930), Nicholas Newton (b. 1950) and Kim Newton (b. 1953). After some court battles, Newton's elder son was placed in the custody
of his aunt and uncle.
Robert Newton was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
in Los Angeles
. Years later Nicholas Newton scattered his father's ashes in the sea in Mount's Bay
, Cornwall
, near Lamorna
where he had spent his childhood.
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. He was cited as a role model by actors Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock
Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
, Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
, and drummer Keith Moon
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
.
Newton is best remembered for portraying the feverish-eyed Long John Silver
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Silver is also known by the nicknames "Barbecue" and the "Sea-Cook".- Profile :...
in the Walt Disney version of Treasure Island
Treasure Island (1950 film)
Treasure Island is a 1950 Disney adventure film, adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island. It starred Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins, and Robert Newton as Long John Silver...
, which became the standard for screen portrayals of pirates. A West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
native where many famous English pirates hailed from, Newton is credited with popularizing the stereotypical West Country "pirate voice" by exaggerating his West Country accent. Newton has become the "patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
" of the annual International Talk Like a Pirate Day
International Talk Like a Pirate Day
International Talk Like a Pirate Day is a parodic holiday created in 1995 by John Baur and Mark Summers , of Albany, Oregon, U.S., who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirate...
on September 19.
Career
Newton was born in ShaftesburyShaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, a son of landscape painter Algernon Newton, R.A. He was educated in Lamorna
Lamorna
Lamorna is a fishing village and cove in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Penwith peninsula approximately four miles south of Penzance.-Newlyn School of Art and the Lamorna Colony:...
near Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall 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...
, and later at St Bartholomew's School in Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
. His acting career began at the age of 16 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...
in 1921 and he followed this by performing in many plays in the West End of London
West End theatre
West 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...
, including Bitter Sweet
Bitter Sweet
Bitter Sweet is an operetta in three acts written by Noël Coward and first produced in 1929 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. It ran for a very successful 967 performances....
by Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
and Horatio to Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's 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...
at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
. He also appeared in Private Lives
Private Lives
Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
on Broadway. From 1932 to 1934 he was the manager of the Shilling Theatre in Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, London.
Newton's film career included notable ruffians and villains, mostly comedic ones like Bill Walker in George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Major Barbara (1941) and Long John Silver
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Silver is also known by the nicknames "Barbecue" and the "Sea-Cook".- Profile :...
in Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's Treasure Island
Treasure Island (1950 film)
Treasure Island is a 1950 Disney adventure film, adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island. It starred Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins, and Robert Newton as Long John Silver...
(1950), but also deadly serious Bill Sikes
Bill Sikes
William "Bill" Sikes is a fictional character in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.He is one of Dickens's most vicious characters and a very strong force in the novel when it comes to having control over somebody or harming others. He is portrayed as a rough and barbaric man. He is a career...
in David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
's 1948 film version of Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist (1948 film)
Oliver Twist is the second of David Lean's two film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels. Following the success of his 1946 version of Great Expectations, Lean re-assembled much of the same team for his adaptation of Dicken's 1838 novel, including producers Ronald Neame and Anthony...
. One interesting exception shows his acting versatility; in Alfred Hitchcock's film Jamaica Inn
Jamaica Inn (film)
Jamaica Inn is a 1939 film made by Alfred Hitchcock adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1936 novel of the same name, the first of three of du Maurier's works that Hitchcock adapted ....
, he played a virtuous law-officer who is alert, benevolent, serious, dedicated, professional, gallant and calm in the face of danger, modest and altogether unlike Long John Silver. He portrayed disciplinarians such as Inspector Javert
Javert
Javert is a fictional character from the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. He is a prison guard, and later policeman, who devotes his life to the law. He is always referred to just simply as "Javert" or "Inspector Javert" by the narrator and other characters throughout the novel; his first name...
in the 1952 Les Misérables
Les Misérables (1952 film)
Les Misérables is a 1952 American film adapted from the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. It was directed by Lewis Milestone, and featured Michael Rennie as Jean Valjean, Robert Newton as Javert, Sylvia Sidney as Fantine, Debra Paget as Cosette, Edmund Gwenn as the bishop, Cameron Mitchell as...
, Dr. Arnold in the 1951 film version of Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s; Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842...
and Inspector Fix in his last film, Around the World in 80 Days (1956), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Newton appeared in major roles in two films based on the novella The Vessel of Wrath
The Vessel of Wrath
"The Vessel of Wrath" is a short story by W. Somerset Maugham. Written in 1931 it first appeared in the April 1931 edition of Hearst's International Cosmopolitan . Maugham often introduced short stories as a contribution to periodicals and then later included them in books or collected editions...
by W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
. He played the Dutch contrôleur in the 1938 version (released in the U.S. as The Beachcomber), and the lead role of Edward "Ginger Ted" Wilson in The Beachcomber
The Beachcomber (film)
The Beachcomber is a 1954 British comedy-drama film directed by Muriel Box starring Donald Sinden, Glynis Johns, Robert Newton, Paul Rogers, Donald Pleasence and Michael Hordern. The film is based on the story The Vessel of Wrath by W. Somerset Maugham and was adapted by Sydney Box. It was the...
(1954). He starred as the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
hatter, James Brodie, in Hatter's Castle
Hatter's Castle
Hatter's Castle is the first novel of author A. J. Cronin. The story is set in 1879, in the fictional town of Levenford, on the Firth of Clyde. The plot revolves around many characters and has many subplots, all of which relate to the life of the hatter, James Brodie, whose narcissism and cruelty...
, a 1941 film based on the novel by A. J. Cronin
A. J. Cronin
Archibald Joseph Cronin was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known works are Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom and The Green Years, all of which were adapted to film. He also created the Dr...
. He also played Ancient Pistol in Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's 1944 film of Henry V
Henry V (1944 film)
Henry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas...
and Lukey in Carol Reed
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
's Odd Man Out
Odd Man Out
Odd Man Out is a 1947 Anglo-Irish film noir directed by Carol Reed, starring James Mason, and is based on a novel of the same name by F. L. Green.-Plot:The film's opening intertitle reads:...
; this performance was later immortalised in Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
's play Old Times
Old Times
Old Times is a play by the Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter. It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre in London on June 1, 1971. It starred Colin Blakely, Dorothy Tutin, and Vivien Merchant, and was directed by Peter Hall...
. In 1949, he played against type as Dr. Clive Riordan in the thriller Obsession
Obsession (1949 film)
Obsession, released in the US as The Hidden Room, is a 1949 British crime film directed by Edward Dmytryk, based on the book A Man About A Dog by Alec Coppel, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, and turned the story into a novel. Obsession was entered into the 1949 Cannes Film...
. A good example of Newton playing a sympathetic lead role is Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's This Happy Breed
This Happy Breed (film)
This Happy Breed is a 1944 British drama film directed by David Lean. The screenplay by Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan and Ronald Neame is based on the 1939 play of the same title by Noël Coward...
directed by David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
in 1944.
He again played Long John Silver in a 1954 Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-made film, Long John Silver
Long John Silver (film)
Long John Silver is a 1954 Australian film about the eponymous pirate from Treasure Island, starring Robert Newton as Silver and Rod Taylor as Israel Hands....
. It was shot at Pagewood Studios, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and directed by Byron Haskin
Byron Haskin
Byron Conrad Haskin was an American film and television director. He was born in Portland, Oregon.He is remembered today for directing 1953's The War of the Worlds, one of many films where he teamed with producer George Pal. In his early career, he was a special effects artist, with a number of...
, who had directed Treasure Island. The company went on to make a 26-episode 1955 TV series, The Adventures of Long John Silver, in which Newton also starred.
With his strong West Country accent, Newton portrayed Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
's other famous pirate Blackbeard the Pirate
Blackbeard the Pirate
Blackbeard the Pirate is a 1952 Technicolor adventure film made by RKO. The film was directed by Raoul Walsh and produced by Edmund Grainger from a screenplay by Alan Le May based on the story by DeVallon Scott.-Plot:...
, but was never able to shake off the legacy of Long John Silver.
Death
His film career was cut short by chronic alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, which led to his death from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
in 1956 at the age of 50. Newton married four times and had three children: Sally Newton (b. 1930), Nicholas Newton (b. 1950) and Kim Newton (b. 1953). After some court battles, Newton's elder son was placed in the custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
of his aunt and uncle.
Robert Newton was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Years later Nicholas Newton scattered his father's ashes in the sea in Mount's Bay
Mount's Bay
Mount's Bay is a large, sweeping bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom, stretching from the Lizard Point to Gwennap Head on the eastern side of the Land's End peninsula. Towards the middle of the bay is St Michael's Mount...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall 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...
, near Lamorna
Lamorna
Lamorna is a fishing village and cove in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Penwith peninsula approximately four miles south of Penzance.-Newlyn School of Art and the Lamorna Colony:...
where he had spent his childhood.
Filmography
- The Tremarne Case (1924)
- Reunion (1932)
- I, ClaudiusI, Claudius (film)I, Claudius was the proposed 1937 film of the book I, Claudius. It was to have been produced by Alexander Korda, directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Charles Laughton , Emlyn Williams , Flora Robson , and Merle Oberon , but it was dogged by ill-luck, culminating in a car accident involving...
(1937) - Dark JourneyDark Journey (film)Dark Journey is a 1937 British spy film directed by Victor Saville set in the First World War. Its plot concerns two secret agents on opposite sides, played by Conrad Veidt and Vivien Leigh, who fall in love.-Cast:* Conrad Veidt as Baron Karl von Marwitz...
(1937) - Farewell AgainFarewell AgainFarewell Again is a 1937 British drama film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Leslie Banks, Flora Robson, Sebastian Shaw and Robert Newton. The film is a portmanteau illustrating the calls of duty on various soldiers and their families...
(1937) - Fire Over EnglandFire Over EnglandFire Over England is a 1937 London Film Productions film drama, notable for providing the first pairing of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. It was directed by William K. Howard and written by Clemence Dane from the novel Fire Over England by A. E. W. Mason. Leigh's performance in the movie...
(1937) - The SqueakerThe Squeaker (1937 film)The Squeaker is a 1937 British crime film directed by William K. Howard and starring Edmund Lowe, Sebastian Shaw and Ann Todd. It is based on the novel The Squeaker by Edgar Wallace...
(1937) - The Green CockatooThe Green CockatooThe Green Cockatoo is a 1937 British drama film directed by William Cameron Menzies and starring John Mills, René Ray and Robert Newton. An innocent young girl travels to London from her home in Devon and gets mixed up with various unsavoury characters....
(1937) - Vessel of Wrath (1938)
- Yellow SandsYellow Sands (film)Yellow Sands is a 1938 British comedy drama film directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Marie Tempest, Belle Chrystall, Wilfrid Lawson and Robert Newton. A wealthy dying woman's relatives gather, unaware that they have all been cut out of the will...
(1938) - Jamaica InnJamaica Inn (film)Jamaica Inn is a 1939 film made by Alfred Hitchcock adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1936 novel of the same name, the first of three of du Maurier's works that Hitchcock adapted ....
(1939) - Poison PenPoison Pen (film)Poison Pen is a 1939 British psychological drama, directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Flora Robson, Reginald Tate and Ann Todd. The film is an adaptation of a novel by Welsh author Richard Llewellyn...
(1939) - Dead Men are DangerousDead Men are DangerousDead Men are Dangerous is a 1939 British crime film directed by Harold French and starring Robert Newton, Betty Lynne John Warwick and Peter Gawthorne...
(1939) - Hell's CargoHell's CargoHell's Cargo is a 1939 British adventure film directed by Harold Huth and starring Walter Rilla, Kim Peacock and Robert Newton.-Cast:* Walter Rilla - Cmndt. Lestailleur* Kim Peacock - Cmdr. Falcon* Robert Newton - Cmdr. Tomasou...
(1939) - Channel IncidentChannel IncidentChannel Incident is a 1940 British short drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Peggy Ashcroft, Gordon Harker and Robert Newton. The film was a propaganda effort, made during the Second World War, which depicts a the owner of a yacht heading across the Channel to help evacuate British...
(1940, short) - Bulldog Sees It ThroughBulldog Sees It ThroughBulldog Sees it Through is a 1940 British, black-and-white, mystery war film directed by Harold Huth and starring Ronald Shiner as Pug, Jack Buchanan, Greta Gynt, Googie Withers and Sebastian Shaw. It was produced by Associated British Picture Corporation....
(1940) - 21 Days21 Days21 Days, also known as 21 Days Together in the U.S., is a 1940 British drama film based on the short play The First and the Last by John Galsworthy. It was directed by Basil Dean and stars Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier and Leslie Banks...
(1940) - GaslightGaslight (1940 film)Gaslight is a 1940 film directed by Thorold Dickinson, based on Patrick Hamilton's play Gas Light which stars Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, and Frank Pettingell...
(1940) - Busman's Honeymoon (film)Busman's Honeymoon (film)Busman's Honeymoon is a 1940 British detective film directed by Arthur B. Woods. An adaptation of the Lord Peter Wimsey story Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers, it starred Robert Montgomery, Constance Cummings, Leslie Banks, Seymour Hicks, Robert Newton and Googie Withers....
(1940) - Major Barbara (1941)
- Hatter's CastleHatter's Castle (film)Hatter's Castle is a 1941 British film adaptation of the 1931 novel by A. J. Cronin, which dramatizes the ruin that befalls a Scottish hatter set on recapturing his imagined lost nobility. The film was made by Paramount British Pictures and stars Robert Newton, Deborah Kerr, James Mason, and Emlyn...
(1942) - They Flew AloneThey Flew AloneThey Flew Alone is a 1942 British, black-and-white, biopic, drama, propaganda, war film, directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Robert Newton and Edward Chapman...
(1942) - A Battle for a Bottle (1942, short)
- This Happy BreedThis Happy Breed (film)This Happy Breed is a 1944 British drama film directed by David Lean. The screenplay by Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan and Ronald Neame is based on the 1939 play of the same title by Noël Coward...
(1944) - Henry VHenry V (1944 film)Henry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas...
(1944) - Night Boat to DublinNight Boat to DublinNight Boat to Dublin is a 1946 British thriller film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Robert Newton, Raymond Lovell, Guy Middleton, Muriel Pavlow and Herbert Lom.-Plot:...
(1946) - Odd Man OutOdd Man OutOdd Man Out is a 1947 Anglo-Irish film noir directed by Carol Reed, starring James Mason, and is based on a novel of the same name by F. L. Green.-Plot:The film's opening intertitle reads:...
(1947) - Temptation HarbourTemptation HarbourTemptation Harbour is a British black and white crime/drama film directed by Lance Comfort, released in 1947 based on the novel Newhaven-Dieppe by Georges Simenon. The film was made at Welwyn Film Studios.-Synopsis:...
(1947) - SnowboundSnowbound (1948 film)Snowbound is a 1948 British thriller film directed by David MacDonald and starring Dennis Price, Stanley Holloway, Mila Parély, and Herbert Lom. A group of people search for treasure hidden by the Nazis in the Alps during the Second World War...
(1948) - Oliver TwistOliver Twist (1948 film)Oliver Twist is the second of David Lean's two film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels. Following the success of his 1946 version of Great Expectations, Lean re-assembled much of the same team for his adaptation of Dicken's 1838 novel, including producers Ronald Neame and Anthony...
(1948) - Blood on My HandsBlood on My Hands"Blood on My Hands" is the first single from The Used fourth studio album Artwork. The single was released on June 30, 2009 via 12" picture disc vinyl and digital download, and began airing on the radio starting July 14, 2009...
(1948) - ObsessionObsession (1949 film)Obsession, released in the US as The Hidden Room, is a 1949 British crime film directed by Edward Dmytryk, based on the book A Man About A Dog by Alec Coppel, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, and turned the story into a novel. Obsession was entered into the 1949 Cannes Film...
(1949) - Treasure IslandTreasure Island (1950 film)Treasure Island is a 1950 Disney adventure film, adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island. It starred Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins, and Robert Newton as Long John Silver...
(1950) - WaterfrontWaterfront (1950 film)Waterfront is a 1950 British drama film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Robert Newton, Kathleen Harrison and Avis Scott. A sailor abandons his family, in the Liverpool slums...
(1950) - Tom Brown's SchooldaysTom Brown's Schooldays (1951 film)Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 1951 British drama film directed by Gordon Parry and starring John Howard Davies, Robert Newton and James Hayter. It is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Hughes. The screenplay was written by Noel Langley....
(1951) - Soldiers ThreeSoldiers ThreeSoldiers Three is a collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. The three soldiers of the title are Learoyd, Mulvaney and Ortheris, who had also appeared previously in the collection Plain Tales from the Hills...
(1951) - Les MisérablesLes Misérables (1952 film)Les Misérables is a 1952 American film adapted from the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. It was directed by Lewis Milestone, and featured Michael Rennie as Jean Valjean, Robert Newton as Javert, Sylvia Sidney as Fantine, Debra Paget as Cosette, Edmund Gwenn as the bishop, Cameron Mitchell as...
(1952) - Blackbeard the PirateBlackbeard the PirateBlackbeard the Pirate is a 1952 Technicolor adventure film made by RKO. The film was directed by Raoul Walsh and produced by Edmund Grainger from a screenplay by Alan Le May based on the story by DeVallon Scott.-Plot:...
(1952) - Androcles and the Lion (1952)
- The Desert RatsThe Desert Rats (film)The Desert Rats is a 1953 American war film about the World War II siege of Tobruk. It stars Richard Burton and was directed by Robert Wise.-Plot:...
(1953) - The BeachcomberThe Beachcomber (film)The Beachcomber is a 1954 British comedy-drama film directed by Muriel Box starring Donald Sinden, Glynis Johns, Robert Newton, Paul Rogers, Donald Pleasence and Michael Hordern. The film is based on the story The Vessel of Wrath by W. Somerset Maugham and was adapted by Sydney Box. It was the...
(1954) - The High and the MightyThe High and the Mighty (film)The High and the Mighty is a 1954 American "disaster" film directed by William A. Wellman and written by Ernest K. Gann who also wrote the novel on which his screenplay was based. The film's cast was headlined by John Wayne, who was also the project's co-producer...
(1954) - Return to Treasure IslandReturn to Treasure Island (1954 film)- Cast :*Tab Hunter as Clive Stone*Dawn Addams as Jamesina "Jamie" Hawkins*Porter Hall as Maximillian "Maxie" Harris*James Seay as Felix Newman*Harry Lauter as Parker*William Cottrell as Cookie*Lane Chandler as Capt. Cardigan*Henry Rowland as Williams...
(1954) - Long John SilverLong John Silver (film)Long John Silver is a 1954 Australian film about the eponymous pirate from Treasure Island, starring Robert Newton as Silver and Rod Taylor as Israel Hands....
(1954) - Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
External links
- A Tribute to Robert Newton, includes biography.
- Robert Newton Britmovie article
- Short biography of Newton's artist father