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BBC Report About Leslie Howard's Death
[BBC Report of Leslie Howard's Death] On Saturday, July 30, I posted on Facebook the 2014 BBC report on Leslie Howard's Death ...
Friday, April 29, 2016
Thursday, April 28, 2016
The Petrified Forest - Focus: Humphrey Bogart
Leslie Howard, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Dick Foran and Genevieve Tobin in The Petrified Forest. Produced by Hal B. Wallis and Warner Brothers. Directed by Archie Mayo. Released February 6, 1936.
Howard had starred as Alan Squier, a doomed intellectual, in the 1935 Broadway production of The Petrified Forest and Warner Brothers wanted him to reprise that role in the film.
Jack Warner had intended to cast Edward G. Robinson in the role of Duke Mantee even though the part had been played by Humphrey Bogart on Broadway, thanks to Robert E. Sherwood who wrote the stage play and Arthur Hopkins, producer. When Howard learned of this he informed Warner Brothers that he would not play the part of Alan Squier unless Bogart played Mantee. According to author Eric Lax, Howard also held the trump card -- he controlled the film rights to The Petrified Forest.
Edward G. Robinson was ambivalent about the part anyway as he had already played gangsters in several films and didn't want to be typecast. Bogart was 37 at the time. He felt that he was finished with Broadway and his film career was at an end. He wanted to play the leading man but was only being cast in character parts and supporting roles. Leslie Howard persisted and Bogart was given the role. He was guaranteed three weeks' work and a ticket for the train to Hollywood. But he told friends that if he didn't make it this time he was through.
After watching a few of the dailies, Hal Wallis realized that Bogart was terrific in the part.
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Howard had starred as Alan Squier, a doomed intellectual, in the 1935 Broadway production of The Petrified Forest and Warner Brothers wanted him to reprise that role in the film.
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[Leslie Howard as Alan Squier in the stage play]
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Jack Warner had intended to cast Edward G. Robinson in the role of Duke Mantee even though the part had been played by Humphrey Bogart on Broadway, thanks to Robert E. Sherwood who wrote the stage play and Arthur Hopkins, producer. When Howard learned of this he informed Warner Brothers that he would not play the part of Alan Squier unless Bogart played Mantee. According to author Eric Lax, Howard also held the trump card -- he controlled the film rights to The Petrified Forest.
Edward G. Robinson was ambivalent about the part anyway as he had already played gangsters in several films and didn't want to be typecast. Bogart was 37 at the time. He felt that he was finished with Broadway and his film career was at an end. He wanted to play the leading man but was only being cast in character parts and supporting roles. Leslie Howard persisted and Bogart was given the role. He was guaranteed three weeks' work and a ticket for the train to Hollywood. But he told friends that if he didn't make it this time he was through.
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| [Humphrey Bogart as Duke Mantee] |
After watching a few of the dailies, Hal Wallis realized that Bogart was terrific in the part.
But Wallis noticed that Archie Mayo had been filming Bogart positioned in front of moose antlers which were hung on the wall behind him making it appear as though Bogie had sprouted horns. Mayo found it amusing; Wallis did not. When Hal Wallis saw this he fired off a memo to Henry Blanke, assistant director, ordering Archie Mayo to knock it off and reshoot those scenes. As evidenced by the below screen still, Mayo ignored the order. The Petrified Forest turned out to be Bogart's breakout film role.
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[Leslie Howard, Humphrey Bogart and
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Humphrey Bogart never forgot Leslie Howard's loyalty, even naming his second child after Howard.
Official Trailer
The Lady Is Willing - Arthur Howard
Leslie Howard and Binnie Barnes in The Lady is Willing. Produced by Joseph Friedman and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Released in the UK in 1934. Dr. Germont, who appears at the end of this short clip, is actually Leslie Howard's brother, Arthur Howard.
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Leslie Howard - Amateur Photographer
"We amateur cinematographers are, of necessity, producers of realism. When we film a polo match or football game, we must get it catch as catch can–not staged carefully for us–and it is always the real thing. When an interesting cloud formation appears, we hurry to catch the scene we want so that we can have the cloud as a background, for there is no means of putting it in afterward by double printing. When we make movies of friends, they must look their best, as we cannot ask them to put on grease paint, nor can we retouch the film if the closeups are disappointing. We are realists, all, and the full potentialities of movie making are revealed to us only when we recognize that fact and realize where the pitfalls lie."
~ Leslie Howard, avid amateur photographer, from Movie Makers, February 1935
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~ Leslie Howard, avid amateur photographer, from Movie Makers, February 1935
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[Leslie Howard, amateur photographer] |
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Violette Cunnington
Leslie Howard and his companion, Violette Cunnington, who died of a sudden illness approximately six months before his own death.
In her book, Leslie Howard: The Lost Actor, Estel Eforgan reports that according to the sculptor, Oscar Nemon, who was working on a statue of Howard at the time of his death, he had been asked by Howard to "provide figures for a memorial garden to Violette." In a footnote, Eforgan reports that Nemon's unpublished memoirs include the following comments regarding Violette's death: "he [Leslie] was inconsolable and wrote her a 10,000 word letter which finished, 'Violette, I shall be with you soon.'" Howard was not a man who wanted to die, but did he have a premonition about his own death?
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| [Leslie Howard and Violette Cunnington] |
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Edward Steichen for Vanity Fair
Leslie Howard looking like a million in white tie and tails.
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| [Leslie Howard in portrait by Edward Steichen for Vanity Fair, 1934] |
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A Free Soul
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| [Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer in A Free Soul, 1931] |
Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer in A Free Soul, Produced and Distributed by MGM, Precode 1931. Best Actor Nomination and Win: Lionel Barrymore. Best Actress Nomination: Norma Shearer. Best Directing Nomination: Clarence Brown.
A Free Soul went into the Guinness Book for the longest take in a movie at 14 minutes. Many believe it was this scene that was responsible for Lionel Barrymore's Best Actor win that year. The film also made Clark Gable a star. It seems the audience liked to see him push Norma Shearer around. The studio reportedly received thousands of letters asking to see more of "the guy who slapped Norma Shearer."
Leslie Howard at Home
Leslie Howard lighting a cigarette by the fireplace at his home at Stowe Maries, near Dorking, Surrey, on October 6, 1938. A beautiful portrait by Reginald G. Eves of the actor is hung above the fireplace. You can see it in the Photos and Magazine Mentions, As Seen By The Artist Section above or on my Pinterest page, "Leslie Howard As Seen By The Artist."
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Lobby Cards
What is a lobby card?
Everyone knows what a movie poster is. You have seen them in theatre window displays and movie house lobbies to advertise upcoming and currently running films.
But what is a lobby card? A lobby card is an 11 x 14 or 8 x 10 inch (landscape orientated) "poster" printed on heavy stock featuring a scene from the film advertised designed for display in a theatre's lobby or foyer with the intention of promoting the movie and are highly collectible. In the UK they are referred to as "Front of House" cards which may also refer to 8 x 10 inch cards or black and white stills.
They briefly summarize the movie in a series of captioned scenes. Usually there are 8 cards in a set, however there are also sets that have more or fewer cards, depending on the film's budget. The number of cards in a set can vary from as few as three to as many as 22 or more.
Lobby cards first appeared in the early 1910's. During the silent-era lobby cards were often nothing more than black and white or duotone stills which were eventually replaced by hand-tinted scenes and in the 1920's by full-color lobby cards.
Studios stopped producing lobby card sets for the American market sometime in the mid-1980's. After the mid-1980's, the only lobby card sets produced were for international releases.
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| [Lobby Card for Devotion, 1931] |
A Little Flat in the Temple
"'Do you feel all right, my darling?' Mrs. Harrington came into the library and stood behind her son's chair. As she looked down at his head she wondered if there were any torture to equal the torture of a mother when she realizes that her son is thinking about some woman who, ten to one, will make him wretched if he marries her." ~ from A Little Flat in the Temple by Pamela Wynne
I haven't held an actual physical book in years because I read everything on my Nook, but I learned about this book which was the basis for one of my favorite Leslie Howard movies, Devotion.
It has been out of print for eons and I could only find it on Amazon, but I just had to read it. It has that smell and feel of an old library book that has been held and poured over by hundreds of girls, all of whom probably read it under the covers at night hoping their mothers wouldn't find it and take it away. It is pretty racy for 1930.
Leslie Howard and Ann Harding in Devotion, Produced and Distributed by RKO, Directed by Robert Milton, Precode 1931
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I haven't held an actual physical book in years because I read everything on my Nook, but I learned about this book which was the basis for one of my favorite Leslie Howard movies, Devotion.
It has been out of print for eons and I could only find it on Amazon, but I just had to read it. It has that smell and feel of an old library book that has been held and poured over by hundreds of girls, all of whom probably read it under the covers at night hoping their mothers wouldn't find it and take it away. It is pretty racy for 1930.
Leslie Howard and Ann Harding in Devotion, Produced and Distributed by RKO, Directed by Robert Milton, Precode 1931
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| [Leslie Howard and Ann Harding in Devotion, 1931] |
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Honoring Shakespeare
In honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death:
Leslie Howard in Romeo and Juliet, produced by Irving Thalberg and distributed by MGM. Released August 20, 1936. The New York Times selected the film as one of the "Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made", calling it "a lavish production" which "is extremely well-produced and acted."
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| [Leslie Howard in Romeo and Juliet, 1936] |
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Kind Words for Leslie Howard
Sir Malcolm Robertson, M.P., Chairman of the British Council, said of Leslie Howard who had been lecturing for the British Council in Spain and Portugal at the time of his death June 1, 1943:
“Leslie Howard was one of the finest people who could have been chosen to help us in our work of making the British way of life more widely known abroad. He went on an arduous trip at considerable inconvenience to himself. He recognized that his visit would have an admirable effect on Anglo-Portuguese and Anglo-Spanish relations, and gladly undertook this tour as a contribution to the increasingly great part being played by actors, scientists, and men of letters in cementing international friendships.
“The reports we have had from both Spain and Portugal show that to his popularity as a lecturer he had added a host of personal friendships, won for him by the modesty and charm of his manner. His death leaves a gap in the world of the British film and theatre which can hardly be filled. The British Council is proud to feel that this great actor was associated with them in a venture which began so auspiciously and ended so tragically.”
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“Leslie Howard was one of the finest people who could have been chosen to help us in our work of making the British way of life more widely known abroad. He went on an arduous trip at considerable inconvenience to himself. He recognized that his visit would have an admirable effect on Anglo-Portuguese and Anglo-Spanish relations, and gladly undertook this tour as a contribution to the increasingly great part being played by actors, scientists, and men of letters in cementing international friendships.
“The reports we have had from both Spain and Portugal show that to his popularity as a lecturer he had added a host of personal friendships, won for him by the modesty and charm of his manner. His death leaves a gap in the world of the British film and theatre which can hardly be filled. The British Council is proud to feel that this great actor was associated with them in a venture which began so auspiciously and ended so tragically.”
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| [Leslie Howard in portrait by Ernest Bachrach (backstamped), c. 1934] |
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Adoring Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard and Ingrid Bergman in Intermezzo: A Love Story, 1939.
Ok, I just had to add this one because it strikes me that I would look at him just like that if he was sitting next to me.
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| [Leslie Howard and Ingrid Bergman in Intermezzo: A Love Story, 1939] |
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Beginnings and Endings
Leslie Howard, Ingrid Bergman, Edna Best, Ann E. Todd, Cecil Kellaway and John Halliday in Intermezzo: A Love Story, 1939.
This was Ingrid Bergman's introduction to Hollywood and except for Gone With The Wind released later the same year, Leslie Howard's last. The plane in which he was a passenger would be shot down by a Luftwaffe fighter pilot over the Bay of Biscay on June 1, 1943, before he could return to the United States.
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Al Sack, Violinist
Leslie Howard, Ann E. Todd and Ingrid Bergman in Intermezzo: A Love Story, Produced by David O. Selznick, 1939.
In this scene where you see Leslie Howard playing the violin you are actually seeing the left hand of Al Sack, a violinist who bore a striking resemblance to Leslie Howard, from a distance. It is hard to imagine that Mr. Sack could kneel in back of Leslie Howard, reach his arm around him, and still look authentic. Sack did teach Mr. Howard the proper posture and bowing technique, but the finger movements are all his. Al Sack also appears in the long shots where it seems that Leslie Howard is playing the violin from a standing position.
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Intermezzo and Gone With The Wind
Leslie Howard and Ann E. Todd in Intermezzo: A Love Story, 1939. Howard only agreed to play Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind because David O. Selznick gave him an Associate Producer credit for Intermezzo.
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| [Leslie Howard and Ann E. Todd in Intermezzo: A Love Story, 1939] |
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You Call That Praise?
Leslie Howard's performance as Hamlet was not favored by The Lewiston Daily Sun, November 17, 1936. Although the crowds appeared for opening night, the play only lasted through thirty-nine performances.
Howard said of his performance, “There is a terrible penalty attached to acting Hamlet. Comparisons are unavoidable, not only with the present but with memories of the past. Worst of all is the conception which each person has placed upon the character. There is something in Hamlet which each of us could use. Hamlet belongs to all men and therefore nobody will receive 100% approval.”
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Howard said of his performance, “There is a terrible penalty attached to acting Hamlet. Comparisons are unavoidable, not only with the present but with memories of the past. Worst of all is the conception which each person has placed upon the character. There is something in Hamlet which each of us could use. Hamlet belongs to all men and therefore nobody will receive 100% approval.”
Leslie Howard's Hamlet Praised
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| [Leslie Howard in Hamlet, 1936] Hamlet - Producer, Director, Actor Imperial Theatre November 10, 1936 thru December 1936 Performances: 39 |
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Leslie Howard vs. John Gielgud
Leslie Howard produced, directed and starred as Hamlet which only ran at the Imperial Theatre, New York, for 39 performances between November 10 through December, 1936. Why? Because Howard set it up five blocks away from the theatre that had been housing John Gielgud's Hamlet for a month and because Howard had the jitters opening night and received some not so favorable reviews. If only the critics had come back on the second night. Howard received very favorable reviews in the out-of-town run up in Boston and afterwards on tour.
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| [Leslie Howard in Hamlet, 1936] Hamlet - Producer, Director, Actor Imperial Theatre November 10, 1936 thru December 1936 Performances: 39 |
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NBC Honors Royals
Leslie Howard took part in an NBC broadcast to salute King George VI and Queen Elizabeth who were listening with President Roosevelt and Mrs. Roosevelt from Hyde Park while the royal couple was visiting the United States in June 1939.
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| [Back Row: George Sanders, Basil Rathbone, Leslie Howard, Nigel Bruce, Reginald Gardiner, Roland Young, Sir C. Aubrey Smith, Brian Aherne, David Niven, Madeleine Carroll; Front Row: Anna Neagle, Greer Garson, Vivien Leigh, Will Fyffe, Radie Harris, Errol Flynn, Heather Thatcher, Edna Best, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Cecilia Loftus, unknown] |
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| [Back Row: Leslie Howard, Basil Rathbone, Brian Aherne, David Niven, Reginald Gardiner, Roland Young, George Sanders, Ronald Colman; Middle Row: Greer Garson, Nigel Bruce, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Anna Neagle, Will Fyffe, Vivien Leigh, Sir C. Aubrey Smith, Cecilia Loftus; Sitting on Floor: Freddie Bartholomew, Heather Thatcher, Edna Best] |
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| [From left to right: Greer Garson, Leslie Howard, George Sanders (back), Vivien Leigh, Brian Aherne, Ronald Colman and Basil Rathbone] |
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| [Greer Garson and Leslie Howard] |
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| [From left: Brian Aherne, Leslie Howard, Ronald Colman, David Niven, Nigel Bruce and Basil Rathbone (sitting on floor)] |
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Marion Davies, Producer
Leslie Howard and Marion Davies in Five and Ten, Precode 1931.
Leslie Howard was just beginning his film career when Marion Davies saw him perform on stage in Berkeley Square, a role he reprised in a film of the same name the following year. Davies' company, Cosmopolitan Pictures, which operated out of MGM, was producing the film and Davies requested Howard for the part of Berry Rhodes. MGM Production Head, Irving G. Thalberg, had wanted another newcomer, Clark Gable, to play the part but Davies insisted on Howard stating that Clark Gable did not have the sophistication that the role required.
Rehearsals were held at Hearst Castle (Davies was Hearst's mistress) where Howard frequently went skinny dipping in the pool leading to rumors of a Howard/Davies romance.
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| [Leslie Howard and Marion Davies in Five and Ten, 1931] |
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The Southeast Missourian
From The Southeast Missourian, September 1, 1937:
Star Chasing.
Leslie Howard is a hard fellow to keep track of. Absentminded, maybe. He wanders off the set between takes, and half an hour later frantic searchers find him on another stage or maybe just strolling alone on the back lot.
'Tay Garnett, directing Stand-in, has had quite a time restraining the restless Mr. Howard. The other day, after a take, several burly fellows took him in custody before he had a chance to get away.
With the gentleness due a star, they tied him up and clapped leg irons on him. Garnett finally placed him on probation. He gave him a cowbell. Howard was ordered to bong the cowbell whenever he went on a stroll.
It wasn't any time at all before a scene was ready for shooting -- but no Howard. Pretty soon they heard the cowbell, though, in a distant corner of the sound stage and high up in the catwalks. Garnett and his searchers converged on the sound. They found only a bell -- a bell and a string.
They traced the string over rafters right back to the lighted set where Stand-in was supposed to be shooting.
There sat Mr. Howard, yanking at the string and being plaintively indignant about the absence of director Garnett.
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Star Chasing.
Leslie Howard is a hard fellow to keep track of. Absentminded, maybe. He wanders off the set between takes, and half an hour later frantic searchers find him on another stage or maybe just strolling alone on the back lot.
'Tay Garnett, directing Stand-in, has had quite a time restraining the restless Mr. Howard. The other day, after a take, several burly fellows took him in custody before he had a chance to get away.
With the gentleness due a star, they tied him up and clapped leg irons on him. Garnett finally placed him on probation. He gave him a cowbell. Howard was ordered to bong the cowbell whenever he went on a stroll.
It wasn't any time at all before a scene was ready for shooting -- but no Howard. Pretty soon they heard the cowbell, though, in a distant corner of the sound stage and high up in the catwalks. Garnett and his searchers converged on the sound. They found only a bell -- a bell and a string.
They traced the string over rafters right back to the lighted set where Stand-in was supposed to be shooting.
There sat Mr. Howard, yanking at the string and being plaintively indignant about the absence of director Garnett.
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Edward Steichen for Vanity Fair
According to Leslie Howard, he "didn't chase women but … couldn't always be bothered to run away."
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| [Leslie Howard portrait by Edward Steichen for Vanity Fair, 1934] |
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Reticence
Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes and Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, 1939.
Leslie Howard said of his role, "I hate the damn part. I'm not nearly beautiful or young enough for Ashley, and it makes me sick being fixed up to look attractive." Howard did not attend the opening in Atlanta as he had hurried back to London to help in the war effort. By doing this, he forfeited all his royalties from the film. He was disgusted by the price being charged in England to see the film because England was already at war with Germany. His sister said later that the family never saw the movie because of Howard's strong feelings about it. It was his last Hollywood movie.
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Leslie Howard said of his role, "I hate the damn part. I'm not nearly beautiful or young enough for Ashley, and it makes me sick being fixed up to look attractive." Howard did not attend the opening in Atlanta as he had hurried back to London to help in the war effort. By doing this, he forfeited all his royalties from the film. He was disgusted by the price being charged in England to see the film because England was already at war with Germany. His sister said later that the family never saw the movie because of Howard's strong feelings about it. It was his last Hollywood movie.
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The Third Attack
April 19, 1943, less than two months before Leslie Howard's death, the BOAC DC3 Ibis was attacked by a Messerschmitt Bf 110 on its scheduled Lisbon–Whitchurch route, not considered to be in a war zone. The pilots managed to escape using evasive tactics.
On June 1, 1943, "G-AGBB" again came under attack by a schwarm of eight V/KG40 Ju 88C6 maritime fighters. The DC3's last radio message indicated it was being fired upon at longitude 09.37 West, latitude 46.54 North. The plane crashed into the Bay of Biscay and has never been recovered. Howard was among the 17 fatalities, including four KLM flight crew.
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Ronald Howard
Leslie Howard is shown photographing his son, Ronald Howard (1918 - 1996), who is in the pool. February 3, 1933, Palm Springs, California.
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| [Leslie Howard and son, Ronald Howard, 1933] |
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Service for Ladies
Leslie Howard and Elizabeth Allan in Service for Ladies, aka Reserved for Ladies, 1932.
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| [Leslie Howard and Elizabeth Allan in Service for Ladies, 1932] |
British Agent
Leslie Howard and Kay Francis in British Agent, a 1934 espionage film directed by Michael Curtiz. It is based on Memoirs of a British Agent, the 1932 autobiography of R. H. Bruce Lockhart, who had spent a number of years working for the British Secret Service. The film was produced by First National, which was then a division of Warner Bros.
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| [Leslie Howard and Kay Francis in British Agent, 1934] |
New York Times Review of Service for Ladies
New York Times movie review of Service for Ladies, aka Reserved for Ladies, May 21, 1932.
Leslie Howard in an Amusing Comedy Involving a Headwaiter, a King and an Heiress.
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Leslie Howard in an Amusing Comedy Involving a Headwaiter, a King and an Heiress.
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| [Lobby Card for Service for Ladies, 1932] |
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Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Service for Ladies
Leslie Howard in Service for Ladies (released in the US as Reserved for Ladies), 1932. Howard played Max Tracey, a very popular head waiter. Produced by Alexander Korda and Paramount British Pictures. Distributed by Paramount British Pictures and Paramount Pictures. Released January 14, 1932 (UK) and June 20, 1932 (US).
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| [Leslie Howard in Service for Ladies, 1932] |
Bookworms
Leslie Howard publicity photo for Bookworms, a silent movie written by A.A. Milne, directed by Howard's friend, Adrian Brunel, and produced by Leslie Howard and his British Comedy Films (later Minerva Films) in 1920.
Watch the film here: Bookworms, 1920.
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Watch the film here: Bookworms, 1920.
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| [Leslie Howard in Bookworms, 1920] |
Leslie Howard, Director
Leslie Howard directing Spitfire (released in the US as The First of the Few), 1942
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| [Leslie Howard directing Spitfire, 1942] |
Service for Ladies
Leslie Howard in Service for Ladies (released in the US as Reserved for Ladies), 1932.
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| [Leslie Howard in Service for Ladies, 1932] |
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