A Very Surprising Man

[Leslie Howard as Peter Standish in Berkeley Square, 1933]

When I first decided to start my Leslie Howard Fan Page on Facebook I had only intended to post some pictures. But in my search for new photos my natural curiosity was piqued and I wanted to know the stories behind the images. This launched me on an almost compulsive search for information about Leslie Howard—The Man. I soon realized that I needed a blog to contain all the information I was discovering and that is how LeslieHowardSteiner.blogspot.com came into being.

Murray Hill

[Leslie Howard pictured in Film Weekly, September 30, 1932]

Most people remember Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes from Gone With The Wind (1939) or as Sir Percy Blakeney from The Scarlet Pimpernel (1935). What most people don't know is that Howard was also a writer and had many articles and stories published in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and many trade magazines. Howard's first published story appeared in The Penny Weekly when he was in his early teens. But Howard didn't limit himself to stories for magazines. He was also a playwright. Two of the first plays he produced, staged and appeared in were of his own composition: The True Artist—of which little is known—and Deception—the story of a private detective on his quest to track down stolen jewels.

Berkeley Square

[Leslie Howard as Peter Standish in
Berkeley Square, Lyric Theatre, London]

After years of disappointments on Broadway, Leslie Howard finally had a string of successes. It had been ten years since Howard made the decision to "try" acting and he was finally seeing the rewards. Howard had received rave reviews for The Green Hat and Her Cardboard Lover and was now an actor in demand. He got his first chance to star in a purely dramatic role in Escape, touted (due to a misunderstanding) as the last play John Galsworthy would ever write.

Vague Leslie

[Leslie Howard in John Galsworthy's Escape, Booth Theatre,
New York, 26 October 1927 - March 1928, 173 Performances]

By 1927 Leslie Howard had become very well known as one of Broadway's best comedic actors. But it wasn't until his appearance as Matt Denant in John Galsworthy's Escape that he was fully accepted as a dramatic actor. And his reviews were the best of his ten-year career:

"One of the fine performances of our day in the theatre is

Leslie Howard's Rules of Theatre Etiquette

[Leslie Howard as Oliver Blayds-Conway in The Truth About Blayds
by A. A. Milne, Booth Theatre, New York, March 14 to June 1922,
108 Performances]

Leslie Howard's Rules of Theatre Etiquette:

1. Don't ask the box office man if it's a good play.
2. Don't have any faith in dramatic critics, the star system, press agents, photographs in the newspapers, or articles by actors.
3. Don't try to buy tickets for a play an hour before the performance.

Holy Hollywood

[Leslie Howard by Vandamm Studio, 1932]

By 1927 Leslie Howard had been working in New York on the Broadway stage for seven years. He had appeared in seventeen plays there and many others in his native England going back to the start of his professional career in 1916. Howard had even authored and directed some of his own productions. He was well-known in New York.

Her Cardboard Lover

[Leslie Howard and Jeanne Eagels
in Her Cardboard Lover]

In early 1927 Leslie Howard began rehearsals for Her Cardboard Lover which was to open at the Empire Theatre in NYC on 21 March 1927. Howard's part was André Sallicel, a "romantic and penniless young ass who falls desperately in love with a wealthy woman from Paris." Howard was not the star of the show, he didn't even receive billing. The star

Serendipity Concluded

After seeing The Petrified Forest on Broadway in 1935 and expecting the same success for the film version, Jack Warner excitedly purchased the film rights. It took six months of negotiation but the deal was finally closed and it was agreed that Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart would reprise their roles for the film, something on which Howard insisted. The only other actors invited to Hollywood were Slim Thompson and John Alexander, the two African American actors who appeared in the play. [Note: IBDB links to the wrong actor.]

Leslie Howard was tired at the play's close on June 29, 1935. He had performed the part of Alan Squier 197 times during its run and needed a

Serendipity

After filming had finished in Hollywood for British Agent (1934), Howard, who hated to travel alone, convinced his friend and co-star, William Gargan, to accompany him on the train to the east coast where he was to meet his wife, Ruth. Ruth had already made the trip east with Gargan's wife, Mary, and was waiting for Howard to arrive so the two could board the Majestic bound for England where Howard was to begin filming The Scarlet Pimpernel (released in the United States in 1935). Apparently, Howard and Gargan had such a good time on the train that Howard convinced the Gargans to continue the journey to England, even though the Gargans had no cash. Of course, Howard paid their way. He wanted to make sure he had good company on the crossing.

Don't Expect A Happy Ending

The Petrified Forest (1936), which will be shown this Friday on TCM, was a product of Warner Bros. Warner's was frequently on the cutting edge of what movie audiences wanted to see. They produced the first talkies, the first horror films in color, and Warners was the studio to later become known for film noir, a movement in film that reflected society's angst and conflicts and is shot in low light and shadows, with pessimistic stories about shady characters and not so happy endings.

The Petrified Forest is considered by movie historians to be a precursor to film noir. The film itself is named after an area in the Arizona desert known for its fossilized trees, conjuring up a picture of the death and

Howard Meets Davis - Part One

[Leslie Howard on the set for Of Human Bondage, 1934]

Leslie Howard's initial experience with Bette Davis was one of disinterest and disapproval.

Howard was in England during the summer of 1933. Having completed Columbia's first film there, The Lady Is Willing (1934), Howard moved on to the Talbot Jennings play This Side Idolatry set in 1592 London with Howard acting as Shakespeare. According to Howard's daughter,

It's Love I'm After

It's Love I'm After is a 1937 film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland. It will be shown this weekend on TCM. [See your local listings]

Howard chose this film at the time because he thought it would be a break from stress. He had just finished his tour of Hamlet which he produced, directed and starred in. Although Howard decided to close the show on Broadway after only 39 performances, the tour was very successful. But Howard was tired. He thought a comedy would be just the thing to bring in some cash and relax with his family. Howard had already worked with Bette Davis in Of Human Bondage (1934) and The Petrified Forest (1936) and he was comfortable with her. He already has his mind on his next film, Pygmalion (1938), and was excited that he would be able to direct.

Here is the trailer for It's Love I'm After.

It's Love I'm After Trailer

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Programming Note

[Leslie Howard and Bette Davis
in The Petrified Forest, 1936]

The Petrified Forest to air on TCM on Friday, July 15, at 8:30 AM PST [Please check your local listings]

Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart reprise their roles from the stage play in which they appeared from January 7, 1935, through June 6, 1935, at the Broadhurst Theatre in NYC. Leslie Howard and Gilbert Miller produced the play in association with Arthur Hopkins. It ran for 197 performances. This two-act play was written by Robert E. Sherwood and adapted for the screen by Delmer Daves and Charles Kenyon.

The film marks a turning point in the career of Humphrey Bogart who had become very discouraged and told friends that if he didn't make it in Hollywood this time he was through. Thanks to the insistence of Leslie Howard, Bogart was offered the role of Duke Mantee, Bogart being so grateful he named his daughter after Mr. Howard. Howard had already had this honor bestowed on him once before when his friend William Gargan named his son after Howard in gratitude for jump starting his career.

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"Winkie"

In Leslie Howard: Trivial Fond Records, a book containing the writings of Leslie Howard, Howard tells a story of the first time his son, at the age of nine, visits him in the theater, long before Howard made his way to Hollywood and the movies. His son was Ronald Howard, aka "Winkie," who became an actor himself.

Howard recalls that his son, upon entering his dressing room, commented on how small, poorly furnished and dirty it was. Winkie wanted to know why his dad didn't have a dressing room like the movie stars. His father tried to explain that everyone connected to the movies had a lot more money than was available in the theater. Of course, Winkie wanted to know why his dad wasn't in the movies. Movie actors had much bigger houses--bigger than theirs. He also wanted to know why his dad's name wasn't on the marquee outside. Leslie Howard was beginning to see that his son thought his profession undignified and poorly paid.

Winkie watched as Howard applied his makeup, commenting that he would hate to have to put that "stuff" all over his face everyday. At that point the stage manager came into the room to advise Mr. Howard that in Act I he had called the bartender George instead of Charles. Because his son was watching, instead of saying what he normally would have said, he apologized and admitted how terrible it was that he had made this error. When the stage manager left the room Winkie asked him if he had to say the same words every day, over and over again. "Holy smoke," he exclaimed, "I wonder you don't go cuckoo!"

What Howard wanted to say was, "I do go cuckoo, my lad. After the first few weeks of saying the same things night after night even the substitution of George for Charles is a holiday." But what he actually said was, "A play is a work of art conceived by an artist and every word counts." Howard told his son he would realize this after he had watched his performance, to which Winkie replied, "Have I got to see it?" "Isn't that what you came for?" asked his father. "Well, no," his son explained apologetically. I came to get 75 cents to see The Student Prince."

[Leslie Howard with his son, Ronald]

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So Why Act?

Leslie Howard was one of the few actors in Hollywood during the "studio system" to refuse long-term contracts. He had a specific idea of the types of pictures he wanted to make and he didn't want to be forced to do films he thought were beneath the audience. Howard took on the roles that other actors refused--roles they said the audience wouldn't understand. But Howard thought the audience was smarter than previously believed and that they wanted something different.

Howard wanted to direct. He wanted to make pictures that challenged the audience. He had written, produced and directed plays in school and on the stage in London and New York. He thought that to be a successful movie director "one should either write the story or collaborate on it." He didn't see his acting performances as accomplishments at all. But the plotting of pictures "according to scenic effects and camera angles" and seeing this through to production, that was an accomplishment. Acting was just a means to an end.

[Leslie Howard directing Spitfire, aka
The First of the Few, 1942]

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Getting Even

Apparently, Leslie Howard was a bit of a prankster and liked to keep the cast and crew of The Animal Kingdom on its toes during performances by pulling gags and ad libbing during the show. Well, they finally had enough and decided to seek revenge. Following is an excerpt from an article which appeared in New Movie Magazine, December, 1934, by Douglas Gilbert:

"In one of his scenes, alone upon the stage, he had to drink a rye highball. I needn't tell you good readers that a stage 'rye highball' carries about as much jolt as cold tea--which, in fact, it is. Well, he'd been gagging the cast to distraction. They saw this bit of business as a chance to out-smart him.

"Coming to the wings for his entrance the property man handed him his highball which he was to drink on the stage. No quotes on this one--it was a highball and no foolin'. The cast had jolted it with real rye, two-fingers of dynamite that would have lifted W. C. Fields into the flies. Then, they hastened behind the set to various points of vantage where they could watch Howard unseen by the audience. Howard took the drink, drained it, and without batting an eye, turned to the set where he knew the prankers must be stationed and, his back to the audience, raised his glass in a toast to the hidden cast and bowed low."

[Leslie Howard and Lora Baxter in The Animal Kingdom
at the Broadhurst Theatre, NYC, January - June, 1932]

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Leslie Howard, Swindler?

Bill Gargan recalls his time with Leslie Howard at the out-of-town engagement of The Animal Kingdom, 1932:

"When the show went on to Cleveland, before returning to Broadway, we stopped at a hotel near the station. There was a great deal of noise, which Howard, being an Englishman, couldn't stand. So he inquired regarding accommodations in the residential district.

"Finding a quiet location forty-five minutes by taxi from town, really a delightful place, he and Mrs. Howard engaged a suite and insisted I go along. When we signed the register, my room was thirty-five dollars a week. At the other hotel, I had paid at the rate of sixteen dollars a week.

"On my salary, with a wife and apartment to keep in Brooklyn, I couldn't figure how I could stand the gaff until Howard went into his act and said thirty-five dollars was too much for his secretary's room. 'That's different,' the manager told him, 'in that event, the rate will be twenty-two dollars.' At that reduced rent, I occupied a room adjoining the Howards. After the manager had seen the play, he seemed to get a great kick out of the trick played on him."

[from the article, "Pals," New Movie Magazine, October, 1934, by Whitney Williams]

[Leslie Howard with Bill Gargan, 1934]

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Best Friends

William Gargan, who named one of his sons after Leslie Howard, recalled their beginnings:

"Our friendship started from the moment Howard grasped my hand and said I was okay for the part ["Red" Regan in the play, The Animal Kingdom, 1932]. We seemed to click from the start, and on the way to Pittsburgh we really had a chance to get acquainted.

"Mrs. Howard accompanied her husband, and both accepted me as one of the family. The play made a great hit at its first tryout, so much so that Barry [Philip Barry, playwright] declared my part, the butler, too important for the sake of the starring role. He told Howard he'd cut it down.

"'You won't cut down any of the parts,' Howard informed him. 'If you have to make the play stronger, build up the star, but don't chop any of the lines the others have.' At that opening night, too, Howard made me take five curtain calls of my own."

[from the article, "Pals," New Movie Magazine, October, 1934, by Whitney Williams]

[From left: Mrs. Gargan, Leslie Howard, Mrs. Howard,
William Gargan, and Leslie's son, Ronald Howard]

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Too Tall for Leslie

Rehearsals began for The Animal Kingdom in November 1931. The play was to appear at the Broadhurst Theatre beginning in January, 1932. Leslie, the co-producer, was set to play Tom Collier and Bill Gargan had secured the part of his butler friend, "Red" Regan.

Katharine Hepburn had been cast in the part of Daisy Sage, Tom Collier's bohemian girlfriend. Hepburn only lasted through six days of rehearsal, though. According to Hepburn's biography, Me: Stories of My Life, she blamed Howard for her demise stating that she was too tall for him and that he was afraid she would run away with the play. In fact, Hepburn was at least three inches shorter than Howard and anyone who has studied Howard would know that he wouldn't care who emerged as the bigger star. As a matter of fact, the play's co-producer, Gilbert Miller, and the playwright, Philip Barry, thought Hepburn all wrong for the part. Even Bill Gargan noted that she was too inexperienced for the role which called for a passive femininity. A year later her performance in The Lake was panned by all the New York critics. Dorothy Parker wrote in The New Yorker that "she ran the gamut of emotions from A to B." [from Leslie Howard: The Lost Actor by Estel Eforgan]

Katharine didn't seem to hold a grudge though, as seen in the photo below.

[Leslie Howard and Katharine Hepburn
leaving a private screening at Jessie Lasky's
beach home in Santa Monica, May 12, 1933]

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Lots of Leslie Howards

Did you know that Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are not the only couple to have named their child after Leslie Howard in gratitude for his help and friendship?

Howard first met Bill Gargan when Gargan read for the part "German Play Reader" in Leslie's new play, Out of a Blue Sky, which Howard wrote and directed. Howard had dismissed Clark Gable from the part during rehearsals. The comedy ran at the Booth Theatre in NYC for 17 performances in February, 1930.

A year or so later when Gargan heard that Leslie was returning to Broadway to perform as Tom Collier in The Animal Kingdom he didn't waste a minute asking Howard for the part of Richard "Red" Regan, Tom Collier's comic butler. Gargan met Howard at the pier as his boat pulled in from England. Initially, Howard thought Gargan too young for the part but brought him along to the theater to try out anyway. Gargan got the part and the two were on their way to becoming fast friends with Bill promising to name his next child, boy or girl, after Leslie. It was a boy and it was named Leslie Howard Gargan.

[Leslie Howard with Leslie Howard Gargan]

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