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'''Charles Henry Daniell''' (5 March 1894 – 31 October 1963)<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Castronova|editor1-first=Frank V.|title=Almanac of Famous People|date=1998|publisher=Gale|location=Detroit|isbn=0-7876-0045-8|page=431}}</ref> was an English actor who had a long career on stage as well as in films. He is perhaps best-known for his villainous roles in films like ''[[The Great Dictator]]'', ''[[The Philadelphia Story (film)|Philadelphia Story]]'' and ''[[The Sea Hawk (1940 film)|The Sea Hawk]]''. Daniell was given few opportunities to play a 'good guy', including a supporting part as [[Franz Liszt]] biographical film ''[[Song of Love (1947 film)|Song of Love]]'' (1947). His name is sometimes spelled "Daniel".<ref name=pv/>
'''Charles Henry Daniell''' (5 March 1894 – 31 October 1963)<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Castronova|editor1-first=Frank V.|title=Almanac of Famous People|date=1998|publisher=Gale|location=Detroit|isbn=0-7876-0045-8|page=431}}</ref> was an English actor who had a long career on stage as well as in films. He is perhaps best-known for his villainous roles in films like ''[[The Great Dictator]]'', ''[[The Philadelphia Story (film)|Philadelphia Story]]'' and ''[[The Sea Hawk (1940 film)|The Sea Hawk]]''. Daniell was given few opportunities to play a 'good guy', including a supporting part as [[Franz Liszt]] biographical film ''[[Song of Love (1947 film)|Song of Love]]'' (1947). His name is sometimes spelled "Daniel".<ref name=pv/>
==Biography==

==Early life==
===Early life===
Daniell was born in [[Barnes, London|Barnes]], then lived in Surrey, and was educated at [[St Paul's School (London)|St Paul's School]] and at [[Gresham's School]] in [[Holt, Norfolk]].
Daniell was born in [[Barnes, London|Barnes]], then lived in Surrey, and was educated at [[St Paul's School (London)|St Paul's School]] and at [[Gresham's School]] in [[Holt, Norfolk]].
===English Stage===
He made his first appearance on the stage in the provinces in 1913, and on the London stage at the [[Gielgud Theatre|Globe Theatre]] on 10 March 1914, walking on in the revival of [[Edward Knoblock]]'s ''Kismet''.


He made his first appearance on the stage in the provinces in 1913, and on the London stage at the [[Gielgud Theatre|Globe Theatre]] on 10 March 1914, walking on in the revival of [[Edward Knoblock]]'s ''Kismet''. In 1914 he joined the 2nd Battalion of the [[Norfolk Regiment]] during [[World War I]], but was invalided out the following year after being severely wounded in combat. Thereafter he appeared at the [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]] in October 1915 as Police Officer Clancy in ''Stop Thief!'', and notably, from May 1916, at the [[Theatre Royal, Haymarket]].
In 1914 he joined the 2nd Battalion of the [[Norfolk Regiment]] during [[World War I]], but was invalided out the following year after being severely wounded in combat. Thereafter he appeared at the [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]] in October 1915 as Police Officer Clancy in ''Stop Thief!'', and notably, from May 1916, at the [[Theatre Royal, Haymarket]].


===Broadway===
==London and New York career==
In April 1921, Daniell appeared at the [[Empire Theatre (41st Street)|Empire Theatre]] in New York City, as Prince Charles of Vaucluse in ''Clair de Lune'', and subsequently toured for the next three years, reappearing in London at the [[Garrick Theatre]] in August 1925 as Jack Race in ''Cobra''. He again went to New York for the first six months of 1929, appearing at the [[Morosco Theatre]] in January as Lord Ivor Cream in ''Serena Blandish'', returning in July to London where he played John Carlton in ''Secrets'' at the [[Comedy Theatre]].
In April 1921, Daniell appeared at the [[Empire Theatre (41st Street)|Empire Theatre]] in New York City, as Prince Charles of Vaucluse in ''Clair de Lune'', and subsequently toured for the next three years, reappearing in London at the [[Garrick Theatre]] in August 1925 as Jack Race in ''Cobra''.


Daniell returned to Broadway in ''The Woman on the Jury'' (1923) and ''The Second Mrs. Tanqueray'' (1924).
⚫
He again toured America in 1930–31, this time appearing on the Pacific Coast at Los Angeles as well as New York once more. He returned to London for another packed programme of stage performances, which he continued in [[UK|Britain]] and the United States while also beginning his film career in 1929 with ''[[The Awful Truth (1929 film)|The Awful Truth]]'', with leading lady [[Ina Claire]].
Other Broadway credits include; ''The Woman on the Jury'' (1923), ''The Second Mrs. Tanqueray'' (1924), ''Heat Wave'' (1931), ''For Services Rendered'' (1933), ''Kind Lady'' (1935), ''Hedda Gabler'' (1942), ''Murder Without Crime'' (1943), ''Lovers and Friends'' (1943–44), ''The Winter's Tale'' (1946), ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1946–47), ''The First Mrs. Frazier'' (1947), ''That Lady'' (1949–50), ''The Cocktail Party'' (1950–51), ''My 3 Angels'' (1953–54), ''Lord Pengo'' (1962–63).<ref name=pv>{{cite web|title=Henry Daniell Playbill|url=http://www.playbill.com/person/henry-daniell-vault-0000099284|website=Playbill|accessdate=20 May 2016}}</ref>


He again went to New York for the first six months of 1929, appearing at the [[Morosco Theatre]] in January as Lord Ivor Cream in ''Serena Blandish'', returning in July to London where he played John Carlton in ''Secrets'' at the [[Comedy Theatre]].
⚫
==Hollywood career==

⚫
He again toured America in 1930–31, this time appearing on the Pacific Coast at Los Angeles as well as New York once more. He returned to London for another packed programme of stage performances, which he continued in [[UK|Britain]] and the United States while also beginning his film career in 1929 with ''[[The Awful Truth (1929 film)|The Awful Truth]]'', with leading lady [[Ina Claire]].<ref name=pv>{{cite web|title=Henry Daniell Playbill|url=http://www.playbill.com/person/henry-daniell-vault-0000099284|website=Playbill|accessdate=20 May 2016}}</ref>

⚫
===Hollywood career===
[[File:Dictator charlie4.jpg|thumbnail|Henry Daniell (left) in Chaplin's ''[[The Great Dictator]]'' with [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Jack Oakie]] and [[Carter DeHaven]]]]
[[File:Dictator charlie4.jpg|thumbnail|Henry Daniell (left) in Chaplin's ''[[The Great Dictator]]'' with [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Jack Oakie]] and [[Carter DeHaven]]]]
Daniell's film debut came in ''[[The Awful Truth (1929 film)|The Awful Truth]]'' (1929), where he had a lead.
Daniell's film debut came in 1929 in ''[[Jealousy (1929 film)|Jealousy]]''.<ref name=fbr/> He appeared as [[Professor Moriarty]] in the [[Basil Rathbone]]-[[Nigel Bruce]] [[Sherlock Holmes]] film ''[[The Woman in Green]]'' (1945). He appeared in other films such as [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s ''[[The Great Dictator]]'' (1940) (playing Garbitsch, to sound like "garbage", a parody of [[Joseph Goebbels]]), and ''[[The Body Snatcher (film)|The Body Snatcher]]'' (1945, with [[Boris Karloff]] and [[Bela Lugosi]]) – as well as two other films in the [[Sherlock Holmes]]/[[Basil Rathbone]] series: ''[[The Voice of Terror]]'' (1942) and ''[[Sherlock Holmes in Washington]]'' (1943) with fellow Moriarty [[George Zucco]].

He was also in ''[[Jealousy (1929 film)|Jealousy]]'' (1929) with [[Jeanne Eagels]] in her last role.<ref name=fbr/> He was in ''[[The Last of the Lone Wolf]]'' (1930) and returned to Broadway for ''Heat Wave'' (1931) and ''For Services Rendered'' (1933).

Daniell returned to films in the British ''[[The Path of Glory]]'' (1934) then was back on Broadway in ''Kind Lady'' (1935).
===MGM===
MGM used him in ''[[The Unguarded Hour]]'' (1936), ''[[Camille (1936 film)|Camille]]'' (1936) with [[Greta Garbo]] (as the sleazy Baron de Varville), ''[[Under Cover of Night]]'' (1936), ''[[The Thirteenth Chair]]'' (1937), ''[[The Firefly (film)|The Firefly]]'' (1937), and ''[[Madame X (1937 film)|Madame X]]'' (1937).

Columbia borrowed him for a role in ''[[Holiday (1938 film)|Holiday]]'' (1938) then he went back to MGM for ''[[Marie Antoinette (1938 film)|Marie Antoinette]]'' (1938).
===Warner Bros===
⚫
Daniell went to Warner Bros to appear in ''[[The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex]]'' (1939). He followed it with ''[[We Are Not Alone]]'' (1939), ''[[All This, and Heaven Too (film)|All This, and Heaven Too]]'' (1940), and ''[[The Sea Hawk (1940 film)|The Sea Hawk]]'' (1940). In the latter he played the treacherous Lord Wolfingham (no relation to [[Francis Walsingham]]), fighting [[Errol Flynn]] in what is often considered one of the most spectacular sword fighting duels ever filmed.<ref name="Turner Classic Movies">[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/738/The-Adventures-of-Robin-Hood/articles.html#05 "The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)"], [[Turner Classic Movies|TCM]]</ref> When [[Michael Curtiz]] cast him in this film, Henry Daniell initially refused because he could not fence. Curtiz accomplished the climactic duel through the use of shadows and over-shoulder shots, with a double fencing Flynn with ingenious inter-cutting of their faces.

[[Charlie Chaplin]] borrowed him for a part in ''[[The Great Dictator]]'' (1940) (playing Garbitsch, to sound like "garbage", a parody of [[Joseph Goebbels]]), then he went back to MGM for ''[[The Philadelphia Story (film)|The Philadelphia Story]]'' (1940), and ''[[A Woman's Face]]'' (1940).

At Warners Daniell had a role in a B, ''[[Dressed to Kill (1941 film)|Dressed to Kill]]'' (1941). He did ''[[The Feminine Touch]]'' (1941) at MGM, ''[[Four Jacks and a Jill]]'' (1942) at RKO and ''[[Castle in the Desert]]'' (1942) at Fox.
===Universal===
Daniell was a villain in the [[Basil Rathbone]]-[[Nigel Bruce]] [[Sherlock Holmes]] film ''[[Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror]]'' (1943) at Universal. At that studio he was in ''[[Nightmare (1942 film)|Nightmare]]'' (1942), and ''[[The Great Impersonation]]'' (1942).

At MGM he was in ''[[Reunion in France]]'' (1942) then he returned to Universal for another Sherlock Holmes film, ''[[Sherlock Holmes in Washington]]'' (1943). At Warners he was in ''[[Mission to Moscow]]'' (1943) playing [[Minister von Ribbentrop]]. He returned to Broadway for a revival of ''[[Hedda Gabler]]'' (1942).

Daniell was villainous in ''[[Watch on the Rhine (film)|Watch on the Rhine]]'' (1943), ''[[Jane Eyre (1943 film)|Jane Eyre]]'' (1943), and ''[[The Suspect (1944 film)|The Suspect]]'' (1944), as [[Charles Laughton]]'s blackmailing next-door neighbour.

On Broadway he was in ''Murder Without Crime'' (1943) and ''Lovers and Friends'' (1943-44) with [[Katherine Cornell]].

Daniell had a lead role in ''[[The Body Snatcher (film)|The Body Snatcher]]'' (1945), with [[Boris Karloff]] and [[Bela Lugosi]], followed by ''[[Hotel Berlin]]'' (1945) and a third Holmes, ''[[The Woman in Green]]'' (1945) playing [[Moriarty]].

Daniell was [[King William III]] in ''[[Captain Kidd (film)|Captain Kidd]]'' (1945). He had the lead in a TV version of ''[[Angel Street]]'' (1946) then was [[William of Pembroke]] in ''[[The Bandit of Sherwood Forest]]'' (1946) at Columbia.

On Broadway Daniell was in revivals of ''[[The Winter's Tale]]'' (1946), ''[[Lady Windermere's Fan]]'' (1946-47), and ''The First Mrs. Fraser'' (1947).

Daniell played [[Franz Liszt]] in ''[[Song of Love]]'' (1947) then was villainous in ''[[The Exile (1947 film)|The Exile]]'' (1947), ''[[Wake of the Red Witch]]'' (1948), and ''[[Siren of Atlantis]]'' (1949). On Broadway he was in ''That Lady'' (1950).
===Television===
Daniell did some more swashbucklers, ''[[The Secret of St. Ives]]'' (1949) and ''[[Buccaneer's Girl]]'' (1950) ,and begin appearing on television shows such as ''[[Repertory Theatre]]'', ''[[Studio One in Hollywood]]'', ''[[Armstrong Circle Theatre]]'', and ''[[Lights Out (TV series)|Lights Out]]''. He continued to appear on stage in ''[[The Cocktail Party]]'' (1951) and ''[[My 3 Angels]]'' (1953-54).

Daniell appeared in some big screen epics such as ''[[The Egyptian (film)|The Egyptian]]'' (1954), ''[[The Prodigal (film)|The Prodigal]]'' (1955) and ''[[Diane (film)|Diane]]'' (1956), but was increasingly in television: ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'', ''[[Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre]]'', ''[[TV Reader's Digest]]'', ''[[Producers' Showcase]]'' (an adaptation of ''[[The Barretts of Wimpole Street]]''), ''[[Telephone Time]]''.

He had a rare contemporary part in ''[[The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (film)|The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit]]'' (1956) and was in ''[[Lust for Life (film)|Lust for Life]]'' (1956).

In 1957, he appeared as [[Charles II of England|King Charles II of England]] in the [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]] [[anthology series]] ''[[The Joseph Cotten Show]]'' in the episode "The Trial of Colonel Blood", with [[Michael Wilding (actor)|Michael Wilding]] in the title role. In the same year he played the instructing solicitor to [[Charles Laughton]]'s leading counsel barrister in ''[[Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film)|Witness for the Prosecution]]'' (1957).


⚫
The actor claimed one of his favourite roles was as [[Tony Curtis]]'s supervisor in the [[Blake Edwards]] film [[Mister Cory]] (1957) at a time when the actor's career was clearly slowing down, but Daniell retained some of the best and most memorable lines in the movie, "A gentleman never grabs. Manners, Mister Cory. I find them a prerequisite in any circumstance."
⚫
Daniell played the sleazy Baron de Varville opposite [[Greta Garbo]] in ''[[Camille (1936 film)|Camille]]'' (1936). Another early triumph was his portrayal of Cecil in ''[[The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex]]'' (1939). He also played the treacherous Lord Wolfingham (no relation to [[Francis Walsingham]]) in ''[[The Sea Hawk (1940 film)|The Sea Hawk]]'' (1940), fighting [[Errol Flynn]] in what is often considered one of the most spectacular sword fighting duels ever filmed.<ref name="Turner Classic Movies">[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/738/The-Adventures-of-Robin-Hood/articles.html#05 "The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)"], [[Turner Classic Movies|TCM]]</ref> When [[Michael Curtiz]] cast him in this film, Henry Daniell initially refused because he could not fence. Curtiz accomplished the climactic duel through the use of shadows and over-shoulder shots, with a double fencing Flynn with ingenious inter-cutting of their faces.


Daniell was also in ''[[Studio 57]]'', ''[[Schlitz Playhouse]]'', ''[[Matinee Theatre]]'', ''[[Kraft Theatre]]'', ''[[Alcoa Theatre]]'', ''[[Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse]]'', ''[[Playhouse 90]]'', ''[[The Californians (TV series)|The Californians]]'', ''[[Lux Playhouse]]'', ''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]'', ''[[Riverboat (TV series)|Riverboat]]'', and ''[[Startime]]'' (an adaptation of ''[[My Three Angels]]''). He continued to be in demand for features such as ''[[The Sun Also Rises (film)|The Sun Also Rises]]'' (1957), ''[[Les Girls (film)|Les Girls]]'' (1957), ''[[The Story of Mankind (film)|The Story of Mankind]]'' (1957), ''[[From the Earth to the Moon (film)|From the Earth to the Moon]]'' (1958), and ''[[The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake]]'' (1959).
Towards the end of the [[Second World War]], he appeared as the cruel Mr. Brocklehurst in ''[[Jane Eyre (1944 film)|Jane Eyre]]'' (1944), opposite [[Joan Fontaine]] who played Eyre. That same year he appeared in ''[[The Suspect (1944 film)|The Suspect]]'' as [[Charles Laughton]]'s blackmailing next-door neighbour. In the 1950s and 1960s, he did much television, and also appeared as the malevolent Dr. Emil Zurich in Edward L. Cahn's ''[[The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake]]'' (1959), and in an episode of ''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]'', "Pappy" opposite [[James Garner]] the same year. Daniell moved from big-budget films, such as (uncredited) ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'' (1962), to television. In 1957, he appeared as [[Charles II of England|King Charles II of England]] in the [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]] [[anthology series]] ''[[The Joseph Cotten Show]]'' in the episode "The Trial of Colonel Blood", with [[Michael Wilding (actor)|Michael Wilding]] in the title role. In the same year he played the instructing solicitor to [[Charles Laughton]]'s leading counsel barrister in ''[[Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film)|Witness for the Prosecution]]'' (1957).
===Later Career===
Daniell had roles in ''[[Markham (TV series)|Markham]]'', ''[[The Swamp Fox]]'', ''[[Wagon Train]]'', ''[[Peter Gunn (TV series)|Peter Gunn]]'', ''[[Shirley Temple's Storybook]]'', ''[[The Islanders]]'', ''[[The Law and Mr. Jones]]'' and several episodes of Boris Karloff's TV series ''[[Thriller (U.S. TV series)|Thriller]]''. He could also be seen in the films ''[[Madison Avenue (film)|Madison Avenue]]'' (1961), ''[[Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (film)|Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea]]'' (1961), ''[[The Comancheros (film)|The Comancheros]]'' (1961), ''[[The Notorious Landlady]]'' (1962), ''[[Five Weeks in a Balloon (film)|Five Weeks in a Balloon]]'' (1962), ''[[The Chapman Report]]'' (1962) and ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'' (1962).


His final TV appearances were in episodes of ''[[Combat!]]'' and ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]'' and he was on Broadway in ''Lord Pengo'' (1962-63) with [[Charles Boyer]].
⚫
The actor claimed one of his favourite roles was as [[Tony Curtis]]'s supervisor in the [[Blake Edwards]] film [[Mister Cory]] (1957) at a time when the actor's career was clearly slowing down, but Daniell retained some of the best and most memorable lines in the movie, "A gentleman never grabs. Manners, Mister Cory. I find them a prerequisite in any circumstance." He performed in several episodes of Boris Karloff's TV series ''[[Thriller (U.S. TV series)|Thriller]]''.


His last role was a small uncredited appearance as the British Ambassador in the 1964 film ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' directed by his old friend [[George Cukor]]. The scene in which he appears takes place at the embassy ball. He is seen as Eliza arrives and when introduced to her shakes her hand and says "Miss Doolittle". Later, Daniell presents Eliza to the Queen of [[Transylvania]] with the one line, "Miss Doolittle, ma'am." In the commentary on the DVD, at the moment he appears on-screen in the role, it is mentioned that the day he shot the scene was "his last day on earth", as he died from a heart attack that very evening on the set of ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' on 31 October 1963 in [[Santa Monica, California]].<ref name="Miller">{{cite web|last1=Miller|first1=Frank|title=Trivia and Fun Facts About My Fair Lady|url=http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/136779%7C0/Trivia-My-Fair-Lady.html|website=TCM.com|publisher=Turner Classic Movies, Inc.|accessdate=25 May 2017}}</ref>
His last role was a small uncredited appearance as the British Ambassador in the 1964 film ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' directed by his old friend [[George Cukor]]. The scene in which he appears takes place at the embassy ball. He is seen as Eliza arrives and when introduced to her shakes her hand and says "Miss Doolittle". Later, Daniell presents Eliza to the Queen of [[Transylvania]] with the one line, "Miss Doolittle, ma'am." In the commentary on the DVD, at the moment he appears on-screen in the role, it is mentioned that the day he shot the scene was "his last day on earth", as he died from a heart attack that very evening on the set of ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' on 31 October 1963 in [[Santa Monica, California]].<ref name="Miller">{{cite web|last1=Miller|first1=Frank|title=Trivia and Fun Facts About My Fair Lady|url=http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/136779%7C0/Trivia-My-Fair-Lady.html|website=TCM.com|publisher=Turner Classic Movies, Inc.|accessdate=25 May 2017}}</ref>

Revision as of 11:03, 13 March 2019

Henry Daniell
File:Henry daniell.jpg
Henry Daniell in The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959)
Born
Charles Henry Daniel

(1894-03-05)5 March 1894
Barnes, Surrey, UK
Died31 October 1963(1963-10-31) (aged 69)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Burial placeWoodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica
OccupationActor
Years active1913–1963 (stage)
1929–1963 (film)
SpouseAnn Knox

Charles Henry Daniell (5 March 1894 – 31 October 1963)[1] was an English actor who had a long career on stage as well as in films. He is perhaps best-known for his villainous roles in films like The Great Dictator, Philadelphia Story and The Sea Hawk. Daniell was given few opportunities to play a 'good guy', including a supporting part as Franz Liszt biographical film Song of Love (1947). His name is sometimes spelled "Daniel".[2]

Biography

Early life

Daniell was born in Barnes, then lived in Surrey, and was educated at St Paul's School and at Gresham's School in Holt, Norfolk.

English Stage

He made his first appearance on the stage in the provinces in 1913, and on the London stage at the Globe Theatre on 10 March 1914, walking on in the revival of Edward Knoblock's Kismet.

In 1914 he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment during World War I, but was invalided out the following year after being severely wounded in combat. Thereafter he appeared at the New Theatre in October 1915 as Police Officer Clancy in Stop Thief!, and notably, from May 1916, at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.

Broadway

In April 1921, Daniell appeared at the Empire Theatre in New York City, as Prince Charles of Vaucluse in Clair de Lune, and subsequently toured for the next three years, reappearing in London at the Garrick Theatre in August 1925 as Jack Race in Cobra.

Daniell returned to Broadway in The Woman on the Jury (1923) and The Second Mrs. Tanqueray (1924).

He again went to New York for the first six months of 1929, appearing at the Morosco Theatre in January as Lord Ivor Cream in Serena Blandish, returning in July to London where he played John Carlton in Secrets at the Comedy Theatre.

He again toured America in 1930–31, this time appearing on the Pacific Coast at Los Angeles as well as New York once more. He returned to London for another packed programme of stage performances, which he continued in Britain and the United States while also beginning his film career in 1929 with The Awful Truth, with leading lady Ina Claire.[2]

Hollywood career

Henry Daniell (left) in Chaplin's The Great Dictator with Charlie Chaplin, Jack Oakie and Carter DeHaven

Daniell's film debut came in The Awful Truth (1929), where he had a lead.

He was also in Jealousy (1929) with Jeanne Eagels in her last role.[3] He was in The Last of the Lone Wolf (1930) and returned to Broadway for Heat Wave (1931) and For Services Rendered (1933).

Daniell returned to films in the British The Path of Glory (1934) then was back on Broadway in Kind Lady (1935).

MGM

MGM used him in The Unguarded Hour (1936), Camille (1936) with Greta Garbo (as the sleazy Baron de Varville), Under Cover of Night (1936), The Thirteenth Chair (1937), The Firefly (1937), and Madame X (1937).

Columbia borrowed him for a role in Holiday (1938) then he went back to MGM for Marie Antoinette (1938).

Warner Bros

Daniell went to Warner Bros to appear in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939). He followed it with We Are Not Alone (1939), All This, and Heaven Too (1940), and The Sea Hawk (1940). In the latter he played the treacherous Lord Wolfingham (no relation to Francis Walsingham), fighting Errol Flynn in what is often considered one of the most spectacular sword fighting duels ever filmed.[4] When Michael Curtiz cast him in this film, Henry Daniell initially refused because he could not fence. Curtiz accomplished the climactic duel through the use of shadows and over-shoulder shots, with a double fencing Flynn with ingenious inter-cutting of their faces.

Charlie Chaplin borrowed him for a part in The Great Dictator (1940) (playing Garbitsch, to sound like "garbage", a parody of Joseph Goebbels), then he went back to MGM for The Philadelphia Story (1940), and A Woman's Face (1940).

At Warners Daniell had a role in a B, Dressed to Kill (1941). He did The Feminine Touch (1941) at MGM, Four Jacks and a Jill (1942) at RKO and Castle in the Desert (1942) at Fox.

Universal

Daniell was a villain in the Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes film Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1943) at Universal. At that studio he was in Nightmare (1942), and The Great Impersonation (1942).

At MGM he was in Reunion in France (1942) then he returned to Universal for another Sherlock Holmes film, Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943). At Warners he was in Mission to Moscow (1943) playing Minister von Ribbentrop. He returned to Broadway for a revival of Hedda Gabler (1942).

Daniell was villainous in Watch on the Rhine (1943), Jane Eyre (1943), and The Suspect (1944), as Charles Laughton's blackmailing next-door neighbour.

On Broadway he was in Murder Without Crime (1943) and Lovers and Friends (1943-44) with Katherine Cornell.

Daniell had a lead role in The Body Snatcher (1945), with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, followed by Hotel Berlin (1945) and a third Holmes, The Woman in Green (1945) playing Moriarty.

Daniell was King William III in Captain Kidd (1945). He had the lead in a TV version of Angel Street (1946) then was William of Pembroke in The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946) at Columbia.

On Broadway Daniell was in revivals of The Winter's Tale (1946), Lady Windermere's Fan (1946-47), and The First Mrs. Fraser (1947).

Daniell played Franz Liszt in Song of Love (1947) then was villainous in The Exile (1947), Wake of the Red Witch (1948), and Siren of Atlantis (1949). On Broadway he was in That Lady (1950).

Television

Daniell did some more swashbucklers, The Secret of St. Ives (1949) and Buccaneer's Girl (1950) ,and begin appearing on television shows such as Repertory Theatre, Studio One in Hollywood, Armstrong Circle Theatre, and Lights Out. He continued to appear on stage in The Cocktail Party (1951) and My 3 Angels (1953-54).

Daniell appeared in some big screen epics such as The Egyptian (1954), The Prodigal (1955) and Diane (1956), but was increasingly in television: Lux Video Theatre, Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre, TV Reader's Digest, Producers' Showcase (an adaptation of The Barretts of Wimpole Street), Telephone Time.

He had a rare contemporary part in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) and was in Lust for Life (1956).

In 1957, he appeared as King Charles II of England in the NBC anthology series The Joseph Cotten Show in the episode "The Trial of Colonel Blood", with Michael Wilding in the title role. In the same year he played the instructing solicitor to Charles Laughton's leading counsel barrister in Witness for the Prosecution (1957).

The actor claimed one of his favourite roles was as Tony Curtis's supervisor in the Blake Edwards film Mister Cory (1957) at a time when the actor's career was clearly slowing down, but Daniell retained some of the best and most memorable lines in the movie, "A gentleman never grabs. Manners, Mister Cory. I find them a prerequisite in any circumstance."

Daniell was also in Studio 57, Schlitz Playhouse, Matinee Theatre, Kraft Theatre, Alcoa Theatre, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Playhouse 90, The Californians, Lux Playhouse, Maverick, Riverboat, and Startime (an adaptation of My Three Angels). He continued to be in demand for features such as The Sun Also Rises (1957), Les Girls (1957), The Story of Mankind (1957), From the Earth to the Moon (1958), and The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959).

Later Career

Daniell had roles in Markham, The Swamp Fox, Wagon Train, Peter Gunn, Shirley Temple's Storybook, The Islanders, The Law and Mr. Jones and several episodes of Boris Karloff's TV series Thriller. He could also be seen in the films Madison Avenue (1961), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), The Comancheros (1961), The Notorious Landlady (1962), Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962), The Chapman Report (1962) and Mutiny on the Bounty (1962).

His final TV appearances were in episodes of Combat! and 77 Sunset Strip and he was on Broadway in Lord Pengo (1962-63) with Charles Boyer.

His last role was a small uncredited appearance as the British Ambassador in the 1964 film My Fair Lady directed by his old friend George Cukor. The scene in which he appears takes place at the embassy ball. He is seen as Eliza arrives and when introduced to her shakes her hand and says "Miss Doolittle". Later, Daniell presents Eliza to the Queen of Transylvania with the one line, "Miss Doolittle, ma'am." In the commentary on the DVD, at the moment he appears on-screen in the role, it is mentioned that the day he shot the scene was "his last day on earth", as he died from a heart attack that very evening on the set of My Fair Lady on 31 October 1963 in Santa Monica, California.[5]

Personal life

Daniell married Ann Knox and, in the years following World War II, lived in Los Angeles, California.

He and Ann were involved in a Hollywood sex scandal in the late 1930s, as reported by visiting author P.G. Wodehouse, who wrote to his stepdaughter Leonora about the couple:

Apparently they go down to Los Angeles and either (a) indulge in or (b) witness orgies – probably both … there’s something pleasantly domestic about a husband and wife sitting side by side with their eyes glued to peepholes, watching the baser elements whoop it up. And what I want to know is – where are these orgies? I feel I’ve been missing something.[6]

Death

An obituary distributed by United Press International and datelined Hollywood reported, "Daniell was stricken yesterday from Halloween day at his home in nearby Santa Monica a few hours before he was due to report on the set of the film version of My Fair Lady at Warner Bros. studio."[3] He died of a myocardial infarction.[7]

Complete filmography

References

  • Who's Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London, 1947, pp. 477–478

Notes

  1. ^ Castronova, Frank V., ed. (1998). Almanac of Famous People. Detroit: Gale. p. 431. ISBN 0-7876-0045-8.
  2. ^ a b "Henry Daniell Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Character Actor Henry Daniell Dies Suddenly". The Fresno Bee The Republican. California, Fresno. United Press International. 1 November 1963. p. 30.
  4. ^ "The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)", TCM
  5. ^ Miller, Frank. "Trivia and Fun Facts About My Fair Lady". TCM.com. Turner Classic Movies, Inc. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  6. ^ P. G. Wodehouse: A Life by Robert McCrum (New York: W. W. Norton, 2004) p.242 ISBN 978-0-393-05159-9
  7. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1963/11/01/archives/henry-daniell-actor-69-dead-played-suave-villain-role-in-stage-and.html

External links

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