Henry Edwards Movies
Tall, patrician-featured British stage actor Henry Edwards made his first film in 1914. Under the guidance of producer/director Cecil Hepworth, Edwards became one of England's most popular leading men. His most frequent leading lady was Chrissie White, whom he married in 1922. Celebrated as Britain's answer to Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, Edwards and White co-starred in 22 films, playing everything from aristocrats to the "working poor" with consummate artistry; unfortunately, only two of their features survive. During his stay with Hepworth, Edwards was given the opportunity to direct. Though he continued starring in such well-received films as The Flag Lieutenant (1926), after 1925 Edwards was best known for his directorial efforts; the best of these included the Boris Karloff melodrama Juggernaut (1935) and the Sir Seymour Hicks version of Scrooge (1935). Henry Edwards returned to acting in 1946, essaying small character roles in films like Green for Danger (1946), Oliver Twist (1948) and the all-star The Magic Box (1952). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1915
This first film version of Allen Raine's semi-satirical novel The Welsh Singer was filmed in England with an Anglo-American cast and crew. Hollywood's Florence Turner stars as Mifanwy, a Welsh shepherdess with a powerful singing voice. Mifanwy's sweetheart is shepherd Leuan (played by Henry Edwards, who also directed), who in his spare time dabbles in sculpting. Eventually, both Mifanwy and Leuan achieve fame and fortune, but several roadblocks stand in their way before they can achieve marital happiness. In addition to co-starring and directing the picture, Henry Edwards co-wrote the script with Florence Turner's business partner, director Larry Trimble. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
American film star Florence Turner is Alone in London in this 4-reel British mystery. Turner goes against the grain of her established screen image by playing a meaty character role as a woman inexorably involved in crime. Henry Edwards co-stars as one of the "good guys," while Edward Lingard represents the "bad" contingent. Ms. Turner, the onetime "Vitagraph Girl," was herself the producer of Alone in London; it was the last in a successful series of British productions financed by Ms. Turner in conjunction with England's pioneer filmmaker Cecil M. Hepworth. The director was Larry Trimble, Turner's lifelong friend. Alone in London was based on a play by Harriet Jay and Robert Buchanan, which presumably ran longer than the film's allotted 48 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
Unfortunately now lost, 1915's Far From the Madding Crowd was the first cinemadaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel. Florence Turner, a Hollywood star who spent most of the pre-World War I years in England, is cast as Hardy's heroine Bathsheba Everdene (the part played by Julie Christie in the 1966 version). Turner's husband Larry Trimble served as director. In simplest terms, the plot concerns a farm girl who marries an army sergeant then almost immediately regrets it. Another of the girl's suitors kills the husband, leaving the heroine free to marry the man she really loves. It is difficult to believe that Thomas Hardy's heady prose was properly represented within the 60-minute running time of Far From the Madding Crowd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
Famous for his rendition of the sentimental ballad My Old Dutch, British music-hall artiste Albert Chevalier was both star and co-writer of this filmed version. The story concerns a pair of cockney street entertainers who scrimp, save and sacrifice to insure that their son will have a decent future. It takes a long, long time, but the son finally repays his parents' kindness by rescuing them from bankruptcy and eviction. American actress Florence Turner plays the heroine, while Turner's longtime collaborator Larry Trimble directed. My Old Dutch was remade and updated in 1935 as a vehicle for Betty Balfour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
"Doorsteps" is the nickname bestowed upon boarding house slavey Florence Turner. Treated like dirt by most of the boarders, Florence gets even by becoming a famous actress, thanks to the help of playwright Henry Edwards (who also directed the film). She returns the favor by saving Edwards' life in the final reel. Doorsteps was one of several British films made by American actress Florence Turner in the mid-teens. Sadly, the career of this singularly talented actress would dwindle down to bits and extra roles in the 1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
The twain is bound to meet in any British film titled East is East. Henry Edwards plays a low-born fishmonger who falls into a "tub of butter," as it were. Henry (or is it 'Enry) inherits a fortune, utterly forgetting his sweetheart Florence Turner in favor of the high mucky-mucks of society. He eventually wises up and returns to Turner. At the bottom of the cast list is Edith Evans (long before she was Dame Edith Evans), cast as "The Aunt". Star Henry Edwards also directed East is East, adapting the scenario from the stage play by Phillip Hubbard and Gwendolen Logan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1918
Writer-director Henry Edwards does "triple duty" as star of The Hanging Judge. Edwards plays Dick Veasey, the son of stern, unforgiving jurist Sir John Veasey (Hamilton Stewart). Disowned by his father, Dick becomes a newspaperman and a staunch advocate of British legal reform. One of his first acts is to marry Molly (Chrissie White, Edwards' real-life wife), the daughter of a man whom Sir John had sent to prison. Proving that Molly's dad was innocent, Dick is able to orchestrate a reconciliation with his repentant father. The Hanging Judge was based on a play by Leon M. Lion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1919
A typically melodramatic British silent film, Possession starred the husband-and-wife team of Henry Edwards (who also directed) and Chrissie White). He played a White Russian revolutionary and she his secret wife, a Britisher. She gives birth and for the sake of appearance is forced to marry her nasty cousin (pompous-looking Gerald Ames). Based on a trashy novel by Olive Wadley, Possession was produced by Hepworth, a British company with rather lofty if often unfulfilled ambitions. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1920
British writer-director Henry Edwards wrote himself a juicy part in this silent melodrama produced in England by Hepworth. Edwards played the son of a nasty squire who, under the assumed name of Dick Derelict, settles down in the nearby village, improving the life of everyone around with his writings and all-around good deeds. Chrissie White, Edward's real-life wife and one of the early British film industry's leading lights, played the love interest. Appearing in no less than 22 films together, Edwards and Miss White enjoyed the same kind of adulation bestowed on America's Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1920
Canadian-born British film personality Henry Edwards both directed and starred in Aylwin. Set in Wales, the film concerns Aylwin's (Edwards) romance with Winifred Wynne (Chrissie White). When Winifred's drunken father dies in a landslide, the poor girl becomes mentally unhinged. Aylwin tries his best to set things right, but is stymied by a lack of money. Based on the novel by Theodore Watts-Dunton, Aylwin is one of several silent films which co-starred Henry Edwards and his wife Chrissie White. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1923
Written and directed by Henry Edwards and starring Mrs. Edwards, Chrissie White, this silent British melodrama about the wife of a coffee salesman who dreams that her husband (Edwards) goes blind and is killed in a tragic fire was filmed completely without subtitles more than one year before F.W. Murnau attempted the same feat with the German Der Letzte Man (1924). British trade papers, however, although awarding Mr. Edwards an "A" for effort, complained that the lack of sub-titles led to "some rather farfetched ways of conveying simple ideas." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1925
A novel by Douglas Walshe was the source of the British meller Girl of London. Genevieve Townsend plays Lil, the much abused stepdaughter of narcotics-ring head George Duncan (Harvey Braban). Lil is rescued from iniquity by Peter Horniman (Ian Hunter), the disowned son of a British politician (Edward Irwin). Together, Lil and Peter seek out a new life, despite the differences in their stations in life and their checkered pasts. Not exactly a textbook example of subtlety, Girl of London is given class and stature by the performances of its stars and the direction of Henry Edwards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1926
Most contemporary critics agreed that the 1926 remake of the 1919 "stiff upper lip" drama Flag Lieutenant was a decided improvement on the original. The plot remains relatively intact: accused of cowardice under fire, Lt. Dicky Lascelles (Henry Edwards) is ostracized by his peers. The only person who knows that Lascelles is actually a hero is his superior officer, Major Thesiger (Fred Raynham). Alas, the major is suffering from amnesia and cannot come to his defense. It is up to the heroine, Sybil Wynne (Lillian Oldland), to uncover the truth. Produced on a grand scale, The Flag Lieutenant was deemed worthy of an American release--a rarity in the British film industry of the mid-1920s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Edwards
- 1927
W. P. Drury's popular literary and theatrical piece The Flag Lieutenant spawned this 1927 sequel. Henry Edwards once more essays the role of Lt. Dick Lascelles, who in the 1926 filmization of Flag Lieutenant managed to clear himself from accusations of cowardice. This time, Lt. Lascelles saves a remote African post from a native uprising. The film's "Sun Never Sets" jingoism was easier to swallow in 1927 (when there was still a British Empire) than it might be today. Isabel Jeans likewise returns from the 1926 Flag Lieutenant as Pauline, the love of Lascelles' life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Edwards, Fred Raynham, (more)
- 1927
The Fake was based on a surprisingly grim Frederick Lonsdale play. The title character could be just about anyone in this British "problem" drama. It might be the member of parliament who forces his daughter into politically correct marriage; or the husband, whose respectable facade hides a ruinous drug habit; or the girl's lover, a semi-quack. The film's star-studded cast includes prominent actor/director Henry Edwards and American expatriate Juliette Compton, along with such British perennials as Miles Mander, Ursula Jeans and Ivan Simpson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Edwards, Norman McKinnel, (more)
- 1930
Financially embarrassed, twittish Lord Richard Sandridge (Richard Cooper) is forced to put his Mayfair house up for rent. The lucky tenant turns out to be Sylvia Garland (Doris Secombe), an attractive widow. Later on, Lord Richard is framed on a theft charge and forced to go into hiding. With Sylvia's help, he poses as a butler in his own house. If a romance didn't arise from all this, the audience might have started a riot. Based on a play by Sidney Blow and Douglas Hoare, Lord Richard in the Pantry is put briskly through its familiar paces by veteran comedy director Walter Forde (who probably could have played the leading role as well). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Seacombe, Marjorie Hume, (more)
- 1930
A mystery develops when some jewels are stolen from a wealthy widow and she is murdered, with the blame wrongly falling on a phony psychic friend of hers. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Austin Trevor, Richard Cooper, (more)
- 1930
In this drama a British naval officer searches an isolated tropical island for his friend who mysteriously disappeared there long ago. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1930
Neilson-Terry is called in to investigate the poisoning of a wealthy woman at her French home. The number one suspect is her niece who got a large inheritance upon the death of her aunt. ~ All Movie Guide
