Richard Todd Movies
Born in Ireland, Richard Todd spent a few of his childhood years in India, where his father served as an army physician. Later his family relocated to West Devon, England. Todd trained for a potential military career at Sandhurst before inaugurating his acting training at the Italia Conta school. He helped organize the Dundee Repertory Theatre, then spent six years' service in World War II, first as an officer in the Yorkshire Light Infantry, then as a paratrooper with the 6th Airbourne. Todd was among those who parachuted into France during the D-Day Invasion of 1944; eighteen years later, he played a cameo in Darryl F. Zanuck's D-Day recreation The Longest Day (1946). After the war, he rejoined the Dundee rep, then made his West End debut as The Scot, the ill-tempered, dying protagonist of John Patrick's play The Hasty Heart. In 1949, Todd began his film career when he was tapped to recreate his Hasty Heart characterization before the cameras; the performance would earn him an Academy Award nomination. Highlights of Todd's 1950s film output include his portrayal of Marlene Dietrich's castaway beau in Hitchcock's Stage Fright (1950), his swashbuckling heroics in Disney's The Story of Robin Hood (1952), The Sword and the Rose (1953) and Rob Roy, The Highland Rogue (1954), his sensitive performance as "Chaplain of the Presidents" Peter Marshall in A Man Called Peter, and his military derring-do in the 1956 British box-office smash The Dam Busters. Although he devoted more and more of his energies to the stage in the late 1950s-early 1960s, Todd served as executive producer on 1961's Why Bother to Knock and later portrayed a Timothy Leary clone in 1967's The Love-Ins. More recently the actor's achievements include stage actor and producer. Todd listed Equus as his favorite stage production, though it's likely that his eight-year run in the Mayfair Theatre presentation The Business of Murder was kinder to his bank account. In 1987, Richard Todd published Caught in the Act, the first volume of his memoirs. He died in 2009 at the age of 90. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This 13 part documentary covers the story of the inventors and pioneers from the beginning of flight to the present. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1949
Intending to run off with the wife (Christine Norden) of his publisher (Alexander Gauge), novelist John North (Richard Todd) thinks the better of it as he sits in the compartment of a speeding train. North's journey is interrupted (hence the title) by a train crash, in which his lover is killed. Sifting through the wreckage, railroad inspector Clayton (Tom Walls) discovers that the dead woman didn't perish in the crash: someone shot her in the back! That's all the information that can be revealed without giving away the ending. Top billed in Interrupted Journey as Richard Todd's patient, supportive wife is Valerie Hobson, whose patience and support would be sorely tested in real life when she stood by her husband John Profumo during the British Parliament sex scandals of the early 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerie Hobson, Richard Todd, (more)
- 1949
In this drama, a frustrated upper-class writer decides that he will find real inspiration by examining his subjects first-hand. This leads him to begin wandering about the seamiest side of town where he witnesses a murder. When an innocent man is arrested, the writer refuses to assist him as the knowledge that he has been "slumming" could destroy his career. The young man is sentenced to 15 years in prison. Upon his release, he hears his own story in a radio drama written by the author. This enables the ex-con to get the necessary evidence to clear his name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Murray, Richard Todd, (more)
- 1949
Richard Todd plays an insufferable Scots soldier confined to a World War II military hospital. Ronald Reagan is an all-American patient who befriends the headstrong Scotsman, while Patricia Neal is the compassionate nurse. Gradually the patients grow begrudgingly fond of Todd, and when it is learned that he is suffering from a fatal illness, everyone involved tries to keep his true condition a secret from him. Todd inadvertently discovers the truth, and violently turns against his new buddies. But before the fade-out, friendship wins out over bitterness and self-pity. Filmed in England, Hasty Heart is based on the stage play by John Patrick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal, (more)
- 1950
Portrait of Clare is largely offered in flashback. The title character, played by Margaret Johnston, spends 10 years in seclusion with her son (Jeremy Spenser) after the death of her young husband (Ronald Howard). For her son's sake, Clare enters into a loveless marriage with lawyer Dudley Wilburn (Robin Bailey). But she doesn't find true happiness until turning to her cousin, Robert Hart (Richard Todd). Produced by British Pathe, Portrait of Clare was released in the U.S. by Pathe's sister-firm Monogram (aka Allied Artists). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Johnston, Richard Todd, (more)
Stage Fright toys with our notions of the dividing line between reality and artifice by being set in the London theatre world. On the lam from the police, Richard Todd takes refuge in the home of his former girlfriend, RADA student Jane Wyman. Todd has been spotted fleeing the scene of a murder, but he insists that he's innocent. Wyman believes his story, but knows that the police won't, so she decides to play detective herself. She also plays several other roles in a variety of disguises so as to escape the notice of genuine detective Michael Wilding. Top-billed Marlene Dietrich plays a Dietrich-like chanteuse whom Wyman pigeonholes as the real murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, (more)
- 1951
Three generations of a Scottish clan are chronicled in this melodramatic saga. The film starts with the death of a sickly med student in a Glasgow slum. His fiancee also dies in childbirth. Her brother, who survives, begins raising her baby girl who grows up to have an affair with a lab assistant. Her "father" disapprove and threatens to destroy the wedding. She retaliates by poisoning him and then gets married. She bears a son. Unfortunately she has never recovered from the guilt of her earlier murder and ends up taking her own life. Later her son grows up to discover a vaccine for a fatal disease. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, (more)
- 1951
In Lightning Strikes Twice, Ruth Roman stars a Shelley Carnes, a stage actress who champions the cause of Richard Trevelyan (Richard Todd), whom she believes has been falsely accused of murdering his wife. Freed on a technicality, Trevelyan is nonetheless adjudged guilty in the court of public opinion. Carnes stands by her man, eventually marrying him. On the wedding night, however, it appears that Carnes has made a horrible mistake. It won't be long before she, too, will fall into the clutches of a killer--but is it Trevelyan? Based on a novel by Margaret Echard, Lightning Strikes Twice is given novelty value through its unique setting: instead of taking place in the standard Big City, the events transpire in the wide-open spaces of Texas. Of the supporting actors, Mercedes McCambridge stands out as a woman scorned, while Zachary Scott does his usual as a lazy playboy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Ruth Roman, (more)
- 1952
- PG
Better known as The Story of Robin Hood, this colorful costume adventure was the second made-in-Britain production for Hollywood's Walt Disney. Avoiding the familiar episodes covered in previous "Robin Hood" films, this Disney effort still manages to adhere to the basic chronology. Richard Todd stars as the Earl of Huntington, who loses his title and his lands after besting the despotic Sheriff of Nottingham (Peter Finch) at an archery tournament. Reinventing himself as Robin Hood, our hero rounds up other victims of the oppression of the Sheriff and his dictatorial liege Prince John (Hubert Gregg), and thus the "Merry Men" are born. Robbing the rich to give to the poor, Robin manages to elude the villains and to prove his loyalty to John's brother Richard the Lionhearted (Patrick Barr) by raising the money for Richard's ransom. The Queen (Martita Hunt) is to deliver the ransom to Richard's Austrian captors, but Prince John schemes to steal the money and place the blame on Robin Hood. Maid Marian (Joan Rice) gets wind of this plan but is locked in John's dungeon before she can warn Robin and his men. How can virtue triumph with these odds? But triumph it does, as everyone in the audience knew it would. The success of The Story of Robin Hood inspired Disney to produce two additional British films, The Sword and the Rose and Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Joan Rice, (more)
- 1952
British private detective Richard Todd is sent to Venice, there to locate and a reward a wartime partisan. Once he arrives, the detective finds himself the quarry of every Venetian cop in sight. Todd soon learns that he's been fingered as a murderer--and that it's just possible he's been framed by the partisan, who has become a desperate criminal. Heavily influenced by The Third Man (49), Assassin is a routine action melodrama spiced by genuine Austrian settings. The film was initially released in Great Britain as Venetian Bird (hmmm...sounds a lot like Maltese Falcon). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Eva Bartok, (more)
- 1953
Originally titled 24 Hours in a Woman's Life, the British Affair in Monte Carlo stars Merle Oberon and Richard Todd. A compulsive gambler, Todd is on the verge of disgrace and ruin. Ms. Oberon makes it her mission in life to save Todd from himself. The story is told from the point of view of worldly writer Leo Genn, who is obviously intended as the alter ego of Stefan Zweig, author of the original novel 24 Hours in a Woman's Life. Whenever the drama bogs down, the viewer is encouraged to revel in the authentic Riviera locations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merle Oberon, Richard Todd, (more)
- 1953
The rousing adventure novel by Sir Walter Scott was adapted for this swashbuckler. Richard Todd stars as Robert Roy MacGregor, a clan leader in 18th century Scotland attempting to lead his fellow countrymen in a rebellion against the heavy-handed rule of England's King George I. When the king replaces a sympathetic politician with a lackey working against Rob Roy, it's up to the hardy Scotsman to defeat his enemies without the support of a powerful ally, while also romancing and marrying his true love (Glynis Johns). Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue (1953) was the last of 21 British films produced jointly by Disney and RKO. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, (more)
- 1953
- PG
The second of Disney's British-produced "historicals" (the first was Robin Hood, the last was Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue), The Sword and the Rose eschews historical accuracy in favor of wall-to-wall adventure and eye-filling pageantry. The film takes place in the court of King Henry VIII (James Robertson Justice), whose sister Mary Tudor (Glynis Johns) has fallen in love with soldier of fortune Charles Brandon (Richard Todd). Mary appoints Brandon Captain of the Guards, which rests not at all well with her erstwhile suitor, the Duke of Buckingham (Michael Gough). Rather than foment court intrigue, Brandon decides to move on to America, only to end up in the Tower of London when Mary tags along with him, disguised as a boy. Mary is ordered by Henry to wed the aging King of France (Jean Mercure), who promptly dies, leaving the girl at the mercy of the evil Dauphin (Gerard Oury). When rescued by the Duke of Buckhingham, Mary is informed that Charles is dead, but in fact her true love still lives, as he proves beyond doubt in a climactic battle with the duplicitous Duke. Sword and the Rose was based on Charles Major's novel When Knighthood Was in Flower, previously filmed in 1923 with Marion Davies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, (more)
- 1954
Franciolin) FI An all-star lineup of actors and directors was responsible for the omnibus feature Secrets D'Alcove. The film is made up of four separate playlets; the only "character" common to the four stories is a huge bed. The characters whose behavior is governed by being in close proximity of this bed include a soldier (Richard Todd), a philanderer (Vittorio de Sica), a professional co-respondent (Dawn Addams), a couresan (Martine Carol) and a truckdriver (Mouloudji). Naturally, the screenplay contrives to have the film's female characters appear as underdressed as possible, none more so than the curvaceous Martine Carol. The basic premise of Secrets D'Alcove was later adopted, after a fashion, by the American TV anthology series Love American Style (1979-72). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Moreau, Gianni Franciolini, (more)
- 1955
The British The Dam Busters is the story of the development and utilization of the "bouncing bombs" in World War II. Michael Redgrave stars as Dr. Barnes Wallis, who developed these unorthodox explosives. Wallis' invention is put to practical use during the British raid on the Ruhr Dams in Germany. Most of the film is devoted to the two years spent in creating the bombs and training the pilots; the final sequence is a special-effects masterpiece, even allowing for the obvious models standing in for the dams. Adapted by R.C. Sherriff from both Guy Gibson's book Enemy Coast Ahead and Paul Brickhill's The Dam Busters, this film was Britain's biggest box-office success of 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, (more)
Having previously portrayed England's Queen Elizabeth I in 1939's The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, Bette Davis reprises the role in the Technicolor-and-Cinescope costumer The Virgin Queen. Harry Brown and Mindret Lord's screenplay proposes that Elizabeth's relationship with adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh (Richard Todd) was somewhat more than cordial. Raleigh is depicted as a charming opportunist, who deliberate leads the Queen on in order to further his chances of heading an expedition to the New World. Complications ensue when Sir Walter falls in love with lady-in-waiting Beth Throgmorton (Joan Collins). Not to be believed for a single moment, The Virgin Queen works well on a swashbuckler level, with Davis outacting everyone in sight-even such veteran scene-stealers as Herbert Marshall, Dan O'Herlihy, and Jay "Caligula" Robinson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Richard Todd, (more)
A Man Called Peter is the story of Scottish-born Presbyterian minister and world-renowned author Peter Marshall, here played by Richard Todd. In his youth, Marshall moves to Washington DC, where he becomes pastor of the Church of the Presidents. His wisdom and conviction enables Marshall to communicate with men of all faiths. In private life, the pastor is given moral support by his loyal wife Catherine Marshall (Jean Peters). At the time of his comparatively early death, Marshall has become chaplain of the US Senate. Interestingly enough, while Marshall and his family are identified by name, the peripheral political characters are given fictional monickers--and sometimes, as in the case of the President played by William Forrest, no names at all. Director Henry Koster expertly avoids filming Marshall's sermons in a static, declamatory fashion. As Catherine Marshall, Jean Peters does wonders with a comparatively limited role; her best scene is her last, when she overcomes her lifelong fear of the ocean for the sake of her son (Billy Chapin). A Man Called Peter was certainly not conceived out of any box-office considerations, but it still paid its way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Jean Peters, (more)
- 1956
Though nearly as lavish as the 1938 MGM film of the same name, the 1955 French historical epic Marie Antoinette is not nearly as coherent or entertaining. Michele Morgan stars as the Austrian princess who becomes the last Queen of France in waning years of the 18th century. Jacques Morel costars as King Louis XVIII, Antoinette's slow-witted, ineffectual husband, while Richard Todd is the dashing European ambassador who briefly brings romance into the heroine's life. The episodic screenplay seldom sticks to the point long enough to detail the reasons behind the fall of the French aristocracy and the ultimate execution of the royal family. In addition, Michele Morgan is a bit too frosty and distant to warrant audience sympathy. Marie Antoinette was filmed simulatenously in French- and English-language versions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michèle Morgan, Richard Todd, (more)
We don't see much of Omaha Beach in D-Day, the Sixth of June. Instead, the film concentrates on a romantic triangle involving American officer Robert Taylor, British officer Richard Todd and the lovely Dana Wynter. Taylor and Todd spend the last hours before D-Day reminiscing about Wynter. The romantic dilemma is eventually solved shortly after the invasion, when one of the men conveniently steps on a land mine. Lionel Shapiro's novel was geared more for the beach-and-bonbons crowd than war buffs, and the film follows suit. 20th Century-Fox gives a far more thorough account of D-Day itself in 1963's The Longest Day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Richard Todd, (more)
- 1957
The Yangtse Incident is the saga of the Amethyst, a British vessel left stranded in China during the Communist takeover. The British government tries to reclaim the Amethyst, only to run up against a Great Wall of Red bureaucracy and propaganda. It is up to Lieutenant Commander Kearns (Richard Todd) and his valiant crew to pilot the Amethyst down the Yangtse, under cover of night, without arousing the suspicions of their Chinese "hosts". It is to Akim Tamiroff's credit that he makes the character of Chinese Colonel Peng a three-dimensional figure despite his villainous behavior. Released under a variety of the titles, Yangtse Incident is best known to American TV viewers as Battle Hell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, William Hartnell, (more)
- 1957
- NR
After an extensive talent search, producer-director Otto Preminger selected a 17-year-old unknown from Iowa, Jean Seberg, to play Joan of Arc, a role traditionally portrayed by actresses twice to three times Seberg's age. Seberg is cast opposite such venerable pros as Richard Todd (as Dunois), Anton Walbrook (the Bishop of Beauvais), John Gielgud (Earl of Warwick) and Felix Aylmer (The Inquisitor). Cast as the vacillating Dauphin is Richard Widmark. Graham Greene's screenplay refashions the original Shaw text in the form of a flashback. Seberg eventually became an accomplished actress by virtue of her appearances in such nouvelle vague films as Breathless, but it was too late to salvage Saint Joan, which was figuratively burned at the stake by critics and filmgoers alike. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Seberg, Richard Widmark, (more)
- 1958
A poor Irishman goes to Africa to help a friend harvest his tobacco, but upon arrival, he learns that his friend was eaten by a crocodile. His friend's French mistress proposes marriage and they work on the tobacco crop until the natives helping them leave for a ritual. He starts hunting crocodiles and gets enough skins to send both he and his mistress back home, but some traders steal the skins and three of the natives are killed getting them back. He and the mistress decide to repay the natives by staying and adapting to their way of life while teaching them about Western culture. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Juliette Greco, (more)
- 1958
Why has total stranger Richard Todd shown up at the villa of wealthy Anne Baxter? Why does he claim to be her long-lost brother? Is Todd planning to finagle Baxter out of her inheritance? Is someone going to end up seriously dead? The answers to these questions can be found in Chase a Crooked Shadow, a confounding chiller with more than a few adroit plot twists. Before the film has run its course, we learn that the true villain is not necessarily whom it appears to be--nor is the heroine all that she seems. Chase a Crooked Shadow was based on an 1943 Whistler radio play; the plot was later reworked into no fewer than three American made-for-TV movies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Anne Baxter, (more)
- 1958
British melodrama maven Jimmy Sangster adapted his screenplay for Intent to Kill from a novel by Michael Bryan. Richard Todd plays a Montreal doctor who is in love with his pretty American assistant Betsy Drake. Todd is saddled with a viper-tongued wife (Catherine Boyle), who wants him to leave the provinces for a posh practice in London. The good doctor's problems are intensified when he is obliged to perform delicate brain surgery on a hated South American president (Herbert Lom), who has been targeted for assassination by a "trusted" colleague (Carlo Giustini). Only the intervention of police detective Paul Carpenter saves Todd from stopping a bullet himself. The heated intrigues of Intent to Kill are contrasted by the wintry Montreal exteriors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Betsy Drake, (more)
- 1959
Set in an Italian P.O.W. camp during World War II, this conventional escape drama shines the most in the portrayals of the various prisoners. Richard Todd is Lt. Col. David Baird, intensely and single-mindedly set on escaping. Bernard Lee is Lt. Col. Huxley who is the careful senior British officer with a view of the entire situation. Michael Wilding plays the deceptively dashing Major Charles Marquand, and some comic relief is provided by Dennis Price, an actor-prisoner more devoted to his production of Hamlet than leaving before the curtain goes up. The hitch in the plans to escape is insidious -- there is a traitor among the prisoners and before they can succeed, they have to find him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Bernard Lee, (more)
