Edmund Gwenn Movies
The son of a traveling British civil servant, Edmund Gwenn was ordered to leave his home at age 17 when he announced his intention to become an actor. Working throughout the British empire in a variety of theatrical troupes, Gwenn finally settled in London in 1902 when he was personally selected by playwright George Bernard Shaw for a role in Shaw's Man and Superman. Thanks to Shaw's sponsorship, Gwenn rapidly established himself as one of London's foremost character stars, his career interrupted only by military service during World War I. Gwenn's film career, officially launched in 1916, took a back seat to his theatrical work for most of his life; still, he was a favorite of both American and British audiences for his portrayals of blustery old men, both comic and villainous. At age 71, Gwenn was cast as Kris Kringle, a lovable old eccentric who imagined that he was Santa Claus, in the comedy classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947); his brilliant portrayal was honored with an Academy Award and transformed the veteran actor into an "overnight" movie star. Edmund Gwenn died shortly after making his final film, an oddball Mexican comedy titled The Rocket From Calabuch (1958); one of his surviving family members his cousin Cecil Kellaway, was a respected character actor in his own right. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1933
Based on a novel by J. B. Priestley, this British musical-comedy follows an unlikely trio as they try to revive the fortunes of a floundering touring theatrical troupe. Inigo Jolifant (John Gielgud) is a schoolteacher with a talent for songwriting, and Jess Oakroyd (Edmund Gwenn) is a man with theatrical ambitions who has just lot his job. Together, they persuade Miss Trant (Mary Glynne), an older single woman looking for adventure, to back them as they try to bring "The Dinky Do's" back into the spotlight. Susie Dean (Jessie Matthews) is a chorus girl who dreams of stardom, and when she's made the new leader of the show, it looks as if her dreams may finally become a reality. The Good Companions is buoyed by the superb singing and dancing talents of Matthews, who was considered one of the screen's greatest musical stars in England and Europe, though she inexplicably never achieved the same fame in the United States; Gielgud also got a rare opportunity to display his vocal abilities in this film. Keep your eyes peeled for Jack Hawkins and horror film great George Zucco, who both appear in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessie Matthews, Edmund Gwenn, (more)
- 1932
In this British musical, a shop assistant attempts to impress a girl by telling her that he is actually the manager. Unfortunately, when he is fired, he is also alone. Later he catches robbers trying to pillage the place. He is then rehired as the store manager for real. The girl comes back and he puts her in charge of the music department. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Hulbert, Gordon Harker, (more)
- 1932
In this melodrama, a woman bears a child out of wedlock during WW I. She gives the child up to a rich old woman. Twenty years pass and the old lady dies. The girl's mother finally weds the real father who only does it because he feels responsible for the child. This causes the despondent wife to kill herself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1932
On the surface just another quota quickie, Condemned to Death turned out to be quite a gem for those lucky enough to see it back in 1932. Taking a respite from his duties as moviedom's Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Wontner plays an incorruptible judge who sentences a criminal genius to the gallows. The villain then proceeds to hypnotize Wontner into murdering the jurors responsible for his convictions! Unaware of his crimes, Wontner is confronted with the evidence by Scotland Yard inspector Cyril Raymond, who has the decency to permit the good gray judge to commit suicide rather than face public disgrace and humiliation. Condemned to Death was based on Jack o' Lantern, a play by George Goodchild. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gillian Lind, Jane Welsh, (more)
- 1932
In this romantic comedy, an impoverished gambler falls in love with a coquette playing hard-to-get. The fellow's luck changes when he is mistaken for a prominent banker. Although, now enjoying the highlife-thanks to the error, he still cannot get the girl. Instead, he decides to run to the Riviera with her pretty maid. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seymour Hicks, Betty Stockfeld, (more)
- 1931
Stanley Houghton's enduring 1912 stage play Hindle Wakes had already been twice adapted for the screen when this first talkie version was released in 1931. Belle Chrystal stars as Fanny Hawthorne, a Lancashire mill worker who gets more than she bargained for when taking her annual weekend holiday. After a chance meeting with mill-owner's son Alan Jeffcoate (John Stuart), Fanny spends a torridly romantic three days with him. But when he proposes, Fanny remembers her "place" and turns him down. Hoping to keep her weekend indiscretion secret from her parents, Fanny arranges for her best friend Mary (Ruth Peterson) to establish an alibi. The truth comes out when Mary is killed in an accident, and her parents begin making inquiries as to her whereabouts during that fateful holiday. Hindle Wakes was remade again in 1952 as Holiday Week. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belle Chrystal, Sybil Thorndike, (more)
This uncharacteristic Alfred Hitchcock endeavor was adapted by Hitch and his wife, Alma Reville, from a play by John Galsworthy. The British countryside turns into an ideological battlefield when Hornblower (Edmund Gwenn), a wealthy, self-man tradesman, stakes his claim to a piece of valuable forest property controlled for literally centuries by the "landed gentry." The local squire (C.V. France) and his wife (Helen Haye) dig in their heels and refuse to acknowledge Hornblower's presence -- how dare he use mere money to challenge the rights of blood? Their genteel snobbery is every bit as obnoxious as Hornblower's brash effrontery, and the result is a film with virtually no heroes or villains whatever. Never in any future film did Hitchcock ever lobby so strong an attack on the smug implacability of the aristocracy -- perhaps wisely, since The Skin Game proved to be one of his least-successful films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Gwenn, Jill Esmond, (more)
Based on the stage play by Stanley Houghton, this silent film by Maurice Elvey tells the story of a factory girl named Fanny (Estelle Brody) who takes a short vacation to Blackpool, sometimes called "England's Coney Island." There, she meets the rich and handsome Allan (John Stuart), whose father owns a mill. They take a liking to each other and spend some time alone, all the while trying to keep their fling a secret to escape its societal consequences. The plan eventually backfires, however, and Fanny's parents find out about the affair, confronting Allan's father and demanding that he force his son to marry Fanny. Allan's father agrees, but it is Fanny's surprising decision about the matter that has earned Hindle Wakes its reputation as one of the first feminist works of literature in the 20th century. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
