Louis Hayward Movies
Born in South Africa, roguishly handsome leading man Louis Hayward was educated in England and the Continent. Hayward briefly managed a London nightclub before he went on stage as a protégé of playwright Noel Coward. He co-starred in the London stage productions of several Broadway plays, among them Dracula and Another Language, and in 1933 made his screen bow in the British Self Made Lady. Hayward came to Broadway in 1935 to star in Point Verlaine (1935), which won him a Hollywood contract. His first American film role of note was as the hero's father in the prologue of Warner Bros.' Anthony Adverse (1936). Hayward went on to play both heroes and heels, and sometimes a charming combination thereof. He starred as Leslie Charteris' soldier-of-fortune Simon Templar in the first and the last entries in the "Saint" "B"-picture series. He also thrived in costume swashbucklers, appearing twice as the Count of Monte Cristo and once each as D'Artagnan, Captain Blood and Dick Turpin. In 1941, he was cast in a pivotal role in Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons, but his part ended up on the cutting room floor. Serving as a Marine during World War II, Hayward supervised the filming of the battle of Tarawa, winning a Bronze Star for his courage under fire. After the war, he developed one of first percentage-of-profits deals, ensuring him a steady income in perpetuity for both the theatrical and TV releases of his post-1949 films. In 1954, Hayward produced and starred in the 39-week TV series The Lone Wolf (aka Streets of Danger), after buying exclusive rights to several of Louis Joseph Vance's original "Lone Wolf" stories. His later TV projects included the British series The Pursuers (1966) and the American The Survivors (1970). The first of Louis Hayward's three wives was actress Ida Lupino; the others were Peggy Morrow and June Blanchard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1977
"Promise to Murder" is a 60-minute TV play adapted from the Oscar Wilde short story "Lord Arthur Saville's Crime." Louis Hayward stars as a moderately successful London barrister who, at the insistence of his aristocratic aunt, agrees to have his palm read by a fortune teller (Peter Lorre). Rather disturbingly, within the next few weeks several of the palmist's prophecies come true. What really bothers the nervous barrister is that one, final prediction--that he would end up committing murder. Previously dramatized as a segment of the 1943 omnibus feature film Flesh and Fantasy, "Promise to Murder" was originally broadcast live as part of the CBS anthology Climax! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
In this western a desperado suffers an identity crisis in a frontier town. While he struggles to find the truth, he manages to save the town from a crazed, manipulative gambler. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Hunter, Louis Hayward, (more)
The title character (Rod Taylor) is a drifting gunslinger, who enters a Southwestern fort and immediately becomes embroiled with its commander (John Mills). In the end, the wanderer helps the fort guard against attacks from Indians. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1962
When the faithless wife of architect Paul Sampson (Barry Sullivan) demands a divorce, he goes berserk and kills her. The police rule that the death was an accident, but it isn't long before Paul is tortured by the pangs of conscience. He decides to confess to the murder and take the consequences -- only to find that no one believes him. Well, almost no one: Paul does manage to convince Judge David Wilcox (Louis Hayward), who, as it turns out, has a vested interest in the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
The Search for Bridey Murphy was inspired by the purportedly true story of a Colorado housewife named Virginia Tighe, who while under hypnosis insisted that she'd lived a previous life as an 18th century Irish housemaid named Bridey Murphy. The hypnosis sessions were conducted under the supervision of Dr. Morey Bernstein, who later wrote a book on the subject. This hastily assembled filmization of Dr. Bernstein's book stars Teresa Wright as Ruth Simmons (Ms. Tighe's pseudonym) and Louis Hayward as Bernstein. Except for the "astral world" sequences, Search for Bridey Murphy adopts a semi-documentary approach, often to the point of tedium. Bridey Murphy herself is portrayed at various ages by Teresa Wright, Ruth Robinson, Denise Freeborn and Hallene Hill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Teresa Wright, Louis Hayward, (more)
- 1956
This crime drama comes from an episode of the Climax TV series. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
This tape consists of two episodes of the television series starring Louis Hayward as private eye Mike Lanyard. The first episode, "The Savage," has Lanyard visiting a tropical island to see an old friend. He soon gets mixed up with voodoo witch doctors, head hunters and a guerrilla army starting a revolution. The second episode, "Aztec Treasure," has Lanyard meeting up with the girlfriend of a one-armed man who found millions in gold but died before he could tell where it was. Lanyard suspects that the girlfriend knows where it is but isn't telling. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Like its predecessor Duffy of San Quentin, The Steel Cage is made up of episodes from a never-telecast TV series based on the career of progressive prison warden Clinton T. Duffy. Paul Kelly plays Duffy, while his wife is portrayed by Maureen O'Sullivan. Divided into three separate playlets, the film begins with the semi-comic story of an ill-tempered chef (Walter Slezak) who is railroaded into San Quentin by a gourmet prisoner. The second story concerns a tense hostage situation fomented by would-be escapees John Ireland and Lawrence Tierney. The closing story deals with an incarcerated painter (Kenneth Tobey), whose belief in God is renewed by an idealistic young priest (Arthur Franz). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, Maureen O'Sullivan, (more)
- 1954
Though filmed ten years after The Saint Meets the Tiger, the British The Saint's Girl Friday is generally regarded as the final entry in RKO's "Saint" series of 1938-43. Louis Hayward, who first played Leslie Charteris' soldier-of-fortune Simon Templar in the 1938 film The Saint in New York, returns to the role after a 16-year absence. This time, Templar comes to London at the invitation of an old female acquaintance. When he arrives, he discovers that the woman is dead, the possible victim of a vicious gambling syndicate. Together with chronic gambler Carol Denby (Naomi Chance), who is being blackmailed into acting as a come-on for the crooks, Templar takes on chief heavy Max Lennar (Sidney Taffler), all the while keeping one step ahead of Scotland Yard inspector Teal (Charles Victor). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Naomi Chance, (more)
- 1954
Duffy of San Quentin is an Allied Artists low-budgeter based on the life of the warden who first introduced reforms in the infamous California penal institution. Appalled by conditions in San Quentin, the grey-haired Duffy inaugurates a series of improvements. He also sets up an honor system, which brings him under fire from conservative law enforcement agencies. The lumpy, episodic continuity of Duffy of San Quentin is due to the fact that the film is comprised of an hour-long TV pilot film, padded out with hastily assembled new footage. While Duffy was consigned to TV within two years of its release, the film did well enough to engender a sequel, The Steel Cage (likewise a pilot film). Ironically, Paul Kelly, who stars as Duffy in both films, served a prison sentence for manslaughter in the 1920s. The British title of Duffy of San Quentin is Men Behind Bars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Joanne Dru, (more)
- 1953
Louis Hayward goes the "stiff upper lip" route in the Allied Artists "B"-plus actioner The Royal African Rifles. Set in British East Africa during the early days of WW I, the story concerns the efforts by Royal African Rifle troops to get their hands on much-needed machine guns. Officer Denham (Louis Hayward) leads a group of soldiers on a "hunting party," the better to steal the valuable weapons. Michael Pate co-stars as Cunningham, the gun-running heavy of the piece. Veronica Hurst, whom Allied Artists had been grooming for stardom ever since The Maze, is the rather disposable heroine. As usual, director Lesley Selander paces his material like a western film, with salutary results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Veronica Hurst, (more)
- 1952
This above-average Louis Hayward swashbuckler was sumptuously produced by Columbia's resident western specialist Harry Joe Brown. Adapted from Rafael Sabatini's Captain Blood Returns, the film stars Hayward as physician-turned-buccaneer Peter Blood. Now respectably retired in the West Indies, Blood is shaken out of his complacency when he is accused of returning to piracy. Given a chance to clear his name, Blood reassembles his old crew to track down the villain who's pilfered his good name. The excellent cast includes John Sutton, George Givot, Ted de Corsia, and, in larger roles than usual, Charles Irwin and Rex Evans. And what would a Columbia pirate picture be without leading lady Patricia Medina? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, (more)
- 1952
As indicated by the title, Lady in the Iron Mask is a distaff version of the famous Alexandre Dumas yarn. D'Artagnan (Louis Hayward) and his fellow musketeers vow to defend France's Princess Anne (Patricia Medina) to the death. It seems that Anne has been thrown into a dungeon with her face enveloped in an iron mask, while her long-lost sister Louise (also Patricia Medina) is placed on the throne by scheming Duke De Valdac (John Sutton). D'Artagnan and his pals must rescue the princess before the impostor goes through with an arranged marriage to King Phillip of Spain (Hal Gerrard). Porthos, Aramis and Athos are played respectively by Alan Hale Jr., Judd Holdren (TV's Commando Cody) and Steve Brodie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, (more)
- 1951
The Son of Dr. Jekyll is Edward Jekyll, played by Louis Hayward. The film's events take place long after the unpleasantness involving Dr. J's doppelganger Mr. Hyde. Young Edward hopes to prove that his father was a dedicated scientist, and not merely a mad monster. His nemesis in this endeavor is Curtis Lanyon (Alexander Knox), executor for the Jekyll estate, who hopes to drive Edward into insanity and irrational behavior so he can keep the late doctor's legacy for himself. Much to the disappointment of the audience, Eddie Jekyll never turns into Hyde, no matter how hard he and Lanyon try to re-create the original doctor's experiments. Thus, Son of Dr. Jekyll can scarcely be designated a horror film; it looks more like a period-costume Charlie Chan picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Jody Lawrance, (more)
- 1951
The "bandit" of the title is notorious 18th-century British highwayman Dick Turpin, herein portrayed by Louis Hayward. The lady is the high-born Joyce Greene (Patricia Medina), who becomes Turpin's bride. Motivated by Irish patriotism and revenge against the man who hanged his father, Turpin cuts quite a swath through the British countryside, relieving wealthy passengers of their riches. For his wife's sake, Turpin briefly gives up his life of crime, but not for long. Upon learning that his wife is slated to be hanged as his accomplice, Turpin embarks upon a 200-mile ride from St.Alban's to York, knowing full well that by rescuing his bride, he will forfeit his own life. Well produced (especially for a Columbia costumer of the era), Lady and the Bandit is based on the Alfred Noyes poem Dick Turpin's Ride--and not on Noyes' The Highwayman as claimed by previous sources. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, (more)
Fritz Lang was the guiding hand of this laudable Republic Studios melodrama. Louis Hayward stars as a wealthy wastrel who tries to seduce the family maid. She resists, and he kills her. Long jealous of his brother Lee Bowman, Hayward does his best to pin the blame for the murder on his sibling. Also affected by Hayward's arrogant dementia is his long-suffering wife Jane Wyatt. Originally, director Lang had proposed that the unfortunate maid be a black woman, and that the killing take place accidentally during some harmless flirtation on Hayward's part. He was vetoed by the timorous Republic staff (even the slightest hint of miscegenation was taboo in 1950), but House by the River turned out pretty well all the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Lee Bowman, (more)
- 1950
Though usually associated with westerns, Columbia producer Harry Joe Brown proved to be up to the challenge of producing a satisfactory swashbuckler with Fortunes of Captain Blood. Based loosely on the same Rafael Sabatini novel which served as the inspiration for the 1935 Errol Flynn vehicle Captain Blood, the film stars Louis Hayward as Irish doctor Peter Blood, who is exiled from England after treating the wounds of an enemy to the crown. Blood and several other outcasts turn to piracy, terrorizing merchant vessels of all nationalities. Dogging Captain Blood's trail is the heavy of the piece, the Marquis de Riconete (George Macready). Also appearing are Patricia Medina (Columbia's stock costume-drama heroine) as the marquis' niece, and Alfonso Bedoya (immortalized as the Mexican bandit Gold Hat in Treasure of the Sierra Madre) as a sadistic prison overseer. The battle scenes in Fortunes of Captain Blood would be cannibalized time and again over the next few years by quickie-flick producer Sam Katzman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, (more)
Disciples of "B"-picture stylist Edgar Ulmer will not be disappointed with Pirates of Capri. Lensed in Italy, the film stars Louis Hayward as swashbuckling Captain Sirocco. Posing as a foppish nobleman by day, Sirocco tirelessly works on behalf of a group of insurgents bent on deposing the wicked Queen Carolina (Binnie Barnes, endearingly miscast). Every so often, the Captain pauses to romance Countess Mercedes (Mariella Lotti), whose character name was evidently lifted from The Count of Monte Cristo. The musical score is by Nino Rota, better known for his work on the Godfather films. As in his other films, the resourceful Edgar Ulmer works miracles with a skintight budget. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Binnie Barnes, (more)
Sharkishly handsome Zachary Scott is right in his element in the Eagle-Lion melodrama Ruthless. Told in flashback, this is the story of the rise and fall of unscrupulous financier Horace Vendig (Scott). Hiding behind a veneer of respectability, Vendig steps on and rolls over anyone who stands in his way, including his lifelong friend Vic Lambdin (Louis Hayward), utilities executive Buck Mansfield (Sydney Greenstreet) and various and sundry women, among them Susan Duane (Martha Vickers) and Christine Mansfield (Lucille Bremer). Poor Diana Lynn is subjected to Vendig's cruelties twice, in the dual role of Martha Burnside and Mallory Flagg. It is a tribute to the acting skills of Zachary Scott that he makes his despicable character somehow likeable and, in the end, rather pathetic. Based on a novel by Dayton Stoddart, Ruthless, like many Eagle-Lion films of its period, was topheavy with loaned-out Warner Bros. contract players. It was also one of the few big-budgeted projects helmed by "cult" director Edgar G. Ulmer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zachary Scott, Joyce Arling, (more)
- 1948
Filmed almost entirely on location, Walk a Crooked Mile was Columbia Pictures' "answer" to 20th Century-Fox's late-1940s cycle of documentary-style crime dramas. FBI agent Dan O'Hara (Dennis O'Keefe) and Scotland Yard operative Philip Grayson (Louis Hayward) team up to investigate a security leak at a Southern California atomic plant. Their investigation takes them to San Francisco, where a communist spy ring flourishes under the auspices of Igor Braun (Onslow Stevens). With such actors as Raymond Burr and Philip Van Zandt playing the commie agents, it's a wonder that the whole lot of them weren't arrested on sight before the story even began! Louise Allbritton plays the nominal female lead, a suspicious atomic scientist named Toni Neva. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Dennis O'Keefe, (more)
- 1948
This commendably short adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow stars Louis Hayward in the title role. Returning from duty in the 15th-century War of the Roses, young Richard Shelton (Hayward) learns that his estate has been claimed by his usurping uncle Sir Daniel Brackley (George Macready), who for good measure has also murdered Richard's father. Forced to elude Brackley's minions, Shelton and his followers eventually manage to thwart the villain with all manner of weaponry, from crossbow to fist. Janet Blair co-stars as Joanna Sedley, whom Richard must rescue from a forced marriage to the brackish Brackley. Black Arrow was remade for television in 1985, with Benedict Taylor and Stephan Chase sharing the hero chores (in the Stevenson original, Richard Shelton and the Black Arrow were two different characters), and top-billed Oliver Reed as Brackley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Janet Blair, (more)
- 1947
On New Year's Eve, Joan Leslie runs desperately out of a penthouse apartment and into the Times Square crowd. She has reason to flee--she has just shot and killed her husband. Through a freakish wrinkle in time, Leslie is transported back to the last New Year's and is allowed to relive the past year all over again. This time she is forearmed with the knowledge of the murder and does everything she can to avoid the deed--a task made difficult by such antagonists as her nasty husband and her emotionally disturbed brother (Richard Basehart, in his film debut). Events lead inexorably to the murder...but will she do it this time? Cleverly assembled, and with a more expensive cast and budget than was usual for pinchpenny Eagle-Lion studios, Repeat Performance is a brisk and absorbing semi-fantasy. It was remade for television as Turn Back the Clock (89), with the original film's star Joan Leslie in a brief cameo role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Joan Leslie, (more)
- 1946
B-movie auteur Edgar G. Ulmer managed to direct a few A-pictures during his long career; he was personally selected by Hedy Lamarr to helm this big-budget thriller, a project she put together to change her image as a starlet whose sex appeal outweighed her acting abilities. Set in the early 19th century, The Strange Woman takes place in Bangor, Maine, where logging and lumber mills have made the town prosperous. Jenny Hager (Lamarr) has grown up in Bangor, not far from the watchful eye of wealthy Isaiah Poster (Gene Lockhart). The fact that Jenny is twenty years Isaiah's junior does not stem his amorous intentions, and when she's finally out of her teens, Jenny accepts his proposal of marriage. But beneath her sweet exterior, Jenny is a shrewd, conniving women, and while she makes a fine life for herself with Isaiah's money, she obviously doesn't care for him. When Isaiah's son Ephraim (Louis Hayward) visits from college, Jenny is immediately attracted to him, and she tells him that she'll marry him if he murders his father. But, unknown to Ephraim, Jenny is already scheming to win the affections of businessman John Evered (George Sanders), even though he's pledged to marry her best friend Meg (Hillary Brooke). Based on a novel by Ben Ames Williams, The Strange Woman was generally considered one of Hedy Lamarr's best performances, although her best-known performance would continue to be in Ecstasy (1933), largely because of her then-daring nude scenes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders, (more)
- 1946
Louis Hayward, star of 1940's Son of Monte Cristo, returns to Alexandre Dumas territory in Columbia's Return of Monte Cristo. This time, Hayward plays the grandson of his namesake Edmond Dantes, who, it will be recalled, was cheated out of his fortune and falsely imprisoned, only to escape and wreak vengeance on his betrayers by assuming the guise of the Count of Monte Cristo. Just like grandpa, the younger Dantes is framed by a trio of connivers and shipped off to Devil's Island. Escaping with a fellow convict, political radical Bombelles (Steven Geray), Dantes adopts the bearded guise of an elderly man in order to destroy his enemies and reclaim his birthright. One of his principal antagonists -- at least during the first half of the film -- is haughty aristocrat Angele Picard (Barbara Britton), who because she wasn't a part of the original conspiracy genuinely believes that Dantes is a criminal (This is the sort of pre-Political Correctness film in which the hero robs and ties up the heroine, but she falls in love with him anyway). After orchestrating the ruin of two of his tormentors, Dantes settles accounts with main villain Henri de la Roche (George Macready) in a darkened theater, a climax that invokes memories of Rafael Sabatini's Scaramouche. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Barbara Britton, (more)
- 1946
With The Outlaw still being withheld from general release, Young Widow represented the first time that most filmgoers ever saw Jane Russell on the screen. Unfortunately, she was hardly at her best in this lachrymose tale of a woman named Joan Kenwood, who can't get over her husband's death in WW II. A journalist by profession, Joan is reminded in large ways and small of her late husband during every one of her assignments. Sympathetic ex-soldier Jim Cameron (Louis Hayward) follows Joan around throughout the picture, hoping against hope that she'll eventually forget her husband and pay some attention to him. Featured in the supporting cast is Faith Domergue, who like Jane Russell was a well-endowed Howard R. Hughes "discovery." Young Widow was based on the four-hanky novel by Clarissa Fairchild Cushman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Russell, Louis Hayward, (more)
