Gertrude Lawrence Movies
British actress Gertrude Lawrence, a major star of musicals and revues in both Great Britain and on Broadway, only occasionally ventured onto the big screen. In 1968, Julie Andrews played her in the musical biopic Star! (1968). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 1950
Adapted from the play by Tennessee Williams, Glass Menagerie centers around four unhappy people living in a rundown section of St. Louis. Tom, the story's narrator (Arthur Kennedy) is a poetic idealist trapped in a dead-end job, drowning his sorrows in booze. Tom lives with his mother Amanda (Gertrude Lawrence), a faded Southern belle who lives in the past, and with his crippled older sister Laura (Jane Wyman), an intensely shy woman who escapes from reality by keeping a "glass menagerie" of small animal figures. Laura is brought out of her shell by the Gentleman Caller (Kirk Douglas), a coworker of Tom's who relies on bravado and charm to get through life. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Kirk Douglas, (more)
Lightning steadfastly refused to strike twice for the director/actor team of Alexander Korda and Charles Laughton. Though the pair had scored an international success with the 1933 quasi-biopic The Private Life of Henry VIII, they couldn't make the magic happen again with 1936's Rembrandt. Laughton's performance is solid throughout, and Korda's recreation of Rembrandt's Holland is meticulous, but the film suffers from a lack of overall dramatic tension. Except for his artistic achievements and the deaths of his two wives, nothing really "happens" to Rembrandt--at least nothing as colorful as the escapades of Henry VIII. The best element of the film is the successful effort by cinematographer Georges Perinal to recreate the famous "Rembrandt lighting" effect in each scene. Laughton is given fine support by Elsa Lanchester (his real-life wife), and by legendary stage star Gertrude Lawrence in a rare film role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, Gertrude Lawrence, (more)
- 1936
Something of a precursor to 1947's A Double Life, Men Are Not Gods takes its title from a line in Othello -- aptly so, as that play figures prominently in the film. Actress Barbara Halford (Gertrude Lawrence) is married to Edmond Davey (Sebastian Shaw), a classical actor whose new production of Othello is about to open. Aware that influential critic Skeates has written a vociferously negative review, Barbara pleads with his secretary Ann (Miriam Hopkins) to rewrite the notice. She does so, and the production becomes a hit - and Ann becomes a hit with Davey, which fact sits well with neither Barbara nor Ann's boy friend Rex Harrison. Barbara, who is also playing Desdemona in the production, warns Ann to keep her hands off of her husband. But that night, as Othello chokes Desdemona, it seems suspiciously real, prompting Ann to scream out in horror from the audience. Afterward, Barbara reveals that she is pregnant; as she and Davey embrace, Ann quietly exits from the scene. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
- Starring:
- Miriam Hopkins, Gertrude Lawrence, (more)
- 1935
Mimi is based on Murger's La Vie de Boheme, with operatic snatches from Puccini's La Boheme occasionally thrown in. The very healthy-looking Gertrude Lawrence seems an odd casting choice for the consumptive Mimi, whose tragic romance with starving artist Rodolfe (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) in Paris' Latin Quarter provides the film's dramatic thrust. Director Paul Stein has spared nothing to make the film as historically accurate as possible; unfortunately, Stein has also robbed the story of much of its vitality in the process. Fans of Gertrude Lawrence couldn't have been happy that her singing was confined to only one tune, and a forgettable one at that. Originally released at 98 minutes, Mimi is currently available only in its 62-minute American release version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gertrude Lawrence, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., (more)
- 1934
Back before there was "no-fault divorce" couples wanting to split up had to provide hard evidence of spousal wrong-doing before a judge. This comedy centers on the attempts of one such couple to prove that the other is a schnook so they can be rid of each other. Separately, they hire detectives from the same agency to follow the other around. Comical mishaps ensue when the investigators (who have never met) end up falling in love while doing their job on the French Riviera. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gertrude Lawrence, Laurence Olivier, (more)
- 1932
The crackerjack director/cinematographer team of Harry Lachman and Rudolph Mate (Dante's Inferno, Our Relations) brought an extra veneer of class to the 1932 Gertrude Lawrence vehicle Aren't We All. She plays a shy and retiring lass who harbors a secret past indiscretion. Her "shameful" secret is revealed just as she plans to marry wealthy Owen Nares. The future husband expresses outrage, but his father Hugh Wakefield comes to Lawrence's rescue by exposing one or two of Nares' past peccadillos, and by inviting the girl's former lover to state his case. This British drawing room comedy was based on a stage play by the prolific Frederick Lonsdale. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gertrude Lawrence, Hugh Wakefield, (more)
- 1932
In this drama the owner of a flower shop falls in love with one of her patrons. Unfortunately, he is married to a shrewish actress and cannot get out of the marriage. The distraught woman then leaves her shop to become a nurse. Trouble ensues when the actress suddenly appears, accuses the nurse of fooling around with her husband and dies leaving the nurse and the husband to be charged with murder. Fortunately, they are found innocent and they are free to fall in love at last. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gerald du Maurier, Gertrude Lawrence, (more)
- 1929
The great British stage star Gertrude Lawrence was seldom seen to her best advantage in films. In Paramount's Battle of Paris, Lawrence stars as Georgie, a British singer stranded in not-so-gay Paree during WWI. To keep food on the table, Georgie teams up with amiable pickpocket Zizi (Charlie Ruggles). Among the pockets picked are those of handsome artist Tony (Walter Petrie), with whom Georgie falls in love. Hired as Tony's model, our heroine soon becomes the "poster girl" for the French and British armies, which somehow leads to a barrage of musical numbers by Cole Porter (his first direct-to-screen score). Gertrude Lawrence tries hard, but is defeated by a so-so script and surprisingly tepid music. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gertrude Lawrence, Charlie Ruggles, (more)
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