Herbert Lom Movies
Born Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru, Herbert Lom enjoyed a successful acting career in his native Czechoslovakia, principally in theater. He made his screen debut in Zena Pod Krizem (1937) and made one more movie in Czechoslovakia before emigrating to England in 1938. He acted at The Old Vic in London, among other companies, before turning to British films, where his good looks, cultured accent and mannerisms, and intense eyes got him cast in such unusual roles as Napoleon Bonaparte (in The Young Mr. Pitt) in between slightly more anonymous parts. Lom's real breakthrough role was in Compton Bennett's 1946 psychological drama The Seventh Veil, as Dr. Larsen, the psychiatrist treating neuroses of the pianist portrayed by Ann Todd. Lom might have become a kind of Eastern (or Middle) European successor to Charles Boyer, but he was too good an actor to limit himself to romantic parts; instead, he was more like a Czech Jean Gabin. Lom often played highly motivated villains in the 1950s and '60s, most notably in Jules Dassin's Night and the City (1950), in which he brought surprising humanity to the role of a brutal, vengeful gangster, and Sidney Gilliat's State Secret (1950). He reprised the role of Napoleon in King Vidor's sprawling 1956 production of War and Peace, and was a memorably humane, well-spoken Captain Nemo in the Ray Harryhausen production of Mysterious Island (1961); he also played the title role in a 1962 production of The Phantom of the Opera, but Lom's best movie during this period -- despite having some of his shortest screen time -- was Anthony Mann's El Cid, in which he played the Muslim leader Ben Yussuf. He counter-balanced this work with a newly revealed flair for comedy, utilized in the Pink Panther movies, starting with A Shot in the Dark, where his long-suffering bureau chief Dreyfus was forever dreading Inspector Clouseau's latest blunder. He was also Simon Legree in the 1965 German musical production of Uncle Tom's Cabin (as Onkel Tom's Hütte). During the late '60s and '70s, he began appearing in horror films of various types, following a path similar to that blazed by his British-born contemporary Michael Gough. He has kept his hand in gentler and more complex roles, however, including that of the sardonically humorous Soviet bureau chief in Ronald Neame's Hopscotch (1980), and David Cronenberg's The Dead Zone (1983). ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1962
In his first effort at directing a feature-length film, William (Ted) Kotcheff, best-known for movies like The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, does an excellent job in making this drama effective. He is helped in no small part by James Mason as Brett Aimsley, a sophisticated, at-ease former junior partner in a brokerage firm, and John Mills as Lt. Col. Clifford Southey, a former clerk in that same company. During the war, the lieutenant carries his sense of inferiority from his peacetime job as a clerk with him. So when he has a chance to nail Brett (a junior officer now) for trying to bring some censored goods back into London, he takes the chance and Brett is drummed out of service. Brett heads for Tahiti and a pretty good life in the sun, until Clifford shows up on the island with big plans to build a hotel -- bringing with him the same defensive attitude. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mason, John Mills, (more)
- 1962
Although filmed by a joint German-Yugoslav crew, this European western is set in the Southern United States and involves an oddly-named hero, Old Shatterhand (Lex Barker of Tarzan fame). O.S. has a sidekick, Winnetou, an Apache chief played by a rather understated Pierre Brice. The fuel behind the drama is a hidden map that shows where a secret treasure is buried somewhere around Silver Lake. A gang of outlaws headed by Cornel Brinkley (Herbert Lom) is intent on retrieving the map and the treasure. Just as intent on stopping them are Old Shatterhand, Winnetou, and Fred Engel (Goetz George) whose father was killed by the outlaws' leader. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brice, Lex Barker, (more)
- 1962
This Gothic melodrama from Hammer Studios is in color, but the plot is basically the same as the two previous efforts. Instead of Paris, the action takes place at the Royal Opera House in London. The Phantom (Herbert Lom) is a facially disfigured musician/composer who had his opera stolen by a conniving composer, the lecherous Lord d'Arcy. The Phantom -- who lives in the sewer beneath the opera house -- has his dwarf assistant (Ian Wilson) kidnap Christine Charles (Heather Sears), the lead actress in Gough's production, with whom he has fallen in love, and trains her to become an opera singer, performing a work he has written. Meanwhile, Christine's fiance, Harry Hunter (Edward de Souza, researches the phantom's history and, after locating his whereabouts and finding him, decides to unmask the mysterious fellow. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Herbert Lom, Heather Sears, (more)
Filmed at least nine times over the last nine decades, Jules Verne's Mysterious Island received its most popular picturization in the hands of producer Charles Schneer, director Cy Endfield and special-effects maestro Ray Harryhausen. During the Civil War, several P.O.W.s led by Gary Merrill escape from a southern stockade in a huge observation balloon. Buffeted about by a violent storm, the balloon lands on an unchartered island somewhere near New Zealand. The fugitives soon discover that this is no ordinary desert isle, especially after being attacked by a giant-sized crab. Joined by a pair of shipwrecked British gentlewomen (Joan Greenwood and Beth Rogan), the castaways find evidence that the island has been previously inhabited-and that they're all being watched. Sure enough, it turns out that the island is the domain of Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom), skipper of the futuristic underwater vessel Nautilus. Having failed to end all wars by blasting battleships out of the sea, Nemo is now experimenting with new means of ending starvation in the world: hence the outsized crabs and birds that the castaways have confronted. Before Nemo can spread his goodwill elsewhere, he is destroyed by the island's volcano, while the others manage to escape in the Nautilus. As in 1957's 7th Voyage of Sinbad, the combination of Ray Harryhausen and musical composer Bernard Herrmann is unbeatable; otherwise, Mysterious Island tends to slow to a halt in-between its spectacular special-effects highlights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, (more)
- 1961
Mr. Topaze was based on a play by Marcel Pagnol, previously filmed twice before with John Barrymore and Fernandel. Peter Sellers stars as a French college professor, known far and wide for his integrity. He refuses to improve a grade on the paper of one student, whose influential father sees to it that Sellers is fired. Cast adrift in the business world, Sellers is hired by a crooked liquor executive (Herbert Lom) to act as "front" for the benefit of the authorities. When Sellers catches on how much money there is in the business, his honesty evaporates and he becomes as underhanded as the next fellow. The love of Joan Sims enables Sellers to change his ways before his dishonesty can become disastrous. Mr. Topaze was rereleased in 1963 as I Like Money; once again, however, no one wanted to see a "straight" Peter Sellers in a role that called out for the broad comedy he did so well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Nadia Gray, (more)
Sean Connery plays one of his early roughneck types in the British gangster picture Frightened City. The story takes place in a rundown section of London, where the citizens are held in the grip of extortionists. After several months of gang warfare, the six major "protection" rings agree to bury the hatchet and combine their efforts under the leadership of a mob boss (Herbert Lom). One of the gangsters opposes the mobster's rule, and is promptly rubbed out. Paddy Damion (Sean Connery), the dead man's best friend, swears revenge. After a bloody confrontation, Damion agrees to provide information to the police -- after plea-bargaining himself into a light sentence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Herbert Lom, John Gregson, (more)
- 1961
When French playwright Pierre Corneille wrote El Cid, a fanciful version of the life of 11th-century Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, aka "El Cid", an attempt was made to honor the "classic unities" and to compress the whole story into a single day! Be assured that the 1961 film version of El Cid is more faithful to the actual chronology. Charlton Heston adds one more character to his gallery of historical portrayals as El Cid, the disgraced Spanish knight who rids his country of its Moorish conquerors. The triumphs of El Cid's military life are not matched by his private affairs; he is betrayed by his bride Chimene (Sophia Loren) and is made a political pawn by the avaricious Spanish landowners. El Cid has a climax unique in the annals of movie epics: the final assault against the landgrabbers is led by a dead hero. El Cid established the short but generally profitable reign of producer Samuel Bronston as the King of the Epics; his imprint on the film is much stronger than that of director Anthony Mann. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, (more)
Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) is a rebellious slave purchased by Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov), owner of a school for gladiators. For the entertainment of corrupt Roman senator Marcus Licinius Crassus (Laurence Olivier), Batiatus' gladiators are to stage a fight to the death. On the night before the event, the enslaved trainees are "rewarded" with female companionship. Spartacus' companion for the evening is Varinia (Jean Simmons), a slave from Brittania. When Spartacus later learns that Varinia has been sold to Crassus, he leads 78 fellow gladiators in revolt. Word of the rebellion spreads like wildfire, and soon Spartacus' army numbers in the hundreds. Escaping to join his cause is Varinia, who has fallen in love with Spartacus, and another of Crassus' house slaves, the sensitive Antoninus (Tony Curtis). The revolt becomes the principal cog in the wheel of a political struggle between Crassus and a more temperate senator named Gracchus (Charles Laughton). Anthony Mann was the original director of Spartacus, eventually replaced by Stanley Kubrick, who'd previously guided Douglas through Paths of Glory. The film received 4 Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Ustinov. A crucial scene between Olivier and Curtis, removed from the 1967 reissue because of its subtle homosexual implications, was restored in 1991, with a newly recorded soundtrack featuring Curtis as his younger self and Anthony Hopkins standing in for the deceased Olivier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, (more)
- 1959
The lush romanticism of director Frank Borzage (Seventh Heaven, Street Angel) is subsumed by the plodding reverence of producer Rowland V. Lee's screenplay (co-written with Howard Estabrook), based on the best-selling novel by Lloyd C. Douglas. Howard Keel stars as a stalwart Simon-Peter, the apostle of Christ called "the fisher of men" and the "Rock" upon whom the Christian Church was founded. The film, on the surface, deals with Simon-Peter's conversion from a self-sufficient fisherman to a believer in the inspirational teachings of Christianity. Simon-Peter also serves the needs of the real story: how Simon-Peter succeeds in joining together two lovers from the other side of the tracks. John Saxon is Voldi, an Arab prince who wants to follow in his father's footsteps as the chief of an Arab tribe and marry his beloved, Fara (Susan Kohner). But Fara, wants to see her father, Herod Antipas (Herbert Lom), dead for the misery he has inflicted upon her mother -- abandoning her for the lustful Herodias (Martha Hyer). When Voldi and Fara hear the teachings of Christ, they realize that their love must be put in abeyance to their Christian beliefs. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard Keel, Susan Kohner, (more)
- 1959
The career of rocket scientist Wernher von Braun (Curt Jurgens) is the focus of this film. Supposedly bullied by the Nazis into working for the Third Reich, the end of the war leaves the rocket man with a decision to take his talents to either Russia or the United States. He chooses the U. S., but controversy follows the gifted scientist wherever he goes. Some resent his collaborations with the Nazis, while others in the government are more than willing to turn their heads in deference to his genius. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Victoria Shaw, (more)
- 1959
Northwest Frontier was the original British title for Flame Over India. When the Moslems attack a British fortress in colonial India, it is imperative that the local Maharaja's son be taken to safety. The man for the job is commander Kenneth More, who uses a rusty old train for that purpose. Among the other fugitives is the boy's British governess Lauren Bacall and the untrustworthy Herbert Lom. A cat-and-mouse session between good and bad guys segues into a heart-pounding chase through the frontier. Welcome comedy relief is in the hands of I.S. Johar as a grizzled old engineer. It looks like a western and sounds like a western, and the original title Northwest Frontier completes the illusion that we're watching Cowboys and Indians rather than Indians and Moslems. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth More, Lauren Bacall, (more)
- 1959
Promoted as an in-depth study of the art of mountain climbing, this episode of Walt Disney Presents is actually an extended advertisement for the upcoming Disney theatrical feature Third Man on the Mountain. Although the stars of that film (including James MacArthur and Michael Rennie), the real hero of the proceedings is French mountain climber Gaston Rebufatt, who functioned as Third Man on the Mountain's guide and second-unit director while the company was on location in Switzerland. The highlight finds Rebufatt instructing a novice on the intricacies of scaling a particular precipitious precipice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaston Rebufatt, Michael Rennie, (more)
Filmed on location in Switzerland, Walt Disney's Third Man on the Mountain was based on Banner in the Sky, a book by James Ramsey Ullman. James MacArthur plays a Swiss youth who vows to be the first to scale a formidable Matterhorn-like mountain called the Citadel. The fact that MacArthur's father was killed attempting a similar climb only strengthens the boy's resolve. Though discouraged by his mother and uncle, MacArthur prepares for his ascent by taking practice climbs with his friends, learning vital lessons about safety and cooperation along the way. Finally, MacArthur begins making his way up the Citadel in the company of four other hardy souls. The title is a giveaway as to who doesn't reach the top of the mountain first; even so, there's a happy, satisfying ending for the so-called "loser." The film's breathtaking full-color shots of the Matterhorn are brilliantly augmented by the matte work of the legendary Peter Ellenshaw. Watch for Helen Hayes, the mother of Third Man on the Mountain star James MacArthur, in an amusing cameo role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Rennie, Janet Munro, (more)
- 1958
In direct contrast to his later lush-budgeted international epics, director J. Lee Thompson turns his lenses towards the London slums in the sincere but saccharine No Trees in the Street. Based on the play by Ted Willis, the film is set in the years just before World War II, when England hadn't completely dug itself out of the worldwide depression. Melvyn Hayes is featured as an aimless teenager, who tries to escape his squalid surroundings by entering a life of crime. He falls in with local hoodlum Herbert Lom, who holds the rest of the slum citizens in the grip of fear--including Hayes' own family. No Trees in the Street chronicles Hayes' sordid progress from nickel-and-dime thefts to murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvia Syms, Herbert Lom, (more)
- 1958
The still-controversial L'Affair Dreyfuss of the late 19th century is the focal point of I Accuse! Jose Ferrer (who also directed) stars as French Army captain Alfred Dreyfus, who is chosen as the fall guy for a major military scandal for no other discernable reason than his Jewishness. Wrongly accused of treason, Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and shipped off to Devil's Island. Friends and family members, bolstered by the support of novelist Emile Zola (Emlyn Williams), force a retrial, to no avail. When their mistake and subsequent coverup is revealed, the Army tries to save face by offering Dreyfuss a pardon, even though they will not rescind their accusation of treason. Left with no alternatives, Dreyfuss accepts, returning to France in disgrace. Only the confession of the genuine traitor enables Dreyfuss to clear his name and have his rank restored. Many of the facts of the case that had been glossed over for legal reasons in 1937's Life of Emile Zola are herein presented on film for the first time. The screenplay for I Accuse! was adapted from the Nicholas Haasz' book by Gore Vidal, who manages to make several allusions to America's own McCarthy-era "witch hunts". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Anton Walbrook, (more)
- 1958
Romain Gary's best-selling novel The Roots of Heaven was adapted to film in Cinemascope and DeLuxe Color by producer Darryl F. Zanuck. Though billed third, Trevor Howard plays the central character, an idealist who has gone into Africa in hopes of saving the elephants from extinction. At first regarded as a crank, Howard shows he's not kidding by taking a shot at the posterior of a pompous news commentator (Orson Welles). As Howard's crusade gains momentum, several opportunists go along with him, among them a disgraced British military officer (Errol Flynn) hoping to redeem himself. Roots of Heaven represented the last truly worthwhile screen appearance by Errol Flynn, who died less than a year after filming his Roots death scene. The film itself was shot on location in French Equatorial Africa--a grueling experience for its stars and its director (John Huston), one worthy of a book in itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Juliette Greco, (more)
- 1958
Before Eddie Constantine became a French pop icon as the slapdash "Lemmy Caution," he played Johnny, a straightforward London taxi driver. When his new taxi is smashed and he needs a big loan, he agrees to a five-minute marriage to Malou, a naive French girl, so she can become a British citizen. As planned, the two part after the nuptials, not realizing that this has all been rigged as a recruiting scheme by Nick (Herbert Lom), the boss of a Soho prostitution ring. Malou learns of Nick's plans for her future and tries to escape but is drugged and locked up. With help from the head "girl," Vicki (Diana Dors), Johnny learns of Malou's peril, and hatches a plan to free her. This dark action thriller has a few clever twists, and Dors is gorgeous, but her fans may be disappointed at the smallness of her role. ~ Michael P. Rogers, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Constantine, Diana Dors, (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)
- 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)
- 1957
In this efficient British crime drama, Tom Yately (Stanley Baker) is an ex-con looking for honest work. He thinks he's found it when he takes a job as a truck driver, but he soon discovers that the trucking firm he's signed on with is not playing by the rules. Red (Patrick McGoohan), the company's best driver, and Cartley (William Hartnell), the manager, have created five fictional drivers who have been added to the payroll. The other staff drivers are given the shifts that the phony drivers are supposed to be working, while Red and Cartley divide their pay packets. When Tom attempts to expose the corruption at the trucking firm, he soon discovers that he's taken his life in his hands in the process. Keep an eye peeled for a supporting performance by a young Sean Connery (it was only his fifth screen role); the cast also includes Herbert Lom, Jill Ireland, Peggy Cummins, and David McCallum. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, (more)
- 1957
In one of her few English-speaking appearances, French leading lady Martine Carol plays Tracy, the daughter of a political prisoner. Tracy hires soldier-of-fortune Carson (Van Johnson) to smuggle her into Albania by way of Greece. Once behind the Iron Curtain, Tracy and Carson enlist the aid of a group of freedom-loving Albanian outlaws, led by Trifon (Herbert Lom). The final third of the film details the desperate escape attempt involving Tracy, her father and Carson. Filmed in Spain and released in the U.S. by Van Johnson's home studio of MGM, Action of the Tiger was based on a novel by James Wellard. Watch for Sean Connery in a barroom-brawl sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Martine Carol, (more)
Jack Lemmon and Robert Mitchum star as Tony and Felix, co-owners of a tramp-steamer service in the West Indies. Threatening their friendship is itinerant trollop Irena (Rita Hayworth). Tony seethes with jealousy as Irena gravitates towards Felix, leading to a heated confrontation. Felix retaliates by blowing the whistle on Tony's under-the-counter smuggling activities. Tony in turns plots to kill his former partner, but changes his mind when Felix saves his life during a shipwreck. The supporting cast includes Herbert Lom, Bernard Lee, and Anthony Newley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum, (more)
- 1956
The roguish smile of Cornel Wilde and the impressive cleavage of Jean Wallace (Mrs. Cornel Wilde) are the principal attractions of the costume swashbuckler Star of India. Wilde plays a 17th-century French nobleman who embarks upon a search for a valuable emerald which has been stolen from a Dutch collection. Dogging the nobleman's trail is a Dutch spy (Jean Wallace) posing as a French aristocrat. Both hero and heroine are bedeviled by an epicene villain (Herbert Lom), who stole the gem in the first place but who enjoys the protection of King Louis XIV (Basil Sydney). Not unexpectedly, Star of India wraps things up with an outsized sword duel between the stalwart Wilde and the smirking Lom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, (more)
War and Peace is a commendable attempt to boil down Tolstoy's long, difficult novel into 208 minutes' screen time. In recreating the the social and personal upheavals attending Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia, $6 million was shelled out by coproducers Carlo Ponti, Dino de Laurentiis and Paramount Pictures. Some of the panoramic battle sequences are so expertly handled by second-unit director Mario Soldati that they appear to be Technicolor-and-Vistavision newsreel footage of the actual events. Still, the film falters dramatically, principally because of a lumpy script and King Vidor's surprisingly lustreless direction. In addition, the casting is wildly consistent: for example, while Audrey Hepburn is flawless as Natasha, Henry Fonda is far too "Yankeefied" as the introspective Pierre. Proving too long and unwieldy for most audiences, War and Peace died at the box office; far more successful was the epic, scrupulously faithful 1968 version, filmed in the Soviet Union. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, (more)
Music professor Alec Guinness rents a London flat from sweet old lady Katie Johnson. He tells her that, from time to time, several other musicians will visit in order to rehearse. In truth, Guinness can't play a note, nor can his visitors: he's a criminal mastermind, holding court over a gang of thieves, including the likes of punkish Peter Sellers, homicidal Herbert Lom and punchdrunk Danny Green. The gang uses Guinness' flat as headquarters as they conceive a daring 60,000 pound robbery. After pulling off the job, the gang stuffs the loot in a railway station locker. To avoid detection, Guinness convinces the ever-trusting Johnson to pick up the money. Through a series of comic complications, Johnson returns home with a police escort, with neither the woman nor the bobbies suspecting that she's carrying a fortune in her suitcase. Mistakenly believing that Johnson has ratted on them, the gang reluctantly plans to eliminate her. The Ladykillers won an Oscar nomination for William Rose's screenplay, and a BFA award for veteran character actress Johnson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, (more)
