Ivor Novello Movies

Silvio Steno (Matheson Lang) is an actor who also manages the theater company that includes his wife Simonetta (Hilda Bayley). While Silvio buries himself in his work, his wife feels neglected. Silvio's best friend Andrea (Ivor Novello) takes a liking to the lonely wife, but Simonetta only wishes to be friends. When her brother Lelio (Clifford Gray) sees his sister and Andrea together on the Grand Canal, he threatens to tell Silvio if she does not give him money. Silvio is called to the deathbed of his mentor when he and Simonetta attend a carnival ball. The husband learns of his wife's alleged indiscretion, and a worried Simonetta flees on the next train. During the staging of Othello Simonetta plays Desdemona and Silvio takes the murder scene too seriously. The curtain goes down and stagehands must wrestle him away from his wife to prevent her strangulation. After the play, Simonetta asks to be alone with her husband and begs Silvio's forgiveness ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

World War I stunted the progress of cinema in Europe for several years and the French were still trying to catch up in 1922. This romantic melodrama, directed by Louis Mercanton, was not as technically advanced as American made films and had to be edited for U.S. consumption, but it had several strong points -- it was filmed on location at a real French chateau, and its star, Madame Rejane, was a contemporary of Sarah Bernhardt, and one of the most famous European actresses of her generation. This picture, in fact, was Rejane's last screen appearance -- she died shortly after completing her role. Romany Kate (Rejane), her orphaned granddaughter, Miarka (Desdemona Mazza), and their pet bear live on the estate of Count de la Roque (Jean Richepin), who is interested in Gypsy lore. Kate reads Miarka's fortune and sees that she is destined to marry the chief of the Gypsies. This puts a dent in Miarka's romance with the Count's nephew, Ivor (Ivor Novello), who has recently come home from college. The estate's gamekeeper, Louis (Charles Vanel), is also in love with Miarka. He steals money from the Count's chateau and allows the blame to fall on Kate. She is arrested and Louis tries to abduct Miarka, who has been left alone. But the bear attacks and mortally wounds him. As he is dying, Louis admits to the theft and Kate is freed. She and Miarka visit a Gypsy shrine, followed by the Count and Ivor. There it is revealed that Ivor is the long lost Gypsy chief, and he and Miarka are united. In addition to his role as the Count, Jean Richepin was also the author of the book on which this film was based, Miarka, the Child of the Bear. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

A man without desire? That was but one of the novelties of the silent British romantic fantasy. Matinee idol Ivor Novello, who also produced the picture, stars as an 18th-century Venetian count. When his true love (Nina Vanna) dies, the count loses all interest in living. Snapping out of his grief, he develops a method to place himself in a state of suspended animation. Awakening in 1923, the count is reunited with his love -- or at least with one of her descendants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While the silent The Lodger was not director Alfred Hitchcock's first film, it was the first to truly deserve the designation "A Hitchcock Picture". British matinee idol Ivor Novello plays Jonathan Drew, a quiet, secretive young man who rents a room in a London boarding house. Drew's arrival coincides with the reign of Terror orchestrated by Jack the Ripper. As the film progresses, circumstantial evidence begins to mount, pointing to Drew as the selfsame Ripper. In addition to Novello's 1932 remake, The Lodger was remade in 1944 with Laird Cregar, then again in 1953 as Man in the Attic, with Jack Palance as Jonathan Drew. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Vortex is based on the Noel Coward play of the same name, with the wry cynicism of the original supplanted by treacly sentiment. Composer Nicky Lancaster (Ivor Novello) falls in love with lady novelist Bunty Mainwaring (Frances Doble). Our hero is soon shocked to discover that Bunty's cast-off lover Tom Verian (Alan Hollis) is having an affair with Nicky's own mother Florence (Wilette Kershaw). Things come to a head at a weekend party, with all the main characters in attendance. A tacked-on happy ending mars the film's effectiveness almost beyond repair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is the first of three film versions of Margaret Kennedy's 1924 novel The Constant Nymph. Mabel Poulton plays the title character, an impressionable young girl named Tessa, who falls in love with brilliant but impoverished composer Lewis Dodd (Ivor Novello). Dodd, however, barely acknowledges Tessa's existence, preferring instead the company of the older, prettier and wealthier Paulina (Dorothy Boyd). Only when it is nearly too late does Dodd realize how much he loves Tessa and how the girl has influenced his finest musical work. The first directorial effort of Basil Dean, The Constant Nymph was adapted for the screen by Alma Reville, the wife of Alfred Hitchcock. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this melodrama, a blind musician enters his newest composition in a competition and wins. At least he thinks he wins. His loving wife cannot bear to tell him the truth. Fortunately, a kindly neighbor helps out and hands the musician a big check so he thinks he won. When the man discovers the truth, he immediately begins suspecting his wife of cheating and leaves her. After his tunes become popular the humbled fellow returns and peace is restored. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Tarzan, The Ape Man was not only MGM's inaugural "Tarzan" film, but also the first to star former Olympic swimming champ Johnny Weissmuller as The Lord of the Jungle (strange but true: one of the pre-Weissmuller "Tarzan" candidates was Clark Gable!) Utilizing scads of stock footage from MGM's Trader Horn (1931), the film begins with great white hunter James Parker (C. Aubrey Smith) trekking through darkest Africa in search of the legendary Elephant Graveyard. Accompanying Parker is his daughter Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) and her erstwhile beau Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton). The expedition is habitually sabotaged by the ecology-conscious Tarzan, a white man who'd been lost in the jungle years earlier and raised by Apes. Tarzan kidnaps Jane and spirits her away to the treetops, where she gradually overcomes her fear of the Loinclothed One and teaches him to speak English ("Tarzan...Jane", not "Me Tarzan...You Jane" as has often been reported). The perfect gentleman, Tarzan returns Jane to her father and swings off into the distance. When Parker, Jane and Holt are captured by pygmies, Tarzan comes to the rescue, with an entourage of his elephant friends. At fade-out time, Jane has decided to renounce civilization and spend the rest of her life with Tarzan. The only one of the MGM "Tarzans" actually based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs originals, Tarzan the Ape Man proved a surprise hit, spawning an endless parade of sequels and remakes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Belloc-Lowndes' original novel The Lodger, the reclusive young man suspected of being Jack the Ripper turns out to be exactly who he's assumed to be. When Alfred Hitchcock directed the 1926 film version of The Lodger, he was advised that the public would never accept the popular star Ivor Novello as a serial killer, thus the film was given a happy ending. Novello himself wrote the screenplay for the 1932 non-Hitchcock talkie version of The Lodger, which, though updated from the novel's 19th century setting, retains its original shocker climax. Well received at the time of its release but rarely seen in recent years, the 1932 Lodger can be regarded as a serviceable bridge between the 1926 Hitchcock silent and the definitive 1944 20th Century-Fox remake starring Laird Cregar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romance, a wealthy woman is duped by a charming conductor. Later she ends up using him so she can remain in France. In the end, the sparring partners fall in love for real. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The popular Ivor Novello musical play Glamorous Night was given a conservative film treatment in 1937--minus much of the Novello score that had made it famous. Opera singer Mary Ellis plays an opera singer (why not?) who falls in with a band of roguish but likeable gypsies. Mary manages to convince her Bohemian cohorts to rescue the King from the machinations of his ambitious prime minister. As "cast insurance" to make certain that Glamorous Night would get American bookings, Hollywood character actors Otto Kruger and Victor Jory are given leading roles. The US distributors also sliced the film down from 81 to 65 minutes, through the simple expedient of removing several songs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide