by Michael Munn
Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948, London Films and British Lion). David Niven, Margaret Leighton, Judy Campbell, Jack Hawkins. Producer Edward Black. Director Anthony Kimmins. Trivia: The original running time of 138 minutes was cut by Goldwyn to 98 minutes for release in the US.
Enchantment (1948, Goldwyn). David Niven, Teresa Wright, Evelyn Keyes, Farley Granger, Jayne Meadows. Producer Samuel Goldwyn. Director Irving Reis. Trivia: Evelyn Keyes cohabitated with Niven in 1939 and later lived with Michael Todd at the time he made Around the World in 80 Days.
A Kiss in the Dark (1949, Warner Brothers). David Niven, Jane Wyman, Victor Moore, Wayne Morris, Broderick Crawford. Producer Jack L. Warner. Director Delmer Daves. Trivia: Jane Wyman converted to Roman Catholicism and regularly attended Mass with her good friend Loretta Young.
AKiss for Corliss (1949, Strand Productions). Shirley Temple, David Niven, Tom Tully, Virginia Welles. Producer Colin Miller. Director Richard Wallace. Trivia: Shirley Temple’s last film.
The Toast of New Orleans (1950, MGM). Kathryn Grayson, Mario Lanza, David Niven, J. Carrol Naish. Producer Joe Pasternak. Director Norman Taurog. Trivia: Mario Lanza’s first film in a movie career cut short when he urinated on a piano in front of reporters.
Happy Go Lovely (1950, A.B.P.C.). David Niven, Vera-Ellen, Cesar Romero, Bobby Howes. Producer Marcel Helman. Director H. Bruce Humberstone. Trivia: H. Bruce Humberstone had, four years earlier, directed Three Little Girls in Blue which was the musical remake of Niven’s 1938 film Three Blind Mice.
Soldiers Three (1951, MGM). Stewart Granger, Walter Pidgeon, David Niven, Robert Newton. Producer Pandro S. Berman. Director Tay Garnett. Trivia: Robert Newton, a drunkard and the screen’s definitive Long John Silver in three films, was called by Niven ‘Legless Silver’.
The Elusive Pimpernel (1951, London Films). David Niven, Margaret Leighton, Cyril Cusack, Jack Hawkins. Producers/directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Trivia: Richard England loaned his schooner to the producers provided he played the schooner captain and operated it himself.
Appointment with Venus (1951, British Film Makers). David Niven, Glynis Johns, Barry Jones, Kenneth More. Producer Betty E. Box. Director Ralph Thomas. Trivia: Ralph Thomas is often wrongly credited as the director of the Carry On films. However, his brother, Gerald Thomas, was the producer of the Carry Ons.
The Lady Says No! (1952, Stillman). Joan Caulfield, David Niven, James Robertson Justice, Lenore Lonergan. Producers Frank Ross, John Stillman Jnr. Director Frank Ross. Trivia: Frank Ross’s only attempt at directing. Its failure convinced him to stick to producing.
The Moon is Blue (1953, Preminger-Herbert). William Holden, David Niven, Maggie McNamara, Tom Tully, Dawn Addams. Producers Otto Preminger, F. Hugh Herbert. Director Otto Preminger. Trivia: The movie was used as part of a plot line in the The Moon is Not Blue episode of TV’s M*A*S*H.
The Love Lottery (1953, Ealing Studios). David Niven, Peggy Cummins, Anne Vernon, Herbert Lom. Producer Monja Danischewsky. Director Charles Crichton. Trivia: Shortly after this picture, Charles Crichton stopped directing films and turned to TV but made a phenomenal comeback with his very last film, A Fish CalledWanda, in 1988.
Happy Ever After (1954, Mario Zampi for A.B.P.C.). David Niven, Yvonne de Carlo, Barry Fitzgerald, George Cole. Producer/director Mario Zampi. Trivia: Mario Zampi was an Italian but made quintessentially British comedy films.
The King’s Thief (1955, MGM). Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, David Niven, George Sanders, Roger Moore. Producer Edwin H. Knopf. Director Robert Z. Leonard. Trivia: Stewart Granger was originally cast in the lead role but after production was delayed he was unavailable and replaced by Edmund Purdom.
Carrington V.C. (1956, Romulus). David Niven, Margaret Leighton, Noelle Middleton, Laurence Naismith. Producer Teddy Baird. Director Anthony Asquith. Trivia: Margaret Leighton suffered from claustrophobia.
The Birds and the Bees (1956, Gomalco Prods). George Gobel, Mitzi Gaynor, David Niven, Reginald Gardiner. Producer Paul Jones. Director Norman Taurog. Trivia: The film was intended to launch TV star George Gobel’s movie career – it failed.
Around the World in 80 Days (1956, London Films-Michael Todd Prods). David Niven, Cantinflas, Robert Newton, Shirley MacLaine, Charles Boyer, Ronald Colman. Producer Michael Todd. Director Michael Anderson. Trivia: The film reputedly features 140 purpose built sets, 68,894 extras, 74,685 costumes, 90 animal handlers, 3,800 sheep, 2,448 buffalo, 950 donkeys, 800 horses, 512 monkeys, 17 bulls, 15 elephants, 6 skunks and 4 ostriches.
The Silken Affair (1956, Dragon Films). David Niven, Genevieve Page, Ronald Squire, Beatrice Straight, Wilfred Hyde White. Producers Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, Fred Feldkamp. Director Roy Kellino. Trivia: The last film of Roy Kellino, a former cinematographer and special effects designer who died of a heart attack on 16 November 1956.
The Little Hut (1956, MGM). Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger, David Niven, Walter Chiari. Producers F. Hugh Herbert, Mark Robson. Director Mark Robson. Trivia: Was remade in Belgium in 1966 as La Petite Hutte, directed by the play’s author Andre Roussin.
Oh Men! Oh Women! (1957, 20th Century-Fox). Dan Dailey, Ginger Rogers, David Niven, Barbara Rush, Tony Randall. Producer/director Nunnally Johnson. Trivia: The final film appearance by comedy character actor Franklin Pangborn, and the first by Tony Randall.
My Man Godfrey (1957, Universal). June Allyson, David Niven, Jessie Royce Landis, Robert Keith, Eva Gabor. Producer Ross Hunter. Director Henry Koster. Trivia: The film was intended to launch German star O.W. Fischer in American films but he suffered from memory loss and was replaced by Niven.
Bonjour Tristesse (1957, Wheel Productions/Columbia). Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Jean Seberg, Mylene Demongeot. Producer/director Otto Preminger. Trivia: Jean Seberg was Preminger’s protégé but found success in Jean-Luc Godard’s À bout de soufflé in 1960 and thereafter in European films.
SeparateTables (1958, A Clifton Production/Hill-Hecht-Lancaster). Deborah Kerr, Rita Hayworth, David Niven, Wendy Hiller, Burt Lancaster. Producer Harold Hecht. Director Delbert Mann. Trivia: Originally Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier were to play the dual roles played by Kerr and Hayworth, Niven and Lancaster, and Olivier was to direct.
Ask Any Girl (1959, Euterpe Productions/MGM). David Niven, Shirley MacLaine, Gig Young, Rod Taylor, Jim Backus. Producer Joe Pasternak. Director Charles Walters. Trivia: Pasternak’s mantra was, ‘Never make an audience think. It always worked for me.’
Happy Anniversary (1959, Fields Productions Inc/United Artists). David Niven, Mitzi Gaynor, Carl Reiner, Loring Smith. Producer Ralph Fields. Director David Miller. Trivia: Gaynor’s role was originally declined by Doris Day who feared it would damage her pure screen image.
Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (1960, Euterpe Productions/MGM). Doris Day, David Niven, Janis Page, Spring Byington. Producer Joe Pasternak. Director Charles Walters. Trivia: Spring Byington began her feature film career playing Katharine Hepburn’s mother in LittleWomen in 1933 and ended it playing Doris Day’s mother in this picture.
The Guns of Navarone (1961, Open Road Films/Columbia). Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle. Producers Carl Foreman, Cecil Parker. Director J. Lee Thompson. Trivia: David Niven wore a Highland Light Infantry cap badge on his beret.
The Best of Enemies (1962, Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica/Columbia). David Niven, Alberto Sordi, Michael Wilding, Amedeo Nazzari, Harry Andrews. Producer Dino De Laurentiis. Director Guy Hamilton. (Original Italian title I Due Nemici) Trivia: Rex Harrison’s son Noel’s film debut – he was billed 11th in the cast.
The Guns of Darkness (1962, Cavalcade/Concorde/A.B.P.C.). Leslie Caron, David Niven, James Robertson Justice, David Opatoshu, Derek Godfrey. Producers Ben Kadish, Thomas Clyde. Director Anthony Asquith. Trivia: Derek Godfrey was dubbed by Roger Delgado.
The Captive City (1962, Maxima Films/Lux Films/Galatea). David Niven, Ben Gazzara, Michael Craig, Martin Balsam. (US title The Conquered City; original Italian title Le Citta
Prigioniera) Trivia: Cut from its original 108 minutes to 87 for release in the US.
55 Days at Peking (1963, Samuel Bronston). Charlton Heston, David Niven, Ava Gardner, Robert Helpmann, Fora Robson. Producer Samuel Bronston. Director Nicholas Ray (uncredited: Guy Green, Andrew Marton). Trivia: A Florentine family loaned out to the producer a number of authentic clothes for the Royal Chinese Court which had been rescued from the collapse of the dynasty right after the Boxer Rebellion.
The Pink Panther (1963, Mirisch Company/United Artists). David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine, Claudia Cardinale. Producer Martin Jurow. Director Blake Edwards. Trivia: Edwards thought that Claudia Cardinale’s Italian accent was too difficult to understand so all her dialogue was dubbed by an anonymous actress.
Bedtime Story (1964, Lankershim/Pennebaker/Universal). Marlon Brando, David Niven, Shirley Jones, Dody Goodman. Producer Stanley Shapiro. Director Ralph Levy. Trivia: Brando’s stand-in was a girl.
Where the Spies Are (1965, MGM). David Niven, Francoise Dorleac, Cyril Cusack, John Le Mesurier, Nigel Davenport. Producers Val Guest, Steven Pallos. Director Val Guest. Trivia: Niven was unable to master the idiosyncratic gearbox of the Cord 810 and subsequently drove it in bottom gear, resulting in its overheating. The scene was rewritten to work around the problem.
Lady L (1965, Concordia/Champion/MGM). Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, David Niven, Claud Daupin. Producer Carlo Ponti. Director Peter Ustinov. Trivia: The film was originally intended as a comedy vehicle for Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida and Sir Ralph Richardson, with George Cukor directing.
Eye of the Devil (1966, Filmways/MGM). Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Donald Pleasance, Edward Mulhare, Flora Robson. Producers Martin Ransohoff, John Calley. Director J. Lee Thompson. Trivia: Filming began with Kim Novak as the leading lady but when she was injured in a riding accident eight weeks into production she was replaced by Deborah Kerr.
Casino Royale (1967, Famous Artists/Columbia). Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Orson Welles, Joanna Pettet, Daliah Lavi, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr, William Holden, Charles Boyer, John Huston. Producers Charles K. Feldman, Jerry Bressler. Directors John Huston, Ken Hughes, Val Guest, Robert Parrish, Joe McGrath, Richard Talmadge, Anthony Squire. Trivia: For a brief uncredited cameo, Peter O’Toole was paid a case of champagne.
The Extraordinary Seaman (1968, MGM/Frankenheimer/Lewis). David Niven, Faye Dunaway, Alan Alda, Mickey Rooney. Producer Edward Lewis. Director John Frankenheimer. Trivia: While filming a scene in which Niven falls into the sea, he saw a dorsal fin, yelled, ‘Shark!’ and refused to get back into the sea for another take. Director Frankenheimer insisted it was a dolphin but Niven took no chances.
Prudence and the Pill (1968, 20th Century-Fox). Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Robert Coote, Irina Demick, Edith Evans. Producers Kenneth Harper, Ronald Kahn. Directors Fielder Cooks, Ronald Neame. Trivia: Niven wore a watch in the film given to him by Deborah Kerr.
The Impossible Years (1968, Marten Productions/MGM). David Niven, Lola Albright, Chad Everett, Ozzie Nelson, Christina Ferrare, Jeff Cooper. Producer Lawrence Weingarten. Director Michael Gordon. Trivia: Film debut of 18-year-old Christina Ferrare, later wife of disgraced auto executive John DeLorean. She later gave up acting and became a born-again Christian and TV personality.
Before Winter Comes (1969, Windward/Columbia). David Niven, Topol, Anna Karina, John Hurt, Anthony Quayle. Producer Robert Emmett Ginna. Director J. Lee Thompson. Trivia: Niven agreed to do the film without reading the script because of his unending gratitude to director J. Lee Thompson for The Guns of Navarone.
Le Cerveau (1969, Gaumont International/Dino De Laurentiis). David Niven, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bourvil, Eli Wallach, Silva Monti. Producer Alain Poire. Director Gerard Oury. (US & UK title The Brain) Trivia: The film was shot in two languages, French and English.
The Statue (1971, Joseph Shaftel/Cinerama International Releasing). David Niven, Virna Lisi, Robert Vaughn, Ann Bell, John Cleese. Producer Anis Nohra. Director Rodney Amateau. Trivia: Only the head of the statue was modelled on David Niven.
King, Queen, Knave (1974, Maran/Wolper Pictures). Gina Lollobrigida, David Niven, John Moulder Brown, Mario Adorf. Producer David L. Wolper. Director Jerzy Skolimowski. Trivia: This was a West German/American co-production but was filmed in English only.
Vampira (1975, World Film Services). David Niven, Teresa Graves, Peter Bayliss, Jennie Linden, Nicky Henson, Linda Hayden. Producer Jack H. Weiner. Director Clive Donner. Trivia: Renamed Old Dracula for North American release to cash in on the success of Young Frankenstein.
Paper Tiger (1975, Euan Lloyd/MacLean & Co). David Niven, Toshiro Mifune, Hardy Kruger, Ando. Producer Euan Lloyd. Director Ken Annakin. Trivia: Toshiro Mifune was dubbed by David De Keyser.
The Remarkable Rocket (1975, Potterton/Reader’s Digest Films). David Niven, Graham Stark. Producers Marvin Kane, Gerald Potterton. Director Gerald Potterton. Trivia: Niven recorded the narration in a single day.
No Deposit, No Return (1976, Walt Disney). David Niven, Darren McGavin, Don Knotts, Herschel Bernadi. Producer Ron Miller. Director Norman Tokar. Trivia: While filming at San Francisco Airport, Niven signed copies of The Moon’s a Balloon for surprised passengers who had bought the book to read during their flights.
Murder by Death (1976, Columbia/Rastar Pictures). Eileen Brannan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith. Producer Ray Stark. Director Robert Moore. Trivia: The sound of the screaming doorbell was Fay Wray in King Kong.
Candleshoe (1977, Walt Disney). David Niven, Helen Hayes, Jodie Foster, Leo McKern. Producer Ron Miller. Director Norman Tokar. Trivia: Laurence Olivier was originally sought for Niven’s role but turned it down.
Death on the Nile (1978, G.W.Films/Mersham/EMI). Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, David Niven. Producers John Brabour, Richard Goodwin. Director John Guillerman. Trivia: Filmed aboard the Memnon, one of the few paddle steamers remaining on the Nile.
Escape to Athena (1979, ITC/Pimlico Films). Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Claudia Cardinale, Stefanie Powers, Richard Roundtree, Sonny Bono, Elliott Gould, Phillip Locke. Producers David Niven Jnr, Jack Wiener. Director George Pan Cosmatos. Trivia: Michael Sheard, best known to British TV audiences as Mr Bronson in the British TV series Grange Hill, dubbed Phillip Locke.
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (1979, S Benjamin Fisz Prods). Richard Jordan, Oliver Tobias, David Niven, Elke Sommer. Producer Benjamin Fisz. Director Ralph Thomas. Trivia: Jean Seberg was offered the female lead in this film but died before filming began.
Rough Cut (1980, David Merrick Prods/Paramount). Burt Reynolds, Lesley-Anne Down, David Niven, Timothy West, Patrick Magee. Producer David Merrick. Director Don Siegel. Trivia: The script was constantly being revised and for one hastily written scene Reynolds, Down and Niven had to read cue cards.
The Sea Wolves (1980, Lorimar Prods/Richmond Light Horse Prods/Varius Entertainment). Gregory Peck, Roger Moore, David Niven, Trevor Howard, Barbara Kellerman, Patrick Macnee, Patrick Allen. Producer Euan Lloyd. Director Andrew V. McLaglen. Trivia: Dedicated to Lord Louis Mountbatten who was assassinated by the IRA.
Trail of the Pink Panther (1982, Titan/United Artists/Amjo/Blake Edwards/Lakeline). Peter Sellers, David Niven, Herbert Lom, Richard Mulligan, Joanna Lumley, Capucine. Producers Tony Adams, Blake Edwards. Director Blake Edwards. Trivia: The author of this book was at the recording of some of the score and had a crash course from Henry Mancini in conducting the Pink Panther Theme.
Better Late Than Never (1983, Golden Harvest/Warner Brothers). David Niven, Art Carney, Maggie Smith, Catherine Hicks, Lionel Jeffries. Producers Jack Haley Jnr, David Niven Jnr. Director Bryan Forbes. Trivia: Niven sang on screen for the first time, performing Noël Coward’s ‘I Went to a Marvellous Party’.
Curse of the Pink Panther (1983, Blake Edwards/Titan/Jewel/United Artists). David Niven, Robert Wagner, Herbert Lom, Capucine, Joanna
Lumley, Ted Wass. Producers Tony Adams, Blake Edwards. Director Blake Edwards. Trivia: The film was intended to launch the character of Clifton Sleigh, played by Ted Wass, in a series of new Pink Panther movies, but it was a box office flop.
Television
Nash Airflyte Theatre, episode Portrait of Lydia, 1950 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, episode Not a Chance, 1951
Celanese Theatre, episode The Petrified Forest, 1952
Chesterfield Presents, episode A Moment of Memory, 1952
Robert Montgomery Presents, episode The Sheffield Story, 1952
Hollywood Opening Night, episodes Sword Play, 1952; Uncle Fred Flits By, 1953
Four Star Playhouse, episodes The Island, 1952; Man on a Train, 1953; No Identity, 1953; Night Ride, 1953; Finale, 1953; A Matter of Advice, 1953; For Arti’s Sake, 1953; A Man of the World, 1953; The Bomb, 1954; Operation in Money, 1954; The Book, 1954; Village in the City, 1954; Never Explain, 1954; Vote of Confidence, 1954; Meet a Lonely Man, 1954; The Answer, 1954; Breakfast in Bed, 1955; Tusitala, 1955; Henry and the Psychopathic Horse, 1955; The Collar, 1955; Madeira! Madeira!, 1955; Uncle Fred Flits By, 1955; Broken Journey, 1955; The Firing Squad, 1955; Full Circle, 1955; Here Comes the Suit, 1955; The Thin Line, 1955; Tunnel of Fear, 1956; Safe Keeping, 1956; Red Wine, 1956; The Rites of Spring, 1956; Touch and Go, 1956
Mr Adams and Eve, episode Taming of the Shrew, 1957
Goodyear Television Playhouse, episode The Danger by Night, 1957
Alcoa Theatre, episodes Circumstantial, 1957; In the Dark, 1958; The Fatal Charm, 1958;
Night Caller, 1958; My Wife’s Next Husband, 1958
Goodyear Theatre, episodes The Tinhorn, 1957; The Danger by Night, 1957;
Taps for Jeffrey, 1958; Decision by Terror, 1958
Zane Grey Theatre, episodes The Accuser, 1958; Village of Fear, 1957
The David Niven Show. Niven introduced the dramas of this anthology but starred in only one of them, The Last Room, 1959
The DuPont Show with June Allyson, episode The Trench Coat, 1960
