by Simon Callow
Vessel of Wrath
UK, 1938, Mayflower Pictures. Prod. and dir. Erich Pommer, sc. Bartlett Cormack from the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, ph. Jules Kruger, a.d. Tom Morahan, ed. Robert Hamer, mus. Richard Addinsell, mus. dir. Muir Mathieson, tech. adv. C. M. Morrell, sound Jack Rogerson. With: LAUGHTON (Ginger Ted), Elsa Lanchester (Martha Jones), Tyrone Guthrie (Reverend Jones), Robert Newton (The Controleur).
St Martin’s Lane
UK, 1938, Mayflower Pictures. Prod. Erich Pommer, dir. Tim Whelan, sc. Clemence Dane, ph. Jules Kruger, ed. Hugh Stewart and Robert Hamer, mus. Arthur Johnson, lyrics Eddie Pola, dance dir. Philip Buchel. With: LAUGHTON (Charles), Vivien Leigh (Libby), Rex Harrison (Harley), Larry Adler (Constantine), Tyrone Guthrie (Gentry), Gus McNaughton (Arthur).
Jamaica Inn
UK, 1939, 108 mins, Mayflower Pictures. Prod. Erich Pommer and Charles Laughton, dir. Alfred Hitchcock, prod. man. Hugh Perceval, sc. Sidney Gilliat, Joan Harrison, dialogue Sidney Gilliat and J.B. Priestley, adapt. Alma Reville, from the novel by Daphne du Maurier, ph. Harry Stradling and Bernard Knowles, a.d. Thomas N. Morahan, ed. Robert Hamer, mus. Eric Fenby, mus. dir. Frederic Lewis, sp. eff. Harry Watt, cos. Molly McArthur, sd. Jack Rogerson. With: LAUGHTON (Sir Humphrey Pengallan), Horace Hodges (Chadwick, his butler), Hay Petrie (his groom), Frederick Piper (his broker), Leslie Banks (Joss Merlyn), Marie Ney (Patience, his wife), Maureen O’Hara (Mary, his niece).
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
USA, 1939, 117 mins, RKO. Prod. Pandro S. Berman, dir. William Dieterle, sc. Sonya Levien and Bruno Frank from the novel by Victor Hugo, ph. Joseph H. August, a.d. Van Nest Polglase, ed. William Hamilton and Robert Wise. With: LAUGHTON (Quasimodo), Maureen O’Hara (Esmeralda), Cedric Hardwicke (Frollo), Harry Davenport (Louis XI), Thomas Mitchell (Clopin), Edmond O’Brien (Gringoire), Alan Marshal (Phoebus), Walter Hampden (Archbishop), George Zucco (Procurator).
They Knew What They Wanted
USA, 1940, 90 mins, RKO. Prod. Erich Pommer, dir. Garson Kanin, sc. Robert Ardrey, based on the play by Sidney Howard, ass. dir. Ruby Rosenberg, ph. Harry Stradling, a.d. Van Nest Polglase, sp. eff. Vernon L. Walker, ed. John Sturges, mus. Alfred Newman. With: LAUGHTON (Tony Patucci), Carole Lombard (Amy Peters), William Gargan (Joe), Harry Carey (the Doctor), Frank Fay (Father McKee), Joe Bernard (the R.F.D.), Janet Fox (Mildred), Lee Tung-Foo (Ah Gee), Karl Malden (Red), Victor Kilian (the Photographer), Paul Lepers (Hired Hand).
It Started With Eve
USA, 1941, New Universal. Prod. Joe Pasternak, dir. Henry Koster, sc. Norman Krasna and Leo Townsend, based on the original story by Hans Kraly, ph. Rudolph Mate, a.d. Jack Otterson, ed. Bernard Burton, mus. Valverde, Anton Dvorak, Valdesti, Tchaikovsky. With: LAUGHTON (Jonathan Reynolds), Deanna Durbin (Anne Terry), Robert Cummings (J. Reynolds, Jr), Guy Kibbee (Bishop), Margaret Tallichet (Gloria Pennington), Catherine Doucet (Mrs Pennington), Walter Catlett (Dr Harvey), Charles Coleman (Roberts), Leonard Elliott (Revd Stebbins), Irving Bacon and Gus Schilling (Ravens), Wade Boteler (Newspaper Editor), Dorothea Kent (Jackie), Clara Blandick (Nurse).
Tales of Manhattan
USA, 1942, 119–126 mins, 20th Century-Fox. Prod. Boris Morros and S.P. Eagle, dir. Julien Duvivier, sc. Ben Hecht, Ferenc Molnar, Donald Ogden Stewart, Samuel Hoffenstein, Alan Campbell, Ladislas Fedor, L. Vadnai, L. Gorog, Lamar Trotti and Henry Blankford, ph. Joseph Walker, a.d. Richard Day and Boris Leven, ed. Robert Bischoff, mus. Sol Kaplan. With in sequence C: LAUGHTON (Charles Smith), Elsa Lanchester (Elsa Smith), Victor Francen (Arthuro Bandini).
The Tuttles of Tahiti
USA, 1942, RKO. Prod. Sol Lesser, dir. Charles Vidor, sc. S. Lewis Meltzer and Robert Carson, adapt. James Hilton. With: LAUGHTON (Jonas), Jon Hall (Chester), Peggy Drake (Tamara), Victor Francen (Dr Blondin), Gene Reynolds (Ru), Florence Bates (Emily), Curt Bois (Jensen), Adeline de Walt Reynolds (Mama Ruau), Mala (Nat), Leonard Sues (Fana), Jody Gilbert (Effie), Tommy Cook (Riki), Jack Carr (Rapoti), Jimmy Ames (Manu), Ernie Adams (Paki), Jim Spencer (Tupa), Alma Ross (Hio), Teddy Infuhr (Ala).
Forever and a Day
USA, 1943, RKO Radio Pictures Ltd. Prod/dir. Rene Clair, Edmund Goulding, Cedric Hardwicke, Frank Lloyd, Victor Saville, Robert Stevenson, Herbert Wilcox. With: LAUGHTON (Butler), Brian Aherne (Jim Trimble), Robert Cummings (Ned Trimble), Ida Lupino (Jennie), Herbert Marshall (Curate), Ray Milland (Bill Trimble), Anna Neagle (Miriam), Merle Oberon (Marjorie), Sir Cedric Hardwicke (Dabb), Gladys Cooper (Mrs Barringer), Claude Rains (Ambrose Pomfret), Jessie Matthews (Mildred Trimble), Ian Hunter (Dexter Pomfret), Ruth Warrick (Leslie Trimble), Kent Smith (Gates Pomfret), Elsa Lanchester (Mamie), Dame May Whitty (Mrs Trimble).
The Man From Down Under
USA, 1943, 103 mins, MGM. Prod. Robert Z. Leonard and Orville O. Dull, dir. Robert Z. Leonard, sc. Wells Root and Thomas Seller, based upon the story by Bogart Rogers and Mark Kelly. With: LAUGHTON (Jacko Wilson), Binnie Barnes (Aggie Dawlins), Richard Carlson (‘Nipper’ Wilson), Donna Reed (Mary Wilson), Christopher Severn (‘Nipper’ as a child), Clyde Cook (Ginger Gaffney), Horace McNally (‘Dusty’ Rhodes), Arthur Shields (Father Polycarp), Evelyn Falke (Mary, as a child), Hobart Cavanaugh (‘Boots’), Andre Charlot (Father Antoine).
Stand By For Action
USA, 1943, 109 mins, MGM. Prod. Orville O. Dull and Robert Z. Leonard, dir. Robert Z. Leonard, sc. George Bruce, John L. Balderston, and Herman J. Mankiewicz, from an original by Captain Harvey Haislip USN, and R.C. Sherriff, suggested by the story ‘A Cargo of Innocence’ by Laurence Kirk, ph. Charles Rosher. ed. George Boemler, sp. eff. Arnold Gillespie and Don Jahraus. With: LAUGHTON (Rear Admiral Stephen Thomas), Robert Taylor (Lieut. Gregg Masterson), Brian Donlevy (Lieut.-Commander Martin J. Roberts), Walter Brennan (Chief Yeoman Henry Johnson), Marilyn Maxwell (Audrey Carr), Henry O’Neill (Commander Stone, M.C.), Marta Linden (Mary Collins).
This Land is Mine
USA, 1943, 103 mins, RKO. Prod. Jean Renoir, Dudley Nichols, dir. sc. Dudley Nichols, Jean Renoir. ph. Frank Redman. a.d. ed. Frederick Knudtsen. mus. Lothar Perl. With: LAUGHTON (Albert Mory), George Sanders (Georges Lambert), Maureen O’Hara (Louise Martin), Kent Smith (Paul Martin), Walter Slezak (Major von Keller), Una O’Connor (Albert Mory’s mother), Philip Merivale (Professor Sorel), Thurston Hall (Major Henry Manville), Georges Coulouris (the Prosecutor), Nancy Gates (Julie Grant).
The Canterville Ghost
USA, 1944, 95 mins, MGM. Prod. Arthur L. Field, dir. Jules Dessin, sc. Edwin Harvey Blum, based on ‘The Canterville Ghost’ by Oscar Wilde, ph. Robert Planck, a.d. Edward Carfagno, ed. Chester W. Schaeffer, mus. George Bassman. With: LAUGHTON (Sir Simon de Canterville – the Ghost), Margaret O’Brien (Lady Jessica de Canterville), Robert Young (Cuffy Williams), William Gargan (Sergeant Benson), Reginald Owen (Lord Canterville).
The Suspect
USA, 1945, 85 mins, Universal Productions. Prod. Islin Auster, dir. Robert Siodmak, sc. Bertram Millhauser adapted by Arthur T. Hormen from a novel by James Ronald, ph. Paul Ivano, mus. Frank Skinner. With: LAUGHTON (Philip), Ella Raines (Mary), Dean Harens (John), Stanley Ridges (Huxley), Henry Daniell (Mr Simmons), Rosalind Ivan (Cora).
Captain Kidd
USA, 1945, United Artists. Prod. Benedict Bogeaus, dir. Rowland V. Lee, sc. Norman Reilly Raine from an original story by Robert N. Lee. With: LAUGHTON (Captain William Kidd), Randolph Scott (Adam Mercy), Barbara Britton (Lady Anne Falconer), Reginald Owen (Cary Shadwell), John Carradine (Orance Povy).
Because of Him
USA, 1946, 88 mins, Universal Productions. Prod. Felix Jackson, dir. Richard Wallace, from a story by Edmund Beloin and Sig Herzig, ph. Hal Mohl, ed. Ted Kent, mus. Miklos Roza. With LAUGHTON (Sheridan), Deanna Durbin (Kim Walker), Franchot Tone (Paul Taylor), Helen Broderick (Nora), Stanley Ridges (Charlie Gilbert), Donald Meek (Martin).
The Big Clock
USA, 1947, 96 mins, Paramount. Prod. Richard Maibaum, dir. John Farrow, sc. Jonathan Latimer based on a book by Kenneth Fearing, ph. John Seitz, a.d. Hans Dreier, Roland Anderson, Albert Mozaki, ed. Edn
a Warren, mus. Victor Young. With: LAUGHTON (Earl Janoth), Ray Milland (George Stroud), Maureen O’Sullivan (Georgette Stroud), George Macready (Steve Hagan), Rita Johnson (Pauline York), Elsa Lanchester (Louise Patterson), Harold Vermilyea (Don Klausmeyer), Dan Tobin (Roy Cordette).
Arch of Triumph
USA, 1948, 114 mins, MGM. Prod. David Lewis, dir. Lewis Milestone, sc. Lewis Milestone and Harry Brown, from the novel by Erich Maria Remarque. With: LAUGHTON (Haake), Ingrid Bergman (Joan Madon), Charles Boyer (Dr Ravic), Louis Calhern (Morosow), Roman Bohnen (Dr Veber).
The Paradine Case
USA, 1948, 131 mins, Vanguard Films. Prod. David O. Selznick, dir. Alfred Hitchcock, sc. David O. Selznick, based on the novel by Robert Hichens, ph. Lee Garmes, a.d. Thomas Morahan, ed. Hal C. Kern, mus. Franz Waxman. With: LAUGHTON (Lord Horfield), Gregory Peck (Anthony Keane), Charles Coburn (Sir Simon Flaquer), Ann Todd (Gay Keane), Ethel Barrymore (Lady Horfield), Louis Jourdan (Andre Latour), Alida Valli (Mrs Paradine).
Girl from Manhattan
USA, 1948, United Artists. Prod. Benedict Bogeaus, dir. Alfred E. Green, sc. Howard Estabrook, a.d. Jerome Pycha Jr., ed. James E. Smith, mus. Heinz Roemheld. With: LAUGHTON (The Bishop), Dorothy Lamour (Carol Maynard), George Montgomery (Rev Tom Walker), Ernest Truex (Homer Purdy), Hugh Herbert (Aaron Goss), Constance Collier (Mrs Brooke), William Frawley (Mr Bernouti), Sara Allgood (Mrs Beeler), Frank Orth (Oscar Newsome), Howard Freeman (Sam Griffin), Raymond Largay (Wilbur J. Birch), George Chandler (Monty).
On Our Merry Way
(Also known as A Miracle Can Happen. A Charles Laughton sequence was filmed late in 1946 but deleted.)
USA, 1948, 107 mins, Miracle Productions. Prod. Benedict Bogeaus, Burgess Meredith, dir. King Vidor, Leslie Fenton, (uncredited) John Huston, George Stevens, sc. Laurence Stallings, Lou Breslow, John O’Hara from a story by Arch Oboler, ph. John Seitz, Ernest Laszlo, Joseph Biroc, a.d. Duncan Cramer, Ernst Fegte, ed. James Smith, mus. Heinz Roemheld. With: James Stewart (Slim), Paulette Goddard (Martha Pease), Burgess Meredith (Oliver Pease), Henry Fonda (Lank), Dorothy Lamour (Gloria Manners).
Man on the Eiffel Tower
USA, 1949, RKO. Ph. Stanley Cortez, a.d. Rene Renoux, ed. Louis H. Sackin, mus. Michel Michelot. With: LAUGHTON (Inspector Maigret), Franchot Tone (Johann Radek), Burgess Meredith (Joseph Huertin), Robert Hutton (Bill Kirby), Jean Wallace (Edna Wallace), Patricia Roc (Helen Kirby), Belita (Gisello).
The Bribe
USA, 1949, 98 mins, MGM. Prod. Pandro S. Berman, dir. Robert Z. Leonard, sc. Marguerite Roberts, based on a short story by Frederick Nebel, ph. Joseph Ruttenberg, ed. Gene Ruggiero, mus. Miklos Rozsa. With: LAUGHTON (J.J. Bealler), Robert Taylor (Rigby), Ava Gardner (Elizabeth Hintten), Vincent Price (Carwood), John Hodiak (Tug Hintten), Samuel S. Hinds (Dr Warren), John Hoyt (Gibbs), Tito Renaldo (Emilio Gomez), Martin Garralaga (Pablo Gomez).
The Blue Veil
USA, 1951, 113 mins, RKO. Prod. Raymond Hakim, dir. Curtis Bernhardt, sc. Norman Corwin, from a story by Francois Campaux, ph. Frank Planer, ed. George J. Amy, mus. C. Bakaleinikoff. With: LAUGHTON (Fred Begley), Jane Wyman (Louise Mason), Joan Blondell (Annie Rawlins), Richard Carlson (Gerald Kean), Don Taylor (Doctor Robert Palfrey), Cyril Cusack (Frank Hutchins), Henry Morgan (Charles Hall), Audrey Totter (Helen Williams), Everett Sloane (District Attorney), Natalie Wood (Stephanie Rawlins), Warner Anderson (Bill Ashworth), Alan Napier (Professor George Carter), Henry Morgan (Mr Hull), Vivian Vance (Alicia), Les Tremayne (Joplin), John Ridgely (Doctor), Dan O’Herlihy (Williams), Carleton G. Young (Henry Palfrey), Dan Seymour (Pelt).
The Strange Door
USA, 1951, Universal. Prod. Ted Richmond, dir. Richard Pevney, s.c. Jerry Sackheim, based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson, ph. Irving Glassberg, a.d. Bernard Herzburn and Eric Obom, ed. Edward Curtiss, mus. dir. Joseph Gershenson. With: LAUGHTON, Boris Karloff, Sally Forest, Richard Stapley, Michael Pate, Paul Cavanagh, Alan Napier, William Cottrell.
O. Henry’s Full House
‘The Cop and the Anthem’
USA, 1952, 20th Century Fox. Prod. Andre Hakim, dir. Henry Koster, sc. Lamar Trotti, based on five stories by O. Henry, ph. Lloyd Ahern, ed. Nick De Maggio, mus. Alfred Newman. With: LAUGHTON (Soapy), David Wayne (Horace), Marilyn Monroe (streetwalker).
Abbot and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
USA, 1952, Warner Bros. Prod. Alex Gottlieb, dir. Charles Lamont, sc. Howard Dimsdale and John Grant, ph. Stanley Cortez, a.d. Daniel Hall, ed. Edward Mann, mus. Raoul Kraushaar. With: LAUGHTON (Captain Kidd), Budd Abbot (Rocky Stonebridge), Lou Costello (Oliver Johnson), Fran Warren (Lady Jane), Hillary Brooke (Captain Bonney), Bill Shirley (Bruce Martingale), Leif Erickson (Morgan).
Young Bess
USA, 1953, 112 mins, MGM. Prod. Sidney Franklin, dir. George Sidney, sc. Jan Lustig and Arthur Wimperis, based on the novel by Margaret Irwin. With: LAUGHTON (King Henry), Jean Simmons (Young Bess), Stewart Granger (Thomas Seymour), Deborah Kerr (Catherine), Kay Walsh (Mrs Ashley), Guy Rolfe (Ned Seymour), Kathleen Byron (Ann Seymour), Cecil Kellaway (Mr Parry), Rex Thompson (Edward), Robert Arthur (Barnaby), Leo G. Carroll (Mr Mums), Norma Varden (Lady Tyrwhitt), Alan Napier (Robert Tyrwhitt).
Salome
USA, 1953, 105 mins, Columbia Pictures. Prod. Buddy Adler, dir. William Dieterle, sc. Harry Kleiner, based on an original screen story by Kleiner and Jesse L. Lasky Jr., ph. Charles Lang, a.d. John Meehan, ed. Viola Lawrence, mus. George Dunning. With: LAUGHTON (King Herod), Stewart Granger (Claudius), Judith Anderson (Queen Herodius), Sir Cedric Hardwicke (Caesar Tiberius), Alan Badel (John the Baptist), Basil Sydney (Pontius Pilate), Maurice Schwartz (Ezra), Rex Reason (Marcellus Fabius), Arnold Moss (Micha), Robert Warwick (Courier).
Hobson’s Choice
UK, 1954, 110 mins, British Lion. Prod. David Lean, dir. David Lean, sc. David Lean, Norman Spencer and Wynard Brown, based on an original work by Harold Brighouse, ph. Hack Hildyard, a.d. Wilfred Shingleton, ed. Peter Taylor. With LAUGHTON (Henry Horatio Hobson), John Mills (Willie Mossop), Brenda de Banzie (Maggie Hobson), Daphne Anderson (Alice Hobson), Prunella Scales (Vicky Hobson), Richard Wattis (Albert Prosser), Derek Blomfield (Freddy Bienstock), Helen Kay (Mrs Hepworth).
Night of the Hunter
USA, 1955, 91 mins, United Artists. Prod. Paul Gregory, dir. LAUGHTON, sc. James Agee, from the novel by Davis Grubb, ph. Stanley Cortez, a.d. Hilyard Brown, ed. Robert Golden, mus. Walter Schumann. With: Robert Mitchum (Preacher Harry Powell), Shelly Winters (Willa Harper), Lillian Gish (Rachel), Evelyn Varden (Icey), Peter Graves (Ben Harper), Billy Chapin (John), Sally Ann Brice (Pearl), James Gleason (Birdie), Don Beddoe (Walt), Gloria Castillo (Ruby).
Witness for the Prosecution
USA, 1957, 114 mins, United Artists. Prod. Arthur Hornblow, dir. Billy Wilder, sc. Billy Wilder and Harry Kurnitz, based on the story and play by Agatha Christie. With: LAUGHTON (Sir Wilfrid Robarts), Tyrone Power (Leonard Vole), Marlene Dietrich (Christine Vole), Elsa Lanchester (Miss Plimsoll), John Williams (Brogan-Moore), Henry Daniell (Mayhew), Ian Wolfe (Carter), Una O’Connor (Janet McKenzie), Torin Thatcher (Mr Myers), Francis Compton (Judge), Norma Varden (Mrs French), Philip Tonge (Inspector Hearne), Ruta Lee (Diana).
Under Ten Flags
USA, 1960, Paramount. Prod. Dino de Laurentiis, dir. Diulio Coletti, sc. Diulio Coletti, Ulrich Mohr. With: LAUGHTON (Admiral Russell), Van Heflin (Commander Reger), Mylene Demongeot (Zizi), John Ericson (Lieut. Kreuger), Liam Redmond (Cpt. Windsor), Cecil Parker (Col. Howard), Alex Nicol (Knocke), John Lee (Aide to Admiral Russell), Gregoire Aslan (Master of the Abdullah), Eleonora Rossi Drago (Sara), Gianmaria Uolonte (Braun), Peter Carsten (Mohr).
Spartacus
USA, 1960, 196 mins. Universal. Prod. Edward Lewis, dir. Stanley Kubrick, sc. Dalton Trumbo, based on the novel by Howard Fast, ph. Clifford Stine, a.d. Eric Orbom, ed. Robert Lawrence, mus. Alex North. With: LAUGHTON (Gracchus), Kirk Douglas (Spartacus), Laurence Olivier (Marcus Crassus), Tony Curtis (Antoninus), Jean Simmons (Varinia), Peter Ustinov (Batiatus), John Gavin (Julius Caesar
), Nina Foch (Helena Glabrus), Herbert Lom (Tigranes), John Ireland (Crixus), John Dall (Glabrus), Charles McGraw (Marcellus), Joanna Barnes (Claudia Marius), Woody Strode (Draba), Harold J. Stone (David).
Advise and Consent
USA, 1962, 139 mins, Columbia Films. Prod. Otto Preminger, dir. Otto Preminger, sc. Wendell Mayes, based on the novel by Allen Drury, ph. Sam Leavitt, mus. Jerry Fielding. With: LAUGHTON (Seabright Cooley), Henry Fonda (Robert Leffingwell), Don Murray (Brigham Anderson), Walter Pidgeon (Senator Bob Munson), Peter Lawford (Senator Lafe Smith), Gene Tierney (Dolly Harrison), Franchot Tone (The President), Lew Ayres (Vice President), Burgess Meredith (Herbert Gelman), Eddie Hodges (Johnny Leffingwell), Paul Ford (Senator Stanley Dante), George Gizzard (Senator Van Ackerman) Inga Swenson (Ellen Anderson), Paul McGrath (Hardiman Fletcher), Will Geer (Senate Minority Leader), Betty White (Bessie Adams).
The Discs
CHARLES LAUGHTON
78 rpm discs
Regal Zonophone MR 1234 – ‘Voice of the Stars’, 1934, featuring excerpt from soundtrack of ‘The Private Life of Henry VIII’.
VS2 – ‘Voice of the Stars – Jubilee Edition’ – No. 2, 1935, featuring excerpt from ‘The Barratts of Wimpole Street’.
VS3 – ‘Voice of the Stars’ – No. 3, 1936, featuring excerpt from ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’.
VS4 – ‘Voice of the Stars – Coronation Edition’ – No. 4, 1937, featuring excerpt from ‘I Claudius’.
Regal Zonophone MR 2722 – ‘Voice of the Stars’ – VS5, 1938, featuring excerpt from ‘Vessel of Wrath’.
American Columbia S–271–M recorded in Los Angeles, 6 January 1937, Lincoln’s Gettysburgh Address.
American Decca Album DA–379, 29M Personality Series. DA 29151/2, recorded in Hollywood in 1944. ‘Mr Pickwick’s Christmas’ by Charles Dickens with original musical accompaniment composed and conducted by Hanns Eisler; subsequently transferred to LP: Decca DL–8010 (USA); ‘Ace of Hearts’ AH 127 (UK).
American Decca Sets DU-15/16/17/18 ‘Readings from the Bible’. Issued 1948; subsequently transferred to LP:/ Decca DL-8031; Brunswick LAT 8275.
