Description
Book Synopsis A popular romantic actor with a fan club rivalling that of Ivor Novello, John Stuart was frequently mobbed by his adoring fans. He starred in films by Alfred Hitchcock and G.W. Pabst, played opposite British stars such as Madeleine Carroll, Fay Compton, Gracie Fields, and German actor Conrad Veidt, and was also the first actor to ever speak on screen in Britain. Yet despite a film career lasting six decades and 172 films, his name and achievement are little known today.
With access to Stuart''s private archive, his surviving films, press cuttings, film reviews, interviews, profiles, features, and gossip columns, his son Jonathan Croall presents a detailed account of an actor who made a significant contribution to the British film industry of the 20th century.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part One: Silent Idol
- 1. Childhood, School, War
- 2. From Stage to Screen
- 3. An Emerging Star
- 4. Alfred Hitchcock and Maurice Elvey
- 5. Britain or Hollywood?
- 6. Fame and a Fan Club
- Part Two: The Background
- 7. Working Lives
- 8. Writers, Screenplays, Titles
- 9. The Film Press and the Film Society
- 10. The Publicity Machine
- 11. The Coming of Sound
- 12. Winners and Losers
- Part Three: Into the Talkies
- 13. Kitty
- 14. From Dupont's Atlantic to Pabst's L'Atlantide
- 15. With Gracie Fields and Conrad Veidt
- 16. Stage Matters
- 17. Fatherhood and War
- 18. Propaganda and Escapism
- Part Four: Character Actor
- 19. On the Small Screen
- 20. Back to the Theater
- 21. Leading Roles and Cameos
- 22. From Quatermass to Superman
- 23. The Final Years
- Epilogue
- Film, Documentary, Theater, Television, and Miscellaneous Appearances
- Bibliography
- Index
