Godfrey Tearle

Sir Godfrey Seymour Tearle , CBE , (born October 12, 1884 in New York City , United States , † June 9, 1953 in London , United Kingdom ) was a British actor .

Life

At the theater

The son of the actor couple Osmond Tearle (1852-1901) and Marianne Conway (1852-1896) began to play in the theater when he was nine years old. His first role was Prince Richard in William Shakespeare's Richard III. After graduating from school at the age of 15, he returned to his father's troupe, now as a professional acting, and stayed there until his death in 1901. Tearle needed many years to gain recognition as a stage mime. At a young age he filled the subject of romantic lover and youthful hero. In 1920 he celebrated his first triumph with the stage version of the soulful romance " The Garden of Allah ". Tearle made his most famous theater appearances at an advanced age. He was seen in 1938 as Commander Edward Ferrars in " The Flashing Stream ", in 1940 as Maddoc Thomas in " The Light of Heart " and in a number of Shakespeare roles (1946 as Antonius in Antonius und Cleopatra and 1948/49 as Othello or . Macbeth during the Shakespeare festival on Memorial Theater).

With the film

In a very early short film adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , Godfrey Tearle made his film debut in 1908. It was a filming of a performance at London's Lyceum Theater , and the 24-year-old Tearle played the title character. Since then, the native New Yorker has mostly played leading roles in silent films. Since the beginning of the sound film era, he had to be content with larger supporting roles from time to time. His best-known appearance on the screen was that of the sought-after master spy with the missing finger, Professor Jordan, in Alfred Hitchcock's agent thriller The 39 Steps . In later years he was often seen as a person of respect par excellence: sometimes as a strict superfather (as with Rex Harrison in “ The Last Sin ”), sometimes as a high officer (as General von Stängel in “ Undercover ” and as the eponymous General Church in " A Medal for the General "). In the propaganda film " One of Our Aircraft Is Missing " Godfrey Tearle appeared in 1941 as squadron leader Sir George Corbett, two years later he was Sir Marshall Frayne in " The Sacred Fire ". The Briton used a trip to Hollywood in 1946 to star in the American drama about the development of the atomic bomb , “ The Beginning or the End? “ To play US President Franklin D. Roosevelt . Tearle's last job in front of the camera was the role of the Bishop of Welchester, who turns out to be a big railroad fan in the lively Ealing comedy Titfield Express and thereby helps a small rural community to ensure the survival of its railroad.

Private

The three times married Sir Godfrey Tearle, whose half-brother Conway Tearle (1878-1938) also worked in stage and film, was raised in 1951 as a Knight Bachelor in the nobility .

Filmography

• 1908: Romeo and Juliet (short film)
• 1913: The Fool
• 1915: Lochinvar
• 1915: Sir James Mortimer's Wager
• 1916: The Real Thing at Last
• 1919: Fancy Dress
• 1919: A Sinless Singer
• 1919: Nobody's Child
• 1919: Queen's Evidence
• 1925: Salome of the Tenements
• 1925: One Columbo Night
• 1929: Infatuation (short film)
• 1931: The Shadow Between
• 1932: Puppets of Fate
• 1935: The 39 Steps ( The Thirty-Nine Steps )
• 1935: The Last Journey
• 1936: East Meets West
• 1941: One of Our Aircraft Is Missing
• 1942: Tomorrow We Live
• 1943: Undercover
• 1943: The Sacred Fire ( The Lamp Still Burns )
• 1943: A Medal for the General
• 1945: The last fall ( The Rake's Progress )
• 1946: The Beginning or the End?
• 1949: Private Angelo
• 1951: Serum 703 ( White Corridors )
• 1952: Mandy
• 1952: Boccaccio's great love ( Decameron Nights )
• 1953: Titfield Express ( The Titfield Thunderbolt )

literature

• Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 7: R - T. Robert Ryan - Lily Tomlin. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 624.

Web links

• Godfrey Tearle in the Internet Movie Database (English)