Peter Godfrey
Peter Godfrey (born October 16, 1899 in London , United Kingdom , † March 4, 1970 in Hollywood , California , United States ) was a British director , writer , actor and stage producer with a moderately successful Hollywood career in the 1940s.
Life
Godfrey grew up in Surrey and, after early showbiz attempts as a magician and clown, came to the stage shortly after the end of World War I. His early years were determined by performances and productions at the repertoire theater with which he toured the country. In the following two decades until the outbreak of World War II , Godfrey worked successively in England and Ireland as a writer, actor and theater producer. B. in "The Hairy Ape" (1928), "Hoopla!" (1929), "As You Desire Me" and "Red Rover's Revenge" (both 1934). As a director he supervised a. a. the pieces "Close Quarters" (1937) and "Shadow and Substance" (1938).
Peter Godfrey founded the Gate Theater Studio in London in October 1925, where he preferred to stage modern and experimental pieces. There were u. a. Pieces based on models by August Strindberg and Molière are shown. By the way, he made his debut as a film director in 1930 with the 35-minute crime thriller “Thread O'Scarlet” . In the following years of this decade, the Londoner appeared several times in small roles in front of the camera, and since moving to California in 1938, also in Hollywood productions. While Godfrey initially worked there both as an actor and B-film director, he has only been behind the camera since the late phase of World War II.
In the 1940s Godfrey made a number of entertainment films for Warner Bros. , some of which were prominently cast. His most famous productions were created around the end of the war in 1945: After the idiosyncratic remake of Vicki Baum's novel “ Menschen im Hotel ”, “ Hotel Berlin ”, which was relocated to Berlin in the late phase of World War II, three films with Barbara Stanwyck followed : " Christmas made to measure ", " The two Mrs. Carrolls " and "The curse of madness" as well as two with Errol Flynn : "The curse of madness" and "Escape Me Never". With the Wilkie Collins film "The Secret of the Woman in White" set in the Victorian England of the landed gentry , Peter Godfrey succeeded in 1948 in a quite respectable adaptation of the novel . In the 1950s, Godfrey switched to television (Procter & Gamble Lux Theater) until the father of three daughters finally withdrew into private life due to illness.
Filmography
as an actor
- 1930: Third Time Lucky
- 1933: Leave it to Me
- 1933: Heads We Go
- 1937: Good Morning, Boys
- 1938: blockade (blockade)
- 1939: Raffles
- 1939: The Earl of Chicago
- 1940: The Great Edison (Edison the Man)
- 1941: Doctor and Demon (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
- 1943: For ever and a day (Forever and a Day) (also co-writer)
- 1945: The Two Mrs. Carrolls (The Two Mrs. Carrolls) (WP: 1947)
as a director of motion pictures unless otherwise stated
- 1930: Thread O'Scarlet
- 1931: Down River
- 1939: The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt
- 1941: Unexpected Uncle
- 1942: Highway by Night
- 1943: Make Your Own Bed
- 1945: Hotel Berlin
- 1945: Christmas made to measure (Christmas in Connecticut)
- 1945: The Two Mrs. Carrolls (The Two Mrs. Carrolls)
- 1946: One More Tomorrow
- 1946: The Curse of Madness (Cry Wolf)
- 1947: Escape Me Never
- 1947: That Hagen Girl
- 1948: The Woman in White
- 1948: The Decision of Christopher Blake
- 1948: Venus on the Beach (The Girl From Jones Beach)
- 1949: One Last Fling
- 1950: The Vultures of Arizona (Barricade)
- 1950: The Great Jewel Robber at midnight
- 1950: He's a Cockeyed Wonder
- 1951: One Big Affair
- 1955: Stage 7 (TV series, two episodes)
- 1955–1956: The Star and tue Story (TV series)
- 1956: Please Murder Me
- 1955–1957: Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal (TV series)
- 1957: Code 3 (TV series, four episodes)
- 1958: Adventures of the Sea Hawn (TV series, two episodes)
literature
- International Motion Picture Almanac 1965, p. 105
- Ephraim Katz : The Film Encyclopedia, 4th Edition. Revised by Fred Klein & Ronald Dean Nolen, p. 538, New York 2001
Web links
- Peter Godfrey in the Internet Movie Database (English)
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Godfrey, Peter |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British director, writer, actor and producer |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 16, 1899 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | London , UK |
DATE OF DEATH | March 4th 1970 |
Place of death | Hollywood , California , United States |