Book Review: Herbert Marshall, A Biography, by Scott O'Brien

Hooray! One of my favorites finally has a full-length biography: British actor Herbert Marshall (1890-1966).  Author Scott O'Brien has once again done a fabulous job with a lesser-known old Hollywood star, and those (like me!) who want to know about all there is to know about the talented, enigmatic Mr. 'Bart' Marshall should pick up a copy.  The biography was published in February of this year, and is available on Amazon, and also through the publisher's website Bear Manor Media.

[Check out my post on my favorite Marshall film performances here]

Mr. O'Brien certainly did his research. He unearthed many interviews published during Marshall's lifetime, but further, was able to talk to many of his friends and colleagues, other authors, and friends of friends, to get further insights into the real Mr. Marshall.  It should be noted that Marshall had a prolific stage career as well. O'Brien's book offers a complete list of his stage as well as screen credits. 

The book uses a chronological approach, and blends detail about his stage and film engagements with events from his personal life.  O'Brien adopts a matter-of-fact tone, and steers clear of drawing psychological inferences or embellishment.  The biography may have benefited from a bit more probing into the drive and ambition that Marshall would have mustered to overcome his disability, as well as the psychological toll over the years. The sources being ultimately limited most likely do not allow for that. 

  

When I first became a Marshall devotee a few years ago, I watched nearly all his films that could be found, and read as much as I could about him. Sadly, there wasn't much.  But I felt that I was pretty thorough in my own personal research, if frustrated with the lack of detail and contradictory reports.  So, I will admit with a modicum of pride that I was familiar with much of the detail of Marshall's life in the book.  Yet, there was much that I didn't know.  Here are just a few facts that were of particular interest to me:

War Injury:  Most classic film fans know Marshall lost a leg in World War I, and worked in Hollywood using an often painful prosthesis.  Many accounts state that he lost his *right* leg.  Thankfully, O'Brien confirms it was actually the LEFT, which is what I suspected all along after, as I mentioned, having watched nearly all of his available films. I can't explain why this is important to me, as Marshall, while not exactly hiding his injury, preferred not to talk much about it.  It's perhaps the laziness of other writers or researchers to be careless with facts that annoyed me whenever I came across this little error.  O'Brien even specifically cites author Mark Vieira as the source of this information.

1930s Hollywood glamor: Marshall with Trouble in Paradise co-star and friend Kay Francis 1930s Hollywood glamor: Marshall with Trouble in Paradise co-star and friend Kay Francis

Longevity:  Marshall worked his entire life, making his last film just a few months before he died at age 75.  According to O'Brien, Marshall never considered retirement.  This I find particularly interesting. It is not entirely clear if there were financial reasons, or Marshall just loved to work.  

Complicated personal life:  Having married five times and a carried on a significant relationship with Gloria Swanson during his adult life, it's natural that his personal life must have been complicated. But what I didn't know was that, according to comments by those that knew him, he was more of a ladies' man than even his documented relationships may have had you believe. His immense personal charm was a valuable asset in this regard.  That said, by all accounts, he was a generous, kind, and self-effacing person.

His connections with other stars:  Marshall was close to many in his profession. He was a lifelong friend of fellow British character actor Eric Blore. Marshall and Blore starred together in the comedy Breakfast For Two (1937), in which Blore played Marshall's valet. Barbara Stanwyck was the leading lady. It's a lesser known but still fun screwball comedy. Ronald Colman was also a close friend.  Both stars died before Marshall, and he grieved when he lost his old friends.

Eric Blore (left) and Marshall relax while making Breakfast for Two (Picture featured in O'Brien's biography of Herbert Marshall

Love of Trouble in Paradise:  What is one of my favorite films was apparently a favorite of Marshall's as well.  This gem from 1932 is a classic Ernst Lubitsch pre-code sophisticated European comedy. 

His middle-class upbringing: To those of us on this side of the Atlantic, a British accent often connotes education and/or breeding.  Marshall had a fabulous voice and terrific use of the 'Queen's English'. He was admired his entire life for that, and for his brand of 'Britishness' and gentlemanly manner. He sometimes bristled at being labeled a 'gentleman' because in the UK he was decidedly middle-class, having been born in a family of working actors.

Marshall's life and career arc have the advantage of extending through the full first half of cinema history, on two continents. For that reason alone, the biography is a fascinating read - how one person navigated serious setbacks, cultural barriers, etc., to find consistent work in the industry until the mid-1960s. 

Dramatic actors go all screwball in IT'S LOVE I'M AFTER

This is a first in a series of posts honoring Ms. Olivia de Havilland, one of the great ladies of classic cinema, who is celebrating her 100th birthday this year.

So, you have Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Olivia de Havilland in a film, and you end up with ... a screwball comedy?  Well, if the movie gets made in 1937 and all three stars are coming off dramatic roles, perhaps it's understandable. The movie is IT'S LOVE I'M AFTER.

In looking for an early and lesser known film of Ms. De Havilland's to watch for the first time, I came across this one and was delighted.  All three stars are up to the comic demands of their roles, and despite a bit of over-the-top silliness (not altogether unexpected), I highly recommend the film.  It's on DVD from the Warner Archive label.

Leslie Howard, who I've only recently seen outside GONE WITH THE WIND where I find him sadly miscast, is a revelation here.  He is in full ham mode as celebrated Shakespearean stage actor who is a stereotypical egotist and in love, although constantly engaged in a snipe-fest with, his leading lady Bette Davis.  He prances and poses throughout the film but retains our sympathy while we laugh at him.  As for Ms. Davis, her role could be considered a warm up for, or younger version of, her Margo Channing in 1950's ALL ABOUT EVE. Ms. de Havilland is perfect as the young innocent who develops a consuming crush on Howard just by watching him act.  She is beyond lovely; her luminous beauty and infatuation are both depicted in the shot in which we see her for the first time watching Romeo's death scene:

"Oh Romeo, drop that poison right now and run away with ME!"

Her frustrated fiance, played straight by a handsome but somewhat wooden Patric Knowles, looks on, not anticipating the lengths he's about to go on trying to win back her affections.

Directed by Archie Mayo, the screenplay makes the most of propelling the plot forward by overtly incorporating plots and dialogue from contemporary and Shakespearean plays.  Shakespearean dialogue is also injected with insults when the dead Romeo whispers to his hovering Juliet that she has been eating too many onions again.  A play called "A Lover's Triangle" forms the framework of the plot as Howard agrees to Knowles' plan to drive de Havilland back into her fiance's arms by playing the cad and wreaking havoc after moving into her home as a barely-invited guest.  Eric Blore as the butler (!) has an unusually large role and makes the best of it, always in an advanced state of frustration trying to keep Howard from indulging the lesser angels of his nature.  His comic energy most often comes from bouncing off of Howard, and is at its apex in a scene where he acts and sounds out different types of birds to keep Howard in line (interestingly TimeOut London calls his performance 'execrable'):

Davis is trying to figure out why Eric Blore is doing jumping jacks while making bird calls at a refined garden party.

Apparently this project was initiated by Howard, who wanted to have some fun after several dramatic roles including in THE PETRIFIED FOREST, also with Bette Davis.  Warner Bros. had to put pressure on Davis to work with Howard again, as their relationship was rocky, and who had also wanted some vacation time after an exhausting year of dramatic roles.  Ms. de Havilland was on her way up, and, unfortunately, had to fend off the advances of Howard quite vociferously during filming.  With two beautiful leading ladies, clearly Howard was enjoying every second of the attention he was getting.

Notable tidbits to recommend the film:
--Likability of the three main characters
--Terrific comic ensemble scenes.  There is a scene early on where Howard noisily pushes his way into de Havilland's mansion in the middle of the night and is going on loudly about how raised is his 'ire', when all the servants think they hear "FIRE" and come to the rescue with filled water buckets.  [Ok, I guess you just have to trust me on that one.]
--Apparently men in tights were a thing to contemporary women of the time:  a joke is made near the end of the movie about how women love to see male actors wearing this kind of costume.  Uh huh, yeah.
--A film inside joke (and GWTW connection) when de Havilland claims how she had a crush on Clark Gable (!) before the one on Howard's character. "I was in love with Clark Gable last year and if I can get over him I can get over you!" "Who's Clark Gable?"

What I disliked:
--Bonita Granville overplayed her signature spoiled brat part and should have been dialed down several notches, even if this was a screwball.
--Not enough George Barbier, who played de Havilland's exasperated father with perfection, or Spring Byington, as her mother.
--As mentioned earlier, Patric Knowles comes across too wooden here for my taste.
--Eric Blore's extreme characterization - at times - would have bothered me more if not for how well he worked with Howard.

Here are a few key moments from the film:

Romeo (Howard) and Juliet (Davis) battling over who gets the first curtain call

Howard strikes a dramatic pose as he contemplates the next move in his complicated love life

Blore as Howard's faithful, if continually frustrated, conscience

Knowles is dismayed when de Havilland seems unfazed by Howard's caddish ways

George Barbier is at his wits end thanks to his daughter's fascination for uninvited houseguest Howard

Howard tells de Havilland she has too many moles(!)

"Remember, my darling, 'all the world's a stage'"