Peter Godfrey (director)

Last updated

Peter Godfrey
Peter Godfrey photo.jpg
Born(1899-10-16)16 October 1899
London, UK
Died4 March 1970(1970-03-04) (aged 70)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Director, actor
Years active1930–58 (film)
Spouse(s)Molly Veness
Renee Godfrey

Peter Godfrey (16 October 1899 – 4 March 1970) was an English actor and film director. Founder of the experimental Gate Theatre Salon in 1925, with his first wife Molly Veness, he staged London's first expressionistic production in the following year. He went into partnership with Velona Pilcher in 1927 and together they opened the Gate Theatre Studio in Villiers Street, Charing Cross. [1] Eventually moving to Hollywood, he established a career as a film actor and director.

Contents

Life and career

Godfrey began his career as a conjuror, clown, actor and director in repertory theatres around the United Kingdom. [2] However, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the standard repertory plays, being himself attracted to the experimental works of American and Continental directors, and the avant-garde playwrights of the 1920s. [2] To stage such plays, he and his wife, the actress Molly Veness, rented a room in Floral Street, Covent Garden, which they were forced to run as a private club since London City Council refused to grant a licence for their "theatre", which, according to Edna Antrobus, had only "one entrance and exit and a rickety wooden staircase".

The Gate Theatre Studio opened on 30 October 1925, and after staging plays by Molière and Strindberg established its reputation with a production staged in 1926 of Georg Kaiser's From Morn to Midnight, London's first expressionistic production. In 1927, the theatre club moved to Villiers Street, where it reached the peak of its success in the 1930–31 season. [2]

Godfrey directed two British films in the early 1930s. In 1936 he directed a production of C. L. R. James's play Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History at the Westminster Theatre. [3] Godfrey moved to New York City in around 1937, where he continued to write and produce plays. [2] In 1939, now in Hollywood, he took up directing more permanently. In 1942 he became a dialogue director for RKO and Columbia Pictures. [2] By the late 1940s Godfrey was a prominent director, working on films such as the Errol Flynn vehicles Cry Wolf and Escape Me Never . [4] In the 1950s he switched to television and directed episodes for a variety of shows. With his second wife, actress Renee Haal, he established a Hollywood "Gate Theatre Studio" in 1943, which lasted for two years.

Godfrey died on 4 March 1970, at the age of 70. He is interred at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery near his wife, Renee Godfrey. [5]

Selected filmography

Actor

Director

Godfrey as a Hindu character in a 1928 play De geheimzinnige Hindoe, SFA006011132.jpg
Godfrey as a Hindu character in a 1928 play

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Errol Flynn</span> Australian actor (1909–1959)

Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia de Havilland, and reputation for his womanising and hedonistic personal life. His most notable roles include Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), which was later named by the American Film Institute as the 18th-greatest hero in American film history, the lead role in Captain Blood (1935), Major Geoffrey Vickers in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), and the hero in a number of Westerns such as Dodge City (1939), Santa Fe Trail, Virginia City and San Antonio (1945).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Curtiz</span> Hungarian-American director (1886–1962)

Michael Curtiz was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed classic films from the silent era and numerous others during Hollywood's Golden Age, when the studio system was prevalent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June Havoc</span> American actress, vaudeville performer, and memoirist (1912–2010)

June Havoc was a Canadian-born American actress, dancer, stage director and memoirist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Bologna</span> American actor (1934–2017)

Joseph Bologna was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter notable for his roles in the comedy films My Favorite Year, Blame It on Rio, and Transylvania 6-5000.

David Rasche is an American theater, film, and television actor who is best known for his portrayal of the title character in the 1980s satirical police sitcom Sledge Hammer! Since then he has often played characters in positions of authority, in both serious and comical turns. In television he is known for his main role as Karl Muller in the HBO drama series Succession and his role as Alden Schmidt in the TV Land comedy series Impastor, as well as recurring and guest performances in numerous programs including L.A. Law, Monk, The West Wing, Veep, Bored to Death, and Ugly Betty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patric Knowles</span> English actor (1911–1995)

Patric Knowles, born Reginald Lawrence Knowles, was an English film actor. Born in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, he later changed his name to reflect his Irish heritage. He made his film debut in 1932, and played either first or second film leads throughout his career. He appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Irving Asher was an American film producer. Born in San Francisco in September 1903, he began his film production career in Hollywood in 1919. After joining the staff of Warner Brothers he was sent over to England as the managing director of their subsidiary Teddington Studios in Middlesex in the mid-1930s. Flynn played his first significant part as the lead in the now-lost Murder at Monte Carlo (1935), which was produced by Asher. Asher went on to join Alexander Korda's London Film Productions where he worked on the epic The Four Feathers (1939). Subsequently, he returned to Hollywood to work as a producer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he earned his only Academy Award nomination for the 1941 Greer Garson film Blossoms in the Dust.

<i>Against All Flags</i> 1952 film by George Sherman

Against All Flags is a 1952 American pirate film directed by George Sherman, with uncredited assist from Douglas Sirk. It features Errol Flynn as Lt. Brian Hawke, Maureen O'Hara as Prudence "Spitfire" Stevens, and Anthony Quinn as Roc Brasiliano. The film is set in 1700, on the coast of Madagascar.

<i>Adventures of Don Juan</i> 1948 film by Vincent Sherman

Adventures of Don Juan is a 1948 American Technicolor swashbuckling adventure romance film directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Errol Flynn and Viveca Lindfors, with Robert Douglas, Alan Hale, Ann Rutherford, and Robert Warwick. Also in the cast are Barbara Bates, Raymond Burr, and Mary Stuart. It concerns the legendary, fictional Spanish character Don Juan and his exploits.

Gate Theatre Studio, often referred to as simply the Gate Theatre, is a former independent theatre on Villiers Street in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Errol Flynn filmography</span>

The film appearances of movie actor Errol Flynn (1909–1959) are listed here, including his short films and one unfinished feature.

Frank Michael Howson was an Australian theatre and film director, screenwriter, and singer. He directed Flynn (1996) on the early life of Errol Flynn and Hunting (1991). Howson, with Peter Boyle, helped establish Boulevard Films which produced thirteen films from Boulevard of Broken Dreams (1988) to Flynn; besides producing for Boulevard Films, Howson often wrote scripts and directed.

<i>Footsteps in the Dark</i> (film) 1941 film by Lloyd Bacon

Footsteps in the Dark is a 1941 American comedy mystery film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall and Ralph Bellamy. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Flynn plays a novelist and amateur detective investigating a murder. It takes its title from the 1935 play Footsteps in the Dark by Ladislas Fodor and also used material from the 1937 play Blondie White by Jeffrey Dell.

<i>Cry Wolf</i> (1947 film) 1947 film by Peter Godfrey

Cry Wolf is a 1947 American mystery film noir directed by Peter Godfrey and starring Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck and Geraldine Brooks. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It is based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Marjorie Carleton.

<i>Murder at Monte Carlo</i> 1934 film

Murder at Monte Carlo is a British 1934 mystery crime thriller film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Errol Flynn, Eve Gray, Paul Graetz and Molly Lamont, the production was Flynn's debut film in a lead role in England. The film is currently missing from the BFI National Archive, and is listed as one of the British Film Institute's "75 Most Wanted" lost films.

<i>Kings Rhapsody</i> (film) 1955 film by Herbert Wilcox

King's Rhapsody is a 1955 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Errol Flynn and Patrice Wymore. Wymore was Errol Flynn's wife at the time of filming. It was based on the successful stage musical King's Rhapsody by Ivor Novello.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal & Derngate</span> Theatre in Northampton

Royal & Derngate is a theatre complex in the Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, consisting of the Royal Theatre, Derngate Theatre and the Northampton Filmhouse. The Royal was built by theatre architect Charles J. Phipps and opened in 1884. Ninety-nine years later in 1983, Derngate, designed by RHWL, was built to the rear of the Royal. Whilst the two theatres were physically linked, they did not combine organisations until a formal merger in 1999; they are run by the Northampton Theatres Trust. The Royal Theatre, established as a producing house, has a capacity of 450 seats and since 1976 has been designated a Grade II listed building; Derngate Theatre seats a maximum of 1,200 and is a multi-purpose space in which the auditorium can be configured for a variety of events including theatre, opera, live music, dance, fashion and sports. The Northampton Filmhouse, an independent cinema built to the side of the complex, opened in 2013.

<i>Crossed Swords</i> (1954 film) 1954 film by Milton Krims

Crossed Swords or The Teacher of Don Juan is a 1954 historical swashbuckling adventure film directed by Milton Krims and starring Errol Flynn, Gina Lollobrigida and Nadia Gray. It was co-production between Italy and the United States. It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art director Arrigo Equini.

<i>Lilacs in the Spring</i> 1954 British film by Herbert Wilcox

Lilacs in the Spring is a 1954 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Errol Flynn and David Farrar. The film was made at Elstree Studios with sets designed by the art director William C. Andrews. Shot in Trucolor it was distributed in Britain by Republic Pictures. It was the first of two films Neagle and Flynn made together, the other being King's Rhapsody. It was released in the United States as Let's Make Up.

Without Incident is a 1957 episode of Playhouse 90 starring Errol Flynn.

References

  1. ↑ Purkis, Charlotte, "The Other Gates: Anglo-American Influences on and From Dublin", in: Pilný O., van den Beuken R., and I. R. Walsh (eds), Cultural Convergence – The Dublin Gate Theatre 1928–1960, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Edna Antrobus. "A Little Glamour in the Family" (PDF). North West Kent Family History, Vol. 4, No. 8 (December 1987): p. 306. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Toussaint L'Ouverture By CLR James", Black Plays Archive, National Theatre.
  4. ↑ McNulty, p. 322.
  5. ↑ Resting Places

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.