The following is an overview of 1936 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned over 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and his film work included leading roles in several adapted literary classics.
Anna Lee, MBE was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell".
King Ralph is a 1991 American comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward and starring John Goodman, Peter O'Toole, and John Hurt. The film is about a fired American lounge singer who becomes the unlikely King of the United Kingdom after an electrical accident wipes out the British Royal Family.
Helen of Troy is a 1956 American-Italian-French epic historical drama film, based on Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. It was directed by Robert Wise, from a screenplay by Hugh Gray and John Twist, adapted by Hugh Gray and N. Richard Nash. The music score was composed by Max Steiner and the cinematography by Harry Stradling Sr, who shot the film in CinemaScope.
The Ghoul is a 1933 British horror film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Boris Karloff. The cast also features Harold Huth, Dorothy Hyson, Ernest Thesiger, Cedric Hardwicke, and Ralph Richardson in his first credited film role.
The Green Glove is a 1952 French-American international co-production film noir directed by Rudolph Maté and starring Glenn Ford, Geraldine Brooks, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and George Macready.
The Howards of Virginia is a 1940 American drama war film directed by Frank Lloyd, released by Columbia Pictures, and based on the book The Tree of Liberty written by Elizabeth Page. The Howards of Virginia live through the American Revolutionary War, with Cary Grant starring as Matt Howard, Martha Scott starring as his wife Jane Peyton Howard, and Alan Marshal and Sir Cedric Hardwicke starring as Jane's brothers Roger and Fleetwood Peyton. Fleetwood Peyton is Jane's elder brother, the patriarch of his family, and a member of the Tidewater aristocracy. The film includes a look at the young Matt Howard, Thomas Jefferson, and Jane Peyton.
Marie Glory was a French actress.
Francis Martin Sewell Stokes was an English novelist, biographer, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and prison visitor. He collaborated on a number of occasions with his brother, Leslie Stokes, an actor and later in life a BBC radio producer, with whom he shared a flat for many years overlooking the British Museum.
The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1977 television film loosely adapted from the 1847–1850 novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas and presenting several plot similarities with the 1939 film version. It was produced by Norman Rosemont for ITC Entertainment, and starred Richard Chamberlain as King Louis XIV and his twin Philippe, Patrick McGoohan as Nicolas Fouquet, Ralph Richardson as Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis Jourdan as D'Artagnan, and Ian Holm as the Chevalier Duval. Jenny Agutter plays Louis XIV's mistress, Louise de la Vallière. Vivien Merchant appears as Queen Marie-Therese. It was directed by Mike Newell.
The Vagabond King is a 1956 American musical film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Kathryn Grayson, Rita Moreno, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Walter Hampden, Leslie Nielsen, and Maltese singer Oreste Kirkop in his only feature film role. It was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is an adaptation of the 1925 operetta The Vagabond King by Rudolf Friml. Hampden plays King Louis XI. Mary Grant designed the film's costumes.
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a 1947 British drama film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Cedric Hardwicke, with Derek Bond in the title role. The screenplay by John Dighton is based on the Charles Dickens novel The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1839). This first sound screen adaptation of the book followed silent films released in 1903 and 1912.
The Lodger is a 1944 American horror film about Jack the Ripper, based on the 1913 novel of the same name by Marie Belloc Lowndes. It stars Merle Oberon, George Sanders, and Laird Cregar, features Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and was directed by John Brahm from a screenplay by Barré Lyndon.
Nell Gwyn is a 1934 British historical drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke, Jeanne de Casalis, Miles Malleson and Moore Marriott. The film portrays the historical romance between Charles II of England and the actress Nell Gwyn. In the opening credits, the dialogue is credited to "King Charles II, Samuel Pepys and Nell Gwyn" with additional dialogue by Miles Malleson. It was also released as Mistress Nell Gwyn.
The Power and the Prize is a 1956 American drama film directed by Henry Koster and starring Robert Taylor, Elisabeth Muller, Burl Ives, Mary Astor and Cedric Hardwicke. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay was written by Robert Ardrey, adapted from the 1954 novel The Power and the Prize by Howard Swiggett. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1957 for costume design.
Beware of Pity is a 1946 British romantic drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Lilli Palmer, Albert Lieven and Cedric Hardwicke. It is based on the 1939 novel of the same name by Stefan Zweig. A paraplegic young baroness mistakes compassion for love. The film's costumes were designed by Cecil Beaton. It was made by Two Cities Films at Islington Studios. The film was not a great popular success outside the Soviet Union.
Joan Marion Nicholls, known professionally as Joan Marion, was an Australian-born stage, film and television actress. Her family moved to Britain when she was three, and at eighteen she attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where she adopted the name Joan Marion. Subsequently, a busy stage star, she made the record books in 1934, when she appeared in two West End shows simultaneously, Men in White with Ralph Richardson and Without Witness. She also famously turned down Jack Warner and a Hollywood career, describing him as "a horrid little man." Marion continued in the theatre and British films until her marriage to wine expert Louis Everette de Rouet. With the birth of her daughter she spent many years travelling the world with her family.
Pearl Argyle was a South African ballet dancer and actress. She appeared in leading roles with English ballet companies in the 1930s and later performed in stage musicals and in films.
The Lady Is Willing is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Gilbert Miller and starring Leslie Howard.
