Keep Calm & Carry On--The British Are Coming!

[cujas]

Sometimes I wonder if we would have had Hollywood without are friends the Brits. Never have so few, done so much for so many!

 

Can you imagine Classic Films without Hitchcock and Cary Grant, or James Whale and Boris Karloff? And who could measure the contributions of character artists like Una O'Connor, Charles Laughton, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains or Gladys Cooper.

 

This thread is devoted to British Cinematic artists in front of and behind the Camera.

 

First up--

 

This British actress was born in Asia and gained wide-spread recognition in the 1960's. She co-starred with A-list American & British films stars. Her most successful film of that decade garnered 2 Oscar nominations and 1 win.

 

Actress and greatest film success--

[lavenderblue19]

BEAUTIFUL Julie Christie. Dr. Zhviago??

[cujas]

No--Dr. Zhivago, Christie's biggest movie of the 60's, actually garned 5 Oscars and 10 Oscar nominations.

 

Hint:And the British actress in question was never involved with Shirley MacLaine's brother.

 

Edited by: cujas on Sep 29, 2012 5:56 PM

[lavenderblue19]

That probably rules out 98% of US and European actresses. LOL I'll keep thinking about it.

[cujas]

Hint--not the biggest star, rather a supporting ingenue, but hot in the 60's in a way co-starring with the big stars like Bette Davis and William Holden.

 

Her biggest success garned an Oscar for the leading lady and a nomination for the theme song. FYI--The song was a 60's movie hit that everyone was humming.

 

Those clues should do it!

[lavenderblue]

Pamela Franklin? Not exactly a household name cujas, as lovely as she is. *The Nanny* with BD, *The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie* , Maggie Smith.

[cujas]

Lav--that wasn't so hard, was it? Pamela Franklin, may have been one of the first of her generation to do nude scenes. In Brodie, She went from being an adolescent girl to a very sexy young woman. Maybe she just took off her glasses! Also co-starred with Brando in the 60's.

 

Lav--Well, played and good show! It's your turn--

[lavenderblue]

Thanks. I'm going to pass this round. Thread Is Open.

[cujas]

Fantastic talent that never quite saw its total fruition--This actor made a few shimmering film appearances in A movies; but his strong suit was the theatre. Often compared to Olivier in ability, unlike Larry, he was a natural on film.

 

The legendary stage and film successes of one of his wives, no doubt, overshawdowed his career and lead to an early end to their marriage.

 

His most notable film directors were: Wilder, Cukor, Zeffirelli and Richardson.

[LonesomePolecat]

Could this be Richard Burton perhaps?

[cujas]

You're on the right track--but Burton's film wife never had a great stage career and I don't think Burton worked with all the listed directors.

 

Actor in question was English and famous for his Royal Shakespeare Company roles.

[mudskipper]

Maybe Shakesperean actor Sir Robert Stephens...Maggie Smith's ex-husband.

[cujas]

Maybe you're right!

 

Sir Mudskipper at the helm.

[mudskipper]

Thanks...

 

When George Sanders became ill, this British actor took the role of a dastardly knight in a movie which advanced his career.... A few years later however, he lost his chance at immortality when he turned down the role of James Bond before Sean Connery got the part because he did not want to commit to a three-film contract...

 

Name the actor and the role and movie which advanced his career.

[mudskipper]

Thanks...

 

This British actor advanced his career by playing the role of a dastardly knight in a movie when George Sanders became ill. However, he lost his chance at immortality when he refused the James Bond role in "Dr. No" because he did not want to commit to a three-film contract.

 

Name the actor and the title of the movie in which he replaced George Sanders...

 

[mudskipper]

Sorry, not James Mason...The actor was not as well known, although he was also adept at playing villain or lead....He was in a blockbuster with Gregory Peck...

[vickisilverwolf]

I believe that Ian Fleming thought that David Niven would be the best casting for Bond (and he sort of was, in the silly 1960's *Casino Royale*.)

[mudskipper]

Sorry, not David Niven either...A little bit more masculine than David Niven. He was in a Robert Taylor film in the fifties...

[vickisilverwolf]

 

Stanley Baker?

 

(in the Gregory Peck epic war drama *The Guns of Navarone* and with Robert Taylor in *Knights of the Round Table)*

 

 

[mudskipper]

That's the one, Silverwolf !...He became Mordred in "Knights Of The Round Table" when george Sanders got sick.... He probably would have made at least a passable James Bond, although I don't know if he could have been as suave as Sean Connery. Apparently, he had some regrets about his decision after the success of the 007 movies, because he later asked Broccoli if he could be a Bond villain. I'm sure he would have been menacing in the Robert Shaw role....To me the perfect casting for a Bond villain was Gert Frobe in "Goldfinger".

 

Your turn.

[vickisilverwolf]

 

Thank you very much!

 

I'm thinking of a British actress, probably better known for her stage work (in London and on Broadway) than her film career. She appeared in less than ten feature films, most of which are pretty obscure (to me, at least.) Her most important film role was in an adaptation of a very famous play, by an American author, in which she played an American.

 

 

[vickisilverwolf]

 

Hint: She was played by a famous actress/singer in a 1968 musical biopic.

 

 

[Edythevanhopper]

Would that be Gertrude Lawrence portrayed by Julie Andrews in Star??

[vickisilverwolf]

 

Absolutely correct!

 

American filmgoers may remember her best in *The Glass Menagerie*, playing a faded Southern belle, hoping for a "gentleman caller" to marry her emotionally fragile daughter.

 

 

 

 

 

Your turn.

 

 

[Edythevanhopper]

 

A British actor's career of 45 yrs prospered by supporting character roles. He had many good roles until in the 1960's when he was cast as a supporting character that would change his image to something of a straightman/authority figure. A well-loved role that carried him through another 20 yrs in that role. Who is he?