Robert Montgomery

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Montgomery (born Henry Montgomery Jr.; May 21, 1904 – September 27, 1981) was an American film and television actor, director, and producer. He was also the father of actress Elizabeth Montgomery. Montgomery settled in New York City to try his hand at writing and acting. He established a stage career, and became popular enough to turn down an offer to appear opposite Vilma Bánky in the film This Is Heaven (1929). Sharing a stage with George Cukor gave him an entry to Hollywood and a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he debuted in So This Is College (also 1929). Montgomery initially played exclusively in comedy roles, but portrayed a character in his first drama film in The Big House (1930). MGM was initially reluctant to assign him in such a role, until "his earnestness, and his convincing arguments, with demonstrations of how he would play the character" won him the assignment. From The Big House on, he was in constant demand. Appearing as Greta Garbo's romantic interest in Inspiration (1930) started him toward stardom with a rush. Norma Shearer chose him to star opposite her in The Divorcee (1930), Strangers May Kiss (1931), and Private Lives (1931), which led him to stardom. In another challenging role, Montgomery played a psychopath in the chiller Night Must Fall (1937), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination. After World War II broke out in Europe in September, 1939, and while the United States was still officially neutral, Montgomery enlisted in London for American field service and drove ambulances in France until the Dunkirk evacuation. He then returned to Hollywood and addressed a massive rally on the MGM lot for the American Red Cross in July 1940. Montgomery returned to playing light comedy roles, such as Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) with Carole Lombard. He continued his search for dramatic roles. For his role as Joe Pendleton, a boxer and pilot in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Montgomery was nominated for an Oscar a second time. After the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941, he joined the United States Navy, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander, and served on the USS Barton (DD-722) which was part of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. In 1945, Montgomery returned to Hollywood, making his uncredited directing debut with They Were Expendable, where he directed some of the PT boat scenes when director John Ford was unable to work for health reasons. Montgomery's first credited film as director and his final film for MGM was the film noir Lady in the Lake (1947), in which he also starred, which received mixed reviews. Adapted from Raymond Chandler's detective novel and sanitized for the censorship of the day, the film is unusual because it was filmed entirely from Marlowe's vantage point. Montgomery only appeared on camera a few times, three times in a mirror reflection. Active in Republican politics and concerned about communist influence in the entertainment industry, Montgomery was a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. Montgomery has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for movies at 6440 Hollywood Boulevard, and another for television at 1631 Vine Street.

Known For

Phillip Marlowe

Lady in the Lake

Self (Guest Appearance at Premiere)

Estrellados

Larry Belmont

Blondie of the Follies

Self (archive footage)

Ingrid Bergman Remembered

André Montell

Inspiration

David

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Freddy Matthews

Ever Since Eve

Philip Monrell

Rage in Heaven

Larry

Free and Easy

Jonathan 'Lucky' Wilson

Hide-Out

Joe Pendleton

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Kent Marlowe

The Big House

Lt. John Brickley

They Were Expendable

Lucky Gagin

Ride the Pink Horse

Malcolm 'Mal' Niles

Three Loves Has Nancy

Don

The Divorcee

Himself

Hollywood Handicap

Lord Arthur Dilling

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney

Adam Heyward

Your Witness

Victor Hallam

Another Language

Danny

Night Must Fall

Auguste Pellerin

Night Flight

Tommy Duncan

Unfinished Business

Raymond Dabney

The Man in Possession

Steve

Strangers May Kiss

Elyot Chase

Private Lives

John 'Jack' Douglas Cheever

Their Own Desire

Self (archive footage)

Hollywood: The Dream Factory

Carey Jackson

June Bride

Dillon 'Dill" Todd

Forsaking All Others

Sheridan 'Sherry' Warren

No More Ladies

Dascom Dinsmore

Petticoat Fever

Narrator

The Secret Land

Robert Kilmount

The Earl of Chicago

Tony Jardine

Our Blushing Brides

Jack Madison

The Easiest Way

Lord Peter Wimsey

Busman's Honeymoon

Matt Saxon

The Saxon Charm

Hale Darrow

Letty Lynton

Nicholas Revel

The Mystery of Mr. X

James Crocker, Jr.

Piccadilly Jim

John O'Hara

Yellow Jack

Wally O'Brien

War Nurse

Richard 'Dickie' Kurt

Biography of a Bachelor Girl

Kelly

Love in the Rough

Nick Higginson

The Sins of the Children

Andy McAllister

Untamed

Willie Smith

Lovers Courageous

William 'Bill' Wade

Faithless

John Paul Jones

Shipmates

Max Clement

But the Flesh Is Weak

Bob Graham

Live, Love and Learn

Jeff

Made on Broadway

Benjamin Herries

Vanessa: Her Love Story

Prince Florizel

Trouble for Two

Jimmie

When Ladies Meet

Biff

So This Is College

Paul Porter, aka Stephen Blaine

Fugitive Lovers

Tommie L. Trent

Riptide

Joel Sloane

Fast and Loose

Lieut. Thomas Knowlton USN

Hell Below

Collier Laing

Once More, My Darling

William Foster

Three Live Ghosts

David Conway

The First Hundred Years

Self (archive footage)

Checking Out: Grand Hotel

Self (archive footage)

42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage

Party Boy (uncredited)

The Single Standard

Himself - Premiere Clip (archive footage)

Going Hollywood

(archive footage)

That's Entertainment!

Narration (American scenes)

The Gallant Hours

The Voice of Hollywood

Self

The Romance of Celluloid

Self

Breakdowns of 1949

Self (archive footage)

Complicated Women

(archive footage)

That's Entertainment, Part II

Self

From the Ends of the Earth

Self

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

Self

Hollywood Goes to Town

Self (archive footage)

Jornal Português (1938-1951)

Self

Starlit Days at the Lido

Self (archive footage)

Fantasia Lusitana

Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 8