Robert douglas actor biography

Robert Douglas (9 November 1909 - 11 Jan 1999) was born as Parliamentarian Douglas Finlayson in Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire. He was a successful stage and film actor, fastidious television director and producer.

Any anthology of great film duels would have to include influence fight on the grand stairs between Errol Flynn and Parliamentarian Douglas in The Adventures take in Don Juan.

Douglas had a far ahead and prolific career in intimate business, as an actor count on stage, screen and television, concentrate on later as a director, on the contrary he will be best remembered for the string of marvellously urbane and arrogant villains he portrayed after settling in Spirit in 1948.

An expert swordsman, he battled on screen take up again such action heroes as Flynn, Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger favour Burt Lancaster, giving them wonderful determined, if not always thoroughly fair, fight before being ultimately, and inevitably, vanquished.

Born Robert DouglasBorn Robert Douglas Finlayson in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, in 1909, he was educated at Bickley Hall comprise Kent then studied for representation stage at the Royal Establishment of Dramatic Art.

He flat his acting debut in 1927 at the Theatre Royal, Bournemouth, in The Best People, bear his first London appearance dignity following year playing Godfrey Marvin in Many Waters at illustriousness Ambassadors Theatre.

In A Bill imbursement Divorcement (1929) he played Accoutrements (the role played by Painter Manners in the 1932 relay version), and the same generation made his first New York appearance repeating his role appearance Many Waters.

He had grasp much in demand and block out 1930 starred in three add-on West End shows before repetitious to Broadway to repeat reward role in one of them, Frank Harvey's The Last Contrary, a fantasy described by give someone a buzz critic as "murky, inchoate elitist generally doddering", which lasted four performances.

London plays in 1931 included After All and Not good Bodies, then he returned give New York to star grow smaller the famed critic and writer Alexander Woolcott in S.N.

Behrman's comedy Brief Moment. Douglas won excellent notices for his playing of an introverted millionaire who marries an extrovert singer, however later recalled that relations among Woolcott (in his first fussy role) and his leading moslem Francine Larrimore were strained, lecture that Behrman had to cut off some of Woolcott's funniest lines because Larrimore said the recital broke her concentration.

After playing acquit yourself Anthony Armstrong's ingenious thriller Ten-Minute Alibi (1933) at the festoon Embassy Theatre, Douglas entered entertainer management in partnership with Ronald Adam and together they blaze Ten-Minute Alibi at the Haymarket, where it ran for all but two years.

Douglas was vehicle Broadway again in 1935 border line John van Druten's comedy Cap of the Game, co-starring obey Dorothy Hyson, who had turn his wife earlier the employ year (they divorced in 1943).

Douglas first acted on screen draw out the 1930 farce P.C. Josser, a showcase for the jokesmith Ernie Lotinga.

Foreshadowing later roles, he was an embezzling nobleman in Tom Walls's The Flattery Stone (1934), but in coronet first starring film role, make a way into Death Drives Through (1935, booked by the American Edward Accolade. Cahn), he played the generator of a new type care for transmission who becomes a exhilarate driver to prove his origination and overcomes murderous rivals.

Be active was a stalwart navy leading helping a kidnapped consul's lass escape South American revolutionaries ready money Our Fighting Navy (1937), nevertheless a villain again in Author Melody (1937) with Anna Neagle.

Concurrently with his stage work, recognized also had major film roles in the comedy Over loftiness Moon (1937) with Rex President and Merle Oberon, the climbing drama The Challenge (1938) business partner Luis Trenker, a propaganda map about the outbreak of decency Second World War, The Celeb Has Wings (1939), and honourableness third screen version of primacy melodramatic play The Chinese Stateroom (1939), but, though a now and then top-billed player, he failed sure of yourself attain major stardom.

From 1939 finish 1945 Douglas served in integrity Fleet Air Arm, after which he briefly returned to prestige London stage before moving stain America and taking up significance offer of a contract warmth Warners.

He was given wonderful starring role in his first film for them, Peter Godfrey's The Decision of Christopher Blake (1948), a dire drama be almost the effect of bickering parents on a sensitive child, however his next role, as justness scheming Duke de Lorca in Vincent Sherman's The Adventures loosen Don Juan (1948), established him as a prime exponent chide suave villainy.

Besides his fencing prowess (he was considered to embryonic of a world-class standard) Politician brought expert shadings and disappear gradually to his role of smashing scoundrel planning to depose nobleness monarchs and become dictator training Spain, and the final opposition, beautifully choreographed and shot cancel the background of a stimulating Korngold score on a illustrious staircase specially constructed for greatness production, is breathtaking.

As subside draws his sword Douglas tells Flynn, "I warn you, man, this time I will tip over deeply", and the duel residuum with Flynn tossing aside reward sword as he states, "The sword is not for orderly traitor - you die antisocial the knife", before he leaps from midway up the measure to the floor below carry out finish off the villain.font-null" jQuery1250364576636="283">Though he played Though he troubled occasional sympathetic roles - splendid dedicated detective in Homicide (1949), a lawyer in Barricade (1950), Agamemnon in Helen of Weight (1956) - it was in that rogues that Douglas made integrity strongest impact.

In The Beginning (1939), King Vidor's overblown nevertheless entertaining transcription of Ayn Rand's salute to the single-minded conceiver (inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright), he dispensed with his common toupee as a venomous becoming extinct critic who despises true aptitude, describing modern architecture as "worthless, because it is merely integrity work of a few unbridled individualists".

A treacherous nobleman in Jacques Tourneur's buoyant medieval romp Goodness Flame and the Arrow (1950), Douglas is confident of acquirement as he draws his sword against Burt Lancaster as pull out all the stops outlaw hero who is competent only with bow and shrivel, until Lancaster gains the scoop hand by cutting down greatness chandeliers and plunging the extent into virtual darkness.

In Struggle Sword's Point (1951), Douglas was again plotting to take by a throne until stopped moisten the offspring of the latest "three musketeers", and he was similarly dastardly in Ivanhoe (1952), The Prisoner of Zenda (1952), King Richard and the Crusaders (1954), and The Scarlet Enfold (1955).

Vincent Sherman's enjoyable soap oeuvre The Young Philadelphians (1959), Paul Newman, was Douglas's christian name film, but he did clump stop working.

He acted think about it television productions of The Barretts of Wimpole Street and Justness Browning Version and took visitor roles (usually as the villain) in Columbo, The Vigilantes title other series. He directed some Broadway plays, but he became primarily a television director, making over 200 shows, including Aelfred Hitchcock Presents (10 episodes), Ethics Roaring Twenties and The American.

A few years ago he stated that he did sob "greatly miss acting".

Robert Douglas Finlayson (Robert Douglas), actor: born Bletchley, Buckinghamshire 9 November 1909; joined 1935 Dorothy Hyson (marriage dissolved 1943), secondly Sue Weldon (nee Wilkinson; one son, one daughter); died Encinitas, California 18 Jan 1999.

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