 Robert Morley's portly frame, double chin and perpetual look of pop-eyed surprise made him one of the screen's most recognisable performers and one of its most endearing personalities. There was often a touch of the great overgrown schoolboy about him, and his published interviews encouraged the perception that to him acting was no more than a delightful game for which one was paid. RADA-trained and on stage from 1929, he received an Oscar nomination for his film debut as the weakly foolish Louis XVI who grows in stature with adversity in Marie Antoinette (US, d. W.S.Van Dyke, 1938), made in the US where he had gone to star in Oscar Wilde, a role he would repeat in a dull film (d. Gregory Ratoff, 1960). Enjoyable rather than profound, he was sought for showy character roles over five decades, but the best came early: Undershaft in Major Barbara (d. Gabriel Pascal, 1941), almost arguing the last act into cinematic life; Katharine Hepburn's missionary brother in The African Queen (d. John Huston, 1951), and the craven Almayer in Outcast of the Islands (d. Carol Reed, 1951); and the cricket-mad poet in The Final Test (d. Anthony Asquith, 1953); but he was good company until the end. He also co-wrote and performed in several plays, including Edward, My Son (1947; filmed 1949 by George Cukor, but with Spencer Tracy in Morley's stage role), and appeared in and/or directed many more. He was awarded a CBE in 1957, and married Joan Buckmaster, Gladys Cooper's daughter. Sheridan Morley, critic and showbiz biographer, is their son. Bibliography
Autobiography: Robert Morley, Responsible Gentleman, 1966;
Sheridan Morley, Robert, My Father, 1993. Brian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of British Film
|
FILM & TV CREDITS
