Aubrey Smith
Encyclopedia
Sir Charles Aubrey Smith CBE (21 July 186320 December 1948), known to film-goers as C. Aubrey Smith, was an English
cricketer
and actor
.
, England
and educated at Charterhouse School
and St John's College, Cambridge
. He settled in South Africa
to prospect for gold in 1888-89. While there he developed pneumonia
and was wrongly pronounced dead by doctors. He married Isabella Wood in 1896.
, though he was also a useful lower-order batsman and slip fielder. His oddly curved bowling run-up gave him the nickname "Round the Corner Smith". W. G. Grace
commented that "it is rather startling when he suddenly appears at the bowling crease". He played for Cambridge University 1882-85 and for Sussex
at various times between 1882 and 1892. While in South Africa he captained the Johannesburg
English XI. He captained England
to victory in his only Test match
, against South Africa
at Port Elizabeth in 1888-89, taking five wickets for 19 runs in the first innings. In 1932 he founded the Hollywood Cricket Club
and created a pitch with imported English grass. He attracted fellow expats such as David Niven
, Laurence Olivier
, Nigel Bruce
(who served as captain), Leslie Howard
and Boris Karloff
to the club as well as local American players.
Smith's stereotypical Englishness spawned several amusing anecdotes: while fielding at slip for the Hollywood Club, he dropped a difficult catch and ordered his English butler to fetch his spectacles; they were brought on to the field on a silver platter. The next ball looped gently to slip, to present the kind of catch that "a child would take at midnight with no moon". Smith dropped it and, snatching off his lenses, commented, "Damned fool brought my reading glasses". Decades after his cricket career had ended, when he had long been a famous face in films, Smith was spotted in the pavilion on a visit to Lord's
. "That man over there seems familiar", remarked one member to another. "Yes", said the second, seemingly oblivious to his Hollywood fame, "Chap called Smith. Used to play for Sussex."
in 1895. His first major role was in The Prisoner of Zenda
the following year, playing the dual lead roles of king and look-alike
. Forty-one years later, he appeared in the most acclaimed film version
of the novel, this time as the wise old advisor. When Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
asked him whether it might damage his career as a romantic lead to play the villain Rupert of Hentzau, he answered "Young man, I have played every part in The Prisoner of Zenda except Lady Flavia, and I can assure you that nobody ever damaged his career by playing Rupert of Hentzau". He made his Broadway debut in a revival of George Bernard Shaw
's Pygmalion
in the starring role of Henry Higgins
.
Smith appeared in early films for the nascent British film industry, starring in The Bump in 1920 (written by A.A.Milne
for the company Minerva Films, which was founded in 1920 by the actor Leslie Howard
and his friend and story editor Adrian Brunel
). Smith later went to Hollywood where he had a successful career as a character actor
playing either officer or gentleman roles. He was also regarded as being the unofficial leader of the British film industry colony in Hollywood, which Sheridan Morley
characterised as the Hollywood Raj, a select group of British actors who were seen to be colonising the capital of the film business in the 1930s. Other film stars considered to be "members" of this select group were David Niven
(whom Smith treated like a son), Ronald Colman
, Rex Harrison
, Robert Coote
,Nigel Bruce
(whose daughter's wedding he had attended as best man), Leslie Howard
(whom Smith had known since working with him on early films in London) and Patric Knowles
.
Smith became infamous for expecting his fellow countrymen to report for regular duty at his Hollywood Cricket Club
, and anyone who refused was known to "incur his displeasure". Fiercely patriotic, Smith became openly critical of the British actors of enlistment age who did not return to fight after the outbreak of World War II
in 1939. Smith loved playing on his status as Hollywood's "Englishman in Residence". His bushy eyebrows, beady eyes, handlebar moustache
and height of 6'4" made him one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood. He starred alongside such screen legends as leading ladies
Greta Garbo
, Elizabeth Taylor
, Vivien Leigh
, and actors Clark Gable
, Laurence Olivier
, Ronald Colman
, Maurice Chevalier
and Gary Cooper
. His films include such classics as The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) mentioned above, The Four Feathers
(1939), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(1941), and And Then There Were None
(1945) in which he played General Mandrake.
Commander McBragg
in the TV cartoon Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales
is a parody of him. The cartoon character also appears in The Simpsons
episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
".
Smith died from pneumonia
in Beverly Hills in 1948, aged 85. His body was cremated and nine months later, in accordance with his wishes, his ashes were returned to England and interred in his mother's grave at St Leonard's churchyard
in Hove
, East Sussex
.
under the name Aubrey Smith.
In 1933, he was on the first board of the Screen Actors Guild
.
He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire(CBE) in 1938, and knighted
by King George VI in 1944 for "services to the theatre".
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early life
Smith was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and educated at Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
and St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
. He settled in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
to prospect for gold in 1888-89. While there he developed pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and was wrongly pronounced dead by doctors. He married Isabella Wood in 1896.
Cricket career
As a cricketer, Smith was primarily a seam bowlerFast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
, though he was also a useful lower-order batsman and slip fielder. His oddly curved bowling run-up gave him the nickname "Round the Corner Smith". W. G. Grace
W. G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace, MRCS, LRCP was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time, having a special significance in terms of his importance to the development of the sport...
commented that "it is rather startling when he suddenly appears at the bowling crease". He played for Cambridge University 1882-85 and for Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
at various times between 1882 and 1892. While in South Africa he captained the Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
English XI. He captained England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
to victory in his only Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
, against South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
at Port Elizabeth in 1888-89, taking five wickets for 19 runs in the first innings. In 1932 he founded the Hollywood Cricket Club
Hollywood Cricket Club
The Hollywood Cricket Club is an amateur cricket club in Los Angeles, California. It is a member of the Southern California Cricket Association. The club was formed in 1932 by British actor and cricketer Aubrey Smith....
and created a pitch with imported English grass. He attracted fellow expats such as David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, Nigel Bruce
Nigel Bruce
William Nigel Ernle Bruce , best known as Nigel Bruce, was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Doctor Watson in a series of films and in the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes...
(who served as captain), Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard (actor)
Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
and Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
to the club as well as local American players.
Smith's stereotypical Englishness spawned several amusing anecdotes: while fielding at slip for the Hollywood Club, he dropped a difficult catch and ordered his English butler to fetch his spectacles; they were brought on to the field on a silver platter. The next ball looped gently to slip, to present the kind of catch that "a child would take at midnight with no moon". Smith dropped it and, snatching off his lenses, commented, "Damned fool brought my reading glasses". Decades after his cricket career had ended, when he had long been a famous face in films, Smith was spotted in the pavilion on a visit to Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
. "That man over there seems familiar", remarked one member to another. "Yes", said the second, seemingly oblivious to his Hollywood fame, "Chap called Smith. Used to play for Sussex."
Acting career
Smith began acting on the London stageWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
in 1895. His first major role was in The Prisoner of Zenda
The Prisoner of Zenda
The Prisoner of Zenda is an adventure novel by Anthony Hope, published in 1894. The king of the fictional country of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus unable to attend his own coronation. Political forces are such that in order for the king to retain his crown his...
the following year, playing the dual lead roles of king and look-alike
Look-alike
A look-alike is a person who closely resembles another person. In popular Western culture, a look-alike is a person who bears a close physical resemblance to a celebrity, politician or member of royalty. Many look-alikes earn a living by making guest appearances at public events or performing on...
. Forty-one years later, he appeared in the most acclaimed film version
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 film)
The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1937 black-and-white adventure film based on the Anthony Hope 1894 novel of the same name and the 1896 play. Of the many film adaptations, this is considered by many to be the definitive version....
of the novel, this time as the wise old advisor. When Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Douglas Elton Fairbanks, Jr. KBE was an American actor and a highly decorated naval officer of World War II.-Early life:...
asked him whether it might damage his career as a romantic lead to play the villain Rupert of Hentzau, he answered "Young man, I have played every part in The Prisoner of Zenda except Lady Flavia, and I can assure you that nobody ever damaged his career by playing Rupert of Hentzau". He made his Broadway debut in a revival of George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Pygmalion
Pygmalion (play)
Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
in the starring role of Henry Higgins
Henry Higgins
Henry Higgins may refer to:*The fictional character: see Pygmalion or My Fair Lady*The Australian politician and judge H. B. Higgins* Henry Higgins -See also:*Harry Higgins, English cricketer*Henry Huggins, fictional character...
.
Smith appeared in early films for the nascent British film industry, starring in The Bump in 1920 (written by A.A.Milne
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
for the company Minerva Films, which was founded in 1920 by the actor Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard (actor)
Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
and his friend and story editor Adrian Brunel
Adrian Brunel
Adrian Brunel was an English film director and screenwriter. Brunel's directorial career started in the silent era, and reached its peak in the latter half of the 1920s...
). Smith later went to Hollywood where he had a successful career as a character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
playing either officer or gentleman roles. He was also regarded as being the unofficial leader of the British film industry colony in Hollywood, which Sheridan Morley
Sheridan Morley
Sheridan Morley was an English author, biographer, critic, director, actor and broadcaster. He was the eldest son of actor Robert Morley and grandson of actress Dame Gladys Cooper, and wrote biographies of both...
characterised as the Hollywood Raj, a select group of British actors who were seen to be colonising the capital of the film business in the 1930s. Other film stars considered to be "members" of this select group were David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
(whom Smith treated like a son), Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
, Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
, Robert Coote
Robert Coote
Robert Coote was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of My Fair Lady.-Biography:Coote was educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex...
,Nigel Bruce
Nigel Bruce
William Nigel Ernle Bruce , best known as Nigel Bruce, was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Doctor Watson in a series of films and in the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes...
(whose daughter's wedding he had attended as best man), Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard (actor)
Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
(whom Smith had known since working with him on early films in London) and Patric Knowles
Patric Knowles
Reginald Lawrence Knowles was an English film actor who renamed himself Patric Knowles, a name which reflects his Irish descent. He appeared in films of the 1930s through the 1970s...
.
Smith became infamous for expecting his fellow countrymen to report for regular duty at his Hollywood Cricket Club
Hollywood Cricket Club
The Hollywood Cricket Club is an amateur cricket club in Los Angeles, California. It is a member of the Southern California Cricket Association. The club was formed in 1932 by British actor and cricketer Aubrey Smith....
, and anyone who refused was known to "incur his displeasure". Fiercely patriotic, Smith became openly critical of the British actors of enlistment age who did not return to fight after the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1939. Smith loved playing on his status as Hollywood's "Englishman in Residence". His bushy eyebrows, beady eyes, handlebar moustache
Handlebar moustache
A handlebar moustache is a moustache with particularly lengthy, upward curved, extremities. It is named for its resemblance to the handlebars of a bicycle. It is also known as a "spaghetti moustache", because of its stereotypical association with Italian men...
and height of 6'4" made him one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood. He starred alongside such screen legends as leading ladies
Leading lady
Leading lady is an informal term for the actress who plays a secondary lead or supporting role, usually a love interest, to the leading actor in a film or play. It is not usually applied to the leading actress in the performance if her character is the protagonist.A leading lady can also be an...
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
, and actors Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
, Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
and Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
. His films include such classics as The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) mentioned above, The Four Feathers
The Four Feathers (1939 film)
The Four Feathers is a 1939 adventure film directed by Zoltan Korda, starring John Clements, Ralph Richardson, June Duprez, C. Aubrey Smith. Set in the 1890s during the reign of Queen Victoria, it tells the story of a man accused of cowardice. It is one of a number of adaptations of the 1902 novel...
(1939), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941 film)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1941 horror film starring Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner. Rather than being a new film version of the novel, it is a direct remake of the 1931 film of the same name, which differs greatly from the novel. The movie was based on Robert Louis Stevenson's...
(1941), and And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None (1945 film)
And Then There Were None is a 1945 film adaption of Agatha Christie's best-selling mystery novel And Then There Were None directed by René Clair....
(1945) in which he played General Mandrake.
Commander McBragg
Commander McBragg
Commander McBragg is a cartoon character who appeared in short segments produced by Total Television Productions and animated by Gamma Productions...
in the TV cartoon Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales is a popular, semi-educational animated cartoon TV series that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1966. It was produced by Total Television, the same company that produced the earlier King Leonardo and the later Underdog, and primarily sponsored by General Mills...
is a parody of him. The cartoon character also appears in The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
"The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" is the 13th episode of The Simpsons 17th season. It originally aired in the United States on March 12, 2006.-Plot:...
".
Smith died from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in Beverly Hills in 1948, aged 85. His body was cremated and nine months later, in accordance with his wishes, his ashes were returned to England and interred in his mother's grave at St Leonard's churchyard
St Leonard's Church, Aldrington
St Leonard's Church is an Anglican church in Hove, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. It is on New Church Road in the Aldrington area of Hove, which was previously a separate village, and it serves as Aldrington's parish church...
in Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
.
Honours and awards
Smith has a star on the Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
under the name Aubrey Smith.
In 1933, he was on the first board of the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
.
He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire(CBE) in 1938, and knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
by King George VI in 1944 for "services to the theatre".
Selected filmography
- The Face at the WindowThe Face at the Window (1920 film)The Face at the Window is a 1920 British silent crime film directed by Wilfred Noy and starring C. Aubrey Smith, Gladys Jennings and Jack Hobbs. It is based on a play by Brooke Warren. A British criminologist helps the French police to solve a murder in Paris.-Cast:* C...
(1920) - The Shuttle of LifeThe Shuttle of LifeThe Shuttle of Life is a 1920 silent British drama film directed by D. J. Williams. The film is considered to be lost.- Cast :* C. Aubrey Smith as Reverend John Stone* Evelyn Brent as Miriam Grey* Jack Hobbs as Ray Sinclair...
(1920) - The Bohemian GirlThe Bohemian Girl (1922 film)The Bohemian Girl is a 1922 British romance film directed by Harley Knoles and starring Gladys Cooper, Ivor Novello and C. Aubrey Smith. It was inspired by the opera The Bohemian Girl by Michael William Balfe and Alfred Bunn which was in turn based on a novel by Cervantes.-Cast:* Gladys Cooper -...
(1922) - Flames of PassionFlames of PassionFlames of Passion was a British silent film drama directed by Graham Cutts, starred Mae Marsh and C. Aubrey Smith, and is now considered a lost film....
(1922) ... Richard Hawke, K.C. - The Rejected WomanThe Rejected WomanThe Rejected Woman is a 1924 silent drama film directed by Albert Parker and featuring Béla Lugosi in a supporting role. -Cast:* Alma Rubens - Diane Du Prez* Conrad Nagel - John Leslie* Wyndham Standing - James Dunbar* Béla Lugosi - Jean Gagnon...
(1924) ... Peter Leslie - The Unwanted (1924) ... Col. Carrington (rediscovered and restored 2011)
- Such Is the LawSuch Is the Law (1930 film)Such Is the Law is a 1930 British film directed by Sinclair Hill.- Cast :*Kate Cutler as Mother*Frances Day as Wife*Maud Gill as Aunt's Maid*Carl Harbord as Vivian Fairfax*Gibb McLaughlin as Valet*Nancy Price as Aunt*Miriam Seegar as Other Woman*C...
(1930) - The Bachelor FatherThe Bachelor FatherThe Bachelor Father is a 1931 American MGM drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The film stars Marion Davies and Ralph Forbes and C. Aubrey Smith-Plot:...
(1931) - Just a GigoloJust a Gigolo (1931 film)Just a Gigolo is a romantic comedy film released by MGM. It was directed by Jack Conway, produced by Irving Thalberg and starred William Haines, Irene Purcell, C. Aubrey Smith, and Ray Milland...
(1931) - SurrenderSurrender (1931 film)Surrender is a 1931 film directed by William K. Howard, written by S.N. Behrman, and starring Warner Baxter, Leila Hyams, Ralph Bellamy, C. Aubrey Smith and Alexander Kirkland...
(1931) ... Count Reichendorf - Polly of the CircusPolly of the CircusPolly of the Circus is a 1932 American MGM drama film directed by Alfred Santell. The film stars Marion Davies and Clark Gable.-First version:...
(1932) - Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) ... James Parker (JaneJane Porter (Tarzan)Jane Porter is a major character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's series of Tarzan novels, and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly film.- In the novels :...
's father) - No More OrchidsNo More OrchidsNo More Orchids is a 1932 drama film starring Carole Lombard and Lyle Talbot as mismatched lovers, based on the novel of the same name by Grace Perkins.-Plot:...
(1932) - Love Me TonightLove Me TonightLove Me Tonight is a 1932 musical comedy film produced and directed by Rouben Mamoulian, with music by Rodgers and Hart. It stars Maurice Chevalier as a tailor who poses as a nobleman and Jeanette MacDonald as a princess with whom he falls in love...
(1932) - The BarbarianThe Barbarian (1933 film)The Barbarian is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film about an American woman tourist in Egypt who has several suitors, among them an Arab guide who is more than he seems. The Barbarian stars Ramon Novarro and Myrna Loy...
(1933) - AdorableAdorable (film)Adorable is a 1933 musical comedy film starring Janet Gaynor as a princess who disguises herself to go out and have fun, falling in love with a "commoner" in the process. The movie was written by Billy Wilder, Robert Leibmann, Paul Frank, George Marion, Jr., and Jane Storm, and directed by William...
(1933) ... Prime Minister Von Heynitz - Morning Glory (1933)
- BombshellBombshell (film)Bombshell is a Pre-Code film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Frank Morgan, C. Aubrey Smith, Mary Forbes and Franchot Tone.-Plot:...
(1933) - Queen ChristinaQueen Christina (film)Queen Christina is a Pre-Code Hollywood feature film loosely based on the life of 17th century Queen Christina of Sweden, produced in 1933, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Swedish-born actress Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith and Lewis Stone. It was billed as Garbo's return to cinema...
(1933) ... Aage - The House of Rothschild (1934)
- Gambling LadyGambling LadyGambling Lady is a 1934 American dramatic film directed by Archie Mayo, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea.-Plot:Mike Lee raises his daughter Lady Lee to be as honest a gambler as he is. When he gets too much in debt to the underworld syndicate headed by Jim Fallin, he commits suicide...
(1934) - The FirebirdThe FirebirdThe Firebird is a 1910 ballet created by the composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer Michel Fokine. The ballet is based on Russian folk tales of the magical glowing bird of the same name that is both a blessing and a curse to its captor....
(1934) - Bulldog Drummond Strikes BackBulldog Drummond Strikes BackBulldog Drummond Strikes Back is a 1934 American comedy-mystery-adventure film directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film stars Ronald Colman and Loretta Young.-Plot:...
(1934) - The Scarlet EmpressThe Scarlet EmpressThe Scarlet Empress is a 1934 historical drama film made by Paramount Pictures about the life of Catherine the Great. It was directed and produced by Josef von Sternberg from a screenplay by Eleanor McGeary, loosely based on the diary of Catherine arranged by Manuel Komroff...
(1934) - CaravanCaravan (1934 film)Caravan is a film made by Fox Film Corporation, directed by Erik Charell. The film stars Charles Boyer, Loretta Young and Jean Parker. Fox also produced a French language version of this film, Caravane starring Boyer, Annabella, and Conchita Montenegro.-Cast:*Charles Boyer as Latzi*Loretta...
(1934) - CleopatraCleopatra (1934 film)Cleopatra is a 1934 epic film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and distributed by Paramount Pictures, which retells the story of Cleopatra VII of Egypt....
(1934) - Clive of IndiaClive of India (film)Clive of India is a 1935 drama film based on Robert, Lord Clive's historical biography. It was written by R.J. Minney and W.P. Lipscomb and directed by Richard Boleslawski.-Cast:* Ronald Colman as Baron Robert Clive* shahrukh khan as devdas...
(1935) - The Florentine Dagger (1935)
- The Lives of a Bengal LancerThe Lives of a Bengal LancerThe Lives of a Bengal Lancer is a 1935 American adventure film loosely adapted from the 1930 book of the same name by Francis Yeats-Brown. The plot of the movie, which bears little resemblance to Yeats-Brown's memoir, concerns British soldiers defending the borders of India against rebellious...
(1935) ... Major Hamilton - The Gilded LilyThe Gilded Lily (1935 film)The Gilded Lily is a 1935 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland and C. Aubrey Smith...
(1935) ... Lloyd Granton, Duke of Loamshire - China SeasChina Seas (film)China Seas is a 1935 adventure film starring Clark Gable as a brave sea captain, Jean Harlow as his brassy paramour, and Wallace Beery as an extremely suspicious-looking character...
(1935) ... Mr. Dawson - The CrusadesThe Crusades (film)- Plot :Mostly taking elements from the Third Crusade, King Richard is enlisted in a crusade to bring Jerusalem back into Christian hands in order to get out of a betrothal with Alice, the Princess of France. En route, Richard meets Berengaria the Princess of Navarre and marries her in exchange...
(1935) - The TunnelThe Tunnel (1935 film)The Tunnel, also known as Transatlantic Tunnel in the United States, is a 1935 British science fiction film based on the 1913 novel Der Tunnel by Bernhard Kellermann, about the building of a transatlantic tunnel. It was directed by Maurice Elvey and stars Richard Dix, Leslie Banks, Madge Evans,...
(1935) - Little Lord FauntleroyLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1936 film)Little Lord Fauntleroy is a 1936 drama film based on the 1886 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The film stars Freddie Bartholomew, Dolores Costello, , and C. Aubrey Smith...
(1936) ... The Earl of Dorincourt
- Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet (1936 film)Romeo and Juliet is a 1936 American film adapted from the play by Shakespeare, directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings...
(1936) ... Lord Capulet (his only ShakespeareanWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
role on screen) - The Garden of Allah (1936)
- Lloyd's of LondonLloyd's of London (film)Lloyd's of London is a 1936 American drama film directed by Henry King. It stars Tyrone Power, Madeleine Carroll, and Guy Standing. The supporting cast includes Freddie Bartholomew, George Sanders, Virginia Field, and C. Aubrey Smith. Loosely based on history, the film follows the dealings of a man...
(1936) - Wee Willie WinkieWee Willie Winkie (film)Wee Willie Winkie is a 1937 American adventure film directed by John Ford. The screenplay by Julien Josephson and Ernest Pascal was based on a story by Rudyard Kipling. The film stars Shirley Temple, Victor McLaglen, and Cesar Romero in a story about the British presence in nineteenth century...
(1937) ... Colonel Williams - The Prisoner of ZendaThe Prisoner of Zenda (1937 film)The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1937 black-and-white adventure film based on the Anthony Hope 1894 novel of the same name and the 1896 play. Of the many film adaptations, this is considered by many to be the definitive version....
(1937) ... Colonel Zapt - The HurricaneThe Hurricane (1937 film)The Hurricane is a 1937 film set in the South Seas, directed by John Ford and produced by Samuel Goldwyn, about a Polynesian who is unjustly imprisoned. The climax features a special effects hurricane. It stars Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall, with Mary Astor, C. Aubrey Smith, Thomas Mitchell, Raymond...
(1937) ... Father Paul - Thoroughbreds Don't CryThoroughbreds Don't CryThoroughbreds Don't Cry is a 1937 film directed by Alfred E. Green. It stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in their first film together. Cricket West is a hopeful actress with a plan and a pair of vocal chords that bring down the house. Along with her eccentric aunt, she plays host to the local...
(1937) - Four Men and a PrayerFour Men and a Prayer-Cast:* Loretta Young - Miss Lynn Cherrington* Richard Greene - Geoffrey Leigh* George Sanders - Wyatt Leigh* David Niven - Christopher Leigh* C. Aubrey Smith - Col. Loring Leigh* J. Edward Bromberg - Gen. Torres* William Henry - Rodney Leigh...
(1938) - KidnappedKidnapped (1938 film)Kidnapped is a 1938 adventure film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Warner Baxter and Freddie Bartholomew. It is based on the book Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson.- Plot :...
(1938) - Five Came BackFive Came BackFive Came Back is a 1939 melodrama and a precursor of the disaster film genre. The film was directed by John Farrow, photographed by renowned film noir cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca, and written by Jerry Cady, Dalton Trumbo and Nathanael West....
(1939) ... Professor Henry Spengler - Eternally YoursEternally Yours (film)Eternally Yours is a 1939 American comedy film made by Walter Wanger and released by United Artists. The film was produced and directed by Tay Garnett with Walter Wanger as executive producer, from a screenplay by C. Graham Baker and Gene Towne....
(1939) - Another Thin ManAnother Thin ManAnother Thin Man is a 1939 American film that is the third film in the six-volume series, The Thin Man. It again stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, and is based on the writings of Dashiell Hammett. Their son, Nicky Jr., is also introduced in the film. The cast includes...
(1939) ... Colonel Burr MacFay - The Four FeathersThe Four Feathers (1939 film)The Four Feathers is a 1939 adventure film directed by Zoltan Korda, starring John Clements, Ralph Richardson, June Duprez, C. Aubrey Smith. Set in the 1890s during the reign of Queen Victoria, it tells the story of a man accused of cowardice. It is one of a number of adaptations of the 1902 novel...
(1939) ... General Burroughs - Rebecca (1940) ... Colonel Julyan
- Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
- Waterloo BridgeWaterloo Bridge (1940 film)Waterloo Bridge is a 1940 remake of the 1931 film of the same title, adapted from the 1930 play of the same title.The film was made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sidney Franklin and Mervyn LeRoy. The screenplay is by S. N. Behrman, Hans Rameau and George...
(1940) - Maisie Was a LadyMaisie Was a LadyMaisie Was a Lady is the fourth in a series of films starring Ann Sothern as good-hearted showgirl Maisie Ravier.-Plot:When wealthy drunkard Robert "Bob" Rawlston loses Maisie her carnival sideshow job as the Headless Woman, he offers her the use of his car to get to town. However, she is pulled...
(1941) - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941 film)Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1941 horror film starring Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner. Rather than being a new film version of the novel, it is a direct remake of the 1931 film of the same name, which differs greatly from the novel. The movie was based on Robert Louis Stevenson's...
(1941) ... Bishop Manners - Forever and a Day (1943)
- Two Tickets to LondonTwo Tickets to LondonTwo Tickets to London is a 1943 drama film made by Universal Pictures, and directed by Edwin L. Marin. The screenplay was written by Tom Reed, based on story by Roy William Neill. The film stars Michèle Morgan and Alan Curtis.A U.S...
(1943) - Madame CurieMadame Curie (film)Madame Curie is a 1943 biographical film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sidney Franklin from a screenplay by Paul Osborn, Paul H. Rameau, and Aldous Huxley , adapted from the biography by Eve Curie....
(1943) ... Lord KelvinWilliam Thomson, 1st Baron KelvinWilliam Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin OM, GCVO, PC, PRS, PRSE, was a mathematical physicist and engineer. At the University of Glasgow he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging... - The White Cliffs of DoverThe White Cliffs of Dover (1944 film)The White Cliffs of Dover is a 1944 film made by Loew's and MGM. It was directed by Clarence Brown and produced by Clarence Brown and Sidney Franklin. The screenplay was by Claudine West, Jan Lustig and George Froeschel, based on the Alice Duer Miller poem titled The White Cliffs with additional...
(1944) ... Colonel Walter Forsythe - Sensations of 1945Sensations of 1945Sensations of 1945 is a 1944 American musical-comedy film which was released by United Artists.This film was an attempt to recapture the ensemble style of films such as Broadway Melody of 1936 by showcasing a number of top musical and comedy acts of the day, in a film linked together by a loose...
(1945) ... Dan Lindsey - And Then There Were NoneAnd Then There Were None (1945 film)And Then There Were None is a 1945 film adaption of Agatha Christie's best-selling mystery novel And Then There Were None directed by René Clair....
(1945) ... General Sir John Mandrake - Cluny BrownCluny BrownCluny Brown is a 1946 film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was written by Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt, based on a novel by Margery Sharp. The music score is by Cyril J. Mockridge. The film stars Charles Boyer and Jennifer Jones...
(1946) - UnconqueredUnconqueredUnconquered is a 1947 adventure film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and released by Paramount. The film depicts the violent struggles between American colonists and Native Americans on the western frontier in the mid-18th century during the time of Pontiac's Rebellion, primarily around...
(1947) - An Ideal HusbandAn Ideal Husband (1947 film)An Ideal Husband, also known as Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband, is a 1947 film adaptation of the play by Oscar Wilde. It was made by London Film Productions and distributed by British Lion Films and Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation . It was produced and directed by Alexander Korda from a...
(1947) - Little WomenLittle Women (1949 film)Little Women directed by Mervyn LeRoy is based on Louisa May Alcott's novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Sally Benson, Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, and Andrew Solt...
(1949) ... Mr James Laurence
Sources
- Wills, Walter H., 1907. The Anglo-African Who's Who, Jeppestown Press, United Kingdom. ISBN 0-9553936-3-9
Further reading
- David Rayvern Allen, Sir Aubrey: Biography of C. Aubrey Smith, England Cricketer, West End Actor, Hollywood Film Star, Elm Tree Books, 1982, ISBN 978-0241105900