Claude Hulbert
Encyclopedia
Claude Noel Hulbert was a British
comic actor
. He was the younger brother of Jack Hulbert
. Like his brother, he was Cambridge
educated and was a member of the Footlights comedy club
as an undergraduate.
His subsequent career was less successful than his brother's. He began by supporting the Aldwych farceurs before being handed his first lead in a weak B-film with Renee Houston
and Binnie Barnes
, Their Night Out (1933). His most successful solo film of the mid-1930s being Hello Sweetheart (1935), like most of Hulbert's starring comedies, however, its ambition was strictly small-scale; it seemed that British studios simply didn't see him as a major star. His flagging career was helped with Wolf's Clothing (1936), which starred him as a dithering diplomat, and Honeymoon-Merry-Go-Round (1940), where he played a bumbling bridegroom who unintentionally becomes an ice-hockey star.
He became a very capable partner for Will Hay
after that comedian decided he wanted to do without his famous "stooges", Moore Marriott
and Graham Moffatt
. Hay's two films with Hulbert, The Ghost of St Michael's (1941) and My Learned Friend (1943), were the most successful of his later vehicles. Claude's film appearances, though, became scarcer as the 1940s wore on. His films, however, were, at best, modest and moderate, sadly lacking in budget, ambition and spark.
Hulbert died in a hospital in Sydney
, Australia
, whilst ashore from a world cruise with his family.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic 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...
. He was the younger brother of Jack Hulbert
Jack Hulbert
John Norman "Jack" Hulbert was a British actor, specialising primarily in comedy productions.-Biography:Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, he was the elder and more successful brother of Claude. He was educated at Cambridge and appeared in many shows and revues, mainly with the Cambridge Footlights. He...
. Like his brother, he was Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
educated and was a member of the Footlights comedy club
Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University....
as an undergraduate.
His subsequent career was less successful than his brother's. He began by supporting the Aldwych farceurs before being handed his first lead in a weak B-film with Renee Houston
Renee Houston
Renée Houston was a Scottish comedy actor and revue artist who appeared in television and film roles.Born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, as Katherina Houston Gibbin, she toured music halls and revue with her sister Billie Houston as the Houston Sisters.In 1926, the sisters made a short musical film,...
and Binnie Barnes
Binnie Barnes
Gertrude Maud "Binnie" Barnes was an English-American actress. She was born in Islington to a Jewish father and an Italian mother and was brought up Jewish, although she converted to Catholicism later in life....
, Their Night Out (1933). His most successful solo film of the mid-1930s being Hello Sweetheart (1935), like most of Hulbert's starring comedies, however, its ambition was strictly small-scale; it seemed that British studios simply didn't see him as a major star. His flagging career was helped with Wolf's Clothing (1936), which starred him as a dithering diplomat, and Honeymoon-Merry-Go-Round (1940), where he played a bumbling bridegroom who unintentionally becomes an ice-hockey star.
He became a very capable partner for Will Hay
Will Hay
William Thomson "Will" Hay was an English comedian, actor, film director and amateur astronomer.-Early life:He was born in Stockton-on-Tees, in north east England, to William R...
after that comedian decided he wanted to do without his famous "stooges", Moore Marriott
Moore Marriott
Moore Marriott was a British character actor most notable for a series of films he made with Will Hay in the 1930s.-Career:...
and Graham Moffatt
Graham Moffatt
Graham Moffatt was a British character actor and comedian.Born in Hammersmith, London, he is best known for a number of films where he appeared with Will Hay and Moore Marriott as 'Albert': an insolent, overweight, overgrown-schoolboy type character, loosely reminiscent of Billy Bunter.His first...
. Hay's two films with Hulbert, The Ghost of St Michael's (1941) and My Learned Friend (1943), were the most successful of his later vehicles. Claude's film appearances, though, became scarcer as the 1940s wore on. His films, however, were, at best, modest and moderate, sadly lacking in budget, ambition and spark.
Hulbert died in a hospital in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, whilst ashore from a world cruise with his family.
Partial filmography
- ChampagneChampagne (film)Champagne is a silent comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on an original story by English writer and critic Walter C. Mycroft...
(1928) - Naughty Husbands (1930)
- Thark (1932)
- Let Me Explain, DearLet Me Explain, DearLet Me Explain, Dear is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Gene Gerrard and Frank Miller and starring Gerrard, Viola Lyel and Claude Hulbert. It was adapted from the play A Little Bit of Fluff by Walter Ellis. It was made by British International Pictures...
(1932) - Their Night Out (1933)
- The Girl in PossessionThe Girl in PossessionThe Girl in Possession is a 1934 British comedy film starring Laura La Plante and Henry Kendall and directed by Monty Banks, who also wrote the screenplay and featured in the film himself....
(1934) - A Cup of KindnessA Cup of KindnessA Cup of Kindness is a 1934 British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls. It also featured Ralph Lynn, Robertson Hare, Dorothy Hyson and Claude Hulbert...
(1934) - Lilies of the FieldLilies of the Field (1934 film)Lilies of the Field is a 1934 British romantic-comedy film directed by Norman Walker and starring Winifred Shotter, Ellis Jeffreys, Anthony Bushell and Claude Hulbert.-Cast:* Winifred Shotter - Betty Beverley* Ellis Jeffreys - Mrs Carmichael...
(1934) - Hello Sweetheart (1935)
- Man of the MomentMan of the Moment (1935 film)Man of the Moment is a 1935 romantic comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Laura La Plante.-Plot:Office worker Mary Briany finds out she is being demoted by the boss she secretly loves in order to make room for his girlfriend. She tries to commit suicide by jumping into the river...
(1935) - Wolf's ClothingWolf's ClothingWolf's Clothing is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Andrew Marton and starring Claude Hulbert, Gordon Harker and Lilli Palmer. A blundering group of secret agents mistake a Foreign Office official for a dangerous international assasain.-Cast:...
(1936) - Hail and FarewellHail and Farewell (film)Hail and Farewell is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Claude Hulbert. The film was a quota quickie production, following the escapades of a group of British sailors during six hours' shore leave in Southampton...
(1936) - Where's Sally?Where's Sally?Where's Sally? is a 1936 British comedy film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Chili Bouchier, Gene Gerrard and Claude Hulbert. The film was a quota quickie production and is now believed to be lost.-Plot:...
(1936) - The VultureThe Vulture (1937 film)The Vulture is a 1937 British quota quickie slapstick comedy film, directed by Ralph Ince and starring Claude Hulbert, Hal Walters and Lesley Brook. The film proved very popular with audiences and the following year spawned a sequel The Viper, although this was much less successful...
(1937) - It's Not CricketIt's Not Cricket (1937 film)It's Not Cricket is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Claude Hulbert, Henry Kendall, Betty Lynne and Clifford Heatherley...
(1937) - You Live and LearnYou Live and LearnYou Live and Learn is a 1938 British comedy film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Glenda Farrell and Claude Hulbert. The film was a quota quickie production, based on the novel Have You Come for Me? by Norma Patterson...
(1937) - His Lordship RegretsHis Lordship RegretsHis Lordship Regrets is a 1938 British comedy film durected by Maclean Rogers and starring Claude Hulbert, Winifred Shotter, Gina Malo and Aubrey Mallalieu.-Cast:* Claude Hulbert - Lord Cavender* Winifred Shotter - Mary/Mabel...
(1938) - The ViperThe Viper (film)The Viper is a 1938 British slapstick comedy film, directed by Roy William Neill and starring Claude Hulbert and Hal Walters. The film was a sequel to the previous year's very successful The Vulture, with Hulbert and Walters reprising their roles as hapless private detective Cedric Gull and his...
(1938) - Take My TipTake My TipTake My Tip is a 1937 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Mason and starring Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, Harold Huth and Frank Cellier...
(1938) - Honeymoon-Merry-Go-Round (1940)
- The Ghost of St. Michael's (1941)
- My Learned FriendMy Learned FriendMy Learned Friend is a 1943 British, black-and-white, comedy, farce, directed by Basil Dearden, co-directed with regular collaborator Will Hay and starring Ronald Shiner as the Man in Wilson's café, Will Hay as William Fitch and Charles Victor as "Safety" Wilson. It was produced by Michael Balcon,...
(1943) - The Dummy TalksThe Dummy TalksThe Dummy Talks is a 1943 British crime film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Jack Warner, Claude Hulbert and Beryl Orde.-Cast:* Jack Warner - Jack* Claude Hulbert - Victor Harbord* Beryl Orde - Beryl* Evelyn Darvell - Peggy...
(1943) - London Town (1946)
- The Ghosts of Berkeley SquareThe Ghosts of Berkeley SquareThe Ghosts of Berkeley Square is a 1947 British comedy film, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer. The film is an adaptation of the novel No Nightingales by Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon, inspired by the enduring reputation of the property at 50 Berkeley Square as...
(1947) - Under the Frozen Falls (1948)
- Cardboard CavalierCardboard CavalierCardboard Cavalier is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Sid Field, Margaret Lockwood and Jerry Desmonde. The film depicts a historical romance between Lord Lovelace and Nell Gwyne.-Cast:* Sid Field - Sidcup Buttermeadow...
(1949) - Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1949 film)Alice in Wonderland is a 1949 French film based on Lewis Carroll's fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Directed by Dallas Bower, the film stars Carol Marsh as Alice, Stephen Murray as Lewis Carroll, and Raymond Bussières as The Tailor...
(1949) - Fun at St. Fanny's (1956)
- Not a Hope in Hell (1960)