John Longden
Encyclopedia
John Longden was a West Indian-born English film actor. He appeared in 84 films between 1926 and 1964, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock
.
, where he started acting in amateur theatrical companies. An introduction to Seymour Hicks
saw him start acting on the legitimate stage, beginning with a walk-on park in Old Bill, MP. He played in My Old Dutch with Albert Chevalier, then spent time with the Liverpool and Birmingham Repertory Theatres. He also appeared in The Farmer's Wife, produced by Barry Jackson
at the Court Theatre in London for two years.
About this time Longden began to appear in silent films. He signed contract with Gaumont British
Pictures to write and act, earning a notable success with Alfred Hitchcock
's Blackmail
(1929).
Longden came out to Australia in 1933 to perform in several plays. While there he appeared in the film The Silence of Dean Maitland
(1934) for Cinesound Productions
. The performance was so well received Longden made two more films for the same company, Thoroughbred (1936) and It Isn't Done
(1937). It was also announced that he was going to play the lead in an adaptation of Robbery Under Arms
but this film was never made..
He returned to England where he continued to work steadily in theatre and film. He died in London
.
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
.
Biography
Longden was born in the West Indies, being the son of a Wesleyan missionary, and was educated at Kingswood School, Bath. Originally intending to be a mining engineer, he worked for two years in a coal mine in YorkshireYorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, where he started acting in amateur theatrical companies. An introduction to Seymour Hicks
Seymour Hicks
Sir Arthur Seymour Hicks , better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, screenwriter, theatre manager and producer. He married the actress Ellaline Terriss in 1893...
saw him start acting on the legitimate stage, beginning with a walk-on park in Old Bill, MP. He played in My Old Dutch with Albert Chevalier, then spent time with the Liverpool and Birmingham Repertory Theatres. He also appeared in The Farmer's Wife, produced by Barry Jackson
Barry Jackson
Barry Jackson is an English actor.He is known for his roles on film and television.His film roles include: Ryan's Daughter, Barry Lyndon, Aces High, The Raging Moon, Mr...
at the Court Theatre in London for two years.
About this time Longden began to appear in silent films. He signed contract with Gaumont British
Gaumont British
Gaumont-British Picture Corporation was the British arm of the French film company Gaumont. The company became independent of its French parent in 1922, when Isidore Ostrer acquired control of Gaumont-British....
Pictures to write and act, earning a notable success with Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Blackmail
Blackmail (1929 film)
Blackmail is a 1929 British thriller drama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Anny Ondra, John Longden, and Cyril Ritchard, and featuring Donald Calthrop, Sara Allgood and Charles Paton. The film is based on the play Blackmail by Charles Bennett, as adapted by Hitchcock, with dialogue by...
(1929).
Longden came out to Australia in 1933 to perform in several plays. While there he appeared in the film The Silence of Dean Maitland
The Silence of Dean Maitland
-Synopsis:The plot concerns a clergyman, Cyril Maitland , living in a small seaside town, who impregnates the beautiful Alma Lee despite being engaged to another woman. When Alma's father Ben finds out about the pregnancy, he attacks Maitland and is killed in a fall...
(1934) for Cinesound Productions
Cinesound Productions
Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was one of Australia's first feature film production companies. Established in June 1932, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred around Greater Union Theatres, that covered all facets of the film process, from production, to distribution and...
. The performance was so well received Longden made two more films for the same company, Thoroughbred (1936) and It Isn't Done
It Isn't Done
It Isn't Done is a 1937 comedy about an Australian grazier who inherits a baronacy.-Production:The film was based on an original story by Kellaway which he had written in between acts while performing in White Horse Inn on stage. Hall liked the basic idea but said Kellaway was unable to put it...
(1937). It was also announced that he was going to play the lead in an adaptation of Robbery Under Arms
Robbery Under Arms
Robbery Under Arms is a classic Australian novel by Rolf Boldrewood . It was first published in serialised form by The Sydney Mail between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in London in 1888...
but this film was never made..
He returned to England where he continued to work steadily in theatre and film. He died in London
London
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...
.
Selected filmography
- The Ball of FortuneThe Ball of FortuneThe Ball of Fortune is a 1926 British silent sports film directed by Hugh Croise and starring Billy Meredith, James Knight and Mabel Poulton. It was based on the 1925 novel The Ball of Fortune by Sydney Horler...
(1926) - The Last PostThe Last Post (film)The Last Post is a 1929 British silent film drama, directed by Dinah Shurey and starring John Longden and Frank Vosper. The film was the first solo directorial venture by Shurey, who was the only female producer and director working in the British film industry at the time...
(1929) - AtlanticAtlantic (1929 film)Atlantic is a British black-and-white film, directed and produced by Ewald André Dupont and starring Franklin Dyall and Madeleine Carroll. Three versions were made, one in the United Kingdom, one in Germany, and one in France...
(1929) - BlackmailBlackmail (1929 film)Blackmail is a 1929 British thriller drama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Anny Ondra, John Longden, and Cyril Ritchard, and featuring Donald Calthrop, Sara Allgood and Charles Paton. The film is based on the play Blackmail by Charles Bennett, as adapted by Hitchcock, with dialogue by...
(1929) - Elstree CallingElstree CallingElstree Calling is a film directed by Andre Charlot, Jack Hulbert, Paul Murray, and Alfred Hitchcock at Elstree Studios. The film, referred to as "A Cine-Radio Revue" in its original publicity, is a lavish musical film revue and was Britain's answer to the Hollywood revues which had been produced...
(1930) - Juno and the PaycockJuno and the Paycock (film)Juno and the Paycock is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Barry Fitzgerald, Maire O'Neill, Edward Chapman and Sara Allgood.The film was based on a successful play by Sean O'Casey.-Plot:...
(1930) - The Flame of Love (1930)
- Two Worlds (1930)
- Children of ChanceChildren of Chance (1930 film)Children of Chance is a 1930 British crime film directed by Alexander Esway and starring Elissa Landi, Mabel Poulton, John Stuart and John Longden.-Cast:* Elissa Landi - Binniel Lia Monta* Mabel Poulton - Molly* John Stuart - Gordon...
(1930) - The Wickham MysteryThe Wickham MysteryThe Wickham Mystery is a 1931 British mystery film directed by G.B. Samuelson and starring Wallace Bosco, Doris Clemence, Eve Gray and Sam Livesey...
(1931) - The Skin Game (1931)
- The RingerThe Ringer (1931 film)The Ringer is a 1931 British crime film directed by Walter Forde and starring Patrick Curwen, Esmond Knight, John Longden and Carol Goodner....
(1931) - Two Crowded HoursTwo Crowded HoursTwo Crowded Hours is a 1931 British comedy drama film directed by Michael Powell. It was made as a Quota quickie and is the first film where Powell is credited as the director.-Plot:...
(1931) - Murder on the Second FloorMurder on the Second FloorMurder on the Second Floor is a 1932 British thriller film directed by William C. McGann and starring Pat Peterson, John Longden and Sydney Fairbrother. A novelist imagines the murders of his fellow tenants. It was based on a play with the same name by Frank Vosper....
(1932) - A Lucky Sweep (1932)
- RynoxRynoxRynox is a 1932 British crime film, directed by Michael Powell and starring Stewart Rome and John Longden. Rynox was adapted from a novel by popular thriller writer of the day Philip MacDonald....
(1932) - Born LuckyBorn Lucky (film)Born Lucky is a 1933 British rags to riches musical-comedy drama, directed by Michael Powell and starring René Ray and John Longden. The screenplay was adapted from the 1928 novel Mops by Marguerite Florence Barclay....
(1933) - The Silence of Dean MaitlandThe Silence of Dean Maitland-Synopsis:The plot concerns a clergyman, Cyril Maitland , living in a small seaside town, who impregnates the beautiful Alma Lee despite being engaged to another woman. When Alma's father Ben finds out about the pregnancy, he attacks Maitland and is killed in a fall...
(1934) - Thoroughbred (1936)
- It Isn't DoneIt Isn't DoneIt Isn't Done is a 1937 comedy about an Australian grazier who inherits a baronacy.-Production:The film was based on an original story by Kellaway which he had written in between acts while performing in White Horse Inn on stage. Hall liked the basic idea but said Kellaway was unable to put it...
(1937) - Young and InnocentYoung and InnocentYoung and Innocent is a 1937 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Nova Pilbeam, Derrick De Marney and John Longden...
(1937) - The Gaunt StrangerThe Gaunt StrangerThe Gaunt Stranger is a 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Walter Forde and starring Sonnie Hale, Wilfrid Lawson, Louise Henry, Alexander Knox and Patrick Barr....
(1938) - Q PlanesQ PlanesQ Planes, released in the United States by Columbia Pictures as Clouds Over Europe, is a 1939 British spy film directed by Tim Whelan and Arthur B. Woods, starring Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. It was produced by Irving Asher with Alexander Korda as executive producer...
(1939) - Jamaica InnJamaica Inn (film)Jamaica Inn is a 1939 film made by Alfred Hitchcock adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1936 novel of the same name, the first of three of du Maurier's works that Hitchcock adapted ....
(1939) - The Lion Has WingsThe Lion Has WingsThe Lion Has Wings is a 1939 British, black-and-white, documentary-style, propaganda, war film. The film was directed by Adrian Brunel, Brian Desmond Hurst, Alexander Korda and Michael Powell...
(1939) - Rose of TraleeRose of Tralee (film)Rose of Tralee is a 1942 British musical film directed by Germain Burger and starring John Longden, Lesley Brook and Angela Glynne. An Irish singer heads to America to pursue their dream of stardom.-Cast:* John Longden - Paddy O'Brien...
(1942) - 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) - Pool of London (1951)
- The Black WidowThe Black Widow (1951 film)The Black Widow is a 1951 British thriller, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Christine Norden and Robert Ayres. The film was a B-movie production by Hammer Film Productions and was based on a radio serial entitled Return from Darkness.-Plot:...
(1951) - Dangerous CargoDangerous CargoDangerous Cargo is a 1954 British crime film directed by John Harlow starring Jack Watling, Susan Stephen, Richard Pearson, Terence Alexander and John Le Mesurier.British crime reporter Percy Hoskins provided the story.-Cast:...
(1954) - Alias John PrestonAlias John PrestonAlias John Preston is a 1955 British horror film directed by David MacDonald and starring Betta St. John, Alexander Knox and Christopher Lee. A mysterious and wealthy man moves to a small village where he outwardly appears to be a friendly figure but nurses a dangerous secret.-Cast:* Betta St...
(1955) - Quatermass 2Quatermass 2Quatermass 2 is a 1957 British science fiction horror film. Made by Hammer Film Productions, it is a sequel to an earlier Hammer film The Quatermass Xperiment. Like its predecessor, it is based on a BBC Television serial – Quatermass II – written by Nigel Kneale...
(1957) - So Evil, So YoungSo Evil, So Young (film)So Evil, So Young is a 1961 film starring Jill Ireland and Ellen Pollock.-Synopsis:Lucy and Claire are at a house where Lucy used to work. The two of them hack into the safe behind a picture. Inside are several jewels...
(1961)