Edmund Breon (born Iver Edmund de Breon MacLaverty; 12 December 1882 – 24 June 1953) was a Scottish film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1907 and 1952.
Life and career
Born in
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton ( sco, Hamiltoun; gd, Baile Hamaltan ) is a large town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It sits south-east of Glasgow, south-west of Edinburgh and nort ...
, Breon began in John Hare's touring company and later played on the West End stage and in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, gaining prominence. According to his grandson, film editor, Breon "started out at the turn of the century doing silent pictures in France. Vampire movies", so it is reasonably certain that MacLaverty is indeed the actor who appeared under the name Edmond Bréon in many Gaumont films 1907-1922 including, most famously, playing the part of Inspector Juve for ''
Louis Feuillade
Louis Feuillade (; 19 February 1873 – 25 February 1925) was a French filmmaker of the silent era. Between 1906 and 1924, he directed over 630 films. He is primarily known for the crime serials ''Fantômas'', ''Les Vampires'' and ''Judex'' ...
'' in the ground-breaking ''
Fantômas
Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914).
One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared ...
'' series. He did also appear in a small part in the 1915-1916 Feuillade series ''
Les vampires
''Les Vampires'' is a 1915–16 French silent crime serial film written and directed by Louis Feuillade. Set in Paris, it stars Édouard Mathé, Musidora and Marcel Lévesque. The main characters are a journalist and his friend who become involv ...
'' although this is not, as his grandson supposes, a horror film. He returned to Britain where he made the film '' A Little Bit of Fluff'' (1928) then went to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 1929 and worked on the land. A year later he emigrated to the United States and gained his first big American film part in '' The Dawn Patrol'' (1930). Breon appeared in a mixture of British and American films over the following two decades. He also appeared on stage in the West End production of the comedy ''
Spring Meeting
''Spring Meeting'' is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Walter C. Mycroft and Norman Lee and starring Enid Stamp-Taylor, Michael Wilding, Basil Sydney and Sarah Churchill. It was based on a 1938 play of the same title by M. J. Farrell an ...
'' in 1938.
A 1949 newspaper article noted that Breon's "career has been interrupted by serious illness and an accident which kept him idle for two years."
His grandson also recalls that he played the role of Dr. Ambrose in
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name."
A v ...
’ ''
The Thing from Another World
''The Thing from Another World'', sometimes referred to as just ''The Thing'', is a 1951 American black-and-white science fiction-horror film, directed by Christian Nyby, produced by Edward Lasker for Howard Hawks' Winchester Pictures Corporati ...
'' (1951).
Breon died in
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
Fantômas
Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914).
One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared ...
'' (1913) - Inspector Juve
*'' Le mort qui tue'' (1913) - Inspector Juve
*''Fantomas: The Mysterious Finger Print'' (1914) - Inspector Juve
*''Le Faux Magistrat'' (1914) - Inspector Juve
*''Severo Torelli'' (1914)
*''La petite Andalouse'' (1915) - Don Benigno - Lawyer
*''
Les vampires
''Les Vampires'' is a 1915–16 French silent crime serial film written and directed by Louis Feuillade. Set in Paris, it stars Édouard Mathé, Musidora and Marcel Lévesque. The main characters are a journalist and his friend who become involv ...
'' (1915) - Satanas' Secretary
*''L'énigme'' (1919)
*'' Barrabas'' (1919) - Lucius
*'' L'écuyère'' (1922)
*'' A Little Bit of Fluff'' (1928) - John Ayres
*'' The Dawn Patrol'' (1930) - Lieut. Phipps
*'' Raffles'' (1930) - Harry - Lord & Lady Melrose's Friend (uncredited)
*'' On Approval'' (1930) - Richard Wemys
*''
The Love Habit
''The Love Habit'' is a 1931 British comedy film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Seymour Hicks, Margot Grahame and Edmund Breon. It was made at Elstree Studios with production beginning in August 1930.Wood p.69 Produced by British Intern ...
'' (1931) - Alphonse Dubois
*''
Uneasy Virtue
''Uneasy Virtue'' is a 1931 British comedy film directed by Norman Walker and starring Fay Compton, Edmund Breon, Francis Lister, Donald Calthrop, and Garry Marsh. It was produced by British International Pictures and shot at the company's Elstr ...
'' (1931) - Harvey Townsend
*'' Born to Love'' (1931) - Tom Kent (uncredited)
*''
Chances
Chances may refer to:
* ''Chances'' (TV series), an Australian soap opera
* ''Chances'' (Philippine TV series), a prime-time soap opera
* '' Chances: The Women of Magdalene'', a 2006 documentary film
* ''Chances'' (novel), a 1981 novel by Jac ...
'' (1931) - The General
*''
I Like Your Nerve
''I Like Your Nerve'' is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by William C. McGann, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Loretta Young. Boris Karloff has a small role.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection ...
'' (1931) - Clive Lattimer
*''
Women Who Play
''Women Who Play'' is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Arthur Rosson and starring Mary Newcomb, Benita Hume and George Barraud. It was produced by Walter Morosco and Alexander Korda and has a screenplay by Basil Mason and Gilbert Wakefie ...
'' (1932) - Rachie Wells
*''
Wedding Rehearsal
''Wedding Rehearsal'' is a 1932 British romantic comedy film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Roland Young as a bachelor forced to seek a wife.
Plot
"Reggie", the carefree Marquis of Buckminster, is happy to serve as best man at his ...
'' (1932) - Lord Fleet
*''
Leap Year
A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or s ...
'' (1932) - Jack Debrant
*''
No Funny Business
''No Funny Business'' is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Victor Hanbury and starring Laurence Olivier, Gertrude Lawrence, Jill Esmond and Edmund Breon. The film is a comedy of errors set in a divorce case. It was made at Ealing Studios. Th ...
'' (1933) - Edward
*''
Waltz Time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western culture, Western musical notation to specify how many beat (music), beats (pulses) are contained in each measu ...
'' (1933) - Judge Bauer
*''
Three Men in a Boat
''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a tw ...
'' (1933) - George
*''
The Private Life of Don Juan
''The Private Life of Don Juan'' is a 1934 British comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Douglas Fairbanks, Merle Oberon and Benita Hume. At the age of 51, it was the final role of Fairbanks, who died five years later. The f ...
'' (1934) - Cardona, the Playwright, as Playwrights Go
*''
The Scarlet Pimpernel
''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in London, having ...
'' (1934) - Col. Winterbottom
*'' Mister Cinders'' (1934) - Sir George Lancaster
*''
Royal Cavalcade
''Royal Cavalcade'', also known as ''Regal Cavalcade'', is a 1935 British, black-and-white, drama film directed by six separate directors: Thomas Bentley (Supervising Director), Herbert Brenon, Norman Lee, Walter Summers, W. P. Kellino and Mar ...
'' (1935) - Minor Role (uncredited)
*''
Night Mail
''Night Mail'' is a 1936 British documentary film directed and produced by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, and produced by the General Post Office (GPO) Film Unit. The 24-minute film documents the nightly postal train operated by the London, Mi ...
'' (1935) - Lord Ticehurst
*''
The Divine Spark
''The Divine Spark'' is a 1935 British musical film directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Marta Eggerth, Phillips Holmes, Benita Hume and Donald Calthrop. An Italian-language version '' Casta Diva'' was shot simultaneously. Both films were ...
'' (1935) - Rossini
*''
She Shall Have Music
''She Shall Have Music'' is a 1935 British musical comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Jack Hylton, June Clyde and Claude Dampier. Hylton played himself in a story built around a millionaire shipowner who hires a band (led by H ...
'' (1935) - Freddie Gates
*''
Love in Exile
''Love in Exile'' is a 1936 British romantic adventure film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Helen Vinson, Clive Brook and Mary Carlisle.
Production
The film was shot at Isleworth Studios in west London by the independent producer M ...
'' (1936) - Baron Zarroy
*''
Strangers on Honeymoon
''Strangers on Honeymoon'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Constance Cummings, Hugh Sinclair and Noah Beery, based on the 1926 novel ''The Northing Tramp'' by Edgar Wallace. Much of the film takes place ...
'' (1936) - Sir Gregory
*''
French Leave
A French leave, sometimes Irish goodbye or Irish exit, is a departure from a location or event without informing others or without seeking approval. Examples include relatively innocuous acts such as leaving a party without bidding farewell in ...
'' (1937) - Col. Root
*''
Keep Fit
''Keep Fit'' is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring George Formby, Kay Walsh and Guy Middleton. Formby was at his British top box-office peak when this comedy was made.
Synopsis
George Formby again plays his work ...
'' (1937) - Sir Augustus Marks
*''
Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel
''The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel'' is a 1937 British thriller film directed by Hanns Schwarz and starring Barry K. Barnes, Sophie Stewart, Margaretta Scott and James Mason. It is a sequel to the 1934 film ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' based on ...
'' (1937) - Colonel Winterbottom
*''
Premiere
A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition.
A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...
'' (1938) - Morel
*''
Owd Bob
''Owd Bob: The Grey Dog of Kenmuir'', also titled ''Bob, Son of Battle'' for US editions, is a children's book by English author Alfred Ollivant. It was published in 1898 and became popular in the United Kingdom and the United States, though ...
'' (1938) - Lord Meredale
*''
A Yank at Oxford
''A Yank at Oxford'' is a 1938 comedy-drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Vivien Leigh and Edmund Gwenn. The screenplay was written by John Monk Saunders and Leon Gordon. The ...
'' (1938) - Captain Wavertree
*'' Almost a Honeymoon'' (1938) - Aubrey Lovitt
*''
Dangerous Medicine
''Dangerous Medicine'' is a 1938 British crime film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Elizabeth Allan and Cyril Ritchard. It is now classed as a lost film.Crackerjack'' (1938) - Tony Davenport
*''
Luck of the Navy
''Luck of the Navy'' is a 1938 British comedy thriller film directed by Norman Lee and starring Geoffrey Toone, Judy Kelly and Clifford Evans. Shot at Elstree StudiosWood p.98 it was based on the play '' The Luck of the Navy'' by Mrs Clifford ...
'' (1938) - Admiral Maybridge
*''
Many Tanks Mr. Atkins
''Many Tanks Mr. Atkins'' is a 1938 British comedy film, comedy war film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Claude Hulbert, Reginald Purdell and Barbara Greene.
It was made as a quota quickie by Warner Brothers at the company's Teddingt ...
'' (1938) - Colonel
*'' The Outsider'' (1939) - Dr. Ladd
*''
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...
'' (1939) - Colonel Morgan
*''
It Happened to One Man
''It Happened to One Man'' is a 1940 British drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Wilfrid Lawson (actor), Wilfrid Lawson, Nora Swinburne and Marta Labarr. The screenplay was scripted by Paul Merzbach and Nina Jarcis, based on the pla ...
Gaslight
Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly ...
'' (1944) - General Huddleston
*''
The Hour Before the Dawn
''The Hour Before the Dawn'' is a 1944 American drama war film directed by Frank Tuttle starring Franchot Tone and Veronica Lake. It was based on the 1942 novel by W. Somerset Maugham.
Plot
In 1923 in England, General Hetherton is instructing h ...
'' (1944) - Freddy Merritt
*''
The White Cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, deposi ...
'' (1944) - Major Rupert Bancroft (uncredited)
*''
Casanova Brown
''Casanova Brown'' is a 1944 American comedy romantic film directed by Sam Wood, written by Nunnally Johnson, and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Frank Morgan. The film had its world premiere in western France after the Allies had liber ...
'' (1944) - Mr. Drury
*''
Our Hearts Were Young and Gay
''Our Hearts Were Young and Gay'' is a book by actress Cornelia Otis Skinner and journalist Emily Kimbrough, published in 1942. The book presents a description of their European tour in the 1920s, when they were fresh out of college from Bryn Ma ...
'' (1944) - Guide (uncredited)
*''
An American Romance
''An American Romance'' is a 1944 American epic drama film directed and produced by King Vidor, who also wrote the screen story. Shot in Technicolor, the film stars Brian Donlevy and Ann Richards and is narrated by Horace McNally. The film is ...
The Man in Half Moon Street
''The Man in Half Moon Street'' is a 1945 science fiction romantic melodrama dealing with a man who retains his youth and cannot die, living throughout the ages. The plot is similar to Oscar Wilde's '' Picture of Dorian Gray'', except that t ...
'' (1945) - Sir Humphrey Brandon
*''
The Corn Is Green
''The Corn Is Green'' is a 1938 semi-autobiographical play by Welsh dramatist and actor Emlyn Williams. The play premiered in London at the Duchess Theatre in September 1938; with Sybil Thorndike as Miss Moffat and Williams himself portraying Mo ...
'' (1945) - Bit Part (uncredited)
*''
Saratoga Trunk
''Saratoga Trunk'' is a 1945 American Western film (or historical romance film, per the American Film Institute) directed by Sam Wood and starring Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, and Flora Robson. Written by Casey Robinson, based on the novel ''Sar ...
'' (1945) - McIntyre (uncredited)
*''
Devotion
Devotion or Devotions may refer to:
Religion
* Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept
* Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians
* Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance
* Cat ...
'' (1946) - Sir John Thornton (uncredited)
*'' Dressed to Kill'' (1946) - Julian 'Stinky' Emery
*'' The Imperfect Lady'' (1947) - Lord Chief Justice
*'' Forever Amber'' (1947) - Lord Redmond
*''
Julia Misbehaves
''Julia Misbehaves'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy film starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon as a married couple who are separated by the man's snobbish family. They meet again many years later, when the daughter whom the man has raised ...
Rope of Sand
''Rope of Sand'' is a 1949 adventure-suspense film noir directed by William Dieterle, produced by Hal Wallis, and starring Burt Lancaster and three stars from Wallis's '' Casablanca'' - Paul Henreid, Claude Rains and Peter Lorre. The film intro ...
'' (1949) - Chairman
*''
Challenge to Lassie
''Challenge to Lassie'' is an American drama directed by Richard Thorpe in Technicolor and released October 31, 1949, by MGM Studios. It was the fifth feature film starring the original Lassie, a collie named Pal, and the fourth and final ''Lass ...
'' (1949) - Magistrate
*''
The Thing from Another World
''The Thing from Another World'', sometimes referred to as just ''The Thing'', is a 1951 American black-and-white science fiction-horror film, directed by Christian Nyby, produced by Edward Lasker for Howard Hawks' Winchester Pictures Corporati ...
'' (1951) - Dr. Ambrose (uncredited)
*''
At Sword's Point
''At Sword's Point'', also known as ''The Sons of the Three Musketeers'', is a 1952 American historical action adventure film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Cornel Wilde and Maureen O'Hara. It was shot in Technicolor by RKO Radio Picture ...