Michael Murray Hordern

Sir Michael Murray Hordern CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan
"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, May 2009, accessed 22 July 2015 was an English actor whose career spanned nearly 60 years. He is best known for his Shakespearean roles, especially that of King Lear, which he played to much acclaim on stage in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1969 and London in 1970. He then successfully assumed the role on television five years later. He often appeared in film, rising from a bit part actor in the late 1930s to a member of the main cast; by the time of his death he had appeared in nearly 140 cinema roles. His later work was predominantly in television and radio.

Born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, into a family with no theatrical connections, Hordern was educated at Windlesham House School in Pulborough, West Sussex, where he became interested in drama. He went on to Brighton College where his interest in the theatre developed. After leaving the college he joined an amateur dramatics company, and came to the notice of several influential Shakespearean directors who cast him in minor roles in ''Othello'' and ''Macbeth''. During the Second World War he served on HMS ''Illustrious'' where he reached the rank of lieutenant commander. Upon his demobilisation he resumed his acting career and made his television debut, becoming a reliable bit-part actor in many films, particularly in the war film genre.

Hordern came to prominence in the early 1950s when he took part in a theatrical competition at the Arts Theatre in London. There, he impressed Glen Byam Shaw who secured the actor a season-long contract at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre where he played major parts, including Caliban in '' The Tempest'', Jaques in ''As You Like It'', and Sir Politick Would-Be in Ben Jonson's comedy ''Volpone''. The following season Hordern joined Michael Benthall's company at the Old Vic where, among other parts, he played Polonius in ''Hamlet'', and the title role in ''King John''. In 1957 he won a best actor award at that year's British Academy Television Awards for his role as the barrister in John Mortimer's courtroom drama ''The Dock Brief''. Along with his theatrical responsibilities Hordern had regular supporting roles in various films including ''Cleopatra'' (1963), and ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' (1966).

In the late 1960s Hordern met the British theatre director Jonathan Miller, who cast him in ''Whistle and I'll Come to You'', which was recorded for television and received wide praise. Hordern's next major play was ''Jumpers'' which appeared at the Royal National Theatre at the start of 1972. His performance was praised by critics and he reprised the role four years later. His television commitments increased towards the end of his life. His credits include ''Paradise Postponed'', the BAFTA award-winning ''Memento Mori adaptation of ''Middlemarch''. He was appointed a CBE in 1972 and was knighted eleven years later. Hordern suffered from kidney disease during the 1990s and died from it in 1995 at the age of 83.

Life and career

Early life and education

Hordern was born 3 October 1911 at Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, third son of Edward Joseph Calveley Hordern (1867-1945), of a family of Hampshire landed gentry with a strong clerical tradition, and Margaret Emily, daughter of mechanical engineer Edward Francis Murray.

Edward Hordern's father, Rev. Joseph Calveley Hordern, was the rector at the Holy Trinity Church in Bury. As a young man Edward joined the Royal Indian Marines and gained the rank of lieutenant. During a short break on home-leave he fell in love with Margaret, after they were introduced by one of his brothers. The courtship was brief and the young couple married in Burma on 28 November 1903. They had their first child, a son, Geoffrey, in 1905, followed by another, Peter, in 1907.

Margaret was descended from James Murray, an Irish physician whose research into digestion led to his discovery of the stomach aid milk of magnesia in 1829. The invention earned him a knighthood and brought the family great wealth. Margaret grew up in England, and attended St Audries School for Girls in Somerset.

Four years after the birth of Peter, a pregnant Margaret returned to England, where Michael Hordern, her third son, was born. Still stationed abroad, Edward was promoted to the rank of captain, for which he received a good salary. The family lived in comfort, and Margaret employed a scullery maid, nanny, groundsman, and full-time cook.Hordern, p. 4.
Margaret left for India to visit her husband in 1916. The trip, although planned only as a short term stay, lasted two years because of the ferocity of the First World War. In her absence, Hordern was sent to Windlesham House School in Sussex at the age of five. His young age exempted him from full-time studies but he was allowed to partake in extracurricular activities, including swimming, football, rugby and fishing.Hordern, p. 6. After a few years, and along with a fellow enthusiast, he set up the "A Acting Association" (AAA), a small theatrical committee, which organised productions on behalf of the school. As well as the organisation of plays, Hordern arranged a regular group of players, himself included, to perform various plays which they wrote, directed, and choreographed themselves. He stayed at Windlesham House for nine years, later describing his time there as "enormous fun".

Hordern was 14 when he left Windlesham House to continue his schooling as a member of Chichester House at Brighton College.Sir Michael Hordern
''The Daily Telegraph'', 4 May 1995, accessed 28 June 2015. By the time of his enrolment, his interest in acting had matured. In his 1993 autobiography, ''A World Elsewhere'', he admitted: "I didn't excel in any area apart from singing; I couldn't read music but I sang quite well." There he helped organise amateur performances of various Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The first of these was ''The Gondoliers'', in which he played the role of the Duchess. The tutors called his performance a great success, and he was given a position within the men's chorus in the next piece, ''Iolanthe''. Over the next few years, he took part in ''The Mikado'' as a member of the chorus, and then appeared as the Major-General in ''The Pirates of Penzance''. It was a period which he later acknowledged as being the start of his career.Hordern, p. 13. When the war ended in 1918, Edward, who was by now a port officer in Calcutta, arranged for Margaret to return to England. With her, she brought home an orphaned baby girl named Jocelyn, whom she adopted.Hordern, p. 9. The following year, Edward retired from active service and returned to England, where he relocated his family to Haywards Heath in Sussex. There, Michael developed a love for fishing, a hobby about which he remained passionate for the rest of his life.

In his autobiography Hordern admitted that his family showed no interest in the theatre and that he had not seen his first professional play, ''Ever Green'', until he was 19. Around this time he met Christopher Hassall, a fellow student at Brighton College. Hassall, who also went on to have a successful stage career, was, as Hordern noted, instrumental in his decision to become an actor. In 1925 Hordern moved to Dartmoor with his family where they converted a disused barn into a farm house. For Hordern the move was ideal; his love of fishing had become stronger and he was able to explore the remote landscape and its isolated rivers.

Early acting career (1930–39)

Theatrical beginnings

Hordern left Brighton College in the early 1930s and secured a job as a teaching assistant in a prep school in Beaconsfield. He joined an amateur dramatics company and in his spare time, rehearsed for the company's only play, ''Ritzio's Boots'', which was entered into a British Drama League competition, with Hordern in the title role. The play did well but conceded the prize, a professional production at a leading London theatre, to ''Not This Man'', a drama written by Sydney Box. So envious was he of the rival show's success that Hordern supplied a scathing review to ''The Welwyn Times'' calling Box's show a "blasphemous bunk and cheap theatrical claptrap".Hordern, pp. 30–31. The comment infuriated Box, who issued the actor with a writ to attend court on a count of slander. Hordern won the case and left Box liable for the proceeding's expenses. Years later the two men met on a film set where Box, much to Hordern's surprise, thanked him for helping to kick-start his career in film making, as he had received a lot of publicity as a result of the court case.

With the death of his mother in January 1933, Hordern decided to pursue a professional acting career. He briefly took a job at a prep schoolHordern, p. 40. but fell ill with poliomyelitis and had to leave. Upon his recuperation,Hordern, p. 39. he was offered a job as a travelling salesman for the British Educational Suppliers Association, a family-run business belonging to a former school friend at Windlesham House. As part of his job he spent some time in Stevenage where he joined an amateur dramatics company and appeared in two plays; ''Journey's End'', in which he played Raleigh, and ''Diplomacy'', a piece which the actor disliked as he considered it to be "too old-fashioned". Both productions provided him with the chance to work with a cue-script, something which he found to be helpful for the rest of his career. That summer he joined a Shakespearean theatre company which toured stately homes throughout the United Kingdom. His first performance was Orlando in ''As You Like It'', followed by ''Love's Labour's Lost'', in which he co-starred with Osmond Daltry. Hordern admired Daltry's acting ability and later admitted to him being a constant influence on his Shakespearean career.Hordern, p. 41.

In addition to his Shakespearean commitments, Hordern joined the St Pancras People's Theatre, a London-based company partly funded by the theatrical manager Lilian Baylis. Hordern enjoyed his time there, despite the tiresome commute between Sussex and London, and stayed with the company for five years. By the end of 1936 he had left his sales job in Beaconsfield to pursue a full-time acting career. He moved into a small flat at Marble Arch and became one of the many jobbing actors eager to make a name for themselves on the London stage.

London debut

Hordern's London debut came in January 1937, as an understudy to Bernard Lee in the play ''Night Sky'' at the Savoy Theatre. On nights when he was not required, Hordern would be called upon to undertake the duties of assistant stage manager, for which he was paid £2.10s a week. In March, Daltry, who had since formed his own company, Westminster Productions, cast Hordern as Ludovico in ''Othello''.
The part became Hordern's first paid role as an actor for a theatre company. The play was an instant hit and ran at the People's Theatre in Mile End for two weeks. It also starred the English actor Stephen Murray in the title role, but he became contractually obliged elsewhere towards the end of the run. This allowed Hordern to take his place for which Daltry paid Hordern an extra £1 a week.Hordern, p. 48.

After ''Othellos closure, Daltry undertook a tour of Scandinavia and the Baltic with two plays, ''Outward Bound'', and ''Arms and the Man''. He employed Hordern in both with the first being the more successful. It was a time that the actor recognised as being a turning point in his professional acting career. On his return to London, and after spending a few weeks in unemployment, he was offered a part in the ill-fated ''Ninety Sail''. The play, about Sir Christopher Wren's time in the Royal Navy, was cancelled on the day Hordern was due to start work, with "unforeseen problems" cited as the reason by its producers.

Bristol repertory theatre

In mid-1937 the theatre proprietor Ronald Russell offered Hordern a part in his repertory company, the Rapier Players, who were then based at Colston Hall in Bristol. Hordern's first acting role within the company was as Uncle HarryHordern, pp. 52–53. in the play '' Someone at the Door''. Because of the play's success, Russell employed him in the same type of role, the monotony of which frustrated the actor who longed to play the leading man. It was whilst with the Rapier Players that Hordern fell in love with Eve Mortimer, a juvenile actress who appeared in minor roles in many of Russell's productions. Hordern considered his experience with the Rapier Players to be invaluable; it taught him how a professional theatre company worked under a strict time frame and how it operated with an even stricter budget. He was allowed two minutes to study each page of the script, but because of the frequent mistakes and many stalled lines, rehearsals became long and laborious. Hordern described the company's props as being made to a very high standard, despite being bought on a shoe-string budget.

After a brief holiday with Eve in Scotland in 1938,Hordern, p. 57. Hordern returned to London, where he appeared in ''Quinneys'', a radio play broadcast by the BBC in June of that year. The main part went to Henry Ainley whom Hordern described as "a great actor, who, sadly, was past his best".
Hordern then made a return to Bristol to prepare for the following season with the Rapier Players. One production singled out in the ''Western Daily Press'' as particularly good was ''Love in Idleness'', in which Hordern played the lead character. A reporter for the paper thought that the play "had been noticed" among theatrical critics and that the players "filled their respective roles excellently".

By the end of 1938 Hordern's father had sold the family home and had bought a cottage in Holt, near Bath, Somerset. The arrangement was convenient for the young actor, who used the premises as a base while he appeared in shows with the Rapier Players. One such piece was an adaption of Stella Gibbons's ''Cold Comfort Farm'', which starred Mabel Constanduros, who had adapted the book with Gibbons's permission. Hordern was cast in the supporting role of Seth, a part he described as being fun to perform. The modernised script was "adored" by the cast, according to Hordern, but loathed by the audience who expected it to be exactly like the book.

Second World War and film debut

Hordern and Eve left Bristol in 1939 for Harrogate, where Eve joined a small repertory company called the White Rose Players. After a brief spell of unemployment, and with the outbreak of war, Hordern volunteered for a post within the Air Raid Precautions (ARP).Hordern, pp. 57–59. He was accepted but soon grew frustrated at not being able to conduct any rescues because of the lack of enemy action. He decided that it was "not a very good way to fight the war" and enlisted instead as a gunner with the Royal Navy. While he was waiting to be accepted he and Eve responded to an advertisement in ''The Stage'' for actors in a repertory company in Bath. They were appointed as the company's leading man and lady. Their first and only engagement was in a play entitled ''Bats in the Belfry'' which opened at the city's Assembly Rooms on 16 October. Hordern's elation at finally becoming a leading man was short-lived when he received his call-up that December. In the interest of helping to boost public morale, Hordern sought permission from the navy to allow him to complete his theatrical commitment in Bath and to appear in his first film, a thriller called ''Girl in the News'', directed by Carol Reed; his request was accepted, and he was told to report for duty at Plymouth Barracks in the early months of 1940 when the show had finished and he was free from filming responsibilities.

In 1940, after a minor role in ''Without the Prince'' at the Whitehall Theatre, Hordern played the small, uncredited part of a BBC official alongside James Hayter in Arthur Askey's comedy film ''Band Waggon''. Soon after, he began his naval gunnery training on board ''City of Florence'', a defensively equipped merchant ship (DEMS) which delivered ammunition to the city of Alexandria for the Mediterranean Fleet. He found that although his middle class upbringing hindered his ability to make friends on board the ship, it helped with his commanding officers.Hordern, pp. 66–67.

By 1941 radar was slowly being introduced to the Navy and Hordern was appointed as one of the first operatives who communicated enemy movements to the RAF. He later said the post was owed to his clear diction and deep vocal range. His commentary impressed his superior officers so much that by early 1942 he had been given the job as a Fighter Direction Officer and then first lieutenant on board . Shortly after the departure of his superior, he was promoted to lieutenant commander, a rank which he held for two years. Alongside his naval responsibilities, he was also appointed as the ship's entertainment officer and was responsible for organising shows featuring members of the crew.

Marriage and post-war years

During a short visit to Liverpool in 1943, Hordern proposed to Eve; they married on 27 April of that year with the actor Cyril Luckham as best man. After the honeymoon, Hordern resumed his duties on ''Illustrious'' while Eve returned to repertory theatre in Southport. In the months after the end of the war in 1945, he was transferred to the Admiralty where he worked briefly as a ship dispatcher. The Horderns rented a flat in Elvaston Place in Kensington, London, and he began to seek work as an actor. After a short while, he was approached by André Obey who cast him in his first television role, Noah, in a play adapted from the book of the same name. Hordern was apprehensive about performing in the new medium and found the rehearsal and live performance to be exhausting; but he was generously paid, earning £45 for the entire engagement.Hordern, p. 80.

Hordern's first role in 1946 came as Torvald Helmar in ''A Doll's House'' at the Intimate Theatre in Palmers Green.Hordern, p. 82. This was followed by the part of Richard Fenton, a murder victim, in ''Dear Murderer'' which premiered at the Aldwych Theatre on 31 July. The play was a success and ran for 85 performances until its closure on 12 October. ''Dear Murderer'' thrilled the critics and Hordern was singled out by one reporter for the ''Hull Daily Mail'' who thought that the actor brought "sincerity to a difficult role". The following month Eve gave birth to the couple's only child, a daughter, Joanna, who was born at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in Chelsea. That Christmas he took the role of Nick Bottom in a festive reworking of Henry Purcell's ''The Fairy-Queen''. The play was the first performance by the Covent Garden Opera Company, which later became known as The Royal Opera.

Towards the end of April 1947, Hordern accepted the small part of Captain Hoyle in Richard Llewellyn's comic drama film ''Noose''. Two other roles occurred that year: as Maxim de Winter in a television adaption of Daphne du Maurier's novel ''Rebecca'', followed by the part of a detective in ''Good-Time Girl'', alongside Dennis Price and Jean Kent. The following year he took part in three plays: Peter Ustinov's ''The Indifferent Shepherd'', which appeared at the newly opened Q Theatre in Brentford, West London; Ibsen's ''Ghosts''; and an adaptation of ''The Wind in the Willows'' at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in which he portrayed the part of the blustery, eccentric Mr Toad.Hordern, p. 86.

In early 1949 Hordern appeared as Pascal in the Michael Redgrave-directed comedy ''A Woman in Love'', but disliked the experience because of the hostile relationship between Redgrave and the show's star, Margaret Rawlings.Hordern, p. 88. Next, he was engaged in the minor role of Bashford in the critically acclaimed Ealing comedy ''Passport to Pimlico'', a performance which he described as "tense and hyperactive".

1950–1960s

''Ivanov'' and ''Saint's Day''

By the 1950s Hordern had come to the notice of many influential directors. In his autobiography, the actor recognised the decade as being an important era of his career. It started with a major role in Anton Chekhov's ''Ivanov'' in 1950. The production took place at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge and excited audiences because of its 25-year absence from the English stage. The writer T. C. Worsley was impressed by Hordern's performance and wrote: "Perhaps an actor with star quality might have imposed on us more successfully than Mr Michael Hordern, and won our sympathy for Ivanov by his own personality. But such a performance would have raised the level of expectation all round. As it is, Mr Hordern is rich in intelligence, sensitivity and grasp, and with very few exceptions, the company give his impressive playing the right kind of support." The title character in ''Macbeth'', directed by Alec Clunes, was Hordern's next engagement. Critics wrote of their dislike of Clunes's version, but the theatre reviewer Audrey Williamson, trying to make a name for himself in the theatre after the war, was called by Clunes to take part in a theatrical competition at the Arts Theatre in London in 1951, for which he entered his play ''Saint's Day''. Several other amateur directors also competed for the prize, which was to have their play funded and professionally displayed at the Arts. Having seen him perform the previous year, Whiting hired Hordern for the lead role of Paul Southman, a cantankerous old poet who fights off three rebellious army deserters who threaten the tranquillity of his sleepy country village."Saint's Day"
by Michael Billington. ''The Guardian'', 25 October 2002, accessed 21 August 2015. The play proved popular with audiences, but not so with theatrical commentators. Hordern liked the piece, calling it "bitter and interesting",Hordern, p. 90. but the press, who extensively reported on the competition throughout each stage, thought differently and condemned it for winning. This infuriated the actors Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud, who wrote letters of complaint to the press.

Shakespeare Memorial Theatre

Hordern cited ''Saint's Day''s negative publicity as having done his career "the power of good" as it brought him to the attention of the director Glen Byam Shaw, who cast him in a series of plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1951. Among the roles were Caliban in '' The Tempest'', Jaques in ''As You Like It'', and Sir Politick Would-Be in Ben Jonson's comedy ''Volpone''. Hordern claimed to know very little about the bard's works and sought advice from friends about how best to prepare for the roles. The same year, he travelled down to Nettlefold Studios, to film '' Scrooge'', an adaptation of Charles Dickens's ''A Christmas Carol'', in which he played Marley's ghost. Reviews were mixed with ''The New York Times'' giving it a favourable write-up, while ''Time'' magazine remained ambivalent. The ''Aberdeen Evening Express'' echoed the comments made by an American reviewer by calling ''Scrooge'' a "trenchant and inspiring Christmas show". The author Fred Guida, writing in his book ''Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations: A Critical Examination'' in 2000, thought that Marley's ghost, though a "small but pivotal role", was "brilliantly played" by Hordern.

With the first play of the season imminent, the Horderns moved to Stratford and took temporary accommodation at Goldicote House, a large country property situated on the River Avon. The first of his two plays, ''The Tempest'', caused Hordern to doubt his own acting ability when he compared his interpretation of Caliban to that of Alec Guinness, who had played the same role four years earlier. Reassured by Byam Shaw, Hordern remained in the role for the entire run. A few days later, the actor was thrilled to receive a letter of appreciation from Michael Redgrave, who thought Hordern's Caliban was "immensely fine, with all the pity and pathos... but with real terror and humour as well".Hordern, p. 93. More praise was received as the season continued; an anonymous theatre reviewer, quoted in Hordern's autobiography, called the actor's portrayal of Menenius Aggripa "a dryly acute study of the 'humorous patrician' and one moreover that can move our compassion in the Volscian cameo", before going on to say "we had felt that it would be long before Alec Guinness's Menenius could be matched. The fact that Michael Hordern's different reading can now stand beside the other does credit to a player who will be a Stratford prize."Hordern, p. 94.

The Old Vic

Hordern's contract at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre lasted until mid-1952, and on its expiration, he secured a position within Michael Benthall's theatrical company at the Old Vic in London. The company's first play, ''Hamlet'', starred Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, and Fay Compton,Hordern, p. 96. and opened on 14 September 1953. Hordern called it "the perfect play with which to open the season" as it featured "fine strong parts for everyone and asa good showpiece for an actor's latent vanity".Hordern, p. 97. Shortly after opening, it was transferred to Edinburgh, where it took part at the Fringe before returning to London. For his role of Polonius, Hordern received mixed reviews, with one critic saying: "He was at his best in his early scenes with Ophelia... but towards the end of the performance he began to obscure less matter with more art". After Edinburgh, Benthall took ''Hamlet'' on a provincial tour and the play had a successful run of 101 performances.

In mid-1953 the Danish government invited Benthall and his company to Helsingør (Elsinore) to perform ''Hamlet'' for the Norwegian Royal Family. The play was well received by the royals. On the whole, the actor enjoyed his time in ''Hamlet'' but behind the scenes, relations between him and Burton were strained. Hordern noted his colleague's "likeability, charm and charisma"Quote by the author; Hordern, p. 98. but thought that Burton had a tendency to get easily "ratty"Quote by the author; Hordern, p. 99. with him in social situations. Hordern described their working relationship as "love-hate" and admitted they were envious of each other's success; Burton of Hordern because of the latter's good reviews, and Hordern of Burton who received more attention from fans. When Burton left for Hollywood years later, he recommended Hordern to various casting directors; Hordern was subsequently engaged in six of Burton's films.

''King John'' was next for Benthall's company and opened on 26 October 1953."The Old Vic Company: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark"
the Old Vic theatre programme: 1953/54 season, accessed 25 August 2015. The lead character initially went to an unknown and inexperienced young actor, but the part was re-cast with Hordern in the role.Hordern, p. 100. Hordern described ''King John'' as being "a difficult play in the sense that it has no common purpose or apparent theme". Simultaneously to this, he was commuting back to Pinewood Studios where he was filming ''Forbidden Cargo''. The hectic schedule brought on a bout of exhaustion for which he received medical advice to reduce his workload.

Theatre Royal, Brighton

In early 1955 Hordern was asked by the British theatre manager and producer Binkie Beaumont to take the lead in André Roussin's comedy ''Nina'', directed by Rex Harrison. The play, which starred Edith Evans, Lockwood West, and James Hayter, transferred from Oxford to the Theatre Royal in Brighton. Beaumont's request came at short notice because Hordern's predecessor had proved inadequate. The play was cursed with bad luck: Evans fell ill and was replaced midway by an understudy who neglected to learn her lines; Harrison frequently upset the cast, which resulted in reduced morale. When Evans did return, she walked off stage and left after seeing empty seats in the front row.

Hordern regretted his decision to take part in Roussin's ''Nina'', but admitted that the allure of appearing alongside Evans had got the better of him. Harrison held auditions to replace his leading lady and settled on the Australian-American actress Coral Browne. Hordern and Browne grew close, aided by their mutual dislike of their disciplinarian director. They fell in love and had an affair which lasted for the duration of the run.Hordern, p. 105. Years later Hordern confessed: "I kept falling in love. It is a common complaint among actors. You cannot be at such close quarters, mind and body, without being sorely tempted."

Hordern and Harrison's dislike for one another was evident to the rest of the cast.Hordern, p. 104. One night, after a performance of ''Nina'' in Eastbourne, and having felt that he had "acted issocks off",Quote by the author; Hordern, p. 104. Hordern, along with the rest of the cast, were berated by Harrison who accused them of producing a piece "not fit for the end of a pier". ''Nina'' transferred to the Haymarket Theatre, London, not long after the incident but it was unsuccessful and closed after five weeks. "The play was fine", opined Hordern, "it was a disaster because of Rex Harrison." Hordern and Browne's relationship ended shortly after the play closed and Hordern set about rebuilding his marriage with Eve, who had long known of the affair.

Films and 1950s theatre

Hordern viewed the 1950s as a good decade to appear in film, although he did not then particularly care for the medium. Writing in 1993 he said: "With cinema one has to leap into battle fully armed. From the start of the film the character has to be pinned down like a butterfly on a board. One does not always get this right, of course, sometimes starting at the beginning of shooting a film on a comedic level that cannot be sustained."Hordern, p. 165. He disliked his physical appearance, which he found to be "repulsive", and as a result loathed watching back his performances. He preferred radio because the audience only heard his voice, which he then considered his best attribute. Another reason was his recognition of the differences between his sense of personal achievement within a theatre compared to that on a film set: "You get a certain sort of satisfaction in delivering what the director wants of you, but the chances of being emotionally involved are slim." He acknowledged his good ability at learning lines, something which he found to be especially helpful for learning film scripts which frequently changed. He enjoyed the challenge of earning as much value as possible out of a scene and revelled in being able to hit "the right mark for the camera". With the experience of ''Nina'' still fresh in his mind, Hordern took a break from the stage and decided to concentrate on his film career.Hordern, p. 108.

Hordern was appearing in three to four films a year by 1953, a count that increased as the decade progressed. In 1956 he took a leading part in '' The Spanish Gardener'' for which he spent many months filming in southern Spain alongside Dirk Bogarde, Cyril Cusack, and Bernard Lee. ''The New York Times'' called Hordern's role of the strict and pompous Harrington Brande "an unsympathetic assignment", but thought the actor did "quite well" in his portrayal. By the mid-1950s Hordern's name was becoming one of reliability and good value; as a result, he was offered a clutch of roles. In 1956 he appeared as Demosthenes in ''Alexander the Great'', and Commander Lindsay in ''The Night My Number Came Up''. He appeared in two other films the following year; the medical drama '' No Time for Tears'', and the thriller ''Windom's Way''. The Second World War was a popular genre for filmmakers during the 1950s. Hordern said the conflict took up a large part of people's lives; "whether it be one of love, loss, nostalgia or tragedy",Hordern, pp. 109–110. everybody, according to the actor, had a story to tell and could relate to the situations that were being depicted before them on screen. He found his earlier naval experience to be an asset when cast in many war films,"Michael Hordern"
British Film Institute, accessed 27 August 2015. including ''The Man Who Never Was'', ''Pacific Destiny'', ''The Baby and the Battleship'', all in 1956, and ''I Was Monty's Double

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