Walter Hudd (20 February 1897 – 20 January 1963) was a British actor and director.
Stage career
Hudd made his stage debut in ''The Manxman'' in 1919, and later toured as part of the
Fred Terry
Fred Terry (9 November 1863 – 17 April 1933) was an English actor and theatrical manager. After establishing his reputation in London and in the provinces for a decade, he joined the company of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree where he remained for ...
Company; first attracting serious attention playing
Guildenstern
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. They are childhood friends of Hamlet, summoned by King Claudius to distract the prince from his apparent madness and if possible to ascertain the cause o ...
in a 1925 modern dress ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Den ...
''. He also later directed plays at
Stratford-on-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north- ...
, including ''
Richard II
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father die ...
'', ''
Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
'' (also appearing as
Malvolio
Malvolio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's comedy ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will''. His name means "ill will" in Italian, referencing his disagreeable nature. He is the vain, pompous, authoritarian steward of Olivia's househo ...
) and '' Doctor Faustus'' (all 1947).
His West End appearances included ''The Way Things Happen'' (Ambassadors Theatre 1923), '' The Ghost Train'' (Prince of Wales Theatre 1925), ''The Grain of Mustard Seed'' (Ambassadors Theatre 1930), ''
The Waltz of the Toreadors
''The Waltz of the Toreadors'' (''La Valse des toréadors'') is a 1951 play by Jean Anouilh.
Plot
This bitter farce is set in 1910 France and focuses on General Léon Saint-Pé and his infatuation with Ghislaine, a woman with whom he danced at a g ...
'' (Criterion Theatre 1956) and ''
The Potting Shed
''The Potting Shed'' is a 1957 play by Graham Greene in three acts. The psychological drama centers on a secret held by the Callifer family for nearly thirty years.
The patriarch of the family is dying and James, his estranged son, appears une ...
'' (Globe Theatre 1958).
He made his sole Broadway appearance in the
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of th ...
Martin Beck Theatre
The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, originally the Martin Beck Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 302 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1924, it was designed by G. Albert Lansburgh in a Moorish an ...
1948). He was also a member of the Malvern Festival, Stratford Memorial and Old Vic theatre companies, and in later life became Head of Drama at the
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...
.
Film career
His film career began in 1935 with
Anthony Asquith
Anthony William Landon Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on ''The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among oth ...
's ''
Moscow Nights
__NOTOC__
"Moscow Nights" ( rus, Подмосковные вечера, r=Podmoskovnyje večera, ), later covered as "Midnight in Moscow", is a Soviet Russian song.
Composition and initial success
Composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Mikha ...
''. The following year he was cast as
T.E. Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
(Lawrence of Arabia) in
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Too True to be Good'', a performance that had been highly praised by Lawrence himself.Orlans, Harold, ''T.E. Lawrence: Biography of a Broken Hero'', McFarland, 2002, p.172; 94.; Korda, Michael (2010). ''Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia''. Harper. p. 670-671
His last two films, ''
The Punch and Judy Man
''The Punch and Judy Man'' is a 1963 black and white British comedy film made by Elstree Studios directed by Jeremy Summers from a script by Philip Oakes and Tony Hancock for the Associated British Picture Corporation. It was Hancock's second ...
Moscow Nights
__NOTOC__
"Moscow Nights" ( rus, Подмосковные вечера, r=Podmoskovnyje večera, ), later covered as "Midnight in Moscow", is a Soviet Russian song.
Composition and initial success
Composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Mikha ...
'' (1935) as The Doctor
* ''
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consi ...
Housemaster
{{refimprove, date=September 2018
In British education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and car ...
'' (1938) as Frank Hastings
* ''
Black Limelight
''Black Limelight'' is a 1936 play by Gordon Sherry that in 1938 became a British crime film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Joan Marion and Raymond Massey.
Plot
"It concerns itself with the murder of a vulgar young woman ily Suspicion ...
'' (1939) as Lawrence Crawford
* '' The Outsider'' (1939) as Dr. Helmore
* '' Dead Man's Shoes'' (1940) as Gaston Alexandri
* '' Dr. O'Dowd'' (1940) as Dr. Crowther
* ''
Major Barbara
''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...
'' (1941) as Stephen Undershaft
* '' Uncensored'' (1942) as Van Heemskirk
* ''
Love Story Love Story or A Love Story may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Genres
* Romance (love)
** Romance film
** Romance novel
Films
* ''Love Story'' (1925 film), German silent film
* ''Love Story'' (1942 film), Italian drama film
* ''Love ...
I Know Where I'm Going!
''I Know Where I'm Going!'' is a 1945 romance film by the British-based filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, and features Pamela Brown and Finlay Currie.
Plot
Joan Webster is a 25-year-ol ...
'' (1945) as Hunter
* '' Escape'' (1948) as Defence Counsel
* ''
Paper Orchid
''Paper Orchid'' is a 1949 British crime film directed by Roy Ward Baker, with a script written by Val Guest. It featured Hugh Williams, Hy Hazell and Garry Marsh, and was based on the 1948 novel of the same title by Arthur La Bern. It featur ...
'' (1949) as Briggs
* ''
Landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
'' (1949) as Professor Legge
* ''
The Importance of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
'' (1952) as Lane
* '' Cosh Boy'' (1953) as Magistrate (uncredited)
* ''
The Good Die Young
''The Good Die Young'' is a 1954 British crime film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, Joan Collins, Stanley Baker, Richard Basehart and John Ireland. It was made by Remus Films from a screenplay based on ...
'' (1954) as Dr. Reed
* '' Cast a Dark Shadow'' (1955) as The Coroner
* ''
The Adventures of Robin Hood
''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de ...
'' (1956, TV) as The Judge
* ''
Reach for the Sky
''Reach for the Sky'' is a 1956 British biographical film about aviator Douglas Bader, based on the 1954 biography of the same name by Paul Brickhill. The film stars Kenneth More and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. It won the BAFTA Award for Be ...
'' (1956) as Air Vice-Marshal Halahan
* ''
Satellite in the Sky
''Satellite in the Sky'' is a 1956 British CinemaScope science fiction film in Warner Color, produced by Edward J. Danziger and Harry Lee Danziger, directed by Paul Dickson, and starring Kieron Moore, Lois Maxwell, Donald Wolfit, and Bryan Forb ...
Further Up the Creek
''Further Up the Creek'' is a 1958 British comedy film written and directed by Val Guest and starring David Tomlinson, Frankie Howerd, Shirley Eaton, Thora Hird, Desmond Llewelyn and Lionel Jeffries. It served as a follow up to '' Up the Creek' ...
'' (1958) as Consul
* ''
The Two-Headed Spy
''The Two-Headed Spy'' is a 1958 British spy thriller film directed by Andre DeToth and starring Jack Hawkins, Gia Scala, Erik Schumann and Alexander Knox. The film, which has elements of film noir and is set in the Second World War, was base ...
'' (1958) as Adm. Canaris
* ''
The Navy Lark
''The Navy Lark'' is a radio sitcom about life aboard a British Royal Navy frigate named HMS ''Troutbridge'' (a play on HMS ''Troubridge'', a Royal Navy destroyer) based in HMNB Portsmouth. In series 1 and 2, the ship and crew were stationed ...
'' (1959) as Naval Captain
* ''
Look Back in Anger
''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...
'' (1959) as Actor
* ''
Two-Way Stretch
''Two-Way Stretch'', is a 1960 British comedy film, about a group of prisoners who plan to break out of jail, commit a robbery, and then break back into jail again, thus giving them the perfect alibi – that they were behind bars when the ro ...
'' (1960) as Rev. Patterson
* ''
Sink the Bismarck!
''Sink the Bismarck!'' is a 1960 black-and-white CinemaScope British war film based on the 1959 book '' The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck'' by C. S. Forester. It stars Kenneth More and Dana Wynter and was directed by Lewis Gilbert.Weiler, A.H ...
'' (1960) as
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
(HMS ''Hood'')
* ''The Prince and the Pauper'' (1962, TV) as
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Jus ...
* ''
Life for Ruth
''Life for Ruth'' is a 1962 British drama film produced by Michael Relph directed by Basil Dearden and starring Michael Craig, Patrick McGoohan and Janet Munro.
It was released in the US as Walk in the Shadow.
Plot
John Harris finds himself ...
'' (1962) as Judge
* ''
The Punch and Judy Man
''The Punch and Judy Man'' is a 1963 black and white British comedy film made by Elstree Studios directed by Jeremy Summers from a script by Philip Oakes and Tony Hancock for the Associated British Picture Corporation. It was Hancock's second ...
'' (1963) as Clergyman
* '' It's All Happening'' (1963) as J.B. Magdeburg