Robert Montgomery
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Montgomery (born Henry Montgomery Jr.; May 21, 1904 – September 27, 1981) was an American film and television actor, director, and producer. He was also the father of actress Elizabeth Montgomery. Montgomery settled in New York City to try his hand at writing and acting. He established a stage career, and became popular enough to turn down an offer to appear opposite Vilma Bánky in the film This Is Heaven (1929). Sharing a stage with George Cukor gave him an entry to Hollywood and a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he debuted in So This Is College (also 1929). Montgomery initially played exclusively in comedy roles, but portrayed a character in his first drama film in The Big House (1930). MGM was initially reluctant to assign him in such a role, until "his earnestness, and his convincing arguments, with demonstrations of how he would play the character" won him the assignment. From The Big House on, he was in constant demand. Appearing as Greta Garbo's romantic interest in Inspiration (1930) started him toward stardom with a rush. Norma Shearer chose him to star opposite her in The Divorcee (1930), Strangers May Kiss (1931), and Private Lives (1931), which led him to stardom. In another challenging role, Montgomery played a psychopath in the chiller Night Must Fall (1937), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination. After World War II broke out in Europe in September, 1939, and while the United States was still officially neutral, Montgomery enlisted in London for American field service and drove ambulances in France until the Dunkirk evacuation. He then returned to Hollywood and addressed a massive rally on the MGM lot for the American Red Cross in July 1940. Montgomery returned to playing light comedy roles, such as Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) with Carole Lombard. He continued his search for dramatic roles. For his role as Joe Pendleton, a boxer and pilot in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Montgomery was nominated for an Oscar a second time. After the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941, he joined the United States Navy, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander, and served on the USS Barton (DD-722) which was part of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. In 1945, Montgomery returned to Hollywood, making his uncredited directing debut with They Were Expendable, where he directed some of the PT boat scenes when director John Ford was unable to work for health reasons. Montgomery's first credited film as director and his final film for MGM was the film noir Lady in the Lake (1947), in which he also starred, which received mixed reviews. Adapted from Raymond Chandler's detective novel and sanitized for the censorship of the day, the film is unusual because it was filmed entirely from Marlowe's vantage point. Montgomery only appeared on camera a few times, three times in a mirror reflection. Active in Republican politics and concerned about communist influence in the entertainment industry, Montgomery was a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. Montgomery has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for movies at 6440 Hollywood Boulevard, and another for television at 1631 Vine Street.
Known for
Credits
June Bride (1948)
as Carey Jackson
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
as David
They Were Expendable (1945)
as Lt. John Brickley
That's Entertainment! (1974)
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Gallant Hours (1960)
as Narration (American scenes)
The Earl of Chicago (1940)
as Robert Kilmount
Rage in Heaven (1941)
as Philip Monrell
Fugitive Lovers (1934)
as Paul Porter, aka Stephen Blaine
Riptide (1934)
as Tommie L. Trent
Lusitanian Illusion (2010)
as Self (archive footage)
Forsaking All Others (1934)
as Dillon 'Dill" Todd
Lady in the Lake (1946)
as Phillip Marlowe
So This Is College (1929)
as Biff
Breakdowns of 1949 (1949)
as Self
Three Loves Has Nancy (1938)
as Malcolm 'Mal' Niles
Hell Below (1933)
as Lieut. Thomas Knowlton USN
Blondie of the Follies (1932)
as Larry Belmont
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
as Joe Pendleton
Free and Easy (1930)
as Larry
Love in the Rough (1930)
as Kelly
Unfinished Business (1941)
as Tommy Duncan
That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)
as (archive footage)
Our Blushing Brides (1930)
as Tony Jardine
When Ladies Meet (1933)
as Jimmie
The Saxon Charm (1948)
as Matt Saxon
Hollywood Handicap (1938)
as Himself
The Romance of Celluloid (1937)
as Self
The Big House (1930)
as Kent Marlowe
Hollywood Goes to Town (1938)
as Self
Night Flight (1933)
as Auguste Pellerin
The Secret Land (1948)
as Narrator
Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
as Lucky Gagin
Checking Out: Grand Hotel (2004)
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972)
as Self (archive footage)
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)
as Lord Arthur Dilling
The Man in Possession (1931)
as Raymond Dabney
Live, Love and Learn (1937)
as Bob Graham
Another Language (1933)
as Victor Hallam
Your Witness (1950)
as Adam Heyward
From the Ends of the Earth (1939)
as Self
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound (1940)
as Self
Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935)
as Richard 'Dickie' Kurt
The Voice of Hollywood (1930)
Actor
Night Must Fall (1937)
as Danny
Once More, My Darling (1949)
as Collier Laing
But the Flesh Is Weak (1932)
as Max Clement
Untamed (1929)
as Andy McAllister
No More Ladies (1935)
as Sheridan 'Sherry' Warren
Busman's Honeymoon (1940)
as Lord Peter Wimsey
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage (2006)
as Self (archive footage)
Faithless (1932)
as William 'Bill' Wade
Piccadilly Jim (1936)
as James Crocker, Jr.
Starlit Days at the Lido (1935)
as Self
Ingrid Bergman Remembered (1996)
as Self (archive footage)
Vanessa: Her Love Story (1935)
as Benjamin Herries
Going Hollywood (1933)
as Himself - Premiere Clip (archive footage)
The First Hundred Years (1938)
as David Conway
Their Own Desire (1929)
as John 'Jack' Douglas Cheever
Ever Since Eve (1937)
as Freddy Matthews
Hide-Out (1934)
as Jonathan 'Lucky' Wilson
The Divorcee (1930)
as Don
Jornal Português (1938-1951) (2015)
as Self (archive footage)
The Easiest Way (1931)
as Jack Madison
Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 8 (1935)
Actor
Letty Lynton (1932)
as Hale Darrow
Inspiration (1931)
as André Montell
Shipmates (1931)
as John Paul Jones
Fast and Loose (1939)
as Joel Sloane
The Sins of the Children (1930)
as Nick Higginson
The Mystery of Mr. X (1934)
as Nicholas Revel
Strangers May Kiss (1931)
as Steve
Complicated Women (2003)
as Self (archive footage)
Lovers Courageous (1932)
as Willie Smith
War Nurse (1930)
as Wally O'Brien
Petticoat Fever (1936)
as Dascom Dinsmore
Trouble for Two (1936)
as Prince Florizel
Three Live Ghosts (1929)
as William Foster
The Single Standard (1929)
as Party Boy (uncredited)
Yellow Jack (1938)
as John O'Hara
Made on Broadway (1933)
as Jeff
Estrellados (1930)
as Self (Guest Appearance at Premiere)
Private Lives (1931)
as Elyot Chase