1904-05-21 Fishkill Landing [now Beacon], New York, USA
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.
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Fantasia Lusitana | Self (archive footage) | 2010-04-22 |
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42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage | Self (archive footage) | 2006-03-21 |
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Jornal Português (1938-1951) | Himself (archive footage) | 2005-12-12 |
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Checking Out: Grand Hotel | Self (archive footage) | 2004-02-03 |
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Complicated Women | Self (archive footage) | 2003-05-06 |
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Ingrid Bergman Remembered | Self (archive footage) | 1996-04-06 |
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That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) | 1976-05-16 |
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That's Entertainment! | (archive footage) | 1974-06-21 |
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Hollywood: The Dream Factory | Self (archive footage) | 1972-01-10 |
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The Gallant Hours | Narration (American scenes) | 1960-06-13 |
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Your Witness | Adam Heyward | 1950-03-06 |
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Once More, My Darling | Collier Laing | 1949-09-10 |
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Breakdowns of 1949 | Self | 1949-12-31 |
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The Secret Land | Narrator | 1948-10-22 |
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June Bride | Carey Jackson | 1948-10-29 |
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The Saxon Charm | Matt Saxon | 1948-09-28 |
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Ride the Pink Horse | Lucky Gagin | 1947-10-08 |
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Lady in the Lake | Phillip Marlowe | 1946-12-19 |
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They Were Expendable | Lt. John Brickley | 1945-12-07 |
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Rage in Heaven | Philip Monrell | 1941-03-07 |
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Mr. & Mrs. Smith | David | 1941-01-31 |
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Here Comes Mr. Jordan | Joe Pendleton | 1941-08-07 |
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Unfinished Business | Tommy Duncan | 1941-08-27 |
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A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound | Self | 1940-10-24 |
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The Earl of Chicago | Robert Kilmount | 1940-01-05 |
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Busman's Honeymoon | Lord Peter Wimsey | 1940-07-22 |
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Fast and Loose | Joel Sloane | 1939-02-17 |
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From the Ends of the Earth | Self | 1939-05-28 |
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Hollywood Goes to Town | Self | 1938-07-07 |
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The First Hundred Years | David Conway | 1938-03-12 |
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Three Loves Has Nancy | Malcolm 'Mal' Niles | 1938-09-02 |
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Yellow Jack | John O'Hara | 1938-05-19 |
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Hollywood Handicap | Himself | 1938-05-28 |
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Night Must Fall | Danny | 1937-04-30 |
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Live, Love and Learn | Bob Graham | 1937-10-29 |
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Ever Since Eve | Freddy Matthews | 1937-07-15 |
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The Romance of Celluloid | Self | 1937-08-27 |
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The Last of Mrs. Cheyney | Lord Arthur Dilling | 1937-02-19 |
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Petticoat Fever | Dascom Dinsmore | 1936-03-20 |
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Trouble for Two | Prince Florizel | 1936-05-29 |
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Piccadilly Jim | James Crocker, Jr. | 1936-08-14 |
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No More Ladies | Sheridan 'Sherry' Warren | 1935-06-14 |
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Biography of a Bachelor Girl | Richard 'Dickie' Kurt | 1935-01-04 |
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Starlit Days at the Lido | Self | 1935-09-28 |
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Vanessa: Her Love Story | Benjamin Herries | 1935-03-01 |
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Forsaking All Others | Dillon 'Dill" Todd | 1934-12-23 |
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Fugitive Lovers | Paul Porter, aka Stephen Blaine | 1934-01-05 |
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Hide-Out | Jonathan 'Lucky' Wilson | 1934-08-24 |
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Riptide | Tommie L. Trent | 1934-03-29 |
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The Mystery of Mr. X | Revel | 1934-02-23 |
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When Ladies Meet | Jimmie | 1933-06-23 |
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Another Language | Victor Hallam | 1933-07-28 |
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Night Flight | Auguste Pellerin | 1933-10-06 |
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Made on Broadway | Jeff | 1933-05-19 |
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Going Hollywood | Himself - Premiere Clip (archive footage) | 1933-12-22 |
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Hell Below | Lieut. Thomas Knowlton USN | 1933-06-08 |
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Blondie of the Follies | Larry Belmont | 1932-09-01 |
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But the Flesh Is Weak | Max Clement | 1932-04-09 |
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Letty Lynton | Hale Darrow | 1932-04-30 |
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Lovers Courageous | Willie Smith | 1932-01-23 |
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Faithless | William 'Bill' Wade | 1932-10-15 |
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Private Lives | Elyot Chase | 1931-12-12 |
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Inspiration | André Montell | 1931-01-31 |
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The Man in Possession | Raymond Dabney | 1931-07-04 |
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The Easiest Way | Jack Madison | 1931-02-07 |
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Strangers May Kiss | Steve | 1931-04-04 |
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Shipmates | John Paul Jones | 1931-04-25 |
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Estrellados | Self (Guest Appearance at Premiere) | 1930-07-07 |
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War Nurse | Wally O'Brien | 1930-11-22 |
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The Divorcee | Don | 1930-04-19 |
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The Big House | Kent Marlowe | 1930-06-14 |
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Free and Easy | Larry | 1930-03-22 |
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Love in the Rough | Kelly | 1930-09-05 |
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Our Blushing Brides | Tony Jardine | 1930-07-19 |
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The Sins of the Children | Nick Higginson | 1930-06-27 |
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The Single Standard | Party Boy (uncredited) | 1929-07-27 |
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So This Is College | Biff | 1929-11-08 |
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Untamed | Andy McAllister | 1929-11-23 |
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Three Live Ghosts | William Foster | 1929-09-15 |
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Their Own Desire | John 'Jack' Douglas Cheever | 1929-12-27 |
