Clifford Hardman "Clive" Brook (1 June 1887 – 17 November 1974) was an English film actor. After making his first screen appearance in 1920, Brook emerged as a leading British actor in the early 1920s. After moving to the United States in 1924, Brook became one of the major stars for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

in the late

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. During 1928–29 he successfully made the transition to sound and continued to be featured in many of

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

's most prestigious films, including a number of literary adaptations. In the mid-1930s he returned to England, where he appeared regularly in leading film roles for a further decade.

Early life

Brook was born in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London, the son of George Alfred Brook and Charlotte Mary Brook. He attended Dulwich College because of his father's desire for him to be a lawyer, but family financial problems caused him to leave at age 15. He then studied elocution at a polytechnic. He served in the

Artists' Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles is a regiment of the Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, the regimen ...

in the First World War, rising to the rank of Major. Brook was tall and had brown hair with grey eyes. Before Brook went into acting, he worked as a journalist and an insurance clerk. He first appeared on stage in 1918 and also in films from 1919. He worked first in British films then in

Hollywood

Brook debuted on film in '' Trent's Last Case'' (1920). He was memorable in

Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...

's '' Underworld'' (1927) as an alcoholic ex-lawyer who is taken under the wing of a professional thief. Von Sternberg later featured him in one of Brook's best remembered appearances, playing opposite Marlene Dietrich in '' Shanghai Express'' (1932). He played

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

three times: ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes'' and ''Sherlock Holmes'' (in that order), and as part of an

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

, '' Paramount on Parade'' (1930). In 1934 he was voted one of the most popular stars at the British box office. At the end of his career, Brook appeared in a number of British television dramas, notably in the "ITV Play of the Week" strand on the fledgling Independent Television commercial channel. He returned to film one last time in '' The List of Adrian Messenger'' (1963).

Return to England

Brook returned to England in 1935 because of kidnapping threats toward his children. In 1943, he adapted the comedy ''On Approval'' by Frederick Lonsdale and wrote, produced, directed and starred in the film with

Beatrice Lillie Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1989), known as Bea Lillie, was a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedic performer. She began to perform as a child with her mother and sister. She made her West End debu ...

Googie Withers Georgette Lizette Withers, CBE, AO (12 March 191715 July 2011), known professionally as Googie Withers, was an English entertainer who was a dancer and actress with a lengthy career spanning some nine decades in theatre, film, and television. ...

and Roland Culver. The costumes were by Cecil Beaton. In 1949 he presented the radio series ''The Secrets of Scotland Yard''. In 1956 he appeared on stage in ''One Bright Day'' at the Apollo Theatre in London.

Broadway

Brook starred as Josiah Bolton in the comedy ''Second Threshold'' from 2 January 1951 until 21 April 1951.

Death

Brook died 17 November 1974 in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, London.

Family

In 1920, Brook married Charlotte Elisabeth Mildred Evelyn. Their children, Faith and Lyndon, were also actors.

Complete filmography

* '' Trent's Last Case'' (1920) - John Marlow * '' Kissing Cup's Race'' (1920) - Lord Rattlington * ''

Her Penalty ''Her Penalty'' is a 1921 British silent drama film directed by Einar Bruun and starring Stewart Rome, Pauline Peters and Clive Brook.Low p.380 Cast * Stewart Rome as James Fenwick * Pauline Peters as Vera Trenchard * Clive Brook as Robe ...

'' (1921) - Robert Trenchard * '' The Loudwater Mystery'' (1921) - Lord Loudwater * ''

Daniel Deronda ''Daniel Deronda'' is a novel written by Mary Ann Evans under the pen name of George Eliot, first published in eight parts (books) February to September 1876. It was the last novel she completed and the only one set in the Victorian society ...

'' (1921) - Mallinger Grandcourt * ''

A Sportsman's Wife ''A Sportsman's Wife'' is a 1921 British silent sports film directed by Walter West and starring Violet Hopson, Gregory Scott and Clive Brook. Cast * Violet Hopson - Jessica Dunders * Gregory Scott - Harry Kerr * Clive Brook - Dick Anderso ...

'' (1921) - Dick Anderson * '' Sonia'' (1921) - David O'Raine * '' Christie Johnstone'' (1921) - Astral Hither * '' Vanity Fair'' (1922, Short) - Rawdon Crawley * ''The Sheik'' (1922, Short) - The Sheik * '' A Tale of Two Cities'' (1922, Short) - Sydney Carton * '' Shirley'' (1922) - Robert Moore * '' Married to a Mormon'' (1922) - Lionel Daventry * ''

Stable Companions ''Stable Companions'' is a 1922 British silent sports film directed by Albert Ward and starring Clive Brook, Lillian Hall-Davis and Robert English. It is set in the world of horse racing. Cast * Clive Brook as James Pilkington * Lillian Hal ...

'' (1922) - James Pilkington * ''Rigoletto'' (1922, Short) - Duke of Mantua * ''La traviata'' (1922, Short) - Alfred Germont * ''The Parson's Fight'' (1922, Short) - Parson * ''Sir Rupert's Wife'' (1922, Short) - Sir Rupert Leigh * ''

The Experiment ''The Experiment'' is a 2002 BBC documentary series in which 15 men are randomly selected to be either "prisoner" or guard, contained in a simulated prison over an eight-day period. Produced by Steve Reicher and Alex Haslam, it presents the fi ...

'' (1922) - Vivian Caryll * ''Tense Moments with Great Authors'' (1922) - Rawdon Crawley (segment "Vanity Fair") / Sydney Carton (segment "Tale of Two Cities, A") * ''Tense Moments from Opera'' (1922) - Duke of Mantna / Alfred Germont (segments "Rigoletto", "La Traviata") * ''Love and a Whirlwind'' (1922) - Grifftih * '' A Debt of Honour'' (1922) - Walter Hyde * ''

Through Fire and Water ''Through Fire and Water'' is a 1923 British silent adventure film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Clive Brook, Flora le Breton and Lawford Davidson. It was based on the 1922 novel '' Greensea Island'' by Victor Bridges. Cast * Clive ...

'' (1923) - John Dryden * ''

This Freedom ''This Freedom'' is a 1923 British silent drama film directed by Denison Clift and starring Fay Compton, Clive Brook, and John Stuart. It was based on the novel ''This Freedom'' by A.S.M. Hutchinson Arthur Stuart-Menteth Hutchinson (2 J ...

'' (1923) - Harry Occleve * '' Out to Win'' (1923) - Barraclough / Altar * '' The Royal Oak'' (1923) - Dorian Clavering * '' The Reverse of the Medal'' (1923, Short) - General * '' Woman to Woman'' (1923) - David Compton / David Anson-Pond * '' The Money Habit'' (1924) - Noel Jason * '' The Recoil'' (1924) - Marchmont * '' The White Shadow'' (1924)Rare Alfred Hitchcock film footage uncovered
– BBC News, 3 August 2011, retrieved 4 August 2011. - Robin Field * '' The Wine of Life'' (1924) - Michael Strong * '' The Passionate Adventure'' (1924) - Adrien St. Clair * '' Christine of the Hungry Heart'' (1924) - Dr. Alan Monteagle * '' Human Desires'' (1924) - Georges Gautier * '' The Mirage'' (1924) - Henry Galt * '' Declassée'' (1925) - Rudolph Solomon * '' Enticement'' (1925) - Henry Wallis * '' Playing with Souls'' (1925) - Matthew Dale Sr. * '' If Marriage Fails'' (1925) - Joe Woodbury * ''

The Woman Hater ''The Woman Hater, or, The Hungry Courtier'' is an early Jacobean era stage play, a comedy by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. One of the earliest of their collaborations, it was the first of their plays to appear in print, in 1607. Date ...

'' (1925) - Miles - the Woman-hater * '' The Home Maker'' (1925) - Lester Knapp * '' Compromise'' (1925) - Alan Tahyer * '' Seven Sinners'' (1925) - Jerry Winters * '' Pleasure Buyers'' (1925) - Tad Workman * '' When Love Grows Cold'' (1926) - Jerry Benson * '' Three Faces East'' (1926) - Valdar * ''

Why Girls Go Back Home ''Why Girls Go Back Home'' is a lost 1926 American silent comedy drama film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. James Flood directed and Patsy Ruth Miller and Clive Brook starred. Myrna Loy has a feature role. The film is a sequel to Warner ...

'' (1926) - Clifford Dudley * ''

You Never Know Women ''You Never Know Women'' is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film from director William Wellman that was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The stars of the picture are Florence Vidor, Lowell Sherman, ...

'' (1926) - Norodin * '' For Alimony Only'' (1926) - Peter Williams * ''

The Popular Sin ''The Popular Sin'' is a 1926 American comedy silent film directed by Malcolm St. Clair, written by Monta Bell and James Ashmore Creelman, and starring Florence Vidor, Clive Brook, Greta Nissen, Philip Strange, George Beranger, and Iris Gray. ...

'' (1926) - Jean Corot * '' Afraid to Love'' (1927) - Sir Reginald Belsize * ''

Barbed Wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...

'' (1927) - Oskar Muller * '' Underworld'' (1927) - Rolls-Royce Wensel * '' Hula'' (1927) - Anthony Haldane * '' The Devil Dancer'' (1927) - Stephen Athelstan * '' French Dressing, aka ''Lessons for Wives'' (1927) - Henri de Briac * '' Midnight Madness'' (1928) - Michael Bream * ''

Yellow Lily ''Yellow Lily'' is a 1928 American silent film, silent drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Billie Dove, Clive Brook and Gustav von Seyffertitz. The film closely followed the formula of Korda's first American film ''The Stolen Br ...

'' (1928) - Archduke Alexander * '' The Perfect Crime'' (1928) - Benson * '' Forgotten Faces'' (1928) - Heliotrope Harry Harlow * '' Interference'' (1928) - Sir John Marlay * '' A Dangerous Woman'' (1929) - Frank Gregory * '' The Four Feathers'' (1929) - Lt. Jack Durrance * '' Charming Sinners'' (1929) - Robert Miles * ''

The Return of Sherlock Holmes ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes'' is a 1905 collection of 13 Sherlock Holmes stories, originally published in 1903–1904, by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The stories were published in the '' Strand Magazine'' in Britain and ''Collier's'' i ...

'' (1929) -

* '' The Marriage Playground'' (1929) - On-Screen Trailer Host and Narrator (uncredited) * ''

The Laughing Lady ''The Laughing Lady'' is a 1946 British Technicolor musical drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Anne Ziegler, Webster Booth and Francis L. Sullivan. Based on a play by Ingram D'Abbes, its plot follows a young aristocrat who ma ...

'' (1929) - Daniel Farr * '' Slightly Scarlet'' (1930) - Hon. Courtenay Parkes * '' Paramount on Parade'' (1930) - Sherlock Holmes (Murder Will Out) * ''

Sweethearts and Wives ''Sweethearts and Wives'' is a 1930 American pre-Code mystery film with comedic elements produced and released by First National Pictures and directed by Clarence G. Badger. The film stars Billie Dove, Clive Brook, Sidney Blackmer and Leila Hyam ...

'' (1930) - Reginald De Brett * '' Anybody's Woman'' (1930) - Neil Dunlap * '' Scandal Sheet'' (1931) - Noel Adams * ''

East Lynne ''East Lynne'' is an English sensation novel of 1861 by Ellen Wood, writing as Mrs Henry Wood. A Victorian best-seller, it is remembered chiefly for its elaborate and implausible plot, centring on infidelity and double identities. There have ...

'' (1931) - Capt. William Levison * '' Tarnished Lady'' (1931) - Norman Cravath * '' The Lawyer's Secret'' (1931) - Drake Norris * '' Silence'' (1931) - Jim Warren * '' 24 Hours'' (1931) - Jim Towner * '' Husband's Holiday'' (1931) - George Boyd * '' Shanghai Express'' (1932) - Captain Donald Harvey * ''

The Man from Yesterday ''The Man from Yesterday'' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic war drama film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Berthold Viertel, and written by Oliver H. P. Garrett, based on a story by Neil Blackwell and Rowland G. Edwards. Plot In P ...

'' (1932) - Captain Tony Clyde * '' Make Me a Star'' (1932) - Himself (uncredited) * '' The Night of June 13'' (1932) - John Curry * ''

'' (1932) - Sherlock Holmes * '' Cavalcade'' (1933) - Robert Marryot * '' Midnight Club'' (1933) - Colin Grant * '' If I Were Free'' (1933) - Gordon Evers * '' Gallant Lady'' (1934) - Dan Pritchard * '' Where Sinners Meet'' (1934) - Mr. Latimer * ''

Let's Try Again ''Let's Try Again'' is a 1934 American melodrama film starring Clive Brook. It was known in Britain as ''Marriage Symphony''. It earned $183,000 at the box office at a time when a film of its budget was expected to earn $250,000.Richard Jewell a ...

'' (1934) - Dr. Jack Overton * '' The Dictator'' (1935) - Dr. Friedrich Struensee * '' Dressed to Thrill'' (1935) - Bill Trent * '' Love in Exile'' (1936) - King Regis VI * '' Lonely Road'' (1936) - Malcolm Stevenson * '' Action for Slander'' (1937) - Maj. George Daviot * '' The Ware Case'' (1938) - Sir Hubert Ware * '' Return to Yesterday'' (1940) - Robert Maine * '' Convoy'' (1940) - Captain Armitage * '' Freedom Radio'' (1941) - Karl * '' Breach of Promise'' (1942) - Peter Conroy * '' The Flemish Farm'' (1943) - Maj. Lessart * ''

The Shipbuilders ''The Shipbuilders'' is a 1943 British drama film directed by John Baxter and starring Clive Brook, Morland Graham and Nell Ballantyne. The film is set in a Clyde shipyard in the build-up to the Second World War. It was made by British Natio ...

'' (1943) - Leslie Pagan * '' On Approval'' (1944, also director, producer and screenwriter) - George, 10th Duke of Bristol * '' The List of Adrian Messenger'' (1963) - Marquis of Gleneyre

References

Bibliography

* Scott, Ian. ''From Pinewood to Hollywood: British Filmmakers in American Cinema, 1910–1969''. Palgrave MacMillan, 2010.

External links

*
Photographs of Clive Brook
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brook, Clive 1887 births 1974 deaths People from Islington (district) Male actors from London English male stage actors English male silent film actors English male film actors 20th-century English male actors Artists' Rifles officers British Army personnel of World War I People educated at Dulwich College British expatriate male actors in the United States Paramount Pictures contract players