John Longden (11 November 1900 – 26 May 1971) was a British film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1926 and 1964, including six films directed by

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

Biography

Longden was born in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, the son of a Methodist missionary, and was educated at Kingswood School,

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

. Originally intending to be a mining engineer, he worked for two years in a coal mine in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, where he started acting in amateur theatrical companies. An introduction to Seymour Hicks saw him start acting on the

legitimate stage Legitimate theatre is live performance that relies almost entirely on diegetic elements, with actors performing through speech and natural movement.Joyce M. Hawkins and Robert Allen, eds. "Legitimate" entry. ''The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dict ...

, beginning with a walk-on part in ''Old Bill, MP''. He played in ''My Old Dutch'' with Albert Chevalier, then spent time with the

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

repertory theatres. He also appeared in ''The Farmer's Wife'', produced by Barry Jackson at the Court Theatre in London for two years. About this time Longden began to appear in silent films. He signed a contract with

Gaumont British The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation was a British company that produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of France's Gaumont. Film production Gaumont-British was fou ...

Pictures to write and act, earning a notable success with

's ''

Blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

'' (1929). He also directed the 1932 quota quickie '' Come Into My Parlour'' which was released by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

Australian interlude

Longden went to Australia in 1933 to perform in several plays. While there he appeared in the film '' The Silence of Dean Maitland'' (1934) for Cinesound Productions. The performance was very well received. Longden took on the roles of two more films for the same company, ''

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

'' (1936) and ''

It Isn't Done ''It Isn't Done'' is a 1937 Australian comedy film about a grazier ( Cecil Kellaway) who inherits a barony in England. Synopsis Hubert Blaydon, an Australian farmer, inherits a baronial estate and moves to England with his wife and daughter Patr ...

'' (1937). In 1934 it was announced that he was going to play the lead in an adaptation of '' Robbery Under Arms'', but this film was never made. The same year Longden also announced he was going to act in and direct an Australian film called ''Highway Romance'', about an English man and Australian girl travelling from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. A company called Highway Productions was formed with Frederick Ward and a capital of £10,000 but the film was not made.

Later career

Longden returned to Britain where he continued to work steadily in theatre (including playing Inspector Hornleigh, a popular radio detective of the period, at the

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. It opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, with a capacity of 2,500. The current capacity is 1,416. The title "Shaftesbury Theatr ...

, Shaftesbury Avenue, in 1938) and film (including '' An Honourable Murder'' (1960), an adaptation of Shakespeare's "

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

", in which he played tycoon 'Julian Caesar'). He appeared on several episodes of season one of ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...

'' playing various characters, and returned for one episode in season three. He died in London, 26 May 1971, aged 70.

Selected filmography

* '' The Ball of Fortune'' (1926) - Daltry * '' The House of Marney'' (1927) - Richard * '' The Glad Eye'' (1927) - Floquet * '' The Flight Commander'' (1927) - Ivan * '' The Arcadians'' (1927) - Jack Meadows * '' Quinneys'' (1927) - Joseph Quinney * '' Mademoiselle Parley Voo'' (1928) - Le Beau - Illusionist * '' Palais de danse'' (1928) - No. 1 * ''What Money Can Buy'' (1928) - Ralph Tresham * '' You Know What Sailors Are'' (1928) - Minor Role * '' The Flying Squad'' (1929) - Inspector John Bradley * ''

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

'' (1929) - Man from China (uncredited) * ''

'' (1929) - Detective Frank Webber * ''

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

'' (1929) - Lanchester * '' The Last Post'' (1929) - David / Martin * '' Elstree Calling'' (1930) * '' The Flame of Love'' (1930) - Lieutenant Boris Boriskoff * '' Juno and the Paycock'' (1930) - Charles Bentham * '' Two Worlds'' (1930) - Lt. Stanislaus von Zaminsky (British Version) * '' Children of Chance'' (1930) - Jeffrey * '' The Skin Game'' (1931) - Charles Hornblower * '' Two Crowded Hours'' (1931, Short) - Harry Fielding * '' The Ringer'' (1931) - Inspector Wembury * '' Hindle Wakes'' (1931) - Boyfriend (uncredited) * '' Murder on the Second Floor'' (1932) - Warder Jackson * '' The Wickham Mystery'' (1932) - Harry Crawford * '' A Lucky Sweep'' (1932) - Bill Higgins * '' Rynox'' (1932) - Tony Benedik * '' Born Lucky'' (1933) - Frank Dale * '' The Silence of Dean Maitland'' (1934) - Dean Cyril Maitland * ''

'' (1936) - Bill Peel * ''

'' (1937) - Peter Ashton * '' French Leave'' (1937) - Lt. Glennister * '' Jennifer Hale'' (1937) - Police Inspector Merton * '' Young and Innocent'' (1937) - Det. Insp. Kent * ''Little Miss Somebody'' (1937) - Jim Trevor * '' Dial 999'' (1938) - Bill Waring * '' The Gaunt Stranger'' (1938) - Inspector Bliss * ''Bad Boy'' (1938) - Inspector Thompson * ''

Q Planes ''Q Planes'' (known as ''Clouds Over Europe'' in the United States) is a 1939 British comedy film, comedy spy film starring Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. Olivier and Richardson were a decade into their fifty-year friends ...

'' (1939) - Peters * '' Jamaica Inn'' (1939) - Captain Johnson (uncredited) * '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1939) - Raven (uncredited) * ''

The Lion Has Wings ''The Lion Has Wings'' is a 1939 British, black-and-white, documentary-style, propaganda film, propaganda war film that was directed by Adrian Brunel, Brian Desmond Hurst, Alexander Korda and Michael Powell. The film was produced by London Film ...

'' (1939) * ''

Contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") is any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It comprises goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes of the leg ...

'' (1940) - Passport Officer * '' Tower of Terror'' (1941) - Commandant * '' Old Mother Riley's Circus'' (1941) - Bill * '' The Common Touch'' (1941) - Stuart Gordon * '' This Was Paris'' (1942) - French Officer (uncredited) * '' One of Our Aircraft Is Missing'' (1942) - Ground Officer (uncredited) * '' Unpublished Story'' (1942) - Metcalf (uncredited) * '' Rose of Tralee'' (1942) - Paddy O'Brien * '' The Silver Fleet'' (1943) - Jost Meertens * '' Yellow Canary'' (1943) - Officer (uncredited) * '' Death by Design'' (1943) - Inspector Slade * '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946) - Narrator (voice, uncredited) * '' Dusty Bates'' (1947) - Tod Jenkins * '' The Ghosts of Berkeley Square'' (1947) - Mortimer Digby * ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

'' (1948) - Gen. Serpuhousky * ''The Last Load'' (1948) - Mr. Potter * ''

Bonnie Prince Charlie Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

'' (1948) - Col. O'Sullivan * ''Trapped by the Terror'' (1949) - Pierre * ''Feature Story'' (1949) * '' The Lady Craved Excitement'' (1950) - Inspector James * '' The Fighting Pimpernel'' (1950) - The Abbot * '' The Man Who Disappeared'' -

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

* ''

Pool of London The Pool of London is a stretch of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Limehouse. Part of the Tideway of the Thames, the Pool was navigable by tall-masted vessels bringing coastal and later overseas goods—the wharves there were t ...

'' (1951) - Det. Insp. Williams * '' The Dark Light'' (1951) - Stephen * ''

The Magic Box ''The Magic Box'' is a 1951 British Technicolor biographical drama film directed by John Boulting. The film stars Robert Donat as William Friese-Greene, with numerous cameo appearances by performers such as Peter Ustinov and Laurence Olivie ...

'' (1951) - Speaker in Connaught Rooms * '' Black Widow'' (1951) - Mr. Kemp * '' The Wallet'' (1952) - Man With Pipe * '' Dangerous Cargo'' (1954) - Worthington * '' Meet Mr. Callaghan'' (1954) - Jeremy Meraulton * '' The Ship That Died of Shame'' (1955) - The Detective * '' Alias John Preston'' (1955) - Richard Sandford * '' Count of Twelve'' (1955) - Simon Graves (episode "The Count of Twelve") * ''Raiders of the River'' (1956) - Professor Dykes * '' Quatermass 2'' (1957) - Lomax * '' Three Sundays to Live'' (1957) - Warder * '' Innocent Sinners'' (1958) - Admiral (uncredited) * '' Woman's Temptation'' (1959) - Inspector Syms * '' An Honourable Murder'' (1960) - Julian Caesar * '' So Evil, So Young'' (1961) - Turner * '' Lancelot and Guinevere'' (1963) - King Leodogran (uncredited) * '' The Man Who Finally Died'' (1963) - Munch (uncredited) * ''Frozen Alive'' (1964) - Prof. Hubbard

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Longden, John 1900 births 1971 deaths British expatriates in the British West Indies 20th-century English male actors British male silent film actors Immigrants to Australia People educated at Kingswood School, Bath