Robert Montgomery
Acting • Born 1904-05-21 – Died 1981-09-27
Biography
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.
Filmography
86 credits
Lady in the Lake
Movie • 1946
Phillip Marlowe
Estrellados
Movie • 1930
Self (Guest Appearance at Premiere)
Blondie of the Follies
Movie • 1932
Larry Belmont
Ingrid Bergman Remembered
Movie • 1996
Self (archive footage)
Inspiration
Movie • 1931
André Montell
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Movie • 1941
David
Ever Since Eve
Movie • 1937
Freddy Matthews
Rage in Heaven
Movie • 1941
Philip Monrell
Free and Easy
Movie • 1930
Larry
Hide-Out
Movie • 1934
Jonathan 'Lucky' Wilson
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Movie • 1941
Joe Pendleton
The Big House
Movie • 1930
Kent Marlowe
They Were Expendable
Movie • 1945
Lt. John Brickley
Ride the Pink Horse
Movie • 1947
Lucky Gagin
Three Loves Has Nancy
Movie • 1938
Malcolm 'Mal' Niles
The Divorcee
Movie • 1930
Don
Hollywood Handicap
Movie • 1938
Himself
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Movie • 1937
Lord Arthur Dilling
Your Witness
Movie • 1950
Adam Heyward
Another Language
Movie • 1933
Victor Hallam
Night Must Fall
Movie • 1937
Danny
Night Flight
Movie • 1933
Auguste Pellerin
Unfinished Business
Movie • 1941
Tommy Duncan
The Man in Possession
Movie • 1931
Raymond Dabney
Strangers May Kiss
Movie • 1931
Steve
Private Lives
Movie • 1931
Elyot Chase
Their Own Desire
Movie • 1929
John 'Jack' Douglas Cheever
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Movie • 1972
Self (archive footage)
June Bride
Movie • 1948
Carey Jackson
Forsaking All Others
Movie • 1934
Dillon 'Dill" Todd
No More Ladies
Movie • 1935
Sheridan 'Sherry' Warren
Petticoat Fever
Movie • 1936
Dascom Dinsmore
The Secret Land
Movie • 1948
Narrator
The Earl of Chicago
Movie • 1940
Robert Kilmount
Our Blushing Brides
Movie • 1930
Tony Jardine
The Easiest Way
Movie • 1931
Jack Madison
Busman's Honeymoon
Movie • 1940
Lord Peter Wimsey
The Saxon Charm
Movie • 1948
Matt Saxon
Letty Lynton
Movie • 1932
Hale Darrow
The Mystery of Mr. X
Movie • 1934
Nicholas Revel
Piccadilly Jim
Movie • 1936
James Crocker, Jr.
Yellow Jack
Movie • 1938
John O'Hara
War Nurse
Movie • 1930
Wally O'Brien
Biography of a Bachelor Girl
Movie • 1935
Richard 'Dickie' Kurt
Love in the Rough
Movie • 1930
Kelly
The Sins of the Children
Movie • 1930
Nick Higginson
Untamed
Movie • 1929
Andy McAllister
Shipmates
Movie • 1931
John Paul Jones
Faithless
Movie • 1932
William 'Bill' Wade
Lovers Courageous
Movie • 1932
Willie Smith
But the Flesh Is Weak
Movie • 1932
Max Clement
Made on Broadway
Movie • 1933
Jeff
Live, Love and Learn
Movie • 1937
Bob Graham
Vanessa: Her Love Story
Movie • 1935
Benjamin Herries
Trouble for Two
Movie • 1936
Prince Florizel
When Ladies Meet
Movie • 1933
Jimmie
So This Is College
Movie • 1929
Biff
Fugitive Lovers
Movie • 1934
Paul Porter, aka Stephen Blaine
Riptide
Movie • 1934
Tommie L. Trent
Fast and Loose
Movie • 1939
Joel Sloane
Hell Below
Movie • 1933
Lieut. Thomas Knowlton USN
Once More, My Darling
Movie • 1949
Collier Laing
Three Live Ghosts
Movie • 1929
William Foster
The First Hundred Years
Movie • 1938
David Conway
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
Movie • 2004
Self (archive footage)
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
Movie • 2006
Self (archive footage)
The Single Standard
Movie • 1929
Party Boy (uncredited)
Going Hollywood
Movie • 1933
Himself - Premiere Clip (archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
Movie • 1974
(archive footage)
The Gallant Hours
Movie • 1960
Narration (American scenes)
The Voice of Hollywood
Movie • 1930
The Romance of Celluloid
Movie • 1937
Self
Breakdowns of 1949
Movie • 1949
Self
Complicated Women
Movie • 2003
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie • 1976
(archive footage)
From the Ends of the Earth
Movie • 1939
Self
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Movie • 1940
Self
Hollywood Goes to Town
Movie • 1938
Self
Jornal Português (1938-1951)
Movie • 2015
Self (archive footage)
Starlit Days at the Lido
Movie • 1935
Self
Lusitanian Illusion
Movie • 2010
Self (archive footage)
Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 8
Movie • 1935
The Colgate Comedy Hour
TV • 1950
Self
The Merv Griffin Show
TV • 1962
Self
Robert Montgomery Presents
TV • 1950
Self - Host
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self - Mystery Guest