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John Longden
John Longden
	Longden in 1931
Born	11 November 1900; West Indies
Died	26 May 1971 (aged 70); London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1926–1964
Spouse	Jean Jay

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.

Biography

Longden was born in the West Indies, the son of a Methodist missionary, and was educated at Kingswood School, Bath, Somerset. Originally intending to be a mining engineer, he worked for two years in a coal mine in Yorkshire, where he started acting in amateur theatrical companies. An introduction to Seymour Hicks saw him start acting on the legitimate stage, 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 and Birmingham repertory theatres. He also appeared in The Farmer's Wife, produced by Barry Jackson at the Court Theatre in London for two years.^[1]

About this time Longden began to appear in silent films. He signed a contract with Gaumont British Pictures to write and act, earning a notable success with Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail (1929).^[2] He also directed the 1932 quota quickie Come Into My Parlour which was released by MGM.

Australian interlude

Longden went to Australia in 1933 to perform in several plays.^[3] While there he appeared in the film The Silence of Dean Maitland (1934) for Cinesound Productions.^[4]

The performance was so well received Longden took roles in two more films for the same company, Thoroughbred (1936) and It Isn't Done (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.^[5] 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 to Brisbane. A company called Highway Productions was formed with Frederick Ward^[6] and a capital of £10,000 but the film was not made.^[7]

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, Shaftesbury Avenue, in 1938^[8]) and film (including An Honourable Murder (1960), an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", in which he played tycoon 'Julian Caesar'). He appeared on several episodes of season one of The Adventures of Robin Hood 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 (1929) - Man from China (uncredited)
Blackmail (1929) - Detective Frank Webber
Atlantic (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
Thoroughbred (1936) - Bill Peel
It Isn't Done (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 (1939) - Peters
Jamaica Inn (1939) - Captain Johnson (uncredited)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) - Raven (uncredited)
The Lion Has Wings (1939)
Contraband (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 (1948) - Gen. Serpuhousky
The Last Load (1948) - Mr. Potter
Bonnie Prince Charlie (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
Pool of London (1951) - Det. Insp. Williams
The Dark Light (1951) - Stephen
The Magic Box (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

^ 'JOHN LONGDEN To Act for Australian Film', The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 26 June 1933 p14
^ 'JOHN LONGDEN'S CAREER' The Brisbane Courier (Qld) Wednesday 19 July 1933 p14
^ John Longden's Australian theatre credits
^ "WHO ARE OUR POTENTIAL STARS?". Table Talk. Melbourne. 31 August 1933. p. 17. Retrieved 16 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ""The Silence of Dean Maitland" Filmed in Record Time". The West Australian. Vol. 50, no. 9, 894. Western Australia. 16 March 1934. p. 3. Retrieved 19 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Prefers Comedy to Drama". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. II, no. 30. 29 December 1934. p. 18. Retrieved 18 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "English Actor". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 November 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 9 August 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Steve (31 August 2013). "Bear Alley: Hans W. Priwin". Bear Alley. Retrieved 25 May 2023.