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"Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn" on TCM
I was surprised to learn from this solid documentary that most people know Howard from his role playing Ashley Wilkes in "Gone With the Wind," but if you are not an old movie fan, then, I guess, that is his most famous role. For me, "The Petrified Forest" and a jumble of smart pre-code movies whose titles and plots I can't always keep straight are what come to mind when I think of Howard. He's usually the morally confused and being-tested boyfriend, husband, businessman, artist, etc., juggling women, friendships and loyalty with honesty, concern for others and earnestness.
But apparently, in his day, he was most famous as a stage actor in England and then, on Broadway. Knowing that, I can see that it took Howard of few years to drop the "stage acting" from his movie acting (which I can't stand in general - see Norma Shearer for a textbook example). What I enjoy about Howard is his just-shy-of awkward sincerity and that he is too slight, too pale and has too reedy a voice to be a leading man, but he is anyway. His presence and on-screen integrity somehow power through all those not-leading-man features.
But while his on-screen persona reads character, he was a rapscallion in his personal life as he carried on many affairs with actresses despite having a wife and two children at home - who, apparently, pretty much knew about and accommodated those peccadilloes of the heart. At least presented here, he seems to have pulled it off without alienating the love of his children and, even, his wife. Since there seems to have been 360 degrees of consent, there's no early #MeToo moment here, but Holy Jesus living with your girlfriend during the week and wife and kids on the weekend has to make life quite complicated.
Regardless of his questionable morality in the romance department, he - as opposed some other British stars - gave up meaningful contractual money, security and a successful career in the US to return to England when it went to war as a matter of principal where he made propaganda films and appearances. Which serves to prove once again that humans rarely fit into neat boxes or accommodate easy moral judgements.
Most know what happened then - during a WWII promotional trip, his plane was shot down by the Germans giving rise to many theories (the Germans thought Churchill was on board, or a famous general was or they wanted Howard dead owning to his anti-nazi propaganda films). Regardless of why, he was a casualty of war, which we also learn cut short an aborning and promising career as a director.
The documentary has a bit of an old - but not boring - style that mainly follows his life's timeline (with the obligatory opening teaser), is anchored by interviews with family and friends (a few, surprisingly, still alive when filmed in 2015) and includes clips from his films and, better still, a decent amount of home movies. Like Howard overall, the documentary is substance over flash.
I was surprised to learn from this solid documentary that most people know Howard from his role playing Ashley Wilkes in "Gone With the Wind," but if you are not an old movie fan, then, I guess, that is his most famous role. For me, "The Petrified Forest" and a jumble of smart pre-code movies whose titles and plots I can't always keep straight are what come to mind when I think of Howard. He's usually the morally confused and being-tested boyfriend, husband, businessman, artist, etc., juggling women, friendships and loyalty with honesty, concern for others and earnestness.
But apparently, in his day, he was most famous as a stage actor in England and then, on Broadway. Knowing that, I can see that it took Howard of few years to drop the "stage acting" from his movie acting (which I can't stand in general - see Norma Shearer for a textbook example). What I enjoy about Howard is his just-shy-of awkward sincerity and that he is too slight, too pale and has too reedy a voice to be a leading man, but he is anyway. His presence and on-screen integrity somehow power through all those not-leading-man features.
But while his on-screen persona reads character, he was a rapscallion in his personal life as he carried on many affairs with actresses despite having a wife and two children at home - who, apparently, pretty much knew about and accommodated those peccadilloes of the heart. At least presented here, he seems to have pulled it off without alienating the love of his children and, even, his wife. Since there seems to have been 360 degrees of consent, there's no early #MeToo moment here, but Holy Jesus living with your girlfriend during the week and wife and kids on the weekend has to make life quite complicated.
Regardless of his questionable morality in the romance department, he - as opposed some other British stars - gave up meaningful contractual money, security and a successful career in the US to return to England when it went to war as a matter of principal where he made propaganda films and appearances. Which serves to prove once again that humans rarely fit into neat boxes or accommodate easy moral judgements.
Most know what happened then - during a WWII promotional trip, his plane was shot down by the Germans giving rise to many theories (the Germans thought Churchill was on board, or a famous general was or they wanted Howard dead owning to his anti-nazi propaganda films). Regardless of why, he was a casualty of war, which we also learn cut short an aborning and promising career as a director.
The documentary has a bit of an old - but not boring - style that mainly follows his life's timeline (with the obligatory opening teaser), is anchored by interviews with family and friends (a few, surprisingly, still alive when filmed in 2015) and includes clips from his films and, better still, a decent amount of home movies. Like Howard overall, the documentary is substance over flash.
