Recherchez un film ou une personnalité :
FacebookConnexionInscription
Emlyn Williams est un Acteur, Réalisateur, Scénariste et Dialogue additionnel Britannique né le 26 novembre 1905

Emlyn Williams

Emlyn Williams
Si vous aimez cette personne, faites-le savoir !
Nom de naissance George Emlyn Williams
Nationalité Royaume-uni
Naissance 26 novembre 1905
Mort 25 septembre 1987 (à 81 ans) à Londres (Royaume-uni)
Récompenses Commandeur de l'ordre de l'Empire britannique

Emlyn Williams est un acteur, scénariste et réalisateur britannique, né le 26 novembre 1905 à Mostyn (Royaume-Uni), mort le 25 septembre 1987 à Londres (Royaume-Uni).

Biographie

He was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family in Glan-yr-afon, Mostyn, Flintshire.

Aged 11 he won a scholarship to Holywell Grammar School. At the end of his time at the grammar school he won a scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford where he read French and Italian and joined the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS).

His first full-length play, Full Moon, was premiered at the original Oxford Playhouse in 1927, the year he joined a repertory company and began his stage career. By 1930, he had expanded his writing with works such as A Murder Has Been Arranged and The Late Christopher Bean. He became an overnight star, however, with his thriller Night Must Fall (1935), in which he also played the lead role of a psychopathic murderer. The play was noted for its exploration of the killer's complex psychological state, a step forward for its genre. It was made into a film in 1937 with Robert Montgomery, and again in 1964 with Albert Finney. It has been frequently revived, including on Broadway in 1999 with Matthew Broderick and most recently in the West End with Jason Donovan.

His other great play was very different: The Corn is Green (1938), partly based on his own childhood in Wales. He starred as a Welsh schoolboy in the play's London premiere. The play came to Broadway in 1940 with Ethel Barrymore as the schoolteacher Miss Moffat, a character modelled closely on Williams's real boyhood schoolteacher, Miss Sarah Grace Cooke. A 1950 Broadway revival starred Eva La Gallienne. The play was turned into a film starring Bette Davis, and again into a made-for-television film starring Katharine Hepburn, under the direction of Williams's close friend George Cukor. An attempt to turn the play into a musical in the 1970s, with Davis again in the role of the schoolteacher with lyrics by Williams, failed. So did a Broadway revival in 1983 starring Cicely Tyson and Peter Gallagher. But a 1985 London revival at the Old Vic with Deborah Kerr was successful, as was a 2007 production at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. That production starred Kate Burton. Williams was a close friend of Kate's parents, Richard Burton and Burton's first wife, Sybil. In the Williamstown production, the schoolboy — the role created by and modeled on Williams himself — was played by Kate Burton's son, Morgan Ritchie.

His autobiographical light comedy, The Druid's Rest was first performed at the St Martin's Theatre, London, in 1944. It saw the stage debut of Richard Burton whom Williams had spotted at an audition in Cardiff. The play has been revived at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in both 1976 and 2005, and received its first London revival in sixty years at London's Finborough Theatre in 2009.

In addition to stage plays, Williams wrote a number of film screenplays, working with Alfred Hitchcock (on The Man Who Knew Too Much), Carol Reed and other directors. He acted in and contributed dialogue to various films based on the novels of A.J. Cronin, including The Citadel (1938), The Stars Look Down (1939), Hatter's Castle (1942) and Web of Evidence (1959). He played the mad Roman emperor Caligula in an uncompleted 1937 film version of Robert Graves's novel I, Claudius (with Charles Laughton); a kindly veterinarian who accidentally causes the death of a murderess (played by Bette Davis) in the 1952 suspense drama Another Man's Poison; and the fool Wamba in the 1952 Ivanhoe (with Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor). Other screen credits include Hitchcock's adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn (with Charles Laughton), Gabriel Pascal's film version of George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara (with Wendy Hiller and Rex Harrison), José Ferrer's I Accuse! (playing Émile Zola), The Wreck of the Mary Deare (with Gary Cooper), The L-Shaped Room (with Leslie Caron), and a made-for-TV adaptation of Charles Dickens's David Copperfield (with an all-star cast including Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave, Ralph Richardson and Edith Evans).

In 1941 Williams starred in the film You Will Remember, directed by Jack Raymond and written by Sewell Stokes and Lydia Hayward. The film is based on the life of the popular late Victorian songwriter Leslie Stuart, played here by Robert Morley, with Williams as Stuart's best friend. Also in 1941, he had a principal supporting part (as Snobby Price) in Gabriel Pascal's filming of George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara.

His only film as a director, The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949), which he also wrote and starred in, marked the screen debut of his fellow Welshman, Richard Burton.

Williams often appeared in his own plays, and was famous for his one-man-shows, with which he toured the world, playing Charles Dickens in an evening of excerpts from Dickens' novels. This "one man show" was the start of a whole new theatrical genre. He followed up his Dickens performance with one man shows based on the works of Dylan Thomas, Dylan Thomas Growing Up, and H.H. Munro better known under his pseudonym Saki.

His post-war acting credits included The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan and The Deputy aka The Representative by Rolf Hochhuth on Broadway. He also was the "voice" of Lloyd-George in the seminal BBC documentary The Great War (1964).

Among Williams' other books was the best seller Beyond Belief: A Chronicle of Murder and its Detection (1968), a semi-fictionalised account of the Moors murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. His 1980 novel Headlong, the fictional story of the unexpected death of the entire British royal family in a freak accident in 1930, and the ascension of a most unlikely heir to the British throne as a result, was the loose basis of the 1991 motion picture King Ralph which stars John Goodman, Peter O'Toole, John Hurt and Camille Coduri. It was a comedic treatment of Headlong and was set in the contemporary United Kingdom. Goodman's character is a failed lounge singer named Ralph Jones whose grandmother had an affair with the fictional Duke of Warren, in the line of succession of the "House of Windam", a not too subtle play on the House of Windsor, the current royal house of the sitting monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. King Ralph mentions the "House of Stuart" as the antagonist's royal House, which was in fact the actual royal house 200 years before the Windsors. John Hurt plays Lord Percival Graves, the antagonist plotting to regain the throne for the House of Stuart, and for himself as the first in the House of Stuart's line of succession. King Ralph did reasonably well at the box office in 1991.

Williams' autobiography, in the volumes George (1961) and Emlyn (1973), was also highly successful. In both books, he wrote frankly of his homosexual experiences; indeed, he was publicly "out" as a bisexual before other better-known gay literary celebrities, such as his close friend and contemporary Christopher Isherwood.

Williams was married in 1935 to actress Mary Marjorie O'Shann (Molly Shan), who died in 1970. They had two sons, Alan, a writer, and Brook, an actor. Brook Williams became a close friend of Richard Burton's, working as Burton's personal assistant and appearing in many of Burton's films, sometimes even dubbing Burton's voice.

But both during his marriage and following his wife's death, Williams was actively bisexual throughout his adult life. He maintained a relationship from 1981 to 1986 with American theatre journalist Albert N. Williams (no relation), whom Emlyn Williams met while appearing at the Northlight Theatre in the Chicago area with his one-man Charles Dickens show. (Albert Williams served as Emlyn Williams' personal assistant during a 1982 tour of England, Wales and Ireland with the Charles Dickens and Dylan Thomas solo shows.)

Emlyn Williams was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1962.

Emlyn Williams died at his flat in Dovehouse Street, Chelsea, London — aged 81, from complications from cancer on 25 September 1987.

Ses meilleurs films

Ivanhoé (1952)
(Acteur)
La Citadelle (1938)
(Acteur)

Le plus souvent avec

Source : Wikidata

Filmographie de Emlyn Williams (47 films)

Afficher la filmographie sous forme de liste

Acteur

The Walking Stick, 1h36
Réalisé par Eric Till
Origine Royaume-uni
Genres Drame, Policier, Romance
Acteurs David Hemmings, Samantha Eggar, Emlyn Williams, Phyllis Calvert, Ferdy Mayne, Francesca Annis
Rôle Jack Foil
Note64% 3.246673.246673.246673.246673.24667
The film tells the story of a young woman, 26-year-old Deborah Dainton (Samantha Eggar), who has a limp as a result of suffering from polio. Her rigid and controlled life is transformed when she meets a handsome stranger called Leigh Hartley (David Hemmings) at a party. After developing a friendship, romance soon blossoms and for the very first time in her life Deborah feels happy.
David Copperfield, 1h58
Réalisé par Delbert Mann
Origine Royaume-uni
Genres Drame
Acteurs Robin Phillips, Richard Attenborough, Ralph Richardson, Ron Moody, Cyril Cusack, Laurence Olivier
Rôle Mr. Dick
Note58% 2.9006252.9006252.9006252.9006252.900625
Charles Dickens' Immortal Story of a Young Man's Journey to Maturity. This version finds David Copperfield (Robin Phillips) as a young man, brooding on a deserted beach. In flashback, David remembers his life in 19th century England, as a young orphan, brought to London and passed around from relatives, to guardians, to boarding school. He relives his struggle to overcome the loss of his idyllic childhood and the torment inflicted by his hated step-father after his mother’s death. Then virtually abandoned on the streets of Victorian London, David Copperfield is flung into manhood and contends bravely with the perils of big-city corruption and vice; hardships which ultimately fuel his triumph as a talented and successful writer.
Le Mystère des treize, 1h32
Réalisé par J. Lee Thompson
Origine Royaume-uni
Genres Drame, Thriller, Horreur, Policier
Acteurs Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Donald Pleasence, David Hemmings, Sharon Tate, Edward Mulhare
Rôle Alain de Montfaucon
Note60% 3.0492053.0492053.0492053.0492053.049205
En Dordogne, la famille de lignée aristocratique des Montfaucon est propriétaire d'une grande exploitation viticole. Mais, depuis des générations, ses descendants mâles semblent être poursuivis par une terrible malédiction. Ils meurent tous de mort violente, pour le bien du village. Catherine de Montfaucon tente de dissuader Philippe, son époux, de perpétuer cette destinée. L'issue sera fatale, mais leur très jeune fils semble décidé à entretenir la tradition…
La Chambre Indiscrète, 2h6
Réalisé par Bryan Forbes
Origine Royaume-uni
Genres Drame, Romance
Thèmes La grossesse
Acteurs Leslie Caron, Brock Peters, Tom Bell, Bernard Lee, Cicely Courtneidge, Patricia Phoenix
Rôle le docteur Weaver
Note72% 3.6418053.6418053.6418053.6418053.641805
Jane Fosset, une Française dans la trentaine, quitte sa province pour Londres où elle a une aventure avec un jeune acteur au chômage rencontré dans la rue. Elle loue une chambre meublée en forme de L dans une pension miteuse du quartier de Notting Hill et, découvrant qu'elle est enceinte, envisage d'avorter. Après une consultation chez un gynécologue de fortune, elle décide de garder l'enfant. Elle noue une relation amoureuse avec Toby, un locataire de la pension et écrivain en mal d'inspiration. Leur histoire d'amour déplaît à Johnny, un jazzman voisin de Jane et ami de Toby. Johnny sait que Jane est enceinte, car il entend tout à travers la cloison mince comme du papier. Il révèle la grossesse de Jane à Toby qui la quitte brutalement. Désespérée, Jane tente d'avorter en ingurgitant des pilules. Sa tentative échoue et, finalement, c'est avec soulagement qu'elle accepte sa grossesse. Toby lui revient, mais refuse la paternité de l'enfant. Il rend visite à Jane à l'hôpital où elle a accouché et lui présente le manuscrit qu'il vient d'achever, une histoire intitulée La Chambre en forme de L.
Fils de forçat, 1h30
Réalisé par Jack Cardiff
Origine Royaume-uni
Genres Drame, Policier
Acteurs Van Johnson, Vera Miles, Emlyn Williams, Bernard Lee, Jean Kent, Moultrie Kelsall
Rôle Enoch Oswald
Note62% 3.145223.145223.145223.145223.14522
A la fin des années 50, un jeune homme Paul Mathry (Van Johnson) débarque à Liverpool. Il vient des Etats Unis pour retrouver les traces de son père, mort héroïquement pendant la guerre d’après sa mère. Mais il apprend rapidement une fois à Liverpool que celui-ci est toujours vivant et qu’il est emprisonné depuis vingt ans pour meurtre !
Cargaison dangereuse, 1h45
Réalisé par Michael Anderson
Origine Etats-Unis
Genres Drame, Thriller, Action, Aventure, Policier
Thèmes La mer, Transport
Acteurs Gary Cooper, Charlton Heston, Michael Redgrave, Emlyn Williams, Cecil Parker, Alexander Knox
Rôle Sir Wilfred Falcett
Note66% 3.345823.345823.345823.345823.34582
Lorsque John Sands aux commandes de son remorqueur évite la collision avec le « Mary Deare » de Hong Kong lors d’une effroyable tempête, il ignore encore que celui-ci a été ravagé par un incendie et qu’il dérive avec un seul homme à son bord, le second du navire, Gideon Patch. Ensemble, les deux hommes remettent en marche les moteurs et font cap vers les côtes françaises. Mais Patch fait volontairement échouer le navire sur les récifs des Minquiers à proximité de Saint Malo.
L'Affaire Dreyfus, 1h32
Réalisé par José Ferrer
Origine Royaume-uni
Genres Drame, Biographie, Historique
Thèmes Espionnage, Le racisme, Religion, Religion juive, Histoire de France
Acteurs Anton Walbrook, José Ferrer, Viveca Lindfors, Leo Genn, Emlyn Williams, David Farrar
Rôle Émile Zola
Note71% 3.5889753.5889753.5889753.5889753.588975
Accusé à tort d'espionnage, le capitaine Alfred Dreyfus fut dégradé et condamné à la déportation à vie.
Ivanhoé
Ivanhoé (1952)
, 1h46
Réalisé par Richard Thorpe
Origine Etats-Unis
Genres Drame, Cape et d'épée, Action, Aventure, Historique, Romance
Acteurs Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Emlyn Williams, Felix Aylmer
Rôle Wamba
Note67% 3.3502053.3502053.3502053.3502053.350205
La quête épique et romanesque d'un jeune chevalier, fidèle à son roi, pour reconquérir son honneur, son rang, le cœur de sa belle, et libérer son pays de l'oppression exercée sur le peuple par un prince félon.
La Boîte magique, 1h58
Réalisé par John Boulting, Roy Boulting, Cliff Owen
Origine Royaume-uni
Genres Drame, Biographie
Acteurs Robert Donat, Margaret Johnston, Maria Schell, Robert Beatty, Margaret Rutherford, Janette Scott
Rôle Bank Manager
Note69% 3.4913353.4913353.4913353.4913353.491335
Un assistant photographe décide de s'installer à son compte avec l'idée de produire des images animées, mais son entreprise est ruinée et il doit rembourser ses créanciers.
Jezebel
Jezebel (1951)
, 1h30
Réalisé par Irving Rapper
Origine Royaume-uni
Genres Drame, Thriller, Policier
Thèmes Adaptation d'une pièce de théâtre
Acteurs Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Emlyn Williams, Anthony Steel, Barbara Murray, Reginald Beckwith
Rôle Dr. Henderson
Note67% 3.3971453.3971453.3971453.3971453.397145
La vie d'une romancière est perturbée par la réapparition de son mari, un truand en cavale. Amoureuse d'un voisin, elle se débarrasse de son époux qui pourrait lui causer du tort. Mais, bientôt se présente un ami du malfrat .....
Three Husbands, 1h18
Réalisé par Irving Reis
Origine Etats-Unis
Genres Comédie, Romance
Acteurs Eve Arden, Ruth Warrick, Vanessa Brown, Howard Da Silva, Shepperd Strudwick, Robert Karnes
Rôle Maxwell Bard
Note55% 2.7585552.7585552.7585552.7585552.758555
When a recently deceased playboy, Max, gets to heaven, he is granted a wish. His request: to watch his three best friends, with whom he regularly played poker, for the next 24 hours. That day, each man would receive a letter; tomorrow, Max's will is to be read. Each letter states that he had an affair with that man's wife, all of with whom he was close. With one, Max attended Friday symphony matinees and had tea afterwards; with another, he went to night clubs and taught French; the last, he repeatedly hired as his nurse through his long battle with heart disease.
Le Foulard
Le Foulard (1951)
, 1h33
Réalisé par Ewald André Dupont
Origine Etats-Unis
Genres Drame, Thriller, Noir, Policier
Acteurs John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge, James Barton, Emlyn Williams, James Barton, Lloyd Gough
Rôle Dr. David Dunbar
Note66% 3.3366153.3366153.3366153.3366153.336615
John Howard Barrington (John Ireland) est enfermé pour meurtre à l'asile d'Alcanta. Il a perdu la mémoire et a échappé de peu à la peine de mort. Il finit par s'enfuir de l'asile à travers le désert pour se libérer et prouver son innocence. Il arrive par mégarde chez Ezra Thompson (James Barton), un éleveur de dindons solitaire. John lui raconte sa perte de mémoire et la raison de son enprisonnement. Ezra le protège et l'héberge malgré la rançon promise. Après s'être caché pendant plusieurs semaines, John commence à se rendre en ville pour enquêter. Il y fait notamment la connaissance de Connie Carter (Mercedes McCambridge) .
The Last Days of Dolwyn
Réalisé par Emlyn Williams, Russell Lloyd
Origine Royaume-uni
Genres Drame
Acteurs Edith Evans, Richard Burton, Emlyn Williams, Anthony James, Barbara Couper, Allan Aynesworth
Rôle Rob
Note69% 3.4780153.4780153.4780153.4780153.478015
The story is set in 1892 in and around the small peaceful (fictional) farming village of Dolwyn in Mid-Wales.