Howard was a major star of early film, and a gifted actor, playing romantics, egotists, detectives, scholars, and even a swashbuckler, but he is primarily remembered for his gruesome role as the effete Ashley in Gone With the Wind. His legacy deserves better. Hollywood never quite figured out what to do with him. He was handsome, with a fine clear British accent, but he didnât fit into the newly developing molds.
He started acting as therapy after he was discharged from the military during WWI. And so his career was framed by the great wars as he died when his plane was shot down by the Germans in WWII.
Iâll give a mention, if not clearly honorable, to Of Human Bondage (1934). It has multiple flaws and Howard is just so-so, but it has a memorable performance by Bette Davis that showed the world that she was an expert at portraying cruelty. An honorable mention to Captured! (1933), a prisoner of war film that slips in melodrama and Film Noir.
The first of two dishonorable mentions goes to Romeo and Juliet (1936), where thirty-four-year-old Howard, thirty-four-year-old Norma Shearer, and fifty-four-year-old John Barrymore prance around pretending to be teenagers. And a larger one goes to Gone With the Wind (1939), a racist and ridiculous melodrama (My critique). To his credit, Howard knew the film was garbage. âI look like that sissy doorman at the Beverly Wilshire, a fine thing at my age.â But the money was good and he had use for it, which Iâll get to below.
His top 8 films:
#8 – Devotion (1931) â The first of two on this list that, upon reading the description, Iâd assume to be wild, farcical, romantic comedies, but are played as light romances with only the occasional bit of humor. In this one, a pretty rich girl (Ann Harding) falls at first sight for a barrister (Howard), so puts on an old-lady disguise and gets a job as his sonâs nanny.
#7 – ‘Pimpernel’ Smith (1941) â Howard hated working on Gone With the Wind as well as his performance, but he had a good use for his salary. He financed and directed this updating of The Scarlet Pimpernel, swapping the French revolution for Nazi Germany.
#6 – Reserved for Ladies (1932) â This one seems completely forgotten, which is a shame as it is a good deal of fun. A head waiter for the rich and famous (Howard) falls for a high society girl and pursues her. His friendship with a king makes everyone believe heâs royalty. The filmâs failing is it doesnât know if it wants to be a romantic comedy or straight romance, but it is light, good-natured fun. Elizabeth Allen as the love interest is charming and I wished sheâd been used better in her career.
#5 – 49th Parallel (1941) â This was the second film made by the team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, later known as The Archers. It’s a brilliant propaganda piece meant to influence the American public. It follows the survivors of a U-boat in Canada as they work their way toward the safety of the neutral USA. It strangely both humanized the enemy, while showing them as an evil that had to be stopped. Howard is one of multiple stars playing those they run into along the way.
#4 – The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) â Itâs a bit slow and stiff, and I barely call it a Swashbuckler, but itâs powerful and memorable, and led to a stream of hero-disguised-as-fop films.
#3 – It’s Love I’m After (1937) â An unfairly forgotten farce, with Howard as a ham actor in a tempestuous relationship with Bette Davisâs equally over-the-top actress; it was their third collaboration. Both are naturals at playing hams. Olivia de Havilland, looking like a teenager, plays a girl obsessed by Howardâs Basil Underwood. [Also on the Olivia de Havilland list]
#2 – Pygmalion (1938) â Howardâs finest performance, he is perfect as the arrogant, elitist, controlling, yet occasionally charming Higgins. No one has come close. Wendy Hiller is also at her best as Eliza.
#1 – The Petrified Forest (1936) â Thematically, a mix of philosophy, crime, and personal searching. Howardâs a wandering poet who ends up in a last-chance diner, with locals, rich folks, and criminals. He was a star and wouldnât take the part unless a little-known Humphrey Bogart was also cast, giving Bogart his shot. [Also on the Humphrey Bogart list]