Rennie, Michael

Michael Rennie was born on August 25, 1909 in Bradford , West Yorkshire , UK. He was an Englishman on the mother’s side and a Scot on the father’s side. Rennie's father owned a successful woolen business that has been owned by his family for over 150 years ^[1] . According to film critic Hal Erickson, "Rennie always claimed that he" became an actor "so as not to become the manager of the family wool business" ^[2] . However, in 1931, after graduating from Cambridge University, Rennie worked for some time as a car dealer and manager in his father’s factory ^[3] .

In 1935, Rennie went to the London film company Gaumont British , where, due to his high growth and attractive appearance, he attracted the attention of the casting director , who took him "for episodic roles for a meager salary." For a professional acting career, Rennie retained his last name, but changed his name to Michael. In 1936, Alfred Hitchcock took Renny as an understudy actor Robert Young in his first film, the spy thriller Secret Agent (1936), which starred in Gaumont British ^[2] .

Feeling the need to improve his acting skills, Rennie decided to gain experience in the theater ^[3] . First he entered the Yorkshire Theater, and later became the star of the Theater in York, where he played several seasons in modern productions, in particular, played the role of Professor Higgins in the comedy of the Bernard Shaw Pygmallion ^{[1] [2]} . At the same time, Rennie began to regularly appear on the screen in episodic roles without indicating in the credits. Since 1940, he began to receive more significant roles, in particular in the detective Patient Disappears (1940), the military melodrama Dangerous Moonlight (1941) and the military adventure thriller Pimpernel Smith (1941). Renny played his first big film role in the suspense drama Tower of Horror (1941) about the distraught caretaker of a lighthouse in Nazi- occupied Holland , where Rennie got the role of a romantic hero. He also played important roles in the military dramas Ships with Wings (1941) and The Great Blockade (1942) ^[3] .

During World War II, from 1941 to 1944, Rennie served in the Royal Air Force , and then took an internship in the training program for American fighter pilots in Georgia ^{[1] [2]} .

After retiring from military service, Rennie returned to the cinema, playing in a pair “with one of England’s favorite actresses Margaret Lockwood in two films” - the musical “ I Will Be Your Loved One”, where he sang, and the costumed adventure melodrama “The Evil Lady ” (1945) ^{[3] [1]} . Both films were successful, and Rennie attracted the attention of the professional press. In particular, the American magazine Variety called the actor’s play “I Will Be Your Loved One” “noteworthy,” further pointing out that Rennie “may well suit Hollywood . He would be the best candidate for the role of a new star, emerged from British cinema for many years. Rennie not only has the potential for classic lead roles, but is also externally attractive. The female audience will go to him ” ^[4] . In turn, the film "Evil Lady" has become one of the most commercially successful films of the year in Britain. In the same year, Rennie played the commander of the Roman centurions in one but notable scene of the historical drama by Bernard Shaw “ Caesar and Cleopatra ” (1945) with Vivien Leigh and Claude Raines in the lead roles, which had great audience success, especially in the USA ^{[5 ]} . The success of these films led Rennie to a contract with Twentieth Century Fox and his move to Hollywood a few years later ^{[3] [2] [1]} .

In the years 1947-50, Rennie played in such British films as the post-war melodrama The White Cradle Tavern (1947), the melodrama The Root of All Evil (1947) with Phyllis Calvert as the seeker of wealth, where he appeared in the image of an enterprising stranger helping her get rich in oil wells, and the historical melodrama Idol of Paris (1948), where Rennie was a lover of a courtesan, paving her way to the top of power in French society in the mid-19th century ^[6] . Over the next two years, Rennie played in a series of passing films, among them the thriller “ Difficult Conditions” (1949), where he was a private detective, the melodrama The Golden Madonna (1949), and the comedy The Journey of Miss Pilgrim (1949) and “ The body said no! ” (1950). Rennie played his most memorable role in the film “Trio” (1950), which consisted of three movie novels based on the works of Somerset Maugham . In the longest 47-minute short story entitled “Sanatorium »40-year-old Rennie and 20-year-old Gene Simmons played a pair of doomed tuber patients New York Times newspaper called this picture “one of the most significant films” by Rennie ^[1] .

The play in the movie “Trio” made a strong impression on the head of Twentieth Century Fox film company Darryl Zanuk , who concluded a seven-year contract with the actor. In 1950, Rennie became one of several British actors who played in the adventure historical melodrama Black Rose (1950) with Tyrone Power and Orson Welles , which takes place in England and Morocco of the 13th century. Due to his high growth, Rennie received in this film the role of the English king Edward I , nicknamed the Long-legged ^[7] . A year later, Rennie again played with Power in the fantasy melodrama House on the Square (1951), this time playing the second most important male role.

As noted on the Turner Classic Movies website, “among the numerous films of Rennie, none achieved such an impact power as his 1951 film,“ The Day the Earth Stopped, ”which is today considered a classic of science fiction" ^[3] . This was one of the first post-war big-budget science fiction films, which became a serious, smart study of the atmosphere of suspicion and paranoia that reigned in the USA in the middle of the 20th century, and in addition, made an attempt to philosophically comprehend the place of humanity in the universe. Stars such as Spencer Tracy and Claude Raines were initially considered for the key role of an alien Klaatu. However, the producer of the picture, Julian Blaustein, concluded that the American public would more easily perceive the little-known actor as “a stranger in a foreign country.” Zanuk proposed for this role Rennie, who only shortly before had signed a multi-year contract with Twentieth Century Fox , and had not yet become a famous actor. According to Rennie, film director Robert Wise asked him to play the role of an alien “with dignity, but without superiority” ^[8] . The film achieved commercial success and received good reviews from critics. In particular, Variety magazine praised his documentary style, further writing that “the story is told quite interestingly and is full of fascinating sci-fi moments and suspense, and moralizing is very rare ... The cast, although secondary to the story, copes with its the task is good ” ^[9] . However, Bosley Krauser in the New York Times restrained the picture and noted that “Rennie, who plays a noble soul, although charmingly polite and tolerant, can cause uncontrolled yawning. His way of holding himself is strangely restrained and pedantic for a guy who has just descended from a spaceship, and his knowledge of the earth's language is probably gleaned from the BBC programs. Rennie is a nice guy, but, you know, a bit soft. ” ^[10]

After this picture, Zanuk invited the actor to play a major role in the film Noir Otto Preminger “The Thirteenth Letter ” (1951), which was shot in Canada . The film was a remake of the French film " Raven " (1943), the action of which was moved to a small town in the Canadian province of Quebec . Rennie played in this picture the main role of a doctor who has just arrived in the city, who becomes one of the objects of the slanderous campaign organized against him using anonymous letters. Although he did not impress critics after the film was released, contemporary film historian Bob Porfirio noted Rennie’s game, which creates the image of “a man who deeply hides his feelings after he was brutally beaten by life” ^[11] .

In the wake of the critical and commercial success of the film “The Day the Earth Stopped”, Zanuck gave Rennie the main role of Jean Valjean in the historical adventure drama based on Victor Hugo 's novel Les Miserables (1952). The film was not received by critics as well as expected, and Rennie’s play was perceived by critics as “restrained, albeit respectful” ^[3] . In a review of the film in the New York Times, A. H. Weiler wrote that “Rennie played Valjean as a prisoner and then a persecuted person who only sometimes forgets about his good manners. He is more convincing in that short period when he is an unkempt, bearded and brutalized Valjean than when he is a prosperous citizen who frantically tries to hide his true identity ” ^[12] . Since the film brought very little profit, the studio abandoned further plans to make 43-year-old Rennie a star, after which the proposals for the main roles began to decline, and as a result, he was transferred to the role of the leading supporting actor ^[3] .

The following year, Rennie received a significant role in the ensemble noir drama “A Phone Call from a Stranger ” (1952). The actor played a nervous drinking doctor, who is tormented by guilt because his colleague died in a car accident through his fault. Returning home to confess to the district attorney, he met at the airport with a random companion. The plane crashes, and the hero Renny dies, after which the fellow traveler searches for his wife and child, telling them about his past and that he was going to fix it. Krauser in the New York Times restrained the film, considering it made "smoothly and efficiently, with the precision of a beautifully made machine, so that soon a feeling of the absolute mechanism of the script is created, which is based more on authorial schemes than on real life," and " the acting of several stars is as neat and sleek as the film itself ^[13] .

In the same year, Rennie appeared in the first-class spy thriller Five Fingers (1952) as a British agent who finds a German spy ( James Mason ), who worked as a servant of the British ambassador to Turkey during World War II. Having positively assessed the picture, Krauser in the New York Times singled out the game of many actors, including “Rennie as the detective of the Foreign Office , who perfectly conveys the national temperament of his hero” ^[14] .

Rennie played the second most important role as a ship's captain in the action movie Alone (Royal Sailor) (1953), but was largely in the background with leading actor Jeffrey Hunter , whose hero alone held the German warship until British forces arrived in The pacific ocean . Having positively estimated the exciting action movie, Krauser noted that “both Rennie and Hunter are completely wooden characters in terms of human feelings” ^[15] .

Soon the biblical biblical drama “The Shroud ” (1953) was released, which became the first film in the CinemaScope format and the biggest hit of the year. The protagonist of the film, the Roman stands , which led the crucifixion of Christ ( Richard Burton ), becomes the owner of the shroud , under the mystical influence of which he becomes a Christian . Among the other actors in this film, film critic Bosley Krauser in the New York Times singled out Michael Rennie’s play, "which is held solemnly and excellently in the role of the Apostle Peter " ^[16] .

In the film Noir Dangerous Cruise (1953), wealthy young heiress Ruth Bowman ( Genie Crane ) hastily marries and embarks on a transatlantic liner on her honeymoon . After leaving New York, the husband suddenly disappears, leaving no trace of his aboard. Nobody wants to believe in the story of Ruth, only the ship's doctor, performed by Rennie, is trying to figure out her case, eventually exposing her fraudulent husband, who was trying to introduce Ruth as crazy and take over her condition. The New York Times film reviewer A.H. Weiler gave the film a restrained rating, calling it "only a moderately exciting adventure with an incredible script." At the same time, he positively assessed Rennie’s game as “a handsome doctor who is caring for his beautiful patient, but is not quite sure if she needs only soothing medicines or should apply psychiatric methods of treatment” ^[17] .

The following year, Rennie played in the historical adventure film Captain of the Khyber Riflemen (1954), playing the role of brigadier general in British India , whose daughter falls in love with a young officer performed by Tyrone Power. Then Rennie first played the role of a villain in the adventure film " Princess of the Nile " (1954), which takes place in Egypt in the 13th century. In the historical drama " Demetrius and the Gladiators " (1954), which was the sequel to the Shroud, Rennie again appeared in the image of the Apostle Peter, who transfers the shroud to the gladiator Demetrius before heading "north". The film was a major commercial success ^[18] . In the biographical drama “ Love of the Emperor of France ” (1954) with Marlon Brando in the role of Napoleon Renny played General Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte , who later became King of Sweden Charles XIV Johan ^[19] .

A year later, in the hit adventure crime drama Soldier of Fortune (1955) with Clark Gable and Susan Hayward , Rennie played the role of the British police chief, who is involved in the search for the missing photographer in Hong Kong ^[20] . After a positive reaction to the performance of Rennie as the Apostle Peter, the Fox studio assigned him the main role in the adventure film “ Seven Cities of Gold ” (1955), where the actor played the role of a staunch believer, the Franciscan monk Junipero Serra , who founded in the second half of the 18th century a number of significant Catholic missions in Upper California ^[21] . In the melodrama Rains of Ranchipur (1955), Rennie played the role of the noble Lord Esquet, who arrives in India with his wife ( Lana Turner ), but soon returns to Britain while his wife begins an affair with an Indian doctor (Richard Burton) ^[22] . Prior to the expiration of the Fox contract, Rennie played with Ginger Rogers in a drama about the relationship of divorced parents with the 15-year-old daughter Rebellious Teenager (1956), after which he played the role of a war veteran who is strangled by jealousy planter performed by James Mason in a drama on the topic of interracial relations “ Island in the Sun ” (1957), which takes place on one of the islands in the Caribbean ^[23] .

After the expiration of the contract with Fox, Rennie began to work independently. At the Paramount studio in the biographical drama “ Love in the Life of Omar Khayyam ” (1957) with Cornell Wilde, in the title role, Renny played the role of a friend of Khayyam, the eastern ruler of Hassan ibn Sabbah ^[24] . Then Rennie returned to the UK, where he played the main role as the leader of a group of Polish partisans in the military drama “ Battle for V-1 ” (1958). A year later, Rennie was listed first in the list of actors of the Disney movie about mountain tourists “ The Third Man on the Mountain ” (1959), although he actually played a supporting role. Then Rennie again turned up at Fox Studios, where he played the lead role of Lord John Roxton, a traveler, in an adventure film based on Arthur Conan-Doyle ’s novel The Lost World (1960), which described an expedition to the jungle of South America that finds prehistoric monsters. Критик А. Х. Вейлер критически оценил картину, назвав её «банальным, медленным и тяжеловесным римейком» романа Конан-Дойла, а игру Ренни «оценил как флегматичную и безжизненную в роли плейбоя» ^[25] .

В 1961 году Ренни попробовал свои силы на Бродвее , сыграв роль переживающего кризис популярного актёра Дирка Винстена в комедии «Мэри, Мэри». В связи с этой ролью актёр говорил: «Это моя первая возможность сыграть в комедии в этой стране. Голливуд привёл меня в кино более десяти лет назад. Я сделал здесь много фильмов, и у меня были хорошие роли, но у меня ни разу не было возможности сыграть в комедии. На самом деле, это моя первая театральная роль любого плана в этой стране. Я работал по голливудскому контракту всё время, и до последнего времени у меня не было достаточно времени, чтобы сыграть в спектакле». Спектакль был чрезвычайно успешным, выдержав 1572 представления, однако Ренни отыграл в нём лишь пять месяцев, после чего в июле 1961 года его сменил Майкл Уайлдинг . А в 1963 году студия Warner Bros. сняла фильм по этому спектаклю, пригласив Ренни на главную роль ^{[1] [26]} .

В 1960-е годы Ренни сыграл банкира в вестерне « Жестокая месть » (1966), киборга , который прибывает из будущего в 1966 год, чтобы предотвратить возникновение тирании, в фантастическом фильме « Киборг 2087 » (1967), одного из постояльцев новоорлеанской гостиницы в ансамблевой драме « Отель » (1967), обладающего сверхспособностями учёного в фантастическом триллере « Власть » (1968), а также командующего армией, генерал-лейтенанта США в военной драме « Бригада дьявола » (1968). Перебравшись в Европу, Ренни играл преимущественно в итальянских фильмах, в частности, исполнил роль британского агента в шпионском фильме « Бегущая мишень » (1968), инспектора полиции в джалло « Семь девственниц для убийцы » (1968) и генерала Монтгомери в военном экшне « Битва за Эль Аламейн » (1969). Ренни также сыграл в американском триллере об ограблении « Заговор в Сурабае » (1969), который снимался на Филиппинах , а свою последнюю кинороль исполнил в 1970 году в итальянском фильме ужасов « Ужасные монстры » (1970) ^[27] .

Начиная с середины 1950-х годов Ренни стал много работать на телевидении, где его самой значимой работой стала роль учтивого искателя удачи Гарри Лайма в 76 эпизодах детективного сериала « Третий человек » (1959-65), который отдалённо был основан на одноимённом фильме нуар 1949 года ^{[3] [2]} .

На американском телевидении в 1950-е годы Ренни играл гостевые роли в сериалах «Кульминация» (1955-58, 8 эпизодов), «Театр 90» (1957, 1 эпизод), и «Караван повозок» (1957-63, 2 эпизода), а в 1960-е годы — в телесериалах «Шоу Барбары Стэнвик» (1961, 1 эпизод), «Американцы» (1961, 1 эпизод), «Шоссе 66», « Альфред Хичкок представляет » (1958-62, 2 эпизода), « Перри Мэйсон » (1963, 1 эпизод), «Караван повозок», «Вергинцы» (1963, 1 эпизод), «Дэниел Бун» (1964-66, 2 эпизода), « Бонанца » (1965, 1 эпизод), «Затерянные в космосе» (1966, 2 эпизода), «Хранитель», «Туннель времени» (1966, 1 эпизод), « Бэтмен » (1966, 2 эпизода), «Захватчики» (1967, 3 эпизода), «Я шпион» (1967, 1 эпизод), «Человек из А. Н.К. Л.» (1967, 1 эпизод) и «ФБР» (1967-69, 3 эпизода) ^{[28] [1]} .

Хэл Эриксон описал Ренни как высокорослого, «красивого, тощего» актёра ^[2] , который, по словам «Нью-Йорк Таймс» играл как правило «ровных, корректных» персонажей как в главных ролях, так и в ролях второго плана ^[1] . Он работал в различных жанрах, включая фантастические фильмы, фильмы нуар, а также в исторические драмы.

Карьера Ренни в театре, в кино и на телевидении охватила более 30 лет. Как отмечено во многих источниках, в кино «Ренни более всего известен по роли Клаату в научно-фантастической классике „ День, когда Земля остановилась “ (1951)» ^{[3] [2] [1]} . По мнению Эриксона, помимо этой роли «в период своего семилетнего пребывания на студии Twentieth Century Fox Ренни по-настоящему расцвёл с крупными ролями» в фильмах « Отверженные » (1952) и « Плащаница » (1953) ^[2] . Он также сыграл главные и важные роли в фильмах « Тринадцатое письмо » (1951), « Пять пальцев » (1952), « Опасный круиз » (1953) и « Затерянный мир » (1960). Ренни неоднократно играл с крупнейшими кинозвёздами своего времени, среди них Марлон Брандо , Орсон Уэллс , Кларк Гейбл , Ричард Бёртон , Джеймс Мейсон , Тайрон Пауэр , Уильям Холден и Виктор Мэтьюр , актрисы Вивьен Ли , Бетт Дейвис , Джин Симмонс , Джоан Фонтейн и Сьюзен Хэйворд ^[29] .

На телевидении, по словам, «Нью-Йорк Таймс», «он, наверное, более всего известен по роли учтивого и ловкого романтического международного шпиона Гарри Лайма в „Третьем человеке“, одном из самых популярных телесериалов всех времён. Сериал был чрезвычайно успешен в Европе, Австралии и в Англии» ^[1] .

Ренни был женат дважды. С 1938 по 1945 год он был женат на Джоан Ингланд, а в 1947-60 годах — на актрисе Маргарет Макграт. В 1953 году у пары родился сын Дэвид Ренни, который стал судьёй ^[1] .

У Ренни также был сын Джон (1944 года рождения) от своей многолетней подруги и любовницы Рене Гилберт, сестры британского режиссёра Льюиса Гилберта .

Ренни скоропостижно умер 10 июня 1971 года в Харрогейте , Северный Йоркшир , от эмфиземы лёгких в возрасте 61 года во время посещения матери ^{[3] [2] [1]} .

Cinema

Television

• Alain Silver (Editor), Elizabeth Ward (Editor). Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, Third Edition . — Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press, 1992. — ISBN 978-0-87951-479-2 .
• Donald Willis (Editor). Variety's Complete Science Fiction Reviews . — Garland Publishing, 1985. — ISBN 978-0824087128 .
• Robert Murphy. Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939-48 . — Taylor & Francis, 2004. — ISBN 9780203392652 .

• Майкл Ренни на сайте IMDb
• Майкл Ренни на сайте AllMovie
• Майкл Ренни на сайте Turner Classic Movies