Helmore, Tom

Tom Helmore was born on January 4, 1904 in London . In the 1920s, he worked as a student at his father's accounting firm, while also earning extra movies. Later, he began to play on the London theater stage, and also act in English films. In 1939, Helmore made his Broadway debut in the comedy No Time for a Comedy, starring Katherine Cornell . During World War II, he served in the British Air Force , after which he returned to the scene. As the New York Times noted, “Helmore’s play in the Broadway musical“ The Day Before Spring ”(1945–46) brought him to Hollywood” ^[3] .

Nevertheless, during the 1940s and 1950s, Helmore continued to work on the New York stage, in particular, at the Guild Theater, he played in the restored production of Bernard Shaw ’s play “Wait and See” (1948), followed by roles in the performances “ Disorder ”(1949-50),“ The Legend of Sarah ”(1950),“ Love and Let Love ”(1951) with Ginger Rogers ,“ Winner ”(1954) by Elmer Rice , farce“ One Eye is Closed ”(1954) and comedies“ The darkness is fairly light ”(1955) and“ Debut ”(1956). The last performance was staged by the play of his wife, playwright Mary Drayton ^{[3] [4]} . Theater critic Brooks Atkinson, in his review of The Debut in The New York Times, “spoke derogatory of the play, but was delighted with Mr. Helmore,” who was “as usual, dapper, friendly, and relaxed.” ^[3]

Helmore later acted as a stand-in for Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins in Bernard Shaw's first Broadway production of the romantic comedy My Fair Lady (1956–62), and later toured the country with this musical ^{[3] [4]} . A few years later, Helmore played his last role on Broadway in the thriller The Game Room (1965–66), which was staged based on the play of his wife, and in 1968 played the millionaire from Cockney in the non-Broadway production of the musical Flower House ^{[3] [ 4]} .

Helmore made his film debut in the UK in the short film “The Traitor: Psalm 25” (1927), in the same year he played the role of a man in the audience (without an indication in the credits) in Hitchcock's film “ Ring ” (1927) ^[5] . Helmore continued to act in the UK until 1940, playing a total of 25 films, among which the most significant was Hitchcock's Secret Agent (1936) ^[6] .

In 1948, Helmore began his career in Hollywood cinema with the musical comedy “ Three Brave Daughters ” (1948), followed by roles in the crime scene noir films (1949), where he played a multi-millionaire who sympathizes with the detective’s wife and, at her request, offers a detective is a safe, well-paid, profitable job in one of his companies. He then played in the Malaya noir adventure thriller (1950) with Spencer Tracy and James Stuart , where he owned a rubber plantation in Malaya that agrees to supply rubber to the Americans bypassing Japanese occupation authorities . In the film Noir “ Shadow on the Wall ” (1950), Helmore was the secular bridegroom of the main character ( Anne Sauternes ), who has an affair with her sister ^[7] .

In 1953, Helmore played in the musical comedy Let's Do It Again (1953) with Jane Wyman and the comedy Michael Curtis Continuous Troubles (1953) with John Wayne and Donna Reid in the lead roles. Throughout the 1950s, he had roles in such prominent films as the melodrama “ Lucy Gallant ” (1955) with Jane Wyman , as well as the comedy “The Delicate Trap ” (1955) with Frank Sinatra and “ It Could Be That Night ” ( 1957) with Gene Simmons ^{[7] [3]} . As Erickson noted, Helmore “continued to act until the 1960s, almost always playing people who were rich and wealthy, and almost always losing the heroine to the main character. In particular, Lauren Bacall left him for Gregory Peck in the romantic comedy Fashion Designer (1957) ” ^[5] .

According to many film historians, “Helmore’s most famous film work was the role of the rich husband Gavin Elster, who is allegedly concerned about his wife’s mental state,” in Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological thriller “ Vertigo ” (1958) ^{[5] [7] [3]} . In this picture, Elster calls on his old acquaintance, former detective Scotty ( James Stewart ), to track his wife Madeleine ( Kim Novak ), claiming that she is in danger. As it turns out in the finale of the picture, Madeline’s suicide was part of Elster’s insidious plan to pass off his wife’s murder as a suicide, using a hired actress and a painful fear of Scottie’s heights ^[8] . According to the American Institute of Motion Picture Arts , after the initial release of the film, the film received conflicting reviews from critics, while reviewers of many professional publications admired him, especially noting the use of color, nature and music, but other reviewers “remained unsatisfied with his unusual detective line and love story.” However, the film was nominated for an Oscar for best artistic production and best sound, and the Directors Guild of America nominated the film in the category “Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Cinema”. After the reissue of the film in 1983 and 1996, most modern film critics called the film "a Hitchcock masterpiece that influenced many filmmakers." In 2007, the film took 9th place on the list of the American Film Institute " 100 Best Films in the Last 100 Years " ^[8] .

At the end of her film career, Helmore played in the romantic comedy “ Count Your Blessings ” (1959) with Deborah Kerr , detective Michael Curtis “The Man on the Net ” (1959) with Alan Ladd and the science fiction film based on Herbert Wells’ novel “ The Time Machine ” (1960) ^{[7] [3]} . He also appeared in the small role of the British ambassador in the political drama Otto Preminger “ Advice and Consent ” (1962) with starring Henry Fonda , as well as the family film “The New Adventures of Flipper ” (1964), which was his last movie work ^{[7 ]} .

Since 1950, Helmore began to regularly work on television, playing in such popular television series as The Somerset Maugham Theater (1951), Suspens (1951-52), First Studio (1952), “There are weapons - there will be travel ”(1957),“ Alfred Hitchcock Presents ”(1958),“ Doctor Kildare ”(1964),“ Dr. Marcus Welby ”(1969) and“ The Night Gallery ”(1969) ^{[3] [9]} .

According to Erickson, "British character actor Tom Helmore stood out for his great costumes and good manners." He first played a movie in 1928 ^[5] , and starting in 1948 he “had a happy Hollywood career” ^[7] . As noted in the New York Times , in the 1940s and 1950s he showed himself to be a "amiable and helpful Broadway and Hollywood actor." On the stage and in the movie, Helmore specialized primarily in comedies, where Catherine Cornell , Ginger Rogers and Jane Wyman were among his partners ” ^[3] .

From 1931 to 1945, he was married to actress Evelyn Helmore, their marriage ended in divorce in 1945. In the same year, Helmore married actress and playwright Mary Drayton, with whom he lived until her death in 1994. In marriage, they had a daughter, Christine ^{[4] [3]} .

According to Erickson, Helmore maintained close friendly relations with many British actors who worked in Hollywood. In particular, “Helmore considered Boris Karloff among his best friends - even after Karloff married Helmore’s ex-wife Evelyn” ^[5] .

In 1964, Helmore’s novel, The Quale novel, was published ^{[3] [10]} .

Tom Helmore died on September 12, 1995 in Longboat Key , Florida , at the age of 91. ^{[3] [7]}

• Tom Helmore at IMDb
• Tom Helmore on AllMovie
• Tom Helmore at Turner Classic Movies
• Tom Helmore on the Internet Broadway Database
• Tom Helmore at the British Film Institute website