André Morell

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André Morell
André Morell in Quatermass and the Pit (1958–59)
Born	Cecil André Mesritz 20 August 1909(1909-08-20) London, England
Died	28 November 1978 (aged 69) London, England
Other name(s)	André Mesritz Andre Morell
Years active	1934–1978
Spouse(s)	Joan Greenwood (1960–1978)

André Morell (20 August 1909 – 28 November 1978;^[1] sometimes credited as Andre Morell) was a British actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s. His best known screen roles were as Professor Bernard Quatermass in the BBC Television serial Quatermass and the Pit (1958–59), and as Doctor Watson in the Hammer Film Productions version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959). He also appeared in the Academy Award-winning films The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Ben-Hur (1959), and in several of Hammer's well-known horror films throughout the 1960s.

His obituary in The Times newspaper described him as possessing a "commanding presence with a rich, responsive voice... whether in the classical or modern theatre he was authoritative and dependable."^[1]

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Major film and television roles 3 Later career 4 Footnotes 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Early life and career

Morell was born as Cecil André Mesritz in London, England, the son of André and Rosa Mesritz.^[1][2] Prior to taking up acting professionally he trained as a motor engineer, while also participating in amateur theatrical productions.^[2] He turned professional in 1934, initially acting under the name André Mesritz; he anglicised this to André Morell in 1936, and adopted the latter name legally by deed poll in 1938.^[2]

In 1938 he joined the Old Vic theatre company, and appeared in several of their high-profile productions both at their home theatre and on tour throughout Britain and across the rest of the world.^[1] He appeared in Hamlet as Horatio opposite Alec Guinness in the title role, and as Alonso in John Gielgud's production of The Tempest.^[1] He played Mercutio in a production of Romeo and Juliet mounted by the Old Vic company at Streatham in 1939, with Robert Donat as Romeo.^[1] This was Morell's favourite role from his career.^[1] His performance in the play was praised by The Times's critic as "a neat and carefully studied portrait; he is admirable in all his cynical and humorous passages", although the reviewer did add that "one could wish that he had left this manner for the speech about Queen Mab and addressed this, as a piece of direct poetry, directly to the audience."^[3]

Towards the end of the 1930s he began appearing in films, making his debut on the big screen in 13 Men and a Gun in 1938.^[4] He appeared frequently in several early drama productions on the BBC's fledgling television service, featuring in such roles as Mr Wickham in Pride and Prejudice (1938) and Le Bret in Cyrano de Bergerac (1938).^[4] The onset of World War II interrupted his acting career, and he joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1940. He served with the regiment until 1946, by which time he had attained the rank of major.^[1]

[edit] Major film and television roles

Morell returned to the theatre after the war, including another spell at the Old Vic in the 1951–52 season.^[1] However, he now increasingly began to win leading parts on television, and in 1953 was cast by the television director Rudolph Cartier in a play called It Is Midnight, Dr Schweitzer.^[5] Cartier was impressed with Morell's performance in this play, and offered him the leading role in a science-fiction serial he was preparing with the writer Nigel Kneale, entitled The Quatermass Experiment. Morell considered the not-yet-completed script, but decided to decline the offer; the part went instead to his co-star from It Is Midnight, Dr Schweitzer, Reginald Tate.^[5]

He did take one of the leading parts in another Cartier and Kneale production the following year, when he played O'Brien in their version of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, opposite Peter Cushing as Winston Smith.^[6] This was a successful and controversial production which provoked much comment and debate;^[7] Morell's part in it has been praised for his "coolly menacing performance [that] is at least equal to Cushing's."^[7]

This successful collaboration with Cartier and Kneale resulted, four years later, in him once again being offered the role of Professor Bernard Quatermass for the pair's third serial in the series, Quatermass and the Pit, although on this occasion another actor – Alec Clunes – had already turned them down.^[6] This time Morell accepted the part, and is regarded by several critics as having provided the definitive interpretation of the character.^[6][8] Morell personally found that in later years it was the role for which he was most often remembered by members of the public.^[2]

As well as these and other television appearances, Morell gained several notable film roles towards the end of the 1950s. He appeared in two films which won the Academy Award for Best Picture; The Bridge on the River Kwai in 1957, as Colonel Green,^[9] and Ben-Hur in 1959 as Sextus.^[10] Also in 1959 he played Arthur Conan Doyle's famous character Doctor Watson, again opposite Peter Cushing who was this time playing Sherlock Holmes, in Hammer Film Productions' version of The Hound of the Baskervilles.^[11] This was the first Sherlock Holmes adaptation ever to be shot in colour.^[12] Morell was particularly keen that his portrayal of Watson should be closer to that originally depicted in Conan Doyle's stories, and away from the bumbling stereotype established by Nigel Bruce's interpretation of the role.^[13]

In 1960 Morell appeared as Brack in a production of Henrik Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler at The Oxford Playhouse.^[1] Starring opposite him in the title role was the film star Joan Greenwood. They fell in love and flew in secret to Jamaica, where they were married, remaining together until his death.^[14]

[edit] Later career

After his appearance in their version of The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1959, in the following decade Morell appeared in several of Hammer Film Productions' famous range of horror films. He had parts in She (1965, again with Peter Cushing) and its sequel Vengeance of She (1967), The Plague of the Zombies (1966), and took the lead role in 1967's The Mummy's Shroud.^[4] The same year Hammer produced a feature film adaptation of Quatermass and the Pit, and offered Morell the chance to play the Professor again in their version of the story. Morell declined the offer, not wishing to repeat the same part in the same story he had already played successfully on television.^[15] He continued to act successfully on television throughout the decade, with guest roles in episodes of series such as The Avengers (1963 and 1965), Danger Man (1965), Doctor Who ("The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve", 1965), and The Saint (1965).^[4]

In 1969 he became the vice president of Equity, the trade union for British actors and performers. He then served as president of the organisation for a year from 1973–74.^[1] During this time he was involved in a dispute in which Equity threatened to expel Laurence Olivier as a member due to comments he made in a newspaper feature about the possibility of forming a breakaway union.^[16] The union also suffered from financial problems, and Morell continued to warn against destructive divisions amongst the members when he stepped down as president.^[17]

Despite his involvement in union business he continued to be a busy working actor. His last television work was an episode of the ITV series The Professionals in 1978, the year of his death. The animated film version of The Lord of the Rings, in which he voiced the character of Elrond, was released the same year, but his final film work was not seen until the year after his death. This was as the judge in The First Great Train Robbery.^[4]

Morell died in London in 1978, at the age of sixty-nine. He was survived by his wife Greenwood and their son Jason. Jason Morell also became an actor, appearing in films such as Mrs. Brown (1997, as Lord Stanley) and Wilde (also 1997, as Ernest Dowson).^[18]

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• André Morell at the Internet Movie Database
• André Morell profile at Quatermass.org.uk - Nigel Kneale & Quatermass Appreciation Site

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