Actors

Walter Pidgeon

Walter Pidgeon

Walter Pidgeon, a handsome, tall and dark-haired man, began his career studying voice at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He then did theater, mainly stage musicals. He went to Hollywood in the early 1920s, where he made silent films, including Mannequin (1926) and Sumuru (1927). When talkies arrived, Pidgeon made some musicals, but he never received top billing or recognition in these. In 1937 MGM put him under contract, but only in supporting roles and "the other man" roles, such as in Saratoga (1937) opposite Jean Harlow and Clark Gable and in The Girl of the Golden West (1938) opposite Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Although these two films were big successes, Pidgeon was overlooked for his contributions to them. MGM lent him out to Fox, where he finally had top billing, in How Green Was My Valley (1941). When he returned to MGM the studio tried to give him bigger roles, and he was cast opposite his frequent co-star Greer Garson. However, Garson seemed to come up on top in Blossoms in the Dust (1941) and Mrs. Miniver (1942), although Pidgeon did receive an Academy Award nomination for his role in the latter film. Pidgeon remained with MGM through the mid-'50s, making films like Dream Wife (1953) and Hit the Deck (1955) with Jane Powell and old pal Gene Raymond. In 1956 Pidgeon left the movies to do some work in the theater, but he returned to film in 1961. Pidgeon retired from acting in 1977. He suffered from several strokes that eventually led to his death in 1984.
Walter Rilla

Walter Rilla

The tall, expressively-browed, rather stern-looking character actor Walter Rilla was educated at the University of Koenigsberg and first worked as a newspaper journalist, drama critic and story editor for the Berliner Theater. He acted on stage from 1921, making his screen debut the following year. He quickly established himself as a leading player in German and French films, often playing aristocratic roles, which demanded a certain amount of gravitas. Involved with leftist organisations and married to a Jewish wife, Rilla was inevitably forced to flee Nazi Germany for England in 1933. His breakthrough role in British films came courtesy of Alexander Korda, who was intent on casting him as Merle Oberon's brother Armand in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934). This was followed by roles as Prince Ernest in Herbert Wilcox's period drama Victoria the Great (1937), and as the womanizing banker Roudine in Black Eyes (1939). Thereafter came a succession of villainous roles. Though a British citizen from 1940, Rilla was unable to escape typecasting -- much like his compatriots Conrad Veidt and Peter van Eyck -- and his career was henceforth delineated by playing racketeers (Golden Salamander (1950)), Nazi propagandists (The Lisbon Story (1946)) and evil Eastern European potentates (State Secret (1950)). In addition to acting, Rilla sidelined as author of several BBC radio shows. Following his return to Germany in 1957, he began a new career behind the camera as writer/director of television plays. He also continued to act in just about anything, from prestige films (like Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull (1957) and Scampolo (1958)) to spaghetti westerns (I giorni dell'ira (1967)); from Edgar Wallace potboilers (Der Fälscher von London (1961)) to returning to his villainous ways as the evil genius Dr. Mabuse in several instalments of the popular franchise. In 1966, Rilla was awarded the prestigious Filmband in Gold for his service to the German film industry.