Niv: The Authorized Biography of David Niven (57 page)

Jamie, too, had no illusions about his father’s acting. ‘I don’t think he
loved
acting,’ he told me. ‘Clark Gable used to tell him, “Just remember it’s a nine to five job and you’re no different to anyone else: you just go to work. If you ever let it get bigger than what it is it’ll ruin you,” and there was something of that in my father. He was a consummate professional, would do a good job, and the benefits were enormous, but I never thought he couldn’t wait to get at the next movie and do a great job with that. But he was a better actor than he was given credit for. There were some movies in which he was truly brilliant:
Separate Tables, Paper Tiger, The Guns of Navarone, Bonjour Tristesse, Dawn Patrol
.’

Even so, although Niv made ninety-one movies, ‘very few of them made any noticeable contribution to the art of the cinema,’ wrote the film critic Barry Norman in
The Film Greats
. ‘He was indeed less an actor than a great screen personality; most of the time he simply played himself but that, granted his small but finely honed talent as a light comedian, was enough to save a multitude of mediocre films from total disaster.’ And Norman concluded, ‘I suspect that generations of movie-goers will continue to watch his films, bad though many of them are, simply because the very presence of Niven makes them feel better.’

What a glorious achievement – to have made millions of
people feel better. I suspect that when you first glanced at the jacket of this book it gave you a warm glow and maybe a happy smile. To leave such a legacy is rare, maybe unique, and the man who did it deserves to be remembered and celebrated, even though the moon is not after all a balloon and flowers just don’t pick themselves.

Filmography

ALL THE WINNERS
(London Film Company, 1932)
Allan Jeayes, Muriel George, Cyril Chamberlain. Produced and directed by Bunty Watts.

WITHOUT REGRET
(Paramount, 1935)
Elissa Landi, Paul Cavanagh, Frances Drake, Kent Taylor. Produced by B. P. Fineman; directed by Harold Young.

BARBARY COAST
(Goldwyn-UA, 1935)
Miriam Hopkins, Edward G. Robinson, Joel McCrea, Walter Brennan, Brian Donlevy. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn; directed by Howard Hawks.

A FEATHER IN HER HAT
(Columbia, 1935)
Pauline Lord, Basil Rathbone, Louis Hayward, Billie Burke. Produced by Everett Riskin; directed by Alfred Santell.

SPLENDOUR
(Goldwyn-UA, 1935)
Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea, Paul Cavanagh, Helen Westley, Billie Burke. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn; directed by Elliot Nugent.

ROSE MARIE
(MGM, 1936)
Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Reginald Owen, James Stewart. Produced by Hunt Stromberg; directed by W. S. Van Dyke.

PALM SPRINGS
(Paramount, 1936). USA title,
Palm Springs Affair
.
Frances Langford, Guy Standing, Smith Ballen, Ernest Cossart. Produced by Walter Wanger; directed by Aubrey Scotto.

DODSWORTH
(Goldwyn-UA, 1936)
Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas, Mary Astor. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn; directed by William Wyler.

THANK YOU, JEEVES
(20th Century-Fox, 1936)
Arthur Treacher, Virginia Fields. Produced by Sol M. Wurtzel; directed by Arthur Greville.

THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
(Warner Bros, 1936)
Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Nigel Bruce. Produced by Hal B. Wallis; directed by Michael Curtiz.

BELOVED ENEMY
(Goldwyn-UA, 1936)
Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, Karen Morley, Jerome Cowan. Produced by George Haight; directed by H. C. Potter.

WE HAVE OUR MOMENTS
(Universal, 1937)
Sally Eilers, James Dunn, Mischa Auer, Thurston Hall. Produced by Edmund Grainger; directed by Alfred L. Werker.

THE PRISONER OF ZENDA
(Selznick-UA, 1937)
Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Mary Astor, C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey. Produced by David O. Selznick; directed by John Cromwell and W. S. Van Dyke.

DINNER AT THE RITZ
(New World-20th Century-Fox, 1937)
Annabella, Paul Lukas, Romney Brent, Francis L. Sullivan. Produced by Robert Kane; directed by Harold Schuster.

BLUEBEARD’S EIGHTH WIFE
(Paramount, 1938)
Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, Edward Everett Horton. Produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

FOUR MEN AND A PRAYER
(20th Century-Fox, 1938)
Loretta Young, Richard Greene, George Sanders, C. Aubrey Smith. Produced by Kenneth MacGowan; directed by John Ford.

THREE BLIND MICE
(20th Century-Fox, 1938)
Loretta Young, Joel McCrea, Stuart Erwin, Marjorie Weaver. Produced by Raymond Griffiths; directed by William A. Seiter.

THE DAWN PATROL
(Warner Bros, 1938)
Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, Donald Crisp. Produced by Hal B. Wallis; directed by Edmund Goulding.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS
(Goldwyn-UA, 1939)
Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Flora Robson, Donald Crisp, Hugh Williams. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by William Wyler.

BACHELOR MOTHER
(RKO Radio, 1939)
Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, Frank Albertson, E. E. Clive. Produced by B. G. De Sylva; directed by Garson Kanin.

THE REAL GLORY
(Goldwyn-UA, 1939)
Gary Cooper, Andrea Leeds, Reginald Owen, Broderick Crawford. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn; directed by Henry Hathaway.

ETERNALLY YOURS
(Wanger-UA, 1939)
Loretta Young, Hugh Herbert, Billie Burke, C. Aubrey Smith, Broderick Crawford, Zasu Pitts. Produced by Walter Wanger; directed by Tay Garnett.

RAFFLES
(Goldwyn-UA, 1939)
Olivia de Havilland, May Whitty, E. E. Clive. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn; directed by Sam Wood and William Wyler.

THE FIRST OF THE FEW
(British Aviation Pictures, 1942). USA title,
Spitfire
.
Leslie Howard, Rosamund John, Roland Culver. Produced and directed by Leslie Howard.

THE WAY AHEAD
(Two Cities, 1944)
Raymond Huntley, William Hartnell, Stanley Holloway, John Laurie, Peter Ustinov, Tessie O’Shea. Produced by John Sutro and Norman Walker; directed by Carol Reed.

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
(J. Arthur Rank, 1945) USA title,
Stairway to Heaven
.
Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Richard Attenborough. Produced, directed and written by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

THE PERFECT MARRIAGE
(Paramount, 1946)
Loretta Young, Eddie Albert, Virginia Field, Charles Ruggles, Zasu Pitts. Produced by Hal Wallis; directed by Lewis Allen.

MAGNIFICENT DOLL
(Universal Pictures, 1946)
Ginger Rogers, Burgess Meredith, Horace McNally. Produced by Jack H. Skirball and Bruce Manning; directed by Frank Borzage.

THE OTHER LOVE
(Enterprise-UA, 1947)
Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Conte, Gilbert Roland. Produced by David Lewis; directed by André de Toth.

THE BISHOP’S WIFE
(Goldwyn-RKO, 1947)
Cary Grant, Loretta Young, Gladys Cooper, Elsa
Lanchester. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn; directed by Henry Koster.

BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE
(London Films, 1948)
Margaret Leighton, Jack Hawkins, Finlay Currie, John Laurie. Produced by Edward Black; directed by Anthony Kimmins.

ENCHANTMENT
(Goldwyn-UA, 1948)
Teresa Wright, Evelyn Keyes, Farley Granger. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn; directed by Irving Reis.

A KISS IN THE DARK
(Warner Bros, 1949)
Jane Wyman, Victor Moore, Broderick Crawford. Produced by Jack L. Warner; directed by Delmer Davies.

THE ELUSIVE PIMPERNEL
(London Films, 1949). USA title,
The Fighting Pimpernel
.
Margaret Leighton, Cyril Cusack, Jack Hawkins. Produced by Alexander Korda and Samuel Goldwyn; directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

A KISS FOR CORLISS
(Strand-UA, 1949)
Shirley Temple, Tom Tully, Virginia Welles. Produced by Colin Miller; directed by Richard Wallace.

THE TOAST OF NEW ORLEANS
(MGM, 1950)
Kathryn Grayson, Mario Lanza, J. Carrol Naish, Rita Moreno. Produced by Joe Pasternak; directed by Norman Taurog.

HAPPY GO LOVELY
(Associated British-RKO, 1950)
Vera-Ellen, Cesar Romero, Bobby Howes. Produced by Marcel Helman; directed by Bruce Humberstone.

SOLDIERS THREE
(MGM, 1951)
Stewart Granger, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack. Produced by Pandro S. Berman; directed by Tay Garnett.

APPOINTMENT WITH VENUS
(British Film Makers, 1951). USA title,
Island Rescue
.
Glynis Johns, Barry Jones, Kenneth More. Produced by Betty E. Box; directed by Ralph Thomas.

THE LADY SAYS NO
(Ross-Stillman-UA, 1951)
Joan Caulfield, James Robertson Justice, Lenore Lonergan. Produced by Frank Ross and John Stillman Jr; directed by Frank Ross.

THE MOON IS BLUE
(Holmby-UA, 1953)
William Holden, Maggie McNamara, Tom Tully, Dawn Adams. Produced by Otto Preminger and F. Hugh Herbert; directed by Otto Preminger.

THE LOVE LOTTERY
(Ealing Studios, 1953)
Peggy Cummins, Anne Vernon, Herbert Lom, Gordon Jackson, Felix Aylmer. Produced by Monja Danischewsky; directed by Charles Crichton.

HAPPY EVER AFTER
(Associated British, 1954). USA title,
Tonight’s the Night
.
Yvonne de Carlo, Barry Fitzgerald, George Cole. Produced and directed by Mario Zampi.

CARRINGTON VC
(Romulus Films, 1954). USA title,
Court Martial
.
Margaret Leighton, Noelle Middleton, Laurence Naismith, Raymond Francis. Produced by Teddy Baird; directed by Anthony Asquith.

THE KING’S THIEF
(MGM, 1955)
Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, George Sanders, Roger Moore. Produced by Edwin H. Knopf; directed by Robert Z. Leonard.

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES
(Gomalco-Paramount, 1956)
George Gobel, Mitzi Gaynor, Reginald Gardiner. Produced by Paul Jones; directed by Norman Taurog.

AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS
(Michael Todd-UA, 1956)
Cantinflas, Robert Newton, Shirley MacLaine, Charles Boyer, Ronald Colman, Noël Coward, Marlene Dietrich, John Gielgud, Frank Sinatra and numerous other stars. Produced by Michael Todd; directed by Michael Anderson.

THE SILKEN AFFAIR
(Dragon Films, 1956)
Genevieve Page, Ronald Squire, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Richard Wattis. Produced by Douglas Fairbanks and Fred Feldkamp; directed by Roy Kellino.

THE LITTLE HUT
(MGM, 1957)
Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger, Walter Chiari, Finlay Currie. Produced by F. Hugh Herbert and Mark Robson; directed by Mark Robson.

OH, MEN! OH, WOMEN!
(20th Century-Fox, 1957)
Dan Dailey, Ginger Rogers, Tony Randall. Produced, directed and written by Nunnally Johnson.

MY MAN GODFREY
(Universal Pictures, 1957)
June Allyson, Jessie Royce Landis, Robert Keith, Eva Gabor. Produced by Ross Hunter; directed by Henry Koster.

BONJOUR TRISTESSE
(Columbia Pictures, 1957)
Deborah Kerr, Jean Seberg, Mylene Demongeot, Juliette Greco, Walter Chiari, Martita Hunt. Produced and directed by Otto Preminger.

SEPARATE TABLES
(Clifton-UA, 1958)
Deborah Kerr, Rita Hayworth, Wendy Hiller, Burt Lancaster, Gladys Cooper, Felix Aylmer. Produced by Harold Hecht, James Hill and Burt Lancaster; directed by Delbert Mann.

ASK ANY GIRL
(MGM, 1959)
Shirley MacLaine, Gig Young, Rod Taylor. Produced by Joe Pasternak; directed by Charles Walters.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
(Fields Productions Inc-UA, 1959)
Mitzi Gaynor, Carl Reiner, Loring Smith. Produced by Ralph Fields; directed by David Miller.

PLEASE DON’T EAT THE DAISIES
(MGM, 1960)
Doris Day, Janis Paige, Richard Haydn. Produced by Joe Pasternak; directed by Charles Walters.

THE GUNS OF NAVARONE
(Open Road Films-Columbia, 1961)
Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, Richard Harris. Produced by Carl Foreman and Cecil Ford; directed by J. Lee Thompson.

THE BEST OF ENEMIES
(De Laurentiis-Columbia, 1961). Italian title,
I Due Nemici
.
Alberto Sordi, Michael Wilding, Harry Andrews. Produced by Dino De Laurentiis; directed by Guy Hamilton.

THE ROAD TO HONG KONG
(Melnor-UA, 1962)
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Joan Collins, Dorothy Lamour, Robert Morley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Sellers. Produced and directed by Norman Panama.

THE CAPTIVE CITY
(Maxima Films, 1962). USA title,
The Conquered City
. Italian title,
La Città Prigioniera
.
Ben Gazzara, Michael Craig, Martin Balsam, Lea Massari, Daniela Rocca. Produced and directed by Joseph Anthony.

THE SHORTEST DAY
(Titanus, 1962). Italian title,
II Giorno Più Corto
.
Marcello Mastroianni, Stewart Granger, Walter Pidgeon, Jean-Paul Belmondo. Directed by Sergio Corbucci.

GUNS OF DARKNESS
(Cavalcade-Warners, 1962)
Leslie Caron, James Robertson Justice. Produced by Ben Kadish and Thomas Clyde; directed by Anthony Asquith.

55 DAYS AT PEKING
(Bronston-Allied Artists, 1963)
Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, Robert Helpmann, Flora Robson, Elizabeth Sellars. Produced by Samuel Bronston; directed by Nicholas Ray.

THE PINK PANTHER
(Mirisch-UA, 1964)
Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine, Claudia Cardinale, Brenda de Banzie, John le Mesurier, Michael Trubshawe. Produced by Martin Jurow; directed by Blake Edwards.

BEDTIME STORY
(Lankershim-Pennebaker Universal, 1964)
Marlon Brando, Shirley Jones, Dody Goodman, Aram Stephen. Produced by Stanley Shapiro; directed by Ralph Levy.

WHERE THE SPIES ARE
(MGM, 1965)
Françoise Dorleac, Cyril Cusack, John le Mesurier, Nigel Davenport. Produced by Val Guest and Steven Pallos; directed by Val Guest.

LADY L
(Concordia-MGM, 1965)
Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, Claude Dauphin, Philippe Noiret, Cecil Parker, Peter Ustinov. Produced by Carlo Ponti; directed by Peter Ustinov.

EYE OF THE DEVIL
(Filmways-MGM, 1966)
Deborah Kerr, Donald Pleasence, Edward Mulhare, Flora Robson, Emlyn Williams, Sharon Tate, David Hemmings, John le Mesurier. Produced by Martin Ransohoff and John Calley; directed by J. Lee Thompson.

CASINO ROYALE
(Famous Artists-Columbia, 1967)
Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, Orson Welles, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr, William Holden, John Huston, George Raft. Produced by Charles K. Feldman and Jerry Bresler; directed by John Huston, Ken Hughes, Val Guest, Robert Parrish, Joe McGrath, Richard Talmadge and Anthony Squire.

THE EXTRAORDINARY SEAMAN
(MGM, 1968)
Faye Dunaway, Alan Alda, Mickey Rooney. Produced by Edward Lewis and John H. Cushingham; directed by John Frankenheimer.

PRUDENCE AND THE PILL
(20th Century-Fox, 1968)
Deborah Kerr, Robert Coote, Judy Geeson, Keith Michell, Edith Evans. Produced by Kenneth Harper and Ronald Kahn; directed by Fielder Cook.

THE IMPOSSIBLE YEARS
(Marten-MGM, 1968)
Lola Albright, Chad Everett, Ozzie Nelson, Christina Ferrare, Jeff Cooper. Produced by Lawrence Weingarten; directed by Michael Gordon.

BEFORE WINTER COMES
(Windward-Columbia, 1969)
Topol, Anna Karina, John Hurt, Anthony Quayle. Produced by Robert Emmett Ginna; directed by J. Lee Thompson.

THE BRAIN
(Gaumont International-Paramount, 1969). French title,
Le Cerveau
.
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bourvil, Eli Wallach. Produced by Alain Poire; directed by Gérard Oury.