Hartley Power

Hartley Power was a British film and television actor of American descent. In a career spanning 26 years, he appeared in around 35 productions in total, most of which were minor roles and uncredited performances.

Power made his debut in the British film Industry in the year 1931, playing a small role in Peter Godfrey's crime film, Down River, about a reporter who goes up a notch and thwarts a drug smuggling racket. The film failed and went unnoticed at the box office.

In 1933, after appearing in the Tom Walls' comedy, Leave it to Smith, Power played the titular character in Mr. Brown, directed by Herbert Wilcox. The film got positive reviews from critics at that time, but the film went missing from the archive of the British Film Institute. Later that year, he had small appearances in Friday the Thirteenth and Aunt Sally, a musical comedy by Tim Whelan.

He appeared in some big films in the year 1934, like Road House, a dark comedy, which was initially in talks to be directed by Alfred Hitchcock, but ended up being directed by Maurice Elvey. The same year, he appeared in the musical, ‘Evergreen’, playing the character of Treadwell. The film is considered as the director, Victor Saville's, most noteworthy works, because of its strong plot, energetic performances, and great music. Later that year, he appeared in the box office success, The Camels are Coming, directed by Tim Whelan, about a British officer, who combats drug smugglers in Egypt.

In 1936, he played a minor, but very significant role of the District Attorney in Herbert Benson's, Living Dangerously. He also did two more films that year: Where There’s a Will and The Return of the Frog. The Return of the Frog is about a criminal who goes by the name Frog. This movie was based on the novel, The Frog, by Edgar Wallace.

From 1939 to 1942, he continued playing small supporting roles, appearing in movies such as Just like a Woman, Murder will Out, A Window, Return to Yesterday, Atlantic Ferry and Alibi.

Power was roped in to play the character of Colonel Bagley in the Mutz Greenbaum's action adventure, The Man from Morocco, in 1945. He also appeared in the film, The Way Click to look into! >> Read More... to the Stars, a British war film by Anthony Asquith, which performed very well at the box office. The same year, he played the character of Sylvester Kee, one of his most remembered roles, in the horror film, Dead of Night. The film held a 96% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and was liked by the audience and the critic alike. Time Out Click to look into! >> Read More... conducted a poll, which listed the film as number 35 on the list of top 100 horror movies. Director Martin Scorsese considers it as one of the scariest movies of all time.

In 1953, Power appeared in the super hit romantic comedy, Roman Holiday, directed by William Wyler. His performance in the film is considered to be his best. The film won three Academy Awards and was selected to be kept in preservation at the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. American Film Institute, ranked the film number 4 on the list of top 10 romantic comedies.

In 1954, he appeared as Lloyd Hastings in Million Pound Note by Ronald Neame, based on the short story - 'The Million Pound Bank Note' by Mark Twain. The same year, his performance in To Dorothy a Son, became a critic's favorite.

He ended his film career with the movie, Island in the Sun, by Robert Rossen. The film dealt with controversial topics of race relations and interracial romance. The movie was a huge commercial success and became the highest grossing film of the year.

Hartley Power died on 29th January, 1966, in London.