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Leslie Howard

Leslie HoWard Steiner was a twice Academy AWard-nominated actor, born April 3, 1893, the eldest son of Hungarian Ferdinand Steiner and his British wife, Lillian Blumberg.

His interest in acting was encouraged by his mother, who set up a drama club. His father on the other hand, wished for him to obtain a steady job as a bank clerk. Although HoWard detested the job, he took up the post for two years before he resigned to join the British calvary at the start of the First World War.

He spent two years in the army before he was diagnosed as suffering from shell-shock and returned home. He soon met his future wife, Ruth Martin, who became the mother of his son (Ronald HoWard) and his daughter (Leslie Ruth HoWard). By the 1920s he had pursued his acting career again, participating in various films and stage work, some of which he wrote and produced himself.

His first talking film, 'OutWard Bound' (1930), was based on a play which he himself had starred in. Over the course of the decade he made many more successful films, including 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' (1934), 'Romeo and Juliet' (1936), 'Intermezzo' (1939) (or 'Intermezzo: A Love Story') and 'Gone With The Wind', in which he played Ashley Wilkes, a role which many people consider to be internationally his best known character. By the end of 1930s he had achieved two Oscar nominations, (both for the best actor aWard) for 'Berkeley Square' (1933) and 'Pygmalion' (1938).

When World War II broke out, HoWard left Hollywood and returned to Britain, where he produced and directed (as well as starred in) many propaganda films. These films include 'Pimpernel Smith' (1941), '49th Parallel' (1941), 'The First Of The Few' (1942) and 'The Gentle Sex' (1943).

He was in the middle of filming his current project 'The Lamp Still Burns', when after having visited Portugal, his plane home was targeted by the Luftwaffe and shot down over the Bay of Biscay on June 1, 1943. No survivors were found, and HoWard was presumed dead.

The news of his death was considered a national tragedy.


What members say | Filmography | Watch online (1)

Leslie Howard - what members say


  • Of Human Bondage
  • Of Human Bondage review by from Anstruther
    Rated - 4 stars Vintage Bette 5 February 2007
    ...t example of early Bette Davis campery as the heartless seductress dogging poor Leslie Howard's life. Her mockney accent is dreadful, but hilariously so, and the melodramati...  
  • The First Of The Few
  • The First Of The Few review by from WEST BROMWICH
    Rated - 3 stars 2 August 2004
    ...ack and white film, it is none the less worth your time to rent out this movie. Leslie Howard was killed in an airplane crash shortly after finishing this film...  
  • Intermezzo
  • Intermezzo review by from Reading England
    Rated - 5 stars Sweet music from Bergman and Howard 7 January 2005
    ...heme music throughout the film) is the only film in which she was cast opposite Leslie Howard. The story is the eternal triangle of 'wife and home' versus the enchantress a...  

Leslie Howard - filmography


  • Pimpernel Smith (1941)
    Starring: Leslie Howard,  Mary Morris
    Director: Leslie Howard
    Certificate: Certificate: TBC
    It is mid-1939 and both Germany and England are preparing for an inevitable conflict. Professor Horatio Smith, an effete academic, asks his students to come with him to the continent to engage in an archaeological dig. When his students discover that the professor is the man responsible for ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 75% from 12 members
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  • Intermezzo on DVD (1939)
    Starring: Leslie Howard,  Ingrid Bergman,  Edna Best
    Director: Gregory Ratoff
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    David O. Selznick's INTERMEZZO is Ingrid Bergman's first English-speaking film and the movie that launched her Hollywood career. Billed as the greatest love story of all time, it avoids the schmaltz factor despite being highly melodramatic, due to Gregory Ratoff's swift direction.
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 55% from 169 members
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  • The Petrified Forest (1936)
    Starring: Leslie Howard,  Bette Davis,  Bette Davis
    Director: Archie Mayo
    Certificate: Certificate:
    Leslie Howard plays a perfect gentleman--a lonely intellectual in search of meaning. When he lands in a deserted café, he finds what he's looking for in the form of young Bette Davis, whose character yearns for the artistic climate of gay Paris. But both Howard and Davis are in for a bumpy ride ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 67% from 255 members
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  • Of Human Bondage on DVD (1934)
    Starring: Leslie Howard,  Bette Davis,  Bette Davis
    Director: John Cromwell
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
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    John Cromwell (THE PRISONER OF ZENDA, THE GODDESS) brings W. Somerset Maugham's novel and Bette Davis's career to life with the spellbinding drama OF HUMAN BONDAGE. Having unsuccessfully tried his hand at painting in Paris, Philip Carey (Leslie Howard) returns home to London. Despite his clubfoot, ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 57% from 532 members
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Leslie Howard - watch online


  • Of Human Bondage to Watch Now (1934)
    Starring: Leslie Howard,  Bette Davis,  Bette Davis
    Director: John Cromwell
    Certificate: Certificate: PG (TBC)
    Watch now: Subscribe and watch this as part of an unlimited package.
    Run time: 83 minutes
    John Cromwell (THE PRISONER OF ZENDA, THE GODDESS) brings W. Somerset Maugham's novel and Bette Davis's career to life with the spellbinding drama OF HUMAN BONDAGE. Having unsuccessfully tried his hand at painting in Paris, Philip Carey (Leslie Howard) returns home to London. Despite his clubfoot, ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 66% from 6 members
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Leslie Howard facts

5 most recent films

The First Of The Few - 3.5 stars
49th Parallel - 3.0 stars
Pimpernel Smith - 3.5 stars
Gone With The Wind - 3.5 stars
Intermezzo - 3.0 stars

5 highest-rated films

Pygmalion - 3.5 stars
Gone With The Wind - 3.5 stars
The First Of The Few - 3.5 stars
The Petrified Forest - 3.5 stars
49th Parallel - 3.0 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Pimpernel Smith - 3.5 stars
Gone With The Wind - BLU-RAY Version - 3.5 stars
Intermezzo - 3.0 stars
Of Human Bondage - 3.0 stars
49th Parallel - 3.0 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Barbara O'Neil - 4 times - show films
Harry Davenport - 4 times - show films
Vivien Leigh - 4 times - show films
Ward - 4 times - show films
Thomas Mitchell - 4 times - show films

Most frequent directors

George Cukor - 4 times - show films
Victor Fleming - 4 times - show films
Sam Wood - 4 times - show films
Anthony Asquith - 2 times - show films
John Cromwell - 2 times - show films