Howard, Trevor

Howard, Trevor (1916-1988), British actor noted for his stiff-upper-lip persona. Born in Cliftonville, Kent, and educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), Howard displayed a sensitivity to and sheer perception of adulterously motivated Establishment types that would ensure him a secure place in cinema history. Among the best examples are his local doctor in Brief Encounter (1945) by Sir David Lean, from the work by Noel Coward, and his colonial officer in The Heart of the Matter (1953), from the novel by Graham Greene. Lean used him again in The Passionate Friends (1948). Howard also gave strong performances in two clever thrillers from Launder and Gilliat, Green for Danger and I See a Dark Stranger (both 1946). Further memorable roles followed for the director Carol Reed in The Third Man (1949), from another work by Greene; An Outcast of the Islands (1951), from the Joseph Conrad novel; The Key (1958); and starring as Captain Bligh in Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)—from which Reed was removed during filming.

These last two films were instrumental in moving Howard towards a career in international cinema (in both leading and supporting roles), but perhaps the only two that utilized his by-now polished eccentricity were Tony Richardson's The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), in which he was a peppery aristocratic general, and Ludwig (1972), by Luchino Visconti, as a vital, raging Wagner. Later films include Gandhi (1982) and White Mischief (1987).