Oscar Profile #643: Tyrone Power Revisited

Born May 5, 1914, matinee idol Tyrone Power was the fourth of five to carry the name beginning with his great-grandfather, a famous Irish comedian who lived from 1795 to 1841. His father (1869-1931) was a noted stage actor who appeared in several films as Tyrone Power but has subsequently been referred to Tyrone Power, Sr. Power’s son, born after the actor’s death in 1959, is known as Tyrone Power, Jr.

Power was also related to three contemporary luminaries. Through his paternal great-grandmother, Anne Gilbert, Power was related to actor Laurence Olivier; through his paternal grandmother, stage actress Ethel Lavenu, he was related by marriage to author Evelyn Waugh, and through his father’s first cousin, Norah Emily Gorman Power, he was related to the theatre director Tyrone Guthrie.

Power made his screen debut as a child actor in a bit part in 1925’s School for Wives. His first sound film was 1932’s Tom Brown of Culver in which he also had a bit part. After several more minor roles, he achieved star status in 1936’s Lloyd’s of London in which he was fourth billed as the adult version of the lead character played as a child by Freddie Bartholomew. From then on, it was star status all the way.

Power’s late 1930s hits include In Old Chicago; Alexander’s Ragtime Band; Marie Antoinette; Suez; Jesse James and The Rains Came.

The early 1940s brought Power more hits including The Mark of Zorro; Blood and Sand; This Above All; The Black Swan and Crash Dive in which he was billed as Tyrone Power U.S.M.C.R.

After war service Power returned to the screen in two of his most acclaimed performances in 1946’s The Razor’s Edge and 1947’s Nightmare Alley, after which he appeared in such diverse films as Captain from Castile; The Luck of the Irish; Prince of Foxes and The Black Rose.

The 1950s provided Power with such diverse hits as I’ll Never Forget You, a remake of Berkeley Square; King of the Khyber Rifles; The Long Gray Line; The Eddy Duchin Story; The Sun Also Rises; Abandon Ship and Witness for the Prosecution, his first film since The Razor’s Edge to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination. The actor himself never received an Oscar nomination of his own, although his performances in The Razor’s Edge; Nightmare Alley and The Long Gray Line may well have come close.

Power began filming Solomon and Sheba in Spain in September, 1958. He had completed about 75% of his scenes when he suffered a massive heart attack during a dueling scene with George Sanders and died on the way to the hospital on November 15, 1958. He was only 44 years old. Yul Brynner took over the role.

His third wife, Deborah, gave birth to Power’s third child and only son, the actor known as Tyrone Power, Jr. on January 22, 1959.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940), directed by Rouben Mamoulian

Twenty years after Douglas Fairbanks’ legendary portrayal of Zorro, Power played him to smashing effect in the best remembered version of the oft-told tale.

Power is in terrific form as the daredevil masked avenger of deeds against the poor masquerading as a fop. Linda Darnell, already a star in their third film together, had a strong role as the woman who loves him and Basil Rathbone had one of his best villain roles. The climactic sword fight between Power and Rathbone has long been regarded as one of the greatest captured on film. Both Power and Rathbone did their own fencing, although a double was used for Power in the film’s most dangerous shots in which the character is seen from the back.

THE RAZOR’S EDGE (1946), directed by Edmund Goulding

W. Somerset Maugham’s tale of a young man who goes off to find himself, returning ten years later, was of tremendous appeal to post-war audiences. Power, in his first role since serving with the Marines in the war is quite effective in the role, although Oscar voters went for the showier supporting performances of Clifton Webb as Power’s socialite girlfriend Gene Tierney’s effete uncle, and Anne Baxter as a young woman who goes to pieces after the death of her family in a car accident. Webb received the second of his three nominations and Baxter won on her first nod.

The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Power’s third film to be nominated in that category behind 1937’s In Old Chicago and 1938’s Alexander’s Ragtime Band.

NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947), directed by Edmund Goulding

Although not successful at the time of its release, this film noir about an ambitious carny and the lowlifes he surrounds himself with has consistently ranked as a favorite with film historians and fans alike. Power, in his darkest role, has never been better, and the supporting cast features Joan Blondell at her best, along with Coleen Gray, Helen Walker in a knockout performance as a wicked shrink, Taylor Holmes, Mike Mazurki, and Ian Keith, all in top form.

Power’s legion of fans, as Fox honcho Daryl F. Zanuck predicted, rebelled at the idea of his playing an evil character and stayed away in droves. Zanuck wisely held back the swashbuckler Captain from Castile, which he had filmed first, for release six weeks after Nightmare Alley to bring the fans back.

THE LONG GRAY LINE (1955), directed by John Ford

Power had his first and only real character part as Martin “Marty” Maher, the Irish immigrant who becomes a non-commissioned officer at West Point during his fifty-year career. It’s a can’t-miss project for Ford as it’s about his two favorite subjects – the Irish and military tradition.

Maureen O’Hara matches Power every step of the way as his beautiful wife grown old before her time. Her death scene, in which the weary woman sits in a favorite chair and quietly passes away, is a classic. There are also good supporting performances from Donald Crisp, Ward Bond, Betsy Palmer, Robert Francis, and Harry Carey Jr. as Dwight Eisenhower.

WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957), directed by Billy Wilder

Power’s last film was one of his best, even if the actor himself is outshone by several other players in this intriguing adaptation of an Agatha Christie masterful play, his fourth film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

Power plays a ne’er-do-well who is arrested for the murder of a wealthy woman he had been spending time with. Marlene Dietrich as his German wife; Charles Laughton as his barrister; Elsa Lanchester as the barrister’s nurse and Una O’Connor as the dead woman’s maid are all so good they almost, but don’t quite, act Power off the screen. It’s in the writing, though, not the acting. Poor Beau Bridges has the same trouble staying on top of the 1982 TV remake with Diana Rigg, Ralph Richardson, Deborah Kerr, and Wendy Hiller equally impressive in those other key roles.