Movie Stars: Brent, George–Background, Career, Awards

George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; March 15, 1904 – May 26, 1979), the Irish-American stage, film, and television actor, is best remembered for the 11 films he made with Bette Davis, including Jezebel and Dark Victory.

Brent was born in Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland on March 15, 1904, to John J. and Mary (née McGuinness) Nolan. His father was a shopkeeper and his mother was a native of Clonfad, Moore, County Roscommon.

In September 1915, he moved with his younger sister Kathleen to NY City. There, they joined their mother, who was living in the US after her separation from her husband.

Brent returned to Ireland in Feb 1921, during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1922), and was involved in the Irish Republican Army. During this period he also became involved with the Abbey Theatre.

He fled Ireland with a bounty set on his head by the British government, though he later claimed only to have been a courier for guerrilla leader and tactician Michael Collins.

Brent travelled from England to Canada and returned to the US in August 1921.

He decided to become a professional actor, making his Broadway debut in director Guthrie McClintic’s The Dover Road. He did plays throughout the 1920s, including running several of his own stock companies.

He appeared in productions of Abie’s Irish Rose (on tour for two years), Stella Dallas, Up in Mabel’s Room, Elmer the Great, Seventh Heaven, White Cargo and Lilac Time.

He acted in stock companies at Elitch Theatre, in Denver, Colorado (1929), as well as Rhode Island, Florida, and Massachusetts.

In 1930, he appeared on Broadway in Love, Honor, and Betray, alongside Clark Gable.

Brent moved to Hollywood and made his first film for 20th Century Fox, Under Suspicion (1930).

He continued in supporting roles for Fox in Once a Sinner (1931), Fair Warning (1931), and Charlie Chan Carries On (1931).

At Universal he was seventh-billed for Ex-Bad Boy (1931) and fifth for The Homicide Squad (1931), then was in the Rin Tin Tin serial The Lightning Warrior (1931) at Mascot Pictures.

Brent was signed by Warner Bros. in 1931, where he played Stanwyck’s leading man in So Big! (1932), establishing him as a leading man. Bette Davis had a small role.

Brent appeared in The Rich Are Always with Us (1932) with Ruth Chatterton (who became his second wife that year), in which Davis again had supporting role.

It was followed by Week-End Marriage (1932) with Loretta Young, The Purchase Price (1932) with Stanwyck, Miss Pinkerton (1932) with Joan Blondell, The Crash (1932) with Chatterton, and They Call It Sin (1932) with Young.

Paramount borrowed Brent for the leading-man role in Luxury Liner (1933).

Back at Warners, he was one of several studio names in 42nd Street (1933), playing the lover of Bebe Daniels.

He returned to supporting female stars: Kay Francis in The Keyhole (1933), Chatterton in both Lilly Turner (1933) and Female (1933), and Stanwyck in Baby Face (1933).

In October 1933, he and Chatterton refused to make a film they had been assigned, Mandalay, and were replaced by Lyle Talbot and Kay Francis. Brent’s salary was then $1,000 a week.

He was top-billed in From Headquarters (1933) with Margaret Lindsay; MGM borrowed him to play Myrna Loy’s lead man in Stamboul Quest (1934). In September 1934, Chatteron filed for divorce.

Brent was top billed in Housewife (1934) with Bette Davis, who was his co star. He was leading man to Jean Muir in Desirable (1935), then MGM used him for The Painted Veil (1934) with Garbo.

Brent supported Josephine Hutchinson in The Right to Live (1935), Francis in Living on Velvet (1935) and Stranded (1935). He then made two films with Davis, where she was top billed: Front Page Woman (1935) and Special Agent (1935).

Brent appeared in The Goose and the Gander (1935) with Kay Francis, then was borrowed by RKO to make In Person (1935) with Ginger Rogers.

At Warners he was top billed in the comedy Snowed Under (1936), then Walter Wanger borrowed him to play Madeleine Carroll’s leading man in The Case Against Mrs. Ames (1936).

At Warners he was reunited with Davis in The Golden Arrow (1936) and Francis in Give Me Your Heart (1936).

Columbia borrowed him to support Jean Arthur in More Than a Secretary (1936) then Warners gave him top billing in God’s Country and the Woman (1936) with Margaret Lindsay.

Brent made Mountain Justice (1937) with Hutchinson and The Go Getter (1937) with Anita Louise.

Warners then put Brent in his first male-orientated movie: Submarine D-1 (1937) with Pat O’Brien and Wayne Morris. In November 1937 he became an American citizen.[18]

Brent made Gold Is Where You Find It (1938) with Olivia de Havilland, then Jezebel (1938) with Davis–he was the second male lead, with Henry Fonda playing Davis’ main love interest.

Warners put him in an action “B” film withBogart, Racket Busters (1938) then he was reunited with Francis in Secrets of an Actress (1938).

He was in the military drama Wings of the Navy (1939) with de Havilland and John Payne.

He appeared in Dark Victory (1939) with Davis, which was a huge success. So too was The Old Maid (1939) where Davis and Miriam Hopkins fought over Brent. Both films were directed by Edmund Goulding.

20th Century Fox borrowed Brent for support role in The Rains Came (1939).

At Warners he supported James Cagney and O’Brien in The Fighting 69th (1940).

Paramount borrowed him for Adventure in Diamonds (1940), where he had top billing over Isa Miranda. He was Merle Oberon’s lead man in ‘Til We Meet Again (1940), then starred in The Man Who Talked Too Much (1940) and South of Suez (1940).

He supported Ann Sheridan in Honeymoon for Three (1941) and Davis in The Great Lie (1941).

Columbia borrowed him for the lead in They Dare Not Love (1941) with Martha Scott and Edward Small used him in two films, International Lady (1941) with Ilona Massey and Twin Beds (1942) with Joan Bennett.

Brent made one final film with Davis, In This Our Life (1942), alongside de Havilland. He supported Stanwyck in The Gay Sisters (1942) and was top-billed in You Can’t Escape Forever (1942) with Brenda Marshall and Silver Queen (1942) with Priscilla Lane.

In 1942, Brent, an accomplished pilot who had tried and, because of age, failed to enlist in the armed services, temporarily retired from films to teach flying as civilian flight instructor with the Civilian Pilot Training Program, and later became a pilot in the US Coast Guard for the duration of the war.

His final film for Warner was My Reputation, his fifth and last film with Stanwyck, filmed from November 1943 to January 1944; except for previews for military audiences, it was not released until 1946.

Brent acted on radio during this period.

While Brent returned to his acting career after WWII, he never recaptured his former popularity but during the immediate post war period he still remained a star of big budget films.

RKO used him as Hedy Lamarr’s leading man in Experiment Perilous (1944). For Hal Wallis he did The Affairs of Susan (1945) with Joan Fontaine, then Tomorrow Is Forever (1946) at International with Claudette Colbert and Orson Welles.

He returned to RKO for The Spiral Staircase (1946), a huge success. At Universal he was teamed with Lucille Ball in Lover Come Back (1946), then he made Temptation (1946) with Oberon and Edward Small at International.

Brent went to Eagle Lion to make a comedy Out of the Blue (1947), and Columbia for The Corpse Came C.O.D. (1947) with Blondell.

Universal teamed him with Yvonne De Carlo in Slave Girl (1947).

Brent was one of several names in Christmas Eve (1947) for Benedict Bogeaus and Luxury Liner (1948) at MGM, a remake of the 1933 film in which Brent had appeared.

He went to Republic to star in Angel on the Amazon (1948) and in Universal’s Red Canyon (1949) played the father of the star Ann Blyth. At the same studio he was third lead in Illegal Entry (1949) then had the lead in a “B” The Kid from Cleveland (1949). He supported Colbert in Bride for Sale (1950) at RKO.

The budgets of Brent’s films continued to shrink. He did two for Lippert Pictures: F.B.I. Girl (1951) and The Last Page (1952), the latter shot in England with Diana Dors.

There was Montana Belle (1952) with Jane Russell, then two for Monogram: Tangier Incident (1953) and Mexican Manhunt (1953).

Brent moved into television in the early 1950s guest starring in The Revlon Mirror Theater, Crown Theatre with Gloria Swanson, The Ford Television Theatre, Climax!, Fireside Theatre, Stage 7, Studio 57, Science Fiction Theatre, Celebrity Playhouse, Schlitz Playhouse and the religion anthology series, Crossroads.

He was cast in the lead in the 1956 TV series Wire Service, which ran for 39 episodes.

After appearing on Rawhide and The Chevy Mystery Show, Brent retired.

In 1978, he made one last film, Born Again.

In 1960, Brent was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with two stars. He received a motion-pictures star located at 1709 Vine Street and a second star located at 1612 Vine Street for his work in television.

Brent was married five times: to Helen Louise Campbell (1925–1927), Ruth Chatterton (1932–1934), Constance Worth (1937), Ann Sheridan (1942–1943), and Janet Michaels (1947–1974).

Chatterton, Worth, and Sheridan were actresses; Chatterton and Sheridan were Warner players.

His final marriage to Janet Michaels, former model and dress designer, lasted 27 years until her death in 1974. They had two children: daughte Suzanne (born August 3, 1950), and son Barry (born November 26, 1954).

Brent also had an affair with Bette Davis, a frequent Warner co-star.

He suffered from emphysema and died of natural causes in 1979 in Solana Beach, California.

Filmography

1924 The Iron Horse Worker / Extra (uncredited)

1930 Under Suspicion Inspector Turner

1931 Once a Sinner James Brent
1931 Fair Warning Les Haines
1931 Charlie Chan Carries On Capt. Ronald Keane Warner Oland
1931 Ex-Bad Boy Donald Swift
1931 The Homicide Squad Jimmy
1931 The Lightning Warrior Alan Scott Rin Tin Tin

1932 So Big! Roelf Pool Barbara Stanwyck
1932 The Rich Are Always With Us Julian Tierney Ruth Chatterton
1932 Week-End Marriage Peter Acton Loretta Young
1932 The Purchase Price Jim Gilson Barbara Stanwyck
1932 Miss Pinkerton Police Inspector Patten Joan Blondell
1932 The Crash Geoffrey Gault
1932 They Call It Sin Dr. Travers Loretta Young

1933 Luxury Liner Dr. Thomas Bernard
1933 42nd Street Pat Denning Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell
1933 The Keyhole Neil Davis Kay Francis
1933 Lilly Turner Bob Chandler Ruth Chatterton
1933 Baby Face Trenholm Barbara Stanwyck
1933 Female Jim Thorne Ruth Chatterton
1933 From Headquarters Lieut. J. Stevens

1934 Stamboul Quest Douglas Beall Myrna Loy
1934 Housewife William Reynolds Bette Davis
1934 Desirable McAllister Jean Muir
1934 The Painted Veil Jack Townsend, Garbo

1935 The Right to Live Colin Trent Josephine Hutchinson
1935 Living on Velvet Terrence Clarence ‘Terry’ Parker Kay Francis, Warren William
1935 Stranded Mack Hale Kay Francis
1935 Front Page Woman Curt Devlin Bette Davis
1935 Special Agent Bill Bradford Bette Davis
1935 The Goose and the Gander Bob McNear Kay Francis
1935 In Person Emory Muir Ginger Rogers

1936 Snowed Under Alan Tanner Glenda Farrell
1936 The Case Against Mrs. Ames Matt Logan Madeleine Carroll
1936 The Golden Arrow Johnny Jones Bette Davis
1936 Give Me Your Heart Jim Baker Kay Francis
1936 More Than a Secretary Fred Gilbert Jean Arthur

1937 God’s Country and the Woman Steve Russett
1937 Mountain Justice Paul Cameron
1937 The Go Getter Bill Austin
1937 Submarine D-1 Lt. Commander Matthews Pat O’Brien

1938 Gold Is Where You Find It Jared Whitney
1938 Jezebel Buck Cantrell Bette Davis
1938 Racket Busters Denny Jordan Humphrey Bogart
1938 Secrets of an Actress Dick Orr Kay Francis

1939 Wings of the Navy Cass Harrington
1939 Dark Victory Dr. Frederick Steele Bette Davis
1939 The Old Maid Clem Spender Bette Davis
1939 The Rains Came Tom Ransome Myrna Loy

1940 The Fighting 69th “Wild Bill” Donovan James Cagney
1940 Adventure in Diamonds Capt. Stephen Dennett
1940 ‘Til We Meet Again Dan Hardesty Merle Oberon
1940 The Man Who Talked Too Much Stephen M. Forbes
1940 South of Suez John Gamble Brenda Marshall

1941 Honeymoon for Three Kenneth Bixby Ann Sheridan
1941 The Great Lie Peter Van Allen Bette Davis
1941 They Dare Not Love Prince Kurt von Rotenberg
1941 International Lady Tim Hanley

1942 Twin Beds Mike Abbott Joan Bennett
1942 In This Our Life Craig Fleming Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland
1942 The Gay Sisters Charles Barclay Barbara Stanwyck
1942 You Can’t Escape Forever Steve Mitchell
1942 Silver Queen James Kincaid

1944 Experiment Perilous Dr. Huntington Bailey Hedy Lamarr

1945 The Affairs of Susan Roger Berton Joan Fontaine

1946 Tomorrow Is Forever Lawrence Hamilton
1946 My Reputation Major Scott Landis Barbara Stanwyck
1946 The Spiral Staircase Professor Warren Dorothy McGuire
1946 Lover Come Back William ‘Bill’ Williams Jr.
1946 Temptation Nigel Armine
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1947 Out of the Blue Arthur Earthleigh
1947 The Corpse Came C.O.D. Joe Medford Joan Blondell
1947 Slave Girl Matt Claibourne – aka Pierre
1947 Christmas Eve Michael Brooks

1948 Luxury Liner Captain Jeremy Bradford
1948 Angel on the Amazon Jim Warburton Vera Ralston
1948 Red Canyon Matthew Bostel

1949 Illegal Entry Chief Agent Dan Collins
1949 The Kid from Cleveland Mike Jackson
1949 Bride for Sale Paul Martin

1951 FBI Girl Jeff Donley

1952 The Last Page John Harman
1952 Montana Belle Tom Bradfield

1953 Tangier Incident Steve Gordon
1953 Mexican Manhunt David L. ‘Dave’ Brady

1956 Death of a Scoundrel O’Connell, Party Guest (uncredited) George Sanders

1978 Born Again Judge Gerhard Gesell (final film role)