Leslie Banks

• Name — Leslie Banks • Honorific Suffix — CBE • Birth Name — Leslie James Banks • Born — 9 June 1890 • Birthplace — West Derby, Liverpool, Lancashire, England • Died — 21 April 1952 • Place of death — Kensington, London, England • Occupation — Actor, director, producer • Years Active — 1911–1950 • Children — 3

Leslie Banks was born in West Derby, Liverpool, Lancashire, to George and Emily (née Dalby) Banks. He attended school at Glenalmond College in Scotland, and later studied at Keble College, Oxford with the intention of becoming a parson, but decided against this. He joined Frank Benson's company, and made his acting debut in October 1911 at the town hall in Brechin, playing Old Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice. He then toured the United States and Canada with Henry V. Esmond and Eva Moore in 1912 and 1913. Returning to London, he appeared for the first time on the West End stage at the Vaudeville Theatre on 5 May 1914, as Lord Murdon in The Dangerous Age. During the First World War he served with the Essex Regiment. He received injuries that left his face partially scarred and paralysed. In his acting career he would use this injury to good effect, by showing the unblemished side of his face when playing comedy or romance and the scarred, paralysed side of his face when playing drama or tragedy. After the war, Banks joined the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He returned to London in 1921, and established himself as a leading dramatic actor and West End star known for his powerful yet restrained performances. Working in both London and New York City, he gained prominence on both sides of the Atlantic, and it was when he was in New York that Kenneth Macgowan persuaded him to go to Hollywood and make his first credited movie debut there in The Most Dangerous Game in 1932.

• Illustration — Theatrical release poster for The Most Dangerous Game (1932) His intimidating aspect served him well in his Hollywood debut, as a diabolical Russian hunter of human prey in The Most Dangerous Game (1932). After two more Hollywood films he returned to Britain where he divided his time between film and theatre. His other film roles included Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), Sanders of the River (1935), Erich Pommer's Fire Over England (1937), Jamaica Inn (1939, for Hitchcock and Pommer again), The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939), Cottage to Let (1941), Went the Day Well (1942), Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944), Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Small Back Room (1949) and David Lean's Madeleine (1950). His theatre roles included Eliza Comes to Stay (his American debut in 1914), Captain Hook in Peter Pan (his New York debut in 1924), the title role in Clive of India (1934), Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew (1937), the schoolmaster in Goodbye, Mr Chips (1938), and James Jarvis in the Kurt Weill musical Lost in the Stars (1950).

He married Gwendoline Haldane Unwin in 1915; they had three daughters, Daphne, Virginia, and Evangeline. Banks was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to theatre in 1950, the year of his last appearances on stage and screen. He died in 1952, aged 61, from a stroke he suffered while walking, and is buried in St Nicholas Churchyard in the village of Worth Matravers, Dorset.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1921 — Experience — (Film debut) • 1932 — The Most Dangerous Game — Count Zaroff • 1933 — Strange Evidence — Francis Relf • I Am Suzanne — Adolpe 'Baron' Herring • 1934 — The Fire Raisers — Jim Bronton • Red Ensign — David Barr • The Man Who Knew Too Much — Bob Lawrence • 1935 — Sanders of the River — Commissioner R.G. Sanders • The Night of the Party — Sir John Holland • The Tunnel — Frederick Robbins • 1936 — Debt of Honour — Maj. Jimmie Stanton • Three Maxims — Mac • 1937 — Wings of the Morning — Lord Clontarf • Fire Over England — the Earl of Leicester • Farewell Again — Col. Harry Blair • 1939 — Jamaica Inn — Joss Merlyn • The Arsenal Stadium Mystery — Inspector Anthony Slade • Sons of the Sea — Captain Hyde • 1940 — 21 Days — Keith • Dead Man's Shoes — Roger de Vetheuil • Busman's Honeymoon — Inspector Kirk • The Door with Seven Locks — Dr. Manetta • Neutral Port — George Carter • 1941 — Cottage to Let — John Barrington • Ships with Wings — Vice-Admiral Weatherby • 1942 — The Big Blockade — Civil Service: Taylor • Went the Day Well? — Oliver Wilsford • 1944 — Henry V — Chorus • 1947 — Mrs. Fitzherbert — Charles Fox • 1949 — The Small Back Room — Col. A.K. Holland • 1950 — Your Witness — Col. Roger Summerfield • Madeleine — James Smith — (final film)

The following is established of the heading itself.

The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count. It is also recorded that leslie Banks is recorded with the occupation stage actor. The record continues: leslie Banks is recorded with the occupation film actor. Recorded with the occupation actor. It is also recorded that leslie Banks is recorded as a citizen of United Kingdom. The same evidence establishes that leslie Banks is recorded with the gender male. Born on 9 June 1890. Banks died on 21 April 1952.