Miles Mander
1888–1946

Film career Miles Mander began his screen career as an extra in crowd scenes in 1918, and he obtained a bit role in A Temporary Lady (1920). He was billed as ‘Luther Miles’ in his earliest film appearances, reserving his real name for his screenwriting credits. He entered the nascent film business in 1920, and directed, acted in or produced over 100 movies in Europe, Australia and the USA. He became well known as a character actor, typically as the English gentleman cad, the conspiring, oily villain, or dissipated types such as drunkards and dope addicts, in the early cinema. He went on to appear in an early Hitchcock classic, The Pleasure Garden, in 1925, where he played a luscious, bigamous villain. He worked for the major English and European studios including Gainsborough, Gaumont, Nelson, BIP and Paramount. He achieved success as Sir Hugh Boycott in The First Born (1928) which he directed and acted in, and which was based on his own novel and play.
"Murder My Sweet", 1944: Miles shoots first, just before he is shot (off camera) In "The Pleasure Garden", 1925	He played his Hollywood debut as Louis XIII in the 1935 version of The Three Musketeers, and then played Richelieu in a musicalised comedy version in 1939, where the musketeers are played by the Ritz brothers. In 1932, Miles appeared in a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story, The Missing Rembrandt. Also in the cast was the future James Bond creator, Ian Fleming. He gave striking performances in such films as The Fake, The Physician and Lily Christine. In Hollywood he played character roles for Fox, Universal and other studios until his death. His best-known Hollywood roles included those of Lockwood in Wuthering Heights (1939) with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon (whose career he launched), and Ginger Roger’s father in The Primrose Path (1940). He was never more unsavory than when he portrayed the master criminal Giles Conover in the Sherlock Holmes adventure The Pearl of Death in 1945. He starred in Noel Coward’s operetta Bitter Sweet (1933). He directed nine films and wrote the screenplay for another eight. One of these was a comedy, The Morals of Marcus (1935), from a play by ‘Stella Maris’ author W.J. Locke.

Other famous film credits include Murder, My Sweet (1945), The Brighton Strangler (1945), Return of the Vampire (1943), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Fingers at the Window (1942), Babies for Sale (1940), The House of the Seven Gables (1940), Tower of London (1939), and The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933).

	With Joan Wyndham in 'Loyalties', 1933
Author
As an author, Miles Mander was foremost a novelist. But he wrote some forgotten plays, two of which were produced in London in 1927 and 1930, and short stories and pamphlets. He published a collection of essays on current affairs, conduct and character, religion, politics and sexual morality, called To my Son—in Confidence (Faber, 1934). This he dedicated to ‘the legion of devoted fathers who, through doing the “decent thing” in divorce or estrangement, are now anxious for their sons’. Whereas he sees his father, Theodore’s, life as a steady progression to affluence and success, his own was marked by a lack of parental guidance and ‘a weakness for the vapidities of life… If a man’s life has been crammed with vicissitudes like mine, then it seems a wicked thing that he should not give his son the benefit of his experience’. The son to whom he pertinently addresses that benefit was his ‘greatest friend’, Theo (1926-1990), his son by his second wife, Kathleen French of Sydney. This is no smug collection of conventional platitudes. Lionel is brief but entertaining about his antecedents, the Manders:
My father was Samuel Theodore Mander, an excessively good man of puritanical yeoman stock. He was a member of a large and prolific family which is localized in the region of Wolverhampton, where they manufacture varnish. That they have been doing this for 150 years only goes to prove that insanity and integrity are very closely allied. The only justification for an occupation so prosaic, and an existence so provincial, must be the accumulation of wealth. This being so, the Manders have nobly vindicated themselves. In addition, at the time of writing, they have produced one baronet, one Member of Parliament, High Sheriffs, Deputy Lieutenants and several of the lesser municipal dignitaries such as Mayors, Magistrates and Councillors. In fact, we are quite obviously worthy people. He confesses to the temperance of his side of the family—his father, grandfather, Geoffrey and himself—with descriptions of the pious ways at the Congregationalist Wightwick of his childhood:
My father was an extremely religious man. What is more, he practised what he preached. He did not conform to the Church of England, being Congregational by denomination. His children as a result were brought up in a strictly religious atmosphere. Every morning before breakfast all the indoor servants would troop into the morning room where the members of the family were already gathered. Father would then read an extract from the Bible and this would be followed by prayers when everyone would kneel down. On Sundays, Father and Mother would drive into Wolverhampton in the morning, accompanied by us children. In those days there were no motor-cars, so the drive in the brougham took a long time. On arrival at the chapel we would sit through a two-hour service, half of which consisted of a sermon. After lunch Father would take us in a scripture lesson. After tea we would all foregather in the drawing-room and sing Moody and Sankey hymns with mother at the piano. Father would then go out somewhere and do duty as a lay preacher. When he returned we would have supper and then, at ten o’clock, all the servants would line up in the drawing-room and we would go through the same prayerful procedure as on week-days before breakfast. It is almost incredible, looking back now, to think what we children must have suffered. The household of a bishop could not have been more devout. And when one remembers that my father was at other times a fine shot, an enthusiastic fisherman and a keen rider to hounds, one is left groping in a forest of irreconcilability. But that is not the end of it. At the age of five I was christened in the morning-room by Father’s great friend, Dr. Robert Horton. I remember the blue vase which held the water and the sprinkling of my hair. What it meant I had no idea. Neither do I know why, at the age of fifteen, I was confirmed by the Bishop of Edinburgh. It is true that Father was then dead, but how Mother was persuaded to hand me over to the Church of England, I cannot imagine. The family at Wightwick, with Lionel (Miles) Mander third from left He also made an outspoken attack on public schools, when he was rebuked to much comment in the press by the headmaster of Harrow. In politics he professed himself a socialist, declaring an interest: Your Canadian great-grandfather was in the Ottawa Parliament, your grandfather, Theodore, was one of the most prominent Liberals of his day, your Uncle Geoffrey is at present a Liberal Member, and I am hoping to be in the House shortly myself. His brother Geoffrey was a Radical Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton East, and made a reputation as the Liberal spokesman on foreign affairs between the wars, as an anti-Appeaser who was one of the first to speak up against the Dictators in the Thirties and an early supporter of the League of Nations. Miles Mander contested the Putney constituency for Labour unsucessfully in the 1934 General Election. He conducted his own radio programme in the USA 1938-41, answering questions about the British Empire, politics and history. He then joined the Blue networks radio Round Table representing Britain.

In "The Primrose Path", 1940

Personal life

Miles’s first wife was an Indian princess: Prativa Devee—known as ‘Pretty’, and after their marriage as Princess Prativa Mander. Born in 1891, she was the daughter of Sir Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, the Maharajah of the Himalayan state of Cooch Behar, by his wife, Sunity Devee.1. The Maharajah was a model ruler of his princely state in West Bengal, who from infancy had been brought up as a ward of the British government. His race had been founded by the love of a god and a maiden, wrote the Maharani, ‘and through successive ages strife and love have been associated with the dynasty of Cooch Behar, whose chiefs have always been great rulers, great lovers, and great fighters’. The Maharajah died suddenly at Bexhill-on-Sea ‘in the prime of life’ in September 1911.

His Maharani describes Pretty at the time of her wedding aged 20 at Woodlands, Calcutta, in February 1912, as ‘a gorgeous damask rose just unfolding into loveliness, but perfectly simple and sweet’:

Pretty’s wedding lightened a little of our sadness at this time. My second girl was engaged to Lionel Mander, a young Englishman who appeared devoted to her. She was just like an English girl, although at home she lived as an Indian Princess. I gave my consent to the marriage, as I had long ago determined to let each of my girls marry the man she loved, and I quite realized that, owing to caste and creed, there would be many difficulties in the way of marriage with any of our princes.

His younger brother Alan married her sister, Princess Sudhira, who in the Thirties became notorious in the news for running up debts with court dressmakers, furriers and milliners in London to the point of bankruptcy.

Miles's marriage to Pretty was not a success. She returned to India during the War and Miles petitioned for divorce in 1922 on the grounds of his wife's adultery with a South African, Reginald de Beer, a society scandal widely reported in the press. It was related how Miles had climbed on the railings outside her flat and looked into the window to find his wife naked on the bed with de Beer, who remarked, “I say, old man, it’s a bit cool”. Pretty died in Calcutta on 23 July the following year.

Miles married for a second time, Kathren ('Bunty') French, of Sydney, Australia, who bore him his only child, Theodore. They divorced in 1936.

He died suddenly of a heart attack at the Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles, aged 57.

Film credits, as actor

* The Imperfect Lady (1947) .... Mr. Rogan ... aka Mrs. Loring's Secret (UK) ... aka They Met at Midnight (USA);
* The Walls Came Tumbling Down (1946) .... Dr. Marko;
* The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946) .... The Sheriff;
* Confidential Agent (1945) .... Mr. Brigstock;
* Week-End at the Waldorf (1945) .... British Secretary;
* Crime Doctor's Warning (1945) .... Frederick Malone ... aka Doctor's Warning (UK);
* The Brighton Strangler (1945) .... Chief Inspector W.R. Allison;
* The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) .... Sir Robert Bentley
* Murder, My Sweet (1944) .... Mr. Grayle ... aka Farewell My Lovely (UK)
* Enter Arsene Lupin (1944) .... Charles Seagrave
* The Pearl of Death (1944) .... Giles Conover;
* The Scarlet Claw (1944) .... Judge Brisson ... aka Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Claw (USA: promotional title);
* The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) (uncredited) .... Major Loring at Hospital;
* The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944) (uncredited) .... Man;
* Four Jills in a Jeep (1944) (uncredited) .... Col. Hartley;
* The Return of the Vampire (1944) .... Sir Frederick Fleet;
* Madame Curie (1943) (uncredited) .... Businessman;
* Guadalcanal Diary (1943) (uncredited) .... Weatherby (copra plantation supervisor);
* Phantom of the Opera (1943) .... Pleyel;
* First Comes Courage (1943) (uncredited) .... Col. Wallace;
* Five Graves to Cairo (1943) (uncredited) .... Col. Fitzhume;
* Assignment in Brittany (1943) .... Col. Herman Fournier;
* Secrets of the Underground (1942) .... Paul Panois;
* Lucky Jordan (1942) .... Kilpatrick;
* Journey for Margaret (1942) (uncredited);
* Apache Trail (1942) .... James V. Thorne;
* Somewhere I'll Find You (1942) (uncredited) .... Floyd Kirsten;
* The War Against Mrs Hadley (1942) .... Doctor Leonard V. Meecham;
* Mrs. Miniver (1942) (uncredited) .... German Agent's Voice;
* Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942) .... Portmaster;
* This Above All (1942) .... Major;
* Fingers at the Window (1942) .... Dr. Kurt Immelman;
* To Be or Not to Be (1942) .... Maj. Cunningham;
* Captains of the Clouds (1942) (voice) (uncredited) .... Winston S. Churchill;
* A Tragedy at Midnight (1942) .... Dr Hilary Wilton;
* Fly-By-Night (1942) .... Prof. Langner ... aka Secrets of G32 (UK);
* Secrets of the Underground (1942) .... Paul Panois;
* A Tragedy at Midnight (1942) .... Dr Hilary Wilton;
* Fly-By-Night (1942) .... Prof. Langner ... aka Secrets of G32 (UK);
* Dr Kildare's Wedding Day (1941) .... Dr. John F. Lockberg ... aka Mary Names the Day (UK);
* They Met in Bombay (1941) (uncredited) .... Doctor;
* That Hamilton Woman (1941) .... Lord Keith ... aka Lady Hamilton (UK);
* Shadows on the Stairs (1941) .... Tom Armitage ... aka Murder on the Second Floor (USA);
* Free and Easy (1941) (scenes deleted) .... Solicitor;
* South of Suez (1940) .... Roger Smythe;
* Captain Caution (1940) .... Lt. Strope;
* Babies for Sale (1940) .... Dr. Rankin;
* Primrose Path (1940) .... Homer Adams;
* Road to Singapore (1940) (uncredited) .... Sir Malcolm Drake;
* The House of the Seven Gables (1940) .... Deacon Arnold Foster;
* Laddie (1940) .... Mr. Pryor;
* The Earl of Chicago (1940) (uncredited) .... Attorney General;
* Tower of London (1939) .... King Henry VI;
* Stanley and Livingstone (1939) .... Sir John Gresham;
* The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) .... Aramis;
* Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939) .... Horace Granville;
* Wuthering Heights (1939) .... Lockwood;
* The Little Princess (1939) .... Lord Wickham;
* The Three Musketeers (1939) .... Cardinal Richelieu ... aka The Singing Musketeer (UK);
* Suez (1938) .... Benjamin Disraeli;
* The Mad Miss Manton (1938) .... Mr. Fred Thomas;
* Kidnapped (1938) .... Ebenezer Balfour;
* Youth on Parole (1937) .... Sparkler (gang leader);
* Wake Up and Live (1937) .... James Stratton;
* Slave Ship (1937) .... Corey;
* Lloyd's of London (1936) .... Jukes;
* The Three Musketeers (1935) .... King Louis XIII;
* Here's to Romance (1935) .... Bert;
* Death Drives Through (1935) .... Garry Ames;
* The Case for the Crown (1934) .... James L. Barton;
* The Battle (1934) .... Feize ... aka Hara-Kiri ... aka Thunder in the East (USA);
* The Four Masked Men (1934) .... Rodney Fraser;
* Don Quixote (1933) .... The Duke aka Adventures of Don Quixote;
* The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) .... Wriothesley;
* Bitter Sweet (1933) .... Captain Auguste Lutte;
* Loyalties (1933) .... Capt. Ronald Dancy, DSO;
* Matinee Idol (1933) .... Harley Travers;
* That Night in London (1932) .... Harry Tresham ... aka Over-Night ... aka Overnight;
* Lily Christine (1932) .... Ambatriadi;
* The Missing Rembrandt (1932) .... Claude Holford ... aka Sherlock Holmes and the Missing Rembrandt (USA);
* Frail Women (1932) .... Registrar;
* Mary (1931) .... Gordon Moore;
* Murder! (1930) .... Gordon Druce;
* Loose Ends (1930) .... Raymond Carteret;
* The Crooked Billet (1929) .... Guy Morrow ... aka International Spy (UK);
* Meineid (1929) ... aka Perjury (International: English title);
* The First Born (1928) .... Sir Hugo Boycott;
* Parisiskor (1928) .... Armand de Marny ... aka Doctors' Women (USA) ... aka Dr. Monnier und die Frauen (Germany) ... aka Women of Paris (USA);
* Balaclava (1928) .... Captain Gardner ... aka Jaws of Hell;
* Faschingskönig, Der (1928);
* The Physician (1928) .... Walter Amphiel;
* Tiptoes (1927) .... Rollo Stevens ... aka Tip Toes;
* As We Lie (1927) .... The Husband;
* The Fake (1927) .... Honourable Gerald Pillick;
* London Love (1926) .... Sir James Daring;
* Riding for a King (1926) .... Lord Steerwell;
* The Pleasure Garden (1925) .... Levett ... aka Irrgarten der Leidenschaft (Germany);
* The Lady in Furs (1925) ... aka Sables of Death (UK);
* The Painted Lady (1925) ... aka Red Lips (UK);
* The Prude's Fall (1924) .... Sir Neville Moreton ... aka Dangerous Virtue (USA);
* Lovers in Araby (1924) .... Derek Fare;
* Half a Truth (1922) .... Marquis Sallast;
* Open Country (1922) .... Honorable William Chevenix;
* The Road to London (1921) (uncredited);
* The Place of Honour (1921) .... Lt. Devereaux;
* The Old Arm Chair (1920);
* The Rank Outsider (1920);
* The Temporary Lady (1920) .... Monckton;
* Testimony (1920).

Film credits, as director

* The Flying Doctor (1936)
* The Morals of Marcus (1935)
* Youthful Folly (1934)
* Fascination (1931)
* The Woman Between (1931) U.S. title The Woman Decides
* The First Born (1928)
* As We Lie (1927) short film made in DeForest Phonofilm
* Packing Up (1927) short made in Phonofilm
* The Sentence of Death (1927) U. S. title His Great Moment, short made in Phonofilm
* False Colours (1927) short made in Phonofilm
* The Fair Maid of Perth (1926) short made in Phonofilm
* Knee Deep in Daisies (1926) short made in Phonofilm
* The Sheik of Araby (1926) short made in Phonofilm
* The Whistler (1926) short made in Phonofilm

Film credits, as writer

* The Flying Doctor (1936)
* The Morals of Marcus (1935);
* The Lodger (1932) ... aka The Phantom Fiend (USA);
* The Mistress of Atlantis (1932) ... aka The Lost Atlantis (USA);
* The Woman Between (1931/I) (also play Conflict) ... aka The Woman Decides (USA);
* The First Born (1928);
* As We Lie (1927) (story)
* Lovers in Araby (1924)

Film credits, as producer