C. Aubrey Smith(1863-1948)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Movie roles are sometimes based upon what the audience expects to see.
If the role called for the tall stereotypical Englishmen with the stiff
upper lip and stern determination, that man would be C. Aubrey Smith,
graduate of Cambridge University, a leading Freemason and a test
cricketer for England. Smith was 30 by the time he embarked upon a
career on the stage. It took another 20 plus years before he entered
the flickering images of the movies. By 1915, Smith was over 50 in a
medium that demanded young actors and starlets. For the next ten years,
he appeared in a rather small number of silent movies, and after that,
he faded from the scene. It was in 1930, with the advent of sound, that
Smith found his position in the movies and that position would be
distinguished roles. He played military officers, successful business
men, ministers of the cloth and ministers of government. With the bushy
eyebrows and stoic face, he played men who know about honour,
tradition, and the correct path. He worked with big stars such as
Greta Garbo, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Shirley Temple. As for honours, Smith received the Order
of the British Empire in 1938 and was knighted in 1944. He continued to
work up to the time of his death.