Buchanan, Jack
BUCHANAN, Jack
Nationality: British. Born: Helensburgh, Scotland, 2 April 1890. Education: Larchfield School, Helensburgh; Glasgow Academy. Family: Married 1) Saffro Arnau, 1915; 2) Suzie Bussett, 1949. Career: Amateur stage appearances while an office worker; 1911—professional debut in variety theater; 1915–17—toured in successful play Tonight's the Night; 1917—film debut in Auld Lang Syne; 1921—critical and popular acclaim for role in Charlot's A—Z musical revue in London; later on Broadway; 1920s—series of leading roles in minor British films; 1929–30—appeared in a few Hollywood films; 1931—built Leicester Square Theatre in London; 1932—directed (with Herbert Wilcox) first film, Yes Mr. Brown; late 1930s—began producing his own films; entertained troops during World War II; 1953—sagging career restored by role in Minnelli's The Band Wagon. Died: In London, 21 October 1957.
Films as Actor:
- 1917
Auld Lang Syne (Morgan) (as Vane)
- 1919
Her Heritage (Merwin) (as Bob Hales)
- 1923
The Audacious Mr. Squire (Greenwood) (as Tom Squire)
- 1924
The Happy Ending (Cooper) (as Capt. Dale Conway)
- 1925
Settled Out of Court (Evidence Enclosed) (Cooper) (as husband); Stage Stars Off Screen (short); A Typical Budget (Brunel—short); Bulldog Drummond's Third Round (Morgan) (as Capt. Hugh Drummond)
- 1927
Confetti (Cutts) (as Count Andrea Zorro)
- 1928
Toni (Maude) (as Toni Marr/Marini)
- 1929
Paris (Badger) (as Guy Pennell); Show of Shows (Adolfi)
- 1930
Monte Carlo (Lubitsch) (as Count Rudolph Fallière); The Glee Quartette (short)
- 1931
The Invisible Enemy (charity appeal short); Man of Mayfair (Mercanton) (as Lord William)
- 1932
Goodnight Vienna (Magic Night) (Wilcox) (as Capt. Max Schlettof); Yes Mr. Brown (Geschaft nit Amerika) (as Nicholas Baumann, + co-d with Herbert Wilcox); That's a Good Girl (as Jack Barrow, + d, co-sc)
- 1935
Brewster's Millions (Freeland) (as Jack Brewster); Come Out of the Pantry (Raymond) (as Lord Robert Brent)
- 1936
When Knights Were Bold (Raymond) (as Sir Guy de Vere); This'll Make You Whistle (Wilcox) (as Bill Hopping); Limelight (Backstage) (Wilcox) (as himself)
- 1937
Smash and Grab (Whelan) (as Jack Forrest, + pr); The Sky's the Limit (as Dave Harber, + co-d with Lee Garmes, pr)
- 1938
Cavalcade of Stars (short); Break the News (Le Mort en fuite) (Clair) (as Teddy Fenton, + pr)
- 1939
The Middle Watch (Bentley) (as Capt. Maitland); The Gang's All Here (The Amazing Mr. Forrest) (Freeland) (as Forrest, + co-pr)
- 1940
Bulldog Sees It Through (Huth) (as Bill Watson)
- 1944
Some Like It Rough (short) (as narrator)
- 1951
A Boy and a Bike (short)
- 1952
Giselle (short) (as narrator)
- 1953
The Band Wagon (Minnelli) (as Jeffrey Cordova)
- 1955
As Long as They're Happy (Thompson) (as John Bentley); Josephine and Men (Boulting) (as Charles Luton)
- 1956
The French They Are a Funny Race (The Diary of Major Thompson) (Preston Sturges)
Other Films:
- 1938
Sweet Devil (Quelle drole de gosse) (Guissart) (pr only)
- 1943
Happidrome (Brandon) (co-pr only)
Publications
On BUCHANAN: books—
Leonard, William, and James Robert Parish, Hollywood Players: The Thirties, New York, 1976.
Marshall, Michael, Top Hat and Tails: The Story of Jack Buchanan, London, 1978.
Shipman, David, The Great Movie Stars: The Golden Years, revised edition, London, 1979.
* * *
Jack Buchanan typified the suave, debonair (almost bland) English gentleman of stage and screen; he could sing and dance hardly more than adequately, but there was something about his personality ("something about you that's different," as one of his songs put it) that was very charming and attractive. Usually attired in top hat and tails, Buchanan was hailed by many critics as the British Fred Astaire, and although his dancing style was far more simplistic than Astaire's, Buchanan did possess the same relaxed manner.
Buchanan made his film debut as a leading man in the silent era; the films were all second-rate, and Buchanan was hopelessly miscast in them. He made his debut in "talkies" in America in leading roles opposite Irene Bordoni in Paris and Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo. Somehow he lacked the natural charm of MacDonald's other leading man from this period, Maurice Chevalier; he returned to England to continue his film career there. (Interestingly Buchanan and Chevalier were later co-starred in one film, René Clair's Break the News.)
In England Buchanan's leading ladies included the American Fay Wray (When Knights Were Bold) and the French-born American star Lili Damita (Brewster's Millions). His best British films, however, are those with Anna Neagle and Elsie Randolph; both ladies possessed just the right middle-class quality to complement Buchanan's aristocratic air. Goodnight Vienna/Magic Night is probably his best film with Neagle, in which he charmingly sings the title song to her over the telephone, while This'll Make You Whistle, his best work with Randolph, introduces the delightful "I'm in a Dancing Mood."
The Buchanan charm was still apparent, despite the ravages of age and cancer, in his return-to-Hollywood feature, The Band Wagon. It was missing from his last film, Preston Sturges's depressingly unfunny The French They Are a Funny Race.
—Anthony Slide