Eric Portman | |
|---|---|
 Portman in 1948 | |
| Born | Eric Harold Portman (1901-07-13)13 July 1901 Halifax,West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 7 December 1969(1969-12-07) (aged 68) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1924–1969 |
Eric Harold Portman (13 July 1901 – 7 December 1969) was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in three films forMichael Powell andEmeric Pressburger during the 1940s.
Born inHalifax, in theWest Riding of Yorkshire, Portman was the second son of Matthew Portman (1868–1939), a wool merchant, and his wife, Alice, née Harrison (1870–1918).[1] His birth was registered with the middle name of Harold but he would later adopt his mother's maiden name as his middle name.[1]
He was educated atRishworth School[1] in Yorkshire and, in 1922, started work as a salesman in the menswear department at theMarshall & Snelgrove department store inLeeds and acted in the amateur Halifax Light Opera Society.
He made his professional stage debut in 1924 withHenry Baynton's company.[2] In 1924,Robert Courtneidge's Shakespearian company arrived in Halifax. Portman joined the company as a 'passenger' and appeared in their production ofRichard II at the Victoria Hall, Sunderland which led to Courtneidge giving him a contract. Portman made his West End debut at the Savoy Theatre in London, in September 1924, as Antipholous of Syracuse inThe Comedy of Errors. He was engaged byLilian Baylis for theOld Vic Company.[3] In 1928, Portman played Romeo at the rebuilt Old Vic. He became a successful theatre actor. In 1933, Portman was inDiplomacy at the Prince's Theatre withGerald du Maurier andBasil Rathbone.
In the 1930s, he began appearing in films, starting with an uncredited bit inThe Girl from Maxim's (1933) directed byAlexander Korda. In 1935, he appeared in four films, includingMaria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn withTod Slaughter. He also madeHyde Park Corner withGordon Harker and directed bySinclair Hill;Old Roses andAbdul the Damned.
In 1936 Portman had a stage hit playing Lord Byron inBitter Harvest. AfterHearts of Humanity (1936), he playedGiuliano de' Medici in Hill'sThe Cardinal (1936). Portman made another film with Tod Slaughter,The Crimes of Stephen Hawke (1936), and was inMoonlight Sonata (1937).
He went to the US and played inMadame Bovary on Broadway for the Theatre Guild of America. He also had a small role inThe Prince and the Pauper (1937), but disliked Hollywood and did not stay long.
He was back on Broadway inI Have Been Here Before byJ. B. Priestley. Portman's last London stage show wasJeannie.
In the semi-autobiographical playDinner with Ribbentrop by screenwriterNorman Hudis, a former personal assistant to Portman, Hudis relates a claim made often by Portman that in 1937, before the start of theSecond World War, he had had dinner in London withJoachim von Ribbentrop (then theGerman Ambassador toBritain). Portman claimed that Ribbentrop had told him that "when Germany wins the war, Portman would be installed as the greatest English star in the New Europe" at a purpose-built film studio in Berlin.[4][5]
In 1941 he had his first important film role playing Lieutenant Hirth, a Nazi on the run, inPowell and Pressburger's49th Parallel, which was a big hit in the US and Britain. Portman was established as a star and signed a long-term contract withGainsborough Pictures.[6]
Portman was in Powell and Pressburger's follow up,One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942), which reworked the story ofThe 49th Parallel to be about Allied pilots in occupied Holland. He played a Belgian resistance leader inUncensored (1942) from directorAnthony Asquith, and a German pilot inSquadron Leader X (1943) with directorLance Comfort. Portman was a sailor in Asquith'sWe Dive at Dawn (1943) and a factory supervisor inMillions Like Us (1943) from Launder and Gilliat.[7] He was in another war story in Comfort'sEscape to Danger (1943), then was back with Powell and Pressburger forA Canterbury Tale (1944). Portman had the lead inGreat Day (1945) withFlora Robson and in the expensive colonial epicMen of Two Worlds (1946).
In 1945, exhibitors voted him the 10th most popular star at the British box office.[8] He maintained that ranking the following year.[9]
He made some thrillers –Wanted for Murder (1947),Dear Murderer (1947) andThe Mark of Cain (1947). He was a hangman inDaybreak (1948), then madeCorridor of Mirrors (1948) andThe Blind Goddess (1948). He made two films for the new producing team ofMaxwell Setton and Aubrey Baring,The Spider and the Fly (1949) andCairo Road (1950). Portman was one of many names inThe Magic Box (1951) and then made an Ealing comedy,His Excellency (1952), playing a trade unionist who becomes Governor of a British colony. For Baring and Setton, he madeSouth of Algiers (1953) then had a big hit on stage in Terence Rattigan'sSeparate Tables and on film inThe Colditz Story (1955). Portman had a supporting part inThe Deep Blue Sea (1955) andChild in the House (1956). He had the lead inThe Good Companions (1957).
He played the bogus Major inTerence Rattigan's playSeparate Tables in 1956–57 on Broadway. For this performance, he was nominated for aTony Award (Best Actor (Dramatic)). In 1958 he appeared on Broadway in a short-lived production ofJane Eyre as Rochester. Portman had better luck the following year in a production ofEugene O'Neill'sA Touch of the Poet, which had a long run. In contrast,Flowering Cherry by Robert Bolt, with Portman in the title role, only lasted five performances on Broadway.
Later film roles included inThe Naked Edge (1961),Freud: The Secret Passion (1962),West 11 (1963),The Man Who Finally Died (1963),The Bedford Incident (1965), andThe Spy with a Cold Nose (1966).
In 1962 Portman was in a stage adaptation ofA Passage to India that ran for 109 performances on Broadway.
Near the end of his life he played character roles includingNumber Two in the TV seriesThe Prisoner, appearing in the episode"Free For All" (1967), as well as films includingThe Whisperers (1967) andDeadfall (1968), both for directorBryan Forbes. His final film wasAssignment to Kill (1968).
In the early 1920s Portman was an amateur in Halifax Light Opera. While there he was romantically involved with Eliza Jane Thornton, his leading lady. After appearing inThe Silver Box together, they both went to London to work professionally, though eventually Thornton returned to Halifax.[10] Decades after Portman's death in 1969, it was suggested that he was homosexual and that assistant director Knox Laing (1913-1974) was his partner.[11][12]
Portman died at age 68 at his home inSt Veep,Cornwall on 7 December 1969 fromheart disease.[13] He was buried in St. Veep parish church.[1]
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Ablue plaque was erected by theHalifax Civic Trust.[14]
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