John Loder(1898-1988)

A tall (6'3"), handsome, debonair, immaculately-groomed British leading man best known for his pipe-smoking chaps, Londoner John Loder (né John Muir Lowe), was born on January 3, 1898, the son of a British general. Attending both the Eton and the Royal Military colleges, he followed his distinguished father into the army and fought at Gallipoli during World War I, where he served until the British withdrew its forces.

A German prisoner of war in 1918, Loder remained in Germany following his release and was assigned military duties on behalf of the Inter-Allied Commission. Loder eventually went into business establishing a pickle factory in Potsdam with a partner. Loder began to develop an interest in acting at one point and wound up in a few German film dance bits Le danseur de Madame (1925), Madame ne veut pas d'enfants (1926)).

Progressing into featured/co-star parts in such films as Die weiße Spinne (1927) and Die Sünderin (1928) (The Sinner), Loder returned briefly to England in 1927 where he was third-billed as the "veddy English" Lord Harborough in the elegant melodrama Le lien brisé (1928) starring lovely Madeleine Carroll and Miles Mander (who also wrote and directed). Following this the young actor made the transatlantic trip to the United States where talkies had become the new rage. Loder continued in the same fashion as before with third-wheel roles in such female superstar vehicles as Paramount's first talkie Secret professionnel (1929) starring Ruth Chatterton, as well as Her Private Affair (1929) starring Ann Harding and Lilies of the Field (1929) starring Corinne Griffith. While Loder showed much promise, his on-camera persona was a bit too cut and dried for American tastes. Following secondary roles in The Racketeer (1929), Sweethearts and Wives (1930), Parisian Gaities (1931) and having gained no ground pursuing leading man stardom, he returned to England.

Back in his homeland, Loder was able to embellish his resumé with more plush, princely leads and co-leads such as in Le cercle de la mort (1933), co-star Ida Lupino's first big film; You Made Me Love You (1933) starring Ida's father Stanley Lupino with ice-cream blonde Thelma Todd as his love interest; the musicals Love, Life & Laughter (1934) and Sing as We Go! (1934) both opposite Gracie Fields; the heavy drama Java Head (1934) in a romantic triangle with Anna May Wong and Elizabeth Allan; the classic romantic adventure Les Maudits du château-fort (1934) starring as John Ridd opposite sweet and lovely The Little Woman (1954); the circus adventure drama 18 Minutes (1935); the murder mystery Le drame du terminus (1935); the romantic comedy It Happened in Paris (1935); the sparkling comedy Queen of Hearts (1936) again opposite Gracie Fields; in the Boris Karloff mad doctor horror opus Cerveaux de rechange (1936) as the clean-cut hero for damsel Anna Lee; in the classic adventure Les mines du Roi Salomon (1937) and murder mystery New York Express (1937) both again with Ms. Lee; the historical costumer Katia (1938) opposite Danielle Darrieux in the title role; and a trio of crime dramas -- Formule B. 92 (1938), Murder Will Out (1939) and the title role in Meet Maxwell Archer (1940).

When WWII hit Britain, Loder returned to America where he fell immediately into secondary patrician, military and assorted stuffed shirt roles in "A" pictures (Qu'elle était verte ma vallée (1941), Une nuit à Lisbonne (1941), L'Assassin habite au 21 (1942), Une femme cherche son destin (1942), L'impossible amour (1943), Cap sur Marseille (1944), La belle et la brute (1944)) and leads in "B" level programmers (The Brighton Strangler (1945), Jealousy (1945), Un jeu de mort (1945), Woman Who Came Back (1945), La femme de Monte-Cristo (1946)).

As his film career declined in the late 1940's, Loder made his Broadway debut in For Love or Money in 1947, the same year he became an American citizen. He subsequently moved to TV work in the 1950's with guest appearances on several anthology series. His last films included Le Scandale Costello (1957), Woman and the Hunter (1957), Inspecteur de service (1958), The Secret Man (1958) and Feux dans la ville (1971).

Loder had quite a lively private life. Divorced five times, two of his wives were actresses -- his second was French star Micheline Cheirel and his third was Hollywood goddess Hedy Lamarr. He co-starred in the film noir La femme déshonorée (1947) with Lamarr and second-billed Dennis O'Keefe. His first son, theatrical/literary agent Robin William Lowe (1925-2002), was born out of wedlock. He had three children (James, Denise and Anthony) by Lamarr.

Returning to England in later years, Loder penned his autobiography, Hollywood Hussar, in 1977. His general health declined noticeably and in 1982, entered a Kensington nursing home. He died in London, aged 90, in 1988, the day after Christmas.