Editing Peter Finch (section)

==British career==

===Theatrical success===
When Finch arrived in Britain, success came relatively early. Harry Watt arranged for a screen test at Ealing Studios, which led to Finch being cast as a murderous actor in the movie ''[[Train of Events]]'' (1949) under the direction of [[Basil Dearden]].<ref>{{cite news |date=22 August 1954 |title=The Thames Is Non-Inflammable- But An Australian in London Leapt Up A Stairway To Stardom |page=23 |newspaper=[[The Sun-Herald]] |issue=291 |location=New South Wales, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28662305 |access-date=26 June 2020 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=14 January 1949 |title=Big Role for Peter Finch |page=1 |newspaper=[[The Age]] |issue=29,241 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205354050 |access-date=26 June 2020 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

While making the film, Olivier cast Finch as a Pole in a stage play at [[The Old Vic]], [[James Bridie]]'s ''[[Daphne Laureola]]'' (1949) supporting [[Edith Evans]]. This was a significant critical and commercial success and established Finch in London immediately. Olivier signed Finch to a five-year contract.<ref>{{cite news |date=10 April 1949 |title=Finch, In Films, Plays A Zestful Strangler |page=8 Supplement: Magazine |newspaper=[[The Sunday Herald (Sydney newspaper)|The Sunday Herald]] |location=Sydney |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18466196 |access-date=12 February 2012 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> When ''Train of Events'' was released, critic [[C. A. Lejeune]] praised Finch's work in the London ''[[The Observer|Observer]]'', commenting that he "adds good cheekbones to a quick intelligence and is likely to become a cult, I fear."<ref>{{cite news |author=Lejeune, C. A. |date=21 August 1949 |title=International Manners |page=6 |work=The Observer |location=London}}</ref> ''[[The Scotsman]]'' said Finch "should be regarded as one of the most hopeful recruits to the British screen."<ref>{{cite news |date=22 August 1949 |title=Train of Events": "Star from Platform 13 |page=6 |work=The Scotsman |location=Edinburgh, Scotland}}</ref>

Finch had a small role as an Australian [[prisoner of war]] in the World War two drama ''[[The Wooden Horse]]'' (1950), directed by Jack Lee; this film would be the third-most-popular film at the British box office in 1950.

Finch's performance as a Pole in ''Daphne Laureola'' led to his casting as a Polish soldier in ''[[The Miniver Story]]'' (1950), the British-filmed sequel to the wartime morale boosting film ''[[Mrs. Miniver]]''; unlike its predecessor, it was poorly received critically, but it did give Finch an experience of working for a movie financed by a major Hollywood studio.<ref>''Time'' magazine, 23 October 1950</ref><ref>''The Age'' (Melbourne), 26 February 1951</ref>

During this time, Finch continued to appear on stage in various productions while under contract to Olivier. He directed a stage production of ''The White Falcon'' in January 1950.<ref>{{cite news |date=31 January 1950 |title=Peter Finch as Producer |page=2 |newspaper=[[The Age]] |issue=29,567 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187343144 |access-date=26 June 2020 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In February 1950 he toured in a production of ''The Damascus Blade'' by [[Bridget Boland]] under the direction of Olivier, co starring with John Mills.<ref>{{cite news |date=22 February 1950 |title=Role For Peter Finch |page=3 |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=34,999 |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27582710 |access-date=26 June 2020 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Finch returned to the London stage in ''[[Captain Carvallo]]'' by [[Denis Cannan]], once more directed by Olivier.<ref>{{cite news |date=17 July 1950 |title=Peter Finch Big Star |volume=LXIII |page=2 |newspaper=[[The Barrier Miner]] |issue=17,109 |location=New South Wales, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49581382 |access-date=26 June 2020 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Finch's closeness to the Olivier family led to an affair with Olivier's wife, [[Vivien Leigh]], which began in 1948, and continued on and off for several years, ultimately ending because of Leigh's deteriorating mental condition.<ref name="Brooks2">{{cite news |author=Richard Brooks |date=7 August 2005 |title=Olivier Worn Out by Love and Lust of Vivien Leigh |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article552527.ece |access-date=27 July 2008}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In March 1951 Finch replaced [[Dirk Bogarde]] for six weeks in a production of ''[[Point of Departure (play)|Point of Departure]]'' by [[Jean Anouilh]].<ref>{{cite news |date=14 March 1951 |title=Roles for Peter Finch |volume=25 |page=4 |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |issue=7264 |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2824589 |access-date=26 June 2020 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Later that year he played Iago opposite [[Orson Welles]] in a production of ''[[Othello]]'', directed by Welles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Othello (1951 stage production) Wellesnet |url=http://www.wellesnet.com/othellostage.htm |website=www.wellesnet.com}}</ref>

Despite his stage experience, according to the Sunday Times Finch, like his mentor Olivier, had [[stage fright]],<ref name="Brooks2" /> and as the 1950s progressed he worked increasingly in film.

===Rising film reputation===
Finch's film career received a considerable boost when cast as the [[Sheriff of Nottingham]] in ''[[The Story of Robin Hood (film)|The Story of Robin Hood]]'' (1952) for Walt Disney, opposite Richard Todd.

In 1952 Finch performed at [[St James's Theatre]], King Street, London, in Sir Laurence Olivier's and Gilbert Miller's ''The Happy Time'' a comedy by Samuel Taylor. He played the part of Papa.<ref>From an original theatre programme, printer's date 30 January 1952.</ref> He also did ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' at the Old Vic, playing Mercutio, to strong reviews.<ref>{{cite news |date=18 September 1952 |title=Peter Finch in Limelight |volume=LXV |page=13 |newspaper=[[The Barrier Miner]] |issue=17,257 |location=New South Wales, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61218345 |access-date=26 June 2020 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

He then made two films for [[Alexander Korda]]. In ''[[The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan]]'' (1953) Finch played [[Richard D'Oyly Carte]] opposite Robert Morley and Maurice Evans in the lead; the resulting movie was a box office disappointment. In ''[[The Heart of the Matter (film)|The Heart of the Matter]]'' (1953), from the [[Graham Greene]] novel, Finch played a priest opposite Trevor Howard; his performance was a critical success.

Finch returned to the stage at the Old Vic with an appearance in ''[[Un chapeau de paille d'Italie (play)|An Italian Straw Hat]]'' by [[Eugène Marin Labiche|Eugène Labiche]] and Marc Michel adapted by Thomas Walton. He then received an offer from Paramount to star in ''[[Elephant Walk]]'' (1954), shot in Ceylon and Los Angeles. The part was intended for [[Laurence Olivier]] who turned it down, but [[Vivien Leigh]] agreed to play the female lead; Dana Andrews was the other star. The circumstances of production were turbulent; Leigh had a nervous breakdown during production, leading to her being replaced by [[Elizabeth Taylor]]. The experience helped sour Finch on a Hollywood career and he would only work occasionally there for the rest of his career.

Back in England, Finch was cast as the villain [[Flambeau (character)|Flambeau]] in ''[[Father Brown (film)|Father Brown]]'' (1954), receiving superb reviews opposite [[Alec Guinness]] in the title role. He narrated a documentary ''[[The Queen in Australia]]'' and had his first real star part in the Group 3/British Lion comedy, ''[[Make Me an Offer]]'' (1954), playing an antiques dealer. He was then a villain in the medieval swashbuckler ''[[The Dark Avenger]]'' (1955), opposite another Australian, [[Errol Flynn]], for Allied Artists.

He was much in demand. C.G. Scrimgeour of Associated TV wanted Finch to play a patrol officer in a film based on Colin Simpson's articles about Shangri-La Valley in New Guinea. The Rank organisation wanted him to star in a film directed by Hugh Stewart called ''The Flying Doctor''.<ref>{{cite news |date=17 October 1954 |title=World-wide Film and Theatre News |volume=XV |page=48 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]] |issue=48 |location=New South Wales, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248943397 |access-date=26 June 2020 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

===Under contract to Rank and stardom===
[[File:Diane_Cilento_with_Peter_Finch.jpg|left|thumb|With [[Diane Cilento]] during filming of ''[[Passage Home]]'' (1955)]]
In November 1954 Finch's contract with Olivier (five years extended to six) had expired and he signed a seven-year contract with the [[Rank Organisation]] worth £87,500 to make one film a year for them. "We are going to build Peter into a major British star", said [[Earl St. John]], Rank's head of production, at the time.<ref>{{cite news |date=20 November 1954 |title=Peter Finch Wins £87,500 Contract |page=3 |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18460986 |access-date=11 February 2012 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Finch's first roles for Rank under the new arrangement gave him star parts but were, on the whole, undistinguished: ''[[Passage Home]]'' (1955), a drama with Anthony Steel and fellow Australian [[Diane Cilento]]; ''[[Josephine and Men]]'' (1955), a comedy from the Boulting Brothers with [[Glynis Johns]] and [[Donald Sinden]]; and ''[[Simon and Laura]]'' (1955), a comedy with [[Kay Kendall]] based on a hit play. None of these films performed particularly well at the box office.

Finch was then cast as an Australian soldier in ''[[A Town Like Alice (film)|A Town Like Alice]]'' (1956), opposite [[Virginia McKenna]] under the direction of Jack Lee from the novel by [[Neville Shute]]. The World War II drama, mostly set in Malaya and almost entirely shot at Pinewood Studios, became the third-most-popular film at the British box office in 1956 and won Finch a BAFTA for Best Actor.

Finch followed it with another war movie, ''[[The Battle of the River Plate (film)|The Battle of the River Plate]]'' (1956), playing Captain [[Hans Langsdorff]] for the team of Powell and Pressburger. This was also hugely popular at home, and British exhibitors voted Finch the seventh-most-popular British star at the box office for 1956.<ref>"The Most Popular Film Star in Britain." ''The Times'' (London) 7 December 1956: 3. ''The Times'' Digital Archive. Web. 11 July 2012.</ref> In October 1956, John Davis, managing director of Rank, announced him as one of the actors under contract that Davis thought would become an international star.<ref name="davis">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/793929220/?terms=%22john%20davis%22%20%22rank%20film%22&match=1|newspaper=Nottingham Evening Post|date=22 Nov 1956|page= 9|first=Thomas|last=Wiseman|title=Mr Davis Takes on Hollywood}}</ref>

Finch returned to Australia to make ''[[The Shiralee (1957 film)|The Shiralee]]'' (1957), made for Ealing Studios and MGM from the novel by [[D'Arcy Niland]], under the direction of Leslie Norman. It was one of Finch's favourite parts; the resulting movie was critically acclaimed and the tenth-most-popular movie at the British box office that year.

Finch followed it with another Australian story filmed on location, the [[bushranger]] tale ''[[Robbery Under Arms (1957 film)|Robbery Under Arms]]'' (1957), which did less well, despite having the same producer and director as ''A Town Like Alice''. ''Filmink'' argued Finch's "character could be removed from the final movie, and it wouldn’t have affected anything... a character with no romance, no moral core, no purpose in the story, no point."<ref name=“robbery”>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/wrecking-australian-stores-the-1957-film-version-of-robbery-under-arms/|date=7 March 2025|access-date=7 March 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=Wrecking Australian stores: the 1957 film version of Robbery Under Arms|magazine=Filmink}}</ref> However, exhibitors still voted Finch the third-most-popular British star of 1957, and the fifth most popular overall, regardless of nationality.<ref>{{cite news |date=27 December 1957 |title=British Actors Head Film Poll: Box-Office Survey |page=3 |work=Manchester Guardian}}</ref>

Finch's next two films for Rank were not particularly successful: ''[[Windom's Way]]'' (1957), where he played a doctor caught up in the [[Malayan Emergency]] (the film was shot in Corsica and London); and ''[[Operation Amsterdam]]'' (1959), a war-time diamond thriller. Finch returned to the stage for the London production of ''[[Two for the Seesaw (play)|Two for the Seesaw]]'' by [[William Gibson (playwright)|William Gibson]], under the direction of [[Arthur Penn]].