Editing Leslie Howard (section)

==Film career==
[[File:Scarlet-Pimpernel-Howard-Oberon.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Howard as Sir Percy Blakeney ([[alter ego]] of [[the Scarlet Pimpernel]]) next to [[Merle Oberon]] as Lady Blakeney in ''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934 film)|The Scarlet Pimpernel]]'' (1934)]]
In 1920 Howard suggested to his friend [[Adrian Brunel]] that they form a film production company. After Howard's initial suggestion of calling it British Comedy Films Ltd., the two eventually settled on the name Minerva Films Ltd. The company's board of directors consisted of Howard, Brunel, [[C. Aubrey Smith]], [[Nigel Playfair]] and [[A. A. Milne]]. One of the company's investors was [[H. G. Wells]]. Although the films produced by Minerva—which were written by A. A. Milne—were well received by critics, the company was only offered £200 apiece for films that cost it £1,000 to produce, and Minerva Films was short-lived.<ref name="Brooke">{{cite AV media |last=Brooke |first=Michael |title=Howard, Leslie (1893–1943) |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/476673/ |publisher=BFI Screenonline}}</ref><ref>Eforgan 2010, pp. 39–46.</ref><ref>Howard, L.R. 1959, pp. 46–48, 66–67</ref> Early films include four written by A. A. Milne, including ''The Bump'', starring [[C. Aubrey Smith]]; ''Twice Two''; ''Five Pounds Reward''; and ''Bookworms'', the latter two starring Howard. Some of these films survive in the archives of the [[British Film Institute]].

In British and Hollywood productions, Howard often played [[stiff upper lip]]ped Englishmen. He appeared in the film version of ''[[Outward Bound (film)|Outward Bound]]'' (1930), though in a different role from the one he portrayed on Broadway. He had [[Billing (filmmaking)|second billing]] under [[Norma Shearer]] in ''[[A Free Soul]]'' (1931), which also featured [[Lionel Barrymore]] and future ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone With the Wind]]'' rival [[Clark Gable]] eight years prior to their [[American Civil War|Civil War]] masterpiece. He starred in the film version of ''Berkeley Square'' (1933), for which he was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]. He played the title role in ''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934 film)|The Scarlet Pimpernel]]'' (1934), which is often considered the definitive portrayal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Richards |first=Jeffrey |title=Swordsmen of the Screen: From Douglas Fairbanks to Michael York |publisher=Routledge |date=2014 |page=163}}</ref>

[[File:Pygmalion-1938.jpg|thumb|[[Scott Sunderland (actor)|Scott Sunderland]], Leslie Howard and [[Wendy Hiller]] in ''[[Pygmalion (1938 film)|Pygmalion]]'' (1938), which Howard co-directed]]
When Howard co-starred with [[Bette Davis]] in ''[[The Petrified Forest]]'' (1936) – having earlier co-starred with her in the film adaptation of [[W. Somerset Maugham]]'s book ''[[Of Human Bondage (1934 film)|Of Human Bondage]]'' (1934) – he reportedly insisted that [[Humphrey Bogart]] play [[gangster]] Duke Mantee, repeating his role from the stage production. This re-launched Bogart's screen career, and the two men became lifelong friends; Bogart and [[Lauren Bacall]] later named their daughter "Leslie Howard Bogart" after him.<ref>Sklar 1992, pp. 60–62.</ref> In the same year Howard starred with [[Norma Shearer]] in a film version of Shakespeare's ''[[Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1936).

Bette Davis was again Howard's co-star in the romantic comedy ''[[It's Love I'm After]]'' (1937) (also co-starring [[Olivia de Havilland]]). He played Professor Henry Higgins in the film version of [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s play ''[[Pygmalion (1938 film)|Pygmalion]]'' (1938), with [[Wendy Hiller]] as Eliza, which earned Howard another [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Academy Award nomination for Best Actor]]. In 1939, as war approached, he played opposite [[Ingrid Bergman]] in ''[[Intermezzo (1939 film)|Intermezzo]]''; that August, Howard was determined to return to the country of his birth. He was eager to help the war effort, but lost any support for a new film, instead being obliged to relinquish £20,000 of holdings in the US before he could leave the country.

Howard is perhaps best remembered for his role as Ashley Wilkes in ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' (1939), his last American film, but he was uncomfortable with Hollywood, and returned to [[UK|Britain]] to help with the [[Second World War]] effort. He starred in a number of Second World War films, including ''[[49th Parallel (film)|49th Parallel]]'' (1941), ''[["Pimpernel" Smith]]'' (1941) and ''[[The First of the Few]]'' (1942, known in the U.S. as ''Spitfire''), the latter two of which he also directed and co-produced.<ref>{{cite web |last=Costanzi |first=Karen |url=http://www.things-and-other-stuff.com/movies/profiles/leslie-howard.html |title=Leslie Howard: Actor & Patriot |publisher=things-and-other-stuff.com |access-date=2010-07-23}}</ref> His friend and ''The First of the Few'' co-star [[David Niven]] said Howard was "...not what he seemed. He had the kind of distraught air that would make people want to mother him. Actually, he was about as naïve as General Motors. Busy little brain, always going."<ref>Finnie, Moira. [http://moirasthread.blogspot.com/2008/04/few-kind-words-for-leslie-howard.html "A Few Kind Words for Leslie Howard."] ''Skeins of Thought'', 2008. Retrieved: 4 August 2010.</ref>

In 1944, after his death, British exhibitors voted him the second-most popular local star at the box office.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63154283 "Bitter Street fighting."] ''[[Townsville Daily Bulletin]]'', 6 January 1944, p. 2 via ''National Library of Australia'', Retrieved: 11 July 2012.</ref> His daughter said he was a "remarkable man".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Man Who Gave a Damn |publisher=Repo Films for Talking Pictures TV |date=2016}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160px">
File:A Free Soul (1931) film poster.jpg|''[[A Free Soul]]'' (1931) [[film poster]]
File:Leslie Howard-Ann Harding in The Animal Kingdom.jpg|Howard and [[Ann Harding]] in ''[[The Animal Kingdom (1932 film)|The Animal Kingdom]]'' (1932)
File:Leslie Howard - Myrna Loy - 32.JPG|Howard and [[Myrna Loy]] in ''[[The Animal Kingdom (1932 film)|The Animal Kingdom]]'' (1932)
File:Of Human Bondage Poster.jpg|''[[Of Human Bondage (1934 film)|Of Human Bondage]]'' (1934) film poster
File:Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer as Romeo and Juliet.jpg|Howard and [[Norma Shearer]] in ''[[Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1936)
File:Romeo and Juliet lobby card 2.jpg|''[[Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1936) lobby card with [[John Barrymore]] and [[Basil Rathbone]]
File:Spitfire-1943-Howard-John.jpg|Howard and [[Rosamund John]] in ''[[The First of the Few]]'' (1942)
</gallery>