Editing Charles Laughton (section)

===1943–1962===
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Laughton played a cowardly schoolmaster in [[occupied France]] in ''[[This Land Is Mine (film)|This Land is Mine]]'' (1943), by [[Jean Renoir]], in which he engaged himself most actively;<ref>Lourié, Eugène (1985) ''My Work in Films''. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich {{ISBN|0-15-164019-X}} (Lourié, who worked after hours to work on the decors, once found Laughton working after hours to get used to move in the scenery.)</ref> in fact, while Renoir was still working on an early script, Laughton would talk about [[Alphonse Daudet]]'s story "The Last Lesson", which suggested to Renoir a relevant scene for the film.<ref>Sesonske, Alexander (1996) ''Persistence of Vision'' (Maspeth), no. 12–13, 1996<!-- ISBN # needed --></ref> Laughton played a henpecked husband who eventually murders his wife in ''[[The Suspect (1944 film)|The Suspect]]'' (1944), directed by [[Robert Siodmak]], who would become a good friend.<ref>Dumont, Hervé (1981) ''Robert Siodmak''. Lausanne: L'Age d'homme</ref> He played sympathetically an impoverished composer-pianist in ''[[Tales of Manhattan]]'' (1942) and starred in ''[[The Canterville Ghost (1944 film)|The Canterville Ghost]]'', based on [[The Canterville Ghost|the Oscar Wilde story]] in 1944.

Laughton appeared in two comedies with [[Deanna Durbin]], ''[[It Started with Eve]]'' (1941) and ''Because of Him'' (1946). He portrayed a bloodthirsty pirate in ''[[Captain Kidd (film)|Captain Kidd]]'' (1945) and a malevolent judge in Alfred Hitchcock's ''[[The Paradine Case]]'' (1947). Laughton played a megalomaniac press tycoon in ''[[The Big Clock (1948 film)|The Big Clock]]'' (1948). He had supporting roles as a Nazi in pre-war Paris in ''[[Arch of Triumph (1948 film)|Arch of Triumph]]'' (1948), as a bishop in ''The Girl from Manhattan'' (1948), as a seedy go-between in ''[[The Bribe]]'' (1949), and as a kindly widower in ''[[The Blue Veil (1951 film)|The Blue Veil]]'' (1951). He played a Bible-reading pastor in the multi-story ''[[A Miracle Can Happen]]'' (1947), but his piece wound up being cut and replaced with another featuring [[Dorothy Lamour]], and in this form the film was retitled as ''[[On Our Merry Way]]''. However, an original print of ''A Miracle Can Happen'' was sent abroad for dubbing before the Laughton sequence was deleted, and in this form it was shown in Spain as ''Una Encuesta Llamada Milagro''.

Laughton made his first colour film in Paris as [[Inspector Maigret]] in ''[[The Man on the Eiffel Tower]]'' (1949) and, wrote the ''Monthly Film Bulletin'', "appeared to overact" alongside [[Boris Karloff]] as a mad French nobleman in a version of [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s ''[[The Strange Door]]'' in 1951. He played a tramp in ''[[O. Henry's Full House]]'' (1952). He became the pirate Captain Kidd again, this time for comic effect, in ''[[Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd]]'' (1952). Laughton made a guest appearance on the ''Colgate Comedy Hour'' (featuring [[Abbott and Costello]]), in which he delivered the [[Gettysburg Address]]. In 1953 he played [[Herod Antipas]] in ''[[Salome (1953 film)|Salome]]'', and he reprised his role as Henry VIII in ''[[Young Bess]]'', a 1953 drama about Henry's children.

He returned to Britain to star in ''[[Hobson's Choice (1954 film)|Hobson's Choice]]'' (1954), directed by [[David Lean]]. Laughton received Academy Award and [[Golden Globe]] nominations for his role in ''[[Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film)|Witness for the Prosecution]]'' (1957). He played a British admiral in ''[[Under Ten Flags]]'' (1960) and worked with [[Laurence Olivier]] in ''[[Spartacus (film)|Spartacus]]'' (1960). His final film was ''[[Advise & Consent]]'' (1962), for which he received favourable comments for his performance as a Southern US Senator (for which accent he studied recordings of [[Mississippi]] Senator [[John C. Stennis]]).