RICHARD CROMWELL: Pre-Code Heartthrob

“I became a movie actor so quickly it made my head swim. I got a star part by merely wishing and going to the studio at the crucial moment.”

olumbia decided on an unknown to star in the pre-Code remake of the silent classic TOL’ABLE DAVID (1930) and it was the fresh-faced innocence of highly green actor RICHARD CROMWELL (1910-1960) who earned the recognition. The 20-year-old became an instant star and earned a solid “B” level place in films portraying naive lovers and military recruits. Perhaps best remembered for his careless legionnaire opposite Gary Cooper in THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER (1935), his career dissipated following his entrance into WWI, having also kept hidden a secret private life (briefly wed to actress Angela Lansbury). Richard returned to his original love – ceramic art – before dying of liver cancer at age 50.

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