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BFI Screenonline: Granger, Stewart (1913-1993) Biography
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Leslie Arliss, 1943). He had changed his real name (James Stewart) for obvious professional reasons and successfully appeared in popular Gainsborough productions such as <cite>Fanny By Gaslight</cite> (d. Anthony Asquith, 1944), <cite>Love Story</cite> (d. Leslie Arliss, 1944), <cite>Madonna of the Seven Moons</cite> (d. Arthur Crabtree, 1944) and <cite>The Magic Bow</cite> (d. Bernard Knowles, 1946), with contemporary stars such as <cite class="party">Margaret Lockwood</cite>, <cite class="party">Phyllis Calvert</cite>, <cite class="party">James Mason</cite> and <cite class="party">Patricia Roc</cite>.</p> <p>Demobilized from wartime service for health reasons, <cite class="party">Granger</cite>'s handsome looks, athletic physique, and masculine profile made him one of 1940s British cinema's key romantic leading men and brought him to the attention of <dfn>Hollywood</dfn> and an <cite class="party">MGM</cite> contract which lasted until 1960, and which in turn brought him international stardom in such capers as <cite>Scaramouche</cite> (US, d. George Sidney, 1952).</p> <p>He was married first to actress <cite class="party">Elspeth March</cite> and second to <cite class="party">Jean Simmons</cite>, with whom he co-starred in the romantic comedy, <cite>Adam and Evelyne</cite> (d. Harold French, 1949), the historical romance, <cite>Young Bess</cite> (US, d. George Sidney, 1953), and the underrated 'Victorian' thriller, <cite>Footsteps in the Fog</cite> (d. Arthur Lubin, 1955).</p> <p>Despite frequent typecasting, <cite class="party">Granger</cite> could often produce interesting performances such as his 'spiv' role in <cite>Waterloo Road</cite> (d. Sidney Gilliat, 1945) and the doomed romantic leads in <cite>Blanche Fury</cite> (d. Marc All茅gret, 1947) and <cite>Saraband for Dead Lovers</cite> (d. Basil Dearden, 1948), who were victims of a ruthless class structure.</p> <p>After freelancing in Europe during the 1960s and 1970s he began to appear frequently on TV, one of his last roles being as <cite class="party">Prince Philip</cite> in <cite>The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana</cite> (tx. 20/9/1982).</p> <p>Autobiography: <em>Sparks Fly Upwards</em> (1981).</p> <p class="bricksrc">Tony Williams, Encyclopedia of British Cinema</p> <img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="10" border="0" alt="" /> </td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2"></td></tr> </table></td> <!-- central divider --> <td width="1" class="verticaldots"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /></td> <td width="312" valign="top"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr><td colspan="2"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="312" height="20" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr><td><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="3" height="1" 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image of Fanny By Gaslight (1944)" border="0" /></td><td class="rh-headcell-people"><a href="../../../film/id/440432/index.html" class="thumbheadlink-people">Fanny By Gaslight (1944)</a></td></tr><tr><td><p>Costume melodrama about a Cabinet minister's illegitimate daughter</p></td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td class="underline" colspan="2"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="rh-item"><tr><td valign="top" rowspan="10"><img src="http://www.screenonline.org.uk/files/852661.jpg" class="rh-thumbpic" alt="Thumbnail image of Lamp Still Burns, The (1943)" border="0" /></td><td class="rh-headcell-people"><a href="../../../film/id/852521/index.html" class="thumbheadlink-people">Lamp Still Burns, The (1943)</a></td></tr><tr><td><p>Unsubtle but fascinating film about the pre-NHS nursing profession</p></td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td class="underline" colspan="2"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="rh-item"><tr><td valign="top" rowspan="10"><img src="http://www.screenonline.org.uk/files/631427.jpg" class="rh-thumbpic" alt="Thumbnail image of Love Story (1944)" border="0" /></td><td class="rh-headcell-people"><a href="../../../film/id/440578/index.html" class="thumbheadlink-people">Love Story (1944)</a></td></tr><tr><td><p>A terminally ill pianist falls in love with a man who's going blind</p></td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td class="underline" colspan="2"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="rh-item"><tr><td valign="top" rowspan="10"><img src="http://www.screenonline.org.uk/files/643918.jpg" class="rh-thumbpic" alt="Thumbnail image of Madonna of the Seven Moons (1944)" border="0" /></td><td class="rh-headcell-people"><a href="../../../film/id/440603/index.html" class="thumbheadlink-people">Madonna of the Seven Moons (1944)</a></td></tr><tr><td><p>Florentine melodrama about a jewel thief and his amnesiac mistress</p></td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td class="underline" colspan="2"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="rh-item"><tr><td valign="top" rowspan="10"><img src="http://www.screenonline.org.uk/files/631504.jpg" class="rh-thumbpic" alt="Thumbnail image of Magic Bow, The (1946)" border="0" /></td><td class="rh-headcell-people"><a href="../../../film/id/441045/index.html" class="thumbheadlink-people">Magic Bow, The (1946)</a></td></tr><tr><td><p>Stewart Granger (and Yehudi Menuhin) as the violinist Paganini</p></td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td class="underline" colspan="2"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" 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