Eric Blore makes good manners sound faintly insulting. His clipped English diction and restless reactions give small comic parts a distinct authority; we like him most when Preston Sturges gives that superiority something to do.
Fi1m perspective
Eric Blore's clipped English diction makes his servants sound certain that they know better than their employers. His face is busier, registering bemusement, irritation and disdain with a precision that gives these supporting figures their own comic business. His waiter in The Gay Divorcee (1934), followed by Bates in Top Hat (1935), established the familiar figure in the Fred Astaire–Ginger Rogers musicals. Even within those narrow parts, there is pleasure in the timing of a reaction.
Preston Sturges makes particularly good use of that self-satisfaction in The Lady Eve (1941), casting Blore as Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith. We laughed at his assurance: the careful diction and little displays of disdain make Sir Alfred's opinion of himself quite clear. Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda carry the romance, and Blore's comic timing belongs comfortably alongside their cleverness and slapstick. His contribution is a supporting one, but the film benefits from having another performer who can make calculation funny without insisting that we admire his cleverness.
In Sullivan's Travels (1941), also directed by Sturges, he plays Sullivan's valet, bringing devotion as well as dryness to the servant routine. The film follows a filmmaker who thinks comedy is beneath him, while Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake keep its defence of entertainment human. Blore's superior manner belongs comfortably in this company, where someone taking himself too seriously is likely to need correcting. The loyalty keeps his disdain from turning sour.
His later career became increasingly confined to B-pictures, while The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) found another use for the voice, as Mr Toad. Those servant parts have an obvious limitation: familiarity can wear down the joke. Good timing can keep it fresh, but cannot replace a part worth playing. Start with The Lady Eve; Blore is one reason to watch, and Stanwyck supplies several more.
Biography
Eric Blore (23 December 1887 – 2 March 1959) was an English actor and writer. Born in Finchley, Middlesex, he began his career in insurance before turning to the stage, appearing in revues and musical comedies in the West End and later on Broadway.
Between 1930 and 1955 he appeared in more than sixty Hollywood films, frequently cast as butlers, valets and other superior domestic servants. He co-starred with Fred Astaire in six films, including Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1936) and Shall We Dance (1937). Notable roles include Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith in The Lady Eve (1941) and Sullivan's valet in Sullivan's Travels (1941). He provided the voice of Mr Toad in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).
Blore retired in 1956 after suffering a stroke and died in Hollywood.
