H.B. Warner gave supporting parts a quiet authority that Frank Capra knew how to use. We value him especially as Mr Gower in It's a Wonderful Life, an unusually raw part for such a dignified presence.
Fi1m perspective
H.B. Warner has a way of making a man with an official title seem worth listening to. Judges, senators and religious figures recur among his parts, and he gives their authority a quiet assurance without asking us to admire it. That makes him useful in a crowded cast, though it can also make his contribution easy to take for granted. We rate him especially highly when a film gives him something less composed to play.
As a silent leading man, he played Jesus in Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings (1927), a part with little room for casualness. Sound brought a move into supporting parts, and Frank Capra found repeated use for him from Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), where he played Judge May. His Chang in Lost Horizon (1937) draws on that quiet authority and wisdom.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) puts that weight behind the title of Senate Majority Leader. Warner brings steadiness to Capra's ensemble, though the liveliness comes chiefly from James Stewart and Jean Arthur. We recommend the film, with a reservation about how much it asks personal decency to solve. Warner is part of what holds it together, but it would be an exaggeration to turn this useful supporting appearance into the main attraction: the comedy gives us more to enjoy than the dignitaries.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) gives him the more revealing Mr Gower, an emotionally raw departure from those reassuring figures. We were moved by the distress Warner brings to Mr Gower; we had grown used to his composure. Capra's whimsy can insist too hard, but the film takes the exhaustion of being good seriously, and this less comfortable part gives Warner more to work with than another position of authority would. Start with It's a Wonderful Life, and leave some attention for Warner.
Biography
H.B. Warner was an English actor whose career spanned stage and film from the late nineteenth century until the 1950s. Born Henry Byron Lickfold in London, he was the son of actor Charles Warner and initially considered a medical career before turning to the theatre.
He appeared in numerous Broadway productions beginning in the early 1900s and made his film debut in the silent era. Warner achieved prominence playing Jesus Christ in Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings (1927) and later became a familiar supporting player in sound films, notably in several directed by Frank Capra.
Among his best-known roles are Chang in Lost Horizon (1937), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Mr. Gower in It's a Wonderful Life (1946). He also appeared in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can't Take It with You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Sunset Boulevard (1950) and The Ten Commandments (1956).
