Robert Arden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Arden (11 December 1922 – 25 March 2004) was an American film, television and radio actor born in London who worked and lived mostly in the United Kingdom. Arden was born from an American father and an English mother. His father had a successful career as a professional boxer after World War I. He attended "a combination of English and American schools." Arden's most famous film appearance was as lead character Guy Van Stratten in Mr. Arkadin (1955), written and directed by Orson Welles. Welles had worked with Arden on the Harry Lime radio series, produced in London, and later cast the little-known actor in Mr. Arkadin, in the central role of the investigator who uncovers Arkadin's past. Reportedly, Arden was shocked that Welles might consider him for the part and initially thought that the director's phone inquiry was a crank call. Arden's performance in Mr. Arkadin was panned by some critics : The New York Times called it "hopelessly inadequate". Film historian Jonathan Rosenbaum has defended Arden's performance, locating the problem not in the actor's work but in "the unsavoriness and obnoxiousness of the character", who was intended by Welles to be unattractive even though he occupied in the film "the space normally reserved for charismatic heroes". The credits of one the film's Spanish versions misspelled Arden's name as "Bob Harden". Another Spanish print actually credited him as "Mark Sharpe". Mr. Arkadin did poorly at the box-office. Afterwards, Arden played a few other lead roles, in films such as The Depraved (1957) or The Child and the Killer (1959), but he worked mostly as a character actor, appearing in film, television and stage productions. he worked mostly as a character actor, appearing in film, television and stage productions.
Known For
Credits
- 1996 · Silent Witness as Alex Wein
- 1989 · The Paradise Club as Marzocca
- 1988 · The Bourne Identity as Stevens
- 1987 · Inspector Morse as Eddie Poindexter
- 1986 · Little Shop of Horrors as Network Exec #1
- 1986 · Strong Medicine as Dr. Potter
- 1985 · Among Wolves as Général Lee W. Simon
- 1982 · The Story of Ruth as Ruth's Father
- 1981 · Ragtime as Foreman of the Jury
- 1981 · Condorman as CIA Chief
- 1981 · The Final Conflict as American Ambassador
- 1979 · Churchill and the Generals as Harry Hopkins
- 1979 · Tales of the Unexpected as Berners
- 1965 · The Pistol as Captain Danzinger
- 1964 · The Wednesday Play as Captain Danziger
- 1963 · Death Drums Along the River as Jim Hunter
- 1962 · The Saint as Detective Williams
- 1962 · Man of the World as Carter
- 1962 · Studio Four as George Spencer
- 1960 · Never Take Sweets from a Stranger as Tom Demarest
- 1959 · International Detective as McNaughton
- 1959 · No Hiding Place as James Sandford
- 1959 · Interpol Calling as Marston
- 1959 · The Child and the Killer as Joe
- 1957 · The Depraved as Dave Dillon
- 1957 · A King in New York as Liftboy
- 1957 · The Counterfeit Plan as Bob Fenton
- 1956 · Bermuda Affair as Bill
- 1956 · Spin a Dark Web as Buddy
- 1955 · Mr. Arkadin as Guy Van Stratten
- 1947 · The Hills of Donegal as Daniel
- 1946 · A Matter of Life and Death as GI Playing Snout (uncredited)
- 1945 · The Man from Morocco as American Sergeant
- 1944 · Two Thousand Women as Dave Kennedy