Robert Arden
| Robert Arden | |
|---|---|
 Arden in a scene from Mr. Arkadin. |
|
| Born | 11 December 1922 London |
| Died | 25 March 2004 (aged 81) London |
Robert Arden (11 December 1922 – 25 March 2004) was an English-born film, television and radio actor who worked and lived mostly in the United States.
His 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,[1] 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.[2]
Arden's performance in Mr. Arkadin was panned by some critics : The New York Times called it "hopelessly inadequate".[3] The credits of one the film's Spanish versions misspelled Arden's name as "Bob Harden".[4] Another Spanish print actually credited him as "Mark Sharpe".[5]
After Mr. Arkadin did poorly at the box-office, Arden pursued his acting career, essentially in supporting parts. Although he played a few other lead roles, in films such as The Depraved (1957) or The Child and the Killer (1959), he worked mostly as a character actor, appearing in film, television and stage productions.
[edit] Selected filmography
- Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960)
- Death Drums Along the River (1963)
[edit] References
- ^ Charles Higham, The films of Orson Welles, 1970, page 145
- ^ The Bootleg files : Mr. Arkadin', filmthreat.com
- ^ Mystery Movie Opens at the New Yorker Welles' 'Mr. Arkadin', The New York Times, October 12, 1962
- ^ Spanish credits
- ^ DVD Town: Complete Mr. Arkadin a.k.a. Confidential Report
[edit] External links
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