Did you know that at the time of his death, actor Stewart Granger had 18 films that he had failed to complete? And did you know that he always felt like he wasn’t very cut out to be an actor and that he should have pursued a more ‘sensible career’ such as being a doctor?
▬Contents of this video▬ 00:00 - Intro 01:54 - Stewart Granger’s Unmade Films 04:07 - Granger’s Run-In With Elvis 05:58 - Granger’s Niece Is An Appraiser On Antiques Roadshow 07:06 - Outro
Stewart Granger was a British actor who rose to fame in the 1940s appearing in Gainsborough Melodramas. In case you’re not too familiar with what those are, Gainsborough Melodramas were a sequence of popular films produced by the British film studio Gainsborough Pictures from 1943 to 1947.
While not technically a series, these films conformed to a melodramatic style drawing upon similar themes. They were typically developed by the same film crew and featured recurring actors who played very similar characters in each film.
Granger’s modus operande was playing heroic and romantic leads. Throughout his career, he appeared in more than 60 movies – although humorously he was once quoted as saying that he couldn’t stand any of them. That being said, in his autobiography Sparks Fly Upward, Granger revealed that 1948s Saraband was one film that he starred in that he did like.
Stewarts' big breakthrough role was in the 1943 English film The Man in Grey. After becoming one of the biggest box office stars in England in the early to mid-1940s, Ganger attracted Hollywood’s attention.
In 1949, Granger came to America and signed a seven-year contract with MGM. He went on to appear in 1950s King Solomon’s Mine – a role that Errol Flynn had turned down. The film ended up being a huge success. For the remainder of his contract with MGM, Granger continued to be a major box office draw. We’ll touch on some of his highlights during this period in just a bit.
After leaving MGM in 1957, Granger tried his hand at being a Cattle rancher on land that he purchased in New Mexico and Arizona. To finance his cowboy lifestyle, Granger continued to act, albeit sporadically. Later on, he returned to Europe where he continued to act in films until 1969 – although these flicks weren’t ones that he was very proud of.
Granger then returned back to the states where he pursued a career in television for several years before retiring to southern Spain. In 1980, he was mistakenly diagnosed with lung cancer but he returned to acting in 1981 after having part of his lung and rib removed. Turns out, he was actually suffering from tuberculosis.
In 1990, Granger gave his final performance in the Broadway production The Circle. Just three years later he died of prostate and bone cancer at the age of 80.
At the time of his death, Granger had more than a dozen and a half unfinished films that he never got the chance to put the finishing touches on. Many of these projects were abandoned long before he left Hollywood behind.
Join Facts Verse as we investigate why these films weren’t completed while delving into a few other interesting chapters of Stewart Grangers' prolific and storied career.
Stewart Granger Never Got to Finish His List of Films
By: Facts Verse Title: Stewart Granger Never Got to Finish His List of Films Sourced From: www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6MB-RcTb7M
