Victor McLaglen

Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was born on 10 December 1886 and died on 7 November 1959. He worked as both a British-American actor and a boxer. His time in film stretched from the early 1920s into the 1950s; he started out as a leading man but became better known for his character roles. McLaglen was a regular in John Ford’s stock company, acting in a dozen of the director’s movies, seven of which also featured John Wayne. He took home the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing a treacherous Irish Republican in Ford’s 1935 film *The Informer*, and later received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for the same director’s *The Quiet Man*. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was awarded to him posthumously in 1960.

McLaglen often claimed he was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, but his birth certificate lists 505 Commercial Road, Stepney, in London’s East End. His father, Andrew Charles Albert McLaglen, worked as a missionary for the Free Protestant Church in South Africa and later became a bishop in the Free Protestant Episcopal Church of England. The family was of Scottish descent, tracing back to a MacLachlan who settled in South Africa during the 19th century; the spelling McLaglen came from a Dutch pronunciation. Andrew was christened Andries Carel Albertus McLaglen in Cape Town on 4 April 1851. Victor had eight brothers and one sister. Four of his brothers—Arthur, Clifford, Cyril, and Kenneth—also became actors; Arthur was additionally a sculptor. His other siblings were Frederick, Lewis, and Lily. Another brother, Sydney Temple Leopold McLaglen, appeared in a single film but was known before World War I as a showman and self-proclaimed world jujutsu champion who wrote a book on the subject. Victor’s family moved to South Africa for a time when his father served as Bishop of Claremont.

At age 14, McLaglen left home to join the British Army, hoping to fight in the Second Boer War. Instead, he was stationed at Windsor Castle in the Life Guards and was forced to leave once his true age was discovered. Four years later, he relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where he became a local celebrity by wrestling and boxing as a heavyweight, racking up several notable wins. He also briefly served as a constable with the Winnipeg Police Force in 1907. One of his most famous bouts was a six-round exhibition against heavyweight champion Jack Johnson at the Vancouver Athletic Club on 10 March 1909—Johnson’s first fight after winning the title from Tommy Burns. Between matches, McLaglen toured with a circus, offering $25 to anyone who could last three rounds with him. He returned to Britain in 1913, and during the First World War was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, on 19 June 1915. He landed at Basra on 10 August 1916 and served as an assistant provost marshal in Mesopotamia, finishing the war as a temporary captain; he may also have served with the Royal Irish Fusiliers. He kept boxing and became heavyweight champion of the British Army in 1918. After the war, he continued fighting, including a loss to British champion Frank Goddard. His final bout ended in a knockout defeat by Arthur Townley in October 1920. His professional record stood at 16 wins, eight losses, and one draw.

McLaglen’s acting career began when a film producer spotted him at a sporting club and asked him to audition for the lead in *The Call of the Road* (1920), despite McLaglen having no acting experience. He got the part. In Britain, he appeared in adventure films such as *Corinthian Jack* (1921), *The Prey of the Dragon* (1921), and *The Sport of Kings* (1921). Donald Crisp cast him in *The Glorious Adventure* (1922), and he followed with *A Romance of Old Baghdad* (1922), *Little Brother of God* (1922), *A Sailor Tramp* (1922), *The Crimson Circle* (1922), *The Romany* (1922), and *Heartstrings* (1922). He played leads in *M'Lord of the White Road* (1923), *In the Blood* (1923), *The Boatswain's Mate* (1923), *Women and Diamonds* (1924), and *The Gay Corinthian* (1924). He also appeared in *The Passionate Adventure* (1924), co-written by Alfred Hitchcock, *The Beloved Brute* (1924), *The Hunted Woman* (1925), and *Percy* (1925).

McLaglen’s career took an unexpected turn in 1925 when he moved to Hollywood. He became a popular character actor, especially skilled at playing drunks, and often portrayed Irishmen, leading many film fans to mistakenly think he was Irish rather than English. He played one of the title characters in Lon Chaney Sr.’s original silent version of *The Unholy Three* (1925). He had a supporting role in *Winds of Chance* (1925), directed by Frank Lloyd, then made *The Fighting Heart* (1925) at Fox under John Ford, who would greatly influence his career. McLaglen also appeared in *The Isle of Retribution* (1925), *Men of Steel* (1926), and *Beau Geste* (1926), playing Hank in the last. Director Raoul Walsh’s World War I classic *What Price Glory?* (1926) made McLaglen a top-billed leading man alongside Edmund Lowe and Dolores del Río. The film was a huge hit, grossing over $2 million, and Fox signed McLaglen to a long-term contract. Fox then put him in *The Loves of Carmen* (1927) with del Río, directed by Walsh. He was top-billed in *Mother Machree* (1928) and *A Girl in Every Port* (1928), the latter co-starring Robert Armstrong and Louise Brooks. He starred in Ford’s romantic Irish drama *Hangman's House* (1928), *The River Pirate* (1928), and *Captain Lash* (1929), followed by two more Ford films: *Strong Boy* (1929) and *The Black Watch* (1929).