Cast
H.B. Warner
Acting
Cast
H.B. Warner
Known for
Acting
Born
1876-10-25
From
London, England, UK
Died
1958-12-21
Also known as Harry Byron Lickfold, Henry B. Warner, H. B. Warner
Biography
Henry Byron Warner (often credited as H.B. Warner) was an English actor. He was the definitive cinematic Jesus Christ in Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings (1927). He was born into a prominent theatrical family on October 26, 1875 in London. His father was Charles Warner, and his grandfather was James Warner, both prominent English actors. He replaced J.B. Warner as Jesus in The King of Kings (1927) when J.B. died of tuberculosis at age 29. (J.B. was not Henry's brother. J.B. had taken the professional last name "Warner" because Henry's family took him in.) Henry Warner's family wanted him to become a doctor, and he graduated from London University but eventually gave up his medical studies. The theater was in his blood, and he studied acting in Paris and Italy before joining his father's stock company, making his debut in the English production of "Drink." It was from his father that he honed his craft. Warner made it to America in the early 1900s, after touring the British Empire. Billed as Harry Warner, he made his Broadway debut in the American colonial drama "Audrey" at Hoyt's Theatre on November 24, 1902, starring James O'Neill, the father of playwright Eugene O'Neill. He was billed as H.B. Warner in his next appearance on Broadway, in the 1906 comedy "Nurse Marjorie." He appeared in 13 more Broadway productions in his career, from the twin-bill of "Susan in Search of a Husband" & "A Tenement Tragedy" (also 1906) to "Silence" in 1925. He moved into motion pictures, making his debut in the Mutual short Harp of Tara (1914). Also in 1914, he appeared in a film written by Cecil B. DeMille for Famous Players Lasky, The Ghost Breaker (1914), in which he had played on Broadway the year before. Warner became a leading man and a star in silent pictures, reaching the zenith of his career playing Jesus in DeMille's The King of Kings (1927). His excellent performance was actually enhanced by the silent screen, allowing the audience to imagine how Jesus would sound. Warner could be extremely moving in silent pictures, notably in the melodrama Sorrell and Son (1927) as a war veteran father who sacrifices all for his son. When talkies arrived, he became a busy supporting player. A favorite of Frank Capra , appeared in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). Cast again by Capra, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Lost Horizon (1937). He also appeared in You Can't Take It with You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). Other major talkies included The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) and Topper Returns (1941). Other than Jesus, the role he is best remembered role for today is in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), in which he played Mr. Gower, the druggist who is saved from committing a lethal medication error by the young George Bailey (the James Stewart character as a child). H.B. Warner appeared in Sunset Blvd. (1950) as himself. His last credited role was as Amminadab in DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956), a remake of the earlier silent The Ten Commandments (1923). He last role was an uncredited bit part in Darby's Rangers (1958).
The Ten Commandments
as Amminadab
It's a Wonderful Life
as Mr. Gower
Sunset Boulevard
as H.B. Warner
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Senate Majority Leader
Lost Horizon
as Chang
A Tale of Two Cities
as Theophile Gabelle
You Can't Take It with You
as Ramsey
All That Money Can Buy
as Justice Hawthorne
High Wall
as Mr. Slocum
Moonlight Murder
as Godfrey Chiltern
Driftwood
as Rev. Hollingsworth
Supernatural
as Dr. Carl Houston
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
as Judge May
Grand Canary
as Dr Ismay
Liliom
as Chief Magistrate
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
as Self (archive footage)
The Gamblers
as James Darwin
The Raiders
as Scott Wells
Crossroads
as Prosecuting Attorney
Kidnapped
as Angus Rankeiller
Blackmailer
as Michael Rankin
Silence
as Jim Warren
El Paso
as Judge Fletcher
The Show of Shows
as The Victim - Guillotine Sequence (uncredited)
Army Girl
as Col. Armstrong
English Nell
as Duke of Monmouth
Christopher Bean
as Maxwell Davenport
The Corsican Brothers
as Dr. Enrico Paoli
Rose of the Rancho
as Don Pasqual Castro
The King of Kings
as Jesus, The Christ
Topper Returns
as Mr. Carrington
Viva Villa!
as Man
Let Freedom Ring
as Rutledge
The Rains Came
as Maharajah
The Garden Murder Case
as Major Fenwicke-Ralston
Here Comes the Groom
as Uncle Elihu
Behold My Wife!
as Hubert Carter
New Moon
as Father Michel
The Resurrection of Christ
Cross-Examination
as Gerald Waring
The Judge Steps Out
as Chief Justice Hayes
A Woman Commands
as Col. Stradimirovitsch
The Toy Wife
as Victor Brigard
The Gracie Allen Murder Case
as Richard Lawrence
Stark Mad
as Prof. Dangerfield
Captain Tugboat Annie
as Judge Abbott
Zaza
as Bernard Dufresne
The Menace
as Inspector Tracy
Expensive Women
as Melville Raymond
Hellfire
as Brother Joseph
The Adventures of Marco Polo
as Chen Tsu
South of Tahiti
as High Chief Kawalima
The Furies
as Oliver Bedlow
The First Legion
as Father José Sierra
The Phantom of Crestwood
as Priam Andes
Journey Into Light
as Wiz, the Wino
Nurse Edith Cavell
as Hugh Gibson
The Son-Daughter
as Sin Kai
Action in Arabia
as Abdul al-Rashid
Savage Drums
as Maou
The Divine Lady
as Sir William Hamilton
Hitler's Children
as The Bishop
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
as Colonel Nielson
Bulldog Drummond's Bride
as Colonel Nielson
Gentleman Joe Palooka
as Sen. McCarden
Five Star Final
as Michael Townsend
Charlie Chan's Chance
as Inspector Fife
Dice of Destiny
as Jimmy Doyle
City of Missing Girls
as Capt. McVeigh
Jennie Gerhardt
as William Gerhardt
Bulldog Drummond in Africa
as Colonel J. A. Nielsen
Our Fighting Navy
as British Consul Brent
Whispering Smith
as 'Whispering Smith'
The Vagabond Prince
as Prince Tonio
The Girl of the Golden West
as Father Sienna
Faces in the Fog
as Defense Attorney Rankins
Along Came Love
as Dr. Martin
Tiger Rose
as Dr. Cusick
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
as Ray Jardin
Danger Trail
as John Howland
The Green Goddess
as Major Crespin
The Ghost Breaker
as Warren Jarvis
The Doctor's Secret
as Richard Garson
Night Alarm
as Henry B. Smith
Strange Impersonation
as Dr. Mansfield, plastic surgeon
A Woman of Experience
as Hugh Schmidt
One Hour Before Dawn
as George Clayton
The Boss of Big Town
as Jeffrey Moore
Lux Æterna: The Art of Filmmaking
as The Son of God
The Reckless Hour
as Walter Nichols
Arrest Bulldog Drummond
as Colonel Nielsen
The Prince of Thieves
as Gilbert Head
Victoria the Great
as Lord Melbourne
Sorrell and Son
as Stephen Sorrell
French Dressing
as Phillip Grey
Wedding Rings
as Lewis Dike
Rogues' Gallery
as Professor Reynolds
Tom Brown of Culver
as Dr. Brown
The Trial of Mary Dugan
as District Attorney Galway
The Argyle Case
as Hurley
When We Were Twenty-One
as Richard Carewe
Haunting Shadows
as John Glenarm
The Princess and the Plumber
as Prince Conrad of Daritzia
Felix O'Day
as Felix O'Day
Conquest
as James Farnham
The Market of Vain Desire
as John Armstrong
Women in Bondage
as Pastor Renz
The Second Floor Mystery
as Inspector Bray
Wild Company
as Henry Grayson
For a Woman's Honor
as Captain Clyde Mannering
Man-Made Women
as Jules Moret
The Lost Paradise
as Reuben Warren
Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath
as Feodor
Unholy Love
as Dr. Daniel Gregory
Born to Gamble
as Carter Mathews
Shell 43
as William Berner
The Pagan God
as Bruce Winthrop
Enemy of Women
as Col. Eberhart Brandt
In Old Santa Fe
as Charlie Miller
Prospecting for Petroleum
as The Voice of History (voice)
The Man Who Turned White
as Captain Rand / Ali Zaman
The Crusader
as Phillip Brandon
God's Man
as Arnold L'Hommedieu
The Seventh Sin
as Feodor
The Beggar of Cawnpore
as Dr. Robert Lowndes
A Yank in Libya
as Herbert Forbes
The Man from Broadway
as James Sanford Richardson
Sorrell and Son
as Captain Stephen Sorrell
The Gray Wolf's Ghost
as Doctor West / Harry West
Romance of a Rogue
as Bruce Lowry
Is Love Everything?
as Jordan Southwick
On Your Back
as Raymond Pryor
Justice Takes a Holiday
as John Logan
A Fugitive from Matrimony
as Stephen Van Courtlandt