Robert Arden

Robert Arden

Born: December 11, 1922
Died: March 25, 2004
in London, England, UK
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.

Movies for Robert Arden...

Title: Silent Witness
Character: Alex Wein
Released: February 21, 1996
Type: TV
Silent Witness is a British crime thriller series focusing on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes.
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Title: The Paradise Club
Character: Marzocca
Released: September 19, 1989
Type: TV
The Paradise Club is a BBC television drama starring Don Henderson and Leslie Grantham as Frank & Danny Kane. Two series were produced and were broadcast between 1989 and 1990. The show focuses upon two brothers, Frank & Danny Kane. Their mother, Ma Kane, is the matriarch of a criminal gang in South London, helped by her son Danny. Frank has become a priest but leaves the church; he inherits The Paradise Club on the death of their mother and returns to London to try and steer Danny away from crime.
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Title: The Bourne Identity
Character: Stevens
Released: May 8, 1988
Type: TV
An unconscious man is washed ashore on the beach of a small French village during a heavy storm. A retired doctor takes care of the unconscious stranger. When the mysterious man recovers, he can't remember a thing...he does not know his name, he does not know where his flashback memories come from, and he does not know why the access code for an anonymous Swiss bank account is implanted in his thigh. As he seeks his own identity, things quickly become dangerous. There are attempts to kill him, he is well known in first class hotels across Europe, and worst of all, there are strange similarities between his memories and reported actions of the notorious terrorist, Carlos the Jackal.
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Title: Inspector Morse
Character: Eddie Poindexter
Released: January 6, 1987
Type: TV
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis, as well as a large cast of notable actors and actresses.
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Little Shop of Horrors
Title: Little Shop of Horrors
Character: Network Exec #1
Released: December 19, 1986
Type: Movie
Seymour Krelborn is a nerdy orphan working at Mushnik's, a flower shop in urban Skid Row. He harbors a crush on fellow co-worker Audrey Fulquard, and is berated by Mr. Mushnik daily. One day Seymour finds a very mysterious unidentified plant which he calls Audrey II. The plant seems to have a craving for blood and soon begins to sing for his supper.
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Among Wolves
Title: Among Wolves
Character: Général Lee W. Simon
Released: December 31, 1985
Type: Movie
An American general with highly confidential defence information has been kidnapped by terrorists and is being held in a cliff-top fortress in the Mediterranean.
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Ragtime
Title: Ragtime
Character: Foreman of the Jury
Released: November 20, 1981
Type: Movie
A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family set among the racial tensions, infidelity, violence, and other nostalgic events in early 1900s New York City.
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Condorman
Title: Condorman
Character: CIA Chief
Released: July 2, 1981
Type: Movie
Comic artist and writer Woody performs a simple courier operation for his friend Harry who works for the CIA. But when he successfully fends off hostile agents, he earns the respect of the beautiful Natalia, who requests his assistance for her defection. Woody uses this request as leverage to use the CIA's resources to bring his comic book creation, Condorman, to life to battle the evil Krokov.
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The Final Conflict
Title: The Final Conflict
Character: American Ambassador
Released: March 20, 1981
Type: Movie
Damien Thorn has helped rescue the world from a recession, appearing to be a benign corporate benefactor. When he then becomes U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Damien fulfills a terrifying biblical prophecy. He also faces his own potential demise as an astronomical event brings about the second coming of Christ.
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Churchill and the Generals
Title: Churchill and the Generals
Character: Harry Hopkins
Released: September 23, 1979
Type: Movie
The complicated relationship between Winston Churchill and the leaders of the British army during World War II.
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Title: Tales of the Unexpected
Character: Berners
Released: March 24, 1979
Type: TV
A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.
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The Pistol
Title: The Pistol
Character: Captain Danzinger
Released: June 16, 1965
Type: Movie
A young private with a pistol deals with the aftershock of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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Title: The Wednesday Play
Character: Captain Danziger
Released: September 30, 1964
Type: TV
The Wednesday Play is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured. The series gained a reputation for presenting contemporary social dramas, and for bringing issues to the attention of a mass audience that would not otherwise have been discussed on screen.
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Death Drums Along the River
Title: Death Drums Along the River
Character: Jim Hunter
Released: December 20, 1963
Type: Movie
A British colonial policeman in Africa investigates a murder in a hospital up river.
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Title: The Saint
Character: Detective Williams
Released: October 4, 1962
Type: TV
Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those in need.
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Title: Man of the World
Character: Carter
Released: September 29, 1962
Type: TV
Man of the World was an ATV drama series, distributed by ITC Entertainment. The show ran in the United Kingdom in 1962 and 1963 for 20 one-hour episodes in monochrome. The series stars Craig Stevens as Michael Strait, a world-renowned photographer whose assignments lead him into investigating mysterious goings-on amongst the rich and glamorous and intrigue from far-flung place as Iraq, Indo-China, and Algiers. Tracy Reed co-stars in the first season.
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Title: Studio Four
Character: George Spencer
Released: January 22, 1962
Type: TV
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Never Take Sweets from a Stranger
Title: Never Take Sweets from a Stranger
Character: Tom Demarest
Released: March 4, 1960
Type: Movie
Peter Carter, his wife Sally and their young daughter Jean move to a sleepy Canadian village, where Peter has been hired as a school principal. Their idyll is shattered when Jean becomes the victim of an elderly, and extremely powerful, paedophile. The film was neither a box office nor a critical success, it garnered criticism for breaking a significant public taboo.
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Title: International Detective
Character: McNaughton
Released: December 26, 1959
Type: TV
The global adventures of Ken Franklin, ace operative of the William J. Burns Detective Agency, qualify as a pop-culture curio if only for star Arthur---later Art---Fleming, who hosted the original `Jeopardy!'
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Title: No Hiding Place
Character: James Sandford
Released: September 16, 1959
Type: TV
No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series Murder Bag and Crime Sheet, all starring Raymond Francis as Detective Superintendent, later Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart.
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Title: Interpol Calling
Character: Marston
Released: September 13, 1959
Type: TV
The adventures of Interpol policemen Duval and Mornay as they fought against international drug-running, homicide, robbery and forgery.
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The Child and the Killer
Title: The Child and the Killer
Character: Joe
Released: February 1, 1959
Type: Movie
Joe Marsh (Robert Arden) is a U.S. Army captain who goes on the run in Britain after committing murder. He breaks into a family's home and forces 7-year-old Tommy Martin (Richard Williams) to guide his escape through the surrounding rural territory. A bond begins to form between the child and the desperate fugitive, but Marsh's criminal nature cannot help but show itself again before the chase comes to an end.
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The Depraved
Title: The Depraved
Character: Dave Dillon
Released: November 1, 1957
Type: Movie
Fed up with her wealthy but abusive husband, Tom (Basil Dignam), young English homemaker Laura Wilton (Anne Heywood) conspires with her lover, American Army captain Dave Dillon (Robert Arden), to have her boozy spouse meet an "accidental" demise. But a nosy copper (Denis Shaw) suspects foul play, and soon the lovers' crafty scheme deteriorates into fear, distrust and betrayal. Paul Dickson directs this vintage noir thriller.
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A King in New York
Title: A King in New York
Character: Liftboy
Released: September 12, 1957
Type: Movie
A recently-deposed "Estrovian" monarch seeks shelter in New York City, where he becomes an accidental television celebrity. Later, he's wrongly accused of being a Communist and gets caught up in subsequent HUAC hearings.
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The Counterfeit Plan
Title: The Counterfeit Plan
Character: Bob Fenton
Released: January 1, 1957
Type: Movie
An escaped murderer flees France to England, where he forces an ex-forger, now established as a reputable estate owner, and the forger's daughter who knew nothing of his past, to counterfeit 5-pound notes for mass distribution around the countryside.
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Bermuda Affair
Title: Bermuda Affair
Character: Bill
Released: July 4, 1956
Type: Movie
Chuck Walters and Bob Scoffield are old war buddies who run a cargo airplane service in Bermuda. Walters is happily married to Chris while Scoffield chases after every woman who looks his way. Though Walters doesn't suspect anything, Chris isn't nearly as happy as he is and has started a romance with Scoffield on the side. When Walters finally finds out about the affair, he's devastated by the betrayal and runs out into the jungle.
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Soho Incident
Title: Soho Incident
Character: Buddy
Released: March 1, 1956
Type: Movie
A boxer is lured into a murder plot by a scheming woman.
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Mr. Arkadin
Title: Mr. Arkadin
Character: Guy Van Stratten
Released: August 9, 1955
Type: Movie
Claiming that he doesn't know his own past, a rich man enlists an ex-con with an odd bit of detective work. Gregory Arkadin says he can't remember anything before the late 1920s, and convict Guy Van Stratten is happy to take the job of exploring his new acquaintance's life story. Guy's research turns up stunning details about his employer's past, and as his work seems linked to untimely deaths, the mystery surrounding Mr. Arkadin deepens.
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The Hills of Donegal
Title: The Hills of Donegal
Character: Daniel
Released: September 1, 1947
Type: Movie
Eileen Hannay (Dinah Sheridan) is the singing star of an Irish operatic society but gives up to marry Terry O'Keefe (John Bentley).
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A Matter of Life and Death
Title: A Matter of Life and Death
Character: GI Playing Snout (uncredited)
Released: December 15, 1946
Type: Movie
When a young RAF pilot miraculously survives bailing out of his aeroplane without a parachute, he falls in love with an American radio operator. But the officials in the other world realise their mistake and dispatch an angel to collect him.
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The Man from Morocco
Title: The Man from Morocco
Character: American Sergeant
Released: April 17, 1945
Type: Movie
With the ending of the Spanish Civil War, a dispirited band of volunteers from the International Brigades seeks refuge in France. But on reaching the frontier, the band is disarmed, and all are detained as political prisoners. Then come instructions from Vichy that all fit prisoners are to be sent to Morocco to work on the Sahara railway for the Germans. However, one man manages to escape to London with vital information for the Allies.
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Two Thousand Women
Title: Two Thousand Women
Character: Dave Kennedy
Released: November 6, 1944
Type: Movie
During the Second World War, three downed English airmen hide out with women's internment camp in France.