Early years Guy Patrick Newall was born on 25 May 1885 on the
Isle of Wight, the eldest child of Colonel Marius Charles Newall, of the Royal Horse Artillery, and Mabel Kathleen (
née Bartlett). Newall gained his first theatrical experience with a travelling pantomime and circus which was touring on the Isle of Wight. A year or so later he found work in London and provincial theatre productions, specialising in comic roles. In addition to acting, Newall also wrote one-act plays and music-hall sketches.
Pre-war years Guy Newall and Mary Hancock were married on 26 May 1906 at
Sunderland in
county Durham. In October 1911 Newall played the character of 'J. K. Ainslie' in
Same Lodge at the
Prince of Wales' Theatre in London. Newall and his first wife Mary were divorced in 1913. In early October Tempest and her English company began their season in
Toronto,
Canada, with productions of
The Marriage of Kitty and
Mary Comes First. Newall was also a cast-member of
At the Barn that opened in late November 1914 in the
Comedy Theatre in New York, performed by Tempest and her English company. He played roles in a further eight films produced by the London Film Company that were released in Britain in the period January 1916 to January 1917. Seven of the eight were directed by
Maurice Elvey, including two –
Money for Nothing and
Trouble for Nothing – for which Newall wrote the screenplays as well as playing the recurring lead character of 'Rev. Cuthbert Cheese'.
The Manxman, in which Newall had a small role, was directed by the American
George Loane Tucker and included extensive footage filmed on location on the
Isle of Man. It was released in Britain in November 1916, and in August 1917 in the United States, and was a financial and critical success. Newall joined the
Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA), operating anti-aircraft guns as part of Britain's air defences against
bombing raids by German aircraft and
Zeppelin airships.
Lucky Cat Films After the war ended Clark and Newall founded Lucky Cat Films with Clark as the business manager and Newall as a leading actor and with artistic control. They assembled a team made up of camera operators Bert Ford and Joe Rosenthal (jnr.), set designer
Charles Dalmon and directors
Kenelm Foss and
Arthur Rooke. The other important relationship integral to the success of the new enterprise was Newall's partnership with
Ivy Duke, a musical-comedy actress. Newall had met Duke during the war and she was persuaded to join Lucky Cat Films as his leading lady. In July 1919 it was reported that Lucky Cat Films aimed to produce "good comedies" for the screen, "without extravagance in scenery or situation... with an English background". The account added: "Everything is to be English, the company, the settings, and, it is to be hoped, the style of humour". Lucky Cat Films completed four comedies in quick succession, released from June to September 1919, working from cramped studios in
Ebury Street in
Central London.
George Clark Productions Towards the end of 1919 Clark and Newall began operating under the name of George Clark Productions and announced plans to construct a new modern film studio at
Beaconsfield in
Buckinghamshire, north-west of London. George Clark Productions completed a series of films from December 1919 to mid-year 1923, in the process of which Newall extended his skills and experience as a writer and director. After raising finance for the project, construction of the
Beaconsfield Studios commenced in 1921. While the studios were still under construction Newall took the company to
Nice, on the
French Riviera, where he directed
The Bigamist and
The Persistent Lovers, films for which he also wrote the screenplays and acted in the leading male roles. In the early 1920s Newall was described as "the leading spirit of the movement among English film producers who aspire to make British films which shall compete with American productions on their own ground". In October 1924 the studio was hired by Britannia Films to make
Afraid of Love, but afterwards fell into disuse due to a slump in British film production due to competition from American film distributors. In 1929 the studios were sold to the
British Lion Film Corporation. The film historian
Rachael Low described the acting partnership of Newall and Duke in the following terms: "their combined realistic, shrewd and humorous observation of the interplay of personal relations was a refreshing contrast to the stock figures portrayed in most contemporary films". In December 1920, on the occasion of the release of
Squandered Lives (the film ''
Duke's Son, featuring Newall and Ivy Duke in the lead roles, renamed for the American market), an article in Moving Picture World'' observed: "The partisans of Mr. Newall with large justification insist he is one of the screen's most natural actors as well as one of its most skillful character delineators". Although Newall's more nuanced and serious performances in the George Clark Productions films of the early 1920s differed considerably from the earlier Lucky Cat comedies, reviews in the British press and audiences "responded positively to this new direction", even to the extent of him being named at that time as "Britain's finest actor". At the same time Duke was in Berlin playing in
The Decameron Nights opposite
Lionel Barrymore. In late 1924 Newall and Duke toured the play
Husband Love. The three-act play was written and produced by Newall, with himself in the lead role of 'Jim Valentine' and Ivy Duke playing 'Paula Valentine'. On 10 November 1924
Husband Love was performed at the Grand Theatre,
Fulham. For the next few years both Newall and Duke appeared regularly on the stage. Newall was also cast in the lead role for
Number 17 (released in December 1928), a co-production with
Felsom Film filmed at Berlin's
Tempelhof Studios (also directed by Von Bolváry). An English version of
Number 17 was released in August 1929 with a synchronised musical score and sound effects. Guy Newall and Ivy Duke were divorced by 1929. In May 1929 Guy Newall led a company of actors on a tour of South Africa. The company included
Dorothy Batley who played the female lead in the plays
Just Married,
When the Blue Hills Laughed and
77 Park Lane, performed on the tour. After their return from South Africa, Guy Newall and Dorothy Batley were married in June 1930 in the Hampstead Registry Office. The couple had a daughter named Susan, born on 19 July 1932 at Eton in Buckinghamshire. The Cinematograph Films Act coincided with the advent of the
sound film, which within a short space of time replaced the
silent film in British cinemas. In 1930 Newall played the lead role in
The Road to Fortune, made by the Starcraft production company and distributed by Paramount. The film was an early example of the 'quota quickies', described by one film historian as "a tedious thriller... redeemed only by the natural beauty of its Cornish exteriors". Newall also appeared in another Starcraft production,
The Eternal Feminine, released in February 1931. In 1931 Newall was a cast member of ''
Potiphar's Wife'', directed by Maurice Elvey, with
Laurence Olivier as the male lead in an early film role. In the early 1930s Newall worked for
Julius Hagen at
Twickenham Studios in west London, where he directed six films, most of them with
Elizabeth Allan in the lead female role. The six films directed by Newall at Twickenham for Real Art Productions began with
Rodney Steps In (released in July 1931). Three other Real Art films directed by Newall were released in 1931, including
Chin Chin Chinaman which was scripted by Newall and
Brock Williams. Newall directed two more films at the Twickenham Film Studios,
The Chinese Puzzle (released in March 1932) and ''
The Admiral's Secret'' (released in February 1934). Newall was in the cast of
So Good! So Kind!!, a "flighty comedy" performed at London's
Playhouse Theatre in October 1933. In February 1935 he played the lead role in the comedy
All Rights Reserved at
King's Theatre in
Hammersmith. Newall's last film-acting roles were
Grand Finale (released in September 1936) and
Merry Comes to Town, released two months after his death in February 1937. Newall's health began to deteriorate in the mid-1930s. ==Filmography==