Most know the actor Rex Harrison as that sourpuss old man seen in "Dr. Doolittle" and "My Fair Lady." But once upon a time, Harrison was actually a young man whose screen presence mesmerized the ladies in the audience. In his first major role, Harrison plays opposite Vivien Leigh in the English movie June 1937 "Storm in a Teacup." Harrison, 29, more of a stage actor than a film performer at this point in his career, debuted on the screen in 1930, appearing in a couple of small parts before taking a four-year break. He returned to cinema in four minor roles until producer Alexander Korda noticed his performance as a newspaper reporter in 1936's 'Men Are Not Gods.' Korda, also the owner of London Films, slotted him as another newspaper reporter, this as the male lead in "Storm in a Teacup."
"I was struck by how much energy and dynamism Harrison brought to the screen in his first major starring role," noticed film reviewer Laura Grieve. "He's not really conventionally handsome, but the force of his personality makes his scenes the most interesting in the film." "Storm in a Teacup," adapted from a German comedy brought to the London and Broadway stages, sees local news reporter Frank Burdon (Harrison) ordered by the paper's owner to do a puff piece on the abrasive town mayor, Provost William Gow (Cecil Parker). In Frank's article, he focuses on the mayor's insistence the town's new 'dog tax' be enforced. He discovers while researching his story that Honoria Hegarty (Sara Aligood) couldn't afford the tax nor the fine imposed on her. Honoria's personal protest to the mayor fell on deaf ears while her dog was taken by the police to be euthanized. Frank's story gets printed before the paper's publisher can stop it. Victoria (Vivien Leigh), the mayor's daughter, is at first brusk with Frank before falling for him, putting her in the middle of the two battling forces.
Rex Harrison, born Reginald Carey Harrison in Lancashire, England, in 1908, was a teenage phenom on the stage at 16, receiving over 50 offers in the next three years to act in various theatres-and that's without taking one acting lesson. Even while a movie star, Rex continued to return to the stage, acting until 1990. Although he played many serious roles throughout his life, including Julius Caesar in 1963's "Cleopatra," Rex was known for his lighthearted on-screen persona.
"Storm in a Teacup" was one of only 19 films Vivien Leigh appeared. Her first big movie role was in 1937's "Fire Over England" before appearing in the 1937 spy thriller 'Dark Journey,' opposite former German actor Conrad Veidt. Leigh was in two other British films before receiving the role of a lifetime as Scarlett O'Hara in 1939's "Gone With The Wind."
"I was struck by how much energy and dynamism Harrison brought to the screen in his first major starring role," noticed film reviewer Laura Grieve. "He's not really conventionally handsome, but the force of his personality makes his scenes the most interesting in the film." "Storm in a Teacup," adapted from a German comedy brought to the London and Broadway stages, sees local news reporter Frank Burdon (Harrison) ordered by the paper's owner to do a puff piece on the abrasive town mayor, Provost William Gow (Cecil Parker). In Frank's article, he focuses on the mayor's insistence the town's new 'dog tax' be enforced. He discovers while researching his story that Honoria Hegarty (Sara Aligood) couldn't afford the tax nor the fine imposed on her. Honoria's personal protest to the mayor fell on deaf ears while her dog was taken by the police to be euthanized. Frank's story gets printed before the paper's publisher can stop it. Victoria (Vivien Leigh), the mayor's daughter, is at first brusk with Frank before falling for him, putting her in the middle of the two battling forces.
Rex Harrison, born Reginald Carey Harrison in Lancashire, England, in 1908, was a teenage phenom on the stage at 16, receiving over 50 offers in the next three years to act in various theatres-and that's without taking one acting lesson. Even while a movie star, Rex continued to return to the stage, acting until 1990. Although he played many serious roles throughout his life, including Julius Caesar in 1963's "Cleopatra," Rex was known for his lighthearted on-screen persona.
"Storm in a Teacup" was one of only 19 films Vivien Leigh appeared. Her first big movie role was in 1937's "Fire Over England" before appearing in the 1937 spy thriller 'Dark Journey,' opposite former German actor Conrad Veidt. Leigh was in two other British films before receiving the role of a lifetime as Scarlett O'Hara in 1939's "Gone With The Wind."