Trivia: Though French actress Annabella was promoted as a "new face" when she arrived in Hollywood in 1937, she had in fact been in European films since her 1926 debut in Abel Gance's Napoleon. During the mid-1930s, she had been France's most popular actress, thanks to such other impressive pre-U.S. credits as Rene Clair's Le Million (1931) and Alexander Korda's Under the Red Robe (1936). During her eight-year stay at 20th Century-Fox, Annabella married Tyrone Power, with whom she co-starred in Fox's Suez (1938). Professing that Power was the only love of her life, Annabella never remarried after their divorce. Her daughter Anne was later the wife of German star Oskar Werner. Four years after her final American film, 13 Rue Madeline, Annabella made her last screen appearance in Le Pus Bel Amour de Don Juan (1952). Annabella died of a heart attack at her home in Neuilly, France on September 18, 1996.

Trivia: Lukas trained for the stage at the Hungarian Actors Academy, and in 1916 he debuted on the Budapest stage. He soon became a local matinee idol, having appeared in many plays and films. He became well-known throughout Central Europe, and Max Reinhardt had him guest-star in Berlin and Vienna productions in the '20s. In 1927 Adolph Zukor brought him to the U.S., and from 1928 he made his career playing Continental Europeans in Hollywood films. At first he portrayed smooth, suave seducers; as age caught up with him he moved into villainous roles, and often played Nazis. His greatest acting triumph, however, came in an anti-Nazi role -- one of his few sympathetic parts at the time -- in Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine on Broadway (1941); he reprised the role in the play's film version (1943), for which he won the Best Actor Oscar and New York Film Critics Award. He continued appearing in occasional films throughout the rest of his life, usually playing sympathetic old men.

Trivia: The son a well-to-do British Army captain who died in the battle of Gallipoli in 1915, David Niven was shipped off to a succession of boarding schools by his stepfather, who didn't care much for the boy. Young Niven hated the experience and was a poor student, but his late father's reputation helped him get admitted to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and he was later commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry. Rakishly handsome and naturally charming, Lt. Niven met a number of high society members while stationed in Malta, and, through their auspices, made several important contacts while attending parties. Although he later claimed to have been nothing more than a wastrel-like "professional guest" at this stage of his life, Niven was actually excellent company, a superb raconteur, and a loyal friend, and he paid back his social obligations by giving lavish parties of his own once he become famous. Niven also insisted that he fell into acting without any prior interest, although he had done amateur theatricals in college.Following his military discharge, Niven wandered the world working odd jobs ranging from a lumberjack to a gunnery instructor for Cuban revolutionaries to (by his own account) a petty thief. He became a Hollywood extra in 1935, and eventually came to the attention of producer Samuel Goldwyn, who had been building up a stable of attractive young contract players. Having made his speaking debut in Without Regret (1935), Niven quickly learned how to successfully get through a movie scene. After several secondary roles for Goldwyn, he was loaned out for a lead role in the 20th Century Fox feature Thank You, Jeeves (1936). The actor formed lasting friendships with several members of Hollywood's British community -- notably Errol Flynn, with whom he briefly lived -- and was quite popular with the American-born contingent as well, especially the ladies.Although he worked steadily in the '30s, it was usually in support of bigger stars; he was seldom permitted to carry a film by himself, except for such modest productions as Dinner at the Ritz (1937) and Raffles (1939). Anxious to do something more substantial than act during World War II, Niven re-entered the British service as a Lieutenant Colonel, where he served nobly, if not spectacularly. (His batman, or valet, during the war was a Pvt. Peter Ustinov, himself an actor of no mean talent.) Married by the end of the war, Niven went back to films but found that he still wasn't getting any important roles; despite ten years experience, he was considered too "lightweight" to be a major name. His life momentarily shattered by the accidental death of his wife in 1946, Niven's spirit was restored by his second marriage to Swedish model Hjordis Tersmeden, his wife of 37 years until the actor's death. Once again, Niven took a self-deprecating attitude towards his domestic life, claiming to be a poor husband and worse father, but despite the time spent away from his family, they cherished his concern and affection for them.After his Goldwyn contract ended in 1949, Niven marked time with inconsequential movies before joining Dick Powell, Charles Boyer, and Ida Lupino to form Four Star, a television production company. Niven was finally able to choose strong dramatic roles for himself, becoming one of TV's first and most prolific stars, although his public still preferred him as a light comedian. The actor's film career also took an upswing in the '50s with starring performances in the controversial The Moon Is Blue (1953) -- a harmless concoction which was denied a Production Code seal because the word "virgin" was bandied about -- and the mammoth Around the World in 80 Days (1956), in which Niven played his most famous role, erudite 19th century globetrotter Phileas Fogg. When Laurence Olivier dropped out of the 1958 film Separate Tables, Niven stepped in to play an elderly, disgraced British military man. Although he was as flippant about the part as usual -- telling an interviewer, "They gave me very good lines and then cut to Deborah Kerr while I was saying them" -- he won an Oscar for this performance. Niven continued his career as a high-priced, A-list actor into the '60s, returning to television in the stylish "caper" series The Rogues in 1964. He revisited his hobby of writing in the early '70s; an earlier novel, Round the Ragged Rocks, didn't sell very well, but gave him pleasure while working on it. But two breezy autobiographies did better: The Moon's a Balloon (1972) and Bring on the Empty Horse (1975). Working alone, without help of a ghostwriter (as opposed to many celebrity authors), Niven was able to entertainingly transfer his charm and wit to the printed page (even if he seldom let the facts impede his storytelling). In 1982, Niven discovered he was suffering from a neurological illness commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, which would prove fatal within a year. Courageously keeping up a front with his friends and the public, Niven continued making media appearances, although he was obviously deteriorating. While appearing in his last film, Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), the actor's speech became so slurred due to his illness that his lines were later dubbed by impressionist Rich Little. Refusing all artificial life-support systems, Niven died in his Switzerland home later that year. While his career produced a relatively small legacy of worthwhile films, and despite his own public attitude that his life had been something of an elaborate fraud, Niven left behind countless friends and family members who adored him. Indeed, journalists sent out to "dig up dirt" following the actor's death came back amazed (and perhaps secretly pleased) that not one person could find anything bad to say about David Niven.

Trivia: Often unfairly dismissed as a "second-string Sydney Greenstreet," immense British character actor Francis L. Sullivan was in fact a prominent stage and movie actor long before Greenstreet's years of film stardom. A Shakespeare buff from childhood, Sullivan made his Old Vic debut at age 18 in Richard III. His film career began in 1932 and ended in 1955, the year before his death; he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Mr. Jaggers in both the 1934 and 1946 versions of Great Expectations. Some of Francis L. Sullivan's latter-day fame rests on a story that may well be apochryphal: while portraying an airplane passenger in a live television drama, Sullivan forgot his lines, ad-libbed "Excuse me, this is my stop," stepped off the "plane," and disappeared from the proceedings.

Trivia: Well-tailored Mexican actor/producer/playwright Romney Brent appeared in British films from 1936 onward. Usually cast as an indeterminate-origin foreigner, Brent appeared in such major productions as East Meets West (1936), and Under the Red Robe (1937). He both co-starred in and wrote the dialogue for the 1937 Anglo-American espionager Dinner at the Ritz (1937). In Hollywood from 1940, Romney Brent is best known for his portrayal of Spain's King Phillip II in The Adventures of Don Juan (1949) and his recurring appearances on the 1950s TV series Zorro.

Trivia: British actor Rome Stewart (born Septimus Wemham Ryott) played leads in hundreds of his country's silent films. Following the advent of sound, he was relegated to character roles.

Trivia: The daughter of a toy manufactuer, British actress Nora Swinburne was on stage from age 10, then went on to polish her skills at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She became a favorite in silent films upon her debut in 1920's Saved From the Sea, maintaining her popularity into the talkie era. Occasionally spelling her British work with American pictures, Ms. Swinburne appeared in such Hollywood-financed films as Dinner at the Ritz (1937) and The Citadel (1938), but remained in England for the War Years. She worked steadily as a character actress in several international productions of the '50s, looking stately but radiant in such costume epics as Quo Vadis (1951) and Helen of Troy (1955). Active in films until the early '70s, Nora Swinburne was long married to another well-known British film actor, Esmond Knight, with whom she acted in Helen of Troy and Anne of a Thousand Days (1969).

Trivia: A stage actor from 1906, Frederick Leister was well into his fifties when he made his first screen appearance in 1937. For the next quarter century, the distinguished, orotund Leister enlivened British films with his own brand of unassailable dignity. His more memorable screen assignments include the "downsized" auditor-turned-racetrack cashier in The Hundred Pound Window (1943) and the snobbish patriarch in 1945's The Randolph Family (aka Dear Octopus). Frederick Leister's last screen role was the judge in the prologue of the 1961 suspense melodrama The Naked Edge.

Trivia: A former Canadian Mountie (at least that was his story), British comic actor Ronald Shiner made his stage debut in 1928, and his film bow six years later. After years of supporting roles, Shiner began securing leads in the mid-'50s. He starred or co-starred in such nonsense as Keep It Clean (1956), Dry Rot (1956), Operation Bullshine (1959), and The Night We Got the Bird (1961). Reportedly, Ronald Shiner insured his huge nose with Lloyds of London for 30,000 dollars.

Trivia: Actor Raymond Huntley made his first professional appearance with the Birmingham Repertory at age 18. In 1927, Huntley played the title character in the original London production of Dracula; he tested for the film version, but lost out to Bela Lugosi. Top-billed in his stage efforts, Huntley's film career was largely limited to supporting roles. He played many a Nazi and/or fascist during the war years, then portrayed an abundance of condescending officials, brusque business executives and club-car boors. On television, Raymond Huntley gained worldwide fame as lawyer Geoffrey Dillon on Upstairs Downstairs; he was also featured as Emmanuel Holroyd in the 1973 British TV comedy series That's Your Funeral.

Trivia: British actor Ralph Truman may seldom have played a leading role in films, but on radio he was a 14-carat star. On the air since 1925 (he was one of the first), Truman once estimated that he'd appeared in 5000 broadcasts. The actor's film career commenced with City of Song in 1930, followed by a string of cheap "quota quickies" and a few worthwhile films like Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk (1936), Under the Red Robe (1937), Dinner at the Ritz (1938) and The Saint in London (1941). The '40s found Truman cast as Mountjoy in Laurence Olivier's filmization of Henry V (1945) and in such equally prestigious productions as Oliver Twist (1948) and Christopher Columbus (1949). American audiences were treated to Truman in the wildly extroverted role of pirate George Merry in Treasure Island (1950); he'd beem deliberately cast in that role by director Robert Stevenson so that his hammy costar Robert Newton (as Long John Silver) would look "downright underplayed" in comparison. Though hardly as well served as he'd been on radio, Ralph Truman stayed with films until retiring in 1970; his last appearance was in Lady Caroline Lamb (released in 1971).

Trivia: A virile romantic lead in his turn-of-the-century stage performances, British actor O. B. Clarence settled for what one writer characterized as "benevolent, doddering" roles in films. On screen from 1914, Clarence played dozens of benign old duffers, usually wearing a working-class cloth cap. He also showed up in clerical roles, playing vicars and ministers in such productions as Pygmalion (1937) and Uncle Silas (1947). The most celebrated of his 1940s film assignments was his brief turn as The Aged Parent in Great Expectations (1946). One of O. B. Clarence's least characteristic "appearances" was in a film in which he never appeared on screen: in Dead Eyes of London (1940), Clarence's voice was heard whenever villain Bela Lugosi adopted the disguise of the kindly operator of a home for the blind.

Trivia: In British films from her teens, actress Patricia Medina came to Hollywood in the company of her first husband, actor Richard Greene, in 1946. Invited to film a screen test at MGM by studio president Louis B. Mayer, the raven-haired actress was signed to a contract -- then promptly ignored when Mayer left the studio on an extended business trip. Spending much of her MGM contract on loan-out, Medina appeared in 20th Century-Fox's Moss Rose (1948) and The Foxes of Harrow (1948), and at Universal in Francis (1950) and Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950). With the 1951 Columbia quickie The Magic Carpet, Medina established herself as the queen of the "B" costume pictures. One of her more worthwhile film assignments was as a femme fatale in Orson Welles' Mr. Arkadin (1955). She was also an impressive wicked queen in Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961), and surprisingly adept at portraying a predatory lesbian in The Killing of Sister George (1968). On television, Medina guest-starred on such series as Thriller, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Man From UNCLE, usually as black-widow villainesses. Patricia Medina is the widow of actor Joseph Cotten, whom she married in 1960.