H.B. Warner
Acting
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).
Lux Æterna: The Art of Filmmaking
The Son of God
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Self (archive footage)
The Ten Commandments
Amminadab
Journey Into Light
Wiz, the Wino
Here Comes the Groom
Uncle Elihu
Savage Drums
Maou
The First Legion
Father José Sierra
Sunset Boulevard
H.B. Warner
Hellfire
Brother Joseph
El Paso
Judge Fletcher
The Prince of Thieves
Gilbert Head
High Wall
Mr. Slocum
The Judge Steps Out
Chief Justice Hayes
Driftwood
Rev. Hollingsworth
It's a Wonderful Life
Mr. Gower
Gentleman Joe Palooka
Sen. McCarden
Strange Impersonation
Dr. Mansfield, plastic surgeon
Prospecting for Petroleum
The Voice of History (voice)
Captain Tugboat Annie
Judge Abbott
Rogues' Gallery
Professor Reynolds
Faces in the Fog
Defense Attorney Rankins
Enemy of Women
Col. Eberhart Brandt
Action in Arabia
Abdul al-Rashid
Women in Bondage
Pastor Renz
Hitler's Children
The Bishop
The Boss of Big Town
Jeffrey Moore
A Yank in Libya
Herbert Forbes
Crossroads
Prosecuting Attorney
The Corsican Brothers
Dr. Enrico Paoli
South of Tahiti
High Chief Kawalima
All That Money Can Buy
Justice Hawthorne
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
Ray Jardin
City of Missing Girls
Capt. McVeigh
Topper Returns
Mr. Carrington
New Moon
Father Michel
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Senate Majority Leader
The Rains Came
Maharajah
Nurse Edith Cavell
Hugh Gibson
Bulldog Drummond's Bride
Colonel Nielson
The Gracie Allen Murder Case
Richard Lawrence
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
Colonel Nielson
Let Freedom Ring
Rutledge
Arrest Bulldog Drummond
Colonel Nielsen
You Can't Take It with You
Mr. Ramsey
Army Girl
Col. Armstrong
Bulldog Drummond in Africa
Colonel J. A. Nielsen
The Toy Wife
Victor Brigard
Kidnapped
Angus Rankeiller
The Adventures of Marco Polo
Chen Tsu
The Girl of the Golden West
Father Sienna
Our Fighting Navy
British Consul Brent
Victoria the Great
Lord Melbourne
Lost Horizon
Chang
Along Came Love
Dr. Martin
Blackmailer
Michael Rankin
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Judge May
Moonlight Murder
Godfrey Chiltern
The Garden Murder Case
Major Fenwicke-Ralston
Rose of the Rancho
Don Pasqual Castro
A Tale of Two Cities
Theophile Gabelle
Born to Gamble
Carter Mathews
Night Alarm
Henry B. Smith
Behold My Wife!
Hubert Carter
In Old Santa Fe
Charlie Miller
Grand Canary
Dr Ismay
Viva Villa!
Man
Sorrell and Son
Captain Stephen Sorrell
Christopher Bean
Maxwell Davenport
Jennie Gerhardt
William Gerhardt
Supernatural
Dr. Carl Houston
The Son-Daughter
Sin Kai
The Phantom of Crestwood
Priam Andes
The Crusader
Phillip Brandon
Tom Brown of Culver
Dr. Brown
Unholy Love
Dr. Daniel Gregory
Cross-Examination
Gerald Waring
A Woman Commands
Col. Stradimirovitsch
The Menace
Inspector Tracy
Charlie Chan's Chance
Inspector Fife
Expensive Women
Melville Raymond
Five Star Final
Michael Townsend
The Reckless Hour
Walter Nichols
A Woman of Experience
Hugh Schmidt
The Princess and the Plumber
Prince Conrad of Daritzia
Liliom
Chief Magistrate
On Your Back
Raymond Pryor
Wild Company
Henry Grayson
The Second Floor Mystery
Inspector Bray
The Furies
Oliver Bedlow
The Green Goddess
Major Crespin
Wedding Rings
Lewis Dike
Tiger Rose
Dr. Cusick
The Show of Shows
The Victim - Guillotine Sequence (uncredited)
The Argyle Case
Hurley
The Gamblers
James Darwin
The Trial of Mary Dugan
District Attorney Galway
Stark Mad
Prof. Dangerfield
The Doctor's Secret
Richard Garson
The Divine Lady
Sir William Hamilton
Conquest
James Farnham
Romance of a Rogue
Bruce Lowry
Man-Made Women
Jules Moret
French Dressing
Phillip Grey
Sorrell and Son
Stephen Sorrell
The King of Kings
Jesus, The Christ
Silence
Jim Warren
Whispering Smith
'Whispering Smith'
Is Love Everything?
Jordan Southwick
The Man from Broadway
James Sanford Richardson
Zaza
Bernard Dufresne
When We Were Twenty-One
Richard Carewe
Dice of Destiny
Jimmy Doyle
Felix O'Day
Felix O'Day
One Hour Before Dawn
George Clayton
A Fugitive from Matrimony
Stephen Van Courtlandt
The Gray Wolf's Ghost
Doctor West / Harry West
For a Woman's Honor
Captain Clyde Mannering
The Pagan God
Bruce Winthrop
The Man Who Turned White
Captain Rand / Ali Zaman
Danger Trail
John Howland
God's Man
Arnold L'Hommedieu
The Seventh Sin
Feodor
Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath
Feodor
The Vagabond Prince
Prince Tonio
Shell 43
William Berner
The Market of Vain Desire
John Armstrong
The Beggar of Cawnpore
Dr. Robert Lowndes
The Raiders
Scott Wells
The Ghost Breaker
Warren Jarvis
The Lost Paradise
Reuben Warren
English Nell
Duke of Monmouth