Raymond Lovell often plays men accustomed to being obeyed. We value the practical man he finds beneath the uniform in 49th Parallel, though the succession of officers and dignitaries suggests how narrowly he was often cast.
Fi1m perspective
In 49th Parallel (1941), Raymond Lovell plays a man who can fly a plane and would prefer not to die. His Lieutenant Kuhnecke is the practical member of the stranded U-boat party, alongside Portman’s rigidly convinced Hirth and Niall MacGinnis’s softer Vogel. Lovell gives the group a useful difference: here is someone concerned with getting through the immediate danger. We found his wish to keep living uncomfortably easy to understand, because the performance makes survival an ordinary concern without asking us to excuse him.
That usefulness is a fair place to begin with Lovell, whose film work began in small British parts in 1934 and settled largely into supporting roles. Officers, aristocrats and pompous establishment figures recur, with wartime films and historical dramas providing much of his 1940s work. Carol Reed cast him as George III in The Young Mr. Pitt (1942), then as garage owner Mr Jackson in The Way Ahead (1944). The latter is a useful reminder that the job did not always come with a title.
His Prince of Wales in The Man in Grey (1943) fits the more familiar pattern. That costume melodrama takes too long to get going; Margaret Lockwood and James Mason supply the heat and remain the chief reason to consider it. We would not send anyone to it for Lovell alone. 49th Parallel gives us a firmer reason to recommend him, with director Michael Powell making room for Kuhnecke’s practical concerns beside the other men’s competing temperaments.
The limitation is how often the casting asks for rank or pomposity before it asks for anything particular to Lovell. Warn That Man (1943), with his dual role as Hausemann and Lord Buckley, gave him one of his few near-leading opportunities. That exception is worth remembering before blaming the actor for the sameness of the parts. Start with 49th Parallel, allowing for its broader passages, and watch how much the group gains from having one man chiefly concerned with keeping himself alive.
Biography
Raymond Lovell (13 April 1900 – 1 October 1953) was a Canadian actor who performed mainly in British films. Born in Montreal, he trained as a physician at Cambridge University before turning to the stage in the 1920s.
Lovell appeared in supporting roles, frequently as somewhat pompous characters. His film credits include Lieutenant Kuhnecke in 49th Parallel (1941), the Prince of Wales in The Man in Grey (1943), Mr Jackson in The Way Ahead (1944) and Lucius Septimus in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945). He worked in film from 1934 until his death in London.
