The Powell & Pressburger Pages Dedicated to the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and all the other people, both actors and technicians who helped them make those wonderful films. A lot of the documents have been sent to me or have come from other web sites. The name of the web site is given where known. If I have unintentionally included an image or document that is copyrighted or that I shouldn't have done then please email me and I'll remove it. I make no money from this site, it's purely for the love of the films. [Any comments are by me (Steve Crook) and other members of the email list]

What they said about him
Various comments from newspapers after his death

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Hannen Swaffler, Daily Herald

Leslie Howard died as he would have wished it - serving his country. Really good actor though he was, film star though he became, he was proudest of the propaganda work he did in the war, on screen, on the platform and on the air. His broadcasts in the States and Canada were admirable. They had in them not only eloquence but deep sincerity.

Ernest Betts, Daily Express

Howard used the screen as the voice of England speaking to the world. Since the war he had become one of the BBC's foremost commentators on the thoughts and ideals of England. His fans will mourn him as a personal friend, and British films as one of the most brilliant leading men.

The Star

... undoubtedly one of the most effective propaganda agents that England has employed during the war, and the sincerity and force in all he said arose from an ardent patriotism.

The Sydney Morning Herald

If historians ever compile a list of Englishmen who helped to save their country from going under when the full force of Hitler's might weighed down upon her, they surely will include in it the name of Leslie Howard - actor, writer and patriot.

The British Film Yearbook: 1945

Leslie Howard, whose presence in England, as a producer, director and actor, constituted in itself one of the most valuable facets of British propaganda, was responsible for many fine British productions. This kindly, intelligent and cultured Englishman did much in his screen appeances to present to the rest of the world the embodiment of the finest qualities of the British people. His dignity, charm and tolerance, as apparent on the screen as off it, were indeed invaluable propaganda assets. he was representative of the finest type of Englishman and his loss ... was one of the tragedies of the war.

C.A. Lejeune, in "Red Roses Every Night"

The death of Leslie Howard was a tragic loss to the British Cinema: for Leslie Howard, both as actor and director, was something of a symbol to the British people. he came home from America to help us when times were bad: his Pimpernel Smith and The First of the Few were the right films at the right moment. The public liked and truested his quiet voice and whimsical judgement; he had, and always will have, a very special place in the country's affections.

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