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Submitted by Neal Lofthouse

Esmond Knight Plays Nazi Screen Villain
from Theatre World, September 1942

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     Esmond Knight's courageous determination to continue his career as an actor, despite the handicap of blindness inflicted upon him during the momentous Battle of the Bismarck, is being gloriously rewarded.

     He is carrying all before him on the floor at Denham Film Studios where he is playing a Nazi villain of the most despicable hue in a film entitled, 'The Silver Fleet'. Complete with shaven head and characteristic eye glass, and describing himself as "a rather unglorified mixture of Erich von Stroheim and Lon Chaney." Esmond looks the part to perfection.

     Playgoers who saw his breath-taking performance as the Chief Engineer of the Arts in 'The Insect Play' a couple of years before the war will know that apart from being able to look like an inhuman tyrant, Esmond can assume the Prussian manner to perfection.

     He learned a good deal about German temperament, character, and customs during the summer of 1935, while living in Berlin for the making of the film 'Black Roses', in which he played opposite Lillian Harvey.

     Having scored such a success at the microphone, and now before the movie camera, this young actor's return to the footlights is awaited with even keener interest.