Stewart Granger: The Last of the Swashbucklers

Stewart Granger was one of the few British actors who made it as a swashbuckling Hollywood screen idol during the golden age of movies. His most famous roles—in films like Scaramouche, The Prisoner of Zenda, and King Solomon’s Mines—established him as a prototypical man of action: undeniably masculine, chivalrous, and something of a buccaneer. Granger’s time at the top, however, was short. Not only did Hollywood move on to more complex films, starring more youthful, enigmatic stars such as James Dean and Marlon Brando, but Granger also gained a reputation for being difficult. The later years of his life were characterized by parts in TV westerns, before a belated comeback in The Wild Geese. His private life was both complicated and spectacular—a torrid affair with Deborah Kerr and then marriage to Jean Simmons, the love of his life. In his new biography, film historian Don Shiach offers the first serious account of Stewart Granger’s life and career.