Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 1893 – 1 June 1943) was an English actor, director and producer. He wrote many stories and articles for The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Vanity Fair and was one of the biggest box-office draws and movie idols of the 1930s. Active in both Britain and Hollywood, Howard played Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind (1939). He had roles in many other films, often playing the quintessential Englishman, including Berkeley Square (1933), Of Human Bondage (1934), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), The Petrified Forest (1936), Pygmalion (1938), Intermezzo (1939), "Pimpernel" Smith (1941), and The First of the Few (1942). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Berkeley Square and Pygmalion. Howard's World War II activities included acting and filmmaking. He helped to make anti-German propaganda and shore up support for the Allies—two years after his death the British Film Yearbook described Howard's work as "one of the most valuable facets of British propaganda". He was rumoured to have been involved with British or Allied Intelligence, sparking conspiracy theories regarding his death in 1943 when the Luftwaffe shot down BOAC Flight 777 over the Atlantic (off the coast of Cedeira, A Coruña), on which he was a passenger. Description above from the Wikipedia article Leslie Howard, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- April 3, 1893
- June 1, 1943 (aged 50)
- Forest Hill, London, England, UK
- Actor, producer and director
- 17 on MovieCove · 38 credits in all
What are Leslie Howard's films like?
Across their 16 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 16
Light 4 · Serious 8 · Dark 4
Grounded 12 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
Gentle 4 · Charged 10 · Intense 2
Steady 7 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 11 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 1
Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 0
Casual 7 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 5 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 5
Resolved 13 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 7 of 12 analyzed roles.
Show the 12 rolesHide the roles
- Allyas Dwight Winthrop in A Free Soul (1931)
- Heroas Tom in The Animal Kingdom (1932)
- Heroas John Carlton in Secrets (1933)
- Heroas Stephen Locke in British Agent (1934)
- Heroas Philip in Of Human Bondage (1934)
- Heroas Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
- Shapeshifteras Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
- Heroas Alan Squier in The Petrified Forest (1936)
- Mentoras Professor Henry Higgins in Pygmalion (1938)
- Shadowas Professor Henry Higgins in Pygmalion (1938)
- Heroas Professor Horatio Smith in Mister V (1941)
- Tricksteras Professor Horatio Smith in Mister V (1941)
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet12
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Leslie Howard's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 17 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
- Curiosity Stream
Subscription and free streaming for Leslie Howard's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
38 credits, 17 with a MovieCove page; 17 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Spitfire(2018)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Waiting for Hockney(2008)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
South of Reno (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
MGM Parade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
The Lamp Still Burns (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
The Gentle Sex (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
In Which We Serve(1942)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Spitfire(1942)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
The White Eagle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
The 49th Parallel(1941)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all filmsFrom the Four Corners (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)
Mister V(1941)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Gone with the Wind(1939)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Intermezzo: A Love Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)
Pygmalion(1938)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Stand-In (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
It's Love I'm After (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
Romeo and Juliet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
Master Will Shakespeare (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
The Petrified Forest(1936)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
The Scarlet Pimpernel(1934)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
British Agent(1934)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
The Lady Is Willing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
Of Human Bondage(1934)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Berkeley Square (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Captured! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Secrets(1933)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
The Animal Kingdom(1932)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Smilin' Through(1932)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Service for Ladies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)
Devotion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
Five and Ten (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
A Free Soul(1931)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
Never the Twain Shall Meet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
Outward Bound (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)
The Bump (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)
Bookworms (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)
Career shape
Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 36 titles from 1920 to 1988.
Film career
Top draw in 10 MovieCove titles.
- 1931Screen debut· A Free Soul
- 1934First top-billed film· Of Human Bondage
- 1936Breakout· The Petrified Forest
- 1936Career best· The Petrified Forest
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do Leslie Howard's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 80th percentile, the median of all 17; across their 16 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 79th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up11
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
9 of their 17 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved5
- Crowd Pleaser9
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the acting 79/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles; fans 83, detractors 56. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Leslie Howard work with?
People who share at least 2 of Leslie Howard's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Anatole de Grunwald shares the most, 3.
Writers
- Anatole de GrunwaldShared titles: Spitfire (1942), Mister V (1941), Pygmalion (1938)See all 3 shared titles with Anatole de Grunwald
- Baroness Emmuska OrczyShared titles: Mister V (1941), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)See all 2 shared titles with Baroness Emmuska Orczy
- Ian DalrympleShared titles: Mister V (1941), Pygmalion (1938)See all 2 shared titles with Ian Dalrymple
- Roland PertweeShared titles: Mister V (1941), British Agent (1934)See all 2 shared titles with Roland Pertwee
Actors
- Raymond MasseyShared titles: Waiting for Hockney (2008), The 49th Parallel (1941), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)See all 3 shared titles with Raymond Massey
- Clark GableShared titles: Gone with the Wind (1939), A Free Soul (1931)See all 2 shared titles with Clark Gable
- Bette DavisShared titles: The Petrified Forest (1936), Of Human Bondage (1934)See all 2 shared titles with Bette Davis
- William GarganShared titles: British Agent (1934), The Animal Kingdom (1932)See all 2 shared titles with William Gargan
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Max SteinerShared titles: Gone with the Wind (1939), Of Human Bondage (1934), The Animal Kingdom (1932)See all 3 shared titles with Max Steiner
- Douglas MyersShared titles: Spitfire (1942), Mister V (1941)See all 2 shared titles with Douglas Myers
- David LeanShared titles: The 49th Parallel (1941), Pygmalion (1938)See all 2 shared titles with David Lean
- Ernest HallerShared titles: Gone with the Wind (1939), British Agent (1934)See all 2 shared titles with Ernest Haller
Producers
- David O. SelznickShared titles: Gone with the Wind (1939), The Animal Kingdom (1932)See all 2 shared titles with David O. Selznick
- Irving ThalbergShared titles: Smilin' Through (1932), A Free Soul (1931)See all 2 shared titles with Irving Thalberg
