Child Actors: Bobby Henrey (France/England, 1939- )


Figure 1.--This photograph was taken at about the same time that 8-year old Bobby made 'The Fallen Idol', a British film classic. Bobby had no interest in cting, he was very interted in the film set and all the activity. Just as Phillipe had no idea what was happening in the embassy, Bobby had no idea what was happening in the studio. Bobby's performance was acclaimed, but he was not really acting. What you see on film is the art of Assistant Director Guy Hamilton who brilliantly captured Bobby in the business of being a child.

Bobby Henrey is an interesting child actor, actually he was not really an actor or interesting in becoming one. He was for a time highly acclaimed because of his performance in his first film -- 'The Fallen Idol'. Bobby's parents were Robert Selby Henrey, grandson of Sir Coutts Lindsay, 2nd Baronet- and Madeleine Gal. Both parebts achieved some success as authors. Gal would write at length about Bobby's film experiences. Bobby was born in Villers-sur-Mer, Calvados, France and spent much of his early ears there. French was his first language. Neither his parents or Bobby were giving anythought to film acting. The introduction to film resulted because Bobby's photograph was used on the dustjacket of his father's book, A Village in Piccadilly. Alexander Korda, London Films studio chief, was was involved with 'Fallen Idol' sent the photograph to director Carol Reed wjo was casting the film. The photograph was just how he envisioned Phillipe, the boy charcter in the film. His parents had no pronlem with it, but Bobby was still in France and had to be flown to London. Reed was impressed and his French accent was perfect for the role of the son of the French ambassador in London. Bobby for whatever reason has no interest in acting, but was fascinated by the film set and mechanics of film making. When he got a hair cut, he delayed the film shoot for some time until his hair grew back. That would seem to be, however, more his parent's fault. In a way this was perfect. Just as Phillipe had no idea hat was happening in the embassy, Bobby had no idea what was happening in the studio. Bobby's performance was acclaimed, but he was not really acting. What you see on film is the art of Assistant Doector Guy Hamilton who brilliantly captured Bobby in the business of being a child. It was no easy job. Hamilton was later to say that 8-year old Bobby had the concentration of a 'demented flea'. [Armitstead] The result was, however, a British film classic. Bobby only made one more film -- 'The Wonder Kid' (1951). Without Hamilton, it made little impression. Thus his parents decided that Bobby should go back to being a school boy. Bobby came to dislike his brieff film career because he was teased by the other boys. [Henerey] We are not sure why. I would have though the other boys would have been impressed. In later years, Henrey would begin to change his mind about the experience. Henrey moved to America where he lived most of his adult life.

Sources

Armitstead, Claire. "What Bobby saw: How an eight-year-old boy with the 'concentration of a demented flea' gave British cinema one of its greatest performances" (December 14, 2001).

Henrey, Robert. "I was the child in The Fallen Idol," The Telegraphb(September 12, 2013). '







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Created: 7:27 AM 5/13/2017
Last updated: 7:27 AM 5/13/2017