Cat. #004103122: FRANCIS L. SULLIVAN

Highly rare vintage 7.25 x 9-inch glossy sepia-tone portrait from Joan of Arc (1948), boldly signed and inscribed in turquoise fountain pen in the 1940s. In fine condition, with trimmed borders and notations on the reverse side. With his enormous stature, double chin and booming, menacing voice, Francis L. Sullivan was one of Hollywood's most unforgettable character actors. He made his theatrical debut at the age of 18, playing a deliciously revolting Richard III at London's Old Vic, and went on to portray the great detective Hercule Poirot in a number of Agatha Christie plays. He entered pictures in 1932, never failing to mesmerize in classics like Sherlock Holmes and the Missing Rembrandt (1932) with Arthur Wontner, Great Expectations (1934), The Return of Bulldog Drummond (1934), the horror flick Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935), The Citadel (1938), The Four Just Men (1939), Pimpernel Smith (1941), Caesar and Cleopatra (1946), Oliver Twist (1948), Joan of Arc (1948), Night and the City (1950), Drums of Tahiti (1954), and The Prodigal (1955).  He died of a heart attack in 1955, aged only 55 years.