Biography
John Loder enlisted in the British Army when he was young, eventually serving as a Cavalryman before finding himself locked up in Germany. After being released from prison, he chose to stay and manage a pickle-making factory, though with his dark, handsome looks, he eventually tried his hand at acting. During the mid-to-late 1920s, he appeared in small roles in German films, which led to co-starring in the '29 "The Doctor's Secret," Loder's first American movie and the first ''Talkie'' from Paramount. That same year, he co-starred or appeared in a number of other American films, ranging from Westerns to thrillers, though after failing to gain a mass audience, he spent much of the '30s back in his native England, collaborating with the likes of Alfred Hitchcock on the thriller "Sabotage" and Robert Stevenson on the adventure-themed "King Solomon's Mines." During the next decade, while the world was at war, Loder gradually transitioned from European productions back to Hollywood. Though never a huge star, he landed a supporting role in the 1941 Oscar-winning "How Green Was My Valley" directed by John Ford, whom Loder had previously worked with in the '31 war film "Seas Beneath." He also co-starred in 1942's "Now, Voyager" starring Bette Davis as well as Michael Curtiz' '44 adventure drama "Passage to Marseille" with Humphrey Bogart. Toward the end of the '40s, Loder began appearing on television, which is where he spent most of the next decade before his career slowed.
