In films from 1926, British leading man Walter Byron was of the George Brent school of actors. That is, Byron was handsome and virile enough for romantic leads, but not so dominating a screen presence that he deflected focus from his glamorous leading ladies. His first major role was opposite Gloria Swanson in the ill-fated Erich Von Stroheim film Queen Kelly (1929). Of his early talkie roles, one stands out: the humorless Frink in The Last Flight (1931), who disapproves of the hedonism of "lost generation" revelers Johnny Mack Brown, Elliott Nugent, and David Manners, but has no qualms about attempting to rape their mutual lady friend Helen Chandler. Later on, Byron could be seen in starched-collar character parts like Walshingham in Mary of Scotland (1936). Still only in his thirties, Walter Byron disappeared from film in 1939.
by Hal Erickson
biography
