A star of British film and theatre, Robert Donat was one of the most admired English performers of the 1930s despite a career cut short by chronic asthma. He is remembered above all for two titles: Hitchcock's thriller 'The 39 Steps' (1935), where his charm and agility defined the unjustly pursued hero, and 'Goodbye, Mr. Chips' (1939), the endearing portrait of a schoolmaster across an entire life that won him the Oscar for Best Actor over Clark Gable. He also worked in period productions such as 'The Count of Monte Cristo' and 'The Citadel'. His warm voice and emotional naturalness marked a style of sensitive leading man far removed from histrionics, and his final performance came in 'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness' (1958), filmed already gravely ill. Read more