The first thing that comes to one's mind when talking of Ronald Colman's style as an actor is of course his restrained attitude, he shares with actors like Gerald du Maurier, whom he reportedly had met in London during the late 1910s. He employs gestures and emotions very economically and thereby renders them more significant and natural, thus he proves a good example to deny the common notion that silent actors were constantly overacting, on the contrary the degree of sophistication was very high and the most complex stories could be expressed by natural looking moving images; cf the scene in Lady Windermere's Fan when Lord Darlington discloses his love for Lady Windermere to her. It is the hallmark of the artist to employ exactly as much as is necessary.

The second trait is his versatility, he could do everything from light comedy like Kiki or the magnificent The Devil To Pay to drama like Beau Geste or A Tale of Two Cities; reportedly he was so versatile that while shooting the - most regrettably presumed lost- movie The Magic Flame Henry King dropped his first thought to make Colman more distinguishable in his double part of Tito the Clown and the evil count Cassati by employing false teeth or a fake nose because Colman was able to portray two totally different characters. Looking at surviving stills the diversity in approaching these roles seems amazing. Later on Colman would accomplish to create two totally different but look-alike characters twice again in The Masquerader and The Prisoner of Zenda. This versatility of his makes every single movie special because he is prone to crush the expectations and create something amazingly wonderfully unexpected.

The very heart of his art nevertheless is the paradox that he manages to establish the tragic in the light comedies he played and light-heartedness in the tragedies. Thus he gives depth to the comedies and relief to the tragedies or like Roland Wild put it: "If you are depressed watch a movie starring Ronald Colman. This will cheer you up." Personally I believe it is this paradoxical approach of his that makes his acting shine, like he himself expressed it: "I always seem to be acting from the inside out." Or to put it even more simple he has got soul, not in the least due to his very expressive eyes.

Here is another appreciation by “Ann Harding”.

'On the screen, Ronald Colman gave me the profound satisfaction of being able to transmit what he felt without having to scream or shout or make eyes or unnecessary gestures.'

This quotation from the great pianist Arthur Rubinstein reveals far more than meet the eye at first. The musician is fascinated by the artist ability to convey his emotions via facial expression in the same way he does it himself through music. When most of the male silent movie stars used exaggerated facial expression or gesticulation, he is a breath of fresh air in an ocean of overacting. He never displayed any arrogance or pretension. He worked hard on all his parts to provide the best performance he could without any ham acting.

 Ronald Colman also was one of the first leading men to introduce a level of irony and humour in all his performances. When he was in a comedy, he displayed a real talent in pacing the action and even some slapstick skills. In dramas, he endowed his characters with an incredible humanity while providing a powerful melancholic undertone not unlike the later film noir heroes. Like them, he carries with him the feeling of his own mortality and lost love but always with a smile. Similarly, he brings an element of tragedy in comedies. His Lord Darlington is not the cad described by Oscar Wilde in Lady Windermere's Fan but more a doomed romantic hero in the first sense of the word.

They are traces in all his performances of Sehnsucht, this virtually untranslatable word used by all the German romantics meaning violent desire as well as deep nostalgia. It's probably due for no small part to his own emigrant status: he was a displaced Englishman in a foreign land. His acting bore the trace of this otherness.

Being first a silent movie star, he acquired a brilliant level in pantomime using his face and mostly his eyes to convey some strong emotions without necessarily moving his body at all. But, his whole body is also under minute control. He can make you feel his light heartedness by a sudden relaxation of his muscles as he crosses the screen feeling elated. Or either, the sudden stiffness or violent eruption though rare, enhance tremendously the impact of his performance. Like this incredible scene in The White Sister, where he suddenly loses completely his head with Lillian Gish.

Obviously, sound will prove a real bonus for an actor trained in the theatre and he will find his marks almost immediately. He paced his dialogue with perfect accuracy, enhanced again by his sense of humour.

“Ann Harding”, annhardingstreasures.blogspot.com/