pfas153 Antique small character hand signed 3.5" x 3.5" photo for Anthony Steel husband of Anita Ekberg and whose film roles included Christopher Columbus, who has personally autographed the souvenir where his signature rests perfectly accompanying his portrait in pristine condition and undedicated too. You wont source better.
Anthony Maitland Steel was a British actor and singer who appeared in British war films of the 1950s such as The Wooden Horse and Where No Vultures Fly. He was also known for his tumultuous marriage to Anita Ekberg.Steel was trained at Rank's "charm school" and given a slow buildup with small parts in several films, starting with Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) He also appeared in A Piece of Cake (1948), Portrait from Life (1948), Once Upon a Dream (1949), Marry Me! (1949), Quartet (1948), The Blue Lamp (1949), Trottie True (1949), Poet's Pub (1949), Don't Ever Leave Me (1949), Helter Skelter (1949), Christopher Columbus (1949), and The Chiltern Hundreds (1949). He co-starred with Jack Warner in a thriller directed by Lewis Gilbert, Emergency Call (1952). Rank tried Steel in a comedy, Something Money Can't Buy (1952), with Patricia Roc but the public response was not enthusiastic. They put him back in uniform in The Planter's Wife (1952), set during the Malayan Emergency. It was the sixth most popular film of 1952 in Britain, although Steel's part was a relatively minor one in support of Jack Hawkins and Claudette Colbert. He again supported two stars in a military story when he appeared in Malta Story (1953), with Hawkins and Alec Guinness. It was the fourth most popular film of the year in Britain in 1953. Hollywood called, in the form of Warner Bros. who cast him in support of Errol Flynn in the British-shot swashbuckler The Master of Ballantrae (1953); it was a minor success. Also moderately popular was Albert R.N. (1952), reuniting Steel with Jack Warner and Lewis Gilbert in another World War II POW film. He starred in a sequel to Where No Vultures Fly, West of Zanzibar (1954). It was not as successful as the first movie although Steel had an unexpected hit record when he recorded a version of the title track. The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954) was another war film from Gilbert, co-starring Dirk Bogarde and Michael Redgrave. Out of the Clouds (1955) was an ensemble movie set at London airport, not as well received as Steel's war movies. In 1954 Steel and Dirk Bogarde were the highest paid actors with the Rank Organisation with a reported salary of £15,000 a film However, in Passage Home he was cast opposite Diane Cilento. "At last I can prove that I have blood in my veins and can make love to a woman," said Steel. Steel was given the starring part in Storm Over the Nile (1956), an almost shot-for-shot remake of The Four Feathers (1939) but a solid hit in Britain. The Black Tent (1956) was another war movie, set in Northern Africa during World War II. Checkpoint (1956) was a change of pace, a racing-car thriller partly shot in Italy for director Ralph Thomas.
