A veteran stage actor from England, George Hassell was usually cast as pompous characters. Rarely onscreen in the silent era (Old Dutch in 1915 and Lillian Gish's La Boheme in 1925), Haskell was fairly busy in the last couple of years of his life, playing among others: Sir Pitt Crawley, Becky's wealthy father-in-law in Becky Sharp (1935); Governor Steed in Captain Blood (1935); Dr. Wildfinger, one of the professors at the Montreaux School for Girls in Girls' Dormitory (1936); and shipping magnate Robert Hitchings Sr. in Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937). Hassell's third film under a new, exclusive contract with 20th CenturyFox was released posthumously.