20th Century-Fox
Rennie, along with Simmons and The Wicked Lady leading man James Mason, was one of a number of British actors offered Hollywood contracts in 1949–50 by 20th Century-Fox's studio head, Darryl F. Zanuck. The first film under his new contract was the British-filmed Medieval period adventure The Black Rose, starring Tyrone Power, who became one of Rennie's closest friends. Fifth-billed after the remaining first-tier stars Orson Welles, Cécile Aubry and Jack Hawkins, Rennie was specifically cast as 13th century King Edward I, whose 6' 2" (1.88 m) frame gave origin to his historical nickname "Longshanks".
Rennie's second Fox film gave him fourth billing in the top tier. The 13th Letter, directed by his future nemesis and love rival Otto Preminger, was a remake of the 1943 French film Le Corbeau (The Raven), with the setting changed to the Canadian province of Quebec. Rennie received top billing in his next film, after Claude Rains turned down the role. The Day the Earth Stood Still was the first post-war, respectably budgeted, "A" science-fiction film. It was a serious, high-minded exploration of Cold War paranoia and humanity's place in the universe. The story was dramatised in 1954 for Lux Radio Theatre, with Rennie and Billy Gray recreating their roles. Seven years later, on 3 March 1962, when The Day the Earth Stood Still had its television premiere on NBC's NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, Rennie appeared before the start of the film to give a two-minute introduction.
Buoyed by the strong critical reception and profitability of the film, Fox assigned much of the credit to the central performance of Rennie. Convinced that it had a potential leading man under contract, the studio decided to produce a version of Les Miserables as a vehicle for him. The film, released on 14 August 1952, was directed by All Quiet on the Western Front's Lewis Milestone. Rennie's performance was respectfully, but not enthusiastically, received by the critics. Ultimately, Les Misérables turned in an extremely modest profit and put an end to any further attempts to promote the 43-year-old Rennie as a future star. He was, however, launched on a thriving career as a top supporting actor, as in Sailor of the King. Based on the positive reaction to his two turns as the Apostle Peter, Fox assigned him another third-billed, top-tier role as a stalwart man of God, Franciscan friar Junipero Serra, who, between 1749 and his death in 1784, founded missions in Alta California. The film was September 1955's Seven Cities of Gold, with Richard Egan and Anthony Quinn.
In 1953, he starred in Dangerous Crossing under contract with 20th Century Fox. It was released in 1953 as a black-and-white noirish mystery film. It was directed by Joseph M. Newman, starred Rennie and Jeanne Crain, and was based on a 1943 play Cabin B-13 by John Dickson Carr. The production reused sets and props from "Titanic" of the same year, in which Rennie did the closing narration. His next film was the last under his five-year contract with 20th Century-Fox. The Rains of Ranchipur, released on 14 December 1955, assigned him fifth billing after the lead romantic teaming of Lana Turner and Richard Burton. As Turner's character's cuckolded husband, Lord Esketh, Rennie maintained his typical dignity and stiff upper lip.
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