Francis Matthews (actor)
Encyclopedia
Early life
Matthews attended St Michael's Jesuit College, LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and started his acting career with Leeds repertory theatre before service in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
Career
His roles for Hammer Studios during the 1950s and '60s included the Baron's assistant in The Revenge of FrankensteinThe Revenge of Frankenstein
The Revenge of Frankenstein is a 1958 British horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Michael Gwynn and Eunice Gayson....
(1958), and as the dashing heroes of Dracula, Prince of Darkness
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
Dracula: Prince of Darkness is a 1966 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Studios. The film was photographed in Techniscope by Michael Reed, designed by Bernard Robinson and scored by James Bernard.-Plot:...
and Rasputin, the Mad Monk
Rasputin, the Mad Monk
Rasputin, the Mad Monk is a 1966 Hammer film directed by Don Sharp.It stars Christopher Lee as Grigori Rasputin, the Russian peasant-mystic notable for gaining great influence with the Tsars prior to the Russian Revolution. It also stars Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer, Richard...
(both 1965).
On television he played Francis Durbridge
Francis Durbridge
Francis Henry Durbridge was an English playwright and author. He was educated at Bradford Grammar School in Yorkshire where he was encouraged to write by his English teacher. He continued to do so whilst studying English at Birmingham University...
's amateur sleuth Paul Temple
Paul Temple
Paul Temple is a fictional character created by British writer Francis Durbridge for the BBC radio serial Send for Paul Temple in 1938. Temple is an amateur private detective and author of crime fiction...
in the series of the same name
Paul Temple (TV series)
Paul Temple is a British-German television series which originally aired on the BBC between 1969 and 1971. It features Francis Matthews as Paul Temple, the fictional detective created by Francis Durbridge, who solves crimes with the assistance of his wife Steve...
between 1969-71, with Ros Drinkwater
Ros Drinkwater
Ros Drinkwater is a Scottish-born actress, best known for her portrayal of Paul Temple's wife, Steve, in the eponymous television series, based on the character created by Francis Durbridge. She later moved into photojournalism....
as Temple's wife Steve. The series proved so popular in West Germany that later series were co-productions between the BBC and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
's Taurus films.
Matthews not only appeared with Morecambe and Wise
Morecambe and Wise
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
in The Intelligence Men
The Intelligence Men
The Intelligence Men is a 1965 comedy film starring the British comic duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise.The film is subtitled "M.I.5 plus 2 equals 0"...
(1965) and That Riviera Touch
That Riviera Touch
That Riviera Touch was the second feature-length film made by the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise.- Plot :After Eric Simpson nearly gives the Queen a parking ticket, he and Ernest Clark decide to take a holiday in the South of France...
(1966) - forging a close friendship with Morecambe
Eric Morecambe
John Eric Bartholomew OBE , known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the award-winning double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death of a heart attack in 1984...
- but also appeared throughout the 1960s and 1970s in a variety of comedy roles. He appeared on The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show in 1977. He starred alongside George Cole in Charles Woods' highly regarded TV sitcom Don't Forget To Write (1977) as a successful writer.
In 1967, Matthews provided the voice of Captain Scarlet
Captain Scarlet (character)
Captain Scarlet is the fictional main character in Gerry Anderson's British Supermarionation science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and its CGI remake Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet....
in the Gerry
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
and Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
television series. In the late 1970s he was the narrator and host in the BBC-produced English crash course Follow Me!, which has been broadcast all over the world (though very little in the UK). In 1983 over 100 million people in China used this series to learn English.
In 2000 Matthews and his wife Angela Browne appeared in two Ray Cooney
Ray Cooney
Raymond George Alfred Cooney, OBE is an English playwright and actor. His biggest success, Run for Your Wife, lasted nine years in London's West End and is its longest-running comedy. He has had 17 of his plays performed there....
plays on the cruise ship Marco Polo which cruised to the Antarctic: Run For Your Wife and Funny Money.
He has continued to appear on the small screen into the 21st century.
Personal life
Francis Matthews married the actress Angela Browne in 1963. The couple had two sons who became actors: Damien Matthews and Paul Rattigan, and another son Dominic who is an artist and musician. Browne died in 2001. His brother Paul ShelleyPaul Shelley
Paul Shelley is an English actor.Shelley trained at RADA and has mainly worked in the theatre as a classical actor...
is also an actor.
Selected filmography
- Bhowani JunctionBhowani Junction (film)Bhowani Junction is a 1956 film adaptation of the 1952 novel Bhowani Junction by John Masters made by MGM. The film was directed by George Cukor and produced by Pandro S...
(1956) - Small HotelSmall HotelSmall Hotel is a 1957 British comedy film directed by David MacDonald.-Plot:A head waiter in a country hotel works various scams after he is told that he is to be placed by a young woman.-Cast:*Gordon Harker.....Albert*Marie Lohr.....Mrs. Samson-Fox...
(1957) - The Mark of the HawkThe Mark of the HawkThe Mark of the Hawk is a 1957 drama film, directed by Michael Audley with a screenplay by Lloyd Young and H.Kenn Carmichael...
(1957) - I Only Arsked!I Only Arsked!I Only Arsked! is a 1958 British comedy film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Bernard Bresslaw, Michael Medwin and Alfie Bass. It was based on the television series The Army Game and was made by Hammer Films.-Cast:...
(1958) - Lamp in Assassin Mews (1962)
- A Stitch in TimeA Stitch in Time (film)A Stitch in Time is a 1963 Norman Wisdom comedy film set in a children's hospital. It was directed by Robert Asher and edited by Gerry Hambling. The cast includes Edward Chapman, Jeanette Sterke, Jerry Desmonde, Jill Melford, Glyn Houston, Vera Day, Patsy Rowlands, Peter Jones, Ernest Clark,...
(1963) - The AvengersThe Avengers (TV series)The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
("The Thirteenth Hole", 1966, "Mission: Highly Improbable", 1967) - Captain Scarlet and The MysteronsCaptain Scarlet and the MysteronsCaptain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
(1967-1968) (voice) - CrossplotCrossplot (film)Crossplot is a 1969 film starring Roger Moore. Italian actress Claudia Lange was also featured in her largest English-speaking role. Bernard Lee, famous for his role as M in the James Bond films, also appeared.-Plot:...
(1969) - Paul TemplePaul Temple (TV series)Paul Temple is a British-German television series which originally aired on the BBC between 1969 and 1971. It features Francis Matthews as Paul Temple, the fictional detective created by Francis Durbridge, who solves crimes with the assistance of his wife Steve...
(1969-1971)