Kynaston Reeves
Encyclopedia
Kynaston Reeves was christened Philip Arthur Reeves, and was an English character actor
who appeared in numerous film
s and many television plays
and series.
film Many Waters, before dispensing with the prefixed initial. He believed that having a name that reminded directors of the famous actor Edward Kynaston
would help him to get work. In 1932
, he progressed to a supporting role, playing an editor called Bob Mitchell alongside Ivor Novello
and Jack Hawkins
in The Lodger
(renamed The Phantom Fiend in 1935).
After playing the Reverend Edmund Ovington opposite Otto Kruger
in the 1938
film, Housemaster, Reeves developed a speciality for portraying authority figures, such as judge
s, doctors
, professor
s, and clergy
men.
Television was to provide a valuable source of income. In 1950, Reeves was invited to voice the character of Mr Growser in a BBC Television
children's show, The Cruise of The Toytown Belle.
This led to further work for the children's department at the BBC, namely in adaptations of Shakespeare
's The Tempest (as Alonso, King of Naples) and Philip Wade's Jenny Meade (as Mr Steele), both produced in 1951.
Reeves was then offered one of his most notable acting parts on television, namely that of Henry Quelch, form master to the 'Fat Owl of the Remove', William George Bunter
, in the long-running television series Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School. He recorded six episodes in 1952, after which fellow actors John Woodnutt
and Jack Melford
began sharing the portrayal of this supporting character. Making just a single episode in 1954 ("Bunter Won't Go"), Reeves then returned to reprise the performance for two more episodes in 1956, and a further four in 1957, following which he gave up the role.
This did not end his involvement with BBC productions however, and in 1958 he appeared in the six-part project Leave It To Todhunter (based on the 1937 book "Trial and Error" by Anthony Berkeley), playing Ambrose Chitterwick in an episode called "In Search Of A Corpse".
In 1959 he played the Duke of Omnium in all six episodes of another series from the BBC, The Eustace Diamonds
, adapted from the novel by Anthony Trollope
about the London society scandal caused in the 19th century when a diamond necklace goes missing.
In 1962, he starred as Thomas Crawford in the Broadway play The Affair
.
In a rare outing for ABC television
, he took the part of Major General Goddard in a 1966 episode of The Avengers
TV series, entitled "What The Butler Saw" and starring Patrick Macnee
and Diana Rigg
, but would go on to play an entirely different character called Dickens in the 1968 screening of "Legacy Of Death", by which time Linda Thorson
was portraying John Steed's female sidekick.
Reeves also appeared in seven of 26 episodes of the classic BBC television series The Forsyte Saga, broadcast in early 1967, playing Nicholas Forsyte.
He could be seen throughout the 1960s in a variety of other popular productions, such as the police serial No Hiding Place
, drama anthologies Armchair Theatre
and The Wednesday Play
, and as "The Minister" in an episode of Patrick McGoohan
's The Prisoner
television series.
Reeves' film career continued in parallel with his small screen contributions, and in 1941
he had portrayed Lord Stanley to John Gielgud
's Disraeli in the biographical treatment The Prime Minister
. In 1948
he played Dr Chawner in the Peter Ustinov
tour de force Vice Versa (Ustinov having written, co-produced and directed it), and in the same year he appeared as the Lord Chief Justice of the High Court in The Winslow Boy
, which starred Robert Donat
. In 1950
he revisited the subject of Disraeli in the film The Mudlark
, when he took the part of General Sir Henry Ponsonby in the story of a street urchin (or "mudlark") who is found in Windsor Castle
attempting to talk to Queen Victoria
. This time, Disraeli is played by Alec Guinness
.
In 1957
, he took the role of Professor Walgate in the science fiction
B movie
Fiend Without a Face
, whose hero was played by Marshall Thompson
, and whose plot had Canada attacked by mutated caterpillar-like creatures made of human spines and brains. During a period of steady cinematic work, he also found time to portray a "testy old millionaire" in Carry On Regardless
in 1961
.
A year before his death in 1971, he made both his final television appearance and his last film. In a dramatic enactment during an edition of the BBC arts magazine Omnibus
, he took the part of French
painter Renoir
in a piece entitled "A Requiem for Modigliani
", describing the final part of the Italian
artist's life, and his love affairs. And in the cinema, he fulfilled a small role in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
, the 1970
film which starred Robert Stephens
and Geneviève Page
.
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
who appeared in numerous film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s and many television plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
and series.
Career
Philip Arthur Reeves, professionally known as P. Kynaston Reeves or Kynaston Reeves, took his mother's maiden name as a middle name when commencing his film career with a small part in the 19311931 in film
-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
film Many Waters, before dispensing with the prefixed initial. He believed that having a name that reminded directors of the famous actor Edward Kynaston
Edward Kynaston
Edward Kynaston was an English actor, one of the last Restoration "boy players," young male actors who played women's roles.-Career:...
would help him to get work. In 1932
1932 in film
-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
, he progressed to a supporting role, playing an editor called Bob Mitchell alongside Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
and Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
in The Lodger
The Lodger (1932 film)
The Lodger is a British thriller film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Ivor Novello, Elizabeth Allan and Jack Hawkins. It is based on the novel The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes, also filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1927, by John Brahm in 1944, as Man in the Attic directed by Hugo Fregonese,...
(renamed The Phantom Fiend in 1935).
After playing the Reverend Edmund Ovington opposite Otto Kruger
Otto Kruger
Otto Kruger was an American actor who began his career in 1915. His career was most prolific during the 1930s and 1940s.-Career:...
in the 1938
1938 in film
The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
film, Housemaster, Reeves developed a speciality for portraying authority figures, such as judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
s, doctors
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
s, and clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
men.
Television was to provide a valuable source of income. In 1950, Reeves was invited to voice the character of Mr Growser in a BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
children's show, The Cruise of The Toytown Belle.
This led to further work for the children's department at the BBC, namely in adaptations of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Tempest (as Alonso, King of Naples) and Philip Wade's Jenny Meade (as Mr Steele), both produced in 1951.
Reeves was then offered one of his most notable acting parts on television, namely that of Henry Quelch, form master to the 'Fat Owl of the Remove', William George Bunter
Billy Bunter
William George Bunter , is a fictional character created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards...
, in the long-running television series Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School. He recorded six episodes in 1952, after which fellow actors John Woodnutt
John Woodnutt
John Woodnutt was a British actor.He was born in London, and at the age of 18 made his acting debut at the Oxford Playhouse....
and Jack Melford
Jack Melford
Jack Melford was a British film and television actor. He was the brother of screenwriter and film director Austin Melford.-Selected filmography:* Find the Lady * Luck of the Turf * Scruffy...
began sharing the portrayal of this supporting character. Making just a single episode in 1954 ("Bunter Won't Go"), Reeves then returned to reprise the performance for two more episodes in 1956, and a further four in 1957, following which he gave up the role.
This did not end his involvement with BBC productions however, and in 1958 he appeared in the six-part project Leave It To Todhunter (based on the 1937 book "Trial and Error" by Anthony Berkeley), playing Ambrose Chitterwick in an episode called "In Search Of A Corpse".
In 1959 he played the Duke of Omnium in all six episodes of another series from the BBC, The Eustace Diamonds
The Eustace Diamonds
The Eustace Diamonds is a novel by Anthony Trollope, first published in 1871 as a serial in the Fortnightly Review. It is the third of the "Palliser" series of novels.-Plot summary:...
, adapted from the novel by Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
about the London society scandal caused in the 19th century when a diamond necklace goes missing.
In 1962, he starred as Thomas Crawford in the Broadway play The Affair
The Affair (play)
The Affair is a 1962 play by Ronald Miller based on the novel by C.P. Snow.-Synopsis:A group of professors at Cambridge University try to hire an old colleague back even though they all don't like him, they all agree he was dismissed unfairly....
.
In a rare outing for ABC television
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
, he took the part of Major General Goddard in a 1966 episode of The Avengers
The 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...
TV series, entitled "What The Butler Saw" and starring Patrick Macnee
Patrick Macnee
Patrick Macnee is an English actor, best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed in the series The Avengers.-Early life:...
and Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
, but would go on to play an entirely different character called Dickens in the 1968 screening of "Legacy Of Death", by which time Linda Thorson
Linda Thorson
Linda Thorson is a Canadian actress, most famous for her work as Tara King in The Avengers.-Personal life:...
was portraying John Steed's female sidekick.
Reeves also appeared in seven of 26 episodes of the classic BBC television series The Forsyte Saga, broadcast in early 1967, playing Nicholas Forsyte.
He could be seen throughout the 1960s in a variety of other popular productions, such as the police serial No Hiding Place
No Hiding Place
No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967....
, drama anthologies Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series, which ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television after 1968....
and The Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
, and as "The Minister" in an episode of Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan
Patrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
's The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
television series.
Reeves' film career continued in parallel with his small screen contributions, and in 1941
1941 in film
The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
he had portrayed Lord Stanley to John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
's Disraeli in the biographical treatment The Prime Minister
The Prime Minister (film)
The Prime Minister is a British film from 1941 directed by Thorold Dickinson. It details the life and times of Benjamin Disraeli, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and stars John Gielgud, Diana Wynyard, Fay Compton and Stephen Murray.-Plot:...
. In 1948
1948 in film
The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
he played Dr Chawner in the Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
tour de force Vice Versa (Ustinov having written, co-produced and directed it), and in the same year he appeared as the Lord Chief Justice of the High Court in The Winslow Boy
The Winslow Boy (1948 film)
The Winslow Boy is a 1948 film adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play The Winslow Boy. It was made by De Grunwald Productions and distributed by the British Lion Film Corporation. It was directed by Anthony Asquith and produced by Anatole de Grunwald with Teddy Baird as associate producer. The...
, which starred Robert Donat
Robert Donat
Robert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
. In 1950
1950 in film
The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
he revisited the subject of Disraeli in the film The Mudlark
The Mudlark
The Mudlark is a 1950 film made in Britain by 20th Century Fox, is a fictionalized account of how Queen Victoria was eventually brought out of her mourning for her dead husband, Prince Albert...
, when he took the part of General Sir Henry Ponsonby in the story of a street urchin (or "mudlark") who is found in Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
attempting to talk to Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. This time, Disraeli is played by Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
.
In 1957
1957 in film
The year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
, he took the role of Professor Walgate in the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
Fiend Without a Face
Fiend Without a Face
Fiend Without a Face is a 1958 British black-and-white science fiction film directed by Arthur Crabtree. It tells the story of mysterious deaths at the hands of an invisible life-form that steals human brains and spinal columns...
, whose hero was played by Marshall Thompson
Marshall Thompson
Marshall Thompson was an American film and television actor.He was born James Marshall Thompson in Peoria, Illinois. In 1943 Thompson, known for his boy-next-door good looks, was signed by Universal Pictures...
, and whose plot had Canada attacked by mutated caterpillar-like creatures made of human spines and brains. During a period of steady cinematic work, he also found time to portray a "testy old millionaire" in Carry On Regardless
Carry On Regardless
Carry on Regardless was the fifth in the series of Carry On films to be made. It was released in 1961. By now a fairly regular team was established with Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams all having appeared in previous entries. Hattie Jacques - who was...
in 1961
1961 in film
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
.
A year before his death in 1971, he made both his final television appearance and his last film. In a dramatic enactment during an edition of the BBC arts magazine Omnibus
Omnibus (TV series)
Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings....
, he took the part of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
painter Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
in a piece entitled "A Requiem for Modigliani
Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. Primarily a figurative artist, he became known for paintings and sculptures in a modern style characterized by mask-like faces and elongation of form...
", describing the final part of the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
artist's life, and his love affairs. And in the cinema, he fulfilled a small role in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is a 1970 film directed and produced by Billy Wilder; he also shared writing credit with his longtime collaborator I. A. L. Diamond. It starred Robert Stephens as Sherlock Holmes and Colin Blakely as Dr. Watson...
, the 1970
1970 in film
The year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
film which starred Robert Stephens
Robert Stephens
Sir Robert Stephens was a leading English actor in the early years of England's Royal National Theatre.-Early life and career:...
and Geneviève Page
Geneviève Page
Geneviève Page is a leading French actress with a film career spanning fifty years. She is the daughter of Jacques Paul Bonjean , a well known French art-collector.-Career:...
.
Filmography
- Many WatersMany WatersMany Waters is a 1986 novel by Madeleine L'Engle, part of the author's Time Quartet . The title is taken from the Song of Solomon 8:7: "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it...
(1931) - The LodgerThe Lodger (1932 film)The Lodger is a British thriller film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Ivor Novello, Elizabeth Allan and Jack Hawkins. It is based on the novel The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes, also filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1927, by John Brahm in 1944, as Man in the Attic directed by Hugo Fregonese,...
(1932) - The Sign of the FourThe Sign of Four (1932 film)The Sign of Four is a 1932 British crime film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Arthur Wontner, Ian Hunter and Graham Soutten. The film is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's second Sherlock Holmes story The Sign of the Four and was made at Ealing Studios.The film is also known as The Sign of Four:...
(1932) - Puppets of FatePuppets of FatePuppets of Fate is a 1933 British crime film directed by George A. Cooper and starring Godfrey Tearle, Isla Bevan, Russell Thorndike and Fred Groves.-Cast:* Godfrey Tearle - Richard Sabine* Isla Bevan - Joan Harding* Russell Thorndike - Doctor Munroe...
(1933) - Jew Süss (1934)
- The Broken MelodyThe Broken Melody (1934 film)The Broken Melody is a 1934 British musical drama film directed by Bernard Vorhaus and starring John Garrick, Margot Grahame, Merle Oberon and Austin Trevor. A composer kills his wife's lover and, having escaped from the prison on Devil's Island, returns to France and writes an opera about the...
(1934) - The Crimson CandleThe Crimson CandleThe Crimson Candle is a 1934 British crime film directed by Bernard Mainwaring and starring Eve Gray, Eliot Makeham and Kenneth Kove.-Cast:* Eve Gray - Mavis* Eliot Makeham - Doctor Gaunt* Kenneth Kove - Honorable Horatius Chillingsbotham...
(1934) - Vintage WineVintage WineVintage Wine is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Seymour Hicks, Claire Luce, Eva Moore and Judy Gunn.-Cast:* Seymour Hicks - Charles Popinot* Claire Luce - Nina Popinot* Eva Moore - Josephine Popinot...
(1935) - Dark WorldDark World (1935 film)Dark World is a British film directed by Bernard Vorhaus and starring Tamara Desni, Leon Quartermaine, and Googie Withers. The film, released by Fox Film Corporation, is now considered a lost film.-Cast:* Tamara Desni as Birgitta...
(1935) - A Romance in FlandersA Romance in FlandersA Romance in Flanders is a 1937 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Paul Cavanagh, Marcelle Chantal, Olga Lindo and Alastair Sim. It is set during the First World War with the British Expeditionary Force in Flanders...
(1937) - Take a Chance (1937)
- Housemaster (1938)
- Count Albany (1939)
- Sons of the SeaSons of the Sea (film)Sons of the Sea is a 1939 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Leslie Banks, Kay Walsh, Mackenzie Ward and Cecil Parker.-Synopsis:...
(1939) - Dead Men are DangerousDead Men are DangerousDead Men are Dangerous is a 1939 British crime film directed by Harold French and starring Robert Newton, Betty Lynne John Warwick and Peter Gawthorne...
(1939) - The Stars Look DownThe Stars Look Down (film)The Stars Look Down is a 1940 British film based on A. J. Cronin's novel of the same title, initially published in 1935, which chronicles various injustices in a mining community in North East England. The film, co-scripted by Cronin and directed by Carol Reed, stars Michael Redgrave as Davey...
(1939) - The OutsiderThe Outsider (1939 film)The Outsider is a 1939 British drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring George Sanders, Mary Maguire and Barbara Blair. An osteopath cures one of his patients with whom he has fallen in love. It is a remake of the 1931 film The Outsider and was based on a play by Dorothy Brandon.-Cast:*...
(1939) - The Flying SquadThe Flying Squad (1940 film)The Flying Squad is a 1940 British crime film directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Sebastian Shaw, Phyllis Brooks, Jack Hawkins, Basil Radford, Ludwig Stössel, Kathleen Harrison and Henry Oscar. It was based on a novel by Edgar Wallace in which the officers of the Flying Squad attempt to tackle...
(1940) - Two for DangerTwo for DangerTwo for Danger is a 1940 British crime film directed by George King and starring Barry K. Barnes, Greta Gynt, Ian McLean and Gordon McLeod.-Cast:* Barry K...
(1940) - The Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister (film)The Prime Minister is a British film from 1941 directed by Thorold Dickinson. It details the life and times of Benjamin Disraeli, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and stars John Gielgud, Diana Wynyard, Fay Compton and Stephen Murray.-Plot:...
(1941) - This EnglandThis England (film)This England is a 1941 British historical drama film directed by David MacDonald and starring John Clements, Constance Cummings and Emlyn Williams...
(1941) - The Young Mr PittThe Young Mr PittThe Young Mr Pitt is a 1942 British, black-and-white, biographical film, directed by Carol Reed and starring Robert Donat, Robert Morley and John Mills. It was produced by Edward Black, Maurice Ostrer, Twentieth Century Productions Ltd. and Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.-Synopsis:The film...
(1942) - They Met in the DarkThey Met in the DarkThey Met in the Dark is a 1943 British thriller film directed by Karel Lamac and starring James Mason, Joyce Howard and Edward Rigby. A cashiered Royal Naval officer and a young woman join forces to solve a murder and hunt down a German spy ring.-Cast:...
(1943) - The Night InvaderThe Night InvaderThe Night Invader is a 1943 British, black-and-white, drama, thriller, war film, directed by Herbert Mason and starring Ronald Shiner as Witsen, Anne Crawford and David Farrar. It was produced by Warner Brothers First National Productions...
(1943) - Strawberry RoanStrawberry Roan (film)Strawberry Roan is a 1945 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring William Hartnell and Carol Raye. The screenplay was developed from the 1932 novel of the same name by Wiltshire author A. G. Street, at the time a very popular, well-known and widely-admired work...
(1944) - The Echo MurdersThe Echo MurdersThe Echo Murders is a 1945 British thriller film directed by John Harlow and starring David Farrar, Dennis Price, Pamela Stirling and Julien Mitchell.- Cast :*David Farrar as Sexton Blake*Dennis Price as Dick Warren*Pamela Stirling as Stella Duncan...
(1945) - Read All About It (1945)
- Murder in ReverseMurder in ReverseMurder in Reverse? is a 1945 British thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring William Hartnell, Jimmy Hanley, Petula Clark, Dinah Sheridan, and Chili Bouchier. After many years serving a prison sentence for a murder he didn't commit, a man tries to seek the truth behind the crime and...
(1945) - The Rake's ProgressThe Rake's Progress (film)The Rake's Progress is a 1945 British comedy-drama film made in 1945. In the United States, the title was changed to Notorious Gentleman.- Plot :...
(1945) - BedeliaBedelia (film)Bedelia is a 1946 British drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Margaret Lockwood, Ian Hunter and Barry K. Barnes. It is an adaptation of the novel Bedelia by Vera Caspary with events moved from the United States to England and Monaco....
(1946) - Vice Versa (1948)
- The Winslow BoyThe Winslow Boy (1948 film)The Winslow Boy is a 1948 film adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play The Winslow Boy. It was made by De Grunwald Productions and distributed by the British Lion Film Corporation. It was directed by Anthony Asquith and produced by Anatole de Grunwald with Teddy Baird as associate producer. The...
(1948) - The Guinea Pig (1948)
- CounterblastCounterblast (film)Counterblast is a 1948 British drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Robert Beatty, Mervyn Johns and Nova Pilbeam.-Plot:A Nazi scientist experiments with biological warfare with which he intends to wage the next war against Britain.-Cast:...
(1948) - The Weaker Sex (1948)
- This Was a Woman (1948)
- Badger's GreenBadger's Green (1949 film)Badger's Green is a 1949 British comedy film directed by John Irwin and starring Barbara Murray, Brian Nissen, Garry Marsh and Kynaston Reeves. It is based on the play Badger's Green by R.C. Sheriff...
(1949) - Murder on the Air (1950)
- MadeleineMadeleine (film)Madeleine is a 1950 film directed by David Lean, based on a true story about Madeleine Smith, a young Glasgow woman from a wealthy family who was tried in 1857 for the murder of her lover, Emile L'Angelier...
(1950) - Tony Draws a HorseTony Draws a HorseTony Draws a Horse is a 1950 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Cecil Parker, Anne Crawford and Derek Bond. It was adapted from a play by Lesley Storm.-Cast:* Cecil Parker - Dr. Howard Fleming* Anne Crawford - Clare Fleming...
(1950) - Blackout (1950)
- The MudlarkThe MudlarkThe Mudlark is a 1950 film made in Britain by 20th Century Fox, is a fictionalized account of how Queen Victoria was eventually brought out of her mourning for her dead husband, Prince Albert...
(1950) - Trio (1950)
- The Smart AleckThe Smart Aleck-Cast:* Peter Reynolds as Alec Albion* Mercy Haystead as Judith* Leslie Dwyer as Gossage* Edward Lexy as Inspector* Kynaston Reeves as Uncle Edward* Charles Hawtrey as Farr* David Hurst as Poppi* David Keir as Mr. Guppy* Annette D. Simmonds as Sylvia...
(1951) - Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951)
- Song of ParisSong of ParisSong of Paris is a 1952 British comedy film directed by John Guillermin and starring Dennis Price, Anne Vernon and Hermione Baddeley. It is also known as Bachelor in Paris.-Cast:* Dennis Price as Matthew Ibbetson* Anne Vernon as Clementine...
(1952) - Penny PrincessPenny PrincessPenny Princess is a 1952 British Technicolor comedy written and directed by Val Guest for his own production company, Conquest Productions. The film stars his future wife Yolande Donlan, who was Guest's production company partner, and features Reginald Beckwith, the other partner in Conquest...
(1952) - Top SecretTop Secret (1952 film)Top Secret is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Mario Zampi and starring George Cole, Oskar Homolka and Nadia Gray. A sanitation inspector is mistaken for an international spy.-Cast:* George Cole - George Potts* Oskar Homolka - Zekov...
(1952) - Top of the FormTop of the Form (film)Top of the Form is a 1953 British, Technicolor, drama, farcical, historical film, directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Ronald Shiner in a Sergeant Bilko role 'Professor' Ronnie Fortescue and Ronnie Corbett as the Student...
(1953) - Four Sided TriangleFour Sided TriangleFour Sided Triangle is a 1953 British science-fiction film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions.The film dealt with the moral and scientific themes that were soon to put Hammer Films on the map with the same director's The Curse of Frankenstein...
(1953) - Laxdale HallLaxdale HallLaxdale Hall is a 1953 British comedy film directed by John Elridge and starring Ronald Squire, Kathleen Ryan, Raymond Huntley, Prunella Scales, Fulton Mackay, and Jean Colin....
(1953) - Burnt EvidenceBurnt EvidenceBurnt Evidence is a 1954 British drama film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Jane Hylton, Duncan Lamont and Donald Gray. A man accidentally kills another and is hunted down by the police.-Cast:* Jane Hylton - Diana Taylor...
(1954) - Eight O'Clock Walk (1954)
- The Crowded DayThe Crowded DayThe Crowded Day is a 1954 British drama film directed by John Guillermin and starring John Gregson, Joan Rice and Sid James. The film follows a group of shopgirls working in Bunting and Hobbs, a department store during the Christmas period.-Cast:...
(1954) - Fun at St. Fanny's (1956)
- Je plaide non coupable (1956)
- Brothers in LawBrothers in Law (film)Brothers in Law is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Richard Attenborough, Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas and Jill Adams...
(1957) - Light Fingers (1957)
- High Flight (1957)
- Fiend Without a FaceFiend Without a FaceFiend Without a Face is a 1958 British black-and-white science fiction film directed by Arthur Crabtree. It tells the story of mysterious deaths at the hands of an invisible life-form that steals human brains and spinal columns...
(1958) - Rx for Murder (1958)
- A Question of AdulteryA Question of AdulteryA Question of Adultery is a 1958 film directed by Don Chaffey. It stars Julie London and Anthony Steel.-Cast:*Julie London as Mary Loring*Anthony Steel as Mark Loring*Basil Sydney as Sir John Loring*Donald Houston as Mr. Jacobus...
(1958) - Carlton-Browne of the F.O.Carlton-Browne of the F.O.Carlton-Browne of the F.O. is a 1959 British comedy film made by the Boulting Brothers.-Plot:...
(1959) - School for ScoundrelsSchool for Scoundrels (1960 film)School for Scoundrels is a 1960 British comedy film inspired by the "Gamesmanship" series of books by Stephen Potter. The main character, Henry Palfrey , is a failure in sport and love, and victim of conmen. He enrols at the "School of Lifemanship" in Yeovil, run by Dr...
(1960) - In the NickIn the NickIn the Nick is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Anthony Newley, Anne Aubrey, Bernie Winters, James Booth and Harry Andrews. A gang of incompetent criminals are placed in a special type of new prison.-Cast:...
(1960) - The Night We Got the BirdThe Night We Got the BirdThe Night We Got the Bird is a 1961 British comedy film and a follow up to the 1959 film, using the same title name The Night We Dropped a Clanger, it was directed by Darcy Conyers and starring Brian Rix, Dora Bryan, Ronald Shiner and Irene Handl...
(1961) - Carry On RegardlessCarry On RegardlessCarry on Regardless was the fifth in the series of Carry On films to be made. It was released in 1961. By now a fairly regular team was established with Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams all having appeared in previous entries. Hattie Jacques - who was...
(1961) - Shadow of the CatShadow of the CatShadow of the Cat is a 1961 British horror film directed by John Gilling for Hammer Film Productions. It stars André Morell and Barbara Shelley...
(1961) - Don't Bother to KnockDon't Bother to Knock (1961 film)Don't Bother to Knock is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Richard Todd, Nicole Maurey, Elke Sommer and John Le Mesurier.-Synopsis:...
(1961) - Go to BlazesGo to Blazes (1962 film)Go to Blazes is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Michael Truman and starring Dave King, Robert Morley, Norman Rossington, Daniel Massey, Dennis Price, Maggie Smith, David Lodge. It also featured Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier, later to feature prominently in Dad's Army...
(1962) - Hide and Seek (1964)
- The Caramel CrisisThe Caramel CrisisThe Caramel Crisis was a one-off BBC television drama by Simon Gray, produced as part of the BBC's Thirty-Minute Theatre series. It was Simon Gray's first dramatic work, adapted from his own short story, and was first broadcast live on 25 April 1966 starring George Cole, Richard Pearson, John Le...
(1966) - Gates to ParadiseGates to ParadiseGates to Paradise is a 1968 film by Polish director Andrzej Wajda. The film is set in medieval France and is based on a story by Polish writer Jerzy Andrzejewski that seeks to expose the motives behind youthful religious zeal...
(1968) - Hot MillionsHot MillionsHot Millions is an 1968 crime comedy film made by MGM. It was directed by Eric Till and produced by Mildred Freed Alberg, from a collaborative screenplay by Ira Wallach and star Peter Ustinov. The music score was composed by Laurie Johnson, featuring the single "This Time" from Scottish singer Lulu...
(1968) - The Private Life of Sherlock HolmesThe Private Life of Sherlock HolmesThe Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is a 1970 film directed and produced by Billy Wilder; he also shared writing credit with his longtime collaborator I. A. L. Diamond. It starred Robert Stephens as Sherlock Holmes and Colin Blakely as Dr. Watson...
(1970)