Reginald Purdell
Encyclopedia
Reginald Purdell was an English actor and screenwriter who appeared in over 40 films between 1930 and 1951. During the same period he also contributed to the screenplays of 15 feature films, and had a brief foray into directing with two films in 1937.
Purdell's first screen appearance was in the 1930 comedy The Middle Watch
, in a role he would later reprise in a 1940 remake. He next travelled to Germany to feature in historical drama Congress Dances
, an ambitious and lavishly budgeted project by the UFA
film company, involving the simultaneous filming of three versions of the same story in German, English and French in an attempt to prove that a European company could challenge the dominance of American studios in the new era of sound by delivering a continent-wide hit.
Purdell soon began to accumulate screen credits in a wide variety of films ranging from cheaply-made quota quickies to more sophisticated productions. He showed a knack for playing comedy, and his 1930s films fell mainly into this genre, with occasional ventures into straight drama and thrillers. Purdell's screenwriting career began in 1932 and he was most productive in this field during the late 1930s, with only occasional ventures later in his career. He tried his hand at film directing in 1937 with two comedies Don't Get Me Wrong
, a Max Miller vehicle co-directed with Arthur B. Woods
, and Patricia Gets Her Man
. Both films were reasonably well-received, but Purdell appears to have decided that directing was not for him, as there would be no more ventures in this area.
In the 1940s Purdell's acting career diversified, with fewer throwaway comedies and more appearances in high-quality dramatic vehicles. His credits included war dramas We Dive at Dawn
and Two Thousand Women
, Gainsborough
melodrama Love Story
, notorious box-office flop musical London Town, and the classic Brighton Rock. Purdell's last screen appearance was in 1951 and he died on 22 April 1953, aged 57.
Career
As a young man Purdell served in the British Army with the South Wales Borderers regiment for the duration of World War I. On returning to civilian life after the war, he decided to try his luck as an actor and gained experience on the stage through the 1920s. His move into films in 1930 coincided with the advent of the talkie era in British cinema.Purdell's first screen appearance was in the 1930 comedy The Middle Watch
The Middle Watch (1930 film)
The Middle Watch is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Norman Walker and starring Owen Nares, Jacqueline Logan, Jack Raine and Dodo Watts...
, in a role he would later reprise in a 1940 remake. He next travelled to Germany to feature in historical drama Congress Dances
Der Kongreß tanzt
Der Kongress tanzt is a Germany musical comedy film produced in 1931 by Ufa, directed by Erik Charell, starring Lilian Harvey as Christel Weinzinger, the glove seller, Willy Fritsch as Tsar Alexander I of Russia and his doppelgänger, Uralsky, Otto Wallburg as Bibikoff, his Adjutant, Conrad Veidt...
, an ambitious and lavishly budgeted project by the UFA
Universum Film AG
Universum Film AG, better known as UFA or Ufa, is a film company that was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema from 1917 to 1945...
film company, involving the simultaneous filming of three versions of the same story in German, English and French in an attempt to prove that a European company could challenge the dominance of American studios in the new era of sound by delivering a continent-wide hit.
Purdell soon began to accumulate screen credits in a wide variety of films ranging from cheaply-made quota quickies to more sophisticated productions. He showed a knack for playing comedy, and his 1930s films fell mainly into this genre, with occasional ventures into straight drama and thrillers. Purdell's screenwriting career began in 1932 and he was most productive in this field during the late 1930s, with only occasional ventures later in his career. He tried his hand at film directing in 1937 with two comedies Don't Get Me Wrong
Don't Get Me Wrong (film)
Don't Get Me Wrong is a 1937 British comedy film, co-directed by Arthur B. Woods and Reginald Purdell and starring Max Miller and George E. Stone....
, a Max Miller vehicle co-directed with Arthur B. Woods
Arthur B. Woods
Arthur Bickerstaffe Woods was an English film director with 27 credits between 1933 and 1940. Woods' films were mainly quota quickies but were diverse in style, from light comedy and musicals to dark crime thrillers. His most acclaimed film is 1938's They Drive by Night...
, and Patricia Gets Her Man
Patricia Gets Her Man
Patricia Gets Her Man is a 1937 British romantic comedy film directed by Reginald Purdell and starring Hans Söhnker, Lesley Brook and Edwin Styles. In an effort to attract a film star a woman pays another man to pretend to be a suitor in order to provoke jealously in the star...
. Both films were reasonably well-received, but Purdell appears to have decided that directing was not for him, as there would be no more ventures in this area.
In the 1940s Purdell's acting career diversified, with fewer throwaway comedies and more appearances in high-quality dramatic vehicles. His credits included war dramas We Dive at Dawn
We Dive at Dawn
We Dive at Dawn is a 1943 war film directed by Anthony Asquith, starring John Mills and Eric Portman as Royal Navy submariners in the Second World War. It was written by Val Valentine and J. B. Williams with uncredited assistance from Frank Launder...
and Two Thousand Women
Two Thousand Women
Two Thousand Women is a 1944 British comedy-drama war film about a camp of interned British women in Occupied France. Three RAF aircrewmen whose bomber had been shot down enter the camp and are hidden by the women from the Germans...
, Gainsborough
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
melodrama Love Story
Love Story (1944 film)
Love Story is a 1944 British romance film directed by Leslie Arliss and starring Margaret Lockwood, Stewart Granger and Patricia Roc. It is based on a short story by J.W. Drawbell.-Synopsis:...
, notorious box-office flop musical London Town, and the classic Brighton Rock. Purdell's last screen appearance was in 1951 and he died on 22 April 1953, aged 57.
Selected filmography
- The Middle WatchThe Middle Watch (1930 film)The Middle Watch is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Norman Walker and starring Owen Nares, Jacqueline Logan, Jack Raine and Dodo Watts...
(1930) - Congress DancesDer Kongreß tanztDer Kongress tanzt is a Germany musical comedy film produced in 1931 by Ufa, directed by Erik Charell, starring Lilian Harvey as Christel Weinzinger, the glove seller, Willy Fritsch as Tsar Alexander I of Russia and his doppelgänger, Uralsky, Otto Wallburg as Bibikoff, his Adjutant, Conrad Veidt...
(1931) - Night in MontmartreNight in MontmartreNight in Montmartre is a British mystery film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Horace Hodges, Franklin Dyall, Hugh Williams, Reginald Purdell and Austin Trevor. It was based on play by Miles Malleson.-External links:*...
(1931) - Crime on the HillCrime on the HillCrime on the Hill is a 1933 British mystery film directed by Bernard Vorhaus and starring Sally Blane, Nigel Playfair and Lewis Casson. The plot was based on a successful play by Jack de Leon and Jack Celestin...
(1933) - The Queen's AffairThe Queen's AffairThe Queen's Affair is a 1934 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Fernand Gravey, Muriel Aked and Edward Chapman. An Eastern European President falls in love with the Queen whom he had previously deposed. It was also released as Queen's Affair....
(1934) - The Old Curiosity ShopThe Old Curiosity Shop (1934 film)The Old Curiosity Shop is a 1934 British drama film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Elaine Benson, Ben Webster and Hay Petrie. It is an adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel The Old Curiosity Shop.-Cast:* Elaine Benson - Nell...
(1934) - Royal CavalcadeRoyal CavalcadeRoyal Cavalcade is a 1935 British, black-and-white, drama film directed by six separate directors: Thomas Bentley , Herbert Brenon, Norman Lee, Walter Summers, Will Kellino and Marcel Varnel. The film features Marie Lohr, Hermione Baddeley, Owen Nares, Robert Hale, Austin Trevor, James Carew,...
(1935) - Get Off My FootGet Off My FootGet Off My Foot is a 1935 British comedy film, directed by William Beaudine and starring Max Miller and Chili Bouchier. It is classed as a lost film....
(1935) - Debt of HonourDebt of HonourDebt of Honour is a 1936 British drama film directed by Norman Walker and starring Leslie Banks, Will Fyffe, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Garry Marsh.-Plot:A Colonel's daughter steals from the regimental mess funds to pay off her gambling debts...
(1936) - Crown v. Stevens (1936)
- Where's Sally?Where's Sally?Where's Sally? is a 1936 British comedy film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Chili Bouchier, Gene Gerrard and Claude Hulbert. The film was a quota quickie production and is now believed to be lost.-Plot:...
(1936) - Hail and FarewellHail and Farewell (film)Hail and Farewell is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Claude Hulbert. The film was a quota quickie production, following the escapades of a group of British sailors during six hours' shore leave in Southampton...
(1936) - The Dark StairwayThe Dark StairwayThe Dark Stairway is a 1938 British crime film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Hugh Williams, Chili Bouchier and Garry Marsh.The film was a quota quickie production, based on the 1931 novel From This Dark Stairway by Mignon G. Eberhart...
(1938) - The ViperThe Viper (film)The Viper is a 1938 British slapstick comedy film, directed by Roy William Neill and starring Claude Hulbert and Hal Walters. The film was a sequel to the previous year's very successful The Vulture, with Hulbert and Walters reprising their roles as hapless private detective Cedric Gull and his...
(1938)
- Q PlanesQ PlanesQ Planes, released in the United States by Columbia Pictures as Clouds Over Europe, is a 1939 British spy film directed by Tim Whelan and Arthur B. Woods, starring Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. It was produced by Irving Asher with Alexander Korda as executive producer...
(1939) - The Middle WatchThe Middle Watch (1940 film)The Middle Watch is a 1940 British, black-and-white, comedy film, directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Ronald Shiner as the Ship's Mechanic or Engineer, Jack Buchanan, Greta Gynt, Fred Emney and Kay Walsh. It was produced by Associated British Picture Corporation...
(1940) - Busman's HoneymoonBusman's Honeymoon (film)Busman's Honeymoon is a 1940 British detective film directed by Arthur B. Woods. An adaptation of the Lord Peter Wimsey story Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers, it starred Robert Montgomery, Constance Cummings, Leslie Banks, Seymour Hicks, Robert Newton and Googie Withers....
(1940) - We Dive at DawnWe Dive at DawnWe Dive at Dawn is a 1943 war film directed by Anthony Asquith, starring John Mills and Eric Portman as Royal Navy submariners in the Second World War. It was written by Val Valentine and J. B. Williams with uncredited assistance from Frank Launder...
(1943) - Candles at NineCandles at NineCandles at Nine is a 1944 British mystery film directed by John Harlow and starring Beatrix Lehmann, Joss Ambler and Jessie Matthews. A wealthy man jokes about being murdered for his inheritance, but is then found dead...
(1944) - Two Thousand WomenTwo Thousand WomenTwo Thousand Women is a 1944 British comedy-drama war film about a camp of interned British women in Occupied France. Three RAF aircrewmen whose bomber had been shot down enter the camp and are hidden by the women from the Germans...
(1944) - Love StoryLove Story (1944 film)Love Story is a 1944 British romance film directed by Leslie Arliss and starring Margaret Lockwood, Stewart Granger and Patricia Roc. It is based on a short story by J.W. Drawbell.-Synopsis:...
(1944) - London Town (1946)
- The Root of All EvilThe Root of All Evil (1947 film)The Root of All Evil is a 1947 British drama film, directed by Brock Williams for Gainsborough Pictures and starring Phyllis Calvert and Michael Rennie. The film was the first directorial assignment for Williams, who was better known as a screenwriter, and also produced the screenplay based on a...
(1947) - Holiday CampHoliday CampHoliday Camp is a 1947 British comedy drama film directed by Ken Annakin, starring Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Kathleen Harrison and Dennis Price.-Synopsis:...
(1947) - Captain Boycott (1947)
- A Man About the HouseA Man About the House (1947 film)A Man About the House is a black-and-white British film directed by Leslie Arliss and released in 1947. The film is a melodrama, adapted for the screen by J.B. Williams from the 1942 novel of the same name by Francis Brett Young...
(1947) - Brighton Rock (1947)
External links
- Reginald Purdell at BFI Film & TV Database
- Reginald Purdell filmography at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...