Basil Radford
Encyclopedia
Basil Radford was an English
character actor who featured in many British films
of the 1930s and 1940s. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
and made his first stage appearance in July 1924. He is probably best-remembered for his appearances alongside Naunton Wayne
as two cricket
-obsessed Englishmen in several films from 1938-1949.
in Alfred Hitchcock
's 1938
thriller The Lady Vanishes
. They were popular enough to reprise their roles in Night Train to Munich
, which was again scripted by Frank Launder
and Sidney Gilliat
.
They appeared together in several other 1940s films, including Crook's Tour
(1941), Millions Like Us
(1943), Dead of Night
(1945), Quartet (1948), It's Not Cricket
(1949) and Passport to Pimlico
(1949).
Apart from his long-running partnership with Naunton Wayne, Radford made many other memorable film appearances in character roles. His other films included Young and Innocent
(also for Hitchcock
) (1937), The Way to the Stars
(1945), The Captive Heart
(1946), The Winslow Boy
(1948), and Whisky Galore!
(1949).
Radford had a crescent-shaped scar on his right cheek from serving in the trenches during the First World War. Depending on the camera angle and the lighting, it was sometimes barely perceptible but sometimes extremely prominent, as in The Way to the Stars
.
on 20 October 1952, while rehearsing for a radio show with Naunton Wayne
in London
.
* Charters and Caldicott films
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
character actor who featured in many British films
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
of the 1930s and 1940s. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
and made his first stage appearance in July 1924. He is probably best-remembered for his appearances alongside Naunton Wayne
Naunton Wayne
Naunton Wayne , was a British character actor, born in Llanwonno, South Wales. He was educated at Clifton College....
as two cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
-obsessed Englishmen in several films from 1938-1949.
Film career
The two first appeared as their characters Charters and CaldicottCharters and Caldicott
Caldicott and Charters are two supporting characters in the film The Lady Vanishes, and recurring characters in later films and BBC Radio productions.-Life:...
in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's 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,...
thriller The Lady Vanishes
The Lady Vanishes (1938 film)
The Lady Vanishes is a 1938 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and adapted by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder from the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White...
. They were popular enough to reprise their roles in Night Train to Munich
Night Train to Munich
Night Train to Munich is a 1940 British thriller film. It was directed by Carol Reed, with writing credits by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder. It is liberally adapted from the Gordon Wellesley novel Report on a Fugitive.-Plot:...
, which was again scripted by Frank Launder
Frank Launder
Frank Launder was an English writer, director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat....
and Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat was an English film director, producer and writer.He was born in the district of Edgeley in Stockport, Cheshire. In the 1930s he worked as a scriptwriter, most notably with Frank Launder on The Lady Vanishes for Alfred Hitchcock, and its sequel Night Train to Munich , directed by...
.
They appeared together in several other 1940s films, including Crook's Tour
Crook's Tour
Crook's Tour is a 1941 British film directed by John Baxter featuring Charters and Caldicott. It is adapted from a BBC radio serials of the same name.-Plot:Charters and Caldicott are touring the Middle East...
(1941), Millions Like Us
Millions Like Us
Millions Like Us is a 1943 British propaganda film, showing life in a wartime aircraft factory in documentary detail. It stars Patricia Roc, Eric Portman, Megs Jenkins, and Anne Crawford, was written by Sidney Gilliat, and directed by Gilliat and Frank Launder...
(1943), Dead of Night
Dead of Night
Dead of Night is a British portmanteau horror film made by Ealing Studios, its various episodes directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. The film stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers and Michael Redgrave...
(1945), Quartet (1948), It's Not Cricket
It's Not Cricket (1949 film)
It's Not Cricket is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Alfred Roome and starring Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Susan Shaw and Maurice Denham. It was one of the final films made by Gainsborough Pictures before the studio was merged into the Rank Organisation.-Plot:Major Bright and Capain Early...
(1949) and Passport to Pimlico
Passport to Pimlico
Passport to Pimlico is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starred Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius....
(1949).
Apart from his long-running partnership with Naunton Wayne, Radford made many other memorable film appearances in character roles. His other films included Young and Innocent
Young and Innocent
Young and Innocent is a 1937 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Nova Pilbeam, Derrick De Marney and John Longden...
(also for Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
) (1937), The Way to the Stars
The Way to the Stars
The Way to the Stars, also known as Johnny in the Clouds, is a 1945 British war drama film made by Two Cities Films and released by United Artists. It was produced by Anatole de Grunwald and directed by Anthony Asquith...
(1945), The Captive Heart
The Captive Heart
The Captive Heart is a 1946 British war drama, directed by Basil Dearden for Ealing Studios. The film was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
(1946), The Winslow Boy
The Winslow Boy
thumb|1st edition cover The Winslow Boy is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an actual incident in the Edwardian era, which took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne.-Performance History:...
(1948), and Whisky Galore!
Whisky Galore! (film)
Whisky Galore! was a 1949 Ealing comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Compton MacKenzie. Both the movie and the novel are based on the real-life 1941 shipwreck of the S.S. Politician near the island of Eriskay and the unauthorized taking of its cargo of whisky...
(1949).
Radford had a crescent-shaped scar on his right cheek from serving in the trenches during the First World War. Depending on the camera angle and the lighting, it was sometimes barely perceptible but sometimes extremely prominent, as in The Way to the Stars
The Way to the Stars
The Way to the Stars, also known as Johnny in the Clouds, is a 1945 British war drama film made by Two Cities Films and released by United Artists. It was produced by Anatole de Grunwald and directed by Anthony Asquith...
.
Death
Radford's health began to seriously fail in the summer of 1951, forcing him to take a long break from acting. He died of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on 20 October 1952, while rehearsing for a radio show with Naunton Wayne
Naunton Wayne
Naunton Wayne , was a British character actor, born in Llanwonno, South Wales. He was educated at Clifton College....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Selected filmography
- Barnum Was Right (1929)
- Woman to WomanWoman to Woman (1929 film)Woman to Woman is a 1929 British drama film directed by Victor Saville and starring Betty Compson, George Barraud and Juliette Compton. It was an adaptation of the play Woman to Woman by Michael Morton which had previously previously been made into a film in 1923...
(1929) - Seven Day's Leave (1930)
- There Goes the BrideThere Goes the Bride (1932 film)There Goes the Bride is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Jessie Matthews, Owen Nares, Carol Goodner, Basil Radford and Roland Culver...
(1932) - Leave It to SmithLeave It to SmithLeave It to Smith is a 1933 British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls. It also featured Carol Goodner, Anne Grey, Peter Gawthorne and Basil Radford...
(1933) - A Southern MaidA Southern Maid (film)A Southern Maid is a 1933 British musical film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Bebe Daniels, Clifford Mollison and Hal Gordon. It is based on the operetta A Southern Maid by Harold Fraser-Simson...
(1933) - Foreign AffairesForeign AffairesForeign Affaires is a 1935 British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls based on an Aldwych Farce written by Ben Travers. It also features Ralph Lynn, Robertson Hare, Norma Varden and Cecil Parker. The film is set on the French Riviera where two hard-living British spongers become mixed...
(1935) - Broken BlossomsBroken Blossoms (1936 film)Broken Blossoms is a 1936 British drama film directed by John Brahm and starring Emlyn Williams, Arthur Margetson, Basil Radford and Edith Sharpe. It was based on the novel The Chink and the Child by Thomas Burke. It was made at Twickenham Studios in West London. The story had previously been...
(1936) - Dishonour BrightDishonour BrightDishonour Bright is a 1936 British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls. It also featured Eugene Pallette, Betty Stockfeld and Diana Churchill and was based on a story by Ben Travers.-Plot:...
(1936) - Jump for Glory (1937)
- Young and InnocentYoung and InnocentYoung and Innocent is a 1937 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Nova Pilbeam, Derrick De Marney and John Longden...
(1937) - Captain's OrdersCaptain's OrdersCaptain's Orders is a 1937 British drama film directed by Ivar Campbell and starring Henry Edwards, Jane Carr, Marie La Varre, Wally Patch and Basil Radford.-Cast:* Henry Edwards - Captain Trent* Jane Carr - Belle Mandeville...
(1937) - The Lady VanishesThe Lady Vanishes (1938 film)The Lady Vanishes is a 1938 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and adapted by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder from the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White...
* (1938) - Convict 99Convict 99Convict 99 is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring British comedian Will Hay and Googie Withers.-Synopsis:Incompetent Dr Benjamin Twist is dismissed from his job as headmaster at St. Michaels' School Convict 99 is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel...
(1938) - Climbing HighClimbing High-Plot:Nicky Brooke is as an aristocratic young man engaged to be married. He falls for Diana Castles , a model and makes attempts to woo her by pretending to be despite his engagement.-Cast:*Jessie Matthews as Diana Castles...
(1938) - The Royal Family of Broadway (1939) (TV)
- Trouble Brewing (1939)
- Let's Be Famous (1939)
- She Couldn't Say NoShe Couldn't Say No (1939 film)She Couldn't Say No is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Tommy Trinder, Fred Emney and Googie Withers. It was based on a play Funny Face by Paul Girard Smith and Fred Thompson...
(1939) - Jamaica InnJamaica Inn (film)Jamaica Inn is a 1939 film made by Alfred Hitchcock adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1936 novel of the same name, the first of three of du Maurier's works that Hitchcock adapted ....
(1939) - Shall We Join the Ladies? (1939)
- Secret JourneySecret Journey (film)Secret Journey is a 1939 British thriller film directed by John Baxter and starring Basil Radford, Silvia St. Claire and Thorley Walters. A British agent travels to Berlin to recover a top-secret invention that has been stolen by German intelligence.-Cast:...
(1939) - The Four Just MenThe Four Just Men (film)The Four Just Men is a 1939 British thriller film directed by Walter Forde and starring Hugh Sinclair, Griffith Jones, Edward Chapman and Garry Marsh. It is based on the novel The Four Just Men by Edgar Wallace.-Cast:...
(1939) - Just WilliamJust William (1940 film)Just William is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Richard Lupino, Fred Emney and Basil Radford. It is based on the Just William series of books by Richmal Crompton.-Cast:* Richard Lupino - William Brown...
(1940) - Girl in the NewsGirl in the NewsGirl in the News is a 1940 British thriller film directed by Carol Reed and starring Margaret Lockwood, Barry K. Barnes and Emlyn Williams.-Cast:* Margaret Lockwood - Anne Graham* Barry K...
(1940) - Night Train to MunichNight Train to MunichNight Train to Munich is a 1940 British thriller film. It was directed by Carol Reed, with writing credits by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder. It is liberally adapted from the Gordon Wellesley novel Report on a Fugitive.-Plot:...
* (1940) - 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) - Room for TwoRoom for TwoRoom for Two is a 1940 British comedy film.The story takes place in Venice, where a womanising Englishman Vic Oliver takes a strong interest to married tourist played by Frances Day. Oliver disguises himself in drag and gets himself hired as the Days' maid. When Day's philandering husband, played...
(1940) - Crook's TourCrook's TourCrook's Tour is a 1941 British film directed by John Baxter featuring Charters and Caldicott. It is adapted from a BBC radio serials of the same name.-Plot:Charters and Caldicott are touring the Middle East...
* (1941) - The Next of KinThe Next of KinThe Next of Kin, also known as Next of Kin, is a 1942 World War II propaganda film produced by Ealing Studios.The film was originally commissioned by the British War Office as a training film to promote the government propaganda message that "Careless talk costs lives"...
(1942) (cameo, with Naunton Wayne) - Unpublished StoryUnpublished StoryUnpublished Story is a 1942, British, black-and-white, drama, war film, directed by Harold French and starring Ronald Shiner as the agitating, Pamphleteer or Leaflet Distributor, Richard Greene, Valerie Hobson, Basil Radford and Roland Culver...
(1942) - Dear OctopusDear OctopusDear Octopus is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Harold French and starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Wilding and Celia Johnson. It is based on a 1938 play Dear Octopus written by Dodie Smith...
(1943) - Millions Like UsMillions Like UsMillions Like Us is a 1943 British propaganda film, showing life in a wartime aircraft factory in documentary detail. It stars Patricia Roc, Eric Portman, Megs Jenkins, and Anne Crawford, was written by Sidney Gilliat, and directed by Gilliat and Frank Launder...
* (1943) - The Way to the StarsThe Way to the StarsThe Way to the Stars, also known as Johnny in the Clouds, is a 1945 British war drama film made by Two Cities Films and released by United Artists. It was produced by Anatole de Grunwald and directed by Anthony Asquith...
(1945) - Dead of NightDead of NightDead of Night is a British portmanteau horror film made by Ealing Studios, its various episodes directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. The film stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers and Michael Redgrave...
(1945) - The Captive HeartThe Captive HeartThe Captive Heart is a 1946 British war drama, directed by Basil Dearden for Ealing Studios. The film was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
(1946) - 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) - Quartet (1948)
- It's Not CricketIt's Not Cricket (1949 film)It's Not Cricket is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Alfred Roome and starring Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Susan Shaw and Maurice Denham. It was one of the final films made by Gainsborough Pictures before the studio was merged into the Rank Organisation.-Plot:Major Bright and Capain Early...
(1949) - Passport to PimlicoPassport to PimlicoPassport to Pimlico is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starred Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius....
(1949) - Whisky Galore!Whisky Galore! (film)Whisky Galore! was a 1949 Ealing comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Compton MacKenzie. Both the movie and the novel are based on the real-life 1941 shipwreck of the S.S. Politician near the island of Eriskay and the unauthorized taking of its cargo of whisky...
(1949) - Chance of a LifetimeChance of a Lifetime (film)Chance of a Lifetime is a 1950 British film starring, produced, part-written and directed by Bernard Miles. It was nominated for the 1951 BAFTA for Best British Film, to which it was beaten by The Blue Lamp.-Plot:...
(1950) - The Galloping MajorThe Galloping Major (film)The Galloping Major is a 1951 British comedy film starring Basil Radford, Jimmy Hanley and Janette Scott. It also featured Sid James, Charles Hawtrey and Joyce Grenfell in supporting roles. It was directed by Henry Cornelius...
(1951), based on a story written by Radford - White CorridorsWhite CorridorsWhite Corridors is a 1951 British drama film directed by Pat Jackson and based on a novel by Helen Ashton. It starred Googie Withers, Godfrey Tearle, James Donald and Petula Clark. The film is set in a hospital shortly after the establishment of the National Health Service. At the 1951 BAFTAS it...
(1951)