Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE was a Scottish character actor who began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular West End performer, remaining so until his death in 1976. Starting in 1935, he also appeared in more than fifty British films, including an iconic adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol, released in 1951 as Scrooge in Great Britain and as A Christmas Carol in the United States. Though an accomplished dramatic actor, he is often remembered for his comically sinister performances.
Walter Sydney Vinnicombe was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre.
Florence Lindon-Travers, known professionally as Linden Travers, was a British actress.
William Gordon Harker was an English stage and film actor.
Murder Anonymous is a 1955 British crime short film directed by Ken Hughes and featuring Edgar Lustgarten, Peter Arne and Jill Bennett.
Bank Holiday is a 1938 British drama film directed by Carol Reed and starring John Lodge, Margaret Lockwood, Hugh Williams and Kathleen Harrison.
The Terror is a 1938 British crime film directed by Richard Bird and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Linden Travers and Bernard Lee. It was based on the 1927 play The Terror by Edgar Wallace. The play had previously been adapted as an American film The Terror in 1928.
Inspector Hornleigh is a 1938 British detective film directed by Eugene Forde, starring Gordon Harker and Alastair Sim, with Miki Hood, Wally Patch, Steven Geray and Edward Underdown. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios in England. The screenplay was co-written by Bryan Edgar Wallace.
Inspector Hornleigh is a fictional British detective from Scotland Yard, the protagonist of a popular BBC radio series of the 1930s, three British films, and a German television series.
Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It is a 1941 British detective film directed by Walter Forde and starring Gordon Harker, Alastair Sim, Phyllis Calvert and Edward Chapman. It was the third and final film adaptation of the Inspector Hornleigh stories.
Folly to Be Wise is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Frank Launder and starring Alastair Sim, Elizabeth Allan, Roland Culver, Colin Gordon, Martita Hunt and Edward Chapman. It is based on the play It Depends What You Mean by James Bridie. The film follows the efforts of a British Army chaplain attempting to recruit entertainment acts to perform for the troops and the complications that ensue when he does. The title is taken from the line by Thomas Gray "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise".
The Frightened Lady is a 1932 British thriller film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Emlyn Williams, Cathleen Nesbitt, Norman McKinnel and Belle Chrystall. It was adapted by Bryan Edgar Wallace from his father Edgar Wallace's 1931 play The Case of the Frightened Lady, which was adapted again later for a 1940 film.
This Man is News is a 1938 British comedy mystery film directed by David MacDonald and starring Barry K. Barnes, Valerie Hobson, Alastair Sim and Edward Lexy. The screenplay concerns a journalist who solves a crime of which he himself is suspected . A "quota quickie", it was made for a mere £6,000, but "was among the highest grossing films of 1938".
Dirty Work is a 1934 British comedy crime film directed by Tom Walls and starring Ralph Lynn, Gordon Harker, Robertson Hare and Basil Sydney. It was based on Dirty Work, one of the Aldwych Farces, by Ben Travers, which had some of the same cast members. The film was made at the Lime Grove Studios with sets designed by the art director Alfred Junge.
John Turnbull was a British stage and film actor. He was married to Eve Marchew and Beatrice Alice Scott (actress).
The Riverside Murder is a 1935 British crime film directed by Albert Parker and starring Basil Sydney, Judy Gunn and Zoe Davis. A woman reporter helps an inspector solve the deaths of four financiers on the eve of a group shareout. The film was shot at Wembley Studios in London with sets designed by the art director Ralph W. Brinton. A quota quickie, it was produced and distributed by Fox Film. It is based on the 1931 novel The Six Dead Men by Belgian author Stanislas-André Steeman, which was later adapted into the 1941 French film The Last of the Six. The film shifted the setting from France to London. It marked the film debut of Alastair Sim.
The Squeaker is a 1937 British crime film directed by William K. Howard and starring Edmund Lowe, Sebastian Shaw and Ann Todd. Edmund Lowe reprised his stage performance in the role of Inspector Barrabal. It is based on the 1927 novel The Squeaker and 1928 play of the same name by Edgar Wallace. Wallace's son Bryan Edgar Wallace worked on the film's screenplay. The Squeaker is underworld slang for an informer. The film is sometimes known by its U.S. alternative title Murder on Diamond Row.
The Missing Million is a 1942 British crime film directed by Philip Brandon and starring Linden Travers, John Warwick and Patricia Hilliard. It is adapted from the 1923 novel The Missing Million by Edgar Wallace. A millionaire is persecuted by a criminal gang.
The Scottish actor Alastair Sim (1900–1976) performed in many media of light entertainment, including theatre, film and television. His career spanned from 1930 until his death. During that time he was a "memorable character player of faded Anglo-Scottish gentility, whimsically put-upon countenance, and sepulchral, sometimes minatory, laugh".
Inspector Hornleigh Intervenes is a 1961 West German crime television series broadcast on WDR in four episodes. It is based on the fictional Scotland Yard detective Inspector Hornleigh, who had previously appeared in British radio and film series. The episodes were scripted by Hans Wolfgang Priwin, who had previously co-written the BBC radio series but was a German by birth. The sets were designed by the art director Alfred Bütow.
