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.
Holiday is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic comedy film which tells the story of a young man who is torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fiancée's family. It stars Ann Harding, Mary Astor, Edward Everett Horton, Robert Ames and Hedda Hopper. It was produced and released by Pathé Exchange.
Edward Everett Horton Jr. was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons.
George Edward Cole, OBE was an English actor whose career spanned 75 years. He was best known for playing Arthur Daley in the long-running ITV comedy-drama show Minder and Flash Harry in the early St Trinian's films.
Lola Jean Albright was an American singer and actress, best known for playing the sultry singer Edie Hart, the girlfriend of private eye Peter Gunn, on all three seasons of the TV series Peter Gunn.
John Stange(r) Heiss Oscar Asche, better known as Oscar Asche, was an Australian actor, director, and writer, best known for having written, directed, and acted in the record-breaking musical Chu Chin Chow, both on stage and film, and for acting in, directing, or producing many Shakespeare plays and successful musicals.
The Private Secretary is an 1883 farce in three acts, by Charles Hawtrey. The play, adapted from a German original, depicts the vicissitudes of a mild young clergyman, innocently caught up in the machinations of two irresponsible young men who are bent on escaping their creditors.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is an American sitcom that aired on ABC starring Fess Parker. The series, which aired from September 29, 1962 to March 30, 1963, was based on the 1939 film of the same name, starring James Stewart in the title role.
Law and Disorder is a 1940 British comedy crime film directed by David MacDonald and starring Alastair Sim, Diana Churchill and Barry K. Barnes. The screenplay concerns a young solicitor who defends a number of petty criminals accused of sabotage. The film was made at Highbury Studios, with sets designed by art director James A. Carter.
Who Killed John Savage? is a 1937 British mystery film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Nicholas Hannen, Barry MacKay, Kathleen Kelly, Henry Oscar and Edward Chapman. The film is based on a novel by Philip MacDonald and is a remake of the 1932 Michael Powell-directed film Rynox.
Sailing Along is a 1938 British musical comedy film directed by Sonnie Hale and starring Jessie Matthews, Barry MacKay, Jack Whiting, Roland Young, Frank Pettingell, Noel Madison and Alastair Sim. It includes many staged song and dance routines either on barges or on the dock edge.
This Man in Paris is a 1939 British comedy mystery film directed by David MacDonald and starring Barry K. Barnes, Valerie Hobson and Alastair Sim.
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".
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.
In the Soup is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Ralph Lynn, Judy Gunn, Morton Selten and Nelson Keys.
The Man in the Mirror is a 1936 British comedy film, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Edward Everett Horton, Genevieve Tobin and Ursula Jeans.
The Gang's All Here is a 1939 British black-and-white comedy-mystery, directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jack Buchanan and Googie Withers. It was produced by Associated British Picture Corporation and released in the U.S. in 1943 as The Amazing Mr. Forrest.
Gangway is a 1937 British musical film directed by Sonnie Hale and starring Jessie Matthews, Barry MacKay, Nat Pendleton and Alastair Sim. Its plot involves a young reporter goes undercover to unmask a gang of criminals who are planning a jewel heist. AKA as Sparkles in Australia and on Australian release 78rpm records. Jessie Matthews was nicknamed SPARKLE in the film.
It's a Boy is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Leslie Henson, Albert Burdon and Edward Everett Horton. It is a farce about a blackmailer who attempts to demand money from a young woman on the brink of marriage. It was based on the 1931 play It's a Boy by Austin Melford, an English adaption of the 1926 play Hurra, ein Junge by Franz Arnold and Ernst Bach. with sets designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky.
Soldiers of the King is a 1933 British historical comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Cicely Courtneidge, Edward Everett Horton and Anthony Bushell. It was Courtneidge's fourth film, and the first she appeared in without her husband Jack Hulbert. Courtneidge plays the matriarch of a music hall family, in a plot that switches between the Victorian era and the 1930s present.
