Basil Radford
Actor · 1897 – 1952 · Chester, England, UK
Arthur Basil Radford (25 June 1897 – 20 October 1952) was an English character actor who featured in many British films of the 1930s and 1940s. He is probably best remembered for his appearances alongside Naunton Wayne as one half of Charters and Caldicott, two cricket-obsessed Englishmen who appeared in several films from 1938 to 1949, most famously in Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes.
Movies24
Movie7.4MysteryThrillerOn a train headed for England a group of travelers is delayed by an avalanche. Holed up in a hotel in a fictional European country, young Iris befriends elderly Miss Froy. When the train resumes, Iris suffers a bout of unconsciousness and wakes to find the old woman has disappeared. The other passengers ominously deny Miss Froy ever existed, so Iris begins to investigate with another traveler and, as the pair sleuth, romantic sparks fly.
The Lady Vanishes
1938 · 1.1K votes
Movie7.2HorrorThrillerAn architect, visiting an English country house, realizes the other guests are familiar from his recurring nightmare. When they share their tales of the supernatural, he is filled with a growing dread.
Dead of Night
1945 · 312 votes
Movie6.1CrimeAdventureIn early 19th-century Cornwall, young Mary Yellan travels to live with her aunt and uncle at the remote Jamaica Inn, where she discovers the inn is a front for a violent gang of wreckers who lure ships to their doom along the coast. As she becomes entangled in their crimes, Mary must fight to survive and uncover the truth behind the terror that haunts the moors.
Jamaica Inn
1939 · 257 votes
Movie6.5ThrillerRomanceWhen a young writer is falsely accused of murdering a famous actress, he escapes custody and joins forces with the daughter of a police constable to prove his innocence.
Young and Innocent
1937 · 260 votes
Movie7.2DramaThrillerCzechoslovakia, March 1939, on the eve of World War II. As the German invaders occupy Prague, inventor Axel Bomasch manages to flee and reach England; but those who need to put his knowledge at the service of the Nazi war machine, in order to carry out their evil plans of destruction, will stop at nothing to capture him.
Night Train to Munich
1940 · 96 votes
Movie6.9ComedyWhen an unexploded WWII bomb is accidentally detonated in Pimlico, it reveals a treasure trove and documents proving that the region is in fact part of Burgundy, France and thus foreign territory. The British government attempts to regain control by setting up border controls and cutting off services to the area.
Passport to Pimlico
1949 · 102 votes
Movie6.4ComedyRomanceA detective gets involved with a wealthy socialite who can't seem to stop hiccuping.
Helter Skelter
1949 · 4 votes
Movie6.8ComedyCrimeWhisky Galore! is a 1949 British comedy film produced by Ealing Studios, starring Basil Radford, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood and Gordon Jackson. It was the directorial debut of Alexander Mackendrick; the screenplay was by Compton Mackenzie, an adaptation of his 1947 novel Whisky Galore, and Angus MacPhail. The story—based on a true event, the running aground of the SS Politician—concerns a shipwreck off a fictional Scottish island, the inhabitants of which have run out of whisky because of wartime rationing. The islanders find out the ship is carrying 50,000 cases of whisky, some of which they salvage, against the opposition of the local Customs and Excise men.
Whisky Galore!
1949 · 156 votes
Movie6.8DramaWhite Corridors was based on Yeoman Hospital, a novel by Helen Ashton. Told episodically, the story concentrates on the day-to-day activities in a busy hospital, where research pathologist Neil Marriner (James Donald) conducts experiments in the hopes of curing diseases impervious to penicillin. Marriner is aided in this endeavor by lady surgeon Dr. Sophie Dean (Googie Withers), who happens to be in love with him. After a tragedy occurs for which Marriner holds himself responsible, the film builds steadily to an exciting climax involving a untested -- and potentially dangerous -- serum. The top-rank British supporting cast includes Barry Jones, Moira Lister, Petula Clark, Basil Radford, Dagmar (later Dana) Wynter, Bernard Lee, and, in a minor role, future "Dr. Who" Patrick Troughton.
White Corridors
1951 · 6 votes
Movie5.0DramaWarLots of slogans such as "Be like Dad, Keep Mum" and "Keep it under your Hat" are visible on the walls in various scenes to reinforce the plot of this British wartime movie illustrating how gossipy talk can result in unknowingly giving valuable information to Nazi spies.
The Next of Kin
1942 · 10 votes
Movie7.0DramaIn pre-WWI England, a youngster is expelled from a naval academy over a petty theft, but his parents raise a political furor by demanding a trial.
The Winslow Boy
1948 · 29 votes
Movie6.7AdventureSet just before the outbreak of WWII, this is the story of a test pilot who works for the (unnamed) enemy. Made in 1939, by the time it was released in 1940, war had been declared.
Spies of the Air
1939 · 3 votes
Movie6.5CrimeThrillerAn elderly lady manages to sneak some pills away from her nurse and dies of an overdose. The nurse is tried for murder and acquitted. Some time later the nurse, under a new name and identity, cares for a patient who also dies of an overdose. When her real identity comes out, suspicions arise.
Girl in the News
1940 · 7 votes
Movie6.2MusicComedyAn Irishman sets out to become famous as a singer on the radio. Due to a mix up he is instead entered as a contestant on a quiz show.
Let's Be Famous
1939 · 3 votes
Movie6.5ComedyRomanceA man is cited as the co-respondent in a divorce case, but is cheerfully unashamed when he appears in court.
Dishonour Bright
1936 · 2 votes
Movie6.0DramaWarLife on a British bomber base, and the surrounding towns, from the opening days of the Battle of Britain, to the arrival of the Americans, who join in the bomber offensive. The film centres around Pilot Officer Peter Penrose, fresh out of a training unit, who joins the squadron, and quickly discovers about life during war time. He falls for Iris, a young girl who lives at the local hotel, but he becomes disillusioned about marriage, when the squadron commander dies in a raid, and leaves his wife, the hotel manageress, with a young son to bring up. As the war progresses, Penross comes to terms that he has survived, while others have been killed.
The Way to the Stars
1945 · 32 votes
Movie5.7AdventureCrimeA London cat burglar falls for the girlfriend of a stockbroker who used to be his partner.
Jump for Glory
1937 · 3 votes
Movie6.5DramaThe workers in a small plough factory take over the firm, but when a large order falls through, the old management come back to help out.
Chance of a Lifetime
1950 · 10 votes
Movie6.5RomanceComedyA businessman's daughter runs away from an arranged marriage, only to find herself penniless and suspected of theft after she becomes the victim of a bag thief in the train. When she refuses to tell him who she really is, her accuser decides to take her home where he can keep an eye on her until 12 o'clock the next day, the time at which she has calculated that it will be safe to tell the truth! But when his fiancée arrives unexpectedly and then his 'guest' is mistaken for her, it all gets rather embarrassing...
There Goes the Bride
1932 · 6 votes
Movie6.3DramaSomerset Maugham introduces four of his tales in this anthology film: "The Facts of Life," "The Alien Corn," "The Kite," and "The Colonel's Lady."
Quartet
1948 · 16 votes
Movie6.1DramaRomanceA Chinese missionary comes to England and helps a young girl ill-treated by her father. A remake of D. W. Griffith's masterpiece.
Broken Blossoms
1936 · 8 votes
Movie6.7ThrillerMysteryThe Four Men of the title are British WWI veterans who decide to work secretly against enemies of the country. They aren't above a bit of murder or sabotage to serve their ends, but they consider themselves to be true patriots.
The Four Just Men
1939 · 6 votes
Movie6.4DramaWarA series of stories about the lives and loves of men in a Prisoner of War camp over five years. The main story is of Hasek (Redgrave) a Czech soldier who needs to keep his identity a secret from the Nazis. To do this, he poses as a dead English Officer and corresponds with the man's wife. Other inmates’ stories are also revealed. Location shooting in the British occupied part of Germany adds believability.
The Captive Heart
1946 · 27 votes
Movie6.1AdventureComedyKicked out of Army Intelligence, a pair of upper class twits set up as private detectives. The result is refined English chaos. "This is the regettable story of two Drones who didn't even know their own Zones. It starts in Germany, gets nowhere and stops at nothing." Radford and Wayne, cashiered from the army when they let a captured Nazi escape, become private detectives who later get involved with the same German and a missing diamond ...
It's Not Cricket
1949 · 4 votes