
Ronald Shiner
Actor · 1903 – 1966 · London, England, UK
Ronald Alfred Shiner (8 June 1903 in London – 29 June 1966 in London) was a British stand-up comedian and comedic actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall. A former Royal Northwest Mounted Police Officer, farmer, greengrocer, milkman, bookie's clerk, soldier and film extra, Shiner shot to fame appearing in 1,700 performances of the stage hit Worm's Eye View from 1945 to 1947 (he would later top his own record by appearing in the play Seagulls Over Sorrento for 2,000 performances between 1950 and 1954). At the height of his career Shiner insured his nose for £10,000 because he said "it's me beak which made 'em larf." In retirement he owned a pub at Blackboys in Sussex but was plagued by ill health in his final years and retired to Eastbourne. He died there in June 1966 leaving an estate of £30,955.
Movies23
Movie6.2DramaHistoryAt the height of the Roman Civil War, an aging Julius Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen Cleopatra, whom he teaches how to rule Egypt.
Caesar and Cleopatra
1945 · 59 votes
Movie7.4ComedyDramaPickpocket Libby is protected by aging street performer Charles, who takes her into his troupe. Libby's dancing leads her to meet songwriter Harley and launch a stage career, while Charles is seemingly spurned by the waif he has helped.
St. Martin's Lane
1938 · 28 votes
Movie6.8DramaRomanceA brash young American aristocrat attending Oxford University gets a chance to prove himself and win the heart of his antagonist's sister.
A Yank at Oxford
1938 · 12 votes
Movie7.0ComedyThe scheming Albert Higgins and his dim witted mate Cecil Hollebone, set out on a ocean voyage under the exasperated chief steward. Along for the trip are the wealthy Mrs. Brough and her secretary Pat. Soon Mrs. Broughs’ jewels are stolen…
Not Wanted on Voyage
1957 · 5 votes
Movie6.5DramaNow old, ill, poor, and largely forgotten, William Freise-Greene was once young and handsome William Green. He changed his name to include his first wife's for the photographic portrait work he excelled at. But he was also an inventor and his search for a way to project moving pictures became an obsession that ultimately changed the life of all those he loved.
The Magic Box
1952 · 25 votes
Movie10.0ComedyMy Wife's Family
1956 · 1 votes
Movie7.5ComedyJohn Forrest is anticipating a quiet retirement spent penning detective fiction when he learns that a priceless collection of jewels belonging to a foreign potentate, Prince Homouska, has just vanished from the safekeeping of the Stamford Assurance Company. Aided by his butler, his Cockney assistant and his (initially) unwilling wife, Forrest sets out on the trail of the thieves.
The Gang's All Here
1939 · 2 votes
Movie6.2DramaHistoryIn 1783 England, King George III appoints William Pitt only 24 years old, as PM. When members of Parliament refuse to take Pitt seriously, he calls for a general election and wins. Pitt works to reform England, focusing on rebuilding the navy while across the sea in France, Napoleon Bonaparte begins his conquest of Europe.
The Young Mr. Pitt
1942 · 9 votes
Movie6.3ComedyGood natured comic caper charting the misadventures of a hapless bunch of Brighton based petty crooks dogged with disaster at every turn.
The Night We Got the Bird
1960 · 3 votes
Movie7.3ComedyDramaThe WW II romance set in Grosvenor square aka Eisenhower's home where the GIs stayed in London. Neagle loves Harrison. There arrives patriot GI Dean Jagger to rouse things up in the square. Snotty British Neagle and Jagger clash and fall for each other. What will Harrison have to say or do about these? What will the consequences be? Will the three finally become two and which two in this extremely patriotic love and war story.
I Live in Grosvenor Square
1945 · 9 votes
Movie5.3ActionDusty Bates observes some smuggled jewels hidden in a crate aboard a ship; he is pursued by low-lifes when the crate is put ashore.
The Adventures of Dusty Bates
1947 · 3 votes
- Movie7.0ComedyCrime
This film is a caper story of greyhound racing and the efforts of a crooked dog owner to stop a rival's dog, Wild Boy, from running in the Greyhound Derby.
Wild Boy
1934 · 1 votes
Movie6.0CrimeThriller“Shorty” Matthews having recently been released from prison visits his girlfriend in London only to discover her murdered. Fearing he will be wrongly accused of being the culprit he disappears amongst the long-distance lorry driving community. Meanwhile, the real killer, unassuming ex-schoolteacher Walter Hoover, continues to prey on London women. As Shorty had feared he has become the main suspect. He returns to London with old flame Molly to prove his innocence.
They Drive by Night
1938 · 17 votes
Movie8.2ComedyA professor teaching at a correspondence school discovers that a Nazi agent is trying to prevent a trade treaty being signed between England and South America.
The Black Sheep of Whitehall
1942 · 6 votes
Movie5.0ComedyA wealthy old man dies and leaves his holdings--including a brothel and a gambling den, racing greyhounds and a sleazy bar--to his eccentric Aunt Clara. Clara vows to "clean up" her new establishments, but complications ensue when she visits the crooked gambling den--just as it's being raided by the police.
Aunt Clara
1954 · 7 votes
Movie6.2ComedyMusicShortly after the start of World War II, a ukelele player (George) takes the wrong boat and finds himself in (still uninvaded) Norway. He is mistaken for a fellow British intelligence agent by a woman (Mary), and becomes involved in trying to defeat Nazi agents.
Let George Do It!
1940 · 15 votes
Movie5.8MysteryRomanceThe daughter of a murdered financier works as a jewelry salesperson while she tracks her father's colleagues who plotted against him.
Dinner at the Ritz
1937 · 5 votes
Movie7.1ThrillerDramaSet on Blackpool’s Golden Mile, Jim (Douglass Montgomery), a once promising scientist, sets up in business as a patent medicine man selling hair tonic at the fair with his ex-army colleague Dan (Ronald Shiner). Following a fight with local hoods over pitch spaces, Jim falls for Jane (Hazel Court), the girl on a nearby candy floss stall. The two begin dating but Jim fails to mention he is already married.
Forbidden
1949 · 9 votes
Movie6.8DramaThe story of flyer Amy Johnson the girl from Yorkshire who won the hearts of the British public in the 1930s with her record-breaking solo flights around the world. Her marriage to fellow aviator Jim Mallison was less noteworthy.
They Flew Alone
1942 · 4 votes
Movie6.6ComedyWarOld Bill has grumbled his way through the trenches of the First World War. Now it is the Second and, envious of his son, Young Bill, he decides to enlist. He finally enters the Pioneer Corps, which is based near his son. When Young Bill goes missing during a raid, Old Bill shows that there's still life in the old dog yet!
Old Bill and Son
1941 · 5 votes
Movie6.7ComedyA young girl is engaged to a man she doesn't love, and rather than marry him she decides to flee the situation altogether. She is helped by a crusty old barge captain.
Beauty and the Barge
1937 · 6 votes
- Movie10.0Comedy
Incidents in the lives of a group of R.A.F. men living in billets.
Worm's Eye View
1951 · 1 votes
- Movie10.0Comedy
Those Kids from Town
1942 · 1 votes
Series1
TVDramaA BBC television series of forty-five-minute excerpts from stage plays running in London.
Theatre Night
1957