
Bernard Miles
Actor · 1907 – 1991 · Uxbridge, Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, UK
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE (27 September 1907–14 June 1991) was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century. Miles was born in Uxbridge, Middlesex and attended Bishopshalt School in Hillingdon. While his parents were respectively a farm labourer and a cook, he was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford. He entered the theatre in the 1930s, soon appearing in films. Like many actors, he featured prominently in the patriotic cinema during the Second World War, including classics of the genre such as In Which We Serve and One of Our Aircraft Is Missing. He also had an uncredited role in the WWII classic The First of the Few, released in the US as Spitfire. His typical persona as an actor was as a countryman, with a strong accent typical of the Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire counties. He was also, after Robert Newton, the actor most associated with the part of Long John Silver, which he played in a British TV version of Treasure Island, and in an annual performance at the Mermaid commencing in the winter of 1961-62. Actors in the annual theatrical productions included Spike Milligan as Ben Gunn, and, in the 1968 production, Barry Humphries as Long John Silver. It was Miles who, impressed by the talent of John Antrobus originally commissioned him to write a play of some sort. This led to Antrobus collaborating with Milligan to produce a one-act play called The Bed Sitting Room, which was later adapted to a longer play, and staged by Miles at The Mermaid on 31 January 1963, with both critical and commercial success. He had a pleasant rolling bass-baritone voice that worked well in theatre and film, as well as being much in demand for voice-overs. As a performer, he was most well known for a series of comic monologues, often given in a rural dialect. These were recorded and sold as record albums, which were quite popular. Some of his comic monologues are currently available on youtube.com. Miles was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1953, was knighted in 1969, and was granted a life peerage as Baron Miles, of Blackfriars in the City of London in 1979. He was only the second British actor ever to be given a peerage (the first was Laurence Olivier). Miles's written works include "The British Theatre" (1947), "God's Brainwave" (1972), and "Favorite Tales from Shakespeare" (1972). In 1981, he co-authored the book Curtain Calls with J.C. Trewin. He died in Yorkshire. His daughters are the actress Sally Miles and the artist Bridget Miles. His son John Miles was a Grand Prix Driver in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the Lotus team. Description above from the Wikipedia article Bernard Miles, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Movies24
Movie7.4ThrillerMysteryAn American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.
The Man Who Knew Too Much
1956 · 1.6K votes
Movie7.1AdventureDramaIn 1841, young Ishmael signs up for service aboard the Pequod, a whaler sailing out of New Bedford. The ship is under the command of Captain Ahab, a strict disciplinarian who exhorts his men to find Moby Dick, the great white whale. Ahab lost his leg to that creature and is desperate for revenge. As the crew soon learns, he will stop at nothing to gain satisfaction.
Moby Dick
1956 · 488 votes
Movie7.3DramaRomanceIn this Dickens adaptation, orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood patron, Miss Havisham, and his first love, the beautiful but emotionally cold Estella, he discovers that the elderly spinster has gone mad from having been left at the altar as a young woman, and has made her charge into a warped, unfeeling heartbreaker.
Great Expectations
1946 · 389 votes
Movie6.7DramaWarThe story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship’s first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.
In Which We Serve
1942 · 107 votes
Movie7.0MysteryCrimeTwo Scotland Yard detectives investigate the murder of a young woman of mixed race who had been passing for white. As they interview a spate of suspects -- including the girl's white boyfriend and his disapproving parents -- the detectives wade through a stubbornly entrenched sludge of racism and bigotry.
Sapphire
1959 · 53 votes
Movie6.4MusicFamilyA boy, no bigger than a thumb, manages to outwit two thieves determined to make a fortune from him.
Tom Thumb
1958 · 78 votes
Movie6.5HistoryDramaIn 1456, French King Charles VII recalls the story of how he met the 17-year-old peasant girl Joan of Arc, entrusted her with the command of the French Army, and ultimately burned her at the stake as a heretic.
Saint Joan
1957 · 28 votes
Movie6.7ThrillerTV MovieThis intriguing story is set in the 1930s at a country house, where two amateur sleuths, Bobby Jones and Lady Frankie Derwent, try to unravel the mystery behind a tale of murder, suspense and false identities. And the only clues the two have to go on are the puzzling last words of a dying man. Featuring characters created by Agatha Christie, Why Didn't They Ask Evans is a classic crime thriller sure to please murder-mystery fans.
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
1980 · 18 votes
Movie5.1ActionDramaDuring one of his robberies, a highwayman with a heart of gold falls in love with an aristocratic lady. Now, he is forced to choose between his true love or his true cause.
The Lady and the Highwayman
1988 · 16 votes
Movie6.6WarDramaDuring a raid on Germany, a British bomber crew is forced to bail out after their plane is damaged. They land in Holland, where they're aided by Dutch civilians.
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing
1942 · 45 votes
Movie5.4RomanceActionA notorious bandit develops a grudging respect for the English military man assigned to capture him.
Zarak
1956 · 7 votes
- Movie7.0
A KGB agent defects to UK and offers information about Russian spies within the British Intelligence. Can he be trusted?
Closing Ranks
1980 · 1 votes
Movie6.5DocumentaryDocumentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987 · 2 votes
Movie6.4DramaRomanceYoung, idealistic, newly qualified Scottish doctor Andrew Manson arrives in Wales and takes his first job in a mining town, and begins to wonder at the persistent cough many of the miners have. When his attempts to prove its cause are thwarted, he moves to London. His new practice does poorly, but when a friend shows him how to make a lucrative practice from rich hypochondriacs, it will take a great shock to show him what the truth of being a doctor really is.
The Citadel
1938 · 35 votes
Movie6.0DocumentaryTV MovieA documentary on the work of artist Henry Moore.
Henry Moore
1951 · 1 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
Movie7.1ThrillerWarDuring early World War II, a Danish sea captain, delayed in a British port, tangles with German spies.
Contraband
1940 · 22 votes
Movie7.1DramaA working-class boy wins a scholarship to a public school, as part of a post-World War Two experiment in bringing boys of different social classes together.
The Guinea Pig
1948 · 17 votes
Movie6.7DramaA fatherless boy tries to make his fortune despite interference from his rich uncle.
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
1947 · 22 votes
Movie5.9RomanceDramaAn American reporter falls in love with a Russian ballet dancer.
Never Let Me Go
1953 · 19 votes
Movie6.4WarThrillerA German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.
The Spy in Black
1939 · 66 votes
Movie7.8ComedyThe Guv'nor (released in the U.S. as Mr. Hobo) is a 1935 British comedy film starring George Arliss as a tramp who rides a series of misunderstandings and becomes the president of a bank.
The Guv'nor
1935 · 4 votes
Movie6.8ThrillerCrimeAn insurance man discovers his ex-girlfriend and her husband's art-forgery/arson scam.
Fortune Is a Woman
1957 · 16 votes
Movie6.0DramaWarWhen Hitler invades Poland, sports journalist Colin Metcalfe (Hugh Williams) is unexpectedly reassigned as a foreign correspondent in Norway. En route, his ship is attacked by a German U-boat, but his warning to the Royal Navy is dismissed and he loses his post. With the German invasion of Norway soon after, Metcalfe returns, determined to uncover enemy operations and strike back against the occupiers.
The Day Will Dawn
1942 · 6 votes
Series2
TV6.7DramaA British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.
Tales of the Unexpected
1979 · 54 votes
TV6.7DocumentaryThis is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64. Michael Aspel then took up the role of host until the show ended in 2003. It returned in 2007 as a one-off special presented by Trevor McDonald, which to date was its most recent airing. In the show the host surprises a special guest, before taking them through their life with the assistance of the 'big red book'. Both celebrities and non-celebrities have been 'victims' of the show. The show was originally broadcast live, and over its run it has alternated between being broadcast on the BBC and on ITV.
This Is Your Life
1955 · 9 votes