Reginald Purdell

Actor · 1895 – 1953 · Clapham, London, England, UK

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Reginald Purdell (4 November 1895 – 22 April 1953) was an English actor and screenwriter who appeared in over 40 films between 1930 and 1951. During the same period he also contributed to the screenplays of 15 feature films, and had a brief foray into directing with two films in 1937. Purdell was born in Clapham, London. As a young man he served in the British Army with the South Wales Borderers regiment for the duration of the First World War. On returning to civilian life after the war, he decided to try his luck as an actor and gained experience on the stage through the 1920s. His move into films in 1930 coincided with the advent of the talkie era in British cinema. Purdell's first screen appearance was in the 1930 comedy The Middle Watch, in a role he would later reprise in a 1940 remake. He next travelled to Germany to feature in historical drama Congress Dances, an ambitious and lavishly budgeted project by the UFA film company, involving the simultaneous filming of three versions of the same story in German, English and French in an attempt to prove that a European company could challenge the dominance of American studios in the new era of sound by delivering a continent-wide hit. Purdell soon began to accumulate screen credits in a wide variety of films ranging from cheaply made quota quickies to more sophisticated productions. He showed a knack for playing comedy, and his 1930s films fell mainly into this genre, with occasional ventures into straight drama and thrillers. Purdell's screenwriting career began in 1932 and he was most productive in this field during the late 1930s, with only occasional ventures later in his career. He tried his hand at film directing in 1937 with two comedies Don't Get Me Wrong, a Max Miller vehicle co-directed with Arthur B. Woods, and Patricia Gets Her Man. Both films were reasonably well-received, but Purdell appears to have decided that directing was not for him, as there would be no more ventures in this area. In the 1940s Purdell's acting career diversified, with fewer throwaway comedies and more appearances in high-quality dramatic vehicles. His credits included war dramas We Dive at Dawn and Two Thousand Women, Gainsborough melodrama Love Story, notorious box-office flop musical London Town and the classic Brighton Rock. Purdell's last screen appearance was in 1951 and he died on 22 April 1953, aged 57.

Movies24

Movie6.8
Thriller
A struggling actress tries to help a friend prove his innocence when he's accused of murdering the husband of a high-society entertainer.
Stage Fright
1950 · 378 votes
Movie6.3
WarAction
A gripping tale of WWII naval warfare in the Baltics, starring John Mills as Lt. Freddie Taylor, a British submarine Captain. The crew of the Sea Tiger are summoned from leave on shore with their families, and sent on a secret mission to intercept the Nazi battleship Brandenburg. In the ensuing battle the British submarine is damaged by a German destroyer. The submarine is leaking fuel so badly that the crew won't be able to make it back to Britain before running out somewhere along the Danish coast. When it seems that their only option may be to blow up the submarine and try to escape to Denmark, seaman James Hobson hatches a plan...
We Dive at Dawn
1943 · 30 votes
Movie6.2
Drama
A kindly shop owner whose overwhelming gambling debts allow a greedy landlord to seize his shop of dusty treasures. Evicted and with no way to pay his debts, he and his granddaughter flee.
The Old Curiosity Shop
1934 · 4 votes
Movie6.0
Mystery
A young couple live under a café in Paris that, unknown to them, is owned by a brutal blackmailer. When he is murdered, they fall under suspicion. However, the husband's father, an amateur detective, believes in their innocence and sets out to find who really killed the blackmailer.
A Night in Montmartre
1931 · 2 votes
Movie6.8
CrimeDrama
Centring on the activities of a gang of assorted criminals and, in particular, their leader – a vicious young hoodlum known as "Pinkie" – the film's main thematic concern is the criminal underbelly evident in inter-war Brighton.
Brighton Rock
1948 · 137 votes
Movie10.0
Romance
Poor New York shop girl Nadina receives the unexpected news that she is next in line to be queen of an Eastern European country. On her arrival in Ruritania, a revolution is in progress, and only minutes before her coronation, Nadina is forced into exile. She flees to Paris with her nurse, and then travels on to Switzerland. There Nadina encounters the Ruritanian revolutionary leader Carl, recuperating from the trials of revolution, and the couple unexpectedly fall in love. When the revolution collapses in Ruritania, they return and marry, thus forming a constitutional monarchy supported by all the people.
The Queen's Affair
1934 · 1 votes
Movie7.2
DramaHistory
In 19th-century Ireland, when poverty-stricken tenants dispossessed by greedy landowner Captain Charles Boycott band together to assert their rights, patriotic farmer Hugh Davin leads the rebels. Choosing nonviolent resistance, the villagers ostracise their nemesis, who squanders his fortune to repair his ruined reputation and wagers what's left on a horse race.
Captain Boycott
1947 · 10 votes
Movie6.0
ThrillerMystery
In England, an eccentric police inspector, an earnest test pilot and a spunky female reporter team up to solve the mystery of a series of test aircraft which have disappeared without a trace while over the ocean on their maiden flights; unaware, as they are, that a spy ring has been shooting the planes down with a ray machine hidden aboard a salvage vessel which is on hand to haul the downed aircraft aboard, crews and all.
Q Planes
1939 · 41 votes
Movie6.8
Crime
In this murder mystery, Vicar Casson looks into the poisoning of a wealthy man. He soon finds that the man they convicted, the fiance of the rich man's niece, was innocent.
Crime on the Hill
1933 · 2 votes
Movie7.1
Drama
Handsome Italian laborer Kieron Moore works as caretaker of the Neopolitan villa inherited by plain-Jane Englishwomen Margaret Johnston and Dulcie Gray. Johnston is swept off her feet by the raffishly charming Moore, and before long they are wed.
A Man About the House
1947 · 9 votes
Movie9.0
ComedyRomance
In this romantic comedy, the king of Ruritania marries an impoverished commoner after he is exiled. Trouble shows up when the king must return to his country and marry an heiress. Fortunately, his first bride has fallen for an army officer and is happy to have her royal marriage annulled.
The Luck of a Sailor
1934 · 1 votes
Movie9.0
ComedyMusic
Garage owner Tommy and ventriloquist friend Eric join the army and go to France, where they are captured by the Nazis. However, Eric's voice-throwing skills come in handy in engineering their escape and obtaining top secret information.
Pack Up Your Troubles
1940 · 1 votes
Movie7.4
Drama
Jeckie Farnish is a level-headed young woman, unlike her spoiled younger sister, Rushie. When the sisters become involved with charming businessman Charles Mortimer, the resulting tragedy leads to a lust for revenge on Rushie's part. However, Jeckie knows that she can always turn to reliable Joe Bartle in times of need.
The Root of All Evil
1947 · 5 votes
Movie9.0
Drama
A Colonel's daughter steals from the regimental mess funds to pay off her gambling debts. One of the officers, who is love with her, takes the blame, and is sent to Africa.
Debt of Honour
1936 · 1 votes
Movie6.5
DramaRomance
After discovering that she has only a short time left to live, concert pianist Lissa travels to Cornwall for the final fling of her life. While there, she falls in love with young mineral prospector Kit, a man whose dark secret prevents him from fighting in the War. Unbeknownst to Lissa, however, Kit's affections are also much in demand from a rival of hers.
Love Story
1944 · 7 votes
Movie6.0
MysteryComedy
When Lord Peter Wimsey marries Harriet Vane, a crime author, they both promise to give up crime for good. As a wedding present, Peter purchases the old house where Harriet grew up, but when they try to move in the previous owner is nowhere to be found, until they start to clean the house and find his body in the cellar...
Busman's Honeymoon
1940 · 13 votes
Movie8.0
Romance
“A successful human target act of two brothers is sorely tried by the efforts of a gold digging blues singer to split them up.” - BFI.
His Brother’s Keeper
1940 · 1 votes
Movie7.0
Comedy
Going under cover, P.C. Mahoney passes for a gentleman to get into the notorious Moonstone Club. There he meets Clifford Tope, a ne'er do well who is love with cabaret star Cora Mellish. She in turn has run up steep gambling debts and has paid off the Club's blackmailing owner with a stolen necklace. As things heat up Cora seeks help from the easy-going Tope.
A Night Like This
1932 · 1 votes
Movie6.8
Comedy
The Huggett family go to a holiday camp, and get involved in crooked card players, a murderer on the run, and a pregnant young girl and her boyfriend missing from home.
Holiday Camp
1947 · 12 votes
Movie6.5
WarComedy
George is an unwilling civilian during the war. When an enlisted friend switches clothes with him in order to go to a party, George finds himself mistakenly pressed into the navy, where he gets involved with pretty Ann Firth and caught up in a subplot involving German spies.
Bell-Bottom George
1944 · 4 votes
Movie8.0
Comedy
“Comedy concerning a clerk pretending to be a European composer who falls in love with a woman who poses as an actress.” - BFI.
What’s in a Name?
1935 · 1 votes
Movie7.0
Comedy
A Smithfield porter becomes a butler, and later finds himself heir to a fortune.
Get Off My Foot
1935
Movie10.0
Comedy
'Comedy concerning a bank clerk who uses his inheritance to fund a serious drams which, ironically, succeeds as a burlesque.' (BFI)
Up to the Neck
1933 · 1 votes
Movie6.9
WarComedy
During the Second World War, three downed English airmen hide out with women's internment camp in France.
Two Thousand Women
1944 · 11 votes