1895-11-03 ( 129 years old ) in 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.
Movies
Stage Fright
1950-02-23
Brighton Rock
1948-01-09
A Man About the House
1947-10-03
Captain Boycott
1947-08-26
Holiday Camp
1947-08-05
The Root of All Evil
1947-02-05
Love Story
1944-11-20
Two Thousand Women
1944-11-06
It's in the Bag
1944-02-07
Bell-Bottom George
1944-02-07
Candles at Nine
1944-01-01
Variety Jubilee
1943-06-14
We Dive at Dawn
1943-04-15
Busman's Honeymoon
1940-07-22
The Middle Watch
1940-05-11
His Brother’s Keeper
1940-01-27
The Missing People
1939-05-01
Q Planes
1939-02-21
Quiet, Please
1938-06-27
The Viper
1938-03-01
The Dark Stairway
1938-01-01
Simply Terrific
1938-01-01
Side Street Angel
1937-09-06
Debt of Honour
1936-11-02
Hail and Farewell
1936-09-30
Crown v. Stevens
1936-08-03
Where's Sally?
1936-04-28
Get Off My Foot
1935-10-28
What’s in a Name?
1935-05-06
The Old Curiosity Shop
1934-12-14
The Luck of a Sailor
1934-04-26
The Queen's Affair
1934-03-01
Crime on the Hill
1933-12-27
Up to the Neck
1933-08-18
My Lucky Star
1933-06-27
A Night Like This
1932-03-16
Congress Dances
1931-12-03
A Night in Montmartre
1931-07-16
The Middle Watch
1930-10-27
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