Ralph Truman

Acting

Ralph Truman

Born — Died

1900-05-07 — 1977-10-15

Place of birth

London, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

64 titles

Veteran British character player Ralph Truman was a pioneer radio actor and appeared in over 5000 broadcasts during his career. Born in London at the turn of the century, his overall film career was commendable but less enviable than his voice work on the airwaves. Originally from the stage, he had just finished a run of "Josef Suss" in 1930 when he moved directly into films, making his unbilled debut in the early talkie Farewell to Love (1931). Throughout the 1930s he would be found steadily in "B" films including The Bells (1931), That's My Uncle (1935), The Lad (1935), Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk (1935), Under the Red Robe (1937) and Dinner at the Ritz (1937). In the 1940s the distinctively ba…

Known for

Danger Man poster
7.3

Danger Man is a British television series which was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the programme and wrote many of the scripts. Danger Man was financed by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.

Danger Man

1960

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes poster
7.5

An anthology series produced by Thames Television, comprised of short mystery, suspense or crime adaptations featuring, as the title suggests, detectives who were literary contemporaries of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

1971

Ben-Hur poster
7.9

In ancient Judea, a Jewish aristocrat opposing Roman occupation of his homeland reunites with his childhood friend, now a Roman commander — setting in motion a saga of betrayal, adventure, tragedy, revenge, and faith.

Ben-Hur

1959

The Main Chance poster
8.2

The Main Chance was a British television series which first aired on ITV between 1969,1970,1972 and 1975. A drama, it depicts the sudden transformation in the life of solicitor David Main who relocates from London to Leeds.

The Main Chance

1969

Churchill's People poster
5.0

Churchill's People is a British anthology series based on A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill's four-volume history of Britain and its former colonies. 26 episodes were produced by the BBC and initially broadcast from 30 December 1974 to 23 June 1975.

Churchill's People

1974

Treasure Island poster
6.5

Enchanted by the idea of locating treasure buried by Captain Flint, Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey and Jim Hawkins charter a sailing voyage to a Caribbean island. Unfortunately, a large number of Flint's old pirate crew are aboard the ship, including Long John Silver.

Treasure Island

1950

Film credits

1960s · 3 titles

1950s · 19 titles

Ben-Hur poster
7.9

In ancient Judea, a Jewish aristocrat opposing Roman occupation of his homeland reunites with his childhood friend, now a Roman commander — setting in motion a saga of betrayal, adventure, tragedy, revenge, and faith.

Ben-Hur

1959

Treasure Island poster
6.5

Enchanted by the idea of locating treasure buried by Captain Flint, Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey and Jim Hawkins charter a sailing voyage to a Caribbean island. Unfortunately, a large number of Flint's old pirate crew are aboard the ship, including Long John Silver.

Treasure Island

1950

The Man Who Knew Too Much poster
7.4

An 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

Quo Vadis poster
7.1

After fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.

Quo Vadis

1951

Beau Brummell poster
6.5

Captain George Bryan Brummell is a British soldier who appreciates fine clothing and innovative dress. Although he initially alienates the Prince of Wales with insulting comments about the prince's uniform designs, he eventually becomes his close confidant. Brummel also falls in love with the beautiful Lady Patricia Belham. However, his outspoken manner eventually leads to his being exiled to France.

Beau Brummell

1954

The Long Arm poster
6.9

Scotland Yard detectives attempt to solve a spate of safe robberies across England beginning with clues found at the latest burglary in London. The film is notable for using a police procedural style made popular by Ealing in their 1950 film The Blue Lamp. It is known in the US as The Third Key.

The Long Arm

1956

Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst poster
7.3

While sailing lawfully up the Yangste in 1949, the British warship Amethyst found its return to the open sea blocked by Communist Chinese shore batteries that unexpectedly opened fire. In charge, Lietenant Commander Kerans was not however prepared for his crew and his ship to remain as a hostage for the Chinese to use as an international pawn.

Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst

1957

The Golden Coach poster
7.1

A viceroy, a nobleman and a bullfighter court a comedy-troupe actress in 18th-century Peru.

The Golden Coach

1952

The Master of Ballantrae poster
5.9

Scottish highlander Jamie Durie falls into a life of piracy after joining the failed rebellion of Bonnie Prince Charlie against the British crown.

The Master of Ballantrae

1953

The Night My Number Came Up poster
6.9

British Air Marshal Hardie is attending a party in Hong Kong when he hears of a dream, told by a pilot, in which Hardie's flight to Tokyo on a small Dakota propeller plane crashes on a Japanese beach. Hardie dismisses the dream as pure fantasy, but while he is flying to Tokyo the next day, circumstances start changing to align with the pilot's vivid vision, and it looks like the dream disaster may become a reality.

The Night My Number Came Up

1955

The Ship That Died of Shame poster
7.3

After World War II the crew of a motor gunboat join together to buy their old vessel and go into business for themselves. This may sound like a laudable scheme, but the business they choose to go into is smuggling.

The Ship That Died of Shame

1955

Wicked as They Come poster
5.0

A ruthless woman takes advantage of gullible men to climb up the social ladder.

Wicked as They Come

1956

The Black Tent poster
6.4

During the British retreat through Libya, a British officer takes shelter with a group of Arab Bedouin. He marries the chief's daughter. Sometime later, his younger brother, who had believed him to be dead, is informed that he may be alive in Libya - prompting him to set out and search for him.

The Black Tent

1956

Malta Story poster
6.3

Malta, 1942, during World War II. While the German air force is relentlessly bombing the island, a British pilot falls in love with a young Maltese girl.

Malta Story

1953

Web of Evidence poster
4.7

A World War II evacuee returns years later to England and finds his father in prison framed for murder.

Web of Evidence

1959

The Spaniard's Curse poster
5.7

A convicted murderer uses an ancient curse to take his revenge on those responsible for sending him to prison.

The Spaniard's Curse

1958

The Good Companions poster
7.0

The story revolves around the Dinky Doos, a provincial musical troupe living from hand to mouth.

The Good Companions

1957

Tons of Trouble poster
5.5

An apartment handyman is unusually attached to a pair of boilers he names "Mavis" and "Ethel."

Tons of Trouble

1956

No artwork available
6.7

A young governess becomes embroiled in French spy intrigue, in this adaptation of a Georgette Heyer novel.

The Reluctant Widow

1950

1940s · 16 titles

Oliver Twist poster
7.6

When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble, for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice. Escaping that dismal fate, young Oliver falls in with the street urchin known as the Artful Dodger and his criminal mentor, Fagin. When kindly Mr. Brownlow takes Oliver in, Fagin's evil henchman Bill Sikes plots to kidnap the boy.

Oliver Twist

1948

Henry V poster
6.7

In 1415, in the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France.

Henry V

1944

Christopher Columbus poster
5.8

Christopher Columbus overcomes intrigue at the Spanish court and convinces Queen Isabella that his plan to reach the East by sailing west is practical.

Christopher Columbus

1949

Eureka Stockade poster
6.0

In 1854, Australian gold rush miners struggle for their rights against an oppressive government.

Eureka Stockade

1949

The Butler's Dilemma poster
6.3

Rodney Playfair is persuaded, by a promise to meet his gambling debts, to impersonate a manservant named Chapman at his fiancée's house...

The Butler's Dilemma

1943

The Adventures of Dusty Bates poster
5.3

Dusty 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

Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill poster
7.6

A handsome young master at a boys school incurs the jealousy of an embittered colleague. From the novel by Hugh Walpole.

Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill

1948

The Man Within poster
6.8

A man goes on the run from hardened smugglers.

The Man Within

1947

Beware of Pity poster
6.7

A paraplegic baroness mistakes a man's pity for love - and tragedy ensues.

Beware of Pity

1946

The Laughing Lady poster
7.5

A musical set during the French Revolution.

The Laughing Lady

1946

Sabotage at Sea poster
6.5

The captain of a British cargo ship shanghais a group of sabateurs, unaware that the daughter of the ship’s owner is among them.

Sabotage at Sea

1942

No artwork available
4.6

An account of the technique of reading the tabloid press in an intelligent manor via differing editorial techniques that leads to three styles of newspapers giving varying accounts of a strip-tease act.

Read All About It

1945

The Interrupted Journey poster
5.8

When John North, a budding author, pulls the communication cord of a late night train that is taking him away on a weekend with his publishers wife, he sets in motion a series of events that lead to a train crash, a murder and a police man hunt, but all is not what it seems.

The Interrupted Journey

1949

Mrs. Fitzherbert poster
6.7

The tangled affairs of George, Prince of Wales, leading to his illegal marriage to commoner Mrs. Fitzherbert. Also portrayed is the conflict between the future George IV and his father George III.

Mrs. Fitzherbert

1947

The Seventh Survivor poster
6.3

During the Second World War, a German spy goes on the run, carrying important news about a U-Boat campaign. The ship he is traveling aboard is hit by a torpedo. The spy winds up on a lifeboat with other survivors, one of whom is a counterintelligence agent who reveals the German spy's true identity.

The Seventh Survivor

1942

Lisbon Story poster
6.2

A musical cabaret singer meets a British agent and goes with him to Nazi occupied France to save an atomic scientist.

Lisbon Story

1946

1930s · 20 titles

Fire Over England poster
6.2

In 1588, relations between Spain and England are at the breaking point. With the support of Queen Elizabeth I, British sea raiders such as Sir Francis Drake regularly capture Spanish merchantmen, bringing gold from the New World.

Fire Over England

1937

The Crimson Circle poster
5.6

Based on the novel by Edgar Wallace, detectives at Scotland Yard try and track down The Crimson Circle, a secret society of blackmailers

The Crimson Circle

1936

The Saint in London poster
5.8

Suave soldier of fortune Simon Templer gets mixed up with a gang of counterfeiters who've murdered and robbed an European count of 1,000,000 pounds. He is aided reluctantly by Scotland Yard inspector Teal, who's convinced that Templar himself pulled off the heist, and less reluctantly by light-fingered Dugan and dizzy socialite Penny Parker.

The Saint in London

1939

Dinner at the Ritz poster
5.8

The 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

The Drum poster
6.1

Set in the India of the British Raj, the evil and untrustworthy Prince Guhl (Raymond Massey) plans to wipe out the British troops as they enjoy the hospitality of Guhl's spacious palace. It's up to the loyal young Prince Azim (Sabu) to warn the troops of Guhl's treachery by tapping out a message on his drum.

The Drum

1938

South Riding poster
6.6

Winifred Holtby realised that Local Government is not a dry affair of meetings and memoranda:- but 'the front-line defence thrown up by humanity against its common enemies of sickness, poverty and ignorance.' She built her story around six people working for a typical County Council:- Beneath the lives of the public servants runs the thread of their personal drama. Our story tells how a public life affects the private life; and how a man's personal sufferings make him what he is in public. " Corruption, intrigue and romance in a Yorkshire setting. A country squire whose wife is in a mental hospital becomes attracted to a crusading local schoolmistress.

South Riding

1938

Life of St. Paul poster
NR

The Life of St. Paul, including reenactment of the Book of Acts, and St. Paul's Epistles.

Life of St. Paul

1938

No artwork available
6.0

The film hinges on the love triangle between a young aristocratic lady on the run (Cleonie, played by Hazel Terry), the murderous Varennes, Citizen-Deputy of the Revolution who saves her by disguising her as his nephew (Nils Asther) and finally the Marquis of Corbal of the film's title, played by Hugh Sinclair.

The Marriage of Corbal

1936

Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk poster
7.1

Old Mr. Cohen (Paul Graetz) simply walks away from his London department store, leaving his sons to run it.

Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk

1935

The Challenge poster
6.3

During an early, unsuccessful attempt at climbing the Matterhorn, Edward Whymper finds himself rescued by an italian guide, Jean Antoine Carrel. The two men quickly build a friendship and agree to reach the peak together. However, local villagers ploto to divide the alliance of Whymper and Carrel and both men join rival teams as they set out in a race to conquer the mountain. A mountaineering drama based on the novel by Carl Haensel and inspired in the dramatic true story of Edward Whymper, who led the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. There is another version of the film titled Der Berg Ruft, shot the same year in German.

The Challenge

1938

The Shadow poster
5.9

A group of people in an old dark house are terrorized by a mysterious hooded figure dressed in black who proceeds to kill them off one by one.

The Shadow

1933

No artwork available
9.0

An unstable Victorian doctor murders a woman.

The Case of Gabriel Perry

1935

No artwork available
10.0

Aristocrat Lord Dawlish is told by his girlfriend's father that he must find a job if he wishes to continue seeing her. He finds employment as a dancing partner at a dance club and prospers in his new role, despite facing a jealous rival.

Partners Please

1932

No artwork available
9.0

A king goes on strike and takes a holiday. A double is found to impersonate him who brings disgrace to the throne.

Change for a Sovereign

1937

Dusty Ermine poster
5.8

A forger returns to his family when he leaves jail vowing to go straight. Although approached by an international counterfeiting gang he keeps his word only to find his nephew is in the Swiss Alps helping the crooks. He sets off to try and put a stop to things, but with Scotland Yard also hot-footing it to the resort his problems are just beginning. Written by Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Dusty Ermine

1936

The Bells poster
8.0

Mathias, an Alsatian innkeeper, murders a rich Pole staying at his inn. However, Mathias' conscience will not let him rest, and the murdered man's spirit drives the innkeeper nearly mad. The victim's brother calls for an inquest and brings with him a sideshow hypnotist, who is supposedly able to read minds. Mathias, as burgomaster, is called upon to conduct the inquest, but under the intuitive eye of the hypnotist cannot resist torment of his own conscience.

The Bells

1931

Secret Lives poster
6.7

A German-born woman works as a spy for the French in Switzerland during the First World War, and has to marry an interned French lieutenant in order to be able to stay in the country.

Secret Lives

1937

The Outsider poster
6.0

A controversial osteopath sets out to cure the daughter of a famous surgeon - and falls in love with her in the process.

The Outsider

1939

Black Eyes poster
6.2

Ivan Petrov has one weakness in his life, and one love: his little black-eyed daughter, Tania. In fact, his entire career is devoted to her future happiness, though Tania remains ignorant as to his vocation. Done with cool deliberation, Petrov's all-consuming fear is that one day his lovely daughter will discover his true profession, and despise him for it...

Black Eyes

1939

No artwork available
7.0

A clerk is planning to murder a stockbroker but is foiled in the attempt.

The Perfect Flaw

1934

Series credits