Reginald Purdell

Acting

Reginald Purdell

Born — Died

1895-11-03 — 1953-04-22

Place of birth

Clapham, London, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

49 titles

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 i…

Known for

Stage Fright poster
6.8

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

Captain Boycott poster
7.2

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

A Man About the House poster
7.1

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

Brighton Rock poster
6.8

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

No artwork available
9.0

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

Candles at Nine poster
5.4

A rich but miserly old man taunts his relatives about who will get his money when he dies, and is soon mysteriously murdered. It turns out that he has left his estate to a beautiful young actress whom the other relatives didn't know was related to him. Several attempts on her life are thwarted by a detective, who sets out to discover who's behind the scheme to kill her.

Candles at Nine

1944

Film credits

1940s · 16 titles

Captain Boycott poster
7.2

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

A Man About the House poster
7.1

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

Brighton Rock poster
6.8

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

No artwork available
9.0

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

Candles at Nine poster
5.4

A rich but miserly old man taunts his relatives about who will get his money when he dies, and is soon mysteriously murdered. It turns out that he has left his estate to a beautiful young actress whom the other relatives didn't know was related to him. Several attempts on her life are thwarted by a detective, who sets out to discover who's behind the scheme to kill her.

Candles at Nine

1944

We Dive at Dawn poster
6.3

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

No artwork available
7.0

Through a series of unforeseen events, two glamorous young ladies find that they are obliged to spend the night on board the battleship HMS Falcon, where they have been attending a 'bon voyage' reception. At first it seems that Captain Randall will be able to keep them concealed, but then the Admiral unexpectedly arrives on board and orders the ship to sea.

The Middle Watch

1940

Love Story poster
6.5

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

The Root of All Evil poster
7.4

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

Two Thousand Women poster
6.9

During the Second World War, three downed English airmen hide out with women's internment camp in France.

Two Thousand Women

1944

No artwork available
5.7

Gert and Daisy attempt to retrieve an old dress containing £2,000. They have to impersonate two thespians, and bring all sorts of trouble to a stage-play.

It's in the Bag

1944

Busman's Honeymoon poster
6.0

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

Holiday Camp poster
6.8

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

No artwork available
8.0

“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

Variety Jubilee poster
7.7

This domestic melodrama chronicles three generations of a family of music-hall owners. In the early 1900s, two variety stars, Kit Burns and Joe Swann, are staunch friends even when Kit marries Joe's dancing partner Evelyn. Joe fights in the Boer War where a bullet puts an end to his dancing days. He goes to work on the staff at Burns' Music Hall where Kit Jr. soon finds a place in his affections. Kit and Joe purchase the music hall and soon become a success.

Variety Jubilee

1943

Bell-Bottom George poster
6.5

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

1930s · 23 titles

The Queen's Affair poster
10.0

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

The Old Curiosity Shop poster
6.2

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

A Night in Montmartre poster
6.0

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

Q Planes poster
6.0

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

A Night Like This poster
7.0

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

No artwork available
10.0

'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

No artwork available
8.0

Two young men start a business selling a homemade hangover recipe.

Simply Terrific

1938

No artwork available
7.0

Musical featuring radio and variety stars on holiday, who help a village vicar stage a local concert.

On the Air

1934

The Middle Watch poster
10.0

'Captain tries to hide accidental female passengers from admiral.' (British Film Catalogue)

The Middle Watch

1930

Crime on the Hill poster
6.8

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

The Luck of a Sailor poster
9.0

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

Side Street Angel poster
7.0

“Comedy of a rich man who poses as a poor man and is taken by a convict into a hostel and given a job by the chief assistant.” - BFI.

Side Street Angel

1937

No artwork available
8.0

27 well-to-do people have all vanished under similar circumstances. J.G. Reeder, an elderly gentleman who fancies himself a detective, decides to investigate the matter.

The Missing People

1939

No artwork available
8.0

“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

No artwork available
7.0

A Smithfield porter becomes a butler, and later finds himself heir to a fortune.

Get Off My Foot

1935

No artwork available
8.0

“Professional jealousy over the discovery of a formula for an anaesthetic leads to murder in a hospital.” - BFI.

The Dark Stairway

1938

Debt of Honour poster
9.0

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

No artwork available
9.0

'Honeymoon wife learns of husband's past and runs away.' (British Film Catalogue)

Where's Sally?

1936

No artwork available
10.0

“A troopship bringing home a battalion from Bermuda docks at Southampton and the men are granted only 6 hours leave. The film shows how some of the men spend this precious time.” - BFI.

Hail and Farewell

1936

Crown v. Stevens poster
6.5

When an ex-dancer marries a man for his money she is surprised to find he is a real skinflint. She owes a lot of money to a loan-shark who is after her. However, her husband does carry a lot of life insurance.

Crown v. Stevens

1936

No artwork available
9.0

'Shopgirl posing as film star loves porter posing as artist.' (British Film Catalogue)

My Lucky Star

1933

No artwork available
7.0

Crime comedy sequel to The Vulture (1937). Amateur sleuth, Cedric Gull, takes on another case.

The Viper

1938

No artwork available
7.0

“Comedy of a little man forced by chance into a big jewel robbery.” - BFI.

Quiet, Please

1938

Behind the camera

No artwork available
9.0

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

Here Comes the Sun poster
6.5

When a wealthy newspaper proprietor passes away, his crooked business partner moves to secure the deceased's fortune by substituting a false will. But 'Corona' Flanagan is onto the fraudster, and his efforts to unmask the villain see him popping in and out of jail – which isn't all that bad, since the governor is an old friend of his – and dressing up as a Russian countess...

Here Comes the Sun

1945

The Dark Tower poster
6.2

While working at a circus, a man hypnotizes a trapezist to kill her partner.

The Dark Tower

1943

Don't Get Me Wrong poster
10.0

Don't Get Me Wrong is a 1937 British comedy film co-directed by Arthur B. Woods and Reginald Purdell and starring Max Miller and George E. Stone. It was made at Teddington Studios with sets designed by Peter Proud. Unlike several of Miller's Teddington films which are now lost, this still survives. Miller plays a fairground performer who meets a professor who claims to have invented a cheap substitute for petrol. They team up and persuade a millionaire to finance them to develop and market the product, while unsavoury elements are keen to steal the formula and try all means to get their hands on it, involving slapstick chases and double-crosses. It then turns out that the miracle fluid is diluted coconut oil, and the genius professor is an escaped lunatic. The millionaire finds himself taking the brunt of the disappointment.

Don't Get Me Wrong

1937

No artwork available
10.0

Two criminals are reformed when they meet and fall in love.

Love on the Spot

1932

Dreaming poster
8.0

When a pretty Wren faints in a crowded train, Private Bud Flanagan and Captain Ches Allen are quick to render first aid. But over Bud's head, a heavy kitbag wobbles; it falls and scores a direct hit, knocking him unconscious. What follows is a dream sequence involving Ches, the Wren and Bud himself in a series of hilarious adventures as well as a magical medley of the duo's best-loved musical numbers!

Dreaming

1944

No artwork available
8.0

An amateur detective tracks down a gang of diamond thieves to Chinatown.

The Vulture

1937

No artwork available
7.0

Crime comedy sequel to The Vulture (1937). Amateur sleuth, Cedric Gull, takes on another case.

The Viper

1938

No artwork available
7.0

“Comedy of a little man forced by chance into a big jewel robbery.” - BFI.

Quiet, Please

1938