Reginald Purdell

Reginald Purdell

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.

  • Title: Reginald Purdell
  • Popularity: 0.825
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1895-11-03
  • Place of Birth: Clapham, London, England, UK
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Reginald William Henry Grasdorff
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Reginald Purdell Movies

  • 1934
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    The Queen's Affair

    The Queen's Affair

    1 1934 HD

    'Ruritania. Incognito president falls in love with incognito queen he deposed.' (British Film Catalogue)

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  • 1944
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    Two Thousand Women

    Two Thousand Women

    6.8 1944 HD

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

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  • 1950
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    Stage Fright

    Stage Fright

    6.8 1950 HD

    A struggling actress tries to help a friend prove his innocence when he's accused of murdering the husband of a high-society entertainer.

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  • 1933
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    Up to the Neck

    Up to the Neck

    1 1933 HD

    'Comedy concerning a bank clerk who uses his inheritance to fund a serious drams which, ironically, succeeds as a burlesque.' (BFI)

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  • 1947
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    The Root of All Evil

    The Root of All Evil

    6.8 1947 HD

    Jeckie Farnish is a level-headed young woman, unlike her spoiled younger sister, Rushie. When the sisters become involved with charming businessman...

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  • 1947
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    Captain Boycott

    Captain Boycott

    6.5 1947 HD

    Based on real events, this historical drama is set in 19th-century Ireland, when poverty-stricken tenants dispossessed by greedy landowner Capt....

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  • 1944
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    Love Story

    Love Story

    6.4 1944 HD

    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...

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  • 1947
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    Holiday Camp

    Holiday Camp

    6.1 1947 HD

    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...

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  • 1934
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    The Old Curiosity Shop

    The Old Curiosity Shop

    5.3 1934 HD

    An elderly shop-keeper and his grand-daughter are threatened by the rich, mean-spirited dwarf Quilp, and decide to flee across England to escape him....

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  • 1947
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    A Man About the House

    A Man About the House

    6.9 1947 HD

    Handsome Italian laborer Kieron Moore works as caretaker of the Neopolitan villa inherited by plain-Jane Englishwomen Margaret Johnston and Dulcie...

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  • 1939
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    The Missing People

    The Missing People

    1 1939 HD

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

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  • 1939
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    Q Planes

    Q Planes

    5.8 1939 HD

    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...

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  • 1935
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    Get Off My Foot

    Get Off My Foot

    1 1935 HD

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

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  • 1933
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    Crime on the Hill

    Crime on the Hill

    6.5 1933 HD

    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...

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  • 1936
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    Crown v. Stevens

    Crown v. Stevens

    6.2 1936 HD

    When an ex-dancer marries a man for his money she is suprised find he is a real skinflint. She owes a lot of money to a loan-shark who is after her....

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  • 1933
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    My Lucky Star

    My Lucky Star

    1 1933 HD

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

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  • 1930
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    The Middle Watch

    The Middle Watch

    1 1930 HD

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

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  • 1931
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    Congress Dances

    Congress Dances

    1 1931 HD

    In 1815, Tsar Alexander I romances a working-class glove seller, while his double takes his place at the Vienna Congress. English-language version of...

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  • 1944
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    Candles at Nine

    Candles at Nine

    5 1944 HD

    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...

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  • 1940
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    Busman's Honeymoon

    Busman's Honeymoon

    5.4 1940 HD

    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...

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  • 1934
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    The Luck of a Sailor

    The Luck of a Sailor

    1 1934 HD

    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...

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  • 1938
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    The Viper

    The Viper

    1 1938 HD

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

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  • 1938
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    The Dark Stairway

    The Dark Stairway

    1 1938 HD

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

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  • 1935
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    What’s in a Name?

    What’s in a Name?

    1 1935 HD

    “Comedy concerning a clerk pretending to be a European composer who falls in love with a woman who poses as an actress.” - BFI.

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  • 1940
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    His Brother’s Keeper

    His Brother’s Keeper

    1 1940 HD

    “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.

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  • 1938
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    Simply Terrific

    Simply Terrific

    1 1938 HD

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

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  • 1938
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    Quiet, Please

    Quiet, Please

    1 1938 HD

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

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  • 1937
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    Side Street Angel

    Side Street Angel

    1 1937 HD

    “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.

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  • 1936
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    Hail and Farewell

    Hail and Farewell

    1 1936 HD

    “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...

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  • 1931
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    A Night in Montmartre

    A Night in Montmartre

    5 1931 HD

    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...

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  • 1940
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    The Middle Watch

    The Middle Watch

    5 1940 HD

    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,...

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  • 1944
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    It's in the Bag

    It's in the Bag

    5.2 1944 HD

    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...

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  • 1944
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    Bell-Bottom George

    Bell-Bottom George

    6 1944 HD

    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...

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  • 1932
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    A Night Like This

    A Night Like This

    1 1932 HD

    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...

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  • 1936
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    Debt of Honour

    Debt of Honour

    1 1936 HD

    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,...

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  • 1948
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    Brighton Rock

    Brighton Rock

    6.8 1948 HD

    Centring on the activities of a gang of assorted criminals and, in particular, their leader – a vicious young hoodlum known as "Pinkie" –...

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  • 1943
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    Variety Jubilee

    Variety Jubilee

    6.5 1943 HD

    This domestic melodrama chronicles three generations of a family of music-hall owners. In the early 1900s, two variety stars, Kit Burns and Joe...

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  • 1943
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    We Dive at Dawn

    We Dive at Dawn

    6.4 1943 HD

    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...

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  • 1936
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    Where's Sally?

    Where's Sally?

    1 1936 HD

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

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  • 1943
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    The Dark Tower

    The Dark Tower

    6.1 1943 HD

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  • 1933
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    Three Men in a Boat

    Three Men in a Boat

    5 1933 HD

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  • 1945
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    Here Comes the Sun

    Here Comes the Sun

    6 1945 HD

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  • 1944
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    Dreaming

    Dreaming

    7 1944 HD

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  • 1933
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    My Lucky Star

    My Lucky Star

    1 1933 HD

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  • 1932
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    Love on the Spot

    Love on the Spot

    1 1932 HD

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  • 1937
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    Don't Get Me Wrong

    Don't Get Me Wrong

    1 1937 HD

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  • 1937
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    The Vulture

    The Vulture

    1 1937 HD

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  • 1938
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    The Viper

    The Viper

    1 1938 HD

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  • 1938
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    Quiet, Please

    Quiet, Please

    1 1938 HD

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  • 1936
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    Hail and Farewell

    Hail and Farewell

    1 1936 HD

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  • 1937
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    The Compulsory Wife

    The Compulsory Wife

    1 1937 HD

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