Rupert Davies | WatchedThis
Rupert Davies
Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Rupert Davies (22 May 1916 – 22 November 1976) was a British actor. He remains best known for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of Maigret, based on the Maigret novels written by Georges Simenon. Davies was born in Liverpool. After a service in the British Merchant Navy, during the Second World War he was a Sub-Lieutenant Observer with the Fleet Air Arm. In 1940 the Swordfish aircraft in which he was flying ditched in the sea off the Dutch Coast. Davies was captured and interned in the famous Stalag Luft III POW camp. He made three attempts to escape. All failed. It was during his captivity that he began to take part in theatre performances, entertaining his fellow prisoners. On his release, Davies resumed his career in acting almost immediately, starring in an ex Prisoner Of War show, 'Back Home', which was hosted at the Stoll Theatre, London. After the war Davies became a staple of British television appearing in numerous plays and series, including Quatermass II, Ivanhoe, Emergency - Ward 10, Danger Man, The Champions, Doctor at Large (1971), Arthur of the Britons and War and Peace (1972). He also provided the voice of "Professor Ian McClaine" in the Gerry Anderson series Joe 90. In 1964 he became the first person to be awarded Pipe Smoker of the Year. Davies also played supporting roles in many films, appearing briefly as George Smiley in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965). He also appeared in several horror films in the late 1960s, including Witchfinder General (1968) and Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), as well as such international blockbusters as Waterloo (1970) and Zeppelin (1971). He died of cancer in London in 1976, leaving a wife, Jessica, and two sons, Timothy and Hogan, and is buried at Pistyll Cemetery, near Nefyn in North Wales. Description above from the Wikipedia article Rupert Davies, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography Movies
Acting
The Brides of Fu Manchu
This time Fu Manchu and his army of henchmen are kidnaping the daughters of prominent scientists and taking them to his remote island headquarters. Instead of asking for ransom, Fu demands that the fathers help him to build a death ray, which he intends to use to take over the world. But Fu's archenemy, Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard, is determined not to let that happen.
The Criminal
When a robbery at a racetrack goes wrong ex-con Johnny Bannion is caught and sent back to prison. He won't tell the rest of the gang where he has stashed the loot leading to violent consequences.
Witchfinder General
England, 1645. The cruel civil war between Royalists and Parliamentarians that is ravaging the country causes an era of chaos and legal arbitrariness that allows unscrupulous men to profit by exploiting the absurd superstitions of the peasants; like Matthew Hopkins, a monster disguised as a man who wanders from town to town offering his services as a witch hunter.
Curse of the Crimson Altar
When his brother disappears, a man visits the remote country house where he was last seen. While the host seems outwardly friendly and his niece more demonstrably so, there's a feeling of menace in the air with the overhanging legend of Lavinia Morley, the Black Witch of Greymarsh.
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
British agent Alec Leamas refuses to come in from the Cold War during the 1960s, choosing to face another mission, which may prove to be his final one.
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
In the shadow of Castle Dracula, the Prince of Darkness is revived by blood trickling from the head-wound of an unconscious priest attempting exorcism. And once more fear and terror strikes Transylvania as the undead Prince of Darkness stalks the village of Keineneburg to ensnare victims and satisfy his evil thirst.
Frightmare
In 1957, Dorothy and Edmund Yates were committed to an institution for the criminally insane, she for acts of murder and cannibalism and he for covering up her crimes. Fifteen years later, they are pronounced fit for society and released. However, in Dorothy's case the doctors may have jumped the gun a bit. Edmund and eldest daughter, Jackie, try to discover just how far Mother's bloodlust has taken her. Meanwhile, youngest daughter Debbie begins to explore the crazy roots of her family tree as fully as possible.
The Big Breaker
A lodger, recuperating from a heart attack, sets his sights on his landlady.
The Oblong Box
Evil lurks in the gloomy house at Markham Manor where a deranged Sir Edward is the chained prisoner of his brother Julian. When Sir Edward escapes, he embarks on a monstrous killing spree, determined to seek revenge on all those whom he feels have double-crossed him.
Five Golden Dragons
While travelling through Hong Kong, Bob Mitchell accidentally stumbles into the middle of criminal negotiations between a mean gang, the Five Golden Dragons and the local mobsters.
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