Birthday:
06-06-1912
Deathday:
06-13-2008 (96 years)
Birthplace:
Johannesburg, South Africa
Biography
Bruce Lester appeared in films from the 1930s into the 1950s, mainly in supporting roles. He was born Bruce Lister in Johannesburg, South Africa and later resided in England. After studying at Brighton College, he began his career on the London Stage and made his big screen debut in 1934. Lester's co-stars included Ronald Colman, Boris Karloff, James Cagney, Ray Milland and Joan Crawford. His film credits include, "To Be a Lady" (1934), "The Third Clue" (1934), "Boy Meets Girl" (1938), "The Witness Vanishes" (1939), "British Intelligence" (1940), "Pride and Prejudice" (1940), "The Letter" (1940, "Above Suspicion" (1943), "Golden Earrings" (1947), "The Fool and the Princess" (1948) and "Tarzan and the Trappers" (1958).
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Their works
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Above Suspicion
Act like Thornley
event1943 star_border 6.5
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Two newlyweds spy on the Nazis for the British Secret Service during their honeymoon in Europe.
Pride and Prejudice
Act like Mr. Bingley
event1940 star_border 6.9
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Mrs. Bennet wishes to wed her five unmarried daughters and is overjoyed when a wealthy bachelor begins living nearby, but misunderstandings make happiness difficult.
Without Reservations
Act like Army Lieutenant (uncredited)
event1946 star_border 6.2
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Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train, she encounters Marines Rusty and Dink, who don't know she is the author of the famous book, and who don't think much of the ideas it proposes. She and Rusty are greatly attracted, but she doesn't know how to deal with his disdain for the book's author.
Secrets of Monte Carlo
Act like British Inspector
event1951
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A U.S. businessman abroad is the patsy for the theft of a rajah's jewels.
The Letter
Act like John Withers
event1940 star_border 7.3
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After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.
Shadows on the Stairs
Act like Hugh Bromilow
event1941 star_border 5.4
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Occupants of a London boarding house become suspects as a string of murders are discovered.
British Intelligence
Act like Frank Bennett
event1939 star_border 6
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During WWI pretty German master spy Helene von Lorbeer is sent undercover to London to live with the family of a high-placed British official where she is to rendezvous with the butler Valdar, also a spy, and help him transmit secret war plans back to Germany.
King Richard and the Crusaders
Act like Castelaine
event1954 star_border 6.3
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Based on Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman, this is the story of the romantic adventures of Christians and Muslims during the battle for the Holy Land in the time of King Richard the Lionheart.
Old Roses
Act like Chris Morgan
event1935
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An elderly man assists the police in solving a murder, but accidentally reveals his own criminal past in the process.
The Mysterious Doctor
Act like Lt. Christopher 'Kit' Hilton
event1943 star_border 5.6
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The citizens of a tiny Cornish village are tormented during World War II by a headless ghost which is haunting the local tin mine.
Golden Earrings
Act like Richard Byrd
event1947 star_border 5.8
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A British colonel escapes from the Gestapo to the Black Forest and poses as a Gypsy's mate.
If I Were King
Act like Noel de Jolys
event1938 star_border 6.7
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King Louis XI masquerades as a commoner in Paris, seeking out the treachery he is sure lurks in his kingdom. At a local tavern, he overhears the brash poet François Villon extolling why he would be a better king. Annoyed yet intrigued, the King bestows on Villon the title of Grand Constable. Soon Villon begins work and falls for a lovely lady-in-waiting, but then must flee execution when the King turns on him.
The Witness Vanishes
Act like Lord Noel Stratton
event1939 star_border 6.7
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In this mystery, a newspaper executive and three of his colleagues conspire to have the owner of the highly-respected London Sun committed to an insane asylum. The hapless publisher manages to escape. Soon after, the four collaborators begin dying one-by-one. Oddly their obituaries appear in a rival publication before they are actually killed.
The Scarlet Coat
Act like Col. Simcoe
event1955 star_border 6.4
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An American officer goes undercover to unmask a Revolutionary War traitor.
Celia: The Sinister Affair of Poor Aunt Nora
Act like Larry Peters
event1949 star_border 6
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An actress, urged by her detective boyfriend, takes a job as housekeeper for a wealthy elderly woman. The woman's new young husband claims she's ill and refuses entry, raising suspicions about her whereabouts.
Shining Victory
Act like Dr. Bentley
event1941 star_border 5.9
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In a Scottish sanitarium, a brilliant research psychiatrist works on a treatment for dementia praecox. He falls for his altruistic female lab assistant and they begin a passionate, tragic relationship.
All That Is England
event1932
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Austin promotional short, showing a tour around the country by many Austin models, from the Seven to the Ascot.
Boy Meets Girl
Act like Rodney Bowman
event1938 star_border 6.2
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Two lazy screenwriters need a story for the studio's cowboy star. A studio waitress turns out to be pregnant. This gives them the idea for a movie about a cowboy and a baby. The waitress's baby becomes the star. The cowboy and his agent run off with the waitress and her valuable asset. The writers retaliate by hiring an unemployed extra to impersonate the baby's father. But the extra already knows the waitress...
A Yank in the R.A.F.
Act like Flight Lt. Sterling Richardson
event1941 star_border 5.5
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An American pilot impulsively joins His Majesty's Royal Air Force in Britain in an attempt to impress his ex-girlfriend.
The Tenth Man
Act like Edward O'Donnell
event1936 star_border 6
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George Winter, a self-made businessman and MP, lets nothing get in the way of his climb to the top. Certain in his belief in the corruptible and foolish nature of others, whenever Winter meets a competitor who can't be bought, he destroys the man through methods both legal and underhanded. Then, he meets his 'tenth man': a victim who refuses to be silenced by threat or bribery, with the power to bring Winter's house of cards crashing down around him.
The Invisible Man Returns
Act like Chaplain (uncredited)
event1940 star_border 6.2
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The owner of a coal mining operation, falsely imprisoned for fratricide, takes a drug to make him invisible, despite its side effect: gradual madness.
Ourselves Alone
Act like 2nd Lieut. Lingard
event1936 star_border 5
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One of the most significant films ever made about the Troubles in Ireland, a powerful story of love and conflicting loyalties set against the battle for Ireland's independence.
My Son, My Son!
Act like Rory O'Riorden
event1940 star_border 4.3
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A self-made success is determined to give his son the lavish upbringing he himself was denied. Not surprisingly, the son grows up to be spoiled rotten, causing grief and pain to everyone who loves him.
Badger’s Green
Act like Dickie Wetherby
event1934
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A lovely English village is threatened with "development" by a speculative builder. The annual cricket match with another village shall decide its fate, between the builder and the three local gentry who oppose the scheme.
To Be a Lady
Act like Jerry Dean
event1935
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Misadventures of a country girl who comes to the city, and falls in love with a musician.
Tarzan and the Trappers
Act like Commissioner Brandini
event1958 star_border 4
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Tarzan goes up against a baddie by the name of Schroeder, who is trapping animals and selling them illegally to zoos. A twist is thrown into the plot when Schroeder's brother, with the help of money-hungry trader Lapin, hunts a different kind of quarry, human game. Now Tarzan must not only fight to save the animals of the jungle, but he must also save himself. Three episodes of a failed TV series edited for theater release.
A Star Fell from Heaven
Act like Winkler
event1936
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In this comedy, a talented singer is hired to dub the voice of a star who has lost his own. During the film's premiere, news that he sang the songs slips out and suddenly he finds that he himself has become a star. Unfortunately he soon encounters unanticipated problems. He is especially concerned about his girl friend who dumped him in favor of the voiceless star.
Mayfair Melody
Act like Dickie
event1937
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“Romantic comedy of a motor factory mechanic encouraged to train his voice by the daughter of the magnate.” - BFI.
The Windmill
Act like Officer
event1937
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The German adopted-daughter of a Belgian innkeeper is threatened with internment by him if she reveals to the British billetees that he is a spy. However, she is in love with one of them and helps them.
Thistledown
Act like Lord James Dunfoyle
event1938
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The Viennese bride of a Scottish peer is driven away by suspicion and unfriendliness from his family. Famous, she buys the estate and her husband returns to be reconciled with her and the son of whom he never knew.
Quiet, Please
Act like Dr. Faversham
event1938
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“Comedy of a little man forced by chance into a big jewel robbery.” - BFI.
Hail and Farewell
Act like Peter Dove
event1936
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“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.
Tales of Robin Hood
Act like Allan-a-Dale
event1951 star_border 5
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The story of Robin Hood, how he met his Merry Men and Maid Marian, and saved England from Sir Guy de Clairmont and his henchman. Compiled from the few filmed episodes of an unsold TV series.
Crime Over London
Act like Ronald Martin
event1936 star_border 6
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With the police on their tail, a gang of New York criminals decided to relocate to London where they plan a major robbery on a department store.
Strange Journey
Act like Roger Blythe
event1946 star_border 6
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Reformed racketeer "Lucky" Leeds flees from the police when he thinks they are about to arrest him for a murder he didn't commit. He and his wife Patti fly to his privately-owned remote island and have to crash land. Also on the island is a group of shipwrecked people, including a German professor, his daughter, an English journalist, a wealthy widow, a sailor and a Nazi Agent.
Eagle Squadron
Act like King
event1942
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An American joins the British Royal Air Force just before Pearl Harbor is attacked, and falls in love with a beautiful English girl.
Singapore Woman
Act like Clyde
event1941 star_border 6.8
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A fallen woman seeks redemption at a Singapore rubber plantation. Melodrama.
Charade
Act like Capt. van Buren
event1953 star_border 5.5
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This is an anthology film with three stories. In "Portrait of a Murderer", a female artist draws sketches of a mysterious neighbor. She is unaware that the man is a murderer. "Duel at Dawn" is set in 1880s Austria. Two military officers fight a duel, with the survivor free to claim the heart of their shared love interest. "The Midas Touch" is a romance story of sorts. Jonah Watson is a successful American businessman, but is disgruntled with his life. He emigrates to England to start a new life, and works as a common servant. But he falls in love with a cockney maid who dreams of marrying into wealth.
Death at Broadcasting House
Act like Peter Ridgwell (uncredited)
event1934 star_border 5.7
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An actor is murdered live on air whilst a play is being broadcast. Everyone in the play and broadcasting house fall under suspicion.
The Pathfinder
Act like Capt. Clint Bradford
event1952 star_border 4
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Pathfinder, a white man raised by the Mohican Indians, joins forces with the British army to avenge himself on the Mingo warriors and the French, who have brought death and pillage to his people. He takes on a mission to retrieve secret plans from within the French fort at St. Vicente.
Man Hunt
event1941 star_border 7
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Shortly before the start of WW2, renowned British big-game hunter Alan Thorndike, vacationing in Bavaria, has Hitler in his gun sight. He is captured, beaten, left for dead, and escapes back to London where he is hounded by Nazi agents and aided by a young woman.
I Walk Alone
Act like Charles (uncredited)
event1947 star_border 6.6
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Bootleggers on the lam Frankie and Noll split up to evade capture by the police. Frankie is caught and jailed, but Noll manages to escape and open a posh New York City nightclub. 14 years later, Frankie is released from the clink and visits Noll with the intention of collecting his half of the nightclub's profits. But Noll, who has no intention of being so equitable, uses his ex-girlfriend Kay to divert Frankie from his intended goal.
The Son of Dr. Jekyll
Act like Daniels' Reporter (uncredited)
event1951 star_border 4
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The son of the notorious Dr. Henry Jekyll is determined to prove that his father's reputation has been unjustly deserved. He sets out to develop his father's formula in order to prove that he was a brilliant scientist rather than a murderous monster.
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Act like Ray (1 ep.)
event1951 star_border 7
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Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.
Dangerous Assignment
(1 ep.)
event1952 star_border 3.5
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A U.S. government agent travels the world on undercover missions in this 1950s series. Star Brian Donlevy originated the role on radio in the '40s.
Four Star Playhouse
Act like 1st Club Member (1 ep.)
event1952 star_border 6.1
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Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine.
Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino.
The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.
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