Bruce Lester
Encyclopedia
Bruce Lester was a South African-born English film actor
with over 60 screen appearances to his credit between 1934 and his retirement from acting in 1958. Lester's career divided into two distinct periods. Between 1934 and 1938, billed as Bruce Lister, he appeared in upwards of 20 British films, mostly of the cheaply-shot and quickly-forgotten quota quickie variety. He then moved to the U.S., where he changed his surname to Lester, and found himself for a time appearing in some of the biggest prestige productions of their day, alongside stars such as Bette Davis
, Joan Crawford
, Tyrone Power
and Errol Flynn
. Lester himself never achieved star-billing, but was said to have remarked that this at least meant that if a film was a flop, no blame ever fell on his shoulders.
to English parents, Lester was educated at Brighton College
in Sussex
. He dabbled in amateur dramatics, but also showed potential as an exceptionally talented tennis player, and was considering trying to make a living from the sport until friends convinced him that acting offered far greater earning potential.
. His performance was noticed and a good career opportunity presented itself straight away when he was offered the male romantic lead in To Be a Lady
, opposite Chili Bouchier
, one of Britain's top female stars of the time. Far from a quota quickie, this was a quality production with a generous budget, but failed to perform as well as expected at the box-office. This was followed by another romantic lead, this time with Valerie Hobson
, in Badger's Green
, a film in which cricket played a major part and which was praised for its "Englishness". Both of these films are believed lost, but are deemed of great interest by the British Film Institute
and are both included on its "75 Most Wanted
" list of missing British feature films.
Lester's career then began to stagnate. The most enduring British film in which he appeared was Death at Broadcasting House
, also from 1934, although his role was relatively minor. The next few years were spent toiling mainly in low-budget programmers, often in insignificant roles. Things took an upturn in 1938, when he was signed to Teddington Studios
, the British division of Warner Brothers. He was promptly sent to the U.S., where he was cast in the James Cagney
vehicle Boy Meets Girl. He was then signed to a three-year Hollywood contract, reportedly at Cagney's urging.
One of his first Hollywood assignments was the high-profile historical drama If I Were King
.
, followed by landing a plum role in the Bette Davis classic The Letter
. Lester and Davis shared some crucial scenes in the film, and it was soon being reported that Davis was very taken by the handsome young Englishman, going out of her way to help him and put him at his ease on set. It is generally believed that a brief relationship of some description developed between the two, although nothing came of it. Writer Jerry Asher, a long-time friend of Davis, recalled: "She found Bruce attractive and sweet, but he was a bit tame for her speed."
At this time Lester briefly returned to Britain, intending to join the army. However he was persuaded that his talents would be better employed in helping to promote the Allied cause in the U.S. He returned, and appeared in several films in which he played flying officers, including Man Hunt
, A Yank in the RAF
and Desperate Journey
. In 1943 he played in the Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray
spy drama Above Suspicion
. He did then decide to join the British services, serving through to the end of the war.
On his return to Hollywood, Lester's career faltered, with both the quality of film and size of role he was being offered tapering off. He did land a good part in 1947's Golden Earrings
with Ray Milland
and Marlene Dietrich
, then returned for a time to Europe, where he starred in But Not in Vain
(1948 – filmed in the Netherlands
) and Celia: The Sinister Affair of Poor Aunt Nora (1949).
Returning to the U.S., Lester began to turn his hand to working as a story analyst for Paramount and Columbia. In the early 1950s he was playing minor roles in low-budget versions of English-set historical dramas such as Tales of Robin Hood and Lorna Doone. As the decade progressed film parts became ever-smaller, until he was mainly playing uncredited bit parts. Lester's final screen credit came in 1958s Tarzan and the Trappers
, after which he decided to retire from acting and spend the rest of his life out of the spotlight.
and Palm Springs
. He continued to play tennis, and was a keen member of the Hollywood Cricket Club
. Lester died in Los Angeles on 13 June 2008, one week after his 96th birthday.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
with over 60 screen appearances to his credit between 1934 and his retirement from acting in 1958. Lester's career divided into two distinct periods. Between 1934 and 1938, billed as Bruce Lister, he appeared in upwards of 20 British films, mostly of the cheaply-shot and quickly-forgotten quota quickie variety. He then moved to the U.S., where he changed his surname to Lester, and found himself for a time appearing in some of the biggest prestige productions of their day, alongside stars such as Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
and Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
. Lester himself never achieved star-billing, but was said to have remarked that this at least meant that if a film was a flop, no blame ever fell on his shoulders.
Early life
Born in JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
to English parents, Lester was educated at Brighton College
Brighton College
Brighton College is an institution divided between a Senior School known simply as Brighton College, the Prep School and the Pre-Prep School. All of these schools are co-educational independent schools in Brighton, England, sited immediately next to each another. The Senior School caters for...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. He dabbled in amateur dramatics, but also showed potential as an exceptionally talented tennis player, and was considering trying to make a living from the sport until friends convinced him that acting offered far greater earning potential.
1930s
After spending some time as a stage actor, Lester obtained his first minor film role in the 1934 quota quickie The Girl in the FlatThe Girl in the Flat
The Girl in the Flat is a 1934 British crime film directed by Redd Davis and starring Stewart Rome, Belle Chrystall, Vera Bogetti and Noel Shannon...
. His performance was noticed and a good career opportunity presented itself straight away when he was offered the male romantic lead in To Be a Lady
To Be a Lady
To Be a Lady is a 1934 British romance drama, directed and produced by George King, and starring Chili Bouchier and Bruce Lester. The film is the first screen editing credit of American film editor Elmo Williams....
, opposite Chili Bouchier
Chili Bouchier
Chili Bouchier , later known as Dorothy Bouchier, was a British film actress who achieved success during the silent film era, and went on to many screen appearances with the advent of sound films, before progressing to theatre later in her career.She made her first appearance as a child dancer at a...
, one of Britain's top female stars of the time. Far from a quota quickie, this was a quality production with a generous budget, but failed to perform as well as expected at the box-office. This was followed by another romantic lead, this time with Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson was a British actress who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s...
, in Badger's Green
Badger's Green (1934 film)
Badger's Green is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Adrian Brunel and starring Valerie Hobson, Bruce Lester, David Horne and Wally Patch. It was adapted from the 1930 play Badger's Green by R.C. Sheriff. A picturesque village is threatened with redevelopment by a speculative builder, leading...
, a film in which cricket played a major part and which was praised for its "Englishness". Both of these films are believed lost, but are deemed of great interest by the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
and are both included on its "75 Most Wanted
BFI 75 Most Wanted
The BFI 75 Most Wanted is a list compiled by the British Film Institute of their most sought-after British feature films not currently held in the BFI National Archive, and classified as "missing, believed lost". The films chosen range from quota quickies and B-movies to lavish prestige...
" list of missing British feature films.
Lester's career then began to stagnate. The most enduring British film in which he appeared was Death at Broadcasting House
Death at Broadcasting House
Death at Broadcasting House, also known as Death at a Broadcast, is a 1934 British mystery film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Ian Hunter, Austin Trevor, Henry Kendall, and Jack Hawkins.-Cast:...
, also from 1934, although his role was relatively minor. The next few years were spent toiling mainly in low-budget programmers, often in insignificant roles. Things took an upturn in 1938, when he was signed to Teddington Studios
Teddington Studios
Teddington Studios is a large British television studio complex located in Teddington, South-West London, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on BBC television, ITV, and Channel 4 along with others...
, the British division of Warner Brothers. He was promptly sent to the U.S., where he was cast in the James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
vehicle Boy Meets Girl. He was then signed to a three-year Hollywood contract, reportedly at Cagney's urging.
One of his first Hollywood assignments was the high-profile historical drama If I Were King
If I Were King
If I Were King is a 1938 American biographical historical drama film starring Ronald Colman as medieval poet François Villon, and featuring Basil Rathbone and Frances Dee...
.
1940s and 1950s
Lester's film career hit its peak in the early 1940s, beginning with the role of Mr. Bingley in the 1940 adaptation of Pride and PrejudicePride and Prejudice (1940 film)
Pride and Prejudice is a 1940 film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel of the same name. Robert Z. Leonard directed, and Aldous Huxley served as one of the screenwriters of the film. It is adapted specifically from the stage adaptation by Helen Jerome in addition to Jane Austen's novel...
, followed by landing a plum role in the Bette Davis classic The Letter
The Letter (1940 film)
The Letter is a 1940 American film noir directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Howard Koch is based on the 1927 play of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham, originally filmed in 1929.-Plot:...
. Lester and Davis shared some crucial scenes in the film, and it was soon being reported that Davis was very taken by the handsome young Englishman, going out of her way to help him and put him at his ease on set. It is generally believed that a brief relationship of some description developed between the two, although nothing came of it. Writer Jerry Asher, a long-time friend of Davis, recalled: "She found Bruce attractive and sweet, but he was a bit tame for her speed."
At this time Lester briefly returned to Britain, intending to join the army. However he was persuaded that his talents would be better employed in helping to promote the Allied cause in the U.S. He returned, and appeared in several films in which he played flying officers, including Man Hunt
Man Hunt (1941 film)
Man Hunt is a 1941 American thriller film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Walter Pidgeon and Joan Bennett. It is based on the 1939 novel Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household and is set just prior to the Second World War. A Jewish liberal, Lang had fled Germany into exile in the mid 1930s - this was...
, A Yank in the RAF
A Yank in the RAF
A Yank in the RAF is a black-and-white 1941 movie directed by Henry King, and is considered a typical early-World War II movie.-Plot Summary:...
and Desperate Journey
Desperate Journey
Desperate Journey is a 1942 American World War II aviation film starring Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan. The supporting cast includes Raymond Massey, Alan Hale and Arthur Kennedy, and the movie was directed by Raoul Walsh...
. In 1943 he played in the Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
spy drama Above Suspicion
Above Suspicion (1943 film)
Above Suspicion is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer spy drama film starring Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray as newlyweds who spy on the Nazis for the British Secret Service during their honeymoon, along with Basil Rathbone as a Nazi who pursues them. The screenplay by Keith Winter, Melville Baker, and...
. He did then decide to join the British services, serving through to the end of the war.
On his return to Hollywood, Lester's career faltered, with both the quality of film and size of role he was being offered tapering off. He did land a good part in 1947's Golden Earrings
Golden Earrings
Golden Earrings is a 1947 romantic spy film made by Paramount Pictures and starring Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen and produced by Harry Tugend from a screenplay by Frank Butler, Helen Deutsch and Abraham Polonsky, based on a novel by Jolán Földes. The music...
with Ray Milland
Ray Milland
Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
and Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, then returned for a time to Europe, where he starred in But Not in Vain
But Not in Vain
But Not in Vain is a 1948 Anglo-Dutch World War II drama, directed by Edmond T. Gréville and starring Raymond Lovell. The film is set in 1944 in the occupied Netherlands, and was shot at the Cinetone Studios in Amsterdam, with exterior filming taking place at locations in and around the city...
(1948 – filmed in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
) and Celia: The Sinister Affair of Poor Aunt Nora (1949).
Returning to the U.S., Lester began to turn his hand to working as a story analyst for Paramount and Columbia. In the early 1950s he was playing minor roles in low-budget versions of English-set historical dramas such as Tales of Robin Hood and Lorna Doone. As the decade progressed film parts became ever-smaller, until he was mainly playing uncredited bit parts. Lester's final screen credit came in 1958s Tarzan and the Trappers
Tarzan and the Trappers
Tarzan and the Trappers is an action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen and Lesley Bradley...
, after which he decided to retire from acting and spend the rest of his life out of the spotlight.
Later life
In later years, Lester and his wife divided their time between Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
. He continued to play tennis, and was a keen member of the Hollywood Cricket Club
Hollywood Cricket Club
The Hollywood Cricket Club is an amateur cricket club in Los Angeles, California. It is a member of the Southern California Cricket Association. The club was formed in 1932 by British actor and cricketer Aubrey Smith....
. Lester died in Los Angeles on 13 June 2008, one week after his 96th birthday.
Filmography
- 1934: The Girl in the FlatThe Girl in the FlatThe Girl in the Flat is a 1934 British crime film directed by Redd Davis and starring Stewart Rome, Belle Chrystall, Vera Bogetti and Noel Shannon...
- 1934: To Be a LadyTo Be a LadyTo Be a Lady is a 1934 British romance drama, directed and produced by George King, and starring Chili Bouchier and Bruce Lester. The film is the first screen editing credit of American film editor Elmo Williams....
- 1934: Badger's GreenBadger's Green (1934 film)Badger's Green is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Adrian Brunel and starring Valerie Hobson, Bruce Lester, David Horne and Wally Patch. It was adapted from the 1930 play Badger's Green by R.C. Sheriff. A picturesque village is threatened with redevelopment by a speculative builder, leading...
- 1934: Death at Broadcasting HouseDeath at Broadcasting HouseDeath at Broadcasting House, also known as Death at a Broadcast, is a 1934 British mystery film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Ian Hunter, Austin Trevor, Henry Kendall, and Jack Hawkins.-Cast:...
- 1934: The Third ClueThe Third ClueThe Third Clue is a 1934 British crime film directed by Albert Parker and starring Basil Sydney, Molly Lamont, Robert Cochran and Raymond Lovell. Two criminals try to recover loot hidden in an isolated manor house.-Cast:* Basil Sydney - Reinhardt Conway...
- 1935: Old Faithful
- 1935: Old Roses
- 1936: Ourselves AloneOurselves AloneOurselves Alone is a 1936 British film depicting a love story set against the backdrop of the 1921 Irish War of Independence. The title is a translation of the Irish Sinn Féin. It is directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and stars John Lodge, John Loder and Antoinette Cellier.-Synopsis:The film opens...
- 1936: A Star Fell from Heaven
- 1936: The Tenth Man
- 1936: Crime Over LondonCrime Over LondonCrime Over London is a 1936 British crime film featuring Margot Grahame, Peter Gawthorne, Basil Sydney and Googie Withers....
- 1936: Hail and FarewellHail and Farewell (film)Hail and Farewell is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Claude Hulbert. The film was a quota quickie production, following the escapades of a group of British sailors during six hours' shore leave in Southampton...
- 1936: Head OfficeHead Office (1936 film)Head Office is a 1936 British drama film directed by Melville W. Brown and starring Owen Nares, Nancy O'Neil and Arthur Margetson. A secretary is wrongly accused of stealing money from the company she works for.-Cast:* Owen Nares ... Henry Crossman...
- 1937: The Heirloom MysteryThe Heirloom MysteryThe Heirloom Mystery is a 1937 British drama film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Edward Rigby, Mary Glynne and Gus McNaughton. After being secret commissioned by a man to create a replica piece of furniture so he can sell the valuable original without his wife knowing, Charles' Marriot's...
- 1937: Mayfair MelodyMayfair MelodyMayfair Melody is a 1937 British musical film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring popular bass-baritone singer Keith Falkner in the first of his three screen performances....
- 1937: The WindmillThe Windmill (film)The Windmill is a 1937 British drama film directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Hugh Williams, Glen Alyn and Henry Mollison. During the First World War, the German adopted daughter of a Belgian innkeeper tries to balance her loyalty to her father, who is a spy for the Germans, and her love for a...
- 1937: Ship's Concert
- 1937: Change for a Sovereign
- 1938: Quiet Please
- 1938: ThistledownThistledown (film)Thistledown is a 1938 British musical film produced by Irving Asher, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Aino Bergo, Keith Falkner, Athole Stewart, Sharon Lynn and Amy Veness...
- 1938: Boy Meets Girl
- 1938: If I Were KingIf I Were KingIf I Were King is a 1938 American biographical historical drama film starring Ronald Colman as medieval poet François Villon, and featuring Basil Rathbone and Frances Dee...
- 1939: Home from HomeHome from Home (film)Home from Home is a 1939 British comedy drama film directed by Herbert Smith and starring Sandy Powell, René Ray and Peter Gawthorne. A man struggles to cope with life after being released from prison.-Cast:* Sandy Powell - Sandy...
- 1939: The Witness Vanishes
- 1940: The Invisible Man ReturnsThe Invisible Man ReturnsThe Invisible Man Returns is a 1940 horror science fiction film from Universal. It was written as a sequel to the 1933 film The Invisible Man, which was based on the novel The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells. The studio had signed a multi-picture contract with Wells, and they were hoping that this...
- 1940: British IntelligenceBritish Intelligence (film)British Intelligence is a 1940 spy film set in World War I. It was directed by Terry O. Morse and starred Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay. Released in the USA in January 1940, the Warner Bros. B picture was based on a 1918 play Three Faces East written by Anthony Paul Kelly that was produced on...
- 1940: My Son, My Son!My Son, My Son!My Son, My Son! is a 1940 drama film based on a novel by the same name written by Howard Spring and directed by Charles Vidor. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction by John DuCasse Schulze.-Cast:* Madeleine Carroll - Livia Vaynol...
- 1940: Pride and PrejudicePride and Prejudice (1940 film)Pride and Prejudice is a 1940 film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel of the same name. Robert Z. Leonard directed, and Aldous Huxley served as one of the screenwriters of the film. It is adapted specifically from the stage adaptation by Helen Jerome in addition to Jane Austen's novel...
- 1940: The LetterThe Letter (1940 film)The Letter is a 1940 American film noir directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Howard Koch is based on the 1927 play of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham, originally filmed in 1929.-Plot:...
- 1941: Shadows on the StairsShadows on the Stairs- Cast :*Frieda Inescort as Mrs. Stella Rosabelle Armitage*Paul Cavanagh as Joseph "Joe" Reynolds*Heather Angel as Sylvia Armitage*Bruce Lester as Hugh Bromilow*Miles Mander as Tom Armitage*Lumsden Hare as Inspector Gregg*Turhan Bey as Ram Singh...
- 1941: Singapore Woman
- 1941: Shining VictoryShining VictoryShining Victory is a 1941 film based on the play, Jupiter Laughs, by A. J. Cronin. It stars James Stephenson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, and Barbara O'Neil, and it was the first film directed by Irving Rapper. Bette Davis makes a brief cameo appearance as a nurse in the film.-Plot...
- 1941: Man HuntMan Hunt (1941 film)Man Hunt is a 1941 American thriller film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Walter Pidgeon and Joan Bennett. It is based on the 1939 novel Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household and is set just prior to the Second World War. A Jewish liberal, Lang had fled Germany into exile in the mid 1930s - this was...
- 1941: A Yank in the RAFA Yank in the RAFA Yank in the RAF is a black-and-white 1941 movie directed by Henry King, and is considered a typical early-World War II movie.-Plot Summary:...
- 1942: Eagle Squadron
- 1942: Desperate JourneyDesperate JourneyDesperate Journey is a 1942 American World War II aviation film starring Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan. The supporting cast includes Raymond Massey, Alan Hale and Arthur Kennedy, and the movie was directed by Raoul Walsh...
- 1943: The Mysterious Doctor
- 1943: Above SuspicionAbove Suspicion (1943 film)Above Suspicion is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer spy drama film starring Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray as newlyweds who spy on the Nazis for the British Secret Service during their honeymoon, along with Basil Rathbone as a Nazi who pursues them. The screenplay by Keith Winter, Melville Baker, and...
- 1943: Flesh and FantasyFlesh and FantasyFlesh and Fantasy is a 1943 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier, starring Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer and Barbara Stanwyck. The making of this film was inspired by the success of Duvivier's previous anthology film, the 1942 Tales of Manhattan.Flesh and Fantasy tells three...
- 1946: The Wife of Monte Cristo
- 1946: Without ReservationsWithout ReservationsWithout Reservations is a comedy film starring Claudette Colbert and John Wayne, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was adapted by Andrew Solt from the novel Thanks, God! I'll Take It From Here by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston.The opening shot shows "Arrowhead"...
- 1946: Cloak and Dagger
- 1946: Strange Journey
- 1947: Golden EarringsGolden EarringsGolden Earrings is a 1947 romantic spy film made by Paramount Pictures and starring Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen and produced by Harry Tugend from a screenplay by Frank Butler, Helen Deutsch and Abraham Polonsky, based on a novel by Jolán Földes. The music...
- 1948: The Fool and the PrincessThe Fool and the PrincessThe Fool and the Princess is a 1948 British drama film directed by William C. Hammond and starring Bruce Lester, Lesley Brook and Adina Mandlová...
- 1948: I Walk AloneI Walk AloneI Walk Alone is a 1948 film noir starring Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, and Kirk Douglas. It was the directorial debut of Byron Haskin....
- 1948: But Not in VainBut Not in VainBut Not in Vain is a 1948 Anglo-Dutch World War II drama, directed by Edmond T. Gréville and starring Raymond Lovell. The film is set in 1944 in the occupied Netherlands, and was shot at the Cinetone Studios in Amsterdam, with exterior filming taking place at locations in and around the city...
- 1949: Celia: The Sinister Affair of Poor Aunt Nora
- 1951: Tarzan's PerilTarzan's PerilTarzan's Peril is a 1951 film starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Virginia Huston as Jane, and featuring Dorothy Dandridge as "Melmendi, Queen of the Ashuba." Some of it was shot in Kenya, making it the first Tarzan movie to be filmed in Africa, though the majority of its location shooting was done...
- 1951: Tales of Robin Hood
- 1951: Lorna Doone
- 1951: Secrets of Monte Carlo
- 1951: The Son of Dr. JekyllThe Son of Dr. JekyllThe Son of Dr. Jekyll is a horror film made and distributed by Columbia Pictures in 1951, directed by Seymour Friedman, based on a screenplay by Jack Pollexfen and Mortimer Braus. The film is a continuation of Robert Louis Stevenson's original classic novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,...
- 1952: The Pathfinder
- 1953: CharadeCharade (1953 film)-Cast:*James Mason as The Murderer / Maj. Linden / Jonah Watson*Pamela Mason as The Artist / Pamela / Baroness Tanslan / Lilly*Scott Forbes as Capt. Stamm*Paul Cavanagh as Col. Heisler*Bruce Lester as Capt. van Buren*John Dodsworth as Lt. Meyerdorf...
- 1953: Rogue's March
- 1953: Storm over Africa
- 1954: King Richard and the CrusadersKing Richard and the CrusadersKing Richard and the Crusaders is a 1954 historical drama film made by Warner Bros.. It was directed by David Butler and produced by Henry Blanke from a screenplay by John Twist based on Sir Walter Scott's novel The Talisman. The music score was by Max Steiner and the cinematography by J. Peverell...
- 1955: The Sea ChaseThe Sea ChaseThe Sea Chase is a 1955 World War II drama film starring John Wayne and Lana Turner. It was directed by John Farrow and written by James Warner Bellah. The plot is basically a nautical cat and mouse game, with Wayne determined to get his German freighter home during the first few months of the war,...
- 1955: The Scarlet CoatThe Scarlet CoatThe Scarlet Coat is an Eastmancolor 1955 American historical drama and swashbuckler directed by John Sturges, based upon the events in the American Revolution in which Benedict Arnold offered to surrender the fort at West Point to the British in exchange for money.The film purports to tell the...
- 1957: Something of ValueSomething of ValueSomething Of Value is a 1957 drama directed by Richard Brooks and starring Rock Hudson, Dana Wynter and Sidney Poitier.-Plot:The movie, based on the book of the same name by Robert Ruark, portrays the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya. It shows the colonial and native African conflict caused by colonialism...
- 1957: The Seventh SinThe Seventh SinThe Seventh Sin is a 1957 film based on the 1925 novel The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham.It was adapted for the screen by Karl Tunberg and directed by Ronald Neame...
- 1958: Tarzan and the TrappersTarzan and the TrappersTarzan and the Trappers is an action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen and Lesley Bradley...
External links
- Bruce Lester filmography at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...