Mervyn Johns
Encyclopedia
Mervyn Johns was a Welsh
film
and television
character actor
. He was a mainstay of Ealing Studios
.
Among his dozens of film roles were Walter Craig in Dead of Night
(1945), the Church Warden in Went the Day Well?
and Bob Cratchit
in Scrooge
(1951). He also made many television appearances, in series such as The Avengers
, Danger Man
and Dixon of Dock Green
.
He was twice married. His wives were:
A popular misunderstanding is that he was the elder brother of the actor Stratford Johns
, but they were not related.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
. He was a mainstay of Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
.
Among his dozens of film roles were Walter Craig in Dead of Night
Dead of Night
Dead of Night is a British portmanteau horror film made by Ealing Studios, its various episodes directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. The film stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers and Michael Redgrave...
(1945), the Church Warden in Went the Day Well?
Went the Day Well?
"Went the Day Well?" is a British war film produced by Ealing Studios in 1942 as unofficial propaganda. It tells of how an English village is taken over by German paratroopers . Made during the war, it reflects the greatest potential nightmares of many Britons of the time, although the threat of...
and Bob Cratchit
Bob Cratchit
Robert "Bob" Cratchit is a fictional character who is the abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol...
in Scrooge
Scrooge (1951 film)
Scrooge, released as A Christmas Carol in the United States, is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an...
(1951). He also made many television appearances, in series such as The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
, Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
and Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
.
He was twice married. His wives were:
- the concert pianist Alys Steele (one daughter, the actress Glynis JohnsGlynis JohnsGlynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
) - the actress Diana ChurchillDiana Churchill (actress)Diana Churchill was an English film and stage actress.She was born Diana Josephine Churchill in Wembley, Middlesex on 21 August 1913. On leaving school she begged her father to let her train for the stage...
(1976–1992)
A popular misunderstanding is that he was the elder brother of the actor Stratford Johns
Stratford Johns
Stratford Johns, born Alan Edgar Stratford-Johns, was a popular British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the innovative and long-running BBC police series Z-Cars, created by Troy Kennedy-Martin.-Early life:Johns...
, but they were not related.
Selected films
- Foreign AffairesForeign AffairesForeign Affaires is a 1935 British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls based on an Aldwych Farce written by Ben Travers. It also features Ralph Lynn, Robertson Hare, Norma Varden and Cecil Parker. The film is set on the French Riviera where two hard-living British spongers become mixed...
(1935) - In the SoupIn the Soup (1936 film)In the Soup is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Ralph Lynn, Judy Gunn, Morton Selten and Nelson Keys. It was based on a play by Ralph Lumley...
(1936) - Jamaica InnJamaica Inn (film)Jamaica Inn is a 1939 film made by Alfred Hitchcock adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1936 novel of the same name, the first of three of du Maurier's works that Hitchcock adapted ....
(1939) .... Thomas - ConvoyConvoy (1940 film)- Plot summary :A Royal Navy cruiser returns to base to find all leave has been cancelled and they are to start out straight away for a special mission. They are sent to meet a convoy and escort them safely into English coastal waters...
(1940) .... Minesweeper's mate - Girl in the NewsGirl in the NewsGirl in the News is a 1940 British thriller film directed by Carol Reed and starring Margaret Lockwood, Barry K. Barnes and Emlyn Williams.-Cast:* Margaret Lockwood - Anne Graham* Barry K...
(1940) - Went the Day Well?Went the Day Well?"Went the Day Well?" is a British war film produced by Ealing Studios in 1942 as unofficial propaganda. It tells of how an English village is taken over by German paratroopers . Made during the war, it reflects the greatest potential nightmares of many Britons of the time, although the threat of...
(1942) .... Charles Sims, the church warder - The Foreman Went to FranceThe Foreman Went to FranceThe Foreman Went to France, also known as Somewhere in France, is a 1942 British World War II war film starring Clifford Evans, Tommy Trinder, Constance Cummings and Gordon Jackson...
(1942) .... Official, Passport Office - The Next of KinThe Next of KinThe Next of Kin, also known as Next of Kin, is a 1942 World War II propaganda film produced by Ealing Studios.The film was originally commissioned by the British War Office as a training film to promote the government propaganda message that "Careless talk costs lives"...
(1942) .... No 23, Mr Davis - San Demetrio LondonSan Demetrio LondonSan Demetrio London is a Second World War film about the Merchant Navy. It deals with the crew of a tanker and their struggle to deliver their cargo to England during the Battle of the Atlantic...
(1943) .... Greaser John Boyle - My Learned FriendMy Learned FriendMy Learned Friend is a 1943 British, black-and-white, comedy, farce, directed by Basil Dearden, co-directed with regular collaborator Will Hay and starring Ronald Shiner as the Man in Wilson's café, Will Hay as William Fitch and Charles Victor as "Safety" Wilson. It was produced by Michael Balcon,...
(1943) .... Grimshaw - The Bells Go DownThe Bells Go DownThe Bells Go down is a black-and-white wartime film made by Ealing Studios in 1943. The reference in the title is to the alarm bells in the fire station that "go down" when a call to respond is made...
(1943) .... Sam - The Halfway HouseThe Halfway HouseThe Halfway House is a 1944 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Tom Walls, Mervyn Johns and Glynis Johns. It also features the French actress Françoise Rosay...
(1944) .... Rhys - Dead of NightDead of NightDead of Night is a British portmanteau horror film made by Ealing Studios, its various episodes directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. The film stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers and Michael Redgrave...
(1945) .... Walter Craig - Pink String and Sealing WaxPink String and Sealing WaxPink String and Sealing Wax is a 1945 British drama film directed by Robert Hamer and starring Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers and Gordon Jackson.-Cast:* Mervyn Johns as Edward Sutton* Googie Withers as Pearl Bond* Gordon Jackson as David Sutton...
(1945) .... Edward Sutton - The Captive HeartThe Captive HeartThe Captive Heart is a 1946 British war drama, directed by Basil Dearden for Ealing Studios. The film was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
(1946) .... Private Don Evans - Captain Boycott (1947) .... Watty Connell
- Quartet (1948) .... Samuel Sunbury (segment "The Kite")
- Easy MoneyEasy Money (1948 film)Easy Money, a satirical 1948 British film about one of the most beloved traditions of the English middle class, the football pool, is composed of four tales about the effect a major win has on four different groups in the postwar period...
.... Herbert Atkins (1948) - Edward, My SonEdward, My SonEdward, My Son is a 1949 American/British drama film directed by George Cukor that stars Spencer Tracy and Deborah Kerr. The screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart is based on the play by Noel Langley and Robert Morley.-Plot:...
(1949) .... Harry Sempkin - Helter SkelterHelter Skelter (1949 film)Helter Skelter is a 1949 British romantic comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Carol Marsh, David Tomlinson and Mervyn Johns. A police detective becomes involved with a wealthy socialite....
(1949) .... Ernest Bennett - Diamond CityDiamond City (film)Diamond City is a 1949 British drama film directed by David MacDonald and starring David Farrar, Honor Blackman, Diana Dors and Niall MacGinnis.-Plot:...
(1949) .... Hart - ScroogeScrooge (1951 film)Scrooge, released as A Christmas Carol in the United States, is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an...
(1951) .... Bob Cratchit - The Magic BoxThe Magic BoxThe Magic Box is a fictional magic shop in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon. It is located in Sunnydale and was last owned and operated by Rupert Giles, and served as the primary headquarters of the Scooby Gang for seasons five and six.-Ownership history:The shop went...
(1951) .... Goitz - The Master of BallantraeThe Master of BallantraeThe Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale is a book by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, focusing upon the conflict between two brothers, Scottish noblemen whose family is torn apart by the Jacobite rising of 1745...
(1953) .... MacKellar - Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet (1954 film)- External links :...
(1954) .... Friar Laurence - Moby DickMoby Dick (1956 film)Moby Dick is a 1956 film adaptation of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. It was directed by John Huston with a screenplay by Ray Bradbury and the director. The film starred Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, and Leo Genn...
(1956) .... Peleg - 19841984 (1956 film)1984 is a 1956 film based on the novel of the same name by George Orwell. This is the first cinema rendition of the story, directed by Michael Anderson, and starring Edmond O'Brien, Donald Pleasence, Jan Sterling, and Michael Redgrave...
(1956) .... Jones - The Intimate StrangerThe Intimate StrangerThe Intimate Stranger is a 1956 British drama film directed by Joseph Losey, under the pseudonym Joseph Walton, and starring Richard Basehart, Mary Murphy, Constance Cummings and Roger Livesey. It was also released as Finger of Guilt.-Production:...
(1956) - Doctor at LargeDoctor at Large (film)Doctor at Large is a 1957 British comedy film, the third installment of the Doctor in the House series. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Muriel Pavlow, Donald Sinden, and James Robertson Justice.-Cast:* Dirk Bogarde as Dr. Simon Sparrow...
(1957) .... Smith - The Vicious CircleThe Vicious Circle (1957 film)The Vicious Circle is a 1957 British thriller film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring John Mills, Noelle Middleton, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Lionel Jeffries. A leading Harley Street specialist is forced to work with the police to nail a gang of international criminals, after being falsely accused...
(1957) .... Dr. George Kimber - The Surgeon's KnifeThe Surgeon's KnifeThe Surgeon's Knife is a 1957 British crime film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Donald Houston, Adrienne Corri and Lyndon Brook.-Cast:* Donald Houston - Dr. Alex Waring* Adrienne Corri - Laura Shelton* Lyndon Brook - Dr. Ian Breck...
(1957) - The Devil's DiscipleThe Devil's DiscipleThe Devil's Disciple is an 1897 play written by Irish dramatist, George Bernard Shaw. The play is Shaw's eighth, and after Richard Mansfield's original 1897 American production it was his first financial success, which helped to affirm his career as a playwright...
(1959) .... Rev. Maindeck Parshotter - The SundownersThe SundownersThe Sundowners is a 1960 film that tells the story of an Australian outback family torn between the father's desires to continue his nomadic sheep-herding ways and the wife's and son's desire to settle down in one place...
(1960) .... Jack Patchogue, Mayor of Cawndilla - Never Let GoNever Let GoNever Let Go is a 1960 British thriller film starring Peter Sellers and Richard Todd. It concerns a man's purchase, loss of, and attempt to recover a Ford Anglia car. Sellers played a London villain, in one of his rare straight roles.-Plot:...
(1960) .... Alfie Barnes - No Love for JohnnieNo Love for JohnnieNo Love for Johnnie is a 1961 British drama film directed by Ralph Thomas. It was based on the book of the same title by the Member of Parliament Wilfred Fienburgh and stars Peter Finch....
(1961) .... Charlie Young - The RebelThe Rebel (1961 film)The film The Rebel is a satirical comedy starring the British comedian Tony Hancock, and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.-Plot:...
(1961) .... Manager of Art Gallery, London - Francis of AssisiFrancis of Assisi (film)Francis of Assisi is a Delux color 1961 Cinemascope film directed by Michael Curtiz, based on the novel The Joyful Beggar by Louis de Wohl.-Plot:...
(1961) .... Brother Juniper - The Day of the Triffids (1962) .... Mr. Coker
- The VictorsThe Victors (film)-Overview:The film follows a group of U.S. soldiers through Europe during World War II, from Britain in 1942, through the fierce fighting in Italy and France, to the uneasy peace of Berlin. It is adapted from a collection of short stories called The Human Kind by British author Alexander Baron,...
(1963) .... Dennis - 80,000 Suspects80,000 Suspects80,000 Suspects is a 1963 British film, directed by Val Guest which concerns an outbreak of smallpox in Bath, England.-Plot:A romantic melodrama set against the backdrop of a smallpox epidemic which features Richard Johnson as the diligent doctor in control and Claire Bloom as his outwardly serene...
(1963) .... Buckridge - 55 Days at Peking55 Days at Peking55 Days at Peking is a 1963 historical epic film starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, and David Niven, made by Samuel Bronston Productions, and released by Allied Artists. The movie was produced by Samuel Bronston and directed by Nicholas Ray, Andrew Marton , and Guy Green...
(1963) .... Clergyman - A Jolly Bad FellowA Jolly Bad FellowA Jolly Bad Fellow is a 1964 British film directed by Don Chaffey. It stars Leo McKern and Janet Munro.-Cast:* Leo McKern as Prof Bowls-Ottery* Janet Munro as Delia Brooks* Maxine Audley as Clarina Bowls-Ottery* Duncan Macrae as Dr. Brass...
(1964) .... Willie Pugh-Smith - The Heroes of TelemarkThe Heroes of TelemarkThe Heroes of Telemark is a 1965 war film directed by Anthony Mann based on the true story of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage during World War II...
(1965) .... Col. Wilkinson - The National HealthThe National Health (film)The National Health is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Jack Gold and starring Lynn Redgrave, Colin Blakely and Eleanor Bron. It is based on the play The National Health by Peter Nichols, in which the staff struggle to cope in an underfunded NHS hospital...
(1973) .... Rees - House of Mortal Sin (1976) .... Father Duggan