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Basil Sydney

Actor

Basil Sydney

Born April 23, 1894 in Essex, England, UKDied January 10, 196845 films

Basil Sydney (23 April 1894 – 10 January 1968) was an English stage and screen actor. Sydney made his name in 1915 in the London stage hit Romance by Edward Sheldon, with Broadway star Doris Keane, and he costarred with Keane in the 1920 silent film of the play. The couple married in 1918, and when Keane revived Romance in New York City in 1921, Sydney made his Broadway debut in the parts. He stayed in New York for over a decade playing classical roles such as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (1922), Richard Dudgeon in The Devil's Disciple (1923), the title role in Hamlet (1923), Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part I (1926), and Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew (1927).[citation needed] In 1937 he starred in the murder mystery Blondie White in the West End.

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He made over 50 screen appearances, most memorably as Claudius in Laurence Olivier's 1948 film of Hamlet. He also appeared in classic films like Treasure Island (1950), Ivanhoe (1952), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), but the focus of his career was the stage on both sides of the Atlantic.

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The best way into Basil Sydney's work
Hamlet posterFirst watchHamlet19487.4as Claudius - The KingWinner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Sir Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet continues to be the most compelling version of Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
Around the World in 80 Days poster6.7Around the World in 80 Days1956Ivanhoe poster6.8Ivanhoe1952Treasure Island poster6.5Treasure Island1950The Dam Busters poster6.9The Dam Busters1955Went the Day Well? poster7.1Went the Day Well?1942The 3 Worlds of Gulliver poster6.6The 3 Worlds of Gulliver1960Caesar and Cleopatra poster6.2Caesar and Cleopatra1945Salome poster5.8Salome1953

Filmography

45 films as actor
  1. 1960The Hands of OrlacMaurice Seidelman
  2. 1960A Story of DavidKing Saul
  3. 1960The 3 Worlds of GulliverEmperor of Lilliput
  4. 1959The Devil's DiscipleLawyer Hawkins
  5. 1959John Paul JonesSir William Young
  6. 1958A Question of AdulterySir John Loring
  7. 1957Sea WifeBulldog
  8. 1957Island in the SunJulian Fleury
  9. 1957MayerlingThe Emperor Franz Joseph
  10. 1956Around the World in 80 DaysReform Club Member
  11. 1955The Dam BustersAir Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris G.C.B., O.B.E., A.F.C.
  12. 1955SimbaMr Crawford
  13. 1954Hell Below ZeroBland
  14. 1954Star of IndiaKing Louis XIV
  15. 1953Three's CompanyDr. Graham
  16. 1953SalomePontius Pilate
  17. 1952IvanhoeWaldemar Fitzurse
  18. 1952The Magic BoxWilliam Fox-Talbot
  19. 1950Treasure IslandCaptain Smollett
  20. 1950The Angel with the TrumpetFrancis Alt
  21. 1948HamletClaudius - The King
  22. 1947JassyNick Helmar
  23. 1947The Man WithinSir Henry Merriman
  24. 1947Meet Me at DawnGeorges Vermorel
  25. 1945Caesar and CleopatraRufio
  26. 1942Went the Day Well?Major Hammond / Kommandant Orlter
  27. 1942The Next of KinNaval captain
  28. 1942The Black Sheep of WhitehallCostello
  29. 1941Ships with WingsCapt. Fairfax
  30. 1941The Farmer's WifeSamuel Sweetland
  31. 1941Spring MeetingJames
  32. 1939The Four Just MenFrank Snell
  33. 1936AccusedEugene Roget
  34. 1936Talk of the Devil
  35. 1936Crime Over London'Joker' Finnigan
  36. 1936Rhodes of AfricaDr. Jim Jameson
  37. 1936The Amateur GentlemanLouis Chichester
  38. 1936Blind Man's BluffDr. Peter Fairfax
  39. 1935The TunnelMostyn
  40. 1935The Riverside MurderInspector Philip Winton
  41. 1934Dirty WorkHugh Stafford
  42. 1934The Third ClueReinhardt Conway
  43. 1932The MidshipmaidCmdr. Fosberry
  44. 1922Red Hot RomanceRowland Stone
  45. 1920Romance