Alexander Mervyn Archdale (26 November 190513 May 1986) was a British actor, manager and theatre producer. He had a very long career in both the theatre and in film, stretching from the 1930s to the 1980s. He spent the latter part of his life and career in Australia.

Biography

He was born Alexander Mervyn Archdale in

Jhansi Jhansi ( ) is a historic city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (Toshan) Balwant Nagar was the old name of Jhansi. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand, on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme ...

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, to British parents Theodore Montgomery Archdale and Helen Alexandra Russell, the famous suffragette and educationalist. His younger sister was the educationalist and cricketer

Betty Archdale Helen Elizabeth Archdale (21 August 1907 – 11 January 2000) was an English-Australian sportswoman and educator. She was the inaugural Test captain of the England women's cricket team in 1934. A qualified barrister and Women's Royal Naval Se ...

. In 1934 he was in a Broadway production of ''The Wind and the Rain'' at the Ritz Theatre, New York City. In 1937 he acted in

Jeffrey Dell John Edward Flowers "Jeffrey" Dell (7 May 1899 – 24 February 1985) was a British writer, screenwriter, and film director. He is also remembered for his 1939 novel '' Nobody Ordered Wolves'', a satire on the British film industry. His other n ...

's play ''Night Alone'' at the Embassy Theatre in London, with Richard Bird,

Julian Somers John Julian Somers (12 November 1903 – 11 November 1976), known as Julian Somers, was a prolific English stage and screen actor. Career By 1934, Somers was appearing in rep at Croydon. In 1937, he was on stage in Jeffrey Dell's play '' Night A ...

, and Anna Konstam in the cast. In the same year he acted in J. B. Priestley's play ''

Time and the Conways ''Time and the Conways'' is a British play written by J. B. Priestley in 1937 illustrating J. W. Dunne's Theory of Time through the experience of a moneyed Yorkshire family, the Conways, over a period of nineteen years from 1919 to 1937. It ...

'' at the

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 ...

in London, with

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, Helen Horsey, Eileen Erskine, Wilfred Babbage, Molly Rankin, Rosemary Scott, and Irene Hentschel in the cast. He appeared in British films of the 1930s and 1940s, for instance '' Lucky Days'' and '' House of Darkness'' (with a young

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) before going on to appear in TV series such as ''Ivanhoe'', ''No Hiding Place'' and ''

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''. Later in his career he was a regular on Australian television performing in ''

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

'', ''

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'' and ''

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''. He was Sir Charles in ''

Newsfront ''Newsfront'' is a 1978 Australian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce, and starring Bill Hunter, Wendy Hughes, Chris Haywood and Bryan Brown. The screenplay is written by David Elfick, Bob Ellis, Philippe Mora, and Noyce. The original ...

'', a 1978 film directed by

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, which tells the story of rival companies making newsreels in the pre-television Australia of the late 1940s and 1950s. He played the part of retired Professor B. C. Simmonds in the 1981 Australian thriller ''

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'', which won an Honourable Mention at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

in 1982. His last credited appearance was in ''Runaway Island'', which was set in 1830s Sydney. He died on 13 May 1986 at the age of 80 in Sydney.

Selected filmography

Film

* '' Lucky Days'' (1935) as Alec * '' House of Darkness'' (1948) as John * ''

Floodtide ''Floodtide'' is a 1949 British romantic drama film directed by Frederick Wilson and starring Gordon Jackson, Rona Anderson, John Laurie and Jimmy Logan. The film was one of the four of David Rawnsley's films that used his "independent fram ...

'' (1949) as 2nd Director * '' His Majesty O'Keefe'' (1954) * '' Three in One'' (1957) as Firbank * ''

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'' (1959) as Gamekeeper * ''

The Headless Ghost ''The Headless Ghost'' is a 1959 British comedy horror film, produced by Herman Cohen and directed by Peter Graham Scott. It stars Richard Lyon, Liliane Sottane, David Rose, and Clive Revill. The films tells of three young people who spend the ...

'' (1959) as Randolph * ''

Marriage of Convenience A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. Cases whe ...

'' (1960) as Governor * '' Village of the Damned'' (1960) * ''

Invasion Quartet ''Invasion Quartet'' is a 1961 British World War II comedy-drama film directed by Jay Lewis and starring Bill Travers and Spike Milligan. It was publicised as a parody of ''The Guns of Navarone (film), The Guns of Navarone''. The screenplay was ...

'' (1961) as Brigadier, War Office * ''

I Have Been Here Before ''I Have Been Here Before'' is a play by J. B. Priestley, first produced by Lewis Casson at the Royalty Theatre, London, on 22 September 1937. The play is one of Priestley's J. B. Priestley's Time Plays, ''Time Plays'', and in 1947 the script w ...

'' (TV movie, 1964) as Walter Ormond * ''

The Adventures of Barry McKenzie ''The Adventures of Barry McKenzie'' is a 1972 Australian comedy film directed by Bruce Beresford (in his feature film directorial debut) and starring Barry Crocker and Barry Humphries. It tells the story of an Australian yobbo on his travel ...

'' (1972) * ''

The Night the Prowler ''The Night the Prowler'' (also known as ''Patrick White's The Night the Prowler'') is a 1978 Australian film written by Patrick White, produced by Anthony Buckley and directed by Jim Sharman. Ruth Cracknell was nominated in 1979 for an AFI A ...

'' (1978) * ''

'' (1978) as Sir Charles * ''

'' (1981) as B.C. Simmonds * '' Runaway Island'' (TV movie, 1982)

Television

*''The Twelve Pound Look'' (1956) * '' Redheap'' (1972, TV series) * ''

'' as regular cast * ''

Skippy the Bush Kangaroo ''Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' (known commonly as ''Skippy'') is an Australian television series created by Australian actor John McCallum, Lionel (Bob) Austin, and Lee Robinson, produced from 1967 to 1969 (airing from 5 February 1968 to 4 May 1 ...

'' as regular cast * ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

'' (1970) * ''

No Hiding Place ''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV (TV network), ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' ...

'' * ''

Theatre

* ''The Mews'' (1932) at Arts Theatre Club * ''The Wind and the Rain'' (1934) at Ritz Theatre, New York * '' Night Alone'' (1937) at Embassy Theatre, London * ''

'' (1937) at

, London * ''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot in ...

'' (1953) (also director) at St James' Hall with

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also r ...

* ''

Night on Bald Mountain ''Night on Bald Mountain'' (), also known as ''Night on the Bare Mountain'', is a series of compositions by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). Inspired by Russian s:St. John's Eve (Gogol, unsourced), literary works and legend, Mussorgsky composed ...

'' (1964) as Professor Hugo Swire * '' No Man's Land'' (1977) with The Actors' Company

References

External sources

Alexander Archdale at the Internet Movie Database
* * Photos of
Alexander Archdale at Aveleyman
* A Who's who of Australian and New Zealand Film Actors: The Sound Er
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* Theatre Australia (un)limited: Australian Theatre Since the 1950
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* The importance of Marian Street Theatre – images of Alexander Archdale http://www.savemariansttheatre.com/a-brief-history/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Archdale, Alexander 1905 births 1986 deaths People from Jhansi English male film actors English male stage actors British emigrants to Australia Male actors from Sydney 20th-century English male actors British people in colonial India Male actors from British India