Bruce Lester

Bruce Lester

Born: June 6, 1912
Died: June 13, 2008
in Johannesburg, South Africa
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).

Movies for Bruce Lester...

Tarzan and the Trappers
Title: Tarzan and the Trappers
Character: Commissioner Brandini
Released: January 1, 1958
Type: Movie
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.
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The Scarlet Coat
Title: The Scarlet Coat
Character: Col. Simcoe
Released: July 29, 1955
Type: Movie
An American officer goes undercover to unmask a Revolutionary War traitor.
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King Richard and the Crusaders
Title: King Richard and the Crusaders
Character: Castelaine
Released: August 7, 1954
Type: Movie
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.
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Charade
Title: Charade
Character: Capt. van Buren
Released: September 16, 1953
Type: Movie
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.
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The Pathfinder
Title: The Pathfinder
Character: Capt. Clint Bradford
Released: December 9, 1952
Type: Movie
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.
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Title: Four Star Playhouse
Character: 1st Club Member
Released: September 25, 1952
Type: TV
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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Title: Dangerous Assignment
Released: January 1, 1952
Type: TV
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.
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Tales of Robin Hood
Title: Tales of Robin Hood
Character: Allan-a-Dale
Released: December 21, 1951
Type: Movie
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.
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The Son of Dr. Jekyll
Title: The Son of Dr. Jekyll
Character: Daniels' Reporter (Uncredited)
Released: October 31, 1951
Type: Movie
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.
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Title: Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character: Ray
Released: October 5, 1951
Type: TV
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.
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Secrets of Monte Carlo
Title: Secrets of Monte Carlo
Character: British Inspector
Released: June 20, 1951
Type: Movie
A U.S. businessman abroad is the patsy for the theft of a rajah's jewels.
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Celia: The Sinister Affair of Poor Aunt Nora
Title: Celia: The Sinister Affair of Poor Aunt Nora
Character: Larry Peters
Released: August 29, 1949
Type: Movie
A private detective (Bruce Lester) and an aspiring actress (Hy Hazell) join forces to thwart a man's scheme to murder his wealthy--and much older--wife. British thriller, directed by Francis Searle.
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I Walk Alone
Title: I Walk Alone
Character: Charles (uncredited)
Released: December 31, 1947
Type: Movie
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.
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Golden Earrings
Title: Golden Earrings
Character: Richard Byrd
Released: August 27, 1947
Type: Movie
A British colonel escapes from the Gestapo to the Black Forest and poses as a Gypsy's mate.
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Strange Journey
Title: Strange Journey
Character: Roger Blythe
Released: October 3, 1946
Type: Movie
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.
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Without Reservations
Title: Without Reservations
Character: Army Lieutenant (uncredited)
Released: May 13, 1946
Type: Movie
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.
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Above Suspicion
Title: Above Suspicion
Character: Thornley
Released: May 31, 1943
Type: Movie
Two newlyweds spy on the Nazis for the British Secret Service during their honeymoon in Europe.
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The Mysterious Doctor
Title: The Mysterious Doctor
Character: Lt. Christopher 'Kit' Hilton
Released: March 3, 1943
Type: Movie
The citizens of a tiny Cornish village are tormented during World War II by a headless ghost which is haunting the local tin mine.
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Eagle Squadron
Title: Eagle Squadron
Character: King
Released: June 16, 1942
Type: Movie
An American joins the British Royal Air Force just before Pearl Harbor is attacked, and falls in love with a beautiful English girl.
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A Yank in the R.A.F.
Title: A Yank in the R.A.F.
Character: Flight Lt. Sterling Richardson
Released: September 26, 1941
Type: Movie
An American pilot impulsively joins His Majesty's Royal Air Force in Britain in an attempt to impress his ex-girlfriend.
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Man Hunt
Title: Man Hunt
Released: June 13, 1941
Type: Movie
Shortly before the start of WW2, renown British big-game hunter 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.
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Shining Victory
Title: Shining Victory
Character: Dr. Bentley
Released: May 30, 1941
Type: Movie
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.
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Singapore Woman
Title: Singapore Woman
Character: Clyde
Released: May 17, 1941
Type: Movie
A fallen woman seeks redemption at a Singapore rubber plantation. Melodrama.
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Shadows on the Stairs
Title: Shadows on the Stairs
Character: Hugh Bromilow
Released: March 1, 1941
Type: Movie
Occupants of a London boarding house become suspects as a string of murders are discovered.
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The Letter
Title: The Letter
Character: John Withers
Released: November 21, 1940
Type: Movie
After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.
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Pride and Prejudice
Title: Pride and Prejudice
Character: Mr. Bingley
Released: July 26, 1940
Type: Movie
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five unmarried daughters, and Mrs. Bennet is especially eager to find suitable husbands for them. When the rich single gentlemen Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy come to live nearby, the Bennets have high hopes. But pride, prejudice and misunderstandings all combine to complicate their relationships and to make happiness difficult.
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My Son, My Son!
Title: My Son, My Son!
Character: Rory O'Riorden
Released: March 21, 1940
Type: Movie
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.
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The Invisible Man Returns
Title: The Invisible Man Returns
Character: Chaplain (uncredited)
Released: January 12, 1940
Type: Movie
The owner of a coal mining operation, falsely imprisoned for fratricide, takes a drug to make him invisible, despite its side effect: gradual madness.
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British Intelligence
Title: British Intelligence
Character: Frank Bennett
Released: November 10, 1939
Type: Movie
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.
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The Witness Vanishes
Title: The Witness Vanishes
Character: Lord Noel Stratton
Released: September 22, 1939
Type: Movie
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.
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If I Were King
Title: If I Were King
Character: Noel de Jolys
Released: September 28, 1938
Type: Movie
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.
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Boy Meets Girl
Title: Boy Meets Girl
Character: Rodney Bowman
Released: August 27, 1938
Type: Movie
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...
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Crime Over London
Title: Crime Over London
Character: Ronald Martin
Released: October 21, 1936
Type: Movie
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.
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The Tenth Man
Title: The Tenth Man
Character: Edward O'Donnell
Released: August 12, 1936
Type: Movie
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.
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A Star Fell from Heaven
Title: A Star Fell from Heaven
Character: Winkler
Released: June 8, 1936
Type: Movie
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.
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Ourselves Alone
Title: Ourselves Alone
Character: 2nd Lieut. Lingard
Released: April 27, 1936
Type: Movie
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.
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Old Roses
Title: Old Roses
Character: Chris Morgan
Released: January 1, 1935
Type: Movie
An elderly man assists the police in solving a murder, but accidentally reveals his own criminal past in the process.
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Death at Broadcasting House
Title: Death at Broadcasting House
Character: Peter Ridgwell (uncredited)
Released: November 1, 1934
Type: Movie
An actor is murdered live on air whilst a play is being broadcast. Everyone in the play and broadcasting house fall under suspicion.
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All That Is England
Title: All That Is England
Released: July 25, 1932
Type: Movie
Austin promotional short, showing a tour around the country by many Austin models, from the Seven to the Ascot.