Basil Radford

Biography

Basil Radford (1897–1952) was a British character actor.

He is probably best-remembered for his appearances alongside Naunton Wayne as two cricket-obsessed Englishman in several films from 1938-1949. The two first appeared as their characters "Charters" and "Caldicott" in Alfred Hitchcock's 1938 thriller The Lady Vanishes. They were popular enough to reprise their roles in the 1940 sequel Night Train to Munich, which was again scripted by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat. They were the only cast members to return from the original film.

They went on to appear together in several other 1940s films, including Crook's Tour (1941), Millions Like Us (1943), Dead of Night (1945), It's Not Cricket (1948), Quartet (1948) and Passport to Pimlico (1949).

Radford died of a heart attack on 20 October 1952, while rehearsing for a radio show with Naunton Wayne in London.

Filmography

With Hitchcock...

Young and Innocent (1937) — cast: Erica's Uncle Basil
The Lady Vanishes (1938) — cast: Charters
Jamaica Inn (1939) — cast: His Friend

Other Works...

Night Train to Munich (1940) — cast: Charters

Film Frames

Selection of film frames: Basil Radford (click image to view larger version or refresh thumbnails)...

Image Gallery

Images from the Hitchcock Gallery (click to view larger versions or search for all relevant images)...

Links