Alastair Sim on stage and screen
# Alastair Sim on stage and screen

The Scottish actor Alastair Sim (1900–1976) performed in many media of light entertainment, including theatre, film and television. His career spanned from 1930 until his death. During that time he was a "memorable character player of faded Anglo-Scottish gentility, whimsically put-upon countenance, and sepulchral, sometimes minatory, laugh".

After studying chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, he was employed, between 1925 and 1930, as a lecturer in elocution at New College, Edinburgh, and also established his own school of drama and speech training. In 1930 he made his professional stage debut as a messenger in Othello at the Savoy Theatre, London—with Paul Robeson and Peggy Ashcroft in the lead roles. During the next five years he appeared on stage in New York and the UK, and spent two years at the Old Vic.

In 1935 he made his film debut, appearing in The Riverside Murder (dir. Albert Parker); he appeared in four films that year, and five the following. His film career progressed and by the mid 1940s he was a well-known figure in the theatre and cinema. The Times highlighted some of his more notable films, including Green for Danger (1946), The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950), Scrooge (1951), An Inspector Calls (1954), The Green Man (1956) and School for Scoundrels (1960). His Burke and Hare film The Anatomist debuted on British TV in 1956, and was later released theatrically in the U.S. in 1961.

Sim had been Rector of the University of Edinburgh in 1951, and was awarded CBE in 1953, although he turned down a knighthood that was offered to him by Edward Heath. His biographer, Bruce Babington, considered that "Sim was the paradigm – authority figure, yes, but often shadily duplicitous, often a manipulator of official rhetoric, his sexless bachelor persona containing strains of sexual ambiguity, his jolliness a latent vampirism." Sim died in August 1976.

## Stage credits

Stage credits of Alastair Sim :

| Production | Date | Theatre (London, unless otherwise noted) | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Othello | 19 May 1930 | Savoy Theatre | Messenger | |
| Caviare | December 1930 | Little Theatre | | Revue |
| Betrayal | January 1931 | Little Theatre | Vasiliy | |
| The Venetian | February 1931 | Little Theatre | Cardinal Medici | |
| The Venetian | 31 October 1931 | Masque Theatre, New York | Cardinal Medici | |
| Julius Caesar | January 1932 | The Old Vic | Trebonius/Lucilius | |
| Lincoln | February 1932 | The Old Vic | John Wilkes Booth | |
| Othello | March 1932 | The Old Vic | Duke of Venice | |
| Twelfth Night | March 1932 | The Old Vic | Antonio | |
| Hamlet | April 1932 | The Old Vic | King Claudius | |
| Caesar and Cleopatra | September 1932 | The Old Vic | Pothinus | |
| Cymbeline | October 1932 | The Old Vic | Cymbeline | |
| As You Like It | October 1932 | The Old Vic | Duke Senior | |
| Macbeth | November 1932 | The Old Vic | Banquo | |
| The Winter's Tale | January 1933 | The Old Vic | Polixenes | |
| The Admirable Bashville Or, Constancy Rewarded | February 1933 | The Old Vic | Cetewayo | |
| Mary Stuart | February 1933 | The Old Vic | Sir Thomas Randolf | |
| Romeo and Juliet | March 1933 | The Old Vic | Apothecary | |
| The School for Scandal | March 1933 | The Old Vic | Crabtree | |
| The Tempest | April 1933 | The Old Vic | Antonio | |
| As You Desire Me | September 1933 | Gate Theatre | Carl Salter | |
| The Rose Without a Thorn | November 1933 | Duke of York's Theatre | Sir Thomas Audley | |
| The Man Who Was Fed Up | November 1933 | Vaudeville Theatre | Donald Geddes | |
| The Devil in the News | June 1934 | Grafton Theatre | Dominican Friar | |
| Volpone | October 1934 | Fortune Theatre | Voltore | One performance |
| The Life That I Gave Him | October 1934 | Little Theatre | Don Giorgio | |
| Murder Trial | October 1934 | Little Theatre | The Judge | |
| Youth at the Helm | November 1934 | Westminster Theatre | Ponsonby | |
| Lady Precious Stream | November 1934 | Little Theatre | General Wei | |
| Alice in Wonderland | December 1934 | Duke of York's Theatre | The Mad Hatter | |
| Youth at the Helm | February 1935 | Globe | Ponsonby | |
| The Squeaker | March 1937 | Strand Theatre | Collie | |
| The Gusher | July 1937 | Prince's Theatre | Peter Bogle | |
| What Say They? | 1939 | Malvern Festival | Professor Hayman | |
| Old Master | 1939 | Malvern Festival | Vane Barra | |
| You of all People | November 1939 | Prince of Wales Theatre | Portwine | |
| What Say They? | March 1940 | Golders Green Theatre | Professor Hayman | |
| Cottage to Let | July 1940 | Wyndham's Theatre | Charles Dimble | |
| Cottage to Let | May 1941 | Wyndham's Theatre | Charles Dimble | |
| Peter Pan | December 1941 | Adelphi Theatre | Captain Hook & Mr Darling | |
| Peter Pan | December 1942 | Winter Garden Theatre | Captain Hook & Mr Darling | |
| Mr Bolfry | August 1943 | Westminster Theatre | Mr McCrimmon | Also director |
| It Depends What You Mean | October 1944 | Westminster Theatre | Reverend William Paris | Also director |
| The Forrigan Reel | October 1945 | Sadler's Wells Theatre | Old MacAlpin | Also director |
| Death of a Rat | January 1946 | Lyric Theatre | Wouterson | |
| Peter Pan | December 1946 | Scala Theatre | Captain Hook | |
| Dr Angelus | July 1947 | Phoenix Theatre | Dr Angelus | Also director |
| The Anatomist | November 1948 | Westminster Theatre | Dr Knox | Also director |
| Mr Gillie | March 1950 | Garrick Theatre | Mr Gillie | Also director |
| Mr Bolfry | August 1956 | Aldwych Theatre | Mr Bolfry | Also director |
| The Brass Butterfly | April 1958 | Strand Theatre | Emperor | Also director |
| The Bargain | January 1961 | St Martin's Theatre | George Selwyn | Also director |
| The Tempest | May 1962 | The Old Vic | Prospero | |
| Windfall | July 1963 | Lyric Theatre | Alexander Lindsay | Also director |
| Peter Pan | 14 December 1963 | Scala Theatre | Captain Hook | |
| The Merchant of Venice | September 1964 | Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham | Shylock | |
| Peter Pan | December 1964 | Scala Theatre | Captain Hook | |
| The Elephant's Foot | April 1965 | Touring | Freer | Also director |
| Too True to Be Good | September 1965 | Edinburgh Festival, then Strand Theatre | Colonel Tallboys | |
| The Clandestine Marriage | 1966 | Chichester Festival Theatre | Lord Ogleby | |
| Number Ten | August 1967 | Strand Theatre | Prime Minister | |
| Peter Pan | December 1968 | Scala Theatre | Captain Hook | |
| The Magistrate | September 1969 | Chichester Festival Theatre | Mr Poskitt | |
| The Jockey Club Stakes | October 1970 | Vaudeville Theatre | Marquess of Candover | |
| Siege | February 1972 | Cambridge Theatre | Willy | |
| A Private Matter | January 1973 | Vaudeville Theatre | Marvyn Dakyns | |
| Dandy Dick | 1973 | Chichester Festival Theatre | Augustine Judd | |
| Dandy Dick | October 1973 | Garrick Theatre | Augustine Judd | |
| The Clandestine Marriage | April 1975 | Savoy Theatre | Lord Ogleby | |

## Filmography

Filmography of Sim :

| Film | Year | Role |
| - | - | - |
| The Riverside Murder | 1935 | Sgt 'Mack' McKay |
| The Private Secretary | 1935 | Mr Nebulae |
| Late Extra | 1935 | Mac |
| A Fire Has Been Arranged | 1935 | Cutte |
| The Case of Gabriel Perry | 1935 | |
| Wedding Group | 1936 | Angus Graham |
| Troubled Waters | 1936 | Mac MacTavish |
| The Man in the Mirror | 1936 | Mannering |
| Keep Your Seats, Please | 1936 | A. S. Drayton |
| The Big Noise | 1936 | Finny |
| Strange Experiment | 1937 | 'Pop' Lawler |
| A Romance in Flanders | 1937 | Colonel Wexton |
| Melody and Romance | 1937 | Professor Williams |
| Clothes and the Woman | 1937 | Francois |
| Gangway | 1937 | Taggett |
| The Squeaker | 1937 | Joshua Collie |
| This Man Is News | 1938 | Lochlan Macgregor |
| The Terror | 1938 | Soapy Marks |
| Sailing Along | 1938 | Sylvester |
| Alf's Button Afloat | 1938 | The Genie of the Button |
| Climbing High | 1938 | Max |
| This Man in Paris | 1939 | Lochlan Macgregor |
| The Mysterious Mr. Davis | 1939 | George, the lunatic |
| Inspector Hornleigh | 1939 | Sergeant Bingham |
| Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday | 1939 | Sergeant Bingham |
| Law and Disorder | 1940 | Samuel Blight |
| Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It | 1941 | Sergeant Bingham |
| Cottage to Let | 1941 | Charles Dimble |
| Her Father's Daughter | 1941 | Mr McForrest |
| Let the People Sing | 1942 | Professor Ernst Kronak |
| Nero | 1943 | Nero |
| Waterloo Road | 1945 | Dr Montgomery |
| Green for Danger | 1946 | Inspector Cockrill |
| Captain Boycott | 1947 | Father McKeogh |
| Hue and Cry | 1947 | Felix H. Wilkinson |
| London Belongs to Me | 1948 | Henry Squales |
| Stage Fright | 1950 | Commodore Gill |
| The Happiest Days of Your Life | 1950 | Wetherby Pond |
| Laughter in Paradise | 1951 | Deniston Russell |
| Lady Godiva Rides Again | 1951 | Mr. Murington |
| Scrooge | 1951 | Ebenezer Scrooge |
| Innocents in Paris | 1952 | Sir Norman Barker |
| Folly to Be Wise | 1953 | Rev. William Paris |
| The Belles of St. Trinian's | 1954 | Miss Millicent Fritton/Clarence Fritton |
| An Inspector Calls | 1954 | Inspector Poole |
| Geordie | 1955 | The Laird |
| Escapade | 1955 | Dr Skillingsworth |
| The Green Man | 1956 | Harry Hawkins |
| Blue Murder at St Trinian's | 1957 | Miss Amelia Fritton |
| The Doctor's Dilemma | 1958 | Cutler Walpole |
| Left Right and Centre | 1959 | Lord Wilcot |
| The Millionairess | 1960 | Julius Sagamore |
| School for Scoundrels | 1960 | Stephen Potter |
| A Christmas Carol | 1971 | Voice of Scrooge |
| The Ruling Class | 1972 | Bishop Lampton |
| Royal Flash | 1975 | Mr Greig |
| Escape from the Dark | 1976 | Lord Harrogate |

## Television

Television appearances of Sim :

| Programme | Date | Channel | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Mr. Gillie | 25 July 1950 | BBC Television | Mr Gillie | |
| Speaking Personally | 14 March 1952 | BBC Television | Himself | A 15-minute monologue to camera about the difficulties of delivering a monologue to camera |
| Play of the Week | 6 February 1956 | ITV | Dr Knox | "The Anatomist" |
| Misleading Cases | 20 June 1967 – 25 July 1967 | BBC Television | Mr Justice Swallow | Six episodes |
| Cold Comfort Farm | 22 June 1968 – 6 July 1968 | BBC Television | Amos | Three episodes |
| Misleading Cases | 18 September 1968 – 30 October 1968 | BBC Television | Mr Justice Swallow | Six episodes |
| Misleading Cases | 30 July 1971 – 10 September 1971 | BBC Television | Mr Justice Swallow | Six episodes |
| Play for Today | 20 November 1972 | BBC Television | General Suffolk | "The General's Day" |
| The Prodigal Daughter | 5 January 1975 | ITV | Father Perfect | |
| Rogue Male | 22 September 1976 | BBC Television | The Earl | |
| To See Such Fun | 25 December 1977 | ITV | Himself | |
