Actors Gallery


In July 2003 Bill wrote to actors who had performed at Southall during
their careers.  Below we include a selection of their replies.
                                        Bill wrote to director Val Guest. And out of the blue Val telephoned from the USA. At 93, Val spoke with great clarity but could only recall the one Just William film he made at Southall Studios in 1947 -1948. Val’s autobiography has the director pictured (top right) on the set of Just William's Luck with future wife Yolande Donlan. Sadly Val passed away on 10th May 2006 at his home in Palm Springs, California.
                                        Terence Alexander phoned. Many will remember him as Charlie Hungerford from "Bergerac" on TV. Little Southall memory remains with Terence but nevertheless was very interesting to chat to. The still is from "The Runaway Bus".
                                        We receive a reply from Virginia McKenna. From her scrapbook she sent us some reviews of "The Oracle". ‘Most of the film was shot on location with only the interiors done at Southall’ Virginia concludes.
                                        News of John Bentley came from his wife. At 88, John is bedridden with arthritis and any Southall recollections have entirely disappeared from the actor’s memory.

Policing the East African territory of Kenya was the theme and setting for "The African Patrol" series which starred John Bentley.
                                        Although it was more than fifty years ago, Rona Anderson recollects the films, "Double Exposure" and "The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery", both with Robert Beatty.

"You must remember those B films were usually made in three weeks - here and gone pretty quickly".

Rona searched her archives but unfortunately could not provide us with any further information.
                                        ’As a jobbing actor I often had bit parts requiring one day’s shooting. The only Southall film I can recall was "Time Gentlemen Please" from 1952’. The letter was signed Ian Carmichael.
                                        William Tell, aka Conrad Phillips, wrote from France where he now lives. Most of Southall had slipped Conrad’s memory except"The Last Man to Hang?"from 1956 with actor John Schlesinger before he became a famous director.

Conrad Phillips went on to star in the black-and-white ITV series "William Tell".
                                        Not long after, actor John Horsley rang bringing to life reminiscences about "The Runaway Bus" starring Margaret Rutherford and Frankie Howerd; one of five films he made at Southall.

Viewers will recognise John as "Doc" from the 1976 BBC series "The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin" which also starred Leonard Rossiter.
In July 2008 we had correspondence from Reg Varney/Jeanne Marley.