CINEFILER

Frank Finlay

Born
August 6, 1926
Died
January 30, 2016
Frank received Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations for his performance as William Shakespeare’s Iago in Stuart Burge’s 1965 film of Laurence Olivier’s staging of Othello. He also won the Best Actor Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. He later essayed the definitive screen portrayal of Alexandre Dumas’ musketeer Porthos in three movies for director Richard Lester: The Three Musketeers (1974), The Four Musketeers (1975) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989). Frank’s many other films include The Longest Day; Tony Richardson’s The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner; Martin Ritt’s The Molly Maguires; Bob Clark’s Murder by Decree; Alan Bridges’ The Return of the Soldier (for which he recieved a BAFTA Award nomination); Franco Zeffrelli’s Sparrow; and Eric Styles’ Dreaming of Joseph Lees; and most recently Roman Polanski’s multi-award winning The Pianist and Norma Jewison’s The Statement. His similarly extensive television projects have earned him two BAFTA Awards, for his performances in The Death of Adolf Hitler (starring as Hitler, with Rex Firkin directing); The Adventures of Don Quixote (as Sancho Panza, opposite Rex Harrison, for director Alvin Rakoff); the ground breaking Bouquet of Barbed Wire and Another Bouquet; 84 Charing Cross Road; and recently the critically acclaimed series The Sins. Born in Farnworth, Lancashire, Finlay had already begun performing on stage when he earned the Sir James Knott Scholarship at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Since then he has led theatre companies in London and on Broadway. He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1984 New Year’s Honours List, and was presented with his CBE by the Queen in February1984.
Known For
A Christmas Carol
(1984)
Jacob Marley
The Key
(1983)
Nino Rolfe
The Pianist
(2002)
Father
Lifeforce
(1985)
Dr. Hans Fallada
The Three Musketeers
(1973)
Porthos / O'Reilly
The Longest Day
(1962)
Pvt. Coke (uncredited)
Inspector Clouseau
(1968)
Supt. Weaver
The Shoes of the Fisherman
(1968)
Igor Bounin
The Four Musketeers
(1974)
Porthos
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
(1962)
Booking Office Clerk
The Wild Geese
(1978)
Fr. Geoghagen
The Return of the Musketeers
(1989)
Porthos
Murder by Decree
(1979)
Inspector Lestrade
Cromwell
(1970)
John Carter
The Thief of Baghdad
(1978)
Abu Bakar
The Molly Maguires
(1970)
Davies
Full Filmography
Acting
The Longest Day
(1962)
Pvt. Coke (uncredited)
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
(1962)
Booking Office Clerk
Private Potter
(1962)
Capt. Patterson
The Hard Knock
(1962)
Franco Angelo
Life for Ruth
(1962)
Teddy's Father
Doctor in Distress
(1963)
Corsetiere
The Informers
(1963)
Leon Sale
The Comedy Man
(1964)
Prout
Hot Enough for June
(1964)
British Embassy Porter
A Study in Terror
(1965)
Inspector Lestrade
Olivier Talks About Othello
(1965)
Archive Footage
Othello
(1965)
Iago
The Wild Affair
(1965)
Drunk
The Sandwich Man
(1966)
Second Fish Porter
The Deadly Bees
(1966)
H.W. Manfred
Much Ado About Nothing
(1967)
Dogberry
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
(1967)
Chaplain
The Jokers
(1967)
Harrassed Man
Robbery
(1967)
Robinson
The Shoes of the Fisherman
(1968)
Igor Bounin
Inspector Clouseau
(1968)
Supt. Weaver
Twisted Nerve
(1968)
Henry Durnley
Julius Caesar
(1969)
Brutus
Blood of the Lamb
(1969)
Albert
The Piano Tuner
(1969)
Wilfred Tilley
The Molly Maguires
(1970)
Davies
The Body
(1970)
Narrator
Cromwell
(1970)
John Carter
The Lie
(1970)
Andrew Firth
Gumshoe
(1971)
William Ginley
Assault
(1971)
Det. Chief Supt. Velyan
Sitting Target
(1972)
Marty Gold
Neither the Sea Nor the Sand
(1972)
George Dabernon
Danny Jones
(1972)
The Merchant of Venice
(1972)
Shylock
The Death of Adolf Hitler
(1973)
Adolf Hitler
Shaft in Africa
(1973)
Vincent Amafi
The Three Musketeers
(1973)
Porthos / O'Reilly
The Adventures Of Don Quixote
(1973)
Sancho Panza
Van der Valk and the Rich
(1973)
Van der Valk
The Four Musketeers
(1974)
Porthos
84 Charing Cross Road
(1975)
Frank Doel
Count Dracula
(1977)
Abraham van Helsing
The Thief of Baghdad
(1978)
Abu Bakar
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
(1978)
Peppino
The Wild Geese
(1978)
Fr. Geoghagen
Murder by Decree
(1979)
Inspector Lestrade
Ring of Darkness
(1979)
Paul
Dear Brutus
(1981)
Dearth
Mona
(1982)
Captain Manson
Enigma
(1982)
Canarsky
The Return of the Soldier
(1983)
William Grey
The Ploughman's Lunch
(1983)
Matthew Fox
The Key
(1983)
Nino Rolfe
The Spanish Civil War
(1983)
Narrator
Sakharov
(1984)
Kravtsov
A Christmas Carol
(1984)
Jacob Marley
In the Secret State
(1985)
Frank Strange
Arch of Triumph
(1985)
Col. Boris Morosov
Lifeforce
(1985)
Dr. Hans Fallada
Nineteen Nineteen
(1985)
Sigmund Freud (voice)
Casanova
(1987)
Razetta
The Return of the Musketeers
(1989)
Porthos
King of the Wind
(1990)
Edward Coke
Mountain of Diamonds
(1991)
Garrick
Stalin
(1992)
Sergei
The Other Side
(1992)
Arthur Conan Doyle
Cthulhu Mansion
(1992)
Chandu
Sparrow
(1994)
Father Nunzio
Virgin Mary
(1995)
Monsignor
A Mind to Murder
(1995)
Professor Etherege
Romance and Rejection (So This Is Romance?)
(1997)
Mike's Dad
Limited Edition
(1997)
John Rathbone
Stiff Upper Lips
(1998)
Hudson Junior
Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
(1999)
General Bulstrode
Dreaming of Joseph Lees
(1999)
Father
For My Baby
(2000)
Rudi Wittfogel
The Martins
(2001)
Mr Heath
Station Jim
(2001)
Riorden Snr
The Pianist
(2002)
Father
Eroica
(2003)
Josef Haydn
The Statement
(2003)
Commissaire Vionnet
Lighthouse Hill
(2004)
Alfred
The Waiting Room
(2007)
Roger
Fifty Shades of Erotica
(2015)
Nothing Like a Dame
(2018)
Self (archive footage)
Data provided by TMDB