CINEFILER

Francis L. Sullivan

Born
January 6, 1903
Died
November 19, 1956
Francis Loftus Sullivan (6 January 1903, Wandsworth, London - 19 November 1956, New York City) was an English film and stage actor. He attended Stonyhurst, the Jesuit public school in Lancashire, England whose alumni include Charles Laughton and Arthur Conan Doyle. A heavily built man with a striking double-chin and a deep voice, Sullivan made his acting debut at the Old Vic aged 18 in Shakespeare's Richard III and appeared in his first film in 1932. Some of his notable film roles include Mr. Bumble in Oliver Twist (1948) and Phil Nosseross in the film noir Night and the City (1950). Sullivan also played the part of Jaggers in two versions of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations - in 1934 and 1946. He appeared in a fourth Dickens film, the 1935 Universal Pictures version of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, in which he played Crisparkle. In 1938, he was featured in The Citadel, starring Robert Donat, and a decade later, he played the role of Pierre Cauchon in the technicolor version of Joan of Arc, starring Ingrid Bergman. Also in 1938 he starred in a revival of the Stokes' brothers play Oscar Wilde at London's Arts Theatre. Sullivan also acted in light comedies, notably My Favorite Spy (1951), starring Bob Hope and Hedy Lamarr, in which he played an enemy agent, and the comedy Fiddlers Three (1944), portraying Nero. He also played the role of Pothinus in the 1945 film version of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra. The film was directed by Gabriel Pascal, and was the last film personally supervised by Shaw himself. Sullivan later reprised the role in a stage revival of the play. Sullivan, who eventually became a naturalized US citizen, won a Tony Award in 1955 for the Agatha Christie play Witness for the Prosecution. Earlier, he had played Hercule Poirot at the Embassy Theatre (London) in the Christie play, Black Coffee (1930). He died of a heart attack, aged 53 (some sources claim he died from an unspecified "lung ailment"). Description above from the Wikipedia article Francis L. Sullivan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Night and the City
(1950)
Philip Nosseross
Great Expectations
(1946)
Mr. Jaggers
Joan of Arc
(1948)
Pierre Cauchon, Count-Bishop of Beauvais
Oliver Twist
(1948)
Mr. Bumble
Caesar and Cleopatra
(1945)
Pothinus
Full Filmography
Acting
When London Sleeps
(1932)
Rodney Haines
The Chinese Puzzle
(1932)
Herman Strumm
The Missing Rembrandt
(1932)
Baron von Guntermann
Red Wagon
(1933)
Cranley
F.P.1
(1933)
A Sailor
The Right to Live
(1933)
Roger Stoneham
The Wandering Jew
(1933)
Juan de Texada (Phase IV)
Called Back
(1933)
Kaledin
The Return of Bulldog Drummond
(1934)
Carl Peterson
Chu Chin Chow
(1934)
The Caliph
The Fire Raisers
(1934)
Stedding
The Warren Case
(1934)
Prosecuting Counsel (uncredited)
What Happened Then?
(1934)
Richard Bentley, Prosecution Counsel
Cheating Cheaters
(1934)
Dr. George Brockton
Great Expectations
(1934)
Jaggers
Strange Wives
(1934)
Bellamy
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
(1935)
Rev. Mr. Septimus Crisparkle
Her Last Affaire
(1935)
Sir Julian Weyre
Spy of Napoleon
(1936)
Chief of Police
Non-Stop New York
(1937)
Hugo Brant
Action for Slander
(1937)
Sir Quinton Jessops (as Francis Sullavan)
Dinner at the Ritz
(1937)
Brogard
The Citadel
(1938)
Ben Chenkin
The Drum
(1938)
Governor
The Ware Case
(1938)
Attorney General
Kate Plus Ten
(1938)
Lord Flamborough
Climbing High
(1938)
Madman
The Four Just Men
(1939)
Leon Poiccard
Young Man's Fancy
(1939)
Blackbeard, Vincent St George
21 Days Together
(1940)
Mander
'Pimpernel' Smith
(1941)
General von Graum
The Lady from Lisbon
(1942)
Minghetti
The Day Will Dawn
(1942)
Kommandant Ulrich Wettau
The Foreman Went to France
(1942)
French Skipper
The Butler's Dilemma
(1943)
Leo Carrington
Fiddlers Three
(1944)
Nero
Caesar and Cleopatra
(1945)
Pothinus
Great Expectations
(1946)
Mr. Jaggers
Take My Life
(1947)
Prosecuting Counsel
The Man Within
(1947)
Mr. Braddock
Oliver Twist
(1948)
Mr. Bumble
Joan of Arc
(1948)
Pierre Cauchon, Count-Bishop of Beauvais
The Winslow Boy
(1948)
Attorney General
Broken Journey
(1948)
Anton Perami
The Red Danube
(1949)
Colonel Humphrey 'Blinker' Omicron
Christopher Columbus
(1949)
Francisco de Bobadilla
Night and the City
(1950)
Philip Nosseross
My Favorite Spy
(1951)
Karl Brubaker
Behave Yourself!
(1951)
Fat Freddy
Caribbean
(1952)
Andrew McAllister
Pontius Pilate
(1952)
Herod Antipas
Plunder of the Sun
(1953)
Thomas Berrien
Sangaree
(1953)
Dr. Bristol
Drums of Tahiti
(1954)
Commissioner Pierre Duvois
Hell's Island
(1955)
Barzland
The Prodigal
(1955)
Bosra
Ingrid Bergman Remembered
(1996)
Self (archive footage)
Data provided by TMDB