# Bernard Lee on stage and screen

Bernard Lee (1908–1981) was an English actor who performed in many light entertainment media, including film, television and theatre. His career spanned from 1934 to 1981, although he made his first appearance on the stage at the age of six. He is perhaps best known for playing M in the first eleven Eon-produced James Bond films.
Lee trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, before making his professional stage debut in 1924. He appeared on film for the first time in 1934 in the Leslie Howard Gordon-directed comedy The Double Event, where he played the part of Dennison. Although he was in wartime service with the Royal Sussex Regiment between 1940 and 1946, he had already been in several films, which were released between 1939 and 1943. He returned to acting after the war and was offered a role in the play Stage Door while awaiting his demob.
Lee appeared on stage and television dramatisations, as well as in more than 100 films. He was known for his roles as authority figures, often playing military characters, policemen or officials. Highlights in his career included The Third Man, The Blue Lamp, The Battle of the River Plate, Whistle Down the Wind and the James Bond series. Suffering from stomach cancer, Lee died in 1981; in his obituary The Guardian noted that Lee was a "solid and reliable character actor" who displayed "a rugged dependency".

## Stage

Known stage credits of Bernard Lee :
| Production | Date | Role | Theatre |
| White Cargo | 1926 | Longford | UK tour |
| The Ringer | 20 February 1928 – | John Lenley | Hull Grand Theatre |
| The Ringer | May 1928 – | John Lenley | Grand Theatre, Derby |
| The Happy Ending | June 1928 – | — | Rusholme Theatre, Manchester |
| East Lynne | 25 May 1929 – 31 May 1929 | Archibald Carlyle | Regent Theatre |
| The Squeaker | 9 November 1929 – | Captain Leslie | Regent Theatre |
| Journey's End | 1930 | Captain Stanhope | UK tour |
| A Pair of Silk Stockings | 14 March 1930 – | — | Alexandra Theatre, Harwich |
| The Whole Town's Talking | 4 February 1931 – | — | Alexandra Hall, Dovercourt |
| On the Spot | 12 December 1931 – | Captain Perrelli | Regent Theatre |
| The Case of the Frightened Lady | April 1932 – | Lord Lebanon | Regent Theatre |
| Appearances | December 1932 – | Fred Kellard | Fortune Theatre |
| Heritage | May 1933 – | Peter and Geoffrey Trail | Fortune Theatre |
| Love for Sale | May 1933 – | Pip | Fortune Theatre |
| Tudor Wench | October 1933 – | Sir John Harlington | Embassy Theatre |
| The Terror | November 1933 – | Ferdinand Fane | Lyceum Theatre |
| Take Heed! | 28 January 1934 – | Roman | Piccadilly Theatre |
| The Queen Who Kept Her Head | February 1934 – | Sir Thomas Seymour | Kingsway Theatre |
| Without Witness | March 1934 – | Saunders | Duke of York's Theatre |
| Murder in Motley | April 1934 – | — | Royalty Theatre |
| Ten Minute Alibi | May 1934 – | Colin Derwent | Phoenix Theatre |
| Root of all Evil | July 1934 – | — | St Martin's Theatre |
| Murder in Motley | January 1935 – | Jimmy O'Bryan | Kingsway Theatre |
| The Shadow Man | April 1935 – | Johnny Clayton | Piccadilly Theatre |
| The Philanthropist | September 1935 – | Antoine Duval | Arts Theatre |
| Distinguished Gathering | October 1935 – | Felix Montague | Embassy Theatre |
| Murder Gang | November 1935 – | Walter Grainger | Embassy Theatre |
| Red Night | March 1936 – | Private Whitman | Queen's Theatre, London |
| The Future That Was | April 1936 – | Anthony Pittman and Ben Manassey | Ambassadors Theatre |
| The Provoked Wife | October 1936 – | Heartfree | Embassy Theatre |
| Young Madam Conti | November 1936 – | Stephen Horka | Savoy Theatre |
| And the Music Stopped | 1937 – | — | Streatham Hill Theatre |
| Night Sky | January 1937 – | Ray Dawson | Savoy Theatre |
| Tavern in the Town | February 1937 – | — | Embassy Theatre |
| Young Madam Conti | 31 March 1937 – | — | Music Box Theatre, New York |
| And the Music Stopped | May 1937 – | Detective-Inspector Kinneir | New Theatre |
| The Gusher | July 1937 – | Clarence, the Dodger | Prince's Theatre |
| If I Were You | 24 January 1938 – 1 February 1938 | Arthur Blunt | Mansfield Theatre, New York |
| People of Our Class | April 1938 – | Henry Hayes | Manchester Opera House |
| People of Our Class | May 1938 – | Henry Hayes | New Theatre |
| Blind Man's Buff | 23 September 1938 – | Dr. Chavesse | Arts Theatre |
| Number Six | December 1938 – | Franklyn Dyall | Aldwych Theatre |
| Without Motive? | June 1939 – | Hayland Marlow | Richmond Theatre |
| The Long Mirror | February 1940 – | — | Haymarket Theatre |
| The Long Mirror | March 1940 – | Michael Camber | Oxford Playhouse |
| Penny Wise | June 1940 – | Gordon | Richmond Theatre |
| Stage Door | February 1946 – | David Kingsley | Saville Theatre |
| Fools Rush In | June 1946 – | Paul | UK tour |
| Fools Rush In | September 1946 – | Paul | Fortune Theatre |
| Peace in Our Time | July 1947 – | Fred Shattock | Lyric Theatre |
| Seagulls Over Sorrento | June 1950 – | Seaman "Lofty" Turner | Apollo Theatre |
| The Desperate Hours | April 1955 – | Dan Hilliard | Hippodrome Theatre |
| Act of Violence | October 1962 – | — | St Martin's Theatre, and subsequent UK tour |
| Norman | April 1963 – | Charlie | Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool |
| Norman | 20 May 1963 – | Charlie | Duchess Theatre |
| The Farm | 26 September 1973 – 27 October 1973 | Mr Slattery | Royal Court Theatre |
| The Farm | 1 November 1973 – 8 December 1973 | Mr Slattery | Mayfair Theatre |
| Jingo | August 1975 – | Bernard | Aldwych Theatre |
* ^1 There is no evidence available to help with end dates for the productions.

## Filmography

Filmography of Bernard Lee :
| Film | Year | Role | Notes |
| The Double Event | 1934 | Dennison | |
| The River House Mystery | 1935 | Wade Belloc | |
| Rhodes of Africa | 1936 | Cartwright | |
| Love from a Stranger | 1937 | Cast Member | Uncredited |
| The Black Tulip | 1937 | William of Orange | |
| The Terror | 1938 | Ferdy Fane | |
| Murder in Soho | 1939 | Roy Barnes | |
| The Frozen Limits | 1939 | Bill McGrew | |
| Let George Do It! | 1940 | Oscar | US title To Hell with Hitler |
| Spare a Copper | 1940 | Jake | |
| Once a Crook | 1941 | The Duke | |
| The New Lot | 1943 | Interviewing Officer | Uncredited |
| This Man Is Mine | 1946 | James Nicholls | |
| The Courtneys of Curzon Street | 1947 | Colonel Gascoyne | US title Kathy's Love Affair |
| Dusty Bates | 1947 | Captain Ford | US title The Adventures of Dusty Bates |
| The Fallen Idol | 1948 | Detective Hart | |
| Quartet | 1948 | Ned Preston, Prison Visitor | (segment "The Kite") |
| Elizabeth of Ladymead | 1948 | John Beresford in 1903 | |
| The Third Man | 1949 | Sergeant Paine | |
| The Blue Lamp | 1950 | Inspector Cherry | |
| Morning Departure | 1950 | Commander Gates | US title Operation Disaster |
| Last Holiday | 1950 | Inspector Wilton | |
| Odette | 1950 | Jack | |
| Cage of Gold | 1950 | Inspector Grey | |
| The Adventurers | 1951 | Jack O'Connell | US title Fortune in Diamonds |
| White Corridors | 1951 | Burgess | |
| Calling Bulldog Drummond | 1951 | Colonel Webson | |
| Appointment with Venus | 1951 | Brigadier | US title Island Rescue |
| Mr. Denning Drives North | 1951 | Inspector Dodds | |
| Gift Horse | 1952 | Able Seaman 'Stripey' Wood | US title Glory at Sea |
| The Yellow Balloon | 1953 | Constable Chapman | |
| Single-Handed | 1953 | Petty Officer 'Stokes' Wheatley | US title C.S. Forester's Sailor of the King |
| Beat the Devil | 1953 | Inspector Jack Clayton | |
| The Rainbow Jacket | 1954 | Racketeer | Uncredited |
| Father Brown | 1954 | Inspector Valentine | US title The Detective |
| Seagulls Over Sorrento | 1954 | Seaman 'Lofty' Turner | US title Crest of the Wave |
| The Purple Plain | 1954 | Doctor Harris | |
| Out of the Clouds | 1955 | Customs Officer | |
| The Ship That Died of Shame | 1955 | Sam Brewster | US title PT Raiders |
| The Battle of the River Plate | 1956 | Captain Dove—M.S. Africa Shell | US title Pursuit of the Graf Spee |
| The Spanish Gardener | 1956 | Leighton Bailey | |
| Fire Down Below | 1957 | Doctor Sam Blake | |
| Across the Bridge | 1957 | Chief Inspector Hadden | |
| High Flight | 1957 | Flight Sergeant Harris | |
| Dunkirk | 1958 | Charles Foreman | |
| The Key | 1958 | Commander Wadlow | |
| The Man Upstairs | 1958 | Inspector Thompson | |
| Nowhere to Go | 1958 | Victor Sloane, alias Lee Henderson | |
| Kidnapped | 1959 | Captain Hoseason | |
| Danger Within | 1959 | Lieutenant-Colonel Huxley | US title Breakout |
| Beyond This Place | 1959 | Patrick Mathry | US title Web of Evidence |
| Clue of the Twisted Candle | 1960 | Superintendent Meredith | |
| Sink the Bismarck! | 1960 | Firing Officer | Uncredited |
| The Angry Silence | 1960 | Bert Connolly | |
| Cone of Silence | 1960 | Captain George Gort | US title Trouble in the Sky |
| Partners in Crime | 1961 | Inspector Mann | |
| Clue of the Silver Key | 1961 | Superintendent Meredith | |
| Fury at Smugglers' Bay | 1961 | Black John | |
| The Secret Partner | 1961 | Superintendent Frank Hanbury | |
| Whistle Down the Wind | 1961 | Mr Bostock | |
| The Share Out | 1962 | Superintendent Meredith | |
| Dr. No | 1962 | M | |
| The Brain | 1962 | Doctor Frank Shears | |
| The L-Shaped Room | 1962 | Charlie | |
| From Russia with Love | 1963 | M | |
| Ring of Spies | 1964 | Henry Houghton | US Title Ring of Treason |
| Saturday Night Out | 1964 | George Hudson | |
| A Place to Go | 1964 | Matt Flint | |
| Goldfinger | 1964 | M | |
| Dr. Terror's House of Horrors | 1965 | Hopkins | (segment "Creeping Vine") |
| Two Left Feet | 1965 | Mr Crabbe | |
| The Spy Who Came in from the Cold | 1965 | Patmore | |
| The Legend of Young Dick Turpin | 1965 | Jeremiah | |
| The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders | 1965 | Landlord | Uncredited |
| Thunderball | 1965 | M | |
| O.K. Connery | 1967 | Commander Cunningham | (Bond Parody) US title Operation Kid Brother |
| You Only Live Twice | 1967 | M | |
| Journey to Midnight | 1968 | Ben Loker | (episode 'Poor Butterfly') |
| Crossplot | 1969 | Chilmore | |
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service | 1969 | M | |
| The Raging Moon | 1971 | Uncle Bob | US title Long Ago, Tomorrow |
| Dulcima | 1971 | Mr Gaskain | |
| Diamonds Are Forever | 1971 | M | |
| Danger Point | 1971 | Captain | |
| Live and Let Die | 1973 | M | |
| Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell | 1974 | Tarmut | |
| Percy's Progress | 1974 | Barraclough | US title It's Not the Size That Counts |
| The Man with the Golden Gun | 1974 | M | |
| Bons Baisers de Hong Kong | 1975 | David Marton | (Bond Parody) Also known as From Hong Kong with Love |
| The Spy Who Loved Me | 1977 | M | |
| Moonraker | 1979 | M | |
* ^1 The 1958 British Film and Television Yearbook also lists Lee as appearing in an undated film The Outsider, although it does not say whether this uncredited role was in the 1931 or 1939 film of that name. The 1942 International Motion Picture Almanac claims Lee appeared in The Tunnel (for Gaumont-British), Secret Agent (for Gaumont-British) and The Terror (for Alliance); this last is almost certainly the 1940 U.S. release of the 1938 British film listed above.

## Television

Bernard Lee's television appearances :
| Programme | Date | Role | Channel | Notes |
| Television Playhouse, "The Golden Fleece" | 31 December 1955 | William Lotless | ITV | Television production of a J. B. Priestley play |
| Theatre Royal, "The Stolen Pearl" | 8 January 1956 | Candleblow Smith | ITV | |
| Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, "A Borderline Case" | 30 October 1956 | Rudi Lankert | ITV | |
| Playdate, "All Correct, Sir" | 13 December 1956 | Cast Member | ITV | |
| Television Playhouse: Cornelius | 18 July 1958 | Cornelius | ITV | Television production of a J. B. Priestley play |
| Armchair Theatre, "Ernie Barger is 50" | 8 February 1959 | Ernie Barger | ITV | |
| Play of the Week, "Family on Trial" | 21 April 1959 | Detective Inspector Lunt | ITV | |
| Sunday Night Theatre, "Crime Passionnel" | 20 September 1959 | Hoederer | BBC Television | Television production of a Jean-Paul Sartre play |
| Armchair Theatre, "Cold Fury" | 31 January 1960 | Aaronson | ITV | |
| Armchair Theatre, "Nest of Four" | 15 May 1960 | Tom | ITV | |
| The Interrogator | 22 December 1961 | Superintendent Farron | BBC Television | |
| The Third Man, "Portrait of Harry" | 18 May 1963 | Angus Meyrick | BBC Television | |
| Who Was Maddox? | 1964 | Superintendent Meredith | ITV | Television production of an Edgar Wallace thriller |
| Espionage, "Snow on Mount Kama" | 15 February 1964 | John Neary | ITV | |
| Thursday Theatre, "Flowering Cherry" | 7 January 1965 | Jim Cherry | BBC Two | |
| Danger Man, "Whatever Happened To George Foster?" | 30 January 1965 | Lord Ammanford | ITV | |
| The Human Jungle, "Ring of Hate" | 18 March 1965 | Jim Garner | ITV | |
| Thirty-Minute Theatre, "The Passenger" | 30 December 1965 | The Man | BBC Two | |
| Danger Man, "The Man with the Foot" | 3 March 1966 | Derringham | ITV | |
| Armchair Theatre, "The Night Before the Morning After" | 2 April 1966 | Daniel Whittaker | ITV | |
| King of the River | 6 July 1966 | Joss King | BBC One | |
| The Baron, "Masquerade" | 15 October 1966 | Morgan Travis | ITV | Part 1 of a 2-part story: part 2 is called "The Killing" |
| Talking to a Stranger | October 1966 | — | BBC Two | Four-part series |
| The Baron, "The Killing" | 22 October 1966 | Morgan Travis | ITV | Part 2 of a 2-part story: part 1 is called "Masquerade" |
| Half-Hour Story, "Friends" | 6 September 1967 | Frank | ITV | |
| Man in a Suitcase, "Girl Who Never Was" | 25 November 1967 | Kershaw | ITV | |
| The Gamblers: The Man Beneath | 7 December 1967 | Bob Townsend | – | |
| The Jazz Age: Post Mortem | 17 September 1968 | Sir James | BBC Two | Television production of the Noël Coward play Post-Mortem |
| The System: Them Down There | 24 September 1968 | Baxter | ITV | |
| The Wednesday Play, "Nothing Will Be The Same Again" | 6 November 1968 | Frank Lanton | BBC One | |
| Journey to the Unknown: Poor Butterfly | 1969 | Loker | ABC | Also broadcast on ITV 19 May 1969 |
| The Expert, "Post-Mortem on Harry Kirby" | 13 July 1969 | Harry Kirby | BBC Two | |
| The Persuaders!, "Someone Like Me" | 29 October 1971 | Sam Milford | ITV | |
| Pathfinders, "Codename Gomorrah" | 13 December 1972 | Air Vice-Marshal | ITV | |
| The Man Who Died Twice | 13 April 1973 | Cast Member | – | First broadcast in the USA |
| Once Upon a Time: Silver | 12 August 1973 | James Cable | ITV | Based on the Robert Louis Stevenson story Treasure Island |
| Crime of Passion: Emile | 10 September 1973 | Marcel Amiot | ITV | |
| Vienna 1900 Games With Love And Death: Story 1 Mother And Son | 8 December 1973 | Herr Welponer | BBC Two | |
| Play of the Month, "The Skin Game" | 19 May 1974 | Hornblower | BBC One | Television production of a John Galsworthy play |
| Father Brown: The Quick One | 21 November 1974 | John Raggley | ITV | Based on G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories |
| Play of the Month, "The School for Scandal" | 2 February 1975 | Cast Member | BBC One | Based on The School for Scandal, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan |
| Affairs of the Heart: Kate | 9 March 1975 | Mr Drury | ITV | |
| Against The Crowd: Murrain | 27 July 1975 | Beeley | ITV | |
| What A Turn Up | 7 August 1975 | Cast Member | ITV | |
| Warship, "Knight Errant" | 20 January 1976 | Yachtsman | BBC One | |
| Killers: The Chalkpit Murder | 25 August 1976 | Thomas Ley | ITV | |
| Hallmark Hall of Fame, "Beauty and the Beast" | 3 December 1976 | Beaumont | NBC | US television production |
| The Foundation: Business Not Quite As Usual | 1977 | Cast Member | ITV | Nine-part television series |
| A Christmas Carol Being a Ghost Story of Christmas | 24 December 1977 | Ghost of Christmas Present | BBC Two | |
| Saint Joan | 30 December 1979 | Monseigneur de la Trémouille, Lord Chamberlain | BBC One | Television production of a George Bernard Shaw play |
| Star Games | 4 November 1980 | On-screen Participant | ITV | |
| Dangerous Davies – The Last Detective | 4 January 1981 | Sergeant Ben | ITV | Part of the Dangerous Davies series |