# Peter Finch on stage, screen and radio

Peter Finch was an English-Australian actor whose career spanned more than forty years.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Company | Notes |
| 1935 | The Magic Shoes | Prince Charming | Claude Flemming | Pacific Productions | A short film, now considered lost, although some stills exist at Australia's National Film and Sound Archive. |
| 1938 | Dad and Dave Come to Town | Bill Ryan | Ken G. Hall | Cinesound Productions | Finch's first feature. He only has one scene of note, acting opposite Bert Bailey. A copy of the scene is available at Australian Screen Online. |
| 1939 | Mr. Chedworth Steps Out | Arthur Jacobs | Ken G. Hall | Cinesound Productions | A clip of Finch acting opposite Cecil Kellaway is available at Australian Screen Online |
| 1941 | While There is Still Time | Jim | Charles Chauvel | | A propaganda short film made for the Australian government during the Second World War. |
| 1941 | The Power and the Glory | Frank Miller | Noel Monkman | Argosy Films | Feature film |
| 1942 | Another Threshold | | Ken G. Hall | Cinesound Productions | A propaganda short film made for the Australian government during the Second World War. |
| 1943 | South West Pacific | RAAF pilot | Ken G. Hall | Cinesound Productions | A propaganda short film made for the Australian government during the Second World War. |
| 1943 | These Stars Are Mine | Reynolds Jnr | George Malcolm | Commonwealth Film Unit | A propaganda short film |
| 1944 | The Rats of Tobruk | Peter Linton | Charles Chauvel | Chamun Productions | Feature. A clip of Finch's death scene is available at Australian Screen Online |
| 1944 | Jungle Patrol | Narrator | Tom Gurr | Commonwealth Film Unit | Documentary made for the Australian government during the Second World War. |
| 1945 | Sons of the Anzacs | Narrator | | Commonwealth Film Unit | Documentary about the Australian army during World War II. |
| 1946 | A Son Is Born | Paul Graham | Eric Porter | Eric Porter Studios | Feature co-starring John McCallum, Ron Randell and Muriel Steinbeck. |
| 1946 | Indonesia Calling | Narration | Joris Ivens | Waterside Workers Union | Documentary |
| 1948 | Red Sky at Morning | Michael | Hartney Arthur | Austral-American Productions | This is considered a lost film. Shot in 1944. |
| 1949 | Eureka Stockade | Humffray | Harry Watt | Ealing Studios | Australian film made before he left for Britain. Finch helped with production. |
| 1949 | Primitive Peoples | Narrator, camera assistant | George Heath | | Three-part documentary about the people of Arnhem Land |
| 1949 | Train of Events | Philip Mason | Harry Watt | Ealing Studios | (segment: 'The Actor') Finch's first British movie in Britain. |
| 1950 | The Wooden Horse | Australian in Hospital | Jack Lee | | |
| 1950 | The Miniver Story | Polish officer | | | First Hollywood film |
| 1952 | The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men | Sheriff of Nottingham | Ken Annakin | Disney | |
| 1953 | The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan | Richard D'Oyly Carte | Sidney Gilliat | London Films | |
| 1953 | The Heart of the Matter | Father Rank | George More O'Ferrall | London Films | |
| 1954 | Elephant Walk | John Wiley | William Dieterle | Paramount Pictures | Hollywood film |
| 1954 | Father Brown | Flambeau | Robert Hamer | Facet Productions | |
| 1954 | The Queen in Australia | Narrator | Stanley Haws | Film Australia | Australian documentary |
| 1954 | Make Me an Offer | Charlie | Cyril Frankel | Group Three Films | First star part in British films |
| 1955 | The Dark Avenger | Comte De Ville | Henry Levin | Allied Artists | He stars opposite fellow Australian Errol Flynn. |
| 1955 | Passage Home | Captain Lucky Ryland | Roy Ward Baker | Group Film Production | First film under contract with Rank |
| 1955 | Josephine and Men | David Hewer | Roy Boulting | Charter Film Productions | |
| 1955 | Simon and Laura | Simon Foster | Muriel Box | Group Film Productions | |
| 1956 | A Town Like Alice | Joe Harman | Jack Lee | | |
| 1956 | The Battle of the River Plate | Capt. Hans Langsdorff | Michael Powell | Archers/Rank | |
| 1957 | The Shiralee | Jim Macauley | Leslie Norman | Ealing | Shot in Australia. Clips from the film are available at Australian Screen Online |
| 1957 | Robbery Under Arms | Captain Starlight | Jack Lee | Rank | Shot in Australia |
| 1957 | Windom's Way | Alec Windom | Ronald Neame | Rank | |
| 1959 | Operation Amsterdam | Jan Smit | Michael McCarthy | Rank | |
| 1959 | The Nun's Story | Dr. Fortunati | Fred Zinneman | Warner Bros | |
| 1960 | Kidnapped | Alan Breck Stewart | Robert Stevenson | Walt Disney Productions | Second film for Disney |
| 1960 | The Day | | Peter Finch | | Co-wrote and directed award-winning short film. |
| 1960 | The Trials of Oscar Wilde | Oscar Wilde | Ken Hughes | Warwick Films | |
| 1961 | The Sins of Rachel Cade | Colonel Henry Derode | Gordon Douglas | Warner Bros | |
| 1961 | No Love for Johnnie | Johnnie Byrne | Ralph Thomas | Five Star/Rank | |
| 1962 | I Thank a Fool | Stephen Dane | Robert Stevens | MGM | |
| 1963 | In the Cool of the Day | Murray Logan | Robert Stevens | MGM | |
| 1964 | The Pumpkin Eater | Jake Armitage | Jack Clayton | Romulus | |
| 1964 | Girl with Green Eyes | Eugene Gaillard | Desmond Davis | Woodfall | |
| 1964 | First Men in the Moon | Baliff | Nathan Juran | | Uncredited cameo |
| 1965 | The Flight of the Phoenix | Capt. Harris | Robert Aldrich | Associates and Aldrich Company Production | |
| 1966 | Judith | Aaron Stein | Daniel Mann | Paramount | |
| 1966 | 10:30 P.M. Summer | Paul | Jules Dassin | | |
| 1967 | Come Spy with Me | Himself | | | Uncredited cameo |
| 1967 | Far from the Madding Crowd | William Boldwood | John Schlesinger | MGM | |
| 1968 | The Legend of Lylah Clare | Lewis Zarken | Robert Aldrich | | |
| 1969 | The Red Tent | General Umberto Nobile | | | |
| 1969 | The Greatest Mother of Them All | Sean Howard | Robert Aldrich | | Short film |
| 1971 | Sunday Bloody Sunday | Daniel Hirsh | John Schlesinger | | Replaced Ian Bannen during filming |
| 1972 | Something to Hide | Harry Field | | | |
| 1973 | Lost Horizon | Richard Conway | | | |
| 1973 | Bequest to the Nation | Adm. Lord Horatio Nelson | | | |
| 1973 | England Made Me | Erich Krogh | | | |
| 1974 | The Abdication | Cardinal Azzolino | | | |
| 1976 | Network | Howard Beale | Sidney Lumet | | Won Oscar |

## Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1949 | The Forgotten Elite | | |
| 1976 | Raid on Entebbe | Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin | Posthumous releaseTelevision film |

## Theatre credits
### Australia

| Date | Title | Author | Role | Theatre | Director | Notes |
| Dec 1933 | Caprice | Sil Vara | | Repertory Theatre, Sydney | | |
| Sept 1934 | The Ringer | Edgar Wallace | Samuel Hackett | Studio Theatre, Sydney | | |
| 1934 | Peter Pan | J. M. Barrie | pirate | Savoy Theatre, Sydney | Doris Fitton | |
| 24 Nov 1934 | Counsellor at Law | Elmer Rice | the Boot Black | Savoy Theatre, Sydney | Doris Fitton | Sumner Locke Elliott in cast |
| 1935 | Richard of Bordeaux | Gordon Daviot | Page Maudelyn | Savoy Theatre, Sydney | Doris Fitton | Sumner Locke Elliott in cast |
| 1935 | Joe Coady's Vaudeville Show | | | Maccabean Hall, Sydney | | |
| 1935 | Bert le Blanc's comedy show | | stooge to le Blanc | | Sydney | |
| 1935 | Jimmy Sharman's Boxing Tent | spruiker | | Royal Easter Show, | | |
| 1935 | Interference | Roland Pertwee & Harold Dearden | Douglas Helder | St James' Hall, Sydney | Edward Howell | |
| 25 May 1935 | False Colours | Frank Harvey | | Independent Theatre, Sydney | Frank Harvey | |
| Sept 1935 | So This is Hollywood | | | Apollo Theatre, Melbourne | | |
| 1936 | Under the Big Top | | | various Queensland towns | George Sorlie/William McFowan | Herbert Hughes in Laughter of Fools by H. F. Maltby, Smithers in Married by Proxy by Avery Hopwood, Peter in Fair and Warmer by Avery Hopwood, Hunter in Ten Minute Alibi by William Armstrong |
| 29 April 1938 | White Cargo | Leon Gordon | Ashley | Theatre Royal, Sydney | Ben Lewin | One off performance |
| 1938 | Personal Appearance | Laurence Riley | Clyde Pelton | Theatre Royal, Sydney and Comedy Theatre, Melbourne | Peter Darling | |
| 19 June 1944 | Night of January 16th | Ayn Rand | DA Flint | Minerva Theatre, Sydney | Frederick J Blackman | |
| 17 Oct 1944 | While the Sun Shines | Terence Rattigan | Earl of Harpenden | Minerva Theatre, Sydney | Frederick J Blackman | later toured this production to army hospitals and bases in 1945 |
| 1945 | French Without Tears | Terence Rattigan | (director only) | various army hospitals and bases | Peter Finch | Later played on radio |
| 16-17 July 1946 | Diamond Cuts Diamond | Nicolai Gogol | Ikharev | Conservatorium of Music, Sydney | Sydney John Kay | |
| 16-17 July 1946 | The Pastry Baker | Lope de Vega | (director only) | Conservatorium of Music, Sydney | Peter Finch | |
| 16-17 July 1946 | The Broken Pitcher | Heinrich von Kleist | Adam | Conservatorium of Music, Sydney | | |
| 1947 | French Without Tears | Terence Rattigan | | Killara Hall, Sydney Sydney Radio Theatre, 1947 | Peter Finch | Finch directed a cast including Leonard Thiele, Tom Lake, Alan White, Adele Brown, Ron Patten |
| 1948 | Midsummer Night | Lajos Bíró | | touring production, Sydney 1948 | Peter Finch | directed only |
| 1948 | Anatole's Wedding Morning | Arthur Schnitzler | | touring production, Sydney | Peter Finch | directed only |
| 18 Aug 1948 | The Imaginary Invalid | Molière adapted by Creswick Jenkinson | Argan | O'Brien's Glass Factory | Sydney John Kay | Seen by Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh |
| 20-22 Sept 1948 | The Imaginary Invalid | Molière adapted by Creswick Jenkinson | Argan | Sydney Town Hall | Sydney John Kay | Finch's final performance before leaving for London |

### United Kingdom

| Date | Title | Author | Role | Theatre | Director | Notes |
| 1949 | Daphne Laureola | James Bridie | Ernest Piaste | | Wyndham's Theatre, London | Murray MacDonald for Laurence Olivier Productions with Edith Evans and Felix Aylmer |
| 1950 | The Damascus Blade | Bridget Boland | Henry Adams | provincial tour | Laurence Olivier | for Laurence Olivier Productions with John Mills and Beatrix Lehmann |
| 1950 | The White Falcon | | | provincial tour | Peter Finch | starring Basil Radford and Sheila Burrel – Finch worked on this as a director only |
| 1950 | Captain Carvallo | Denis Cannan | Professor Winke | St James Theatre, London | Laurence Olivier | for Laurence Olivier Productions with Diana Wynyard and Jill Bennett |
| 1951 | Point of Departure | Jean Anouilh and Kitty Black | Orpheus | Duke of York Theatre, London | Peter Ashmore | for the Company of Four with Mai Zetterling and Stephen Murray (Finch replaced Dirk Bogarde for six weeks on 12 March 1951) |
| 1951 | Othello | William Shakespeare | Iago | St James Theatre, London | Orson Welles | For Laurence Olivier Productions with Orson Welles, Gudrun Ure, Maxine Audley and Edward Mulhare |
| 1952 | The Happy Time | Samuel Taylor | Papa | St James Theatre, London | George Devine | Laurence Olivier Productions, with Geneviève Page, Ronald Squire, George Devine, Rachel Kempson |
| Sept 1952 | Romeo and Juliet | William Shakespeare | Mercutio | Old Vic Theatre, London | Hugh Hunt | with Claire Bloom, Alan Badel |
| Nov 1952 | An Italian Straw Hat | Eugène Labiche and Marc Michel adapted by Thomas Walton | Mons Beaujolais | Old Vic Theatre, London | Denis Carey | with Laurence Payne, Paul Rogers |
| 1958-59 | Two for the Seesaw | William Gibson | Jerry Ryan | Theatre Royal, Brighton and Theatre Royal Haymarket, London | directed by Arthur Penn | for H. M. Tennent with Gerry Jedd |
| 1964 | The Seagull | Anton Chekhov translated by Ann Jellicoe | Trigorin | Queen's Theatre, London | Tony Richardson | with Peggy Ashcroft, Peter McEnery, Vanessa Redgrave, Paul Rogers and George Devine. |

## Partial radio credits

| Year | Title | Role | Author | Notes |
| 1936 | Khyber | | Edmund Barclay | Radio serial. Finch's first radio performance. |
| 1939 | The Laughing Lady | Rene Latour | Gordon Daviot | |
| 24 May 1939 | Send for Paul Temple | Paul Temple | | 8 episode serial |
| March 1939 | Interference | Philip Bowes | Roland Pertwee & Harry Deardon | The first episode of Australia's version of Lux Theatre of the Air |
| 2 April 1939 | Men in White | | | Lux Theatre |
| July 1939 | Soldier of Fortune | | |
| Sept 1939 | The House of a Thousand Whispers | | Edmund Barclay | |
| June 1939 | The Daughter of the Dragon | | | |
| June 1939 | Night Nurse | | | |
| Oct 1939 | The Mysterious Mr. Lynch | Jeffrey Blackburn | Max Afford | Radio serial |
| Nov 1939 | The Playwithout a Name | | | |
| Nov 1939 | Those Who We Love | | | Serial |
| 10 March 1940 | Alcestis of Euripides | | | |
| March 1940 | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | | Jules Verne | serial |
| 17 March 1940 | There's Always a Juliet | Dwight Houston | John Van Druten | |
| Apr 1940 | The Skin Game | Hornblower | John Galsworthy | |
| 13 May 1940 | Grey Face | Jeffrey Blackburn | Max Afford | Radio serial |
| Oct 1940 | The Fall of Edward Barnard | | Somerset Maugham | |
| 1 Nov 1940 | The Queer Affair at Kettering | Jeffrey Blackburn | Max Afford | Radio play |
| Feb 1941 | Mutiny on the Bounty | | | |
| Feb 1941 | Information from the Enemy | | | |
| 11 May 1941 | Portrait of a Gentleman | | George Farwell | Australian play |
| 18 May 1941 | Mr Deeds Comes to Town | Longfellow Deeds | Robert Riskin | |
| 1946 | The Laughing Woman | | | reprise of his performance for which Finch won the 1946 Macquarie Award for Best Male Actor on Australian radio |
| 1946 | Such Men Are Dangerous | Czar Paul I | | |
| 1946 | Crime and Punishment | Raskolnikov | | |
| 1946 | Redemption | | Tolstoy | Finch won the 1947 Macquarie Award for Best Male Actor on Australian radio |
| 1946 | When You Come Home | | | |
| 1946 | Big Sister | | | |
| 1946 | Crossroads of Life) | | | |
| 21 February 1947 | Inevitable Companion | Dr Wilson | | |
| June 1948 | Dark Lady of the Sonnets | | Frank Clelow | |
| 1 July 1948 | Adam Lindsay Gordon | Adam Lindsay Gordon | | |
| July 1948 | Man of Destiny | | | |
| 1 August 1948 | If I Were King | Lead role | Frances Villion | |
| June 1951 | The Fire on the Snow | Teddy Wilson | Douglas Stewart | BBC production of Australian radio play directed by Tyrone Guthrie |