Ronald Adam

Ronald Adam

Birth : 1896-12-30, Bromyard, England, UK

Death : 1979-03-27

Profile

Ronald Adam

Movies

Question of Love
Le juge anglais
Architect Dumas dies from a bullet of his own gun in front of his house. The police suspect his young Swedish wife Catherine and her English lover Tom Hastings. After numerous interrogations, in which they entangle themselves in contradictions, they try to flee, but are soon both caught and brought to trial, he in England, she in France. Only when Catherine keeps on proclaiming her innocence, superintendent Corbier finally considers believing her.
The Man from Nowhere
George Harvey
The Man from Nowhere is a beautifully told Victorian gothic thriller from acclaimed director James Hill. Young orphan Alice has been invited by her rich uncle to live in his country mansion but she soon finds herself persecuted by the apparent visitations of an unsettling stranger. Who is this man from nowhere and just why is he tying to scare her away?
The Ruling Class
Lord
When the Earl of Gurney dies in a cross-dressing accident, his schizophrenic son, Jack, inherits the Gurney estate. Jack is not the average nobleman; he sings and dances across the estate and thinks he is Jesus reincarnated. Believing that Jack is mentally unfit to own the estate, the Gurney family plots to steal Jack's inheritance. As their outrageous schemes fail, the family strives to cure Jack of his bizarre behavior, with disastrous results.
Zeppelin
Prime Minister
The outbreak of World War I places Scots officer Geoffrey Richter-Douglas in an uncomfortable position. Although his allegiance is to Britain, his mother was from an aristocratic Bavarian family, and he spent his summers in Germany as a child. When Geoffrey is approached by a German spy who offers him a chance to defect, he reports the incident to his superiors, but instead of arresting the spy they suggest that he accept her offer--and become an Allied agent. In Germany, among old friends, Geoffrey discovers that loyalty is more complicated than he expected, especially when he finds himself aboard the maiden voyage of a powerful new prototype Zeppelin, headed for Scotland on a secret mission that could decide the outcome of the war.
Song of Norway
Gade
Like the play from which it derived, the film tells of the early struggles of composer Edvard Grieg and his attempts to develop an authentic Norwegian national music. It stars Toralv Maurstad as Grieg and features an international cast including Florence Henderson, Christina Schollin, Robert Morley, Harry Secombe, Oskar Homolka, Edward G. Robinson and Frank Porretta (as Rikard Nordraak). Filmed in Super Panavision 70 by Davis Boulton and presented in single-camera Cinerama in some countries, it was an attempt to capitalise on the success of The Sound of Music.
Who Killed the Cat?
Gregory
A scheming widow tries to persecute three old ladies, but fate takes its revenge on her.
The Tomb of Ligeia
Minister at Graveside
Verden Fell is shattered after the death of his lovely wife. But, after an unexpected encounter with Lady Rowena Trevanion, Fell soon finds himself married again. Nevertheless, his late wife's spirit seems to hang over the dilapidated abbey that Fell shares with his new bride. Lady Rowena senses that something is amiss and, when she investigates, makes a horrifying discovery -- learning that Fell's dead wife is closer than she ever imagined possible.
The Haunting
Eldridge Harper
Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie mansion with a lurid history of violent death and insanity.
Postman's Knock
Mr. Fordyce
Likeable country postman Harold Petts gets transferred from his village to London, where on his arrival he unwittingly foils a mail train robbery. Innocent in the ways of the big city, he is thought to be a member of another gang by both the train robbers and the police, who all suspect him of trying to rob the post office where he works.
Two Letter Alibi
Sir John Fawcett
Charles Hilary is in love with Kathy Forrester, a beautiful television personality, but is married to Louise, an alcoholic with as many lovers as whisky bottles. His pleas for a divorce are met with threats and abuse. "You'll have to murder me first", Louise tells him and three hours later she is found dead, shot with her husband's pistol. When Charles is arrested, Kathy desperately sets to work to prove his innocence.
Three on a Spree
Judge
A young man will inherit a huge fortune--8 million pounds--but to qualify, he must spend a million pounds in just two months. Easy to do? That's what you think!
Offbeat
J. B. Wykeham
When Scotland Yard finds themselves up against a brick wall in tracking down a vicious gang of thieves and bank robbers, they call in Layton, a loner from MI5 to work his way into the gang and help bring them down.
And the Same to You
Trout (as Ronald Adams)
Dickie Dreadnought is the boxing-mad nephew of pious clergyman Reverend Sydney Mullet. To mollify his disapproving uncle, Dickie embarks on an elaborate plan to keep his budding boxing career a secret, with he and his tough-talking promoter Wally Burton both pretending to be devout 'men of the cloth'.
Shoot to Kill
Wood
A showbiz reporter gets involved with political intrigue.
Snowball
Mr. King
A boy tells his parents that a bus conductor turned him off the bus home for not having a ticket. The story gets out of control and the conductor, a war veteran with memory problems, is harassed until events take a tragic turn.
Please Turn Over
Mr. Appleton
The orderly suburban life of a 1950's English town is turned on its head when the teenaged daughter of one of the residents writes a steamy bestseller featuring characters obviously based on the local population.
Carlton-Browne of the F.O.
Sir John Farthing
Great Britain has had an international agreement for the last 50 years with a small pacific island. It has been ignored until the death of their king brings it to the attention of the Foreign Office in Whitehall. They decide to send Cadogan de Vere Carlton-Browne to re-establish friendly relations.
The Golden Disc
Mr. Dryden
The Lucky Charm coffee shop adds a recording studio and record shop.
The Naked Truth
Chemist (uncredited)
Nigel Dennis publishes a scandal magazine. But for each story he writes, he first approaches the person whose scandalous behavior is described (or rather implied, to avoid any libel suit) and says he will suppress the story in return for money. Several of his victims first decide individually to kill him instead of paying, but fail in amusing ways. Then they find that to protect their various secrets they must now join forces for a rather different purpose...
Sea Wife
Army Padre
In 1942, a cargo ship jammed with British evacuees from Singapore is sunk by a Japanese sub. A small lifeboat carries a beautiful woman, an army officer, a bigoted administrator, and a black seaman. Only the seaman knows the woman is a nun. The men reveal their true selves under the hardships of survival. Told in a too-long flashback frame.
The Surgeon's Knife
Major Tilling
A doctor becomes the victim of extortionists when one of his patients dies under questionable circumstances.
Inside Information
Scotland Yard is called in when the effigy used in a Guy Fawkes Day celebration turns out to be the burned corpse of a real man.
Carry on Admiral
First Sea Lord
Two friends get drunk and decide to switch identities. One is a Parliamentary Secretary, and the other is the captain of a ship. The former's lack of sea knowledge causes several catastrophes, including torpedoing the First Lord of The Admiralty. The grass is always greener.... In this British comedy, two drunken comrades find out the truth of that saying when they decide to trade places for a while. One of the boozers is a public relations man who knows nothing about sailing, while the other is a captain for the Royal Navy. Comic mayhem ensues as the hapless "captain" tries to run his ship and follow orders.
Kill Me Tomorrow
Mr. Brook
A reporter who needs cash for his son's operation is paid by a smuggler to take a murder rap.
Woman and the Hunter
Inspector McGregor
When embittered safari guide David Kirby accepts a fateful commission to lead a hunting trip for wealthy and ruthless American Mitchell Gifford, tragedy soon intervenes and the big game hunt becomes a man hunt.
Around the World in Eighty Days
Club Steward
Based on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the world. Which has to be completed within 80 days, a very short period for those days.
Assignment Redhead
Scammel / Dumetrius
An American army officer working for British intelligence comes to post-war Berlin to solve a murder. His investigation is compromised when he falls for a nightclub singer, not realising she is an agent of the criminal mastermind he is on the trail of.
Reach for the Sky
Air Vice-Marshal Leigh-Mallory
The true story of airman Douglas Bader who overcame the loss of both legs in a 1931 flying accident to become a successful fighter pilot and wing leader during World War II.
Tons of Trouble
Psychiatrist
An apartment handyman is unusually attached to a pair of boilers he names "Mavis" and "Ethel."
The Man Who Never Was
Adams
The true story of a British effort to trick the Germans into weakening Sicily's defenses before the 1943 attack. A dead soldier is dressed as a British officer and outfitted with faked papers showing that the Allies were intending to invade occupied Greece. His body is put into the sea where it will ultimately drift ashore and the papers be passed along to German Intelligence.
Private's Progress
Doctor at Medical
Stanley Windrush has to interrupt his university education when he is called up towards the end of the war. He quickly proves himself not to be officer material, but befriends wily Private Percival Cox who knows exactly how all the scams work in the confused world of the British Army. And Stanley's brigadier War Office uncle seems to be up to something more than a bit shady too - and they are both soon working for him, behind the enemy lines.
To Dorothy, a Son
Parsons
Under a complicated bequest from her uncle, Myrtle stands to inherit $2,000,000 if her ex-husband doesn't have any male heirs on the way, else he gets the cash. She journies from New York to England, and finally tracks him down with his heavily pregnant new wife. Should she try and woo him back or challenge the legality of the new marriage?
The Black Knight
The Abbot
John, a blacksmith and swordsmith, is tutored at Camelot. As a commoner, he can't hope to win the hand of Lady Linet, daughter of the Earl of Yeoniland, so he creates a secret alternate identity as the Black Knight. In this new role, he is now able to help King Arthur when Saracens and Cornish men—disguised as Vikings -- plot to take over the country.
The Beachcomber
Sir Henry Johnstone (uncredited)
Mr. Gray is the new Resident in Charge of the Welcome Islands in the Indian Ocean. The Islands are full of life, but the only other Europeans are the "sanctimonious, psalm-singing" brother-sister missionary team of Martha and Owen Jordans, and the Honourable Ted - a hard-drinking, womanizing social outcast whose English family pays him to stay away. Martha and Ted become an unlikely team when cholera threatens the islands and they must do their best to stop its spread.
Forbidden Cargo
Mr. Bennett
Kenyon is a narcotics agent who, with the aid of a titled bird-watcher attempts to trap a brother and sister drug smuggling team.
Front Page Story
A workaholic newspaper editor lets his wife leave on the holiday without him just at that time some important news stories break, including a plane crash, the one which his wife took....
Johnny-on-the-Spot
Insp. Beveridge
An ex-convict, who was framed, struggles to clear his name.
The Million Pound Note
Samuel Clements
An impoverished American sailor is fortunate enough to be passing the house of two rich gentlemen who have conceived the crazy idea of distributing a note worth one million pounds. The sailor finds that whenever he tries to use the note to buy something, people treat him like a king and let him have whatever he likes for free. Ultimately, the money proves to be more troublesome than it is worth when it almost costs him his dignity and the woman he loves.
Flannelfoot
Inspector Duggan
Ace crime reporter Watling tries to discover the identity of a notorious jewel thief, but his informant is murdered. At a house party, Watling helps detective Adam expose the criminal.
Flannelfoot
Insp. Duggan
Ace crime reporter Watling tries to discover the identity of a notorious jewel thief, but his informant is murdered. At a house party, Watling helps detective Adam expose the criminal.
Malta Story
Operations room controller
In 1942 Britain was clinging to the island of Malta since it was critical to keeping Allied supply lines open. The Axis also wanted it for their own supply lines. Plenty of realistic reenactments and archival combat footage as the British are beseiged and try to fight off the Luftwaffe. Against this background, a RAF reconnaissance photographer's romance with a local girl is endangered as he tries to plot enemy movements.
Top Secret
Barworth Controller
A British Sanitary Engineer, goes on holiday with a set of plans for a new secret weapon which he has mistaken for his new plumbing invention. Everyone is hunting for him, including the Russians. The Russians find him and offer him a job in the Kremlin doing research (on plumbing he believes). He accepts, arrives in Russia and falls in love with Tania, a secret agent. And then discovers the true nature of the plans he is carrying...
Hindle Wakes
Mr. Nat Jeffcote
During a holiday to the beach Jenny meets Alan and agrees to spend the week with him. Wanting to keep this a secret from her parents Jenny gets help from her friend Mary to pretend her whereabouts but disaster strikes during a boating accident. It is soon discovered Jenny was not with Mary. When the parents find out the truth they pressure the couple to get married, but Jenny thinks otherwise.
Circumstantial Evidence
Sir William Hanson QC
Long after being deserted by her husband, Linda Harrison will soon be free to marry her lover, Michael Carteret. But when her husband suddenly reappears, he attempts to blackmail the couple with a threat of ruining Michael's career. When her husband is murdered, Michael appears to be the only obvious suspect - but will the circumstantial evidence be enough to sentence him to death?
Angels One Five
Group Controller
The year is 1940 and Pilot Officer T.B. Baird arrives straight out of flight school to join a front line RAF squadron at the height of the Battle of Britain. After an unfortunate start and a drumming down from his commanding officer, Baird must balance the struggle to impress his Group Captain, regain his pride, fit in with his fellow pilots, and survive one of the most intense air battles in history.
Mr. Denning Drives North
Coroner
When well-off aircraft designer Denning finds his daughter's current boyfriend is a nasty character he tries to buy him off, ending up hitting him and causing his death when he falls. Instead of calling the police he dumps the body in a lonely spot on the road to the North, making it look like a hit-and-run accident. Weeks later there is still no report of the body being found, and Denning starts to go to pieces. When he lets his wife into his secret the two start making enquiries, possibly making things worse.
The Lavender Hill Mob
Turner
A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipments of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country.
Laughter in Paradise
Mr. Wagstaffe - Bank Manager (as Ronald Adams)
When an eccentric practical joker dies, he divides his fortune among four heirs. But before they can collect the cash they must each do something which goes completely against their nature. NB: This is the film which introduced Audrey Hepburn.
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.
Adm. McCartney
Captain Horatio Hornblower leads his ship HMS Lydia on a perilous transatlantic voyage, during which his faithful crew battle both a Spanish warship and a ragged band of Central American rebels.
The Late Edwina Black
Head-Master
When a sickly Victorian woman dies suddenly, a postmortem reveals that her body contains a fatal dose of arsenic. Suspicion falls on her husband and her companion, who are lovers. Inspector Martin of Scotland Yard solves the mystery of her death... over a cup of tea.
The Adventurers
Van Thaal
As the Boer War ends a South African soldier hides a cache of diamonds he finds on a body. He returns to the town he left three years earlier where his girl has married a disgraced English officer. Needing funds to get back to pick up the diamonds the Boer enlists the help of a fellow soldier as well as the Englishman and a local hotel keeper. This ill-assorted bunch set off into the bush intent on finding their fortune.
Seven Days to Noon
Arthur Lytton, the Prime Minister
An English scientist runs away from a research center with an atomic bomb. In a letter sent to the British Prime Minister he threatens to blow up the center of London if the Government don't announce the end of any research in this field within a week. Special agents from Scotland Yard try to stop him, with help from the scientist's assistant future son-in-law to find and stop the mad man.
My Daughter Joy
Col. Fogarty
A financier plots to become the richest man in the world by marrying off his daughter to the son of an Arab sheik.
Christopher Columbus
Talavera
Christopher Columbus overcomes intrigue at the Spanish court and convinces Queen Isabella that his plan to reach the East by sailing west is practical.
Diamond City
Set in the diamond fields of South Africa, Stafford Parker is a lawman trying to maintain a semblance of law and order in the "Wild South".
Under Capricorn
Mr. Riggs
In 1831, Irishman Charles Adare travels to Australia to start a new life with the help of his cousin who has just been appointed governor. When he arrives he meets powerful landowner and ex-convict, Sam Flusky, who wants to do a business deal with him. Whilst attending a dinner party at Flusky's house, Charles meets Flusky's wife Henrietta who he had known as a child back in Ireland. Henrietta is an alcoholic and seems to be on the verge of madness.
Black Magic
Court President
A hypnotist uses his powers for revenge against King Louis XV's court.
Obsession
Talkative, balding club member
A British psychiatrist devises a devilish revenge plot against his wife's lover.
All Over the Town
Sam Vane
Newspaper reporter Nat Hearn returns home after serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II. When one of the paper's owners dies, the man's partner and son offers Nat a position as editor in return for his financial backing. But Nat's reluctance to shy away from controversial issues raises more than a few eyebrows.
The Bad Lord Byron
Judge
Injured and on his deathbed in Greece, Lord Byron imagines a celestial trial with witnesses to determine the worth of his character.
The Case of Charles Peace
Counsel for Defence
Charles Peace leads a double life, by day he's a respected local businessman, but by night he's a professional thief who stops at nothing, not even murder, to get what he wants.
Helter Skelter
Director General of the BBC
A detective gets involved with a wealthy socialite who can't seem to stop hiccuping.
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Macleod
The Pretender lands on Scottish shores and attempts to claim the crown.
Fame Is the Spur
Radshaws' Doctor (uncredited)
A politician rises rapidly to fame and fortune and discovers that power corrupts and ultimately becomes the very type of politician he had set out to displace.
The Phantom Shot
Caleb Horder
A hated country gentleman is murdered, and the inspector on the case takes the veiwer through his thoughts about the possible murderer and motives as he questions everyone concerned.
Take My Life
Det Sgt Hawkins - Deaf Man
When her husband is wrongly accused of murder, an opera singer sets out to find the real culprit.
Green for Danger
Dr. White
In the midst of Nazi air raids, a postman dies on the operating table at a rural hospital. But was the death accidental?
Pink String and Sealing Wax
Melodrama set in Victorian Brighton. Scheming pub landlady uses the timorous son of a domineering pharmacist to assist in the poisoning of her drunkard husband. (The title is from the way pharmacists used to wrap parcels containing poison).
Journey Together
Commanding Officer at Falcon Field
Two Englishmen (Richard Attenborough, Jack Watling) train with the Royal Air Force, ending with a bombing raid on Berlin.
Escape to Danger
George Merrick
During the Second World War a British schoolteacher working in Denmark is caught up when the Germans invade.
The Foreman Went to France
Sir Charles Fawcett, Managing Director
Based on the true story of Melbourne Johns, an aircraft factory foreman sent to France to prevent the Nazis getting hold of some vital equipment.
At the Villa Rose
Mons. Besnard
A gang of clever thieves kill a wealthy woman in hopes of stealing her gems. But the thieves aren't clever enough to ascertain the location of those gems, so they consult a phony spiritualist. Then they decide to dispose of the mystic by framing her for the murder.
Meet Maxwell Archer
Nicolides
Maxwell Archer, a private detective, attempts to clear a young man wrongly accused of murder.
Hell's Cargo
Capt. Dukes
Adventure film directed by Harold Huth.
The Lion Has Wings
German Bomber Chief
This early, influential propaganda film blends documentary and studio footage to show the valiant efforts of the Royal Air Force to defend the British people against the Nazis.
The Missing People
Surtees
27 well-to-do people have all vanished under similar circumstances. J.G. Reeder, an elderly gentleman who fancies himself a detective, decides to investigate the matter.
Inspector Hornleigh
Wittens
When a landlady finds one of her tenants murdered, Inspector Hornleigh is sent to investigate. Inspector Hornleigh's assistant, Sergeant Bingham, soon finds an attaché case that had been stolen from the murdered man. When Hornleigh examines the case, inside it he finds a bag that was used to carry important government documents. The documents have been taken, and to make things even more confusing, a duplicate of the stolen bag soon turns up.
Q Planes
Pollack - Aviation Engineer
An eccentric Scotland Yard inspector thinks something beamed from a spy ship is dropping planes.
The Drum
Major Gregoff
Set in the India of the British Raj, the evil and untrustworthy Prince Guhl (Raymond Massey) plans to wipe out the British troops as they enjoy the hospitality of Guhl's spacious palace. It's up to the loyal young Prince Azim (Sabu) to warn the troops of Guhl's treachery by tapping out a message on his drum.
Strange Boarders
Barstow
Pre-war intelligence man Tommy Blythe interrupts his honeymoon to investigate the discovery of vital Air Ministry blueprints on a woman killed in a London road accident. The trail leads to a boarding house in Notting Hill and its varied tenants.
Kate Plus Ten
Police Chief
Kate is secretary to Lord Flamborough. But she is also leader of a criminal gang. Can Mike Pemberton catch her red-handed?