William Sylvester
Nacimiento : 1922-01-31, Oakland, California, USA
Muerte : 1995-01-25
Historia
William Sylvester (January 31, 1922 – January 25, 1995) was an American TV and film actor. His most famous film credit was Dr. Heywood Floyd in Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968). Born in Oakland, California and married at one time to the British actress Veronica Hurst, he moved to England after the Second World War and became a staple of British B films at a time when American and Canadian actors were much in demand in order to give indigenous films some appeal in the US.
As a result, he gained top billing in one of his very first films, House of Blackmail (1953), directed by the veteran filmmaker Maurice Elvey, for whom he also made What Every Woman Wants the following year. He also starred in such minor films as The Stranger Came Home (1954, for Hammer), Dublin Nightmare (1958), Offbeat (1960), Information Received (1961), Incident at Midnight, Ring of Spies and Blind Corner (all 1963). There were also lead roles in four British horror films: Gorgo (1960), Devil Doll (1963), Devils of Darkness (1964) and The Hand of Night (1966). Among his many TV credits were a 1959 BBC version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (playing Mark Antony), The Saint, The Baron, The High Chaparral, Harry O and The Six Million Dollar Man.
His later films included You Only Live Twice (1967) and, back in the USA after his prominent role for Kubrick, Busting (1973), The Hindenburg (1975) and Heaven Can Wait (1978). He died in Sacramento, California in 1995, aged 72.
Sam Slade (archive footage)
Retrospective documentary on the making of Gorgo (1961).
Dr. Heywood R. Floyd (archive footage) (uncredited)
The making of Stanley Kubrick's classic space epic, presented by James Cameron, including unseen footage.
TV Interviewer
When the First Daughter is kidnapped by an African tribe, the President must do what he can to keep them from sacrificing her.
Nuclear Reporter
Joe es un jugador de rugby que va a parar al cielo, pues alguien comete el error de creer que ha muerto en un accidente de tráfico. Cuando el error se descubre, deciden mandarlo otra vez a la Tierra, pero su cuerpo ya ha sido incinerado, por lo que su espíritu debe ocupar el de un millonario que ha sido asesinado.
Dimwitted, meaty guy foils criminals by turning invisible.
Luftwaffe Colonel
Cuando en 1937 el dirigible alemán Hindenburg se dispone a hacer la travesía del Atlántico, una mujer estadounidense tiene la premonición de que la nave va a ser saboteada, y así se lo hace saber a las autoridades de la embajada germana, para que, a su vez, se lo comuniquen a Goebbels. Éste designa a Frank Rittes (George C. Scott), coronel de la Luftwaffe y antiguo héroe como piloto de la aviación alemana que ahora trabaja para la inteligencia militar, para que se haga cargo de la seguridad del dirigible.
Mr. Weldman
Gould y Blake, dos policías de Los Ángeles, hacen caso omiso a sus superiores y le siguen la pista a Rizzo, un peligroso capo de la mafia. Hartos de que les encarguen siempre asuntos irrelevantes, se dan cuenta de que este caso puede ser la oportunidad para encontrarle un sentido a su trabajo. (FILMAFFINITY)
Tom Henderson
Alex y Sally Farnham se mudan a la casa de la abuela de Sally, quien ha fallecido recientemente. Mientras se encuentran en proceso de reacondicionar la casa, Sally se topa con una chimenea sellada en el estudio de su abuela. Contratando a Mr. Harris, un carpintero que había trabajado en esa casa cuando la abuela de Sally la habitaba, le piden que derribe el sello. Pero Harris le advierte que algunas cosas deben quedarse como están. Sally comienza a percibir voces que provienen de la chimenea. Finalmente Sally consigue que la chimenea sea demolida, sin saber que ha liberado un portal donde moran unos pequeños demonios, que comienzan a deambular por la casa, y quieren apoderarse de Sally a toda costa.
Paul Harrison
Tony Petrocelli, a bright young lawyer practicing in the rich cattle town of Baker, becomes embroiled in a murder case.
Brad York
Racers compete in the Grand Prix.
Burt Hickey
Two vehicles lurch across the east African bush, carrying an ill-assorted party of prospectors who have formed a syndicate to search for uranium deposits. As their four-week window for digging starts to close, trouble soon starts amongst the group and there are some sinister 'accidents'... It is obvious that one of the party is trying to sabotage the expedition; but who?
Paul Carver
A tourist travelling through Morocco discovers an ancient curse and must choose between light and dark.
Trumpeter
Musical short, filmed for the abandoned portmanteau film Red, White and Zero (1967).
Dr. Heywood Floyd
La historia de la humanidad, en diversos estadios del pasado y del futuro, es narrada en la película de ciencia-ficción de culto por excelencia de la historia del cine. Hace millones de años, en los albores del nacimiento del homo sapiens, unos simios descubren un monolito que les lleva a un estadio de inteligencia superior. Otro monolito vuelve a aparecer, millones de años después, enterrado en una luna, lo que provoca el interés de los científicos humanos. Por último, HAL 9000, una máquina de inteligencia artificial, es la encargada de todos los sistemas de una nave espacial tripulada durante una misión de la NASA.
Paul Baxter
Cuatrocientos años después de morir en la hoguera, un diabólico conde vuelve a la vida mediante un rito de magia negra. A partir de ese momento, sembrará el pánico junto a su diabólico grupo de adeptos.
Mark English
Un hipnotizador y ventrílocuo actúa ante el público con una marioneta, cosechando considerables éxitos, ya que el muñeco habla y se mueve por sí mismo. En una actuación, asiste un periodista que intenta averiguar el truco que esconde el muñeco.
Gordon Lonsdale
The film is based on the actual events of the Portland Spy Ring trial in the U.K. A disgruntled Navy Clerk is transferred to a secret research establishment and is subsequently black-mailed/paid by Czech intelligence to procure secrets for them. He seduces the secretary who controls the most secret documents, and they enjoy the fruits of their treachery until the British authorities begin to close in on them.
Paul Gregory
Paul Gregory (William Sylvester) is an accomplished composer despite his blindness, and his beautiful wife Anne (Barbara Shelley) seems to be the perfect supporting wife. But unknown to Paul, she is having a passionate affair with Ricky (Alexander Davion), a struggling artist. Keen to support her artist lover and give them more time to make love, she persuades Paul to commission Ricky to paint her portrait. But Paul senses their affection for each other, and threatens to cut Anne off without a penny. Desperate to keep both her lover and Paul s money, Anne plots the perfect murder and asks Ricky to carry it out...
Vince Warren
In a late night chemist a shot bank robber has been taken for treatment, and to rendezvous with the gang leader.
Rick Hogan
Drama of an underworld double-cross as a man and woman set a death trap from which only one could possibly escape.
Sam Slade
En las costas de Irlanda un volcán erupciona y provoca un movimiento de las placas del fondo del mar. Como resultado un monstruo prehistórico de 20 metros de altura despierta de su letargo. La terrible criatura prehistórica es capturada y puesta en un circo londinense como una atracción más. Pero es en realidad una cría, y su madre, mucho más grande y terrible, está por ir al rescate. (FILMAFFINITY)
Layton / Steve Ross
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.
Hermann
Lora huye de su novio, un delincuente de poca monta que acaba de matar a un policía, refugiándose en un carguero que navega por el Rhin. Su belleza seduce al capitán, pero ella está decepcionada con los hombres y no quiere implicarse. Su presencia provoca los celos de la esposa de uno de los tripulantes y la cosa se complica aún más cuando su novio, acosado por la policía, se introduce en el barco.
John Kevin
Loot goes missing in robbery double-cross. Gang members, an ex-lover and a handsome stranger are left to sort it out.
Alec Douglas
After returning home to a rugged island near Nova Scotia, Joanna, daughter of the local bigwig, struggles to choose between three eligible bachelors -- the rebel (Patrick McGoohan), the steadfast friend (Michael Craig) and the poetry-quoting newcomer (William Sylvester). As the local lobster supply dwindles due to overfishing, the island's inhabitants encounter economic difficulties.
Dave Forrester
An actress and an artist are linked by his brother to deadly smugglers sought by Scotland Yard.
Philip Vickers
Someone knocked out a man and left him for dead during a fishing trip in Portugal. That someone is either his fetching wife, or two business partners, all sporting guilty faces after his unexpected return. Two more murders and a frame-up befall the quartet before an inspector closes the case.
Jim Barnes
Young couple Mark and Jane are forced to thrash out marital problems in a borrowed room in Jane’s parents’ tiny house. Meanwhile, Jane’s cousin, Jim - back from the war in Korea - and Mark’s involvement in left-wing politics place further strain on the relationship. Can grandfather help?
Texas
Historia basada en hechos reales. En 1944, tras el fracaso de varios intentos de fuga en un campo alemán de prisioneros de guerra, un grupo de oficiales empieza a sospechar que entre ellos hay un traidor. El teniente Ainsworth, un artista en la vida civil, hace un maniquí llamado Albert para engañar a los guardias alemanes que pasan lista a los presos cuando vuelven de las duchas que están situadas fuera del campo.
Jimmy
A blackmailer is murdered, and the police find that there is a long list of suspects who wanted to see him dead.
Mac
Wing-commander Tim Mason leads a squadron of Lancaster bombers on almost nightly raids from England. Having flown eighty-seven missions he will shortly be retiring from flying, but the strain is showing. He tries to make sure his men concentrate only on their job and so keeps women away from the base, but then he himself meets naval officer Eve Canyon.
Len Turner
A young boy is blackmailed by a crook who saw him unwittingly cause his friend's death.
American Soldier (uncredited)
The film begins in a WW II training depot of a British Guards armoured regiment where recruits from many walks of life learn to survive the strict discipline and training together before going into battle in tanks. There is a cameo appearance by the real Sgt. Major Brittain who was famous in the British guards regiments.
Giovanni
Exiled from Hollywood due to the blacklist, director Edward Dmytryk briefly operated in England in the late 1940s. Though filmed in its entirety in London, Dmytryk's Give Us This Day is set in New York during the depression. Fellow blacklistee Sam Wanamaker is starred as the head of an Italian immigrant family struggling to survive the economic crisis.
