Trivia: Rutherford was a bulky, eccentric comedic supporting player of British films and plays. Following a number of years spent as a speech and piano teacher, she trained at the Old Vic and debuted onstage in 1925, when she was in her 30s; it was 1933 before she appeared in London. Rutherford began appearing in films in 1936 and went on to have a sporadically busy screen career through the late '60s, meanwhile continuing her illustrious stage career. She is best remembered as Miss Marple, the little old lady detective of Agatha Christie novels, in four films made in the '60s. For her work in The V.I.P.s (1963) she won a "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar. In 1967 Rutherford became a Dame of the British Empire. She was married to actor Stringer Davis, with whom she appeared in several films; one of their children was writer Gordon Langley Hall, who underwent a sex-change operation in 1968 and later wrote a biography of Rutherford under the name "Dawn Langley Hall." She wrote an autobiography, Margaret Rutherford (1972).

Trivia: American actor Arthur Kennedy was usually cast in western or contemporary roles in his films; on stage, it was another matter. A graduate of the Carnegie-Mellon drama department, Kennedy's first professional work was with the Globe Theatre Company touring the midwest in abbreviated versions of Shakespearian plays. From here he moved into the American company of British stage star Maurice Evans, who cast Kennedy in his Broadway production of Richard III. Kennedy continued doing Shakespeare for Evans and agit-prop social dramas for the Federal Theatre, but when time came for his first film, City for Conquest (1940), he found himself in the very ordinary role of James Cagney's musician brother. Throughout his first Warner Bros. contract, Kennedy showed promise as a young character lead, but films like Bad Men of Missouri (1941), They Died with Their Boots On (1942) and Air Force (1943) did little to tap the actor's classical training. After World War II service, Kennedy returned to Broadway, creating the role of Chris Keller in Arthur Miller's All My Sons (1947). This led to an even more prestigious Miller play, the Pulitzer Prize winning Death of a Salesman (1948), in which Kennedy played Biff. Sadly, Kennedy was not permitted to repeat these plum roles in the film versions of these plays, but the close association with Miller continued on stage; Kennedy would play John Proctor in The Crucible (1957) and the doctor brother in The Price (1965). While his film work during this era resulted in several Academy Award nominations, Kennedy never won; he was honored, however, with the New York Film Critics award for his on-target portrayal of a newly blinded war veteran battling not only his handicap but also his inbred racism in Bright Victory (1951). The biggest box office success with which Kennedy was associated was Lawrence of Arabia (1962), wherein he replaced the ailing Edmund O'Brien in the role of the Lowell Thomas character. Working continually in film and TV projects of wildly varying quality, Kennedy quit the business cold in the mid-1980s, retiring to live with family members in a small eastern town. Kennedy was so far out of the Hollywood mainstream in the years before his death that, when plans were made to restore the fading Lawrence of Arabia prints and Kennedy was needed to re-record his dialogue, the restorers were unable to locate the actor through Screen Actor's Guild channels -- and finally had to trace him through his hometown telephone directory.

Trivia: Diminutive British leading lady Muriel Pavlow was 15 when she made her screen bow in Romance in Flanders. Her slight stature and eternally youthful countenance enabled her to convincingly play juvenile roles well into her thirties. She eased into character roles in the early '60s, and as late as 1995 could still be seen in the TV series Final Cut. Muriel Pavlow was married to actor Derek Farr with whom she co-starred in Doctor at Large (1957).

Trivia: Like the stalwart medieval castles that still dominate the hillsides of his childhood home in southwestern Scotland, James Robertson-Justice was imposing. His cavernous chest, his resonant voice, his full beard, and his stately bearing all suggested the regality of a mighty king. In fact, in the Sword and the Rose in 1953, Robertson-Justice portrayed the most lordly of British kings, Henry VIII, winning critical acclaim. Physically, he was the near mirror image of Henry as depicted in the 1538 portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger. More important, though, Robertson-Justice wore the mantle of Henry's personality, mimicking the king's authoritarian demeanor and legendary appetite for all things worldly. That he was at home in the role of Henry VIII was not surprising. Like the Tudor king,Robertson-Justice loved athletics, dancing, politics, and learning (he held two doctor's degrees: a Ph.D. and a doctorate in law). Moreover, he had mastered the royal sport of falconry, and even taught young Prince Charles the finer points of the ancient pastime. Official biographies say Robertson-Justice was born in the maritime community of Wigtown in the southernmost shire in Scotland. However, the town of Langholm, also in southern Scotland, proudly proclaims that he was actually born there in the Crown Hotel during an emergency stop when his mother was traveling. There is no argument, though, about when he was born: June 15, 1905. His education at Marborough College in England and Bonn University in Germany equipped him with the skills necessary to succeed in a variety of pursuits. Heeding one of Plato's ancient admonitions, he balanced mental activity with physical activity, becoming a netminder for the London Lions in the British Ice Hockey Association. After a skiing injury waylaid him, he refereed matches. Though he had the desire and talent to become an actor, he first pursued a career in Canada as a journalist, then fought in the Spanish Civil War and WWII. In 1944, he made his first film, Fiddlers Three, a fanciful comedy about time travelers in ancient Rome, where Robertson-Justice was a centurion. That stint was the first of many roles in films set in the distant past, including The Black Rose (1950), David and Bathsheba (1951), Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), Les Misérables (1952), The Story of Robin Hood (1952), Rob Roy (1953), The Sword and the Rose (1953), Land of the Pharaohs (1955), and Moby Dick (1956). However, in spite of his ability to wield swords, wear crowns, and dodge cannonballs, his signature role -- the one that earned him a warm niche in the hearts of Britons everywhere -- was that of Sir Lancelot Spratt, a chief surgeon in the celebrated series of zany Doctor films. The first in the series, Doctor in the House, was Britain's biggest moneymaker in 1954. It was Spratt's job to rule unruly medical students with an appetite for women, money, and fast cars. Remarkably, while making five more Doctor films over the next 16 years, Robertson-Justice had the time and energy to serve as rector of the University of Edinburgh. He died in 1975 at King's Somborne, England.

Trivia: Beefy British actor Thorley Walters was appearing in "quota quickies" as early as 1934's First Love. But it was in the '50s that Walters truly came into his own as an irresistably deflatable authority figure in such British comedies as Private's Progress (1955), Carleton Brown of the FO (1958) and Two Way Stretch (1961). Even in cameo roles, Walters made his acting weight effectively felt, as witness Rotten to the Core (1965) and Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1965). Thorley Walters was also a excellent Dr. Watson, essaying the role in the German-made Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962) and Gene Wilder's The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1977).

Trivia: Australian-born character actor, onscreen from the '40s.

Trivia: British lead actor, onscreen from the late '40s.

Trivia: Ronald Howard made his film debut in Pimpernel Smith (1941) with a small role opposite his more famous father Leslie Howard. The former grew up to further his film career in efforts such as The Browning Version (1951) and Black Orchid (1951). Howard is perhaps best-remembered for playing Sherlock Holmes in the popular British television series of the 1950s.

Trivia: On-stage from 1927, slight, sharp-featured British actress Joan Hickson began appearing in films in 1933, playing character roles in such productions as The Man Who Could Work Miracles and Love From a Stranger (both 1937). She spent the next five decades essaying unstressed but memorable performances as cooks, housekeepers, landladies, and in-laws. Just before turning 80, she achieved stardom as busybody amateur sleuth Miss Marple in a series of British TV productions based on the works of mystery writer Dame Agatha Christie. Joan Hickson made her final appearance as Miss Marple in 1992, as sprightly as ever at age 86.

Trivia: Mild-mannered British stage actor Stringer Davis was serving in the British army in 1945 when he was married by proxy to actress Margaret Rutherford, an old friend from his regional repertory days. Upon his return to England, Davis elected to accept minor roles in the films and theatrical productions starring Rutherford. This was not opportunism but devotion: Several years her husband's senior, Rutherford depended upon Davis to tend to her many health problems while she was on tour or on the set. Davis' most sizeable screen role was Mr. Stringer, the platonic gentleman companion of amateur sleuth Miss Marple (Rutherford, of course), in a quartet of comedy-mysteries bearing such titles as Murder She Said (1962) and Murder at the Gallop (1964). Fifteen months after the death of his wife, the disconsolate Stringer Davis likewise passed away at the age of 77.

Trivia: British character actor Peter Butterworth began appearing in films during the '40s and his successful career stretched well into the 70s. He is perhaps best known form appearing in the "Carry On" films. He has also worked in theater and on television.

Trivia: British leading man Richard Briers appeared in several TV adaptations of venerable stage plays in the 1960s. His interpretation of cross-dressing Lord Fancourt Babberly in Charley's Aunt managed to find a berth on American public television in 1968. The warm gust of applause greeting the actor's appearance indicated that he was already an audience favorite - as indeed he was, having appeared in such films as Girls at Sea (1962) and Fathom (1967). When American viewers next saw Briers, he was starring with Felicity Kendall on an agreeable BBC sitcom, Good Neighbors (Briers' second starring series). The series was a light, easy-going account of two city dwellers trying to make a go at country living; Richard Briers and his superb supporting cast made the slender material seem far funnier than it really was.