Frank Permain Vosper (15 December 1899 – 6 March 1937) was an English actor who appeared in both stage and film roles and a dramatist, playwright and screenwriter.[4][5]
Frank Vosper | |
|---|---|
 Publicity still, autographed: 1933 | |
| Born | 15 December 1899 |
| Died | 6 March 1937 (aged 37) at sea |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, dramatist/playwright, screenwriter[3] |
Stage
editVosper made his stage debut in 1919 and was best known for playing urbane villains.[6][7]
His extensive stage experience included appearing in his own play Love from a Stranger (1936), adapted from the short story "Philomel Cottage" by Agatha Christie.[3][8]
His screenplays included co-writing the comedy No Funny Business (1933) with Victor Hanbury.[9] He also co-wrote the adaptation of G.B. Stern's novel Debonair with the novelist which opened at the Lyric 23 April 1930. [10]
He also wrote People Like Us, based on the case of Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters.[11] Banned by the Lord Chamberlain after a performance at the Strand Theatre featuring Atholl Fleming,[12] it remained unperformed until 1948, when it premiered at Wyndham's Theatre in London, with Miles Malleson, George Rose, Robert Flemyng and Kathleen Michael.[13]
Death
editVosper drowned on 6 March 1937, when he fell from the ocean liner SS Paris.[14] His body was found several weeks later on 22nd March washed up on the shores near Beachy Head. The death was eventually ruled as accidental after considerable media speculation.[3] Several newspapers reported that earlier in the evening Vosper had been attending a farewell party for Miss Muriel Oxford, "Miss Great Britain" of 1936, in her cabin, and that he had threatened suicide if she refused to marry him. Miss Oxford reported that her last conversation with Vosper was "quite normal" and that he never threatened suicide.[15][16][17] According to the Daily Express Fiction Library edition of Murder on the Second Floor, Vosper fell from the French ocean liner SS Normandie, while contemporary newspaper accounts and the evidence produced at the inquest stated it was the liner SS Paris.[2][18][15][16][17]
Filmography
editActor
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Blinkeyes | Seymour | (film debut) |
| The Woman Juror | Morgan | Short | |
| 1929 | The Last Post | Paul | |
| 1932 | Rome Express | M. Jolif | |
| 1933 | Strange Evidence | Andrew Relf | |
| 1934 | Waltzes from Vienna | Prince Gustav | |
| Dick Turpin | Tom King | ||
| Red Ensign | Lord Dean | ||
| Jew Suss | Karl Alexander | ||
| Blind Justice | Dick Cheriton | ||
| The Man Who Knew Too Much | Ramon Levine | ||
| Open All Night | Anton | ||
| 1935 | Royal Cavalcade | Capt. Robert Falcon Scott | |
| Heart's Desire | Van Straaten | ||
| Koenigsmark | Maj. Baron de Boise | ||
| 1936 | Spy of Napoleon | Napoleon III | |
| The Secret of Stamboul | Kazdim | (final film role) |
Screenwriter
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1932 | Murder on the Second Floor |
| Rome Express | |
| 1933 | No Funny Business |
| On Secret Service | |
| 1937 | Love from a Stranger (based on his play) |
| 1941 | Shadows on the Stairs (based on his play) |
| 1947 | Love from a Stranger (based on his play) |
Plays
edit- The Combined Maze (1927)
- Murder on the Second Floor (1929) - later adapted by Vosper into a novel of the same name.
- Debonair (1930)
- Love from a Stranger (1936)
References
edit- ^ National Probate Calendar, 1937, p. 245
- ^ a b ""Found Drowned" Verdict at Vosper Inquest". Eastbourne Gazette. 7 April 1937. p. 17.
- ^ a b c "Frank Vosper Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos".
- ^ "Frank Vosper". Archived from the original on 13 March 2017.
- ^ League, The Broadway. "Frank Vosper – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB".
- ^ Wearing, J. P. (27 March 2014). The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810893023 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Frank Vosper". www.aveleyman.com.
- ^ "Philomel Cottage". www.agathachristie.com.
- ^ "No Funny Business (1933)". www.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 14 February 2016.
- ^ https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000563/19370306/005/0001. Retrieved 2 July 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Kabatchnik, Amnon (1 January 2010). Blood on the Stage, 1925-1950: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection : an Annotated Repertoire. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810869639 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Music and Drama" Sydney Morning Herald 21 December 1929
- ^ "CONTEMPORARY ARTS » 15 Jul 1948 » The Spectator Archive".
- ^ "Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ a b "Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ a b "Nevada Mail - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ a b "The Owosso Argus-Press - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "Prescott Evening Courier - Google News Archive Search".
External links
edit- Frank Vosper at IMDb
- Frank Vosper at the Internet Broadway Database
- Portrait of the actor Frank Vosper by Thomas Staedeli at www.cyranos.ch Short biography and photograph of Vosper.