Biography
Ernest Thesiger, CBE, was an English stage and screen actor. He is best known for his distinctive performance as Dr. Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein.
Known For
Complete Filmography
Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman
2007
as Self (archive footage)
Famous Monster takes a fast-paced, colorful look at the life of science fiction's greatest fan - Forrest J. Ackerman, whose 85 year love affair with t...
Universal Horror
1998
as (archive footage)
A documentary about the era of classic monster movies that were made at Universal Studios during the 1930s and 1940s.
Report
1967
as Doctor Pretorius (archive footage - Bride of Frankenstein (1935))
Bruce Conner’s most celebrated film for a reason: it takes historical moments that were replayed over and over on television—chilling repetition of Ke...
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
1961
as Stefano
Critics and the public say Karen Stone is too old -- as she approaches 50 -- for her role in a play she is about to take to Broadway. Her businessman ...
Sons and Lovers
1960
as Mr. Hadlock
The son of a working-class British mining family has dreams of pursuing an art career, but when he strikes up an affair with an older, married woman f...
The Battle of the Sexes
1960
as Old Macpherson
Angela Barrows is a man-eating business woman sent by her American employer to investigate their export opportunities in Edinburgh. En route she meets...
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime
1960
as The Dean
Saville is told by a palm reader he is doomed to become a murderer at some future time. He decides to get the inevitable out of the way before his upc...
The Horse's Mouth
1958
as Hickson
Gulley Jimson is a boorish aging artist recently released from prison. A swindler in search of his next art project, he hunkers down in the penthouse ...
The Truth About Women
1957
as Judge
A man recalls his relationships with the women he loved as he tries to help another man try to understand them as well.
Doctor at Large
1957
as Examiner
Losing out to Dr. Bingham (Michael Medwin) in a competition for house surgeon when he offends a member of the board, young Dr. Simon Sparrow (Dirk Bog...
Three Men in a Boat
1956
as 3rd Old Gentleman
Three London gentlemen take a vacation rowing down the Thames, encountering various mishaps and misadventures along the way.
Who Done It?
1956
as Sir Walter
This movie debut for saucy British TV comic Benny Hill has Benny leaving his job as a sweeper after winning some money. He becomes a private detective...
An Alligator Named Daisy
1955
as Notcher (uncredited)
Returning from a cricket match in Ireland, Peter Weston gains a pet alligator from another passenger who abandons it with him. He is horrified and wh...
Quentin Durward
1955
as Lord Crawford
During the 15th century reign of France's King Louis XI, a young Scottish man is sent by his English Lord to woo a French lady on his behalf. The plan...
Value for Money
1955
as Lord Dewsbury
A wealthy young man from Yorkshire visits a London nightclub and meets a performer. She decides to take him for every penny he is worth, and he decide...
Make Me an Offer!
1954
as Sir John Nightingale
A struggling antiques dealer (Peter Finch) thinks he has found the answer to his problems when he stumbles across a precious vase amid a range of othe...
Father Brown
1954
as The Vicomte
Works of art are disappearing, stolen by a master thief, a master of disguise. Father Brown has two goals: to catch the thief and to save his soul.
The Million Pound Note
1954
as Mr. Garrett, Bank Director
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 ...
Meet Mr. Lucifer
1953
as Mr. Macdonald
A TV set given as a retirement present is sold on to different households causing misery each time.
The Robe
1953
as Emperor Tiberius
Drunk and disillusioned Roman, Marcellus Gallio, wins Jesus' robe in a dice game after the crucifixion. Marcellus has never been a man of faith like h...
The Woman's Angle
1952
as Judge
The organising force of a family of musical prodigies, Robert Mansell is a frustrated composer in seach of one thing personal happiness. This search, ...
The Magic Box
1952
as Earl
Now old, ill, poor, and largely forgotten, William Freise-Greene was once very different. As young and handsome William Green he changed his name to i...
Scrooge
1951
as The Undertaker
Ebenezer Scrooge malcontentedly shuffles through life as a cruel, miserly businessman; until he is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve who show ...
The Man in the White Suit
1951
as Sir John Kierlaw
The unassuming, nebbishy inventor Sidney Stratton creates a miraculous fabric that will never be dirty or worn out. Clearly he can make a fortune sell...
Laughter in Paradise
1951
as Endicott
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 whic...
Last Holiday
1950
as Sir Trevor Lampington
George Bird is a salesman of agricultural machinery who finds out that he hasn't long to live. On his doctor's advice, he goes to an exclusive seaside...
The Bad Lord Byron
1949
as Count Guiccioli
Injured and on his deathbed in Greece, Lord Byron imagines a celestial trial with witnesses to determine the worth of his character.
Brass Monkey
1948
as Ryder-Harris
Carroll Levis, a radio variety host, gets involved in murder and theft.
Quartet
1948
as Henry Dashwood (segment "The Colonel's Lady")
Somerset Maugham introduces four of his tales in this anthology film: "The Facts of Life," "The Alien Corn," "The Kite," and "The Colonel's Lady."
The Winslow Boy
1948
as Mr. Ridgeley Pierce
In pre-WW1 England, a youngster is expelled from a naval academy over a petty theft, but his parents raise a political furor by demanding a trial.
The Ghosts of Berkeley Square
1947
as Dr Cruickshank
The ghosts of two stupid 18th-century officers are doomed to haunt a Berkeley Square mansion until the unlikely event of a reigning monarch paying the...
Jassy
1947
as Sir Edward Follesmark
In 19th century England, Jassy is a young Gypsy girl blessed with the gift of second sight. Pursued by superstitious villagers, she is rescued by the ...
The Man Within
1947
as Farne
A man goes on the run from hardened smugglers.
Beware of Pity
1946
as Baron Emil de Kekesfalva
A paraplegic baroness mistakes a man's pity for love - and tragedy ensues.
Caesar and Cleopatra
1945
as Theodotus
The aging Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen. Adapted by George Bernard Shaw from his own play.
A Place of One's Own
1945
as Dr. Richard Marsham
An elderly couple move into an old, supposedly haunted abandoned house. A young girl comes to live with the pair as a companion for the wife. However,...
Henry V
1944
as Duke of Berri - French Ambassador
In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
Don't Take It to Heart
1944
as Justices' Clerk
A stray World War Two bomb releases the ghost of the 3rd Earl of Chaunduyt after 400 years. A visiting professor, while wooing the beautiful Lady Mary...
The Lamp Still Burns
1943
as Chairman
A tribute to the important work of female nurses during World War II.
My Learned Friend
1943
as Ferris
An insane murderer is on the loose, and gunning for the men who put him away. Will Hay is on the list, and co-opts Claude Hulbert to try and stop him ...
The Ware Case
1938
as Carter
An aristocrat won't economize, then his rich brother in law is found murdered in the grounds of the aristocrat's house
They Drive by Night
1938
as Walter Hoover
“Shorty” Matthews having recently been released from prison visits his girlfriend in London only to discover her murdered. Fearing he will be wrongly ...
The Man Who Could Work Miracles
1936
as Maydig
An ordinary man, while vigorously asserting the impossibility of miracles, suddenly discovers that he can perform them.
Bride of Frankenstein
1935
as Doctor Pretorius
Dr. Frankenstein and his monster both turn out to be alive, not killed as previously believed. Dr. Frankenstein wants to get out of the evil experimen...
My Heart Is Calling
1935
as Fevrier
Musical comedy. An opera singer falls for a stowaway on the way to Monte Carlo
The Night of the Party
1934
as Adrian Chiddiatt
A major newspaper publisher dies in suspicious circumstances during a parlour game at a dinner party. The publishers secretary is the obvious suspect,...
The Ghoul
1933
as Laing
British Egyptologist, Professor Morlant, seeks immortality through the power of a jewel buried in the tomb of an Oriental idol. Upon his death, Morlan...
The Only Girl
1933
as The Chamberlain
English-language version of Ich und die Kaiserin. 'Germany, 1890. Duke falls in love with voice which is not that of empress, but of hairdresser.' (B...
The Old Dark House
1932
as Horace Femm
In a remote region of Wales, five travelers beset by a relentless storm find shelter in an old mansion.
Ashes
1930
Futuristic story about a slow moving cricket match that begins in 1940 (ten years beyond the year when the film was produced) and finally finishes in ...
Week-End Wives
1929
as Bertram
A lawyer spends the weekend with a married actress at the same hotel as his wife and her lover. This British silent film exists in an abridged 2-reel ...
The Vagabond Queen
1929
as Lidoff
The Vagabond Queen is a 1929 British comedy film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Betty Balfour, Glen Byam Shaw and Ernest Thesiger. It was t...
Number 13
1922
as Mr. Peabody
This unfinished, never-released 1922 Alfred Hitchcock-directed film was about low-income residents of a tenement building.
The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick
1921
as Mr. Jingle
A club man's country jaunt with friends leads to a breach of promise suit by a landlady.
The Bachelor's Club
1921
as Israfel Mondego
A henpeck man inherits a fortune and starts a club for women-haters.
A Little Bit of Fluff
1919
as Bertram Tully
Nelson
1918
as Wiliam Pitt
Lord Nelson's life, loves and death.
The Life Story of David Lloyd George
1918
as Joseph Chamberlain
A biopic of Britain's Great War Prime Minister.
The Real Thing at Last
1916
as Witch
Shakespeare parody