Robert Desmond

Acting

Robert Desmond

Born December 16, 1922 · London, England, UK

Died January 1, 2002 · aged 79

Robert Desmond (16 December 1922 – 2002) was a British film and television actor of the 1950s and 1960s. He started out in juvenile roles, making his film debut in 1948's The Guinea Pig opposite Richard Attenborough. He appeared in a number of early television films such Boys in Brown, recreating the role of Spud Parker in the theatrical film version of 1949, again with Attenborough. He would app…

Known For

The Great EscapeThe Great Escape · 1963
The Great Escape
★ 7.91963
MovieAdventureDrama
The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.
Sink the Bismarck!Sink the Bismarck! · 1960
Sink the Bismarck!
★ 6.91960
MovieWarDrama
The story of the breakout of the German battleship Bismarck—accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen—during the early days of World War II. The Bismarck and her sister ship, Tirpitz, were the most powerful battleships in the European theater of World War II. The British Navy must find and destroy Bismarck before it can escape into the convoy lanes to inflict severe damage on the cargo shipping which was the lifeblood of the British Isles. With eight 15 inch guns, it was capable of destroying every ship in a convoy while remaining beyond the range of all Royal Navy warships.
The Cockleshell HeroesThe Cockleshell Heroes · 1955
The Cockleshell Heroes
★ 5.91955
MovieWar
During WW2, German ships are "safely" docked upriver at Bordeaux, but the British send a team of kayakers to attack them.
The Square PegThe Square Peg · 1958
The Square Peg
★ 6.51958
MovieWarComedy
Norman Pitkin and Mr Grimsdale are council workmen mending the road outside an Army base when they come into conflict with the military. Shortly afterwards, they get drafted and fall into the clutches of the Sergeant they have just bested. They are sent to France to repair roads in front of the Allied advance but get captured. Pitkin takes advantage of a useful similarity to impersonate General Schreiber and manages to return a hero
IndiscreetIndiscreet · 1958
Indiscreet
★ 6.61958
MovieComedyRomance
Anna Kalman is an accomplished actress who has given up hope of finding the man of her dreams. While talking about this subject with her sister, in walks Philip Adams and she realizes that this is the charming, smart, and handsome man she has been waiting for.
The Best of EnemiesThe Best of Enemies · 1961
The Best of Enemies
★ 6.91961
MovieComedyWar
During World War II, a plane full of RAF fighter crashes in the Ethiopian desert and they are met upon by an enemy Italian patrol that allows them to go free. But, when the Brits are given orders to attack the Italians, lots of problems ensue.
The Guinea PigThe Guinea Pig · 1948
The Guinea Pig
★ 7.11948
MovieDrama
A working-class boy wins a scholarship to a public school, as part of a post-World War Two experiment in bringing boys of different social classes together.
Too Young to LoveToo Young to Love · 1960
Too Young to Love
★ 7.11960
MovieDrama
A court case ensues when a 47-year old man is caught with a 15-year old girl, and he claims he never knew she was so young.

Filmography

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CompactCompact · 1962
Compact
★ 5.01962
SeriesDramaSoap
Compact was a British television soap opera shown by the BBC between 1962 and 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling, who together went on to devise Crossroads. In contrast to the kitchen sink realism of Coronation Street, Compact was a distinctly middle-class serial, set in the more "sophisticated" arena of magazine publishing. An early "avarice" soap, it took the viewer into the business workplace, and aligned the professional lives of the characters with more personal storylines. The show was scheduled for broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thus avoiding a clash with ITV's Coronation Street on Mondays and Wednesdays. When Compact began, the editor was a woman, Joanne Minster, yet it was not long before she was replaced by Ian Harmon, the son of the magazine's owner. Despite being largely criticised by reviewers, Compact was popular with the general public, and in 1964 a regular omnibus edition was introduced, broadcast on Sundays. Morris Barry, a some-time actor and BBC director – he directed several Doctor Who stories in the 1960s – took over as producer and was given a brief to spice the series up in view of the criticism it had received from the national press. But the BBC, never comfortable with the concept of soap opera, quietly dropped the series in 1965.

Adrian Coombs