Derrick Capel Farr (7 February 191221 March 1986) was an English actor who appeared regularly in British films and television from 1938 until his death in 1986. His more famous roles include Group Captain John Whitworth in '' The Dam Busters''.

Career

After working as a schoolteacher, he took to the stage in 1937, and in 1938 got his first film role. He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and after the war resumed his acting career, mainly in character parts. He did, however, continue to appear as male leads and second male leads (with above-the-title billing) in a number of films in the late 1940s and 1950s, including ''

Noose A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can ...

'' (1948), ''

Murder Without Crime ''Murder Without Crime'' is a 1950 British crime film directed by J. Lee Thompson (his first film, credited as J. Lee-Thompson) and starring Dennis Price, Derek Farr and Patricia Plunkett. J. Lee Thompson also wrote the screenplay adapted from ...

'' (1950) and ''

Young Wives' Tale ''Young Wives' Tale'', also known as ''Fun for Four'', is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Henry Cass and starring Joan Greenwood, Nigel Patrick, Derek Farr, and Guy Middleton. The film is based on the 1949 play '' Young Wives' Tale'' ...

'' (1951). In the early 1980s he played 16 roles in ''The War of the Roses'' cycle in the ''

BBC Television Shakespeare The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985, it ...

'' series.

Personal life

His second marriage was in 1947 to actress

Muriel Pavlow Muriel Lilian Pavlow (27 June 1921 – 19 January 2019) was an English actress. Her mother was French and her father Russian. Film and television career Muriel was born in Lewisham, south-east London, to Boris Pavlov, a Russian émigré and ...

whom he met in 1941 while filming ''

Quiet Wedding ''Quiet Wedding'' is a 1941 British romantic comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Margaret Lockwood, Derek Farr and Marjorie Fielding. The screenplay was written by Terence Rattigan and Anatole de Grunwald based on the play '' Q ...

'', and again on the set of ''

The Shop at Sly Corner ''Code of Scotland Yard'' is a 1947 British crime film directed by George King and starring Oskar Homolka, Muriel Pavlow and Derek Farr. It was originally released as ''The Shop at Sly Corner'', being based on the popular stage play of that t ...

'' (1947). They remained married until Farr's death in March 1986, aged 74.IMDb entry
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Partial filmography

* ''

Miracles Do Happen ''Miracles Do Happen'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Jack Hobbs, Bruce Seton and Marjorie Taylor. It was made at Isleworth Studios as a quota quickie.Wood p.101 Cast * Jack Hobbs as Barry Strangeways * B ...

'' (1938) – Greenlaw's Secretary (uncredited) * '' The Outsider'' (1939) – (uncredited) * ''

Q Planes ''Q Planes'' (known as ''Clouds Over Europe'' in the United States) is a 1939 British comedy spy film starring Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. Olivier and Richardson were a decade into their fifty-year friendship and were ...

'' (1939) – Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Black Eyes'' (1939) – Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday'' (1939) – Bridge Club Member (uncredited) * ''

Freedom Radio ''Freedom Radio'' (a.k.a. ''A Voice in the Night'') is a 1941 British propaganda film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Clive Brook, Diana Wynyard, Raymond Huntley and Derek Farr. It is set in Nazi Germany during the Second World Wa ...

'' (1941) – Hans * ''

'' (1941) – Dallas Chaytor * '' Spellbound'' (1941) – Laurie Baxter * ''

Wanted for Murder ''Wanted for Murder'' is the title of a collection of six mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris which was first published in the United States in August 1931. This book was part of an ongoing series of novels and novellas by Charteris featuring ...

'' (1946) – Jack Williams * ''

Quiet Weekend ''Quiet Weekend'' is a 1946 British comedy film directed by Harold French and starring Derek Farr, Frank Cellier, Marjorie Fielding, George Thorpe and Barbara White. A family try to relax during a weekend holiday in the country.

'' (1946) – Denys Royd * ''

Teheran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

'' (1946) – Pemberton Grant * ''

Code of Scotland Yard ''Code of Scotland Yard'' is a 1947 British crime film directed by George King and starring Oskar Homolka, Muriel Pavlow and Derek Farr. It was originally released as ''The Shop at Sly Corner'', being based on the popular stage play of that ...

'' (1947) – Robert Graham * '' Bond Street'' (1948) – Joe Marsh * ''

'' (1948) – Capt. Jumbo Hyde * '' The Story of Shirley Yorke'' (1948) – Gerald Ryton * ''

Silent Dust ''Silent Dust'' is a 1949 British drama/thriller film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Sally Gray, Stephen Murray, Derek Farr and Nigel Patrick. The title comes from lines in Thomas Gray's ''Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'' ''Can ...

'' (1949) – Maxwell Oliver * ''

Man on the Run ''Man on the Run'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, Edward Chapman, Kenneth More and Laurence Harvey. Plot An army deserter, still a fugitive in post-war Britain, wanders ...

'' (1949) – Sgt. Peter Burden, alias Brown * '' Double Confession'' (1950) – Jim Medway * ''

'' (1950) – Stephen * ''

'' (1951) – Bruce Banning * ''

Reluctant Heroes ''Reluctant Heroes'' is a 1951 British comedy filmed in Technicolor. It is based on the farce by Colin Morris. Directed by Jack Raymond, it stars Ronald Shiner as Sergeant Bell. It was produced by Henry Halsted and Byron Film. The play, whic ...

'' (1951) – Michael Fone * '' Little Big Shot'' (1952) – Sergeant Wilson * ''

Front Page Story ''Front Page Story'' is a 1954 British drama film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Jack Hawkins, Elizabeth Allan and Eva Bartok. It was shot in black-and-white at Shepperton Studios with some location shooting in London. The film's sets we ...

'' (1954) – Teale * '' Eight O'Clock Walk'' (1954) – Peter Tanner * ''

Bang! You're Dead ''Bang! You're Dead'' is a 1954 British psychological drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Jack Warner, Anthony Richmond, Veronica Hurst, Derek Farr and Sean Barrett. The film takes as its subject the accidental killing of a m ...

'' (1954) – Detective Grey * '' The Dam Busters'' (1955) – Group Captain J. N. H. Whitworth, D.S.O., D.F.C. * ''

Value for Money In economics, economic value is a measure of the benefit provided by a good or service to an economic agent. It is generally measured through units of currency, and the interpretation is therefore "what is the maximum amount of money a specif ...

'' (1955) – Duke Popplewell * ''

The Man in the Road ''The Man in the Road'' is a 1956 British thriller film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Derek Farr, Ella Raines, Donald Wolfit and Cyril Cusack. The film was shot at Beaconsfield Studios. It was based on a popular contemporary novel ''H ...

'' (1956) – Ivan Mason / Dr. James Paxton * ''

Town on Trial ''Town on Trial'' is a 1957 British mystery film directed by John Guillermin and starring John Mills, Charles Coburn, Barbara Bates and Derek Farr. A whole town comes under suspicion when two grisly murders are carried out—particularly membe ...

'' (1957) – Mark Roper * '' Doctor At Large'' (1957) – Dr. Potter-Shine * '' The Vicious Circle'' (1957) – Kenneth Palmer * ''

The Truth About Women ''The Truth About Women'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Laurence Harvey, Julie Harris, Mai Zetterling and Diane Cilento. Plot When his son-in-law comes to him with a woeful tale of an unhappy relationship and ...

'' (1957) – Anthony * ''

Attempt to Kill ''Attempt to Kill'' is a 1961 British film. It was a rare feature directed by Royston Morley, and based on a story by Edgar Wallace, ''The Lone House Mystery''. It was one of a series of ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'', British second-features, produ ...

'' (1961) – Det. Insp. Minter * ''

Deadline Midnight ''-30-'' (released as ''Deadline Midnight'' in the UK) is a 1959 film directed by Jack Webb and starring Webb and William Conrad as night managing editor and night city editor, respectively, of a fictional Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles new ...

'' (1961) – Paul Vetter * ''

The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...

'' (1962, TV Series) – John Clarron / Mrs. Jafferty * ''

The Projected Man ''The Projected Man'' is a 1966 British science fiction film directed by Ian Curteis, written by Peter Bryan, John C. Cooper, and Frank Quattrocchi, and starring Bryant Haliday, Mary Peach, Norman Wooland, Ronald Allen, and Derek Farr. It wa ...

'' (1966) – Inspector Davis * '' 30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia'' (1968) – TV Announcer * ''The Johnstown Monster'' (1971) – Hamer * ''

Pope Joan Pope Joan (''Ioannes Anglicus'', 855–857) was, according to legend, a woman who reigned as pope for two years during the Middle Ages. Her story first appeared in chronicles in the 13th century and subsequently spread throughout Europe. The s ...

'' (1972) – Count Brisini * ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' (1972–1973, TV Series) – Timothy Hunter * '' Nightingale's Boys'' (1975, TV Series) – Bill Nightingale * ''

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for two series, including two Christmas special ...

'' (1978, TV Series) – Dr Mender *

Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, oft ...

- Rumpole and the Man of God - (1979) - Rev Mordred Skinner * ''

We, the Accused ''We, the Accused'' is a 1935 crime novel by the British writer Ernest Raymond. It is inspired by the Edwardian era Doctor Crippen case. The novel is written to engage the reader's sympathy for the murderous protagonists. Synopsis Schoolteacher ...

'' (1980, TV series) – Sir Kenneth Eddy

References

External links

* 1912 births 1986 deaths English male film actors Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors British military personnel of World War II {{England-film-actor-stub