Peter Finch Filmography

A Look at Liv

Actors: Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullmann

Synopsis: This 1977 documentary feature closely examines the person, views and life of Norwegian actress Liv Ullman, perhaps best known for her many appearances in the famed Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's films. Clips of her films are included, as well as numerous interviews granted by her especially for Read More

Network

Actors: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Wesley Addy

Synopsis: A trenchant satire of "trash TV," Network seems to grow only more relevant with each passing year. Howard Beale (Peter Finch), the dean of newscasters at the United Broadcasting System, is put out to pasture because he "skews old." Network executive Max Schumacher (William Holden), Howard's best Read More

The Abdication

Actors: Franz Drago, Suzanne Huddart, Liv Ullmann, Peter Finch, Cyril Cusack, Graham Crowden

Synopsis: In this historical drama based on actual events, Sweden's Queen Christina (Liv Ullmann) decides in 1654 to give up her throne in order to embrace Catholicism. However, as she studies the faith, she falls in love with Cardinal Azzolino (Peter Finch), a cleric being considered for the papacy. Greta Garbo Read More

The Nelson Affair

Actors: Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Michael Jayston, Anthony Quayle, Margaret Leighton

Synopsis: Based on a play by Terence Rattigan, The Nelson Affair recounts an infamous 18th century British scandal in slow-paced, talk-heavy fashion. Lord Nelson (Peter Finch) returns from battling Napoleon's navy and takes some well-deserved leave. He immediately picks up where he left off with Lady Read More

England Made Me

Actors: Bill Baskiville, Cvetka Cupar, Mira Nikolic, Vladan Zivkovic, Peter Finch, Michael York, Hildegard Neil, Michael Hordern, Joss Ackland

Synopsis: Based on a novel by Graham Greene that uses the rise of Nazi Germany as its backdrop, this drama stars Michael York as Anthony Farrant, an idealistic young British businessman. On his way home after a trip to the Far East, Anthony takes a friend up on her advice and makes a stop in Germany, where Read More

Lost Horizon

Actors: Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, Sally Kellerman, George Kennedy, Michael York

Synopsis: James Hilton's beloved fantasy novel about the land of Shangri-La was given an awkward musical treatment in this extravagantly produced flop. Larry Kramer's screenplay stays close to the 1937 Frank Capra original, as a plane fleeing China crashes in the Himalayas and a mixed group of survivors Read More

Shattered

Actors: Peter Finch, Linda Hayden

Synopsis: Also released under the title Something to Hide, this film follows the slow disintegration of a man's (Peter Finch) life due to the problems brought on by his troubled marriage, his drinking, and the appearance of a strange hitchhiker (Linda Hayden). ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide Read More

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Actors: Cindy Burrows, Emma Schlesinger, Kimi Tallmadge, Patrick Thornberry, Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Murray Head, Peggy Ashcroft, Maurice Denham

Synopsis: This British film examines the choices individuals must make when confronted with a romantic relationship which is rewarding but does not offer them everything they want. In this sympathetic and psychologically precise drama, Alexandra Greville (Glenda Jackson), "Alex" to her friends, has a Read More

The Red Tent

Actors: Sean Connery, Claudia Cardinale, Hardy Kruger, Peter Finch, Massimo Girotti

Synopsis: The true story of a tragic 1928 arctic expedition provides the basis for this adventure drama that was a joint Italian and Russian co-production. Peter Finch stars as General Umberto Nobile, who is visited in Rome by the ghosts of those whose lives were taken in his ill-fated mission forty years Read More

The Legend of Lylah Clare

Actors: Kim Novak, Peter Finch, Ernest Borgnine, Milton Selzer, Rossella Falk

Synopsis: Film star Lylah Clare is dead, but her legend lives on. Movie-producer Barney Sheean (Ernest Borgnine) hires Elsa Brinkmann (Kim Novak), the living image of the late Lylah, to star in a film based on Ms. Clare's life. Barney hires director Lewis Zarkan (Peter Finch), Lylah's former husband, to Read More

Far From the Madding Crowd

Actors: Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch, Alan Bates, Prunella Ransome

Synopsis: This 1967 version of Thomas Hardy's novel should have done better at the box office than it did, given the star power of Julie Christie and the visual and aural fidelity to its source material. Julie Christie plays Bathsheba Everdene, a country heiress who is loved by three different men: Terence Stamp Read More

10:30 p.m. Summer

Actors: Melina Mercouri, Romy Schneider, Peter Finch, Julián Mateos

Synopsis: Passion, whether sex or violence, is the root of conflict in this film which follows as the alcoholic Mercouri and her husband Finch travel with their daughter and Schneider across Spain. Being married does not stop Finch from fooling around with other women, however, and an affair flares up Read More

Judith

Actors: Sophia Loren, Peter Finch, Jack Hawkins, Hans Verner, Zharira Charifai

Synopsis: A woman seeks justice for herself, her family, and her people in this emotional drama. Judith (Sophia Loren) is a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp; she was once married to Gustav Schiller (Hans Verner), a German, but with the onset of WWII, he threw his support behind the ruling Nazi party Read More

The Flight of the Phoenix

Actors: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Kruger, Ernest Borgnine

Synopsis: Based on Elleston Trevor's novel, The Flight of the Phoenix opens with a well-staged plane crash in the middle of the Sahara desert. The pilot (James Stewart) and the navigator (Richard Attenborough) do their best to maintain order among the survivors, a group of oil men not well-suited for Read More

Girl With Green Eyes

Actors: Peter Finch, Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave, Marie Kean, Julian Glover

Synopsis: Rita Tushingham was propelled into stardom with The Girl with Green Eyes. She plays a gawky young rural Irish girl who takes a room with a wise-cracking Dublin lass (Lynn Redgrave). Enter a middle-aged writer (Peter Finch), who makes a beeline for the shy, lonely Tushingham--completely ignoring Read More

The Pumpkin Eater

Actors: Anne Bancroft, Peter Finch, James Mason, Cedric Hardwicke, Richard Johnson

Synopsis: Anne Bancroft stars as a restless, twice-married British woman with six children, whose third husband is a fledgling screenwriter (Peter Finch). When success spins Finch's head around, he begins to dally with women other than his wife. Meanwhile, Bancroft is forced to stay home and play "domestic Read More

In the Cool of the Day

Actors: Peter Finch, Jane Fonda, Angela Lansbury, Constance Cummings, Arthur Hill

Synopsis: In this drama of romantic intrigue and infidelity, Sam and Christine Bonner (Arthur Hill and Jane Fonda) are a married couple whose relationship has hit a rough spot. While Sam loves Christina very much and would do anything for her, she feels unsatisfied and suffocated by him; she wants more Read More

I Thank a Fool

Actors: Susan Hayward, Peter Finch, Diane Cilento, Cyril Cusack, Kieron Moore

Synopsis: Dr. Susan Hayward makes a tragic mistake when she leaves her Canadian practice to follow her ailing, married lover to England. Dying slowly and in great pain, her love begs her to help him die quickly. With great compassion, she does so with a large morphine injection. Unfortunately, her mercy Read More

Kidnapped

Actors: Peter Finch, James MacArthur, Bernard Lee, Niall MacGinnis, John Laurie

Synopsis: Disney produced this historical adventure of old Scotland, based on the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. James MacArthur stars as David Balfour, a wealthy lad cheated out of his inheritance and sold into servitude by his duplicitous and greedy uncle, Ebenezer (John Laurie). Aboard the ship Read More

The Trials of Oscar Wilde

Actors: Peter Finch, Yvonne Mitchell, James Mason, Nigel Patrick, Lionel Jeffries

Synopsis: Peter Finch portrays the titular flamboyant Irish poet/playwright in The Trials of Oscar Wilde. The storyline, lifted to a great extent from actual court records, recounts Wilde's late 19th century libel action against the Marquis of Queensbury. The author loses, whereupon he himself is tried for Read More

No Love for Johnnie

Actors: Peter Finch, Stanley Holloway, Mary Peach, Donald Pleasence, Billie Whitelaw, Rosalie Crutchley

Synopsis: Peter Finch plays Johnnie Byrne, a British member of parliament. When Johnnie loses out on an important cabinet post, he's hardly surprised; he's been a loser so long that it's par for the course. Treated shabbily by his communistic wife Rosalie Crutchley, Johnnie begins an affair with Read More

The Sins of Rachel Cade

Actors: Angie Dickinson, Peter Finch, Roger Moore, Errol John, Woody Strode

Synopsis: Rachel Cade (Angie Dickinson), a dedicated American nurse working in the Belgian Congo, meets administrator Henri Derode (Peter Finch) during a native fertility dance. Guess what he tries to do? He doesn't, though, because Rachel falls in love with handsome downed RAF pilot Paul Wilton (Roger Moore Read More

Operation Amsterdam

Actors: Peter Finch, Eva Bartok, Tony Britton, Alexander Knox, Malcolm Keen

Synopsis: One of the covert operations at the beginning of World War II is enacted in this fast-paced docudrama about a government-approved diamond heist. A Major from the British army (Tony Britton) joins up with a Dutch diamond expert (Alexander Knox) and another adventurous Dutchman (Peter Finch) to Read More

The Nun's Story

Actors: Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, Edith Evans, Peggy Ashcroft, Dean Jagger

Synopsis: Audrey Hepburn stars in The Nun's Story as Sister Luke, postulant of a Belgian order of nuns. Though frequently disillusioned in her efforts to spread good will -- at one point she is nearly killed by a mental patient (Colleen Dewhurst) -- Sister Luke perseveres. Sent as a nurse to the Belgian Read More

Windom's Way

Actors: Peter Finch, Mary Ure, Natasha Parry, Robert Flemyng, Michael Hordern

Synopsis: Peter Finch plays Dr. Alec Windom, a British medico working in the remote Far Eastern island village of Selim. Feeling a strong bond with the natives, Dr. Windom champions their cause during a tense period of romantic upheaval. Eventually, he is forced to quell a native uprising--and to try to Read More

The Shiralee

Actors: Peter Finch, Elizabeth Sellars, Dana Wilson, George Rose, Rosemary Harris

Synopsis: Based on a best-selling Australian novel by D'Arcy Niland, The Shiralee stars Peter Finch as an Aussie "swagman," or poacher, saddled with a faithless wife (Elizabeth Sellars). Concerned over the well-being of his young daughter (Dana Wilson), Finch takes her out of her hostile environment and Read More

Robbery under Arms

Actors: Peter Finch, Ronald Lewis, Laurence Naismith, Maureen Swanson, David McCallum

Synopsis: One of several feature film versions of the late 19th century novel by Rolf Boldrewood, this frontier adventure is set not in the Wild West of the U.S., but in the equally untamed Australian Outback of the same era. Two brothers, Jim (David McCallum) and Dick Marsten (Ronald Lewis) follow in their Read More

A Town Like Alice

Actors: Virginia McKenna, Peter Finch, Marie Lohr, Renee Houston, Jean Anderson

Synopsis: A harrowing WWII drama that was a huge critical and commercial success in England, this British production was based on a novel by Nevil Shute. During the war, a group of prisoners, mostly women and children, are led by Japanese soldiers on a brutal march through Malaysia. Some die by the roadside Read More

Pursuit of the Graf Spee

Actors: John Gregson, Anthony Quayle, Peter Finch, Ian Hunter, Jack Gwillim, Bernard Lee

Synopsis: Widely regarded as one of the best and most intelligent British war dramas of the 1950s, The Battle of River Plate is the story of Britain's first significant naval victory in WW2. John Gregson heads the cast as Captain Bell, skipper of the Exeter, one of several vessels engaged in pursuit of the Read More

The Warriors

Actors: Errol Flynn, Joanne Dru, Peter Finch, Yvonne Furneaux, Patrick Holt

Synopsis: The Dark Avenger was the European-release title of the Errol Flynn swashbuckler The Warriors; 20th Century-Fox handled European distribution, while Allied Artists released the film stateside. Lensed on location in Hertfordshire, England, the film stars Flynn as Edward, the "Black Prince" of Read More

Passage Home

Synopsis: A Richard Armstrong novel was the source for the British sea melodrama Passage Home. Set in 1931, the film takes place aboard a merchant ship, briefly harbored in South America. A young woman (Diane Cilento) boards the ship as a passenger, resulting in disharmony among the superstitious crew Read More

Simon and Laura

Actors: Peter Finch, Kay Kendall, Muriel Pavlow, Ian Carmichael, Maurice Denham

Synopsis: Love, marriage and show business provide the basis of this lively comedy that centers on a husband and wife, who are chosen by television producers to embody the perfect married couple on an upcoming television series. The show is to be filmed and broadcast live from the home of Simon and Laura Read More

Josephine and Men

Actors: Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, Donald Sinden, Peter Finch, Heather Thatcher

Synopsis: In this romantic comedy, a womanizing uncle tells the story of his good-hearted but fickle niece, whose tendency to always champion the underdog causes her endless romantic woes. It all begins when she breaks up with her fiance on the eve of their wedding so she can marry and help out a Read More

The Queen in Australia

Crew: Commentary

Synopsis: Released at the same time as such feature-length documentaries as The Queen's Royal Tour, Welcome the Queen! and Flight of the White Heron, The Queen in Australia is yet another variation on the familiar theme. Lensed during Queen Elizabeth's recent tour of the British empire, this 71-minute Read More

The Detective

Actors: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Peter Finch, Cecil Parker, Bernard Lee

Synopsis: Alec Guinness stars as Father Brown, full-time priest and part-time sleuth, in this comic mystery based on the character created by novelist G.K. Chesterton. When Father Brown is entrusted with transporting a valuable religious artifact from London to Rome, he's understandably upset when it's Read More

Elephant Walk

Actors: Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, Peter Finch, Abraham Sofaer, Abner Biberman

Synopsis: Elephant Walk was several weeks into production when the film's original leading lady, Vivien Leigh, was replaced by Elizabeth Taylor (you can still see Leigh in a few long shots). Based on a novel by Robert Standish, the film casts Taylor as Ruth Wiley, the new bride of solemn plantation owner Read More

Make Me an Offer

Actors: Peter Finch, Adrienne Corri, Rosalie Crutchley, Finlay Currie, Meier Tzelniker

Synopsis: While ethnic humor was pretty much avoided by Hollywood in the politically touchy 1950s, Great Britain continued to turn out comedies relying upon accents and gentle stereotypes for laughs. Make Me an Offer stars Peter Finch as a stylish antique dealer who covets a precious vase. Among the many Read More

The Heart of the Matter

Actors: Trevor Howard, Elizabeth Allan, Maria Schell, Denholm Elliott, Peter Finch

Synopsis: Heart of the Matter is a faithful if somewhat austere adaptation of the same-named novel by Graham Greene. Set in Sierra Leone during WW II, the film stars Trevor Howard as assistant police commissioner Scobie. While his wife Louise (Elizabeth Allan) is away on vacation, Scobie falls in love with Read More

The Great Gilbert and Sullivan

Actors: Robert Morley, Maurice Evans, Eileen Herlie, Peter Finch, Martyn Green

Synopsis: Robert Morley and Maurice Evans play W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, 19th-century composers of such imperishable comic operettas as H.M.S. Pinafore, Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. Much is made of the inescapable fact that Gilbert and Sullivan grew to dislike each other intensely. Also Read More

The Story of Robin Hood

Actors: Richard Todd, Joan Rice, Peter Finch, James Hayter, James Robertson Justice, Martita Hunt

Synopsis: Better known as The Story of Robin Hood, this colorful costume adventure was the second made-in-Britain production for Hollywood's Walt Disney. Avoiding the familiar episodes covered in previous "Robin Hood" films, this Disney effort still manages to adhere to the basic chronology. Richard Todd Read More

The Miniver Story

Actors: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, John Hodiak, Leo Genn, Cathy O'Donnell

Synopsis: This sequel to the 1942 Oscar-winner Mrs.Miniver can be considered ill-advised, if only because the producers could never really hope to match the success of the original. Otherwise, The Miniver Story has its charms, not the least of which were the sterling performances of Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon Read More

The Wooden Horse

Actors: Leo Genn, David Tomlinson, Anthony Steel, David Greene, Peter Burton

Synopsis: Based on a true story (believe it or don't!), The Wooden Horse is set in a wartime German prison camp. It being the duty for every British POW to attempt escape, internees Leo Genn, David Tomlinson and Anthony Steel hit upon a daring scheme. Building an outsized, boxlike vaulting horse Read More

Eureka Stockade

Actors: Chips Rafferty, Gordon Jackson, Peter Finch, Jane Barrett, Jack Lambert, Peter Illing

Synopsis: Released in the U.S. as Massacre Hill, the Australian Eureka Stockade was one of that country's biggest and most expensive postwar productions (it was nearly two years in the making!) Set during the 19th-century Australian gold rush, the film top-bills Chips Rafferty as boisterous prospector Peter Read More

Train of Events

Actors: Jack Warner, Valerie Hobson, John Clements, Peter Finch, Irina Baronova, Joan Dowling, John Gregson

Synopsis: The British Train of Events explores the consequences of a railroad accident from four different viewpoints. Jack Warner plays the engine driver, whose daughter's boy friend is responsible for the crash. Peter Finch plays a homicidal actor whose "perfect murder" of his wife is thwarted by the Read More

A Son Is Born

Actors: Ron Randell, Muriel Steinbeck, Peter Finch, John McCallum

Synopsis: A Son is Born was the maiden directorial effort of Australian producer Eric Porter. Future international star Peter Finch heads the cast of this sprawling drama, dealing with the rivalry between a headstrong father and his rebellious son. Ron Randell and Muriel Steinbeck, who like Finch were big Read More

Fighting Rats of Tobruk

Actors: Grant Taylor, Chips Rafferty, Peter Finch

Synopsis: Peter Finch enjoyed one of his first major screen successes with this wartime drama from Australia. Milo Trent (Chips Rafferty) and Bluey Donkin (Grant Taylor) are two Aussie infantrymen who are fighting in North Africa during World War II when they meet Peter Linton (Peter Finch), a slightly Read More

Mr. Chedworth Steps Out

Actors: James Raglan, Rita Pauncefort, Peter Finch

Synopsis: Cherubic Cecil Kellaway heads the cast of the Australian Mr. Chedworth Steps Out. The title character is a milquetoast clerk who decides to kick over the traces and have a good time when chances across an abandoned bag of money. Unbeknownst to Mr. Chedworth, the cash is counterfeit, and before Read More

Dad and Dave Come to Town

Actors: Bert Bailey, Billy Rayes, Alec Kellaway

Synopsis: In this early Australian comedy, an outback farmer is bequeathed a city fashion salon so he moves his family into town. There, he becomes known as "the farmer dressmaker." He will do almost anything to get business. He even does a radio spot with his son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More