Finlay Currie

Finlay Currie was an actor who made his name working on stage before he moved into feature films in the early 1930s. He was severe and serious in appearance, and his role in the 1946 David Lean adaptation of the Dickens novel "Great Expectations," as the graveyard-lurking escaped prisoner, Magwitch, was a career best, and scary to boot. His ill-tempered characterization served him well with other roles, including his part as Captain Billy Bones in the 1950 Walt Disney version of the pirate adventure "Treasure Island" and as Queen Victoria's servant in "The Mudlark." He worked frequently in historical epics, such as "Quo Vadis," "Ben-Hur," and "Ivanhoe," a good fit for his commanding style. His role in John Schlesinger's British New Wave classic "Billy Liar," as the doddering, dull undertaker, Duxbury, is small but memorable. Currie also guest-starred in one episode of the cult classic sci-fi television show "The Prisoner," "The Chimes of Big Ben." He played a mob boss in an episode of "The Saint," his final role before dying at age 90.