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Lionel Jeffries

Lionel Jeffries
Lionel Charles Jeffries was an actor, director, and writer. He was born in Forest Hill, London in 1926, and became bald prematurely which he attributed to the humidity he experienced while serving in the Army in Burma during the Second World War. He is famously remembered playing the eccentric Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He married in 1951 to Eileen Walsh and had one son and two daughters. He died in Poole, Dorset on 19th February 2010. A great actor who often stole the limelight from the lead role by a simple twitch or one liner.

Ref.: Anthony Hayward, The Independent, 20/02/10.



What members say | Filmography

Lionel Jeffries - what members say


  • First Men In The Moon
  • First Men In The Moon review by A customer from Birmingham, UK
    Rated - 4.0 stars Harryhausen in space... 19 January 2005
    ...iques. Loosely based on H.G. Well's book and with mild comic relief provided by Lionel Jeffries, the film's transfer to DVD is bright and colourful although I was disappointed...   Read customer review
  • Miss Marple - Murder Ahoy
  • Miss Marple - Murder Ahoy review by from Blandford Forum, Dorset.
    Rated - 5.0 stars Great murder yarn 23 June 2005
    ... mysteries with Margaret Rutherford playing the definitive role of Miss Marple. Lionel Jeffries plays the long suffering captain of a cadet training ship with his staff being ...   Read customer review

Lionel Jeffries - filmography


  • A Chorus Of Disapproval on DVD (1988)
    Starring: Anthony Hopkins,  Jeremy Irons,  Richard Briers
    Director: Michael Winner
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    Following the death of his wife, Guy Jones (Jeremy Irons) is moved by his company to a sleepy seaside town, where, faced with knowing no-one and nights of boredom in front of the TV, he decides to join the local amateur dramatics society. He is enthusiastically welcomed by eccentric Welsh Director,..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 56% from 243 members
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  • The Water Babies on DVD (1978)
    Starring: James Mason,  Billie Whitelaw,  Bernard Cribbins
    Director: Lionel Jeffries
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    Charles Kingsley's classic magical children's tale of Tom, a twelve year-old boy who is apprenticed to the unkind Master Chimney Sweep, Grimes. Life is tough for Tom - while he sweeps, Grimes and his unpleasant sidekick, Masterman, busy themselves thieving. Live action and animation.
    3 stars out of 5 64% from 960 members
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  • Wombling Free (1977)
    Starring: David Tomlinson,  Frances De La Tour,  Bonnie Langford
    Director: Lionel Jeffries
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    Based on the long running TV series, WOMBLING FREE has the adorable Wombles facing two struggles. Whilst they continue to wage their ongoing war against litter after being invited to a child's birthday party, they have to prove their existence to the people of Wimbledon common.
    3 stars out of 5 60% from 407 members
    Not available for rental
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  • The Amazing Mr Blunden (1972)
    Starring: Laurence Naismith,  James Villiers,  Diana Dors
    Director: Lionel Jeffries
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    A mysterious, old solicitor Mr Blunden offers a destitute family the chance to become housekeepers of a derelict country mansion, which is currently in his charge. Once there the children meet the spirits of others who died in a fire a hundred years earlier. They concoct a potion to enable them to ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 70% from 1,174 member
    Not currently released
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  • Eyewitness (1970)
    Starring: Mark Lester,  Lionel Jeffries
    Director: John Hough
    Certificate: Certificate: TBC
    Mark Lester (OLIVER) stars in this thriller as Ziggy, an 11 year-old with a penchant for telling tall tales who witnesses the assassination of an African president by two corrupt policemen. Because of his propensity for spinning tales, when Ziggy tries to tell people what he saw no one believes him,..read more »
    2.5 stars out of 5 36% from 5 members
    Not available for rental
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  • Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon (1967)
    Starring: Burl Ives,  Troy Donahue,  Gert Frobe
    Director: Don Sharp
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    When Phileas.T. Barnum and friends attempt to send the first rocket to the moon, in the hope of making a fortune, their mission is rife with problems. Beginning with dire capital discrepancies, the crew also finds itself the object of sabotage and espionage. It seems impossible that they shall be ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 57% from 175 members
    Not currently released
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  • Camelot on DVD (1967)
    Starring: Richard Harris,  Vanessa Redgrave,  Franco Nero
    Director: Joshua Logan
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    A musical adaptation of the legendary King Arthur and the Knights Of The Round Table. Songs include: 'If Ever I Would Leave You', 'How To Handle A Woman' and 'Then You May Take Me To The Fair'. Music directors include Ken Darby and Alfred Newman. Music and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Edward Carere ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 60% from 941 members
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  • The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966)
    Starring: Laurence Harvey,  Daliah Lavi,  Lionel Jeffries
    Director: Daniel Petrie
    Certificate: Certificate: TBC
    A veterinarian is hired by the British government to implant a recording device into a bulldog, which will then be given to the Russians as a gift. When the dog gets sick, the vet must fly to Russia to treat it before the Russians find out the animal is "bugged."
    1.5 stars out of 5 27% from 8 members
    Currently unavailable
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  • First Men In The Moon on DVD (1964)
    Starring: Edward Judd,  Martha Hyer,  Lionel Jeffries
    Director: Nathan Juran
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    As a team of United Nations astronauts are planning an upcoming moon mission, they are approached by an elderly man who recounts a trip he took to the moon 65 years ago (in 1899) and was attacked by "Selenites," a race of ant-like beings that dwell in caverns of crystal. Based on the story by H.G. ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 66% from 1,142 member
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  • The Scarlet Blade on DVD (1963)
    Starring: Douglas Blackwell,  Lionel Jeffries,  Oliver Reed
    Director: John Gilling
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    A historical adventure set during the English Civil War from the famous Hammer Film Productions. Oliver Reed is in devilish form as a Roundhead soldier who kidnaps the King on the orders of his tyrannical Colonel (Lionel Jeffries). It's down to a local group of loyal soldiers to rescue him, led by ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 59% from 11 members
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  • The Notorious Landlady on DVD (1962)
    Starring: Kim Novak,  Jack Lemmon,  Fred Astaire
    Director: Richard Quine
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    This uneven farce by director Richard Quine has its hilarious and witty moments as American diplomat William Gridley (Jack Lemmon) inadvertently gets caught up in a jewel theft and mayhem. After William lands in London to take up his new position and get settled in his new digs, he becomes involved ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 60% from 9 members
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  • Two Way Stretch (1960)
    Starring: Peter Sellers,  Wilfrid Hyde White,  Lionel Jeffries
    Director: Robert Day
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
    Even though the prison conditions in which Sellers and his pals live are more similar to those of a luxury hotel than a jail, they find that they must leave a day before their scheduled parole in order to pull off a jewel heist.
    3.5 stars out of 5 72% from 1,171 member
    Currently unavailable
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  • The Baby and the Battleship on DVD (1956)
    Starring: John Mills,  Richard Attenborough,  Andre Morell
    Director: Jay Lewis
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    After a quayside mix-up with the Italian family of his fiancée, able Seaman, Knocker White, finds himself literally left holding the baby. Unable to return it before his ship sails he enlists the help of best mate Puncher Roberts to smuggle the child aboard. But babies are surprisingly demanding ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 68% from 61 members
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  • Jumping for Joy on DVD (1956)
    Starring: Frankie Howerd,  Stanley Holloway,  A.E. Matthews
    Director: John Paddy Carstairs
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    It’s a dog’s life in this hilarious British comedy! When Willie Joy (comedy legend Frankie Howered) is fired from his job at the greyhound stadium, he takes pity on a fellow victim and adopts an injured greyhound called Lindy Lou, who would otherwise be destroyed. Teaming up with amiable con-man ‘..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 62% from 23 members
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  • The Colditz Story on DVD (1954)
    Starring: John Mills,  Eric Portman,  Lionel Jeffries
    Director: Guy Hamilton
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    This collection features four of the greatest British war films of all time. THE DAM BUSTERS, starring Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd, is a World War II adventure which centers around the British efforts to destroy two enormous dams in Germany. In THE COLDITZ STORY, starring John Mills, a group ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 70% from 1,924 member
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  • Lola / The Witness on DVD (1953)
    Starring: Charles Bronson,  Susan George,  Jack Hawkins
    Director: Richard Donner
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    Features two movies on one DVD. In LOLA, a middle-aged writer falls in love with a 16-year old English nymphet. Boasting a strong performance from Charles Bronson as the writer. In THE WITNESS, a young boy who has witnessed the crime for which his father is being wrongly accused attempts to free ..read more »
    2 stars out of 5 40% from 79 members
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  • Black Rider/Glad Tidings on DVD (1953)
    Starring: Jimmy Handley,  Rona Anderson,  Barbara Kelly
    Director: Wolf Rilla
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    Black Rider: Jimmy Hanley stars in this 1954 production filmed at Nettlefold studios, Walton. Directed by Wolf Rilla (Village of the Damned) and with a strong British cast, local reporter Jerry (Hanley) is out to prove the ghostly monk is infact very real, with bosses daughter (Rona Anderson) the ..read more »
    1.5 stars out of 5 27% from 4 members
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  • Prisoner Of Zenda on DVD
    Starring: Peter Sellers,  Elke Sommer,  Lionel Jeffries
    Director: Richard Quine
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    A comical remake of the drama which sees the king of Ruritiana dying in a hot air balloon whilst his eldest son plays around in London. A stand-in is called in for the old king in the form of a London cabbie, to foil the plans of evil Prince Michael.
    2.5 stars out of 5 50% from 36 members
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  • The Shillingbury Tales (2 discs)
    Starring: Robin Nedwell,  Diane Keen,  Lionel Jeffries
    Director: Val Guest
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    The village of Shillingbury is a tranquil place, representative of traditional rural England. It is a picture postcard village of thatched roofs and afternoon cream teas. Everything is perfect...
    3 stars out of 5 60% from 144 members
    Not available for rental
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Lionel Jeffries facts

5 most recent films

Rich Tea And Sympathy - The Complete Series - 1.0 stars
The Danny Champion Of The World - 3.5 stars
A Chorus Of Disapproval - 3.0 stars
The Water Babies - 3.0 stars
Wombling Free - 3.0 stars

5 highest-rated films

Miss Marple - Murder Most Foul - 4.0 stars
The Railway Children - Blu-ray - 4.0 stars
Miss Marple - Murder At The Gallop - 4.0 stars
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Blu-ray - 3.5 stars
Miss Marple - Murder Ahoy - 3.5 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? - 3 stars
You Must Be Joking! - 1.0 stars
Rich Tea And Sympathy - The Complete Series - 1.0 stars
Black Rider/Glad Tidings - 1.5 stars
The Spy with a Cold Nose - 1.5 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Bernard Cribbins - 9 times - show films
James Robertson Justice - 7 times - show films
Gert Frobe - 6 times - show films
Peter Sellers - 5 times - show films
Benny Hill - 4 times - show films

Most frequent directors

Ken Hughes - 4 times - show films
Claude Whatham - 3 times - show films
Val Guest - 3 times - show films
George Pollock - 3 times - show films
Don Sharp - 2 times - show films