Cat. #003253: ALASTAIR SIM

Highly scarce vintage 3.5 x 5.5-inch sepia-tone English postcard portrait, boldly signed in black fountain pen in the early 1930s. In fine condition. Droll, moon-faced, Scottish character actor Alastair Sim made a late movie debut at the age of 35, having thitherto worked as a professor of elocution and occasional stage performer. In his earlier films, he played dimwitted provincials, notably the buffoonish sergeant in the Inspector Hornleigh mystery series in the late 1930s. He achieved real stardom in the following decade, frequently portraying dithering oddballs who weren't quite as distracted or disorganized as they seemed, including the undercover detective in Cottage to Let (1943), the inquisitive Inspector Cockrill in Green for Danger (1946) and the befuddled birdwatcher in Hue and Cry (1947). Among his most fondly remembered roles of the 1950s were the taciturn moralist forced to break the law in order to qualify for an inheritance in Laughter in Paradise (1952); the enigmatic "voice of conscience" in An Inspector Calls (1954); the mild-mannered professional assassin in The Green Man (1956); his "drag" appearances as the snooty headmistress in the St. Trinians farces; and, of course, the title role in Scrooge (1951). His sole horror role came with The Anatomist in 1956.  Seemingly growing funnier with each passing year, the 72-year-old Sim all but stole the show as a doddering cleric in the outrageous The Ruling Class (1972). Throughout his four-decade film career, he was also active in theater, directing and starring in several of the works of playwright James Bridie and, by popular request, as Captain Hook in multiple productions of Barrie's "Peter Pan."