--- name: "George Cole" canonical: "https://film.one/person/george-cole" roles: ["Actor"] born: "22 April 1925" died: "5 August 2015" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 75 average_as: "actor" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-09-20T01:28:38.603912+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # George Cole Actor. Born 22 April 1925 in Tooting, South London, England, UK. Died 5 August 2015. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 22 April 1925, Tooting, South London, England, UK - **Died:** 5 August 2015 - **Active:** 1944–1975 - **Also known as:** Джордж Коул, George Edward Cole - **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as actor, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 82 (1), 1960s 60 (1), 1970s 84 (1) - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 3, History 2, Action & Adventure 1, Crime 1, Romance 1, War 1 - **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $58m across 1 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Cole_(actor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1507136, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0170552/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/47722 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*Henry V*](https://film.one/film/henry-v-1944.md) (82) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on George Cole > For sixty years George Cole played the man with something to sell, from Flash Harry to Arthur Daley, and the trick never changed: he made the shifty likeable without once asking us to trust him. On film he was at his best beside Alastair Sim. Watch for the moment George Cole decides you are a customer. The shoulders loosen, the voice drops into South London, and a proposition arrives that is not quite honest and not quite a lie. He did it as Flash Harry in *The Belles of St Trinian's* (1954) and he was still doing it as Arthur Daley in *Minder* a quarter of a century later, and the joke held because he never asked us to believe the man. He asked us to enjoy him. "I was paid to be cheeky and people clapped me for it," he said in 1990, which is a fair summary. The cheek was taught. He was on stage at fourteen in 1939 and on screen two years later in *Cottage to Let* (1941), opposite Alastair Sim, who took him in hand, trained the cockney out of his voice and, more usefully, taught him how to put it back when a part wanted it. They made nine films together, and the pairing is the best thing in his film work: Sim large and slow and mournful, Cole slight and quick and up to something. *Scrooge* (1951) turns the arrangement round, Cole as the young Ebenezer and Sim as the old one, and *Henry V* (1944) had already given him a small part in Olivier's Shakespeare. After the RAF, from 1943 to 1947, came the supporting years, four St Trinian's films among them, and then television, which gave the persona the time it needed. The one film of his we have reviewed hardly uses him. In Joseph L. Mankiewicz's *Cleopatra* (1963) he plays Flavius, a mute slave, so the one thing he could do that nobody else in the cast could, talk fast and disreputably, was taken from him at the door. He mimes instead. It is neat, small work in a film that runs four hours and never stops talking, and we admit we missed it entirely the first time and had to go back to find it. That is a comment on the film rather than on him. His Hollywood credit and *The Blue Bird* (1976) are not where anyone should start, and he seems to have known it. What he could do that other actors of his generation could not was play the wideboy for pleasure. The type is usually played for contempt or for pity; Cole played him for fun, his own and ours, and left the audience to decide what it thought of the deal. He was physically precise, a mime as much as a talker, and he could be a gauche young man or a middle-aged professional when the part asked, though the parts mostly did not ask. Start with the Sim films, then go to *Minder* with Dennis Waterman, where Arthur Daley had fifteen years to become a man rather than a turn. He was paid to be cheeky for a very long time, and the clapping was earned. ## Biography George Cole (1925–2015) was an English actor whose career in film, television and stage spanned seven decades from the late 1930s. He made his film debut in *Cottage to Let* (1941) and appeared in Laurence Olivier’s *Henry V* (1944) as the Boy. Cole played young Ebenezer Scrooge in *Scrooge* (1951) and Flash Harry in four *St Trinian’s* films (1954–1966). In 1963 he played Flavius in *Cleopatra*. He was best known for his long-running role as Arthur Daley in the ITV series *Minder* (1979–1994). Cole was appointed OBE in 1992. *Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, hollywoodreporter.com, bfi.org.uk.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *The Sweeney* (1975), Fi1m 84, as Dennis Longfield — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sweeney.md) - *Cleopatra* (1963), Fi1m 60, as Flavius — [page](https://film.one/film/cleopatra.md) - *Henry V* (1944), Fi1m 82, as Boy — [page](https://film.one/film/henry-v-1944.md) ## Complete filmography (115) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Walt Disney Treasures - Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh* (2008), as Mr. Sexton Mipps / Hellspite (archive footage) - *The Dinner Party* (2007), as George - *A Class Apart* (2007), series, as George - *A Class Apart* (2007), as George - Candy's grandad - *Diamond Geezer* (2005), series, Actor - *Agatha Christie's Marple* (2004), series, as Laurence Raeburn - *New Tricks* (2004), series, as Sir Edward Chambers - *Bodily Harm* (2002), series, as Sidney Greenfield - *Station Jim* (2001), as Stationmaster Pope - *The Sleeper* (2000), as George - *The Ghost of Greville Lodge* (2000), as Great Uncle - *Dad* (1997), series, as Brian Hook - *Midsomer Murders* (1997), series, as Lionel Hicks - *Mary Reilly* (1996), as Mr. Poole - *An Independent Man* (1995), series, as Freddie Patterson - *Good Friends* (1995), series, Actor - *Root Into Europe* (1992), series, Actor - *Heartbeat* (1992), series, as Albert Hallows - *Life After Life* (1990), as Eric Burt - *Ginger* (1990), as Ginger - *Single Voices* (1990), series, as Ginger - *Natural Causes* (1988), as Vincent - *Day To Remember* (1986), as Wally - *Blott on the Landscape* (1985), Actor - *Blott on the Landscape* (1985), series, as Sir Giles Lynchwood - *Comrade Dad* (1984), series, Actor - *The Bounder* (1982), series, as Trevor Mountjoy - *The Golden Treasury of Classic Fairy Tales* (1982), as narrorator - *Minder* (1979), series, as Arthur Daley - *Getting in on Concorde* (1979), as Willie - *Return of the Saint* (1978), series, as Fred - *Don't Forget to Write!* (1977), series, as Gordon Maple - *The Blue Bird* (1976), as Tylo - *Quiller* (1975), series, as Mays - *Lloyd George Knew My Father* (1975), as Hubert Boothroyd MP - *The Sweeney* (1975), series, as Dennis Longfield — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sweeney.md) - *Affairs of the Heart* (1974), series, as Mr Prodmore - *Dial M for Murder* (1974), series, as Pearce - *Take Me High* (1973), as Bert Jackson - *Away from It All* (1973), series, as Leonard - *Fright* (1971), as Jim - *The Ten Commandments* (1971), series, as Peter - *Killing Time* (1970), Actor - *Play for Today* (1970), series, as Mr. Newbold - *The Vampire Lovers* (1970), as Roger Morton - *Menace* (1970), series, as Douglas Willet - *UFO* (1970), series, as Paul Roper - *A Room in Town* (1970), as Edwin - *Shadows of Fear* (1970), series, as Gordon - *The Right Prospectus* (1970), as Mr. Newbold - *The Comic* (1969), as Tod - *The Last Lonely Man* (1969), as James Hale - *The Sex Game* (1968), series, as Frank Healey - *The Root of All Evil?* (1968), series, as Syd Swope, Gordon Maple - *Never Mind How We Got Here, Where Are We?* (1968), as Max Osborne - *Got Yourself Sorted Out at All?* (1968), as Max Osborne - *Sally Go Round the Moon* (1968), as Max Osborne - *A Man of our Times* (1968), series, as Max Osborne - *ITV Playhouse* (1967), series, as David Carter, Willie - *The Gentleman Caller* (1967), as Mr. Hicks - *Half Hour Story* (1967), series, as Mr. Hinks, Cyril - *The Informer* (1966), series, as Baxter - *The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery* (1966), as 'Flash' Harry - *Thirty-Minute Theatre* (1965), series, as Caramel, Paul Bishop - *Out of the Unknown* (1965), series, as James Hale - *Blackmail* (1965), series, as Len Grantham - *Gideon's Way* (1965), series, as Bishop - *The Legend of Young Dick Turpin* (1965), as William Evans - *One Way Pendulum* (1965), as Defence Counsel - *The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh* (1964), series, as Mr. Mipps - *Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow* (1963), as Mr. Sexton Mipps / Hellspite - *Cleopatra* (1963), as Flavius — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/cleopatra.md) - *Drama 61-67* (1961), series, as Pinedus - *The Pure Hell of St Trinian's* (1960), as 'Flash' Harry Cuthbert Edwards - *A Life Of Bliss* (1960), series, Actor - *Don't Panic Chaps* (1959), Actor - *The Bridal Path* (1959), as Police Sgt. Bruce - *Too Many Crooks* (1959), as Fingers - *Blue Murder at St. Trinian's* (1957), as "Flash" Harry - *The Green Man* (1956), as William Blake - *The Weapon* (1956), as Joshua Henry - *It's a Wonderful World* (1956), as Ken Miller - *Armchair Theatre* (1956), series, as Edwin - *The Anatomist* (1956), as Dr. Walter Anderson - *A Prize of Gold* (1955), as Sgt. Roger Morris - *Quentin Durward* (1955), as Hayraddin - *The Constant Husband* (1955), as Luigi Sopranelli - *Where There's a Will* (1955), as Fred Slater - *The Wonderful World of Disney* (1954), series, as Mr. Mipps / Hellspite, William Evans - *The Belles of St Trinian's* (1954), as Flash Harry - *Happy Ever After* (1954), as Terence - *An Inspector Calls* (1954), as Tram Conductor - *Our Girl Friday* (1953), as Jimmy Carrol - *The Clue of the Missing Ape* (1953), as Gobo - *The Intruder* (1953), as John Summers - *Will Any Gentleman...?* (1953), as Henry Sterling - *Folly to Be Wise* (1952), as Soldier in Brains Trust audience - *Top Secret* (1952), as George Archibald Potts - *Who Goes There!* (1952), as Arthur Crisp - *The Happy Family* (1952), as Cyril - *Scrooge* (1951), as Young Ebenezer Scrooge - *Lady Godiva Rides Again* (1951), as Johnny West - *Laughter in Paradise* (1951), as Herbert Russell - *Flesh and Blood* (1951), as John Hannah - *Gone to Earth* (1950), as Cousin Albert - *The Happiest Days of Your Life* (1950), as Junior Assistant Caretaker at Ministry of Education (Uncredited) - *Morning Departure* (1950), as ERA Marks - *The Spider and the Fly* (1949), as Marc, detective - *Quartet* (1948), as Herbert Sunbury (segment "The Kite") - *My Brother's Keeper* (1948), as Willie Stannard - *Journey Together* (1945), as Curley, Bomb Aimer · Lancaster Crew - *Henry V* (1944), as Boy — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/henry-v-1944.md) - *The Demi-Paradise* (1943), as Percy - *Those Kids from Town* (1942), as Charlie - *Cottage to Let* (1941), as Ronald ## Gallery - ![George Cole](https://film.one/media/person/468387/gallery-6922d4f91ce0.jpg) George Cole — Image via TMDB - ![George Cole](https://film.one/media/person/468387/gallery-bf85b730a387.jpg) George Cole — Image via TMDB --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/george-cole