Syd Courtenay

Syd Courtenay was a South African-born British actor and screenwriter.[1] He was a frequent collaborator with the comedian Leslie Fuller. Courtenay first met Fuller in 1919 in Margate and they soon struck up a partnership with routines featuring their comedic character Bill.[2] With the arrival of sound films they were signed to British International Pictures and made their first film Not So Quiet on the Western Front in 1930. They made a large number of films during the 1930s, generally featuring the character of Bill, with Courtenay writing and acting in many of them. He was married to Lola Harvey, who co-wrote a number of films with him.

Selected filmography

Actor

• Why Sailors Leave Home (1930)
• What a Night! (1931)
• Poor Old Bill (1931)
• Bill's Legacy (1931)
• Kiss Me Sergeant (1932)
• Old Spanish Customers (1932)
• Hawley's of High Street (1933)
• Strictly Illegal (1935)
• Boys Will Be Girls (1937)
• Cotton Queen (1937)
• Sing as You Swing (1937)

Director

• Darby and Joan (1937)

Screenwriter

• Old Soldiers Never Die (1931)
• The Man Behind the Mask (1936)

References

1. BFI.org
2. Sutton p.105

External links

• Syd Courtenay at IMDb

Bibliography

• Sutton, David R. A Chorus of Raspberries: British Film Comedy 1929-1939. University of Exeter Press, 2000.