Peter Arne

'Peter Arne' (qv) was for a short time the perfect villain in British film. After a couple of roles in war movies (_The Purple Plain (1954)_ (qv) and _The Cockleshell Heroes (1955)_ (qv)) and a Tarzan movie (_Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957)_ (qv)) he became a villain in _Strangers' Meeting (1957)_ (qv). From than on he continued to play sinister types in _The Moonraker (1958)_ (qv), _Intent to Kill (1958)_ (qv), _Breakout (1959)_ (qv), _Conspiracy of Hearts (1960)_ (qv), _The Hellfire Club (1961)_ (qv) and _The Secret of Monte Cristo (1961)_ (qv). He was very convincing as a Cromwell officer, an Italian camp commander or a Nazi officer. Several times he had sword fights as a devious count. In 1962 he was a pirate sidekick of 'Christopher Lee' (qv) in _The Pirates of Blood River (1962)_ (qv), but a new kid on the block by the name of 'Oliver Reed' (qv) challenged him and killed him halfway through the picture. It seemed like a symbolic fight because for a while 'Oliver Reed' (qv) played the roles in Hammer Pictures that 'Peter Arne' (qv) could have played and Arne moved to TV roles. His days as a leading actor were over and he continued work in TV and in bit parts in features. Sometimes directors he worked with before brought him back for a little role. In 1972 he got a nice break with "The Stallion", a TV movie in which he starred with a horse. He was also in a couple of 'Blake Edwards' (qv) movies. He became an antique dealer with his sister as a sideline. He was murdered at the age of 63 shortly after being cast in _Doctor Who (1963)_ (qv).::Thys Ockersen