Born in London, into a well-known family of theatrical scenic artists,
Gordon Harker was on stage from 1903 and in films from 1927, frequently
in endearing Cockney roles. Alfred
Hitchcock launched his screen career in The
Ring (1927), and unsurprisingly Harker seemed to appear in every
other mystery film produced in England throughout the Thirties and Forties,
sometimes as meddling comic relief, other times as a diversion tactic.
Among his many notable film credits were Walter
Forde’s Rome
Express (1932), Michael
Powell’s The
Phantom Light (1935), the Will Hay
vehicle Boys
Will Be Boys (1935), the title role of Inspector
Hornleigh (1939) and yet another Walter Forde film, this time for
Ealing Studios, Saloon
Bar (1940). Gordon Harker's last film was the political satire Left,
Right and Centre (1959).
