Rex Davis Explained

Captain Reginald Graham Davis (7 November 1890  - 1 December 1951), known as Rex Davis, was a British soldier, silent film actor and sportsman.^[1]

Biography

Davis was born in Keymer, Sussex, in 1890. According to one source, he got his start in films because he was a good amateur boxer.^[2] He also played field hockey for the Richmond Hockey Club.

Davis had done several movies by the time the First World War broke out in August 1914. In July 1918, he was awarded the Military Cross "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty."^{[3] [4]}

He was the Conservative candidate in the by-election of 1932 for Wednesbury, but was defeated by Labour politician John Banfield.

Davis stayed in the military and was promoted to Captain. In the 1943 Birthday Honours, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire. He died in East Wittering, Sussex, in 1951, after a painful illness.^[5]

Selected filmography

• The House of Temperley (1913)
• The Fool (1913)
• For Her People (1914)
• The Shepherd Lassie of Argyle (1914)
• Won by a Head (1920)
• The Pride of the Fancy (1920)
• Uncle Bernac (1921)
• Mord Em'ly (1922)
• All Sorts and Conditions of Men (1921)
• The Crimson Circle (1922)
• The Lion's Mouse (1923)
• A Couple of Down and Outs (1923)
• The Knockout (1923)
• Married Love (1923)
• Every Mother's Son (1926)
• Motherland (1927)

Bibliography

• Bamford, Kenton. Distorted Images: British National Identity and Film in the 1920s. I.B. Tauris, 1999.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Rex Davis. https://web.archive.org/web/20220206172730/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f88f5d7. dead. 6 February 2022. British Film Institute. 7 June 2017. en.
2. The Silent Picture, Issues 5–16 (1969), p. 34: "A man called Rex Davis; this was the first of my scripts that he had acted in. He wasn't an actor, he was a boxer, an amateur boxer, and that was what we required in The Knockout."
3. Book: Napper. L.. The Great War in Popular British Cinema of the 1920s: Before Journey's End. 2015. Springer. 9780230371712. 123. 7 June 2017. en.
4. Book: McFarlane. Brian. The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. 2016. Oxford University Press. 9781526111975. 188. 7 June 2017. en.
5. News: Deaths . . 1 . 3 December 1951 .