604 Matches Found
Retirement has given Mr Rose the time not only to cultivate a cottage garden in Eastbourne but also to write his memoirs. And it’s the impending publication of those memoirs that brings a number of figures crawling out of the woodwork and back into his life: criminals and former colleagues alike, who know that his vast personal library of case files holds a wealth of incriminating detail.
The Caesars is a British television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network in 1968. Made in black-and-white and written and produced by Philip Mackie, it covered similar dramatic territory to the later BBC adaptation of I, Claudius, dealing with the lives of the early emperors of Ancient Rome, but differed in its less sensationalist depictions of historical characters and their motives.
The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder is based on a character created by Edgar Wallace in a series of 1925 short stories of the same name, Hugh Burden played the titular character – A mild-mannered investigator with the Department of Public Prosecutions.
Foppish Sir Percy Blakeney, who secretly leads a double life as the daring rescuer of French aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution, fights to save his brother-in-law while his wife is manipulated by the villainous Chauvelin into helping capture him, unaware of her husband's true identity.
Six of Britain's top television playwrights were given the opportunity to write the plays they had always wanted to write.
A groundbreaking, splendidly silly, surreal sketch comedy series written by and starring The Goodies' Tim Brooke-Taylor, Monty Python's Graham Chapman and John Cleese, and comedy legend Marty Feldman.
Q... was a surreal television comedy sketch show from Spike Milligan which ran from 1969 to 1982 on BBC2. There were six series in all, the first five numbered from Q5 to Q9, and a final series titled There's a Lot of It About. The first and third series ran for seven episodes, and the others for six episodes, each of which was 30 minutes long. Various reasons have been suggested for the title. One possibility is that it was inspired by the project to construct the Cunard liner QE2, launched in September 1967, which was dubbed Q4. Another theory is that Milligan was inspired by the BBC 6-point technical quality scale of the time, where "Q5" was severe degradation to picture or sound, and "Q6" was complete loss of sound or vision. This was extended by some engineering departments to a 9-point scale, finishing at "Q9". According to Milligan's autobiography, the final series was renamed There's a Lot of It About after the BBC felt the public might find Q10 too confusing.
Torchy the Battery Boy was the second television series produced by AP Films and Gerry Anderson, running from 1960 to 1961. It was another collaboration with author Roberta Leigh and was directed by Anderson, with music scored by Barry Gray, art direction from Reg Hill and special effects by Derek Meddings. The second series of 26 episodes was produced by Associated British-Pathé without the involvement of Anderson and AP Films. Both series have been released on DVD. The series followed adventures of the eponymous boy doll with a battery inside him and a lamp in his head, and his master Mr Bumbledrop, voiced by Kenneth Connor, who also voiced a number of other characters.
Anthony Newley stars as an actor who walks off the set of a banal sit-com and into a fantasy world of his own imagination in this surreal odyssey through one man's personal alternative reality.
A selection of vintage performances from jazz legends.
Top Secret was a British TV spy series broadcast in two seasons on ITV in 1961-1962 which was produced by Associated-Rediffusion. It starred William Franklyn as suave secret agent Peter Dallas, over a total of 26 black-and-white episodes, each filling a 60 minutes slot. All episodes also featured Patrick Cargill as Miguel Garetta, and Alan Rothwell as "Mike".
A nine-part serial adaptation featuring dramatisations of three of William Shakespeare's iconic plays: Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony & Cleopatra.
Two in Clover is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television for two series from 1969 to 1970 on ITV. It starred Sid James and Victor Spinetti and was written by Vince Powell and Harry Driver, and produced and directed by Alan Tarrant. The first series was made in black and white and the second series was made in colour. Frustrated office workers Sid Turner and Vic Evans decide to leave behind their nine-to-five lifestyle for the simpler life of living in the countryside and running a farm.
Patricia Routledge gives a career-best performance as Queen Victoria in this 1964 series of plays based on the celebrated collection of dramas by playwright Laurence Housman. Self-willed, obstinate, imperious and passionate... a now-familiar description of one of history's longest-serving female monarchs – but Housman's satirical tribute marked a decisive break with the tradition of the uncritical historical portrait. A Broadway hit deemed too disrespectful for public performance in Britain until the late 1930s, Victoria Regina is a frank portrayal of an extraordinarily complex woman, tracing her development from royal teenager to inconsolable widow at the helm of a vast empire, with all her contradictions, prejudices and unconstitutional behavior.
Set in Gunnershaw, fictional town in North Yorkshire and based on novels by Gil North. Leslie Sands was perfect as the gruff Cluff.
The Revenue Men is a British television series, produced and transmitted by the BBC between 1967 and 1968. The series dealt with cases handled by the Investigation Branch of Customs and Excise such as the illegal import of goods, illegal immigration and business transactions amongst travellers. The Revenue Men was produced by Gerard Glaister. The series lasted for three series and 39 episodes in total. In spite of this fact, all of the episodes were later wiped, with no episodes extant in the BBC archives as of 2009.
Blandings Castle, based on P. G. Wodehouse's short stories in the same shared universe, is half of the larger British anthology series The World of Wodehouse. The six-episode miniseries broadcast on BBC1 from 24 Februrary to 31 March 1967.
Dr John Evelyn Thorndyke uses forensic science to help the police solve baffling cases. He is helped by his friend, Dr Christopher Jervis and his assistant, Nathaniel Polton.
George and Kate Starling are a young couple navigating the humourous challenges of early married life, including financial struggles, job issues, and starting a family
The Des O'Connor Show is a British variety and chat show hosted by Des O'Connor. ITV broadcast the programme from 1963 until 1973. Associated Television produced the programme, and which was recorded in black-and-white for the first six series. When the seventh series of the show aired in colour in 1970, its popularity spread internationally. ITV licensed the programme to the National Broadcasting Company in the United States, where it aired during prime time, and continued for one more series. Some entertainment celebrities of the time, such as Patrick Newell and Dom DeLuise, made multiple guest appearances on the show. In the United States, NBC retitled the programme to Kraft Music Hall Presents the Des O'Connor Show, after their own popular variety show Kraft Music Hall, which also ended in 1971.
A series of weekly programmes presenting music in the folk idiom from many parts of the world.
Camberwick Green is a British children's television series, originally seen on BBC1, featuring stop-motion puppets.
Hereward, son of Duke Leofric and Lady Godiva, fought a long and ultimately hopeless guerilla war against the invading forces of William the Conqueror in the fens of Lincolnshire, betrayed not only by his allies but by his own weaknesses.
You Can't Win was a 1966 British television series made by ITV as an adaptation of the novels Scenes from Provincial Life and Scenes from Married Life by William Cooper. It stars Ian McShane as protagonist Joe Lunn, an English provincial grammar school physics teacher in 1939 who later moves to London and into the English establishment.
Anthology series of plays where various disparate characters meet in the city of London.
"Hammy Hamster," created by CBC film editors David Ellison and Paul Sutherland in 1959, initially turned down by CBC, found success with the BBC, leading to thirteen episodes. Following international sales, Canada's CTV picked up the series after it won the Canadian Film Awards. The show, known for unique storytelling and effects, featured animal transportation via various means. Although Sutherland voiced many characters, his voice was replaced for UK and European markets. A second colour series, "Hammy Hamster's Adventures On the Riverbank," narrated by Johnny Morris, aired in the 1970s and was sold to 34 countries. The franchise spawned two syndicated sequels, "Hammy Hamster" and "Once Upon a Hamster."
The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons―the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, is social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture.
Mary, Mungo and Midge features the adventures of a girl called Mary, her dog Mungo, and her pet mouse Midge, who live in a tower block in a busy town.
A grown-up brother and sister's visit to their parents home culminates in a shocking tragedy. The events of the weekend are told over four episodes, each focusing on the point of view of one family member: the daughter Terry; the father, Ted; the son, Alan and finally the mother, Sarah. The full story of the dysfunctional family plays out through the use of repeating scenes, flashback, and monologue.
The Ronnie Barker Playhouse is a British anthology of six half-hour comedies showcasing the talents of Ronnie Barker. All were broadcast by Associated-Rediffusion from 3 April to 8 May 1968. Of the six, two are lost.
Persuasion is a 1960 British television miniseries adaptation of the Jane Austen novel of the same name. Produced by the BBC and directed by Campbell Logan, Daphne Slater stars as Anne Elliot, and Paul Daneman as Captain Frederick Wentworth. Living with her snobby family on the brink of bankruptcy, Anne Elliot is an unconforming woman with modern sensibilities. When Frederick Wentworth – the dashing one she once sent away – crashes back into her life, Anne must choose between putting the past behind her or listening to her heart when it comes to second chances.
Weekly drama about four brothers who are all lawyers, but specialise in different kinds of work, who discuss points of law and questions of ethics in terms accessible to the viewer.
Made at a time when David Frost was hosting a chat show in the US and then jetting back to the UK to do three shows over the weekend, called (naturally enough) Frost on Friday, Frost on Saturday and Frost on Sunday. The latter concerned itself with the lighter end of the entertainment spectrum.
The First Churchills is a 1969 twelve-part BBC television serial starring John Neville as John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and Susan Hampshire as his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. Written and produced by Donald Wilson, and directed by David Giles, the series is notable as being the first programme shown on PBS's long-running Masterpiece series in the United States.
While on holiday, the Walker children spot an island. Borrowing a boat, they meet pirates seeking their uncle's trunk. After adventures with storms and cakes, the children and pirates learn friendship.
Pardon The Expression! is an ITV sitcom made by Granada Television, that was first broadcast from Wednesday 2 June 1965 to Monday 27 June 1966. The sitcom was one of only four spin-offs from the highly popular soap opera Coronation Street. Pardon the Expression itself had a spin-off: Turn out the Lights broadcast in 1967. There wasn't to be another spin-off until the 1980s with The Brothers McGregor, which reused two characters who appeared in a single episode. Leonard Swindley was the central character. Formerly the manager of the fashion retail store "Gamma Garments" in Coronation Street, in this series he is the deputy manager of the department store Dobson and Hawks. His boss in the series was Ernest Parbold played by Paul Dawkins who was replaced by Wally Hunt played by Robert Dorning in series 2. Other regulars were Betty Driver as canteen lady, Mrs Edgeley and Joy Stewart as Miss Sinclair, the boss's secretary.
Anthony Smith, an agent based at Britain's Interpol Division at Scotland Yard, takes on international assignments dealing with murderers, drug smugglers and slave runners.
A six-part anthology of new television films produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2's Saturday nights between 12 December 1964 and 16 January 1965.
Jazz 625 is a BBC jazz music programme, featuring concerts by British and American jazz musicians, which was first broadcast between April 1964 and August 1966. The programme was created by Terry Henebery, a clarinetist by training, who was recruited back to television in 1963 as one of the new producer intake for the opening of BBC2. The title of the show referred to the fact that BBC2 was broadcast on 625-lines UHF rather than the 405-lines VHF system then used by the other channels.
Harpers West One is an ATV television drama series created by John Whitney and Geoffrey Bellman about a fictional department store, Harpers, in the West 1 district of London. The show ran in one-hour episodes from 1961 to 1963. It was introduced by ATV while Probation Officer, was being rested but became an immediate success. Press releases described it as "shopping with the lid off". A combination of drama and soap opera, it has also been described as presaging corporate dramas such as The Brothers for its depiction of power struggles at board level.
Comedy following Albert Curfew, a man for whom unemployability appears to be no object whatsoever. Stars Donald Churchill, Norman Bird and Dilys Laye.
An industrial espionage drama in which an agent investigated the world of big business
A collection of one-off thrillers, each ending with a disturbing twist.
Beggar My Neighbour was a black-and-white British sitcom starring Reg Varney, Peter Jones, June Whitfield, Pat Coombs and Desmond Walter-Ellis. It aired from 1966 to 1968 and was written by Ken Hoare and Mike Sharland.
Thirteen Against Fate is a series of thirteen hour-long episodes based on the novels of Georges Simenon. Noted for the sound psychology of his characters, Simenon's stories deal with many nationalities and are set in numerous European cities and villages. There are sequences filmed in these locations integrated into the episodes. In each of the novels chosen for this series, Fate plays a leading role in the development of the story and the characters.
Rogues' Gallery was a British television series which first aired on ITV between 1968 and 1969. It was set around London's Newgate Prison in the 18th century.
Sword of Honour is a three-part miniseries produced as part of the anthology Theatre 625, and broadcast on BBC2, based on Evelyn Waugh's 1952–61 novels of the same name. It stars Edward Woodward as 35-year-old Englishman Guy Crouchback, who returns home from Italy at the start of WWII, determined to fight the good fight. Horrified by Nazi barbarism and emotionally shattered by a painful divorce, Crouchback eagerly accepts a post with the elite Royal Corps of Halberdiers.
When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble, for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice. Escaping that dismal fate, young Oliver falls in with the street urchin known as the Artful Dodger and his criminal mentor, Fagin. When kindly Mr. Brownlow takes Oliver in, Fagin's evil henchman Bill Sikes plots to kidnap the boy.
Studio 4 is a BBC drama anthology series, filmed at the BBC TV Centre's Studio Four, and screening over two seasons in 1962. The series was envisaged as a sequel to Storyboard, an anthology series which had been transmitted the previous year.
It's a Square World was a groundbreaking British comedy show starring Michael Bentine and produced by the BBC. It ran from 1960 till 1964. The series led Bentine to a BAFTA award in 1962 for Light Entertainment and a compilation show, screened by the BBC in 1963, won that year's Press Prize at the Rose d'Or Festival in Montreux. The shows were devised and written by Michael Bentine and John Law. Some sketches were released on an LP.
Trevor Philpott covers various topics from a German Business to a Beer Battle to the workings of Multinationals.
A series of plays, each reflecting an individual dilemma - sometimes serious, occasionally humorous - and each with a happy ending.
"Scarecrow! Scarecrow! The soldiers of the King feared his name!" And so begins the hard-to-forget theme song to The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. Walt Disney's thrilling 3-part adventure was produced for his Wonderful World of Color weekly TV show and aired February 1964. Filled with action, drama and suspense, it follows the adventures of Dr. Christopher Syn - brave priest by day, righter of wrongs by night.