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The Cracksman
''The Cracksman'' is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott.Personal letter from Delia Derbyshire to Associated British Picture Corporation, dated 25 April 1963. Plot Charlie Drake plays honest but naive locksmith Ernest Wright who believes that everybody else is equally honest. First, he is duped by a debonair con man into opening a car. He is caught by the police but given probation. Next, the same man fools him into breaking into a house, and again he is caught while the villain escapes and he lands in jail. When he is released, he again gets tricked, this time by a woman, into opening a safe, for which he receives a three-year jail sentence. On arrival in prison, he has a reputation as a master thief. Upon his release, he finds himself as a pawn being manipulated by two gangs into a safe-cracking scheme but, with the help of undercover policewoman Muriel, he helps trap the crooks and clear his name. Portions of the film satirise the 1962 films ''Birdman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Graham Scott
Peter Graham Scott (27 October 1923 – 5 August 2007) was an English television producer, television and film producer, television director, film director, Film editing, film editor and screenwriter. He was one of the producers and directors who shaped British television drama in its formative years and his background in film editing and directing helped to move television out of an era of studio-bound productions and towards programmes that owed more to cinema than to the stage. Biography Scott was born in East Sheen, Surrey, but was brought up in Isleworth, Middlesex, where he attended acting classes at the Italia Conti Academy. In 1950, he married Mimi Martell, and they had two sons (deceased) and two daughters. In 1984, Scott won the Royal Television Society's ''Sir Ambrose Fleming Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television''. In 1999, he published his memoirs, ''British Television: An Insider's History''. Scott died in Windlesham, Surrey, on 5 August 2007. Filmogr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Byrne
Eddie Byrne (31 January 1911 – 21 August 1981) was an Irish actor. Career His stage work included many appearances with Dublin's Abbey Theatre, and also work with the National Theatre in London. Outside Ireland he is probably best known for his minor role as General Willard in ''Star Wars'' (1977) (named after George Lucas's friend and collaborator Willard Huyck), but viewers of horror films might also remember him as the sceptical Inspector Mulrooney in ''The Mummy'' (1959) and as the kindly Dr. Reginald Landers in ''Island of Terror'' (1966) and the rural inn owner from '' The Break''. He also appeared as Inspector O'Neill in the film ''Jack the Ripper'' (1959). He appeared in the TV series 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1957), Season 3, Episode 5 as the lord of the manor. Personal life Eddie Byrne was born in Dublin. He was married to Kitty Thuillier and had four children: Frank Byrne, Susan Byrne, Michael Byrne & Catherine Byrne. He died of a stroke in Dublin in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Shaw (actor)
Robert Archibald Shaw (9 August 1927 – 28 August 1978) was an English actor, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Beginning his career in theatre, Shaw joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre after the Second World War and appeared in productions of ''Macbeth'', ''Henry VIII'', ''Cymbeline'', and other Shakespeare plays. With the Old Vic company (1951–52), he continued primarily in Shakespearean roles. In 1959 he starred in a West End production of '' The Long and the Short and the Tall''. Shaw was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his role as Henry VIII in the drama film '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966). His other film roles included the mobster Doyle Lonnegan in ''The Sting'' (1973) and the shark hunter Quint in ''Jaws'' (1975). He also played roles in '' From Russia with Love'' (1963), ''Battle of Britain'' (1969), ''Young Winston'' (1972), '' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' (1974), ''Robin and Marian'' (1976), and '' Black Sunday'' and '' Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Leech
Richard Leeper McClelland (24 November 1922 – 24 March 2004), known professionally as Richard Leech, was an Irish actor. Richard Leeper McClelland was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Isabella Frances (Leeper) and Herbert Saunderson McClelland, a lawyer. He was educated at Haileybury and Trinity College, Dublin, and qualified as a doctor in 1945. He worked in that profession from 1945–6, then became a full-time actor. His numerous film credits include '' The Dam Busters'' (1955) (playing Dinghy Young), ''Night of the Demon'' (1957), '' Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst'' (1957), ''Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958), ''Tunes of Glory'' (1960), ''Young Winston'' (1972), ''Gandhi'' (1982) and the acclaimed ''The Shooting Party'' (1985). On television Richard Leech appeared in ''Dickens of London'', ''The Barchester Chronicles'', ''Smiley's People'', three episodes of '' The Avengers'' in different roles, ''Redcap'', ''Danger Man'', '' The Doctors'', '' The New Avengers' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tutte Lemkow
Tutte Lemkow (born Isak Samuel Lemkow; 28 August 1918 – 10 November 1991) was a Norwegian actor and dancer, who played mostly villainous roles in British television and films. His chief claims to mainstream familiarity were his roles as the fiddler in the film version of '' Fiddler on the Roof'' and the old man ("Imam") who translates the inscription on the headpiece of the Staff of Ra for Indiana Jones in '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. Career Lemkow appeared as a dancer, together with Sara Luzita, in John Huston's 1952 film ''Moulin Rouge'' . Other films include Blake Edwards' '' A Shot in the Dark'' as the Cossack who drinks the poison intended for Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau, Sellers' films ''The Wrong Arm of the Law'', ''The Wrong Box'' and ''Ghost in the Noonday Sun'', Woody Allen's ''Love and Death'' and the Morecambe and Wise comedy film ''The Intelligence Men'' (1965). He played three roles in ''Doctor Who'' with William Hartnell's Doctor: Kuiju in '' Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerold Wells
Jerold Wells (8 August 1908 – 19 July 1999) was an English actor. He was born in Wallington, Hampshire, and died in Bath, Somerset. He appeared primarily in British comedies. Films included ''Adventures of a Plumber's Mate'' and the TV-made 'Carry On Kitchener'. Two of his best-known roles were in ''Time Bandits'', where he played Benson, a mentally disturbed follower of Evil, and in ''Jabberwocky'', in which he played a footless man known as "Wat Dabney". He also appeared on television, in ''The Two Ronnies'', ''Coronation Street'', ''The Old Curiosity Shop'', Catweazle and ''The Benny Hill Show''. Partial filmography * '' Three in One'' (1957) - Wally (segment "Joe Wilson's Mates") * ''The Naked Truth'' (1957) - 1st Irishman (uncredited) * ''High Hell'' (1958) - Charlie Spence * ''Law and Disorder'' (1958) - Cell Warder (uncredited) * '' Passport to Shame'' (1958) - Taxi Driver in Office (uncredited) * '' The Criminal'' (1960) - Warder Brown * ''Dangerous Afternoon'' (1961) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wanda Ventham
Wanda Ventham (born 5 August 1935) is an English actress with many roles on British television since beginning her career in the 1950s. She played Colonel Virginia Lake in the 1970s science-fiction television series ''UFO'' and had a recurring role as Cassandra Trotter's mother Pamela Parry in the sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' between 1989 and 1992. Her many other television appearances include ''The Sweeney'', '' The Avengers'', ''The Saint'', ''Doctor Who'', ''The Gentle Touch'', '' Heartbeat'' and ''Holby City'', and she appeared in two ''Carry On'' films. In April 2014, ''People'' magazine featured her in its "Most Beautiful People in the World" edition. Early life Ventham was born in Brighton on 5 August 1935, the daughter of Gladys Frances (née Holtham) and Frederick Howard Ventham.Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as '' Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and ''Open All Hours''. Barker began acting in Oxford amateur dramatics whilst working as a bank clerk, having dropped out of higher education. He moved into repertory theatre with the Manchester Repertory Company at Aylesbury and decided he was best suited to comic roles. He had his first success at the Oxford Playhouse and in roles in the West End including Tom Stoppard's ''The Real Inspector Hound''. During this period, he was in the cast of BBC radio and television comedies such as ''The Navy Lark''. He got his television break with the satirical sketch series ''The Frost Report'' in 1966, where he met future collaborator, Ronnie Corbett. He joined David Frost's production company and starred in ITV shows. After rejoining the BBC, Barker achieved signific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Rhodes
Sir Christopher George Rhodes, 3rd Baronet (30 April 1914 – 22 June 1964) was an English film and television actor. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the United States Legion of Merit for his Second World War service. Early life Rhodes was born in Alverstone, Isle of Wight, the only son of Sir John Rhodes, 2nd Baronet, and attended Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford. During the Second World War, he served with the Essex Regiment, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Career Rhodes began his acting career after the war. His television appearances include ''The Quatermass Experiment'', ''Danger Man'', ''Dixon of Dock Green'' and ''The Saint''. Personal life Rhodes was married twice, first to Mary Kesteven in 1936, whom he divorced in 1942, and then to Mary Florence Wardleworth in 1943, who bore him two sons and a daughter. He succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1955. Death Rhodes died at his home in Blakeney, Norfolk, on 22 June 1964, aged 50. Selected fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neil McCarthy (actor)
Eugene Neil McCarthy (26th July 1932 – 5th February 1985) was an English actor known for his dramatic physical appearance caused by acromegaly. He was also a talented linguist and pianist. Early life Born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, the son of Sleaford dentist Eugene Charles McCarthy (1899–1954) and Beatrice Annie (''née'' Corney, 1901–1978), McCarthy was educated at Stamford School (where his contemporaries included cricketer M. J. K. Smith and author Colin Dexter) before reading modern languages at Trinity College Dublin, and trained as a Latin and French teacher (he could also speak fluent Greek).''Who's Who on Television'', Independent Television Publications Ltd 1970 Career After his teacher training, McCarthy appeared in repertory theatre in Oxford, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and in the West End. McCarthy's film credits include memorable roles as Welsh soldier Private Thomas in '' Zulu'' (1964), as Sergeant Jock McPherson in '' Where Eagles Dare'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Bird
John George Norman Bird (30 October 1924 – 22 April 2005) was an English character actor. Early life Bird was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. A RADA graduate, he made his West End theatre, West End debut in Peter Brook's production of ''The Winter's Tale'' at the Phoenix Theatre in 1951. He was also a member of the BBC's Radio Drama Company."Radio and audio book companies", in Lloyd Trott, ed., ''Actors and Performers Yearbook 2016'', pp. 353-354 His first film appearance was as the foreman in ''An Inspector Calls'' (1954). Film career He was a familiar face to British cinema audiences of the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in nearly 50 films such as ''The Angry Silence'' (1960), ''The League of Gentlemen (film), The League of Gentlemen'' (1960), ''Whistle Down the Wind (film), Whistle Down the Wind'' (1961), ''Victim (1961 film), Victim'' (1961) and ''Term of Trial'' (1962) with Laurence Olivier and The Hill (film), The Hill with Sean Connery (1965). Television a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Cargill
Patrick Cargill (3 June 191823 May 1996) was an English actor remembered for his lead role in the British television sitcom ''Father, Dear Father''. Career Cargill was born to middle-class parents living in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex. After education at Haileybury College, he made his debut in the Bexhill Amateur Theatrical Society. However, he was aiming for a military career and was selected for training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. Cargill became a commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. The stage After the Second World War ended, Cargill returned to Britain to focus on a stage career, and joined Anthony Hawtrey's company at Buxton, Croydon and later the Embassy Theatre at Swiss Cottage in London. He became a supporting player in John Counsell's repertory at Windsor alongside Brenda Bruce and Beryl Reid and scored a huge hit in the revue ''The World's the Limit'', which was seen by the Queen and 26 of her guests one evening. He made his first West End ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
