David Swift

David Swift

Born: April 3, 1931
Died: April 8, 2016
in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, UK

Movies for David Swift...

Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher
Title: Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher
Character: Harold McEwan
Released: December 29, 2003
Type: Movie
Spoof documentary looking at the life of Normal Stanley Fletcher, the star of 1970s sitcom Porridge played by Ronnie Barker. Featuring fictional footage and interviews with the character's family, friends and associates, the film documents Fletcher's chequered career.
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Title: Oscar Charlie
Character: Oscar Spinner
Released: September 26, 2001
Type: TV
Oscar Charlie was a 13-episode CBBC children's television series that aired for the first time on 26 September 2001. The series is about a boy, Charlie Spinner, who discovers that his grandfather, Oscar Spinner, is actually a secret agent. He acts senile but it is just a cover so that nobody would notice. After Charlie confronts Oscar with this they work together on a dangerous assignment.
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Jack & Sarah
Title: Jack & Sarah
Character: Michael
Released: June 2, 1995
Type: Movie
Jack always lands on his feet. He lands on his feet when he marries the beautiful Sarah. He lands on his feet when he buys a luxurious new home. However, when Sarah goes into labour, he takes a tumble down the stairs and lands on his head. When he comes around he discovers he is the proud father of a baby girl, but deficient in the spouse department to the tune of 1.
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An Audience with Bob Monkhouse
Title: An Audience with Bob Monkhouse
Character: Self
Released: May 21, 1994
Type: Movie
The late, great comedian Bob Monkhouse entertains a celebrity audience that includes Stephen Fry, Mandy Smith and Eamonn Holmes in this 1994 special. Watch him answer questions, tell funny tales and crack jokes.
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Amnesty International's Big 30
Title: Amnesty International's Big 30
Character: Henry Davenport
Released: December 28, 1991
Type: Movie
In the tradition of the acclaimed series of British concerts known as The Secret Policemen's Ball, Amnesty International celebrates its 50th Anniversary live at Radio City Music Hall.
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Title: Drop the Dead Donkey
Released: August 9, 1990
Type: TV
Drop the Dead Donkey is a situation comedy that first aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998. It is set in the offices of “GlobeLink News”, a fictional TV news company. Recorded close to transmission, it made use of contemporary news events to give the programme a greater sense of realism. It was created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. The series had an ensemble cast, making stars of Haydn Gwynne, Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson. The series began with the acquisition of GlobeLink by media mogul Sir Roysten Merchant, an allusion to either Robert Maxwell or Rupert Murdoch. Indeed, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin note on their DVDs that it was fortunate for their libel lawyers that the two men shared the same initials. The series is mostly based on the on-going battle between the staff of GlobeLink, led by editor George Dent, as they try to maintain the company as a serious news organisation, and Sir Roysten’s right-hand man Gus Hedges, trying to make the show more sensationalist and suppress stories that might harm Sir Roysten’s business empire. The show was awarded the Best Comedy Award at the 1994 BAFTA Awards. At the British Comedy Awards the show won Best New TV Comedy in 1990, Best Channel 4 Comedy in 1991, and Best Channel 4 Sitcom in 1994.
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Title: The Paradise Club
Character: Max Wartbug
Released: September 19, 1989
Type: TV
The Paradise Club is a BBC television drama starring Don Henderson and Leslie Grantham as Frank & Danny Kane. Two series were produced and were broadcast between 1989 and 1990. The show focuses upon two brothers, Frank & Danny Kane. Their mother, Ma Kane, is the matriarch of a criminal gang in South London, helped by her son Danny. Frank has become a priest but leaves the church; he inherits The Paradise Club on the death of their mother and returns to London to try and steer Danny away from crime.
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One Way Out
Title: One Way Out
Character: Beddow
Released: September 10, 1989
Type: Movie
James Carlisle is a successful architect who sees his children every weekend following his divorce from Lyn. When Lyn falls in love with the unstable Bernard, James is forced to take drastic action.
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Countdown to War
Title: Countdown to War
Character: Daladier
Released: April 7, 1989
Type: Movie
Based on a play, the story details the dramatic negotiations between UK, France, Poland, Nazi-Germany and USSR from the day Czechoslovakia fell, until Britain's declaration of war on Germany caused by Hitler's invasion of Poland.
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Title: Agatha Christie's Poirot
Character: Henry Reedburn
Released: January 8, 1989
Type: TV
From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first class deceptions.
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We Think the World of You
Title: We Think the World of You
Character: Bill
Released: December 22, 1988
Type: Movie
An aimless young man, Johnny, is sent prison. He entrusts his beloved dog, Evie, to the care of his former lover and best friend, Frank. When he gets out of prison, he has to face difficulties at home. Added to this, is the fact that he may have to give up Evie to Frank.
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Title: Vanity Fair
Character: Mr. Sedley
Released: September 6, 1987
Type: TV
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Star Quality
Title: Star Quality
Character: J.C. Roebuck
Released: November 10, 1985
Type: Movie
Lorraine Barrie, a fading but brilliant actress with a penchant for manipulating every theatrical endeavour to her best advantage, meets her match when she must trust her success to an equally willful stage director.
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Operation Julie
Title: Operation Julie
Character: Det. Supt. David Gosling
Released: January 2, 1985
Type: Movie
A TV movie directed by Bob Mahoney. Based on the book by Dick Lee & Colin Pratt it tells the true story of a long running Police investigation which resulted in the arrests of 120 people and jail sentences of 170 years for the manufacture and distribution of £100M of LSD.
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Give Us a Break: Hustle Bustle Toil and Muscle
Title: Give Us a Break: Hustle Bustle Toil and Muscle
Character: Joe Morris
Released: December 31, 1984
Type: Movie
Mickey and Mo head to Liverpool for the chance of a big score
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Arthur's Hallowed Ground
Title: Arthur's Hallowed Ground
Character: Lionel
Released: October 30, 1984
Type: Movie
Arthur is the groundsman. He's a perfectionist who has lovingly tended the cricket pitch for 45 years. Now he is given a new assistant.
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The Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura
Title: The Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura
Character: Richard Rees
Released: December 12, 1983
Type: Movie
A remote farmhouse on an isolated island. Strangers with English accents. Quarrels and a lonely child. The year is 1946. The man is George Orwell. The book he has come to write is Nineteen Eighty-four.
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Title: Dalgliesh
Character: Sir Marcus Cohen
Released: April 8, 1983
Type: TV
Centred on the cases of P. D. James' gentleman detective Adam Dalgliesh. In addition to his career as a policeman, Dalgliesh is also a published poet and an intensely private man.
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Title: Timewatch
Released: September 29, 1982
Type: TV
Timewatch is a long-running British television series showing documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. It was first broadcast on 29 September 1982 and is produced by the BBC, the Timewatch brandname is used as a banner title in the UK, but many of the individual documentaries can be found on US cable channels without the branding.
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Title: Bergerac
Character: Dr. Barnard
Released: October 18, 1981
Type: TV
Bergerac is a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and first screened on BBC1, it stars John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in Le Bureau des Étrangers, part of the States of Jersey Police.
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The Bunker
Title: The Bunker
Character: Gen. Rattenhuber
Released: April 15, 1981
Type: Movie
Dramatization depicting the events surrounding Adolf Hitler's last weeks in and around his underground bunker in Berlin before and during the battle for the city.
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Fox
Title: Fox
Character: Gadsden
Released: March 10, 1980
Type: Movie
The thirteen-part series recounted the lives of the titular Fox family, who lived in Clapham in South London and had gangland connections.
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The Dybbuk
Title: The Dybbuk
Character: Sender
Released: February 24, 1980
Type: Movie
A young bride is possessed by a dybbuk, a malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person, on the eve of her wedding.
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Title: Bloomers
Released: September 27, 1979
Type: TV
Bloomers was a short-lived British sitcom starring Richard Beckinsale that was aired in 1979. It was in production in 1979 but only five episodes were made before Beckinsale died suddenly from a heart attack just before a planned rehearsal for the sixth and final episode of the first series. Bloomers was immediately shelved, though the five completed episodes were broadcast later in the same year.
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Title: Turtle's Progress
Character: Inspector Rafferty
Released: April 23, 1979
Type: TV
Turtle's Progress is a British television series broadcast between 1979 and 1980. The offbeat humour of the show attracted a small but cult audience, and the show only ran for two series.
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Les Misérables
Title: Les Misérables
Character: Troufiat
Released: December 27, 1978
Type: Movie
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
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Richard II
Title: Richard II
Character: Duke of Northumberland
Released: December 10, 1978
Type: Movie
Richard II, who ascended the throne as a child, is a regal and stately monarch. He believes he is the rightful ruler of England, ordained by God, yet he is a weak and ineffective king - wasteful in his spending habits, unwise in his choise of chansellors, and detached from his country and its people. When he seizes the land of his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, both the commoners and the barons decide that their king has gone too far...
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Title: BBC Television Shakespeare
Character: Duke of Northumberland
Released: December 3, 1978
Type: TV
The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and produced by BBC Television. It was transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985 and spanned seven series. Development of the series began in 1975 when Messina saw that Glamis Castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeare's play As You Like It. On returning to London, he envisioned an entire series devoted exclusively to the dramatic works of Shakespeare. After encountering numerous problems trying to produce the series, Messina eventually pitched the idea to the BBC’s departmental heads and the series was greenlighted. The series as a whole received generally negative reviews from critics.
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Title: Going Straight
Character: Mr McEwan
Released: February 24, 1978
Type: TV
Going Straight is a BBC sitcom which was a direct spin-off from Porridge, starring Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher, newly released from the fictional Slade Prison where the earlier series had been set. It sees Fletcher trying to become an honest member of society, having vowed to stay away from crime on his release. The title refers to his attempt, 'straight' being a slang term meaning being honest, in contrast to 'bent', i.e., dishonest. Also re-appearing was Richard Beckinsale as Lennie Godber, who was Fletcher's naïve young cellmate and was now in a relationship with his daughter Ingrid. Her brother Raymond was played by a teenage Nicholas Lyndhurst. Only one series, of six episodes, was made in 1978. It attracted an audience of over 15 million viewers and won a BAFTA award in March 1979, but hopes of a further series had already been dashed by Beckinsale's premature death earlier in the same month.
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Title: The Professionals
Character: Sir Kenneth
Released: December 30, 1977
Type: TV
The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie is a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, comes to CI5 from the regular police force, and is more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship is often contentious, but they are the top men in their field, and the ones to whom Cowley always assigned to the toughest cases.
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The Black Panther
Title: The Black Panther
Character: Det. Chief Superintendent
Released: December 26, 1977
Type: Movie
A gung-ho ex-military man pursues a secret life of crime, culminating in the kidnapping of a teenage heiress.
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The Assignment
Title: The Assignment
Released: July 11, 1977
Type: Movie
A Swedish diplomat travels to a civil war in a Latin American country. His mission is to mediate between the two extremist groups.
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Title: Couples
Character: Alan Taylor
Released: October 19, 1975
Type: TV
Couples TV Show
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Title: Rising Damp
Character: Gray
Released: September 2, 1974
Type: TV
Set in a seedy bedsit, the cowardly landlord Rigsby has his conceits debunked by his long suffering tenants.
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The Internecine Project
Title: The Internecine Project
Character: Chester Drake
Released: July 24, 1974
Type: Movie
Offered a job as a presidential adviser, a professor is forced to dispose of those who knew him when he was a spy.
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Title: NOVA
Character: Nikolai Vavilov
Released: March 3, 1974
Type: TV
PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.
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Who Killed Lamb?
Title: Who Killed Lamb?
Character: Insp. Havelock
Released: February 4, 1974
Type: Movie
A popular member of the Oxford community is killed and nobody figure out why. A police inspector is called in from Scotland Yard and discovers there may be more to the victim than anyone knows.
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No Sex Please: We're British
Title: No Sex Please: We're British
Character: Inspector Paul
Released: July 25, 1973
Type: Movie
A porn-store owner orders some new stuff from his supplier, but the delivery address gets mixed with the address of the local Barclays Bank. Here, David (the bank's assistant manager) and his new wife are shocked when photos, then films and finally two girls are sent to them in their bank-supplied flat. They and the banks' head cashier then hatch a plan to get rid of the porn—without letting their boss, the local police and David's mother in on what is happening.
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The Day of the Jackal
Title: The Day of the Jackal
Character: Montclair
Released: May 16, 1973
Type: Movie
An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle, with a dedicated gendarme on the assassin’s trail.
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Highway Robbery
Title: Highway Robbery
Character: Councillor Bass
Released: January 29, 1973
Type: Movie
Terry and his family fight against a planned eviction when the council decides on a road building programme and their house is in its path.
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Travels with My Aunt
Title: Travels with My Aunt
Character: John Sparrow
Released: December 17, 1972
Type: Movie
At his mother's funeral, stuffy bank clerk Henry Pulling meets his Aunt Augusta, an elderly eccentric with more-than-shady dealings who pulls him along on a whirlwind adventure as she attempts to rescue an old lover.
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Title: War and Peace
Released: September 29, 1972
Type: TV
The classic BBC dramatisation of Tolstoy's epic story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Anthony Hopkins heads the cast as Pierre Bezuhov (a role for which he won the 1972 Best Actor BAFTA); Morag Hood is the impulsive and beautiful Natasha Rostova; Alan Dobie is the dour but heroic Andrei Bolkonsky; and David Swift is Napoleon, whose decision to invade Russia in 1812 has far-reaching consequences for Pierre and the Rostov and Bolkonsky families. The twenty-part serial was the vision of producer David Conroy whose principle aim was to transfer the rich characterisation and incident from Tolstoy's greatest novel to a television drama. Scripted by Jack Pulman and directed by John Davies, Conroy's War And Peace boasts superb acting, award-winning design (1972 Best Design BAFTA) and breathtaking battle sequences which were filmed in former Yugoslavia.
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Another Sunday and Sweet F.A.
Title: Another Sunday and Sweet F.A.
Character: Mr Armistead
Released: January 9, 1972
Type: Movie
Mr. Armistead is the referee for an amateur league Sunday Football match. Disliked and abused by all the players he tries to play fair and ensure they follow the rules. By the end of the match he's had enough and really uses his head to show them that he's not as useless as they all think.
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The Mosedale Horseshoe
Title: The Mosedale Horseshoe
Character: Walter
Released: March 23, 1971
Type: Movie
The story of four Lakeland walkers who attempt to climb a fell. The fells represent the highlight of their year. They all have dull and uninteresting jobs and their only chance of relieving the boredom is in the fells After five years of weekends together they had never managed to reach the top of the Horseshoe, but were always defeated by something trivial. By the sixth year their combined failure to get to the summit took on the proportions of a tragedy especially they all saw it matching the situation in their everyday lives. Filmed on location
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Title: Play for Today
Character: Councillor Bass
Released: October 15, 1970
Type: TV
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.