Peter Howell

Peter Howell

Born: October 25, 1919
Died: April 20, 2015
in Kensington, London, England, UK
Peter Howell was an English actor of stage and screen. Despite his relatively privileged life (he was educated at Winchester and at Christ Church, Oxford, leaving the latter when called up for service as an officer in the Rifle Brigade during WWII) Howell was a lifelong active member of the Labour Party and campaigned for a number of social issues. One of his most remembered roles is that of the governor in Alan Clarke's 1979 film version of Scum, which he took because he wanted to highlight the issues regarding the penal system. He was also a longtime member of the Marylebone Cricket Club, and opposed their planned 1968-69 England cricket tour of apartheid-era South Africa, which was eventually cancelled. He helped to raise funds for the building of Watermans Arts Centre near his home in Chiswick, west London. Howell died at Denville Hall, a home for retired actors in Northwood, London, on 20 April 2015 after a short illness, aged 95

Movies for Peter Howell...

Title: Our Mutual Friend
Released: March 9, 1998
Type: TV
Epic Charles Dickens tale of passion, greed and betrayal. Lizzie and her father scrape a living on the banks of the Thames until one day they recover a body that links them with another world.
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Princess Caraboo
Title: Princess Caraboo
Character: Clerk of the Court
Released: September 16, 1994
Type: Movie
Bristol, England, early 19th century. A beautiful young stranger who speaks a weird language is tried for the crime of begging. But when a man claims that he can translate her dialect, it is understood that the woman is a princess from a far away land. She is then welcomed by a family of haughty aristocrats that only wants to heighten their prestige. However, the local reporter is not at all convinced she is what she claims to be and investigates. Is Caraboo really a princess?
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Shadowlands
Title: Shadowlands
Character: College President
Released: December 25, 1993
Type: Movie
C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham.
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My Sister-Wife
Title: My Sister-Wife
Character: Harley Street Doctor
Released: February 23, 1992
Type: Movie
Farah is an independent young British woman who manages to reconcile her modern lifestyle with her Pakistani heritage. As a Muslim in love with a married man, she can become his second wife - especially as his first marriage to Maryam seems to exist in name only. But with all three under one roof, Farah becomes increasingly insecure.
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Title: Jeeves and Wooster
Character: Magistrate
Released: April 22, 1990
Type: TV
Jeeves and Wooster is a British comedy-drama series adapted by Clive Exton from P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 1990 to 1993, starring Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster, a young gentleman with a "distinctive blend of airy nonchalance and refined gormlessness", and Stephen Fry as Jeeves, his improbably well-informed and talented valet. Wooster is a bachelor, a minor aristocrat and member of the idle rich. He and his friends, who are mainly members of The Drones Club, are extricated from all manner of societal misadventures by the indispensable valet, Jeeves. The stories are set in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1930s.
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The Mountain and the Molehill
Title: The Mountain and the Molehill
Character: Churchill's Secretary
Released: October 15, 1989
Type: Movie
It is May 1944, two weeks before D-day. Britain stands poised for the long-awaited invasion of France - thousands of troops wait anxiously for the orders to come for embarkation. MI5 is horrified to discover the top-secret codewords for the invasion suddenly appearing as clues in the Daily Telegraph crossword. Two agents are immediately dispatched to confront the culprit, the headmaster of a boys' school in southern England.
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Title: Agatha Christie's Poirot
Character: Mr. Paul
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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Title: South Of The Border
Character: Sir Nigel Pearson
Released: October 25, 1988
Type: TV
Drama concerning a pair of female private detectives, Pearl Parker (Buki Armstrong) and Finn Gallagher (Rosie Rowell) operating within the bustling multicultural communities of South London. The series was renowned for affording opportunities to new talent, women and people of colour both in front of and behind the cameras.
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Bellman and True
Title: Bellman and True
Character: The Bellman
Released: November 12, 1987
Type: Movie
Hiller, a computer expert, was bribed by group of bank robbers to obtain details of the security system at a newly-built bank. Having obtained the information, he thought he'd seen the last of the robbers. But now they've traced him and his son to London. They hold the son hostage and force Hiller to decode the information about the alarm and then to take part in the robbery.
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John and Yoko: A Love Story
Title: John and Yoko: A Love Story
Character: Canon Verney
Released: December 2, 1985
Type: Movie
Details the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, from before their first meeting to their rise to stardom.
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Title: A.D.
Character: Atticus
Released: March 31, 1985
Type: TV
A 12 hours miniseries adapted from Anthony Burgess's novel The Kingdom of the Wicked.
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Hitler's SS : Portrait In Evil
Title: Hitler's SS : Portrait In Evil
Character: Prison Governor
Released: February 17, 1985
Type: Movie
The two-part TV movie Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil crystallizes that evil by concentrating on two Berlin brothers. In 1931, Helmut Hoffman a brilliant student and self-styled opportunist, joins Hitler's SS. At the same time, his younger brother Karl, a top athlete and idealist, becomes a chauffeur for the "S.A.".
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John Wycliffe: The Morning Star
Title: John Wycliffe: The Morning Star
Character: Dr. John Wycliffe
Released: January 1, 1984
Type: Movie
This affecting biography chronicles the life and times of prominent European philosopher John Wycliffe, who was the first to translate the Bible into English. The 14th century, Oxford University scholar often found himself caught between opposing theological, political and societal forces: He defended England's autonomy against the pontiff's authority and championed the indigent against the wealthy's abuses.
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Title: Reilly: Ace of Spies
Character: Rothschild
Released: September 5, 1983
Type: TV
Reilly, Ace of Spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian Jew who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the British. Among his exploits, in the early 20th century, were the infiltration of the German General Staff in 1917 and a near-overthrow of the Bolsheviks in 1918. His reputation with women was as legendary as his genius for espionage.
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Title: Dalgliesh
Character: Sir Charles Freeborn
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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That Crazy Woman
Title: That Crazy Woman
Character: Counsel
Released: February 21, 1980
Type: Movie
In 1960, at the age of 56, Dr. Barbara Moore became a national hero by walking from John O'Groats to Land's End. One of the last great English eccentrics, even though she was Russian.
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Title: Pride and Prejudice
Released: January 13, 1980
Type: TV
The arrival of a young, well-off, eligible man named Mr. Bingley sends the Bennet household--with five girls of a marrying age--into a tizzy. But it's the introduction of Mr. Bingley's friend, Mr. Darcy, that sets in motion the fate of Elizabeth Bennet, resolved only after a labyrinth of social and personal complexities.
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The Errand
Title: The Errand
Character: Major
Released: January 1, 1980
Type: Movie
A soldier at an elite military institution is sent on a strange and increasingly nightmarish errand in this full-on fever-dream thriller from long-time Pete Walker collaborator David McGillivray (House of Whipcord).
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Scum
Title: Scum
Character: Governor
Released: September 12, 1979
Type: Movie
Powerful, uncompromising drama about two boys' struggle for survival in the nightmare world of Britain's notorious Borstal Reformatory.
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The Winter Ladies
Title: The Winter Ladies
Character: Solicitor
Released: May 15, 1979
Type: Movie
When a new arrival, a titled lady no less, arrives to shatter the genteel status quo of the St. Elmo Hotel, the entrenched residents are soon sharpening up their knitting needles for battle.
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Title: Tales of the Unexpected
Character: Louis Kendall
Released: March 24, 1979
Type: TV
A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.
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Title: The Professionals
Character: Howard
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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Title: Bill Brand
Character: Venables
Released: June 7, 1976
Type: TV
Following the death of the sitting Labour Party Member of Parliament, Bill Brand is selected as Labour candidate for a Lancashire textile constituency.
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Brassneck
Title: Brassneck
Released: May 22, 1975
Type: Movie
Through the story of a single family, Brassneck traces a history that parallels the Labour Party's advent to power in 1945 through to the property speculation of the 1960s and the disillusionment with the Labour government in the early 1970s. Like most of the early work of the writers, David Hare and Howard Brenton, committed radical (if not revolutionary) socialists throughout the 1970s, it is a satirical attack on capitalist greed and corruption, full of savage, and often disturbing, humour.
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Title: The Sweeney
Character: Alan Sevier
Released: January 2, 1975
Type: TV
Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter.
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Screamer
Title: Screamer
Character: Ward
Released: November 2, 1974
Type: Movie
A young American girl on her way to visit friends in rural England is brutally attacked and raped. After spending the next few months in a mental institution trying to recover from her ordeal, she is released into the care of her friends. The police assure her that they have the man responsible in custody, and she begins to rest easy. That is until she sees her attacker wandering the streets of the town. After planning her revenge she follows the man and kills him. This, she thinks, is the end of her ordeal. That is until the man she thinks she has killed arrives at the house she is staying in.
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Michael Regan
Title: Michael Regan
Character: Gerald Frankiss
Released: November 18, 1971
Type: Movie
Under stress, Irish tenant farmer Michael Regan, suddenly snaps one day and locks himself in his home, threatening the lives of his wife and child.
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Title: Elizabeth R
Character: Lord Howard
Released: February 17, 1971
Type: TV
This historical mini-series documents the reign of Elizabeth I with each episode focusing on one dramatic period in the lengthy reign of the Virgin Queen, including her ascension to the throne, her various marital intrigues, her problems with her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, and the threatened invasion of the Spanish Armada.
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Title: The Champions
Character: Admiral Cox
Released: September 25, 1968
Type: TV
The Champions is a British espionage/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure series consisting of 30 episodes broadcast on the UK network ITV during 1968–1969, produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. The series was broadcast in the US on NBC, starting in summer 1968.
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Title: The Prisoner
Character: Professor
Released: September 29, 1967
Type: TV
After resigning, a secret agent is abducted and taken to what looks like an idyllic village, but is really a bizarre Kafkaesque prison. His warders demand information. He gives them nothing, but only tries to escape.
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Title: Doctor Who
Character: Investigator
Released: November 23, 1963
Type: TV
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
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Title: Dr. Finlay's Casebook
Character: Mr Rayburn
Released: August 16, 1962
Type: TV
Dr Finlay's Casebook is a television series that was broadcast on the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella ‘Country Doctor’, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s. Cronin was the primary writer for the show between 1962 and 1964.
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Two Letter Alibi
Title: Two Letter Alibi
Character: Carlton
Released: January 1, 1962
Type: Movie
Charles Hilary is in love with Kathy Forrester, a beautiful television personality, but is married to Louise, an alcoholic with as many lovers as whisky bottles. His pleas for a divorce are met with threats and abuse. "You'll have to murder me first", Louise tells him and three hours later she is found dead, shot with her husband's pistol. When Charles is arrested, Kathy desperately sets to work to prove his innocence.
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Raising the Wind
Title: Raising the Wind
Character: Prof. Lumb
Released: September 6, 1961
Type: Movie
'Carry On' director Gerald Thomas helms this comedy caper featuring early appearances by James Robertson Justice, Sid James, Leslie Phillips, Kenneth Williams, Liz Fraser and Eric Barker. The film follows the hi-jinks of a group of music students who move into a shared flat in order to cut costs and have somewhere to practice their instruments. Things get tricky when Mervyn Hughes (Phillips) accidentally sells one of his compositions to an advertising agency and risks losing his scholarship. Can he and his friends find a way to raise the money to buy back the song rights?
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No Kidding
Title: No Kidding
Character: Father of Angus
Released: November 1, 1960
Type: Movie
A young couple, David and Catherine Robinson, has to turn their large country house into a money-making proposition. Their solution is to invite the kids of the rich and famous to spend a summer enjoying all the loving care and attention they miss at home. After the youngsters arrive, David quickly realizes what the offensive little punks need is some real discipline, and so the summer begins.
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Watch Your Stern
Title: Watch Your Stern
Character: Admiral's secretary
Released: October 14, 1960
Type: Movie
When the details of a secret torpedo are destroyed by an incompetent seaman, the crew of the ship rally round, when the Admiral needs the plans to show to a visiting scientist.
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Tarzan the Magnificent
Title: Tarzan the Magnificent
Character: Dr. Blake
Released: July 20, 1960
Type: Movie
After the Banton family rob a store is a small village and kill the local police constable, Tarzan captures one of them, Coy Banton. He decides to return him to the authorities so that the dead policeman's family will benefit from the $5000 reward. The head of the clan, Abel Banton and his two sons have no intention of letting Tarzan deliver Coy and burn the river boat they were to use. Several of the passengers are now stranded forcing Tarzan to take them along on a trek through the jungle. Abel Banton trails them intent not only getting his son back but getting rid of Tarzan.