Donald Houston

Donald Houston

Born: November 6, 1923
Died: October 13, 1991
in Clydach Vale, Rhondda, Wales, UK
Donald Daniel Houston (6 November 1923 – 13 October 1991) was a Welsh actor known for a successful career as a character actor in British film and television.

Movies for Donald Houston...

Title: Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime
Character: Boris
Released: October 9, 1983
Type: TV
Spirited dialogue, posh Roaring '20s style, and devious mysteries abound as Tommy and Tuppence Beresford mix marriage and mystery solving.
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The Secret Adversary
Title: The Secret Adversary
Character: Boris
Released: October 9, 1983
Type: Movie
After a chance meeting and an indiscreet conversation, childhood friends Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley become involved in a convoluted intrigue led by a mysterious man known simply as Mr. Brown.
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Clash of the Titans
Title: Clash of the Titans
Character: Acrisius
Released: June 12, 1981
Type: Movie
To win the right to marry his love, the beautiful princess Andromeda, and fulfil his destiny, half-God-half-mortal Perseus must complete various tasks including taming Pegasus, capturing Medusa's head and battling the feared Kraken.
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The Sea Wolves
Title: The Sea Wolves
Character: Hilliard
Released: July 3, 1980
Type: Movie
A German spy is passing on information about the location of Allied ships in the neutral harbor of Goa, India, with catastrophic results. Unable to undertake a full military operation in the Portuguese stronghold, English intelligence brings out of retirement a crew of geriatric ex-soldiers, veterans from World War I, using their age as cover. These old soldiers are asked to take to the seas and pull off an unlikely undercover mission.
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Title: Return of the Saint
Character: Commander Denning
Released: September 10, 1978
Type: TV
Follow the swashbuckling exploits of Simon Templar, a modern-day Robin Hood of sorts.
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Voyage of the Damned
Title: Voyage of the Damned
Character: Dr. Glauner
Released: December 22, 1976
Type: Movie
A luxury liner carries Jewish refugees from Hitler's Germany in a desperate fight for survival.
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Title: Shadows
Released: September 3, 1975
Type: TV
Shadows is a British Supernatural television anthology series produced by Thames Television for ITV between 1975 and 1978. Extending over three seasons, it featured ghost and horror dramas for children. Guest actors included John Nettleton, Gareth Thomas, Jenny Agutter, Pauline Quirke, Brian Glover, June Brown, Rachel Herbert, Jacqueline Pearce and Gwyneth Strong. The series was also notable for reviving the character of Mr. Stabs. Notable writers for the series included J. B. Priestley, Fay Weldon and PJ Hammond.
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Tales That Witness Madness
Title: Tales That Witness Madness
Character: Sam Patterson (segment "Mr. Tiger")
Released: October 31, 1973
Type: Movie
Dr. Tremayne is an enigmatic psychiatrist running an asylum that houses four very special cases. Visited by his colleague Nicholas, Tremayne explains his amazing and controversial theories as to why each of the four patients went mad.
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Title: Moonbase 3
Released: September 9, 1973
Type: TV
The adventures of David Caulder and his crew stationed on Moonbase 3.
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Sunstruck
Title: Sunstruck
Released: December 22, 1972
Type: Movie
Stanley Evans, a Welsh schoolteacher, decides to emigrate to Australia for a better life but ends up working in a school in the dead-end town of Kookaburra Springs. He forms a school choir and decides to compete in a singing competition in Sydney
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Title: The Protectors
Character: Lockier
Released: September 29, 1972
Type: TV
The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in contemporary times. It was also the only Gerry Anderson produced television series that was not of the fantasy or science fiction genres. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. Despite not featuring marionettes or any real science fiction elements, The Protectors became one of Anderson's most popular productions, easily winning a renewal for a second season. A third season was in the planning stages when the show's major sponsor pulled out, forcing its cancellation. The Protectors first aired in 1972 and 1973, and ran to 52 episodes over two series, each 25 minutes long - making it one of the last series of this type to be produced in a half-hour format. It starred Robert Vaughn as Harry Rule, Nyree Dawn Porter as the Contessa Caroline di Contini, and Tony Anholt as Paul Buchet. Episodes often featured prominent guest actors.
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Title: The Adventurer
Character: Jan De Groot
Released: September 29, 1972
Type: TV
The Adventurer is an ITC Entertainment TV adventure series created by Dennis Spooner that ran for one season from 1972 to 1973. It premiered in the UK on 29 September 1972. The show starred Gene Barry as Gene Bradley, a government agent of independent means who poses as a glamorous American movie star.
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Title: Justice
Character: Fielding
Released: October 8, 1971
Type: TV
Justice is a British drama television series which originally aired on ITV in 39 hour-long episodes between 8 August 1971 and 16 October 1974. Margaret Lockwood stars as Harriet Peterson a female barrister in the North of England. It was made by Yorkshire Television and was based loosely on Justice Is a Woman, an episode of ITV Playhouse broadcast in 1969 in which Lockwood had previously also played a barrister. The theme music was Crown Imperial by William Walton.
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Title: Now Take My Wife
Released: April 1, 1971
Type: TV
Now Take My Wife was a BBC situation comedy which ran for only one series of 14 episodes in 1971. It starred Sheila Hancock and Donald Houston as a suburban middle-class couple, Claire and Harry Love. He would start each episode by turning to the camera and saying "Now ... take my wife". They had a teenage daughter, played by Liz Edmiston. Their next-door neighbour was an eccentric German woman, who also had a daughter. Of the 14 episodes, two are currently missing from the BBC archives; they were either wiped to reuse the tapes or possibly lost at one stage after their first broadcast. Several years later, in a Guardian interview, Hancock indicated that she was not very happy with the programme, seeing it as an example of the sort of stereotyped role for women actors she landed. However, her character often got the better of her husband during each episode.
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My Lover, My Son
Title: My Lover, My Son
Character: Robert
Released: May 13, 1970
Type: Movie
A woman deals with an unhappy marriage, the death of her lover, and her son's involvement in a crime.
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Title: Paul Temple
Released: November 23, 1969
Type: TV
Paul Temple is a British-German television series . It features Francis Matthews as Paul Temple, the fictional detective created by Francis Durbridge, who solves crimes with the assistance of his wife Steve. Paul Temple used overseas locations in France, Malta, Germany and elsewhere. T
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Title: Department S
Character: John Burnham
Released: September 9, 1969
Type: TV
Department S is a United Kingdom spy-fi adventure series produced by ITC Entertainment. The series consists of 28 episodes which originally aired in 1969–1970. It starred Peter Wyngarde as author Jason King, Joel Fabiani as Stewart Sullivan, and Rosemary Nicols as computer expert Annabelle Hurst. The trio were agents for a fictional special department of Interpol. The head of Department S was Sir Curtis Seretse.
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The Bushbaby
Title: The Bushbaby
Character: John Leeds
Released: September 1, 1969
Type: Movie
The young daughter of a park ranger in Tanzania is distressed to learn that she and her father must permanently return to England, thus separating her from the one thing she loves most, a pet Bushbaby. Fearing what the future holds she decides to set the pet free but while doing so misses the boat back to England. After meeting up with a friendly native they try to resolve the situation together. Things take a turn for the worse when it is falsely reported that the native has kidnapped her, thus putting a price on his head
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Where Eagles Dare
Title: Where Eagles Dare
Character: Christiansen
Released: December 4, 1968
Type: Movie
World War II is raging, and an American general has been captured and is being held hostage in the Schloss Adler, a Bavarian castle that's nearly impossible to breach. It's up to a group of skilled Allied soldiers to liberate the general before it's too late.
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Title: The Champions
Character: Richter
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: Man in a Suitcase
Released: September 27, 1967
Type: TV
Accused of treason, a former U.S. intelligence officer based in London tries to clear his name, taking on freelance jobs around Europe as he searches for answers.
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The Viking Queen
Title: The Viking Queen
Character: Maelgan
Released: March 25, 1967
Type: Movie
Set in ancient Britain, at a time when much of Europe was ruled with harsh tyranny by Rome, a tribe of Britons led by Selina, set out to defy the invaders and discard their yoke of bondage. The Roman commander, Justinian, is sent to quell the uprising, punishing the dissenters with brute force but when he becomes emotionally attached to Selina, he is torn between his duty to Rome and his love for the Viking Queen.
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What's Wrong with Humpty Dumpty?
Title: What's Wrong with Humpty Dumpty?
Character: David
Released: February 11, 1967
Type: Movie
Pompous film director David lives a boring life with his children's books writer wife Hilary but also has a glamorous girlfriend, Caroline. When Hilary finds out about Caroline she decides to befriend her and then update him.
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Thirteen to Centaurus
Title: Thirteen to Centaurus
Character: Dr. Francis
Released: December 13, 1965
Type: Movie
Interstellar travel at sub-light speeds: the enormous distances, isolation from human culture and the aching loneliness of space are enough to drive the strongest personality insane. Better to block all memories of human contact and to program the 12-strong crew to accept only the reality they can see and touch within their spacecraft. But a child born on "the Station" becomes insistent on learning the truth about 'Outside'.
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A Study in Terror
Title: A Study in Terror
Character: Doctor Watson
Released: October 1, 1965
Type: Movie
When Watson reads from the newspaper there have been two similar murders near Whitechapel in a few days, Sherlock Holmes' sharp deductive is immediately stimulated to start its merciless method of elimination after observation of every apparently meaningless detail. He guesses right the victims must be street whores, and doesn't need long to work his way trough a pawn shop, an aristocratic family's stately home, a hospital and of course the potential suspects and (even unknowing) witnesses who are the cast of the gradually unraveled story of the murderer and his motive.
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Title: Gideon's Way
Character: Tony Erickson
Released: March 18, 1965
Type: TV
Gideon's Way is a British television crime series made by ITC Entertainment in 1964/65, based on the novels by John Creasey. The series was made at Elstree in twin production with The Saint TV series. It starred Liverpudlian John Gregson in the title role as Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard, with Alexander Davion as his assistant, Detective Chief Inspector David Keen, Reginald Jessup as Det. Superintendent LeMaitre, Ian Rossiter as Detective Chief Superintendent Joe Bell and Basil Dignam as Commissioner Scott-Marle. The show did not acknowledge any help from Scotland Yard, any other police force or advisor. Daphne Anderson starred as his wife, Kate with Giles Watling as young son, Malcolm, Richard James as older son, Matthew who seemed to have a lot of new girlfriends and Andrea Allan as daughter, Pru. Unusually for police stories, Gideon was shown as a family man at home though urgent phone calls from his bosses tend to disrupt family plans too often. However, he did admit in "State Visit" that his wife had walked out on him for a while years ago when he put the job first and her second. They live in an expensive detached house in Chelsea.
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Title: Public Eye
Character: Arthur Wellard
Released: January 23, 1965
Type: TV
Public Eye is a British television series that ran from 1965 to 1975. It was produced by ABC Television for three series, and Thames Television for a further four series. The series depicted the investigations and cases handled by the unglamorous enquiry agent Frank Marker, an unmarried loner who is in his early forties when the series begins. In the words of an ABC trailer for the third series: "Marker isn't a glamorous detective and he doesn't get glamorous cases—he doesn't even get glamorous girls. What he does get is people who are in trouble—the sort of trouble you can't go to the police about, even if you are innocent."
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633 Squadron
Title: 633 Squadron
Character: Group Captain Don Barrett
Released: April 6, 1964
Type: Movie
When Norwegian resistance leader Lieutenant Erik Bergman reports the location of a German V-2 rocket fuel plant, the Royal Air Force's 633 Squadron is assigned the mission to destroy it. The plant is in a seemingly-impregnable location beneath an overhanging cliff at the end of a long, narrow fjord lined with anti-aircraft guns. The only way to destroy the plant is by collapsing the cliff on top of it.
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Carry On Jack
Title: Carry On Jack
Character: First Officer Jonathan Howett
Released: February 23, 1964
Type: Movie
Tenth entry in the Carry On series. Able seaman Poop-Decker signs up for adventure on the high seas with the wicked Captain Fearless. Those swabbing the decks include Juliet Mills, Charles Hawtrey and Donald Houston. The film was originally to be titled Up the Armada, but the British Board of Film Censors objected to such a rude title.
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Doctor in Distress
Title: Doctor in Distress
Character: Major Tommy French
Released: July 30, 1963
Type: Movie
"Doctor in Distress" is the fifth of the seven films in the "Doctor" series, and focuses on Sir Lancelot Spratt, Simon Sparrow's old teacher and sometimes nemesis. When the eternal bachelor Sir Lancelot injures his back and falls in love with his physiotherapist Iris Marchant, he becomes very distressed and turns to Simon for help. Simon, who now is a senior doctor at fictional Hampden Cross Hospital and hopelessly in love with aspiring actress Delia, sends him to a nature cure clinic in a vain attempt to help him lose weight, but Sir Lancelot can't get Iris off his mind and has her followed, first by a private investigator and eventually by himself. When he finally proposes, she rejects him and marries an old army major, which distresses Sir Lancelot even more.
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Maniac
Title: Maniac
Character: Georges
Released: May 20, 1963
Type: Movie
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
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The Longest Day
Title: The Longest Day
Character: RAF Pilot
Released: September 25, 1962
Type: Movie
The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"
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The 300 Spartans
Title: The 300 Spartans
Character: Hydarnes
Released: August 1, 1962
Type: Movie
Essentially true story of how Spartan king Leonidas led an extremely small army of Greek Soldiers (300 of his personal body guards from Sparta) to hold off an invading Persian army now thought to have numbered 250,000.
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The Prince and the Pauper
Title: The Prince and the Pauper
Character: John Canty
Released: April 18, 1962
Type: Movie
In the London of 1537, two boys resembling each other exactly meet accidentally and exchange "roles" for a short while. After many adventures, the prince regains his rightful identity and graciously makes his "twin" a ward of the court.
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Twice Round the Daffodils
Title: Twice Round the Daffodils
Character: John Rhodes
Released: April 2, 1962
Type: Movie
Twice Round the Daffodils is a 1962 British comedy drama film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Juliet Mills, Donald Sinden, Donald Houston, Kenneth Williams, Ronald Lewis, Andrew Ray, Joan Sims and Jill Ireland. A new group of patients arrive at a hospital to be treated for tuberculosis where they all take a fancy to one of the nurses. The film was adapted from the play Ring for Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack Beale. Carry on Nurse from 1959 was based on the same play. The cast and production team of Twice Round the Daffodils create a noticeable similarity with the Carry On films, but the film is not an official member of the Carry On series.
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The Mark
Title: The Mark
Character: Austin
Released: January 26, 1961
Type: Movie
A man who served prison time for intent to molest a child tries to build a new life with the help of a sympathetic psychiatrist.
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A Letter for Wales
Title: A Letter for Wales
Character: Narrator (Voice)
Released: January 1, 1960
Type: Movie
Donald Houston plays a Welshman who tells the story of what it's like to live in small town Wales and how the train service helps.
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Danger Within
Title: Danger Within
Character: Capt. Roger Byfold
Released: February 17, 1959
Type: Movie
Drama set in an Italian prisoner of war camp during World War 2, where a group of British soldiers find their plans for escape thwarted by a mysterious traitor in their midst.
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Room at the Top
Title: Room at the Top
Character: Charles Soames
Released: January 22, 1959
Type: Movie
An ambitious young accountant schemes to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter, despite falling in love with a married older woman.
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The Man Upstairs
Title: The Man Upstairs
Character: Dr. Sanderson
Released: September 30, 1958
Type: Movie
The mental breakdown of a guilt-ridden man provides the drama in this fascinating psychological profile starring Richard Attenborough as a scientist who can't live with himself after he accidently kills the brother of his fiancee.
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A Question of Adultery
Title: A Question of Adultery
Character: Mr. Jacobus
Released: July 15, 1958
Type: Movie
Mark Loring is madly jealous of his wife, Mary, former American cabaret singer. Due to an automobile accident, she loses her unborn child, and Mark becomes sterile. His father, Brit-stuffy Sir John Loring, has never approved of the marriage and, again, tries to break it up. Believing that a child will hold the marriage together, Mary suggests artificial insemination to Mark, who finally agrees to accompany her to a clinic in Switzerland. However, when she is again pregnant, Mark finds it impossible to reconcile himself to the situation and leaves her. Prompted by his father, Mark sues for divorce, accusing her of adultery. She contests the divorce and a trial concerns itself with whether or not artificial insemination is a question of adultery. The Catholic Church's National League of Decency placed this film on its Condemned" list.
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The Surgeon's Knife
Title: The Surgeon's Knife
Character: Dr. Alex Waring
Released: October 1, 1957
Type: Movie
A doctor becomes the victim of extortionists when one of his patients dies under questionable circumstances.
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Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
Title: Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
Character: Lieutenant Weston
Released: April 1, 1957
Type: Movie
While sailing lawfully up the Yangste in 1949, the British warship Amethyst found its return to the open sea blocked by Communist Chinese shore batteries that unexpectedly opened fire. In charge, Lietenant Commander Kerans was not however prepared for his crew and his ship to remain as a hostage for the Chinese to use as an international pawn.
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Every Valley
Title: Every Valley
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: January 2, 1957
Type: Movie
A look at the transport system in the South Wales Valleys and how it effects peoples livelihoods and everyday lives.
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The Girl in the Picture
Title: The Girl in the Picture
Character: John Deering
Released: January 1, 1957
Type: Movie
A crime reporter investigating a murder discovers the case hinges on a mysterious woman he had photographed earlier.
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Find the Lady
Title: Find the Lady
Character: Bill
Released: October 1, 1956
Type: Movie
During New Year's Eve, a young model spends the day searching for her grandmother, who has suspiciously gone missing.
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Title: Armchair Theatre
Character: David
Released: July 8, 1956
Type: TV
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.
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Doublecross
Title: Doublecross
Character: Albert Pascoe
Released: February 1, 1956
Type: Movie
A Cornish fisherman becomes involved with Iron Curtain spies.
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The Flaw
Title: The Flaw
Character: John Millway
Released: September 30, 1955
Type: Movie
A race car driver marries a woman for her money and plans to murder her. An old suitor steps in to help her but the driver takes steps to eliminate the rival. But there's a flaw in the driver's plans.
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Title: Lilli Palmer Theatre
Character: George
Released: September 25, 1955
Type: TV
A half-hour anthology series.
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The Happiness of Three Women
Title: The Happiness of Three Women
Character: John
Released: December 9, 1954
Type: Movie
Three women staying at a remote Welsh inn toss coins into a well wishing to improve their miserable lives. Along comes postman Evans (who also wrote the original play and collaborated on the screenplay) to help them out and set them straight.
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Devil's Point
Title: Devil's Point
Character: Michael Mallard
Released: December 7, 1954
Type: Movie
A Thames River barge operator finds a mysterious package dropped by smugglers.
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Doctor in the House
Title: Doctor in the House
Character: Taffy Evans
Released: March 23, 1954
Type: Movie
The first of the seven "Doctor" films, based on Richard Gordon's novels and released between 1954 and 1970. Simon Sparrow is a newly arrived medical student at St Swithin's hospital in London. Falling in with three longer-serving hopefuls he is soon immersed in the wooing, imbibing and fast sports-car driving that constitute 1950s medical training. There is, however, always the looming and formidable figure of chief surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt to remind them of their real purpose.
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Small Town Story
Title: Small Town Story
Character: Tony Warren
Released: December 21, 1953
Type: Movie
Canadian ex-serviceman Bob Regan returns to Oldchester, the English town where he was posted during the war. Meeting up with his friend Mike, now manager of the local football club, he discovers that Oldchester are desperate for promotion as they stand to inherit £25,000 from recently deceased supporter Wallace Hammond if they make the Third Division a situation that Hammond's devious nephew finds intolerable...
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The Large Rope
Title: The Large Rope
Character: Tom Penney
Released: December 1, 1953
Type: Movie
After being framed for a murder he didn't commit, Tom Penney (Donald Houston) serves his time and returns to his rural English home to establish a quiet life. When another victim is found, however, Tom is blamed for the crime and flees rather than returnng to prison. Hoping to find the real killer -- or killers -- Tom investigates while keeping a low profile to elude his pursuers, and a vital clue leads him on the path to possible redemption.
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The Red Beret
Title: The Red Beret
Character: Taffy
Released: August 11, 1953
Type: Movie
Steve MacKendrick resigns from the US Army after causing the needless death of a fellow officer. Wanting to serve in the war, he enlists as a Canadian in the British 1st Parachute Brigade. He proves himself exceptionally skilled for a recruit, arousing the suspicion of his commanding officer who starts an investigation. He redeems himself during combat. The film was titled "Paratrooper" in the US.
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Crow Hollow
Title: Crow Hollow
Character: Dr. Robert Armour
Released: August 1, 1952
Type: Movie
A greedy woman tries to poison her nephew's bride in a dark mansion.
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My Death Is a Mockery
Title: My Death Is a Mockery
Character: John Bradley
Released: August 1, 1952
Type: Movie
A fisherman cannot make a decent living from his trawler so he decides to turn his hand to smuggling.
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Dance Hall
Title: Dance Hall
Character: Phil
Released: June 8, 1950
Type: Movie
Episodic tale of four factory girls and their various romances at the local dance hall in Chiswick, London. Unusual at the time, the film tells its story from a feminine perspective. Today, it is mainly recognised for its post-war London atmosphere, with bomb sites, trolleybuses and rationing.
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A Run for Your Money
Title: A Run for Your Money
Character: David "Dai Number 9" Jones
Released: November 23, 1949
Type: Movie
Two Welsh coal-mining brothers win a trip to London to claim a monetary prize. They are supposed to meet a newspaper reporter who will be their escort. Instead, the brothers are launched into an adventure with some London riff-raff. It is up to the reporter to look out for the brothers, and what a job it turns out to be!
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The Blue Lagoon
Title: The Blue Lagoon
Character: Michael Reynolds
Released: March 1, 1949
Type: Movie
In the Victorian period, two British children survive a shipwreck in the South Pacific. After days afloat, they are marooned on a lush tropical island in the company of kindly old sailor. Together they survive solely on their resourcefulness and the bounty of their remote paradise.