Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett

Born: May 9, 1934
in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, UK
Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English playwright, screenwriter and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research medieval history at the university for several years. His collaboration as writer and performer with Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Peter Cook in the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival brought him instant fame. He gave up academia, and turned to writing full time, his first stage play Forty Years On being produced in 1968.

His output includes The Madness of George III and its film incarnation The Madness of King George, the series of monologues Talking Heads, the play The History Boys, and popular audio books, including his readings of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Winnie-the-Pooh.

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Movies for Alan Bennett...

Stewart Lee: Tornado
Title: Stewart Lee: Tornado
Character: Self
Released: September 29, 2022
Type: Movie
The Bafta-winning Stewart Lee performs his latest touring show, focusing on a bizarrely erroneous description of his work on Netflix and a mind-boggling review from Alan Bennett.
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Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War
Title: Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War
Released: July 1, 2022
Type: Movie
One of Britain’s greatest landscape artists, Eric Ravilious, is killed in a plane crash while on commission as Official War Artist in Iceland in 1942. His life is as compelling and enigmatic as his art, set against the dramatic wartime locations that inspire him. This film brings to life this unique and still grossly undervalued British artist caught in the crossfire of war 80 years ago, whose legacy largely sank without trace, until now…
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Stop All the Clocks: W.H. Auden in an Age of Anxiety
Title: Stop All the Clocks: W.H. Auden in an Age of Anxiety
Character: Himself
Released: September 30, 2017
Type: Movie
Thirty years after his BBC film The Auden Landscape, director Adam Low returns to the poet and his work. Following surges of popularity - from featuring in Four Weddings And A Funeral to being the poet New Yorkers turned to after 9/11 - Low reveals how Auden’s poetry helps us to better understand the 21st century and the tumultuous political climate in which we now live.
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Alan Bennett's Diaries
Title: Alan Bennett's Diaries
Character: Himself
Released: November 16, 2016
Type: Movie
Documentary about British author and actor Alan Bennett. Recorded over the course of a year, the film features a number of intimate encounters with Bennett, including a trip to New York to receive an award from the city's public library, a national radio appearance and a visit to his local community-run library in Primrose Hill, London. Reflecting on key periods of his life as well as providing observations on current events.
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The Lady in the Van
Title: The Lady in the Van
Character: Alan Bennett (2014)
Released: October 30, 2015
Type: Movie
The true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years.
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The Native Hue of Resolution
Title: The Native Hue of Resolution
Released: December 21, 2013
Type: Movie
A documentary celebrating 20 years of the work of Kaleidoscope, an organisation devoted to the preservation of archive television.
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Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
Title: Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
Character: Mole (voice)
Released: December 16, 2013
Type: Movie
Animation telling of the adventures of Mouse, Mole, Rat and Owl. Before giving a Twelfth Night party, Mouse makes a snowmole for Mole. In a dream, Snowmole takes him to a land where his every wish is granted. But dreams can become nightmares and wishes can sometimes backfire!
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National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
Title: National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
Character: Hector
Released: November 2, 2013
Type: Movie
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the National Theatre of Great Britain presents National Theatre: 50 Years on Stage, bringing together the best British actors for a unique evening of unforgettable performances, broadcast live from London to cinemas around the world.
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My Friend Sam: Living for the Moment
Title: My Friend Sam: Living for the Moment
Released: January 16, 2012
Type: Movie
Sam was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder called Familial Dysautonomia. When born, he had 50 per cent chance of making it to his fifth birthday. Now, at the age of 39 we follow this exceptional person as he pursues his joint goals of getting his acting career back on track and finding love.
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Books: The Last Chapter?
Title: Books: The Last Chapter?
Character: Self
Released: December 13, 2011
Type: Movie
Will the rise of electronic books mark the final chapter in the love story between traditional books and their readers? Alan Yentob discusses the subject with a host of writers.
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Being Alan Bennett
Title: Being Alan Bennett
Character: Himself
Released: December 5, 2009
Type: Movie
Documentary providing a rare glimpse into the life of Alan Bennett, one of the UK's best-loved writers, with interviews, archive footage and new work.
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Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
Title: Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
Character: Self
Released: December 9, 2004
Type: Movie
The Secret Policeman benefit shows for Amnesty International brought together comedy grand masters - from Python and Beyond the Fringe - and performers then relatively unknown, like Rowan Atkinson. Narrated by Dawn French, the programme includes interviews with many of the comedians and musicians who took part: John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Michael Palin, Sting, Lenny Henry and many more. The shows and their stars had a huge effect on modern British comedy. There are few comics today whose careers have not been heavily influenced by the anarchic and surreal humour of these events.
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The Young Visiters
Title: The Young Visiters
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: December 26, 2003
Type: Movie
The Young Visiters, written in twelve days by nine-year-old Daisy Ashford in 1890, is a surreal blend of naiveté, precocious perception and inadvertent social satire.
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Title: Meg and Mog
Character: Owl
Released: October 27, 2003
Type: TV
British children's series about a well-meaning witch, her anarchist cat, an owl and a bit of magic. Together, these odd characters create a colorful and eventful world - spiced with mystery.
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The Importance of Being Morrissey
Title: The Importance of Being Morrissey
Character: Himself
Released: June 8, 2003
Type: Movie
Featuring interviews by famous fans and followers, this rare documentary encapsulates the essence of the controversial, enigmatic, and deliciously melancholic bard.
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Title: Family Guy
Character: Alan Bennett (voice)
Released: January 31, 1999
Type: TV
Sick, twisted, politically incorrect and Freakin' Sweet animated series featuring the adventures of the dysfunctional Griffin family. Bumbling Peter and long-suffering Lois have three kids. Stewie (a brilliant but sadistic baby bent on killing his mother and taking over the world), Meg (the oldest, and is the most unpopular girl in town) and Chris (the middle kid, he's not very bright but has a passion for movies). The final member of the family is Brian - a talking dog and much more than a pet, he keeps Stewie in check whilst sipping Martinis and sorting through his own life issues.
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Did I Say Hairdressing? I Meant Astrophysics
Title: Did I Say Hairdressing? I Meant Astrophysics
Character: (voice)
Released: January 1, 1998
Type: Movie
This animated clip comments on different educational opportunities for boys and girls, and points out the positive impact of making all opportunities available to both sexes.
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Title: A Dance to the Music of Time
Character: Sillery
Released: October 9, 1997
Type: TV
A Dance to the Music of Time is a four-part adaptation of Anthony Powell's 12-volume novel sequence that aired on Channel 4 in 1997. The series is a sharp, comic portrait of upper-class and bohemian England, spanning almost a century, from the early 1920s to modern times.
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The Willows in Winter
Title: The Willows in Winter
Character: Mole
Released: December 26, 1996
Type: Movie
Hailed as the "rightful heir" to "The Wind in the Willows", William Horwood's critically acclaimed sequel comes to magical life in this beautifully animated feature-length classic. Join four of the best-loved characters in children's literature for their heart-warming and hilarious new adventure along the Riverbank, narrated by Academy Award-winner Vanessa Redgrave.
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In Love and War
Title: In Love and War
Character: Porter
Released: December 18, 1996
Type: Movie
After teenage ambulance driver Ernest Hemingway takes shrapnel in the leg during World War I, he falls in love with Agnes von Kurowsky, a beautiful older nurse at the hospital where he's sent to recover. Their affair slowly blossoms, until Hemingway boldly asks Agnes to be his wife and journey to America with him.
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The Wind in the Willows
Title: The Wind in the Willows
Character: Mole
Released: December 24, 1995
Type: Movie
Kenneth Grahame's literary classic about an enchanting world along the Riverbank has delighted readers for nearly a century. Now, this enduring beloved tale comes to life in this beautifully animated feature film from the producers of "The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends" and "The Snowman".
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Some Interesting Facts About Peter Cook
Title: Some Interesting Facts About Peter Cook
Character: Self
Released: December 19, 1995
Type: Movie
A documentary about the life of British satirist and founder of 'Private Eye' Peter Cook. “marvelous, engrossing tribute” Allison Pearson, The Observer “painstakingly constructed.. sharp yet sensitive” Victor Lewis-Smith
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The Madness of King George
Title: The Madness of King George
Character: 2nd MP
Released: December 28, 1994
Type: Movie
Aging King George III of England is exhibiting signs of madness, a problem little understood in 1788. As the monarch alternates between bouts of confusion and near-violent outbursts of temper, his hapless doctors attempt the ineffectual cures of the day. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte and Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger attempt to prevent the king's political enemies, led by the Prince of Wales, from usurping the throne.
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Portrait or Bust
Title: Portrait or Bust
Character: Himself
Released: April 4, 1994
Type: Movie
Alan Bennett's personal overview of art, filmed in the atmospheric location of a Leeds art gallery.
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Julie Walters and Friends
Title: Julie Walters and Friends
Released: December 29, 1991
Type: Movie
Julie Walters stars in new sketches by four accomplished writers who helped make her famous.
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Title: Julie Walters and Friends
Released: December 29, 1991
Type: TV
Julie Walters and Friends was a one-off comedy sketch show showcasing the talents of actress Julie Walters. Sketches were written by Walters' frequent collaborators, including Victoria Wood, Alan Bennett, Willy Russell and Alan Bleasdale. Walters portrayed new characters alongside roles she had previously been known for, including a monologue in which she appeared as Mrs Murray, her character from G.B.H, written by Bleasdale. The show was nominated for the Best Light Entertainment award at the 1992 BAFTAs.
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Title: Ashenden
Character: Grantly Caypor
Released: November 17, 1991
Type: TV
Four-part drama about a writer recruited into espionage work by British intelligence during the First World War. Based on the writings of Somerset Maugham
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Selling Hitler
Title: Selling Hitler
Character: Hugh Trevor-Roper
Released: June 11, 1991
Type: Movie
In 1981, Gerd Heidemann, a war correspondent and reporter with the German magazine Stern, makes what he believes is the literary and historical scoop of the century: the personal diaries of Adolf Hitler. Over the next two years, Heidemann and the senior management figures at Stern secretly pay 10 million German marks to a mysterious 'Dr Fischer' for the sixty volumes of 'Hitler's diaries'. However, to the dismay of all, it is discovered after the publication of first extract that the diaries are crude forgeries, faked by Stuttgart criminal Konrad Kujau.
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Title: Selling Hitler
Character: Hugh Trevor-Roper
Released: June 11, 1991
Type: TV
Based on the book by Robert Harris, this is a comic-dramatisation of the true story of the one of the most famous forgery cases in the world, the infamous 'Hitler Diaries' of the early 1980s. Jonathan Pryce stars as the German journalist Gerd Heidemann who convinces himself that he has discovered a set of secret diaries written by the leader of the Third Reich and tries to convince the world, making a fortune for himself in the process.
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Dinner at Noon
Title: Dinner at Noon
Character: Himself - Presenter
Released: August 8, 1988
Type: Movie
Writer Alan Bennett visits a hotel in the north of England, observes the guests, and reminisces about his experiences of staying in boarding-houses as a child.
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Talking Heads
Title: Talking Heads
Released: April 19, 1988
Type: Movie
Six monologues tell the stories of six different repressed souls: a man dominated by his mother, a vicar's wife, an inveterate letter writer, a hopeful actress, a recently widowed woman, and an elderly shut-in.
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Title: Talking Heads
Character: Graham Whittaker
Released: April 19, 1988
Type: TV
A series of dramatic monologues written for BBC television by the acclaimed British playwright Alan Bennett.
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Title: Fortunes of War
Character: Lord Pinkrose
Released: October 11, 1987
Type: TV
Fortunes of War is a 1987 BBC television adaptation of Olivia Manning's cycle of novels Fortunes of War. It stars Kenneth Branagh as Guy Pringle, lecturer in English Literature in Bucharest during the early part of the Second World War, and Emma Thompson as his wife Harriet. Other cast members included Ronald Pickup, Robert Stephens, Alan Bennett, Philip Madoc and Rupert Graves. The series stays relatively faithful to the original novels, with no notable departures from their plot.
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Dreamchild
Title: Dreamchild
Character: Mock Turtle (voice)
Released: October 4, 1985
Type: Movie
Eighty-year-old Alice Hargreaves is about to visit Columbia University to attend a reception in honor of author Lewis Carroll. As a child, Alice had a close friendship with the writer, and their relationship was the creative catalyst for Carroll's most beloved work. However, as Alice reflects on her experiences with the author, she realizes the complexity of their bond has had lasting, deeply felt ramifications.
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Title: The Glass Box
Character: Self (archival footage)
Released: April 9, 1985
Type: TV
Shelly Rohde meets various celebrities to ask them which personal treasures they would seal away in a glass box for future generations. Guests include Hughie Green, Edward Heath and Victoria Wood.
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The Merry Wives of Windsor
Title: The Merry Wives of Windsor
Character: Justice Shallow
Released: December 28, 1982
Type: Movie
When Sir John Falstaff decides that he wants to have a little fun he writes two letters to a pair of Window wives: Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. When they put their heads together and compare missives, they plan a practical joke or two to teach the knight a lesson. But Mistress Ford's husband is a very jealous man and is pumping Falstaff for information of the affair. Meanwhile the Pages' daughter Anne is beseiged by suitors.
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Intensive Care
Title: Intensive Care
Character: Denis Midgley
Released: November 9, 1982
Type: Movie
When Denis Midgley's father is rushed to hospital, Midgley drops everything to be by his side. They've never really got on, so Midgley wants to be sure he's there if his father ever regains consciousness. As he hates his job as a schoolteacher, and his home-life with his wife, her senile mother and their insolent teenage son, he has no qualms about lingering around the hospital. But as days turn into weeks, his father obstinately refuses to 'slip away', and Denis' motivation for staying by his father's bedside has more and more to do with Valery, a young nurse.
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The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
Title: The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
Character: Himself - Various Roles
Released: March 1, 1982
Type: Movie
Following the success of the 1979 show and the financial benefits accruing to Amnesty from the spin-off movie, TV special and record albums – Cleese, Lewis and Walker planned the next show to be a more spectacular event. Cleese focused on broadening the comedic talent to be presented at the show. In addition to the Amnesty show stalwarts drawn from the Oxbridge/Monty Python/Beyond The Fringe orbit, he invited newcomers such as Rowan Atkinson’s colleagues from the BBC TV show Not the Nine O'Clock News including Pamela Stephenson and Griff Rhys Jones; comedian Victoria Wood and regional comic Jasper Carrott. Lewis secured a return appearance by Billy Connolly and a debut appearance by "alternative" comedian Alexei Sayle who Lewis had recently discovered and was managing. Building on the success of Pete Townshend's 1979 appearance Lewis recruited other rock musicians to perform at the 1981 show including Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Donovan and Bob Geldof.
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Afternoon Off
Title: Afternoon Off
Character: Mr Petty
Released: February 3, 1979
Type: Movie
Lee, a Chinese man, works as a waiter in a hotel in England, despite speaking very little English. Told that a girl called Iris might be interested in him, on his afternoon off work he buys a box of chocolates and sets off to find her.
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Title: BBC Television Shakespeare
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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Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Title: Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: December 2, 1978
Type: Movie
A repressed night-school teacher, secretly homosexual, struggles to cope with his demanding, eccentric mother.
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Long Shot
Title: Long Shot
Character: Neville's Doctor
Released: November 17, 1978
Type: Movie
A budding Scottish film producer tries to get his ambitious Aberdeen-set western financed, and while he attracts some major stars and directors to the film he finds that with their support come more and more script changes... Filmed around the 1977 Edinburgh Film Festival, Long Shot is a deadpan satire about the trials and tribulations of British independent filmmaking, with terrific cameos from Wim Wenders, Susannah York, Stephen Frears, Alan Bennett and John Boorman.
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Title: The South Bank Show
Character: Self
Released: January 14, 1978
Type: TV
The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show that was produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.
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A Visit from Miss Prothero
Title: A Visit from Miss Prothero
Character: Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Released: January 11, 1978
Type: Movie
Arthur Dodsworth has recently retired. He lives alone except for his budgie and memories of his late wife Winnie. One afternoon his nap is interrupted by the doorbell; his former secretary, Peggy Prothero, has come to visit. A brash, charmless woman who seems to take no pleasure in anything but putting people down, Miss Prothero wants to fill her old boss in on all the changes that have taken place at work since he left. Dodsworth isn't very curious, and as the visit wears on it puts a little strain on his politeness and patience. Miss Prothero doesn't enjoy it much either, but lingers on as there's a bombshell she wants to drop. The docketing system Dodsworth introduced thirty years earlier, which revolutionised the firm, has been scrapped by her adored new boss Mr Skinner. The crowning achievement of Dodsworth's career has just become obsolete, and she wants to tell him all about it.
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Pleasure at Her Majesty's
Title: Pleasure at Her Majesty's
Character: Himself
Released: December 29, 1976
Type: Movie
The first of the Amnesty International comedy benefit galas. The title is a play on the phrase at Her Majesty's pleasure (the show was performed at Her Majesty's Theatre, London). This show came to be considered part of the Secret Policeman's Ball series of shows that it inspired, although it pre-dated the first show in the series by three years. The event was organized by a team of three: Monty Python member John Cleese, Amnesty's Assistant Director Peter Luff and Transatlantic Records executive Martin Lewis. It featured the cream of Britain's comedic talent of the era, setting a precedent that would inspire many subsequent Amnesty galas...
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Title: The Secret Policeman's Ball
Character: Self
Released: April 1, 1976
Type: TV
A series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but later included leading musicians and actors. The Secret Policeman's Ball shows are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years.
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Title: Play for Today
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.
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Every Home Should Have One
Title: Every Home Should Have One
Character: Defence Solicitor
Released: March 5, 1970
Type: Movie
Teddy works for a large advertising company. Given the seemingly impossible task of selling frozen porridge, he decides to produce commercials that make the product seem sexy. This leads him to confrontation with the "Keep Television Clean" movement, of which his wife is a senior member.
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Alice in Wonderland
Title: Alice in Wonderland
Character: Mouse
Released: December 28, 1966
Type: Movie
Alice in Wonderland (1966) is a BBC television play based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was directed by Jonathan Miller, then most widely known for his appearance in the long-running satirical revue Beyond the Fringe.
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Title: On the Margin
Released: November 9, 1966
Type: TV
On the Margin was a British satirical comedy sketch show written and performed by Alan Bennett and a regular cast including John Sergeant, Virginia Stride, Madge Hindle and Yvonne Gilan. Guest performers included John Fortune and Jonathan Miller. The show also featured songs and poems by John Betjeman and Philip Larkin. Each episode featured a mixture of sketches, some prophesying his later television dramas such as the quasi-soap, Streets Ahead, Life and Times in NW1, and more unexpectedly, serious poetry and music slots incorporating readings by Michael Hordern and Prunella Scales with archive footage of music-hall stars. This personalised nostalgic element distinguished On the Margin from other contemporary sketch shows, with Bennett's satirical swipes at Britain, integrated with his genuine love of its cultural heritage. It was directed by Sydney Lotterby, produced by Patrick Garland and was broadcast between 9 November and 14 December 1966 on BBC 2. It was repeated twice in 1967, but the tapes were wiped in the 1970s so the main surviving evidence of the series are the scripts. However, a compilation CD of audio extracts was released in 2009.
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The Drinking Party
Title: The Drinking Party
Character: Eryximachus
Released: November 14, 1965
Type: Movie
An interpretation of Plato's Symposium as a picnic organised by a University don for his students. Each guest is asked to explain the nature of love before the Don, through a series of questions, reaches a unifying conclusion.
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Beyond the Fringe
Title: Beyond the Fringe
Character: Various Characters
Released: December 12, 1964
Type: Movie
A TV version of the stage show originally performed at the Edinburgh Fringe (August 1960) and in London (Fortune Theatre, May 1961) and Broadway (October 1962).
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Title: Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character: Osric
Released: December 24, 1951
Type: TV
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The longest-running primetime series in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning during 1951 and continuing into 2013. From 1954 onward, all of its productions have been shown in color, although color television video productions were extremely rare in 1954. Many television movies have been shown on the program since its debut, though the program began with live telecasts of dramas and then changed to videotaped productions before finally changing to filmed ones. The series has received eighty Emmy Awards, twenty-four Christopher Awards, eleven Peabody Awards, nine Golden Globes, and four Humanitas Prizes. Once a common practice in American television, it is the last remaining television program such that the title includes the name of the sponsor. Unlike other long-running TV series still on the air, it differs in that it broadcasts only occasionally and not on a weekly broadcast programming schedule.