William Hartnell

William Hartnell

Born: January 8, 1908
Died: April 23, 1975
in St. Pancras, London, England, UK
William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975), also known as Billy Hartnell or Bill Hartnell, was an English actor. Hartnell played the first incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, from 1963 to 1966. He was also known for his roles as Sergeant Grimshaw, the title character of the first Carry On film, Carry On Sergeant in 1958, and Company Sergeant Major Percy Bullimore in the sitcom The Army Game from 1957 until 1958, and again in 1960.

Hartnell entered the theatre in 1925 working under Frank Benson as a general stagehand. He appeared in numerous Shakespearian plays, including The Merchant of Venice (1926), Julius Caesar (1926), As You Like It (1926), Hamlet (1926), The Tempest (1926) and Macbeth (1926). He also appeared in She Stoops to Conquer (1926), School for Scandal (1926) and Good Morning, Bill (1927), before performing in Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner (1928). This play was written by Robert Neilson Stephens and E. Lyall Swete. It featured the actress Heather McIntyre, whom he married during the following year. His first of more than sixty film appearances was in Say It With Music (1932).

Hartnell continued to play comic characters until he was cast in the robust role of Sergeant Ned Fletcher in The Way Ahead (1944). From then on his career was defined by playing mainly policemen, soldiers, and thugs.

Hartnell's performance in This Sporting Life was noted by Verity Lambert, the producer who was setting up a new science-fiction television series for the BBC entitled Doctor Who; and, mainly on the strength of that performance, Lambert offered him the title role.

Movies for William Hartnell...

Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
Title: Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
Character: The Doctor (voice)
Released: March 2, 2024
Type: Movie
While the Doctor plays the Trilogic Game, Steven and Dodo are forced to play seemingly childish but ultimately dangerous games with the aim of being reunited and getting back to the Tardis. This brand new animated version has been created using the original audio recordings.
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Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
Title: Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
Character: The Doctor (archive footage)
Released: November 23, 2023
Type: Movie
The very first crew of the TARDIS land in a petrified forest on an alien planet. Determined to explore, the Doctor leads his companions into the metal city, where they discover danger at every corner and what will become his deadliest enemy... the mutant Daleks. It's time to encounter the Daleks once again, but this time in a way you've never seen them before. Originally transmitted in December 1963 to February 1964, the seven original episodes of the first Dalek story have received a cosmic makeover, dazzlingly colourised and woven together into a 75-minute blockbuster with brand-new sound and a brand-new score created by Mark Ayres. The Daleks has been gloriously updated, whilst ensuring the original story remains as thrilling as it was in 1963.
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Talking Doctor Who
Title: Talking Doctor Who
Character: Self / The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Released: November 1, 2023
Type: Movie
As part of the sixtieth anniversary celebrations of Doctor Who, David Tennant time-travels back through the BBC archives to tell the story of the Doctor’s classic era.
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Title: Tales of the Tardis
Character: The Doctor
Released: November 1, 2023
Type: TV
Classic Doctor Who duos are reunited as they board a very special TARDIS on a nostalgic voyage through space and time.
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Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
Title: Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
Character: The Doctor (voice)
Released: November 15, 2021
Type: Movie
The TARDIS lands on a planet on the verge of total annihilation as it drifts too close to the three suns which its orbits.
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Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
Title: Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
Character: The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Released: December 25, 2017
Type: Movie
As the Twelfth Doctor nears regeneration, he stumbles on his first incarnation, also refusing to change. It takes a captain, a glass avatar and a familiar face to convince the Doctors the universe still needs them.
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Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
Title: Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
Character: The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Released: November 23, 2013
Type: Movie
In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London's National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor's own dangerous past comes back to haunt him.
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An Adventure in Space and Time
Title: An Adventure in Space and Time
Character: The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Released: November 21, 2013
Type: Movie
Actor William Hartnell felt trapped by a succession of hard-man roles while wannabe producer Verity Lambert was frustrated by the TV industry's glass ceiling. Both of them were to find unlikely hope and unexpected challenges in the form of a Saturday tea-time drama. Allied with a team of unusual but brilliant people, they went on to create the longest running science fiction series ever made.
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Title: Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited
Character: Himself
Released: January 27, 2013
Type: TV
As the Doctor's newest companion, Clara Oswald, steps into the TARDIS, take a look back at previous companions that have won over The Doctor's hearts in Doctor Who: The Companions. Along the way, companions past and present talk about how the show has changed their lives, and how they've never quite managed to leave the TARDIS behind.
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Don't Lose Your Head
Title: Don't Lose Your Head
Character: The Doctor (archive footage)
Released: January 28, 2012
Type: Movie
Don't Lose Your Head was a DVD documentary concerning Doctor Who that was released on 28 January 2013.
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Vision On
Title: Vision On
Character: The Doctor (archive footage)
Released: January 23, 2012
Type: Movie
Vision On was a documentary of Clive Doig discussing the role of the vision mixer in making early Doctor Who episodes, including footage and discussion of studio mishaps that occurred on screen.
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The Sets of Marinus
Title: The Sets of Marinus
Character: The Doctor (archive footage)
Released: September 21, 2009
Type: Movie
The Sets of Marinus is a BBC documentary looking at set design for the Doctor Who story The Keys of Marinus. It was released on the DVD of the serial.
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Creation of the Daleks
Title: Creation of the Daleks
Character: The Doctor (archive footage)
Released: January 31, 2006
Type: Movie
Featured on the "Doctor Who: The Beginning" box set and tells the story of the Creation of the Daleks.
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Masters of Sound
Title: Masters of Sound
Character: The Doctor (archive footage)
Released: January 30, 2006
Type: Movie
Documentary on the sound effects of Doctor Who in the 1960s.
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Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
Title: Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
Character: The Doctor (archive footage)
Released: January 30, 2006
Type: Movie
A feature on Doctor Who: The Beginning box set which tells the stories of the Doctor's time machine - the TARDIS.
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Title: Doctor Who
Character: The Doctor (archive footage)
Released: March 26, 2005
Type: TV
The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.
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Remembering 'The Aztecs'
Title: Remembering 'The Aztecs'
Character: The Doctor (archive footage)
Released: October 21, 2002
Type: Movie
The guest actors of the 1964 "Doctor Who" (1963) story, "The Aztecs", reminisce about their time on the programme and making the series.
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Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
Title: Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
Character: The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Released: November 25, 1983
Type: Movie
Many incarnations of the Doctors and their old companions are taken out of time and deposited in the Death Zone on Gallifrey. There, they must battle the Master, Daleks, Cybermen and Yeti in order to reach the Dark Tower and discover the Tomb of Rassilon.
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Doctor Who: Earthshock
Title: Doctor Who: Earthshock
Character: The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Released: March 16, 1982
Type: Movie
The Doctor and his companions must prevent the Cybermen from bombing the Earth in the 26th century. It is a battle not everyone will survive...
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That's Carry On!
Title: That's Carry On!
Character: Sergeant Grimshawe
Released: January 1, 1977
Type: Movie
Celebrating twenty years of classic Carry On films, two of the films’ best-loved stars, Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor return to Pinewood film studios to unwrap some rib-tickling moments from the series. From the original, military mayhem of Carry On Sergeant, through to the really ancient archaeological gags of Carry On Behind, our saucy hosts get their titters out for this laugh-a-second gallop through the most successful series of British comedy films ever made.
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Doctor Who: The Three Doctors
Title: Doctor Who: The Three Doctors
Character: The Doctor
Released: January 20, 1973
Type: Movie
Time itself is in peril! The Time Lords and UNIT find themselves besieged by a mythic figure from the Time Lords' past hell-bent on destruction. The only way to defeat him is to break the First Law of Time and let the Doctor help himself — literally...
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Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
Title: Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
Character: The Doctor (1)
Released: October 29, 1966
Type: Movie
The Doctor's TARDIS lands at the Snowcap space tracking station in Antarctica in December 1986. A routine space mission starts going wrong. When the base personnel's suspicions are roused, the Doctor informs them that the space capsule is being affected by the gravitational pull of another planet — a tenth planet in the Solar system.
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Doctor Who: The Smugglers
Title: Doctor Who: The Smugglers
Character: The Doctor
Released: October 1, 1966
Type: Movie
The TARDIS arrives on the coast of seventeenth century Cornwall — much to the astonishment of Polly and Ben. Pirates led by Captain Samuel Pike and his henchman Cherub are searching for a hidden treasure, while a smuggling ring masterminded by the local squire is trying to off-load contraband.
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Doctor Who: The War Machines
Title: Doctor Who: The War Machines
Character: The Doctor
Released: July 16, 1966
Type: Movie
The TARDIS arrives in London in 1966 and the First Doctor and Dodo visit the Post Office Tower. There they meet Professor Brett, whose revolutionary new computer WOTAN (Will Operating Thought ANalogue) can actually think for itself and is shortly to be linked up to other major computers around the world — a project overseen by civil servant Sir Charles Summer.
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Doctor Who: The Savages
Title: Doctor Who: The Savages
Character: The Doctor
Released: June 18, 1966
Type: Movie
The TARDIS has arrived on a far-distant and seemingly idyllic world. Yet the Doctor, Steven and Dodo learn it hides a terrible secret: the apparently civilised Elders maintain their advanced society by draining and transferring to themselves the life-force of the defenceless Savages.
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Doctor Who: The Gunfighters
Title: Doctor Who: The Gunfighters
Character: The Doctor
Released: May 21, 1966
Type: Movie
Arriving in the town of Tombstone, the First Doctor finds himself involved with gunmen out to kill Doc Holliday...
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Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
Title: Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
Character: The Doctor
Released: April 23, 1966
Type: Movie
The travellers arrive in a strange domain presided over by the Celestial Toymaker — an enigmatic, immortal entity who forces them to play a series of games, failure at which will render them his playthings for all eternity.
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Doctor Who: The Ark
Title: Doctor Who: The Ark
Character: The Doctor
Released: March 26, 1966
Type: Movie
The Doctor and his companions Steven Taylor and Dodo Chaplet arrive some ten million years into the future, on board a generation starship which is carrying the last of humanity away from an Earth that is about to fall into the Sun. However, the cold that Dodo has could prove devastating to these future humans and their servants, the Monoids.
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Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
Title: Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
Character: The Doctor/Abbot of Amboise
Released: February 26, 1966
Type: Movie
The TARDIS materialises in Paris in the year 1572 and the Doctor decides to visit the famous apothecary Charles Preslin. Steven, meanwhile, is befriended by a group of Huguenots from the household of the Protestant Admiral de Coligny. Having rescued a young serving girl, Anne Chaplet, from some pursuing guards, the Huguenots gain their first inkling of a heinous plan being hatched at the command of the Catholic Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici.
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Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
Title: Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
Character: The Doctor
Released: January 29, 1966
Type: Movie
In the year 4000, the Daleks conspire to conquer the Solar System. Their scheme involves treachery at the highest levels and a weapon capable of destroying the very fabric of time. Only the Doctor and his friends can prevent catastrophe — and there is no guarantee they will escape with their lives...
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Doctor Who: The Myth Makers
Title: Doctor Who: The Myth Makers
Character: The Doctor
Released: November 6, 1965
Type: Movie
When the TARDIS arrives on the plains of Asia Minor not far from the besieged city of Troy, the Doctor is hailed by Achilles as the mighty god Zeus and taken to the Greek camp. He meets Agamemnon and Odysseus. Forced to admit he is a mere mortal — albeit a traveller in space and time — he is given two days to devise a scheme to capture Troy. Steven and Vicki, meanwhile, have been taken prisoner by the Trojans. Vicki, believed to possess supernatural powers, is given two days to banish the Greeks to prove she is not a spy.
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Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
Title: Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
Character: The Doctor
Released: October 2, 1965
Type: Movie
The Doctor, Vicki and Steven arrive on an arid planet where they meet the beautiful Drahvins and the hideous Rills. Each has crash-landed after a confrontation in space. The Rills are friendly, compassionate explorers. The Drahvins are dull-witted, cloned soldiers, terrorised by the intelligent, warlike matriarch Maaga.
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Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
Title: Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
Character: The Doctor
Released: July 24, 1965
Type: Movie
In England, 1066, the Doctor confronts a mysterious Monk who is attempting to change history.
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Doctor Who: The Chase
Title: Doctor Who: The Chase
Character: The Doctor
Released: June 26, 1965
Type: Movie
The Doctor and his companions are pursued through time and space by the Daleks on the desert planet Aridius and beyond.
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Doctor Who: The Space Museum
Title: Doctor Who: The Space Museum
Character: The Doctor
Released: May 15, 1965
Type: Movie
On the planet Xeros, the TARDIS crew discover their own future selves frozen in time as exhibits in a galactic museum and must avert this potential future.
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Doctor Who: The Crusade
Title: Doctor Who: The Crusade
Character: The Doctor
Released: April 17, 1965
Type: Movie
In 12th century Palestine, the Doctor and his friends are drawn into the holy war between the forces of King Richard the Lionheart and the Saracen ruler Saladin.
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Title: Doctor Who: Lost in Time
Character: The Doctor
Released: March 27, 1965
Type: TV
A digitally restored collection of rare 1960s Doctor Who episodes, from stories which no longer exist in their entirety. They offer a unique glimpse at classic adventures which are now lost in time ...
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Doctor Who: The Web Planet
Title: Doctor Who: The Web Planet
Character: The Doctor
Released: March 20, 1965
Type: Movie
On the planet Vortis, the Doctor and his companions aid the butterfly-like Menoptra in their battle against the parasitic Animus and its mind-controlled minions, the ant-like Zarbi.
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Doctor Who: The Romans
Title: Doctor Who: The Romans
Character: The Doctor
Released: February 6, 1965
Type: Movie
The TARDIS crew take up residence near Rome in 64AD, where Ian and Barbara are kidnapped by slave traders, and the Doctor's imitation of Maximus Pettulian sees him taken to the court of Emperor Nero where he inadvertently plays a part in deciding the course of history...
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Doctor Who: The Rescue
Title: Doctor Who: The Rescue
Character: The Doctor
Released: January 9, 1965
Type: Movie
On the planet Dido, the Doctor, Ian and Barbara meet two survivors from a crashed spaceship who are terrorised by the monster Koquillion.
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Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
Title: Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
Character: The Doctor
Released: December 26, 1964
Type: Movie
The TARDIS arrives in a desolate future London, where the Doctor discovers his old enemies the Daleks have taken control of Earth.
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Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
Title: Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
Character: The Doctor
Released: November 14, 1964
Type: Movie
When the TARDIS malfunctions, it and its travellers land on Earth at the size of insects. They uncover a murderous plot involving a new insecticide, but how can they stop the crime in their miniaturised condition?
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Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
Title: Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
Character: The Doctor
Released: September 12, 1964
Type: Movie
The TARDIS materialises not far from Paris in 1794 — one of the bloodiest years following the French Revolution of 1789. The travellers become involved with an escape chain rescuing prisoners from the guillotine and get caught up in the machinations of an English undercover spy, James Stirling — alias Lemaitre, governor of the Conciergerie prison.
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Doctor Who: The Sensorites
Title: Doctor Who: The Sensorites
Character: The Doctor
Released: August 1, 1964
Type: Movie
The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan arrive in the TARDIS on board a spaceship. Their initial concern is for the ship's human crew, who are suffering from telepathic interference from the Sensorites, but Susan communicates with the Sensorites and finds the aliens fear an attack by the humans and are just defending themselves. Travelling to the Sense Sphere (the Sensorites' planet) the Doctor seeks to cure an illness to which the Sensorites and Ian have succumbed, but finds it has been caused by deliberate poisoning. The political manoeuvring of the Sensorite City Administrator poses another threat to the TARDIS crew as he seeks to discredit and implicate them.
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Doctor Who: The Aztecs
Title: Doctor Who: The Aztecs
Character: The Doctor
Released: June 13, 1964
Type: Movie
The TARDIS materialises inside an Aztec tomb. Outside it, the Doctor and his companions soon discover that Mexico in the 15th century is a bloodthirsty and dangerous place... And with Barbara mistaken for a reincarnation of an ancient high priest called Yetaxa, the history teacher thinks that she can put an end to the barbaric human sacrifices once and for all. But can she rewrite history without disastrous consequences?
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Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus
Title: Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus
Character: The Doctor
Released: May 16, 1964
Type: Movie
The TARDIS arrives on the planet Marinus on an island of glass surrounded by a sea of acid. The travellers are forced by the elderly Arbitan to retrieve four of the five operating keys to a machine called the Conscience of Marinus, of which he is the keeper. These have been hidden in different locations around the planet to prevent them falling into the hands of the evil Yartek and his Voord warriors, who plan to seize the machine and use its originally benevolent mind-influencing power for their own sinister purposes.
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Doctor Who: Marco Polo
Title: Doctor Who: Marco Polo
Character: The Doctor
Released: April 4, 1964
Type: Movie
The TARDIS crew lands in the Himalayas of Cathay in 1289, their ship badly damaged, and are picked up by Marco Polo's caravan on its way along the fabled Silk Road to see the Emperor Kublai Khan. The story concerns the Doctor and his companions' attempts to thwart the machinations of Tegana, who attempts to sabotage the caravan along its travels through the Pamir Plateau and across the treacherous Gobi Desert, and ultimately to assassinate Kublai Khan in Peking, at the height of his imperial power.
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Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction
Title: Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction
Character: Dr. Who
Released: February 15, 1964
Type: Movie
In this completely TARDIS-based story, the crew find themselves and their ship acting very strangely indeed. Blame runs high for the Ship's unusual behavior, until the Doctor realizes the TARDIS itself may be trying to warn them...
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Doctor Who: The Daleks
Title: Doctor Who: The Daleks
Character: Dr. Who
Released: February 1, 1964
Type: Movie
The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Susan, Barbara, and Ian to the planet Skaro where they meet two indigenous races — the Daleks, malicious mutant creatures encased in armoured travel machines, and the Thals, beautiful humanoids with pacifist principles. They convince the Thals of the need to fight for their own survival.
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Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
Title: Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
Character: Dr. Who
Released: November 23, 1963
Type: Movie
Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton, two humble teachers during 1963, discover a genius student's grandfather, simply known as "the Doctor", and his police box time machine. Deciding that the pair knows too much about his otherworldly origins, they are whisked away on a journey through time and space.
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Title: Doctor Who
Character: The Doctor
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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The World Ten Times Over
Title: The World Ten Times Over
Character: Dad
Released: October 31, 1963
Type: Movie
Early 1960s realist drama following a day in the lives of two London flatmates. Sylvia Syms and June Ritchie star as Billa and Ginnie, two singletons sharing a London flat who both work as night club hostesses in the same Soho club. Tensions arise when Ginnie becomes romantically entangled with rich married businessman Bob Shelbourne (Edward Judd), causing Billa to become jealous of their relationship.
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To Have and to Hold
Title: To Have and to Hold
Character: Insp. Roberts
Released: July 1, 1963
Type: Movie
A young woman is harassed by a man and seeks help from the police. The officer who visits her falls in love with her, but shortly after she is murdered.
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Heavens Above!
Title: Heavens Above!
Character: Major Fowler
Released: May 20, 1963
Type: Movie
A naive but caring prison chaplain, who happens to have the same last name as an upper class cleric, is by mistake appointed as vicar to a small and prosperous country town. His belief in charity and forgiveness sets him at odds with the conservative and narrow-minded locals, and he soon creates social ructions by appointing a black dustman as his churchwarden, taking in a gypsy family, and persuading the local landowner to provide free food for the church to distribute free to the people of the town. When the congregation leaders realise the mistake and call for the Church of England to remove him, this turns out to be a very, very difficult issue - until one clergyman realises that a British project to send a man into space is in need of an astronaut...
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This Sporting Life
Title: This Sporting Life
Character: 'Dad' Johnson
Released: February 7, 1963
Type: Movie
In Northern England in the early 1960s, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an immediate star in the rugby league team run by local employer Weaver.
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Tomorrow at Ten
Title: Tomorrow at Ten
Character: Freddie Maddox
Released: September 1, 1962
Type: Movie
A British policeman (John Gregson) tries to find a rich man's (Alec Clunes) son before a kidnapper's (Robert Shaw) time bomb blows.
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Title: Ghost Squad
Released: September 9, 1961
Type: TV
Ghost Squad, known as G.S.5 for its third series, was a crime drama series about an elite division of Scotland Yard that ran between 1961 and 1964. Each episode the Ghost Squad would investigate cases that fell outside the scope of normal police work. Despite the show and characters being fictional, an actual division did exist within the Metropolitan Police Service at the time. Inspiration for the series was taken from a book of the same name, written by John Gosling — a retired police officer and former member of the team. Although the real-life squad only operated in London, the fictionalised team travelled internationally; however — as was typical of the time — most foreign locations were actually a combination of stock footage and sets at Independent Artists Studio at Beaconsfield and Elstree Studios. Music was by Philip Green. The show was produced by ITC Entertainment, along with Rank Organisation TV and ATV. It was the first ITC show filmed to fit the one hour time-slot — setting the trend for the majority of ITC's future output. Another common ITC trait was to feature an American, in this case Michael Quinn, in a leading role so as to increase the chances of international sales. At 6' 3", Quinn often towered over his co-workers. This was especially noticeable in the first series title sequence showing him walking through a crowd walking in the opposite direction. He frequently smoked in the show as did many others. The second series had a different title sequence and Neil Hallett sometimes replaced Quinn. Hallett looked more like a spy while Quinn looked a bit like a playboy. Quinn was replaced by Australian actor, Ray Barrett in the third series. Ray Austin played Billy Clay in and was also Stunt Director on all series bringing the action to life. Austin went on to become a renowned TV director in Hollywood and the UK.
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Piccadilly Third Stop
Title: Piccadilly Third Stop
Character: Colonel
Released: September 5, 1960
Type: Movie
A playboy tries to recruit a gang, who include an American who needs cash to satisfy his wife's expensive tastes, and an old time expert cracksman, to rob a foreign embassy's safe, but trouble starts when the plan begins to go wrong.
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And the Same to You
Title: And the Same to You
Character: Walter 'Wally' Burton
Released: February 1, 1960
Type: Movie
Dickie Dreadnought is the boxing-mad nephew of pious clergyman Reverend Sydney Mullet. To mollify his disapproving uncle, Dickie embarks on an elaborate plan to keep his budding boxing career a secret, with he and his tough-talking promoter Wally Burton both pretending to be devout 'men of the cloth'.
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Jackpot
Title: Jackpot
Character: Supt. Frawley
Released: January 1, 1960
Type: Movie
Back in London after serving time, an ex-convict learns that his wife is not willing to return to him. He plans to crack a safe at a club.
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The Desperate Man
Title: The Desperate Man
Character: Smith
Released: December 1, 1959
Type: Movie
Two reporters are held hostage in old castle, by thief, looking for jewels, that he had buried, after robbing a local house.
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The Night We Dropped a Clanger
Title: The Night We Dropped a Clanger
Character: Sgt. Bright
Released: October 10, 1959
Type: Movie
The movie takes place during WWII. A dashing British RAF Officer is earmarked for a secret mission behind enemy lines in occupied France, but wishing to distract the enemy, enlists a person to double for him and thereby draw attention to North Africa . An unlikely airman is found and tutored in the ways of an English officer.
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Title: No Hiding Place
Released: September 16, 1959
Type: TV
No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series Murder Bag and Crime Sheet, all starring Raymond Francis as Detective Superintendent, later Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart.
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The Mouse That Roared
Title: The Mouse That Roared
Character: Will Buckley
Released: July 17, 1959
Type: Movie
The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign aid. They send an invasion force (in chain mail, armed with bows and arrows) to New York and they arrive during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets.
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Shake Hands with the Devil
Title: Shake Hands with the Devil
Character: Sergeant Jenkins
Released: June 24, 1959
Type: Movie
In 1921 Dublin, the IRA battles the "Black & Tans," special British forces given to harsh measures. Irish-American medical student Kerry O'Shea hopes to stay aloof, but saving a wounded friend gets him outlawed, and inexorably drawn into the rebel organization...under his former professor Sean Lenihan, who has "shaken hands with the devil" and begun to think of fighting as an end in itself. Complications arise when Kerry falls for a beautiful English hostage, and the British offer a peace treaty that is not enough to satisfy Lenihan.
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Strictly Confidential
Title: Strictly Confidential
Released: January 1, 1959
Type: Movie
Two con-men just released from prison get straight back to their old tricks.
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Carry On Sergeant
Title: Carry On Sergeant
Character: Sergeant Grimshawe
Released: August 15, 1958
Type: Movie
Fall in for the first ever film in the highly successful Carry On comedy series—now an acclaimed British institution. Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey are the prankish misfits who become the hilarious bane of Army Officers existence when he makes a bet he will turn them into ‘Star Squad’ Award soldiers—or bust!
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Date with Disaster
Title: Date with Disaster
Character: Tracey
Released: January 1, 1958
Type: Movie
A car salesman and suspected safecracker Miles saves his fiancee Sue from those who would kidnap her.
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The Hypnotist
Title: The Hypnotist
Character: Inspector Ross
Released: July 29, 1957
Type: Movie
Culver is a psychiatrist who uses hypnotism to treat his patients. When Carpenter, a test pilot, comes to see him complaining of blackouts that make his job difficult, Culver tries to mesmerise him into killing his wife.
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Hell Drivers
Title: Hell Drivers
Character: Cartley, Hawlett Manager
Released: July 23, 1957
Type: Movie
An ex-con trying to go clean ends up working for a crooked trucking company swindling money.
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Title: The Army Game
Released: June 19, 1957
Type: TV
The Army Game is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1957 to 1961. Made in black-and-white, it is about National Service conscription to the post-war British Army. It was created by Sid Colin. Many stars, like Charles Hawtrey, William Hartnell, Bernard Bresslaw, Alfie Bass and Dick Emery became household names, and appeared in the Carry On films, which began with Carry On Sergeant, virtually a spin-off. It was made for the ITV network by Granada Television.
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Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
Title: Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
Character: Leading Seaman Leslie Frank
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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Tons of Trouble
Title: Tons of Trouble
Character: Bert
Released: April 9, 1956
Type: Movie
An apartment handyman is unusually attached to a pair of boilers he names "Mavis" and "Ethel."
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Private's Progress
Title: Private's Progress
Character: Sgt. Sutton
Released: February 17, 1956
Type: Movie
Stanley Windrush has to interrupt his university education when he is called up towards the end of the war. He quickly proves himself not to be officer material, but befriends wily Private Percival Cox who knows exactly how all the scams work in the confused world of the British Army. And Stanley's brigadier War Office uncle seems to be up to something more than a bit shady too - and they are both soon working for him, behind the enemy lines.
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Doublecross
Title: Doublecross
Character: Herbert Whiteway
Released: February 1, 1956
Type: Movie
A Cornish fisherman becomes involved with Iron Curtain spies.
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Josephine and Men
Title: Josephine and Men
Character: Detective Sgt. Parsons
Released: November 9, 1955
Type: Movie
The trouble with Josephine is that her ever-loving and over-sympathetic nature leads her to switch from needful men to even more needful men...
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Footsteps in the Fog
Title: Footsteps in the Fog
Character: Herbert Moresby
Released: September 14, 1955
Type: Movie
A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.
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Will Any Gentleman...?
Title: Will Any Gentleman...?
Character: Detective Inspector Martin
Released: August 25, 1953
Type: Movie
A trip to the theatre changes a meek bank clerk's life, as he undergoes hypnosis and leaves without being woken up. Suddenly, he believes he is the world's greatest lover and becomes a terrorizing Casanova.
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The Holly and the Ivy
Title: The Holly and the Ivy
Character: Company Sergeant Major
Released: December 3, 1952
Type: Movie
An English clergyman's neglect of his grown children, in his zeal to tend to his parishioners, comes to the surface at a Christmas family gathering.
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The Ringer
Title: The Ringer
Character: Sam Hackett
Released: November 24, 1952
Type: Movie
An underhand solicitor receives threatening notes, and the police are called in to protect him.
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The Pickwick Papers
Title: The Pickwick Papers
Character: Irate Cabman
Released: November 14, 1952
Type: Movie
The Pickwick Club sends Mr. Pickwick and a group of friends to travel across England and to report back on the interesting things they find...
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The Magic Box
Title: The Magic Box
Character: Recruiting Sergeant
Released: January 1, 1952
Type: Movie
Now old, ill, poor, and largely forgotten, William Freise-Greene was once very different. As young and handsome William Green he changed his name to include his first wife's so that it sounded more impressive for the photographic portrait work he was so good at. But he was also an inventor and his search for a way to project moving pictures became an obsession that ultimately changed the life of all those he loved.
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The Dark Man
Title: The Dark Man
Character: Superintendent of Police
Released: January 22, 1951
Type: Movie
A killer called 'The Dark Man' commits double murder. This is witnessed by the young aspiring actress Molly Lester. The Dark Man tries everything to put Molly out of the way. Detective Inspector Viner of Scotland Yard investigates the murders.
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Double Confession
Title: Double Confession
Character: Charlie Durham
Released: April 30, 1950
Type: Movie
The hero discovers his estranged wife dead and tries to frame her lover for the murder. He becomes involved with the criminals who make various unsuccessful attempts on his life while the police clear up the mystery.
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The Lost People
Title: The Lost People
Character: Barnes
Released: August 22, 1949
Type: Movie
Set in a German theatre after the Second World War, two British soldiers are holding a disparate and hostile band of refugees in this theatre, prior to returning them to their homelands. The soldiers have difficulty dealing with the rivalries between Serb and Croat, resistance fighter and collaborator, Pole and Russian, etc. The threat of plague briefly unites them, but eventually even this wears off and the refugees unite in their hostility to the British.
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Now Barabbas
Title: Now Barabbas
Character: Warder Jackson
Released: May 24, 1949
Type: Movie
A prison governor deals with a variety of different prisoners, including a charming murderer.
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Escape
Title: Escape
Character: Inspector Harris
Released: March 1, 1948
Type: Movie
A convict sentenced to three years for killing a detective escapes from a prison and goes on the run aided by a local girl.
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Brighton Rock
Title: Brighton Rock
Character: Dallow
Released: January 9, 1948
Type: Movie
Centring on the activities of a gang of assorted criminals and, in particular, their leader – a vicious young hoodlum known as "Pinkie" – the film's main thematic concern is the criminal underbelly evident in inter-war Brighton.
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Temptation Harbour
Title: Temptation Harbour
Character: Jim Brown
Released: February 27, 1947
Type: Movie
The story of a harbor signalman who retrieves a suitcase full of money after witnessing a murder, fails to report it to the police, and finds himself the object of murderous and mercenary interest.
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Odd Man Out
Title: Odd Man Out
Character: Fencie - the barman
Released: January 30, 1947
Type: Movie
Belfast police conduct a door-to-door manhunt for an IRA gunman wounded in a daring robbery.
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Appointment with Crime
Title: Appointment with Crime
Character: Leo Martin
Released: May 13, 1946
Type: Movie
Small-time jewel thief Leo Martin is deserted by his partners-in-crime, club owner Gus Loman and driver Hatchett, when the robbery they are committing goes wrong. After serving his prison sentence, Leo emerges with an intricate plan for revenge. Leo implicates Loman, as well as his amoral boss, Gregory Lang, for murder -- but Inspector Rogers suspects Leo.
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Murder in Reverse?
Title: Murder in Reverse?
Character: Tom Masterick
Released: October 21, 1945
Type: Movie
Tom Masterick, a dock worker, is wrongfully convicted of a murder charge. His death sentence is commuted to a long prison term. When released as an old man, he vows to find the real killer.
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The Agitator
Title: The Agitator
Character: Peter Pettinger (as Billy Hartnell)
Released: January 24, 1945
Type: Movie
The Agitator is a 1945 British drama film directed by John Harlow and starring William Hartnell, Mary Morris and John Laurie. Its plot follows a young mechanic who unexpectedly inherits the large firm where he works and tries to run it according to his socialist political beliefs. It was based on the 1925 novel Peter Pettinger by William Riley.
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Strawberry Roan
Title: Strawberry Roan
Character: Chris Lowe
Released: December 31, 1944
Type: Movie
Farmer Chris Lowe meets and falls in love with Molly , a chorus-girl. Despite the fact that she is a city girl through and through, she accepts his proposal of marriage and after the wedding goes to live on the farm. Chris realises that the transition for Molly will be difficult, and in an attempt to ease her into farm life, buys her a strawberry roan calf to look after. Unfortunately Molly finds the adjustment to rural life extremely difficult and does not settle down. She fails to integrate into the local community and starts to feel she has made a big mistake.
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The Way Ahead
Title: The Way Ahead
Character: Sgt. Ned Fletcher
Released: June 9, 1944
Type: Movie
A mismatched collection of conscripted civilians find training tough under Lieutenant Jim Perry and Sergeant Ned Fletcher when they are called up to replace an infantry battalion that had suffered casualties at Dunkirk.
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Headline
Title: Headline
Character: Dell
Released: November 16, 1943
Type: Movie
A crime reporter begins to investigate the disappearance of his bosses wife who had witnessed a murder.
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The Dark Tower
Title: The Dark Tower
Character: Jim Towers (as Bill Hartnell)
Released: October 18, 1943
Type: Movie
While working at a circus, a man hypnotizes a trapezist to kill her partner.
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The Bells Go Down
Title: The Bells Go Down
Character: Brookes
Released: May 16, 1943
Type: Movie
Comedian Tommy Trinder plays it straight in this tribute to the wartime AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service). The dedicated band who kept the fires of London under control during the blitz and fire bombings of WWII.
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The Peterville Diamond
Title: The Peterville Diamond
Character: Joseph (as Bill Hartnell)
Released: January 11, 1943
Type: Movie
Frantic farce involving a neglected wife, a stolen diamond and four identical briefcases.
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Sabotage at Sea
Title: Sabotage at Sea
Character: Jacob Digby
Released: September 7, 1942
Type: Movie
The captain of a British cargo ship shanghais a group of sabateurs, unaware that the daughter of the ship’s owner is among them.
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The Goose Steps Out
Title: The Goose Steps Out
Character: German Officer at Station
Released: August 1, 1942
Type: Movie
Schoolteacher William Potts is the double of a captured German spy, so he is sent to Germany by British Intelligence to obtain the plans of a new secret weapon, causing chaos in a Hitler Youth school in the process.
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They Flew Alone
Title: They Flew Alone
Character: Scotty
Released: June 29, 1942
Type: Movie
The story of flyer Amy Johnson the girl from Yorkshire who won the hearts of the British public in the 1930s with her record-breaking solo flights around the world. Her marriage to fellow aviator Jim Mallison was less noteworthy.
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Suspected Person
Title: Suspected Person
Character: Saunders
Released: June 1, 1942
Type: Movie
After a $50,000 heist in New York, two of the suspected robbers walk free from the courtroom and they waste no time in heading to London in search of the missing loot. This means bad news for their former accomplice Jim Raynor, who has the money hidden away not least because they're not the only ones on his tail; Scotland Yard is also on the case...
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Freedom Radio
Title: Freedom Radio
Character: Radio Location Aerial Operator (uncredited)
Released: February 4, 1941
Type: Movie
Hitler's doctor is gradually realising that the Nazi regime isn't as good as it pretends to be when his friends start to "disappear" into the camps. His wife is courted by the party and accepts a political post in Berlin. Meanwhile Dr Karl decides to try to do something to counteract the Nazi propaganda and with the help of an engineer and a few friends he sets up the Freedom Radio to counteract the Nazi propaganda.
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They Came by Night
Title: They Came by Night
Character: Undetermined Role
Released: March 7, 1940
Type: Movie
A man is blackmailed into taking his brother's place in a gang for a jewellery heist.
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Murder Will Out
Title: Murder Will Out
Character: Dick
Released: August 13, 1939
Type: Movie
Paul and Pamela Raymond become immersed in intrigue after receiving a costly jade. As they look for assistance in saving their skins, all their leads disappear, including the man who had given them the jade.
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They Drive by Night
Title: They Drive by Night
Character: Bus Conductor
Released: December 1, 1938
Type: Movie
“Shorty” Matthews having recently been released from prison visits his girlfriend in London only to discover her murdered. Fearing he will be wrongly accused of being the culprit he disappears amongst the long-distance lorry driving community. Meanwhile, the real killer, unassuming ex-schoolteacher Walter Hoover, continues to prey on London women. As Shorty had feared he has become the main suspect. He returns to London with old flame Molly to prove his innocence.
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Farewell Again
Title: Farewell Again
Character: Minor Role
Released: January 5, 1937
Type: Movie
Farewell Again is a multiplotted British comedy/drama about soldiers on leave and the people they've left. Given a six-hour pass after a tour of duty in India, several British Tommies (among them Robert Newton, Sebastian Shaw and Anthony Bushell) try to unravel their domestic tribulations before having to ship out again. American expatriate Tim Whelan was the directorial hand who kept the various plot threads from entangling, while another Hollywood vet, James Wong Howe, manned the cameras. The film became instantly dated with the advent of World War II, but in its own time Farewell Again was a box-office smash. The film was issued in the US as Troopship.
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Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
Title: Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
Character: Stubbs
Released: December 3, 1936
Type: Movie
Explorer Sir Clive bets that he can spend the night alone in Madame Tussauds Chamber of Horrors. Meanwhile, crooks hope to exploit his ward, Carol, for her fortune.
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The Crimson Circle
Title: The Crimson Circle
Released: August 10, 1936
Type: Movie
Based on the novel by Edgar Wallace, detectives at Scotland Yard try and track down The Crimson Circle, a secret society of blackmailers
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The Guv'nor
Title: The Guv'nor
Character: Car Salesman
Released: October 1, 1935
Type: Movie
The Guv'nor (released in the U.S. as Mr. Hobo) is a 1935 British comedy film starring George Arliss as a tramp who rides a series of misunderstandings and becomes the president of a bank.
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The Perfect Flaw
Title: The Perfect Flaw
Character: Vickers
Released: May 31, 1934
Type: Movie
A clerk is planning to murder a stockbroker but is foiled in the attempt.
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Follow the Lady
Title: Follow the Lady
Character: Mike Martindale
Released: January 1, 1933
Type: Movie
A Frenchwoman attempts to blackmail a wealthy man...