Anton Rodgers
Comedy drama about a family reunion written by and starring Richard Herring. It's Ken and Margaret Snell's 45th wedding anniversary and their children and grandchildren along gather to celebrate. For Ken and Margaret's children, it's a day to revisit childhood arguments and to paper over present-day fractures in their relationships.
Isabel and Clara are growing up in a time of terror. It is 1492, and Spain has decreed that all Jews must either convert to Catholicism, go into exile or face trial and execution. Although forcibly baptized, the sisters are chased through Christendom until they arrive in Venice. It is in this great maritime empire, where opulence rhymes with tolerance, that Isabel organizes secret passages for refugees fleeing the Inquisition while Clara falls in love with a Venetian noble, Paolo Zane. Isabel intends for her family to go to Istanbul, the only place where Jews can live freely, but Clara is reluctant to leave. She challenges Isabel's authority and is prepared to break her family ties and sacrifice her faith for love. Caught in this battle of wills is Clara's daughter, Victoria, who finds she is about to be married into the same faith that murdered her father.
Venice, 1596. Bassanio begs his friend Antonio, a prosperous merchant, to lend him a large sum of money so that he can woo Portia, a very wealthy heiress; but Antonio has invested his fortune abroad, so they turn to Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, and ask him for a loan.
The eighth and last of the Pink Panther series. The illegitimate son of Inspector Clouseau is on the case of the kidnapped Princess Yasmin.
Old Bear Stories was a BAFTA award winning stop frame animation television series for children based on the Old Bear and Friends books by Jane Hissey. Jane Hissey also created the television series, starting it on 24 September 1993, and creating 3 seasons, which ended on 24 December 1997 with a double-length Christmas special. In all, 41 episodes were made. The series was produced by Ealing Animation and was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV. Episodes have subsequently been repeated on Channel 5 in the UK, and are also broadcast in the United States and other countries worldwide. The show also aired for a short time on the CBC morning children's block in Canada. It also aired in the United States as part of Cartoon Network's Small World show. Episodes of the series were released on VHS by Carlton Video.
David and Joan's life has been one continuous party, but their marriage is loveless. Suddenly a young girl appears in their world and announces that she's in love with David and wants to change his life for ever. Adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play.
French Fields is a British situation comedy. It ran for 19 episodes from 5 September 1989 to 8 October 1991. It was written by John T. Chapman and Ian Davidson and was produced by Thames Television for ITV. The series starred Anton Rodgers and Julia McKenzie as husband and wife William and Hester Fields and followed the series Fresh Fields, which ran from 7 March 1984 to 23 October 1986. At the end of the last series of Fresh Fields, William accepted a position with a French company. French Fields follows Hester and William after they make the move to Calais. Other regular cast included their French real estate agent Chantal, who was also the Fields' neighbour to the left. On the right, were the horrible and snobbish English couple the Trendles. Hester and William also coped with Madame Remoleux, an unintelligible and ancient French woman who lived in and cared for the estate — called Les Hirondelles — where they all lived. Also, popping in on a regular basis, were local farmer and mayor Monsieur Dax and his daughter Marie-Christine, to whom Hester did her best to teach English. Nicholas Courtney also appeared frequently as the Marquis.
Two con men try to settle their rivalry by betting on who can be the first to swindle a young American heiress out of $50,000.
Plan Aurora, led by Kim Philby is a plan that breaches the top-secret Fourth Protocol and turns the fears that shaped it into a living nightmare. A crack Soviet agent, placed under cover in a quiet English country town, begins to assemble a nuclear bomb, whilst MI5 agent John Preston attempts to prevent it's detonation.
When Miss Marple arrives at palatial Stonygates, one thing is certain. Before there's time to lather a warm scone with marmalade and place a tea cozy, murder most foul is bound to occur. Helen Hayes returns as spinster sleuth Jane Marple and Leo McKern plays the crafty inspector who teams with her in this engaging, twisty case of country-house intrigue. Someone may be slowly poisoning the aging lady of the manor (the great Bette Davis in one of her last roles). Everyone but her dutiful husband (John Mills) has a motive. The snappish housekeeper? The pompous school kid? The gun-collecting American? The uneasy psychiatrist? The embittered daughter? It could be one of them. Some of them. None of them. People are dying - but not the elderly grand dame of Stonygates!
Fresh Fields is a British situation comedy written by John T. Chapman and produced by Thames Television for ITV between 7 March 1984 and 23 October 1986. A ratings success at the time, the show is well remembered for its opening titles featuring a silhouette of a person in a rocking chair. It stars Julia McKenzie and Anton Rodgers as Hester and William Fields, a devoted middle-class couple with an idyllic suburban lifestyle. William works while Hester keeps home. The crux of the show was that she was always looking to try new hobbies or find ways to improve her life, much of which exasperated her hard-working husband. The family home had a granny flat attached, in which Hester's mother Nancy lived. She was divorced from Hester's father Guy although remarried him as the series progressed. The couple had a daughter called Emma who frequently telephoned but never appeared. Her husband Peter did appear often. They later had a son — the Fields' first grandchild — whom they named Guy, after his great-grandfather. Perhaps, the best remembered supporting character was Sonia Barrett who would frequently pop round to borrow items to replace hers due to breakage, theft or mislaying. Hester was not perturbed by this, as the two were close friends, but it used to irritate William. Sonia had the show's only catchphrase — she would always knock on the back door of the Fields' home and then say It's only Sonia! as she walked in. This would sometimes lead to applause of recognition from the studio audience, a phenomenon more regularly seen within American sitcoms. Sonia's husband John appeared on occasion, as did William's secretary Miss Denham, played by Daphne Oxenford.
Affairs of the Heart is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1983 to 1985. Starring Derek Fowlds, it was written by Paul Daneman. It was made for the ITV network by Granada Television.
Lewis, a gay writer of romantic novels, writes an article on gay issues under the pseudonym of "Zippy Grimes." The reason for this is that he hasn't come out yet and he doesn't want to alienate his mainly female fan-base. The article is a great success and leads to a huge amount of reactions, mainly from other gay men who are leading a double life. He decides to meet a number of these letter writers and eventually is forced to come out.
When stones begin miraculously arranging themselves on the edge of one young man's private land, he and his friend begin trying to decipher them in any way possible. When they realize that it might be a dark portent, they become desperate to achieve their goal before it is too late.
Two contrasting stories: one couple dream of leaving the city; another have left the countryside.
The Rise and Fall of a Professional Beauty. It was the affair that shook Victorian society to its core. He was the Prince of Wales, the future monarch; she was a professional beauty, who became a royal bedmate. Follow the fascinating life of the Dean of Jersey's daughter from her modest childhood to her emergence as one of the most celebrated beauties of her time. Lillie's liaison with the heir to the throne marked only the beginning of a remarkable, scandalous and daring series of adventures in open defiance of accepted morality imposed by Victorian and Edwardian society.
In 1948, a new British governor takes over a Far Eastern colony after his predecessor is murdered by terrorists.
Zodiac was a six-part series transmitted by ITV in 1974. Starring Anton Rogers and Anouska Hempel as a cynical detective, David Gradley and Esther Jones, his astrologer assistant, the unusual astrological premise set this show apart from the humdrum detective dramas of the time. Little seen since its original transmission, the series has garnered something of a cult status Written by erstwhile Avengers scribe Roger Marshall, who was also behind the excellent but low-key Public Eye, this series has an unusual, almost claustrophobic feel to it. The action rarely ventures outdoors. The studio based ‘back yard' seems a little too false to be taken seriously, though as with many programmes of this vintage, you forgive the production values and concentrate on the stories being told. On the whole, the stories are intriguing in their complexity and have a good sense of pace. Each episode title makes reference to a specific star sign. A shame then, they only made six shows as twelve would have given them the full zodiac of titles.
An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle, with a dedicated gendarme on the assassin’s trail.
A blossoming friendship between a businessman and one of his flatmate's ex-girlfriends is challenged when she answers a phone call and inadvertently reveals to his boss that he has been fraudulently claiming expenses.
Executive Harold Pelham suffers a serious accident after which he faces the shadow of death. When, against all odds, he miraculously recovers, he discovers that his life does not belong to him anymore.
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.
Rogues Jelly Knight, Scapa Flood, and Lennie the Dip leave prison expecting boss The Duke to have their stash ready to share out. Instead, Duke's girl Sara gives them the news Duke is dead and the money gone on nursing care. They soon discover that Duke is actually running Hope Springs Nature Clinic with the help of most of the local villains. Very strange - and the nearby army camp and Sara's encouragement of Lieutenant Vine would seem to be no coincidence either. Written by Jeremy Perkins
Maud has two men in her life - George and Errol. In an effort to decide which boyfriend to keep, she visits a clairvoyant who tells her that her ideal partner may, in fact, be a third person she has yet to meet. Recorded in a single studio, with minimalist sets. - From IMDB
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.
The film follows Jack Hopkins (played by Michael Craig), an aircraft designer with a passion for traction engines. His boss (played by Cecil Parker) is eager to sell a new supersonic jet plane that Jack has designed to American millionaire Paul Fisher (Alan Hale, Jr.). The first encounter between Fisher and Jack goes badly, and tensions only heighten after Fisher's daughter Kathy (Anne Helm) damages Jack's prize traction engine "The Iron Maiden", rendering it impossible to drive solo. Jack is desperate to enter the annual Woburn Abbey steam rally with the machine, but his fireman is injured and unable to participate. When all seems lost the millionaire himself is won over by Jack's plight and joins him in driving the engine; the two soon become firm friends.
Tenth entry in the Carry On series. Able seaman Poop-Decker (Bernard Cribbins) signs up for adventure on the high seas with the wicked Captain Fearless (Kenneth Williams). Those swabbing the decks include Juliet Mills, Charles Hawtrey and Donald Houston. The film was originally to be entitled ´Up the Armada´, but the British Board of Film Censors objected to such a rude title.
Captain Crowther's lot is not a happy one! Five of his crew have to be replaced and at such short notice before the voyage begins there isn't much to choose from. Not only does he get the five most incompetent shipmates ever to sail the seven seas, but the passengers turn out to be a rather strange bunch too. The SS Happy Wanderer will never be the same.
Undistinguished British farce (in Technicolor and CinemaScope). Stoker Charlie (the diminutive Drake) helps 150 Wrens under Superintendent Maxine Audley, who've hijacked a frigate, HMS 'Huntress', to prove they're the equal of their male counterparts. Hardly a feminist masterpiece, but fans will relish the nightmare court-martial in which Drake plays all the parts
Tricked into joining the RAF by a wily judge, wide boy Horace Pope sets his sights on the main chance, teams with slow-witted, good-hearted gypsy Pedlar Pascoe, and works up a lucrative racket in conning both his colleagues and the RAF. By means of various devious schemes Pope and Pascoe manage to avoid the front lines until they are sent to France - where they find themselves making unexpected and uncomfortably close contact with the enemy.
Insurance salesman Tom and his wife Jenny are struggling through the first years of marriage in a modest flat, on Tom's even more modest salary. By contrast Drew, Tom's old army pal, is a footloose bachelor currently running a car-hire firm owned by his rich uncle, who lives in Canada. Since Drew's uncle makes it clear that his nephew will only inherit the business when he's a respectable married man, his upcoming visit throws Drew into a panic. Having taken a fancy to the vivacious Jenny, Drew persuades her to masquerade as his wife – an arrangement that leads the trio into some highly complicated situations!
Paul Dixon (Dermot Walsh) is a fiercely competitive racing driver whose meteoric career is cut short after he is paralyzed in a collision. Ann, Paul's conflicted, estranged wife (Wendy Williams), tries to help her husband overcome his self-pity to become productive once again. Paul's perception of himself as a cripple is challenged by his new friend, a former dancer (Anton Rodgers), who urges Paul to strive for rehabilitation and new goals. [Netflix]
The life and career of Michael Jordan contrasts with that of Joe Hirsch. One is born into a comfortable middle class family; the other a poorer refugee. Their stories cross and parallel over 25-years from the end of the Second World War, taking in British social change as they go.
Noah's Ark is a British television series, which aired on ITV. It was first broadcast on 8 September 1997. The final episode was aired on 13 October 1997. There were 6 episodes in the first series. A second series aired in 1998.
