John Thaw
Harry Jenkins is a self-made business man, who one day receives a message that his only daughter has died in a car crash. Last time he saw his daughter was at his wife's funeral. When trying to deal with his daughter's affairs, he finds out he is a grandfather of a nine-year-old girl, named Saffron. Since he is her only relative, social services hands over Saffron to him. At first he tries to get rid of her, but he soon finds out that they share more than his daughter, Saffron's mother. They take a trip from Manchester to London, to find Saffron's estranged father, but they find so much more
Monsignor Renard was a four-part ITV television drama set in occupied France during World War II. It starred John Thaw as Monsignor Augustine Renard, a French priest who is drawn into the Resistance movement. The series was later shown in the U.S. as part of Masterpiece Theatre.
The Second World War In Colour [1999] is a three-part documentary which reveals hours of previously unseen colour film of World War II. As almost all newsreel film was shot in black and white, this DVD offers a completely new portrait of the war. Dramatic colour footage from as early as 1933 shows home movies of Adolf Hitler and his cohorts, the devastation wrought by the Blitzkrieg, life on the home front, D-Day and the Allied invasion of France, British bombers defying German fighters, the horror of the Holocaust that troops met as they entered Germany, and the jubilation of the final Allied victory. With John Thaw's narration intercut with spoken accounts from the letters and diaries of those who fought, those who survived, and those the war claimed as victims, this documentary is an extraordinary remembrance of a monumental time in world history.
A seemingly happily married, successful plastic surgeon embarks on a torrid affair with tragic consequences for his marriage and those close to him.
When British Intelligence Officer Tracy Barnes attacks visiting German politician Dieter Krause, solicitor's clerk Joshua Mantle is called to help unravel the events which led to the assault.
We're in an English village shortly before Dunkirk. "Mr. Tom" Oakley still broods over the death of his wife and small son while he was away in the navy during WWI, and grief has made him a surly hermit. Now children evacuated from London are overwhelming volunteers to house them. Practically under protest, Mr. Tom takes in a painfully quiet 10-year-old, who gradually reveals big problems.
Contemporary thriller set partly on the island of Rhodes. A bankrupt former garage owner, now working as a waiter and a caretaker on the Greek isle, is hauled in by the local police when a young Englishwoman he has befriended goes missing. Under suspicion of murder, he flees the island and returns to England, where he begins trying to piece together the missing woman's background and her reasons for visiting Rhodes in the first place.
Political drama written by David Hare and starring John Thaw and based on Labour's disastrous 1992 election campaign. Labour leader George Jones battles with his party on the campaign trail of a general election.
Kavanagh QC is a British television series made by Central Television for ITV between 1995 and 2001. It is often repeated on ITV3, and series 1–6 are available on Region 2 DVDs. The series starred John Thaw as barrister James Kavanagh QC who comes from a working-class upbringing in Bolton, Greater Manchester. This is only discovered in later episodes as his parents' health deteriorates and through an exchange with a colleague who presumed that Kavanagh was actually a Yorkshireman. The series dealt with his battles in the courtroom as well as his domestic dramas which include the death of his devoted and affectionate wife. Later he begins dating a fellow barrister. In court Kavanagh is usually seen to be defending a client who seems likely to be convicted until a twist in the case occurs, but occasionally Kavanagh is seen in a prosecuting role. The main plot often features Kavanagh confronting cases with a subtext of racism, sexism or other prejudice. In sub-plots comedy came from the pomposity and self-absorption of Jeremy, a posh barrister in chambers. Kavanagh will not stand for injustice and is never bullied by threats or bribes from those whom he is up against in the courtroom.
The life of Stanley Duke, a fortysomething advertising executive, is thrown into turmoil when his son is diagnosed a schizophrenic. Making matters worse, Stanley's quiet home is suddenly besieged by a plethora of women, among them his past and current wives.
Biography of Arthur Harris (aka "Bomber Harris") of RAF Bomber Command, during WW2 - in particular his strategy of heavy bomber "Millenium Raids" on German cities.
A dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods is a white liberal journalist in South Africa who begins to follow the activities of Stephen Biko, a courageous and outspoken black anti-apartheid activist.
After seeing her husband fail in fighting a battle to keep his factory open, a manageress loses her job in a disagreement with the manager over sexual harassment of her staff. She accepts the advice of her father and joins his son, a left-wing organizer, and takes her plight to the union.
Mary Morstan has received a pearl in the post every year since her father's disappearance; this leads Holmes and Watson to the truth about a secret pact between four convicts during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis, as well as a large cast of notable actors and actresses.
Anne Stavely, a friend of Morse's, ostensibly commits suicide at her home in Jericho, though Morse isn't convinced.
A father is intent on finding the truth as to how his soldier son met his death while serving in Northern Ireland.
The reign of England's King John is threatened by Philip of France who demands that John's nephew Arthur be placed on the throne. Pragmatic and decisive, King John moves to plactate the French, but there are others who seek disputre his authority.
A city-woman moves to a foreign country with her future husband, giving up all the comforts of cosmopolitan life. Life in the countryside finally takes its toll on her, and she finds herself involved sexually with another man
Sir Francis Drake circumnavigates the world in search of adventure and treasure.
John Thaw plays Vinny Mathews a small time boxing promoter who struggles with his conscience as to whether or not to provide a fighter for a Sporting Club promotion, a fighter he knows is unfit against an opponent who is way out of his league. However Mathews needs sponsorship and this would be the ideal opportunity to mix with the "frilly shirted" sportsmen who enjoy their lavish lifestyle as fighters slug it out as the steak is served!
The plot is set on a group of bank robbers, who are both violent and successful, strangely getting away each time with an amount around the £60,000 mark, and often leaving behind cash in excess of this sum. The robbers are willing to kill their own team, to get away. As Jack Regan himself puts it after the first raid in the film: "I've never seen so many dead people". Armed with gold-plated Purdey shotguns, they evaded Regan and the Flying Squad for quite some time, before Regan finds encouragement from his Detective Chief Superintendent who was sent down for corruption because Jack wouldn't testify in court for him.
Based on the TV series the film follows DI Regan and DS Carter as they became embroiled in a deadly political scandal. One of the leading members of the government, Charles Baker (Ian Bannen) is about to secure a huge deal with OPEC stabilising the world oil market and boosting Britain's position within it. Baker is the rising star of government, regarded a future prime minister, who is closely controlled by his urbane, manipulative American press secretary Elliot McQueen (Barry Foster). When Regan investigates the mysterious death of a prostitute as a favour to one of his informants, he becomes aware that Baker and McQueen might be involved. A spate of killings follow - which sees Regan take on both the criminals and the hierarchy of the Metropolitan Police and British security services.
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. The programme's title derives from Sweeney Todd, which is Cockney rhyming slang for "Flying Squad". The programme was shot entirely on 16mm film by Thames Television's film division, Euston Films. It originally aired on ITV between 2 January 1975 and 28 December 1978 in the 9-10pm weekday slot with repeated showings at the same time until the early 1980s. It starred John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan, and Dennis Waterman as his partner Detective Sergeant George Carter. Such was its popularity in the UK that it spawned two theatrically released feature film spin-offs, Sweeney! and Sweeney 2. The series aired during a dark period for the real-life Flying Squad. In the late 1970s, the Flying Squad was publicly censured for being involved in bribery, police corruption and excessively close links with the criminal fraternity. Unlike the unwavering high standards seen in the fictional Sweeney, the actual commander of the Flying Squad, Detective Chief Superintendent Kenneth Drury was convicted of five counts of corruption and jailed for eight years on 7 July 1977. An internal investigation, called Operation Countryman, was then launched to stamp out more corruption. A further 12 officers were convicted and many others resigned.
British ITV sitcom starring John Thaw and Bob Hoskins as two friends in a love triangle.
Rough, tough and politically incorrect in the way that only the best 70's dramas can be, Regan was a pilot film for The Sweeney - one of the major television successes of the last fifty years. fetauring John Thaw as the irascible Detective Inspector Regan and Dennis Waterman as his loyal 'oppo' detective sergeant Carter, Regan was an immediate critical and ratings hit, resulting in four series of The Sweeney and two successful feature films. Jack Regan is a good copper, but his tough, intuitive style is becoming unfashionable in a Scotland Yard seeking a new image. When a policeman is mysteriously murdered, Regan breaks all the rules to find the killer - but he finds there are men in the Flying Squad prepared to break him.
A brutal murder triggers an investigation revealing that $4m of legendary Chicago gangster, Al Capone's, ill-gotten gains may be located on 1970's England.
The vengeful Doctor rises again, seeking the Scrolls of Life in an attempt to resurrect his deceased wife.
A horror anthology series, with each episode featuring a different eerie tale.
An out of work man must take his son to a school poetry competition while accompanied by his friendly neighbours, of which, he's not too secretly been having an affair with the wife.
A Marxist-Leninist expelled from the British Communist Party joins the Revolutionary Party of the Third World, sleeps around, and attempts to rethink his place within the revolution after the events of the 1968 May uprising in Paris.
British mercenaries (Stanley Baker, Alex Cord) finish their Congo feud in Hong Kong, with a woman (Honor Blackman) caught in the middle.
A national service NCO (David Warner) comes face to face with an embittered Irish Gunner (Nicol Williamson) who is determined to humiliate him.
Bat Out of Hell is a British thriller television serial created by Francis Durbridge and originally aired on BBC Two from 26 November to 24 December 1966. The series followed two lovers, Diana Stewart and Mark Paxton, who are haunted by the voice of Diana's husband over the telephone after he is murdered by the couple. Inspector Clay, played by Dudley Foster, was the detective inspector who headed the police investigation.
Two young journalists simulate a murder, but the scheme backfires when the mock victim disappears.
Redcap is a British television series produced by ABC Weekend Television and broadcast on the ITV network. It starred John Thaw as Sergeant John Mann, a member of the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police and ran for two series and 26 episodes between 1964 and 1966, being about 50 minutes in a 60 minute time slot. Surprisingly for a 1960s ABC Weekend Television programme, 23 of the 26 episodes still exist.
Alan Roper tells Bookie Larry Hart that he is planning to steal £60,000 and Hart offers to launder the money for him. What Hart doesn't know is that it is actually his money Roper intends to steal.
A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy's reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution through his prowess as a long distance runner. During his solitary runs, reveries of his life and times before his incarceration lead him to re-evaluate his privileged status as the Governor's prize runner.
Serjeant Musgrave and his small band of men arrive in an impoverished northern coal town, ostensibly on a recruiting drive.....but their intentions are very different, and will have repercussion's on the town for years to come.
