Eric Dodson
Actor · 1920 – 2000 · Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
Eric Norman Dodson (1 December 1920 – 13 January 2000) was an English actor born in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, who played many roles in films and on television. After amateur acting he joined the Royal Air Force in 1941. Following training in Canada he served in RAF Coastal Command, flew bombers and was a liaison officer in Yugoslavia. He then returned to acting with a repertory theatre in Edinburgh. He appeared as bar owner Jack Pomeroy in Series Three to Five of Rumpole of the Bailey. He also appeared in the sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum as a Brigadier, the Doctor Who story The Visitation, in Porridge as Banyard and many other roles. His film appearances included The Dock Brief (1962), Danger by My Side (1962), Strictly for the Birds (1963), Battle of Britain (1969), The Mirror Crack'd (1980), The Masks of Death (1984) and Jekyll & Hyde (1990). In the late 1980s, Eric and his wife Rosaline made their home in Sherborne, Gloucestershire where he took a hobby repairing and making harpsichords. He was also asked on many occasions to play the organ at the village church. He was unable to work for the last five years of his life due to illness and died in 2000 at age 79.
Series24
TV7.4Action & AdventureCrimeSimon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those in need.
The Saint
1962 · 136 votes
TV7.0DramaITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.
ITV Playhouse
1967 · 3 votes
TV7.8ComedyDramaThe trials and misadventures of the staff at a country veterinary office in Yorkshire. James Herriot, a young animal surgeon, moves to a small Yorkshire town to begin his first job.
All Creatures Great and Small
1978 · 49 votes
TV7.1DramaComedyRumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It stars Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an aging London barrister who defends any and all clients, and has been spun off into a series of short stories, novels, and radio programmes.
Rumpole of the Bailey
1975 · 24 votes
TV8.1Action & AdventureDramaJack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter.
The Sweeney
1975 · 28 votes
TV7.4ComedyDramaThe adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia. Within the trade, he has a reputation as a “divvie”, a person with an almost supernatural powers for recognising exceptional items as well as distinguishing genuine antique from clever fakes or forgeries.
Lovejoy
1986 · 56 votes
TV9.0DramaThe Expert is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1968 and 1976. The series starred Marius Goring as Dr. John Hardy, a pathologist working for the Home Office and was essentially a police procedural drama, with Hardy bringing his forensic knowledge to solve various cases. The Expert was created and produced by Gerard Glaister. The series was also one of the first BBC dramas to be made in colour, and throughout its four series had numerous high quality guest appearances by actors such as John Carson, Peter Copley, Rachel Kempson, Peter Vaughan, Clive Swift, Geoffrey Palmer, Peter Barkworth, Jean Marsh, Ray Brooks, George Sewell, Anthony Valentine, Bernard Lee, Lee Montague, Geoffrey Bayldon, Mike Pratt, Edward Fox, André Morell, Brian Blessed, Nigel Stock, Philip Madoc and Warren Clarke.
The Expert
1968 · 2 votes
TV7.8ComedyWar & PoliticsThe misadventures of hapless cafe owner René Artois and his escapades with the Resistance in occupied France.
'Allo 'Allo!
1984 · 280 votes
TV8.2CrimeDramaPublic Eye is a British television drama broadcast from 1965 to 1975 on ITV1. Produced by ABC Television for three series, and Thames Television for a further four, the programme follows the investigations and cases handled by the unglamourous enquiry agent Frank Marker.
Public Eye
1965 · 6 votes
TV6.1Action & AdventureCrimeThe Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in contemporary times. It was also the only Gerry Anderson produced television series that was not of the fantasy or science fiction genres. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. Despite not featuring marionettes or any real science fiction elements, The Protectors became one of Anderson's most popular productions, easily winning a renewal for a second season. A third season was in the planning stages when the show's major sponsor pulled out, forcing its cancellation. The Protectors first aired in 1972 and 1973, and ran to 52 episodes over two series, each 25 minutes long - making it one of the last series of this type to be produced in a half-hour format. It starred Robert Vaughn as Harry Rule, Nyree Dawn Porter as the Contessa Caroline di Contini, and Tony Anholt as Paul Buchet. Episodes often featured prominent guest actors.
The Protectors
1972 · 14 votes
TV6.9DramaPoldark is a television drama based on Winston Graham's novels of the same title. It was first transmitted on BBC Two across two seasons between 1975 and 1977. The adaptation covered all seven novels (of the eventual twelve) published up to the time. In late 18th-century Cornwall, Ross Poldark loses his fiancée, well-bred beauty Elizabeth, to his cousin Francis. He ends up marrying his servant, Demelza Carne, but his passion for Elizabeth simmers on for years. Meanwhile, he strives to make his derelict copper mines a success. Life is hard, smuggling is rife, and Ross finds himself taking the side of the underclass against the ruthless behaviour of his enemies, the greedy Warleggan clan.
Poldark
1975 · 17 votes
TV6.7MysteryDramaAnthology series telling suspenseful tales.
Suspense
1962 · 3 votes
TV7.5CrimeDramaCompelling crime anthology looks at some of Britain's most notorious murder trials, in which both male and female defendants stood accused of the murder of women. Presented by Robert Morley, seven hour-long dramas reconstruct sensational trials which shocked Britain, offering in-depth analyses of individuals' motives and methods.
Lady Killers
1980 · 2 votes
TV7.5ComedyDramaThe activities of the staff at The Junior Gazette, a children's weekly newspaper produced by a group of school pupils.
Press Gang
1989 · 14 votes
TV6.8ComedyFresh 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.
Fresh Fields
1984 · 11 votes
TV9.0Action & AdventureFamilyA kid-friendly take on the exploits of King Richard the Lion Heart, from his participation in the Crusades, to his capture in Austria, to his final return to England.
Richard the Lionheart
1962 · 1 votes
TV6.8MysteryCrimeBased on the short stories by G. K. Chesterton, Father Brown is a Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective.
Father Brown
1974 · 10 votes
TV8.0MysteryCrimeVictorian England, the late 1800s: Detective Sergeant Daniel Cribb of the newly formed Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is determined to remove crime from the streets of London using the latest detection methods.
Cribb
1980 · 5 votes
TV7.0ComedySci-Fi & FantasyRandall and Hopkirk (Deceased) is a British private detective television series. In the initial episode Hopkirk is murdered during an investigation, but returns as a ghost. Randall is the only main character able to see or hear him, although certain minor characters are also able to do so in various circumstances throughout the series.
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
1969 · 18 votes
TV8.2ComedyPorridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film also titled Porridge. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland. "Doing porridge" is British slang for serving a prison sentence, porridge once being the traditional breakfast in UK prisons. The series was followed by a 1978 sequel, Going Straight, which established that Fletcher would not be going back to prison again. Porridge was voted number seven in a 2004 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British sitcoms.
Porridge
1974 · 57 votes
TV7.0Whack-O! was a British sitcom TV series starring Jimmy Edwards, written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden, and broadcast from 1956 to 1960 and 1971 to 1972. The series ran on the BBC from 1956 to 1960 and from 1971 to 1972. Edwards took the part of Professor James Edwards, M.A., the drunken, gambling, devious, cane-swishing headmaster who tyrannised staff and children at Chiselbury public school. The Edwards character bore more than a passing resemblance to Sergeant Bilko as he tried to swindle the children out of their pocket money to finance his many schemes.
Whack-O!
1956 · 1 votes
TV7.3ComedyTerry Collier and Bob Ferris are good friends. Terry was working class and secure in his life, whereas Bob was more aspirational, determined to work his way to a better place. Both viewed the others' worldview with disdain, but they were united by events, generally revolving around the pursuit of women. Although 20 total episodes were filmed, only 10 are currently known to survive. There is one missing from the first season, three from the second, and six from the final run.
The Likely Lads
1964 · 14 votes
- TVDrama
Dramatisations of three different women, three different cases—Constance Kent (episodes 1–8), Mary Blandy (9–14), and Adelaide Bartlett (15–22)—all 18th- and 19th-century murderesses.
TV8.0CrimeDramaEx-insurance investigator Ian Souter sets up his own security agency — the SIS (Specialists in Security) — alongside ex-cop Robert Shoesmith and secretary Heather Keys - and fight crime.
The Protectors
1964 · 1 votes
Movies17
Movie6.8WarHistoryIn 1940, the Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle against the might of the Luftwaffe for control of the skies over Britain, thus preventing an attempted Nazi invasion.
Battle of Britain
1969 · 363 votes
Movie6.1MysteryCrimeJane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
The Mirror Crack'd
1980 · 265 votes
Movie5.4TV MovieMysterySherlock Holmes has retired. But when MacDonald asks him to take on another case, he says yes. There have been some mysterious murders, and there are no visible causes for the deaths. At the same time Holmes gets this case, Graf Udo Von Felseck gives him another case: find a young and missing prince to prevent war between Germany and England. But Von Felseck is not as honest as he seems...
The Masks of Death
1984 · 14 votes
Movie6.0ComedyA hotel porter is left a fortune but after living it up for a while he returns to his old place of work which is in financial difficulties.
A Touch of the Sun
1956 · 6 votes
Movie5.9HorrorThrillerHenry Jekyll is a troubled man. His wife died of pneumonia. He wants his sister-in-law, but her father forbids any contact. And his experiments into the dual nature of man have yielded a personality-splitting drug that he has tested on himself, changing him into an uninhibited brute who seeks violent and undignified pleasures. Jekyll quickly becomes addicted to the sordid freedom induced by the drug. He can commit the most enjoyably revolting deeds, then return to his laboratory and use an antidote to change back to his original form, so that his lofty persona remains untarnished.
Jekyll & Hyde
1990 · 44 votes
Movie5.8ComedyA gambler tries to strike it rich at the racetrack but gets taken by a gorgeous blonde who also happens to be a crook.
Strictly for the Birds
1964 · 4 votes
Movie6.8DramaWhen a mail bag full of post that was taken in a robbery is discovered fifteen years later, a Post Office employee and local reporter decide to deliver the letters to their original intended addressees. This solitary incident has profound ramifications on several of the recipients and this film tells the story of how just five of those letters changed peoples lives forever.
Fate Takes a Hand
1961 · 5 votes
Movie5.8CrimeDramaA girl tracks down the gang who had her detective brother killed.
Danger by My Side
1962 · 6 votes
Movie4.5MysteryDramaAn ex-GI wakes up with blood on his clothes in a strange hotel room. He can't remember the night before but he later finds out that a man he got into a fight with earlier in the night was murdered.
MovieCrimeA group of crooks accidentally kill an elderly shop assistant while stealing the keys to the jewellery shop where she works. When his superiors think that the case is better handed over to Scotland Yard, the local detective inspector, Sparrow, decides to go solo to investigate the crime himself.
Solo for Sparrow
1962
- Movie
It's 1865, Fiodor in St, Petersburg is reluctantly supporting his dead wife's family, when he meets new love in the form of Anna and a new life beckons escaping away and traveling Europe.
Russian Roulette
1973
Movie6.6ComedyDramaAfter nearly 40 years of waiting for his big chance, Wilfred Morgenhall is given the case of defending Herbert Fowle who is accused of murdering his wife. Despite Fowle's insistence of guilt, Moregenhall will not let go of the opportunity to plead his client as innocent and be a star in the courtroom.
The Dock Brief
1962 · 14 votes
Movie6.1DramaCrimeA British physician stands trial for murdering his wife after he and his mistress are captured while fleeing to Canada.
Dr. Crippen
1963 · 22 votes
- Movie7.0Drama
During the early 1960s, a Chicago mobster and a Londoner try to get involved in a jukebox racket.
Gang War
1962 · 1 votes
- MovieDrama
BBC television film starring Anthony Bate.
The Big Boys
1961
Movie8.0DramaTV MovieGeorge, an ineffectual and inoffensive clerk, and his prim wife Gladys reserve their greatest efforts for preserving their respectibility. Sam, a rough-necked American seaman, invades their dull suburban routine. The play examines the clash of cultures between a fading British Empire and the dominance of American materialistic values.
The Bone Grinder
1968 · 1 votes
MovieCrimeArthur Payne, recently out of prison, meets a stranger, Theo Gaunt, on a train and explains his situation. A few days later another stranger makes a curious proposition. Arthur should participate in a fake robbery and remove some imitation jewellery from the stranger's own safe.
The Set Up
1963