
Donald Sinden
Actor · 1923 – 2014 · Plymouth, Devon, England, UK
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE (born 9 October 1923) is an English actor of theatre, film and television. Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes (née Fuller), he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home ('The Limes') doubled as the local chemist shop. He was married to actress Diana Mahony from 1948 until her death in 2004. He lives near Tenterden, Kent. The couple had two sons: actor Donald Sinden, who died of lung cancer in 1996, and Marc Sinden who is a West End theatre producer. Early career He trained as an actor at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and made his first stage appearance at the Brighton Little Theatre (of which he later became President) in January 1941, playing Dudley in George and Margaret. He broke into professional acting after appearing with the Mobile Entertainments Southern Area company in modern comedies for the armed forces during the Second World War. Rank Organisation In 1953 he was contracted for seven years to the Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios and subsequently starred in many outstanding British films of the 1950s including The Cruel Sea, Mogambo, Doctor in the House, Above Us The Waves, Doctor at Large, The Siege of Sidney Street, Twice Round the Daffodils and with a very young Adam Faith in Mix Me a Person. Description above from the Wikipedia article Donald Sinden, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Movies24
Movie7.5ActionThrillerAn 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.
The Day of the Jackal
1973 · 711 votes
Movie7.3AdventureAnimationAn outcast half-wolf risks his life to prevent a deadly epidemic from ravaging Nome, Alaska.
Balto
1995 · 2.3K votes
Movie6.2FantasyFamilyAlice follows a white rabbit down a rabbit-hole into a whimsical Wonderland, where she meets characters like the delightful Cheshire Cat, the clumsy White Knight, a rude caterpillar, and the hot-tempered Queen of Hearts and can grow ten feet tall or shrink to three inches. But will she ever be able to return home?
Alice in Wonderland
1999 · 402 votes
Movie6.5AdventureFamilyA Victorian gentleman hopes to find his long-lost son, who vanished while searching for a mysterious Viking community in a volcanic valley somewhere in uncharted Arctic regions. The gentleman puts together an expedition team to go on the search, but when they reach their destination they must escape from some Viking descendants who will kill to keep their existence a secret.
The Island at the Top of the World
1974 · 95 votes
Movie6.9DramaHistoryAt the start of World War II, Cmdr. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Traumatic events afloat and ashore create a warm bond between the skipper and his first officer.
The Cruel Sea
1953 · 84 votes
Movie6.1WarIn World War II, the greatest threat to the British navy is the German battleship Tirpitz. While anchored in a Norwegian fjord, it is impossible to attack by conventional means, so a plan is hatched for a special commando unit to attack it, using midget submarines to plant underwater explosives.
Above Us the Waves
1955 · 37 votes
Movie4.4ComedyJohn Smith has been happily involved in a bigamous marriage for five years. He lives with Stephanie in Finsbury and Michelle in Stockwell. Fortunately, for John, he's a taxi driver which involves varying shift work! Simple? Well, when John unwittingly becomes a have-a-go hero and the Finsbury and Stockwell police forces discover something suspicious in their paperwork, John's happy bubble is about to be burst. The action of the movie takes place during the next hectic 24 hours as John, with the assistance of his gullible neighbor Gary, rush between North and South London attempting to thwart the police and prevent the two loving wives coming face to face!
Run For Your Wife
2012 · 11 votes
Movie6.4AdventureDramaOn a Kenyan safari, white hunter Victor Marswell has a love triangle with seductive American socialite Eloise Kelly and anthropologist Donald Nordley's cheating wife Linda.
Mogambo
1953 · 181 votes
Movie6.5ComedyThe first of the seven "Doctor" films, based on Richard Gordon's novels and released between 1954 and 1970. Simon Sparrow is a newly arrived medical student at St Swithin's hospital in London. Falling in with three longer-serving hopefuls he is soon immersed in the wooing, imbibing and fast sports-car driving that constitute 1950s medical training. There is, however, always the looming and formidable figure of chief surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt to remind them of their real purpose.
Doctor in the House
1954 · 31 votes
Movie7.0ComedyDocumentaryMel Brooks delivers an enjoyable hour of comic diversion with his lovely actress-wife Anne Bancroft, writer comedian Ronny Graham and British Shakespearean actor Jonathan Pryce. Brooks Spontaneous humor, social commentaries and zany sketches leave the audience rolling in the aisles and will leave you wanting more of Mel!
An Audience with Mel Brooks
1984 · 3 votes
Movie6.3TV MovieFantasyWhen a teenaged girl moves to England, with her brothers and parents into the ancient Canterville Hall, she's not at all happy. Especially as there's a ghost and a mysterious re-appearing bloodstain on the hearth. She campaigns to go back home, and her dad, believing the ghost's pranks are Ginny's, is ready to send her back. But then Ginny actually meets the elusive 17th-century Sir Simon de Canterville (not to mention the cute teenaged duke next door), and she sets her hand to the task of freeing Sir Simon from his curse.
The Canterville Ghost
1996 · 71 votes
- Movie8.0Documentary
After starting his career producing religious film shorts, J. Arthur Rank went on to become Britain's first and only movie mogul with his establishment of the legendary Pinewood Studios. Narrated by Michael Caine, THE GOLDEN GONG chronicles Pinewood's rise to success.
Movie5.6ComedyDramaFive motherless children, with the help of a famous doctor, are determined to save their financially strapped father.
The Treasure Seekers
1996 · 7 votes
Movie6.7DocumentaryMusic'Hey, Mr Producer!' features selected scenes from the productions of the world's most successful musical producer, Cameron Mackintosh - classic songs from classic musicals performed by the ultimate cast.
Movie8.7DramaHistoryA 1965 BBC adaptation of William Shakespeare's first historical tetralogy (1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI and Richard III), which deals with the conflict between the House of Lancaster and the House of York over the throne of England, a conflict known as the Wars of the Roses. It was based on the 1963 theatre adaptation by John Barton, and directed by Peter Hall for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The Wars of the Roses
1965 · 3 votes
Movie6.4ComedyRomanceReturning from a cricket match in Ireland, Peter Weston gains a pet alligator from another passenger who abandons it with him. He is horrified and while his first instinct is to get rid of it he develops a relationship with a young Irishwoman who appears to be entwined with the reptile. He soon discovers that Daisy is tame and seems to be the way to Moira's heart.
An Alligator Named Daisy
1955 · 7 votes
MovieTV MovieA British TV company wants to make a big blockbuster TV series and to add to their chances of success they call in the services of Henry Babbacombe, a nervous man who has only written a small book on nature before. As the production on the series continues, Henry has to make many changes on his scripts as things change on the series and he falls in love with Cynthia Hyde-Lennon. However both she and the TV company wants Henry to write and do stuff that is completely against his morals but he finds itself going along until the TV company and Cynthia turns and savagely stabs him in the back...
Cuts
1996
Movie6.1CrimeDramaIn 1970s London, Scotland Yard orchestrates the downfall of mob boss Vic Dakin after he crosses the line by blackmailing Members of Parliament.
Villain
1971 · 48 votes
Movie6.4ComedyCrimeA European arms dealer meets a liberated woman journalist, who is writing a story about the ridiculous things men do with the armaments during a NATO war games meeting.
That Lucky Touch
1975 · 5 votes
Movie6.0ComedyA captain is promoted by his company from tramp steamers to their flagship passenger liner. Although he is a thoroughly competent sailor ready to take charge of such a ship, he is less prepared for the social duties his new position involves, not least the way he in which becomes the target for all the unattached women on board.
The Captain's Table
1959 · 6 votes
Movie7.0ComedyPeter Nichols adapted his own hit play to the screen, based on his experiences in hospitals. A riotous black comedy that's as timely today as ever, it contrasts the appalling conditions in a overcrowded London hospital with a soap opera playing on the televisions there. In an ingenious touch, the same actors appear in the "real" story as well as the "TV" one, thus blurring the distinctions even further. Jack Gould directs such outstanding British actors as Lynn Redgrave, Colin Blakely, Eleanor Bron, Jim Dale, Donald Sinden, Mervyn Johns, and, in only his second film, Bob Hoskins. The renowned Carl Davis composed the score.
The National Health
1973 · 12 votes
Movie7.4ComedyRomanceA group of men from a London pub are going on a darts team outing to Boulogne. Various members of the party have different reasons for going and get involved in various adventures.
A Day to Remember
1953 · 6 votes
Movie6.5FantasyComedyFlirtatious mermaid Miranda swaps places with a schoolteacher who has gone on holiday. All is well until she falls in love with a human.
Mad About Men
1954 · 21 votes
Movie6.0ComedyA young man's attempts at seduction and social climbing lead to mayhem.
Decline and Fall ...of a Birdwatcher
1968 · 4 votes
Series21
TV7.5CrimeDramaThe peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.
Midsomer Murders
1997 · 374 votes
TV5.2DramaA BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.
BBC Play of the Month
1965 · 8 votes
TV7.2DocumentaryOmnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.
Omnibus
1967 · 9 votes
TV6.7DocumentaryThis is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64. Michael Aspel then took up the role of host until the show ended in 2003. It returned in 2007 as a one-off special presented by Trevor McDonald, which to date was its most recent airing. In the show the host surprises a special guest, before taking them through their life with the assistance of the 'big red book'. Both celebrities and non-celebrities have been 'victims' of the show. The show was originally broadcast live, and over its run it has alternated between being broadcast on the BBC and on ITV.
This Is Your Life
1955 · 9 votes
TV6.3DramaAn anthology series of various plays and dramatic performances.
Performance
1991 · 2 votes
TV4.3DramaAn anthology of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short length, and which therefore attracted many writers who later became well known.
Thirty-Minute Theatre
1965 · 8 votes
TV7.7DramaSci-Fi & FantasyAfter resigning, a secret agent is abducted and taken to what looks like an idyllic village, but is really a bizarre Kafkaesque prison. His warders demand information. He gives them nothing, but only tries to escape.
The Prisoner
1967 · 220 votes
TV7.5MysteryCrimeAn anthology series produced by Thames Television, comprised of short mystery, suspense or crime adaptations featuring, as the title suggests, detectives who were literary contemporaries of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
1971 · 11 votes
TV6.8War & PoliticsDramaJudge John Deed is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Sir John Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real justice in the cases before him. It also stars Jenny Seagrove as the barrister Jo Mills, frequently the object of Deed's desire. A pilot episode was broadcast on 9 January 2001, followed by the first full series on 26 November 2001. The sixth and last series concluded on 18 January 2007. The programme then went on an indefinite break after Shaw became involved in another television programme, and he and Seagrove expressed a wish for the format of the series to change before they filmed new episodes. By 2009, the series had officially been cancelled. The six series produced make it the longest-running BBC legal drama. The factual accuracy of the series is often criticised by legal professionals and journalists; many of the decisions taken by Deed are unlikely to happen in a real court. The romanticised vision of the court system created by Newman caused a judge to issue a warning to a jury not to let the series influence their view of trials—referring to an episode where Deed flouts rules when called up for jury duty. Another episode led to complaints about biased and incorrect information about the MMR vaccine, leading the BBC to ban repeats of it in its original form. All six series have been released on DVD in the UK.
Judge John Deed
2001 · 13 votes
- TV8.0Drama
An anthology of single plays offering up adaptations of either of prominent stage plays or novels.
Festival
1963 · 1 votes
TV7.0ComedyNever the Twain is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke. Mortimer wrote the entirety of the first two series and four episodes out of six of the eighth, with the rest being mainly written by Vince Powell and John Kane. It starred Windsor Davies and Donald Sinden as rival antique dealers, and also starred Derek Deadman, Zara Nutley, Robin Kermode, Tacy Kneale, Julia Watson, Honor Blackman, Teddy Turner and Maria Charles. The title is taken from the Rudyard Kipling poem; The Ballad of East and West.
Never the Twain
1981 · 11 votes
- TV
The programme that tries to make the impossible possible. Each week Anneka Rice is set a challenge by a member of the public and, using only her giant Challenger truck, has to beg, borrow and otherwise persuade people to help her complete the task on time. All challenges aim to achieve something of lasting benefit, and Anneka has no idea what lies in store until the fateful moment when the challenge arrives.
Challenge Anneka
1989
TV10.0ComedySeries based on the short French farces written by Georges Feydeau, Eugène Labiche, Marc Michel and Sacha Guitry. All of them include mistaken identities and impeccable timing.
Ooh La La!
1968 · 1 votes
TV9.0DramaWar & PoliticsAn epic chronicle of the dysfunctional Plantagenet family from the accession of the young Henry to the death of Richard, last of the Plantagenets. The vacillations of the priestly Henry lead to ungentlemanly behaviour, civil war, treason, murder, regicide, fratricide, and the relentless pursuit of power so characteristic of the Renaissance.
The Wars of the Roses
1965 · 1 votes
TV7.3ComedyTwo's Company is a British television situation comedy series that ran from 1975-79. Produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV Network, the programme starred Elaine Stritch and Donald Sinden.
Two's Company
1975 · 6 votes
TV9.7DocumentaryJohn Barton holds a master class in how to play Shakespeare, using members of the RSC doing scenes, sonnets, and commentary as prime examples.
Playing Shakespeare
1984 · 3 votes
- TVDrama
An anthology series wherein the ten commandments are interpreted in contemporary scenarios by different writers. It was transmissioned from 30 March to 1 June 1971 on ITV Yorkshire.
TV6.0DramaArmchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.
Armchair Theatre
1956 · 6 votes
TV7.0DramaA short-lived horror anthology broadcast in the United Kingdom weekly from 11 April until 16 May 1968 on BBC Two. However, following viewer complaints of its unsuitability, it was pulled, with four of six episodes believed lost (the third episode resurfaced as a 16mm black-and-white film telerecording in 2016, and the first in 2026).
Late Night Horror
1968 · 1 votes
TV8.0DramaSoapWhen Colonel Carey-Lewis dies, his irrepressible daughter, Loveday, inherits Nancherrow and fights to keep it alive so that her son Nat will eventually take over from her.
Nancherrow
1999 · 3 votes
TV8.5DramaThe Greatrick Organization is a faceless, multi-million-pound concern dedicated to making more millions. In its headquarters are an assortment of middle and junior executives. Their lives may look cozy enough, but appearances are deceptive. All they have to do is carry on being loyal corporate slaves until they're 60, but there are a hundred different ways to put a foot wrong...
The Organization
1972 · 2 votes