
Rachel Thomas
Actor · 1905 – 1995 · Alltwen, Pontardawe, Glamorgan, Wales, UK
Rachel Thomas was a Welsh character actress, who almost always played the stereotypical Welsh mother or grandmother, and appeared regularly on both Welsh and English language television. She appeared in such classic films as "The Proud Valley "(1940) with Paul Robeson, "Blue Scar" (1949) and "Tiger Bay" (1959). In 1954 she was part of the original BBC Radio cast of Dylan Thomas' radio play "Under Milk Wood", playing the roles of Rosie Probert, Mary Ann Sailors and Mrs. Willy Nilly and went on to play Mary Ann Sailors again in the 1972 film version.
Series14
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
TV7.2DramaTheatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.
Theatre 625
1964 · 5 votes
TV5.2DramaAn anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.
The Wednesday Play
1964 · 5 votes
TV7.5ComedyWar & PoliticsIntroducing the Walmington-On-Sea home guard. During WW2, in a fictional British seaside town, a ragtag group of Home Guard local defense volunteers prepare for an imminent German invasion.
Dad's Army
1968 · 82 votes
TV5.0DramaWar & PoliticsChurchill's People is a British anthology series based on A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill's four-volume history of Britain and its former colonies. 26 episodes were produced by the BBC and initially broadcast from 30 December 1974 to 23 June 1975.
Churchill's People
1974 · 2 votes
TV6.7MysteryDramaAnthology series telling suspenseful tales.
Suspense
1962 · 3 votes
- TV8.0Drama
An anthology of single plays offering up adaptations of either of prominent stage plays or novels.
Festival
1963 · 1 votes
TV6.8DramaShadows is a British Supernatural television anthology series produced by Thames Television for ITV between 1975 and 1978. Extending over three seasons, it featured ghost and horror dramas for children. Guest actors included John Nettleton, Gareth Thomas, Jenny Agutter, Pauline Quirke, Brian Glover, June Brown, Rachel Herbert, Jacqueline Pearce and Gwyneth Strong. The series was also notable for reviving the character of Mr. Stabs. Notable writers for the series included J. B. Priestley, Fay Weldon and PJ Hammond.
Shadows
1975 · 4 votes
TV6.7DramaHow Green Was My Valley is a six-part television miniseries adapted by Elaine Morgan, based on Richard Llewellyn's eponymous 1939 novel. The serial is produced by the BBC and 20th Century Fox Television for BBC Two—the latter's involvement is due to their ownership of the rights to the novel and its subsequent Oscar-winning 1941 film. Huw Morgan, the academically inclined youngest son in a proud family of Welsh coal miners, witnesses the tumultuous events of his young life during a period of rapid social change. At the dawn of the 20th-century, a miners' strike divides the Morgans: the sons demand improvements, and the father doesn't want to rock the boat.
How Green Was My Valley
1975 · 3 votes
- TV6.0
Sanctuary (1967–1968) is a British primetime television drama created by Philip Levene. Set in a convent in London, the series follows the daily lives and character conflicts of a community of nuns, starring Fay Compton, Peggy Thorpe-Bates, and Joanna Dunham. The show aired across two seasons with a total of 26 episodes, running from June 1967 through 1968. It is known for its intimate look at the religious life and the moral dilemmas faced by the sisters as they interacted with individuals seeking their help
Sanctuary
1967 · 3 votes
TV6.3DramaThe District Nurse is a British television series, produced by BBC Wales and shown on BBC One between 1984 and 1987. The series was a period drama created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland and starred Nerys Hughes as Megan Roberts, the titular district nurse fighting to improve living conditions for the people living in a poverty stricken mining town, Pencwm, in south Wales during the late 1920s. The School scenes were filmed at Pont-y-gof school in Ebbw Vale, shortly before the old school was demolished. The children and teachers at the school were involved in the first two series. The outdoor school and street scenes were filmed at a small village near Tredegar. Most of the houses used have now been demolished, however the street still remains. In the third series, shown in 1987 and set in the early 1930s, Megan had moved on to the seaside town of Glanmor where she worked with a father/son pair of doctors - Emlyn Isaacs and James Isaacs.
The District Nurse
1984 · 3 votes
TV8.0Sci-Fi & FantasyDramaThe Boy Merlin is a Thames Television fantasy show from 1979, starring Ian Rowlands in the title role, about the magician Merlin. Set in Wales during the Dark Ages, the series tells the story of the young apprentice magician Merlin — the grandson of King Conaan, fostered by the family of Dafydd Ismena. Merlin's father is unknown; some say he was a demon of the night. His foster-grandmother, Myfanwy, who also possesses magical powers, is the only one to realise that Merlin's destiny lies at the court of King Arthur, and it is she who schools him in magic and witchcraft. However, because of the circumstances surrounding his birth, Merlin is in constant danger from Vortigern, the Saxon High King, and his beautiful queen Rowena.
The Boy Merlin
1979 · 3 votes
TVDramaExamines the professional and personal lives of a Welsh lifeboat crew and their tight-knit community in a small seaside village.
Ennal's Point
1982
- TV9.0Drama
Hawkmoor
1978 · 1 votes
Movies13
Movie6.5MysteryDramaA group of travellers, each with a personal problem that they want to hide, arrive at a mysterious Welsh country inn. There is a certain strangeness in the air as they are greeted by the innkeeper and his daughter. Why are all the newspapers a year old? And why doesn't Gwyneth seem to cast a shadow?
The Halfway House
1944 · 34 votes
Movie6.1DramaWarOccupied Yugoslavia. With organised resistance shattered by the Nazi onslaught it is only the activity of small guerrilla bands that bring fresh hope to the people. But quislings and infiltrators are everywhere – and trusting the wrong person could easily get you killed...
Undercover
1943 · 8 votes
Movie7.2ThrillerCrimeIn Tiger Bay, the docklands of Cardiff, street urchin Gillie witnesses the brutal murder of a young woman. Instead of reporting the crime, she merely pockets a prize for herself — the perpetrator's shiny black revolver — and flees. When Detective Graham discovers that Gillie has the murder weapon, the fiery young girl weaves a web of lies to throw him off course.
Tiger Bay
1959 · 58 votes
MovieDramaHistoryThe Life and Times of David Lloyd George charts the life of the controversial Liberal politician with Philip Madoc in the titular role. The title theme, Chi Mai, was by Ennio Morricone
Movie7.0TV MovieAnimationA poet's tale of a day in the lives of the villagers of a Welsh fishing town of Llareggub.
Under Milk Wood
1992 · 2 votes
Movie6.3DramaIn a Welsh coal mining valley, a young man with a beautiful singing voice is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice when a pit disaster threatens.
The Proud Valley
1940 · 17 votes
Movie8.0ComedyMusicA little Welsh village is sundered by rival factions when a coveted contralto role in the "Messiah" is given to Mrs. Davies instead of Mrs. Lloyd. Based on a stage play "Choir Practice".
Valley of Song
1953 · 1 votes
Movie6.1ThrillerMysteryA rich woman who uses meditation to deal with pain is visited by her niece who returns from Paris. The woman can be a handful and one of her employees suggests to her husband that he kill her freeing them both. When an affair starts between the husband and the niece murder becomes a real possibility. However some people won't stay dead.
Catacombs
1965 · 17 votes
Movie7.7Drama1940s British realist film about the life and struggles of a family in a Welsh mining town.
Blue Scar
1949 · 3 votes
Movie6.4DramaWarA series of stories about the lives and loves of men in a Prisoner of War camp over five years. The main story is of Hasek (Redgrave) a Czech soldier who needs to keep his identity a secret from the Nazis. To do this, he poses as a dead English Officer and corresponds with the man's wife. Other inmates’ stories are also revealed. Location shooting in the British occupied part of Germany adds believability.
The Captive Heart
1946 · 27 votes
- Movie9.0
Play about two brothers who both want their Welsh grandfather to live with them.
After the Funeral
1960 · 1 votes
Movie6.6DocumentaryDramaTold with authenticity and perception, David looks back on the life of a school caretaker in a Welsh mining town, from the marriage and birth of his son to the trauma of a pit accident. David was the first film produced by the BFI, in 1951, and the Welsh selection for the same year’s Festival of Britain screenings in London.
David
1951 · 5 votes
Movie1.0Millionaire recluse Ray Carter takes part in a single handed race across the Atlantic - but soon discovers a stowaway.
Sea Song
1974 · 2 votes