Eric Porter
Also Known As: not available
Biography: A highly respected Shakespearean for five decades until his death of colon cancer in 1995, classical actor Eric Porter's claim to international fame would, ironically, be outside of that realm, with one superb portrayal in one superb miniseries, The Forsyte Saga(1967), in which he won the BAFTA award. The son of Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall, Porter first attended Wimbledon Technical College before stepping onto the stage as a walk-on in a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in February 1945 at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He continued in repertory until joining the National Service with the RAF during the war years. Early post-war credits would include touring with Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Barry Jackson in their prestigious companies. Favorite roles in his repertoire would eventually include "Macbeth", "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya". He won London's Evening Standard Award for "Rosmersholm" in 1959. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he became a prime, esteemed resident for decades. Porter made his film debut in mid-career with The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) at age 36, but it was the BBC that made him an international favorite as the ever-proper but intensely emotional and unhinged "Soames Forsyte". Taboos were broken on that series with a violent rape scene that had people talking for months. Along with the newly acquired fame came leads in lesser films such as The Lost Continent(1968) and Hands of the Ripper (1971), adding class to both those atmospheric horrors. On the plus side, Porter engaged himself frequently in quality TV miniseries fare includingAnna Karenina (1977), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Oliver Twist (1985) (as Fagin), while transferring many classics to TV as well, with "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Man and Superman" and "Macbeth" being but a few.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Shepard's Bush, London, UK
Birthday: April 08, 1928
Deathday: May 15, 1995
Adult: No
Gender: Male
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Known For:
The Day of the Jackal
Overview: 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.
Genres: Action Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-05-16
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The Lost Continent
Overview: An eclectic group of characters set sail on Captain Lansen’s leaky cargo ship in an attempt to escape their various troubles. When a violent storm strikes, the ship is swept into the Sargasso Sea and the passengers find themselves trapped on an island populated by man-eating seaweed, giant crabs and Spanish conquistadors who believe it’s still the 16th century.
Genres: Adventure Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1968-06-19
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Kaleidoscope
Overview: Barney Lincoln is a rambling gambling man who scores sensational wins at poker and chemin de fer because he has succeeded in marking the original plates for the backs of all the playing cards manufactured in a plant in Geneva and used in all the gambling joints in Europe. In his gambling depredation, Barney is spotted by Angel McGinnis, the daughter of a Scotland Yard Inspector 'Manny' McGinnis on the lookout for a man to do a job. The inspector enlists Barney's help in playing poker with a shady London character whom Scotland Yard wants to force to financial ruin.
Genres: Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1966-07-01
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The Thirty Nine Steps
Overview: The year is 1914 and Richard Hannay, Mining Engineer who is visiting Britain for a short time before returning to South Africa, is shocked when one of his neighbours, Colonel Scudder, bursts into his rooms one night and tells him a story that Prussian 'sleeper' agents are planning to pre-start World War I by murdering a visiting foreign minister. However, Scudder is murdered and Hannay is framed for the death by the 'sleepers'. Fleeing to Scotland Hannay attempts to clear his name and to stop the agents with the aid of Alex Mackenzie but not only is he is chased by Chief Supt Lomas for Scudder's death but by the agents who are headed by Appleton who has managed to hide himself in a high-placed position in the British Government...
Genres: Mystery Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1978-11-04
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The Fall of the Roman Empire
Overview: In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the midst of this crisis ailing emperor Marcus Aurelius has to make a decision about his successor between his son Commodus, who is obsessed by power, and the loyal general Gaius Livius.
Genres: Drama History War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1964-03-24
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Hands of the Ripper
Overview: A series of murders occur that mirror those committed by the Whitechapel Ripper. Through his experiments with psychoanalysis Dr Pritchard discovers a deadly violence in one of his young female patients. As he delves into the recesses of her mind he uncovers that Anna is possessed by her dead father's spirit, willing her to commit acts of gruesome savagery over which she has no control. But the most chilling revelation of all is the identity of her father: Jack the Ripper himself.
Genres: Horror Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1971-10-17
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Callan
Overview: David Callan, secret agent, is called back to the service after his retirement, to handle the assassination of a german businessman, but Callan refuses to co-operate until he finds out why this man is marked for death.
Genres: Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1974-05-23
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Antony and Cleopatra
Overview: Adaptation of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, a historical drama that attempts to bring an epic visual style to the Bard's original stage play. The story concerns Marc Antony's attempts to rule Rome while maintaining a relationship with the queen of Egypt (Hildegarde Neil), which began while Antony was still married. Now he is being forced to marry the sister of his Roman co-leader, and soon the conflict leads to war.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1972-03-18
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Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
Overview: This intriguing story is set in the 1930s at a country house, where two amateur sleuths, Bobby Jones and Lady Frankie Derwent, try to unravel the mystery behind a tale of murder, suspense and false identities. And the only clues the two have to go on are the puzzling last words of a dying man. Featuring characters created by Agatha Christie, Why Didn't They Ask Evans is a classic crime thriller sure to please murder-mystery fans.
Genres: Thriller TV Movie Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1980-03-30
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The Belstone Fox
Overview: Based on the novel "The Ballad of the Belstone Fox", this heartwarming film chronicles the life of a fox much smarter than the dogs that hunt him. In fact, they never could catch him!
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-01-01
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Message for Posterity
Overview: A version of Dennis Potter's play for television, remade shortly before his death as the original 1960s version had been wiped.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-10-28
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Oliver Twist
Overview: Adaptation of the novel by Charles Dickens.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-01-01
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Macbeth
Overview: The Thane of Cawdor plots to become King of Scotland.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1970-09-20
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The Shetland Experience
Overview: The environmental measures taken by the oil industry at the Sullom Voe terminal in the Shetlands.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1977-01-01
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Little Lord Fauntleroy
Overview: Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Genres: TV Movie Family Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1980-12-01
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The Winslow Boy
Overview: The term at Osborne Naval College is not yet over. Why, therefore, has cadet Ronnie Winslow returned home? And why, moreover, is he hiding in the garden in the rain?
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1977-01-16
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The Best of Morecambe and Wise
Overview: Compilation of sketches featuring the much-loved funnymen Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. Includes 'Anthony and Cleopatra' with Glenda Jackson, 'Monty in the Bounty' with Arthur Lowe, the famous 'Singing in the Rain' routine, and Eric and Ernie making breakfast to the sound of 'The Stripper'.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2001-10-01
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Hitler: The Last Ten Days
Overview: Hitler: The Last Ten Days takes us into the depths of der Furher’s Berlin bunker during his final days. Based on the book by Gerhard Boldt, it provides a bleak look at the goings-on within, and without.
Genres: Drama War History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-04-19
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Hennessy
Overview: Former Irish Republican Army member Niall Hennessy lives in Belfast, Ireland, with his wife and daughter amid the ongoing Irish-British conflict. Though he still knows people in the IRA, including fugitive leader Tobin, Niall has given up his violent ways. One day his family is caught in a chaotic street shootout and killed by British forces. Overwhelmed with rage and hunted by a Scotland Yard inspector, Niall heads to London to exact his deadly revenge.
Genres: Thriller Drama Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1975-12-31
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The Heroes of Telemark
Overview: Set in German-occupied Norway, resistance fighter Knut Straud enlists the reluctant physicist Rolf Pedersen in an effort to destroy the German heavy water production plant in rural Telemark.
Genres: Action Drama War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1965-11-12
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The Crucible
Overview: An adaptation of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, concerning the Salem witch trials.
Genres: TV Movie Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1980-01-01
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Churchill and the Generals
Overview: The complicated relationship between Winston Churchill and the leaders of the British army during World War II.
Genres: Drama History War TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-09-23
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Hamlet
Overview: Hamlet comes home from university to find his uncle married to his mother, and his father's ghost haunting the battlements and scaring the watch. Then his father's ghost directs him to seek revenge.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1980-05-25
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The Sin Bin
Overview: TV play set in an experimental self-rehabilitations unit at a British Prison, where six lifers participate in group therapy.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1981-03-17
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Separate Tables
Overview: A play by Terence Rattigan about the stories of several people staying at a seaside hotel in Bournemouth which features dining at "Separate Tables."
Genres: Romance Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1970-03-15
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Nicholas and Alexandra
Overview: Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.
Genres: Drama War History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1971-11-29
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The Wars of the Roses
Overview: A 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.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1965-04-08
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The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
Overview: Over one hour of black-and-white location footage and interviews with the stars and director, all staged outdoors in manifestly frigid conditions. Mann talks about his filmmaking philosophy and the challenges of shooting in such rugged locations, and shares his insights on the Douglas-Harris feud.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-10-31
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Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
Overview: Running from 1969 until 1977, the BBC Christmas shows were usually on Christmas Day. These classic sketches revolved around famous guest stars, such as Eric Porter, Fenella Fielding, Ann Hamilton, Peter Gushing, Glenda Jackson, Andre Previn and Des O'Connor, being made fun of by Eric and Ernie.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-11-12
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The Last Invasion
Overview: A film following Harold II at the Battle of Hastings
Genres: History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1966-08-24
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Emma
Overview:
Genres: Drama Romance TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-05-23
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A Shilling Life
Overview: An ex-West End playwright, interviewed by a hack-journalist for a railway station biography. How can this turn into a love story?
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-02-12
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