dvd's - Rented List
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Born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, in 1921, diminutive variety star Jimmy Clitheroe was the perpetual schoolboy whose abundant Northern humour charmed and entertained a generation of British audiences until his untimely death in 1973, aged just 51. Employing his four-foot, three-inch stature and mischievous persona to brilliant comic effect, he proved phenomenally popular in every medium from theatre to film and records, with 'The Clitheroe Kid', one of Britain's longest-running radio sitcoms, drawing a peak audience of 10 million and spawning numerous catchphrases! In 1963 Clitheroe's roguish creation hit television screens, causing further mischief for his fictional family in this ABC sitcom co-starring ITMA veteran (and future Please Sir! star) Deryck Guyler, and airing in the Midlands and northern England only. Presenting all seven half-hour episodes of 'That's My Boy', along with the last remaining episode of sequel series 'Just Jimmy' (also starring Mollie Sugden), this set celebrates a uniquely talented yet now largely forgotten star, and introduces The Kid Himself to a new generation of classic comedy fans. - Director:
- David Main
- Cast:
- Jimmy Clitheroe, Deryck Guyler, June Monkhouse
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Fiona Maye (Emma Thompson) is an eminent judge in the Family Division of the High Court, making daily decisions about complex family issues. But her workload is heavy, and her marriage to American professor Jack (Stanley Tucci) is at breaking point. In this moment of personal crisis, Fiona is asked to rule on the case of Adam (Fionn Whitehead), a brilliant and beautiful teenager who is refusing on religious grounds the blood transfusion which will save his life. Wanting to hear from Adam before making her decision, Fiona goes to his hospital bedside. Their extraordinary meeting releases strong emotions, with momentous consequences for both of them as Fiona decides whether Adam should live or die. - Director:
- Richard Eyre
- Cast:
- Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, Fionn Whitehead
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Joan Stanley (Judi Dench) lives in contented retirement until her tranquil life is suddenly disrupted. The dark secrets she's been hiding since her university days have been uncovered by M15. She finds herself in their custody, accused of providing intelligence to the KGB. Cut to 1938 where Joan is a promising physics student at Cambridge University. There she falls for a young communist named Leo Galich (Tom Hughes) and through him, begins to see the world in a new light. After graduation, Joan secures a job in a weapons research facility where she comes to the realisation that the world is on the brink of nuclear disaster. Now Joan is forced to answer an impossible question: exactly what price would she pay for peace? - Director:
- Trevor Nunn
- Cast:
- Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore
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Robert Lindsay stars as Chief Inspector Michael Jericho, a Scotland Yard detective who regularly makes headlines and is respected and admired by his colleagues and the public alike. Driven, clever and determined, Jericho has risen rapidly through the ranks and is now in the front-line of the battle against crime in 1950s London. Jericho is set in a turbulent time of glamour, intrigue and huge social upheaval, as an explosion of colour and changing attitudes replaces the drabness and austerity of the war years. Backed by his hard-working team, Jericho investigates a series of high-profile murders, including a serial killer who targets courting couples, the kidnap and murder of a wealthy man leading a double life, the assassination of an H-bomb scientist and the brutal killing of a world-famous athlete and his new bride. Alongside his professional murder investigations, Jericho is on a personal mission to uncover the truth about his father's death and clear his name, a quest that puts him in grave danger as he threatens to expose the corruption festering at the heart of Scotland Yard. - Director:
- Diarmuid Lawrence
- Cast:
- Geraldine Somerville, Claire Bloom, Jane Horrocks
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The prequel to ATV's famous boardroom drama 'The Power Game', 'The Plane Makers' follows the fortunes of the Scott Furlong airplane development company and its managing director, the ruthless John Wilder (Patrick Wymark). This set contains all surviving episodes. After months of work, a new passenger airliner, The Sovereign, is almost ready for its first flight. When John Wilder discovers that the Sovereign's French competitor is due for its maiden flight he gives orders to get the plane off the ground in two days, a decision he may come to regret... - Director:
- James Ferman
- Cast:
- Jack Watling, Patrick Wymark, Norma Ronald
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Complete first series of the British television drama, starring John Thaw as Sgt. John Mann, a short-tempered, firm-but-fair British Military Policeman.
1. It's What Comes AfterMann encounters hostility from every quarter when he investigates a rape which took place inside an army barracks. Even the victim doesn't want to help him.
2. A Town Called Love
Mann's search for a pimp who specialises in blackmailing soldiers leads him to a place the specialises in black market activity. Further investigations lead him to an unconscious woman and a vicious fight.
3. Epitaph for a Sweat
Mann finds himself in Aden trying to investigate the vicious beating of an Arab worker. Encountering prejudice at every turn he has to determine whether it was self-defence or systemised brutality.
4. Misfire
Mann is asked to make an independent enquiry into the case of a soldier who has confessed to a robbery. Despite the soldier's insistence. Mann is led to believe that he is innocent.
5. Corporal McCann's Private War
Mann is sent to Cyprus to investigate a serving soldier who has gone AWOL with three Sterling sub-machine guns and six magazines of ammo.
6. The Orderly Officer
New Years Eve - an unpopular and weak willed officer of the 1st Kings Own Lancers is browbeaten by a wily NCO into driving him to a party. On returning to the base, both drunk, they smash into a wall.
7. Night Watch
Returning a deserter to a regiment that has recently returned from Borneo, Mann is concerned when he is told that his prisoner's dementia is due to the soldiers being haunted by a ghost.
8. The Boys of B Company
Mann finds himself investigating a full-time cadet training unit. In the previous few weeks there has been one attempted suicide whilst another cadet went AWOL after apparently going mad.
9. A Regiment of the Line
Passions run high when the Queen's Own Scottish Regiment are billeted in a town in Germany which they had to take by force during the Second World War. Despite friendly overtures, it's not too long before fights start breaking out.
10. The Man They Did
A soldier dies of exhaustion on a forced march. His platoon leader believes that this may have been deliberate and. after their own investigation draws a blank. Mann is brought in to start enquirers.
11. A Question of Initiative
A German civilian is the victim of a "hit and run" and a car is seen speeding from the scene with soldiers on board. The local Battle insists that no-one was out of barracks night so the local police bring in the SIB.
12. A Place of Refuge
What ties together the suicide of an officer and the court martial of another soldier on charges of embezzlement?
13. The Patrol
Mann joins a patrol in Borneo to get statements from three soldiers regarding an upcoming appeal. His zeal lands him in trouble, however, when the patrol comes under fire.- Director:
- Jonathan Alwyn
- Cast:
- John Thaw, Keith Barron, Tenniel Evans
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Over a thirty year career in television, David Nixon's subtle brand of magic, music and comedy was loved by millions and is fondly remembered to this day. In his heyday during the 1970's, Nixon was hardly ever off screen and his shows were firm favourites with the viewing public. This special four-disc set contains all the existing episodes of 'David Nixon's Magic Box', with David showcasing Illusionists, escapologists, shadographers, prestidigitators and...performing budgerigars! He is ably assisted in the music and comedy stakes by Anita Harris, Billy Dainty, Arthur Askey, Les Dawson, Jimmy Logan, Fred Emney, Joe Lynch, Clodagh Rodgers, Aimi MacDonald, Mary Hopkin, The Beverley Sisters, Ted Rogers, Vince Hill and Jack Douglas! - Director:
- Robert Reed
- Cast:
- David Nixon, Anita Harris, Ali Bongo
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'World in Action' was, undoubtedly, ITV's flagship current-affairs series. Over four decades this multiple BAFTA winner was fearless, trailblazing and hard-hitting in its coverage of subjects that other programmes would not dare to touch - earning the ire of ITV regulators and, at times, the Government, with the team often investigating stories at their own personal risk. This volume comprises 23 programmes covering major stories from the '60's to the '90's; these include the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, the assassination of Martin Luther King, the Angry Brigade trials in London, EXIT's 'suicide manual', New York's drug-fuelled crime wave, the Bhopal factory disaster, and the NHS in crisis. - Director:
- Gordon Flemyng
- Cast:
- Gamal Nasser, Martin Luther King, James Griffiths
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Armchair Theatre Archive: Vol.4 (1965)The Thought of Tomorrow (1959) / Toff and Fingers (1960) / Late Summer (1963) / The Gong Game (1965)
Pioneering, immensely influential and often challenging, 'Armchair Theatre' was ITV's flagship drama anthology series. Bringing high-quality drama to the viewing public, the series easily demonstrated the network's potential to rival the BBC's drama output, with diverse and powerful plays showcasing some of Britain's most gifted writers. This release comprises four plays featuring performances by some of the era's most celebrated and accomplished actors including Rupert Davies, Roger Livesey, Constance Cummings, John Stride, Leslie Phillips, Caroline Mortimer and Denis Quilley.
Featured Plays:
- The Thought of Tomorrow (1959)
- Toff and Fingers (1960)
- Late Summer (1963)
- The Gong Game (1965)- Director:
- Alan Cooke
- Cast:
- Rupert Davies, Gillian Lind, Frank Pettingell
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Alfred Burke stars as down-at-heel inquiry agent Frank Marker in this critically acclaimed, long-running drama series. Always working the lower end of the spectrum - divorces, missing persons, bankruptcies - the highly sympathetic character of Marker found great affinity among the public, and the series was a huge success over its ten-year lifespan. In common with most series made in the 1960's, a large number of 'Public Eye' episodes were junked, with only five shows known to exist from the first three series, made by ABC Television. - Director:
- Kim Mills
- Cast:
- Alfred Burke, Ray Smith, Pauline Delaney
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Krakatoa: The Last Days (2006)Krakatoa: Volcano of Destruction
This spectacular drama draws on eyewitness accounts, contemporary interviews and modern science to tell the true and amazing story of one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. On August 26th 1883, the tiny volcanic island of Krakatoa erupted, unleashing a series of terrifying tsunamis, explosions and superheated ash clouds. In less than 48 hours it had destroyed hundreds of towns and villages and left more than 36,000 people dead.
The film follows four interweaving stories: Dutch Controller Willem Beijerinck and his wife Johanna, as they struggle to save their family and for Willem, the colony, from the eruption; scientist Rogier Verbeek, who realises too late the scale of the disaster and the consequences of his failure to warn the population; lighthouse keeper Jacob Schuit, who refuses to abandon his post as the ash engulfs the coast; and the heroic Captain Lindeman, who is responsible for the lives of hundreds of passengers when his steamship is trapped at sea at the height of the eruption.
In this vivid reconstruction of what many consider to be the world's first global media event, 'Krakatoa - The Last Days' is an authentic re-enactment of what happened during the build-up, the terrifying climax and the devastating aftermath of the explosion.- Director:
- Sam Miller
- Cast:
- Rupert Penry-Jones, Sam Miller, Olivia Williams
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Yesterday (2019)All You Need Is Love
Jack Malik was just another struggling songwriter...but that was yesterday. After a mysterious blackout, Jack (Himesh Patel) discovers he is the only person on earth who remembers The Beatles! As he rockets to fame by passing off the Fab Four's songs as his own, Jack risks losing Ellie (Lily James) - the one person who has loved him and believed in him from the start. Before the door to his old life closes forever, Jack must decide if all he needs is love, after all. - Director:
- Danny Boyle
- Cast:
- Himesh Patel, Lily James, Sophia Di Martino
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Sinister and with a touch of the macabre, Tales of the Unexpected has, at its heart, a core of black humour that makes each story compelling, with a twist k in each tale that delighted audiences throughout the country.
1. The FlypaperA lonely schoolgirl is threatened by a strange man.
2. A Picture of a Place
Greedy antiques collector Merv thinks he has struck gold when he meets a widow whose farmhouse is crammed with rare items.
3. Proof of Guilt
Two men are in a locked room and one is shot dead. But is the case as clear cut as it seems?
4. Vengeance is Mine Inc.
A pair of unemployed graduates plan revenge on a newspaper columnist and in doing so, stumble upon a new business idea.
5. A Girl Can't Always Have Everything
Suzi and Pat are performers with a touring theatre. Money is always tight until the company gets a wealthy new backer...
6. Parson's Pleasure
A crooked antiques dealer poses as a man of the cloth to hunt for bargains.
7. The Stinker
Harold Tinker has spent his whole life tormented by the arrogant Jack Cutler.
8. I'll be Seeing You
Roland Trent is desperate to leave his bitchy wife for his near-blind mistress.
9. The Party
This Christmas could turn out to be the blackest yet for toy firm manager Henry Knox.- Director:
- Graham Evans
- Cast:
- Roald Dahl, Alfred Burke, Pat Keen
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Tingha and Tucker (1970)Tingha and Tucker Club
Meet cuddly koalas Tingha and Tucker in this quirky, fondly remembered children's series from the 1960's - a cultural touchstone for millions of children (and adults!), the mischievous marsupials had their own fan club, best-selling annuals and hit records to their name! Cared for by "Auntie" Jean Morton, 'Tingha and Tucker' - and their hand-puppet chums - had onscreen adventures for eight years, before drawing to a close in 1970. Though many episodes were made, only one was previously known to exist - but the recent discovery of a cache of film material has allowed three more editions to be reconstructed and presented here... - Director:
- John Pullen
- Cast:
- Jean Morton, Pat Astley
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Tag is an orphan fox cub raised with a litter of fox-hound puppies due to the kindness of Asher (Eric Porter), a professional huntsman. Tag strikes up a friendship with a puppy, Merlin, and together they blissfully play until he is included in the hunting pack, the aim of the hunt being, of course, the fox. As the hunt advances, the friendship between all three characters is put to the test. - Director:
- James Hill
- Cast:
- Eric Porter, Jeremy Kemp, Bill Travers
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