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Rare British Tv
DISCS ARE PLAYABLE UK/EUROPE/AUSTRALASIA, R2/R4. ALL-REGIONS PLAYER REQUIRED ELSEWHERE
A.D.A.M. - 1973
Quality: 7/10 *flashing timecoding onscreen throughout*
Stars: Willoughby Gray, Georgina Hale, Anthony Jackson
Anybody's Nightmare - 2001
Based on the true story of music teacher Shelia Bowler, who was accused of murdering her elderly aunt in 1982
Quality: 9/10
Stars: Patricia Routledge, Georgina Sutcliffe, Thomas Arnold
Ball-Trap On The Cote Sauvage - 1989
Hilarious portrayal of bonkers Brits camping in France - an absolute must-see classic!
Quality: 8.5/10, missing the first couple of minutes of intro
Stars: Jack Shepherd, Zoë Wanamaker, Miranda Richardson, Michael Kitchen
Big Jim and the Figaro Club - 1979
1950's set sitcom about Big Jim and his gang of builders, the Figaro Club, who are looking to enjoy life in their seaside town while avoiding work at all costs
Quality: 6-7/10, 6 episodes
Stars: Bob Hoskins, Norman Rossington, David Beckett, Helen Keating
Billy Bunter Of Grey Friars School
Quality: 5/10 (poor quality but all there is/region free Euro PAL dvd-r disc only)
Stars: Gerald Campion, Jack Melford, Julian Yardley
The Blue Boy - 1994
Marie is an insecure housewife whose husband is having an affair. The two of them take a holiday to rural Scotland, but by sheer bad luck they end up at the hotel Joe uses for his other activities. An eerie tale of love and deception
Quality: 7.5/10 (UK/Euro disc)
Stars: Emma Thompson, Adrian Dunbar, Eleanor Bron
Bright Hair - 1997
Quality: 8/10 logo
Stars: Emilia Fox, James Purefoy, Oliver Milburn, Jim Carter, John Bowe
Chillers - 1990-1992 (3 discs)
The Cat Brought It In; Sauce For The Goose; Old Folks At Home; The Thrill Seeker; The Day Of Reckoning; Puzzle; Slowly Slowly In The Wind; A Curious Suicide; A Bird Poised To Fly; The Stuff Of Madness; Under A Dark Angel's Eye; Something You Have To Live With
Twelve chilling stories based on the Patricia Highsmith short stories, introduced by Anthony Perkins
Quality: 7-8/10, 3 discs, 12 episodes
Coast To Coast - 1987
An American Army deserter and a black British guy meet, find they share a love of classic Soul music and plan to start a mobile disco using an old ice-cream van. But trouble soon comes their way
Quality: 8/10
Stars: Lenny Henry, John Shea, Peter Vaughan, Cherie Lunghi, Pete Postlethwaite
Close Relations - 1998
Many hidden secrets and desires come to light amongst the various Hammond Family members following the near-fatal heart attack of Gordon Hammond.
Quality: 7.5/10
Stars: Amanda Redman, Kate Buffery, Honeysuckle Weeks
The Cormorant - 1993 (Screen Two)
Inheriting a remote house in Snowdonia seems like a dream come true, but the dream becomes a nightmare for a family who discover it's not the Cormorant that comes with the house, but vice versa
Quality: 8.5/10, UK tv
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Helen Schlesinger, Thomas Williams
Cor Blimey! - 2000
Dramatisation of the love affair between Sidney James and Barbara Windsor, played out against the backdrop of the Carry-Ons during the 60s and 70's. Great for Christmas!
Quality: 8.5/10, logo
Stars: Jacqueline Defferary, Geoffrey Hutchings, David McAlister, Samantha Spiro
Daisies In December - 1995
A grumpy senior citizen dumped at a retirement home by his vacationing family finds love with a new acquaintance who hides a secret
Quality: 9/10 (UK/Euro disc)
Stars: Joss Ackland, Jean Simmons, Pippa Guard, Muriel Pavlow
The Devil's Crown - 1978 (3 discs)
From the Heyday of 1970's British historical drama, comes this lavish thirteen part TV series
Starring: Jane Lapotaire, Christopher Gable, Brian Cox, John Duttine, Lucy Gutteridge, Patrick Troughton, Michael Byrne, Charles Kay, Jack Shepherd, Lynsey Baxter
Quality: 8+/10, logo onscreen, 13 episodes over x3 dvd discs
The Day Britain Stopped - 2003
One day in the near future, a rail strike, traffic congestion and a mid-air plane collision bring the UK's transport system to a halt, in this superb docu-drama
Quality: 8.5/10
Stars: Tim Pigott-Smith, Eric Carte, Andrew Shield
Diagnosis: Murder - 1975
A psychiatrist plots to murder his wife so he can be with his mistress but his wife mysteriously disappears before he can carry out his plan
Quality: 8/10
Stars: Jon Finch, Judy Geeson, Christopher Lee, Jane Merrow, Tony Beckley, Dilys Hamlett
Diamonds On Wheels - 1973
Kids get mixed up with jewel thieves and stolen jewels in a 24-hour road rally - great cars!
Quality: 8.5/10 (region free dvd-r disc only)
Stars: Patrick Allen, George Sewell, Deek Newark, Dudley Sutton, Barry Jackson, Patrick Holt
Do Not Disturb - 1991 (Screen Two)
When Jenny and Bruce Coldfield bring a curious party of enthusiasts to a remote Norfolk village to visit the hidden world of ghost story writer Eleanor Mont, other forces start to stir
Quality: 8.5/10. Excellent stuff
Stars: Frances Barber, Peter Capaldi, Éva Darlan
The Enchanted Castle - 1979
Rare Children's adventure series set in a haunted Castle
Quality: 7.5/10
Stars: Candida Beveridge, Georgia Slowe, Simon Sheard, Diane Mercer
The Endless Game - 1989
A British Agent comes back from retirement, after several of his former colleagues, including his former lover, are murdered. He must examine events from his own past to determine who killed them, and why
Quality: 8.5/10, UK/Italy (the abridged 2 hour tv film version)
Stars: Albert Finney, George Segal, Monica Guerritore, Ian Holm, Kristin Scott Thomas
Experience Preferred...But Not Essential - 1982
A young girl takes an eye-opening Summer job at a seaside hotel in Wales
Quality: 8.5/10
Stars: Elizabeth Edmonds, Sue Wallace, Geraldine Griffith, Karen Meagher, Maggie Wilkinson
Fair Game - 1994
Set in 1970 during the World Cup and Parliamentary elections about a couple hiking across England. The girl meets a rich Italian with an expensive sportscar, and of course there are parallels to how this all relates to soccer and politics. Funny, nostalgic and highly recommended
Quality: 8.5/10, UK tv film
Stars: Lena Headey, Julian Kerridge, Massimo Bellinzoni, Prunella Scales
Game, Set & Match - 1988 UK TV Espionage Series (3 discs)
1. Game Set & Match - Berlin 1988, parts 1-5
2. Game Set & Match - Mexico 1988, parts 1-5
3. Game Set & Match - London, parts 1-3
Quality: 8/10, very good / x13 parts on x3 discs
Bernard Samson is an ageing British spy, who was once at the top of his game. He led his own spy team in East Germany from Berlin. Everything changed when he lost a team member and he's been blaming himself for it ever since. He now works behind the desk with a team of young highly educated spies, who've never seen a day of action. When evidence of a Russian mole within their ranks appear, he's asked once again to return to Berlin and use his experience and old contacts to help catch the traitor
Stars: Ian Holm, Michael Culver, Michael Degen, Anthony Bate, Amanda Donohoe, Gail Harrison, Frederick Treves
Ghosts - 1994/5 (3 discs)
Six ghost stories from BBC's Screen Two series, 1994/95
Three Miles Up
Blood and Water
The Shadowy Third
The Chemistry Lesson
Massage
I'll Be Watching You
Quality: circa 7.5-8/10
Stars: Paul Rhys, Moira Brooker, Douglas Henshall, Anita Dobson, Tim Pigott-Smith, Samantha Bond, Derrick O'connor, Cheryl Campbell, Alan Cumming
The Grimleys - 1997 TV Pilot
Early 70's era TV comedy. Audio a bit noisy, video is good, VHS transfer
Quality: 7.5/10
Stars: Samantha Janus, Jack Dee, James Bradshaw, Nigel Planer, Noddy Holder, Alvin Stardust
The Haunting Of Helen Walker - 1995
A UK/US tv remake of Henry James' classic, Turn Of The Screw
Quality: 7.5/10, slight video fault but watchable, good audio
Stars: Valerie Bertinelli, Diana Rigg, Florence Hoath, Michael Gough
Heavy Weather - 1995
At Blandings (Sudeley) Castle, the Earl of Emsworth only cares about his prize pig 'The Empress' and is wilfully ignorant of the fact that his brother is planning to publish a book which might ruin the family name forever. A cracking P. G. Wodehouse adaptation
Quality: 9/10
Stars: Peter O'Toole, Judy Parfitt, Richard Briers, Roy Hudd
Leap In The Dark - Supernatural Docu-Drama Series 1973-77 (3 discs)
Fantastic, rare time-capsule series investigating real life cases of the Supernatural. Amazing stuff. Quality: 7-8/10
1. Pilot (9th Jan 1973) (S1)
2. The Vandy Case (10th Oct 1973) Written by Anne Owen (S2)
3. Dream Me a Winner (14th Jan 1977) Written by Colin Godman (S3)
4. 2. The Fetch (21st Jan 1977) Written by Anne Owen (S3)
5. The Ghost of Ardachie Lodge (28th Jan 1977, time-coded) Written by Colin Godman (S3)
6. Undercurrents (4th Feb 1977) (S3)
7. Parlour Games (11th Feb 1977) Written by Anne Owen (S3
The Heat Of The Day - 1989
WWII spy drama about an intelligence agent using a girl, who's boyfriend is a spy, for his own devices
Quality: 7.5/10, UK tv
Stars: Michael Gambon, Patricia Hodge, Michael York, Imelda Staunton
The Hound Of London - 1993
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson have to solve the murder of an actress in this rare television film. Includes Patrick Macnee bonus: One Foot In The Past: Bosham
Quality: 7/10 (UK)
Stars: Patrick Macnee, John Scott-Paget, Colin Skinner, Jack Macreath
The Man Who Lost His Head - 2007
A curator from an English museum is asked to return a mystical Maori relic to New Zealand
Quality: 8.5/10
Stars: Martin Clunes, John Callen, Nicola Kawana, Gareth Reeves
Hunting Venus - 1999
Former pop-star turned con artist Simon Delancey is kidnapped by two fans of his eighties band the Venus Hunters, and blackmailed to re-form the band for one final show
Quality: 8/10 (a few a/v problems due to weather interference from the original broadcast recording/region free Euro PAL dvd-r disc only)
Stars: Martin Clunes, Neil Morrissey, Jane Horrocks, Mark Williams, Ben Miller
Menace Unseen - 1988 (UK TV Series)
A gripping three part tv mini series about a nuclear power industry conspiracy
Quality: 7.5/10 (region free Euro PAL dvd-r disc only)
Stars: Judi Bowker, Ian Ogilvy, John Sessions, Brenda Bruce
Miss Morison's Ghosts - 1981
The highly regarded and compelling true Victorian ghost story
Quality: 8/10 (UK/Euro disc)
Stars: Wendy Hiller, Hannah Gordon, Niall Toibin, Antonia Pemberton
Mother Love (1989) 2xdvd set
Thrillingly dark late 80's drama involving madness, murder and betrayal
Quality: 7.5/10
Stars: Diana Rigg, James Wilby, David McCallum, Fiona Gillies, Holly Aird, James Grout
Natural Causes - 1988 UK TV
Walter is an historical writer who hires a killer to murder his neurotic wife, planning to spend the rest of his life with his young secretary
Quality: 8/10. Highly recommended
Stars: George Cole, Prunella Scales, Leslie Ash, Benjamin Whitrow
No Hiding Place - Set No. 1 (3 discs)
Remnants of this rare UK tv Detective Series: Set No.1
Disc 1: Beware of the Weepers - 1963 / Operation Tiptoe - 1963
Disc 2: Dead Ringer - 1961 / Ask Me If I Killed Her - 1966
Disc 3: Victim of the Dark - 1960/ The Widower - 1961
Tales of Scotland Yard centering on a detective team. A sort of half-way house between Dixon of Dock Green and 'Z' Cars. The detectives are still 1950's style with good elocution and an authoritative manner
Stars: Raymond Francis, Eric Lander
Quality: 6-7.5/10, variable, from various sources
No Hiding Place Set No. 2 ( 3 discs)
More remnants of this rare UK tv Detective Series: Set No.2
Disc 4: A Home Posting - 1966; The Common Murder - 1962 (1st two parts only)
Disc 5: Lockhart Finds A Note - 1959; A Bird To Watch The Marbles - 1963
Disc 6: Smokey - 1965; Expert With Salt - 1963
Tales of Scotland Yard centering on a detective team. A sort of half-way house between Dixon of Dock Green and 'Z' Cars. The detectives are still 1950's style with good elocution and an authoritative manner
Stars: Raymond Francis, Eric Lander
Quality: 6-7.5/10, variable, from various sources
Jamaica Inn - 1983
The respected Squire of a village is also the leader of a band of smugglers and wreckers who will stop at nothing the capture valuable cargoes
Quality: 7/10 (slight movement blur/region free Euro PAL dvd-r disc only)
Stars: Jane Seymour, Patrick McGoohan, Billie Whitelaw, Trevor Eve
Life After Life - 1990
UK tv film about a 70 year old man gets put into a retirement home
Quality: 8/10 (UK/Euro disc)
Stars: George Cole, Mary Wimbush, William Fox, Leslie Phillips
Minder On The Orient Express - 1985
Saving deceased gangster Jack South's daughter Nikki from an attack by hired thugs earns minder Terry McCann a trip for two across Europe, on the famous Orient Express
Quality: 7.5/10, tv film
Stars: Dennis Waterman, George Cole, Glynn Edwards, Honor Blackman, Patrick Malahide, Robert Beatty, Ralph Bates, Adam Faith, Amanda Pays
School Girl Chums - 1982 + St Ursula In Danger - 1983
Classic children's mystery stories set in the 1930's on this rare and unreleased double feature
Quality: 7.5/10
Stars: Lalla Ward, Martin Benson, Barry Jackson, Katy Locker, Patsy Kensit, Charlotte Long, Sally Pickering
The Scorpio Letters - 1967
Joe Christopher, an American ex-cop living in London, helps out British Intelligence following a suicide which sets him on the trail of a blackmailer known only as Scorpio
Quality: 9/10
Stars: Alex Cord, Shirley Eaton, Laurence Naismith, Oscar Beregi
Run A Crooked Mile - 1969
A key is the only evidence that Richard Stuart finds after witnessing a murder, before receiving a head injury. Two years later he returns to England to solve the mystery. He still has the key
Quality: 8.5/10 (ad break banners)
Stars: Louis Jordan, Mary Tyler Moore, Wilfred Hyde-White, Stanley Holloway
Sex 'n' Death - 1999
The host of a British Shock-TV Show blurs the line between show business and life
Quality: 8/10
Stars: The host of a British Shock-TV Show blurs the line between show business and life
Shoot To Kill - 1990
Depicting the events leading up to the Stalker Inquiry in 80's in Northern Ireland, concerning the killing of suspected terrorists by members of the RUC
Quality: 8/10
Stars: Jack Shepherd, David Calder, T.P.McKenna, George Shane
Tarry-Dan - 1978
Three days before his 16th birthday, teenager Jonah Grattan finds himself followed by a scary tramp and haunted by mysterious nightmares about a battle fought near to the Cornish coastal village (Port Isaac) where he lives
Quality: 6-7/10
Stars: Paul Curran, Colin Mayes, Michael Deeks
The Snow Goose - 1971
Set at the beginning of WWII in an Essex fishing village, a young orphan called Fritha helps a snow goose that has been wounded by a shotgun blast
Quality: 5/10, good audio, poor video
Stars: Richard Harris, Jenny Agutter, Graham Crowden, Freda Bamford
Memento Mori - 1992
A group of Elderlys start to receive distressing anonymous phone calls, the caller giving only one message; 'remember you must die'. A macabre tale with a killer cast!
Quality: 7/10, UK TV film (BBC Screen Two)
Stars: Maggie Smith, Michael Hordern, Renée Asherson, Stephanie Cole, Thora Hird
Never Come Back - 1990
Shortly before World War II, a disillusioned journalist finds that the mystery woman he has been pursuing is a Nazi spy
Quality: 9/10
Stars: Nathaniel Parker, James Fox, Jonathan Coy
This Could Be The Last Time - 1998
Rare UK tv comedy drama - about a family trying to offload their dear old Mum into a care home but the lady in question goes on the run instead. This is very good stuff
Quality: 8/10
Stars: Joan Plowright, Penelope Wilton, Dorothy Tutin, Alain Doutey, Keith Barron
Thacker - 1992
Retired Army Office George Thacker retreats to the English countryside for peace and quiet but comes up against Witchcraft and a violent gang of thugs, in this black comedy thriller
Quality: 8/10
Stars: Leslie Phillips, Margaret Tyzack, Graham Crowden, Celia Imrie
Over Here - 1996
Wartime comedy/drama about British RAF lads forced to share quarters and pretty much eveything else with the US Airforce, when they arrive in the UK
Quality: 8/10 (region free Euro PAL dvd-r disc only)
Stars: Samuel West, James Terry, Louise Brighton, Martin Clunes, Rebecca Charles
Precious Bane - 1989
In the early 19th century, a young woman with a harelip falls foul of her family's ambition and the superstitions of the local community, but meets a man who sees her in a different light
Quality: 9/10 (UK/Euro disc)
Stars: Janet McTeer, John Bowe, Clive Owen, Jane Wood, Jim Carter, John McEnery
West Country Tales - 1982/3 (2 discs)
West Country Tales was an early 1980s supernatural drama series based on real-life experiences sent in by viewers in response to a BBC appeal. These two discs contain nine of the thirteen surviving episodes from the two series
Quality: 7/10 variable
Narration: Keith Barron, Jack Watson
Massive cast includes: Wendy Richard, Nanette Newman, Jenny Hanley, Anita Harris
White Goods - 1994
Two mates team up to appear on a popular snooker quiz TV show. But they have a major falling out when they can't agree how to split their winning
Quality: 8/10, some slight blurring when camera moves but watchable
Stars: Lenny Henry, Ian McShane, Lesley Nightingale, Beverly Hills, Rachel Weisz
White Lady - 1987 (Screenplay)
In a derelict farmhouse, deep in the English countryside, Gil struggles alone to bring up his little daughters 'to need very little. - strong against all harm'. But unknown to any of them, in the surrounding fields of wheat and barley, and in the nodding branches of the fruit trees, there lurks a deathly power
Quality: 8/10, 50 mins.
Stars: Cornelius Garrett, Sophie Thompson, Jessica Martin, Meg Wynn Owen
Witchcraft - 1992
Drama series about a crew making a film about witchcraft. The director gets rather carried away and endangers the lives of his cast
Quality: 8/10
Stars: Peter McEnery, Alan Howard, Lisa Harrow, Judy Campbell, Clive Wood, Georgia Slowe
The Witches Of Pendle - 1976
Time-code and title are onscreen throughout. You'll need to adjust the colour on your tv
Quality: 6/10 poor print
Stars: David Boliver, Christine Buckley, Noel Cameron, Sarah Fowler, John Fielding
Wolfshead: The Legend Of Robin Hood - 1969 TV Pilot
Farmer, Robert of Loxley is working his land when a fellow Saxon runs through their property. Robert denies seeing the alleged poacher, and the fight, which ensues, is destined to seal his fate. TV Pilot for unmade series
Quality: 7.5/10
Stars: David Warbeck, Kathleen Byron, Dan Meaden
Worlds Beyond - 1986
Anthology of short supernatural films on one disc:
Serenade For Dead Lovers; The Black Tomb; The Barrington Case; The Eye Of Yemanja; Voice From The Gallows; Home; Captain Randolph; Suffer Little Children
Quality: 7/10
Stars include: Judi Bowker, Karen Black, Denholm Elliott, Connie Booth, David Warner