Sort by IMDb Rating - Highest Rated Movies and TV Shows With Alec McCowen
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1.
Arena (1975– )
Episode:
Paul Scofield
(2008)
Documentary
A tribute to one of Britain's most acclaimed actors.
Director: David M. Thompson | Stars: Paul Scofield, Juliet Stevenson, Eileen Atkins, Michael Billington
Votes: 47
2. Television Playwright (1958–1959)
Drama
Stars: Brian Peck, Peter Copley, Jack Allen, Helen Shingler
Votes: 14
3.
BBC Play of the Month (1965–1983)
Episode:
Where Angels Fear to Tread
(1966)
120 min | Drama
After a rich Edwardian widow impulsively marries a handsome but poor Tuscan dentist and dies in childbirth, her English in-laws try to gain custody of the baby.
Director: Naomi Capon | Stars: Anna Massey, Wendy Hiller, Alec McCowen, Nora Swinburne
Votes: 12
4. The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog (1983)
25 min | Comedy
An evening of comic monologues and songs with an all-star cast, including Dame Maureen Lipman, Dame Julie Walters, Leonard Rossiter, and Arthur Askey in his very last professional ... See full summary »
Stars: Arthur Askey, Cilla Black, Barry Cryer, Harold Innocent
Votes: 6
5.
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984– )
Episode:
The Baited Trap
(1985)
TV-14 | 48 min | Drama
A contact at the Soviet embassy informs the Coordinator that one of her agents is "playing a double game." Since she doesn't hold this agent in high regard, the Coordinator tells Palfrey to look into it--but he suspects a set up.
Director: John Davies | Stars: Alec McCowen, Caroline Blakiston, Clive Wood, Briony McRoberts
Votes: 18
6. Horizon (I) (1964– )
50 min | Documentary
British documentary series that covers a variety of subjects in science and philosophy.
Stars: Paul Vaughan, Jack Fortune, Dilly Barlow, Colin Riach
Votes: 1,149
7. Chronicle (1966–1991)
50 min | Documentary, History
Series tracing new developments in historical research.
Stars: Magnus Magnusson, John Julius Norwich, David Drew, Barry Cunliffe
Votes: 17
8.
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984– )
Episode:
A Present from Leipzig
(1984)
TV-14 | 51 min | Drama
A stolen Russian icon leads Palfrey to the door of a wealthy industrialist who makes periodic trips to the Eastern Bloc. Why did the man not report the theft? And why is a young East German visiting his home?
Director: Peter Cregeen | Stars: Alec McCowen, Caroline Blakiston, Clive Wood, Briony McRoberts
Votes: 20
9.
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984– )
Episode:
Official Secret
(1985)
TV-14 | 52 min | Drama
A disgruntled former government official believes that double agents still work in the intelligence service--and threatens to tip off the press unless something is done. The Coordinator assigns Palfrey to head him off.
Director: Christopher Hodson | Stars: Alec McCowen, Caroline Blakiston, Clive Wood, Briony McRoberts
Votes: 17
10.
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984– )
Episode:
Return to Sender
(1985)
TV-14 | 50 min | Drama
A former British agent who defected to the Soviet Union makes an unannounced return, threatening to embarrass both countries. Under instructions to silence him, Palfrey decides to up the stakes.
Director: Gerald Blake | Stars: Alec McCowen, Caroline Blakiston, Clive Wood, Briony McRoberts
Votes: 20
11.
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984– )
Episode:
The Defector
(1984)
TV-14 | 51 min | Drama
The Coordinator decides to call a press conference announcing the defection of a celebrated Russian author, but Palfrey urges caution. He suspects a trap, especially after the KGB starts to pressure for the author's return.
Director: Christopher Hodson | Stars: Alec McCowen, Caroline Blakiston, Clive Wood, Briony McRoberts
Votes: 23
12.
Storyboard (1983–1989)
Episode:
The Traitor
(1983)
Drama
A seemingly standard interview turns into something very confusing.
Director: Christopher Hodson | Stars: Alec McCowen, Tim Pigott-Smith, Antony Brown, Gary Watson
Votes: 13
13. ITV Television Playhouse (1955–1967)
60 min | Drama
Richard O. Sullivan as a child genius in the play "Honour Bright".
Stars: Campbell Singer, Thomas Heathcote, Richard Caldicot, June Brown
Votes: 66
14. The BBC Television Shakespeare (1978–1985)
BBC adaptations of all 37 plays wholly and authoritatively credited to William Shakespeare.
Stars: Brenda Bruce, Jon Finch, David Gwillim, Rob Edwards
Votes: 52
15. The Plane Makers (1963–1965)
60 min | Drama
The day-to-day story of a multi-million pound aerospace company, its new jet plane, its test-pilot, its workers and its ruthless and hard-nosed managing director John Wilder, the embodiment of modern, unflinching capitalism.
Stars: Jack Watling, Patrick Wymark, Norma Ronald, Reginald Marsh
Votes: 44
16. The War That Never Ends (1991 TV Movie)
70 min | Drama
The Peloponnesian Wars (Athens versus Sparta for twenty-seven years) told in the format of news broadcast-like monologues by Thucydides, Plato, and others.
Director: Jack Gold | Stars: John Bennett, David Calder, Oliver Ford Davies, Don Henderson
Votes: 63
17.
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984– )
Episode:
The Honeypot and the Bees
(1984)
TV-14 | 49 min | Drama
A senior official at the Ministry of Defence is carrying on a clandestine affair with a young woman from Czechoslovakia. When the couple disappear, the Coordinator fears a serious breach in national security.
Director: Peter Cregeen | Stars: Alec McCowen, Caroline Blakiston, Clive Wood, Briony McRoberts
Votes: 26
18. Looks Familiar (1970– )
Family, Game-Show, Talk-Show
Nostalgia based panel chat show.
Stars: Denis Norden, Bob Monkhouse, Arthur Askey, Ted Ray
Votes: 29
19.
Kavanagh QC (1995–2001)
Episode:
Previous Convictions
(1999)
TV-14 | 76 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Twenty-two bystanders at a motor-cross race are killed when an RAF plane crashes into the crowd, and Kavanagh defends the radicalized young woman responsible.
Director: Tristram Powell | Stars: John Thaw, Jude Akuwudike, Joe Alessi, Daisy Bates
Votes: 70
20. Midsomer Murders (1997– )
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A veteran Detective Chief Inspector and his young Sergeant investigate murders around the regional community of Midsomer County.
Stars: John Nettles, Jane Wymark, Barry Jackson, Neil Dudgeon
Votes: 39,501
21. A Night to Remember (1958)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama, History
On her maiden voyage in April 1912, the supposedly unsinkable RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Kenneth More, Ronald Allen, Robert Ayres, Honor Blackman
Votes: 17,169
22. Orson Welles' Great Mysteries (1973–1974)
30 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
"Orson Welles' Great Mysteries" was a United Kingdom hosted anthology mystery and supernatural series, hosted by Orson Welles.
Stars: Orson Welles, Christopher Lee, Dean Stockwell, Joan Collins
Votes: 233
23. Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1992–1994)
TV-Y7 | 26 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Condensed animated adaptations of plays by William Shakespeare.
Stars: Alec McCowen, Michael Kitchen, Suzanne Burden, John Warner
Votes: 359
24. Private Lives (1976 TV Movie)
91 min | Comedy, Drama
Amanda and Elyot used to be tempestuously married to each other. Now, each has remarried - and they find themselves in adjoining suites at the same hotel.
Director: John Gorrie | Stars: Alec McCowen, Penelope Keith, Polly Adams, Donald Pickering
Votes: 78
25.
BBC Play of the Month (1965–1983)
Episode:
Luther
(1965)
Drama
During the early 16th Century idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.
Director: Alan Cooke | Stars: Alec McCowen, Patrick Magee, Geoffrey Bayldon, Charles Carson
Votes: 13
26.
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984– )
Episode:
Freedom from Longing
(1985)
TV-14 | 51 min | Drama
Palfrey's assistant, Blair, gets recruited by another department to investigate a suspected Soviet agent--a Czech-born woman with whom Blair once had an affair. But Palfrey believes the ... See full summary »
Director: Christopher Hodson | Stars: Alec McCowen, Caroline Blakiston, Clive Wood, Briony McRoberts
Votes: 19
27.
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984– )
Episode:
Spygame
(1985)
TV-14 | 50 min | Drama
On advice from the CIA, Palfrey surveils an American aerospace engineer suspected of passing the Soviets classified information about an Anglo-American defense project. It looks like the ... See full summary »
Director: Gerald Blake | Stars: Alec McCowen, Caroline Blakiston, Clive Wood, Briony McRoberts
Votes: 16
28. Play for Today (1970–1984)
75 min | Comedy, Drama
A British television anthology drama series that aired on BBC1 between 1970 and 1984.
Stars: Alison Steadman, Nigel Hawthorne, Tony Caunter, David Daker
Votes: 392
29. Longitude (2000)
200 min | Drama, History
In two parallel stories, the clockmaker John Harrison builds the marine chronometer for safe navigation at sea in the 18th Century and the horologist Rupert Gould becomes obsessed with restoring it in the 20th Century.
Stars: Jeremy Irons, Anna Chancellor, Emma Kay, Samuel West
Votes: 2,431
30. BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950–1959)
Drama
Series of television plays performed live.
Stars: Richard Caldicot, George Woodbridge, Robert Brown, Michael Brennan
Votes: 179
31. Twelfth Night (1980 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Lookalike twins Viola and Sebastian are separated by a shipwreck. Viola lands in Illyria, where she disguises herself as her brother and goes into the service of the Duke Orsino. Orsino ... See full summary »
Director: John Gorrie | Stars: Alec McCowen, Robert Hardy, Felicity Kendal, Annette Crosbie
Votes: 289
32. Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama
He describes himself as "just a civil servant." But in the cloak-and-dagger world of the British security services, mild-mannered Mr. Palfrey (Golden Globe nominee Alec McCowen, Travels ... See full summary »
Stars: Alec McCowen, Caroline Blakiston, Clive Wood, Briony McRoberts
Votes: 167
33.
Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1992–1994)
Episode:
King Richard III
(1994)
TV-Y7 | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Embittered by his deformed appearance, Richard of Gloucester schemes, seduces and murders his way to the throne of England.
Director: Natalya Orlova | Stars: Antony Sher, Alec McCowen, Eleanor Bron, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 53
34. Kavanagh QC (1995–2001)
TV-MA | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A crusty barrister oversees difficult criminal cases while dealing with the demands of his family life.
Stars: John Thaw, Oliver Ford Davies, Nicholas Jones, Cliff Parisi
Votes: 1,090
35. Arena (1975– )
60 min | Documentary
Wide-ranging arts program.
Stars: Gavin Millar, Kenneth Tynan, John Walters, Jonathan Miller
Votes: 320
36. Centre Play (1973–1977)
Drama
Anthology series of half hour plays produced in BBC's Television Centre's studios.
Stars: John Barrett, Will Knightley, David Daker, Michael Gough
Votes: 15
37. Festival (I) (1963–1964)
60 min | Drama
An hour-long UK dramatic anthology series produced by the BBC from 1963-64, with a total of 32 episodes adapted from writers ranging from William Shakespeare to Samuel Beckett. Stars ... See full summary »
Stars: David Garfield, Cyril Cusack, John Wood, John Welsh
Votes: 20
38. Squaring the Circle (1984 TV Movie)
Drama
An account of how Lech Walesa and the "Solidarity" trade union confronted the might of Communist dictatorship in Poland.
Director: Mike Hodges | Stars: Jonathan Adams, John Antrobus, Peter Bayliss, John Bluthal
Votes: 40
39. Armchair Theatre (1956–1974)
60 min | Drama
This show was 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 from mid-1968 by Thames Television.
Stars: Harry H. Corbett, Paul Whitsun-Jones, Billie Whitelaw, Neil McCallum
Votes: 246
40. All for Love (1982–1983)
60 min | Romance
Anthology of stories about love, many adapted from short stories or novels.
Stars: Alick Hayes, Dilys Worsfold, Joan Plowright, Geraldine McEwan
Votes: 17
41.
All for Love (1982–1983)
Episode:
A Dedicated Man
(1982)
Not Rated | 60 min | Romance
A workaholic persuades a lonely unmarried lady to pose as his wife. Soon she starts wondering about his past, and things start to go downhill.
Director: Robert Knights | Stars: Joan Plowright, Alec McCowen, Marged Esli, Maria Mescki
Votes: 16
42.
Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1992–1994)
Episode:
Macbeth
(1992)
TV-Y7 | 26 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Encouraged by a prophecy and his scheming wife, Macbeth sets out to be King of Scotland, but soon realizes the lengths he must go to keep his power in this gruesome tale of pure horror.
Directors: Nikolay Serebryakov, Dave Edwards | Stars: Alec McCowen, Brian Cox, Zoë Wanamaker, Laurence Payne
Votes: 105
43. Gangs of New York (2002)
R | 167 min | Crime, Drama
In 1862, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent
Votes: 473,160 | Gross: $77.81M
44. Henry V (1989)
PG-13 | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin
Votes: 31,675 | Gross: $10.16M
45. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
Not Rated | 104 min | Drama, Sport
A young thief takes up long-distance running when he is sent to a borstal.
Director: Tony Richardson | Stars: Michael Redgrave, Tom Courtenay, Avis Bunnage, Alec McCowen
Votes: 9,372
46. The Wednesday Play (1964–1970)
75 min | Drama
Series of one-off plays made by BBC television, which gave breaks to a wide range of writers and directors in the late 1960s, such as Dennis Potter, Ken Loach, David Mercer, and John ... See full summary »
Stars: Edwin Brown, Neville Smith, Tony Selby, Ken Jones
Votes: 132
47. BBC2 Play of the Week (1977–1979)
100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Anthology of plays and novels adapted into feature length movies.
Stars: Judi Dench, Richard O'Callaghan, Frederick Treves, Clive Swift
Votes: 47
48. Theatre 625 (1964–1968)
90 min | Drama
Drama anthology series transmitted on BBC Two.
Stars: Michael Bryant, Judi Dench, Maurice Denham, Margery Mason
Votes: 48
49.
Bergerac (1981–1991)
Episode:
Trenchard's Last Case
(1989)
TV-14 | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Retired Chief Superintendant Trenchard arrives in Jersey, supposedly for the fishing. However he makes it his business to harass local philanthropist Olly Sutton, whom he is convinced was ... See full summary »
Director: Mike Barnes | Stars: John Nettles, Alec McCowen, Terence Alexander, George Costigan
Votes: 42
50.
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984– )
Episode:
Once Your Card Is Marked
(1984)
TV-14 | 50 min | Drama
Palfrey's new boss wants him to nail a misfit diplomat whom everyone suspects is spying for the Soviets. But Palfrey believes someone is making the man a scapegoat, and he decides to find out why.
Director: Christopher Hodson | Stars: Alec McCowen, Caroline Blakiston, Clive Wood, Briony McRoberts
Votes: 32