Acting
Francesca Annis
Born May 14, 1945 · Kensington, London, England, UK (age 81)
Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is an English actress. She is known for television roles in Reckless (1998), Wives and Daughters (1999), Deceit (2000) and Cranford (2007). A six-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 1979 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for the ITV serial Lillie. Her film appearances include Krull (1983), Dune (1984), The Debt Collector (1999) and The Libertine (2004). Descr…
Known For
Dune · 1984Dune
★ 6.21984
MovieActionScience Fiction
In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.
Krull · 1983Krull
★ 6.01983
MovieActionAdventure
A prince and a fellowship of companions set out to rescue his bride from a fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet.
Cleopatra · 1963Cleopatra
★ 7.11963
MovieDramaHistory
Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar is murdered, she redirects her attentions to his general, Marc Antony, who vows to take power—but Caesar’s successor has other plans.
King of Thieves · 2018King of Thieves
★ 5.62018
MovieCrimeDrama
London, England, April 2015. Brian Reader, a retired thief, gathers an unlikely gang of burglars to perpetrate the biggest and boldest heist in British history. The thieves assault the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company and escape with millions in goods and money. But soon the cracks between the gang members begin to appear when they discuss how to share the loot.
The Libertine · 2004The Libertine
★ 5.92004
MovieDramaRomance
The story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.
Doomsday Gun · 1994Doomsday Gun
★ 5.61994
MovieHistoryDrama
Dr Gerald Bull was a genius at designing and building superguns (very large long range guns capable of shooting at ranges more than 100 miles). When an operational plan by the CIA to export sanctioned arms to apartheid-South Africa through him was exposed, the CIA denied all knowledge and he went to jail. He was later released, and moved to Belgium to start a subsidiary, of which a major project was to help Saddam Hussein build a new supergun capable of firing over 500 miles.
Revolver · 2005Revolver
★ 6.42005
MovieDramaThriller
Hotshot gambler Jake Green is long on bravado and seriously short of common sense. Rarely is he allowed in any casino because he's a bona fide winner and, in fact, has taken so much money over the years that he's the sole client of his accountant elder brother, Billy. Invited to a private game, Jake is in fear of losing his life.
Absolute Hell · 1991Absolute Hell
★ 6.01991
MovieComedyDrama
Black comedy set in Soho, London, right after World War II. Half of the fun is seeing a slew of very familiar faces kick up their heels as gay men, lesbians, party-girls, drunks, and drag queens. Originally aired as part of the anthology series "Performance."
Movies
Dune · 1984Dune
★ 6.21984
MovieActionScience Fiction
In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.
Krull · 1983Krull
★ 6.01983
MovieActionAdventure
A prince and a fellowship of companions set out to rescue his bride from a fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet.
Cleopatra · 1963Cleopatra
★ 7.11963
MovieDramaHistory
Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar is murdered, she redirects her attentions to his general, Marc Antony, who vows to take power—but Caesar’s successor has other plans.
King of Thieves · 2018King of Thieves
★ 5.62018
MovieCrimeDrama
London, England, April 2015. Brian Reader, a retired thief, gathers an unlikely gang of burglars to perpetrate the biggest and boldest heist in British history. The thieves assault the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company and escape with millions in goods and money. But soon the cracks between the gang members begin to appear when they discuss how to share the loot.
The Libertine · 2004The Libertine
★ 5.92004
MovieDramaRomance
The story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.
Doomsday Gun · 1994Doomsday Gun
★ 5.61994
MovieHistoryDrama
Dr Gerald Bull was a genius at designing and building superguns (very large long range guns capable of shooting at ranges more than 100 miles). When an operational plan by the CIA to export sanctioned arms to apartheid-South Africa through him was exposed, the CIA denied all knowledge and he went to jail. He was later released, and moved to Belgium to start a subsidiary, of which a major project was to help Saddam Hussein build a new supergun capable of firing over 500 miles.
Revolver · 2005Revolver
★ 6.42005
MovieDramaThriller
Hotshot gambler Jake Green is long on bravado and seriously short of common sense. Rarely is he allowed in any casino because he's a bona fide winner and, in fact, has taken so much money over the years that he's the sole client of his accountant elder brother, Billy. Invited to a private game, Jake is in fear of losing his life.
Absolute Hell · 1991Absolute Hell
★ 6.01991
MovieComedyDrama
Black comedy set in Soho, London, right after World War II. Half of the fun is seeing a slew of very familiar faces kick up their heels as gay men, lesbians, party-girls, drunks, and drag queens. Originally aired as part of the anthology series "Performance."
Peer Gynt · 1972Peer Gynt
★ 9.01972
MovieDramaFantasy
The 1972 BBC adaptation of Ibsen’s epic dramatic fantasy about a man in search of his soul.
Reckless: The Sequel · 1998Reckless: The Sequel
★ 7.01998
MovieDrama
One year on in their lives, Owen and Anna plan to marry. But Anna's ex-husband may have an other idea. He schemes to rip the couple apart. Can Anna and Owen survive this emotional trauma to become man and wife?
The Walking Stick · 1970The Walking Stick
★ 7.01970
MovieCrimeDrama
A young woman's highly ordered and structured life is turned upside-down when she meets a handsome stranger at a party. Friendship soon develops into romance and for the first time in her life she is truly happy. This happiness is short lived, however, as little by little she discovers her partner has been lying to her about his past. It is soon revealed that he and his friends have been planning to rob the auction house that she works for and they require her inside knowledge in order to pull off the crime.
Romeo.Juliet · 1990Romeo.Juliet
★ 7.51990
MovieDramaRomance
The tale centers on an eccentric bag lady who rescues the stray cats of Venice and puts them on a boat to set sail for the new world. It has not been re-released for the home video market. This lack of availability, which has been described as making it "more rare than the dinosaur" has made it a sought-after item in some circles.
El río de oro · 1986El río de oro
★ 4.41986
MovieDrama
During a long summer, the tranquility of a couple and their three children resting in a country house is altered with the arrival of the children's uncle, a character who exerts a curious influence on the boys and a morbid and strange attraction the wife. Twelve years after 'Los viajes escolares' (1973), his first commercial feature film, the Madrid director Jaime Chávarri returns to the same estate in the province of Segovia to shoot a new family story, about his own plot and script. Like its predecessor, 'The Golden River' contains a strong autobiographical charge and is full of personal resonances. But this new history of family ties is narrated from a perspective in which adultery manifests itself openly. Endowed with a slow narrative rhythm, the film presents an international cast headed by Ángela Molina, Bruno Ganz, Francesca Annis and Stefan Gubser. The film also has the presence of a very young Juan Diego Botto, in one of his first appearances on the big screen.
The Secret Adversary · 1983The Secret Adversary
★ 6.91983
MovieComedyMystery
After a chance meeting and an indiscreet conversation, childhood friends Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley become involved in a convoluted intrigue led by a mysterious man known simply as Mr. Brown.
Why Didn't They Ask Evans? · 1980Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
★ 6.71980
MovieThrillerTV Movie
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.
Macbeth · 1971Macbeth
★ 7.11971
MovieWarDrama
Scotland, 11th century. Driven by the twisted prophecy of three witches and the ruthless ambition of his wife, warlord Macbeth, bold and brave, but also weak and hesitant, betrays his good king and his brothers in arms and sinks into the bloody mud of a path with no return, sown with crime and suspicion.
The Pleasure Girls · 1965The Pleasure Girls
★ 5.61965
MovieDrama
When Sally moves to London to pursue a modelling career, she moves in with Angela and Dee and discovers the world of the carefree bachelor girl in Swinging London. Over one weekend - filled with parties, blossoming friendships, and romantic encounters with Keith and Nikko (Klaus Kinski) - the vivacious girls learn about life's pleasures and pains.
Short Cut to Haifa · 1972Short Cut to Haifa
★ 5.01972
MovieDrama
A middle-aged truck driver travelling through the desert with his good-for-nothing nephew and a pretty nun, gets stuck and are forced to wait to be rescued.
Murder Most Foul · 1964Murder Most Foul
★ 7.11964
MovieComedyCrime
A murderer is brought to court and only Miss Marple is unconvinced of his innocence. Once again she begins her own investigation.
A Haunting Harmony · 1993A Haunting Harmony
★ 6.01993
Movie
A young member of a choir becomes friends with a ghost in a school of English cathedral.
Sign It Death · 1974Sign It Death
★ 7.51974
MovieTV MovieHorror
A young woman schemes to marry a wealthy businessman by becoming his secretary.
Onegin · 1999Onegin
★ 6.11999
MovieDramaRomance
A virtuous and passionate girl falls in love with a cynical but a dashing aristocrat.
Polanski Meets Macbeth · 1972Polanski Meets Macbeth
1972
MovieDocumentary
A 1971 documentary by Frank Simon featuring rare footage of the film’s cast and crew at work.
Under the Cherry Moon · 1986Under the Cherry Moon
★ 5.41986
MovieComedyMusic
Two friends from Miami are in the French Riviera enjoying life by scamming money off of rich women. One day, they read about a young woman set to inherit $50 million from her father. At first, Tricky has Christopher Tracy talked into romancing her for her money, but in getting to know her, Christopher falls in love with her. This love comes between the brothers, and Tricky tells about the plan.
TV Shows
Agatha Christie's Marple · 2004Agatha Christie's Marple
★ 7.82004
SeriesDramaCrime
The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
The Saint · 1962The Saint
★ 7.31962
SeriesCrime
Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those in need.
BBC Play of the Month · 1965BBC Play of the Month
★ 5.31965
SeriesDrama
A 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.
Tales from the Crypt · 1989Tales from the Crypt
★ 8.01989
SeriesComedyMystery
Cadaverous scream legend the Crypt Keeper is your macabre host for these forays of fright and fun based on the classic E.C. Comics tales from back in the day. So shamble up to the bar and pick your poison. Will it be an insane Santa on a personal slay ride? Honeymooners out to fulfill the "til death do we part" vow ASAP?
Theatre 625 · 1964Theatre 625
★ 7.21964
SeriesDrama
Theatre 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.
Danger Man · 1960Danger Man
★ 7.41960
SeriesDrama
Danger Man is a British television series which was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the programme and wrote many of the scripts. Danger Man was financed by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.
ITV Playhouse · 1967ITV Playhouse
★ 7.01967
SeriesDrama
ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.
Jane Eyre · 2006Jane Eyre
★ 7.72006
SeriesDrama
Charlotte Bronte's classic about an orphan girl who grows up to become a governess in a gloomy manor in Yorkshire, where she falls in love with the mysterious Edward Rochester.
Dalziel and Pascoe · 1996Dalziel and Pascoe
★ 6.41996
SeriesMysteryCrime
In the fictional Yorkshire town of Wetherton, the unlikely duo of politically incorrect elephant-in-a-China-shop-copper DS Andrew Dalziel (pronounced Dee-ell) and his more sensitive and university educated sidekick DS, later DI, Peter Pascoe is always on hand to solve the classic murder mystery, while maintaining down-to-Earth wit and humour.
Between the Lines · 1992Between the Lines
★ 5.51992
SeriesDrama
Detective Superintendent Tony Clark is an ambitious member of the Complaints Investigation Bureau, an internal organisation that investigates claims of corruption inside the police in England and Wales. Along the way Clark overcomes strong influence from his superiors and problems in his private life, most notably the break-up of his marriage following an affair with WPC Jenny Dean.
Performance · 1991Performance
★ 6.31991
SeriesDrama
An anthology series of various plays and dramatic performances.
Home Fires · 2015Home Fires
★ 8.32015
SeriesDramaComedy
The story of a group of inspirational women in a rural Cheshire community with the shadow of World War II casting a dark cloud over their lives. As the conflict takes hold and separates the women from their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, the characters find themselves under increasing and extraordinary pressures in a rapidly fragmenting world. By banding together as the Great Paxford Women’s Institute, they help maintain the nation’s fabric in its darkest hour, and discover inner resources that will change their lives forever.
Cranford · 2007Cranford
★ 8.12007
SeriesDrama
A rich and comic drama about the people of Cranford, a small Cheshire town on the cusp of change in the 1840s. Adapted from the novels by Elizabeth Gaskell.
The Human Jungle · 1963The Human Jungle
★ 8.21963
Series
The Human Jungle is a British TV series about a psychiatrist, made for ABC Television by the small production company Independent Artists for transmission on ITV. Starring Herbert Lom, it ran for two series which were first transmitted during 1963 and 1965.
Wives and Daughters · 1999Wives and Daughters
★ 7.31999
SeriesDrama
The life of doctor's daughter Molly Gibson changes gradually after her widowed father chooses to remarry. The union brings into her once-quiet life an ever-proper stepmother and flirtatious stepsister, Cynthia, while a friendship with the local squire brings about an unexpected romance.
Sir Francis Drake · 1961Sir Francis Drake
★ 5.11961
Series
Sir Francis Drake was a British adventure television series starring Terence Morgan as Sir Francis Drake, commander of the sailing ship the Golden Hind. As well as battles at sea, sword fights, the series also deals with intrigue at Elizabeth's court, often caused by Spaniard, Mendoza.
Madame Bovary · 1975Madame Bovary
★ 6.01975
SeriesDrama
In 19th-century France, doctor's wife Emma Bovary seeks to escape her dull provincial life through various extramarital affairs and extravagant spending, leading to tragic consequences.
Great Expectations · 1967Great Expectations
★ 8.01967
SeriesDrama
Orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood patron, Miss Havisham, and his first love, the beautiful but emotionally cold Estella, he discovers that the elderly spinster has gone mad from having been left at the altar as a young woman, and has made her charge into a warped, unfeeling heartbreaker.
The Forsytes · 2025The Forsytes
★ 6.22025
SeriesDrama
Chronicles the lives of four generations of an upper-class family of stockbrokers, set against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving late-Victorian world.
Showtrial · 2021Showtrial
★ 6.92021
SeriesDrama
An anthology series of hotly contested criminal trials that divides the nation and take place in the full glare of the media spotlight.
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries · 1973Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
★ 6.81973
SeriesMysteryDrama
Orson Welles’ Great Mysteries is a British television anthology series produced by Anglia Television for the ITV network and broadcast between 1973 and 1974. The series presents standalone adaptations of classic mystery, crime, and supernatural stories drawn from literary sources including Dickens, Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins, Balzac, Maugham, O. Henry, and others.
Each episode is framed by original introductory and closing sequences performed by Orson Welles, who serves as the series’ host and sole recurring on-screen presence. These segments, written and directed by Welles (uncredited), function as stylized narrative framing devices rather than dramatic participation in the stories themselves. The dramatic content of each episode is performed by separate casts and directors, with no continuing characters or serialized narrative, establishing the series as a unified television anthology rather than a collection of standalone films.
Ooh La La! · 1968Ooh La La!
★ 10.01968
SeriesComedy
Series based on the short French farces written by Georges Feydeau, Eugène Labiche, Marc Michel and Sacha Guitry. All of them include mistaken identities and impeccable timing.
Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime · 1983Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime
★ 6.41983
SeriesMysteryComedy
Spirited dialogue, posh Roaring '20s style, and devious mysteries abound as Tommy and Tuppence Beresford mix marriage and mystery solving.
Reckless · 1997Reckless
★ 6.21997
SeriesDrama
Reckless is a British television serial written by Paul Abbott. Produced by Granada Television for ITV, it aired in six parts from 6 February to 13 March 1997.
Owen Springer is a Junior Doctor who falls for the sophisticated and glamorous Anna Fairley. Little does he know that she is married to his boss, consultant Richard Crane.