Terence Rattigan

Separate Tables

Two one-act plays explore love and loneliness. In "Table by the Window" an aging fashion model contrives a reunion with her ex-husband, a politician ruined by scandal, and their passion is rekindled. In "Table Number Seven" a meek woman harbors a secret love for a man accused of fraud and sex offenses, forcing her to take a stand for the first time in her life.

National Theatre Live: Man and Boy

Jazz, Broadway and the Great Depression. In 1930s New York City, international financier Gregor Antonescu's luck has finally run out. As news of a catastrophic business deal ripples across the world, he flees to the apartment of his estranged son Basil. Truths are uncovered and relationships are tested as Gregor gets down to business, to save his reputation and keep his empire from collapse. In his National Theatre debut, director Anthony Lau (The Crucible) brings a sharp, contemporary edge to Terence Rattigan's tale of paternity and corruption, with Ben Daniels (The Normal Heart) and Laurie Kynaston (Long Day's Journey into Night) playing father and son.

The Browning Version

Adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play produced for the BBC in 1985.

The Deep Blue Sea

Hester Collyer is rescued by a neighbor after attempting suicide in the flat she shares with her young lover, ex-RAF pilot Freddie Page. The neighbors alert her husband, who arrives at the flat only to find her fully recovered...

The Deep Blue Sea

The wife of a British Judge is caught in a self-destructive love affair with a Royal Air Force pilot.

Cause Célèbre

When the ailing husband of an adulterous wife is discovered bludgeoned to death and suspicions fall on the older woman's young lover, the newly widowed woman claims that it was she who was solely responsible for the death despite evidence that points to the contrary in this dramatic account of true-life 1935 trial that shocked all of England. Though notable evidence and strong suspicion suggests that the murder may have been of crime of passion perpetrated by the jealous lover only half her age, Alma Rattenbury (Helen Mirren) confesses to the murder of her husband and is soon brought to trial. Despite the fact that Alma is already being deemed guilty by the general public for her adulterous indiscretion alone, her lawyer, star attorney T.J. O'Connor (David Suchet), remains convinced that his client will eventually be cleared of all charges.

The Browning Version

Andrew Crocker-Harris is an embittered and disliked teacher of Greek and Latin at a British prep school. After nearly 20 years of service, he is being forced to retire for 'health reasons', and perhaps may not even be given a pension. The boys regard him as a Hitler, with some justification. His unfaithful wife Laura tries to hurt him in any way she can. Andrew must come to terms with his failed life and at least regain his own self-esteem.

Separate Tables

The lives of a disparate group of unfulfilled people converge at a small, seaside English hotel.

Separate Tables

Two one-act plays explore love and loneliness. In "Table by the Window" an aging fashion model contrives a reunion with her ex-husband, a politician ruined by scandal, and their passion is rekindled. In "Table Number Seven" a meek woman harbors a secret love for a man accused of fraud and sex offenses, forcing her to take a stand for the first time in her life.

National Theatre Live: Man and Boy

Jazz, Broadway and the Great Depression. In 1930s New York City, international financier Gregor Antonescu's luck has finally run out. As news of a catastrophic business deal ripples across the world, he flees to the apartment of his estranged son Basil. Truths are uncovered and relationships are tested as Gregor gets down to business, to save his reputation and keep his empire from collapse. In his National Theatre debut, director Anthony Lau (The Crucible) brings a sharp, contemporary edge to Terence Rattigan's tale of paternity and corruption, with Ben Daniels (The Normal Heart) and Laurie Kynaston (Long Day's Journey into Night) playing father and son.

The Browning Version

Adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play produced for the BBC in 1985.

The Deep Blue Sea

Hester Collyer is rescued by a neighbor after attempting suicide in the flat she shares with her young lover, ex-RAF pilot Freddie Page. The neighbors alert her husband, who arrives at the flat only to find her fully recovered...

The Deep Blue Sea

The wife of a British Judge is caught in a self-destructive love affair with a Royal Air Force pilot.

Cause Célèbre

When the ailing husband of an adulterous wife is discovered bludgeoned to death and suspicions fall on the older woman's young lover, the newly widowed woman claims that it was she who was solely responsible for the death despite evidence that points to the contrary in this dramatic account of true-life 1935 trial that shocked all of England. Though notable evidence and strong suspicion suggests that the murder may have been of crime of passion perpetrated by the jealous lover only half her age, Alma Rattenbury (Helen Mirren) confesses to the murder of her husband and is soon brought to trial. Despite the fact that Alma is already being deemed guilty by the general public for her adulterous indiscretion alone, her lawyer, star attorney T.J. O'Connor (David Suchet), remains convinced that his client will eventually be cleared of all charges.

The Browning Version

Andrew Crocker-Harris is an embittered and disliked teacher of Greek and Latin at a British prep school. After nearly 20 years of service, he is being forced to retire for 'health reasons', and perhaps may not even be given a pension. The boys regard him as a Hitler, with some justification. His unfaithful wife Laura tries to hurt him in any way she can. Andrew must come to terms with his failed life and at least regain his own self-esteem.

Separate Tables

The lives of a disparate group of unfulfilled people converge at a small, seaside English hotel.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Academy Award-honoree Peter O'Toole stars in this musical classic about a prim English schoolmaster who learns to show his compassion through the help of an outgoing showgirl. O'Toole, who received his fourth Oscar-nomination for this performance, is joined by '60s pop star Petula Clark and fellow Oscar-nominee Michael Redgrave.

The Yellow Rolls-Royce

One Rolls-Royce belongs to three vastly different owners, starting with Lord Charles, who buys the car for his wife as an anniversary present. The next owner is Paolo Maltese, a mafioso who purchases the car during a trip to Italy and leaves it with his girlfriend while he returns to Chicago. Finally, the car is owned by American widow Gerda, who joins the Yugoslavian resistance against the invading Nazis.

French Without Tears

The romantic and comic adventures of a group of Englishmen in France, on a course to learn the language.

Separate Tables

A play by Terence Rattigan about the stories of several people staying at a seaside hotel in Bournemouth which features dining at "Separate Tables."

The Browning Version

Andrew Crocker-Harris has been forced from his position as the classics master at an English public school due to poor health. As he winds up his final term, he discovers not only that his wife, Millie, has been unfaithful to him with one of his fellow schoolmasters, but that the school's students and faculty have long disdained him. However, an unexpected act of kindness causes Crocker-Harris to re-evaluate his life's work.

The Prince and the Showgirl

An American showgirl becomes entangled in political intrigue when the Prince Regent of a foreign country attempts to seduce her.

The Winslow Boy

In pre-WWI England, a youngster is expelled from a naval academy over a petty theft, but his parents raise a political furor by demanding a trial.

The Day Will Dawn

When Hitler invades Poland, sports journalist Colin Metcalfe (Hugh Williams) is unexpectedly reassigned as a foreign correspondent in Norway. En route, his ship is attacked by a German U-boat, but his warning to the Royal Navy is dismissed and he loses his post. With the German invasion of Norway soon after, Metcalfe returns, determined to uncover enemy operations and strike back against the occupiers. (Note: The film was released in the United States under the alternate title The Avengers (1942).)

The V.I.P.s

Wealthy passengers fogged in at London's Heathrow Airport fight to survive a variety of personal trials.

Brighton Rock

Centring on the activities of a gang of assorted criminals and, in particular, their leader – a vicious young hoodlum known as "Pinkie" – the film's main thematic concern is the criminal underbelly evident in inter-war Brighton.

The Deep Blue Sea

A woman is unhappy in her marriage to a boring, stiff judge, so she takes up with a wild-living RAF pilot, who ends up being more than she can handle.

High Summer

The peace of an aristocratic cricketing weekend at a large English country mansion in the early 20th century is disturbed when the wayward Bohemian son of the owning family returns unexpectedly to claim his inheritance.

Adventure Story

The story of Alexander the Great.

The Way to the Stars

Life on a British bomber base, and the surrounding towns, from the opening days of the Battle of Britain, to the arrival of the Americans, who join in the bomber offensive. The film centres around Pilot Officer Peter Penrose, fresh out of a training unit, who joins the squadron, and quickly discovers about life during war time. He falls for Iris, a young girl who lives at the local hotel, but he becomes disillusioned about marriage, when the squadron commander dies in a raid, and leaves his wife, the hotel manageress, with a young son to bring up. As the war progresses, Penross comes to terms that he has survived, while others have been killed.

The Winslow Boy

In pre-WWI England, a youngster is expelled from a naval academy over a petty theft, but his parents raise a political furor by demanding a trial.

All On Her Own

Rosemary returns from a party to the empty Hampstead house where she has lived since the death of her husband. He died of an overdose of sleeping pills - was it accidental - she tries to find out.

ITV Playhouse

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.

Alta comedia

BBC Play of the Month

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.

ITV Saturday Night Theatre

Anthology series of dramatic works.

The United States Steel Hour

The United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation.

Theatre Night

A series of dramas featuring staged theatre plays.

Armchair Theatre

Armchair Theatre is 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 later by Thames Television from mid-1968.

A Touch of Venus

A series of 13 monologues for famous actresses, broadcast on the BBC in 1968–1969.