Alec McCowenFilmography

David Copperfield

Synopsis: Hot on the heels of the BBC's multipart 1999 adaptation of Charles Dickens' semiautobiographical novel David Copperfield came this American-financed version, prepared for the TNT cable network as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Child actor Max Dolbey and adult performer Hugh Dancy share the Read More

The Age of Innocence

Actors: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, Miriam Margolyes, Richard E. Grant, Alec McCowen

Synopsis: In Martin Scorsese's adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel, romance between an upper-class gentleman and an ostracized lady is doomed by 19th century New York society. Shortly after his engagement to blandly genteel May Welland (Winona Ryder), Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) is reacquainted Read More

Maria's Child

Actors: Yolanda Vasquez, David Patrick O'Hara, Fiona Shaw, Alec McCowen, Sophie Okonedo, Rudi Davies

Synopsis: Written by British TV screenwriter, Malcolm McKay, this is the second of three movies that revolve around the concept of forgiveness. In this comedy, a dancer becomes pregnant. Discovering that her live-in boyfriend has been cheating on her, she kicks him out, but since he is not the Father of Read More

Henry V

Actors: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Ian Holm, Paul Scofield, Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane

Synopsis: Kenneth Branagh makes his feature film directorial debut with this adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henry V. After the Chorus (Derek Jacobi) introduces the play, young king of England Henry V (Kenneth Branagh) begins an angry dialogue with King Charles of France (Paul Scofield). The king's son Read More

Cry Freedom

Actors: Kevin Kline, Penelope Wilton, Denzel Washington, Kevin McNally

Synopsis: Richard Attenborough directed this dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) is a white liberal journalist in South Africa who begins to follow the activities of Stephen Biko (Denzel Washington Read More

Personal Services

Actors: Julie Walters, Alec McCowen, Shirley Stelfox, Danny Schiller, Tim Woodward, Victoria Hardcastle

Synopsis: This comedy was inspired by the true story of Cynthia Payne, a former waitress who gained fame as England's best-known (and best-liked) madame. Christine Painter (Julie Walters) is a working-class single mother who sub-leases a few inexpensive flats as a way of bringing in extra money. Christine Read More

A Dedicated Man

Synopsis: When a workaholic businessman needs to be married to maintain a good image, he asks a woman to pose as his wife. The film is a British production originally made for The Romance Theatre. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide Read More

The Assam Garden

Actors: Deborah Kerr, Madhur Jaffrey, Alec McCowen, Zia Mohyeddin, Anton Lesser

Synopsis: An embittered, lonely old widow reluctantly tends her late husband's garden and discovers that more than flowers can bloom there when she encounters her East Indian neighbor, a woman with an ailing husband. This touching drama chronicles their friendship. The story opens as the widow returns from Read More

Forever Young

Actors: Nicholas Gecks, Alec McCowen, Karen Archer

Synopsis: Two men who had been partners 20 years earlier reunite and rekindle old animosities in this routine, low-budget drama by director David Drury, made for the "First Love" British TV series but also released theatrically. James (James Aubrey), a teacher, and Father Michael (Nicholas Gecks) meet again Read More

The Young Visitors

Actors: Alec McCowen, Carina Radford, Kenny Ireland, Tracey Ullman, John Harding

Synopsis: After a brief introduction by J.M. Barrie (Alec McCowen) and shots of the young Daisy Ashford (Carina Radford) working on a book, this children's fantasy film about the aristocracy in England at the end of the 19th century begins its surreal journey. Comedian Tracey Ullman plays Ethel Monticue, a Read More

Squaring the Circle

Synopsis: Playwright Tom Stoppard, best known for such works as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Arcadia, turned his attention to recent Polish history in this television film about the early 1980s formation of the Solidarity movement. Filmed just two years after the actual events, Squaring the Read More

Never Say Never Again

Actors: Sean Connery, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Max von Sydow, Barbara Carrera, Kim Basinger

Synopsis: The title of the 1983 James Bond adventure Never Say Never Again is a self-mocking reference to star Sean Connery's insistence back in 1971 that he would never play Bond again. Reportedly, the huge salary offered Connery was but one consideration that brought him back to the 007 fold; the other Read More

Twelfth Night

Actors: Felicity Kendal, Alec McCowen, Trevor Peacock

Synopsis: Part of the TV series entitled "The Shakespeare Plays," this is one of the subtlest and most enjoyable of the Shakespearian plays. Portraying the different types of love, it is set in a country house of aristocrats and there are practical jokes, poetry and songs that make this a most entertaining Read More

Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime: The Secret Adversary

Synopsis: In this drama set in London during the 1920s, two amateur detectives try to find an important document before the enemy does. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Hanover Street

Actors: Harrison Ford, Lesley-Anne Down, Christopher Plummer, Alec McCowen, Richard Masur

Synopsis: In this WWII romance, Harrison Ford (face-to-face with superstardom from his involvement in Star Wars) is cast as David Halloran, an American bomber pilot stationed in London. During an air raid, Halloran meets and falls in love with beautiful Briton Margaret Sellinger (Lesley-Anne Down). Read More

Stevie

Actors: Glenda Jackson, Mona Washbourne, Alec McCowen, Trevor Howard

Synopsis: Stevie is not a he but a she--famed British poet Stevie Smith. As portrayed by Glenda Jackson, Stevie escapes her dull middle-class existence through her poetry. Though she takes many a spiritual flight of fancy, she never truly leaves the small apartment wherein all the action of the film takes Read More

Frenzy

Actors: Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Anna Massey, Alec McCowen

Synopsis: Alfred Hitchcock entered the 1970s with his commercial reputation virtually in tatters, a far cry from his stature at the start of the 1960s. Then, he'd been in the middle of the massively successful trio of movies, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds, and was a ubiquitous presence on Read More

Travels with My Aunt

Actors: Olive Behrendt, Nora Norman, Maggie Smith, Alec McCowen, Louis Gossett, Jr., Robert Stephens, Cindy Williams

Synopsis: In the lively comedy/adventure Travels with My Aunt, adapted from Graham Green's book, Henry (Alec McCowan), a timid, bookish accountant whose life seems to have died stillborn, discovers how to live with gusto thanks to the rough ministrations of his thoroughly eccentric aunt Augusta (Maggie Smith Read More

The Hawaiians

Actors: Charlton Heston, Geraldine Chaplin, John Phillip Law, Tina Chen, Alec McCowen

Synopsis: The Hawaiians is the sequel to 1969's Hawaii; both films were adapted from the same sprawling novel by James A. Michener. Charlton Heston is top-billed as a sailor who returns to his Hawaiian homestead, only to learn that his grandfather's fortune has been bestowed upon his hated cousin Alec McCowan Read More

The Witches

Actors: Joan Fontaine, Kay Walsh, Alec McCowen, Ann Bell, Gwen Ffrangcon Davies

Synopsis: This film was a pet project of Joan Fontaine, based on a novel by Peter Curtis. It was her last feature film. Fontaine stars as teacher Gwen Mayfield, who is in charge of a missionary school in Africa. A witch doctor puts a curse on her, and she has a nervous breakdown. Returning to England, she Read More

Alexander Graham Bell [TV Series]

Actors: Alec McCowen

The Agony and the Ecstasy

Actors: Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison, Diane Cilento, Harry Andrews, Alberto Lupo

Synopsis: Adapted by Philip Dunne from the novel by Irving Stone, The Agony and the Ecstacy is the story of the 16th century war of wills between Renaissance artist Michelangelo (Charlton Heston) and "warrior pope" Julius II (Rex Harrison). Commissioned to paint a religious fresco on the ceiling of the Read More

The Comedy of Errors

In the Cool of the Day

Actors: Peter Finch, Jane Fonda, Angela Lansbury, Constance Cummings, Arthur Hill

Synopsis: In this drama of romantic intrigue and infidelity, Sam and Christine Bonner (Arthur Hill and Jane Fonda) are a married couple whose relationship has hit a rough spot. While Sam loves Christina very much and would do anything for her, she feels unsatisfied and suffocated by him; she wants more Read More

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Synopsis: This 1961 adaptation of Shakespeare's magical comedy of errors was performed entirely by puppets. Let's qualify that: the puppets are of the stop-motion variety, expertly manipulated into "humanity" by Czech animator Jiri Trnka. The adaptation is faithful to the text, while the technique allows a Read More

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Actors: Tom Courtenay, Michael Redgrave, James Bolam, Avis Bunnage, James Cairncross, Alec McCowen, Peter Madden

Synopsis: One of the key "angry young man" films which helped define the British "Kitchen Sink Drama" style of the late 1950's and early 60's, this story centers on Colin Smith (Tom Courtenay), a bitter young man from a working-class family. Uninterested in school and determined not to follow his father Read More

The Doctor's Dilemma

Actors: Leslie Caron, Dirk Bogarde, Alastair Sim, Robert Morley, Felix Aylmer

Synopsis: This film adaptation of Bernard Shaw's 1903 comedy/drama stars Dirk Bogarde, which might have led some impressionable viewers to assume that Doctor's Dilemma was merely the latest installment in Bogarde's "Doctor in the House" series. Bogarde plays a rakish artist who falls victim to consumption. Leslie Caron Read More

A Night to Remember

Actors: Kenneth More, Honor Blackman, Anthony Bushell, Ronald Allen, Robert Ayres, Jane Downs, Jill Dixon

Synopsis: This meticulous re-creation of the sinking of the Titanic was adapted by Eric Ambler from the best-selling book by Walter Lord, and it preceded the blockbuster Titanic by almost 40 years. The film covers the life and death of the huge vessel from its launching celebration to that fateful night of Read More

The Silent Enemy

Actors: Laurence Harvey, Dawn Addams, Michael Craig, John Clements, Sidney James, Gianna Maria Canale

Synopsis: The Silent Enemy is based on Commander Crabb, a book by Marshall Pugh. This is the true story of young Lieutenant Crabb (Laurence Harvey), who in 1941 arrives in Gilbaltar to learn the rudiments of deep-sea diving. Crabb isn't interested in recreation, however; there's a war on, and it is common Read More

The One That Got Away

Actors: Hardy Kruger, Colin Gordon, Michael Goodliffe, Terry Alexander, Jack Gwillim

Synopsis: The title character in this fact-based POW drama is Franz von Werra, played by Hardy Kruger. Shot down early in the war, Luftwaffe pilot von Werra is incarcerated in an English prison camp. He refuses to submit to camp routine, insisting that he's on the brink of escaping. After two failed Read More

The Good Companions

Actors: Eric Portman, Celia Johnson, Hugh Griffith, Janette Scott, John Fraser

Synopsis: 1957's The Good Companions was the second film version of the well-known J. B. Priestly play. The story revolves around the Dinky Doos, a provincial musical troupe living from hand to mouth. Eric Portman, Celia Johnson and John Fraser are three Britons from various classes and walks of life who Read More

Time Without Pity

Actors: Michael Redgrave, Ann Todd, Leo McKern, Peter Cushing, Alec McCowen

Synopsis: Time Without Pity carried the name "Joseph Losey" on the credits -- the first time in three years that the blacklisted director was permitted to use his own name on a film. This British-made suspense film was based on a play by Emlyn Williams. Michael Redgrave stars an anguished father whose son (Alec McCowan Read More

Town on Trial

Actors: John Mills, Charles Coburn, Barbara Bates, Derek Farr, Alec McCowen

Synopsis: Town on Trial! begins with the murder of a good-time girl in a small suburb of London. Scotland Yard inspector John Mills is called on the scene, immediately launching his investigation by bullying everyone in sight. Mills is particularly aggravated by the prejudicial, hypocritical attitude of Read More

The Third Key

Actors: Jack Hawkins, John Stratton, Dorothy Alison, Michael Brooke, Sam Kydd

Synopsis: Jack Hawkins is starred as a gruff, intensely dedicated Scotland Yard superintendent. Working as much by instinct as through scientific methods, Hawkins and rookie sergeant John Stratton tackle the case of a string of unsolved safecrackings, committed by the elusive Richard Leech. This Dragnet Read More

The Deep Blue Sea

Actors: Vivien Leigh, Kenneth More, Eric Portman, Emlyn Williams, Moira Lister

Synopsis: Adapted from the play by Terence Rattigan, The Deep Blue Sea stars Vivien Leigh as the troubled wife of a London attorney (Emlyn Williams). Racked with emotional problems, Leigh turns her back on her loveless marriage and sets up house with a handsome RAF officer (Kenneth More). When her lover Read More

The Divided Heart

Actors: Cornell Borchers, Yvonne Mitchell, Armin Dahlen, Alexander Knox, Geoffrey Keen

Synopsis: Based on a true story, The Divided Heart is an effective, high-gloss British soap opera. Cornell Borchers stars as Inga, a young German woman who disappears and is presumed killed during WW2. Inga's infant son is placed in an orphanage; years later, the boy is adopted by childless couple Sonja Read More

The Cruel Sea

Crew: Director

Actors: Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, John Stratton, Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker

Synopsis: In this seagoing military drama set in World War II, Lt. Comdr. Ericson (Jack Hawkins) is made captain of a British corvette, a small escort vessel used to guide and protect convoys traveling through the Atlantic. Ericson had his confidence severely shaken during his last command, in which he lost Read More

The Tower of London

Actors: Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Barbara O'Neil, Ian Hunter

Synopsis: Basil Rathbone's real-life son, John Rodion, has his head chopped off early on in this historical melodrama often mistakenly referred to as a horror film. Yes, a second-billed Boris Karloff does stomp about on a club-foot as the Duke of Glouchester's chief executioner, Mord, but Karloff's presence Read More

Triumph in Stone