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Sweeney!
''Sweeney!'' is a 1977 British action crime drama film and extension of the ITV television series '' The Sweeney'' which aired on ITV from 1975 to 1978. The film performed well enough at the box office that a sequel, '' Sweeney 2'', was released in cinemas in 1978. Plot Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Detective Sergeant George Carter become embroiled in a deadly political scandal. One of the leading members of the British government, Charles Baker, is about to secure a huge deal with OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), stabilising the world oil market and boosting Britain's position within it. Baker is a rising star in the government, regarded as a future prime minister, and he is closely controlled by his urbane, manipulative American press secretary, Elliot McQueen. That night, Regan is forced to drink alcohol, and completely intoxicated drives his car into a crowded market. The following day, he is suspended from duty for at least two weeks. Whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sweeney
''The Sweeney'' is a British police drama television series focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as his partner, Detective Sergeant George Carter. It was produced by the Thames Television subsidiary Euston Films for broadcast on the ITV network in the United Kingdom from 2 January 1975 to 28 December 1978. The programme's title comes from the Cockney rhyming slang term " Sweeney Todd", used to refer to the Flying Squad by London's criminal fraternity in the mid 20th century. The popularity of the series in the UK led to two feature films '' Sweeney!'' (1977) and '' Sweeney 2'' (1978) both starring Thaw and Waterman, and a later film, '' The Sweeney'' (2012), starring Ray Winstone as Regan and Ben Drew as Carter. Background ''The Sweeney'' was developed from a one-off TV drama ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ranald Graham
Ranald Ian Mackenzie Graham (3 January 1941 – 29 August 2010) was a Scottish writer, director and producer, best known for his writing work on the British television series ''The Sweeney'', '' The Professionals'' and ''Dempsey and Makepeace''. Early life Graham was born in Sandakan, North Borneo (now Sabah) on 3 January 1941 to Scottish parents. Just over a year later, on 19 January 1942, the Japanese landed at Sandakan as part of the invasion of Borneo that had commenced on 16 December 1941 when the Japanese took Miri and Seria in Sarawak. For the first few months the European civilians were interned in various private houses in Sandakan; in May 1942 they were transferred to the prison camp on Berhala Island in Sandakan Harbour. Here Graham, his older sister Sheena and their mother were separated from their father. After eight months, the women and children were sent from Berhala Island to Batu Lintang camp in Kuching, Sarawak arriving at the camp after a nine-day difficult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweeney 2
''Sweeney 2'' is a 1978 British action crime drama film directed by Tom Clegg and starring John Thaw and Dennis Waterman. It was a sequel to the 1977 film '' Sweeney!.'' Both films are an extension of the British ITV television series '' The Sweeney'' (1975–1978). Some of the action in the film is transferred from the usual London setting to Malta. The series and films depict a fictionalised version of the Flying Squad. The term ''The Sweeney'' is derived from Cockney rhyming slang, originating in the expression ''Sweeney Todd: Flying Squad'', and is a real term used by the London underworld to refer to the squad, whose brief was to investigate armed robbery within the Metropolitan Police District (MPD), an area roughly corresponding to Greater London. The film centres on the investigations of the fictional Detective Inspector Jack Regan and his partner Detective Sergeant George Carter. Plot A group of particularly violent armed robbers, who are committing bank and payrol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Thaw
John Edward Thaw (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor in television, stage and cinema, best known for his television roles starring as Detective Inspector Jack Regan in '' The Sweeney'' (1975—78) and as Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse in ''Inspector Morse'' (1987—2000). For four consecutive years Thaw was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for playing Morse, winning in 1990 and 1993. In 1988, he was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the film '' Cry Freedom'' and in 2001 was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship. Early life Born in Gorton, Manchester, to John Edward ("Jack") Thaw, a tool-setter at the Fairey Aviation Company aircraft factory, later a long-distance lorry driver, and Dorothy (née Ablott). Dorothy left when he was seven years old. He and his younger brother, Raymond Stuart (Ray) had a difficult childhood due to their father's long absences. Thaw grew up in Gorton and Burnage, at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Latimer
Michael James Latimer (6 September 1941 – 25 June 2011) was a British people, British television stage and film actor who later in his career turned to writing, directing and producing. Early life Latimer was born in Calcutta, where his father had a business, and was educated at the Leys School in Cambridge from 1955 to 1959, where he was a middle-distance runner and played Rugby football, rugby for the English Schoolboys Team.Obituary theleys.net; accessed 27 August 2014. Upon leaving school, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) for two years, and on leaving began acting in cabaret revues. He stood in for Peter Cook in ''Beyond the Fringe'' when the original cast took the show to New York. Career He appeared in various repertory and West End theatre, West End productions. His televisio ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Foster (actor)
John Barry Foster (21 August 1927 – 11 February 2002) was an English actor who had an extensive career in film, radio, stage and television over almost 50 years. He was best known for portraying the title character in the British crime series '' Van der Valk'' (1972–1992) and Bob Rusk in Alfred Hitchcock's '' Frenzy'' (1972). Early life Foster was born on 21 August 1927 in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, the son of a toolsetter. His family moved to Hayes, Middlesex when he was a few months old. He received his formal education at Southall County School. After leaving school, Foster trained as a plastics organic chemist at the local EMI Central Research Laboratories, while unsuccessfully submitting ideas to advertising agencies. Having been "called to the Colours" under the National Service Act 1948, Foster served with the Royal Air Force. He subsequently trained as an actor, having won a scholarship to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He arrived ther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morris Perry
Frank Morris Perry (28 March 1925 – 19 September 2021) was a British actor, best known for his roles on television. Perry was born in Bromley, Kent, England. His TV credits include '' City Beneath the Sea'', '' The Avengers'', ''Z-Cars'', '' Champion House'', ''The Champions'', ''The Persuaders!'', ''The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four Detective fiction, crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serial (literature), serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from ...'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Doomwatch'', ''Special Branch (TV series), Special Branch'', ''The Sweeney'', ''Survivors (1975 TV series), Survivors'', ''The Professionals (TV series), The Professionals'', ''Secret Army (TV series), Secret Army'', ''Reilly, Ace of Spies'', ''The Bill'', ''Midsomer Murders'' and ''Not Going Out''. His film credits include ''Nothing But the Night'' (1973), ''One Hour to Zero'' (197 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colin Welland
Colin Welland (born Colin Edward Williams; 4 July 1934 – 2 November 2015) was an English actor and screenwriter. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Mr Farthing in '' Kes'' (1969) and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for writing ''Chariots of Fire'' (1981). Early life Welland was born Colin Edward WilliamsRoberts, Sam"Colin Welland, Oscar-Winning Writer of ''Chariots of Fire'', Dies at 81" ''The New York Times''. 3 November 2015. at the Maternity Hospital in Liverpool"Colin E Williams, 1934. England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008" Birth Registration, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England. From "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006" database, ''FindMyPast.c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diane Keen
Diane Keen (born 29 July 1946) is an English actress. With a career spanning numerous decades, she has appeared in various television series, films and stage productions. Keen's notable roles include Fliss Hawthorne in the Granada sitcom '' The Cuckoo Waltz'', Sandy Bennett in '' Rings on Their Fingers'', Jenny Burden in ''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' and Julia Parsons on the BBC soap opera ''Doctors''. Keen also appeared in Nescafé advertisements from 1980 to 1989. Early life Keen was born in London on 29 July 1946. She grew up in East Africa, principally Tanganyika and later Kenya, where her father was a civil engineer. She attended boarding school and returned to Britain at the age of 19, where she became a secretary for The Ivy League's fan club; this led to her releasing a 45 r.p.m. single of "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" (credited as Dee King) on the Piccadilly label in 1966. Career Keen was a regular on television during the 1970s and early 1980s, starring in long-runni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lynda Bellingham
Lynda Bellingham ( ; 31 May 194819 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as ''All Creatures Great and Small (1978 TV series), All Creatures Great and Small'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Second Thoughts (TV series), Second Thoughts'' and ''Faith in the Future (TV series), Faith in the Future''. She was also known for her appearances as the mother in the long-running series of "Oxo Family" British TV advertisements between 1983 and 1999, and as a panellist on the ITV lunchtime chat show ''Loose Women'' between 2007 and 2011. Early life Bellingham was born Meredith Hughes in Montreal to a single mother, but was given up for adoption because she was born out of wedlock in a strict church-going family. She was adopted when she was four months old. Bellingham was educated at Aylesbury High School, and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Film and television Acting Bellingham's first television role was an appearance in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euston Films
Euston Films is a British film and television production company. It was originally a subsidiary of Thames Television, and operated from 1971 to 1994, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network. Euston Films productions include '' Van der Valk'' (1977), '' The Sweeney'' (1975–1978), '' Minder'' (1979–1994), '' Quatermass'' (1979), '' Danger UXB'' (1979), and ''Reilly, Ace of Spies'' (1983). ''The Sweeney'' had two feature film spin-offs, ''Sweeney!'' and ''Sweeney 2'', which were also produced by Euston. In 2014, Euston Films was revived as a production company by the owner of Thames, Fremantle. History The idea for Euston Films dated back to 1965, when writer Trevor Preston and directors Jim Goddard and Terry Green were working at ABC Television. They produced a detailed proposal for a specialist production unit that shot dramas on 16mm film, rather than standard videotape. The company was founded in 1971 when three Thames ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadim Sawalha
Nadim Joakim Sawalha () (born 9 September 1935) is a Jordanian-British actor. He has made over 100 appearances in film and television, in a career spanning more than 40 years, which include two James Bond films, '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' The Living Daylights'' (1987). He is the father of actresses Nadia and Julia Sawalha. Early life Sawalha was born in Madaba, Jordan, in 1935 and moved to the United Kingdom in the early 1950s to study drama. His daughter Julia revealed on her episode of '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' that he is uncertain of his birth date, but it is thought to be around 7 to 9 September. His brother is comedian Nabil Sawalha. Personal life Sawalha is married to Roberta Mary Lane, and has three daughters, including Nadia and Julia. Filmography Film Television Other roles *He played the part of Omar Badri in the BBC's ''CDX'' computer game. *In the 2018 BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |