Victor Spinetti

Acting

Victor Spinetti

Born — Died

1933-09-02 — 2012-06-19

Place of birth

Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, Wales

Known for

Acting

Credits

67 titles

Victor Sinetti (born Vittorio Giorgio Andre Spinetti) was a Welsh comedy actor, author and poet. He appeared in dozens of films and stage plays throughout his 50-year career, including the three 1960s Beatles films "A Hard Day's Night", "Help!" and "Magical Mystery Tour". Born in Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Wales, Spinetti was educated at Monmouth School and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, of which he became a Fellow. After various menial jobs, Spinetti pursued a stage career and was closely associated with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in London, England. Among the productions were "Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be" and "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1963), which transferred to New…

Known for

The Merv Griffin Show poster
6.8

No synopsis available yet.

The Merv Griffin Show

1962

The Saint poster
7.4

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.

The Saint

1962

BBC Play of the Month poster
5.2

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.

BBC Play of the Month

1965

New Tricks poster
7.3

New Tricks is a British comedy-drama that follows the work of the fictional Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad of the Metropolitan Police Service. Originally led by Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman, it is made up of retired police officers who have been recruited to reinvestigate unsolved crimes.

New Tricks

2004

Omnibus poster
7.2

Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.

Omnibus

1967

Thirty-Minute Theatre poster
4.2

An anthology of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short length, and which therefore attracted many writers who later became well known.

Thirty-Minute Theatre

1965

Film credits

1990s · 11 titles

The Krays poster
6.1

Twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray are raised in east London, under the influence of their hateful but doting mother Violet. As they grow up, Ronnie's violent nature takes over, and Reggie follows his brother's lead. The two become notorious crime lords who rule over the East End club scene. But at the height of their power, the brothers veer into different lives, giving the older crime bosses a chance to reclaim what the Krays took from them.

The Krays

1990

The Princess and the Goblin poster
5.8

The story is about the Princess Irene and a young warrior boy named Curty. Irene must use her magic power to fight off goblins and save the kingdom.

The Princess and the Goblin

1991

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Attack of the Hawkmen poster
6.0

Working with the French Secret Service, Indy joins the legendary Lafayette Escadrille flying unit and embarks on dangerous airborne reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines. A run-in with German Ace Manfred von Richthofen leads to a death-defying dogfight that leaves Indy grounded and hot-in-pursuit of German aircraft designer Anthony Fokker. Undercover in hostile enemy territory, Indy discovers that the Germans possess a remarkable secret weapon that could change the course of the war and he resolves to bring news of it back to the Allies...if he doesn't destroy it first.

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Attack of the Hawkmen

1995

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Adventures in the Secret Service poster
5.2

Indy finds that he must enlist the help of Hapsburg royalty when he embarks on a dangerous diplomatic mission through enemy-held Europe into the palace of Emperor Karl of Austria. Endangering his life and the lives of his royal charges, Indy gambles all in a desperate attempt to bring the war more quickly to an end. Then, in chaos-ridden Russia, Indy finds his espionage work once again threatening lives when he infiltrates a group of young Bolsheviks and begins to empathize with their plight. As the country lurches toward revolution, Indy finds himself torn between loyalty to his friends and his military duty.

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Adventures in the Secret Service

1999

Tommy Cooper - The Magic Touch poster
NR

Tommy Cooper, the hapless magician who was in a league of his own, is joined here by a star-studded selection of guests in previously unseen extracts from his classic TV series. The guests include Penny Meredith, Eric Sykes, Henry Cooper and Norman Rossington.

Tommy Cooper - The Magic Touch

1993

Romeo.Juliet poster
7.5

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.

Romeo.Juliet

1990

Boobs in the Wood poster
6.3

Jim Davidson is back with his most outrageous show ever - BOOBS IN THE WOOD! This hilarious Adult Panto, exclusive to video, captures the filthy follow-up to the Saucy SINderella in all its shocking glory. Strictly for GROWN-UP girls and boys only! This X-Rated Panto sees Jim playing the WICKED Sheriff of Nottingham, who has his eyes on a bag of loot, Maid Marion's assets and anything else that takes his fancy. He may even get his WICKED WAY - unless Robin and his Merry Men can stop him. Filmed in front of a packed house, the hysterical BOOBS IN THE WOOD is BIG, BAD, RUDE and CRUDE - and sure to leave you in stitches

Boobs in the Wood

1999

You Can't Do That! The Making of 'A Hard Day's Night' poster
8.0

Thirty years after A Hard Day's Night, its producer, director, writer and others describe its making. United Artists Records came to Walter Shenson, asking him to produce a movie so UA could issue a soundtrack album. Shenson signed Lester to direct, and they got the Beatles to agree to star. Shenson sent Owen to Dublin to spend time with the Fab Four; from this came a script built around their being prisoners of their own success. Phil Collins, himself an extra on A Hard Day's Night, hosts this examination of a seminal film: what was ad-libbed, why was it a hit, what was its influence on other movies, and how did it define the way the public viewed each Beatle for years to come?

You Can't Do That! The Making of 'A Hard Day's Night'

1995

No artwork available
8.0

Julie and The Cadillacs, a struggling young pop group, are enticed to London and signed up by London PR men...

Julie and the Cadillacs

1999

Seriously Seeking Sid poster
NR

A study of the life and career of the actor Sid James, best known for the long-running Carry On series of bawdy British film comedies.

Seriously Seeking Sid

1993

No artwork available
NR

A promotional compilation of clips from beloved well known children's BBC shows.

Character Building

1995

1980s · 2 titles

1970s · 15 titles

The Return of the Pink Panther poster
6.8

The famous Pink Panther jewel has once again been stolen and Inspector Clouseau is called in to catch the thief. The Inspector is convinced that 'The Phantom' has returned and utilises all of his resources – himself and his Asian manservant – to reveal the identity of 'The Phantom'.

The Return of the Pink Panther

1975

Voyage of the Damned poster
6.0

A luxury liner carries Jewish refugees from Hitler's Germany in a desperate fight for survival.

Voyage of the Damned

1976

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe poster
6.8

Four children pass through a mystic portal in a wardrobe and discover the magical kingdom of Narnia, a land of talking animals and mythical creatures. There, an evil witch's spell has cast the land into eternal winter. Fearing that an ancient prophecy is coming to fruition, and that the children are Narnia's rightful rulers, the White Witch tricks their youngest brother into betraying his family, enacting an ancient magic that she can use to halt the fulfillment of the prophecy. Now, only Aslan, noble lion and High King above all kings in Narnia, can help them defeat the witch, restore springtime to Narnia, and claim their rightful places on the throne.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

1979

The Little Prince poster
6.9

After a pilot is forced to make an emergency landing in the Sahara Desert, he befriends a young prince from outer space; the friendship conjures up stories of journeys through the solar system for the stranded aviator.

The Little Prince

1974

Start the Revolution Without Me poster
6.1

Two sets of identical twins are accidentally switched at birth. One pair, Phillipe and Pierre DeSisi, are aristocratic and haughty, while the other, Charles and Claude Coupé, are poor and dim-witted. On the eve of the French Revolution, both sets find themselves entangled in palace intrigue.

Start the Revolution Without Me

1970

Casanova & Co. poster
3.9

While hiding from the royal authorities, Giacomo Casanova, the famous romancer, encounters his look-alike: Giacomino, a fugitive petty con man. Meanwhile, the Arabian Caliph and his wife are arriving in Venice for a state visit, and she insists on a night with the legendary lover. Through a series of erotic encounters and mistaken-identity comedies, Giacomo and Giacomino make their way back to Venice for their appointment with the Caliph's wife.

Casanova & Co.

1977

Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World poster
4.8

Digby consumes a bowl of Project X, a liquid growth formula. Soon, he becomes a sheepdog of gigantic size!

Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World

1973

The Sea poster
NR

An East Anglian village is wrought by hierarchy as two lovers attempt to break free of it whilst a draper struggles with the domineering Mrs Rafi.

The Sea

1978

Under Milk Wood poster
6.1

The delightful if peculiar story of a day in the life of a small, Welsh fishing village called "Llareggub" in which we meet a host of curious characters (and ghosts) through the 'eyes' of Blind Captain Cat.

Under Milk Wood

1972

Hardcore poster
3.8

Aka Hardcore, aka Frankly Fiona. The heavily fictionalised fantastical autobiography of the fantastic 70s sex superstar Fiona Richmond, played by Fiona herself!

Hardcore

1977

Emily poster
3.8

Evocative of the Roaring Twenties, "Emily" (Aka "The Awakening of Emily") is an erotic coming-of-age film featuring meticulous period detail and music. The sharp class distinctions of British society are blurred by the universal nature of sexual desire.

Emily

1976

Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done poster
9.0

Able Seaman Dick Deadeye is charged by Queen Victoria to find the stolen Ultimate Secret. His ugliness means that his life has always been lonely but a buxom barmaid takes a shine to him. Together, they battle pirates and an evil magician before discovering that the Ultimate Secret is nothing but LOVE! Using songs based on the original works of Gilbert and Sullivan (but updated with modern lyrics), this film was created to commemorate the centenary anniversary of the first collaboration of the composers of the Savoy Operas.

Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done

1975

The 500 Pound Jerk poster
10.0

An advertising man's dream of turning a huge hillbilly into an Olympic weightlifting champion is set back when the hillbilly falls for a Russian gymnast.

The 500 Pound Jerk

1973

The Great McGonagall poster
5.6

In this high-camp farce, Goons legend Spike Milligan stars as William Topaz McGonagall, an unemployed Scottish weaver and aspiring poet laureate who falls in love with Queen Victoria - a brilliant cameo by Peter Sellers - and thereafter devotes his banal poetry to her. Though McGonagall's solicitations are rejected by the Queen, it doesn't stop the turgid prose, and pathos, from overflowing as McGonagall hilariously attempts to become the greatest poet in the land. The image of the bad poet, trapped by his romanticism and inspired by a muse with a tin ear, appealed mightily to Spike Milligan, and this cult British spoof features the Goons show maestro at his ridiculous, genre-defying best.

The Great McGonagall

1975

Defeat of the Mafia poster
9.0

At the Rome airport two men are taken into custody. Inspector Scott Luce thinks their two suit-cases are full of drugs, but the suit-cases contains only white powder. Afterwards the corpse of Susan Palmer is found. She was a drug runner for the Cosa Nostra boss Frankie Agostino. Susan's friend, Jenny Ryan, meets a mysterious man from America, Arthur Ardigan, supposedly her cousin. In the meantime Inspector Luce is investigating.

Defeat of the Mafia

1970

1960s · 12 titles

A Hard Day's Night poster
7.3

Capturing John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in their electrifying element, 'A Hard Day's Night' is a wildly irreverent journey through this pastiche of a day in the life of The Beatles during 1964. The band have to use all their guile and wit to avoid the pursuing fans and press to reach their scheduled television performance, in spite of Paul's troublemaking grandfather and Ringo's arrest.

A Hard Day's Night

1964

Becket poster
7.2

Thomas Becket, Henry II's longtime advisor, finds his friendship with the debauched king corroding when he is unwillingly appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury in an attempt to gain absolute loyalty from the Church.

Becket

1964

Help! poster
6.9

An obscure Eastern cult that practices human sacrifice pursues Ringo after he unknowingly puts on a ceremonial ring (that, of course, won't come off). On top of that, a pair of mad scientists, members of Scotland Yard, and a beautiful but dead-eyed assassin all have their own plans for the Fab Four.

Help!

1965

The Taming of the Shrew poster
6.9

Italy, 16th century. Petruchio, a choleric, lying and poor rural landowner from Verona, arrives in Padua in search of fortune and a wife, while Baptista, a wealthy merchant, announces that he will not allow Bianca, his youngest daughter, to marry until the temperamental and unruly Katherina, his eldest daughter, does.

The Taming of the Shrew

1967

Magical Mystery Tour poster
6.6

While on a coach tour, The Beatles and a few dozen friends experience strange happenings caused by magicians.

Magical Mystery Tour

1967

The Biggest Bundle of Them All poster
5.6

A kidnapped mobster persuades his captors to help him rob platinum ingots from a train.

The Biggest Bundle of Them All

1968

Sparrows Can't Sing poster
5.3

Charlie returns to the East End after two years at sea to find his house demolished and wife Maggie gone. Everyone else knows she is now shacked up with married bus driver Bert and a toddler, and they all watch with more than a little interest at the trail of mayhem Charlie leaves as he goes about sorting things out.

Sparrows Can't Sing

1963

The Wild Affair poster
5.3

Young office assistant Majorie will marry soon, however, she's plagued by doubts if her fiance is the right one. On her last day at work, her male colleagues don't miss a chance to comfort her...and flirt.

The Wild Affair

1965

A Promise of Bed poster
2.8

Three part comedy. A fading sex symbol attempts to win the lead in a movie by seducing the son of a film producer. A depressed middle aged loner whose suicide attempt is interrupted by the arrival of a hippy girl.An avid sex film fan and taxi driver, crashes his cab after being distracted by the leggy charms of his latest passenger.

A Promise of Bed

1969

Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? poster
4.8

Heironymus Merkin is an internationally successful singer approaching middle age who retells his life story in a series of production numbers on a seashore in front of his two toddlers and aged mother. Merkin's promiscuous relationships with women are explored, particularly Polyester Poontang and the adolescent Mercy Humppe. Merkin is constantly surrounded by a Satan-like procurer, Goodtime Eddie Filth, and an angelic 'Presence' who interrupts Merkin's biography with cryptic Borscht Belt-level jokes to denote births and deaths in Merkin's life. Newley periodically steps out of character to complain about his 'Merkin' role with an unseen director, two screenwriters, the film's producers and a trio of blasé movie critics who are turned off by the story's eroticism and lack of plot.

Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?

1969

I Think They Call Him John poster
6.8

The life of an old man, John Cartner Ronson, living alone in a huge block of flats in London since his wife died nine years earlier.

I Think They Call Him John

1964

The Gentle Terror poster
7.5

The predictably boring life of a meek bookkeeper until fate transforms him into an underworld terror.

The Gentle Terror

1961

Series credits

The Merv Griffin Show poster
6.8

No synopsis available yet.

The Merv Griffin Show

1962

The Saint poster
7.4

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.

The Saint

1962

BBC Play of the Month poster
5.2

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.

BBC Play of the Month

1965

BBC Play of the Month poster
5.2

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.

BBC Play of the Month

1965

New Tricks poster
7.3

New Tricks is a British comedy-drama that follows the work of the fictional Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad of the Metropolitan Police Service. Originally led by Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman, it is made up of retired police officers who have been recruited to reinvestigate unsolved crimes.

New Tricks

2004

Omnibus poster
7.2

Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.

Omnibus

1967

Thirty-Minute Theatre poster
4.2

An anthology of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short length, and which therefore attracted many writers who later became well known.

Thirty-Minute Theatre

1965

Richard the Lionheart poster
9.0

A kid-friendly take on the exploits of King Richard the Lion Heart, from his participation in the Crusades, to his capture in Austria, to his final return to England.

Richard the Lionheart

1962

Bottom poster
7.9

Richie Richard (socially awkward, sexually inexperienced) and Eddie Hitler (carefree alcoholic ) are two social outcasts living on the dole. Trapped together in a squalid flat in Hammersmith, London they are perpetually skint, bored and sexually frustrated. They spend their days scheming, bickering, and being nasty and sadistic to each other.

Bottom

1991

The Paradise Club poster
6.2

Focuses on brothers Frank and Danny Kane. Their mother is the matriarch of a South London criminal gang, assisted by Danny. Frank has become a priest but leaves the church; he inherits The Paradise Club following the death of their mother and returns to London to try and steer Danny away from crime.

The Paradise Club

1989

Mistral's Daughter poster
6.0

Mistral's Daughter is a 1984 American television miniseries written by Terence Feely and Rosemary Anne Sisson, based on Judith Krantz's eponymous 1982 novel. The eight-episode serial—starring Stacy Keach, Stefanie Powers, and Lee Remick—follows the lives of women connected to tempestuous painter Julien Mistral, across several decades in France, exploring themes of art, love, and scandal.

Mistral's Daughter

1984

3-2-1 poster
8.0

3–2–1 was a popular British game show that was made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It ran for ten years, between 29 July 1978 and 24 December 1988, with former Butlins Redcoat Ted Rogers as the host. It was based on a Spanish gameshow called Un, dos, tres... responda otra vez and was three shows in one, a quiz show, a variety show and a game show. The show was a huge success consistently pulling in large ratings. The first series, though, intended as a summer filler, attracted up to 16.5 million viewers and subsequent years never failed to peak below 12 million. The show occupied a Saturday early evening slot for most of its run. The final Christmas special attracted 12.5 million viewers, so, it is to this day unclear why an eleventh series was not commissioned in 1989. Ted Rogers claimed in a 1996 interview that "The Oxbridge lot got control of TV and they didn't really want it. It was too downmarket for them. We were still getting 12 million viewers when they took it off after ten years. These days if a show gets nine million everyone does a lap of honour.".

3-2-1

1978

The Beatles Anthology poster
8.3

A documentary series on the career of The Beatles.

The Beatles Anthology

1995

In the Beginning poster
6.1

In the Beginning is a 2-part biblical television miniseries directed by Kevin Connor. It stars Martin Landau and Jacqueline Bisset and it premiered on NBC on November 12, 2000.

In the Beginning

2000

SuperTed poster
6.8

SuperTed is a Welsh fictional anthropomorphic bear character created by Mike Young. Originally created by Young as a series of stories to help his son overcome his fear of the dark, SuperTed became a popular series of books and led to an animated series produced from 1982 to 1986.

SuperTed

1983

The Further Adventures of SuperTed poster
6.2

The Further Adventures of SuperTed is an American/Welsh animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and Siriol Animation in association with S4C, and continues the adventures of SuperTed. There was only one series consisting of thirteen episodes and originally broadcast on The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera in the United States on 31 January 1989.

The Further Adventures of SuperTed

1989

Two in Clover poster
7.2

Two in Clover is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television for two series from 1969 to 1970 on ITV. It starred Sid James and Victor Spinetti and was written by Vince Powell and Harry Driver, and produced and directed by Alan Tarrant. The first series was made in black and white and the second series was made in colour. Frustrated office workers Sid Turner and Vic Evans decide to leave behind their nine-to-five lifestyle for the simpler life of living in the countryside and running a farm.

Two in Clover

1969

An Actor's Life for Me poster
7.0

Robert Neilson has ambitions to play Hamlet but will do most acting work. His fiancée, Sue, and agent, Desmond, gently encourage his aspirations.

An Actor's Life for Me

1991

Paul Merton: The Series poster
6.0

Fresh from his appearances on Whose Line is it Anyway?, Paul starred in his own comedy series on Channel 4, featuring a mix of surreal sketches, links and stand-up routines

Paul Merton: The Series

1991

High Hopes poster
9.0

High Hopes is a sitcom made in Wales, produced and directed by Gareth Gwenlan for BBC Wales and is set in a fictional area of the South Wales Valleys called Cwm-Pen-Ôl. It stars Margaret John as widow Elsie Hepplewhite, Robert Blythe as her son Richard Hepplewhite, Steven Meo as Hoffman and Oliver Wood as Charlie. It revolves around Elsie's son Richard and his dodgy business ventures, assisted by the two boys, who attempted to rob the Hepplewhites' house in the first episode. The pilot was shown on BBC all over the UK in 1999, with slight differences to future cast and plot. The series started in 2002. The sixth and final series, consisting of six episodes, was first shown on BBC1 Wales weekly from Tuesday 11 November 2008. But, before it aired a report in the South Wales Echo, titled 'Welsh sitcom set to be axed', confirmed that: A three part 'Best Bits' special was shown on BBC1 Wales, starting 20 September, the third episode was on Sun 4 October 2009.

High Hopes

2002

No artwork available
7.0

Ken Archer has worked for the same company for 33 years. Then, one day, he's told that he is about to be made redundant. To make a bad day even worse, Ken's wife Joan tells him that she is leaving him for a man 20 years younger. Things continue to go from bad to worse as Kern is subsequently mugged, taken hostage, arrested and committed to an asylum.

Time of My Life

1980

The Story of Musicals poster
NR

A three-part series exploring how the British musical became a driving force behind musical theatre around the world — a tale of shows, daring, rivalries, talent and fortunes are set in just a single square mile.

The Story of Musicals

2012

No artwork available
7.0

Animated cartoon series for children based on the canine character from the long-running comic strip in the UK's Daily Mail and several overseas publications. Twenty five-minute episodes were produced.

Fred Basset

1976

No artwork available
6.7

Sweet Sixteen is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 in 1983. It stars Penelope Keith and was written by Douglas Watkinson and directed and produced by Gareth Gwenlan.

Sweet Sixteen

—

No artwork available
7.0

Take My Wife is a British television sitcom produced by Granada Television. It had a short run in 1979. The cast included Duggie Brown as a stand-up comic and Elisabeth Sladen as his wife. The series was written by Anthony Couch, directed by Gordon Flemyng and produced by John G. Temple. It ran for only one series of six episodes.

Take My Wife

1979

Behind the camera