Wensley Pithey

Acting

Wensley Pithey

Born — Died

1914-01-20 — 1993-11-10

Place of birth

Cape Town, South Africa

Known for

Acting

Credits

79 titles

Wensley Ivan William Frederick Pithey (21 June 1914 - 10 November 1993) was a South African-born character actor.

Known for

Film credits

1980s · 6 titles

White Mischief poster
6.1

A millionaire past his prime and his young wife arrive in Kenya circa 1940 to find that the other affluent British expatriates are living large as the homefront gears up for war. They are busy swapping partners, doing drugs, and attending lavish parties and horse races. She begins a torrid affair with one of the bon vivants, and her husband finds out and confronts them. The husband and wife decide to break up peacefully, but the bon vivant is murdered and all the evidence points to the husband.

White Mischief

1987

The Diamond Trap poster
6.0

When streetwise Manhattan police detectives Rawlings (Howard Hesseman) and Brendan Thomas (Ed Marinaro) discover a major diamond heist is about to go down at a renowned gallery, they enlist one of their suspects, gallery employee Tara Holden (Brooke Shields). But an attempt to foil the robbery explodes with deadly consequences for Tara. Committed to break the case, Rawlings relentlessly pursues the clues through a twisted maze of deceit and danger that takes him to England, where he and Scotland Yard detecive Charlie Lawson expose the ultimate con and solve the crime.

The Diamond Trap

1988

The Cherry Orchard poster
7.0

Madame Ranevsky and her daughter Anya return home from Paris to find their beloved family estate and cherry orchard are to be auctioned off to pay debts. Lopahin, a former serf on the estate who is now a wealthy landowner, proposes razing the home and cherry orchard and dividing the estate into plots that could be leased at great profit. The family, however, continues to hold out hope that their beloved home can somehow be saved from destruction.

The Cherry Orchard

1981

Red Monarch poster
5.7

British comedy satirising Stalin's inner circle as an absolute monarchs court. In the face of rampant abuse of power and poisonous distrust some still manage to keep faith with the Bolshevist creed until the very end. In front of the firing squad a stalwart bolshevist of the first hour exclaims: "Even in the best democracy errors are being made!"

Red Monarch

1983

No artwork available
NR

Sheppey, an ordinary working-class waiter, wins a fortune in a sweep-stake, and elects to use the money to help the unfortunate.

Sheppey

1980

F.D.R.: The Last Year poster
6.9

Though visibly frail and weary, President Franklin D. Roosevelt runs for a precedent-setting fourth term. He also oversees plans for the D-Day Invasion and engages in tempestuous summit meetings with his wartime allies Stalin and Churchill.

F.D.R.: The Last Year

1980

1970s · 6 titles

1960s · 8 titles

Oliver! poster
7.0

Musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, a classic tale of an orphan who runs away from the workhouse and joins up with a group of boys headed by the Artful Dodger and trained to be pickpockets by master thief Fagin.

Oliver!

1968

The Knack... and How to Get It poster
6.0

A nebbish schoolteacher begs his smooth (and misogynistic) pal to teach him 'the knack' – how to score with women. Serendipitously, the men meet up with a new girl in town, as well as a friendly lunatic who can’t help but paint things white.

The Knack... and How to Get It

1965

Oh! What a Lovely War poster
6.6

The working-class Smiths change their initially sunny views on World War I after the five boys of the family witness the harsh reality of trench warfare.

Oh! What a Lovely War

1969

The Pure Hell of St Trinian's poster
6.5

The fourth form monsters' latest trick is their best yet – they have burned down the school! As the girls stand trial, police breathe a sigh of relief, but miraculously the judge's infatuation with a student means the school is freed. For the authorities, it means a new reign of terror as the girls of St Trinian’s regroup with gleeful anticipation.

The Pure Hell of St Trinian's

1960

Snowball poster
7.4

A boy tells his parents that a bus conductor turned him off the bus home for not having a ticket. The story gets out of control and the conductor, a war veteran with memory problems, is harassed until events take a tragic turn.

Snowball

1960

The Boys poster
7.5

A night watchman at a garage is found murdered, and four teddy boys are put on trial for the crime. Witnesses and suspects give differing accounts of the lead-up to the crime, and the truth emerges.

The Boys

1962

The Guilty Party poster
NR

The Sinclairs seem to be living in the lap of luxury, but their lifestyle is funded by a morass of debt.

The Guilty Party

1962

The Barber of Stamford Hill poster
10.0

Mr. Figg, the barber, is fond of telling customers about his family, but he hasn’t really got one – he’s a bachelor quite alone in the world. But that may change.

The Barber of Stamford Hill

1963

1950s · 19 titles

The Dark Avenger poster
6.7

Edward, Prince of Wales, son and heir to his father King Edward III of England, leads an English army to the French province of Aquitaine to protect the inhabitant from the ravages of the French. After defeating the French in battle, the defeated French plot to kill the prince. Failing in this, they kidnap his lady, the lovely Lady Joan Holland. Of course Prince Edward has to ride to the rescue, adopting numerous guises to save his paramour, which ultimately end in him leading his men into one final climactic battle against the French. (Also known as "The Warriors" and "The Black Prince").

The Dark Avenger

1955

The Men of Sherwood Forest poster
6.9

Robin Hood is persuaded by two nobles whom he believes to be loyal to King Richard to recover secret plans attaining to the rescue of the king from captivity in Germany. Though disguised as a troubadour, Robin is betrayed and captured. Lady Alys and the merry men help him escape in time to foil an intended ambush on King Richard as he returns from the Crusades.

The Men of Sherwood Forest

1954

Hell Drivers poster
6.7

An ex-con trying to go clean ends up working for a crooked trucking company owner who encourages competion amongst his drivers.

Hell Drivers

1957

The Titfield Thunderbolt poster
7.0

When British Railways announce the closure of the Titfield to Mallingford branch line a group of local residents make a bid to run it themselves, backed by a monied member of the community who is attracted by the complete lack of licensing hours on trains. Unfortunately the local bus company starts to use methods that can hardly be seen as fair competition.

The Titfield Thunderbolt

1953

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men poster
6.2

Young Robin Hood, in love with Maid Marian, enters an archery contest with his father at the King's palace. On the way home his father is murdered by henchmen of Prince John. Robin takes up the life of an outlaw, gathering together his band of merry men with him in Sherwood Forest, to avenge his father's death and to help the people of the land that Prince John are over taxing.

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men

1952

Lady in the Fog poster
6.5

In this murder mystery, a woman's brother is killed in a freak accident, or so she believes. Fortunately for her, an American journalist is more suspicious and so begins roaming the London streets in search of the killer.

Lady in the Fog

1952

The Long Haul poster
5.8

An American ex-GI takes a job as a truck driver to support his British war bride Connie. It isn't long, however, before Harry is blackmailed into joining a smuggling operation run by a conniving criminal.

The Long Haul

1957

Tiger in the Smoke poster
6.7

In wartime, a young officer is killed during a raid to kill a German general at the house that used to belong to his grandmother. Before he dies he talks about a treasure that was hidden there. Several years later, the members of that group are still together as a street band living in a cellar. The last of the gang, who was chosen for his skills as a ruthless killer, escapes from prison in a rampage of killing and, obsessed with the treasure, takes the gang to France to recover it.

Tiger in the Smoke

1956

Serious Charge poster
6.2

Howard Phillips, a vicar who's new in the town of Bellington, wants to reach out to youth. The previous vicar's daughter, Hester Peters, who fears being a spinster, wants to be his wife. He tells her he's not interested. When he confronts a tough kid about something the youth has done, the lad sets out to frame the vicar. Hester, who's walked in on the confrontation, backs the youth's story. The town sides with her and the lad, turning against Phillips. He has a crisis of faith. What options does he have; can no one help him, his reputation, or his calling?

Serious Charge

1959

Isn't Life Wonderful! poster
5.4

Around the turn of the century, in England, alcoholic Uncle Willie is the bane of his family, of which his brother-in-law is the family spokesman. It is decided to let Uncle Willie buy a bicycle shop in order to impress Virginia van Stuyden, an American heiress in love with Frank. This pleases Uncle Willie's young nephew, Charles. Complications arise when stuffy lord, Sir George Probus, at whose home Virginia is staying, becomes shocked when she attends a carnival.

Isn't Life Wonderful!

1953

Guilt Is My Shadow poster
5.7

A woman is haunted by her conscience after she murders a man and then hides the body. Based on the novel 'You're Best Alone' by Norah Lofts.

Guilt Is My Shadow

1950

Doctor at Large poster
5.7

Losing out to Dr. Bingham (Michael Medwin) in a competition for house surgeon when he offends a member of the board, young Dr. Simon Sparrow (Dirk Bogarde) finds himself going from post to post, filling in for other physicians. At one distant country post, he is taken aback when he works with a patient whose husband died after Simon treated the man years before. In another hospital, Simon examines a surprisingly mature teen and also tries courting devoted nurse Nan McPherson (Shirley Eaton).

Doctor at Large

1957

Father's Doing Fine poster
7.2

Lady Buckering, an English widow, has four daughters; Doreen, married to Dougall and about to give birth at home, and Gerda, Bicky and Catherine. The story revolves around the impending birth and the love affairs of the other three daughters; Bicky, with eccentric student Roly; Gerda, married to artist Wilfred; and Catherine, in love with the landlord's son, Clifford Magill. In addition, the impoverished Lady Buckering is being courted by Dr. Drew. Written by Les Adams

Father's Doing Fine

1952

Moby Dick—Rehearsed poster
7.0

A meta-theatrical adaptation of Moby-Dick in which a rehearsal evolves into a full performance, as actors are absorbed into the roles of Ishmael, Starbuck, and Ahab in a stripped-down, imagination-driven staging. Filmed by Orson Welles in 1955, the footage remains unreleased and is considered lost.

Moby Dick—Rehearsed

1955

Your Witness poster
6.2

Adam Hayward is a successful New York City defense lawyer. One day he receives a cable that the British war buddy who saved his life at Anzio Beach is now in trouble with the law in England. Taking the advice of his secretary to go to England rather than wire money, Adam arrives in his friend's village to find him about to stand trial for the murder of the hired stable-hand, Lawrence.

Your Witness

1950

Kill Me Tomorrow poster
5.5

A reporter who needs cash for his son's operation is paid by a smuggler to take a murder rap.

Kill Me Tomorrow

1957

End of the Line poster
NR

A look at the problems facing the railways in Northern Ireland.

End of the Line

1956

Brandy for the Parson poster
6.5

A young couple get involved with a smuggler

Brandy for the Parson

1952

No artwork available
10.0

Just after a young unknown American becomes the first on the Moon returns, he dies in an accident. He's laid to rest with full honours, but only the president and a few high officials know just what sort of a man their hero was.

The Greatest Man in the World

1958

Series credits

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

Danger Man poster
7.3

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.

Danger Man

1960

Sykes poster
6.7

Classic sitcom starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques as brother and sister twins who have to tackle the trials and tribulations of suburban life.

Sykes

1972

Sykes poster
6.7

Classic sitcom starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques as brother and sister twins who have to tackle the trials and tribulations of suburban life.

Sykes

1972

Sykes poster
6.7

Classic sitcom starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques as brother and sister twins who have to tackle the trials and tribulations of suburban life.

Sykes

1972

Howards' Way poster
5.9

The BBC's answer to Dynasty, Howards' Way was launched in 1985 with an enormous 1 million pound budget. The main characters in the show were 'best boat designer in the world' Tom Howard, his boutique running wife Jan Howard, 'I'll have a drink' Jack Rolfe and a nasty man called Ken Masters. It starred Maurice Colbourne.

Howards' Way

1985

Return of the Saint poster
7.0

Follow the swashbuckling exploits of Simon Templar, a modern-day Robin Hood of sorts.

Return of the Saint

1978

Callan poster
7.0

Callan is the title of a British television series set in the murky world of espionage. Originally produced by ABC Weekend Television and later Thames Television, it was aired on the ITV network over four seasons spread out between 1967 and 1972. The series starred Edward Woodward as David Callan, a reluctant professional killer for a shadowy branch of the British Government's intelligence services known as 'the Section'.

Callan

1967

The Main Chance poster
8.2

The Main Chance was a British television series which first aired on ITV between 1969,1970,1972 and 1975. A drama, it depicts the sudden transformation in the life of solicitor David Main who relocates from London to Leeds.

The Main Chance

1969

Poldark poster
6.9

Poldark is a television drama based on Winston Graham's novels of the same title. It was first transmitted on BBC Two across two seasons between 1975 and 1977. The adaptation covered all seven novels (of the eventual twelve) published up to the time. In late 18th-century Cornwall, Ross Poldark loses his fiancée, well-bred beauty Elizabeth, to his cousin Francis. He ends up marrying his servant, Demelza Carne, but his passion for Elizabeth simmers on for years. Meanwhile, he strives to make his derelict copper mines a success. Life is hard, smuggling is rife, and Ross finds himself taking the side of the underclass against the ruthless behaviour of his enemies, the greedy Warleggan clan.

Poldark

1975

Gideon's Way poster
7.0

Gideon's Way is a British television crime series made by ITC Entertainment in 1964/65, based on the novels by John Creasey. The series was made at Elstree in twin production with The Saint TV series. It starred Liverpudlian John Gregson in the title role as Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard, with Alexander Davion as his assistant, Detective Chief Inspector David Keen, Reginald Jessup as Det. Superintendent LeMaitre, Ian Rossiter as Detective Chief Superintendent Joe Bell and Basil Dignam as Commissioner Scott-Marle. The show did not acknowledge any help from Scotland Yard, any other police force or advisor. Daphne Anderson starred as his wife, Kate with Giles Watling as young son, Malcolm, Richard James as older son, Matthew who seemed to have a lot of new girlfriends and Andrea Allan as daughter, Pru. Unusually for police stories, Gideon was shown as a family man at home though urgent phone calls from his bosses tend to disrupt family plans too often. However, he did admit in "State Visit" that his wife had walked out on him for a while years ago when he put the job first and her second. They live in an expensive detached house in Chelsea.

Gideon's Way

1965

The Adventurer poster
6.3

The Adventurer is an ITC Entertainment TV adventure series created by Dennis Spooner that ran for one season from 1972 to 1973. It premiered in the UK on 29 September 1972. The show starred Gene Barry as Gene Bradley, a government agent of independent means who poses as a glamorous American movie star.

The Adventurer

1972

Sir Francis Drake poster
5.1

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.

Sir Francis Drake

1961

In Sickness and in Health poster
8.1

This final follow-up to 'Till Death Us Do Part' follows an aged Alf Garnett, now dealing with his wife Else's declining health and mobility, as well as the challenges of navigating the social security system and other everyday situations.

In Sickness and in Health

1985

The Larkins poster
7.6

'The Larkins' is a British television sitcom which was produced by Associated Television and aired on ITV. It aired for four series between 1958 to 1960. An additional two series aired from 1963 to 1964.

The Larkins

1958

Man of the World poster
7.2

Michael Strait is a world-renowned photographer whose assignments lead him into investigating mysterious goings-on amongst the rich and glamorous and intrigue from far-flung places as Iraq, French Indochina, and Algiers.

Man of the World

1962

No artwork available
9.0

Armchair Mystery Theatre is a 60-minute United Kingdom television anthology mystery series. Thirty-four episodes aired from 1960-65. It was hosted by Donald Pleasence and produced by Leonard White.

Armchair Mystery Theatre

1960

Nearest and Dearest poster
7.5

In Colne, Lancashire, in the North West of England, Nellie and Eli Pledge may be siblings, but their personalities are polar opposites. If not for inheritance, they would never even think of becoming business partners for five years.

Nearest and Dearest

1968

The Scales of Justice poster
6.7

The Scales of Justice is a series of thirteen British cinema featurettes produced from 1962 to 1967 for Anglo-Amalgamated at Merton Park Studios in London. The first nine were made in black and white, and the last four in colour. The finale, Payment in Kind, was Merton Park's final production. Episodes were based on criminal cases, and each film was introduced by criminologist Edgar Lustgarten. The series derives its title from the symbolic scales held by the statue of Justice, situated above the dome of London's Central Criminal Court, The Old Bailey. The opening narration describes her as having "in her right hand, the Sword of Power and Retribution, and in her left – The Scales of Justice".

The Scales of Justice

1962

Beasts poster
6.4

Beasts is a series of six television plays by Manx writer Nigel Kneale, unconnected save for a bestial horror theme, made by ATV for ITV in the United Kingdom and broadcast in 1976. The series avoids typical monster horror clichès, more so focusing on psychological and supernatural themes.

Beasts

1976

Ike poster
7.3

Ike, also known as Ike: The War Years, is a 1979 television miniseries about the life of Dwight D. Eisenhower. The screenplay by Melville Shavelson is based on Kay Summersby's 1948 memoir Eisenhower Was My Boss and her 1975 autobiography, Past Forgetting: My Love Affair. The series aired from May 3–6, 1979 on ABC. During World War II, General Dwight D. 'Ike' Eisenhower serves as supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Western Europe. On a personal level, he has an extramarital affair with his driver Kay Summersby.

Ike

1979

No artwork available
9.0

The series adapted for television some true tales from press correspondents from around the world.

Overseas Press Club - Exclusive!

1957

Edward and Mrs Simpson poster
6.8

While still the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII meets the married American socialite, Wallis Simpson. Their relationship causes furor in the palace and in parliament, especially when King George V dies, Mrs. Simpson gets divorced, and King Edward announces his intention to marry her.

Edward and Mrs Simpson

1978

No artwork available
9.0

An anthology of six standalone plays presented relationships either beginning or ending in love – but the outcome was not always marriage (or happiness). A second series of five episodes aired in 1986.

Love and Marriage

1984

Number 10 poster
7.0

Follows the private lives of seven British PMs who lived at Number 10 Downing Street between the 1780s and the 1920s: William Pitt the Younger, the Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley), Benjamin Disraeli, William Ewart Gladstone, David Lloyd-George, Herbert Henry Asquith and James Ramsay MacDonald.

Number 10

1983

No artwork available
NR

Based on the diaries of the naval adiminister Samuel Pepys, it portrays life at the court of Charles II during the 1660s.

The Diary of Samuel Pepys

1958

The Old Curiosity Shop poster
7.5

The Old Curiosity Shop is a 1979 BBC miniseries based on the novel by Charles Dickens. It was directed by Julian Amyes, and adapted by William Trevor. A kindly shop owner whose overwhelming gambling debts allow a greedy landlord to seize his shop of dusty treasures. Evicted and with no way to pay his debts, he and his granddaughter flee.

The Old Curiosity Shop

1979

Zodiac poster
5.0

Zodiac was a six-part series transmitted by ITV in 1974. Starring Anton Rogers and Anouska Hempel as cynical detective David Gradley and his astrologer associate Esther Jones, the unusual astrological premise set this show apart from the humdrum detective dramas of the time. Little seen since its original broadcast, the series has garnered something of a cult status.

Zodiac

1974

No artwork available
9.0

Charlesworth is a British crime television series which first aired on BBC in 1959. A police procedural, it starred Wensley Pithey as Detective Superintendent Charlesworth, with Tony Church as Detective Sergeant Spence. It followed on from the previous year's Charlesworth at Large.

Charlesworth

1959

Persuasion poster
10.0

Persuasion is a 1960 British television miniseries adaptation of the Jane Austen novel of the same name. Produced by the BBC and directed by Campbell Logan, Daphne Slater stars as Anne Elliot, and Paul Daneman as Captain Frederick Wentworth. Living with her snobby family on the brink of bankruptcy, Anne Elliot is an unconforming woman with modern sensibilities. When Frederick Wentworth – the dashing one she once sent away – crashes back into her life, Anne must choose between putting the past behind her or listening to her heart when it comes to second chances.

Persuasion

1960

No artwork available
10.0

Widowed Mrs Martingale and her four children inherit a castle in the will of an elderly relative. When they move in they find dear old Miss Button, the housekeeper, a whole host of cats and, odder still, a boy called Christopher Sixpence who keeps appearing and disappearing. What is he doing there?

A Castle and Sixpence

1954

No artwork available
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Her Majesty's Pleasure

1968

No artwork available
NR

Charlesworth at Large is a British crime television series which originally aired on the BBC in 1958. Wensley Pithey revived his role as Detective Superintendent Charlesworth of Scotland Yard which he had played in two previous series.

Charlesworth at Large

1958

No artwork available
NR

A British crime television series: It is a police procedural featuring Detective Chief Inspector Charlesworth investigating crime around London's Soho.

Mister Charlesworth

1957

No artwork available
NR

Police procedural drama dealing with historical cases investigated by a ballistics expert.

Call the Gun Expert

1964

No artwork available
NR

Crime drama based on the true exploits of retired Liverpool CID Detective Sergeant William Prendergast who spent 28 years with the Liverpool CID. He was as tough as they come and specialised in interrogations at which he was very successful.

Jack and Knaves

1961