John Barrett

Acting

John Barrett

Born — Died

1910-02-18 — 1983-05-22

Place of birth

Rochdale, Lancashire, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

85 titles

Rochdale born John Barrett was a veteran of over 100 films and various TV programmes in a career that stretched twenty five years from 1958 to his death in 1983.

Known for

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

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

ITV Playhouse poster
7.0

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.

ITV Playhouse

1967

Last of the Summer Wine poster
7.2

Unencumbered by wives, jobs or any other responsibilities, three senior citizens who've never really grown up explore their world in the Yorkshire Dales. They spend their days speculating about their fellow townsfolk and thinking up adventures not usually favored by the elderly. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse in 1973. The show ran for 295 episodes until 2010. It is the longest running comedy Britain has produced and the longest running sitcom in the world.

Last of the Summer Wine

1973

Theatre 625 poster
7.2

Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

Theatre 625

1964

Film credits

1980s · 6 titles

The French Lieutenant's Woman poster
6.5

In this story-within-a-story, Anna is an actress starring opposite Mike in a period piece about the forbidden love between their respective characters, Sarah and Charles. Both actors are involved in serious relationships, but the passionate nature of the script leads to an off-camera love affair as well. While attempting to maintain their composure and professionalism, Anna and Mike struggle to come to terms with their infidelity.

The French Lieutenant's Woman

1981

The Missionary poster
5.6

In 1905, after 10 years of missionary work in Africa, the Rev. Charles Fortesque is recalled to England, where his bishop gives him his new assignment - to minister to London's prostitutes.

The Missionary

1982

Remembrance poster
4.5

A group of Devonport-based Royal Navy ratings, due to sail to America for a six-month NATO exercise, go out on the town on their last night in port, hitting Plymouth's notorious Union Street district, with violent results.

Remembrance

1982

Rolling Home poster
NR

Mr Wyman is an elderly man whose increasingly unreliable memory has landed him in a geriatric ward. Here he is visited by his daughters Val and Molly, and Molly's husband Harold, and looked after by the ward's two male nurses, Vic and Donald, who are in competition for a promotion. Donald needs the money as he and his girlfriend are trying to buy a house but are having difficulty arranging a mortgage. From the window at which he sits, Mr Wyman can see a wall. He repeatedly pesters Donald with questions about what is on the other side. Donald constructs a fantasy of the future he dreams of with his girlfriend: a house and garden inhabited by a married couple.

Rolling Home

1982

Pews poster
NR

Liftchick has a problem. As beadle to the synagogue he is responsible for getting ten men together to say Kaddish, but it is holiday-time and the town is empty.

Pews

1980

Murder Rap poster
NR

Wally, a caretaker in a block of flats, loses his job when the flats are used to rehouse Bhengali families.

Murder Rap

1980

1970s · 26 titles

The Eagle Has Landed poster
6.6

When the Nazi high command learns in late 1943 that Winston Churchill will be spending time at a country estate in Norfolk, it hatches an audacious scheme to kidnap the prime minister and spirit him to Germany for enforced negotiations with Hitler.

The Eagle Has Landed

1976

Robin and Marian poster
6.3

Robin Hood, aging none too gracefully, returns exhausted from the Crusades to woo and win Maid Marian one last time.

Robin and Marian

1976

Tess poster
7.1

A strong-willed peasant girl is sent by her father to the estate of some local aristocrats to capitalize on a rumour that their families are from the same line. This fateful visit commences an epic narrative of sex, class, betrayal, and revenge.

Tess

1979

O Lucky Man! poster
6.8

An ambitious coffee salesman has a series of improbable and ironic adventures seemingly designed to challenge his naive idealism.

O Lucky Man!

1973

Smokey Joe's Revenge poster
7.0

Three children rejuvenate an old traction engine and enter it for the County Championship.

Smokey Joe's Revenge

1974

Malachi's Cove poster
6.4

A tough young girl lives with her aging grandfather near a cove on the coast of Cornwall. She supports herself and him by gathering seaweed to sell as fertilizer. A cocky young neighboring boy decides to help her with the work.

Malachi's Cove

1973

Up the Chastity Belt poster
4.2

A funny thing happened to Lurkalot, serf to Sir Coward de Custard, on the way to Custard Castle. Lurkalot sells lusty love potions and rusty chastity belts in the market place, but on this day Sir Graggart de Bombast arrives to sack the castle, and to get the lovely Lobelia Custard in the sack! Lurkalot must help Custard cream the knight in pining armour...

Up the Chastity Belt

1972

Twelve Off the Belt poster
NR

Grand Challenge pie-eating contest : ' Winner finishes most whole pies off the belt in half-an-hour. Ties decided on a raw cabbage '. The Bedworth Hog faces tough competition.

Twelve Off the Belt

1977

Porridge poster
6.7

Times are hard for habitual guest of Her Majesty Norman Stanley Fletcher. The new prison officer, Beale, makes MacKay look soft and what's more, an escape plan is hatching from the cell of prison godfather Grouty and Fletcher wants no part of it.

Porridge

1979

The Long Distance Piano Player poster
7.0

The first Play for Today is the story of one man's obsession (to win the world long distance piano playing record) and the battle for good (his wife) and evil (his agent) that rages around him.

The Long Distance Piano Player

1970

Comedians poster
7.5

Comedians is a TV movie/play by Trevor Griffiths, set in a Manchester evening class for aspiring working-class comedians.

Comedians

1979

The Death of Glory poster
NR

Prevented by health reasons from joining the Army, a man lives out his military fantasies by leading a failing marching band. His life changes when he discovers his beloved ex-Army father has a secret.

The Death of Glory

1973

It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet poster
8.0

Based on James Herriot's books about life as a 1930s veterinarian in Yorkshire, John Alderson plays the kindly doctor who ministers to animals in this enjoyable family film. Sequel to the 1975 film All Creatures Great and Small.

It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet

1976

Our Cissy poster
8.0

An old man travels to London from the North Country, accompanied by his son, in order to find the truth about his daughter's suicide.

Our Cissy

1974

No artwork available
NR

An elderly recluse dies in the process of changing her will. The change would have meant that the servants would continue to live in her house - now it seems they will be homeless.

Last Wishes

1978

The Testing of Eric Olthwaite poster
8.5

Eric Olthwaite is so boring that his family all leave home to escape him. Then one day he is accidentally caught up in a bank robbery and discovers that the robber shares his interests in shovels, black pudding and rainfall so they team up to make daring raids to steal rainfall records. As a result Eric becomes famous and is considered interesting again, so much so that he is made the mayor of Denley Moor.

The Testing of Eric Olthwaite

1977

South Riding poster
NR

An adaptation of Winifred Holtby's classic novel

South Riding

1974

The Hunting of Lionel Crane poster
8.0

An army deserter hides out on a country estate but falls foul of the gamekeeper.

The Hunting of Lionel Crane

1970

Packman's Barn poster
NR

Ben Packman leaves an old people's home to return to the Welsh mountains.

Packman's Barn

1976

Billy's Last Stand poster
8.0

Billy is his own boss. But Darkly has plans for him ...

Billy's Last Stand

1971

The Treat poster
NR

Episode of The Frighteners: It was meant to be a great day out for three veterans and the male nurse. But their uneasy friendship soon became savage enmity.

The Treat

1972

Nearest and Dearest poster
7.1

When Eli and Nellie Pledge's father dies, the duo are left in charge of his pickle empire. The two siblings are complete opposites and Eli wants out, but since he can't leave until Nellie is married, he sets about finding a husband for his old-fashioned sister.

Nearest and Dearest

1972

Fair Tradin' on the Dancin' Ground poster
NR

A man abducts a boy after his son is taken from him by social services.

Fair Tradin' on the Dancin' Ground

1976

Rest in Peace, Uncle Fred poster
10.0

Two incidents in a young actress's life have their effect on each other - a dinner date with a film producer, and attendance at the funeral of a favourite uncle.

Rest in Peace, Uncle Fred

1970

No artwork available
9.0

When Lady Sheila Boothroyd hears that the planning authorities are determined to drive a road through her grounds, she announces her intention to kill herself at the precise moment that the bulldozers start on their shameful work. As the hour strikes and the bulldozers' roar is heard, her husband General Sir William Boothroyd enters in full regimental regalia, while his old ex-army servant sounds the Last Post. Then, as the whole family stands stricken, the door opens...

Lloyd George Knew My Father

1975

No artwork available
NR

1977: Edgar Parker is about to emigrate to Canada. His wife wants him to stay in London for the Jubilee celebrations.

Silver Lining

1977

1960s · 12 titles

Far from the Madding Crowd poster
6.9

Bathsheba Everdine, a willful, flirtatious, young woman, unexpectedly inherits a large farm and becomes romantically involved with three widely divergent men.

Far from the Madding Crowd

1967

Star! poster
6.9

Gertrude Lawrence rises to stage stardom at the cost of happiness.

Star!

1968

War-Gods of the Deep poster
5.0

A chance discovery leads American mining engineer Ben Harris and acquaintance Harold to discover a lost city under the sea while searching for their kidnapped friend Jill. Held captive in the underwater city by the tyrannical Captain (Vincent Price), and his crew of former smugglers, the three plot to escape...

War-Gods of the Deep

1965

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning poster
7.0

A 22-year-old factory worker lets loose on the weekends: drinking, brawling, and dating two women, one of whom is older and married.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

1960

The Witches poster
6.0

Following a nervous breakdown, Gwen takes up the job of head teacher in the small village of Haddaby. There she can benefit from the tranquillity and peace, enabling her to recover fully. But under the facade of idyllic country life she slowly unearths the frightening reality of village life in which the inhabitants are followers of a menacing satanic cult with the power to inflict indiscriminate evil and death if crossed.

The Witches

1966

The Trygon Factor poster
6.5

A Scotland Yard detective is investigating a string of robberies and a murder, and the information he uncovers leads him to the estate of a wealthy but strange English family, who share their mansion with a group of nuns. The detective comes to suspect that neither the family nor the nuns is quite what they seem to be.

The Trygon Factor

1966

The World of George Orwell: 1984 poster
7.0

Early adaption of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four as part of the Theatre 625 series.

The World of George Orwell: 1984

1965

A Prize of Arms poster
6.7

A criminal gang sets out to pull off the heist of a large army payroll.

A Prize of Arms

1962

There's a Hole in Your Dustbin, Delilah poster
NR

A skiving bin gang are on high alert when their new inspector takes an interest.

There's a Hole in Your Dustbin, Delilah

1968

Anna Karenina poster
6.6

In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted. But in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.

Anna Karenina

1961

The Crunch poster
NR

A megalomaniac dictator, in charge of a former colony, installs a nuclear bomb in its London Embassy. He threatens to set it off, unless a huge ransom is paid. The question for the government is whether he will set it off anyway?

The Crunch

1964

No artwork available
NR

A dramatised documentary about the lives and work of the performers and administrators of a local orchestra. With the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra.

Who Pays the Piper?

1960

Series credits

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

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

ITV Playhouse poster
7.0

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.

ITV Playhouse

1967

ITV Playhouse poster
7.0

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.

ITV Playhouse

1967

Last of the Summer Wine poster
7.2

Unencumbered by wives, jobs or any other responsibilities, three senior citizens who've never really grown up explore their world in the Yorkshire Dales. They spend their days speculating about their fellow townsfolk and thinking up adventures not usually favored by the elderly. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse in 1973. The show ran for 295 episodes until 2010. It is the longest running comedy Britain has produced and the longest running sitcom in the world.

Last of the Summer Wine

1973

Theatre 625 poster
7.2

Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

Theatre 625

1964

Theatre 625 poster
7.2

Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

Theatre 625

1964

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

Playhouse poster
7.0

A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.

Playhouse

1974

All Creatures Great and Small poster
7.8

The trials and misadventures of the staff at a country veterinary office in Yorkshire. James Herriot, a young animal surgeon, moves to a small Yorkshire town to begin his first job.

All Creatures Great and Small

1978

All Creatures Great and Small poster
7.8

The trials and misadventures of the staff at a country veterinary office in Yorkshire. James Herriot, a young animal surgeon, moves to a small Yorkshire town to begin his first job.

All Creatures Great and Small

1978

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

Centre Play poster
7.0

Anthology series of half hour plays produced in BBC's Television Centre's studios.

Centre Play

1973

Centre Play poster
7.0

Anthology series of half hour plays produced in BBC's Television Centre's studios.

Centre Play

1973

Juliet Bravo poster
6.5

Juliet Bravo was a drama that focused on two female police inspectors, neither of whom were called Juliet Bravo! These two inspectors worked in the small fictional town of Hartley, Lancashire. Jean Darblay was on the scene first and had trouble with her sexist colleagues. However she soon managed to gain their trust and prove a woman could be a successful police officer and housewife. Jean's call sign was Juliet Bravo. When she was promoted and moved on she was replaced by Kate Longton who not only took over the patch but also the headaches that went with it.

Juliet Bravo

1980

Mystery and Imagination poster
5.8

Mystery and Imagination is a British television anthology of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 on ITV and produced by ABC and Thames Television.

Mystery and Imagination

1966

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

Churchill's People poster
5.0

Churchill's People is a British anthology series based on A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill's four-volume history of Britain and its former colonies. 26 episodes were produced by the BBC and initially broadcast from 30 December 1974 to 23 June 1975.

Churchill's People

1974

No artwork available
7.0

An early hit for ATV, this absorbing, rigorously researched and very human drama series centres on the work of a team of probation officers based in London, and the lives of the men and women of all ages and backgrounds who come under their care. Drawing on the documentary skills of creator Julian Bond and produced by Emergency - Ward 10s Antony Kearey, Probation Officer was broadcast at a time when the service was increasingly coming into focus as progressive response to rising crime.

Probation Officer

1959

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? poster
7.7

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? is a British sitcom which was broadcast between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974 on BBC1. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads. It was created and written, as was its predecessor, by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. There were 26 television episodes over two series; and a subsequent 45-minute Christmas special was aired on 24 December 1974. The cast were reunited in 1975 for a BBC radio adaptation of series 1, transmitted on Radio 4 from July to October that year. In 1976, a feature film spin-off was made. Around the time of its release, however, Rodney Bewes and James Bolam fell out over a misunderstanding involving the press and have not spoken since. This long-suspected situation was finally confirmed by Bewes while promoting his autobiography in 2005. Unlike Bewes, Bolam is consistently reluctant to talk about the show, and has vetoed any attempt to revive his character.

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

1973

The Famous Five poster
7.5

The Famous Five is a British television series based on the children's books of the same name by Enid Blyton. It was broadcast on ITV over two series in 1978 and 1979. It was produced by Southern Television in 26 half-hour episodes.

The Famous Five

1978

No artwork available
7.5

Studio 4 is an anthology drama series utilising BBC Television Centre's Studio Four, and running for two series in 1962 on BBC One. It was envisaged as a sequel to Storyboard, a similar anthology series which had been transmitted the previous year.

Studio 4

1962

Robin's Nest poster
6.7

Robin's Nest is a British sitcom, a spin-off from Man About the House, focusing on Richard O'Sullivan as Robin Tripp. It aired for six series from 11 January 1977 to 31 March 1981, and co-starred Tessa Wyatt as Robin's girlfriend – and later wife – Vicky, and Tony Britton as her father.

Robin's Nest

1977

The Frighteners poster
8.5

A horror anthology series, with each episode featuring a different eerie tale.

The Frighteners

1972

No artwork available
NR

Jubilee 1977 is a thirteen-part 1977 BBC One television limited series produced by Pieter Rogers, an anthology centred around the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the accession on Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth throughout 1977, culminating in June with the official 'Jubilee Days', held to coincide with the Queen's Official Birthday.

Jubilee 1977

1977

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

No artwork available
NR

A series of plays from Birmingham by new writers.

Second City Firsts

1973

No artwork available
NR

An anthology of 1920s set plays and musicals, transmissioned from 10 September to 10 December 1968 on BBC One.

The Jazz Age

1968

No artwork available
NR

An anthology series of plays. Each episode explores a different story of villainy.

The Villains

1964

Bill Brand poster
7.2

Following the death of the sitting Labour Party Member of Parliament, Bill Brand is selected as Labour candidate for a Lancashire textile constituency.

Bill Brand

1976

Shadows poster
6.8

Shadows is a British Supernatural television anthology series produced by Thames Television for ITV between 1975 and 1978. Extending over three seasons, it featured ghost and horror dramas for children. Guest actors included John Nettleton, Gareth Thomas, Jenny Agutter, Pauline Quirke, Brian Glover, June Brown, Rachel Herbert, Jacqueline Pearce and Gwyneth Strong. The series was also notable for reviving the character of Mr. Stabs. Notable writers for the series included J. B. Priestley, Fay Weldon and PJ Hammond.

Shadows

1975

Londoners poster
NR

London itself takes the starring role in this series of plays from the BBC – a role which varies between hero and villain, enchantress and harpy. The series features extensive location filming, ranging from Soho to the Law Courts, Wembley to the docks. Of the twelve episodes, eleven are believed to be lost.

Londoners

1965

Objects of Affection poster
8.0

A series of plays written by Alan Bennett.

Objects of Affection

1982

Not on Your Nellie poster
6.0

When Jed Pickersgill finds himself too ill to run his Chelsea pub, The Brown Cow, he calls upon his middle-aged daughter Nellie for help. Nellie moves from Bolton to London to help, despite being a teetotal.

Not on Your Nellie

1974

Armchair Theatre poster
6.0

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.

Armchair Theatre

1956

Armchair Theatre poster
6.0

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.

Armchair Theatre

1956

The Jensen Code poster
6.0

16-year-old Terry Connor uncovers a secret government plot involving mind control and espionage at a Ministry of Defence facility near his Outward Bound camp.

The Jensen Code

1973

Mickey Dunne poster
NR

Mickey Dunne followed the misadventures of the titular gambling streetwise Cockney wide-boy who managed to survive on his wits and gift of the gab as he picked his way from one female companion to the next whilst talking himself into as many free dinners as possible.

Mickey Dunne

1967