Jonathan Elsom

Acting

Jonathan Elsom

Born

1938-09-22 (88)

Place of birth

Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

Known for

Acting

Credits

51 titles

Known for

Film credits

1980s · 9 titles

Rough Cut poster
5.8

Two sophisticated jewel thieves join forces to steal $30 million in uncut jewels.

Rough Cut

1980

Mesmerized poster
4.8

An orphan weds an older man in circa-1900 New Zealand, then finds out he's a miser who spies on her.

Mesmerized

1985

Across the Lake poster
6.0

Starring Anthony Hopkins as speed king Donald Campbell. Set in 1967, Campbell broke the 300mph water speed barrier in his beloved Bluebird K7.

Across the Lake

1988

The Godsend poster
5.4

An English family of six takes in a pregnant woman who disappears shortly after giving birth. They raise the baby girl as their own, but over the years the strange deaths of their children make them consider whether the little girl is more than she appears.

The Godsend

1980

The Great Riviera Bank Robbery poster
6.0

A group of fervent right wing French nationalists plan to finance a government coup and smash communists by pulling off a daring bank robbery.

The Great Riviera Bank Robbery

1980

Ping Pong poster
5.5

After restaurateur Sam Wong dies in a telephone booth after making a call, law clerk Elaine Choi is tasked with executing his will. In order for the will to be valid, it needs to be signed by its recipients, but Choi finds that each of them are reluctant to do so.

Ping Pong

1987

Busted poster
6.0

A ringing phone after midnight can be a disturbing experience but until Simon, a successful barrister, hears from Macy, his friend from university days, he doesn't know just how disturbing.

Busted

1983

The Life and Times of David Lloyd George poster
NR

The Life and Times of David Lloyd George charts the life of the controversial Liberal politician with Philip Madoc in the titular role. The title theme, Chi Mai, was by Ennio Morricone

The Life and Times of David Lloyd George

1981

To Kill a King poster
NR

The apparition of a woman - muse or ghost - helps a depressed writer.

To Kill a King

1980

1970s · 8 titles

The Death of Adolf Hitler poster
6.6

The final days in the Bunker, with Hitler becoming more and more paranoid, plumbing the depths of his madness and reaching his well deserved fate.

The Death of Adolf Hitler

1973

No artwork available
NR

Ben Spray is a fantasist who tries to impress people with outrageous tales of his life. His girlfriend's flatmate, Louise asks him come to a Bonfire Party, exposing himself as the fool but she is lonely and desperate which scares him.

Ben Spray

1972

The Face of Darkness poster
8.0

An MP arranges a bomb in a school playground as a pretext to bring back the death penalty.

The Face of Darkness

1976

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

Regan poster
8.7

Rough, tough and politically incorrect in the way that only the best 70's dramas can be, Regan was a pilot film for The Sweeney - one of the major television successes of the last fifty years. Featuring John Thaw as the irascible Detective Inspector Regan and Dennis Waterman as his loyal 'oppo' Detective Sergeant Carter, Regan was an immediate critical and ratings hit, resulting in four series of The Sweeney and two successful feature films. Jack Regan is a good copper, but his tough, intuitive style is becoming unfashionable in a Scotland Yard seeking a new image. When a policeman is mysteriously murdered, Regan breaks all the rules to find the killer - but he finds there are men in the Flying Squad prepared to break him.

Regan

1974

A Private Enterprise poster
6.7

An ambitious Indian university graduate has to struggle to live his entrepreneurial dreams against both the British social structure and his own family's stubborn traditional values.

A Private Enterprise

1975

Only a Scream Away poster
7.0

Newlyweds Samantha and Robert Miller emerge from the church to the sound of cheers. However, the happy scene is disturbed by a cruel practical joke, someone throws a paint-bomb at the bride. Later, upon returning from their honeymoon the couple discover the smashed remnants of their wedding cake and a mysterious gift -- one soiled glove. Could it be a warning? Does someone hold a grudge against the couple?

Only a Scream Away

1974

No artwork available
NR

A well-to-do family moves from the city to a country farmhouse, determined to make a go of things on their own, but the existence of an already present third generation housekeeper rather changes things somewhat. Set in 1973-76.

Plain Jane

1977

Series credits

Crown Court poster
5.7

Crown Court is an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984.

Crown Court

1972

The Avengers poster
7.8

A quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners. Jonathan Steed - an urbane, proper gentleman spy - teams with various assistants throughout the series' run, including Dr. David Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King, to repeatedly save the world from diabolical schemes plotted by equally diabolical evil-doers (among them robots and man-eating monsters).

The Avengers

1961

The Avengers poster
7.8

A quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners. Jonathan Steed - an urbane, proper gentleman spy - teams with various assistants throughout the series' run, including Dr. David Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King, to repeatedly save the world from diabolical schemes plotted by equally diabolical evil-doers (among them robots and man-eating monsters).

The Avengers

1961

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

Minder poster
7.2

Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.

Minder

1979

Minder poster
7.2

Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.

Minder

1979

Bergerac poster
7.0

Jim Bergerac is a detective sergeant in The Foreigners Office who likes to do things his own way. While dealing with his own personal demons Bergerac has a knack of finding trouble, and sometimes causing it.

Bergerac

1981

All Saints poster
6.2

Medical drama focusing on the working and personal lives of the doctors and nurses working on the front line of a busy inner city Emergency Department at All Saints Hospital.

All Saints

1998

The Sweeney poster
8.1

Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter.

The Sweeney

1975

Public Eye poster
8.2

Public Eye is a British television drama broadcast from 1965 to 1975 on ITV1. Produced by ABC Television for three series, and Thames Television for a further four, the programme follows the investigations and cases handled by the unglamourous enquiry agent Frank Marker.

Public Eye

1965

Thriller poster
7.0

Thriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast. As the title suggests, each story is a thriller of some variety, from tales of the supernatural to down-to-earth whodunits.

Thriller

1973

Target poster
7.0

A crime drama set in Southampton following a team of detectives and the cases they solve.

Target

1977

No artwork available
8.0

Story Parade specialized in adaptations of modern novels. It was broadcast on June 5, 1964 and repeated on August 28, 1964. The teleplay was by Terry Nation (who invented "Blake's 7" and the Daleks in Dr. Who), and Elijah Baley was played by the late Peter Cushing. It also starred John Carson John Carson as R. Daneel Olivaw and Kenneth J. Warren. The master tapes of the program were erased, however a few clips from the production have turned up in various documentaries about Isaac Asimov's work.

Story Parade

1964

No artwork available
8.0

An anthology of single plays offering up adaptations of either of prominent stage plays or novels.

Festival

1963

Suspense poster
6.7

Anthology series telling suspenseful tales.

Suspense

1962

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

Lady Killers poster
7.5

Compelling crime anthology looks at some of Britain's most notorious murder trials, in which both male and female defendants stood accused of the murder of women. Presented by Robert Morley, seven hour-long dramas reconstruct sensational trials which shocked Britain, offering in-depth analyses of individuals' motives and methods.

Lady Killers

1980

Lady Killers poster
7.5

Compelling crime anthology looks at some of Britain's most notorious murder trials, in which both male and female defendants stood accused of the murder of women. Presented by Robert Morley, seven hour-long dramas reconstruct sensational trials which shocked Britain, offering in-depth analyses of individuals' motives and methods.

Lady Killers

1980

Catweazle poster
7.5

A medieval wizard (though not a very good one) Catweazle is transported to the modern age... A British television series, created and written by Richard Carpenter which was produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence for London Weekend Television under the LWI banner, and screened in the UK on ITV in 1970. A second season in 1971 was directed by David Reid and David Lane. Both series had thirteen episodes each, with Geoffrey Bayldon playing the leading role. The series was broadcast in Ireland, Britain, Gibraltar, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Czechoslovakia, Nicaragua and Quebec. The first episode is available to view in full at the BFI Screenonline site.

Catweazle

1970

Rising Damp poster
7.4

Set in a seedy bedsit, the cowardly landlord Rigsby has his conceits debunked by his long suffering tenants.

Rising Damp

1974

Danger UXB poster
8.0

Danger UXB is a 1979 British television series developed by John Hawkesworth and starring Anthony Andrews as Lieutenant Brian Ash, an officer in the Royal Engineers. The programme is titled and partly based on the memoirs of Major A. B. Hartley, M.B.E, RE, Unexploded Bomb - The Story of Bomb Disposal, with episodes written by Hawkesworth and four screenwriters. The series chronicles the exploits of the fictional 97 Tunnelling Company which, as a result of thousands of unexploded bombs in London during the Blitz, has become a bomb disposal unit. As with all his fellow officers, Ash must for the most part learn the techniques and procedures of disarming and destroying the UXBs through experience, repeatedly confronted with more cunning and deadlier technological advances in aerial bomb fusing. The storylines were primarily military, with a romantic thread between Ash and an inventor's married daughter, and other human interest vignettes.

Danger UXB

1979

No artwork available
NR

The Feds is a series of Australian television films starring Robert Taylor, which were first broadcast on the Nine Network 1993-1996. The Feds revolves around the activities of the Australian Federal Police, who protect the national interests from crime in Australia and overseas. Nine telemovies were produced in the series.

The Feds

1993

Worzel Gummidge Down Under poster
8.2

Worzel Gummidge Down Under, adapted from the books written by Barbara Euphan Todd and the children's television programme produced and broadcast in the United Kingdom named Worzel Gummidge, starring Jon Pertwee. The story continued in New Zealand when Aunt Sally was sold to a Museum owner.

Worzel Gummidge Down Under

1987

By the Sword Divided poster
7.0

This classic period drama series follows the fortunes of the aristocratic Lacey family, living peacefully in Arnescote Castle until the onset of the English Civil War in 1640. Sir Martin Lacey, the head of the family, is steadfastly loyal to the King. However the family is torn apart when his eldest daughter Anne weds John Fletcher - son of a merchant family who support the forces of Cromwell.

By the Sword Divided

1983

Napoleon and Love poster
7.0

Napoleon and Love is a British television miniseries produced by Thames Television for ITV, lasting for nine episodes from 5 March to 30 April 1974. The series stars Ian Holm in the title role as Napoleon and depicts his relationships with the women who featured in his life as a backdrop to his rise and fall.

Napoleon and Love

1974

The Adventures of Don Quick poster
5.0

The Adventures of Don Quick is a science fiction comedy television series broadcast from October–December 1970, on ITV. Starring Ian Hendry and Ronald Lacey, six 50 minute episodes were made, shown in a 60 minute time slot. Based on the characters of Don Quixote, astronaut Captain Don Quick and Sergeant Sam Czopanser (i.e. "Sancho Panza") are members of the Intergalactic Maintenance Squad. On each planet they visit, Quick attempts to right imaginary wrongs, often upsetting the inhabitants of whatever society he's in. As of 2008, only the first episode exists, the other five are now missing. A technologically impressive 30 foot model spaceship was built in the studio for the series. However the first three episodes in a primetime slot failed to draw the required ratings so the last three were in a much later slot before the show was cancelled.

The Adventures of Don Quick

1970

The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder poster
5.0

The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder is based on a character created by Edgar Wallace in a series of 1925 short stories of the same name, Hugh Burden played the titular character – A mild-mannered investigator with the Department of Public Prosecutions.

The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder

1969

Mapp & Lucia poster
6.2

Mapp & Lucia is a British television comedy, based on E. F. Benson's novels, beginning with the eponymous 1931 entry for series 1, with Lucia's Progress and Trouble for Lucia for series 2. Mrs Emmeline Lucas (nicknamed Lucia) has just moved to the small English town of Tilling where she comes into conflict with the social ambitions of Miss Elizabeth Mapp. Until now, Miss Mapp has led (and controlled) the social life of Tilling, but that was before they met Lucia.

Mapp & Lucia

1985

No artwork available
NR

An anthology of self-contained plays focused on the personal experiences of characters who find themselves taking a break from their normal lives—such as going on holiday, taking a retreat, or travelling.

Away from It All

1973

No artwork available
9.5

Rogues' Gallery was a British television series which first aired on ITV between 1968 and 1969. It was set around London's Newgate Prison in the 18th century.

Rogues' Gallery

1968

No artwork available
NR

Children's thriller set in a circus.

Circus

1975