Alan Dobie

Acting

Alan Dobie

Born

1932-06-02 (94)

Known for

Acting

Credits

52 titles

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 Wednesday Play poster
5.2

An anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.

The Wednesday Play

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

No artwork available
NR

BBC anthology drama series that ran over four seasons and replaced the previous BBC Sunday Night Theatre series.

Sunday-Night Play

1960

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

The Human Jungle poster
8.2

The Human Jungle is a British TV series about a psychiatrist, made for ABC Television by the small production company Independent Artists for transmission on ITV. Starring Herbert Lom, it ran for two series which were first transmitted during 1963 and 1965.

The Human Jungle

1963

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 Disputation poster
6.0

In 1263, King James I of Aragon organizes a debate between representatives of Judaism and Christianity regarding whether or not Jesus was the Messiah.

The Disputation

1986

The House on Kirov Street poster
NR

It is November 1941, and the German Army is sweeping through the Crimea. German officers are billeted in Yalta - some of them in Anton Chekhov's old house in Kirov Street. The house is now a museum, but it is guarded by Chekhov's sister for whom the war, like the Revolution before it, is just another unwelcome disturbance.

The House on Kirov Street

1985

The Hospice poster
7.0

When he loses his way on a country road and is bitten by an animal, Maybury stumbles across a strange house where an extravagant dinner is taking place.

The Hospice

1987

Hedda Gabler poster
8.0

Stuck in a loveless marriage to intellectual George Tesman, the ambitious Hedda Gabler hungers for a life her husband can't provide. Then a former flame, the successful Eilert, enters the picture, violence and blackmail aren't far behind.

Hedda Gabler

1981

Night Mail 2 poster
NR

An updated version of the classic 1936 "Night Mail", this time using an aeroplanes and vans as well as trains, and with poetry by Blake Morrison.

Night Mail 2

1987

1970s · 9 titles

Madame Sin poster
7.2

A CIA agent is used as a pawn in an insane woman's plan to steal a Polaris submarine.

Madame Sin

1972

For Services to Myself poster
NR

A proud socialist and community activist wrestles with the decision to accept an honour from the Queen

For Services to Myself

1976

A Collier's Friday Night poster
NR

A glimpse into the home life of a coal miner and his family. Frustrated with their lot in life, the family quarrel and squabble incessantly with one another in this adaptation of a DH Lawrence short story.

A Collier's Friday Night

1976

No artwork available
NR

Young Mr. Wignall is on a business trip to northern England. He is keen to pull some local girls while there. His unassuming boss, meanwhile, has organised his calendar to meet with a different lady each day he is there.

Our Young Mr. Wignall

1976

The Save the Children Fund Film poster
7.0

Director Ken Loach explores the politics of race, class and charity in a capitalist society in this documentary funded by the Save the Children foundation.

The Save the Children Fund Film

1971

Double Dare poster
NR

Martin Ellis (Alan Dobie) is a blocked screenwriter who invites Helen, an actress (Kika Markham), to a hotel in central London to discuss an idea for a play he is writing with her in mind. As they discuss the play, Martin discovers that a businessman and an escort named Carol are sat at a nearby table and appear to be speaking lines from the as yet unwritten piece. Martin becomes anxious at what will eventually become of the girl, already knowing that the play will not have a happy resolution

Double Dare

1976

No artwork available
9.0

The last days of famous Russian author Leo Tolstoy which are paralleled with one of his last stories - The Death of Ivan Ilyich - about a man who is happy with his life until he finds out he's sick and is about to die.

A Question Of Faith

1979

The Suicide Club poster
8.0

Prince Florizel of Bohemia discovers a secret club where desperate men gamble with their lives, and vows to bring it to an end.

The Suicide Club

1970

Waxwork poster
NR

The play which led to the series Sergeant Cribb.

Waxwork

1979

1960s · 12 titles

The Chairman poster
5.5

An American scientist is sent to Red China to steal the formula for a newly developed agricultural enzyme. What he is not told by his bosses is that a micro-sized bomb has been planted in his brain so that should the mission ever look likely to fail, he can be eliminated at the push of a button!

The Chairman

1969

Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow poster
6.9

English vicar Dr. Syn becomes a scarecrow on horseback by night to thwart King George III's taxmen.

Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow

1963

The Charge of the Light Brigade poster
6.2

During the Crimean War between Britain and Russia in the 1850s, a British cavalry division, led by the overbearing Lord Cardigan, engages in an infamously reckless strategic debacle against a Russian artillery battery.

The Charge of the Light Brigade

1968

Alfred the Great poster
4.8

While Old England is being ransacked by roving Danes in the 9th century, Alfred is planning to join the priesthood. But observing the rape of his land, he puts away his religious vows to take up arms against the invaders, leading the English Christians to fight for their country. Alfred soundly defeats the Danes and becomes a hero. But now, although Alfred still longs for the priesthood, he is torn between his passion for God and his lust for blood.

Alfred the Great

1969

The Comedy Man poster
7.1

A middle-aged stock actor goes to London to try the big time. After much frustration, he lands a job doing TV commercials, gaining wealth and recognition. He eventually gives it all up to return to stage work and keep his pride.

The Comedy Man

1964

The Long Day's Dying poster
5.5

Three British soldiers and their German captive trek through the European countryside.

The Long Day's Dying

1968

Jumbo poster
NR

In just four months, the world's first jumbo jet goes into regular service over the Atlantic. Already 200 have been ordered by the world's airlines. Each is designed to carry nearly 500 passengers. The jumbo has been called a 'pilot's dream.' But will it also be an airport's nightmare? By next year, half a dozen of the giants may be queuing at peak hours to disgorge their passengers at London Airport. Round the world, airports face their biggest jam in history. Jumbo jets will revolutionise airport design. But they may also speed up other travel developments, with far-reaching effects on the design and peace, of our cities.

Jumbo

1969

No artwork available
NR

Francis Bacon: Fragments of a Portrait explores the recurring themes in Bacon’s work, his influences and his life. The documentary is accompanied by a haunting score specially composed by Edwin Astley for the production.

Francis Bacon: Fragments of a Portrait

1966

The Siege of Manchester poster
9.0

A German mercenary is hired to defend the small township of Manchester during the English Civil War.

The Siege of Manchester

1965

No artwork available
NR

A BAFTA award nominated short feature studying river pollution in Europe and how it can be overcome by the treatment of urban and industrial wastes.

The River Must Live

1966

Seven Keys poster
6.9

Convict Russell is bequeathed a set of seven keys by a fellow prisoner. After discovering that the deceased embezzled an unrecovered £20,000, Russell sets out to find the cash after finishing his sentence. However, he must first solve the mystery of which locks the keys fit, and run the gauntlet of the police and gangsters who are after him and the money.

Seven Keys

1961

Faces of Harlow poster
NR

The planning, development and life of a new town exemplified by Harlow in South-East England, illustrating its problems and progress.

Faces of Harlow

1964

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

The Wednesday Play poster
5.2

An anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.

The Wednesday Play

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

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

No artwork available
NR

BBC anthology drama series that ran over four seasons and replaced the previous BBC Sunday Night Theatre series.

Sunday-Night Play

1960

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

The Human Jungle poster
8.2

The Human Jungle is a British TV series about a psychiatrist, made for ABC Television by the small production company Independent Artists for transmission on ITV. Starring Herbert Lom, it ran for two series which were first transmitted during 1963 and 1965.

The Human Jungle

1963

No artwork available
8.0

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

Festival

1963

Detective poster
9.0

A BBC anthology series featuring adaptations of detective stories over 45 episodes in three seasons that ran from 1964 to 1969. As with many BBC programmes made before the early 1970s, many of its episodes no longer exist. Of the eighteen episodes from the first season only twelve are currently known to exist; likewise six of the sixteen editions from the second run are considered lost, and just one of the final ten survives in the archives.

Detective

1964

Cribb poster
8.0

Victorian England, the late 1800s: Detective Sergeant Daniel Cribb of the newly formed Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is determined to remove crime from the streets of London using the latest detection methods.

Cribb

1980

War & Peace poster
7.1

The love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov is interwoven with the Great Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon's invading army.

War & Peace

1972

Testament: The Bible in Animation poster
7.0

A nine-part series of Old Testament stories for younger viewers using various animation techniques, including stop-motion, cel animation and computer animation.

Testament: The Bible in Animation

1996

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

No artwork available
NR

Anthology series of plays about significant incidents in the lives of famous people.

Biography

1970

Kessler poster
7.0

Drama series about the attempts to unmask Ludwig Kessler, the fictional head of the Gestapo in Belgium from the series SECRET ARMY, who escaped punishment, changed his name to Manfred Dorf, and became a successful businessman.

Kessler

1981

Artists and Models poster
NR

Three drama-documentary films set in a Paris art studio during a century of scandal and revolution, exploring the lives of French artists Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste Ingres, and Théodore Géricault.

Artists and Models

1986

Hard Times poster
6.5

Hard Times is a four-part British television drama miniseries based on Charles Dickens' 1854 novel of the same name, a survey of English society and a satirisation of 19th century social and economic conditions. Wealthy, retired Coketown merchant Thomas Gradgrind devotes his life to a philosophy of rationalism, self-interest, and fact. He raises his eldest children, Louisa and Tom, according to this philosophy and never allows them to engage in fanciful or imaginative pursuits.

Hard Times

1977

Red Letter Day poster
6.0

It happens in almost everyone's life. There is a special day - a day of unusual significance. A turning point in life, perhaps in career, romance or fortune; a day to remember. This anthology of plays, each as individual as the people and events portrayed, looks at seven such Red Letter Days.

Red Letter Day

1976

No artwork available
NR

This show deals with various music & poetry discussions.

Contrasts

1967

No artwork available
NR

A 1973 BBC series featuring seven films about there aspects of their past made by seven European countries. Out of all seven episodes produced for the series six of them are believed now to be lost with episode one being the only surviving episode that is known to exist.

European Heritage

1973

No artwork available
NR

A series of films with a new perspective on Britain - from the air.

Bird's Eye View

1969

No artwork available
10.0

A Fleet Street reporter sets out to expose the corruption behind the big businesses trying to exploit emerging nations in Africa.

Diamond Crack Diamond

1970