
Acting
Howard Goorney
Born 1921-05-11 · Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK
Howard Jacob Goorney (11 May 1921 – 29 March 2007) was a Manchester born Jewish actor, committed communist and a founder member of Joan Littlewood's 'Theatre Workshop'. He wrote The Theatre Workshop Story, published by Methuen - a definitive account of the company's early years, including their move to the Theatre Royal in Stratford East. He is also known for numerous theatre roles, including Bill Bryden's The Mysteries and Lark Rise to Candleford at the National Theatre in the 1970s and 1980s, TV roles such as Knock Knock in Only Fools and Horses, and films like The Hill, The Offence, Blood on Satan's Claw and Fiddler on the Roof.
Acting credits
7.7In a pre-revolutionary Russia, a poor Jewish milkman struggles with the challenges of a changing world as his daughters fall in love and antisemitism grows.
Fiddler on the Roof
1971
6.8A burned-out British police detective finally snaps while interrogating a suspected child molester.
The Offence
1973
6.2After a landsman in 18th century England discovers a corpse covered in fur buried in a field, the town becomes infected by "the devil's skin," leading the local children to engage in demonic rituals and criminal behavior.
The Blood on Satan's Claw
1971
5.8During the 1922 Turkish Civil War, two Americans and a group of foreign mercenaries offer their services to a local Turkish governor who hires them as guards for a secret transport.
You Can't Win 'Em All
1970
5.2Blackball follows the fortunes of Cliff Starkey, a working-class fine of lawn bowls with an exceptional talent. Wanting to take on the Aussies he manages to become regional champion, only to get banned. Sports agent Rich Schwartz picks him up and makes him so popular the Bowls Committee deem to lift the ban. Now the question is whether he can regain his form and his friends to beat the Aussies.
Blackball
2003
6.7Iago and a comrade-in-arms are outside the Venice home of Desdemona's father, who does not yet know that she has eloped with Othello. Iago confides to his friend -- who had hoped to marry Desdemona -- that he serves Othello to further his own ends. Venice needs Othello to protect its commercial interests in Cyprus where the Turkish fleet is headed. Desdemona insists on going to Cyprus, too. In Cyprus, Iago plots to convince Othello that Desdemona has betrayed him with Cassio. A lot more than political ambition seems to be motivating Iago.
Othello
1981
7.5North Africa, World War II. British soldiers on the brink of collapse push beyond endurance to struggle up a brutal incline. It's not a military objective. It's The Hill, a manmade instrument of torture, a tower of sand seared by a white-hot sun. And the troops' tormentors are not the enemy, but their own comrades-at-arms.
The Hill
1965
5.5An American occult novelist battles to save the soul of a young girl from a group of Satanists, led by an excommunicated priest, who plan on using her as the representative of the Devil on Earth.
To the Devil a Daughter
1976
6.2A hapless loser sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for seven wishes, but has trouble winning over the girl of his dreams.
Bedazzled
1967
7.8Washed-up agent John Craig is given the task of proving his worth by tracking down a Russian scientist on the run. Cross and double-cross is the name of the game.
Innocent Bystanders
1972
5.7A lady ringmaster milks the publicity from a string of murders.
Berserk!
1967
A costume drama / satire about financial skull-duggery, and confidence tricksters in both the upper and lower classes in Victorian London. A working class man impersonates a lord who is supposedly very rich and a financial wizard. As such he is invited to all the best peoples' parties.
The Fool
1990
6.2Once hounded from his castle by outraged villagers for creating a monstrous living being, Baron Frankenstein returns to Karlstaad. High in the mountains they stumble on the body of the creature, perfectly preserved in the ice. He is brought back to life with the help of the hypnotist Zoltan who now controls the creature. Can Frankenstein break Zoltan's hypnotic spell that incites the monster to commit these horrific murders or will Zoltan induce the creature to destroy its creator?
The Evil of Frankenstein
1964
6.3In the Paris of the 1910s, brash young sculptor Henri Gaudier begins a creative partnership with an older writer, Sophie Brzeska. Though the couple is 20 years apart in age, Gaudier finds that his untamed work is complemented by the older woman's cultural refinement. He then moves to London with Brzeska, where he falls in with a group of avant-garde artists. There, Gaudier encounters yet another artistic muse in passionate suffragette Gosh Boyle.
Savage Messiah
1972
5.8Young Jenny heads to the South of England to start a new career as a school teacher. Even before she has had a chance to settle in she meets Patrick, one of the local "lads". Within a short time she has her hands full when a number of the local boys take a liking to her. But who will be the lucky one who wins her affections?
Take a Girl Like You
1970
7.5Based on the adventures of Jack Sheppard, the thief and jail-breaker who became a folk hero in 1720s London.
Where's Jack?
1969
5.4A mother and daughter hatch a scheme to murder their family's domineering and sadistic patriarch.
Crucible of Horror
1971
3.5In Liverpool, Joanne Conlon rescues a weeping statue of the Virgin Mary from her local church's replacement plans. As her family faces financial struggles and newfound success, the statue's tears return, turning their lives upside down and drawing crowds from near and far to witness the miraculous phenomenon.
The Virgin of Liverpool
2003
6.4A humble clerk yearns for an overcoat, but his employer's refusal and his subsequent death lead him to return as a ghost, determined to claim the garment with the help of a tailor friend.
The Bespoke Overcoat
1955
7.3Octavius Caesar (later renamed Augustus Caesar, son of the murdered Julius Caesar), Marc Antony, and Lepidus form the triumvirate, the three rulers of the Roman Empire. Antony, though married to Fulvia, spends his time in Egypt, living a life of decadence and conducting an affair with Queen Cleopatra. In Antony's absence, Caesar and Lepidus worry about Pompey's increasing strength.
Antony & Cleopatra
1981
Teacher Alec Waterman is released from jail after a sentence for fraud. Dick Sothers gets him a job with Lucas Builders but when Alec starts to make new friends he becomes trapped between his old life and his new life.
The Swindler
1963
The reputation of the Academy for the Daughters of Respectable Monarchs has, of course, always been of the highest order... then suddenly Signor Doloro de Lara— a Professor of Magic—puts in an unwelcome appearance, and the enchanting little world is turned upside down.
The Mystery of the Disappearing Schoolgirls
1980
6.0Ken Loach production for The Wednesday Play, reflecting contemporary debates surrounding the abolishment of capital punishment.
Three Clear Sundays
1965
5.5A young woman going to her wedding is waiting for her fiancée, a hood in custody, who is allowed by the police to go to his wedding.
Marriage of Convenience
1960