
Acting
Geoffrey Sumner
Born — Died
1908-11-20 — 1989-09-29
Place of birth
Ilfracombe, Devon, England, UK
Known for
Acting
Credits
48 titles
Speaker of "This is a journey into sound" as used in multiple songs.
Known for
7.8A 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
7.0ITV 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
4.2An 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
5.8Mystery 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
7.0Follows the exploits of Hut 29, a dysfunctional group of soldiers and their National Service conscription into the British Army during the post war years.
The Army Game
1957
6.7After 17 years of married life, Chris and Katy Bunting are faced with being parents for the first time. The repercussions are only just starting to become apparent.
Life Begins at Forty
1978
Film credits
1970s · 2 titles
1960s · 5 titles
6.7On the run and in search of help, two wounded gangsters find refuge in the secluded castle of a feeble man and his wife; however, under the point of a gun, nothing is what it seems.
Cul-de-sac
1966
NRA Guinness advert in the form of a short comic film set in a traditional country pub.
All in Good Time
1964
8.0George, an ineffectual and inoffensive clerk, and his prim wife Gladys reserve their greatest efforts for preserving their respectibility. Sam, a rough-necked American seaman, invades their dull suburban routine. The play examines the clash of cultures between a fading British Empire and the dominance of American materialistic values.
The Bone Grinder
1968
7.0Colonel Mortimer returns to his family after a long spell in India to find his young son in bed ill, and tormented by a wailing voice... but is it in the boy's imagination or not?
The Open Door
1966
7.4A group of prisoners are encouraged to form a jazz band and vow to go straight when they are released to tour the country. However, the trumpets and clarinets are just a cover for a series of robberies. Musical comedy, starring British jazz star Acker Bilk as himself, alongside Jimmy Thompson and Jennifer Jayne.
Band of Thieves
1962
1950s · 16 titles
8.0A British Sanitary Engineer, goes on holiday with a set of plans for a new secret weapon which he has mistaken for his new plumbing invention. Everyone is hunting for him, including the Russians. The Russians find him and offer him a job in the Kremlin doing research (on plumbing he believes). He accepts, arrives in Russia and falls in love with Tania, a secret agent. And then discovers the true nature of the plans he is carrying...
Top Secret
1952
6.5The first of the seven "Doctor" films, based on Richard Gordon's novels and released between 1954 and 1970. Simon Sparrow is a newly arrived medical student at St Swithin's hospital in London. Falling in with three longer-serving hopefuls he is soon immersed in the wooing, imbibing and fast sports-car driving that constitute 1950s medical training. There is, however, always the looming and formidable figure of chief surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt to remind them of their real purpose.
Doctor in the House
1954
6.5Set against the glitz and glamour of the French Riviera, this comedy follows the misadventures of a father and daughter con artist team (Ronald Squire and Peggy Cummins) who pose as a married couple and swindle wealthy clients at the region's swankiest resorts. But their scams take on a whole new dimension when daughter Clare falls for a British government bureaucrat (Terence Morgan) who may have a secret or two of his own. [Netflix]
Always a Bride
1953
7.8When the Government decide to build a Festival of Britain exhibition site, everything goes to plan, all except the fact that the main road and the pedestrian subway into the site, are blocked by a little corner shop, which is owned and run by a Mr. Lord and his family. When the Lords refuse to be bought off, and decline the compensation offered by the authorities. the police and the bailiffs try to evict them, only to come under fire from the family, who have barricaded themselves inside the shop.
The Happy Family
1952
5.0An Englishman has been working in the US so long he now speaks with an American accent. He is drafted into the British Army during WWII but is injured and loses his memory. Because he talks like an American, the doctors repatriate him to the States where he is housed with a New York family. After the war they all travel throughout Europe, searching for the women he still remembers in the hope of restoring his lost memory
A Tale of Five Cities
1951
5.8The Twiggs are a typical working-class family: Sam (Jack Warner) and Mary (Marjorie Rhodes) are trying to bring their family up in the shadow of the Blitz whilst taking everything in good humour. Their neighbours Joe (Charles Victor) and Emma (Gladys Henson) are constantly in the Twiggs house, borrowing a cup of sugar or using their Anderson shelter and between them the two working class families put the world to rights. But when their daughter falls for an upper class RAF pilot the Twiggs are asked by his mother, Lady Diana Stephens to tell their daughter to call the romance off, as the social gap between the families is too large. Incensed by Lady Diana s offer of money, Sam Twigg throws her out of the house. But events take a sudden turn as the war enters the Twiggs own living room. Will the two families manage to overcome their disdain for each other and let true love find its way?
Those People Next Door
1953
Shows the improved services and other benefits that oil brings to the backward territories. The financial and technical resources of foreign lands have tapped the liquid wealth hidden below the surface of the earth. In return a new prosperity and improved standard of living is being brought to the peoples of those formerly barren lands.
Full Circle
1953
5.9A man pays a hitman to kill him. Circumstances change and he tries to call off the hit but he has trouble getting the deal killed.
Paid to Kill
1954
6.7A group of children establish their own zoo in the garden of a disused house, which proves to be the headquarters of a gang of crooks.
The Dog and the Diamonds
1953
6.1A group of misfit soldiers are desperately trying to fiddle themselves some leave. Instead they wrangle a posting to the British Middle-East protectorate of Darawa. Their frustrations and disappointment at landing one of the harshest territories is compensated when they discover a secret passage to the King's harem.
I Only Arsked
1958
6.2A divorced couple, living hand-to-mouth in Stockholm, must first pay their hotel bill before returning to England. To raise the necessary funds, they must pretend that they're still married.
Traveller's Joy
1950
Following the Scottish fishing boat Glenstruan on a voyage out of Aberdeen.
Hook, Line and Sinker
1959
5.7At the outbreak of WWII the British realise they can't prevent the invasion of the Channel Islands. However, someone realises that a prize cow is on the islands and the Nazis mustn't get hold of her. This is the intrepid story of the cow-napping from under the noses of the Nazis.
Appointment with Venus
1951
A BAFTA Special award nominated animated documentary that's based on the animated look at the annual report of ICI as shown in "Balance 1950" from 1951.
Enterprise
1951
A boy detective, with Colonel Audacious and his wonderful invention, in a model aeroplane, the 'flying-eye', foil the efforts of international thieves to steal a secret formula.
The Flying Eye
1955
A brief review of the 1955 Farnborough Air Show.
Farnborough Fly Past
1955
1940s · 12 titles
6.4A detective gets involved with a wealthy socialite who can't seem to stop hiccuping.
Helter Skelter
1949
6.1A win on the football pools in postwar Britain changes lives. A happy family is turned into an unhappy argumentative lot until it is discovered the coupon apparently didn't get posted. A mild-mannered clerk worries about how to tell his overbearing boss he is quitting. A double-bass player finds life without the orchestra lacks something. The lure of the big money even turns some people into criminals, as when a coupon checker is tempted by his night-club singer girlfriend to cheat the company. Written by Jeremy Perkins
Easy Money
1948
7.0Fearing her husband could become a killer, a woman seeks a psychiatrist's help.
Mine Own Executioner
1947
6.3On the eve of WWII a young defence lawyer, assisted by his wife, invaigles his way into a gang of foreign saboteurs. Comedy thriller, ably executed by a satisfactory cast.
Law and Disorder
1940
7.0Lady Elisabeth Randall is an English Air Force corporal during World War II. She is on her way to marry her fiancé when she finds herself being romanced by two different men.
While the Sun Shines
1947
In the run up to the 1945 general election, the film focuses on the electoral race of one of the 640 local constituencies in Britain, that of Kettering in Northamptonshire.
General Election
1946
At the start of World War II, few ordinary soldiers knew exactly why they were fighting, or the significance of each theatre of war. Such ignorance did not boost the fighting spirit amongst the men; hence the need for education of the forces in current affairs was recognised and ABCA conceived. Officers attended courses on conducting discussions groups, and these were started as hourly sessions each week. Such was the response that ABCA rapidly expanded resulting in photographic display, wall newspapers articles written by the men themselves and an "Anglo American Brains Trust". ABCA would not only benefit the men during war time, but play an important part in post-war period during the building of the "new peace".
A.B.C.A.: The Story of the Army Bureau of Current Affairs
1943
“Vibrant, progressive animation contrasts with some outdated attitudes in this Electricity Council cartoon on energy usage” - BFI.
Men of Merit (a Lantern Lecture)
1948
NRA portrait of the beautiful game of association football as Britain emerged from WWII.
The Great Game
1945
8.0A young couple move into a charming rural cottage. They become fixated upon the mysterious death of the earlier female occupant.
Dark Secret
1949
NRNo man is an island, but Charley represents his nation in this economical cartoon tale of Britain’s economics.
Robinson Charley
1948
A film about the expansion of the Central Line beyond Stratford.
Seven More Stations
1948
1930s · 3 titles
7.5John Forrest is anticipating a quiet retirement spent penning detective fiction when he learns that a priceless collection of jewels belonging to a foreign potentate, Prince Homouska, has just vanished from the safekeeping of the Stamford Assurance Company. Aided by his butler, his Cockney assistant and his (initially) unwilling wife, Forrest sets out on the trail of the thieves.
The Gang's All Here
1939
Lucky to Me is a 1939 British musical comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Stanley Lupino, Phyllis Brooks and Barbara Blair. It was based on Lupino's own 1928 stage show So This is Love which he had co-written with Arthur Rigby. The film was made by ABPC at its Elstree Studios. It was the last film of Lupino who had made a string of successful musical comedies during the Thirties.
Lucky to Me
1939
In Paris a leading theatre impresario is murdered on opening night, shortly after replacing his leading lady. A police Inspector in the audience takes over the investigation. The film was shot at Elstree Studios. It was a close remake of the 1937 Austrian film Premiere and re-used a number of musical scenes from the original which were dubbed into English.
Premiere
1938
Series credits
7.8A 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
7.0ITV 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
4.2An 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
5.8Mystery 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
7.0Follows the exploits of Hut 29, a dysfunctional group of soldiers and their National Service conscription into the British Army during the post war years.
The Army Game
1957
6.7After 17 years of married life, Chris and Katy Bunting are faced with being parents for the first time. The repercussions are only just starting to become apparent.
Life Begins at Forty
1978
7.0George and Kate Starling are a young couple navigating the humourous challenges of early married life, including financial struggles, job issues, and starting a family
Marriage Lines
1961
Behind the camera
Shows the improved services and other benefits that oil brings to the backward territories. The financial and technical resources of foreign lands have tapped the liquid wealth hidden below the surface of the earth. In return a new prosperity and improved standard of living is being brought to the peoples of those formerly barren lands.
Full Circle
1953
A BAFTA award nominated animation looking at the life and work of the blacksmith since mediaeval times.
Earth is a Battlefield
1957



