Renée Houston

Acting

Renée Houston

Born — Died

1902-07-24 — 1980-02-09

Place of birth

Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

57 titles

Renée Houston (24 July 1902 - 9 February 1980) was a Scottish comedy actress and revue artist who appeared in television and film roles. Born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, as Katherina Houston Gribbin she toured music halls and revues with her sister Billie Houston as the "Houston Sisters". In 1926, the sisters made a short musical film, the script of which Renée had written. It was produced by Lee De Forest, whose process, Phonofilm, enabled a soundtrack to be played alongside the film (a year before The Jazz Singer). Houston married three times, the second was to the actor Pat Aherne, the brother of Brian Aherne. Her third husband was the actor Donald Stewart. In her later years, she spe…

Known for

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

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

No Hiding Place poster
4.8

No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series Murder Bag and Crime Sheet, all starring Raymond Francis as Detective Superintendent, later Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart.

No Hiding Place

1959

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

The Adventures of Robin Hood poster
6.4

The legendary character Robin Hood and his band of merry men in Sherwood Forest and the surrounding vicinity. While some episodes dramatised the traditional Robin Hood tales, most episodes were original dramas created by the show's writers and producers.

The Adventures of Robin Hood

1955

Dr. Finlay's Casebook poster
6.7

Dr Finlay's Casebook is a BBC television series that was broadcast from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s.

Dr. Finlay's Casebook

1962

Film credits

1960s · 21 titles

Repulsion poster
7.4

Beautiful young manicurist Carole suffers from androphobia (the pathological fear of interaction with men). When her sister and roommate, Helen, leaves their London flat to go on an Italian holiday with her married boyfriend, Carole withdraws into her apartment. She begins to experience frightful hallucinations, her fear gradually mutating into madness.

Repulsion

1965

The Phantom of the Opera poster
6.4

A London opera house is haunted by tragic events on its opening night, but when its star is kidnapped, a producer tracks down the Phantom who is intent on seeking his revenge.

The Phantom of the Opera

1962

Cul-de-sac poster
6.7

On 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

The Flesh and the Fiends poster
6.7

Edinburgh surgeon Dr. Robert Knox requires cadavers for his research into the functioning of the human body; local ne'er-do-wells Burke and Hare find ways to provide him with fresh specimens...

The Flesh and the Fiends

1960

Carry On Spying poster
6.3

Carry On favourite Barbara Windsor makes her debut in this outrageous send-up of the James Bond movies. Fearless agent Desmond Simpkins and Charlie Bind, aided and abetted by the comely Agent Honeybutt and Agent Crump, battle against the evil powers of international bad guys STENCH and their three cronies.

Carry On Spying

1964

And the Same to You poster
5.9

Dickie Dreadnought is the boxing-mad nephew of pious clergyman Reverend Sydney Mullet. To mollify his disapproving uncle, Dickie embarks on an elaborate plan to keep his budding boxing career a secret, with he and his tough-talking promoter Wally Burton both pretending to be devout 'men of the cloth'.

And the Same to You

1960

The Idol poster
4.9

A rebellious student embarks on an affair with the mother of his best friend, leading to disastrous consequences.

The Idol

1966

Out of the Fog poster
7.0

Scotland Yard is thrown into an uproar when a mad killer begins knocking off beautiful young blondes.

Out of the Fog

1962

The Spy with a Cold Nose poster
4.0

A dog with a spying device under its skin is sent to the Russian government as a present. When the Russians send the dog to a veterinary, British intelligence must get to the dog first and retrieve the spying device.

The Spy with a Cold Nose

1966

Tomorrow at Ten poster
6.0

A British policeman (John Gregson) tries to find a rich man's (Alec Clunes) son before a kidnapper's (Robert Shaw) time bomb blows.

Tomorrow at Ten

1963

Carry On Cabby poster
6.4

Speedee Taxis is a great success, which means its workaholic owner Charlie starts neglecting Peggy, his wife. Suddenly a fleet of rival taxis appears from nowhere and start pinching all the fares. The rivals are Glamcabs, and they have a secret weapon. All their drivers are very attractive women! Who's behind Glamcabs? It's open warfare and only one fleet can survive!

Carry On Cabby

1963

Twice Round the Daffodils poster
7.0

Twice Round the Daffodils is a 1962 British comedy drama film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Juliet Mills, Donald Sinden, Donald Houston, Kenneth Williams, Ronald Lewis, Andrew Ray, Joan Sims and Jill Ireland. A new group of patients arrive at a hospital to be treated for tuberculosis where they all take a fancy to one of the nurses. The film was adapted from the play Ring for Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack Beale. Carry on Nurse from 1959 was based on the same play. The cast and production team of Twice Round the Daffodils create a noticeable similarity with the Carry On films, but the film is not an official member of the Carry On series.

Twice Round the Daffodils

1962

No, My Darling Daughter poster
7.2

A British business tycoon is surprised to discover his teenage daughter is being courted by a mysterious young man.

No, My Darling Daughter

1961

No artwork available
NR

The story of a comedian with a talent close to genius but with an insecurity problem.

The Comic

1969

Watch It, Sailor! poster
7.0

Sailor Albert gets a message from the Navy saying he can't marry for certain unexplained legal reasons. Everyone, including his domineering mother-in-law to be, jumps to the conclusion that there must be another woman involved.

Watch It, Sailor!

1961

Three on a Spree poster
6.4

A young man will inherit a huge fortune--8 million pounds--but to qualify, he must spend a million pounds in just two months. Easy to do? That's what you think!

Three on a Spree

1961

Nurse on Wheels poster
6.1

Quietly competent young Joanna moves with her scatterbrain mother to a country village to take up her first job as District Nurse. She soon overcomes the suspicion of her patients used to someone rather older, while becoming romantically involved with a local farmer - at least until he tries to evict a newly-arrived expectant couple who park their caravan on his land.

Nurse on Wheels

1963

The Rescue Squad poster
6.0

A party of children playing on a moor lose their toy aeroplane which flies through the window of a lonely tower. A multitude of objects found in the town to help rescue the aeroplane prove very difficult to get out to the moor, involving them with barrows, traffic and the local hunt. At last they succeed in entering the tower only to get trapped themselves. Finally Neddy, the donkey, shows them the way out.

The Rescue Squad

1963

The Rescue Squad poster
6.0

A party of children playing on a moor lose their toy aeroplane which flies through the window of a lonely tower. A multitude of objects found in the town to help rescue the aeroplane prove very difficult to get out to the moor, involving them with barrows, traffic and the local hunt. At last they succeed in entering the tower only to get trapped themselves. Finally Neddy, the donkey, shows them the way out.

The Rescue Squad

1963

Secrets of a Windmill Girl poster
3.6

One Windmill girl tells the tragic history of another who took to drink and, finally, killed herself after working in strip clubs.

Secrets of a Windmill Girl

1966

No artwork available
9.0

Two families and their children are rivals in a forthcoming race for do-it-yourself boat builders. (7 episodes, each 14-21 minutes.)

River Rivals

1967

1950s · 9 titles

A Town Like Alice poster
6.4

In 1941 Malaysia, the advancing Japanese army captures a lot of British territory very quickly. The men are sent off to labor camps, but they have no plan on what to do with the women and children of the British.

A Town Like Alice

1956

Time Without Pity poster
6.5

Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a not-so-successful writer and alcoholic who has neglected his son in the past, flies in from Canada to visit his son on death row. David then goes on a quest to try and clear his son’s name while battling “the bottle.”

Time Without Pity

1957

The Key poster
6.1

In wartime England, circa 1941, poorly-armed tugs are sent into "U-Boat Alley" to rescue damaged Allied ships. An American named David Ross arrives to captain one of these tugs. He's given a key by a fellow tugboat-man -- a key to an apartment and its pretty female resident. Should something happen to the friend, Ross can use the key.

The Key

1958

The Belles of St Trinian's poster
6.4

The unruly schoolgirls of St Trinian's are more interested in men and mischief than homework and hockey. But greater trouble than ever beckons when the arrival at the school of Princess Fatima of Makyad coincides with the return of recently expelled Arabella Fritton, who has the kidnap of a prize racehorse on her mind.

The Belles of St Trinian's

1954

The Horse's Mouth poster
6.7

Gulley Jimson is a boorish aging artist recently released from prison. A swindler in search of his next art project, he hunkers down in the penthouse of would-be patrons the Beeders while they go on an extended vacation; he paints a mural on their wall, pawns their valuables and, along with the sculptor Abel, inadvertently smashes a large hole in their floor. Jimson's next project is an even larger wall in an abandoned church.

The Horse's Mouth

1958

Lady Godiva Rides Again poster
5.9

Marjory Clark wins a competition in her Midland town and finds herself in a Festival of Britain procession as Lady Godiva - though not in the buff. This leads by way of a suspect beauty competition to the show-business world of London. But it could be a slippery slope for simple home-town Marge.

Lady Godiva Rides Again

1951

Track the Man Down poster
6.1

A newspaper reporter finds himself drawn into the aftermath of a racetrack robbery.

Track the Man Down

1955

The Big Money poster
7.0

Petty thief Willie Frith steals a suitcase full of bank notes, only to find out that they have been given all the same serial number. But this is only the start of his troubles, now he has to find a way of changing the notes, so he can impress the barmaid of his local pub.

The Big Money

1958

No artwork available
10.0

American airman loves English girl whose father refuses permission for their marriage out of hatred for all Yankees.

The Nice Americans

1958

1930s · 9 titles

Series credits

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

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

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

No Hiding Place poster
4.8

No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series Murder Bag and Crime Sheet, all starring Raymond Francis as Detective Superintendent, later Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart.

No Hiding Place

1959

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

The Adventures of Robin Hood poster
6.4

The legendary character Robin Hood and his band of merry men in Sherwood Forest and the surrounding vicinity. While some episodes dramatised the traditional Robin Hood tales, most episodes were original dramas created by the show's writers and producers.

The Adventures of Robin Hood

1955

Dr. Finlay's Casebook poster
6.7

Dr Finlay's Casebook is a BBC television series that was broadcast from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s.

Dr. Finlay's Casebook

1962

Maigret poster
7.1

BBC series based on the novels by Georges Simenon which starred Rupert Davies as Inspector Maigret, a French police detective who preferred to watch and listen in order to solve crimes. The series ran from 1960-63 on British television.

Maigret

1960

Man of the World poster
7.2

Michael Strait is a world-renowned photographer whose assignments lead him into investigating mysterious goings-on amongst the rich and glamorous and intrigue from far-flung places as Iraq, French Indochina, and Algiers.

Man of the World

1962

No artwork available
NR

An anthology series based on the varied stories by W. Somerset Maugham divided into three categories: "Rule Britannia" about colonial life, "Women of the World" which focus on female characters, and "Victims of Fate".

W. Somerset Maugham

1969

Doctor in the House poster
5.0

The misadventures of a group of medical students.

Doctor in the House

1969

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