
Acting
Joan Greenwood
Born — Died
1921-03-04 — 1987-02-27
Place of birth
Chelsea, London, England, UK
Known for
Acting
Credits
58 titles
Joan Greenwood (4 March 1921 – 27 February 1987) was an English actress. Born in Chelsea, she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark. Perhaps her most famous role was Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest (1952). Description above from the Wikipedia article Joan Greenwood, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Known for
5.2A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.
BBC Play of the Month
1965
6.6The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golden Age of Television, winning a 1954 Peabody Award and receiving eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956.
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
5.2An 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
6.8A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.
Tales of the Unexpected
1979
8.2The Main Chance was a British television series which first aired on ITV between 1969,1970,1972 and 1975. A drama, it depicts the sudden transformation in the life of solicitor David Main who relocates from London to Leeds.
The Main Chance
1969
5.8Triangle was a BBC Television soap opera in the early 1980s, set aboard a North Sea ferry which sailed from Felixstowe to Gothenburg and Gothenburg to Amsterdam. A third imaginary leg existed between Amsterdam and Felixstowe to justify the programme title, but this was not operated by the ferry company. The show ran for three series before being cancelled, but is still generally remembered as "some of the most mockable British television ever produced". The scripts involved clichéd relationships and stilted dialogue, making the show the butt of several jokes - particularly on Terry Wogan's morning Radio 2 programme - which caused some embarrassment to the BBC. In 1992, the BBC screened TV Hell, an evening of programming devoted to the worst television had to offer, and the first episode of Triangle was broadcast as part of the line-up. The ferry used in the first series was the Tor Line's MS Tor Scandinavia. In the second and third series this was replaced by the DFDS vessel Dana Anglia probably because she had a less intensive schedule and the longer time she spent in port made on-board filming easier.
Triangle
1981
Film credits
2000s · 1 titles
1980s · 4 titles
6.4Amy Dorrit spends her days earning money for the family and looking after her proud father who is a long term inmate of Marshalsea debtors' prison in London. Amy and her family's world is transformed when her employer's son, Arthur Clennam, returns from overseas to solve his family's mysterious legacy and discovers that their lives are interlinked.
Little Dorrit
1987
NR67 year-old Victor is forced to move into an old people's home but he prefers to grow old disgracefully.
Past Caring
1986
7.5In 1945, the Carlions assemble at an English country house for a family gathering. During the event, they must determine who is to take over the family brewing empire, since the present head of the business, Sir Frederick, is getting old. The results of the 1945 general election causes a major stir, and some angry farmers occupy a barn.
Country
1981
5.0Documentary about the British film studio. First appeared on the BBC television programme Omnibus.
Made In Ealing: The Story of Ealing Studios
1986
1970s · 7 titles
5.8Wilbur Gray, a horror writer, has stumbled upon a terrible secret, that cats are supernatural creatures who really call the shots. In a desperate attempt to get others to believe him, Wilbur spews three tales of feline horror.
The Uncanny
1977
4.4When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
1978
9.0In this melodrama from Barbara Cartland's 1975 bestseller, a turn-of-the-century American heiress, while en route to her betrothal to an English duke, encounters love and intrigue in the arms of a French journalist.
The Flame Is Love
1979
6.2Grimes, an amoral chimney sweep, occasionally likes to steal valuables from his clients. One day, on the verge of being caught, he frames his young apprentice, Tom, for the crime. Tom runs away and jumps into a river where, instead of drowning, he finds himself transformed into a mystical aquatic creature. Swimming and breathing effortlessly, he discovers a colorful underwater world replete with creatures both cruel and kind.
The Water Babies
1978
8.0British television film about the life of Charles Dickens directed by Ned Sherrin and starring Anthony Hopkins, Jenny Agutter and Arthur Lowe. Hopkins performance as Dickens saw him nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 1971.
The Great Inimitable Mr. Dickens
1970
5.6When a young man brings an unexpected new partner home for dinner, the underlying prejudices of his straitlaced, middle-class parents are brought to the fore.
Girl Stroke Boy
1971
NRThe story of the men and women who produced a series of film comedies that were so original and funny that they put Ealing on the map.
The Ealing Comedies
1970
1960s · 5 titles
6.0In the far future, a highly sexual woman is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way she encounters various unusual people.
Barbarella
1968
6.6During the US Civil War, Union POWs escape in a balloon and end up stranded on a South Pacific island, inhabited by giant plants and animals. They must use their ingenuity to survive the dangers, and to devise a way to return home. Sequel to '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' .
Mysterious Island
1961
5.9Tom loves Sophie and Sophie loves Tom. But Tom and Sophie are of differering classes. Can they find a way through the mayhem to be true to love?
Tom Jones
1963
5.9Young English girl Nikky and her aunt arrive at the Moon-Spinners, a hotel on Crete, to a less than enthusiastic welcome. The coolness of the owner is only out-done by the surliness of her brother Stratos, recently back from London. But then there is nice English lad Mark to make friends with, at least until Stratos and his pal take a shot at him one night. When Nikky helps him hide she finds the Greeks are after her too.
The Moon-Spinners
1964
6.5While her husband, the General is abroad, Lady Fitzadam decides to convert their army residence into a fishing resort for rich American tourists in order to raise money for their dream retirement cottage.
The Amorous Prawn
1962
1950s · 10 titles
6.1Léon, a humble civil servant, has the unusual ability to walk through walls, however thick they are. One day, he falls madly in love with a charming hotel thief by the name of Suzan.
Mr. Peek-a-Boo
1951
6.5Set in the eighteenth century, Moonfleet is about John Mohune, a young orphan who is sent to the Dorset village of Moonfleet to stay with an old friend of his mother's, Jeremy Fox. Fox is a morally ambiguous character, an elegant gentleman involved with smugglers and pirates.
Moonfleet
1955
6.9The unassuming, nebbishy inventor Sidney Stratton creates a miraculous fabric that will never be dirty or worn out. Clearly he can make a fortune selling clothes made of the material, but may cause a crisis in the process. After all, once someone buys one of his suits they won't ever have to fix them or buy another one, and the clothing industry will collapse overnight. Nevertheless, Sidney is determined to put his invention on the market, forcing the clothing factory bigwigs to resort to more desperate measures...
The Man in the White Suit
1951
7.2Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England use the same pseudonym ('Ernest') on the sly, which is fine until they both fall in love with women using that name, which leads to a comedy of mistaken identities.
The Importance of Being Earnest
1952
5.3A post-war housing crisis leaves a shy woman to share a house with two couples. Comic situations arise as the new roomer becomes infatuated with one of the husbands.
Young Wives' Tale
1951
6.5Works of art are disappearing, stolen by a master thief, a master of disguise. Father Brown has two goals: to catch the thief and to save his soul.
Father Brown
1954
6.0A young woman arrives in New York City determined to become a great theatrical star, but discovers that her goal may not be as easily attainable as she had hoped.
Stage Struck
1958
7.0Based upon the play A Sleeping Clergyman by James Bridie, it tells the story of three generations of the Scottish Cameron family, with its various conflicts and romances.
Flesh and Blood
1951
6.0While his wife, Catherine, is finalizing their divorce, serial philanderer Andre invites his latest conquest, Catherine’s best friend, Patricia, over for dinner. Over the course of the evening, Andre shares his entire romantic history since first coming to London as a young man, including his liaisons with his former boss, a marriage-minded young girl and a kindhearted Frenchwoman.
Monsieur Ripois
1954
The milk driver Hans loves his horse Snow White so much that he takes it on holiday to the Danish summer country. Along the way, they are joined by a young American girl, and together they experience Danish culture and nature - and a romantic meeting leads to a wedding. Tourist propaganda inspired by a real event.
Hest på sommerferie
1959
1940s · 15 titles
6.8Scottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship.
Whisky Galore!
1949
7.6When his mother eloped with an Italian opera singer, Louis Mazzini was cut off from her aristocratic family. After the family refuses to let her be buried in the family mausoleum, Louis avenges his mother's death by attempting to murder every family member who stands between himself and the family fortune. But when he finds himself torn between his longtime love and the widow of one of his victims, his plans go awry.
Kind Hearts and Coronets
1949
6.6Sophie Dorothea is a young woman forced into a loveless marriage with Prince George Louis of Hanover. George Louis is later crowned King George I of England. Despairing of ever experiencing true love, the depressed queen finds life at court no solace. Sophie then falls for a dashing Swedish soldier of fortune, Count Konigsmark.
Saraband for Dead Lovers
1948
6.2Jim Ackland, who suffers from a head injury sustained in a bus crash, is the chief suspect in a murder hunt, when a girl that he has just met is found dead on the local common, and he has no alibi for the time she was killed.
The October Man
1947
6.8A man goes on the run from hardened smugglers.
The Man Within
1947
6.0Tommy Trinder chooses which of the chorus line to take out. The lucky lady is the one who knows all about war savings.
Save Your Shillings and Smile
1943
Injured and on his deathbed in Greece, Lord Byron imagines a celestial trial with witnesses to determine the worth of his character.
The Bad Lord Byron
1949
7.0A farce concerning the attempts of a naval officer to avoid a visit from his wife's overbearing mother-in-law, and cope with a former girlfriend at the same time.
My Wife's Family
1941
6.2After a chance train encounter with Laurence Knight, Tom Blake's family's fortunes prosper on the beneficence of the great financier. A developing friendship leads to the Knights selling their home to the Blakes when they move back to London. All looks rosy for the Blakes as share prices in Mr Knight's new business venture soar, but is their confidence misplaced?
They Knew Mr. Knight
1946
7.0During the War seven women from very different backgrounds find themselves together in the Auxiliary Territorial Services. They are soon drilling, driving lorries, and manning ack-ack batteries.
The Gentle Sex
1943
9.0A talent agent makes the mistake of becoming too involved with one of his clients.
He Found a Star
1941
8.8In a home for delinquent girls, the worst offender exchanges reminiscences with the warden.
The White Unicorn
1947
Fantasy in which Eliot Makeham wakes up to find Britain occupied by the Nazis.
John Smith Wakes Up
1941
4.5A spooky seance is held to discover the whereabouts, and the killer, of a sculptor's wife.
Frenzy
1946
6.3A young scientist freed by divorce from a nagging wife, isolates himself from women. His peace is broken by a lovely young girl to whom he is forced to give shelter. He marries her and finds that his dumb wife is not so dumb.
A Girl in a Million
1946
Series credits
5.2A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.
BBC Play of the Month
1965
6.6The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golden Age of Television, winning a 1954 Peabody Award and receiving eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956.
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
5.2An 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
6.8A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.
Tales of the Unexpected
1979
8.2The Main Chance was a British television series which first aired on ITV between 1969,1970,1972 and 1975. A drama, it depicts the sudden transformation in the life of solicitor David Main who relocates from London to Leeds.
The Main Chance
1969
5.8Triangle was a BBC Television soap opera in the early 1980s, set aboard a North Sea ferry which sailed from Felixstowe to Gothenburg and Gothenburg to Amsterdam. A third imaginary leg existed between Amsterdam and Felixstowe to justify the programme title, but this was not operated by the ferry company. The show ran for three series before being cancelled, but is still generally remembered as "some of the most mockable British television ever produced". The scripts involved clichéd relationships and stilted dialogue, making the show the butt of several jokes - particularly on Terry Wogan's morning Radio 2 programme - which caused some embarrassment to the BBC. In 1992, the BBC screened TV Hell, an evening of programming devoted to the worst television had to offer, and the first episode of Triangle was broadcast as part of the line-up. The ferry used in the first series was the Tor Line's MS Tor Scandinavia. In the second and third series this was replaced by the DFDS vessel Dana Anglia probably because she had a less intensive schedule and the longer time she spent in port made on-board filming easier.
Triangle
1981
7.4There's a murder at the elegant hotel where Miss Marple is staying and international adventurer Bess Sedgwick is the prime suspect.
Miss Marple: At Bertram's Hotel
1987
8.8Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
An anthology of 1920s set plays and musicals, transmissioned from 10 September to 10 December 1968 on BBC One.
The Jazz Age
1968
6.8Shadows is a British Supernatural television anthology series produced by Thames Television for ITV between 1975 and 1978. Extending over three seasons, it featured ghost and horror dramas for children. Guest actors included John Nettleton, Gareth Thomas, Jenny Agutter, Pauline Quirke, Brian Glover, June Brown, Rachel Herbert, Jacqueline Pearce and Gwyneth Strong. The series was also notable for reviving the character of Mr. Stabs. Notable writers for the series included J. B. Priestley, Fay Weldon and PJ Hammond.
Shadows
1975
5.4Four girls share a flat together in London. Having nothing in common aside from their gender, they barely manage to co-exist.
Girls On Top
1985
6.0Armchair 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
6.0Armchair 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
6.0Armchair 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
5.1Ellis Island is a television miniseries broadcast in three parts in 1984 on the CBS television network. The screenplay was co-written by Fred Mustard Stewart, adapted from his 1983 novel of the same title. The series tells the story of several immigrants from the late 1800s until the early 1910s, trying to achieve the American Dream and arriving on Ellis Island, hoping for a better life. Ellis Island highlighted numerous important events which occurred up to and during World War I, and many of the characters are based on real persons, such as Irving Berlin.
Ellis Island
1984


