John Salew

Acting

John Salew

Born — Died

1902-01-01 — 1961-09-14

Place of birth

Portsmouth, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

68 titles

Known for

Film credits

1950s · 22 titles

Night of the Demon poster
7.0

American professor John Holden arrives in London for a conference on parapsychology only to discover that the colleague he was supposed to meet was killed in a freak accident the day before. It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by Dr. Julian Karswell. Though a skeptic, Holden is suspicious of the devil-worshiping Karswell. Following a trail of mysterious manuscripts, Holden enters a world that makes him question his faith in science.

Night of the Demon

1957

The Lavender Hill Mob poster
7.2

A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipments of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country.

The Lavender Hill Mob

1951

No Highway in the Sky poster
7.0

James Stewart plays aeronautical engineer Theodore Honey, the quintessential absent-minded professor: eccentric, forgetful, but brilliant. His studies show that the aircraft being manufactured by his employer has a subtle but deadly design flaw that manifests itself only after the aircraft has flown a certain number of hours. En route to a crash site to prove his theory, Honey discovers that he is aboard a plane rapidly approaching his predicted deadline.

No Highway in the Sky

1951

Tread Softly Stranger poster
7.4

Unable to pay his bookie, a man returns to his hometown where his embezzler brother and girlfriend plot a robbery that ends in tragedy.

Tread Softly Stranger

1958

Night Was Our Friend poster
6.8

Martin's plane crashes in the jungle of Brazil. Nobody believes he survived. In the meantime his wife, Sally, has fallen in love with another man, Dr. Harper. Martin is found and returns to Sally. Unable to face his demons, Martin considers ending his life. Or does Sally do it for him?

Night Was Our Friend

1951

Duel in the Jungle poster
6.4

An American insurance investigator is sent to Rhodesia to investigate the mysterious death of a diamond broker who drowned whilst diving off the coast. The broker was insured for $1 million so the insurers are suspicious.

Duel in the Jungle

1954

The Blue Lamp poster
6.6

P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also anachronistic, unprepared and unable to answer the violence of the 1950s.

The Blue Lamp

1950

It's Great to be Young! poster
6.8

IT’S GREAT TO A YOUNG stars John Mills as Dingle an easygoing high school teacher. When autocratic new headmaster Frome (Cecil Parker) begins imposing all sorts of repressive rules, Dingle does his best to stand up for his students, only to be dismissed for his troubles. The kids conspire to not only reinstate their favourite teacher, but to circumvent Frome's refusal to purchase new instruments for an upcoming music festival.

It's Great to be Young!

1956

Wicked as They Come poster
5.0

A ruthless woman takes advantage of gullible men to climb up the social ladder.

Wicked as They Come

1956

Alive and Kicking poster
7.1

Three elderly residents of a nursing home, fed up with their monotonous existence, engineer an escape from their drab surroundings and head for an impromptu holiday on an Irish island.

Alive and Kicking

1959

His Excellency poster
7.0

A trade union official becomes governor of a British island colony.

His Excellency

1952

The Astonished Heart poster
4.8

Several years after graduation, best friends Barbara (Celia Johnson) and Leonora (Margaret Leighton) reconnect as if not a day has gone by. But Leonora could do without Barbara's husband, Christian (Noel Coward), whom she finds arrogant and off-putting ... at first. One evening alone together, romance is set ablaze, leaving Christian with a lot of explaining to do to Barbara.

The Astonished Heart

1950

Lease of Life poster
7.4

William Thorne, vicar of a small village, leads a modest life as a clergyman. Supporting his wife Vera and musically talented daughter Susan with his work, Thorne is also thoroughly devoted to his community. When he finds out that he doesn't have long to live, however, Thorne rethinks his staid existence and develops a more vibrant way of being, affecting all of those around him.

Lease of Life

1954

Mystery Junction poster
5.9

In this crime drama, an escaped convict is recaptured and charged with killing two people in a lonely waystation during a snowstorm. Fortunately, a novelist is around to prove him innocent.

Mystery Junction

1951

The Heart of a Man poster
7.0

Sailor Frankie Martin is offered a thousand pounds by a millionaire in disguise if he can earn a hundred pounds in a week by honest means. Frankie tries his hand as a boxer, a bouncer and a commissionaire, and finally finds success as a singer. He also falls for the charms of night club chanteuse Julie, and this leads to further success when he wins a recording contract.

The Heart of a Man

1959

Street Corner poster
5.5

A pseudo-documentary focusing on the daily work and routine of women police officers built around three different storylines.

Street Corner

1953

Hotel Sahara poster
5.8

In World War II, desert hotel proprietors Emad and Yasmin are caught between the warring armies and have to constantly shift their political allegiance to whichever army happens to control the area.

Hotel Sahara

1951

No artwork available
NR

Young country curate, Roger Strawbridge, and his wife, Cathy, find themselves in financial distress. In a desperate attempt to resolve their money troubles, Cathy decides to gamble on the football pools. The drama unfolds as she unexpectedly wins a massive jackpot—the "golden rain" of the title. However, the windfall brings moral and social complications rather than relief. The couple must navigate the ethical dilemma of a clergyman's family profiting from gambling, alongside the sudden, overwhelming pressures and unwanted attention that come with their new-found wealth.

Golden Rain

1953

Green Grow the Rushes poster
6.0

Efforts to move Britain into the modern age don't sit well with the people of the small village of Anderia Marsh, who have claimed a right (going back to Henry III) to evade government-imposed import duties and taxes. And when the government decides to curb this right, the whole village quietly rises up in a comical rebellion. After their vessel runs aground during a storm and is impounded by the British authorities, local smugglers must find a way of disposing of their contraband brandy cargo before it's discovered by the Customs Officers.

Green Grow the Rushes

1951

The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery poster
6.0

The story evolves around a radio panel game show "Twenty Questions." The panel is challenged with an anonymous question. The answer leads to a series of murders in which the killer uses the programme to name his victims in advance. Two reporters spot a link between them and enlist the aid of the panel in trapping the guilty party.

The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery

1950

Father Brown poster
6.5

Works 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

Face the Music poster
5.8

A famed trumpet player is suspected of murdering a blues singer. Using only two minor clues, he narrows the suspects to four people, but only after surviving poison placed on the mouthpiece of his trumpet!

Face the Music

1954

1940s · 35 titles

The Thief of Bagdad poster
7.1

When Prince Ahmad is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar, he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu to win back his royal place, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess.

The Thief of Bagdad

1940

Kind Hearts and Coronets poster
7.6

When 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

Anna Karenina poster
6.0

In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted— but in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.

Anna Karenina

1948

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing poster
6.6

During a raid on Germany, a British bomber crew is forced to bail out after their plane is damaged. They land in Holland, where they're aided by Dutch civilians.

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

1942

We Dive at Dawn poster
6.3

A gripping tale of WWII naval warfare in the Baltics, starring John Mills as Lt. Freddie Taylor, a British submarine Captain. The crew of the Sea Tiger are summoned from leave on shore with their families, and sent on a secret mission to intercept the Nazi battleship Brandenburg. In the ensuing battle the British submarine is damaged by a German destroyer. The submarine is leaking fuel so badly that the crew won't be able to make it back to Britain before running out somewhere along the Danish coast. When it seems that their only option may be to blow up the submarine and try to escape to Denmark, seaman James Hobson hatches a plan...

We Dive at Dawn

1943

For Them That Trespass poster
5.3

In this drama, a frustrated upper-class writer decides that he will find real inspiration by examining his subjects first-hand. This leads him to begin wandering about the seamiest side of town where he witnesses a murder. When an innocent man is arrested, the writer refuses to assist him as the knowledge that he has been "slumming" could destroy his career. The young man is sentenced to 15 years in prison.

For Them That Trespass

1949

For Them That Trespass poster
5.3

In this drama, a frustrated upper-class writer decides that he will find real inspiration by examining his subjects first-hand. This leads him to begin wandering about the seamiest side of town where he witnesses a murder. When an innocent man is arrested, the writer refuses to assist him as the knowledge that he has been "slumming" could destroy his career. The young man is sentenced to 15 years in prison.

For Them That Trespass

1949

London Belongs to Me poster
7.0

Classic British drama about the residents of a large terrace house in London between Christmas 1938 and September 1939. Percy Boon lives with his mother in a shared rented house with an assortment of characters in central London. Although well intentioned, he becomes mixed up with gangsters and murder. The story focuses on the effects this has on Percy and the other residents.

London Belongs to Me

1948

It Always Rains on Sunday poster
6.6

During a rainy Sunday afternoon, an escaped prisoner tries to hide out at the home of his ex-fiance.

It Always Rains on Sunday

1947

Atlantic Ferry poster
6.6

The MacIver brothers (Michael Redgrave, Griffith Jones) build the first ship to cross the Atlantic by steam power alone.

Atlantic Ferry

1941

Sailors Don't Care poster
5.0

Boat building father and son join the river patrol service and get caught-up in a spy ring.

Sailors Don't Care

1940

Caravan poster
6.7

During the last half of the 19th century writer Richard Darrell saves Don Carlos from two robbers, and is entrusted by Don Carlos to take a valuable necklace to Spain. Richard leaves his fiancé, Oriana, and starts the trip. He meets Wycroft, a henchman for Sir Francis Castteldow, an aristocrat out to steal Oriana from Richard. The latter is assaulted, robbed and nearly killed and, as a result, loses his memory. He marries a gypsy girl, Rosal, while Oriana, thinking him dead marries the dastardly Sir Francis. Everybody will meet again. Complications will arise.

Caravan

1946

The October Man poster
6.2

Jim 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

The Spider and the Fly poster
6.9

"The Spider and the Fly is set in Paris during the cloud-cuckoo days before WW I. The storyline intertwines the destinies of three people. Guy Rolfe plays Phillipe de Ledocq, a resourceful safecracker who always manages to elude arrest. Eric Portman is cast as police-chief Maubert, who will not rest until Ledocq is behind bars. And Nadia Gray is Madeleine, the woman beloved by both Ledocq and Maubert. Just as Maubert has managed to capture his man, Ledocq is released at the behest of the government, who wants him to steal secrets from the German embassy revealing the whereabouts of the Kaiser's secret agents. And just how does Madeleine figure into all of this? Spider and the Fly is a diverting precursor to the 1960s TV series It Takes a Thief." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Spider and the Fly

1949

Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It poster
7.4

Third and final film in the 'Inspector Hornleigh’ series of comedy-thrillers. Inspector Hornleigh (Gordon Harker), disappointed at not being handed an important spy case, is assigned by Scotland Yard to an army barracks to investigate the mundane thefts of supplies from the stores. This accidentally leads Hornleigh and Sergeant Bingham (Alastair Sim) to a nest of fifth columnists when his dim-witted assistant carelessly talks to a girl in the cafeteria – and that night, news of Hornleigh and Bingham’s arrival is embarrassingly transmitted back to Germany.

Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It

1941

The Day Will Dawn poster
6.0

When Hitler invades Poland, sports journalist Colin Metcalfe (Hugh Williams) is unexpectedly reassigned as a foreign correspondent in Norway. En route, his ship is attacked by a German U-boat, but his warning to the Royal Navy is dismissed and he loses his post. With the German invasion of Norway soon after, Metcalfe returns, determined to uncover enemy operations and strike back against the occupiers.

The Day Will Dawn

1942

Time Flies poster
6.0

The Professor (Felix Aylmer) is showing Susie (Evelyn Dall) around his time machine when it accidently takes off with Tommy (Tommy Handley) and Bill (George Moon) also on board. They are transported to Elizabethan England where they come across Walter Raleigh, William Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth 1, Captain John Smith and Pocohontas. Will our time travellers return?

Time Flies

1944

The Bells Go Down poster
7.2

Comedian Tommy Trinder plays it straight in this tribute to the wartime AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service). The dedicated band who kept the fires of London under control during the blitz and fire bombings of WWII.

The Bells Go Down

1943

The Young Mr. Pitt poster
6.2

In 1783 England, King George III appoints William Pitt only 24 years old, as PM. When members of Parliament refuse to take Pitt seriously, he calls for a general election and wins. Pitt works to reform England, focusing on rebuilding the navy while across the sea in France, Napoleon Bonaparte begins his conquest of Europe.

The Young Mr. Pitt

1942

I See a Dark Stranger poster
6.5

Proud Irishwoman Bridie Quilty journeys to Dublin while World War II rages across Europe. During her travels, she encounters J. Miller, who recruits her as a Nazi spy. She acquires the necessary information that leads to the breakout of a German spy who holds key information about the Allies' newest offensive plans. However, the arrival of British officer David Baynes and his romancing of Bridie lead to unexpected consequences.

I See a Dark Stranger

1946

Secret Mission poster
4.5

World War II drama in which a member of the French Resistance and three British agents undertake a hazardous mission to infiltrate a German HQ in search of vital information that could lead to the overthrow of the Nazis.

Secret Mission

1942

Murder in Reverse poster
6.7

Tom Masterick, a dock worker, is wrongfully convicted of a murder charge. His death sentence is commuted to a long prison term. When released as an old man, he vows to find the real killer.

Murder in Reverse

1945

The Rake's Progress poster
6.8

Vivian Kenway, a young Englishman from an aristocratic background, flunks out of Oxford, and decides to use his considerable charm to achieve his goal of, apparently, making dissipation his career. His derelictions include seduction, betrayals of sweethearts, family and friends, and Marriage for money. All this with no signs of remorse or redemption, since his life as a completely unprincipled rake is quite enjoyable...for him, at least. Then, World War II breaks out and he is given a chance to die a heroic death for flag and country. Maybe.

The Rake's Progress

1945

Uncle Silas poster
5.9

Following her father's death, a teenage heiress moves in with her guardian uncle who is broke and schemes to murder his niece for her vast inheritance.

Uncle Silas

1947

Witness for the Prosecution poster
8.7

Agatha Christie tale of a man on trial for murder: a trial featuring surprise after surprise. Not to be confused with the later Hollywood adaptation.

Witness for the Prosecution

1949

Millions Like Us poster
5.6

When Celia Crowson is called up for war service, she hopes for a glamorous job in one of the services, but as a single girl, she is directed into a factory making aircraft parts. Here she meets other girls from all different walks of life and begins a relationship with a young airman.

Millions Like Us

1943

Quartet poster
6.3

Somerset Maugham introduces four of his tales in this anthology film: "The Facts of Life," "The Alien Corn," "The Kite," and "The Colonel's Lady."

Quartet

1948

Wanted for Murder poster
6.4

The son of a notorious hangman is gradually becoming insane and he finds himself unable to resist the urge to strangle women to death.

Wanted for Murder

1946

Tomorrow We Live poster
6.6

British World War II film set in occupied France, portraying the activities of members of the French Resistance and the Nazi tactic of taking and shooting innocent hostages in reprisal for acts of sabotage. The opening credits acknowledge "the official co-operation of General de Gaulle and the French National Committee". It was released as "At Dawn We Die" in the US.

Tomorrow We Live

1943

The Way Ahead poster
6.5

A mismatched collection of conscripted civilians find training tough under Lieutenant Jim Perry and Sergeant Ned Fletcher when they are called up to replace an infantry battalion that had suffered casualties at Dunkirk.

The Way Ahead

1944

My Brother Jonathan poster
6.8

Jonathan Dakers' early ambition was to become a great surgeon and to marry Edie Martyn. But, on the death of his father, he is obliged to start work as a partner in a poor general practice in the Black Country. Edie falls in love with Jonathan's brother, Harold, who is killed in the Great War, and Jonathan marries her as planned. It is only afterwards that he realises he now loves another.

My Brother Jonathan

1948

Beware of Pity poster
6.7

A paraplegic baroness mistakes a man's pity for love - and tragedy ensues.

Beware of Pity

1946

Turned Out Nice Again poster
6.8

George Pearson, an employee at an underwear factory, is caught between his modern wife and his meddling mother. After buying a special yarn and getting his wife to promote it, he has an argument with his boss, Mr Dawson who insults Pearson's wife and refuses to apologise. Pearson then resigns. After finding out that the yarn is actually worth a fair amount, Mr Dawson tries to buy it from Pearson but he has some competition.

Turned Out Nice Again

1941

Give Us the Moon poster
6.9

Set just after the end of WWII (but filmed in the middle of it) in a time of general euphoria at having won the war, with full employment and general happiness for all (or nearly all). Peter, the young wastrel son of a hard working hotel owner doesn't like the idea of having to work for a living. He discovers a society of "White Elephants" who are quite willing to be poor as long as they don't have to work. They are protected and guided by Nina (Margaret Lockwood) and her precocious sister Heidi (Jean Simmons).

Give Us the Moon

1944

Temptation Harbour poster
5.4

The story of a harbor signalman who retrieves a suitcase full of money after witnessing a murder, fails to report it to the police, and finds himself the object of murderous and mercenary interest.

Temptation Harbour

1947

1930s · 2 titles

Series credits

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

Interpol Calling poster
7.2

The adventures of Interpol policemen Duval and Mornay as they fought against international drug-running, homicide, robbery and forgery.

Interpol Calling

1959

The Buccaneers poster
6.4

The adventures of privateer Captain Dan Tempest and his crew of former pirates as they make their way across the seven seas in The Sultana.

The Buccaneers

1956

The Adventures of William Tell poster
6.8

The Adventures of William Tell is a British swashbuckler adventure series, first broadcast on the ITV network in 1958, and produced by ITC Entertainment.

The Adventures of William Tell

1958

The Larkins poster
7.6

'The Larkins' is a British television sitcom which was produced by Associated Television and aired on ITV. It aired for four series between 1958 to 1960. An additional two series aired from 1963 to 1964.

The Larkins

1958

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

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

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