
Acting
Ronnie Barker
Born 1929-09-25 · Bedfordshire, England, U.K.
Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 - 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as Porridge, The Two Ronnies, and Open All Hours. Barker began acting in Oxford amateur dramatics while working as a bank clerk, having dropped out of higher education.
Acting credits
6.3Robin Hood, aging none too gracefully, returns exhausted from the Crusades to woo and win Maid Marian one last time.
Robin and Marian
1976
6.6A love story offering an intimate look inside the marriage of Winston and Clementine Churchill during a particularly troubled, though little-known, moment in their lives.
The Gathering Storm
2002
7.0After a lock-keeper entrusts his daughter to a canal Casanova, he is shocked to learn that she is pregnant. He then refuses to open his locks - causing barges to pile up in every direction until the guilty party confesses.
The Bargee
1964
5.9In the hazy aftermath of World War III, the fallout from a 'nuclear misunderstanding' is producing strange mutations amongst the survivors, and the noble Lord Fortnum finds himself transforming into a bed sitting room.
The Bed Sitting Room
1969
6.1Emily Delahunty is an eccentric British romance novelist who lives in Umbria in central Italy. One day while travelling, the train she is on is bombed by terrorists. After she wakes up in a hospital, she invites three of the other survivors of the disaster to stay at her Italian villa for recuperation. Of these are The General, a retired British Army veteran, Werner, a young German man, and Aimee, a young American girl who has now become mute after her parents were both killed in the explosion.
My House in Umbria
2003
6.3"Doctor in Distress" is the fifth of the seven films in the "Doctor" series, and focuses on Sir Lancelot Spratt, Simon Sparrow's old teacher and sometimes nemesis. When the eternal bachelor Sir Lancelot injures his back and falls in love with his physiotherapist Iris Marchant, he becomes very distressed and turns to Simon for help. Simon, who now is a senior doctor at fictional Hampden Cross Hospital and hopelessly in love with aspiring actress Delia, sends him to a nature cure clinic in a vain attempt to help him lose weight, but Sir Lancelot can't get Iris off his mind and has her followed, first by a private investigator and eventually by himself. When he finally proposes, she rejects him and marries an old army major, which distresses Sir Lancelot even more.
Doctor in Distress
1963
6.3A young boy who lives in an old folks' home strikes up a friendship with a retired magician.
Is Anybody There?
2009
NRRetrospective celebrating the shop sitcom, including a new short scene starring David Jason. Also features Diane Morgan, Johnny Vegas, Tim Healy and Charlotte Barker.
Open All Hours: Inside Out
2026
6.6A Home of Your Own is a 1964 British comedy film which is a brick-by-brick account of the building a young couple’s dream house. From the day when the site is first selected, to the day – several years and children later – when the couple finally move in, the story is a noisy but wordless comedy of errors as the incompetent labourers struggle to complete the house. It may well have been inspired by the success of Bernard Cribbins' classic song of the same vein from two years earlier, "Right Said Fred". In this satirical look at British builders, many cups of tea are made, windows are broken and the same section of road is dug up over and over again by the water board, the electricity board and the gas board. Ronnie Barker’s put-upon cement mixer, Peter Butterworth’s short-sighted carpenter and Bernard Cribbins’ hapless stonemason all contribute to the ensuing chaos.
A Home of Your Own
1964
5.0A documentary about the portrayal of Adolf Hitler in popular culture.
Hitler: The Comedy Years
2007
6.7Times are hard for habitual guest of Her Majesty Norman Stanley Fletcher. The new prison officer, Beale, makes MacKay look soft and what's more, an escape plan is hatching from the cell of prison godfather Grouty and Fletcher wants no part of it.
Porridge
1979
Adaptation of the play by Brandon Thomas.
Charley's Aunt
1969
10.0Mistaken identity, unrequited love, and the supernatural are combined in Shakespeare's classic set in the woods of Greece on a moonlit night.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
1971
5.9Entirely silent, with a musical score, sound effects and incoherent mutterings, the story revolves around a weekend gathering at the decaying country home of the eccentric and lewd General Futtock (Ronnie Barker) and the series of saucy mishaps between the staff (Michael Hordern plays the lecherous butler) and his guests.
Futtocks End
1970
5.9When Dexter Munro and his new wife Juliet get married, they decide to escape Juliet's meddling father by buying a rundown cottage and doing it up themselves. But when the cottage proves to be more ramshackle than they thought, and the scale of the repairs needed far out of their budget, the newlyweds are forced into calling on Juliet's father after all. Before long he's employed incompetent builder Josh Wicks, and the situation goes from bad to worse.
Father Came Too!
1964
6.6Ernest Wright's peerless prowess as a locksmith comes to the attention of a tough big-time crook, who feels that the little man would be a valuable asset to his crime kingdom. In order to inveigle him into a series of jobs, he sets up a beautiful hostess as a trap, into which the hapless Ernest inevitably falls..!
The Cracksman
1963
5.0A septet of satirical vignettes based on the Seven Deadly Sins.
The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins
1971
7.5Spoof documentary looking at the life of Normal Stanley Fletcher, the star of 1970s sitcom Porridge played by Ronnie Barker. Featuring fictional footage and interviews with the character's family, friends and associates, the film documents Fletcher's chequered career.
Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher
2003
7.0A group of young railway enthusiasts attempt to stop the closure of the local railway by trying to raise money to buy it and the steam engine "Matilda." They get help from a pair of men claiming to be enthusiasts but who turn out to be robbers who plan to hold up the mail train
Runaway Railway
1965
NRAn evening at Wilton's Music-Hall, Grace's Alley, Wellclose Square, London, 1860 starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Keith Michell, Pat Kirkwood, Warren Mitchell, Ronnie Barker, Bill Fraser, Gina Astralita, Eric Robinson. Introduced by Billy Russell. Tonight, 90 years after it closed, this famous Music-Hall opens again to bring you a picture of the stars, the singers, the dancers, and the people who once went there.
Wilton's: The Handsomest Hall in Town
1970
5.7A private eye is hired to go undercover at a health farm, but before he can find out why his client is murdered.
Kill or Cure
1962
NRSkits from: "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin"; "The Les Dawson Show"; "Yes Minister"; "Only Fools and Horses"; "Three of a Kind"; "Last of the Summer Wine"; "Sorry!"; "Butterflies"; "Smith and Jones"; and "Open All Hours".
The Funny Side of Christmas
1982
6.5Bill MacLean is a former CIA agent living in London. He had been fired when he stuck up for one of the men in his command who turned out to be branded a Russian defector. The embittered ex-agent combines forces with another operative to deliver a top Russian secret police official for a price. Before he can deliver the Russian, a trail of corpses and double crosses changes his plans. When his partner who concocted the scheme is murdered, MacLean returns the check to the CIA. They offer him his old job back, but the proud man refuses.
The Man Outside
1967
10.0Fletcher discovers that his fellow inmates are planning to escape.
Porridge: No Way Out
1975
Behind the camera
5.9Entirely silent, with a musical score, sound effects and incoherent mutterings, the story revolves around a weekend gathering at the decaying country home of the eccentric and lewd General Futtock (Ronnie Barker) and the series of saucy mishaps between the staff (Michael Hordern plays the lecherous butler) and his guests.
Futtocks End
1970
7.3A crusty old General leads his dotty family on a relaxing weekend at the seaside, and comic chaos ensues.
By the Sea
1982
7.2A crusty old English General leads his eccentric family on a family picnic trip, and comic chaos ensues.
The Picnic
1976
5.8On Christmas Eve in 1874, the turkey has been stolen from Sir Giles and Lady Hampton. What are they going to serve their guests? They call in the detectives Piggy Malone and Charley Farley to find who stole it.
The Two Ronnies Old Fashioned Christmas Mystery
1973