14 Movies Starring Tom Courtenay

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1962-10-08

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK

Runtime:

104 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.7 (5224 Reviews)

Director:

Tony Richardson

Genres:

DramaSport

Cast:

Writer:

Alan Sillitoe (screenplay)

Alan Sillitoe (short story)

Fullplot:

A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy's reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution through his prowess as a long distance runner. During his solitary runs, reveries of his life and times before his incarceration lead him to re-evaluate his privileged status as the Governor's prize runner.

Billy Liar

Billy Liar

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1963-12-16

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK

Runtime:

98 min

Rated:

NOT RATED

IMDB Ratings:

7.5 (3939 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Keith Waterhouse (screenplay)

Willis Hall (screenplay)

Keith Waterhouse (novel)

Keith Waterhouse (play)

Willis Hall (play)

Fullplot:

A young British clerk in a gloomy North Country undertaker's office, Billy is bombarded daily by the propaganda of the media that all things are for the asking. This transparently false doctrine, coupled with the humdrum job and his wild imagination, leads him on frequent flights to "Ambrosia," a mythical kingdom where he is crowned king, general, lover or any idealized hero the real situation of the moment makes him desire. His vacillating commitment and post-adolescent immaturity have created situations which make Ambrosia all the more attractive. He's succeeded in becoming engaged to two different girls, simultaneously, while in love with a third, Liz. He's in hot water with his employer, having spent a rather large sum of postage money on his personal frivolities. And last, but not least, his dream of becoming a highly-paid, famous scriptwriter in London seems doomed to failure. The only person in his life capable of bringing him down to earth is Liz, and she's having a difficult time of it. Finally, he gets his life sufficiently in order to leave for London with his true love. Billy still hasn't come to grips with the real world by the end of the film. He leaves the train to buy milk from a vending machine and watches the train slowly pull out for London with Liz aboard. He returns to the more comfortable shelter of his parents home, Ambrosia and his imagination.

King & Country

King & Country

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1965-11-30

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK

Runtime:

86 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.6 (1107 Reviews)

Director:

Joseph Losey

Genres:

DramaWar

Cast:

Writer:

Evan Jones (screenplay)

John Wilson (from the stage play by)

J.L. Hodson (story)

Fullplot:

During World War I, an army private is accused of desertion during battle. The officer assigned to defend him at his court-martial finds out there is more to the case than meets the eye.

King Rat

King Rat

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1965-10-27

Languages:

English, Malay, Japanese

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

134 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.6 (2933 Reviews)

Director:

Bryan Forbes

Genres:

WarDrama

Cast:

Writer:

James Clavell (based on a novel by)

Bryan Forbes (written for the screen by)

Fullplot:

When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942 the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. This was a POW detention center like no other. There were no walls or barbed-wire fences for the simple reason that there was no place for the prisoners to escape to. Included among the prisoners is the American Cpl. King, a wheeler dealer who has managed to established a pretty good life for himself in the camp. While most of the prisoners are near starvation and have uniforms that are in tatters, King eats well and and has crisp clean clothes to wear every day. His nemesis is Lt. Robin Grey, the camp Provost who attempts to keep good order and discipline. He knows that King is breaking camp rules by bartering with the Japanese but can't quite get the evidence he needs to stop him. King soon forms a friendship with Lt. Peter Marlowe an upper class British officer who is fascinated with King's èlan and no rules approach to life. As the story develops, it reveals the hypocrisy of the British class system and for King, the fact that his position in Changi's "society" is tenuous as best.

The Night of the Generals

The Night of the Generals

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1967-02-24

Languages:

English, Italian, Spanish, French

Countries:

UK, France

Runtime:

148 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

7.4 (4350 Reviews)

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Cast:

Writer:

Joseph Kessel (adapted for the screen by)

Paul Dehn (adapted for the screen by)

Paul Dehn (additional dialogue)

Hans Hellmut Kirst (novel)

James Hadley Chase (based on an incident written by)

Fullplot:

In 1942, in Warsaw, a Polish prostitute is murdered in a sadistic way. Major Grau, a man from German Intelligence who believes in justice, is in charge of the investigation. An eyewitness saw a German general leaving the building after a scream of the victim. A further investigation shows that three generals do not have any alibi for that night: General Tanz, Maj. Gen. Klus Kahlenberge and General von Seidlitz-Gabler. They three avoid a direct contact with Major Grau and become potential suspects. As far as Major Grau gets close to them, he is promoted and sent to Paris. In 1944, in Paris, this quartet is reunited and Major Grau continues his investigation. Meanwhile, a plan for killing Hitler is plotted by his high command; a romance between Ulrike von Seydlitz-Gabler and Lance Cpl. Kurt Hartmann is happening and Insp. Morand is helping Major Grau in his investigation. The story ends in 1965, in Hamburg, with another similar crime.

The Dresser

The Dresser

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1983-12-06

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK

Runtime:

118 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

7.7 (3438 Reviews)

Director:

Peter Yates

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Ronald Harwood (screenplay)

Fullplot:

In a touring Shakespearean theater group, a backstage hand - the dresser, is devoted to the brilliant but tyrannical head of the company. He struggles to support the deteriorating star as the company struggles to carry on during the London blitz. The pathos of his backstage efforts rival the pathos in the story of Lear and the Fool that is being presented on-stage, as the situation comes to a crisis.

Leonard Part 6

Leonard Part 6

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1987-12-18

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

85 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

2.2 (6806 Reviews)

Director:

Paul Weiland

Cast:

Writer:

Bill Cosby (story)

Jonathan Reynolds

Fullplot:

The CIA asks for ex-spy Leonard's help in stopping an evil force that is brainwashing small animals into killing people. Leonard, however, has his own problems to deal with: winning back his ex-wife.

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2000-03-10

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK, USA

Runtime:

95 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

6.5 (1078 Reviews)

Director:

Peter Hewitt

Genres:

Comedy

Fullplot:

Harold Smith, a quiet middle-aged Englishman becomes an instant celebrity when he suddenly starts exhibiting psychic and telekinetic powers. After he is arrested for accidentally killing three pensioners by causing their pacemakers to stop, his lawyer brings in an extremely skeptical scientist to test whether or not Harold's powers are real. Meanwhile, Harold's son Vince, a disco devotee, is pining for his co-worker Joanna, who also happens to be the daughter of the scientist testing Vince's dad.

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2000-03-10

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK, USA

Runtime:

95 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

6.5 (1079 Reviews)

Director:

Peter Hewitt

Genres:

Comedy

Fullplot:

Harold Smith, a quiet middle-aged Englishman becomes an instant celebrity when he suddenly starts exhibiting psychic and telekinetic powers. After he is arrested for accidentally killing three pensioners by causing their pacemakers to stop, his lawyer brings in an extremely skeptical scientist to test whether or not Harold's powers are real. Meanwhile, Harold's son Vince, a disco devotee, is pining for his co-worker Joanna, who also happens to be the daughter of the scientist testing Vince's dad.

Last Orders

Last Orders

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2002-01-11

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK, Germany

Runtime:

109 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

(4902 Reviews)

Director:

Fred Schepisi

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Graham Swift (novel)

Fred Schepisi

Fullplot:

Jack Dodd was a London butcher who enjoyed a pint with his mates for over 50 years. When he died, he died as he lived, with a smile on his face watching a horse race on which he had bet, with borrowed money. But before he died he had a final request, 'Last Orders', that his ashes be scattered in the sea at Margate. The movie follows his mates, Ray, Lenny and Vic and his son Vince as they journey to the sea with the ashes. Along the way, the threads of their lives, their loves and their disappointments are woven together in their memories of Jack and his wife Amy

Flood

Flood

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2007-08-24

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK, South Africa, Canada

Runtime:

110 min

IMDB Ratings:

4.8 (4977 Reviews)

Director:

Tony Mitchell

Cast:

Writer:

Justin Bodle

Matthew Cope

Richard Doyle (novel)

Nick Morley

Fullplot:

Timely yet terrifying, The Flood predicts the unthinkable. When a raging storm coincides with high seas it unleashes a colossal tidal surge, which travels mercilessly down England's East Coast and into the Thames Estuary. Overwhelming the Barrier, torrents of water pour into the city. The lives of millions of Londoners are at stake. Top marine engineers and barrier experts Rob, his ex-wife Sam and his father Leonard Morrison, have only a few hours to save the city from total devastation. A real probability in a real location. It is not a question of if, but when London floods.

Little Dorrit

Little Dorrit

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2009-03-29

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK, USA

IMDB Ratings:

8.3 (5272 Reviews)

Genres:

DramaRomance

Fullplot:

The series tells the story of Amy Dorrit, who 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 boss's son, Arthur Clennam, returns from overseas to solve his family's mysterious legacy and discovers that their lives are interlinked.

Quartet

Quartet

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2013-03-01

Languages:

English, Italian, Polish

Countries:

UK

Runtime:

98 min

Rated:

PG-13

IMDB Ratings:

6.8 (14191 Reviews)

Director:

Dustin Hoffman

Genres:

ComedyDrama

Cast:

Writer:

Ronald Harwood (play)

Ronald Harwood (screenplay)

Fullplot:

Cecily, Reggie, and Wilfred are in a home for retired musicians. Every year, on October 10, there is a concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday and they take part. Jean, who used to be married to Reggie, arrives at the home and disrupts their equilibrium. She still acts like a diva, but she refuses to sing. Still, the show must go on... and it does.

45 Years

45 Years

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2015-08-28

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK

Runtime:

95 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.6 (395 Reviews)

Director:

Andrew Haigh

Genres:

DramaRomance

Cast:

Writer:

David Constantine (short story)

Andrew Haigh (adaptation)

Fullplot:

There is just one week until Kate Mercer's 45th wedding anniversary and the planning for the party is going well. But then a letter arrives for her husband. The body of his first love has been discovered, frozen and preserved in the icy glaciers of the Swiss Alps. By the time the party is upon them, five days later, there may not be a marriage left to celebrate.

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