John Laurie

Richard Hanney has a rude awakening when a glamorous female spy falls into his bed - with a knife in her back. Having a bit of trouble explaining it all to Scotland Yard, he heads for the hills of Scotland to try to clear his name by locating the spy ring known as The 39 Steps.

Anthony Hope's classic tale gets a decidedly 'un-classic' treatment at the hands of Peter Sellers. Following the story somewhat, friends of the new King Rudolph of Ruritania fear for his life, and switch him with a look-a-like London cabby. Throw in two(!) lovely blondes, treachery, and a battle for life and honour, and enjoy life at its zaniest.

A disgraced officer risks his life to help his childhood friends in battle.

Dad's Army was a 1971 feature film based on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. Directed by Norman Cohen, it was filmed between series three and four and was based upon material from the early episodes of the television series. The film told the story of the Home Guard platoon's formation and their subsequent endeavours at a training exercise.

Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Sir Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet continues to be the most compelling version of Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy. Olivier is at his most inspired—both as director and as the melancholy Dane himself—as he breathes new life into the words of one of the world’s greatest dramatists.

Eight people at a remote Scottish inn find themselves confronted by a woman from Mars, who has landed her flying saucer for repairs but intends to soon conquer the Earth and enslave its men for breeding purposes.

General Candy, who's overseeing an English squad in 1943, is a veteran leader who doesn't have the respect of the men he's training and is considered out-of-touch with what's needed to win the war. But it wasn't always this way. Flashing back to his early career in the Boer War and World War I, we see a dashing young officer whose life has been shaped by three different women, and by a lasting friendship with a German soldier.

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.

Harry and Valerie Spalding arrive in the remote Cornish village to an unwelcoming and suspicious population. Harry's brother dies suddenly, bitten by a lethal reptilian bite. They befriend a young woman Anna whose tyrannical father controls her life and, as they discover that others in the village have suffered a similar fate, their investigations lead to Anna. What they uncover is a victim of the most terrifying legacy... a destiny of mutilation and murder.

A way of life is dying on a remote Scottish island, but some of the inhabitants resist evacuating to the mainland.

Film version of Shakespeare's comedy of a young woman who disguises herself as a man to win the attention of the one she loves.

Pandora Reynolds is a woman who has never fallen in love – but one who men kill and die for. When she meets dashing and mysterious ship's captain Hendrik van der Zee, he pushes her to commit the ultimate act of love.

An orphan wreaks havoc on a remote Scottish island when she causes an age-old feud to be reignited.

After a team of surgeons botches his beloved wife's operation, the distraught Dr. Phibes unleashes a score of Old-Testament atrocities on his enemies.

In the slums of Dublin during the Irish Civil War, the Boyle family’s fragile stability collapses after news of an unexpected inheritance lures them into a false sense of prosperity. Captain Boyle, a boastful idler, squanders their meager resources, while his wife Juno holds the household together. When the fortune proves illusory, the family faces ruin, betrayal, and tragedy.

A famous mystery writer uses his own plot tricks to murder a blackmailer in this British thriller.

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.

Wartime tale of a group of British scientists efforts to develop the first radar system. They did it just in time for it to be used in the Battle of Britain against the might of the Nazi Luftwaffe. Without it the little island could well have been overrun.

Stefan Radetzky, a Polish pilot and famous concert pianist, is hospitalised in England from injuries sustained while in combat, and having lost his memory. As Radetzky plays the piano in a trance-like state, the story moves back in time to war-torn Warsaw. During an air-raid, Radetzky meets American journalist Carole, and there is a mutual attraction. Following the fall of Poland, Radetzky and Irish pilot, Mike, escape to Rumania and then on to America. Radetzky continues his musical career in America and meets up again with Carole.

Plucky Englishwoman Joan Webster travels to the remote islands of the Scottish Hebrides in order to marry a wealthy industrialist. Trapped by inclement weather on the Isle of Mull and unable to continue to her destination, Joan finds herself charmed by the straightforward, no-nonsense islanders around her, and becomes increasingly attracted to naval officer Torquil MacNeil, who holds a secret that may change her life forever.

Given only six months to live, Englishman Bruce Campbell goes to Canada to claim "Campbell's Kingdom", the land he inherited from his grandfather. In order to clear his grandfather's name and prove there is oil on the land, Campbell must face up to a ruthless contractor and work against the clock to find oil before "Campbell's Kingdom" is flooded by a new power dam.

Someone is stealing priceless paintings from the great museums of the world and replacing them with nearly flawless forgeries. Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna and Child" is being shipped to London's Tate Gallery for a special exhibition, and Paul Mitchell is assigned to protect it. Upon the painting's arrival, Paul realizes it has been switched. Eager to collect the museum's $50,000 reward, he teams up with Mary Mason, a Tate employee, to recover the original.

Television broadcast of Bees on the Boat-Deck by J.B. Priestley.

A BAFTA award nominated documentary looking at how Myron Kinley and his team extinguished an out of control oil installation fire at Naft Safidi in Iran in 1951 that had been burning for 26 days.

An illustrated version of Twa Corbies made as the BFI’s contribution to the Festival of Britain. Enlivened by the distinctive voice of John Laurie, and paired with Michael Rothenstein’s delightfully textured drawings. Followed by Shakespeare’s Spring and Winter, sung by Peter Pears, with illustrations by Meryn “Gormenghast” Peake.

Story of a chorus girl who is "discovered" and finds romance during the unraveling of a mystery in a once derelict theatre.

Returning to 1870s London after finishing at boarding school, Fanny winesses the death of her father in a fight with Lord Manderstoke. She then finds that her family has for many years been running a bordello next door to their home. When her mother dies shortly after, she next discovers that her real father is in fact a well-respected politician. Meeting him and then falling in love with his young advisor Harry Somerford leads to a life of ups and downs and conflict between the classes. Periodically the scoundrel of a Lord crosses her path, always to tragic effect.

When their hospital ship sinks in the South Pacific during WWII, military nurse Elizabeth Smythe and Marine Michael Dugan find themselves stranded — and soon enough, falling in love — on an idyllic tropical island. But when British pilot William Peck crash-lands on their cozy little atoll, Dugan suddenly discovers he has a rival in love.

'Strange Stories' consists of two stories, 'The Strange Mr Bartleby' and 'The Strange Journey'. The stories were sometimes shown individually on television.

Old Mother Riley gets involved in a plot to steal an invention

David Shields refuses to go into agriculture and opts instead for ship building

Ivan Kouznetsoff, a Russian engineer, recounts during World War II his stay in England prior to the war working on a new propeller for ice-breaking ships. Naïve about British people and convinced by hearsay that they are shallow and hypocritical, Ivan is both bemused and amused by them. He is blunt in his opinions about Britons and at first this puts off his hosts, including the lovely Ann Tisdall, whose grandfather runs the shipbuilding firm that will make use of Ivan's propeller. The longer Ivan stays, however, the more he comes to understand the humor, warmth, strength, and conviction of the British people, and the more they come to see him as a friend rather than merely a suspicious Russian. As a romantic bond grows between Ivan and Ann, a cultural bond begins to grow as well, particularly as the war begins and Russia is attacked by Germany.

The history of Scotland and the factors that have shaped the character of its people.

In 19th century England, Jassy is a young Gypsy girl blessed with the gift of second sight. Pursued by superstitious villagers, she is rescued by the son of the owner of Mordelaine, a vast stately home. Unfortunately, his father's drinking and gambling threaten the very ownership of the house. Despite her humble origins as a servant girl, Jassy must try to use her talents to climb the social ladder and save Mordelaine for the man whom she loves.

Scotland, 1745. After decades of exile, Prince Charles Edward Stuart secretly lands with the purpose of revolting the Highland chieftains against the German House of Hanover, ruler of Great Britain.

Kidnapped and cheated out of his inheritance, young David Balfour falls in with a Jacobite adventurer, Alan Breck Stewart. Falsely accused of murder, they must flee across the Highlands, evading the redcoats.

A tribute to the important work of female nurses during World War II.

Will Hay, back in his role as a hapless teacher, is hired by a grim school in remotest Scotland. The school soon starts to be haunted by a legendary ghost, whose spectral bagpipes signal the death of one of the staff. Hay, assisted by Claude Hulbert and Charles Hawtrey, has to unravel the mystery before he becomes the next victim.

When an eccentric practical joker dies, he divides his fortune among four heirs. But before they can collect the cash they must each do something which goes completely against their nature. NB: This is the film which introduced Audrey Hepburn.

Having helped his brother King Edward IV take the throne of England, the jealous hunchback Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots to seize power for himself. Masterfully deceiving and plotting against nearly everyone in the royal court, including his eventual wife, Lady Anne, and his brother George, Duke of Clarence, Richard orchestrates a bloody rise to power before finding all his gains jeopardized by those he betrayed.

The wealthy chairman of First Division Football Club, Burnville United, makes an unethical approach to a star player of another club, and the ensuing scandal costs him his job.

An unjustly condemned corporal flees to Africa, chased by the captain blamed for his escape.

An aristocrat won't economize, then his rich brother in law is found murdered in the grounds of the aristocrat's house

Ace reporter Jeff Holly is assigned to investigate the murder of a politician whose body was found stashed in a trunk. Holly's enthusiasm soon wanes when his editor insists that he take his daughter Amanda North with him to investigate. Fortunately, the girl has a real knack for investigative reporting and they make a good team. They even fall in love. They discover that the killer was the politician's rival.

King Arthur learns one of his knights is plotting to take over and marry his daughter. After the King's death, the Knight wishing to marry the princess is ordered by the great wizard Merlin to remove the sword from the scabbard and prove his right to the throne.

The tragic story of Lady Jane Grey, the young queen who reigned in England for nine days before she was executed.

In England, an eccentric police inspector, an earnest test pilot and a spunky female reporter team up to solve the mystery of a series of test aircraft which have disappeared without a trace while over the ocean on their maiden flights; unaware, as they are, that a spy ring has been shooting the planes down with a ray machine hidden aboard a salvage vessel which is on hand to haul the downed aircraft aboard, crews and all.

Fearing her husband could become a killer, a woman seeks a psychiatrist's help.

A colorful British documentary about the manufacturing of steel.

Julia Stafford is asked to defend a posh youth, an outsider in a conservative Scottish town, who is accused of murdering a girl.

A tale of life on board a Royal Navy cruiser assigned to protect the vital convoys between America and England during WWII.

Unassuming planning engineer David Webb finds himself on the Queen Elizabeth to New York with instructions to negotiate a high-powered loan. His lack of confidence means he is completely out of his depth, at least until he finds his personality changes every day during the hour the ship's clocks stop to make allowance for their westward passage.

Michael Powell makes a moving return trip to the remote island of Foula, forty years after he shot his first major feature there - 'The Edge of the World (1937)'.

As WWII begins, vaudeville entertainer Tommy Towers is called up to serve. He arranges a job for his girlfriend at the local pub. To keep moral up, his commanding officer orders him to perform for the troops.

A widower refuses to let his three daughters marry in order to avoid paying settlements, so they'll just have to outsmart him.

A retired general helps out by sheltering some evacuees during WWII.

A young lad attempts to climb Eagle Rock by himself and learns the hard way that sometimes teamwork is the best way to do things.

Colonel Mortimer returns to his family after a long spell in India to find his young son in bed ill, and tormented by a wailing voice... but is it in the boy's imagination or not?

The Agitator is a 1945 British drama film directed by John Harlow and starring William Hartnell, Mary Morris and John Laurie. Its plot follows a young mechanic who unexpectedly inherits the large firm where he works and tries to run it according to his socialist political beliefs. It was based on the 1925 novel Peter Pettinger by William Riley.

Three sailors get drunk while on shore leave and end up on the wrong ship. When they realise their mistake they scramble off it and onto their warship, HMS Ferocious. However, they soon realise that the vessel they have boarded is not the Ferocious but a German battleship.

John, a blacksmith and swordsmith, is tutored at Camelot. As a commoner, he can't hope to win the hand of Lady Linet, daughter of the Earl of Yeoniland, so he creates a secret alternate identity as the Black Knight. In this new role, he is now able to help King Arthur when Saracens and Cornish men—disguised as Vikings -- plot to take over the country.

Compilation of sketches featuring the much-loved funnymen Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. Includes 'Anthony and Cleopatra' with Glenda Jackson, 'Monty in the Bounty' with Arthur Lowe, the famous 'Singing in the Rain' routine, and Eric and Ernie making breakfast to the sound of 'The Stripper'.

In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.

Farewell Again is a multiplotted British comedy/drama about soldiers on leave and the people they've left. Given a six-hour pass after a tour of duty in India, several British Tommies (among them Robert Newton, Sebastian Shaw and Anthony Bushell) try to unravel their domestic tribulations before having to ship out again. American expatriate Tim Whelan was the directorial hand who kept the various plot threads from entangling, while another Hollywood vet, James Wong Howe, manned the cameras. The film became instantly dated with the advent of World War II, but in its own time Farewell Again was a box-office smash. The film was issued in the US as Troopship.

A new batch of Army recruits, from diverse backgrounds and with varying degrees of commitment, is shaped into an efficient fighting unit.

The German adopted-daughter of a Belgian innkeeper is threatened with internment by him if she reveals to the British billetees that he is a spy. However, she is in love with one of them and helps them.

"The Claydon Treasure Mystery" stars reliable John Stuart as an engineer (Peter Kerrigan) interested in solving mysteries, who becomes involved in investigating murders at Marsh Manor, home of the wealthy Claydon family. Plenty of suspects to choose from, Kerrigan believes that the murders may be connected to hidden treasure on the estate.

Before the war, a Fleet Air Arm pilot is dismissed for causing the death of a colleague. Working for a small Greek airline when the Germans invade Greece, he gets a chance to redeem himself and rejoin his old unit on a British carrier. This is regarded the last of the conventional, rather stiff 1930's style Ealing war films, to be succeeded by much more realism and better storytelling.

Enchanted by the idea of locating treasure buried by Captain Flint, Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey and Jim Hawkins charter a sailing voyage to a Caribbean island. Unfortunately, a large number of Flint's old pirate crew are aboard the ship, including Long John Silver.

The story of an Eastern sultan who is inordinately proud of his son. The young man bids fair to break his father's heart by conducting an affair with the wife of a notorious criminal.

A British comedy about a struggling artist and his wife living on a houseboat. To raise money she pawns him! His new family takes a liking to him particularly the daughter! The wife tries to redeem her husband but finds she has lost the pawn ticket. In a short matter of time, the whole incident becomes a national sensation.

A Scottish woman tries to take her brother-in-law's wild living children in hand.

Encore is a 1951 anthology film composed of adaptations of three short stories by W. Somerset Maugham: "The Ant and the Grasshopper", directed by Pat Jackson and adapted by T. E. B. Clarke; "Winter Cruise", helmed by Anthony Pelissier, screenplay by Arthur Macrae; "Gigolo and Gigolette", directed by Harold French, written by Eric Ambler. It is the last film in a Maugham trilogy, preceded by Quartet and Trio.

W. Somerset Maugham introduces three more of his stories about human foibles.

An account of the technique of reading the tabloid press in an intelligent manor via differing editorial techniques that leads to three styles of newspapers giving varying accounts of a strip-tease act.

Desperate to prove his father innocent of treason, a secretary arranges a clandestine assignation with his employer's wife in order to get the proof he needs. But the plan goes awry when he becomes implicated in her sudden death.

The life of Irishman George Howard who buys an English theatre and strives to improve the standard of musical entertainment. Set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and loosely based on fact.

During 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 "Ladies Who Do" are office cleaners. One of them discovers some hot stock tips and they make a fortune. They then make good use of it to save their old neighbourhoods from the wicked developer.

David Barr is the manager and chief designer of a British shipyard in decline. The shipyard is in financial trouble but Barr has a design for a new ship that will save them all. Can he get the ship built in spite of the opposition from his own bankers as well as the rival shipbuilders and their infiltrated militants.

Percy Pointer's passion in life is the theatre, and all his spare time is devoted to the play he is writing. When it's finished it arrives on the desk of a London impresario, when he wants to stage a flop.

Escaping from China with a microfilm of the formula for the mysterious "Lotus X", Lord Southmere, a Queen's Messenger, is chased by a group of Chinese spies.

Madeleine's middle-class family cannot understand why she puts off marrying a respectable young man, as they know nothing about her long-term affair with a Frenchman.

The inhabitants of Todday are content to live their lives in peace and quiet, until, that is, the government decides their little corner of the world would be the perfect place for a rocket launch site.

The aging Julius Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen Cleopatra.

An Edinburgh travel agent loses his keys and his fiancé in one night. A friend finds the keys and makes loads of copies with his address attached as a joke. She gives them to him as he leaves for a holiday. He gives the keys to several women he romances across the continent. He gets engaged again by phone and arranges to meet his fiancé at his flat, but the flat isn't empty...

A Polish boy runs away from his unkind foster mother in Edinburgh and finds a new home in a lakeside village for orphans of all nations, after encountering trouble through his innocent implication in a robbery.

An impending V.I.P. visit causes bustle in an English village, while the Ellis family struggles with private problems.

The love affair between the French Emperor Napoleon and the lady Josephine leads through Napoleon's rise to power and their eventual divorce.

Short part of BFI collection "This Working Life: Steel".

Maggie Hobson (Patricia Routledge) decides to marry Willie Mossop (Michael Caine), the gifted but underpaid bootmaker in her father's shop. Despite Willie's objections, they marry and set up for themselves and, within just one year, take almost all of Henry Hobson's trade. Hobson (John Barrie), a heavy drinker, is told by his doctor that one of his daughters must return home to look after him but they all refuse apart from Maggie who, seeing her chance, agrees to help but on one condition: Willie is to take over the business, with Hobson relegated to the position of a sleeping partner with no say in the running of the shop.

A dramatised account of the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, performed and broadcast live on Scottish Television on 29th November 1967 to mark STV's tenth anniversary.

Dramatised account of the achievements of Glasgow's William Thomson, Lord Kelvin.

Starring Spike Milligan, John Laurie, and Mike Harding. This has music, comedy, tricks, and storytelling.

An amateur detective investigates a string of acid bath murders while on holiday.

Rich bachelor B.G. Bruno, the head of a successful greeting-card company in Scotland, is essentially a kind man but respectable to the point of stodginess and extreme stuffiness. An American troupe visiting Edinburgh wants to produce a musical in town but has trouble getting financiers. Bruno meets several leading ladies; through a misunderstanding, he doesn't correct their impression that he's a newspaper reporter.