Fantom films ltd (21 résultats)

Soft cover. Etat : New. Direct from publisher. Twenty-five years after the terrifying events at Milbury, Matthew Brake returns to the English village, this time with his own son Tom. Having followed his father's footsteps and become a Professor of Astrophysics, he has never been back to Milbury, even though his father Adam lives in the Manor House and has assured him that all is well in the village. But now he is about to take Tom on his first visit to England. It turns out, however, that all is far from well. Soon after their arrival, Adam, Matthew and Tom are plunged into a new nightmare… Return to the Stones is a brand new sequel to the cult 1970s television series Children of the Stones, published here for the first time. …

Soft cover. Etat : New. Adam Brake, a professor of astrophysics, and his teenage son Matthew, arrive in Milbury, an English village surrounded by a stone circle. Adam has been commissioned to investigate the residual magnetism of the stones, but he and Matthew soon begin to realise that this is no ordinary village…. Based on the classic television series starring Gareth Thomas and Freddie Jones, this is the original novelisation, published for the first time in 35 years.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Sold direct from publisher. An isolated fog bound Scottish island called Inverdee is plagued by a mysterious, maybe even supernatural, killer… The Nightmare Man was a one-off serial first broadcast by the BBC during May 1981, and entranced and terrified television audiences. Skilfully directed by Douglas Camfield and superbly adapted by Robert Holmes from David Wiltshire's terrifying book Child of Vodyanoi, it starred James Warwick and Celia Imrie, and remains indelibly ingrained on viewers minds to this day. This book meticulously covers the story of The Nightmare Man scene by scene, and the production process which went into creating it, with contributions not only from the cast and crew, but also the inhabitants of Port Isaac, the beautiful and eerie North Cornish village which was used as the filming location. Out of the Archive is a series of books from Fantom Publishing exploring the greatest of British Television. …

Soft cover. Etat : New. When I read through the final draft of my autobiography, I decided to take out several anecdotes about my personal life, simply because they seemed a sort of indulgence, and didn't add to what I wanted to say about my life and my career. They were hiccups along the way with some attacks worse than others, but all were finally 'got rid' (as my cousin Lillian used to say). I put them in a file which I called BASTARDS for my own amusement, and thought no more about them until my book came out and I was being asked what my next writing project would be. For want of anything else to say I would reply BASTARDS, and the response was so positive that what had started as a whim began to take on substance. So here it is. Since you ask (and you will) the bastards were all my own. Some were short, as are some of the tales, and some tall, which, in spite of your incredulity, none of the tales are. Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I couldn't make them up! Could I.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Although known to an audience of millions the world over for his portrayal of The Doctor's arch nemesis The Master in Doctor Who during the 1980's, Anthony Ainley had a prolific career which encompassed starring roles in Spyders Web and It's Dark Outside, as well as appearances in renowned dramas such as The Pallisers, Elizabeth R, Nicholas Nickleby, Upstairs, Downstairs, and cult films including Blood On Satan's Claw and The Land That Time Forgot. But the dramas in Anthony's real life were far more fascinating than any of the many parts he played on screen. Born the illegitimate son of actor Henry Ainley, and taken into care at the Actors' Orphanage at the age of four, the hidden story behind one of Doctor Who's most enigmatic characters is brought to life by author Karen Louise Hollis. Using exhaustive interviews with friends and colleagues from every aspect of Anthony's life, including his best friend from school, fellow children from the Actors' Orphanage, cricketing friends, colleagues, and those who remained close to him until his death in 2004, this book aims to uncover the real Anthony Ainley - The Man Behind The Master.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Margaret Lockwood (1916-1990) was Britain's number one box office star during the war years. A three-time winner of the Daily Mail Film Award, her iconic films The Lady Vanishes, The Man in Grey and The Wicked Lady gained her legions of fans and the nickname Queen of the Screen. With a career spanning fifty years, Margaret reinvented herself from a film star, to an Agatha Christie heroine on the West End, to a television icon in the 1970s series, Justice. Written to coincide with Margaret's centenary, this in-depth biography offers a fresh perspective on an independent woman who was intensely private away from the spotlight and whose life was unlike anything that was reported in the fan magazines.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. SHEILA STEAFEL originally hailed from South Africa, but realising she couldn't be heard in England, at the age of seventeen left halfway through a Fine Arts degree, to study at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. RADA turned her down, but the Webber Douglas School, being short of funds, was delighted to accept her. It was here, to the bewilderment of many, including herself that she won the Margaret Rutherford Award for Comedy. At last the final term shows loomed large. Agents and casting directors were invited to marvel at Sheila's acting skills, setting her on the first rung of the ladder to stardom. Unfortunately the day before the performance she developed highly contagious bout of chicken pox. Three weeks later, now only itching to begin her chosen career, she browbeat her way into an agent's office, to be told that she was unlikely to get anywhere until she reached the age of thirty. But did it discourage her? Yes. Nonetheless she persevered, and after several jobs in Repertory, some West End understudying, and a few TV walk-ons, (interspersed with several odd jobs), (some very), she got her first Big Break, joining John Cleese and the Two Ronnies in David Frost's THE FROST REPORT. Comedy had claimed her, and from then on she worked with (and sometimes against) most of the well-known TV comics of the sixties. In her own right you may remember her on TV as Ivy (Yes, Mr Cropper?) Watkins in HOW'S YOUR FATHER. No? How about The White Lady in THE GHOSTS OF MOTLEY HALL? Alright then, she made several appearances in THE GOOD OLD DAYS, including that unforgettable of characters, Little Miss Popsy Wopsy! Forgotten, eh? Well, how about Miranda, the glamorous literary agent  in YOU MUST BE THE HUSBAND with Tim Brooke Taylor? Tim Brooke.oh come on, you're just not trying! No point in mentioning the films she's been in unless you have a quick eye, so on to just a few of her many acclaimed appearances in the theatre:  As Harpo in A DAY IN HOLLYWOOD A NIGHT IN THE UKRAINE, appearing opposite Robert Morley in HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES ,  playing Mistress Quickly in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1985 ground-breaking production of THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, and being in three productions during the  RSC's 1995 season:  THE RELAPSE, THE DEVIL'S AN ASS, and FAUST. Oh, and there was Peter Hall's West End production of SCHOOL FOR WIVES, and being David Schneider's mother in his play 'THE ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT' at the Hampstead Theatre Club . And if that wasn't impressive enough, she has not one, not two, but THREE one woman shows: STEAFEL SOLO, STEAFEL XPOSED and VICTORIA PLUMS. She's performed them all over the world: Antibes, Adelaide, Istanbul, Saudi Arabia, Basingstoke. And she plans to go on doing them. Till she gets them right. Direct publisher.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. A Memoir "The action was a series of fights in the ring and I played the boxing second. I had thirty-four entrances and exits, very few lines and a sponge." Throughout a career in theatre, television and film spanning over 75 years, actor Peter Vaughan has kept in mind a piece of advice given to him by his father: Always see the ludicrous side of things. This may come as a surprise to those who associate him mainly with menacing, even brutal characters, in everything from Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs to Terry Gilliam's Brazil. Many will have fond memories of his portrayal of 'genial' Harry Grout in the classic sitcom Porridge, which is ironic since the character only appeared in three episodes. Such was the indelible mark Peter's performance left on the viewers' imagination. Still working in his nineties, he has recently gained a whole new generation of fans with his role as Aemon Targaryen in the hugely popular fantasy drama series Game of Thrones. This autobiography takes us back to describe his upbringing in 1920s Shropshire, the stormy relationship between his parents, his wartime exploits and early career in rep before going on to find fame on stage and screen alongside such notable figures as Celia Johnson, Tallulah Bankhead, Tony Curtis, Frank Sinatra, Tony Hancock and many more. Through it all, that awareness of the ludicrous has perhaps helped to keep Peter sane and certainly contributed to the enormous enjoyment of the work which shines through in this honest and revealing account of his life.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Direct from the publisher TV actor, producer and screenwriter Valentine Palmer sets out to write the definitive account of the Titanic's sinking. As the 100th anniversary of the fateful night approaches, Palmer follows up innumerable conflicting stories and theories that still, to this day, surround the doomed liner. Charles Herbert Lightoller, Palmer's great uncle, was the highest ranking surviving officer from the disaster. It was only after the great man's death in 1952 that his sister, Gertrude, Palmer's eccentric grandmother, began to hint to her young grandson of the contradictory accounts of both her brother's supposed heroism and his suspect testimonies at the investigations into the sinking. Palmer's grandmother doesn't accuse Joseph Bruce Ismay, Managing Director of the White Star Line, in so many words. Rather, she chooses to address her grandson in riddles, which have taken him a lifetime to interpret. This, Grandma Gertrude hints, is the man who made her brother 'an offer he couldn't refuse'! In-depth research by a number of parties over the past 100 years reveals that something was not quite right about the testimonies of both Ismay and Lightoller. Britain's preparation for possible war with Germany, tales of gold and priceless treasures aboard the doomed liner and a possible insurance fraud of unimaginable complexity are just some of the mysteries and possible conspiracies that Palmer seeks to shed new light on in this fascinating book. With dogged determination he works his way through the revelations of his great aunt, Lightoller's widow, and his maternal grandmother's hints of cover-ups at the highest level. Palmer's searches take him through the maze of conflicting testimonies and reported conversations from survivors. His task becomes ever more daunting as he sees the truth, like his great uncle's honour, become increasingly shrouded in the mists of time.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Sold direct from publisher With a career spanning over half a century, Beryl Reid was the original national treasure who brought to life such beloved comic characters as Monica and Marlene whilst also giving award winning performances in the Killing of Sister George and Entertaining Mr Sloane. Living a fairytale existence in the picturesque Honeypot Cottage on the banks of the Thames surrounded by an army of feline friends, Beryl Reid remains one of Britain's favourite eccentrics. But behind the smiles and the laughter, there was sacrifice and sadness which made her one of the most complex but also one of the best loved performers of her time. With contributions from friends, family, co-stars and Beryl's very own personal archive, Roll Out the Beryl tells the true story of Beryl's life beyond the footlights - the comedy and the tragedy.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Wilson, Keppel and Betty. They sound like a firm of solicitors and look like a bunch of Tutankhamen's hieroglyphs that suddenly fancied a boogie. To many they are the epitome of the bizarre speciality act, shuffling through silver sands during the golden era of British variety. They inspired Morecambe and Wise, Legs & Co, the Chuckle Brothers. But what do we know about the Englishman and Irishman who clog-danced round America, returned home with two fezzes and a Cleopatra from Kansas, and proceeded to walk like three Egyptians? Precious little. Until now. This lovingly pieced together story of their lives, onstage and off, reveals for the first time the flirtatious Irish dandy with the dicky ticker, the scruffy Liverpudlian party animal, and the teenage tearaway turned tap-shoed temptress who abruptly changed career and became a frequently outspoken war reporter. Their dancing outraged Hermann Goering; years later, in Nuremberg, Goering performed while Betty wrote the reviews. Alan Stafford has ransacked dusty attics, thumbed crumbling newspapers and buttonholed countless experts and colleagues to discover the trio's hidden past. He's unearthed rare photos, and movies that were presumed lost. And he's tracked down and interviewed three women from the long dynasty of Wilson and Keppel's subsequent Bettys.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Direct from publisher A Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare with Showaddywaddy During the decade that spanned the 1970's, teddy-boy draped rock & roll band SHOWADDYWADDY had a run of chart success unparalled by any other artist or band. In 2005 they were still touring, but by then the heady days of teeny-bop hysteria were long gone. Offered a summer run of 33 holiday camp dates, the band took the fast buck and subsequently entered into uncharted territory. From experiencing 'life in the fast lane,' they were about to undergo 'a breakdown on the hard-shoulder.' In this bitter-sweet account Lead Singer (and later manager) Dave Bartram candidly recollects the extraordinary occurrences of 10 weeks in the UK's bucket & spade resorts, which strained every emotion to breaking point.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Direct from publisher Jon Pertwee's acting career began with a public performance at the age of four. He seems to have been expelled from most of the schools his actor-writer father Roland Pertwee sent him to and finally joined RADA in 1936. From there too, he was asked to leave. Jon went into Rep and had a checkered career. In Brighton panic set in when he dressed as an old gardener in Love from a Stranger instead of as a young cleric in Candida. In 1938 came Jon's first radio role in the BBC's Lillibulero, in which year he also appeared in his father's play, To Kill a Cat, directed by Henry Kendall at the Aldwych Theatre. When war came he joined the Navy, ramming Douglas Pier with an Isle of Man Stream Packet boat. He was blown up twice, once being put on a marble slab presumed dead, and spent many months stationed in the Scapa Flow. He was the founder of the Service Players in the Isle of Man. He was commissioned in the RNVR and transferred to Naval Intelligence where he worked and became good friends with the future Prime Minister James Callaghan. Then Jon joined Naval Broadcasting. His radio series, The Navy Lark, ran for eighteen years and produced some truly vintage memories of radio. Whether telling stories of a misspent youth, of his posterior's first painful introduction to a fives bat or his exploits with the McKenzie sisters in the north of Scotland, Jon Pertwee's humour and natural wit never fail him. Moon Boots and Dinner Suits is a wry, funny and endearing portrait of the early years of a most innovative and well-loved actor.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Sold direct from publisher In his best-selling autobiography More or Less, published in 1978, Kenneth More, one of Britain's best -loved actors, said, "When Angela and I met and fell in love, everyone and everything was against us. I felt about her as I had never felt about any other woman. I needed her not only physically, but mentally and morally. My only reason for living was to marry her." he was forty seven, an internationally famous star, twice married with two daughters, who through his appearance in such films as Genevieve, Reach for the Sky and Doctor in the House had become something of a British national institution. Angela was blonde, blue-eyed and twenty one. As this bubbly, naïve and insecure young actress found herself increasingly in demand in a profession she adored, she met and fell in deeply in love with the man who was to remain for the next twenty years her "one essential existence". In this moving, frank and deeply felt autobiography, embarked on with Kenneth's encouragement, Angela tells of her life from her convent-based education, of the joy of finding her feet as an actress and of her helpless love for this "very married man". She talks of their seven year wait for his divorce, of being shunned by his former friends, of their joyful companionship and, after sixteen years together, their painful trial separation: "a dismal failure, thank heavens". And of their agonising love for each other as they struggled against his final crippling illness- a time when he went from strength to vulnerability and she went from vulnerability to strength. A portrait emerges of a particularly passionate and eventful life which will in its humanity strike a sympathetic chord in all who read it. In this revision of her best selling memoir, Angela brings her story up to date including the all consuming grief at the death of her husband and the adventure of her life and work ever since. It is an even more compelling read and will attract a new generation of readers for her unique and heartfelt story.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Direct from publisher. Crackerjack (the TV show with the built-in echo) gave us two enduring icons of Children's Television … one long and thin, one round and plump. No, not Leslie Crowther and Peter Glaze! The Crackerjack pencil and the Double or Drop cabbage. If you were a child in the late '50s, the '60s, the '70s or early '80s you'll have your own memory of TV's longest-running teatime variety show. Eamonn Andrews piling prizes on the clever-clogs and cloth cabbages on the chumps … the pompous and perpetually heckled Glaze Lectures … those slapstick silent movies … historical finales with anachronistic pop songs … or Stu Francis splattered with garish gunge. Then suddenly, in 2020, it was back. With Sam & Mark, jumbo-sized Crackerjack pencils, and contestants being dropped along with the cabbages! In this updated paperback edition, Alan Stafford traces the hilarious history of Crackerjack recalling the best of the onscreen fun while revealing loads of backstage secrets. This Crackerjack celebration is packed with anecdotes from cast and crew - including Michael Aspel, Pip Hinton, Jillian Comber, Christine Holmes, Rod McLennan, Little and Large, Jacqueline Clarke, Don Maclean, Jan Hunt, Bernie Clifton, The Krankies, Stu Francis, Sam Nixon, Mark Rhodes and many more. It wasn't always on Fridays, it wasn't always at five to five, but it was - and ever will be - Crackerjack. CRACKERJACK!!.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Direct from publisher Killer Line From boyband heartthrob to multi-million selling rock icon, Jonathan 'JJ' Gold's career knew no bounds, his unique, self-penned songs touching the hearts of music fans in every corner of the globe. Then, in a moment of madness, roused by a brutal attack on his ageing parents, JJ's world turns upside down, forcing him to flee to an isolated wilderness located on the shores of northern Scotland. Redeemed by his newfound hermetic lifestyle, enhanced by a chance encounter with stunning brunette Agnes, JJ's life takes on a new meaning, until by accident his cover is blown and the vultures begin to circle. Rock 'n' roll meets murder mystery in Dave Bartram's heartrending albeit enchanting fictional debut.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. Direct from Publisher Granada's Greatest Detective Granada Television's grandly envisaged adaptations of the master detective's legendary annals have become as classical a piece of Holmesian lore as the canon itself. Staunchly set to both the spirit and society of Conan Doyle's texts and commanded by Jeremy Brett's indelibly immortal Sherlock Holmes, these milestone works have never been subject to rigorous, sequential analysis, until now. Granada's Greatest Detective endeavours, for the first time, to present: - a detailed background of the genesis of the project - an examination of the cultural and political influences that impacted upon the series - an inventory of the title, broadcast date, writer, director, plot summary and cast of each segment - classic and contemporary interviews with both cast and crew from every single installment including Michael Cox (producer), Jeremy Brett, David Burke, Edward Hardwicke, Eric Porter, Rosalie Williams, Jenny Seagrove, Robert Hardy and many others - an extensive critique of all forty-one features. - a brief review of lost footage, rarely seen offshoots and curios from the programme's ten-year lifespan. This is the full-length study of one of the most credible and celebrated interpretations in all of Sherlockian theatrical history.…

Hardcover. Etat : New. Etat de la jaquette : New. In One Foot in the Grave and Counting Victor Meldrew, anti-hero of the nineties, continues his war against the world in a 21st century where social and technological change have done little to make life more bearable. Not for the first time, his attempts to claw back some self-respect with a new job are met with a string of disasters, while a mission to untangle the affairs of a deceased relative takes him to a spooky old house in the wilds of Yorkshire, pursued by a knife-wielding maniac. Mercifully he survives the ordeal, only to become embroiled in a macabre train of events that see him wind up in the bed of a married woman. For Margaret Meldrew, living with the nation's grumbler-in-chief is all part of the daily routine, until a face from the past brings her to the edge of an emotional crisis that could threaten their marriage. And in an age where communication between continents is no big deal how noble is Mrs Warboys' decision to befriend a convicted axe murderer in Arkansas? Guaranteed, as ever, to make the worst of a bad situation, she manages not only to draw Margaret into the mind of a killer, but to test her very sanity as the affair reaches a strange and grisly conclusion. As Victor falls prey to the constant banana skins fate throws in his path - inadvertently sexting his neighbours and kidnapping a millionaire's mother - the soddishness of circumstance is ever there to thwart him. Whether he's being thumped in the face by Buddha or arrested for gross indecency in a car park; demolishing a priceless summer house or triggering a delivery of frozen urine to an old people's home, life is certainly never dull ….…

Hardcover. Etat : New. Straight from the publisher. The Thoughts, Beliefs, Observations, Triumphs and Disasters of a Jobbing Actor… While actor Ken Farrington has achieved lasting recognition for his roles in three iconic British TV soaps - Coronation Street, Family Affairs and Emmerdale - his sixty-year career has encompassed a great deal more and taken him from the classical stage to the cinema screen, from Shakespeare to Shaw and from Pinter to panto. The son of a builder and decorator from Peckham, he struggled to keep out of trouble at school until he had the great good fortune to meet the English teacher who was to change his life. Michael Croft, the legendary founder of the National Youth Theatre, ignited a passion for acting in young Ken who never looked back. Within a year of leaving RADA in 1959 he landed the part of Billy Walker, wayward son of Rovers Return landlady Annie Walker, in Granada TV's groundbreaking new 'soap' Coronation Street. Originally contracted for six months, Ken would find himself returning to the Street off and on for the next 25 years. Meanwhile he continued acting on stage and screen with the likes of Anthony Hopkins, James Caan and Michael Gambon; his long list of TV guest appearances includes The Avengers, The Saint, The Tomorrow People and Danger UXB. For three years he played ruthless businessman Tom King in Emmerdale, his dramatic exit from the series on Christmas Day 2006 being one of the most talked-about in the show's history. Hush My Mouth is the autobiography of a man with a reputation for plain speaking, and deals frankly with Ken's occasionally volatile relationships with his co-stars, his clashes with producers and 'money men', and his own personal demons.…

Hardcover. Etat : New. Etat de la jaquette : New. Complete Trilogy by Charles Chilton based on the classic BBC Radio Series. Straight from the publisher. Between 1953 and 1958, millions of people tuned in to the radio adventures of Jet Morgan and his crew as they left earth to investigate the universe. The success of the series, reached amazing heights, retaining the record of being the last radio programme to surpass its television rival in the ratings. The series was translated into 17 languages and broadcast worldwide. Chilton went on to write three best selling novels based on the ground breaking radio series. Operation Luna Destination the Moon! No adventurers had ever faced greater hazards than the crew of rocket-ship Luna when she hurtled into space. Jet Morgan, ace-pilot, was her captain. With him were her Australian designer, Mitch; Lemmy, the Cockney radio-operator; and Doc, whose diary astonished everyone. Author-producer Charles Chilton here tells the radio story as a novel. The Red Planet Blast Off! to new heights of adventure and excitement with Jet Morgan and the crewmen of the spaceship Discovery, made famous in Charles Chilton's thrill-packed BBC radio series. In this book, Jet leads the first fleet of rocketships to reach across space from the Moon to the 'Red Planet'. Mars, But right from the beginning the expedition was ill-omened. Uncanny happenings were to test their courage to breaking point, both on the long space flight and on the hostile planet itself. The World in Peril An alien civilisation prepares to conquer Earth - and only four men can save her… The great fleet was drawing near the Earth - the twenty-one leading spheres flying in crescent formation and, behind them, the others stretching back into Space for hundreds of miles… Jet Morgan and the crew of the Discovery return to Mars on the most dangerous and vital mission ever undertaken by man - to obtain the Martian plan for the conquest of Earth. Too late, they find themselves part of the invasion fleet. Collected together for the first time, this volume also contains extracts from Charles Chilton's autobiography Auntie's Charlie.…

Soft cover. Etat : New. The Kenneth Williams Companion is the first, and only, definitive book on the career of Kenneth Williams. The book details all his stage, radio, TV, recordings and film work as a chronology. With fascinating facts, memories, many from people who haven't spoken before, and information, this book is everything you ever needed to know about the career of one of Britain's greatest comedy actors, from a career spanning 40 years. "Much has been written about the person that was Kenneth Williams, but a full and detailed appreciation of his body of work has been neglected and this book is here to rectify this and catalogue the career of a genius," writes Adam. "As my hero, I have been collecting and researching Kenneth's life for over 25 years and is a project that has been inspired as a work of passion and to ensure that his 40 year career is documented for existing and future generation of fans." "I hope readers will discover that he wasn't just in the Carry On films and a turn on the chat show circuit - in fact he had an immense body of work across all the mediums, even though he would write in his diary that he didn't have much work! I think there will be some surprises in some of the projects that he was involved with and with contributions from a wealth of his friends and colleagues, some who have never spoken before, with new and never told before anecdotes and stories.".…