"Based on a True Story": Theatre, Screen and Radio
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- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiStarsTommy TrinderStanley HollowayBetty WarrenThe story of a 19th century English music hall (vaudeville) performer and life behind the scenes.
- DirectorSidney GilliatStarsRobert MorleyMaurice EvansEileen HerlieThe common career of W.S. Gilbert,a barrister turned comic writer, and Arthur Sullivan, a classic composer turned converted against his will to light music, who wrote fourteen operettas between 1871 and 1896, to great public acclaim.
- DirectorJames HawesStarsJessie WallaceRichard ArmitageShaun ParkesIn the first decade of the twentieth century Miss Marie Lloyd is the biggest female entertainer in England, adored by her public, in a biography commented on in song by 'the Showman'. Marie's first marriage is to fellow music hall entertainer Alec Hurley but it ends in divorce. She then marries Percy Courtenay, an adoring fan, but he is side-lined as Marie's popularity grows and this marriage also ends in disaster. Whilst Marie is a huge hit with the public because of her down-to-earth attitude, some fellow performers, such as Nelly Powers, find her act vulgar and a Mrs. Chant takes Marie to a tribunal, claiming that her songs are obscene. Marie simply points out that any vulgarity is in the minds of the listener and is acquitted. However, she is considered too rude for the Royal Command Performance, in which Alec appears, and finances a very successful 'Command' performance of her own. Ever unlucky in love, however, her last relationship is with a much younger jockey, who abuses her and spends her money. Not in the best of health and drinking heavily, Marie collapses on stage, ironically whilst singing, 'One of the Ruins that Cromwell Knock'd About a Bit' and later dies at the comparatively young age of fifty-two.
- DirectorMike LeighStarsJim BroadbentAllan CordunerDexter FletcherSet in the 1880s, the story of how, during a creative dry spell, the partnership of the legendary musical/theatrical writers Gilbert and Sullivan almost dissolves, before they turn it all around and write the Mikado.
- DirectorCompton BennettStarsPat KirkwoodLaurence HarveyJerry StovinThe life and loves of Music hall singer Vesta Tilley, who married into the nobility.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsMario LanzaAnn BlythDorothy KirstenThe film explores the life of tenor Enrico Caruso, a vocalist who faces rejection from Musetta and Dorothy, and struggles to find acceptance in New York.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsRobert Downey Jr.Geraldine ChaplinPaul RhysAn elderly Charlie Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor, recounting his amazing journey from his poverty-stricken childhood to world-wide success after the ingenious invention of the Little Tramp.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsKirsten DunstCary ElwesEdward HerrmannSemi-true story of the Hollywood murder that occurred at a star-studded gathering aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924.
- DirectorTim RobbinsStarsHank AzariaRubén BladesJoan CusackA true story of politics and art in the 1930s U.S., focusing on a leftist musical drama and attempts to stop its production.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsRalph FiennesJohn TurturroRob MorrowA young lawyer, Richard Goodwin, investigates a potentially fixed game show. Charles Van Doren, a big time show winner, is under Goodwin's investigation.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppMartin LandauSarah Jessica ParkerAmbitious but troubled movie director Edward D. Wood Jr. tries his best to fulfill his dreams despite his lack of talent.
- DirectorJon SenStarsJim NortonTrevor CooperDearbhla MolloyBased on the Neil Brand's critically acclaimed radio play of the same name, the drama follows Stan Laurel's last visit to his dying friend and comedy partner Oliver 'Babe' Hardy and Stan's subsequent coming to terms with the ghosts of his past.
- DirectorJon S. BairdStarsSteve CooganJohn C. ReillyShirley HendersonLaurel and Hardy, the world's most famous comedy duo, attempt to reignite their film careers as they embark on what becomes their swan song: a grueling theatre tour of post-war Britain.
- DirectorSimon CurtisStarsMichelle WilliamsEddie RedmayneKenneth BranaghColin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier, documents the tense interactions between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during the production of The Prince and the Showgirl (1957).
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsSienna MillerToby JonesImelda StauntonThe turbulent relationship between filmmaker Sir Alfred Hitchcock (Toby Jones) and actress Tippi Hedren (Sienna Miller).
- DirectorSacha GervasiStarsAnthony HopkinsHelen MirrenScarlett JohanssonThe relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and his wife Alma Reville during the filming of Psycho (1960) in 1959 is explored.
- StarsJason IsaacsLaura AikmanKara TointonFour-part drama depicting the life of Hollywood's greatest leading man, Archibald Alexander Leach - A.K.A. Cary Grant.
- CreatorJaffe CohenRyan MurphyMichael ZamStarsJessica LangeAlison WrightNaomi WattsAn anthology series centering on famous feuds, including Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, and Truman Capote and the New York elite.
- CreatorThomas KailSteven LevensonStarsSam RockwellMichelle WilliamsNorbert Leo ButzAn inside look at the romantic and creative partnership between influential choreographer/director, Bob Fosse, and Gwen Verdon, one of the greatest Broadway dancers of all time.
- DirectorCharles SturridgeStarsAnn ArisLynda BaronSteven BerkoffThe story of how the 22-year-old Tony Warren conceived, wrote and fought for the record breaking UK TV series Coronation Street (1960).
- DirectorBill PrydeStarsTony ScannellMatt HealyMark StrattonBiography of famous soap star Pat Phoenix and her relationship with Tony Booth.
- DirectorPaul Andrew WilliamsStarsMartin FreemanAnthony LaPagliaRebecca FrontDramatisation of the team hoping to televise the trial of Adolf Eichmann, an infamous Nazi responsible for the deaths of millions of Jews. It focuses on Leo Hurwitz, a documentary film-maker and Milton Fruchtman, a producer.
- DirectorStephen HopkinsStarsGeoffrey RushCharlize TheronEmily WatsonThe feature adaptation of Roger Lewis' book about the actor best remembered as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies.
- DirectorJonny CampbellStarsReece ShearsmithJosh BensonTom AtkinsonA telling of the fledging careers and early days of the comedy duo that was Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, from their dance-hall performances of northern England to cult status.
- DirectorDan ZeffStarsStephen TompkinsonMark BonnarNeil MaskellHow Eddie Braben transformed Morecambe and Wise into the nation's most beloved entertainers.