Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving. He is also known for his tour-de-force with Anthony Quinn, Zorba the Greek, as well as his roles in King of Hearts, Georgy Girl, Far From the Madding Crowd, and The Fixer, which gave him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1969, he starred in the Ken Russell film Women in Love with Oliver Reed and Glenda Jackson. Bates went on to star in The Go-Between, An Unmarried Woman, Nijinsky, and The Rose with Bette Midler, as well as playing varied roles in television drama, including The Mayor of Casterbridge, Harold Pinter's The Collection, A Voyage Round My Father, An Englishman Abroad (as Guy Burgess), and Pack of Lies. He also continued to appear on the stage, notably in the plays of Simon Gray, such as Butley and Otherwise Engaged.
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 5.359 |
| Birthday | 1934-02-17 |
| Place of Birth | Allestree, Derbyshire, England |
| Also Known As | Алан Бейтс, |
1990
Hamlet
6.6/396
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.
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Hamlet
1964
Zorba the Greek
7.5/342
An uptight English writer traveling to Crete on a matter of business finds his life changed forever when he meets the gregarious Alexis Zorba. Preser...
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Zorba the Greek
1967
Far from the Madding Crowd
6.8/85
Bathsheba Everdine, a willful, flirtatious, young woman, unexpectedly inherits a large farm and becomes romantically involved with three widely diverg...
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Far from the Madding Crowd
2002
The Mothman Prophecies
6.2/1109
Reporter John Klein is plunged into a world of impossible terror and unthinkable chaos when fate draws him to a sleepy West Virginia town whose reside...
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The Mothman Prophecies
2001
Gosford Park
6.9/1070
In 1930s England, a group of pretentious rich and famous gather together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, ea...
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Gosford Park
2018
Nothing Like a Dame
6.9/51
BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Elieen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen togeth...
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Nothing Like a Dame
2020
Shuttlecock: Sins of a Father
6/3
At the memorial for his father, WWII hero Major James Prentis (Alan Bates), John (Lambert Wilson) confesses a dark family secret to his own son Martin...
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Shuttlecock: Sins of a Father
2004
Spartacus
6.7/68
Sentenced to spend out the rest of his adult life laboring in the harsh deserts of Egypt, the Thracian slave Spartacus gets a new lease on life when h...
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Spartacus
1982
Britannia Hospital
6.4/60
Britannia Hospital, an esteemed English institution, is marking its gala anniversary with a visit by the Queen Mother herself. But when investigative...
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Britannia Hospital
1962
A Kind of Loving
7/53
As Vic Brown vacillates between infatuation and disinterest for his co-worker Ingrid Rothwell, she finds out that she is pregnant and Vic has to reco...
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A Kind of Loving
1961
Whistle Down the Wind
7.1/48
When an injured wife-murderer takes refuge on a remote Lancashire farm, the farmer’s three children mistakenly believe him to be the Second Coming of...
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Whistle Down the Wind
1987
A Prayer for the Dying
5.789/90
Martin, an I.R.A. hitman, is seen by a Catholic priest while carrying out a hit. He grows a bond with the priest and his niece. But his past and his f...
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A Prayer for the Dying
1990
Mister Frost
6.1/41
Frost is arrested and committed for murder after he is apprehended burying his victims in the garden. However, even while under psychiatric care and t...
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Mister Frost
2003
The Statement
5.6/71
The film is set in France in the 1990s, the French were defeated by the Germans early in World War II, an armistice was signed in 1940 which effective...
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The Statement
1990
Dr. M
4.7/9
In the not-too-distant future Berlin is shocked by a series of spectacular suicides; a policeman's investigations lead him to a beautiful, enigmatic w...
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Dr. M
1971
The Go-Between
6.8/131
British teenager Leo Colston spends a summer in the countryside, where he develops a crush on the beautiful young aristocrat Marian. Eager to impress...
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The Go-Between
1966
Georgy Girl
6.3/47
A homely but vivacious young woman dodges the amorous attentions of her father's middle-aged employer while attempting to please her glamorously stuck...
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Georgy Girl
2000
The Prince and the Pauper
6.2/13
An adaptation of the classic, "The Prince and the Pauper" is the retelling of Edward Tudor and young Thomas Canty, two amazing look-alikes caught up i...
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The Prince and the Pauper
1992
Losing Track
0/0
In 1950, a man returns home to the UK from India after the death of his wife to build bridges with his son, but instead ends up building an elaborate...
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Losing Track
1979
The Rose
6.65/120
Rock-and-roll singer Mary Rose Foster's romantic relationships and mental health are continuously imperilled by the demands of life on the road.
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The Rose
1978
An Unmarried Woman
6.706/68
A wealthy woman from Manhattan's Upper East Side struggles to deal with her new identity and her sexuality after her husband of 16 years leaves her fo...
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An Unmarried Woman
2002
Bertie and Elizabeth
5.6/7
The duke of York, nicknamed Bertie, was born as royal 'spare heir', younger brother to the prince of Wales, and thus expected to spend a relatively pr...
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Bertie and Elizabeth
1969
Women in Love
6.5/107
Growing up in the sheltered confines of a 1920s English coal-mining community, free-spirited sisters Gudrun and Ursula explore erotic love with a weal...
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Women in Love
1984
A Voyage Round My Father
7.6/5
A successful lawyer struck with blindness in middle age continues his battles in the courtroom with the assistance of his family. As his son deals wit...
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A Voyage Round My Father
1981
Quartet
5.8/31
When her husband's arrest leaves her penniless, a woman accepts an invitation to move in with a strange couple.
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Quartet
1966
King of Hearts
6.93/71
An ornithologist mistaken for an explosives expert is sent alone into a small French town during WWI to investigate a garbled report from the resistan...
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King of Hearts
1995
The Grotesque
5.4/11
Sir Hugo is more interested in reconstructing dinosaur bones than in paying attention to his wife, Lady Harriet. He's not thrilled when daughter Cleo...
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The Grotesque
1960
The Entertainer
6.1/47
Archie Rice, an old-time British vaudeville performer sinking into final defeat, schemes to stay in show business.
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The Entertainer
1986
Duet for One
5.8/16
When Stephanie, a famous violinist, contracts multiple sclerosis her life begins to fall apart. Her career ends, her husband leaves her for another wo...
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Duet for One
1975
Royal Flash
6/25
Cowardly rogue Harry Flashman's (Malcolm McDowell) schemes to gain entry to the royal circles of 19th-century Europe go nowhere until he meets a pair...
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Royal Flash
2004
Hollywood North
5.1/14
The making of a serious, Canadian arthouse film descends into Hollywood farce when its producer is forced to compromise his vision to accommodate his...
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Hollywood North
1968
The Fixer
5.8/23
Set in tsarist Russia around the turn of the century and based on a true story of a Russian Jewish peasant Yakov Bog who was wrongly imprisoned for a...
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The Fixer
1964
The Caretaker
7.2/13
Aston, a quiet, reserved man, lives alone in a top-floor cluttered room of a small abandoned house in a poor London district. He befriends and takes i...
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The Caretaker
1972
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
4.4/14
A couple uses extremely black comedy to survive taking care of a daughter who is nearly completely brain dead. They take turns doing the daughter's vo...
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A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
1991
Secret Friends
3.9/11
During a train ride, an anxiety attack leads middle-aged illustrator John into an identity crisis. As his marital problems merge and blur into his fan...
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Secret Friends
1988
We Think the World of You
6.7/15
An aimless young man, Johnny, is sent prison. He entrusts his beloved dog, Evie, to the care of his former lover and best friend, Frank. When he gets...
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We Think the World of You
1983
An Englishman Abroad
5.9/8
Actress Coral Browne travels to Moscow, and meets a mysterious Englishman. Turns out he's the notorious spy, Guy Burgess. Based on a true story, with...
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An Englishman Abroad
1983
The Wicked Lady
4.9/18
Caroline is to be wed to Sir Ralph and invites her sister Barbara to be her bridesmaid. Barbara seduces Ralph, however, and she becomes the new Lady,...
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The Wicked Lady
1964
Nothing But the Best
5.1/7
Success has James Brewster's name written all over it, and he also has his heart set on his boss's daughter. A con artist hires him to help out on a b...
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Nothing But the Best
1983
Separate Tables
6.3/5
Two one-act plays explore love and loneliness. In "Table by the Window" an aging fashion model contrives a reunion with her ex-husband, a politician r...
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Separate Tables
1963
The Running Man
6.6/40
An Englishman with a grudge against an insurance company for a disallowed claim fakes his own death and escapes to Spain, but is soon pursued by an in...
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The Running Man
1993
Silent Tongue
4.8/19
Mad with grief after the death of his Kiowa wife, Roe awaits death under a tree with her body beside him. She begins to haunt him because he won't bur...
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Silent Tongue
1974
Butley
6.3/9
Butley is set in Queen Mary’s College, London and focuses on two English instructors, Ben Butley, a middle-aged former T. S. Eliot expert whose life i...
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Butley
1975
In Celebration
4.9/7
In a Yorkshire mining town, three educated brothers return to their blue-collar home to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of their parents, but d...
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In Celebration
1980
Nijinsky
5.3/17
A ballet dancer struggles with his homosexuality and the increasing allure of a young ballerina who seeks to draw him away from his domineering lover.
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Nijinsky
1976
The Collection
5.7/3
Set in the rarefied world of West End boutique owners and fashion designers, The Collection takes as its departure point the moment when four elegant...
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The Collection
1985
One for the Road
0/0
Powerful statement about the abuse of human rights by totalitarian governments, finds an unctuous and "civilized" interrogator humiliating the doomed...
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One for the Road
1989
Uncontrollable Circumstances
6.2/37
Philippe and Daniel decide to go on vacation Southeast Asia, where they meet Hans, a European who livesthere and he becomes their guide and host. Once...
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Uncontrollable Circumstances
1973
Story of a Love Story
4.9/7
Harry is a married writer who has an affair with a woman whose husband knows that she is unfaithful. As a result of his work, Harry has trouble distin...
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Story of a Love Story
1990
102 Boulevard Haussmann
6/1
In 1916 author Marcel Proust is leading a reclusive life in Paris. He hires a quartet of musicians and befriends one of them, a wounded serviceman.
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102 Boulevard Haussmann
1983
The Return of the Soldier
6.2/20
The horrors of World War I have robbed returning veteran Chris Baldry of his memory. The traumatized soldier doesn't even recognize his own wife, Kitt...
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The Return of the Soldier
2011
Discovering Hamlet
7/1
Journey into "Hamlet"-the play and the man-through the experiences of some of the major actors and directors who have brought Shakespeare's great trag...
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Discovering Hamlet
1998
Nicholas’ Gift
5/1
Fact based drama about an American couple on vacation in Italy in 1994 with their two children who are attacked and shot by highway bandits. Shortly t...
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Nicholas’ Gift
1992
Unnatural Pursuits
0/0
An English playwright sacrifices his health waiting for his play's make-or-break opening on Broadway.
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Unnatural Pursuits
1985
Hands Up!
5.8/9
The reunion of a group of former medical students results in a flood of bitter memories.
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Hands Up!
1987
Pack of Lies
6.6/8
A British couple are shocked out of their suburban malaise when British intelligence agent Stewart shows up at their door and wants to use their house...
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Pack of Lies
1981
Very Like a Whale
3/1
Theme of a powerful and respected man tearing his life to bits.
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Very Like a Whale
1970
Three Sisters
3.7/9
Nearly a thousand miles away from their beloved Moscow, Chekhov's Three Sisters live in virtual exile. Olga , a schoolmistress, attempts to support he...
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Three Sisters
1994
Hard Times
7/2
Charles Dickens' bleak, passionate novel about the challenges of life in 19th-century London comes to life with an outstanding cast and brilliant cine...
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Hard Times
1981
The Trespasser
0/0
Adapted from the D. H. Lawrence novel this tells the romantic story of Siegmund and Helena. Siegmund, an orchestral violinist who is married with thre...
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The Trespasser
2002
Evelyn
6.4/94
Desmond Doyle is devastated when his wife abandons their family on the day after Christmas. His unemployment, and the fact that there is no woman in t...
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Evelyn
2002
Salem Witch Trials
6.3/34
Salem, Massachusetts. A small town—with no clear governing body—became embroiled in a scandal that forever stands as one of the darkest chapters in Am...
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Salem Witch Trials
1989
The Dog It Was That Died
0/1
Rupert Purvis jumps off a bridge onto a dog, causing problems for Blair, his superior at MI5. Blair must convince Hogbin, the agent who's been tailing...
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The Dog It Was That Died
2000
St. Patrick: The Irish Legend
5.3/3
A young Christian boy attends a druid worship that is attacked by invading Irish tribes. Taken captive, he is taken back to Ireland to become a slave....
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St. Patrick: The Irish Legend
1975
Two Sundays
3/2
An author writes to his old schoolmate, telling him he is going to reveal a secret they have shared since the 1950s.
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Two Sundays
1975
Plaintiffs and Defendants
7/1
A barrister's complex life unravels as he juggles a court case and highly-strung mistress.
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Plaintiffs and Defendants
1991
Mel Gibson Goes Back to School
0/0
Mel Gibson teaches Hamlet to a group of high school drama students.
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Mel Gibson Goes Back to School
1974
The Story of Jacob and Joseph
6/1
This film recounts the tales of the Biblical figures, Jacob and Joseph. The first part tells the story of Jacob fleeing his tribe when he cheats his b...
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The Story of Jacob and Joseph
2002
The Sum of All Fears
6.3/1703
When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia a...
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The Sum of All Fears
1965
Once Upon a Tractor
5/1
Alan Bates and Diane Cilento play an odd couple fleeing across fictitious European countries with NYC and the UN as their destination. A short film di...
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Once Upon a Tractor
2001
Anthony Quinn: The Final Words
0/0
In a historical interview only a few months before his death, the harger-than-life star of Zorba the Greek seaks frankly about his memorable role, his...
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Anthony Quinn: The Final Words
1972
Second Best
0/0
A short film based on a story by D.H. Lawrence in which two sisters meet after being apart for a long time.
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Second Best
2003
Meanwhile
0/0
Two childhood friends - Darren and Gary - re-unite for the funeral of an old acquaintance. Gary boasts of the life he's made in London during the four...
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Meanwhile
1999
The Cherry Orchard
5/5
Madame Ranevskaya is a spoiled aging aristocratic lady, who returns from a trip to Paris to face the loss of her magnificent Cherry Orchard estate aft...
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The Cherry Orchard
1993
Shuttlecock
2.5/2
Major James Prentis VC is a British spy of World War II and war hero who goes under the code name of "Shuttlecock". Alienated from his family and chil...
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Shuttlecock
1978
The Shout
5.9/106
A traveller by the name of Crossley forces himself upon a musician and his wife in a lonely part of Devon, and uses the aboriginal magic he has learne...
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The Shout
1984
Dr. Fischer of Geneva
5.6/4
Dr. Fischer has an unusual hobby — to expose human greed. How much humiliation will his fellow man endure enticed by valuable presents? Dignity for mo...
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Dr. Fischer of Geneva
2002
The Making of 'Gosford Park'
5/2
A documentary giving film fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making this Robert Altman film about a murder at an English country estate. Includes in...
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The Making of 'Gosford Park'
1967
Location: Far from the Madding Crowd
0/0
This promotional short film for the feature Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) takes us to the many locations in Dorset County, England, where the movi...
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