Talking Pictures (2013)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Cast & Crew.
Sylvia Syms
Narrator
Celia Imrie
Narrator
Peter O'Toole
Self (archive footage)
Robert Mitchum
Self (archive footage)
Paul Newman
Self (archive footage)
Sophia Loren
Self (archive footage)
Laurence Olivier
Self (archive footage)
Deborah Kerr
Self (archive footage)
Richard Attenborough
Self (archive footage)
Joan Fontaine
Self (archive footage)
Shirley MacLaine
Self (archive footage)
Alfred Hitchcock
Self (archive footage)
Richard Burton
Self (archive footage)
Fred Astaire
Self (archive footage)
Ginger Rogers
Self (archive footage)
Charlton Heston
Self (archive footage)
James Mason
Self (archive footage)
Gregory Peck
Self (archive footage)
Alec Guinness
Self (archive footage)
Ingrid Bergman
Self (archive footage)
Orson Welles
Self (archive footage)
Lauren Bacall
Self (archive footage)
James Stewart
Self (archive footage)
Dirk Bogarde
Self (archive footage)
Details.
Release DateJanuary 5, 2013
StatusReturning Series
Seasons5
Episodes84
Running Time45m
Content RatingNR
Genres
Last updated:
Wiki.
Talking Pictures is an occasional BBC Two television series which examines the lives and careers of well-known actors, as well as exploring various cinematic themes and genres. Episodes largely comprise interview clips from the BBC archives and vary in length between 30 and 60 minutes. With just two exceptions, the first 66 episodes were narrated by actress Sylvia Syms (2013–2019), following which the role was taken over by Celia Imrie (2020 onwards). Only one film, On the Waterfront, has been the subject of an episode in its own right. Episode 64 is notable in that it did not cover an aspect of the film-making industry itself, but rather was a look back at the career of film critic and longtime presenter of the BBC Film... programme, Barry Norman, who had died earlier in 2017.