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Henry Koster
Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran. Early life Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to cinema about 1910 when his uncle opened a movie theater in Berlin. Koster's mother played the piano to accompany the films, leaving the young boy to occupy himself by watching the films. After working initially as a short story writer, Kosterlitz was hired by a Berlin movie company as scenarist, becoming an assistant to director Curtis Bernhardt. Bernhardt became sick one day and asked Kosterlitz to take over as director. Career In 1932, Koster directed his first film in Berlin, the comedy '' Thea Roland''. Koster, who was in the midst of directing his second film '' Das häßliche Mädchen'', had been the subject of antisemitism, and knew he had to leave. He lost his temper at an SA officer at his bank during lunch hour and knocked the of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's States of Germany, sixteen constituent states, Berlin is surrounded by the Brandenburg, State of Brandenburg and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. Berlin's urban area, which has a population of around 4.5 million, is the second most populous urban area in Germany after the Ruhr. The Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Metropolitan regions in Germany, Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Rhine-Main regions. Berlin straddles the banks of the Spree (river), Spree, which flows into the Havel (a tributary of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gabriel Levy
Gabriel Levy (26 May 1881 – 26 March 1965) was a German film producer who was associated with the company Aafa-Film during the 1920s and 1930s.Gemünden Following the Nazi takeover of power in 1933 the Jewish Levy lost control of the company and was forced into exile in the Netherlands. Selected filmography * ''In the Valleys of the Southern Rhine'' (1925) * '' The Fallen'' (1926) * '' Sword and Shield'' (1926) * '' The Schimeck Family'' (1926) * '' Weekend Magic'' (1927) * '' The Insurmountable'' (1928) * '' The Criminal of the Century'' (1928) * '' Darling of the Dragoons'' (1928) * '' Tempo! Tempo!'' (1929) * '' Hungarian Nights'' (1929) * '' Danube Waltz'' (1930) * '' The Fate of Renate Langen'' (1931) * ''The Woman They Talk About'' (1931) * ''The Beggar Student'' (1931) * '' Peace of Mind'' (1931) * ''My Heart Longs for Love'' (1931) * ''Once There Was a Waltz'' (1932) * ''The Blue of Heaven'' (1932) * '' Distorting at the Resort'' (1932) * ''The Dancer of Sanssouci'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, massa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 and based in Beverly Hills, California. MGM was formed by Marcus Loew by combining Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures into one company. It hired a number of well known actors as contract players—its slogan was "more stars than there are in heaven"—and soon became Hollywood's most prestigious film studio, producing popular musical films and winning many Academy Awards. MGM also owned film studios, movie lots, movie theaters and technical production facilities. Its most prosperous era, from 1926 to 1959, was bracketed by two productions of '' Ben Hur''. After that, it divested itself of the Loews movie theater chain, and, in the 1960s, diversified into television production. In 1969, Kirk Kerkorian bought 4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gloria Jean
Gloria Jean (born Gloria Jean Schoonover; April 14, 1926 – August 31, 2018) was an American actress and singer who starred or co-starred in 26 feature films from 1939 to 1959, and made numerous radio, television, stage, and nightclub appearances. She is probably best remembered today for her appearance with W. C. Fields in the film '' Never Give a Sucker an Even Break'' (1941). Early years Gloria Jean was born Gloria Jean Schoonover in Buffalo, New York, the daughter of Ferman and Eleanor Schoonover; her ancestry was Pennsylvania Dutch. She had three sisters, Sally, Lois, and Bonnie. The family was involved in her career, with Lois serving as stand-in for the actress and their father managing her career. Gloria Jean was three years old when she first sang on radio, under the name "Baby Skylark." Singing The family moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Gloria Jean sang with Paul Whiteman's orchestra on radio broadcasts. When she was 12, "she was engaged by a smallish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reigned in the Quigley Poll's top 10 box office stars (a feat only matched by Doris Day, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand, although all were surpassed by Mary Pickford, who was in for 13 times). The U.S. Treasury Department in 1946 and 1947 listed her as the highest-salaried American woman; she earned more than $3 million during her career. Grable began her film career in 1929 at age 12, after which she was fired from a contract when it was learned she signed up under false identification. She had contracts with RKO and Paramount Pictures during the 1930s, and appeared in a string of B movies, mostly portraying college students. Grable came to prominence in the Broadway musical '' DuBarry Was a Lady'' (1939), which brought her to the atte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One Night In The Tropics
''One Night in the Tropics'' is a 1940 comedy film which was the film debut of Abbott and Costello. They are listed as supporting actors but have major exposure with five of their classic routines, including an abbreviated version of "Who's On First?" Their work earned them a two-picture deal with Universal, and their next film, ''Buck Privates'', made them bona fide stars. Songs in the film were by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The film is based on a 1914 novel, ''Love Insurance'' by Earl Derr Biggers, the creator of Charlie Chan. It was filmed as a silent movie in 1919 as '' Love Insurance'' by Paramount with Bryant Washburn and Lois Wilson, and in 1925 by Universal as ''The Reckless Age''. Plot Jim "Lucky" Moore, an insurance salesman, devises a novel policy for his friend, Steve: a 'love insurance policy', that will pay out $1-million if Steve does not marry his fiancée, Cynthia. Encouraged by Jim's argument that Jim has never had to pay out on a policy so tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Who's On First?
"Who's on First?" is a comedy routine made famous by American comedy duo Abbott and Costello. The premise of the sketch is that Abbott is identifying the players on a baseball team for Costello. However, the players' names can simultaneously serve as the basis for questions (e.g., "''Who'' is the first baseman?") and responses (e.g., "The first baseman's name is "''Who''."), leading to repeated misinterpretations and growing frustration between the performers. History "Who's on First?" is descended from turn-of-the-century burlesque sketches that used plays on words and names. Examples are "The Baker Scene" (the shop is located on Watt Street) and "Who Dyed" (the owner is named "Who"). In the 1930 movie '' Cracked Nuts'', comedians Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey examine a map of a mythical kingdom with dialogue like this: "What is next to Which." "What is the name of the town next to Which?" "Yes." In British music halls, comedian Will Hay performed a routine in the early 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abbott And Costello
Abbott may refer to: People * Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas * Abbott, Mississippi * Abbott, Nebraska * Abbott, Texas * Abbott, Virginia * Abbott, West Virginia * Abbott Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania Companies * Abbott Laboratories, an American health care and medical devices company * Abbott Records, a former American record label * E. D. Abbott Ltd, an English maker of car bodies between 1929 and 1972 Other uses * Abbott-Detroit, an American luxury automobile * Abbott's Get Together, a magic convention held in Michigan * Abbott 33, a Canadian sailboat design * Abbott House (childcare agency), an American human services agency See also * Justice Abbott (other) * Abbot, an ecclesiastical title * Abbot (other) An abbot is the head of a monastery; the term is us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appearance in the Disney film ''Fantasia'' with that orchestra. He was especially noted for his free-hand conducting style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from the orchestras he directed. Stokowski was music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony of the Air and many others. He was also the founder of the All-American Youth Orchestra, the New York City Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra. Stokowski conducted the music for and appeared in several Hollywood films, most notably Disney's ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One Hundred Men And A Girl
''One Hundred Men and a Girl'' (styled 100 Men and a Girl in advertising) is a 1937 American musical comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Deanna Durbin and the maestro Leopold Stokowski. Written by Charles Kenyon, Bruce Manning, and James Mulhauser from a story by Hanns Kräly, the film is about the daughter of a struggling musician who forms a symphony orchestra consisting of his unemployed friends. Through persistence, charm, and a few misunderstandings, they are able to get famed conductor Leopold Stokowski to lead them in a concert, which leads to a radio contract. ''One Hundred Men and a Girl'' was the first of two motion pictures featuring Leopold Stokowski, and is also one of the films for which Durbin is best remembered as an actress and a singer. Plot John Cardwell, a trombone player, is only one of a large group of unemployed musicians. He tries unsuccessfully to gain an interview and audition with Leopold Stokowski, but not to disappoint his daughter, Patri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deanna Durbin
Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With the technical skill and vocal range of a legitimate lyric soprano, she performed many styles from popular standards to operatic arias. Durbin was a child actress who made her first film appearance with Judy Garland in ''Every Sunday'' (1936), and subsequently signed a contract with Universal Studios. She achieved success as the ideal teenaged daughter in films such as '' Three Smart Girls'' (1936), '' One Hundred Men and a Girl'' (1937), and '' It Started with Eve'' (1941). Her work was credited with saving the studio from bankruptcy, and led to Durbin being awarded the Academy Juvenile Award in 1938. As she matured, Durbin grew dissatisfied with the girl-next-door roles assigned to her and attempted to move into sophisticated non-music ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_wmplayer_2013-04-16.jpg "Click for more on -> Leopold Stokowski")
