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Hit The Road To Dreamland
''Star Spangled Rhythm'' is a 1942 American all-star cast musical film made by Paramount Pictures during World War II as a morale booster. Many of the Hollywood studios produced such films during the war, generally musicals, frequently with flimsy storylines, and with the specific intent of entertaining the troops overseas and civilians back home and to encourage fundraising – as well as to show the studios' patriotism. This film was also the first released by Paramount to be shown for 8 weeks. ''Star Spangled Rhythm'' was directed by George Marshall and others, and written by Harry Tugend with sketches by Melvin Frank, George S. Kaufman and others. The film has music by Robert Emmett Dolan and songs by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, and the cast consisted of most of the stars on the Paramount roster. Plot Pop Webster is a former silent movie star once known as "Bronco Billy" who now works as the guard on the main gate at Paramount Pictures. However, he's told his so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Marshall (director)
George E. Marshall (December 29, 1891 – February 17, 1975) was an American actor, screenwriter, producer, film and television director, active through the first six decades of film history. Relatively few of Marshall's films are well-known today, with '' Destry Rides Again'' (1939), '' The Ghost Breakers'' (1940), ''The Blue Dahlia'' (1946), '' The Sheepman'' (1958), and '' How the West Was Won'' (1962) being the biggest exceptions. John Houseman called him "one of the old maestros of Hollywood ... he had never become one of the giants but he held a solid and honorable position in the industry." In the 1930s, he established a reputation for comedy, directing Laurel and Hardy in three classic films, and also working on a variety of comedies for Fox, though many of his films at Fox were destroyed in a vault fire in 1937. Later in his career he was particularly sought after for comedies. He did around half a dozen films each with Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis, and also worked w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musical Film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate "production numbers". The musical film was a natural development of the stage musical after the emergence of sound film technology. Typically, the biggest difference between film and stage musicals is the use of lavish background scenery and locations that would be impractical in a theater. Musical films characteristically contain elements reminiscent of theater; performers often treat their song and dance numbers as if a live audience were watching. In a sense, the viewer becomes the diegetic audience, as the performer looks directly into the camera and performs to it. With the advent of sound in the late 1920s, musicals gained popularity with the public and are exemplified by the films of Busb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anne Revere
Anne Revere (June 25, 1903 – December 18, 1990) was an American actress and a progressive member of the board of the Screen Actors' Guild. She was best known for her work on Broadway and her film portrayals of mothers in a series of critically acclaimed films. An outspoken critic of the House Un-American Activities Committee, her name appeared in '' Red Channels: The Report on Communist Influence in Radio and Television'' in 1950 and she was subsequently blacklisted. Revere won an Academy Award for her supporting role in the film ''National Velvet'' (1945). She was also nominated in the same category for '' The Song of Bernadette'' (1943) and ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947). She won a Tony Award for her performance in Lillian Hellman's play '' Toys in the Attic'' in 1960. Early life Born in New York City, Revere was a direct descendant of American Revolution hero Paul Revere. Her father, Clinton, was a stockbroker, and she was raised on the Upper West Side and in Westfie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Fielding
Edward Fielding (March 19, 1875 – January 10, 1945) was an American stage and film actor. Career Edward Fielding appeared in nearly 40 Broadway productions between 1905 and 1939, often in leading roles. He played as a leading man with famous stage actresses like Olga Nethersole, Grace George, Ethel Barrymore and Laura Hope Crews. The tall and dignified-looking actor was especially known for his roles in the works of playwright Henrik Ibsen. Fielding also worked for some time as an actor in London. He appeared occasionally in silent films, most notably as Dr. Watson in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (1916) with William Gillette in the leading role. Fielding came to Hollywood in 1939 and appeared in over 80 films during the last years of his life. He usually played bit parts or supporting roles. Fielding was a favorite of Alfred Hitchcock and played in four Hitchcock movies between 1940 and 1945. His best-known role for Hitchcock was perhaps Frith, the old butler, in ''Rebecca'' (1940). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. In 1941, he won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film '' The Great McGinty'' (1940), his first of three nominations in the category. Sturges took the screwball comedy format of the 1930s to another level, writing dialogue that, heard today, is often surprisingly naturalistic, mature, and ahead of its time, despite the farcical situations. It is not uncommon for a Sturges character to deliver an exquisitely turned phrase and take an elaborate pratfall within the same scene. Prior to Sturges, other figures in Hollywood (such as Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, and Frank Capra) had directed films from their own scripts; however, Sturges is often regarded as the first Hollywood figure to establish success as a screenwriter and then move into directing his own scripts, at a time when those roles were separate. Sturges famously ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecil B
Cecil may refer to: People with the name * Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Canada * Cecil, Alberta, Canada United States * Cecil, Alabama * Cecil, Georgia *Cecil, Ohio *Cecil, Oregon * Cecil, Pennsylvania * Cecil, West Virginia *Cecil, Wisconsin * Cecil Airport, in Jacksonville, Florida * Cecil County, Maryland Computing and technology * Cecil (programming language), prototype-based programming language *Computer Supported Learning, a learning management system by the University of Auckland, New Zealand Music * Cecil (British band), a band from Liverpool, active 1993-2000 * Cecil (Japanese band), a band from Kajigaya, Japan, active 2000-2006 Other uses * Cecil (lion), a famed lion killed in Zimbabwe in 2015 * Cecil (''Passions''), a minor character from the NBC soap opera ''Passions'' * Cecil (soil), the dominant red clay soil in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gladys Blake
Gladys Blake (born Gladys Timmons, May 12, 1910 – May 21, 1983) was an American character actress from the 1930s to the 1950s. Biography Blake was born on January 12, 1910 in Luray, Virginia. Her mother, Ada Timmons, died when Gladys was less than a year old. At fourteen, she entered the theater world in a stock company, before moving on to vaudeville. In vaudeville, she met her husband, Lee Gresham, and the two formed an act together. While performing in Los Angeles, they were noticed by producer Edward Small, which led to her beginning in the film industry. Blake made her film debut in a small role in ''I Have Lived'' (1933), directed by Richard Thorpe. She had her first featured role later that same year in ''Rainbow over Broadway'', which Thorpe also directed. Over her 20-year career, she appeared in over 100 films. She was noted for playing very talkative supporting roles. Appearing mostly in supporting or bit parts, she was occasionally given a featured role, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gil Lamb
Gilbert L. Lamb (June 14, 1904 – November 2, 1995) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 60 films and television shows between 1935 and 1980. He was also was a stage actor, who appeared in several musicals on Broadway, including ''Folies Bergère'' (1939), '' Hold on to Your Hats'' (1940-1941), ''Sleepy Hollow'' (1948), and '' 70, Girls, 70'' (1971). Gil and his wife, Dolores, adopted a child in the 1940s, they named him Dennis. Selected filmography * '' The Fleet's In'' (1942) - Spike * '' Star Spangled Rhythm'' (1942) - High Pockets * '' Riding High'' (1943) - Bob 'Foggy' Day * '' Rainbow Island'' (1944) - Pete Jenkins * '' Practically Yours'' (1944) - Albert W. Beagell * ''Hit Parade of 1947'' (1947) - Eddie Page * ''Addio Mimí!'' (1949) - Pierre * '' Make Mine Laughs'' (1949) - Master of Ceremonies * ''Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance'' (1950) - Martin * '' The Boss'' (1956) - Henry * '' Terror in a Texas Town'' (1958) - Barnaby (uncredited) * '' Be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cass Daley
Cass Daley (born Catherine Dailey; July 17, 1915 – March 22, 1975) was an American actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of an Irish streetcar conductor, Daley started to perform at night clubs and on the radio as a band vocalist in the 1940s. Career Daley began singing as a child in front of neighborhood storefronts. Noted for her buck teeth and comical singing style, she sang at clubs as a teen while working as a hat-check girl and electrician. In the 1930s, she began a stage career, including a role in a production advertised as a "Great Vaudeville Show" in 1934. She appeared in the 1936-1937 Ziegfeld Follies featured as the "Cyclone of Syncopation." In the 1940s, Daley embarked on a movie career, most notably in '' The Fleet's In'' (1942) with Dorothy Lamour and Betty Hutton and '' Crazy House'' (1943) with Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson. She also starred opposite Dick Powell and Dorothy Lamour in '' Riding High'' in 1943, and opposite Eddie Bracken and Diana Lynn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Abel
Walter Abel (June 6, 1898 – March 26, 1987) was an American film, stage and radio actor. Life Abel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Christine (née Becker) and Richard Michael Abel. Abel graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts where he had studied in 1917 and joined a touring company. His brother Alfred died in 1922 from tuberculosis contracted while serving overseas in World War I. Abel was married to concert harpist Marietta Bitter. Career Abel made his film debut in 1918 with a small part in ''Out of a Clear Sky''. He made his Broadway debut in ''Forbidden'' in 1919. In 1924 he appeared in two Eugene O'Neill plays simultaneously: ''Bound East for Cardiff'' at the Provincetown Playhouse and '' Desire Under the Elms'' at the Greenwich Village Theater. His many theatre credits include ''As You Like It'' (1923), William Congreve's ''Love for Love'' (1925), Anton Chekhov's The Seagull (1929-1930), ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' (1929), Kaufman an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Bracken
Edward Vincent Bracken (February 7, 1915 – November 14, 2002) was an American actor. Bracken became a Hollywood comedy legend with lead performances in the films '' Hail the Conquering Hero'' and '' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' both from 1944, both of which have been preserved by the National Film Registry. During this era, he also had success on Broadway, with performances in plays like '' Too Many Girls'' (1940). Bracken's later movie roles include ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' (1983), '' Oscar'' (1991), '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992), '' Rookie of the Year'' (1993), and '' Baby's Day Out'' (1994). Life and career Edward Vincent Bracken was born in Astoria, Queens, New York on February 7, 1915, the son of Joseph L. and Catherine Bracken. Bracken performed in vaudeville at the age of nine and gained fame with the Broadway musical '' Too Many Girls'' in a role he reprised for the 1940 film adaptation. He had performed in a short film series called ''The K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 11, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. Early life and education Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 26, 1921, in Battle Creek, Michigan. While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for another woman. They did not hear of him again until they received a telegram in 1937, informing them of his suicide. Betty and her older sister, Marion, were raised by her alcoholic mother, who took the surname Hutton. Marion was later billed as the actress Sissy Jones. The three started singing in the family's speakeasy when Betty was 3 years old. Troubles with the police kept the family on the move. They eventually landed in Detroit, where she attended Foch Intermediate School. On one occasion, when Betty, preceded by a police escort, arrived at the premiere of '' Let's Dance'' (1950), her mother, arriving with her, quipped, "At least this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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