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Isle Of The Dead (film)
''Isle of the Dead'' is a 1945 American horror film directed by Mark Robson and made for RKO Radio Pictures by producer Val Lewton. The film's script was inspired by the painting '' Isle of the Dead'' by Arnold Böcklin, which appears behind the title credits, though the film was originally titled ''Camilla'' during production. It was written by frequent Lewton collaborator Ardel Wray. It starred Boris Karloff. ''Isle of the Dead'' was the second of three films Lewton made with Karloff,Stephen Jacobs, ''Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster'', Tomahawk Press 2011 p 304 and the fourth of five pictures Robson directed for Lewton. Plot An onscreen text warns of the superstitious belief in a '' vorvolaka'', a malevolent force in human form. The film properly begins during the Balkan Wars of 1912. While his troops are burying their dead, General Pherides (Boris Karloff) and American reporter Oliver Davis (Marc Cramer) visit the Isle of the Dead to pay their respects to the General's l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Rose (illustrator)
William F. Rose (September 16, 1909– May 29, 1972) was an American illustrator and film poster artist active in the 1930s and 1940s. He is recognized as one of the most distinctive poster artists of the Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era, a time when most film posters featured painted illustrations rather than photography. Rose painted dozens of poster illustrations for RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures and other studios. As one of the leading designers in RKO's art department, he helped to define the studio's bold visual aesthetic. Although he was prolific, only a fraction of his poster designs have been individually attributed to him. Most of his output remains unidentified. His artwork is prized by collectors, and original prints of his posters have fetched high prices at auction. One of his most iconic posters is the alternate "StyleB" design for ''Citizen Kane''(1941), which pitched the film as a more conventional romance than it actually was. The poster f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katherine Emery
Katherine Drewry Emery (October 11, 1906 – February 7, 1980) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Emery was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She graduated from Sweet Briar College in 1928 and then went home to Montclair, New Jersey, to act in semi-professional plays and direct plays for children. Career Emery debuted professionally with the University Players in West Falmouth, Massachusetts, in 1932. Her movie roles include '' Eyes in the Night'' (1942), '' Isle of the Dead'' (1945), '' The Locket'' (1946), '' The Walls Came Tumbling Down'' (1946), ''The Private Affairs of Bel Ami'' (1947), '' Arch of Triumph'' (1948), '' Chicken Every Sunday'' (1949), '' Strange Bargain'' (1949), ''Payment on Demand'' (1951), ''Hiawatha'' (1952), and '' Untamed Frontier'' (1952). Her final role was in '' The Maze'' (1953). She is also known for her stage roles, including creating the role of Karen Wright in the original 1934 Broadway production of '' The Children's Hour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isle Of The Dead (Rachmaninoff)
''Isle of the Dead'' (Russian: Остров мёртвых), Opus number, Op. 29, is a symphonic poem composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff, written in the key of A minor. The piece was inspired by a black and white reproduction of Arnold Böcklin's painting ''Isle of the Dead (painting), Isle of the Dead'', which he saw in Paris in 1907. He composed the work from January to March of 1909, but later made numerous revisions, including cuts. History For two years, Rachmaninoff looked for inspiration for a symphonic poem, and in November 1906, he wrote to his friend Nikita Morozov, seeking ideas for a subject for such a work, but was uninspired by his suggestions. Then, in Paris in May 1907, he saw a black and white reproduction of Arnold Böcklin's painting ''Isle of the Dead (painting), Isle of the Dead'', and, inspired by the painting, he used it as the basis for his symphonic poem, on the suggestion of his friend Nikolai Struve. He composed the piece from January to March of 1909, wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness, dense contrapuntal textures, and rich orchestral colours. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output and he used his skills as a performer to fully explore the expressive and technical possibilities of the instrument. Born into a musical family, Rachmaninoff began learning the piano at the age of four. He studied piano and composition at the Moscow Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1892, having already written several compositions. In 1897, following the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Body Snatcher (1945 Film)
''The Body Snatcher'' is a 1945 American horror film directed by Robert Wise, based on the 1884 short story of the same name by Robert Louis Stevenson. Philip MacDonald adapted the story for the screen, and producer Val Lewton, credited as "Carlos Keith", modified MacDonald's screenplay. The film stars Boris Karloff as John Gray, a cab driver who moonlights as a grave robber, and later murderer, to illegally supply Dr. MacFarlane (played by Henry Daniell) with cadavers for his classes, and makes mention of Burke, Hare, and Dr. Knox, in reference to the West Port murders of 1828. Alongside Karloff and Daniell, the film's cast includes Russell Wade, Edith Atwater, and Bela Lugosi. It was the last film in which both Karloff and Lugosi appeared. Plot In Edinburgh in 1831, Mrs. Marsh brings her paraplegic daughter, Georgina, to see Dr. Wolfe MacFarlane at his home, where he has an office and an anatomy school. MacFarlane discovers a tumor pressing on Georgina's spinal cord, bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernst Deutsch
Ernst Deutsch, also known as Ernest Dorian (16 September 1890 – 22 March 1969), was a Jewish Austrian actor. In 1916, his performance as the protagonist in the world première of Walter Hasenclever's Expressionist play '' The Son'' in Dresden was praised. Deutsch also played the antihero Famulus in Paul Wegener's '' The Golem: How He Came into the World'' in 1920. He is known by English-speaking audiences for his role as Baron Kurtz in Carol Reed's 1949 ''film noir'', ''The Third Man''. Family Deutsch was the son of Prague-based Jewish merchant Ludwig Kraus and his wife, Louise. He married childhood friend Anuschka Fuchsova (daughter of Prague industrialist Arthur Fuchs) in 1922. Anuschka's cousin, Herbert Fuchs of Robettin, was the brother-in-law of author Franz Werfel. Life and career Deutsch grew up in Prague, and attended high school. He was a skilled tennis player, ranking seventh on the Austro-Hungarian tennis list. After high school, Deutsch served in the army. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jason Robards Sr
Jason Nelson Robards (December 31, 1892 – April 4, 1963) was an American stage and screen actor, and the father of actor Jason Robards. Robards appeared in many films, initially as a leading man, then in character roles and occasional bit parts. Most of his final roles were in television. Life and career Robards was born on a farm in Hillsdale, Michigan, the son of Elizabeth (née Loomis), a schoolteacher, and Frank P. Robards Sr., a farmer and post office inspector who managed Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 Presidential campaign in Michigan. He was raised in Chicago, Illinois. He trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He was billed simply as "Jason Robards" through most of his career, but in his latter years, after his namesake son took up acting, he was generally listed in credits as Jason Robards Sr. He died in 1963 (after which his son switched from "Jason Robards Jr." to "Jason Robards"). Contemporary actors Jason Robards III and Sam Robards are Jason Sr.'s grands ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helene Thimig
Helene Ottilie Thimig (5 June 1889 – 7 November 1974) was an Austrian stage and film actress. Personal life Helene Thimig was the daughter of actor Hugo Thimig and the sister of actors Hermann and Hans Thimig. Thimig was married to the stage impresario Max Reinhardt from 1935 until his death in 1943. Thimig went into exile in the United States during the Nazi era, and returned to Europe after World War II. Professional life Returning to Vienna from her American exile, she headed the Max Reinhardt Seminar, an acting school, from 1948 to 1954. Beginning in 1946, she directed the ''Jedermann'' productions during the Salzburg Festival. She had played the female lead (Faith) in that play for years under Reinhardt's direction and resumed the role from 1946 to 1951 and 1963 to 1965. She became an ensemble member at Vienna's Burgtheater in 1947; she moved to the Theater in the Josefstadt (her preferred company) in 1954. She died in her native Vienna in 1974, aged 85, of h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eulogy
A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a term of endearment. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. In the United States, they take place in a funeral home during or after a wake; in the United Kingdom, they are said during the service, typically at a crematorium or place of worship, before the wake. In the United States, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions. Eulogies can also praise people who are still alive. This normally takes place on special occasions like birthdays, office parties, retirement celebrations, etc. Eulogies should not be confused with elegies, which are poems written in tribute to the dead; nor with obituaries, which are published biographies recounting the lives of those who hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Premature Burial
Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive. Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally on the mistaken assumption that they are dead, or intentionally as a form of torture, murder, or execution. It may also occur with the consent of the victim as a part of a stunt, with the intention to escape. Taphophobia, the fear of being buried alive, is reported to be among the most common phobias. Physiology Premature burial can lead to death through the following: asphyxiation, dehydration, starvation, or (in cold climates) hypothermia. A person trapped with fresh air to breathe can last a considerable time and burial has been used as a very cruel method of execution (as in cases of Vestal Virgins who violated the oath of celibacy), lasting sufficiently long for the victim to comprehend and imagine every stage of what is happening (being trapped in total darkness with very limited or no movement) and to ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catalepsy
Catalepsy (from Ancient Greek , , "seizing, grasping") is a neurological condition characterized by muscular rigidity and fixity of posture regardless of external stimuli, as well as decreased sensitivity to pain. Signs and symptoms Symptoms include a rigid body, rigid limbs, limbs staying in same position when moved ( waxy flexibility), no response, loss of muscle control, and slowing down of bodily functions, such as breathing. Causes Catalepsy is a symptom of certain nervous disorders or conditions such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. It is also a characteristic symptom of cocaine withdrawal, as well as one of the features of catatonia. It can be caused by schizophrenia treatment with anti-psychotics, such as haloperidol, and by the anesthetic ketamine. Protein kinase A has been suggested as a mediator of cataleptic behavior. Unsuggested waxy catalepsy, sometimes accompanied by spontaneous anesthesia, is seen as an indicator of hypnotic trance. Suggested or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sirocco
Sirocco ( ) or scirocco is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Names ''Sirocco'' derives from '' šurūq'' (), verbal noun of '' šaraqa'', related to the East, ''aš-šarq''. Various names for this wind in other languages include: * * * or ''marin'' * * * * or * * , or romanized: sirókos * or * ( sr-Cyrl, југо), in Croatia rarely ''širok'' (широк) * * or * Libyan Arabic: , romanized: , which means "coming from the Qibla" * , which means "fifty" ("fifty-day wind") * , probably from with the same meaning as ; or * , pronounced širguī The Roman poet Horace refers to the sirocco at Trevico in Apulia as "Atabulus" (a Messapic word) in his account of his journey to Brundisium in 37 BC. Development Siroccos arise from warm, dry, tropical air masses that are pulled northward by low-pressure cells moving eastward across the Med ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
