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I Was An Adventuress
''I Was an Adventuress'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Vera Zorina, Richard Greene, Erich von Stroheim, and Peter Lorre. Actress/ballerina Countess Tanya Vronsky (Vera Zorina) works as decoy for two international con artists Andre Desormeaux ( Erich von Stroheim) and Polo (Peter Lorre). Plot Countess Tanya Vronsky acts as bait for notorious jewel thief Andre Desormeaux and his assistant, Polo, on their tour through Europe. Everything goes according to plan until Tanya falls in love with their next target, Paul Vernay. Still, the gang manages to victimize Paul. After the heist, Tanya announces that she is retiring and goes on to marry Paul. Desormeaux tries to convince her to change her mind, but in vain. They meet again months later in Paris, and Desormeaux makes another attempt at persuading the countess to work with them again. In order to get rid of them for good, she pretends to go along with their plans, but instead sets them up to be ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was best known for his role as producer "Max Fabian" in ''All About Eve'' (1950). Biography Ratoff was born in Samara, Russia, to Jewish parents. His mother was Sophie (née Markison) who claimed to have been born on September 1, 1878, but was married on June 14, 1894, when she would have been 15, to Benjamin Ratner (born 1864), with whom she had four children, the eldest of whom was Grigory, whose date of birth she gave as April 7, 1895 but later April 20 was cited as Gregory Ratoff's birthdate, and the year given as 1893, 1896 and 1897, variously. Sophie Ratner later adopted her son's stage surname (Ratoff) when she herself became a naturalized United States citizen. Sophie Ratoff died on August 27, 1955. Her date of birth is given as Septembe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sig Ruman
Siegfried Carl Alban Rumann (October 11, 1884 – February 14, 1967), billed as Sig Ruman and Sig Rumann, was a German-American character actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypically Teutonic officials or villains in more than 100 films. Early years Born in Hamburg, German Empire to Alban Julius Albrecht Ludwig Rumann and his wife, Caroline Margarethe Sophie Rumann on October 11, 1884, he studied electrical engineering, then began working as an actor and musician before serving with the Imperial German Army during World War I. He resumed his acting career after the war. After emigrating to the United States in 1924, his acting career blossomed. Befriending playwright George S. Kaufman and theater critic Alexander Woollcott, he enjoyed success in many Broadway productions. His Broadway credits included ''Once There Was a Russian'' (1961), ''Lily of the Valley'' (1942), ''Eight Bells'' (1933), ''Alien Corn'' (1933), ''Grand Hotel'' (1930), ''Half ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellinor Vanderveer
Ellinor Vanderveer (August 5, 1886 – May 27, 1976), was an American actress who usually played dowagers, high class society matrons or party guests. She appeared in 111 films between 1924 and 1953, including several Laurel and Hardy comedies and two films from early in the American career of British-born James Whale. She was born in New York City and died in Loma Linda, California Loma Linda ( Spanish for "Beautiful Hill") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States, that was incorporated in 1970. The population was 24,791 at the 2020 census, up from 23,261 at the 2010 census. The central area of the .... Selected filmography External links * 1886 births 1976 deaths American film actresses American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses {{US-film-actor-1880s-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Laskey
Charles Laskey (September 20, 1908 – December 13, 1998) was an American ballet dancer and occasional performer in musical theatre, best remembered for his association with George Balanchine. As a ballet dancer, Laskey performed with Balanchine's American Ballet, Ballet Caravan, and the New York City Ballet, as well as with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and Eleanor King's Little Group. He originated roles in a number of George Balanchine's works, including ''Serenade'' (1935), and he danced for Eugene Loring and Lew Christensen. After making his Broadway debut in a production of ''Lysistrata'' (1930), Laskey was the principal dancer in '' I Married an Angel'' and ''Louisiana Purchase'', both choreographed by Balanchine. He toured as Dream Curly in ''Oklahoma!'', although Agnes de Mille initially was displeased with his performance. Laskey followed Balanchine to Hollywood, performing in '' On Your Toes'' (1939), ''I Was an Adventuress'' (1940), and ''Louisiana Purchase'' (1941) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phyllis Barry
Phyllis Barry (born Gertrude Phyllis Hillyard; 7 December 1908 – 1 July 1954) was an English film actress. Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Seth Henry and Bertha (née Giles) Hillyard, Barry appeared in over 40 films between 1925 and 1947. Career Barry trained as a dancer in a John Tiller troupe. In August 1923, when she was 12, her mother brought her to Australia, where she was known as Phyllis du Barry.All the Australian events are documented in contemporary newspapers published in digital form by the National Library of Australi/ref> By September, she was the lead dancer in a cabaret troupe at the Wentworth Cafe, until May 1925, when she made her first film, '' Painted Daughters''. Engagements followed with the Frances Scully Pony Ballet and as a dancer at the Ambassadors' Club. In July 1926, she joined the Fuller Brothers, touring with Chefalo and Palmer, the Moon and Morris Revue Company and the Zig Zag Revue Company. Her second film, '' Sunri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lew Christensen
Lewellyn Farr Christensen (May 6, 1909 – October 9, 1984) was a ballet dancer, choreographer and director for many companies. He was largely associated with George Balanchine and the San Francisco Ballet, which he directed from 1952–1984. Other companies Christensen was a part of include Ballet Caravan, directed by Lincoln Kirstein, and Ballet Society, directed by Kirstein and Balanchine. Early life and training Christensen was born in Brigham City, Utah, to a family with roots in dance and music. His grandfather, Lars Christensen, who emigrated from Denmark, taught folk and social dances.Sowell, Debra. "Christensen Brothers." ''International Encyclopedia of Dance.'' Vol. 2. ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen. 1998. 160. Christensen was raised a Mormon, and this upbringing informed his latter career with of a sense of focusing on propriety. Christensen began studying dance with his uncles and music with his father when he was ten. He was taught early ballet technique by Stefano ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Balanchine
George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was an ethnic Georgian American ballet choreographer who was one of the most influential 20th-century choreographers. Styled as the father of American ballet, he co-founded the New York City Ballet and remained its artistic director for more than 35 years.Joseph Horowitz (2008)''Artists in Exile: How Refugees from 20th-century War and Revolution Transformed the American Performing Arts.''HarperCollins. His choreography is characterized by plotless ballets with minimal costume and décor, performed to classical and neoclassical music. Born in St. Petersburg, Balanchine took the standards and technique from his time at the Imperial Ballet School and fused it with other schools of movement that he had adopted during his tenure on Broadway and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortunio Bonanova
Fortunio Bonanova, pseudonym of Josep Lluís Moll, (13 January 1895 – 2 April 1969) was a Spanish baritone singer and a film, theater, and television actor. He occasionally worked as a producer and director. According to Lluis Fàbregas Cuixart, the pseudonym ''Fortunio Bonanova'' referred to his desire to seek fortune, and his love of the Bonanova neighborhood in his native Palma. Biography As a young man, living under his birthname, he was a professional telegraph operator. He studied music with the Italian Giovachini. In 1921, he debuted as a singer in ''Tannhäuser'', at the Teatre Principal in Palma. That year, along with a group of Majorcan intellectuals and Jorge Luis Borges (who was briefly living in Majorca with his parents and sister), he signed the Ultraist Manifesto, using the name Fortunio Bonanova. Also in 1921, he appeared in a silent film of '' Don Juan Tenorio'' by the brothers Baños, which was shown the following year in New York City and Hollywood. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolfe Sedan
Rolfe Sedan (born Edward Sedan; January 20, 1896 – September 15, 1982) was an American character actor, best known for appearing in bit parts, often uncredited, usually portraying clerks, train conductors, postmen, cooks, waiters, etc. Early life Born Edward Sedan in New York City, his mother was a Broadway theatre fashion designer and his father an orchestra conductor. Career Sedan began his career in show business as a vaudeville and nightclub performer and began acting in East Coast theatre. Sedan debuted on Broadway in 1916 and appeared in his first motion picture for Metro Pictures Corporation in 1921. In 1922 and 1923, Sedan was a featured actor with the Leith-Marsh Players in El Paso, Texas. Sedan became a prolific character actor in films and is probably best remembered by movie buffs as the hotel manager in ''Ninotchka'' (1939) starring Greta Garbo; he appeared in an uncredited role in the musical remake of ''Ninotchka'', ''Silk Stockings'' (1957). He als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Imhof
Frederick Roger Imhof (August 15, 1875 – April 15, 1958) was an American film actor, vaudeville, burlesque and circus performer, sketch writer, and songwriter. Early years Imhof was born in Rock Island, Illinois on April 15, 1875 to Nicholas Imhoff, from Switzerland, and Susan McCluen Imhoff, from Ireland. Career Imhof began his career as a clown with the Mills Orton Circus, and as an "Irish" comedian. He "toured in vaudeville and burlesque between 1895 and 1930." By 1897, he was "teamed with Charles Osborne in a comedy contortion and burlesque acrobatics act." Around this time, he dropped an "f" from his last name. In the 1902–1903 season, he first worked with longtime vaudeville partner Hugh Conn, an association that lasted into the 1920s or possibly 1930s. Marcel Corinne (died 1977), sometimes spelled Coreene, joined the act sometime in the 1910s. She and Imhof married in 1913. The trio of Imhof, Conn and Corinne toured in two comic sketches, "The Pest House" and "Sur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egon Brecher
Egon Brecher (18 February 1880 – 12 August 1946) was an Austria-Hungary-born actor and director, who also served as the chief director of Vienna's Stadttheater, before entering the motion picture industry. Early years The son of a professor, Brecher began studying philosophy in 1900 at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He did not finish his studies, deciding instead to become an actor. Career He appeared on several provincial stages in Germany and Austria until 1910, and then played in Vienna on various occasions, directed by Josef Jarno until 1921. In 1907, he founded an initiative (which lasted for one or two years) to play modern Yiddish theatre in German language with Siegfried Schmitz and members of the student club ‘Theodor Herzl’ like Hugo Zuckermann and Oskar Rosenfeld. In 1919 he was a co-founder, along with Isaak Deutsch, Jacob Mestel, and others, of the Freie Jüdische Volksbühne in Vienna, a Yiddish theatre, which existed until 1922. In 1906 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inez Palange
Inez Palange (June 13, 1889 – October 16, 1962), also written as Ines Palange, was an Italian-born American actress who was best known for her role as Mrs. Camonte in the 1932 film '' Scarface''. Biography She was born in Roccasicura, Italy on June 13, 1889. Prior to her film career she was part of Les Iris Palange, a comedy and singing duo with Alberto Palange. At least two of their recordings on Victor records from 1917 are part of the Library of Congress catalogue (and posted to YouTube). They performed in Italian. A bit about her experience as an immigrant along with others is noted in a book on Italian immigrants. Palange performed in the first Italian language dialogue film, ''Sei tu l'amore?'', released in 1930. Palange played the mother of a gangster in ''Scarface'' (1932). Her dialogue with the character of her American-born daughter in which she warns against her son's character has been described as portraying two conflicting character traits, her Old World wisdom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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