|
Jack Cummings (director)
John Cummings (February 16, 1905 – April 28, 1989) was an American film producer and director. He was best known for being a leading producer at MGM. He was the second husband of Betty Kern, daughter of Jerome Kern. Cummings spent most of his career at his uncle Louis B. Mayer's studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he began work in the 1920s. Mayer started his nephew out as an office boy and expected him to work his way up through the ranks. Cummings became a staff producer at MGM in 1934, where he worked in the B-feature unit for two years. In 1936, he produced the extravagant Cole Porter musical ''Born to Dance'', which established his reputation as a respected producer. Cummings remained at MGM even after his uncle was fired from the studio in 1951, working with talent such as the Marx Brothers, Red Skelton, Esther Williams, and Fred Astaire and producing some of the era's best-known musicals, including 1953's ''Kiss Me Kate'' and ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' in 1954 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as " Ol' Man River", " Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", " A Fine Romance", " Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Song Is You", " All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Long Ago (and Far Away)". He collaborated with many of the leading librettists and lyricists of his era, including George Grossmith Jr., Guy Bolton, P. G. Wodehouse, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Fields, Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin and Yip Harburg. A native New Yorker, Kern created dozens of Broadway musicals and Hollywood films in a career that lasted for more than four decades. His musical innovations, such as 4/4 dance rhythms and the employment of syncopation and jazz progressions, built on, ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Easy To Wed
''Easy to Wed'' is a 1946 Technicolor American musical comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell, and starring Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Lucille Ball, and Keenan Wynn. The screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley is an adaptation of the screenplay of the 1936 film '' Libeled Lady'' by Maurine Dallas Watkins, Howard Emmett Rogers, and George Oppenheimer. Plot Financier J. B. Allenbury ( Cecil Kellaway) is determined to file a $2 million libel suit against ''The Morning Star'' when the newspaper prints a story claiming his daughter Connie ( Esther Williams) was responsible for the break-up of a marriage. Anxious to save his paper from financial ruin (Allenbury's real goal), editor Curtis Farwood (Paul Harvey) enlists the help of business manager Warren Haggerty ( Keenan Wynn), who postpones his marriage to Gladys Benton (Lucille Ball) in order to assist his employer. Warren's convoluted scheme involves having reporter Bill Chandler (Van Johnson) temporarily marry Gladys so that she c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broadway Melody Of 1940
''Broadway Melody of 1940'' is a 1940 MGM film musical starring Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell and George Murphy (Astaire's first male dancing partner on film). It was directed by Norman Taurog and features music by Cole Porter, including " Begin the Beguine". The film was the fourth and final entry in MGM's "Broadway Melody" series of films, and is notable for being the only on-screen pairing of Astaire and Powell, who were considered the finest film musical dancers of their time. Plot Johnny Brett (Fred Astaire) and King Shaw (George Murphy) are a dance team so down on their luck that they work in a dance hall for no money. Meanwhile, Clare Bennett (Eleanor Powell) is a big Broadway star. Owing to a case of mistaken identity, Shaw is offered the chance to be Clare's dancing partner in a new Broadway show, when Johnny's dancing was really what producer Bob Casey ( Frank Morgan) saw and wanted. The partnership breaks up, but Johnny still helps out King, who lets his newfound succe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honolulu (film)
''Honolulu'' is a 1939 American musical comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell and starring dancer Eleanor Powell, Robert Young, George Burns and Gracie Allen. The picture was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Also appearing in the film are Rita Johnson, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Sig Rumann and Ruth Hussey. Plot Inspired by stories about doppelgängers and identical twins such as ''The Prince and the Pauper'', ''Honolulu'' features Young in a dual role as Brooks Mason—a top movie star—and as Hawaii-based businessman George Smith. Mason is tired of being in the public eye, so when he discovers that Smith is close enough to be his twin, he arranges to switch places with Smith temporarily. When Mason steps into Smith's life, he finds himself in a tug-of-war between Smith's fiancée, and a dancer named Dorothy March (Powell), with whom he has fallen in love. Meanwhile, Smith discovers that being a famous movie star is not all that it is made out to be. Notes Eleanor P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Listen, Darling
''Listen, Darling'' is a 1938 American musical comedy film starring Judy Garland, Freddie Bartholomew, Mary Astor, and Walter Pidgeon. It is best known as being the film in which Judy Garland sings " Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", which later became one of her standards. Plot Pinky Wingate (Judy Garland) is worried about her widowed mother, Dottie (Mary Astor), who is pursuing a loveless relationship with the town's banker, knowing he can help her fund her children's lives. To help her realize this, Pinky and her friend Buzz (Freddie Bartholomew Frederick Cecil Bartholomew (March 28, 1924 – January 23, 1992), known for his acting work as Freddie Bartholomew, was an English-American child actor. One of the most famous child actors of all time, he became very popular in 1930s Hollywoo ...) "kidnap" Dottie and her younger brother Billie ( Scotty Beckett), taking them on a road trip to get away from the banker. While they do this, they meet two men, Richard Thurlow ( Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow Jack
The yellow jack (''Carangoides bartholomaei''), also known as coolihoo, is a species of marine fish in the jack family, Carangidae. It is one of only two representatives of its genus present in the Atlantic Ocean, inhabiting waters off the east coast of the Americas from Massachusetts in the north to Brazil in the south, as well as a number of offshore islands. The yellow jack can be distinguished from closely related species by the length of the jaw, as well as counts of the rays in the fins. It is a fairly large fish, growing to a recorded maximum length of , and a weight of at least . Yellow jack inhabit reefs, moving either individually or in schools and are predatory fish which primarily take other small fish. Studies in the Caribbean suggest the species reaches sexual maturity between , and spawns in offshore waters from February to October. Yellow jack are of minor economic importance, taken by both hook and net methods, and are considered to be fair table fish. They are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broadway Melody Of 1938
''Broadway Melody of 1938'' is a 1937 American musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film is essentially a backstage musical revue, featuring high-budget sets and cinematography in the MGM musical tradition. The film stars Eleanor Powell and Robert Taylor and features Buddy Ebsen, George Murphy, Judy Garland, Sophie Tucker, Raymond Walburn, Robert Benchley and Binnie Barnes. The film is most notable for young Garland's performance of "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)", a tribute to Clark Gable which turned the teenage singer, who had been toiling in obscurity for a couple of years, into an overnight sensation, leading eventually to her being cast in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) as Dorothy. Plot Young horse trainer Sally (Eleanor Powell) befriends Sonny ( George Murphy) and Peter (Buddy Ebsen), who have been hired to look after a horse her family once owned. Concerned for the horse's well-being, she sneaks aboard a tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarzan Escapes
''Tarzan Escapes'' is a 1936 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the third in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ''Tarzan'' series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes". Previous films were '' Tarzan the Ape Man'' (1932) and '' Tarzan and His Mate'' (1934), with Jane's bikini-like attire and the famous skinny-dipping sequence. Weissmuller and O'Sullivan starred together in three more Tarzan films, ''Tarzan Finds a Son!'' (1939), '' Tarzan's Secret Treasure'' (1941) and ''Tarzan's New York Adventure'' (1942). Plot Jane's (Maureen O'Sullivan) two cousins, Eric and Rita, arrive in Africa to tell Jane about a fortune left to her back in their world and to try to convince her to return with them. They are led to Tarzan's escarpment home by Captain Fry ( John Buckler), a hunter with an agenda of his own. Jane convinces Tarzan to let her go back with Eric ( William Henry) and Rita ( Benita Hume), promising that their separation will only be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Winning Ticket
''The Winning Ticket'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Charles Reisner and starring Leo Carrillo, Louise Fazenda, and Ted Healy. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Plot summary Poor Italian-American barber Joe Thomasello (Leo Carrillo) purchases a sweepstakes ticket at the urging of his brother-in-law Eddie Dugan (Ted Healy). Joe's wife Nora (Louise Fazenda) is against gambling. The ticket turns out to be a $150,000 first prize winner. Joe remembers that he gave the ticket to his lawyer Tony (Luis Alberni) to hold. The three men realize that Joe's baby, Mickey ( Roland Fitzpatrick) was the last one seen with the ticket. When they ask the baby where the ticket is, the baby points to a loose board on the floor. The three men tear up the floor and dig a hole looking for the lost ticket to no avail. Tony, who has huge debts decides that the best thing to do is go to Ireland by boat and try to convince the sweepstakes officials that Joe was the actual sweepstakes winner ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Rowland (film Director)
Roy Rowland (December 31, 1910 – June 29, 1995) was an American film director. The New York-born director helmed a number of films in the 1950s and 1960s including '' Our Vines Have Tender Grapes'', '' Meet Me in Las Vegas'', '' Rogue Cop'', '' The 5000 Fingers of Doctor T'', and '' The Girl Hunters''. Rowland married Ruth Cummings, the niece of Louis B. Mayer and sister of Jack Cummings (MGM producer/director). They had one son, Steve Rowland, born in 1932, who later became a music producer in the UK. Biography Early life Roy Rowland was born in Brooklyn, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. The family moved to Edendale, California, when Roy was ten. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a law degree before beginning his career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) as a script clerk. He then began working as a prop man, grip, and assistant cameraman. In 1927 he met Ruth Cummings at the Santa Monica Beach Club. She was the niece of Louis B. Mayer and the sist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Teahouse Of The August Moon (film)
''The Teahouse of the August Moon'' is a 1956 American comedy film directed by Daniel Mann and starring Marlon Brando. It satirizes the U.S. occupation and Americanization of the island of Okinawa following the end of World War II in 1945. John Patrick adapted the screenplay from his own Pulitzer-Prize- and Tony Award-winning Broadway play of 1953. The play was, in turn, adapted from a 1951 novel by Vern J. Sneider. The film was entered into the 7th Berlin International Film Festival. Plot Misfit Captain Fisby (Glenn Ford) is sent to Americanize the village of Tobiki on Okinawa, the largest of the Ryukyu Islands. His commanding officer, Colonel Wainwright Purdy III ( Paul Ford), assigns him a wily local, Sakini (Marlon Brando), as interpreter. Fisby tries to implement the military's plans by encouraging the villagers to build a school in the shape of a pentagon, but they want to build a teahouse instead. Fisby gradually becomes assimilated to the local customs and mores w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interrupted Melody
''Interrupted Melody'' is a 1955 biographical musical film, filmed in CinemaScope and Eastman Color, directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Glenn Ford, Eleanor Parker, Roger Moore, and Cecil Kellaway. The film was produced for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by Jack Cummings from a screenplay by Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence, Sonya Levien, and William Ludwig. It tells the story of Lawrence's rise to fame as an opera singer and her subsequent triumph over polio, with her husband's help. The operatic sequences were staged by Vladimir Rosing, and Eileen Farrell provided the singing voice for Parker. Plot The story traces Marjorie's (Eleanor Parker) long, hard road to the top, her success on two continents, and her turbulent marriage to American doctor Thomas King (Glenn Ford). While touring South America in 1941, Lawrence is stricken with polio, which not only abruptly stops her career but briefly robs her of the will to live. With her husband's help, she makes a triumphant return ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_1.jpg "Click for more on -> The Teahouse Of The August Moon (film)")