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Myrna Dell
Myrna Dell (born Marilyn Adele Dunlap; March 5, 1924 – February 11, 2011) was an American actress, model, and writer who appeared in numerous motion pictures and television programs over four decades. A Hollywood glamour girl in the early part of her career, she is best known today for her work in B-pictures, particularly film noir thrillers and Westerns. Early life and career Dell's mother was silent-film actress Carol Price. Dell entered show business when she was 16 as a dancer with the Earl Carroll Revue in New York. Her film debut came in ''A Night at Earl Carroll's'' (1940), after which she appeared in ''Ziegfeld Girl (film), Ziegfeld Girl'' (1941), ''Raiders of Red Gap'' (1943), and ''Up in Arms'' (1943). She found work at Monogram Pictures, a "budget" studio specializing in inexpensive entertainments for double-feature theaters. She appeared as an ingenue in a B-western, ''Arizona Whirlwind'' (1944), with silent-screen veterans Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson, and Bob St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city limits , it is the List of United States cities by population, second-most populous in the United States, behind only New York City. Los Angeles has an Ethnic groups in Los Angeles, ethnically and culturally diverse population, and is the principal city of a Metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan area of 12.9 million people (2024). Greater Los Angeles, a combined statistical area that includes the Los Angeles and Riverside–San Bernardino metropolitan areas, is a sprawling metropolis of over 18.5 million residents. The majority of the city proper lies in Los Angeles Basin, a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain and Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America studio were brought together under the control of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in October 1928. RCA executive David Sarnoff engineered the merger to create a market for the company's sound-on-film technology, RCA Photophone, and in early 1929 production began under the RKO name (an initialism of Radio-Keith-Orpheum). Two years later, another Kennedy concern, the Pathé studio, was folded into the operation. By the mid-1940s, RKO was controlled by investor Floyd Odlum. RKO has long been renowned for its cycle of musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the mid- to late 1930s. Actors Katharine Hepburn and, later, Robert Mitchu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ding Dong Williams
''Ding Dong Williams'' is a 1946 American comedy film directed by William Berke. The film stars Glen Vernon (under his real name, Glenn Vernon), Marcy McGuire, Felix Bressart, Anne Jeffreys, and James Warren. It was released on April 15, 1946 by RKO Radio Pictures. Plot Hollywood's Sunrise Studios is producing a film about a heartbroken composer who creates a modern rhapsody. The head of the music department, Hugo Meyerhold (Felix Bressart), and his young secretary Angela Jones (Marcy McGuire) engage jive clarinetist Ding Dong Williams (Glenn Vernon). However, Ding Dong's musical skills are limited to improvisation; he can't read or write music and just plays music the way he feels at the moment. Angela tries various schemes to induce Ding Dong to play something sad and soulful, including having two arrangers secretly transcribing his improvisations, and staging a fake romance with the studio's cowboy star, but all of her attempts fail. Ding Dong, dressed down by the studio bos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Noonan
Tommy Noonan (born Thomas Patrick Noone; April 29, 1921 – April 24, 1968) was an actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. He acted in a number of high-profile films as well as B movies from the 1940s through the 1960s; he is best known for his supporting performances as Gus Esmond, wealthy fiancé of Lorelei Lee (Marilyn Monroe), in '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1953), and as musician Danny McGuire in '' A Star Is Born'' (1954). Early years Born in Bellingham, Washington, Noonan was the younger half-brother of actor John Ireland. His father, Michael Joseph Noone, was an Irish vaudeville comedian and a native of Dunmore, County Galway, and his mother, Gracie Ferguson, was a Scottish piano teacher from Glasgow, Lanarkshire. He attended New York University. Career In 1934, Noonan and John Ireland made their stage debuts with a New York-based experimental theater. They later appeared together in three films, including '' I Shot Jesse James'' (1949). Noonan had a r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Destination Murder
''Destination Murder'' is a 1950 American crime film noir directed by Edward L. Cahn. The drama features Joyce MacKenzie, Stanley Clements and Hurd Hatfield. Plot During a five-minute movie intermission, Jackie Wales leaves a theater, gets into a car, changes into a messenger's outfit, rings the doorbell of Arthur Mansfield, shoots him, then rushes back to the theater and his date. After her father is shot, Laura Mansfield sees the killer hurdle the house's gate. At the police station, she looks at suspects in a lineup. One of them is Jackie, whom she chats with outside the station, not revealing who she is. Laura lets him drive her home, then sees Jackie hurdle the gate as her father's murderer did. Police Lt. Brewster, the lead homicide investigator, ignores her tip and charges Arthur Mansfield's business competitor, Frank Niles, with the crime. Laura begins dating Jackie to keep an eye on him. He loses money gambling and goes to the Vogue nightclub to get a payoff from the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Locket (1946 Film)
''The Locket'' is a 1946 American psychological thriller film noir directed by John Brahm, starring Laraine Day, Brian Aherne, Robert Mitchum, and Gene Raymond, and released by RKO Pictures. The film is based on a screenplay by Sheridan Gibney, adapted from "What Nancy Wanted" by Norma Barzman, wife of later-blacklisted writer Ben Barzman. It is noted for its complex and confusing use of layered flashbacks within flashbacks to give psychological depth to the narrative. Plot A respectable-looking man appears unannounced and uninvited at an upper crusty wedding at a Park Avenue residence in Manhattan. He asks for the groom, John Willis, to be summoned. He is Harry Blair, a psychiatrist, and the sobriety of his appearance, speech, and manner lead to his acceptance. He recounts in a series of nested flashbacks a tale of how Willis’ fiancé and Blair's ex-wife, Nancy, is not only a kleptomaniac, inveterate liar, and murderess but is also unpunished for any of her crimes. Appar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nocturne (1946 Film)
''Nocturne'' is a 1946 American film noir starring George Raft and Lynn Bari, with Virginia Huston, Joseph Pevney, and Myrna Dell in support. Directed by Edwin L. Marin, the film was produced by longtime Alfred Hitchcock associate Joan Harrison, scripted by Jonathan Latimer, and released by RKO Pictures. It was one of several medium budget thrillers Raft made in the late 1940s. Plot Keith Vincent is a Hollywood composer, working on a new song. As he nears completion of "Nocturne", a woman sits silently in the shadows and listens to him over his piano. The mood changes when he speaks the lyrics, "You're no longer the one," then encourages her to go away for a while. Moments later, as he alters the score, a shot rings out. When the police arrive the lieutenant in charge thinks it is suicide, but detective Joe Warne suspects murder. He encounters Vincent's housekeeper, Susan, whom he recognizes as an ex-con. They take her in for questioning. The score on the piano is dedicate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Conway
Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders; 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor. He is remembered for playing suave adventurer The Falcon in a series of 1940s films; and his appearances in three horror films produced by Val Lewton, '' Cat People'' (1942), ''I Walked with a Zombie'' (1943), and '' The Seventh Victim'' (1943). Early life Conway was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His younger brother was actor George Sanders. The family moved from Russia to Britain when Tom was thirteen. He was educated at Brighton College then moved to Africa to find work. He returned to England, worked as a glass salesman, then became interested in acting. Career England He started by appearing in amateur theatre, then joined a repertory company for a year and a half. After this he appeared in touring productions of plays like ''Dangerous Corner'', ''Private Lives'', and ''By Candlelight'', as well as acting on radio. Then Conway's brother George ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Falcon (fictional Detective)
The Falcon is the nickname for two fictional detectives. Drexel Drake (real name Charles H. Huff) created Michael Waring, alias the Falcon, a freelance investigator and troubleshooter, in his 1936 novel, ''The Falcon's Prey''. It was followed by two more novels – ''The Falcon Cuts In'', 1937, and ''The Falcon Meets a Lady'', 1938 – and a 1938 short story. Michael Arlen created Gay Stanhope Falcon in 1940. This Falcon made his first appearance in Arlen's short story "Gay Falcon" (aka "A Man Called Falcon"), which was originally published in 1940 in '' Town & Country'' magazine. The story opens with the words "Now of this man who called himself Gay Falcon many tales are told, and this is one of them." Arlen's Falcon is characterized as a freelance adventurer and troubleshooter – a man who makes his living "keeping his mouth shut and engaging in dangerous enterprises." Film appearances Arlen's Falcon was quickly brought to the screen by RKO Radio Pictures. The 1941 film '' T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zane Grey
Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontier. '' Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1912) was his best-selling book. In addition to the success of his printed works, his books have second lives and continuing influence adapted for films and television. His novels and short stories were adapted into 112 films, two television episodes, and a television series, '' Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre''.Hulse 2007, pp. vii–x. Biography Early life Pearl Zane Grey was born January 31, 1872, in Zanesville, Ohio. His birth name may have originated from newspaper descriptions of Queen Victoria's mourning clothes as "pearl grey". He was the fourth of five children born to Alice "Allie" Josephine Zane, whose English Quaker immigrant ancestor Robert Zane came to the American colonies in 1673, and h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Show Business (1944 Film)
''Show Business'' is a 1944 American musical film starring Eddie Cantor, George Murphy, Joan Davis, Nancy Kelly, and Constance Moore. The film was directed by Edwin L. Marin and released by RKO Radio Pictures. PlotThe story of a show business quartet who does their best to stay close, even when the demands of the profession separate them. George Doane is initially the most successful with his dance act. On "Amateur Night", George is intrigued by Eddie Martin(Cantor),who keeps up his act while dodging missiles from the audience. Taking Eddie to a restaurant where actors eat("WHEN they eat",he quips), they meet a female dance duo;Joan Mason and Constance Ford---and decide to form a quartet. George has fallen for Constance but she is wary of his reputation as a "ladies man". Joan has her heart set on dragging the shy Eddie to the altar. The girl George left behind, Nancy Gae, is not in a good mood---even though the team eventually pays for an emergency surgery she ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Davis
Josephine "Joan" Davis (June 29, 1912 – May 23, 1961) was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy '' I Married Joan'', Davis had a successful earlier career as a screen actress (notably in the Abbott and Costello comedy ''Hold That Ghost''), and a leading star of 1940s radio comedy. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, she was the only child of LeRoy Davis and Nina Mae (née Sinks) Davis, who were married in St. Paul on November 23, 1910."Joan was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 29, 1907. Joan's birth certificate is interesting in that it was altered some 32 years after it was originally filed. It has been stamped with a notation along the bottom edge, reading “Amended by State Registrar pursuant to affidavit filed on _____,” with the date 2-11-44 written by hand. Asterisks indicate three areas of the document that were amended. The birth date, originally recorded as July 4, 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
