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Operation Amsterdam
''Operation Amsterdam'' is a 1959 black and white British action film, directed by Michael McCarthy, and featuring Peter Finch, Eva Bartok and Tony Britton. It is based on a true story as described in the book ''Adventure in Diamonds'', by David E. Walker. The action of the story covers 12–13 May 1940 (Whit Sunday and Whit Monday) during the German invasion of the Netherlands. The composer Philip Green composed two original pieces of music for the film, the '' Pierement Waltz'' and the ''Amsterdam Polka''. Plot In May 1940, as the German invasion of the Netherlands is under way, the British government decides to send a team to the Netherlands on board to secure stocks of industrial diamonds before the invaders can get to them. Accordingly, two Dutch diamond experts, Jan Smit ( Peter Finch) and Walter Keyser ( Alexander Knox), with a British Army Intelligence officer, Major Dillon ( Tony Britton), are dropped by ship off the Dutch coast. They survive a German air rai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael McCarthy (film Director)
Michael McCarthy (27 February 1917 – 7 May 1959) was a British screenwriter and television and film director. He died aged 42, survived by a wife and three children. A ''Variety'' obituary said he was "regarded as a director of considerable promise". Selected filmography *'' Greek Testament'' (1943) (documentary) - assistant director *'' My Learned Friend'' (1943) - assistant director *'' San Demetrio London'' (1943) - assistant director *''The Halfway House'' (1944) - assistant director *'' While Nero Fiddled'' (1944) aka ''Fiddlers Three'' - assistant director *'' The Girl of the Canal'' (1945) aka ''Painted Boats'' (short feature) - story *'' Johnny Frenchman'' (1945) - unit manager *''Feature Story'' (1949) (short feature) - director *'' No Highway in the Sky'' (1951) - actor * '' Assassin for Hire'' (1951) - director * '' Mystery Junction'' (1951) - director, writer *''Road Sense'' (1951) (instructional film) - director *'' Hunted'' (1952) - idea * ''Crow Hollow'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polka
Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ''polka'' referring to the dance is derived from the Czech word ''Polka'' meaning "Polish woman" (feminine form corresponding to ''Polák'', a Pole)."polka, n.". Oxford University Press. (accessed 11 July 2012). Czech cultural historian Čeněk Zíbrt also attributes the term to the Czech word ''půlka'' (half), referring to both the half-tempo and the half-jump step of the dance.Čeněk Zíbrt, "Jak se kdy v Čechách tancovalo: dějiny tance v Čechách, na Moravě, ve Slezsku a na Slovensku z věků nejstarších až do nové doby se zvláštním zřetelem k dějinám tance vůbec", Prague, 189(Google eBook)/ref> The word was widely introduced into the major European languages in the early 1840s. Origin and popularity The pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Swanwick
Walter Peter Swanwick (29 September 1922 – 14 November 1968) was a British actor best remembered as the "Supervisor" (sometimes called the Controller) in the 1967 TV series, '' The Prisoner''. Swanwick's film career began with bit parts in films such as '' The African Queen'' (1951), and he became a recognisable face on British TV during the mid-1960s when he featured in a number of series, including '' The Avengers'' and '' Danger Man'' where he first worked with later ''Prisoner'' star and co-creator, Patrick McGoohan. According to several biographies Swanwick endured major health problems in the 1960s that resulted in his undergoing undisclosed operations that left him with a short time to live. Swanwick played the non-singing part of Herr Zeller in the original London stage production of ''The Sound of Music''. Selected filmography * '' Lilli Marlene'' (1950) - Chief Interrogator * ''Madame Louise'' (1951) - Bradford businessman (uncredited) * '' The African Queen'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Rhodes
Sir Christopher George Rhodes, 3rd Baronet (30 April 1914 – 22 June 1964) was an English film and television actor. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the United States Legion of Merit for his Second World War service. Early life Rhodes was born in Alverstone, Isle of Wight, the only son of Sir John Rhodes, 2nd Baronet, and attended Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford. During the Second World War, he served with the Essex Regiment, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Career Rhodes began his acting career after the war. His television appearances include '' The Quatermass Experiment'', ''Danger Man'', '' Dixon of Dock Green'' and '' The Saint''. Personal life Rhodes was married twice, first to Mary Kesteven in 1936, whom he divorced in 1942, and then to Mary Florence Wardleworth in 1943, who bore him two sons and a daughter. He succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1955. Death Rhodes died at his home in Blakeney, Norfolk, on 22 June 1964, aged 50. Selected ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Burke
Alfred Burke (28 February 1918 – 16 February 2011) was an English actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the drama series '' Public Eye'', which ran on television for ten years. Early life Born in London's south-east district of Peckham, the son of Sarah Ann O'Leary and William Burke, he was educated at Leo Street Boys' School and Walworth Central School. Burke started work aged 14, working in a railway repair firm in the City of London after leaving school. He became a club steward and also worked in a silk warehouse, joining a local amateur dramatics group before moving to Morley College and winning a scholarship to RADA in 1937. His acting career started two years later at the Barn Theatre in Shere, Surrey. His budding career was interrupted by the Second World War, when he registered as a conscientious objector, and was directed to work on the land. Career In the late 1940s, he worked with the Young and Old Vic and other companies. His London deb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petra Davies
Petra Davies (24 July 1930 – 22 March 2016) was a British actress. Early years Davies was born in Eltham, London, England on 24 July 1930 and grew up in Newport, Wales. Her parents were Welsh. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 1947 - 1949. Career Davies had many television appearances and had worked in films and theatre. Her TV roles included appearances in '' Vanity Fair'', ''Precious Bane'', ''Destination Downing Street'', ''Emma'', ''Melissa'', ''ITV Play of the Week'', ''Dolly'', '' The Saint'', '' Z-Cars'', '' Crown Court'' and '' General Hospital''. Her films have included '' Four Days'' (1951), ''Operation Amsterdam'' (1959), ''The Silent Invasion'' (1962) and ''Two Letter Alibi'' (1962). Davies' last appearance was in an episode of ''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries''. Personal life Davies was married to the actor Jack May from 1957 until his death in 1997. Death Davies died on 22 March 2016 in Abbey Wood Abbey Wood is an area in south east Lond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such as in crowded harbour or narrow canals, or cannot move at all, such as barges, disabled ships, log rafts, or oil platforms. Some are ocean-going, some are icebreakers or salvage tugs. Early models were powered by steam engines, long ago superseded by diesel engines. Many have deluge gun water jets, which help in firefighting, especially in harbours. Types Seagoing Seagoing tugs (deep-sea tugs or ocean tugboats) fall into four basic categories: #The standard seagoing tug with model bow that tows almost exclusively by way of a wire cable. In some rare cases, such as some USN fleet tugs, a synthetic rope hawser may be used for the tow in the belief that the line can be pulled aboard a disabled ship by the crew owing to its lightn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Turner
Tim Turner (7 September 1924 – 1987) was an English actor who performed during the 1950s and 1960s. Life and career He was born John Freeman Turner in Bexley, Kent. Before becoming a film and television actor, Turner was a popular leading young man in the theatre. One of his roles was as the love interest of Stella Linden's Sadie Thompson in the 1949 tour of ''Rain'', adapted from the short story by W. Somerset Maugham. Uncredited, Turner provided the voice of the title character in the TV series ''The Invisible Man'' (1958–59), a loose adaptation of the 1897 novel by H.G. Wells. He appeared in person in one episode as a foreign-accented villain. Later, Turner dubbed the voice of actor Todd Armstrong for the 1963 film '' Jason and the Argonauts''. Between 1959 and 1963, Turner narrated most of the '' Look at Life'' series of short documentary films produced by the Rank Organisation. He was married to actress Patricia Plunkett Patricia Ruth Plunkett (17 December 192 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fifth Column
A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to undermine the national interest, in cooperation with external rivals of the state." The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize openly to assist an external attack. This term is also extended to organised actions by military personnel. Clandestine fifth column activities can involve acts of sabotage, disinformation, espionage, and/or terrorism executed within defense lines by secret sympathizers with an external force. Origin The term "fifth column" originated in Spain (originally ''quinta columna'') during the early phase of the Spanish Civil War. It gained popularity in the Loyalist faction media in early October 1936 and immediately started to spread abroad. The exact origin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban area and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area. Located in the Dutch province of North Holland, Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the North", for its large number of canals, now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Amsterdam was founded at the mouth of the Amstel River that was dammed to control flooding; the city's name derives from the Amstel dam. Originally a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became a major world port during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, when the Netherlands was an economic powerhouse. Amsterdam is the leading center for finance and trade, as well as a hub of production of secular art. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded and many new neighborho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and substance abuse (including alcoholism and the use of and withdrawal from benzodiazepines) are risk factors. Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress (such as from financial or academic difficulties), relationship problems (such as breakups or divorces), or harassment and bullying. Those who have previously attempted suicide are at a higher risk for future attempts. Effective suicide prevention efforts include limiting access to methods of suicide such as firearms, drugs, and poisons; treating mental disorders and substance abuse; careful media reporting about suicide; and improving economic conditions. Although crisis hotlines are common resources, their effectiveness has not been well studied. The most commonly adopted m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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