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Summer Storm (1944 Film)
''Summer Storm'' is a 1944 period romantic melodrama directed by Douglas Sirk, and starring Linda Darnell, George Sanders, Edward Everett Horton, and Anna Lee. It was based on Anton Chekhov's 1884 novel ''The Shooting Party'', with the screenplay written by Rowland Leigh. Karl Hajos was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. Plot summary 1919 – Kharkov, Ukrainian People's Republic. Just after the Russian Revolution, Count Volsky, an impoverished former aristocrat, visits Nadena Kalenin, head of a publishing company. Volsky offers her a manuscript, written by his friend and Nadena's former fiancé, Judge Fedor “Fedya” Petroff. As Nadena reads, a flashback begins: 1912 – The small (fictional) resort town of Tyrneva, outside Kharkov. Fedya is the examining magistrate, engaged to Nadena, whose wealthy family summers there. One day, during a summer storm, Fedya and his best friend Volsky take shelter in a gazebo on Volsky� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left for Hollywood in 1937 after his Jewish wife was persecuted by the Nazis. In the 1950s, he achieved his greatest commercial success with film melodramas '' Magnificent Obsession'', '' All That Heaven Allows'', ''Written on the Wind'', ''A Time to Love and a Time to Die'', and '' Imitation of Life''. While those films were initially panned by critics as sentimental women's pictures, they are today widely regarded by film directors, critics, and scholars as masterpieces. His work is seen as "critique of the bourgeoisie in general and of 1950s America in particular", while painting a "compassionate portrait of characters trapped by social conditions". Beyond the surface of the film, Sirk worked with complex mises-en-scène and lush Technicolor t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romance Film
Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey through dating, courtship or marriage, marriage is featured. These films make the search for romantic love the main plot focus. Occasionally, romance lovers face obstacles such as finances, physical illness, various forms of discrimination, psychological restraints or family resistance. As in all quite strong, deep and close romantic relationships, the tensions of day-to-day life, temptations (of infidelity), and differences in compatibility enter into the plots of romantic films. Romantic films often explore the essential themes of love at first sight young and mature love, unrequited love, obsession, sentimental love, Spirituality, spiritual love, forbidden love, platonic love, sexual and passionate love, sacrificial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Greig
Robert Greig (December 27, 1879 – June 27, 1958) was an Australian-American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler. Born Arthur Alfred Bede Greig, he was the nephew of Australian politician and solicitor William Bede Dalley. He was commonly known as "Bob". Career Greig was born near Melbourne, in 1878. He married fellow actor Beatrice Denver Holloway in 1912. After a successful career in Melbourne, he and his wife sailed for the United States, and he made his Broadway debut in 1928 in an operetta, '' Countess Maritza''. His next production was the Marx Brothers' comedy ''Animal Crackers'', in which he portrayed "Hives" the butler. He reprised the role in the 1930 film version, which was his movie debut and set the pattern for much of his career, as he was often cast as a butler or other servant.Erickson, HaBiography (Allmovie)/ref> He performed in several other productions on Broadway, the last in 1938. Greig wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
André Charlot
André Eugène Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French impresario known primarily for the successful musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He also worked as a character actor in numerous films. Early life and career Born in Paris, Charlot began his career as the assistant manager of several theatres in the French capital, including the Folies Bergère and the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. In 1912 he relocated to London and became the joint manager of the Alhambra Theatre, where he began presenting productions noted for their elegance and simplicity rather than lavish Ziegfeld-like stagings. Although he was instrumental in giving Noël Coward his first big break, Charlot's first meeting with the aspiring writer was less than successful. In 1917, Coward auditioned some of his material for the producer, who was unimpressed. "He plays the piano badly and sings worse," he complained to Beatrice Lillie, who had introduced the two men, adding, "Ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Servoss
Mary Servoss (June 2, 1888 – November 20, 1968) was an American stage and screen actress. Her main career was centered on the Broadway stage. She was born to Carlos A. Servoss and Mary (née Baker) in Chicago. She made her stage debut in 1905 in a stock company playing a small part in ''Lorna Doone''. In 1922, she played Portia to David Warfield's Shylock in ''The Merchant of Venice'', and she appeared in the 1929 play '' Street Scene'', in the 1931 play ''Counsellor-at-Law'' starring Paul Muni, and as Queen Gertrude in ''Hamlet'' opposite both Raymond Massey (1931) and Leslie Howard (1936). She was a veteran stage actress when she made her first film in 1940 and made over 20 films by the time of her last film in 1949. When not in the theatre, her hobby was restoring old farmhouses. Mary Servoss died in Los Angeles on November 20, 1968. Her papers are housed in the Charles E. Young Research Library at UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a publ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Abbott (actor)
John Albert Chamberlain Kefford (5 June 1905 – 24 May 1996) was an English actor professionally known as John Abbott. His memorable roles include the invalid Frederick Fairlie in the 1948 film '' The Woman in White'' and the pacifist Ayelborne in the ''Star Trek'' episode "Errand of Mercy". He also played Sesmar on an episode of ''Lost in Space'', "The Dream Monster", in 1966. Abbott was known as a Shakespearean actor. Biography Abbott was born in the district of Stepney in London on 5 June 1905. He had two siblings: a sister, Ivy Skeates of Cambridge, and a brother, Harold Kefford. In 1934 he began his career in show business when he made his professional stage debut in a revival of Dryden's '' Aureng-zebe'' with Sybil Thorndike. He then joined the Old Vic Company and appeared in Shakespearean roles, including Claudius in a production of ''Hamlet'' at Elsinore Castle in Denmark with Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh and Alec Guinness. His first Broadway role was that of C ... [...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] |
John Philliber
John Philliber (July 6, 1873 – November 6, 1944), was an American actor. Born in Elkhart, Indiana, Philliber was a stage actor for most of his career, but in his last year of life made several appearances in films, alluding to his old age, best remembered for his role as 'Pop Benson' in René Clair's classic fantasy comedy '' It Happened Tomorrow''. He died in his hometown of Elkhart aged 71. Broadway roles * '' Winterset'' (1935) as hobo * '' High Tor'' (1937) as Pieter * '' The Star-Wagon'' (1937) as Misty * ''Two On An Island'' (1940) as husband in married couples, New Yorkers & out-of-towners Filmography * '' A Lady Takes a Chance'' (1943) - Storekeeper * '' The Impostor'' (1944) - Mortemart * ''Double Indemnity'' (1944) - Joe Peters * ''Ladies of Washington ''Ladies of Washington'' is a 1944 American drama film directed by Louis King and starring Trudy Marshall, Ronald Graham and Anthony Quinn.Rowan p.9 It concentrates on a group of young women employed by the fed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of Russia since the latter half of the 16th century, after the Russians conquered lands east of the Ural Mountains. Siberia is vast and sparsely populated, covering an area of over , but home to merely one-fifth of Russia's population. Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and Omsk are the largest cities in the region. Because Siberia is a geographic and historic region and not a political entity, there is no single precise definition of its territorial borders. Traditionally, Siberia extends eastwards from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and includes most of the drainage basin of the Arctic Ocean. The river Yenisey divides Siberia into two parts, Western and Eastern. Siberia stretches southwards from the Arctic Ocean to the hills ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Examining Magistrate
In an inquisitorial system of law, the examining magistrate (also called investigating magistrate, inquisitorial magistrate, or investigating judge) is a judge who carries out pre-trial investigations into allegations of crime and in some cases makes a recommendation for prosecution. The exact role and standing of examining magistrates varies by jurisdiction. Common duties and powers of the examining magistrate include overseeing ongoing criminal investigations, issuing search warrants, authorizing wiretaps, making decisions on pretrial detention, interrogating the accused person, questioning witnesses, examining evidence, as well as compiling a dossier of evidence in preparation for trial. Examining magistrates have an important role in the French judiciary. They are also a feature of the Spanish, Dutch, Belgian and Greek criminal justice systems, although the extent of the examining magistrate's role has generally diminished over time. Since the late 20th and early 21st c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government following two successive revolutions and a bloody civil war. The Russian Revolution can also be seen as the precursor for the other European revolutions that occurred during or in the aftermath of WWI, such as the German Revolution of 1918. The Russian Revolution was inaugurated with the February Revolution in 1917. This first revolt focused in and around the then-capital Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg). After major military losses during the war, the Russian Army had begun to mutiny. Army leaders and high ranking officials were convinced that if Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, the domestic unrest would subside. Nicholas agreed and stepped down, ushering in a new government led by the Russian Duma (parliament) which became the Russian Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1917, the National Congress in Kyiv elected the Central Council composed of socialist parties on the same principles as throughout the rest of the Russian Republic. The republic's autonomy was recognized by the Russian Provisional Government. Following the October Revolution, it proclaimed its independence from the Russian Republic on 22 January 1918 by the Fourth Universal. During its short existence, the republic went through several political transformations – from the socialist-leaning republic headed by the Central Council of Ukraine with its general secretariat to the socialist republic led by the Directorate and by Symon Petliura. Between April and December 1918, the socialist authority of the Ukrainian People's Republic was s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
