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Val Guest
Val Guest (born Valmond Maurice Grossman; 11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer Film Productions, Hammer, for whom he directed 14 films, and for his science fiction films. He enjoyed a long career in the film industry from the early 1930s until the early 1980s. Reprinted from ''Reference Guide to British and Irish Film Directors'' Early life and career Guest was born to John Simon Grossman and Julia Ann Gladys Emanuel in Sutherland Avenue in Maida Vale, London. He later changed his name to Val Guest (officially in 1939). His father was a jute broker, and the family spent some of Guest's childhood in India before returning to England. His parents divorced when he was young, but this information was kept from him. Instead he was told that his mother had died. He was educated at Seaford College in Sussex, but left in 1927 and worked for a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing Cross. It has many late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats. The area is home to the BBC Maida Vale Studios. Toponym The name of the area is derived from a pub and an Italian battle during the Napoleonic Wars. The original pub called ''The Hero of Maida'' stood on Edgware Road near the Regent's Canal until it closed in 1992. In the early 19th century, its hanging board displayed the likeness of the Georgian era General Sir John Stuart, under which was the legend ''Sir John Stuart, the hero of Maida''. General Sir John Stuart was made Count of Maida (a town in Calabria) by King Ferdinand IV of Naples and III of Sicily after the British victory at the Battle of Maida in 1806. As the expansion of London gathered pace, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Nuisance No
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkeit'' or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science, psychology, marketing, and advertising. In public relations and communication science, it is one of the more ambiguous concepts in the field. Although it has definitions in the theory of the field that have been formulated from the early 20th century onwards, and suffered more recent years from being blurred, as a result of conflation of the idea of a public with the notions of audience, market segment, community, constituency, and stakeholder. Etymology and definitions The name "public" originates with the Latin '' publicus'' (also '' poplicus''), from ''populus'', to the English word ' populace', and in general denotes some mass population ("the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bees In Paradise
''Bees in Paradise'' is a 1944 British musical comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Arthur Askey, Anne Shelton and Peter Graves. It was produced by Edward Black at Gainsborough Pictures. Co-written by Guest and comic Marriott Edgar, this is a lesser known Askey vehicle. Plot The Queen of Paradise Island, an uncharted isle somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean (northwest of Freetown, Sierra Leone), is not happy. The town crier of the all-female hive-like colony (around two thousand strong) has just reported that there have only been two births within the last eighteen months and both of them were boys. As the Queen points out to Jani, her Minister of Propaganda: the only thing worse than boys is men. She demands more marriages, even going as far to think about passing conscription into law. However, Jani points out that the drones (which is how the inhabitants of this island refer to men) are not willing to marry because after a two-month honeymoon the bridegrooms are exe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miss London Ltd
''Miss London Ltd.'' is a 1943 British black-and-white comedy musical directed by Val Guest and starring Arthur Askey and Evelyn Dall. It was written by Guest and Marriott Edgar and produced by Edward Black for Gainsborough Pictures. It was Guest's directorial debut. Plot Arthur Boden runs "Miss London", the escort agency he inherited from his mother. Soon he is joined by his new American partner, Terry Arden, who has inherited half of the agency from her parents. The first thing she accomplishes is to clean up the office. To renew the files of escort ladies Boden and Terry go searching. Boden is assigned to a railway station where he finds clerk Gail Martin to hire. The opening sequence of the film features Martin singing "The 8.50 Choo Choo For Waterloo Choo" at Waterloo station. The film features a surreal self-parodying sequence in which Boden, in order to gain entrance to a hotel, pretends to be the famous Arthur Askey, using some of his catchphrases. Other spoofs inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation and catchphrases including "Hello, playmates", "I thank you" (pronounced "Ay-thang-yaw") and "Before your very eyes". Askey achieved prominence in the 1930s in the BBC's first radio comedy series ''Band Waggon'' and subsequently starred in several Gainsborough Pictures comedy films during the Second World War including ''Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt'' (1940) and ''The Ghost Train (1941 film), The Ghost Train'' (1941). His Novelty song, novelty recordings for the His Master's Voice (British record label), His Master's Voice include "The Bee Song" (1938), a lasting part of his act. From the 1950s, Askey was a prominent television presence and made regular appearances on the BBC's long-running music hall programme ''The Good Old Days (UK TV ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bebe Daniels
Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" () Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such as ''Rio Rita (1929 film), Rio Rita'', and later gained fame on radio and television in Britain. Over the course of her 50-year career, Daniels appeared in 230 films. Early life and career Daniels was born Phyllis Virginia Daniels (Bebe was a childhood nickname) in Dallas, Texas in 1901. Her father was a travelling theater manager, Scottish-born Melville Daniel MacNeal, who changed his name to Danny Daniels after a disagreement with his father over his ambition to change from the medical profession to show business. Her mother was Phyllis de Forest Griffin, born in Colombia of an American father and a Colombian mother, a stage actress who was in Danny's travelling stock company when their child was born. When she was ten weeks old, her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Lyon
Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine W. (Wiseberg) and Ben Lyon, a travelling salesman. His family was Jewish. Lyon entered films in 1918 after a successful appearance on Broadway opposite Jeanne Eagels. He attracted attention in the highly successful film '' Flaming Youth'' (1923) and steadily developed into a leading man. He was successfully paired with some of the leading actresses of the silent era, including Pola Negri, Gloria Swanson, Colleen Moore, Barbara La Marr, Viola Dana, Anna Q. Nilsson, Mary Astor and Blanche Sweet. In 1925, a writer for ''Photoplay'' wrote of him, "Girls, Ben Lyon looks harmless but we have reliable information that he's irresistible, so watch your step. Besides he's a mighty fine actor and if the ladies must fall in love with him he can't hel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hi Gang! (film)
''Hi Gang!'' is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bebe Daniels, Ben Lyon and Vic Oliver. It was a spin-off from the popular BBC radio series ''Hi Gang! (radio series), Hi Gang!''. Production The film was made by Gainsborough Pictures at Lime Grove Studios, London. The film's art direction was by Walter W. Murton. Plot Two married reporters in New York City working for rival radio networks engage in cut-throat competition, assisted by an incompetent with big ideas. A publicity stunt by the couple to adopt a British Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II, evacuee boy live on air goes wrong and they end up adopting Albert, a rowdy pub landlord's son and his cantankerous Uncle Jerry. They all travel to England in the mistaken belief that Albert is the son of Lord Amersham. Cast Critical reception ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' said "Those who like the radio feature ''Hi Gang'' will enjoy this film version, though it is not until near t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ask A Policeman
''Ask a Policeman'' is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt. The plot sees Will Hay playing a policeman at the Turnbotham Round police force. The force hasn't arrested anybody in the last ten years five weeks and four days so their Chief Constable arrives to decide whether to keep or disband the force. The characters fabricate crimes in order to look useful. They manufacture some fake smuggling, but then they encounter some real smugglers. The title comes from the popular music hall song " Ask a P'liceman". Plot Sergeant Dudfoot is talking about his life as a policeman at Turnbotham Round (pronounced Turn Bottom Round) during a radio broadcast. His staff Albert and Harbottle enter after they have been poaching and Harbottle ruins the broadcast. The next day, Dudfoot receives a letter from the Chief Constable. The letter states that an investigation will shortly take place to see if the police force in Tu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oh, Mr Porter!
''Oh, Mr Porter!'' is a 1937 British comedy film starring Will Hay with Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt and directed by Marcel Varnel. While not Hay's commercially most successful (although it grossed £500,000 at the box office – equal to about £34,000,000 at 2020 value), it is his best-known film to modern audiences. It is widely acclaimed as the best of Hay's work, and a classic of its genre. The film had its first public showing in November 1937 and went on general release on 3 January 1938. The plot of ''Oh, Mr Porter'' was loosely based on the Arnold Ridley play '' The Ghost Train''. The title was taken from '' Oh! Mr Porter'', a music hall song. Plot Inept railway worker William Porter is, through family connections, given the job of station master at a remote and ramshackle Northern Irish railway station on the border with the then Irish Free State. Porter's co-workers are the elderly deputy station master, Harbottle, and the insolent young porter, Albert, who mak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Will Hay
William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film '' Oh, Mr Porter!'' (1937), made by Gainsborough Pictures, is often cited as the supreme British-produced film-comedy, and in 1938 he was the third highest-grossing star in the UK. Many comedians have acknowledged him as a major influence. Hay was also a keen amateur astronomer. Early life Hay was born at 23 Durham Street in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham. He was one of two sons and three daughters of William Robert Hay (1859–1920) and his wife, Elizabeth (1859–1910) (née Ebden). When Will Hay Jr. was less than a year old the family moved to Lowestoft in Suffolk. By his late teens, Hay had become fluent in Italian, French and German and secured employment as an interpreter. Career Early career Hay decided to become an actor when he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alf's Button Afloat
''Alf's Button Afloat'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Alastair Sim and Peter Gawthorne. In the film, the Crazy Gang go to sea, where one of them discovers a button on his uniform is made from the metal of Aladdin's lamp. The film parodies the 1920 novel '' Alf's Button'' by W.A. Darlington and its subsequent film adaptations. Cast * Bud Flanagan as Alf Higgins * Chesney Allen as "Ches" * Jimmy Nervo as Cecil * Teddy Knox as Teddy * Charlie Naughton as Charlie * Jimmy Gold as Jimmy * Alastair Sim as Eustace * Wally Patch as Sergeant Hawkins * Peter Gawthorne Peter Gawthorne (1 September 1884 – 17 March 1962) was an Anglo-Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in the films of Will Hay and other popular British comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-up ... as Captain Driscol * Agnes Lauchlan as Lady Driscol * Glennis Lorimer as Frankie D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
