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Tokyo Joe (1949 Film)
''Tokyo Joe'' is a 1949 American film noir crime film directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Humphrey Bogart. This was Heisler's first of two features starring Bogart, the other was '' Chain Lightning'' that also wrapped in 1949 but was held up in release until 1950. Plot After spending World War II in the Air Force, ex-Colonel Joe Barrett returns to Tokyo to see if there is anything left of his pre-war bar and gambling joint, Tokyo Joe's. Amazingly, it is more or less intact and being run by his old friend Ito. Joe is shocked to learn from Ito that his wife Trina, whom he thought had died in the war, is still alive. She has divorced Joe and is married to Mark Landis, a lawyer working in the American occupation of Japan. She has a seven-year-old child named Anya. To stay in Japan after his visitor's permit expires in 60 days, Joe wants to set up an airline freight franchise, but he needs financial backing. Through Ito, Joe meets Baron Kimura, former head of the Japanese secret ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stuart Heisler
Stuart Heisler (December 5, 1896 – August 21, 1979) was an American film and television director. He was a son of Luther Albert Heisler (1855–1916), a carpenter, and Frances Baldwin Heisler (1857–1935). He worked as a motion picture editor from 1921 to 1936, then worked as film director for the rest of his career. Heisler directed the 1944 propaganda film '' The Negro Soldier'', a documentary-style recruitment piece aimed at getting African-Americans to enlist in the U.S. military during World War II. He found commercial and critical success in the late forties directing Susan Hayward in two of her breakthrough performances. He received an Oscar nomination in 1949 for his contribution to the visual effects of the film ''Tulsa''. Partial filmography As editor *'' The Love Light'' (1921) * '' They Shall Pay'' (1921) *'' Cytherea'' (1924) *''Tarnish'' (1924) * '' The Silent Stranger'' (1924) *'' In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter'' (1924) *'' Stella Dallas'' (1925) *'' L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Dragon Society
The , or the Amur River Society, was a prominent paramilitary, ultranationalist group in Japan. History The ''Kokuryūkai'' was founded in 1901 by martial artist Uchida Ryohei as a successor to his mentor Mitsuru Tōyama's '' Gen'yōsha''. Its name is derived from the translation of the Amur River, which is called Heilongjiang or "Black Dragon River" in Chinese (黑龍江 ?), read as ''Kokuryū-kō'' in Japanese. Its public goal was to support efforts to keep the Russian Empire north of the Amur River and out of East Asia. The ''Kokuryūkai'' initially made strenuous efforts to distance itself from the criminal elements of its predecessor, the ''Gen'yōsha''. As a result, its membership included Cabinet Ministers and high-ranking military officers as well as professional intelligence operatives. However, as time passed, it found the use of criminal activities to be a convenient means to an end for many of its operations. The Society published a journal, the ''Kokuryū Kaiho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetsu Komai
(23 April 1894 – 10 August 1970), also known as Tetsuo Komai, was a Japanese-American actor, known for his minor roles in Hollywood films. Biography Born in Kumamoto, Kyushu, Komai had small parts in over 50 films from the 1920s until the mid 1960s. In his early films, Tetsu, who was usually called on to play Chinese characters, was often described with derogatory terms such as " Chinaman,". He played the villain in many of his films. Komai emigrated to the United States in December 1907, arriving at the Port of Seattle; he lived in Seattle for several years after this initial immigration. During the Second World War, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, the actor, his wife, and their children were interned with groups of other Japanese-Americans and Japanese resident aliens at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona from August 27, 1942 to November 3, 1945.''Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II''; ''U.S., Final Accountability Rosters of Evacu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Cardwell (actor)
James Cardwell (born Albert Paine Cardwell; November 21, 1921 – January 31, 1954) was an American actor who appeared in more than 20 Hollywood films in the 1940s. Career Cardwell is probably best known for his debut as George Sullivan in 1944's Oscar-nominated ''The Fighting Sullivans'', based on the true story of five navy brothers who died in action together when their ship was torpedoed in the Pacific Theater during World War II. His other significant roles included the Benny Goodman musical ''Sweet and Low-Down'' (1944), the World War II drama '' A Walk in the Sun'' (1945), and the police drama ''He Walked by Night'' (1948). Reviewing the 1945 Charlie Chan mystery ''The Shanghai Cobra'', the ''Kentucky New Era'' remarked that "James Cardwell, a newcomer to the screen, shows himself to be a fine actor as the romantic lead opposite beautiful Joan Barclay." However, he found himself consigned to B-movies; 1949's '' Daughter of the Jungle'', in which Cardwell played the ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Goodwin (American Actor)
Harold Goodwin (December 1, 1902 – July 12, 1987) was an American actor who performed in over 225 films. Biography Goodwin began his film career at age 12. Goodwin's first starring role came in '' Oliver Twist, Jr.'' (1921). He also appeared as Jeff Brown in the 1927 Buster Keaton comedy ''College''. He followed up with a role in another Keaton film ''The Cameraman'' in 1928, opposite Keaton and actress Marceline Day. Goodwin worked steadily through the silent film era and transitioned into the talkie era as a character actor, often as a "tough guy" because of his athletic stature. He was seen in the role of Detering in the 1930 Lewis Milestone-directed World War I drama ''All Quiet on the Western Front''. His subsequent film roles were mostly small and uncredited. In his later years Goodwin mainly acted in the Western film genre and often worked as a stuntman for film studios. In the 1960s, he made many guest appearances on the NBC television series ''Daniel Boone'', star ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lora Lee Michel
Lora Lee Michel (born Virginia Joy Willeford, September 13, 1940) is an American former child actress. She appeared in several feature films during the Golden Age of Hollywood in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1950, she was the focus of a custody dispute in Beverly Hills, California, in which she alleged that her adoptive mother had beaten and starved her. She came to public attention again in 1963 when she and her third husband were sentenced in federal court for stealing a car and driving it across state lines. After her release from prison, she disappeared. It is believed she died from cancer in 1979. Early life and family Michel was born in La Grange, Texas, on September 13, 1940, to Willie Walker Willeford and Lena Smith Brunson. Brunson gave Michel and two other younger siblings up for adoption when Michel was five years old. She was adopted by Otto and Lorraine Michel in Schulenburg, Texas. As of 2014, Michel has one living sister, Barbara Michel Wright. Career Miche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhys Williams (Welsh-American Actor)
Rhys Williams (31 December 1897 – 28 May 1969) was a Welsh character actor. He appeared in 78 films over a span of 30 years and later appeared on American television series. Career He made his 1941 film debut in the role of Dai Bando in ''How Green Was My Valley'', a drama about a working-class Welsh family that won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Williams was the only Welsh actor in the cast. He is believed to have been the original narrator of the film, and was originally hired by director John Ford as a dialogue coach. During television's early years in America, Williams was in scores of series episodes, including the '' Adventures of Superman'' as a sadistic character in the 1952 episode "The Evil Three". Williams played art collector Rufus Varner in the 1958 ''Perry Mason'' episode, "The Case of the Purple Woman", and appeared on the religion anthology series, ''Crossroads''. His other television work was on such programmes as ''The Rifleman'', ''The DuPont Show ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Meredith (actor)
Charles Meredith (August 27, 1894 – November 28, 1964) was an American film and television actor. Biography Meredith was born in Knoxville, Pennsylvania. He was a popular silent film leading man and played opposite such actresses as Blanche Sweet, Mary Miles Minter, Florence Vidor, and others in romantic drama and comedy films. In 1924, he left his film career for work on the stage. He returned to film in 1947 where he played a number of small character roles. Toward the end of his career, he turned to television as well, notably as Secretary Drake in the ''Rocky Jones, Space Ranger'' (1954) series. He also appeared in three episodes of ''The Lone Ranger'', each time as a doctor, including the "Cannonball McKay" (1949) episode (1/16) as Doc Tate. He died, aged 70 in 1964, in Los Angeles, California. Partial filmography * '' The Other Half'' (1919) - Donald Trent * ''Poor Relations'' (1919) - Monty Rhodes * ''Luck in Pawn'' (1919) - Richard Standish Norton * ''The T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teru Shimada
Teru Shimada (島田輝 ''Shimada Teru'', born Akira Shimada (島田明 ''Shimada Akira''); November 17, 1905 – June 19, 1988) was a Japanese-American actor. A '' Nikkeijin'' (first-generation Japanese-American), Shimada emigrated to the United States in the early 1930s to follow in the footsteps of his idol Sessue Hayakawa, where he began acting in theatre before finding a steady career playing supporting roles in Hollywood films. After being interned during World War II, Shimada found a career resurgence starring opposite Humphrey Bogart in the 1949 film, '' Tokyo Joe.'' Shimada subsequently appeared in many films and television series throughout the 1950s and 60s. He also appeared in an episode ("And Five of Us are Left") of the 1960s American television series ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' in 1965. That year, he also made a guest appearance on ''Perry Mason'' as Dr. Maseo Tachikawa in "The Case of the Baffling Bug" and as Ito Kumagi in the 1962 episode "The Case of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon Jones (actor)
Gordon Wynnivo Jones (April 5, 1912 – June 20, 1963) was an American character actor, a member of John Wayne's informal acting company best known for playing Lou Costello's TV nemesis "Mike the Cop" and appearing as The Green Hornet in the first of two movie serials based on that old-time radio program. Career Iowa-born Jones had been a student athlete and star football guard ("Bull" Jones) at University of California, Los Angeles, and had also played a few seasons of professional football. He started out playing small roles in Wesley Ruggles' and Ernest B. Schoedsack's ''The Monkey's Paw'' (1933), his first credited role in Sam Wood's '' Let 'Em Have It'' (1935), and Sidney Lanfield's '' Red Salute'' (1935). By 1937, he had moved on to a contract at RKO Radio Pictures. In 1940, Jones had the title role in ''The Green Hornet'' but did not reprise the role in the sequel. Jones held a reserve commission in the Army and was called into the service after filming his roles as " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerome Courtland
Jerome Courtland (December 27, 1926 – March 1, 2012) was an American actor, director and producer. He acted in films in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and in television in the 1950s and 1960s. Courtland also appeared on Broadway in the musical ''Flahooley'' in the early 1950s. He directed and produced television series in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He served in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Biography Actor Jerome "Jerry" Courtland was born Courtland Jourolmon Jr. on December 27, 1926 in Knoxville, Tennessee. At 17, he attended a Hollywood party with his mother, a professional singer. A chance meeting with director Charles Vidor led to a screen test at Columbia Pictures and a seven-year contract. Courtland's feature debut was in Vidor's 1944 screwball comedy ''Together Again'', before he joined the U.S. Army, serving in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. After the War, Courtland starred opposite Shirley Temple in ''Kiss and Tell'', followed by appearances in more than ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sessue Hayakawa
, known professionally as , was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man in the United States and Europe. His "broodingly handsome" good looks and typecasting as a sexually dominant villain made him a heartthrob among American women during a time of racial discrimination, and he became one of the first male sex symbols of Hollywood. After withdrawing from the Japanese naval academy and attempting suicide at 18, Hayakawa attended the University of Chicago, where he studied political economics in accordance with his wealthy parents' wish that he become a banker. Upon graduating, he traveled to Los Angeles in order to board a scheduled ship back to Japan, but decided to try out acting in Little Tokyo. There, Hayakawa impressed Hollywood figures and was signed on to star in '' The Typhoon'' (1914). He made his br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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