|
Audrey Totter
Audrey Mary Totter (December 20, 1917 – December 12, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s. Early life Audrey – some sources indicate "Audra" – Totter was born in 1917 and grew up in Joliet in Will County in northeastern Illinois. Her parents were John Totter, who was born in Slovenia with birth name Janez, and Ida Mae Totter. Her father was of Slovenian American descent and her mother was Swedish American. She had two brothers, Folger and George, and a sister, Collette. Totter graduated from Joliet High School, where she acted in school plays. Career Radio Totter began her acting career in radio in the late 1930s in Chicago, only 40 miles northeast of Joliet. She played in soap operas, including ''Painted Dreams'', ''Ma Perkins'', and '' Bright Horizon''. She created the role of Millie Bronson in the radio show Meet Millie, a situation comedy about a wisecracking Manhattan secreta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of 150,362 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Illinois, third-most populous city in Illinois. History In 1673, Louis Jolliet, along with Father Jacques Marquette, paddled up the Des Plaines River and camped on a huge earthwork mound, a few miles south of present-day Joliet. Maps from Jolliet's exploration of the area showed a large hill or mound down river from Chicago, labeled Mont Joliet. The mound has since been flattened due to mining. In 1833, following the Black Hawk War, Charles Reed built a cabin along the west side of the Des Plaines River. Across the river in 1834, James B. Campbell, treasurer of the canal commissioners, laid out the village of "Juliet", a corruption of "Joliet" t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Main Street After Dark
''Main Street After Dark'' is a 1945 American drama film directed by Edward L. Cahn and written by John C. Higgins and Karl Kamb. The film stars Edward Arnold, Selena Royle, Tom Trout, Audrey Totter, Dan Duryea, Hume Cronyn and Dorothy Morris. The film was released on January 12, 1945, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Plot Lt. Lorrigan has his hands full with the Dibson criminal family. Ma Dibson's thieving son Lefty is about to get out of prison. Her daughter Rosalie and Lefty's wife Jessie Belle pick up military servicemen in bars and steal from them. Lorrigan keeps an eye on all. He frisks Lefty's brother Posey, warning the Dibsons to keep out of trouble. Lefty immediately plans to rob McBain, owner of the bar where Rosalie and Jessie Belle fleece the servicemen. Using guns from pawnbroker Keller, expressly against Ma's wishes, Lefty falls into Lt. Lorrigan's trap, with undercover cops disguised as soldiers. In the struggle, Posey is accidentally shot. Lefty, Ma and the girls are a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claude Rains
William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British and American actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. He was the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Academy Award nominations for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and is considered one of the screen's great character stars who played cultured villains during the Golden Age of Hollywood. From McFarlane's ''Encyclopedia of British Film''. London: Methuen/BFI, 2003, p. 545 The son of a stage actor, Rains began acting on stage in his native London in the 1900s. He became a leading thespian on the West End theatre, West End, and an acting teacher at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He moved to the United States in the late 1920s and became a successful Broadway theatre, Broadway star, before making his American film debut as Griffin (The Invisible Man), Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man (1933 film), The Invisible Man'' (1933). He went on to play prominent rol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warner Bros
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Founded on April 4, 1923, by four brothers, Harry Warner, Harry, Albert Warner, Albert, Sam Warner, Sam and Jack L. Warner, Jack Warner, the company established itself as a leader in the American film industry before diversifying into animation, television, and video games. It is one of the "Major film studios, Big Five" major American film studios and a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). The company is known for its film studio division, the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, which includes Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Castle Rock Entertainment and the Warner Bros. Television Group. Bugs Bunny, a character created for the ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Unsuspected
''The Unsuspected'' is a 1947 American mystery film noir directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Claude Rains, Audrey Totter, Ted North, Constance Bennett, Joan Caulfield, and Hurd Hatfield. The film was based on the 1946 novel of the same title by Charlotte Armstrong. The screenplay was co-written by Bess Meredyth, who was married to director Curtiz. Plot In the suburban New York home of Victor Grandison (Claude Rains), a shadowy figure murders his secretary, Roslyn Wright (Barbara Woodell). He leaves her body hanging from a chandelier, and the death is reported as a suicide. A week later Victor is broadcasting an episode of his popular "true crime" radio show, "The Unsuspected". At his home, his niece Althea (Audrey Totter) is throwing a surprise birthday party for Victor. She hopes it will take his mind off the combined loss of his secretary and his wealthy ward, Matilda (Joan Caulfield), who reportedly perished in a sinking ship en route to Portugal weeks earlier. Oliver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jayne Meadows
Jayne Meadows (born Jane Cotter; September 27, 1919 – April 26, 2015) was an American stage, film and television actress, as well as an author and lecturer. She was nominated for three Emmy Awards during her career and was the elder sister of actress, banker, and memoirist Audrey Meadows as well as the wife of original ''Tonight Show'' host Steve Allen. Early life Meadows was born Jane Cotter in 1919, in Wuchang, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, the elder daughter of American Episcopal missionary parents, the Rev. Francis James Meadows Cotter and his wife, the former Ida Miller Taylor, who had married in 1915.Miss Ida M. Taylor to be Bride of Rev. F.J.M. Cotter on May 27 '' |
Robert Montgomery (actor)
Robert Montgomery (; born Henry Montgomery Jr.; May 21, 1904 – September 27, 1981) was an American actor, director, and producer. He began his acting career on the stage, but was soon hired by MGM. Initially assigned roles in comedies, he soon proved he was able to handle dramatic ones, as well. He appeared in a wide variety of roles, such as the weak-willed prisoner Kent in '' The Big House'' (1930), the psychotic Danny in '' Night Must Fall'' (1937), and Joe, the boxer mistakenly sent to Heaven in '' Here Comes Mr. Jordan'' (1941). The last two earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor. During World War II, he drove ambulances in France until the Dunkirk evacuation. When the United States entered the war on December 8, 1941, he enlisted in the Navy, and was present at the invasion at Normandy. After the war, he returned to Hollywood, where he worked in both films, and later, in television. He was also the father of actress Elizabeth Montgomery. Ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lana Turner
Julia Jean "Lana" Turner ( ; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. In the mid-1940s, she was one of the highest-paid American actresses, and one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM's biggest stars, with her films earning approximately one billion dollars in 2024 currency for the studio during her 18-year contract with them. Turner is frequently cited as a popular culture icon due to her glamour (presentation), glamorous persona, and a screen legend of the classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She was nominated for Lana Turner performances and awards, numerous awards. Born to working-class parents in Idaho, Turner spent her childhood there before her family relocated to California. In 1936, at the age of 15, she was discovered by a talent scout, while shopping at the Top Hat Soda shop, malt shop in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Garfield
John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle; March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of the Group Theatre (New York), Group Theatre. In 1937, he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner Bros.' stars. He received Academy Awards, Academy Award nominations for his performances in ''Four Daughters (1938 film), Four Daughters'' (1938) and ''Body and Soul (1947 film), Body and Soul'' (1947). Called to testify before the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), he denied Communist Party USA, communist affiliation and refused to "name names", effectively ending his film career. Some have alleged that the stress of this persecution led to his premature death at 39 from a heart attack. Garfield is acknowledged as a predecessor of such Method acting, Method actors as Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coleen Gray
Coleen Gray (born Doris Jensen; October 23, 1922 – August 3, 2015) was an American actress. She was best known for her roles in the films '' Nightmare Alley'' (1947), '' Red River'' (1948), and Stanley Kubrick's '' The Killing'' (1956). Early years Born to Danish parents in Staplehurst, Nebraska, Gray grew up on a farm. After graduating from Hutchinson High School as Doris Jensen, she studied art, literature, and music at Hamline University, and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts. She travelled to California, and worked as a waitress in a restaurant in La Jolla. After several weeks there, she moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at UCLA. She also worked in the school's library and at a YWCA while a student. Stage She had leading roles in the Los Angeles stage productions ''Letters to Lucerne'' and ''Brief Music'', which won her a 20th Century Fox contract in 1944.Magers, p. 94. Film appearances After playing a bit part in ''State Fair'' (1945), she beca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area and has a national audience. As of 2023, the ''Post'' had 130,000 print subscribers and 2.5 million digital subscribers, both of which were the List of newspapers in the United States, third-largest among U.S. newspapers after ''The New York Times'' and ''The Wall Street Journal''. The ''Post'' was founded in 1877. In its early years, it went through several owners and struggled both financially and editorially. In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer (financier), Eugene Meyer purchased it out of bankruptcy and revived its health and reputation; this work was continued by his successors Katharine Graham, Katharine and Phil Graham, Meyer's daughter and son-in-law, respectively, who bought out several rival publications. The ''Post ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Film Noir
Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American film noir. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key lighting, low-key, black-and-white visual style that has roots in German expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and attitudes expressed in classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression, known as noir fiction. The term ''film noir'', French for "black film" (literal) or "dark film" (closer meaning), was first applied to Hollywood films by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, but was unrecognized by most American film industry professionals of that era. Frank is believed to have been inspired by the French literary publishing imprint Série noire, founded in 1945. Cinema hist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
