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Black Magic (1949 Film)
''Black Magic'' is a 1949 Italian–American adventure drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Orson Welles, Nancy Guild and Akim Tamiroff. Set in the 18th century, it chronicles the life of Joseph Balsamo, an illusionist and charlatan who also went by the alias of Count Cagliostro. It is an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' 1848 novel ''Joseph Balsamo''. Plot Alexandre Dumas, Sr. tells his son Alexandre Dumas, Jr. the story of Joseph Balsamo, also known as Cagliostro. Through flashbacks, we learn that Balsamo was a French gypsy boy who endured much hardship. He was tortured under the command of Viscount de Montaigne and his parents were ordered to hang. He was rescued by some gypsies led by Gitano and swears revenge on de Montaigne. Some years later, he learns the secrets of hypnosis from Dr. Mesmer ( Charles Goldner). Ignoring the doctor's advice that he use his powers for healing, he exploits his new talent to the full, gaining wealth and prestige. After changing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was best known for his role as producer "Max Fabian" in ''All About Eve'' (1950). Early life Ratoff was born in Samara, Russia, to Jewish parents. His mother was Sophie (née Markison) who claimed to have been born on September 1, 1878, but was married on June 14, 1894, when she would have been 15, to Benjamin Ratner (born 1864),Ancestry Library Edition with whom she had four children, the eldest of whom was Grigory, whose date of birth she gave as April 7, 1895 but later April 20 was cited as Gregory Ratoff's birthdate, and the year given as 1893, 1896 and 1897, variously. Sophie Ratner later adopted her son's stage surname (Ratoff) when she herself became a naturalized United States citizen. Sophie Ratoff died on August 27, 1955. Her date of birth is given as September 13, 1877 in the California Death Index (1940� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drama (film And Television)
In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-genre, macro-genre, or micro-genre, such as soap opera, police procedural, police crime drama, political drama, legal drama, historical drama, domestic drama, Drama (film and television)#Teen drama, teen drama, and comedy drama (dramedy). These terms tend to indicate a particular Setting (narrative), setting or subject matter, or they combine a drama's otherwise serious tone with elements that encourage a broader range of Mood (literature), moods. To these ends, a primary element in a drama is the occurrence of Conflict (process), conflict—emotional, social, or otherwise—and its resolution in the course of the storyline. All forms of Film industry, cinema or television that involve Fiction, fiction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregory Gaye
Gregory Gaye (born Grigoriy Grigoryevich Ge; October 10, 1900 – August 23, 1993) was a Russian-American character actor. The son of an actor, he was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was the uncle of actor George Gaynes. He was a cadet in the Imperial Russian Navy and began his stage career in Europe and in the Orient before going to the United States after the Russian Revolution in 1923. He appeared in small roles in over a hundred movies. Career His first role was a bit part in the 1928 John Barrymore silent film '' Tempest'', set during the Russian Revolution. His first credited role was as Prince Ordinsky in the 1929 Will Rogers comedy ''They Had to See Paris''. Gaye appeared in three of Rogers' movies including; '' Young as You Feel'' and '' Handy Andy''. Later in 1929, Gaye received a bit part in the John Ford film '' The Black Watch'' starring Victor McLaglen (John Wayne and Randolph Scott also had bit parts in this movie). In 1930, Gaye received a good role ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berry Kroeger
Berry Kroeger (October 16, 1912 – January 4, 1991) was an American film, television and stage actor. Career Kroeger was born in San Antonio, Texas. He got his acting start on radio as an announcer on ''Suspense'' and as an actor, playing for a time '' The Falcon'' in the radio seriesSies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . pg. 13. Also on radio, he portrayed Dr. Reed Bannister on '' Big Sister'', narrated ''Salute to Youth'', and was a regular as Sam Williams on ''Young Doctor Malone''. Kroeger made his Broadway debut on December 6, 1943, at the Royale Theatre as Miley in Nunnally Johnson's '' The World's Full of Girls'', which was adapted from Thomas Bell's 1943 novel ''Till I Come Back to You''. He went on to appear in ''Reclining Figure'' (1954), ''Julius Caesar'' (1950), and ''The Tempest'' (1944). He portrayed the High Lama in the 1956 musical adaptation of '' Lost Horizon'' titled ''Sha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madame Du Barry
Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry (; 28 August 1744 – 8 December 1793) was the last ''maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution on accusations of treason—particularly being suspected of assisting ''émigrés'' to flee from the Revolution. She is also known as "Mademoiselle Vaubernier" (). In 1768, when the king wished to make Jeanne ''maîtresse-en-titre'', etiquette required her to be the wife of a high courtier, so she was hastily married on 1 September 1768 to Comte Guillaume du Barry. The wedding ceremony was accompanied by a false birth certificate created by Jean-Baptiste du Barry, the comte's older brother. The certificate made Jeanne appear younger by three years and obscured her poor background. Henceforth, she was recognised as the king's official paramour. Her arrival at the French royal court scandalised some, as she had been a courtesan and came from humble beginnings. She was shunned by many i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margot Grahame
Margot Grahame (born Margaret Clark; 20 February 1911 – 1 January 1982) was an English actress most noted for starring in '' The Informer'' (1935) and ''The Three Musketeers'' (1935). She started acting in 1930 and made her last screen appearance in 1958. Film actress Her family went to South Africa when she was three years old, which led to her being educated there. She began her stage career in Pretoria, with Dennis Neilson-Terry, a few weeks after leaving school at the age of 14. She made her London stage debut in 1927 as understudy to Mary Glynne in ''The Terror''. Her screen debut was in the 1930 film '' Rookery Nook''. During the early 1930s, Grahame was gradually becoming a popular actress in Britain. Hollywood producers were impressed that, in only three years, she had appeared in 42 major roles in British films. After she went to America, she was signed to a long-term contract with RKO and performed in a number of movies from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s. Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valentina Cortese
Valentina Elena Cortese Rossi di Coenzo (1 January 1923 – 10 July 2019), sometimes credited as Valentina Cortesa, was an Italian film and theatre actress. Her screen career spanned over 100 productions across over five decades, from 1941 until 1993. Cortese won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, for her performance in the film ''Day for Night'' (1973). In 2013, she received the French Order of Arts and Letters. Over the course of her career, Cortese worked with many important Italian and international directors, including Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Franco Zeffirelli, François Truffaut, Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Terry Gilliam. She was also active on stage, particularly in the company of Giorgio Strehler. Critic Morando Morandini described her as "one of the last divas of Italian theatre.... a mix of floral liberty, subdued decadence, belated D'Annunzio-ism and neurotic modern s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Latimore
Franklin Latimore (born Franklin Latimore Kline; September 28, 1925 – November 29, 1998) was an American actor. Life and career Latimore was born in Darien, Connecticut. He came from a well-to-do family, and was able to trace his lineage back to the American Revolutionary War. He ran away from home at an early age, and shortly thereafter got the lead part in a Broadway play. He began his acting career in the 1930s, when he and longtime friend Lloyd Bridges performed in summer stock theater at a playhouse in Weston, Vermont. Latimore then went to Hollywood where he signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox, and proceeded to appear in such hits as '' In the Meantime, Darling'', '' The Dolly Sisters'', '' Three Little Girls in Blue'', and '' Shock''. After his years at Fox, he made films in Europe, most of which were swashbucklers such as ''Balboa, Conquistador of the Pacific'', ''The Golden Falcon'', '' Devil's Cavaliers,'' and many others, including two Zorro films and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Affair Of The Diamond Necklace
The Affair of the Diamond Necklace (, "Affair of the Queen's Necklace") was an incident from 1784 to 1785 at the court of King Louis XVI of France that involved his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The queen's reputation, already tarnished by gossip, was further sullied by the false accusation that she had participated in a crime to defraud the Crown's jewellers in acquiring a very expensive diamond necklace she then refused to pay for. In reality, she had rejected the idea of buying it only to have her signature forged by Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy. Although Valois-Saint-Rémy was later convicted, the event remains historically significant as one of many that led to the French disillusionment with the monarchy, in that it was one of the contemporary scandals that gave moral weight and popular support for the French Revolution. Background In 1772, Louis XV of France decided to make Madame du Barry, one of his mistresses, a special gift at the estimated cost of 2,000,000 livres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the wife of Louis XVI. Born Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, she was the penultimate child and youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor Francis I. She married Louis Auguste, Dauphin of France, in May 1770 at age 14, becoming the Dauphine of France. On 10 May 1774, her husband ascended the throne as Louis XVI, and she became queen. As queen, Marie Antoinette became increasingly a target of criticism by opponents of the domestic and foreign policies of Louis XVI and those opposed to the monarchy in general. The French accused her of being profligate, promiscuous, having illegitimate children, and harboring sympathies for France's perceived enemies, including her native Habsburg monarchy, Austria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Goldner
Charles Goldner (7 December 1900 - 15 April 1955) was an Austrian-born actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ... who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s. Born in Vienna, Austria, on 7 December 1900, he made his screen debut in the 1940 film '' Room for Two'' and went on to appear in '' Brighton Rock'', '' No Orchids for Miss Blandish'', '' Bond Street'' and '' The Captain's Paradise''. His stage work included starring in the 1954 Broadway musical '' The Girl in Pink Tights''. He died on 15 April 1955 in London, England. Partial filmography * '' Room for Two'' (1940) - (uncredited) * '' The Seventh Survivor'' (1942) - Tony Anzoni * '' Mr. Emmanuel'' (1944) - Committee Secretary * '' Flight from Folly'' (1945) - Ramon * '' The Laughing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franz Mesmer
Franz Anton Mesmer ( ; ; 23 May 1734 – 5 March 1815) was a German physician with an interest in astronomy. He theorized the existence of a process of natural Energy (esotericism), energy transference occurring between all animate and inanimate objects; this he called "animal magnetism", later referred to as ''mesmerism''. Mesmer's theory attracted a wide following between about 1780 and 1850, and continued to have some influence until the end of the 19th century.Crabtree, introduction In 1843, the Scottish doctor James Braid (surgeon), James Braid proposed the term "hypnosis, hypnotism" for a technique derived from animal magnetism; today the word "wiktionary:en:mesmerism, mesmerism" generally functions as a synonym of "hypnosis". Mesmer also supported the arts, specifically music; he was on friendly terms with Haydn and Mozart. Early life Mesmer was born in the village of Iznang (now part of the municipality of Moos, Baden-Württemberg, Moos), on the shore of Lake Constance i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
