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Casting The Runes
"Casting the Runes" is a short story written by the English writer M. R. James. It was first published in 1911 as the fourth story in '' More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'', which was James' second collection of ghost stories. Plot summary Mr. Edward Dunning is a researcher for the British Museum. At the beginning of the story he has recently reviewed ''The Truth of Alchemy'' by Mr. Karswell, an alchemist and occultist. Afterwards, he begins seeing the name John Harrington displayed wherever he goes. He learns that Harrington also reviewed Karswell's work and died in a freak accident not long after. Harrington's brother helps Dunning discover that Karswell cursed both men by slipping them a piece of paper with some runes on it. They deduce that the curse, once cast, will cause the bearer to die in three months. They track down Karswell a day before the curse is set to kill Dunning and manage to return the runes to him. Karswell dies the next day, killed by a stone that falls ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WikiProject Novels
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is an affinity group for contributors with shared goals within the Wikimedia movement. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within Wikimedia project, sibling projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by ''Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outsi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Night Of The Demon
''Night of the Demon'' (U.S. title: ''Curse of the Demon'') is a 1957 British horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Niall MacGinnis. It was produced by Hal E. Chester and Frank Bevis, and was adapted from the M. R. James story "Casting the Runes". The film's storyline concerns an American psychologist (Andrews) who travels to England to investigate a satanic cult suspected in more than one death. Turbulent artistic differences arose between producer Hal E. Chester on one side, and director Tourneur and writer Charles Bennett on the other over Chester's plan to show the demon on screen, but Chester prevailed. To accelerate the pace and make the film more commercial, the 96-minute original feature was trimmed down to 82 minutes prior to its release in the United States. This shortened version was retitled ''Curse of the Demon,'' playing in June 1958 as the second half of a double feature with either '' The True Story of Lynn S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escape (radio Program)
''Escape'' is an American radio drama. It was radio's leading anthology series of high-adventure radio dramas, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Overview Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like '' Suspense'' (a sister program that often used the same actors and scripts), it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, ''Escape'' enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's '' Night on Bald Mountain'' with this introduction, as intoned by William Conrad and later Paul Frees: :"Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... ''Escape!''" Following the opening theme, a second announcer (usually Roy Rowan) would add: :"''Escape''! Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iain Cuthbertson
Iain Cuthbertson (4 January 1930 – 4 September 2009) was a Scottish actor and theatre director. He was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive gravelly, heavily accented voice. He had lead roles in ''The Borderers'' (1968–1970), ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' (1971), '' Budgie'' (1971–1972), its spinoff '' Charles Endell Esquire'' (1979–1980), ''Danger UXB'' (1979) and ''Sutherland's Law'' (1973–1976), as well as the films ''The Railway Children'' (1970), and ''Gorillas in the Mist'' (1988). He guest starred in many prominent British shows including '' The Avengers'', ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'', ''The Onedin Line'', '' Survivors'', ''Ripping Yarns'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Z-Cars'', ''Juliet Bravo'', '' Rab C. Nesbitt'', ''Minder'', ''Inspector Morse'' and ''Agatha Christie's Poirot''. Early life Cuthbertson was born in 1930, the son of the biochemist Sir David Cuthbertson, and brought up in Glasgow. He was educated at Glasgow Academy. He moved to Aberdee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Francis
Janet Stephanie Francis (born 5 August 1947) is an English actress. She appeared as Penny Warrender in the 1980s romantic comedy '' Just Good Friends''. Early life Francis was born at the former Charing Cross Hospital London. She is the eldest child of Frank Francis, a clerical officer with the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and Marjorie (née Watling), an employment agent, who were married in 1944. She was brought up in Streatham and was educated at the Lady Edridge Grammar School. After training as a dancer at the Royal Ballet Senior School from which she graduated in 1965, Francis performed with the Royal Ballet Touring Company in Britain, in the rest of Europe and the United States. Francis left the Royal Ballet in September 1969 to pursue an acting career. Acting Francis made the transfer to becoming an actress through choreography, and performed with the Cheltenham Repertory Company between 1969 and 1970. She first appeared on television in 1972 in the mini- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ITV Playhouse
''Playhouse'', also known as ''ITV Playhouse'', is a British television anthology series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire '' Dramarama''. The series would mostly include original material from writers, but adaptations of existing works were also produced (such as the 1979 production of M.R. James' horror story '' Casting the Runes''). Actors Actors appearing in the series included: Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews, Basdeo Panday, Lloyd Peters, Anna Massey, Peter Sallis, Kim Fortune, Wanda Ventham, Gillian Martell, Glory Annen, Christine Shaw and Christopher Driscoll. Selected episodes * '' Entertaining Mr. Sloane'' (196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casting The Runes (1979 Film)
''Casting the Runes'' is a British supernatural television drama produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network in 1979. Running at 50 minutes, it is based on the story ''Casting the Runes'' by British writer and academic M. R. James, first published in 1911 as the fourth story in '' More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'', which was James' second collection of ghost stories. Directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark for the anthology series ''ITV Playhouse'', it was first broadcast on 24 April 1979. Adapted by Clive Exton,Scovell, Adam''Folk Horror: Hours Dreadful and Things Strange'' Auteur Publishing (2017), Google Books it reimagines the events of James's story taking place in the late 1970s and changes the central protagonist to be a female character.''Casting the Runes'' (1979) < ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Eddison
Robert Leadam Eddison, OBE (10 June 1908 – 14 December 1991) was an English actor, who despite his lengthy career as a classical stage actor, is probably most widely remembered in the role of the Grail Knight in ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''. He also played Merlin in the BBC television series '' The Legend of King Arthur'', and the tragic ferryman in '' The Storyteller'' episode "The Luck Child". Eddison was an award-winning actor, known for his mellifluously resonant, baritone voice and long, lean figure. Throughout his 60-year career he was constantly in demand as an actor and worked with many of Britain's greatest stage actors, often during the early formative years of their careers, including Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi and Maggie Smith. Early life Eddison was born in Yokohama, Japan, to Edwin Eddison and Hilda Muriel Leadham. He had a twin brother, Talbot Leadam Eddison, who later became a Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy and received the Distinguished Service Cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Fraser (actor)
John Alexander Fraser (18 March 1931 – 6 November 2020) was a Scottish actor and author. He is best known for his performances in the films '' The Dam Busters'' (1955), ''The Good Companions'' (1957), '' The Trials of Oscar Wilde'' (1960), ''El Cid'' (1961), '' Repulsion'' (1965) and '' Isadora'' (1968). Career One of his earliest roles was as Inigo Jollifant in the second film version of J.B. Priestley's ''The Good Companions'' (1957). Later, Fraser had leading roles in films such as ''El Cid'', '' Tunes of Glory'', '' The Trials of Oscar Wilde'' (playing Lord Alfred Douglas), Roman Polanski's '' Repulsion'', '' Isadora'' and '' Schizo''. He made appearances on television series including '' Danger Man'' (1964), '' Casting the Runes'' (1968), '' Randall and Hopkirk'' (1969), '' Columbo'' (1972), ''Doctor Who'' (1981), and ''The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mystery And Imagination
''Mystery and Imagination'' is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by the ITV network and produced by ABC and (later) Thames Television. Outline The series featured television plays based on the works of well-known authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, M. R. James, and Edgar Allan Poe. All Bar one of the first two ABC series starred David Buck as Richard Beckett, originally a character from Sheridan Le Fanu's story "The Flying Dragon", as narrator. Beckett was made the central character of the series, taking the roles of various characters from some of the original stories. The first two series, although transmitted as two separate runs, were recorded in a single production block. The episode without Buck as the lead ("The Open Door") features Jack Hawkins. Unlike BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlatan
A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. One example of a charlatan appears in the ''Canterbury Tales'' story " The Pardoner's Tale," with the Pardoner who tricks sinners into buying fake religious relics. Synonyms for ''charlatan'' include '' shyster'', ''quack'', or ''faker''. ''Quack'' is a reference to ''quackery'' or the practice of dubious medicine, including the sale of snake oil, or a person who does not have medical training who purports to provide medical services. Etymology The English word comes from French '','' a seller of medicines who might advertise his presence with music and an outdoor stage show. The best known of the Parisian charlatans was Tabarin, whose skits and farces – which were influenced by ''commedia dell'arte'' – inspired the 17th century playwright Molière. The word is also simil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niall MacGinnis
Patrick Niall MacGinnis (29 March 1913 – 6 January 1977) was an Irish actor and physician. On screen, he was well-known for his character roles with a "poetic timbre", though he occasionally played leading parts like the title character in ''Martin Luther'' (1953) and the occultist antagonist of the classic horror film '' Night of the Demon'' (1957). In theatre, he was an accomplished Shakespearean, and a member of the Old Vic Company. Early life and education MacGinnis was born in the Ranelagh area of Dublin in 1913,"Niall MacGinnis" ''BFI''. Retrieved 9 October 2020. the son of Mary Josephine (née Kelly) and Patrick F. MacGinnis. He was educated at Stonyhurst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
