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Climax!
''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color, using the massive TK-40A color cameras pioneered and manufactured by RCA, and used primarily by CBS's rival network, NBC (the broadcasting division of RCA). Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live, but, although the series was transmitted in color, only black-and-white ''kinescope'' copies of some episodes survive to the present day. The series finished at #22 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1955–1956 season and #26 for 1956–1957. Production In February 1955, Martin Manulis became the producer, replacing Bretaigne Windust. The trade publication '' Variety'' reported that the change in producers would be accompanied by a change in format. It said, "The sponsor, Chrysler, has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Martin Manulis
Martin Ellyot Manulis (May 30, 1915 – September 28, 2007) was an American television, film, and theatre producer. Manulis was best known for his work in the 1950s producing the CBS Television programs ''Suspense'', '' Studio One Summer Theatre'', ''Climax!'', '' The Best of Broadway'' and ''Playhouse 90''. He was the sole producer of the award-winning drama series, ''Playhouse 90'', during its first two seasons from 1956 to 1958. After leaving ''Playhouse 90'', Manulis was the "head of television" for 20th Century Fox Television where he was responsible for creating and producing the series, '' The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'', '' Adventures in Paradise'', and '' Five Fingers''. In 1962, he produced the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick. Early years Manulis was born and raised in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. His father, Abraham "Gus" Manulis, immigrated to the United States from Russia in 1897, became a naturalized U.S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, active first in Europe and later in the United States. Known for his timidly devious characters, his appearance, and accented voice, he was frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner. He has been caricatured throughout his life and his cultural legacy remains in media today. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before moving to Germany, where he worked first on the stage, then in film, in Berlin during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Lorre, who was Jewish, left Germany after Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power. Lorre caused an international sensation in the Weimar Republic–era film ''M (1931 film), M'' (1931) where he portrayed a serial killer who preys on little girls. His second English-language film was Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 film), The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1934), made in the United K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Casino Royale (novel)
''Casino Royale'' is the first novel by the British author Ian Fleming. Published in 1953, it is the first List of James Bond novels and short stories, ''James Bond'' book, and it paved the way for a further eleven novels and two short story anthology, collections by Fleming, followed by numerous continuation Bond novels by other authors. The story concerns the British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond, gambling at the casino in Royale-les-Eaux to try to bankrupt Le Chiffre, the treasurer of a French union and a member of the Soviet secret service. Bond is supported in his endeavours by Vesper Lynd, a member of his own service, as well as Felix Leiter of the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA and List of James Bond allies#René Mathis, René Mathis of the French Deuxième Bureau. Fleming used his wartime experiences as a member of the Naval Intelligence Division (United Kingdom), Naval Intelligence Division, and the people he met during his work, to provide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Barry Nelson (actor)
Barry Nelson (born Robert Haakon Nielsen; April 16, 1917 – April 7, 2007) was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond. Early life Nelson was born in San Francisco, the son of Norwegian immigrants, Betsy (née Christophersen) and Trygve Nielsen. His year of birth has been subject to some debate, but is listed as 1917 on both his 1943 Army Air Forces enlistment record and his 1993 voter registration records. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1941, where he performed as an actor in student theatre productions. Career With MGM, Nelson made his screen debut in the role as Paul Clark in '' Shadow of the Thin Man'' (1941) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, with Donna Reed. He followed that with his role as Lew Rankin in the film noir '' Johnny Eager'' (1942) starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner. During his service in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, Nelson debuted on the Broadway stage in Moss Hart's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits are ''Birdman of Alcatraz (film), Birdman of Alcatraz'', ''The Manchurian Candidate (1962 film), The Manchurian Candidate'' (both 1962), ''Seven Days in May'', ''The Train (1964 film), The Train'' (both 1964), ''Seconds (1966 film), Seconds'', ''Grand Prix (1966 film), Grand Prix'' (both 1966), ''French Connection II'' (1975), ''Black Sunday (1977 film), Black Sunday'' (1977), ''The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996 film), The Island of Dr. Moreau'' (1996), ''Ronin (film), Ronin'' (1998) and ''Reindeer Games'' (2000). He won four Emmy Awards – three consecutive – in the 1990s for directing the television movies ''Against the Wall (1994 film), Against the Wall'', ''The Burning Season (1994 film), The Burning Season'', ''Andersonville (film), Andersonville'', and ''George Wallace (film), George Walla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelisations: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood (writer), Christopher Wood, John Gardner (British writer), John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd (writer), William Boyd, Anthony Horowitz and Charlie Higson. The latest novel is ''On His Majesty's Secret Service'' by Charlie Higson, published in May 2023. Additionally, Charlie Higson wrote a series on Young Bond, a young James Bond, and Samantha Weinberg, Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the The Moneypenny Diaries, diaries of a recurring series character, Miss Moneypenny, Moneypenny. The character—also known by the code nu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Casino Royale (Climax!)
"Casino Royale" is a live 1954 television adaptation of the 1953 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. An episode of the American dramatic anthology series ''Climax!'', the show was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel, and stars Barry Nelson, Peter Lorre, and Linda Christian. Though he is based on the literary Bond, Nelson's character is played as an American spy working for the "Combined Intelligence Agency". Most of the largely forgotten show was uncovered by film historian Jim Schoenberger in 1981, with the ending (including credits) found later. Both copies are black and white kinescopes, but the original live broadcast was in color. The episode has since lapsed into the public domain in the United States and countries that apply the rule of the shorter term due to not having its copyright renewed. Plot "Combined Intelligence" agent James Bond comes under fire from an assassin. He dodges the bullets and enters Casino Royale. There he meets his Britis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
William Lundigan
William Paul Lundigan (June 12, 1914 – December 20, 1975) was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include ''Dodge City (film), Dodge City'' (1939), ''The Fighting 69th'' (1940), ''The Sea Hawk (1940 film), The Sea Hawk'' (1940), ''Santa Fe Trail (film), Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), ''Dishonored Lady'' (1947), ''Pinky (film), Pinky'' (1949), ''Love Nest'' (1951) with Marilyn Monroe, ''The House on Telegraph Hill'' (1951), ''I'd Climb the Highest Mountain'' (1951) and ''Inferno (1953 film), Inferno'' (1953). Biography Growing up in Syracuse, New York, Lundigan was the oldest of four sons. His father, Michael F. Lundigan, owned a shoe store (at which Lundigan worked) in the same building as a local radio station, WFBL. Becoming fascinated by radio, he was playing child roles on radio and producing radio plays at 16.William Lundigan, vet of 125 movies, dies at 61 Chicago Tribune 22 Dec 1975: c11. A graduate of Nottingham High School (Syracuse, New York), Nottingham Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, including the actors Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges. He started his career as a contract performer for Columbia Pictures, appearing in films such as ''Sahara'' (1943), '' A Walk in the Sun'' (1945), '' Little Big Horn'' (1951) and ''High Noon'' (1952). On television, he starred in '' Sea Hunt'' (1958-1961). By the end of his career, he had re-invented himself and demonstrated a comedic talent in such parody films as ''Airplane!'' (1980), ''Hot Shots!'' (1991), and '' Jane Austen's Mafia!'' (1998). Among other honors, Bridges was a two-time Emmy Award nominee. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 1, 1994. Early life Bridges was born in San Leandro, California, to Harriet Evelyn (née Brown) Bridges (1893–1950) and Lloyd V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was considered one of film music's most innovative and influential composers. He was nominated for eighteen Academy Awards (winning in 1977 for ''The Omen''), six Grammy Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, nine Golden Globe Awards, and four British Academy Film Awards. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise), ''Rambo'' franchise, as well as for films including ''Logan's Run (film), Logan's Run'', ''Planet of the Apes (1968 film), Planet of the Apes'', ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'', ''Patton (film), Patton'', Papillon (1973 film), ''Papillon'', ''Chinatown (1974 film), Chinatown'', ''The Omen'', ''Alien (film), Alien'', ''Poltergeist (1982 film), Poltergeist'', ''The Secret of NIMH'', ''Medicine Man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Phyllis Kirk
Phyllis Kirk (born Phyllis Kirkgaard or Kirkegaard; September 18, 1927 October 19, 2006) was an American actress. Early life Kirk was born in Syracuse, New York, although some sources state her birthplace as Plainfield, New Jersey. She contracted polio as a child, which resulted in health problems for the rest of her life. Kirk grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey and graduated from Battin High School in 1945."Murray's Niece Appears in Film" ''Courier News'', October 25, 1950. Accessed February 9, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "A niece of Police Capt. and Mrs. Patrick J. Murray. 7 Jefferson Ave., appears in the motion picture ''Our Very Own'', now showing at the Strand Theater. She is Phyllis Kirk, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Kirkgaard of Elizabeth, a graduate of Battin High School in Elizabeth, and a former Conover model ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Anthology Series
An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different cast in each episode, but several series in the past, such as '' Four Star Playhouse'', employed a permanent troupe of character actors who would appear in a different drama each week. Some anthology series, such as '' Studio One'', began on radio and then expanded to television. Etymology The word comes from Ancient Greek (, "flower-gathering"), from (, "I gather flowers"), from (, "flower") + (, "I gather, pick up, collect"), coined by Meleager of Gadara circa 60BCE, originally as ( (, "garland")) to describe a collection of poetry, later retitled anthology – see Greek Anthology. were collections of small Greek poems and epigrams, because in Greek culture the flower symbolized the finer sentiments that only poetry can express. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
