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Devil Doll (film)
''Devil Doll'' is a 1964 British horror film about an evil ventriloquist, "The Great Vorelli", and his dummy Hugo, directed by Lindsay Shonteff. It stars William Sylvester and Yvonne Romain. Plot Hypnotist/magician "The Great Vorelli" and his dummy Hugo perform before a packed audience in London. The audience observes tension between the ventriloquist and Hugo, who Vorelli keeps in a locked cage between performances. American reporter Mark English is assigned a story on Vorelli, and solicits his girlfriend Marianne Horn, a wealthy heiress, to go with him to another show. At the show, Vorelli asks for a volunteer. Mark encourages Marianne to go up. Vorelli hypnotizes her and makes her dance the Twist. During Vorelli's ventriloquism act, Hugo gets up from his chair and walks around, seemingly under his own power. Mark, wanting a closer look at Hugo to determine how this trick is performed, gets Marianne to invite Vorelli to her aunt's charity ball. While Vorelli performs his ven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tod Browning
Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of various genres between 1915 and 1939, but was primarily known for horror films, and was often cited in the trade press as the Edgar Allan Poe of cinema. Browning's career spanned the silent film and sound film eras. He is known as the director of '' Dracula'' (1931), '' Freaks'' (1932), and his silent film collaborations with Lon Chaney and Priscilla Dean. Early life Charles Albert Browning, Jr., was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the second son of Charles Albert and Lydia Browning. Charles Albert Sr., "a bricklayer, carpenter and machinist," provided his family with a middle-class and Baptist household. Browning's uncle, the baseball star Pete "Louisville Slugger" Browning saw his sobriquet conferred on the iconic baseball bat. Circus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karel Štěpánek
Karel Štěpánek (29 October 189925 December 1980) was a Czech actor who spent many years in Austria and generally played German roles onscreen. In 1940 he moved to Britain and spent much of the rest of his career acting there. Partial filmography * ''A Love, A Thief, A Department Store'' (1928) * '' Berlin-Alexanderplatz'' (1931) * ''Here's Berlin'' (1932) as Max * ''Five from the Jazz Band'' (1932) as Jean * ''Spione im Savoy-Hotel'' (1932) as Jackson * ''A Song for You'' (1933) as Theo Bruckner * ''Waltz War'' (1933) as Kellner Leopold * ''Hermine and the Seven Upright Men'' (1935) as Ruckstuhl, Grundstückspekulant * ''Die Werft zum Grauner Hecht'' (1935) as Ladewig * ''Der Auβenseiter'' (1935) as Otto Burian * '' Stronger Than Regulations'' (1936) as Robert Wendland *'' The Unknown'' (1936) as Manager at Regina's * '' Signal in the Night'' (1937) as Korporal Tschepski * ' (1937) as Attaché / Orlovsky * ''Klatovsti dragouni'' (1937) as Dance Master * '' The Stars Shine'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out" from its competitors. Product gimmicks are sometimes considered mere novelties, and tangential to the product's functioning. Gimmicks are occasionally viewed negatively, but some seemingly trivial gimmicks of the past have evolved into useful, permanent features. The term is also sometimes used to describe unusual features or playstyles in video games, usually if they are unnecessary or obnoxious. Etymology The origin of the term "gimmick" is uncertain. Etymologists suggest that the term emerged in the United States in the early 20th century. The ''Oxford Dictionary'' suggests that it may have originally been a slang term for something that a con artist or magician manipulated to make appearances different from reality and graduall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variety (magazine)
''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based in Los Angeles, to cover the motion-picture industry. ''Variety.com'' features entertainment news, reviews, box office results, cover stories, videos, photo galleries and features, plus a credits database, production charts and calendar, with archive content dating back to 1905. History Foundation ''Variety'' has been published since December 16, 1905, when it was launched by Sime Silverman as a weekly periodical covering theater and vaudeville with its headquarters in New York City. Silverman had been fired by ''The Morning Telegraph'' in 1905 for panning an act which had taken out an advert for $50. As a result, he decided to start his own publication "that ouldnot be influenced by advertising." With a loan of $1,500 from his fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published annually from 1969 to 2014. Early life Maltin was born in New York City, the son of singer Jacqueline (née Gould; 1923–2012) and Aaron Isaac Maltin (1915–2002), a lawyer and immigration judge. Maltin was raised in a Jewish family in Teaneck, New Jersey. He graduated from Teaneck High School in 1968. Career Maltin began his writing career at age 15, writing for '' Classic Images'' and editing and publishing his own fanzine, ''Film Fan Monthly'', dedicated to films from the golden age of Hollywood. After earning a journalism degree at New York University, Maltin went on to publish articles in a variety of film journals, newspapers, and magazines, including '' Variety' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blockbuster Entertainment
Blockbuster LLC, formerly known as Blockbuster Video, was an American-based provider of home video and video game rental services. Services were offered primarily at video rental shops, but later alternatives included DVD-by-mail, streaming media, streaming, video on demand, and cinema theater. Previously operated by Blockbuster Entertainment, Inc., the company expanded internationally throughout the 1990s. At its peak in 2004, Blockbuster consisted of 9,094 stores and employed approximately 84,300 people: 58,500 in the United States and 25,800 in other countries. Poor leadership and the impact of the Great Recession were major factors leading to Blockbuster's decline, as was the growing competition from Netflix's mail-order service, video on demand, and Redbox automated kiosks. Significant loss of revenue occurred during the late 2000s, and the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010. The following year, its remaining 1,700 stores were bought by satellite television pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorgon Video
Gorgon Video is a film production and distribution company focusing on the subgenre of extreme horror and "dark documentaries" based in Spain and the United States. The company is best known for the film '' Devil Doll'' (1964) and the ''Faces of Death'' series. It is an offshoot of MPI Home Video. Films * ''Grip of the Strangler'' (1958) * ''Blood of the Vampire'' (1958) * '' Devil Doll'' (1964) * '' La Sorella di Satana'' (1966) * '' La Horripilante bestia humana'' (1969) * '' La Bestia uccide a sangue freddo'' (1971) * '' El gran amor del conde Drácula'' (1972) * ''Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things'' (1972) * ''Frankenstein '80'' (1972) * ''The Forgotten'' (1973) * ''Deathdream'' (1974) * '' Bakterion'' (1976) * ''Faces of Death'' (1978) * '' Il Fiume del grande caimano'' (1979) * ''Des morts'' (1981) * ''Faces of Death II'' (1981) * '' A Night to Dismember'' (1983) * '' Faces of Death III'' (1985) * '' The Worst of Faces of Death'' (1987) * ''Evil Dead Trap ''Evil Dead ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fangoria
''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released in an age when horror fandom was still a burgeoning subculture; in the late 1970s, most horror publications were concerned with classic cinema, while those that focused on contemporary horror were largely fanzines. ''Fangoria'' rose to prominence by running exclusive interviews with horror filmmakers and offering behind-the-scenes photos and stories that were otherwise unavailable to fans in the era before the Internet. The magazine would eventually rise to become a force itself in the horror world, hosting its own awards show, sponsoring and hosting numerous horror conventions, producing films, and printing its own line of comics. ''Fangoria'' began struggling in the 2010s due to issues arising from the internet, including difficulty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Board Of Film Censors
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works (such as television programmes, trailers, adverts, public information/campaigning films, menus, bonus content, etc.) released on physical media within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify all video works released on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray (including 3D and 4K UHD formats), and, to a lesser extent, some video games under the Video Recordings Act 1984. The BBFC was also the designated regulator for the UK age-verification scheme which was abandoned before being implemented. History and overview The BBFC was established in 1912 as the British Board of Film Censors by members of the film industry, who preferred to manage their own censorship than to have national or local ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
X Rating
An X rating is a rating used in various countries to classify films that have content deemed suitable only for adults. It is used when the violent or sexual content of a film is considered to be potentially disturbing to general audiences. Australia The Australian Classification Board (ACB, formerly known as the OFLC), a government institution, issues ratings for all movies and television shows exhibited, televised, sold, or hired in Australia. Material showing explicit, non-simulated sex that is pornographic in nature is rated X18+. People under 18 may not buy, rent, exhibit, or view these films in cinemas. The exhibition or sale of these films to people under the age of 18 years is a criminal offence carrying a maximum fine of $5,500. Films classified as X18+ are forbidden from being sold or rented anywhere in the six states of Australia. They are legally available to be sold or hired in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Importing X18+ material from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidney J
Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * Sidney (footballer, born 1979), full name Sidney Santos de Brito, Brazilian football defender Characters * Sidney Prescott, main character from the ''Scream'' horror trilogy * Sidney (''Ice Age''), a ground sloth in the ''Ice Age'' film series * Sidney (''Pokémon''), a character of the ''Pokémon'' universe *Sidney, one of '' The Bash Street Kids'' * Sidney Jenkins, a character in the British teenage drama '' Skins'' *Sidney Hever, Edward's fireman from ''The Railway Series'' and the TV series '' Thomas and Friends'' *Sidney, a diesel engine from the TV series '' Thomas and Friends'' *Sidney Freedman, a recurring character in the TV series ''M*A*S*H'' Places Canada * Sidney, British Columbia * Sidney, Manitoba United Kingdom *Sidney Su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Film Finance Corporation
The National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) was a film funding agency in the United Kingdom in operation from 1949 until 1985. The NFFC was established by the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1949, and further enhanced by the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1952, which gave the NFFC the power to borrow from sources other than the Board of Trade. The NFFC was abolished by the Films Act 1985. The lawyer John Terry (from 1976, Sir John) served as the NFFC's manager for twenty years from 1958 to 1978. During that time, he helped to secure the backing for hundreds of films launching the careers of director Ridley Scott and producer David Puttnam, among many others. The NFFC acted as a lender of last resort for the film industry however, in the early 1970s, the government reduced its funding so it started to operate as a consortium, including with banks, with National Westminster Bank a big investor. This change led to the NFFC using more commerc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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