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Dry Rot (film)
''Dry Rot'' is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey, and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, and Sid James. The screenplay is by John Chapman (screenwriter), John Chapman, adapted from his 1954 Whitehall farce of the same name. The plot concerns the practice of gambling, which was illegal in the United Kingdom at the time, other than at racecourses. Plot Three dodgy bookies, Alf Tubbe, Flash Harry, and Fred Phipps plan to rig a horse race by kidnapping the fancied horse and its French jockey. They stay at a country house hotel near the racecourse, run by Colonel and Mrs Wagstaff, where they conceal the horse Sweet Lavender (and later the jockey) in a hidden cellar. They substitute Fred for the real jockey, expecting him to lose, but this plan backfires when he wins. A subplot sees the dimwitted Fred fall in love with the hotel chambermaid Beth. A final chase scene has the main characters on a fire engine being pursued by the police. The title ''Dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice Elvey
Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He also produced more than fifty films – his own as well as films directed by others. Biography Born William Seward Folkard in Stockton-on-Tees, he ran away from home at the age of nine, seeking his fortune in London. There he worked variously as a kitchen hand and hotel pageboy, before ending up as stagehand and actor at the age of 17. He quickly rose to directing and producing plays and established his own theatrical company before switching to films with ''The Great Gold Robbery'' in 1913. He directed a wide array of popular features in a variety of genres, including comedy, drama, literary adaptations – including Robert Louis Stevenson's ''The Suicide Club (Stevenson)#Adaptations, The Suicide Club'' (1914) and a version of William Shak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Sims
Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress and comedienne, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for playing Gran in '' Till Death Us Do Part'' (1967–1975), Madge Kettlewell in ''Sykes'' (1972–1978), Mrs Bloomsbury-Barton in ''Worzel Gummidge'' (1979–1981), an eccentric youth hostel owner in ''Victoria Wood'' (1989), Mrs Wembley, the cook with a liking for sherry, in '' On the Up'' (1990–1992), and Madge Hardcastle in '' As Time Goes By'' (1994–1998). Early life and education Sims was born on 9 May 1930, the only child of John Henry Sims (1888–1964), Station Master of Laindon railway station in Essex, and his wife Gladys Marie Sims, ''née'' Ladbrook (1896–1981). Sims's early interest in being an actress came from living at the railway station. She would often put on performances for waiting passengers. She decided that she ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Monthly Film Bulletin
The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a narrow arthouse release. History The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was edited in the mid-1950s by David Robinson, in the late 1950s and early 1960s by Peter John Dyer, and then by Tom Milne. By the end of the 1960s, when the character and tone of its reviews changed considerably with the arrival of a new generation of critics influenced by the student culture and intellectual tumult of the time (not least the overthrow of old ideas of "taste" and quality), David Wilson was the editor. It was then edited by Jan Dawson (1938 – 1980), for two years from 1971, and from 1973 until its demise by the New Zealand-born critic Richard Combs. In 1991, the ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was merged with '' Sight & Sound'', which had until then be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunbury-on-Thames
Sunbury-on-Thames, known locally as Sunbury, is a town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England, southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other surrounding towns were initially intended to form part of the newly created county of Greater London, but were instead transferred to Surrey. Sunbury adjoins Feltham to the north, Hampton, London, Hampton to the east, Ashford, Middlesex, Ashford to the northwest and Shepperton to the southwest. Walton-on-Thames is to the south, on the opposite bank of the Thames. The town has two main focal points: Lower Sunbury (known locally as Sunbury Village), adjoining the river. Sunbury Common (known locally as Sunbury Cross) is to the north and surrounds the Sunbury railway station, Surrey, railway station and the London end of the M3 motorway (Great Britain), M3 motorway. Lower Sunbury contains most of the town's parks, pubs and listed buildings, whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kempton Park Racecourse
Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom, licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London; it is 13 miles west of Charing Cross in central London. The site has of flat grassland surrounded by woodland with two lakes in its centre. Its entrance borders Kempton Park railway station which was created for racegoers on a Shepperton Branch Line, branch line from London Waterloo railway station, London Waterloo, via Clapham Junction railway station, Clapham Junction. It has adjoining inner and outer courses for flat and National Hunt racing, National Hunt racing. Among its races, the King George VI Chase takes place on Boxing Day, a Grade 1 National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), chase which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years or older. History The racecourse was the idea of 19th-century businessman and Conservative Party (UK), Cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shirley Anne Field
Shirley Anne Field (born Shirley Broomfield; 27 June 1936 – 10 December 2023) was an English actress who performed on stage, film and television from 1955 until her death. She was prominent during the British New Wave. Early life Shirley Broomfield was born in Forest Gate, Essex (in the London Borough of Newham) on 27 June 1936. She was the third of four children, with two elder sisters and a younger brother, Earnest "Guy" Broomfield (c. 1939–1999). At the age of six, Shirley was placed in the National Children's Home at Edgworth, near Bolton, Lancashire, and four years later was moved to another children's home in Blackburn, where she attended Blakey Moor School for Girls. She subsequently returned to Edgworth until she was 15, when she moved to a children's home hostel in London, training as a Copy typist, typist while still attending school. Acting career Early roles After a course at the Lucie Clayton Charm Academy, Lucie Clayton School and Model Agency, Field became a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilfrid Brambell
Henry Wilfrid Brambell (22 March 1912 – 18 January 1985) was an Irish television and film actor, best remembered for playing the grubby rag-and-bone man Albert Steptoe alongside Harry H. Corbett in the long-running BBC television sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'' (1962–1965, 1970–1974). He achieved international recognition in 1964 for his appearance alongside the Beatles in '' A Hard Day's Night'', playing the fictional grandfather of Paul McCartney. Early life Brambell was born on 22 March 1912 in Dublin, the youngest of three sons born to Henry Lytton Brambell (1870–1937), a cashier at the Guinness Brewery, and his wife, Edith Marks (1879–1965), a former opera singer. His two older brothers were Frederick Edward Brambell (1905–1980) and James Christopher Marks "Jim" Brambell (1907–1992). Brambell's first experience as an actor was as a child, entertaining the wounded troops during the First World War. After leaving school, he worked part-time as a reporter for ''Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Griffiths (actor)
Frederick David Griffiths (8 March 191227 August 1994) was an English film and television actor. A former London cabbie and wartime fire fighter discovered by director Humphrey Jennings, and cast in his documentary film '' Fires Were Started'' in 1943; and over the next four decades played supporting roles and bit parts in 150 films, including various Ealing, Boulting Brothers and Carry On comedies, before eventually retiring in 1984. Selected filmography * ''Nine Men'' (1943) – Base Sergeant (uncredited) * '' Fires Were Started'' (1943) – Johnny Daniels (uncredited) * '' So Well Remembered'' (1947) – Mill Worker (uncredited) * '' It Always Rains on Sunday'' (1947) – Sam * '' Escape'' (1948) – Dart Player (uncredited) * '' It's Hard to Be Good'' (1948) – Chauffeur (uncredited) * '' Passport to Pimlico'' (1949) – Spiv * '' The Huggetts Abroad'' (1949) – Taxi Driver (uncredited) * '' Stop Press Girl'' (1949) – Truck Driver (uncredited) * '' Golden Arrow'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond Glendenning
Raymond Carl Glendenning (25 September 1907 – 23 February 1974) was a BBC radio sports commentator and occasional character actor. Early years Glendenning was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, son of Robert James Samuel Glendenning, a commercial clerk and later a company director, and his wife Mathilde Anna Elise, née Deveridge. He was educated at Newport High School and graduated from the University of London with a BCom. He worked briefly as a chartered accountant before joining the BBC as an organiser on Children's Hour in Cardiff in 1932. Pre-war and wartime career In 1935 he moved to Belfast as an outside broadcasts assistant, and began commentating on local sporting events on the BBC's Northern Ireland service. In 1939 he moved to London and joined the national outside broadcasts staff, becoming assistant director in 1942. By this time he was commentating on many major sporting events, and by the end of the Second World War was the BBC's leading sports commentato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Benham
Joan Benham (17 May 1918 – 13 June 1981) was an English actress best known for her portrayal of Lady Prudence Fairfax in the ITV period drama series '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. She was born in London and was the first cousin of Hollywood actress Olive Sturgess. Although her career mostly centred on television, Benham began her career appearing on the West End stage in the 1940s and continued to appear on the London stage periodically throughout her career. She appeared on Broadway as Helena in the 1954 revival of William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' opposite Patrick Macnee as Demetrius. Joan Benham appeared in sixteen episodes of ''Upstairs, Downstairs'', from the first to the last series, as a Bellamy family friend, Lady Prudence Fairfax. Other London Weekend Television roles for her saw her appear as Lady Loftus in the comedies '' Doctor in the House, Doctor in Charge'' and ''Doctor on the Go'' and as Cecily Foyle, the friend of prison governor Faye Boswe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miles Malleson
William Miles Malleson (25 May 1888 – 15 March 1969) was an English actor and dramatist, particularly remembered for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career, he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in '' The Brides of Dracula'' as the hypochondriac and fee-hungry local doctor. Malleson was also a writer on many films, including some of those in which he had small parts, such as ''Nell Gwyn'' (1934) and '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940). He also translated and adapted several of Molière's plays (''The Misanthrope'', which he titled ''The Slave of Truth'', '' Tartuffe'' and ''The Imaginary Invalid''). Biography Malleson was born in Avondale Road, South Croydon, Surrey, England, the son of Edmund Taylor Malleson (1859-1909), a manufacturing chemist, and Myrrha Bithynia Frances Borrell (1863-1931), a descendant of the numismatist Henry Perigal Borrell and the inventor Francis Mac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
