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French Without Tears
''French Without Tears'' is a comic play written by a 25-year-old Terence Rattigan in 1936. Setting It takes place in a cram school for adults needing to acquire French for business reasons. Scattered throughout are Franglais phrases and schoolboy misunderstandings of the French language. The play was inspired by a 1933 visit to a village called Marxzell in the Black Forest, where young English gentlemen went to cram German. Reception The play was a success on its London debut, establishing Rattigan as a dramatist. A critic thought it "gay, witty, thoroughly contemporary ... with a touch of lovable truth behind all its satire." It ran for over 1,000 performances in London, and over 100 in New York. It also established Rex Harrison as a major star. Original production The play, directed by Harold French, opened on 6 November 1936 at the Criterion Theatre, London, with the following cast: *Alan Howard - Rex Harrison *Brian Curtis - Guy Middleton *Commander Bill Rogers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Without Tears (film)
''French Without Tears'' is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Ray Milland. It was based on the 1936 play of the same name by Terence Rattigan, who also co-wrote the script. An on-off working relationship between Asquith and Rattigan began with this film and continued over the next 15 years. Plot The love affairs are depicted of three young Englishmen at a language "cramming" school in the south of France. Diana, the sister of one of the boys, arrives in town to flirt with all of her brothers' schoolmates. Cast * Ray Milland as Alan Howard * Ellen Drew as Diana Lake * Janine Darcey as Jacqueline Maingot * David Tree as Chris Neilan * Roland Culver as Cmdr. Bill Rogers * Guy Middleton as Brian Curtis * Kenneth Morgan as Kenneth Lake * Margaret Yarde as Marianne * Toni Gable as Chi-Chi * Jim Gérald as Professor Maingot * Mantovani as Himself, Orchestra Leader * Michael Duffield as Lieutenant Commander Rogers Critical reception Sky Movies descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kay Hammond
Dorothy Katherine Standing, Lady Clements (18 February 1909 – 4 May 1980), known professionally as Kay Hammond, was an English stage and film actress. Family Kay Hammond was born in London, England as Dorothy Katherine Standing, the daughter of Sir Guy Standing and his wife, Dorothy Hammond (Dorothy Plaskitt). Her grandfather was Herbert Standing (1846–1923) and her uncles were Wyndham, Jack, and Percy Darrell Standing. Career She studied at RADA and first appeared on the London stage in 1927. Her most famous role was that of Elvira in Noël Coward's '' Blithe Spirit'', which she played in the original stage production. She reprised her role in the 1945 film version opposite Rex Harrison, Margaret Rutherford and Constance Cummings. She appeared as a guest of Roy Plomley on ''Desert Island Discs'' on 25 February 1951. Personal life Hammond's first husband was baronet Sir Ronald George Leon. Their sons were John Ronald Leon (the actor John Standing) and Timothy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Flemyng
Benjamin Arthur Flemyng (3 January 1912 – 22 May 1995), known professionally as Robert Flemyng, was a British actor. The son of a doctor, and originally intended for a medical career, Flemyng learned his stagecraft in provincial repertory theatre. In 1935 he appeared in a leading role in the West End, and the following year had his first major success, in Terence Rattigan's comedy ''French Without Tears''. Between then and the Second World War he appeared in London and New York in a succession of comedies. On the outbreak of war in 1939 Flemyng volunteered for the Royal Army Service Corps, and served with distinction, winning the Military Cross. After the war he continued to appear in light comedies, but also took on more serious roles in plays by T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene, John Whiting and others. He toured Australia, Britain, Canada, India, South Africa and the US in a wide range of parts, from comedy to classic drama. Flemyng's broadcasting was principally in two tele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigel Havers
Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor and presenter. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war drama '' Empire of the Sun''; and as Ronny in the 1984 David Lean epic '' A Passage to India''. Television roles include Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series '' Don't Wait Up'' and Lewis Archer in ''Coronation Street'', between 2009 and 2019. Early life and family Havers was born in Edmonton, Middlesex, and is the younger of two sons of Sir Michael Havers (later Lord Havers), a barrister who served as the Attorney General for England and Wales and, briefly, Lord Chancellor in the Conservative Government in the 1980s. His mother is Carol Lay, who is an author.https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2013/who-do-you-think-you-are/nigel-havers-10/ His paternal aunt, Lady Butler-Sloss, his grandfather Sir Cecil Have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Play Of The Month
''Play of the Month'' is a BBC television anthology series, which ran from 1965 to 1983 featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays (or adaptations) which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted regularly from October 1965 to May 1979, before returning for the summer seasons of 1982 and 1983. The producer most associated with the ''Play of the Month'' series was Cedric Messina. Thirteen productions were also shown previously or subsequently on BBC2 in the period 1971-73 under '' Stage 2''. Productions were broadcast in colour from November 1969. Archive status Of the 128 productions, 40 are missing from the archives (except for short sequences in several cases), having been junked in the 1960s and 1970s. One colour production exists only as a black & white telerecording. 4/9 episodes from series one are archived, only the first epi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Irvine (musician)
Andrew Kennedy Irvine (born 14 June 1942) is an Irish folk musician, singer-songwriter, and a founding member of Sweeney's Men, Planxty, Patrick Street, Mozaik, LAPD and Usher's Island. He also featured in duos, with Dónal Lunny, Paul Brady, Mick Hanly, Dick Gaughan, Rens van der Zalm, and Luke Plumb. Irvine plays the mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, harmonica, and hurdy-gurdy. He has been influential in folk music for over six decades, during which he recorded a large repertoire of songs and tunes he assembled from books, old recordings and rooted in the Irish, English, Scottish, Eastern European, Australian and American old-time and folk traditions. As a child actor, Irvine honed his performing talent from an early age and learned the classical guitar. He switched to folk music after discovering Woody Guthrie, also adopting the latter's other instruments: harmonica and mandolin. While extending Guthrie's guitar picking technique to the mandolin,''Andy Ir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas Parsons
Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show ''Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' Sale of the Century'' during the 1970s and early 1980s. Parsons was born and grew up in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and was educated at St Paul's School, London. He became a full-time actor following the Second World War and began appearing in various theatre, film and television roles, including support to Arthur Haynes as his straight man. He began presenting ''Just a Minute'' in 1967 and never missed a show until 2018. In addition to his well-known roles on this and ''Sale of the Century'', he appeared as a guest on other television shows, including ''Doctor Who'' and '' Have I Got News for You''. Early life Christopher Nicholas Parsons was born on 10 October 1923 at 1 Castlegate, Grantham, Lincolnshire; he was the middle child of the fami ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colin Broadley
Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), Thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, Australia, in August 2008 * Colin (river), a river in France * Colin (security robot), in ''Mostly Harmless'' of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' series by Douglas Adams * Tropical Storm Colin (other) * Collin, a District Electoral Area in Belfast, Northern Ireland which is sometimes spelt "Colin" See also * Colinus * Collin (other) * Kolin (other) Kolin may refer to: *Kolín, a town in the Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic **Kolín District *Starý Kolín, a municipality and village near Kolín, Czech Republic * Kolin, Louisiana, unincorporated place * Kolin, Montana *Kolin, West Pomer ... * Colyn {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elvi Hale
Patricia Elvira Hake (29 January 1931 – 1 March 2025), known as Elvi Hale, was a British actress. She played Anne of Cleves in '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'', broadcast in 1970. Life and career Hake was born on 29 January 1931, in Romford, Essex, where she was also raised. She was educated at Reed's School. Hake was discovered by Laurence Olivier, who saw her perform at the Old Vic School. Elvi played Heather, the love interest of Leslie Phillips (as Sub-Lieutenant Pouter) in the film version of The Navy Lark (1959), a role normally played by Heather Chasen in the radio series. Hale was nominated for a BAFTA award for most promising film newcomer for her performance in Wendy Toye's ''True as a Turtle'' (1957). She portrayed the fourth of Henry VIII's wives, Anne of Cleves, in the BBC's six-part drama serial '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' first broadcast in 1970. She completely retired from all film and television work in 1990. Hale was married to actor Mike Morgan unti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor. He appeared in numerous productions on stage and screen, receiving BAFTA awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for ''Trading Places'' (1983), '' A Private Function'' (1984) and ''Defence of the Realm'' (1986), and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Mr. Emerson in '' A Room with a View'' (1985). He is also known for his performances in '' Alfie'' (1966), ''A Doll's House'' (1973), '' A Bridge Too Far'' (1977), '' Maurice'' (1987), ''September'' (1987), and ''Noises Off'' (1992). He portrayed Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981) and ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989). On television, Elliott won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in 1981 and was nominated for a second for ''Hotel du Lac'' (1986). The American film critic Roger Ebert described Elliott as "the most dependable of all British character actors." ''The New York Times' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saturday Playhouse
''Saturday Playhouse'' was a 60-minute UK anthology television series produced by and airing on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) from 4 January 1958 until 1 April 1961. There were sixty-eight episodes, among them adaptations of the plays '' The Man Who Came to Dinner'' and '' The Cat and the Canary''. One of the episodes, Alex Atkinson’s classic thriller ''Design for Murder'', was featured twice on the BBC: first on ''Saturday Playhouse'' (Saturday, 15 March 1958; S1/Ep.6) and again from the BBC's own theatre in Bristol (Thursday, 6 July 1961). Many actors performed for ''Saturday Playhouse'', including: Maxine Audley, John Barrie, Michael Bates, Brian Blessed, Jeremy Brett, Michael Crawford, Anton Diffring, Paul Eddington, Denholm Elliott, Thora Hird, Desmond Llewelyn, Margaret Lockwood, Leo McKern, Bob Monkhouse, Leslie Phillips, Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English retir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musical Theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals. Although music has been a part of dramatic presentations since ancient times, modern Western musical theatre emerged during the 19th century, with many structural elements established by the light opera works of Jacques Offenbach in France, Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and the works of Edward Harrigan, Harrigan and Tony Hart (theater), Hart in America. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
