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Gainsborough Melodramas
The Gainsborough melodramas were a sequence of melodrama films produced by the British film studio Gainsborough Pictures between 1943 and 1947 that conformed to a melodramatic style.Brooke, Michael. (2014)Gainsborough Melodrama Screenonline British Film Institute. Retrieved 21 March 2020. The melodramas were not a film series but an unrelated sequence of films that had similar themes that were usually developed by the same film crew and frequently recurring actors who played similar characters in each. They were mostly based on popular books by female novelists and they encompassed costume dramas, such as ''The Man in Grey'' (1943) and ''The Wicked Lady'' (1945), and modern-dress dramas, such as '' Love Story'' (1944) and ''They Were Sisters'' (1945). The popularity of the films with audiences peaked mid-1940s when cinema audiences consisted primarily of women. The influence of the films led to other British producers releasing similarly themed works, such as '' The Seventh Veil'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melodrama Film
In film studies and criticism, melodrama may variously refer to a genre, mode, style or sensibility characterized by its emphasis on intense and exaggerated emotions and heightened dramatic situations. There is no fixed definition of the term and it may be used to refer to a wide and diverse range of films of other genres including romantic dramas, historical dramas, psychological thrillers or crime thrillers, among others. Although it has been present in cinema since its inception, melodrama was not recognized as a distinct film genre until the 1970s and 1980s when critics and scholars identified its formal and thematic characteristics. Unlike industry-defined genres, such as Westerns, melodrama was defined retrospectively, much like ''film noir''. Its recognition as a genre stemmed from a critical reevaluation of Douglas Sirk's films (considered the greatest exponent of melodrama), particularly his 1950s works alongside those of Vincente Minnelli, which shaped the idea of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idol Of Paris
''Idol of Paris'' is a 1948 British film directed by Leslie Arliss and starring Beryl Baxter, Michael Rennie, Christine Norden and Andrew Cruickshank. It was written by Stafford Dickens, Norman Lee and Harry Ostrer, based on the 1935 novel ''Paiva, Queen of Love'' by Alfred Schirokauer, about a mid-19th century French courtesan Theresa who sleeps her way from poverty to the top of Second Empire society. It was an attempt by its makers to imitate the success of the Gainsborough melodramas. Plot In the 1860s, a woman rises from poverty to become the toast of Paris. Cast * Beryl Baxter as Theresa *Michael Rennie as Hertz, one of Theresa's lovers *Christine Norden as Cora Pearl *Miles Malleson as Offenbach *Andrew Osborn as Antoine *Andrew Cruickshank as Prince Nicholas *Kenneth Kent as Emperor Napoleon III *Margaretta Scott as Empress Eugenie *Patti Morgan as Bellanger *Genine Graham as Barucci *Henry Oscar as Lachman * Sybille Binder as Mrs. Lachman *Leslie Perrins as Count ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Millions Like Us
''Millions Like Us'' is a 1943 British propaganda film, showing life in a wartime aircraft factory in documentary detail. It stars Patricia Roc, Gordon Jackson, Anne Crawford, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Moore Marriott and Eric Portman. It was co-written and co-directed by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder. According to the British Film Institute database, this film is the first in an "unofficial trilogy", along with '' Two Thousand Women'' (1944) and '' Waterloo Road'' (1945). Radford and Wayne reprise their roles of Charters and Caldicott from ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938) and '' Night Train to Munich'' (1941), both scripted by Launder and Gilliat and produced by Edward Black. Plot The opening credits show huge crowds of workers going into factories. The narrator begins the film with nostalgic views of crowded beaches and remembering what it was like to eat an orange (unavailable during the war). Celia Crowson and her family go on holiday to the south coast of England i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat (15 February 1908 – 31 May 1994) was an English film director, producer and writer. In the 1930s he worked as a scriptwriter, most notably with Frank Launder on ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938) for Alfred Hitchcock, and '' Night Train to Munich'' (1940), directed by Carol Reed. He and Launder made their directorial debut co-directing the home front drama '' Millions Like Us'' (1943). From 1945 he also worked as a producer, starting with '' The Rake's Progress'', which he also wrote and directed. He and Launder made over 40 films together, founding their own production company Individual Pictures. While Launder concentrated on directing their comedies, most famously the four St Trinian's School films, Gilliat showed a preference for comedy-thrillers and dramas, including ''Green for Danger'' (1946), '' London Belongs to Me'' (1948) and '' State Secret'' (1950). He wrote the libretto for Malcolm Williamson's opera '' Our Man in Havana'', based on the novel by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Launder
Frank Launder (28 January 1906 – 23 February 1997) was a British writer, film director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat. Early life and career He was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England and worked briefly as a clerk before becoming an actor and then a playwright. He began working as a screenwriter on British films in the 1930s, contributing the original story for the classic Will Hay comedy '' Oh, Mr Porter!'' (1937). Sidney Gilliat Launder first collaborated with Gilliat in 1936 on the film '' Seven Sinners''. After writing a number of screenplays with Gilliat, including ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938) for Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ..., and '' Night Train to Munich'' for Caro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a story contains a subplot, or is a narrative made up of several stories, then each subplot may have its own protagonist. The protagonist is the character whose fate is most closely followed by the reader or audience, and who is opposed by the antagonist. The antagonist provides obstacles and complications and creates conflicts that test the protagonist, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the protagonist's character, and having the protagonist develop as a result. A particularly noble, virtuous, or accomplished protagonist is commonly called a ''hero,'' though the terms are not synonyms. Etymology The term ''protagonist'' comes , combined of (, 'first') and (, 'actor, competitor'), which stems from (, 'contest') via (, 'I conten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classic horror characters such as Victor Frankenstein, Baron Victor Frankenstein, Count Dracula, and the Mummy (undead), Mummy, which Hammer reintroduced to audiences by filming them in vivid colour for the first time. Hammer also produced science fiction, Thriller film, thrillers, film noir and Comedy film, comedies, as well as, in later years, television series. During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the horror film market, enjoying worldwide distribution and considerable financial success. This success was, in part, due to its distribution partnerships with American companies such as United Artists, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, American Internationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ealing Comedies
The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the sequence include ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949), '' Whisky Galore!'' (1949), ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' (1951), ''The Man in the White Suit'' (1951) and '' The Ladykillers'' (1955). ''Hue and Cry'' (1947) is generally considered to be the earliest of the cycle, and '' Barnacle Bill'' (1957) the last, although some sources list '' Davy'' (1958) as the final Ealing comedy. Many of the Ealing comedies are ranked among the greatest British films, and they also received international acclaim. History Relatively few comedy films were made at Ealing Studios until several years after World War II. The 1939 film '' Cheer Boys Cheer'', featuring the rivalry between two brewing companies, one big and modernist, the other small and traditional, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other forms of art or entertainment, based on some set of stylistic criteria, as in literary genres, film genres, music genres, comics genres, etc. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions. Stand-alone texts, works, or pieces of communication may have individual styles, but genres are amalgams of these texts based on agreed-upon or socially inferred conventions. Some genres may have rigid, strictly adhered-to guidelines, while others may show great flexibility. The proper use of a specific genre is important for a successful transfer of information ( media-adequacy). Critical discussion of genre perhaps began with a classification system for ancient Greek literature, as set out in Aristotle' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since. It is the oldest continuously working studio facility for film production in the world, and the current stages were opened for the use of sound in 1931. It is best known for a series of classic films produced in the post-WWII years, including '' Saraband for Dead Lovers'' (1948), '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949), '' Passport to Pimlico'' (1949), ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' (1951), and '' The Ladykillers'' (1955). The BBC owned and filmed at the Studios for forty years from 1955 until 1995. Since 2000, Ealing Studios has resumed releasing films under its own name, including the revived '' St Trinian's'' franchise. In more recent times, films shot there include '' The Importance of Being Earnest'' (2002) and '' Shaun of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escapism
Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism also may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or general sadness. Perceptions Entire industries have sprung up to foster a growing tendency of people to remove themselves from the rigors of daily life – especially into the digital world. Many activities that are normal parts of a healthy existence (e.g., eating, sleeping, exercise, sexual activity) can also become avenues of escapism when taken to extremes or out of proper context; and as a result the word "escapism" often carries a negative connotation, suggesting that escapists are unhappy, with an inability or unwillingness to connect meaningfully with the world and to take necessary action. Indeed, the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defined escapism as "The tendency to seek, or the practice of seeking, distraction from what normally has to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice Ostrer
Maurice Ostrer ( Morris Ostravitch; 9 May 1896 – 3 December 1975) was a British film executive. He was best known for overseeing the Gainsborough melodramas. He was head of production at Gainsborough Studios from 1943–46, taking over from Edward Black. He resigned from the studio in 1946 after a disagreement with J. Arthur Rank, who had taken over the studio. Ostrer left the film industry and went to work in textiles. Ostrer was born in Bow, London, to Jewish emigrants Nathan Ostravitch from Minsk and Fanny Schäfer from Loslau, Prussia.''1891 England Census''''1911 England Census'' He was married to actress Renee Clama, with whom he had two sons, Darryl (1934–2012) and Nigel (born 1935). According to writer Robert Murphy, "Maurice's subsequent disappearance from the film industry... makes it easy to dismiss him as a dilettante whose success owed more to luck than judgement. The break-up of the partnership with roducer TedBlack was unfortunate and Gainsborough became se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
