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James Westerfield
James A. Westerfield (March 22, 1913 – September 20, 1971) was an American character actor of stage, film, and television. Early years Westerfield was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to candy-maker Brasher Omier Westerfield and his wife Dora Elizabeth Bailey. He was raised in Detroit, Michigan. (A news story in the June 12, 1949, issue of the ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' calls the information in the preceding sentence into question. It describes Westerfield as "the son of a famous producer-director" and says he was "a youngster in Denver, Col.") Stage career Westerfield became interested in theatre as a young man and in the 1930s joined Gilmor Brown's famed Pasadena Community Playhouse, appearing in dozens of plays. He played in numerous films following his screen debut in 1940, then went to New York City and performed on Broadway, winning two New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for his supporting roles in ''The Madwoman of Chaillot'' and ''Detective Story''. He then re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Chase (1946 Film)
''The Chase'' is a 1946 American film noir directed by Arthur Ripley. The screenplay by Philip Yordan is based on Cornell Woolrich's 1944 novel ''The Black Path of Fear''. It stars Robert Cummings as Chuck Scott, a veteran who suffers from hallucinations. When he returns a lost wallet to violent mobster Eddie Roman ( Steve Cochran), Eddie offers to hire him as a chauffeur. Chuck becomes mixed up in a plot to help Eddie's wife Lorna (Michèle Morgan) run off to Havana to escape her cruel husband. Plot Chuck Scott is a World War II veteran who is now a penniless drifter in Miami tormented by bizarre dreams. After finding a wallet and returning it to Eddie Roman, a vicious gangster, he is hired by Roman to be his driver. Roman tests his new driver, whom he nicknames Scotty, by assuming control of his car from the back seat. Scotty does not know that Roman has an accelerator in the rear passenger compartment. This bizarre trick unnerves Scotty and Roman's right-hand man Gino. Roma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Greater Vancouver, Greater Vancouver area had a population of 2.6million in 2021, making it the List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada#List, third-largest metropolitan area in Canada. Greater Vancouver, along with the Fraser Valley Regional District, Fraser Valley, comprises the Lower Mainland with a regional population of over 3 million. Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, with over 5,700 people per square kilometre, and fourth highest in North America (after New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City). Vancouver is one of the most Ethnic origins of people in Canada, ethnically and Languages of Canada, linguistically diverse cities in Canada: 49.3 percent of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birdman Of Alcatraz (film)
''Birdman of Alcatraz'' is a 1962 American biographical drama film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Burt Lancaster.''Variety'' film review; June 20, 1962, page 6.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; June 23, 1962, page 94. It is a largely fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, who was sentenced to solitary confinement after having killed a prison guard. A federal prison inmate, he became known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his studies of birds, which had taken place when he was incarcerated at Leavenworth Prison. He was allowed to keep birds in jail. When moved to Alcatraz, Stroud was never allowed to keep any birds. The film was adapted by Guy Trosper from the 1955 book by Thomas E. Gaddis. It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Burt Lancaster), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Telly Savalas), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Thelma Ritter), and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White. Plot Robert Stroud is impr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Son Of Flubber
''Son of Flubber'' is a 1963 American science fiction comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The sequel to ''The Absent-Minded Professor'' (1961), Fred MacMurray reprises his role from the first film as Ned Brainard, a scientist who has perfected a high-bouncing substance, Flubber ("flying rubber") that can levitate an automobile and cause athletes to bounce into the sky. In addition to MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Ed Wynn, Elliott Reid and Tommy Kirk also co-star, reprising their roles from ''The Absent-Minded Professor''. The film was shot in black and white, but a colorized version was released on VHS in 1997. Plot Professor Ned Brainard's discovery of Flubber has not quite brought him or his college the riches he thought. The Pentagon has declared his discovery "top secret" and the IRS has slapped him with a huge tax bill, even though he has yet to receive any money from his invention. Ned thinks he may have found the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Absent-Minded Professor
''The Absent-Minded Professor'' is a 1961 American science fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the short story "A Situation of Gravity" by Samuel W. Taylor, originally published in the May 22, 1943 issue of ''Liberty'' magazine. The title character was based in part on Hubert Alyea, a professor emeritus of chemistry at Princeton University, who was known as "Dr. Boom" for his explosive demonstrations. Directed by Robert Stevenson, the film stars Fred MacMurray as Professor Ned Brainard, alongside Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Leon Ames, Elliott Reid, and Edward Andrews. The plot follows Brainard as he invents a substance that defies gravity, which he later exploits through various means. Released on March 16, 1961, the film was a huge success at the box office, and two years later became the first Disney film to have a sequel, '' Son of Flubber'' (1963). It was one of the first Disney films to be colorized (for the 1986 video release) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shaggy Dog (1959 Film)
''The Shaggy Dog'' is a 1959 American comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and loosely based on the 1923 novel ''The Hound of Florence'' by Felix Salten. Directed by Charles Barton from a screenplay by Lillie Hayward and Bill Walsh, the film stars Fred MacMurray, Tommy Kirk, Jean Hagen, Kevin Corcoran, Tim Considine, Roberta Shore, and Annette Funicello. The film follows a teenage boy named Wilby Daniels who, by the power of an enchanted ring of the Borgias, is transformed into a shaggy Old English Sheepdog. The film was released on March 19, 1959, and grossed over $9 million during its initial release, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 1959. A sequel, ''The Shaggy D.A.'' (1976), starred Dean Jones, Tim Conway, and Suzanne Pleshette. It was followed by a 1987 television sequel, a 1994 television remake and a 2006 live-action theatrical remake. Plot Wilbur "Wilby" Daniels is a boy who is misunderstood by his father, Wilson. Wilson thinks Wilby is cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cowboy (1958 Film)
''Cowboy'' is a 1958 American Western film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, Anna Kashfi and Brian Donlevy. This film is an adaptation of the Frank Harris semi-autobiographical novel ''My Reminiscences as a Cowboy''. Lemmon's character is based on Harris. The opening animated title sequence was created by Saul Bass. The screenwriters were Edmund H. North and Dalton Trumbo - the latter received no screen credit at the time because he had been blacklisted as one of the Hollywood Ten. Plot Frank Harris (Jack Lemmon) is a Chicago hotel clerk who dreams of making his fortune in the cattle business and has also fallen in love with Maria, the daughter of hotel guest and Mexican cattle baron, Señor Vidal. When Señor Vidal finds out about the relationship, he orders Harris to stay away and arranges to return immediately to Mexico with his daughter. Meanwhile, Tom Reece (Glenn Ford), an experienced trail boss, finishes a cattle drive and takes over an entir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Randolph Scott
George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals (albeit in non-singing and non-dancing roles), adventure tales, war films, and a few Horror film, horror and fantasy films. However, his most enduring image is that of the tall-in-the-saddle Western (genre), Western hero. Out of his more than 100 film appearances over 60 were in Westerns. According to editor Edward Boscombe, "...Of all the major stars whose name was associated with the Western, Scott [was] most closely identified with it."Boscombe, 1988. p 382. Scott's more than 30 years as a motion picture actor resulted in his working with many acclaimed screen directors, including Henry King (director), Henry King, Rouben Mamoulian, Michael Curtiz, John Cromwell (directo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decision At Sundown
''Decision at Sundown'' is a 1957 American Western film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott. It is one of seven Boetticher/Scott western collaborations, including '' Seven Men from Now'', ''The Tall T'', ''Buchanan Rides Alone'', '' Westbound'', ''Ride Lonesome'', and ''Comanche Station''. Boetticher said this film and ''Westbound'' were the only mediocre films he made as part of the Ranown cycle.Budd Boetticher: The Last Interview Wheeler, Winston Dixon. Film Criticism; Meadville Vol. 26, Iss. 3, (Spring 2002): 52-0_3. Plot Bart Allison and his true and faithful friend Sam ride into the town of Sundown. Blinded by hate, Bart has only one thing in mind: to seek revenge from Tate Kimbrough whom he believes had once immorally seduced and then abandoned his wife Mary, which finally led to her committing suicide. At least this is the story Allison believes. More probably his wife at that time had fallen out of love with him and intended to leave him, being genu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucy Gallant
''Lucy Gallant'' is a 1955 American drama film directed by Robert Parrish and written by John Lee Mahin and Winston Miller. The film stars Jane Wyman, Charlton Heston, Claire Trevor, Thelma Ritter, William Demarest and Wallace Ford. The film was released on October 20, 1955, by Paramount Pictures. The story is based on a novella, "The Life of Lucy Gallant," by Texas-born author Margaret Cousins (1905-1996), published in '' Good Housekeeping'' magazine in May 1953. It was the last film Pine-Thomas Productions made at Paramount, an association that had endured since 1940. Plot While traveling from New York City to Mexico, the stylish Lucy Gallant is stranded by a storm in fictitious New City, Texas, where rancher Casey Cole helps find her suitable lodging. The public reaction to her fashions persuades Lucy to sell the contents of her trousseau, and she decides to stay and open a dress shop. Lucy lives at Molly Basserman's boarding house and runs her store out of Lady " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Magnificent Ambersons (film)
''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1942 American period drama written, produced, and directed by Orson Welles. Welles adapted Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize–winning 1918 novel, about the declining fortunes of a wealthy Midwestern family and the social changes brought by the automobile age. The film stars Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins, with Welles providing the narration. Welles lost control of the editing of ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' to RKO, and the final version released to audiences differed significantly from his rough cut of the film. More than an hour of footage was cut by the studio, which also shot and substituted a happier ending. Although Welles's extensive notes for how he wished the film to be cut have survived, the excised footage was destroyed. Composer Bernard Herrmann insisted his credit be removed when, like the film itself, his score was heavily edited by the studio. Even in the released ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaetano Merola
Gaetano Merola (4 January 1881 – 30 August 1953) was an Italian conductor, pianist and founder of the San Francisco Opera. Biography Merola was born in Naples, the son of a Neapolitan court violinist and studied piano and conductor at the Naples conservatory. He emigrated to the United States in 1899 and served as an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, Henry Wilson Savage's opera company in Boston, and Fortune Gallo's traveling San Carlo Opera Company. Oscar Hammerstein I hired Merola as choral conductor of his Manhattan Opera Company where Merola remained until the company folded in 1910. He then served as conductor in Hammerstein's London Opera House before returning to New York as an operetta conductor. Merola conducted the premieres of several shows, including Victor Herbert's '' Naughty Marietta'', Rudolf Friml's '' The Firefly'' and Sigmund Romberg's ''Maytime''. San Francisco years It was while touring with the San Carlo Opera that Merola began maki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
