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Joan Harrison (screenwriter)
Joan Harrison (20 June 1907 – 14 August 1994) was an English screenwriter and producer. She became the first female screenwriter to be nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar when the category was introduced in 1940, and was the first screenwriter to receive two Academy Award nominations in the same year in separate categories, for co-writing the screenplay for the films ''Foreign Correspondent'' (1940) (original) and ''Rebecca'' (1940) (adapted), both directed by Alfred Hitchcock, with whom she had a long professional relationship. Biography Born in Guildford, Surrey, Harrison was the daughter of a publisher of two local newspapers. She studied at St Hugh's College, Oxford and reviewed films for the student newspaper. She also studied at the Sorbonne. In 1933, she became Alfred Hitchcock's secretary after answering a newspaper advertisement. She began reading books and scripts for him and became one of Hitchcock's most trusted associates. Harrison appears in a scen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guildford
Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildford" is thought to derive from a ford (crossing), crossing of the River Wey, a tributary of the River Thames that flows through the town centre. The earliest evidence of human activity in the area is from the Mesolithic and Guildford is mentioned in the will and testament, will of Alfred the Great from . The exact location of the main Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon settlement is unclear and the current site of the modern town centre may not have been occupied until the early 11th century. Following the Norman Conquest, a motte-and-bailey castle was constructed; which was developed into a royal residence by Henry III of England, Henry III. During the England in the Middle Ages, late Middle Ages, Guildford prospered as a result of the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamaica Inn (novel)
''Jamaica Inn'' is a novel by the English writer Daphne du Maurier, first published in 1936. It was later made into a film, also called '' Jamaica Inn'', directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a period piece set in Cornwall around 1815. It was inspired by du Maurier's 1930 stay at the real Jamaica Inn, which still exists as a pub in the middle of Bodmin Moor. The plot follows Mary Yellan, a woman who moves to stay at Jamaica Inn with her Aunt Patience and Uncle Joss after the death of her mother. She quickly finds out that the inn is an unsavoury place, mistrusted by the locals, and that her uncle is closely linked with a group of suspicious men who appear to be smugglers. Characters The characters presented throughout the novel include (in order of introduction): * Mary Yellan, main character * Joshua "Joss" Merlyn, inn-keeper and uncle of Mary. * Patience Merlyn, Mary's aunt and wife of Joss * Henry "Harry", a pedlar and associate of Joss * Jeremiah "Jem" Merlyn, Joss's youn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia Van Upp
Virginia Van Upp (January 13, 1902 – March 25, 1970) was an American film producer and screenwriter. Early life Van Upp was born in Chicago, the daughter of Harry and Helen Van Upp. Mrs Van Upp had been an editor and title writer for Thomas H. Ince. Van Upp performed in several silent films as a child actress. She soon worked her way up in the film industry, becoming a script writer, film editor, script reader, casting director, and agent. Career Her first screenplay credit was for Paramount Pictures' ''The Pursuit of Happiness'' (1934). She was a prolific writer and re-writer of screenplays for Paramount until 1943. Queen of Columbia Ever on the lookout for talent, and after several writers failed to create a satisfying screenplay of ''Cover Girl'' (1944), Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures hired Van Upp from Paramount to rewrite the script. ''Cover Girl'' was designed as a Technicolor project for Columbia's Rita Hayworth. Cohn surrounded his star with the best talent avai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
They Won't Believe Me
''They Won't Believe Me'' is a 1947 American film noir starring Robert Young, Susan Hayward and Jane Greer, with Rita Johnson and Tom Powers in support. Directed by Irving Pichel, it was produced by Alfred Hitchcock's longtime assistant and collaborator Joan Harrison. The film was made and distributed by Hollywood major studio RKO Pictures. Plot After the prosecution rests its case in the murder trial of Larry Ballentine, the defendant takes the stand to tell his story. In flashback, Larry recounts how he started seeing magazine writer Janice Bell, innocently enough, but feelings developed between them. Unwilling to break up his marriage to Greta, Janice gets a job transfer. Larry says he will dump Greta and run off with her. But Greta knows and is unwilling to give him up. She tells Larry she's purchased a quarter-interest in a Los Angeles brokerage for him, and gotten them a home in Beverly Hills. The combination of temptation and a heavy guilt trip hung on him is too gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ride The Pink Horse
''Ride the Pink Horse'' is a 1947 film noir crime film produced by Universal Studios. It was directed by Robert Montgomery, who also stars in it, from a screenplay by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer, which was based on the 1946 novel of the same title by Dorothy B. Hughes. Thomas Gomez was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance. An army veteran known only as Gagin travels to San Pablo in New Mexico to avenge the death of his wartime buddy. Some of the villagers refer to Gagin as "the man with no place." Plot Lucky Gagin arrives in San Pablo, a rural town in New Mexico, during fiesta. He plans to blackmail a mobster named Frank Hugo as retribution for the death of his best friend Shorty. He places a check incriminating Hugo in a locker and hides the key behind a framed map in the bus depot waiting room. Because of the fiesta Gagin cannot find a room at the nearby hotel. Going to the non-tourist side of the town he meets Pila, who takes him to the La F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nocturne (1946 Film)
''Nocturne'' is a 1946 American film noir starring George Raft and Lynn Bari, with Virginia Huston, Joseph Pevney, and Myrna Dell in support. Directed by Edwin L. Marin, the film was produced by longtime Alfred Hitchcock associate Joan Harrison, scripted by Jonathan Latimer, and released by RKO Pictures. It was one of several medium budget thrillers Raft made in the late 1940s. Plot Keith Vincent is a Hollywood composer, working on a new song. As he nears completion of "Nocturne", a woman sits silently in the shadows and listens to him over his piano. The mood changes when he speaks the lyrics, "You're no longer the one," then encourages her to go away for a while. Moments later, as he alters the score, a shot rings out. When the police arrive the lieutenant in charge thinks it is suicide, but detective Joe Warne suspects murder. He encounters Vincent's housekeeper, Susan, whom he recognizes as an ex-con. They take her in for questioning. The score on the piano is dedicate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Strange Affair Of Uncle Harry
''The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry'', also known as ''Uncle Harry'' and ''The Zero Murder Case'', is a 1945 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak and starring George Sanders, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Ella Raines. It is based on the stage play ''Uncle Harry'' by Thomas Job, which was first performed in 1938. Plot Harry Quincey is an amiable middle-aged bachelor working as a designer in a fabric mill in the small New England town of Corinth. Younger people in town call him "Uncle Harry". He lives in the family's mansion with his two sisters, the younger Lettie and the older Hester. Lettie idles days away in bed, feigning numerous ailments. Although the Quinceys were once rich and influential, their money was lost in the Great Depression, and it is Harry's occupation which secures the family's income. Everything is disrupted by the arrival of a new female designer at the mill, Deborah, an elegant young woman from New York City. Harry and Deborah develop an interest in ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franchot Tone
Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known for his gentlemanly sophisticate roles, with supporting roles by the 1950s. His acting crossed many genres including pre-Code romantic leads to ''noir'' layered roles and World War I films. He appeared as a guest star in episodes of several golden age television series, including ''The Twilight Zone'' and '' The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' while continuing to act and produce in the theater and movies throughout the 1960s. Tone was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Midshipman Roger Byam in ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935), along with his co-stars Clark Gable and Charles Laughton, making it the only film to have three simultaneous Best Actor nominations, and leading to the creation of the Best Supporting Actor cat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dark Waters (1944 Film)
''Dark Waters'' is a 1944 American Gothic film noir based on the novel of the same name by Francis and Marian Cockrell. It was directed by Andre de Toth and starred Merle Oberon, Franchot Tone, and Thomas Mitchell. Plot Leslie Calvin, the shaken survivor of a ship sunk by a submarine, travels to her aunt and uncle's Louisiana plantation to recuperate, but her relatives, whom she has never met, have other ideas. She is befriended by a young local doctor, George Grover. Mr Sydney ( Thomas Mitchell) is a mysterious and fussy guest at the plantation. In a subtle nod to ''Gone with the Wind'' - Mitchell played the congenial Gerald O'Hara in the movie - the aunt tells Leslie that "Tomorrow is another day." Cast Reception The film was generally well received as accomplishing what it intended, with the ''New York Times'' stating it was "neatly produced and directed – and well played by an excellent cast." Critical response ''Slant Magazine's'' film critic, Glenn Heath Jr., lik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak (; 8 August 1900 – 10 March 1973) was a German Jewish film director. His career spanned some 40 years, working extensively in the United States and France, as well as in his native country. Though he worked in many genres, he was best known as a skilled craftsman of thrillers and film noir, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for '' The Killers'' (1946). Early life Siodmak was born in Dresden, Germany, the son of Rosa Philippine (née Blum) and Ignatz Siodmak and the brother of Curt, Werner and Roland. His parents were both from Jewish families in Leipzig (the myth of his American birth in Memphis, Tennessee was necessary for him to obtain a visa in Paris during World War II). He worked as a stage director and a banker before becoming editor and scenarist for Curtis Bernhardt in 1925 (Bernhardt directed a film of Siodmak's story '' Conflict'' in 1945). At twenty-six he was hired by his cousin, producer Seymour Nebenzal, to assemble origina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phantom Lady (film)
''Phantom Lady'' is a 1944 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, and Alan Curtis. Based on the novel of the same name by Cornell Woolrich, it follows a young Manhattan secretary and her endeavors to prove that her boss did not murder his wife. Plot After a fight with his wife on their anniversary, Scott Henderson, a 32-year-old engineer, picks up an equally unhappy woman at Anselmo's Bar in Manhattan, and they take a taxi to see a stage show. The woman refuses to tell him anything about herself. The star of the show they are watching, Estela Monteiro, becomes furious when she notices that she and the mystery woman are wearing the same distinctive hat. When Henderson returns home, he finds Police Inspector Burgess and two of his men waiting to question him; his wife has been strangled with one of his neckties. Henderson has a solid alibi, but the bartender, taxi driver, and Monteiro remember him but deny seeing the phantom lady. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saboteur (film)
''Saboteur'' is a 1942 American spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock with a screenplay written by Peter Viertel, Joan Harrison and Dorothy Parker. The film stars Robert Cummings, Priscilla Lane and Norman Lloyd. Plot Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane wrongly falls under suspicion of setting fire to his Glendale, California manufacturing plant during World War II, an act of domestic sabotage. Kane believes the actual culprit to be an apparent employee, Fry, whom he encountered earlier. When no one by that name is found to have worked there, Kane becomes the target of a manhunt. He remembers an address from an envelope carried by Fry and hitches a truck ride to a huge ranch in the desert. Kane discovers that the ranch's owner, Charles Tobin, is secretly collaborating with a group of saboteurs that includes Fry. Kane escapes and takes refuge with a blind man and his niece, Patricia Martin. She believes Kane is guilty and attempts to turn him in to the police, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
