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Leonard Spigelgass
Leonard Spigelgass (November 26, 1908 – February 15, 1985) was an American playwright, film producer and screenwriter. During his career, Spigelgass wrote the scripts for 11 Academy Award-winning films. He himself was nominated in 1950 for the story for '' Mystery Street'' and garnered three Writers Guild of America nominations over the course of his career. Spigelgass was also a friend of Gore Vidal who used Spigelgass as the model for Vidal's semi fictionary "wise hack" character in the latter's series of essays about Hollywood. Biography Life Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, Spigelgass graduated from New York University in 1929. He was a literary and drama critic for ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and the ''Saturday Review of Literature'' before moving to Hollywood. Fox Spigelglass got his start collaborating on the script for Erich von Stroheim's '' Walking Down Broadway'' at Fox Films. After the film was shot, studio executives ordered the film to be re-edited and re- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The Oscars are widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the film industry. The major award categories, known as the Academy Awards of Merit, are presented during a live-televised Hollywood ceremony in February or March. It is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony. The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929. The second ceremony, in 1930, was the first one broadcast by radio. The 1953 ceremony was the first one televised. It is the oldest of the four major annual American entertainment awards. Its counterparts—the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music—are modeled after the Academy Aw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Affairs (1940 Film)
''Private Affairs'' is a 1940 comedy film starring Nancy Kelly, with a supporting cast including Hugh Herbert, Roland Young, and Robert Cummings. The film was directed by Albert S. Rogell. Plot Amos Bullerton from Boston is the first in a long line of patrician aristocrats to marry a commoner, which makes his father, Noble, furious and prompts him to remove Amos from his will. Amos takes up residence in New York and starts working as a stock broker. After fifteen years in New York without any contact with his family, Amos is visited by his young daughter Jane. She is coming to New York to get his approval of dumping her current aristocratic fiancé Herbert Stanley. Instead she is determined to marry Jimmy Nolan, a law clerk working for her grandfather Noble. Amos runs out of luck and has to partner up with a taxi driver when he is too much in debt and cannot pay his fare. He "hires" the driver, Angus McPherson to get rid of the debt. He is hired by a dubious stock broker named ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
So Evil My Love
''So Evil My Love'' is a 1948 British and American Gothic psychological thriller film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Ray Milland, Ann Todd and Geraldine Fitzgerald. ''So Evil My Love'' is a period drama set in the Victorian era, and shot in film noir style in the late-1940s subgenre often referred to as " Gaslight noir".Beal, Nick. ''noiroftheweek.com'', 19 September 2009. Retrieved: 26 August 2016. The film is based on the popular 1947 '' For Her to See'' novel by Marjorie Bowen (published under the pseudonym Joseph Shearing). Elements of the plot are based on the mysterious death of barrister Charles Bravo in 1876. The conclusion may also be based on the death (in New York City, in 1904) of Cesar Young by Nan Patterson. Plot On board a ship traveling to Liverpool, England, from the West Indies, Anglican missionary's widow Olivia Harwood ( Ann Todd) is prevailed on to help nurse malarial patients on the lower decks. There she meets the suavely handsome Mark Bellis (R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Awards, several major award-winning films of the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Italy and raised in Los Angeles from the age of five, his Rags to riches, rags-to-riches story has led film historians such as Ian Freer to consider him the "American Dream personified".Freer 2009, pp. 40–41. Capra became one of America's most influential directors during the 1930s, winning three Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director from six nominations. Among his leading films were ''It Happened One Night'' (1934), ''Mr. Deeds Goes to Town'' (1936), ''You Can't Take It with You (film), You Can't Take It with You'' (1938), and ''Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' (1939). During World War II, Capra served in the Signal Corps (United States Army), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Youngest Profession
''The Youngest Profession'' is a 1943 film directed by Edward Buzzell, and starring Virginia Weidler, Edward Arnold, John Carroll, Scotty Beckett, and Agnes Moorehead. Based on a short story series and book written by Lillian Day, it contains cameos by Greer Garson, Lana Turner, William Powell, Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. A major leading man during the Golden Age of Hollywood, known for his "portrayals of men who prove both sturdy and wise," Pidgeon earned two Academy ..., and Robert Taylor. Plot Lively teen Joan Lyons and her best friend, Patricia Drew, are dedicated autograph seekers who run around New York City attempting to meet celebrities. Deceived by trouble-making governess Miss Featherstone, Joan is distracted from her star-chasing by concerns over her parents' marriage. This leads Joan to hire a muscle man named Dr. Hercules to flirt with her mother, which only results in more mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
They Got Me Covered
''They Got Me Covered'' is a 1943 American comedy thriller film directed by David Butler and starring Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. Otto Preminger appears in a supporting role. It also known by the alternative titles ''Washington Story'' and ''The Washington Angle''. Plot In mid 1941, acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper reporter Robert "Kit" Kittredge returns to the U.S. from his position as their Moscow correspondent. He is fired for his incompetency by his editor, Norman Mason, the minute he comes back, since he has neglected to report that Germany recently has invaded Russia. Kit goes to see his girlfriend, stenographer Christina Hill, at work in another newspaper in Washington, D.C. Their meeting is stopped when one of Kit's Romanian informers, Gregory Vanescu, claims to have a big scoop for Kit. Before he can tell Kit his story, he is shot at by Nazi spies and runs into hiding. Later Kit and Christina receive a message directing them to send stenographer, to the st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Big Street
''The Big Street'' is a 1942 American drama film starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, based on the 1940 short story "Little Pinks" by Damon Runyon, who also produced it. It was directed by Irving Reis from a screenplay by Leonard Spigelgass. ''The Big Street'' was a nickname for Broadway, where this movie's plot starts, and where all of Runyon's stories take place. Plot The film focuses on busboy Augustus Pinkerton II, known as Little Pinks, and his relationship with a pretty but cold-hearted singer, Gloria Lyons, who is crippled in a fall after her boyfriend, New York City nightclub owner Case Ables, knocks her down a flight of stairs in a fit of jealousy. Left penniless by the expenses she incurs during a long convalescence, Gloria is forced to rely on the kindness of Pinks, who invites her to stay with him in his apartment. When Pinks' friend Violette Shumberg marries Nicely Nicely Johnson and the couple moves to Florida, Gloria orders Pinks to take her there to recuper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward G
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Saxon England, but the rule of the Norman and Plantagenet dynasties had effectively ended its use amongst the upper classes. The popularity of the name was revived when Henry III named his firstborn son, the future Edward I, as part of his efforts to promote a cult around Edward the Confessor, for whom Henry had a deep admiration. Variant forms The name has been adopted in the Iberian peninsula since the 15th century, due to Edward, King of Portugal, whose mother was English. The Spanish/Portuguese forms of the name are Eduardo and Duarte. Other variant forms include French Édouard, Italian Edoardo and Odoardo, German, Dutch, Czech and Romanian Eduard and Scandinavian Edvard. Short forms include Ed, Eddy, Eddie, Ted, Teddy a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Through The Night (film)
''All Through the Night'' is a 1942 American comedy-crime-spy thriller film directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Humphrey Bogart, Conrad Veidt and Kaaren Verne, and featuring many of the Warner Bros. company of character actors. It was released by Warner Brothers. The supporting cast features Peter Lorre, Frank McHugh, Jackie Gleason, Phil Silvers, Barton MacLane, and William Demarest. Plot The gang of big-shot Broadway gambler Alfred "Gloves" Donahue, at a restaurant, plays with military toys, imagining fighting Hitler. The restaurant gives Gloves a cheesecake not made by Mr. Miller, a baker who makes Gloves' favorite cheesecake, and Donahue is unhappy. His mother, "Ma" Donahue, tells him Miller, her neighbor, is missing and she's "got a feeling" something sinister has happened. Gloves searches the bakery and finds Miller's dead body. A young singer, Leda Hamilton, quickly leaves the shop upon hearing about Miller's demise. Mrs. Donahue believes that the girl knows somet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Million Dollar Baby (1941 Film)
''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 1941 American romantic comedy film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Priscilla Lane, Jeffrey Lynn, Ronald Reagan, May Robson and Lee Patrick.Vaughan p.28 The film was based on a short story by Leonard Spigelgass. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Plot When wealthy American expatriate Cornelia Wheelwright is informed by her longtime lawyers that her late father swindled his partner, Fortune McCallister, out of $700,000, she acts decisively. First, because James Amory is the only lawyer in the firm to be outraged by the injustice, she hires him and fires the rest of the firm. His first task is to locate all of McCallister's heirs. It turns out there is only one: granddaughter Pam McCallister. Pam works in Lacey's Department Store and lives in a boardinghouse in New York City. To find out what kind of person she is, Cornelia becomes a fellow tenant. Cornelia also meets Pam's boyfriend, composer and piano player Pete Rowan (Reaga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butch Minds The Baby
''Butch Minds the Baby'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Albert S. Rogell and written by Leonard Spigelgass, based on the short story of the same name by Damon Runyon. The film stars Virginia Bruce, Broderick Crawford, Dick Foran, Porter Hall, Richard Lane and Shemp Howard. The film was released on March 20, 1942, by Universal Pictures. Plot Aloysius 'Butch' Grogan is known for being involved with crime. He is motivated to continue being a criminal, in order to provide Susie O'Neill with the money so she can support herself and raise her son. Butch joins a gang of safe crackers as a lookout, but one of them brings his baby son along with him on the job. Butch has to keep the baby on his mind while the safe is being knocked over. Cast *Virginia Bruce as Susie O'Neill *Broderick Crawford as Aloysius 'Butch' Grogan *Dick Foran as Dennis Devlin *Porter Hall as Brandy Smith * Richard Lane as Harry the Horse *Shemp Howard as Blinky Sweeney * Rosina Galli as Mrs. Tal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tight Shoes (film)
''Tight Shoes'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Leo Carrillo, John Howard, and Broderick Crawford. It is based on the Damon Runyon story. The film was produced and distributed as second feature by Universal Pictures. Plot Shoe store owner Amalfi (Leo Carrillo) is forced by crook Speedy Miller (Broderick Crawford) to allow the business to be a front for illegal gambling. Miller works for a crime boss Horace Grover "the Brain" (Samuel S. Hinds), managing editor of a newspaper. Jimmy Rupert (John Howard) is a clerk in the store and sells a pair of shoes to Miller that are too small and hurt his feet. Distracted by his pinched feet in the "tight shoes", Miller places a losing bet on the horse named Feet First. A fight ensues with his girlfriend Sybil Ash (Binnie Barnes) and she leaves him. He blames his loss on Rupert and gets him fired from the shoe store. In response, Rupert complains about crooked politicians who allow crime to flourish, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
