Lyle Bettger
Lyle Stathem Bettger (February 13, 1915 – September 24, 2003) was an American character actor who had roles in Hollywood films and television from the 1950s onward, often portraying villains. One such role was the wrathfully jealous elephant handler Klaus from the Oscar-winning film '' The Greatest Show on Earth'' (1952). Early life and education Bettger was born in Philadelphia, the son of Frank Bettger, an infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1910 (as Frank Betcher), successful insurance salesman and best-selling self-help author, and Mertie Stathem Bettger. He graduated from the Haverford School in Haverford, Pennsylvania and from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Stage Bettger's theatrical debut was in ''Brother Rat'' at the '' Biltmore Theatre'' in New York City in 1936. His Broadway credits include ''Dance Night'' (1938), ''Summer Night'' (1939), ''The Flying Gerardos'' (1940–1941), ''The Moon Is Down'' (1942), ''All for All'' (1943), ''Oh, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Greatest Show On Earth (film)
''The Greatest Show on Earth'' is a 1952 American drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shot in Technicolor and released by Paramount Pictures. Set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the film stars Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde as trapeze artists competing for the center ring and Charlton Heston as the circus manager. James Stewart also stars as a mysterious clown who never removes his makeup, and Dorothy Lamour and Gloria Grahame also play supporting roles. In addition to the actors, the real Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's Circus' 1951 troupe appears in the film with its complement of 1,400 people, hundreds of animals and 60 railroad cars of equipment and tents. The actors learned their circus roles and participated in the acts. The film's storyline is supported by lavish production values, actual circus acts and documentary-style views into the complex logistics behind big-top circuses. The film won two Academy Awards for Best Pictur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Film Noir
Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American film noir. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key lighting, low-key, black-and-white visual style that has roots in German expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and attitudes expressed in classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression, known as noir fiction. The term ''film noir'', French for "black film" (literal) or "dark film" (closer meaning), was first applied to Hollywood films by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, but was unrecognized by most American film industry professionals of that era. Frank is believed to have been inspired by the French literary publishing imprint Série noire, founded in 1945. Cinema hist ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Impasse (1969 Film)
''Impasse'' is a 1969 American film about a group of adventurers trying to recover gold lost in the Philippines during World War II. It stars Burt Reynolds, Anne Francis, Vic Diaz, Lyle Bettger and Rodolfo Acosta. Plot Pat Morrison runs a shady salvage operation in Manila. His latest scheme involves finding $3 million worth of gold bars hidden by the military during World War II. To this end, he needs the help of several former soldiers who were present when the gold was hidden. The first is Jesus, a Filipino muslim and Morrison's business associate. The second is Draco, a hard-drinking, hot-tempered Apache living on an Indian reservation who answers Morrison's telegram with the promise of finding a wartime lover named Maria Bonita. The trio then breaks the third man, the bigoted Hansen, out of a Filipino jail. Draco eventually manages to find Maria in a local bar, but discovers that she has grown older and gained weight. Meanwhile, Morrison rescues the captured Trev Jones, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Sea Chase
''The Sea Chase'' is a 1955 World War II drama film starring John Wayne and Lana Turner, and featuring David Farrar, Lyle Bettger, and Tab Hunter. It was directed by John Farrow from a screenplay by James Warner Bellah and John Twist based on the novel of the same name by Andrew Geer. The plot is a nautical cat and mouse adventure, with Wayne determined to get his freighter home to Germany during the opening months of World War II, chased relentlessly across the Pacific then Atlantic oceans by the Australian and then British navies. The film was shot in CinemaScope and WarnerColor. Plot Captain Karl Ehrlich (John Wayne) is the master of the aging German steam freighter ''Ergenstrasse'', home port Hamburg, docked at Sydney, Australia, on the eve of the Second World War. Ehrlich is a former German Navy officer who lost his command after refusing to support the Nazi regime. As his ship prepares for sea to avoid internment, Erlich meets with an old friend, British Royal Navy Co ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chief Officer
A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship's cargo and deck crew. The actual title used will vary by ship's employment, by type of ship, by nationality, and by trade: for instance, ''chief mate'' is not usually used in the Commonwealth, although ''chief officer'' and ''first mate'' are; on passenger ships, the first officer may be a separate position from that of the chief officer that is junior to the latter. The chief mate answers to the captain for the safety and security of the ship. Responsibilities include the crew's welfare and training in areas such as safety, firefighting, search and rescue. The mate on a fishing vessel may be called the second hand. Senior onboard operations manager The Chief Mate, who is the second in command of the vessel, is often equated, in cor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequently referred to as Hitler Fascism () and Hitlerism (). The term "neo-Nazism" is applied to other far-right groups with similar ideology, which formed after World War II, and after Nazi Germany collapsed. Nazism is a form of fascism, with disdain for liberal democracy and the parliamentary system. Its beliefs include support for dictatorship, fervent antisemitism, anti-communism, anti-Slavism, anti-Romani sentiment, scientific racism, white supremacy, Nordicism, social Darwinism, homophobia, ableism, and the use of eugenics. The ultranationalism of the Nazis originated in pan-Germanism and the ethno-nationalist ''Völkisch movement, Völkisch'' movement which had been a prominent aspect of German nationa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Union Station (film)
''Union Station'' is a 1950 crime drama film noir directed by Rudolph Maté and starring William Holden, Nancy Olson and Barry Fitzgerald. Plot At Chicago Union Station (though filmed at Los Angeles Union Station), Police Lieutenant William "Bill" Calhoun is approached by an apprehensive passenger named Joyce Willecombe who believes that two men aboard her train may be up to no good. The two men deposit a suitcase in a storage locker. When Bill retrieves it, Joyce recognizes the clothing as belonging to Lorna Murchison, the blind daughter of wealthy Henry Murchison, Joyce's employer. When Mr. Murchison is brought in, he admits Lorna has been kidnapped and held for ransom, but does not want the police to get involved as they might endanger his daughter's life. Bill and his boss, Inspector Donnelly, persuade him to accept their help. The railway station where Calhoun works has been chosen as the location to pay off the ransom. Bill and Donnelly race against time to save Lorna an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gunfight At The O
A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to describe combat situations primarily using firearms (generally excluding crew-served weapons, combat vehicles, Military aircraft, armed aircraft, or explosives). Shootouts often pit law enforcement against Crime, criminals, though they can also involve groups outside of law enforcement, such as rivalling gangs, militias, or individuals. Military combat situations are rarely titled "shootouts", and are almost always considered battles, Engagement (military), engagements, Skirmisher, skirmishes, exchanges, or firefights. Shootouts are often depicted in action films, Western (genre), Westerns, and video games. Notable shootouts in the United States and territories Gunfight at the O.K. Corral On October 26, 1881, Deputy United States Mars ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Lone Ranger (1956 Film)
''The Lone Ranger'' is a 1956 Western film based on ''The Lone Ranger'' television series starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. ''The Lone Ranger'' was the first of two theatrical features based on the series; it was followed by ''The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold'' in 1958. Screenplay Somewhere In Texas, the legendary masked man known as The Lone Ranger and his native colleague Tonto work to discover the reason why several white people are being massacred by some masked Indians. Meanwhile, a rich farmer known as Mr. Kilgore has a cruel plan in hand against the local Indian tribe: to provoke a war involving the natives and white ranchers. Kilgore plans to exploit "Spirit Mountain" in the Indian territory for its silver deposits. The Lone Ranger realizes that the natives wanted to keep settlers away so they would not discover and take control of the silver deposits. Kilgore, using his ranch hands disguised as Indians, attempts to begin a fierce conflict that would ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Destry (1954)
''Destry'' is a 1954 American western film directed by George Marshall and starring Audie Murphy, Mari Blanchard, Lyle Bettger and Thomas Mitchell. This, the third film to utilize the title character of Max Brand's novel ''Destry Rides Again'', is a color remake of the black-&-white 1939 Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart film version. Indeed, ''Halliwell's Film Guide'' calls it an "almost scene-for-scene remake." Both films were directed by George Marshall and have a plot bearing no resemblance to Brand's novel or the original 1932 film adaptation. Plot The sheriff (Trevor Bardette) of a small western town dies of a 'heart attack' and the crooked mayor, The Honorable Hiram J. Sellers (Edgar Buchanan), and leading crook Phil Decker (Lyle Bettger) appoint the town drunk, Reginald T. "Rags" Barnaby ( Thomas Mitchell), as the new sheriff, believing that he will be easily controlled by them. Rags, however, immediately announces he is giving up drinking and refuses to accept Deck ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Drums Across The River (1954)
''Drums Across the River '' is a 1954 American Technicolor Western film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Audie Murphy, Walter Brennan and Lyle Bettger. Plot Gary Brannon, is a peaceful homesteader living a quiet existence with his father Sam. Frank Walker is hoping to open up the Ute Indian territory for gold-mining purposes and tries to foment a war between the Utes and the local whites, while he steals a gold shipment and pins the blame on Gary. Gary starts off hating the Utes because they were responsible for killing his mother but gradually comes to be on their side and wants to expose the machinations of Walker. Cast Production The film was shot mostly on the Universal backlot, with location filming at Barton Flats, California Barton Flats is a recreation area located in the San Bernardino National Forest near San Gorgonio Mountain. The nearest major town is Big Bear Lake, California. History A fire began approximately at 4:00 PM on June 17, 2015, behind Camp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Forbidden (1953 Film)
''Forbidden'' is a 1953 American film noir crime film directed by Rudolph Mate and starring Tony Curtis, Joanne Dru and Lyle Bettger.. Plot Eddie Darrow (Tony Curtis) works for American gangster Barney Pendleton, who sends him to Macao to find a woman, Christine Lawrence, and bring her back to the United States. Aware of a previous romantic attraction between the two, Pendleton tells his thug Chalmer to follow Eddie on the trip, just in case. At a nightclub and casino, Eddie saves the owner, Justin Keit, from some Chinese men attacking him. A grateful Justin invites him home and introduces Eddie to his fiancée, Christine. Eddie is bitter because Christine had run off to marry a criminal named Manard, who is now dead. A jealous Justin overhears Christine explain to Eddie that she only wed Manard because he threatened to harm Eddie. She also says Pendleton wants her back because she has hidden documents that could land him behind bars. In order to keep an eye on Eddie, Justin of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |