Old Acquaintance (play)
''Old Acquaintance'' is a 1940 play by the British writer John Van Druten. After premiering in Boston, it ran for 170 performances at the Morosco Theatre on Broadway featuring Peggy Wood and Jane Cowl. In Britain it had a tryout at the Theatre Royal, Bath before moving to the Apollo Theatre in the West End where it enjoyed a run of 218 performances from 18 December 1941 to 6 June 1942. The cast included Edith Evans, Muriel Pavlow and Ronald Ward. Adaptations In 1943 the play was adapted by Warner Bros. into a film of the same title directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins and John Loder. In 1981 director George Cukor remade the story as '' Rich and Famous'' for United Artists, starring Jacqueline Bisset and Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Van Druten
John William Van Druten (1 June 190119 December 1957) was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London, and later moved to America, becoming a U.S. citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observations of contemporary life and society. Biography Van Druten was born in London in 1901, son of a Dutch father named Wilhelmus van Druten and his English wife Eva. He was educated at University College School and read law at the University of London. Before commencing his career as a writer, he practised law for a while as a solicitor and university lecturer in Wales. He first came to prominence with '' Young Woodley'', a slight but charming study of adolescence, produced in New York in 1925. However, it was banned in London by the Lord Chamberlain's office owing to its then controversial portrayal of a schoolboy falling in love with his headmaster's wife. In Britain, it was first produced privately (by Phyllis Whitworth's Three Hundred Club) ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Old Acquaintance
''Old Acquaintance'' is a 1943 American drama film released by Warner Bros. It was directed by Vincent Sherman and produced by Henry Blanke with Jack L. Warner as executive producer. The film was adapted from a screenplay by John Van Druten, Lenore Coffee and Edmund Goulding based on Van Druten's 1940 play of the same title. The film stars Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, Gig Young, John Loder, Dolores Moran, Roscoe Karns and Anne Revere. Background The John Van Druten play upon which the film is based premiered at the Morosco Theatre in New York City on December 23, 1940 before running for 170 performances. The play was staged by Auriol Lee and designed by Richard Whorf, and it starred Jane Cowl, Peggy Wood and Kent Smith. Bette Davis wanted Norma Shearer to take the role of Millie, but Shearer, who was semi-retired, declined to take the secondary role and second billing. Miriam Hopkins, who had starred in '' The Old Maid'' with Davis and had endured a difficult working relation ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1940 Plays
Year 194 ( CXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Septimius and Septimius (or, less frequently, year 947 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 194 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus and Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus Caesar become Roman Consuls. * Battle of Issus: Septimius Severus marches with his army (12 legions) to Cilicia, and defeats Pescennius Niger, Roman governor of Syria. Pescennius retreats to Antioch, and is executed by Severus' troops. * Septimius Severus besieges Byzantium (194–196); the city walls suffer extensive damage. Asia * Battle of Yan Province: Warlords Cao Cao and Lü Bu fight for control over Yan Province; the battle lasts for over 100 d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Candice Bergen
Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom '' Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmidt on the ABC drama '' Boston Legal'' (2005–2008). In films, Bergen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for '' Starting Over'' (1979), and for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for '' Gandhi'' (1982). Bergen began her career as a fashion model and appeared on the cover of '' Vogue'' before she made her screen debut in the film '' The Group'' (1966). She starred in '' The Sand Pebbles'' (1966), '' Soldier Blue'' (1970), ''Carnal Knowledge'' (1971), and ''The Wind and the Lion'' (1975). She made her Broadway debut in the 1984 play '' Hurlyburly'' and starred in the revivals of '' The Best Man'' (2012) and '' Love Letters'' (2014). From 2002 to 2004, she ap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jacqueline Bisset
Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset ( ; born 13 September 1944) is a British actress. She began her film career in 1965 and first came to prominence in 1968 with roles in '' The Detective'', '' Bullitt'', and ''The Sweet Ride'', for which she received a Golden Globe nomination as Most Promising Newcomer. In the 1970s, she starred in '' Airport'' (1970), '' The Mephisto Waltz'' (1971), '' Day for Night'' (1973), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, '' Le Magnifique'' (1973), '' Murder on the Orient Express'' (1974), '' St. Ives'' (1976), '' The Deep'' (1977), '' The Greek Tycoon'' (1978) and '' Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?'' (1978), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. Bisset's other film and TV credits include '' Rich and Famous'' (1981), '' Class'' (1983), her Golden Globe-nominated role in '' Under the Volcano'' (1984), her CableACE Award-nominated role in '' Forbidden'' (1985), ' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studio was premised on allowing actors to control their own interests, rather than being dependent upon commercial studios. UA was repeatedly bought, sold, and restructured over the ensuing century. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired the studio in 1981 for a reported $350 million ($ billion today). On September 22, 2014, MGM acquired a controlling interest in entertainment companies One Three Media and Lightworkers Media, then merged them to revive United Artists' television production unit as United Artists Media Group (UAMG). However, on December 14 of the following year, MGM wholly acquired UAMG and folded it into MGM Television. United Artists was again revived in 2018 as United Artists Digital Studios. Mirror, the joint distribution ve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rich And Famous (1981 Film)
''Rich and Famous'' is a 1981 American drama film directed by George Cukor, the final film of his career. The screenplay by Gerald Ayres is based on the 1940 play '' Old Acquaintance'' by John Van Druten, previously adapted in 1943 by Vincent Sherman under its original title, starring Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins. The film was released to commercial failure and mixed critical response. Plot Two women find their friendship is tested when one rises from obscurity to success while the other stagnates in a stalled career. Liz Hamilton, a young woman with literary ambitions, and Merry Noel Blake, an all-American blonde beauty from Atlanta, are close friends who met while they were freshmen at Smith College in the 1950s. Soon after graduation, Liz writes a critically acclaimed book and drifts into unfulfilling relationships and one-night stands, including an empty encounter in an airplane lavatory, a fling with a teenaged hustler, and an affair with Chris Adams, a young reporter for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head of Production, assigned Cukor to direct several of RKO's major films, including '' What Price Hollywood?'' (1932), '' A Bill of Divorcement'' (1932), '' Our Betters'' (1933), and '' Little Women'' (1933). When Selznick moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1933, Cukor followed and directed '' Dinner at Eight'' (1933) and '' David Copperfield'' (1935) for Selznick, and ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1936) and '' Camille'' (1936) for Irving Thalberg. He was replaced as one of the directors of '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939), but he went on to direct '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1940), '' Gaslight'' (1944), '' Adam's Rib'' (1949), '' Born Yesterday'' (1950), '' A Star Is Born'' (1954), '' Bhowani Junction'' (1956), and won the Academy Award for Best Director ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Loder (actor)
John Loder (born William John Muir Lowe; 3 January 1898 – 26 December 1988) was established as a British film actor in Germany and Britain before migrating to the United States in 1928 for work in the new talkies. He worked in Hollywood for two periods, becoming an American citizen in 1947. After living also in Argentina, he became a naturalized British citizen in 1959. Biography Early life Loder was born in 1898 in Knightsbridge, London. His father was W. H. M. Lowe, a British career army officer who achieved the rank of general. Patrick Pearse, the leader of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, Ireland, surrendered to him. Both were present at the surrender. His mother was Frances Broster Johnson (née de Salvo; 1857–1942), daughter of Francesco de Salvo of Palermo, Sicily and his English wife Emma Broster. Frances was widowed when she married Lowe; she had been married to the late Captain Robert Harry Johnson of the 64th Foot Regiment. Loder had a younger sister, Elizabeth ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Miriam Hopkins
Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an American actress known for her versatility. She first signed with Paramount Pictures in 1930. Her best-known roles included a pickpocket in Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy ''Trouble in Paradise'', bar singer Ivy in Rouben Mamoulian's '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' and the titular character in the controversial drama '' The Story of Temple Drake''. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the 1935 film '' Becky Sharp'', by which she earned the distinction of being the first performer nominated for a performance in a color picture, and a Golden Globe nomination for '' The Heiress''. She co-starred with Joel McCrea in five films. Her long-running feud with actress Bette Davis was publicized for effect. Hopkins later became a pioneer of TV drama. She was considered a distinguished hostess in Hollywood and moved in intellectual and creative circles. Early life Hopkins was born in Savannah, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical films, suspense horror, and occasional comedies, although her greater successes were in romantic dramas. A recipient of two Academy Awards, she was the first thespian to accrue ten nominations. Bette Davis appeared on Broadway in New York, then the 22-year-old Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930. After some unsuccessful films, she had her critical breakthrough playing a vulgar waitress in '' Of Human Bondage'' (1934) although, contentiously, she was not among the three nominees for the Academy Award for Best Actress that year. The next year, her performance as a down-and-out actress in '' Dangerous'' (1935) did land Davis her first Best Actress nominati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vincent Sherman
Vincent Sherman (born Abraham Orovitz, July 16, 1906 – June 18, 2006) was an American director and actor who worked in Hollywood. His movies include '' Mr. Skeffington'' (1944), '' Nora Prentiss'' (1947), and '' The Young Philadelphians'' (1959). He began his career as an actor on Broadway and later in film. He directed B-movies for Warner Bros. and then moved to directing to A-pictures. He was a good friend of actor Errol Flynn, whom he directed in '' Adventures of Don Juan'' (1949). He directed three Joan Crawford movies: '' The Damned Don't Cry'' (1950), '' Harriet Craig'' (1950), and '' Goodbye, My Fancy'' (1951). Early life Sherman was born Abraham Orovitz to Jewish parents. He was born and raised in the small town of Vienna, Georgia, where his father was a dry-goods salesman. Not long after graduating from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, he became a professional actor. Career Sherman arrived in New York City to sell a play and soon became a stage director and acto ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |