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Oscar Polk
Oscar Polk (December 25, 1899 – January 4, 1949) was an American actor. He portrayed the enslaved man Pork in the film ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939). Life and career His most memorable scene in that film comes when Pork discloses to Scarlett O'Hara, portrayed by Vivien Leigh, that the back property taxes “done run up sky high” on Tara (plantation), Tara in the amount of $300. He was married to Ivy V. Polk (née Ivy Parsons, born October 12, 1920), who had a deleted scene in ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind''. They had a son, Oscar Polk Jr. On January 4, 1949, Oscar Polk was fatally struck by a taxi cab as he stepped off a curb in Times Square in New York City 10 days after his 49th birthday. At the time of his death, he was scheduled to have a major role in the play ''Leading Lady'', and he was replaced by Ossie Davis. He is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Queens), Mount Olivet Cemetery in Long Island, New York. Theatre credits ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Van Vechten
Carl Van Vechten (; June 17, 1880December 21, 1964) was an American writer and Fine-art photography, artistic photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary estate, literary executor of Gertrude Stein. He gained fame as a writer, and notoriety as well, for his 1926 novel ''Nigger Heaven''. In his later years, he took up photography and took many portraits of notable people. Although he was married to women for most of his adult years, Van Vechten engaged in numerous homosexual affairs during his lifetime. Life and career Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he was the youngest child of Charles Duane Van Vechten and Ada Amanda Van Vechten (née Fitch). Both of his parents were well educated. His father was a wealthy, prominent banker. His mother established the Cedar Rapids Public Library and had great musical talent. As a child, Van Vechten developed a passion for music and theatre. He graduated from Washington High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Washington High ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Both Your Houses
''Both Your Houses'' is a 1933 play written by American playwright Maxwell Anderson. It was produced by the Theatre Guild and staged by Worthington Miner with scenic design by Arthur P. Segal. It opened at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Royale Theatre on March 5, 1933 and ran for 72 performances closing May 6, 1933. It was awarded the 1933 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and included in Burns Mantle's ''The Best Plays of 1932–1933''. The title is an allusion to Mercutio's line "a plague on both your houses" in ''Romeo and Juliet''.Review: “Both Your Houses” , in the ''Hyde Park Herald'', by Anne Spiselman; published November 5, 2014; retrieved December 3, 2014 Plot A magnificent ironic comedy, and a daring and forthright commentary on national politics. Here we have the story of a hard-fight ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Cargo
''White Cargo'' is a 1942 American drama film starring Hedy Lamarr and Walter Pidgeon, and directed by Richard Thorpe. Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it is based on the 1923 London and Broadway hit play by Leon Gordon (playwright), Leon Gordon, which was in turn adapted from the 1912 novel ''Hell's Playground'' by Ida Vera Simonton. The play had already been made into a British part-talkie, also titled ''White Cargo (1930 film), White Cargo'', with Maurice Evans (actor), Maurice Evans in 1930. The 1942 film, unlike the play, begins in what was then the present-day, before unfolding in Flashback (narrative), flashback. Plot During the early years of World War II Worthing (Richard Ainley) the “boss”, is on board a seaplane, the ''Congo Queen'' on an inspection tour of rubber plantations in remote locations in the West African jungle. The plane lands at a large, modern operation. Worthing tells the local supervisor that they must maximize production because the Japanese hold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reap The Wild Wind
''Reap the Wild Wind'' is a 1942 American adventure film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Ray Milland, John Wayne, and Paulette Goddard, with a supporting cast featuring Raymond Massey, Robert Preston (actor), Robert Preston, Lynne Overman, Susan Hayward and Charles Bickford. DeMille's second Technicolor production, the film is based on a serialized story written by Thelma Strabel in 1940 for ''The Saturday Evening Post''. The screenplay was written by Alan Le May (author of the novel ''The Searchers''), Charles Bennett (screenwriter), Charles Bennett, Jesse Lasky, Jr. and Jeanie MacPherson. While he based his film on Strabel's story, set in the 1840s along the Florida coast, DeMille took liberties with details such as sibling relationships and subplots, while staying true to the spirit of the story, which centers on the headstrong, independent woman portrayed by Goddard. Released shortly after the United States' entry into World War II, ''Reap the Wild W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birth Of The Blues
''Birth of the Blues'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin and Brian Donlevy. The plot loosely follows the origins and breakthrough success of the Original Dixieland Jass Band in New Orleans. It was well-received by critics on its release. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. However, many of the songs, such as "St. Louis Blues" by W. C. Handy and "Tiger Rag" by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, were not new. Plot Although he is only twelve, Jeff Lambert is a very talented clarinetist, and although the boy's father has spent a small fortune to have Jeff taught the fundamentals of classical clarinet, the lad prefers to spend his time in New Orleans with a group of black jazz men who perform in a dive on Bourbon Street. As the boy grows into manhood, his love for jazz intensifies, and he forms his own group, much to the chagrin of his aging father. Moving ahead, we find Jeff (Crosby) in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Notorious Elinor Lee
''The Notorious Elinor Lee'' is a 1940 race film directed, written, and co-produced by the African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. Plot Elinor Lee, a gangster’s moll living in the Harlem section of New York City, has signed up-and-coming boxer Benny Blue to a 10-year contract. Lee and a pair of corrupt fight promoter scheme to build up Blue as a potential champion, with the goal of betting against him when they force him to take a dive in a champion fight. Lee conspires to hire Fredi, an old friend of Blue and an escaped convict hiding from the law, to be his sweetheart and to control him for Lee and her partners. The plans are derailed when Blue loses a key fight to a German boxer, but he works to regain his standing in the sport and is able to meet the German in a rematch after two years have passed. Lee and her partners bet against Blue, but they are financially ruined when Blue prevails in the fight and comes out the winner. Production ''The Notorious Elinor Lee'' was s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Town Czar
''Big Town Czar'' is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Arthur Lubin starring Barton MacLane and Tom Brown. Plot New York City newspaper columnist Ed Sullivan relates the story of crime boss Phil Daley's rise and fall. To the disappointment of his parents but delight of younger brother Danny, crime has paid off handsomely for Phil, but he isn't able to discourage Danny from following in his footsteps. Danny bribes a prizefighter to take a dive, costing rival gangster Mike Luger a lot of money in bets. Danny ends up dead, and Phil needs to lie low because Luger's looking for him, too. He manages to kill Luger, but ends up arrested, convicted and sentenced to die. Cast * Barton MacLane as Phil Daley * Tom Brown as Danny Daley * Eve Arden as Susan Warren * Jack La Rue as Mike Luger * Horace McMahon as Punchy * Frank Jenks as Sid Travis * Ed Sullivan as himself Production The film was based on a story by Ed Sullivan. Universal bought it in August 1938. Barton MacLane wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Out Of The Inkwell (1938 Film)
''Out of the Inkwell'' is a 1938 Max Fleischer/Betty Boop live-action and animated short film. The title and concept for the film were a tribute to the ''Out of the Inkwell'' series of films that Max Fleischer had produced during the 1920s. Synopsis A live-action black janitor, played by Oscar Polk, best known for his portrayal as the servant "Pork" in the 1939 film ''Gone with the Wind'', studies hypnotism from a book while cleaning Max Fleischer's desk at the Fleischer studio. He manages to conjure Max's pen into drawing Betty Boop. In a sequence of animation mixed with live-action, he uses his new powers to control the white animated Boop. She in turn is able to control a small dog. After waking from the spell, Betty manages to work a few more spells. Fraught with racial innuendo, one of her tricks includes turning the black man white for a split-second, after which he begins cleaning in overdrive. Before that, he was sleeping on his broom and sweeping dirt under the carpet. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Underworld (1937 Film)
''Underworld'' is a 1937 gangster film directed by Oscar Micheaux, about a recent graduate from an all-black college who moves from the American South to Chicago and gets swept into the criminal underworld. The film was adapted from the short story "Chicago After Midnight" by Edna Mae Baker. Among its stars are Ethel Moses, a Micheaux regular, and Oscar Polk, best known for his appearance in ''Gone with the Wind'' two years later. Plot The film opens at an all-black college somewhere in the Southern United States. Paul Bronson, a recent graduate, is convinced by gambler LeRoy Giles to join him in Chicago. There, Paul becomes involved with Dinah Jackson, a singer who is married to club owner Sam Brown but has been having an affair with LeRoy. Paul runs into Evelyn Martin, a beauty parlor owner, who recognizes him from college. The two have lunch together, during which LeRoy spots them and reports to Dinah that Paul is seeing someone else. Dinah arranges for LeRoy to drug and rob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Green Pastures (film)
''The Green Pastures'' is a 1936 American film depicting stories from the Bible as visualized by black characters. It starred Rex Ingram (in several roles, including " De Lawd"), Oscar Polk, and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. It was based on the 1928 novel '' Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun'' by Roark Bradford and the 1930 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by Marc Connelly. ''The Green Pastures'' was one of only six feature films in the Hollywood Studio era to feature an all-black cast. Elements of the film were criticized by civil rights activists at the time and subsequently. The film had a copyright notice in 1936 that was renewed in 1963. The film will become public domain in the United States in 2032 under current copyright law. Warner's paid $100,000 for the stage play's film rights. Plot summary An elderly black man reads from the Book of Genesis to a group of six young children in his house. He answers their questions about God and creation. One of the girls st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dark Eyes (play)
''Dark Eyes'' is a play written by Elena Miramova (in collaboration with Eugenie Leontovich) that premiered in 1943. The comedy centers on three Russian-American actresses who have fallen into serious financial trouble and are urgently seeking a backer for their new play. The story is based upon an earlier Miramova work called "Love Is Not a Potato"; the play originally was titled ''To the Purple''."Gossip of the Rialto". ''The New York Times''. 20 December 1942. List of characters *John Field: A well-to-do widower and successful businessman who lives in Long Island with his family. *Grandmother Field: John's mother, whose birthday is the day that the play begins. *Larry Field: John's son, twenty-two years old, a self-described "bum". *Helen Field: John's daughter, younger than Larry, a girl of romantic temperament and the fiancée of Nikolai. *Pearl: A Negro maid who works for the Fields. *Willoughby: A butler employed by the Field family. *Prince Nikolai Toradje: A Georgian ém ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who manipulate the humans and are engaged in their own domestic intrigue. ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is one of Shakespeare's most popular and widely performed plays. Characters The Athenians: * Theseus – Duke of Athens * Hippolyta – Queen of the Amazons and Theseus' fianceé * Hermia – in love with Lysander * Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Helena – in love with Demetrius * Lysander (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Lysander – in love with Hermia * Demetrius (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Demetrius – s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
