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Pilot No. 5
''Pilot #5'' (a.k.a. ''Destination Tokyo,'' ''Skyway to Glory'', and ''The Story of Number Five'') is a 1943 black-and-white World War II propaganda film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by B.P. Fineman, directed by George Sidney, that stars Franchot Tone, Marsha Hunt, Gene Kelly, and Van Johnson. ''Pilot #5'' marked Gene Kelly's dramatic film debut. Plot In May 1942, an Allied base on Java is bombed by Japanese aircraft, with another attack expected the next day. With only one working fighter and five American pilots who all volunteer to fly it, Dutch commander Major Eichel (Steven Geray) chooses George Collins (Franchot Tone) because he has come up with a daring plan: attach a bomb rack to the fighter to bomb the Japanese aircraft carrier from which the attack came. After George takes off, Eichel asks the other pilots to tell him about George. Flashbacks stories of his civilian life before the war are interleaved with radio broadcasts from George. Four years earlier, G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Sidney
George Sidney (October 4, 1916May 5, 2002) was an American film director and producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His work includes cult classics '' Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963) and '' Viva Las Vegas'' (1964). With an extensive background in acting, stage direction, film editing, and music, Sidney created many of post-war Hollywood's big budget musicals, such as '' Annie Get Your Gun'' (1950), ''Show Boat'' (1951), '' Kiss Me Kate'' (1953), '' Jupiter's Darling'' (1955), and '' Pal Joey'' (1957). He was also a president of the Screen Directors Guild for 16 years. A founding partner of Hanna-Barbera animation studio, Sidney was a proponent of the integration of animation into live action, which is immortalized in the dance scene between actor Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse in '' Anchors Aweigh'' (1945). An avid art collector, gardener, musician, painter, and photographer, George Sidney was known for his impeccable sense of style and generosity. His clothing, original sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rising Sun Flag
The is a Japanese flag that consists of a red disc and sixteen red rays emanating from the disc. Like the Flag of Japan, Japanese national flag, the Rising Sun Flag symbolizes the Sun. The flag was originally used by daimyō, feudal warlords in Japan during the Edo period (1603–1868 AD). On May 15, 1870, as a policy of the Meiji government, it was adopted as the war flag of the Imperial Japanese Army; further, on October 7, 1889, it was adopted as the naval ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy. At present, the flag is flown by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and an eight-ray version is flown by the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. The rising sun design is also seen in numerous scenes in daily life in Japan, such as in Tairyō-bata, fishermen's banners hoisted to signify large catches of fish, flags to celebrate childbirth, and in flags for seasonal festivities. The flag is controversial in most Asian and Pacific nations, mainly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marilyn Maxwell
Marvel Marilyn Maxwell (August 3, 1921 – March 20, 1972) was an American actress and entertainer. In a career that spanned the 1940s and 1950s, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope. Early years Maxwell was a native of Clarinda, Iowa. During the 1930s, she worked as an usher in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the Rialto Theater located at 2616 South Calhoun Street. In Fort Wayne, she attended Central High School. She dropped out of school in her sophomore year to join an Indianapolis band as a singer. Career She started her professional entertaining career as a radio singer and a singer on stage with Ted Weems' big band while still a teenager. She moved to Hollywood after being with the Pasadena Playhouse and signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1942 as a contract player. Among the radio programs in which she appeared were ''Beat the Band'', ''Kraft Music Hall'' and '' The A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Davis (actor)
Jim Davis (born Marlin Davis; August 26, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American actor, best known for his roles in Westerns on television, television Westerns. In his later career, he became famous as Jock Ewing in the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', a role he continued until he was too ill from multiple myeloma to perform. Life and career Born in Edgerton, Missouri, Edgerton in Platte County, Missouri, Platte County in northwestern Missouri, Davis attended high school in Dearborn, Missouri, Dearborn, and the Baptist-affiliated William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, Liberty. At WJC, he played tight end on the football team and graduated with a degree in political science. He served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II. He was known as Jim Davis by the time of his first major screen role, which was opposite Bette Davis in the 1948 melodrama ''Winter Meeting''. His subsequent film career consisted of mostly B movies, many of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hobart Cavanaugh
Hobart Cavanaugh (September 22, 1886 – April 26, 1950 ) was an American character actor in films and on stage. Biography Cavanaugh was born in Virginia City, Nevada, on September 22, 1886. He attended the University of California, then worked in vaudeville, teaming with Walter Catlett at some point. He appeared in numerous Broadway productions, including the original 1919 musical '' Irene'' and the long-running 1948 musical ''As the Girls Go''. He made his film debut in '' San Francisco Nights'' (1928). Over the next few years he established himself as a supporting actor, and although many of his roles were small and received no film credit, he played more substantial roles in films such as '' I Cover the Waterfront'' (1933) and '' Mary Stevens, M.D.'' (1933). By the mid-1930s, he was appearing in more prestigious productions, such as ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1935), '' Captain Blood'' (1935), '' Wife vs. Secretary'' (1936) and '' A Letter to Three Wives'' (1949). He co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute
The Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute was an early professional trade school operated by the Curtiss-Wright corporation for aircraft maintenance training. Director Major C. C. Moseley was one of only three school directors selected across America to set the standards for the pre-World War II civilian pilot training program. The institute was first set up in the terminal building of the Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, California, expanding to neighboring hangars and buildings around the airport. Both TWA and American Airlines flew transcontinental service from the airport. During World War II, over 7500 mechanics were trained at the facility. In 1950 the institute became part of the Grand Central Aircraft Company and Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute was renamed as the Cal-Aero Technical Institute. The U.S. Air Force used the institute to train mechanics on contract until 1952. Enrollment dropped sharply after the cancellation of the contract and the facility closed in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Republic P-43 Lancer
The Republic P-43 Lancer was a single-engine, all-metal, low-wing monoplane fighter aircraft built by Republic, first delivered to the United States Army Air Corps in 1940. A proposed development was the P-44 Rocket. While not a particularly outstanding fighter, the P-43A had a very good high-altitude performance coupled with an effective oxygen system. Fast and well-armed with excellent long-range capabilities, until the arrival of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the Lancer was the only American fighter capable of catching a Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" reconnaissance plane at the speeds and heights at which they flew. In addition, the P-43 flew many long-range, high-altitude photo recon missions until replaced by F-4/F-5 Lightnings (P-38 variants) in both the USAAF and RAAF. Design and development The Seversky Aircraft Company, which in 1939 changed its name to Republic, constructed a range of private venture, one-off variants of its P-35 design, featuring different powerp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Lawford
Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford (né Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 26 December 1984. He was a member of the "Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, Edward Kennedy. From the 1940s to the 1960s, he was a well-known celebrity and starred in a number of highly acclaimed films. In later years, he was noted more for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting; it was said that he was "famous for being famous". Early life Born in London in 1923, Lawford was the only child of Lieutenant General Sir Sydney Turing Barlow Lawford, Order of the British Empire, KBE (1865–1953) and May Sommerville Bunny (1883–1972). At the time of his birth, his mother was married to Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Ernest Vaughn Aylen Distinguished Service Order, DSO, one of Sir Sydney's officers, while his father was married to Muriel Willia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Tannen
William Tannen (November 17, 1911 – December 2, 1976) was an American actor originally from New York City. Tannen was the son of actor Julius Tannen. William Tannen became active in drama — both acting and writing — while a student at Lawrenceville School. He made his stage debut in a production of ''The Honor of the Family'' with the National Theatre troupe in Washington, D.C. During the 1930s and 1940s, he was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player. Among his earliest assignments were three appearances as the anonymous "MGM crime reporter" in the studio's '' Crime Does Not Pay'' short subjects. Tannen then advanced to membership in the studio's stock company, taking incidental roles in dozens of MGM's feature films. After the studio reduced its personnel in 1948, Tannen began freelancing at other studios but continued to receive assignments at MGM for the next decade. Television viewers of the 1950s recognized Tannen from his role of Deputy Hal Norton in 56 episodes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sara Haden
Sara Haden (born Catherine Haden, November 17, 1898 – September 15, 1981) was an American actress of the 1930s through the 1950s and in television into the mid-1960s. She may be best remembered for appearing as Aunt Milly Forrest in 14 of the 16 entries in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Andy Hardy film series. Early life Some sources say she was born in 1898 in Center Point, Texas, while others claim she was born in Galveston, Texas.Axel Nissen's ''Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood'' gives her birthplace as Center Point, Texas. Career Haden first appeared on the stage in the early 1920s. As early as October 1920, she was appearing with Walter Hampden's acting troupe. Her Broadway debut came in ''Trigger'' (1927). She made her film debut in 1934 (one year after her mother's retirement) in the Katharine Hepburn vehicle ''Spitfire''. Haden later became a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the late 1930s and generally appeared in sm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Puglia
Francesco Giuseppe "Frank" Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian actor. He had small, but memorable roles in films including ''Casablanca'' (a Moroccan rug merchant), ''Now, Voyager'' and ''The Jungle Book''. Biography Born in Linguaglossa, Catania, Sicily, the actor started his career as a teen on stage in Italian operas. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1907. He left from Naples on the ship ''Italia''. In New York City he worked in a laundry before joining an Italian language theater group. While appearing on stage, he was discovered by D. W. Griffith, with whom he worked in over 150 films. He usually played ethnic types in films, and claimed to have learned English from reading newspapers. He was originally cast as the undertaker, Bonasera, in Francis Ford Coppola's movie ''The Godfather'' (1972), even participating in Marlon Brando's screen test, but he fell ill before filming could begin. He was replaced by Sicilian actor Salvatore Corsitto. He died on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Freeman
Howard Freeman (December 9, 1899 – December 11, 1967) was an American actor of the early 20th century, and film and television actor of the 1940s through the 1960s. Biography Freeman was born in Helena, Montana, and began working as a stage actor in his 20s. He did not enter the film industry until he was over 40, in 1942, when he played a small uncredited role in ''Inflation''. Despite his late start in film acting, Freeman would build himself a fairly substantial career in that field that would last over twenty three years. From 1943 onward he worked on a regular basis, sometimes in uncredited roles, but more often than not in small but credited bit or supporting parts. He appeared in ten films in 1943, and another eighteen from 1944 through 1945. In 1946 Freeman would appear in twelve films, the most notable of which was his first film of that year, '' Abilene Town'', starring Randolph Scott and Lloyd Bridges, and ''California'', starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ray Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
