|
Seth Holt
Seth Holt (21 July 1923 – 14 February 1971) was a Palestinian-born British film director, producer and editor. His films are characterized by their tense atmosphere and suspense, as well as their striking visual style. In the 1960s, ''Movie'' magazine championed Holt as one of the finest talents working in the British film industry, although his output was notably sparse. Biography Early life Holt was educated at Blackheath School in London. He originally trained as an actor, and spent a term at RADA in 1940 before acting in repertory in Liverpool and Bideford in Devon working with Paul Scofield at the latter venue. Originally published in the ''Reference Guide to British and Irish Film Directors'' His sister, Joan Holt, was married to film director Robert Hamer from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s. At Ealing Studios In 1942 he joined a documentary film company, Strand, as assistant editor. He worked at Ealing Studios from 1943, at the recommendation of Hamer. He was an edi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nowhere To Go (1958 Film)
''Nowhere to Go'' is a 1958 British crime film directed by Seth Holt in his directorial debut. It stars George Nader, Maggie Smith (receiving her first screen credit), Bernard Lee, Harry H. Corbett and Bessie Love. It was written by Kenneth Tynan and Holt, based on the 1956 novel of the same title by Donald MacKenzie. A criminal escapes from jail and attempts to recover his stashed loot but is shunned by the criminal community and hunted by the police. Holt called ''Nowhere to Go'' "the least Ealing film ever made."Film & Music: Brief encounters: Kenneth Tynan on film: Tynan's Ealing escapade Billington, Michael. The Guardian; London (UK) ondon (UK)1 May 2010: 4. Michael Balcon, head of Ealing, later said the film "went wrong in treatment. A bit pretentious. But was it worth doing? Of course! It gave a young director, Seth Holt, his first chance: that's always on the credit side." Plot Paul Gregory, a Canadian confidence trickster operating in London, targets a wealthy Canadi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scott Of The Antarctic (film)
''Scott of the Antarctic'' is a 1948 British adventure film starring John Mills as Robert Falcon Scott in his ill-fated attempt to reach the South Pole. The film more or less faithfully recreates the events that befell the ''Terra Nova'' Expedition in 1912. The film was directed by Charles Frend from screenplay by Ivor Montagu and Walter Meade with "additional dialogue" by the novelist Mary Hayley Bell (Mills' wife). The film score was by Ralph Vaughan Williams, who reworked elements of it into his 1952 '' Sinfonia antartica''. The supporting cast included James Robertson Justice, Derek Bond, Kenneth More, John Gregson, Barry Letts and Christopher Lee. Much of the film was shot in Technicolor at Ealing Studios in London. Landscape and glacier exteriors were shot in the Swiss Alps and in Norway. Background scenes were shot in the Antarctic islands. Plot Captain Scott is given the men, but not the funds, to go on a second expedition to the Antarctic. As his wife works on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Ladykillers (1955 Film)
''The Ladykillers'' is a 1955 British black comedy crime film directed by Alexander Mackendrick for Ealing Studios. It stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner, and Katie Johnson as the old lady, Mrs. Wilberforce. William Rose wrote the screenplay, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay. He claimed to have dreamt the entire film and merely had to remember the details when he awoke. Plot Mrs. Wilberforce is a sweet and eccentric old widow who lives alone in a gradually subsiding house, built over the entrance to a railway tunnel in Kings Cross, London. With nothing to occupy her time and an active imagination, she is a frequent visitor to the local police station where she reports fanciful suspicions regarding neighbourhood activities. The officers there humour her but give her reports no credence whatsoever. She is approached by a sly a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Touch And Go (1955 Film)
''Touch and Go'' (U.S. ''The Light Touch'') is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Michael Truman, and starring Jack Hawkins, Margaret Johnston, and June Thorburn. It was written by William Rose and Tania Rose. Plot Following an argument with a work superior, furniture designer Jim Fletcher quits his job in a fit of pique. He decides that England has nothing to offer him, and that the future for his family is in Australia. He eagerly sets about making emigration plans, and, despite the fact that his wife and family are less than enthusiastic about moving to the other side of the world, he disregards their reservations and presses ahead. Practical and bureaucratic hitches continually threaten to derail the project. Jim must also deal with the opposition of his in-laws, finds himself missing his job, and starts to have doubts himself about the wisdom of the move. However, the snags and pitfalls are finally sorted out, and a firm departure date is set. Then, two days b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Love Lottery
''The Love Lottery'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and starring David Niven, Peggy Cummins, Anne Vernon and Herbert Lom. Produced by Ealing Studios it was one of several Ealing Comedies that veered away from the standard formula. The film examines celebrity and fan worship with an international setting including Lake Como, ambitious dream sequences, and an uncredited cameo appearance at the end by Humphrey Bogart as himself. It was shot in Technicolor. Interiors were shot at Ealing in West London with location shooting around Como in Italy standing in for the fictional town of Tremaggio. The film's sets were designed by the art director Thomas N. Morahan and the costumes by Anthony Mendleson. It was released by General Film Distributors as part of a long-standing agreement with Ealing. Crichton said "it wasn't successful. I quite liked it. Perhaps it was too much a whimsy whamsy thing." Plot A celluloid heart-throb, who is haunted by drea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Titfield Thunderbolt
''The Titfield Thunderbolt'' is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Stanley Holloway, Naunton Wayne, George Relph and John Gregson. The screenplay concerns a group of villagers trying to keep their branch line operating after British Railways decided to close it. The film was written by T. E. B. Clarke and was inspired by the restoration of the narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge Talyllyn Railway in Wales, the world's first heritage railway run by volunteers. "Titfield" is an amalgamation of the names Titsey and Limpsfield, two villages in Surrey near Clarke's home at Oxted. Michael Truman was the producer. The film was produced by Ealing Studios and was the first of its comedies shot in Technicolor. There was considerable inspiration from the book ''Railway Adventure'' by established railway book author L. T. C. Rolt, published in 1953. Rolt had acted as honorary manager for the volunteer enthusiasts running the Talyllyn Railway for the two yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Mackendrick
Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American-born Scottish film director and screenwriter. He directed nine feature films between 1949 and 1967, before retiring from filmmaking to become an influential professor at the California Institute of the Arts. Born to Scottish immigrant parents in Boston, he was raised in Glasgow from the age of six. He began making television commercials before moving into post-production editing and directing films, most notably for Ealing Studios where his films include ''Whisky Galore! (1949 film), Whisky Galore!'' (1949), ''The Man in the White Suit'' (1951) - which earned him an Academy Award, Oscar nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Best Screenplay, ''The Maggie'' (1954), and ''The Ladykillers (1955 film), The Ladykillers'' (1955). In 1957, Mackendrick directed his first American film ''Sweet Smell of Success'', which was a critical and commercial success. However, his directing career d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandy (1952 Film)
''Mandy'' is a 1952 British drama film about a family's struggle to give their deaf daughter a better life. It was directed by Alexander Mackendrick and is based on the novel ''The Day Is Ours'' by Hilda Lewis. It stars Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins and Terence Morgan, and features the first film appearance by Jane Asher. In the US the film was released as ''The Story of Mandy'', and later was sold to television as ''Crash of Silence''. A high proportion of the film looks at educational methods for deaf people in the 1950s and focuses on oralism, a now controversial approach which relies on teaching the child to speak and lipread and discourages sign language. Plot Christine Garland has a young deaf daughter, Mandy. Her husband Harry is away from home. As they realise their daughter's situation, the parents enrol Mandy in special education classes to try to get her to speak. They quarrel in the process and their marriage comes under strain. There are also hints of a possibl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
His Excellency (1952 Film)
''His Excellency'' is a 1952 British comedy drama film directed by Robert Hamer and starring Eric Portman, Cecil Parker, Helen Cherry and Susan Stephen. It follows a blunt Yorkshireman and former trade union leader, who is sent to take over as Governor of a British-ruled island in the Mediterranean. It was based on the 1950 play of the same title by Dorothy Christie and Campbell Christie. The play was also filmed for Australian television in 1958. The film was produced at Ealing Studios under the general oversight of Michael Balcon. The sets were designed by the art director Jim Morahan. Location shooting took place in Sicily around Palermo. The film was scored by Ernest Irving who incorporated a number of themes by Handel. Cast Critical reception ''Britmovie'' quoted George Perry from his book ''Forever Ealing'', "''His Excellency'' retains a stagebound atmosphere. Its other great fault lies in the way it wastes the theme’s potential in a glib and artificial treatme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Crichton
Charles Ainslie Crichton (6 August 1910 – 14 September 1999) was an English film director and film editor, editor. Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, he became best known for directing many comedies produced at Ealing Studios and had a 40-year career editing and directing many films and television programmes. For his final film, the acclaimed comedy ''A Fish Called Wanda'' (1988), Crichton was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (along with the film's star John Cleese). Early life and education Crichton, one of six children, was born on 6 August 1910 in Wallasey, Cheshire, England. He was educated at Oundle School in Northamptonshire, followed by New College, Oxford, New College at the University of Oxford where he read history. Career Editing In 1931, Crichton began his career in the film industry as a film editor. His first credit as editor was ''Men of Tomorrow (1932 film), Men of Tomorrow'' (1932). H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lavender Hill Mob
''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 British comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers to Lavender Hill, a street in Battersea, a district in London SW11, near to Clapham Junction railway station. The British Film Institute ranked ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' the 17th greatest British film of all time. The original film was digitally restored and re-released to UK cinemas on 29 July 2011 to celebrate its 60th anniversary. It is one of fifteen films listed in the category "Art" on the Vatican film list. Plot Henry Holland lives the life of luxury in Rio de Janeiro, and spends an evening dining out with a British visitor. During their meal, he narrates a story concerning how he changed his life by instigating an intricate gold bullion robbery. One year ago, Holland served as an unambitious London bank clerk, who for tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dance Hall (1950 Film)
''Dance Hall'' is a 1950 British drama film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Donald Houston, Bonar Colleano, Natasha Parry and Petula Clark. The film was an unusual departure for Ealing Studios at the time, as it tells the story about four women and their romantic encounters from a female perspective. Plot The storyline centres on four young female factory workers who escape the monotony of their jobs by spending their evenings at the Chiswick Palais, the local dance hall, where they have various problems with their boyfriends. Main cast * Donald Houston as Phil * Bonar Colleano as Alec * Natasha Parry as Eve * Petula Clark as Georgie Wilson * Jane Hylton as Mary * Diana Dors as Carole * Gladys Henson as Mrs Wilson * Sydney Tafler as Jim Fairfax * Douglas Barr as Peter * Fred Johnson as Mr Wilson * James Carney as Mike * Kay Kendall as Doreen * Eunice Gayson as Mona * Dandy Nichols as Mrs Crabtree Production Filming took place in November 1949. Peter Finch was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
