|
Ted Billings
Ted Billings (April 7, 1880 – July 5, 1947) was an American character actor of the silent and sound film eras. Born in London, England on April 7, 1880, Billings made his film debut in the role of the Witch, in 1917's '' The Babes in the Woods'', which starred Francis Carpenter and Virginia Lee Corbin as Hansel and Gretel. Over the course of his career he would appear in over 100 films, mostly in unnamed, un-credited roles. Some of the more notable films in which he appeared include: in the featured role of Ludwig in 1935's '' Bride of Frankenstein'', starring Boris Karloff; the 1937 version of '' The Prince and the Pauper'', Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, and Billy and Bobby Mauch; ''Stagecoach'' (1939), starring John Wayne and Claire Trevor; '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon; the Bob Hope comedy, '' The Princess and the Pirate''; and the 1947 classic comedy, '' The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'', starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo. His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of Government of the United Kingdom, the national government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. London grew rapidly 19th-century London, in the 19th century, becoming the world's List of largest cities throughout history, largest city at the time. Since the 19th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor (née Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in '' Key Largo'' (1948), and received nominations for her roles in '' The High and the Mighty'' (1954) and '' Dead End'' (1937). Trevor received top billing, ahead of John Wayne, for ''Stagecoach'' (1939). Early life Trevor was born on March 8, 1910, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, the only child of Noel Wemlinger, a Fifth Avenue merchant tailor (of French birth but German ancestry), and his wife, Benjamina ("Betty"), who was of Irish birth. She was raised in New York City, and from 1923 on, in Larchmont, New York. For many years, her year of birth was misreported as 1909, which is why her age at the time of her death was initially given as 91, not 90. Career According to her biography on the website of Claire Trevor School of the Arts, "Trevor's acting career spann ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robin Hood (1922 Film)
''Robin Hood'' is a 1922 silent adventure film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery. It was the first motion picture ever to have a Hollywood premiere, held at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre on October 18, 1922. The movie's full title, under which it was copyrighted, is ''Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood''. It was one of the most expensive films of the 1920s, with a budget estimated at one million dollars (equivalent to $ million in ). The film was a smash hit and generally received favorable reviews. Plot The opening has the dashing Earl of Huntingdon besting his bitter enemy, Sir Guy of Gisbourne, in a joust. Huntingdon then joins King Richard the Lion-Hearted, who is going off to fight in the Crusades and has left his brother, Prince John, as regent. The prince soon emerges as a cruel, treacherous tyrant. Goaded on by Sir Guy, he usurps Richard's throne. When Huntingdon receives a message from Lady Marian Fitzwalter, his love interest, telling him of all that ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Prisoner Of Zenda (1922 Film)
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is a 1922 American silent film, silent adventure film directed by Rex Ingram (director), Rex Ingram, one of the many adaptations of Anthony Hope's popular 1894 novel ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' and the subsequent 1896 play by Hope and Edward Rose. Plot Englishman Rudolf Rassendyll (Lewis Stone) decides to pass the time by attending the coronation of his distant relation, King Rudolf V of Ruritania (also played by Stone) . He encounters an acquaintance on the train there, Antoinette de Mauban (Barbara La Marr), the mistress of the king's treacherous brother, Grand Duke 'Black' Michael (Stuart Holmes). The day before the coronation, Rassendyll is seen by Colonel Sapt (Robert Edeson) and Captain Fritz von Tarlenheim (Malcolm McGregor). Astounded by the uncanny resemblance between Rassendyll and their liege, they take him to meet Rudolf at a hunting lodge. The king is delighted with his double and invites him to dinner. During the meal, a servant brings in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornel Wilde
Cornel Wilde (born Kornél Lajos Weisz; October 13, 1912 – October 16, 1989) was a Hungarian-American actor and filmmaker. Wilde's acting career began in 1935, when he made his debut on Broadway. In 1936 he began making small, uncredited appearances in films. By the 1940s he had signed a contract with 20th Century Fox, and by the mid-1940s he was a major leading man. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in 1945's '' A Song to Remember''. In the 1950s he moved to writing, producing and directing films, and still continued his career as an actor. He also went into songwriting during his career. Early life Wilde was born in 1912United States Census 1930; Manhattan, New York; Roll: 1576; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 1009; Image: 1057.0. This record dated April 9, 1930, gives Wilde's birthplace as Austrian-Hungarian Empire and his birth year as approximately 1912. Furthermore, it indicates his emigration to the United States as a first clas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linda Darnell
Linda Darnell (born Monetta Eloyse Darnell; October 16, 1923 – April 10, 1965) was an American actress. Darnell progressed from modelling as a child to acting in theatre and film. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in both lead and supporting roles in big-budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s. She co-starred with Tyrone Power in four films, including the classic ''The Mark of Zorro (1940 film), The Mark of Zorro'' (1940). Her biggest commercial success was the controversial ''Forever Amber (film), Forever Amber'' (1947), an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the 1940s and Fox's biggest hit of 1947. She won critical acclaim for her work in ''Summer Storm (1944 film), Summer Storm'' (1944), ''Hangover Square (film), Hangover Square'' (1945), ''Fallen Angel (1945 film), Fallen Angel'' (1945), ''Unfaithfully Yours (1948 film), Unfaithfully Yours'' (1948), ''A Letter to Three Wives, A Letter to Three Wives'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forever Amber (film)
''Forever Amber'' is a 1947 American romantic historical drama film starring Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde. It was based on the book of the same title by Kathleen Winsor. It also starred Richard Greene, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Richard Haydn, and Jessica Tandy. The film was adapted by Jerome Cady, Philip Dunne and Ring Lardner Jr., and directed by Otto Preminger, who replaced original director John M. Stahl after 39 days of filming and $300,000 of production. The movie was originally budgeted at $4.5 million. The Hays Office had condemned the novel, but within a month of its publication the film rights had been purchased by 20th Century Fox. The film on its release was initially condemned by the National Legion of Decency. In 1947, Darnell won the starring role in the highly anticipated film adaptation when the original star, newcomer Peggy Cummins, proved too inexperienced for the role. In the novel, the newborn Amber is so named by her dying mother after the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre, and was one of the most influential directors in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, twice for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director and once for Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture, among many other accolades. After achieving theatrical prominence in Vienna, Preminger emigrated to the United States in the mid-1930s, working as a director for 20th Century Fox. He first gained attention for film noir mysteries such as ''Laura (1944 film), Laura'' (1944) and ''Fallen Angel (1945 film), Fallen Angel'' (1945), while in the 1950s and 1960s, he directed high-profile adaptations of popular novels and stage works. Several of these later films pushed the boundaries of censorship b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo (born Virginia Clara Jones; November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She was in a series of popular comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Bros.' biggest box-office draw in the late 1940s. She also co-starred in the 1946 Academy Awards, Oscar-winning movie ''The Best Years of Our Lives''. Biography Early life Mayo was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of newspaper reporter Luke and his wife, Martha Henrietta (née Rautenstrauch) Jones. Her family had roots back to the earliest days of St Louis, including great-great-great grandfather Captain James Piggott, who founded East St. Louis, Illinois, in 1797. Young Virginia's aunt operated an acting school in the St. Louis area, which Virginia began attending at age six. She also had a series of dancing instructors engaged by her aunt. Vaudeville Following her graduation from Soldan High School at age 16 in 1937, she landed her first professional acting and dancing jobs at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred in 23 films, notably ''Wonder Man'' (1945), '' The Kid from Brooklyn'' (1946), '' The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'' (1947), '' The Inspector General'' (1949), ''Hans Christian Andersen'' (1952), '' White Christmas'' (1954), and '' The Court Jester'' (1955). His films were popular, especially for his performances of patter songs and favorites such as " Inchworm" and "The Ugly Duckling". He was the first ambassador-at-large of UNICEF in 1954 and received the French Legion of Honour in 1986 for his years of work with the organization. Early life and education David Daniel Kaminsky was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 18, 1911 (though he would later say 1913), to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants Jacob and Clara (''née'' Nemerovsky) Kamins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (1947 Film)
''The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'' is a 1947 American Technicolor comedy film, loosely based on the 1939 short story of the same name by James Thurber. The film stars Danny Kaye as a young daydreaming proofreader (later associate editor) for a magazine publishing firm and Virginia Mayo as the girl of his dreams. The film was adapted for the screen by Ken Englund, Everett Freeman, and Philip Rapp (uncredited), and directed by Norman Z. McLeod. Plot Walter Mitty (Kaye) is an "inconsequential guy from Perth Amboy, New Jersey". He is henpecked and harassed by everyone in his life including his bossy mother, his overbearing, idea-stealing boss Bruce Pierce, his dimwitted fiancée Gertrude Griswold, Gertrude's obnoxious would-be suitor Tubby Wadsworth, Gertrude's poodle Queenie and her loud-mouthed mother, Mrs. Griswold. Walter's escape from their incessant needling is to imagine all sorts of exciting and impossible lives for himself, fueled by the pulp magazines he reads every ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Princess And The Pirate
''The Princess and the Pirate'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by David Butler, and starring Bob Hope and Virginia Mayo. Based on a story by Sy Bartlett, the film is about a princess who travels incognito to elope with her true love instead of marrying the man to whom she is betrothed. On the high seas, her ship is attacked by pirates who plan to kidnap her and hold her for ransom, unaware that she will be rescued by the unlikeliest of knights errant. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn, ''The Princess and the Pirate'' received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Music Score. Plot A pirate captain known as the Hook (Victor McLaglen) buries his treasure on an island and kills the map maker so no one else will find it. He and his cut-throat crew go after the ''Mary Ann'', a ship on which Princess Margaret (Virginia Mayo) is running away from her father, the King (Robert Warwick), in order to marry a commoner. The Hook plans to hold her for a large ransom. A c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
