|
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
''The Amazing Mrs. Holliday'' is a 1943 American comedy drama film produced and directed by Bruce Manning and starring Deanna Durbin, Edmond O'Brien, and Barry Fitzgerald. Based on a story by Sonya Levien, the film is about a young idealistic missionary who smuggles a group of Chinese war orphans into the United States posing as the wife of a wealthy commodore who went missing after their ship was torpedoed and sunk. After safely sequestering the orphans in the commodore's family mansion, her plans start to unravel when she falls in love with commodore's grandson and the commodore himself turns up alive and well. Originally intended as Durbin's dramatic debut, Universal insisted on adding songs. The original director of the film was Jean Renoir, and though most of his completed footage was retained, final directorial credit was given to Bruce Manning, the film's producer. Frank Skinner and Hans J. Salter were nominated for an Oscar for Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruce Manning
Bruce Manning (July 15, 1902 – August 3, 1965) was a Cuddebackville, New York-born Hollywood filmmaker/screenwriter who entered the movie business following the publication of several novels that he co-wrote with wife, Gwen Bristow. Their first joint novel, '' The Invisible Host'' (1930), was adapted to the screen in 1934 as '' The Ninth Guest''. He wrote the screenplay for Bristow's novel ''Jubilee Trail'' in 1954. In addition to his numerous scripts, beginning in the 1940s he served as a producer for several films, and in 1943 he directed his first and only feature, ''The Amazing Mrs. Holliday''. His career ended in 1957, eight years before his death. Henry Koster called him "the funniest man I ever met and the best comedy writer I ever met." Death Manning died in Encino, California in 1965 at the age of 63. Partial filmography :''As screenwriter unless otherwise noted.'' * '' The Ninth Guest'' (1934) * '' Party Wire'' (1935) (novel) * '' The Best Man Wins'' (1935) * '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, stemming from the late Baroque era. Though his early work was firmly rooted in traditional late-nineteenth-century Romantic Italian opera, it later developed in the realistic '' verismo'' style, of which he became one of the leading exponents. His most renowned works are ''La bohème'' (1896), ''Tosca'' (1900), ''Madama Butterfly'' (1904), and the unfinished ''Turandot'' (posthumously completed by Franco Alfano), all of which are among the most frequently performed and recorded in the entirety of the operatic repertoire. Family and education Born in Lucca in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, in 1858; he was the sixth of nine children of Michele Puccini (1813–1864) and Albina Magi (1830–1884). The Puccini family was established in Lucca a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Ahn
Philip Ahn (; March 29, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was an American actor and activist of Korean descent. With over 180 film and television credits between 1935 and 1978, he was one of the most recognizable and prolific Asian-American character actors of his time. He is widely regarded as the first Korean American film actor in Hollywood. The son of Korean independence activist Ahn Changho, Philip Ahn was a longtime advocate for his father's legacy and the Korean-American community, helping to establish memorials to his father in his native Seoul and later arranging for his remains to be buried there. Early life and education Ahn was born in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on March 29, 1905. His parents, Ahn Changho (도산 안창호) and Yi Hyeryon (이혜련), were both Korean emigrants who had moved to the United States in 1902, making him the first American citizen born to two Korean parents in the United States. His father Dosan was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irving Bacon
Irving Ernest Bacon (September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar West Bacon (who was a teenager) and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and grew up in San Diego, California. His parents divorced in 1900. His father remarried, to Lena Ann Davis in Spokane later that year. Career Bacon played on the stage for a number of years before getting into films in 1912 in Mack Sennett productions. The actor returned to the Sennett studio in 1924, and appeared frequently in Sennett's silent and sound comedies as a supporting actor. By 1933, Bacon was so well established as a utility player that he was pressed into service to replace Andy Clyde—wearing Clyde's "old man" costume and makeup—in a Sennett comedy. Bacon often played comical "average guys" in scores of feature films; in 1939 alone he appeared in three dozen features. Today's audiences may know ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Trowbridge
Charles Silas Richard Trowbridge (January 10, 1882 – October 30, 1967) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films from 1915 to 1958 principally playing patrician authority figures. Biography Trowbridge was born in Veracruz, Mexico, where his father served in the diplomatic corps of the United States and his grandfather was the American consul-general. He was the older brother of character actor Jack Rockwell, and a cousin of 19th century author John Townsend Trowbridge. Trowbridge ran a coffee plantation in Hawaii and worked in architecture before venturing into acting. In 1920, Trowbridge — with several Broadway credits — got his first credits as a Leading Man as part of Elitch Theatre's summer stock cast. Trowbridge's Broadway credits include ''Dinner at Eight'' (1932), ''Ladies of Creation'' (1931), ''Congai'' (1928), ''The Behavior of Mrs. Crane'' (1927), ''We Never Learn'' (1927), ''Craig's Wife'' (1925), ''It All Depends'' (1925), ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Severn
Christopher Aubrey Reginald Severn (born 21 August 1935 in Los Angeles) is an American former screen actor. Severn is the son of Dr. Clifford Brill Severn (1890-1981). His parents had emigrated from South Africa to Los Angeles shortly before he was born. He had seven siblings who were all child actors: Venetia Severn, Clifford Severn, Yvonne Severn, Raymond Severn, Ernest Severn, William Severn and Winston Severn. Christopher Severn made his first film appearance as Mrs. Miniver's younger son Toby in ''Mrs. Miniver ''Mrs. Miniver'' is a 1942 American romantic war drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Inspired by the 1940 novel '' Mrs. Miniver'' by Jan Struther, it shows how the life of an unassuming Britis ...''. He and his brothers Ernest and Raymond all acted in the 1943 film '' The Man from Down Under''. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Severn, Christopher American male film actors Ameri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gus Schilling
August "Gus" Schilling (June 20, 1908 – June 16, 1957) was an American film actor who started in burlesque comedy and usually played nervous comic roles, often unbilled. A friend of Orson Welles, he appeared in five of the director's films — ''Citizen Kane'' (first screen performance), '' The Magnificent Ambersons'', '' The Lady from Shanghai'', ''Macbeth'' and '' Touch of Evil'' (final performance, released posthumously). Career Born in New York City, Schilling had a rubber face and flustered gestures which made him a natural comedian and he began his career understudying comedy stars Bert Lahr and Joe Penner on Broadway. He soon became a favorite among burlesque comedians, who welcomed him into the burlesque profession. Schilling was in a relationship with burlesque star Betty Rowland and the couple toured in the Minsky burlesque troupe. Orson Welles saw Schilling in New York and followed him to Florida. There Welles hired Schilling to appear in a stage production fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Esther Dale
Esther Dale (November 10, 1885 – July 23, 1961) was an American actress of the stage and screen. Esther Dale died in the summer of 1961 following surgery in Queen of Angels Hospital in Hollywood. Her husband, writer-director Arthur J. Beckhard, had died four months earlier. Early years Dale was born in Beaufort, South Carolina. She attended Leland and Gray Seminary in Townshend, Vermont. In Berlin, Germany, she studied music and enjoyed a successful career as a singer of ''lieder'' on the concert stage. Her singing career included appearances with the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. At one point, Dale was head of Smith College's vocal department. Stage In America, Dale transferred to the acting stage and cultivated a career as an actress in Summer stock. She starred in ''Carrie Nation'' on Broadway in 1933. Her other Broadway credits include ''Harvest of Years'' (1947), ''And Be My Love'' (1944), and ''Another Language'' (1932). Film Dale's f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan Hale
Jonathan Hale (born Jonathan Hatley; March 21, 1891 – February 28, 1966) was a Canadian-born film and television actor. Life and career Hale was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Before his acting career, Hale worked in the Diplomatic Corps. Hale is most well known as Dagwood Bumstead's boss, Julius Caesar Dithers, in the '' Blondie'' film series in the 1940s. He is also notable for playing Inspector Fernack in several installments of ''The Saint'' film series. In 1950, he made two appearances in ''The Cisco Kid'' as Barry Owens. He also appeared in two episodes of '' Adventures of Superman'': "The Evil Three", in which he played a murderous "Southern Colonel"-type character, and " Panic in the Sky", in which he played the lead astronomer at the Metropolis Observatory. Other television programs on which Hale appeared include '' Crossroads'', ''The Loretta Young Show'', '' Brave Eagle'', '' Schlitz Playhouse'', '' The Joey Bishop Show'', ''Our Miss Brooks'' and ''Walt Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elisabeth Risdon
Elisabeth Risdon (born Daisy Cartwright Risdon; 26 April 1887 – 20 December 1958) was an English film actress. She appeared in more than 140 films from 1913 to 1952. A beauty in her youth, she usually played in society parts. In later years in films she switched to playing character parts. Early life Ruston was born in London as Daisy Cartwright Risdon, the daughter of John Jenkins Risdon and Martha Harrop Risdon. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts in 1918 with high honours. Career She attracted the attention of George Bernard Shaw and was cast as the lead in his biggest plays. Besides her performances for Shaw, she was leading lady for actors including George Arliss, Otis Skinner, and William Faversham. She was also under contract with the Theatre Guild for many years. Risdon's film debut came in England, where she made 13 silent films. She came to the United States in 1912, and her first film with sound was ''Guard That Girl'' (1935). Her Broadway credit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frieda Inescort
Frieda Inescort (born Frieda Wrightman, 29 June 1901 – 26 February 1976) was a Scottish actress best known for creating the role of Sorel Bliss in Noël Coward's play ''Hay Fever'' on Broadway. She also played the shingled lady in John Galsworthy's 1927 Broadway production '' Escape'' and Caroline Bingley in the 1940 film of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Early years Born in Edinburgh, Inescort was the daughter of Scots-born journalist John "Jock" Wrightman and actress Elaine Inescourt ( Charlotte Elizabeth Ihle), who was of German and Polish descent. They married in 1896 but parted ways when their daughter was still a young child. While she lived in Britain, Inescort wrote for a newspaper in London and worked as secretary to Lord Astor. (Another source says that she was secretary to Lady Astor.) After going to the United States, she not only acted but also worked as associate editor of ''The Exporter's Encyclopedia''. Stage Inescort's acting debut came in '' The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grant Mitchell (actor)
John Grant Mitchell Jr. (June 17, 1874 – May 1, 1957) was an American actor. He appeared on Broadway from 1902 to 1939 and appeared in more than 125 films between 1930 and 1948. Early years Mitchell was born John Grant Mitchell Jr. on June 17, 1874, in Columbus, Ohio, the only son of American Civil War general John G. Mitchell. His paternal grandmother, Fanny Arabella Hayes, was the sister of President Rutherford B. Hayes. He attended Yale University, where he served as feature editor of campus humor magazine ''The Yale Record''. Like his father, he became an attorney, graduating from the Harvard Law School. However, by his mid-to-late 20s, he tired of his legal practice and turned a long term dream into a reality by becoming an actor on Broadway. He played lead roles in plays such as ''It Pays to Advertise'', ''The Whole Town's Talking'', ''The Champion'', and ''The Baby Cyclone''. Mitchell was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi chapter). Stage Mit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
