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Uncle Willie And The Bicycle Shop
''Uncle Willie and the Bicycle Shop'' is a 1948 comedy novel by the British writer Brock Williams. It is set in the Edwardian era and was partly inspired by his own years growing up. Uncle Willie is the black sheep of the family, and a drunken embarrassment to his respectable relations. However, when he is given a small bicycle shop to manage it surprisingly prospers. Film adaptation In 1953 it was made into the British film ''Isn't Life Wonderful!'' directed by Harold French and starring Cecil Parker, Eileen Herlie and Donald Wolfit Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE (born Donald Woolfitt; Harwood, Ronald"Wolfit, Sir Donald (1902–1968)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008; accessed 14 July 2009 20 April 1902 � ....Goble p.502 References Bibliography * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. 1948 British novels Novels by Noel Streatfeild British comedy novel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brock Williams (screenwriter)
Brock Williams (8 July 1894 – 19 February 1964) was a prolific English screenwriter with over 100 films to his credit between 1930 and 1962. He also had a brief directorial career, and later also worked in television. Two of his novels ''The Earl of Chicago (novel), The Earl of Chicago'' and ''Uncle Willie and the Bicycle Shop'' were both adapted into films. Career A native of Cornwall, in 1930 Williams joined Teddington Studios, the British arm of Warner Bros., Warner Brothers, where he would spend the next 15 years. The 1930s was the golden age of the quota quickie, when Teddington was churning out quickly and cheaply shot films by the week, so work was plentiful. With few exceptions, these films were deemed of ephemeral value, with no worthwhile life after their first cinema run. The unfortunate result for modern film historians is that a good proportion are now classed as lost films, while those that have survived did so more by chance than intention. Films on wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George G
George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States * George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States * George V, King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1910-1936 * George VI, King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1936-1952 * Prince George of Wales * George Papagheorghe also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorgio Moroder * George Harrison, an English musician and singer-songwriter Places South Africa * George, Western Cape ** George Airport United States * George, Iowa * George, Missouri * George, Washington * George County, Mississippi * George Air Force Base, a former U.S. Air Force base located in California Characters * George (Peppa Pig), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Novel
A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's literary choice to make the thrust of the work—in its narration or plot—funny or satirical in orientation, regardless of the putative seriousness of the topics addressed. While many novels may contain passages or themes that are comic or humorous, the defining characteristic of this genre is that comedy is the framework and baseline of the story, rather than an occasional or recurring motif. Literary scholars distinguish textual analysis on this basis; the theory being that a story by Mark Twain that is a satirical critique in its very origin, for example, must be understood differently than a more literal novelistic plot. American comic books first gained popularity in the 1930s, and their popularity has fluctuated over the years. Recently, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edwardian Era
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victorian era. Her son and successor, Edward VII, was already the leader of a fashionable elite that set a style influenced by the art and fashions of continental Europe. Samuel Hynes described the Edwardian era as a "leisurely time when women wore picture hats and did not vote, when the rich were not ashamed to live conspicuously, and the sun really never set on the British flag." The Liberals returned to power in 1906 United Kingdom general election, 1906 and made Liberal welfare reforms, significant reforms. Below the upper class, the era was marked by significant shifts in politics among sections of society that had largely been excluded from power, such as Laborer, labourers, servants, and the industrial working class. Women started to play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isn't Life Wonderful!
, starring = Cecil ParkerEileen HerlieDonald WolfitPeter Asher , music = Philip Green , cinematography = Erwin Hillier , editing = Edward B. Jarvis , studio = Associated British Picture Corporation , distributor = Associated British-Pathé , released = 16 November 1953 , runtime = 81 minutes , country = United Kingdom , language = English , gross = £97,710 ''Isn't Life Wonderful!'' is a 1953 British technicolor period comedy film directed by Harold French and starring Cecil Parker, Eileen Herlie and Donald Wolfit. The film was shot at the Elstree Studios of Associated British with sets designed by the art director Terence Verity. It was released in the United States as ''Uncle Willie's Bicycle Shop'', the title of Brock Williams original 1948 novel based on his boyhood experiences. Plot In Edwardian England, alcoholic Uncle Willie (Donald Wolfit) is an embarrassment to his family. Head of the househo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold French
Harold French (23 April 1897 – 19 October 1997) was an English film director, screenwriter and actor. Biography After training at the Italia Conti School, he made his acting debut age 12, in a production of ''The Winter's Tale''. As an actor, most of his roles occurred between 1912 and 1936, not gaining as much attention as later he would as a director. He worked as a screenwriter on three of the four films produced by Marcel Hellman's and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.'s production company ''Criterion Film Productions'' in the late 1930s, before switching to film direction in 1937, often with Marcel Hellman as producer. From 1940 to 1955, he had several box-office successes as director. This successful period was clouded by the 1941 death of his wife Phyllis in a Luftwaffe bombing raid. Although he did some TV work after 1955, he appears to have retired from directing and acting after 1963. He directed the hit West End play '' Out of Bounds'' starring Michael Redgrave in 196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe, 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969. Career Parker was born in Hastings, Sussex, the second son (and fifth of six children) of German-born Charles August Schwabe, manager of the Albany Hotel, Hastings, and his English wife Kate (née Parker), a church organist. He was educated at St Francis Xavier College, and at Bruges in Belgium.Who's Who in the Theatre by John Parker (11th Edition) (1952) (London) He served with the Royal Sussex Regiment in the First World War, reaching the rank of sergeant. He began his theatrical career in London in 1922, adopting the surname "Parker" from his mother's maiden name. He made his first film appearance in 1933 and subsequently became a familiar face in British and occasionally American films until his death. He appeared les ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eileen Herlie
Eileen Herlie (March 8, 1918 – October 8, 2008) was a Scottish-American actress. Personal life Eileen Herlie was born Eileen Isobel Herlihy to an Irish Catholic father, Patrick Herlihy, and a Scottish Protestant mother, Isobel Cowden, in Glasgow, Scotland, and was one of five children. She attended Shawlands Academy, on the city's southside. Herlie was trained as a theatre actress. Among her West End London theatre successes were '' The Eagle Has Two Heads'' by Jean Cocteau. She was married twice, to Philip Barrett (m 1942) and Witold Kuncewicz (m 1951), both marriages ending in divorce. She had no children. In 1955 she moved permanently to the United States, where she lived and worked for the last fifty-three years of her life. Career Against the wishes of her parents, she chose to become an actress when she joined the non-professional touring company Scottish National Players in 1938. She subsequently toured with the semi-professional Rutherglen Repertory Company. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Wolfit
Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE (born Donald Woolfitt; Harwood, Ronald"Wolfit, Sir Donald (1902–1968)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008; accessed 14 July 2009 20 April 1902 – 17 February 1968) was an English actor-manager, known for his touring wartime productions of Shakespeare. He was especially renowned for his portrayal of King Lear. Personal life Wolfit was born at New Balderton, near Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, and attended the Magnus Grammar School. He made his stage début in 1920 and first appeared in the West End in 1924, playing in ''The Wandering Jew.'' He was married three times. His first wife was the actress Chris Castor, and their daughter Margaret Wolfit (1929–2008) was also an actor. He had two children by his second marriage - Harriet Graham, actor and writer, and Adam Wolfit, a photographer. An active Freemason, he became Master of Green Room Lodge in 1965. Wolfit was made a C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1948 British Novels
Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British Railways. * January 4 – Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming an independent republic, named the ''Union of Burma'', with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President, and U Nu its first Prime Minister. * January 5 ** Warner Brothers shows the first color newsreel (''Tournament of Roses Parade'' and the ''Rose Bowl Game''). ** The first Kinsey Report, ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Male'', is published in the United States. * January 7 – Mantell UFO incident: Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Thomas Mantell crashes while in pursuit of an unidentified flying object. * January 12 – Mahatma Gandhi begins his fast-unto-death in Delhi, to stop communal violence during the Partition of India. * January 17 &nda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novels By Noel Streatfeild
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the historic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Comedy Novels
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *'' Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) See also * Terminology of the British Isles * Alternative names for the British * English (other) * Britannic (other) * British Isles * Brit (other) * Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
