|
Alex Gordon (writer-producer)
Alex Gordon (8 September 1922 – 24 June 2003) was a British film producer and screenwriter. He produced eighteen films, including the American International Pictures films ''Day the World Ended'' (1955) and ''The She Creature'' (1956). He wrote screenplays for three films, two of them with B-movie director Ed Wood, '' Jail Bait'' (1954) and ''Bride of the Monster'' (1956). Gordon's brother Richard Gordon was also a film producer. Biography Alex Gordon was a film publicist who served in the British Army. After his discharge in 1947 he and his brother arrived in New York. He worked for theatres, performed press duties for Gene Autry, then moved to Hollywood in 1952. Ed Wood In Hollywood, Gordon met Ed Wood and they collaborated on a script for a low-budget Western for John Carpenter, ''The Outlaw Marshall''. The production was a difficult one and Gordon needed a lawyer; he ended up hiring Samuel Z. Arkoff who later established American International Pictures. The film b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Film Producer
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, directing, editing, and arranging financing. The producer is responsible for finding and selecting promising material for development. Unless the film is based on an existing script, the producer hires a screenwriter and oversees the script's development. These activities culminate with the pitch, led by the producer, to secure the financial backing that enables production to begin. If all succeeds, the project is "greenlighted". The producer also supervises the pre-production, principal photography and post-production stages of filmmaking. A producer is also responsible for hiring a director for the film, as well as other key crew members. Whereas the director makes the creative decisions during the production, the producer typically ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Oklahoma Woman
''The Oklahoma Woman'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by Roger Corman. Plot The film involves the return of Steve Ward, a former gunslinger recently released from federal prison, to his hometown to claim a ranch he has inherited. Upon his return, he finds that his hometown is divided along political lines with a group of powerful businessmen on one side and homeowners on the other. Much to his embarrassment, Steve finds that his former girlfriend, Marie "Oklahoma" Saunders, is aligned with the businessmen who are seeking even more power by placing their candidate in the senate. Aiding them is hired gunman Tom Blake. The homeowners are led by Ed Grant whose daughter, Susan, becomes the object of Steve's attention. Meanwhile, Oklahoma, who still has strong feelings for Steve, rejects Tom's advances. Believing that Steve is keeping him from winning Oklahoma, Tom kills Ed Grant and with the help of Oklahoma, who is jealous of Steve's attention to Susan, frames Steve for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Litel
John Beach Litel (December 30, 1892 – February 3, 1972) was an American film and television actor. Early life Litel was born in Albany, Wisconsin. During World War I, he enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery. Back in the U.S. after the war, Litel enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began his stage career. Career His Broadway credits include ''Sweet Aloes'' (1935), ''Hell Freezes Over'' (1935), ''Life's Too Short'' (1935), ''Strange Gods'' (1932), ''Before Morning'' (1932), ''Lilly Turner'' (1932), ''Ladies of Creation'' (1931), ''Back Seat Drivers'' (1928), ''The Half Naked Truth'' (1926), ''The Beaten Track'' (1925), ''Thoroughbreds'' (1924), and ''Irene'' (1919). In 1929, he began appearing in films. Part of the "Warner Bros. Stock Company" beginning in the 1930s, he appeared in dozens of Warner Bros. films and was in over 200 films during his entire career. He often played supporting roles such as hard-nosed cops and dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anna Sten
Anna Sten ( ua, А́нна Стен; born Anna Petrivna Fesak, December 3, 1908November 12, 1993) was a Ukrainian-born American actress. She began her career in stage plays and films in the Soviet Union before traveling to Germany, where she starred in several films. Her performances were noticed by film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who brought her to the United States with the aim of creating a new screen personality to rival Greta Garbo. After a few unsuccessful films, Goldwyn released her from her contract. She continued to act occasionally until her final film appearance in 1962. Early life and education Sten was born December 3, 1908, in Kiev, then part of the Russian Empire. There are other conflicting dates of birth: 1910 and 1906 from self-written dates in application forms from college. Her mother, Alexandra, listed Anna's birthdate as October 29, 1906, upon her arrival in the United States, although some of the discrepancies may be owing from the switch from the Julian cal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Runaway Daughters (1956 Film)
''Runaway Daughters'' is a 1956 film drama. It was loosely remade in 1994. The film was released by American International Pictures as a double feature with '' Shake, Rattle and Rock''. Plot Audrey Barton is the teen daughter of rich, irresponsible parents. When school classmate Tommy brings her home from a date, they spy on Ruth Barton, her mother, passionately kissing a neighbor. Audrey's girlfriends have troubled home lives, too. Mary Rubach has a strict father who doesn't approve of her boyfriend Bob being 20. Angie Forrest's mother is off honeymooning with a third husband. Angie is glad when her brother Tony pays a visit, bringing along his girl, Dixie Jackson. Tommy tattles at school about what he saw Audrey's mother do. Taunted by another girl at school, Audrey gets into a fight and is expelled, putting her graduation at risk. Ruth shows no concern whatsoever with her daughter's dilemma, telling her that finding a man is more important than getting an education anyway. Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas Dumbrille
Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed as a bank clerk in Hamilton while pursuing an interest in acting. He eventually left banking for the theatre, finding work with a stock company that led him to Chicago, Illinois, and another that toured the United States. In 1913, the East Coast film industry was flourishing and that year he appeared in the film ''What Eighty Million Women Want'', but it would be another 11 years before he appeared on screen again. In 1924, he made his Broadway debut and worked off and on in the theatre for several years while supplementing his income by selling such products as car accessories, tea, insurance, real estate, and books. During the Great Depression, Dumbrille resumed his screen career in Hollywood, where he specialized in playing secondar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Dumont
Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically the fifth Marx brother." Early life Dumont was born Daisy Juliette Baker in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of William and Harriet Anna (née Harvey) Baker. Her mother was a music teacher and encouraged Daisy's singing career from an early age. Career Dumont trained as an operatic singer and actress in her teens and began performing on stage in the US and Europe, at first under the name Daisy Dumont and later as Margaret (or Marguerite - French for Daisy) Dumont. Her theatrical debut was in ''Sleeping Beauty and the Beast'' at the Chestnut Theater in Philadelphia; in August 1902, two months before her 20th birthday, she appeared as a singer/comedian in a vaudeville act in Atlantic City. The dark-haired soubrette, described by a theater ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1956 Film)
''Shake, Rattle and Rock!'' is a 1956 musical comedy drama film directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring Mike Connors, Lisa Gaye and Sterling Holloway. It was distributed by American International Pictures. It was originally released as a double feature with '' Runaway Daughters''. Plot A disc jockey and a hipster battle adults trying to ban rock and roll in a small town. Cast *Mike Connors (credited as "Touch Connors") as Garry Nelson *Lisa Gaye as June Fitzdingle *Sterling Holloway as Albert "Axe" McAllister *Douglass Dumbrille as Eustace Fentwick III *Raymond Hatton as Horace Fitzdingle *Margaret Dumont as Georgianna Fitzdingle *Percy Helton as Hiram, the funeral director *Paul Dubov as Bugsy Smith *Eddie Kafafian as Nick *Charles Evans as Bill Bentley *Clarence Kolb as Judge McCombs *Fats Domino as himself * Tommy Charles as himself *Jimmy Pickford as Eddie *Leon Tyler as Aloysius Pentigrouch *Pat Gregory as Pat * Rosie and Carlos as teen dance contest winners *Annitta Ray as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles B
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "free man". The Old English descendant of this word was '' Ċearl'' or ''Ċeorl'', as the name of King Cearl of Mercia, that disappeared after the Norman conquest of England. The name was notably borne by Charlemagne (Charles the Great), and was at the time Latinized as ''Karolus'' (as in ''Vita Karoli Magni''), later also as '' Carolus''. Some Germanic languages, for example Dutch and German, have retained the word in two separate senses. In the particular case of Dutch, ''Karel'' refers to the given name, whereas the noun ''kerel'' means "a bloke, fellow, man". Etymology The name's etymology is a Common Germanic noun ''*karilaz'' meaning "free man", which survives in English as churl (< Old English ''ċeorl''), which developed its depr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Connors
Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series ''Mannix'' from 1967 to 1975, a role which earned him a Golden Globe Award in 1970, the first of six straight nominations, as well as four consecutive Emmy nominations from 1970 to 1973. He starred in the short-lived series ''Tightrope!'' (1959–1960) and ''Today's FBI'' (1981–1982). Connors' acting career spanned six decades. In addition to his work on television, he appeared in numerous films, including ''Sudden Fear'' (1952), ''Good Neighbor Sam'' (1964), '' Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious'' (1965), ''Stagecoach'' (1966), ''Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die'' (1966), and ''Too Scared to Scream'' (1985), which he also produced. Early life Connors was born Krekor Ohanian, Jr. ( hy, Գրիգոր Օհանեան), on August 15, 1925, in Fresno, California, to Armenian parents Kreko ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flesh And The Spur
''Flesh and the Spur'' is a 1956 Western film directed by Edward L. Cahn. The film stars John Agar as Lucius Random, Marla English as Wild Willow and Mike Connors (billed here as Touch Connors) as Stacy Tanner. The film was released by American International Pictures as a double feature with ''Naked Paradise''. The plot is about a young cowboy who searches for the killer of his twin brother. Plot Tanner is a desperate prisoner who escapes from jail and promptly murders an innocent farmer named Matthew Random. Stealing Random's horse and gun, the outlaw promptly makes his escape. Finding his twin brother murdered, Lucius Random (Agar) vows revenge and sets off to find the killer. Although he does not know the identity of the killer, Random knows that he is part of the nefarious "Checker Gang" and can be identified by the gun he stole from Matthew, which is one of a unique set of two that the brothers Matthew and Lucius owned between them. Cast *John Agar as Luke Random/Matthew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Conway
Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders, 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing private detectives (including The Falcon, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, and The Saint) and psychiatrists, among other roles. Conway played "The Falcon" in 10 episodes of the series, taking over from his brother, George Sanders, in ''The Falcon's Brother'' (1942), in which they both starred. He also appeared in several Val Lewton films. Early life Conway was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. His younger brother was fellow actor George Sanders. Their younger sister, Margaret Sanders, was born in 1912. At the outbreak of the Russian Revolution (1917), the family moved to England, where Conway was educated at Bedales School and Brighton College. He travelled to Northern Rhodesia, where he worked in mining and ranching, then returned to England, appearing in several plays with the Manchester Repertory Company and performing on BBC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
