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AP Films
AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette television series – most significantly '' Thunderbirds'' – produced for British ITV network companies Associated-Rediffusion, Granada, ABC and ATV. At its height, the company employed more than 200 staff. Origins Established in 1956 by editor-director Gerry Anderson and cinematographer Arthur Provis, following the liquidation of their employer Polytechnic Films, AP Films was set up. They took with them producer Reg Hill, cinematographer John Read and secretary, then known as Sylvia Thamm. Thamm would later become Anderson's second wife. The company was created with the intention of it becoming a conventional film production house. With no commissions and funds running low, APF were approached with an offer of collaboration ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Television Production
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed between shows. Television shows are most often scheduled for broadcast well ahead of time and appear on electronic guides or other TV listings, but streaming services often make them available for viewing anytime. The content in a television show can be produced with different methodologies such as taped variety shows emanating from a television studio stage, animation or a variety of film productions ranging from movies to series. Shows not produced on a television studio stage are usually contracted or licensed to be made by appropriate production companies. Television shows can be viewed live (real time), be recorded on home video, a digital video recorder for later viewing, be viewed on demand via a set-top box, or streamed over the i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ABC Weekend TV
ABC Weekend TV was the popular name of the British broadcaster ABC Television Limited, which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one of the " Big Four" companies that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes during this period. Originally created as Associated British Cinemas (Television) Ltd, ABC was one of a number of commercial television companies established during the 1950s by cinema chain companies, in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television, which was taking away their cinema audiences. In this case, the parent company was the Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) — owner of ABC Cinemas — which initially did not wish to become involved with the new broadcasting system, but was persuaded to do so by the Independent Television Authority (ITA) and the manager of its Pathé News subsidiary Howard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fireball XL5
''Fireball XL5'' is a 1960s British children's science-fiction puppet television series about the missions of ''Fireball XL5'', a vessel of the World Space Patrol that polices the cosmos in the year 2062. Commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac, ''XL5'' defends Earth from interstellar threats while encountering a wide variety of alien civilisations. Inspired by the Space Race, ''Fireball XL5'' was created by the husband-and-wife team of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. It was APF's final black-and-white series and the third to be made in what the Andersons dubbed " Supermarionation": a style of production in which the characters were played by electronic marionettes whose mouth movements were synchronised with the voice actors' pre-recorded dialogue. Zodiac was voiced by Paul Maxwell while two of his companions – ''XL5'' co-pilot Robert the Robot and "space doctor" Venus – were voiced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supercar (TV Series)
''Supercar'' is a British children's television series produced by Gerry Anderson and Arthur Provis' AP Films (APF) for ATV and ITC Entertainment. Thirty-nine episodes were produced between 1961 and 1962, and it was Anderson's first half-hour series. In the UK it was seen on ITV, in Canada on the CBC, and in the US in syndication (the first Anderson series to be shown overseas) debuting in January 1962. The series uses Supermarionation, based on the complex and difficult Czech style of marionette puppetry. The creation of the series was credited to Gerry Anderson and Reg Hill, but it incorporates elements of ''Beaker's Bureau'', a series proposed to the BBC by Hugh Woodhouse that was never produced. Anderson would later claim that the whole point of having a series based on a vehicle was to minimize having to show the marionettes walking, an action which he felt never looked convincing. The star of the series was ''Supercar'', a multi-environment craft invented by Professor R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supermarionation
Supermarionation (a portmanteau of the words "super", "marionette" and " animation")La Rivière 2009, p. 67. is a style of television and film production employed by British company AP Films (later Century 21 Productions) in its puppet TV series and feature films of the 1960s. These productions were created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed at APF's studios on the Slough Trading Estate. The characters were played by electronic marionettes with a moveable lower lip, which opened and closed in time with pre-recorded dialogue by means of a solenoid in the puppet's head or chest. The productions were mostly science fiction with the puppetry supervised by Christine Glanville, art direction by either Bob Bell or Keith Wilson, and music composed by Barry Gray. They also made extensive use of scale model special effects, directed by Derek Meddings. The term "Supermarionation" was first used during the production of ''Supercar'', whose final 13 episodes were the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anglo-Amalgamated
Anglo-Amalgamated Productions was a British film production company, run by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy, which operated from 1945 until roughly 1971 (after which it was absorbed into EMI Films). Low-budget and second features, often produced at Merton Park Studios, formed much of its output. It was the UK distributor of many films produced by American International Pictures (AIP), who distributed AA's films in the United States. It is remembered for producing the first 12 ''Carry On'' films (all of which were produced at Pinewood Studios) and B-movie series such as '' The Scales of Justice'', ''Scotland Yard'' and the ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries''. It did, however, produce the Michael Powell film ''Peeping Tom'' (1960) and such films as John Schlesinger's '' A Kind of Loving'' (1962), '' Billy Liar'' (1963) or Ken Loach's ''Poor Cow'' (1967). The company's distribution arrangement with American International Pictures led to the last two films in Roger Corman's series of films based ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crossroads To Crime
''Crossroads to Crime'' is a 1960 British crime film produced and directed by Gerry Anderson and distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated (AA). Starring Anthony Oliver, George Murcell, Miriam Karlin, David Graham and Ferdy Mayne, ''Crossroads to Crime'' is about a police constable who works undercover to bring down a gang of lorry hi-jackers. Made as a B movie by Anderson's production company AP Films (APF), which made children's puppet television series, it was APF's first film production as well as its first production with live actors. It was also the only film that Anderson directed. Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy of AA hired Anderson to make the film while he was struggling to find a distributor for ''Supercar'' and came to them seeking work. Made on a low budget of £16,250, the one-hour film was shot mostly on location between May and June 1960. Several of the cast and crew had been involved in earlier APF productions and would continue their association with Anderson; they includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Gray
Barry Gray (born John Livesey Eccles; 18 July 1908 – 26 April 1984) was a British musician and composer best known for his collaborations with television and film producer Gerry Anderson. Life and career Born into a musical family in Blackburn, Lancashire, Gray was encouraged to pursue a musical career from an early age. Starting at the age of five – with piano lessons – he studied diligently and became a student at the Manchester Royal College of Music and at Blackburn Cathedral. He studied composition under the Hungarian born émigré composer Matyas Seiber. Gray's first professional job was for B. Feldman & Co. in London, where he gained experience in scoring for theatre and variety orchestras. From there, he joined Radio Normandy as a composer-arranger. After serving for six years with the Royal Air Force during World War II he returned to the music industry to work with such names as Vera Lynn and Hoagy Carmichael. In 1956 Gray joined Gerry Anderson's AP Films and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Feather Falls
''Four Feather Falls'' is a British television programme, the third puppet TV show produced by Gerry Anderson for Granada Television (now ITV Granada). It was based on an idea by Barry Gray, who also wrote the show's music. The series was the first to use an early version of Anderson's Supermarionation puppetry. Thirty-nine 13-minute episodes were produced, broadcast by Granada from February until November 1960. The setting is the late 19th-century fictional Kansas town of Four Feather Falls, where the hero of the series, Tex Tucker, is a sheriff. The four feathers of the title refers to four magical feathers given to Tex by the Indian chief Kalamakooya as a reward for saving his grandson. One of the feathers allowed Tex's guns to swivel and fire without being touched whenever he was in danger, two conferred the power of speech on Tex's horse and dog, and the fourth feather could summon Kalamakooya. Tex's speaking voice was provided by Nicholas Parsons, and his singing voice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torchy The Battery Boy
''Torchy the Battery Boy'' is a British television series, the second produced by AP Films and Gerry Anderson, running from 1959 to 1961. Directed by Anderson, it was a collaboration with author Roberta Leigh, with music scored by Barry Gray, art direction from Reg Hill and special effects by Derek Meddings. Based on string puppets, the series depicted adventures of the eponymous boy doll, who had a battery inside him and a lamp in his head, and his master Mr Bumbledrop, voiced by Kenneth Connor (known for his appearances in the ''Carry On'' films), who also voiced a number of other characters. The second series of 26 episodes was produced by Associated British-Pathé without the involvement of Anderson and AP Films. The show is one of several children's television programmes from the mid-twentieth century to exist in its entirety, without loss or damage. Both series have been digitally remastered and released on DVD. Plot Torchy, the Battery Boy, was created by Mr. Bumbledro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Adventures Of Twizzle
''The Adventures of Twizzle'' is a television show produced by AP Films and Gerry Anderson. Conceived by author Roberta Leigh, later a co-producer, the children's show premiered in 1957. The show follows a young boy named Twizzle and his companions on adventures. Twizzle has the ability to extend his arms and legs. Although 52 episodes of the show were created during the show's year-long run in 1957, only one of the episodes has managed to survive. This sole episode was released on the '' Space Patrol'' box set. The series was one of the first shows to use intricate puppetry which would prove important in later shows developed by Gerry Anderson. Overview Twizzle's legs looked suspiciously like drinking straws with lines around them in a swirling pattern and undoubtedly the figure was pushed up from below while the straw-like legs were twisted around to give the "Twizzle" effect. In the first episode, Twizzle originally lived in a toy shop and cost two shillings and six pence (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suzanne Warner
Suzanne may refer to: People * Suzanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name) * S. U. Zanne, pen name of August Vandekerkhove (1838–1923), Belgian writer and inventor * Suzanne, pen name of Renée Méndez Capote (1901–1989), Cuban writer * Suzanne (television personality) (born 1986), Japanese variety ''tarento'', actress, and singer * Suzanne Lynch (born 1951), New Zealand singer who performed as "Suzanne" Places * Suzanne, Ardennes, France, a commune * Suzanne, Somme, France, a commune Films * ''Suzanne'' (1932 film), a French film * ''Suzanne'' (1980 film), a Canadian film * ''Suzanne'' (2013 film), a French film * '' Suzanne, Suzanne'', a 1982 documentary film Music * "Suzanne" (Leonard Cohen song), a 1966 poem and 1967 song, covered by numerous artists * "Suzanne" (Creeper song), a 2016 song by English band Creeper * "Suzanne" (VOF de Kunst song), 1983 * "Suzanne" (Journey song), a song from ''Raised on Radio'' by Journe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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