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Allan Gray (composer)
Józef Żmigrod (February 23, 1902September 10, 1973), better known by his stage name, Allan Gray, was a Polish composer, best known for his film scores. Early life and education Gray was born Józef Żmigrod in Tarnów, Austria-Hungary, (present-day Poland) into a musical family: his father was a concert violinist. He studied philosophy in Heidelberg and later Berlin, where he composed a children's opera, ''Wavelength ABC''.Obituary, ''The Times'', 15 September, 1973, p 14 There (during the 1920s) he became a student of Arnold Schönberg, funding himself by composing jazz-influenced music for the cabaret. He later wrote music for Max Reinhardt's theatre productions. As Schoenberg disapproved of such music, Żmigrod took up the stage name Allan Gray, naming himself after Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray. Career Gray began writing film scores in the Weimar Republic. His films there included ''Emil and the Detectives'' and ''The Countess of Monte Cristo''. But he was forced to leave th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amersham
Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There are two distinct areas: * Old Amersham, set in the valley of the River Misbourne, containing the 13th-century parish church of St Mary's Church, Old Amersham, St. Mary's and several old pubs and coaching inns * Amersham-on-the-Hill, which grew in the early 20th century around , which was served by the Metropolitan Railway, now the Metropolitan line, and the Great Central Railway. Geography Old Amersham occupies the valley floor of the River Misbourne. This is a chalk stream which dries up periodically. The river occupies a valley much larger than it is possible for a river the size of the present River Misbourne to cut, which makes it a misfit stream. The valley floor is at around Ordnance Datum, OD, and the valley top is at aro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1946 In Film
The year 1946 in film involved some significant events. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1946 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events *February 14 - Charles Vidor's ''Gilda'' starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford shows audiences one of the most famous scenes of the 20th century: Rita Hayworth singing "Put The Blame On Mame". *November 21 – William Wyler's ''The Best Years of Our Lives'' premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell. *December 20 – Frank Capra's ''It's a Wonderful Life'', featuring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, and Thomas Mitchell opens in New York. Awards Notable films released in 1946 United States unless stated A * '' Angel on My Shoulder'' * '' Anna and the King of Siam'', starring Irene Dunne, Rex Harrison and Linda Darnell * ''Aru yo no Tonosama'' B * ''Bad Bascomb'', starring Walla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Matter Of Life And Death (film)
''A Matter of Life and Death'' is a 1946 British fantasy film, fantasy-romance film set in England during the Second World War. Written, produced and directed by Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the film stars David Niven, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey, Kim Hunter and Marius Goring. The film was originally released in the United States under the title ''Stairway to Heaven'', which derived from the film's most prominent special effects, special effect: a broad escalator linking Earth to the afterlife. In 1999, ''A Matter of Life and Death'' was placed 20th on the British Film Institute's list of BFI Top 100 British films, Best 100 British films. In 2004, a poll by the magazine ''Total Film'' of 25 film critics named ''A Matter of Life and Death'' the second-greatest British film ever made, behind ''Get Carter''. It ranked 90th among critics, and 322nd among directors, in the The Sight & Sound Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time, 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1945 In Film
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1945 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 26 – The film ''National Velvet'', starring Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald Crisp and Anne Revere, is released nationally in the United States. The film is an instant critical and commercial success, propelling 12-year-old Taylor to stardom and earning Revere the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. * January 30 – Restricted release of '' Kolberg'', an historical epic which is one of the last Nazi Germany propaganda pieces, in war-torn Berlin. Given its cast of 187,000, probably fewer people view it than appear in it. * April 20 – Release of ''Son of Lassie'', the 2nd Lassie film and the first film ever to be filmed using the Technicolor Monobook method, where a single magazine of film is used to record all of the primary colors. Prior to this method, the most popular record ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Know Where I'm Going!
''I Know Where I'm Going!'' is a 1945 romance film by the British-based filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, and features Pamela Brown and Finlay Currie. Plot Joan Webster is a 25-year-old middle-class Englishwoman with an ambitious, independent spirit. She knows where she's going, or at least she thinks she does. She travels from her home in Manchester to the Hebrides to marry Sir Robert Bellinger, a wealthy, much older industrialist, on the (fictitious) Isle of Kiloran. When bad weather postpones the final leg of her journey (the boat trip to Kiloran), she is forced to wait it out on the Isle of Mull, among a community of people whose values are quite different from hers. There she meets Torquil MacNeil, a naval officer trying to go home to Kiloran while on shore leave. They are sheltered for the night in the nearby home of Torquil's friend, Catriona Potts. The next day, on their way to catch a bus to Tobermory to find ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1944 In Film
The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning ''Going My Way'' plus popular murder mysteries such as ''Double Indemnity'', ''Gaslight'' and '' Laura''. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1944 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events *March 10 – MGM's ''A Guy Named Joe'', starring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne, is released nationally in the United States. *May 3 – The film ''Going My Way'', directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald, premieres in New York City. The highest-grossing picture of the year, it goes on to win a total of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for McCary, Best Actor for Crosby and Best Original Song for "Swinging on a Star". *May 13 – Dale Evans appears in her first film with future husband, Roy Rogers – '' Cowboy and the Senorita''. *July 20 – ''Since You Went Away'' is released. *August 16–September 11 †... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Canterbury Tale
''A Canterbury Tale'' is a 1944 British film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price and Sgt. John Sweet; Esmond Knight provided narration and played two small roles. For the post-war American release, Raymond Massey narrated and Kim Hunter was added to the film. The film was made in black and white, and was the first of two collaborations between Powell and Pressburger and cinematographer Erwin Hillier. Much of the film's visual style is a mixture of British realism and Hillier's German Expressionist style that is harnessed through a neo-romantic sense of the English landscape. The concept that 'the past always haunts the present' in the English landscape was already part of English literary culture, e.g. in works by Rudyard Kipling such as ''Puck of Pook's Hill'', and would become a notable trope for British novelists and film-makers from the 1960s. ''A Canterbury Tale'' takes its title from ''The Canterbury Tales'' of Geof ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1943 In Film
The year 1943 in film featured various significant events for the film industry. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1943 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 23 – The film '' Casablanca'' is released nationally in the United States and becomes one of the top-grossing pictures of 1943. It goes on to win the Best Picture and Best Director awards at the 16th Academy Awards. * February 20 – American film studio executives agree to allow the United States Office of War Information to censor films. * June 1 – Veteran English stage and screen actor Leslie Howard dies at the age of 50 in the crash of BOAC Flight 777 off the coast of Galicia, Spain. While best remembered for his role as Ashley Wilkes in ''Gone with the Wind'', Howard had roles in many other notable films and was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. * November 23 – British Forces Broadcasting Service begins operation * December 31 – New York ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp
''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' is a 1943 British romantic drama war film written, produced and directed by the British film making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. The title derives from the satirical Colonel Blimp comic strip by David Low, but the story itself is original. Some regard the film as the greatest British movie ever made and it is renowned for its sophistication and directorial brilliance as well as for its script, the performances of its large cast and for its pioneering Technicolor cinematography. Among its distinguished company of actors, particular praise has been reserved for Livesey, Walbrook, and Kerr. Plot Major-General Clive Wynne-Candy (Roger Livesey) is a senior commander in the Home Guard during the Second World War. Before a training exercise, he is "captured" in a Turkish bath by soldiers led by Lieutenant "Spud" Wilson, who has struck pre-emptively. He ignores Candy's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Powell And Pressburger
The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell (1905–1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)—together often known as The Archers, the name of their production company—made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. Their collaborations—24 films between 1939 and 1972—were mainly derived from original stories by Pressburger with the script written by both Pressburger and Powell. Powell did most of the directing while Pressburger did most of the work of the producer and also assisted with the editing, especially the way the music was used. Unusually, the pair shared a writer-director-producer credit for most of their films. The best-known of these are ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' (1943), ''A Canterbury Tale'' (1944), ''I Know Where I'm Going!'' (1945), '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946), ''Black Narcissus'' (1947), '' The Red Shoes'' (1948), and ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (1951). In 1981, Powell and Pressburger were recognised for thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Films
London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included ''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933), '' Things to Come'' (1936), ''Rembrandt'' (1936), and ''The Four Feathers'' (1939). The facility at Denham was taken over in 1939 by Rank and merged with Pinewood to form D & P Studios. The outbreak of war necessitated that '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940) be completed in California, although Korda's handful of American-made films still displayed Big Ben as their opening corporate logo.Kulik, Karol ''Alexander Korda:The Man Who Could Work Miracles''. Virgin Books, 1990. After a restructuring of Korda's UK operations in the late 1940s, London Films were made at Shepperton. One of these was ''The Third Man'' (1949). The company's film ''The Sound Barrier'' (1952) won the Academy Award for Best Sound. More than 40 ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
