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Betty Box
Betty Evelyn Box, (25 September 1915 – 15 January 1999) was a prolific British film producer, usually credited as Betty E. Box. Early life and career Born in Beckenham, Kent, England, she initially planned to be a commercial artist or journalist. She entered the motion picture industry in 1942, joining her brother Sydney and his wife Muriel at Verity Films, where she helped produce more than 200 wartime propaganda shorts. Box: Sitting around was no good for me, my brother said, and he asked me to work for him. He was running an organisation that made training and recruitment films. I went along as a general dogsbody, and as more men were called up, there were more opportunities for me. We worked from 7 a.m. until 10 or 11 at night. I learnt more in those two years than I would in ten years in peacetime. Following World War II, she made an easy transition to feature films, beginning with '' The Years Between'' (1946). When her brother assumed control of Gainsborough Pictures ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west of Bromley and Shortlands. Its population at the 2011 census counted 46,844 inhabitants. Beckenham was, until the coming of the railway in 1857, a small village, with most of its land being rural and private parkland. John Barwell Cator and his family began the leasing and selling of land for the building of villas which led to a rapid increase in population, between 1850 and 1900, from 2,000 to 26,000. Housing and population growth has continued at a lesser pace since 1900. The town, directly west of Bromley, has areas of commerce and industry, principally around the curved network of streets featuring its high street and is served in transport by three main railw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
When The Bough Breaks (1947 Film)
''When the Bough Breaks'' is a 1947 film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Patricia Roc and Rosamund John. It is an adaptation of an original storyline by Herbert Victor on adoption and the competing ties of one child's birth and foster family. Plot After learning that her husband is a bigamist who already had a wife, new mother Lily Gardner (Patricia Roc) resolves to raise her baby, Jimmy, on her own under her maiden name of Lily Bates rather than give him up for adoption. Each day Lily leaves Jimmy at a day nursery while she works as a shopgirl at a department store, and then cares for Jimmy herself at night. Frances Norman (Rosamund John), a middle-class married woman who works at the day nursery to be around children after losing her own baby, is drawn to Jimmy. When Lily, under stress from her demanding schedule, becomes ill with flu, Frances persuades Lily to let her and her husband look after Jimmy temporarily. When Lily recovers, she visits Jimmy at the Normans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Organisation, he later acted in art house films, evolving from "heartthrob to icon of edginess". In a second career, he wrote seven best-selling volumes of memoirs, six novels, and a volume of collected journalism, mainly from articles in ''The Daily Telegraph''. During five years of active military duty during World War Two, he reached the rank of major and was awarded seven medals. His poetry has been published in war anthologies; a painting by Bogarde, also from the war, hangs in the British Museum, with many more in the Imperial War Museum. Having come to prominence in films including ''The Blue Lamp'' in the early 1950s, Bogarde starred in the successful ''Doctor'' film series (1954–1963). He twice won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctor In Trouble
''Doctor in Trouble'' is a 1970 British comedy film, the seventh and last film in the ''Doctor'' series. It was directed by Ralph Thomas and stars Leslie Phillips as a doctor who gets accidentally trapped on an outgoing cruise ship while it begins a round the world trip. The cast was rounded out by a number of British comedy actors including James Robertson Justice, Harry Secombe and Angela Scoular. It was based on the 1961 novel ''Doctor on Toast'' by Richard Gordon. Plot Renowned surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt (James Robertson Justice) arranges a cruise for his patient, the famous television star Basil Beauchamp (Simon Dee). The captain of the ship is Lancelot Spratt's brother George Spratt (Robert Morley). Doctor Burke (Leslie Phillips) becomes a stowaway by mistake when chasing his girlfriend Ophelia (Angela Scoular) onto the ship to propose to her. She is one of a group of models doing a fashion shoot with camp photographer Roddy (Graham Chapman). Other passengers aboard ship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctor In The House
''Doctor in the House'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the 1952 novel by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school. It was the most popular box office film of 1954 in Great Britain. Its success spawned six sequels, and also a television and radio series entitled ''Doctor in the House''. It made Dirk Bogarde one of the biggest British stars of the 1950s. Other well-known British actors featured in the film were Kenneth More, Donald Sinden and Donald Houston. James Robertson Justice appeared as the irascible chief surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt, a role he would repeat in many of the sequels. Plot summary The story follows the fortunes of Simon Sparrow (Dirk Bogarde), starting as a new medical student at the fictional St Swithin's Hospital in London. His five years of student life, involving drinking, dating women, and fallin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctor Series
The ''Doctor'' novels are a series of 18 comic novels by British physician Richard Gordon, covering the antics of a group of young doctors. They were published between 1952 and 1986. Books * ''Doctor in the House''. London: Michael Joseph. 1952. *'' Doctor at Sea''. London: Michael Joseph. 1953. *'' Doctor at Large''. London: Michael Joseph. 1955. *''Doctor in Love''. London: Michael Joseph. 1957. *''Doctor and Son''. London: Michael Joseph. 1959. *''Doctor in Clover''. London: Michael Joseph. 1960. *''Doctor on Toast''. London: Michael Joseph. 1961. *'' Doctor in the Swim''. London: Michael Joseph. 1962. *''Love and Sir Lancelot''. Heinemann. 1965. *''Doctor on the Boil''. Heinemann. 1970. *''Doctor on the Brain''. Heinemann. 1972. *'' Doctor in the Nude''. Heinemann. 1973. *''The Sleep of Life''. Heinemann. 1975. *'' Doctor on the Job''. Heinemann. 1976. *'' Doctor in the Nest''. Heinemann. 1979. *''Doctor's Daughters''. Heinemann. 1981. *''Doctor on the Ball''. 1985. *''Doc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venetian Bird
''Venetian Bird'' is a 1952 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Richard Todd, Eva Bartok and John Gregson. The screenplay was adapted by Victor Canning from his own 1950 novel of the same title. It was shot at Pinewood Studios and on location in Venice. The film's sets were designed by the art director George Provis. It was released in America by United Artists where it was titled ''The Assassin''. Production Michael Balcon originally rejected the idea of a film based on Canning's novel because it was set in Italy and dealt with Italians, not Britons. Betty Box appealed to Earl St John who over-ruled Balcon. Italian censors did require the script clear up the portrayal of political struggles in post-war Venice that were in the novel. The film was shot entirely on location in Venice. Box and Thomas decided not to use colour as they felt it would not suit the genre. Plot British private detective Edward Mercer (Richard Todd) is employed to travel t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Thomas
Ralph Philip Thomas Military Cross, MC (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director. He is perhaps best remembered for directing the ''Doctor Series, Doctor'' series of films. His brother, Gerald Thomas, was also a film director, probably best remembered for the ''Carry On (film series), Carry On...'' film series, and his son is the Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award-winning film producer, Jeremy Thomas. He cast the actor James Robertson Justice in many of his films. Thomas often worked with the producer Betty Box, Betty E. Box, who was married to ''Carry On'' producer Peter Rogers. Thomas was a nephew of producer Victor Saville. Early career Born in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, Thomas studied law at Middlesex University College. He entered the film business as a clapperboard, clapper boy at Shepperton Studios in 1932 during his summer vacation while at college. Following graduation, instead of becoming a lawyer he decided t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to television programmes, commercials, and pop promos. It is well known as the home of the ''James Bond'' and ''Carry On'' film franchises. History Pinewood Studios was built on the estate of Heatherden Hall, a large Victorian country house which was purchased by Canadian financier, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentford and Chiswick, Lt. Col. Grant Morden (1880–1932). He added refinements such as a ballroom, a Turkish bath and an indoor squash court. Due to its seclusion, it was used as a discreet meeting place for high-ranking politicians and diplomats; the agreement to create the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed there. In 1934, building tycoon Charles Boot (1874–1945) bought the land and turned it into a country club. The ballroom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities. It also diversified into the manufacture of radios, TVs and photocopiers (as one of the owners of Rank Xerox). The company name lasted until February 1996, when the name and some of the remaining assets were absorbed into the newly structured Rank Group plc. The company itself became a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox and was renamed XRO Limited in 1997. The company logo, the Gongman, first used in 1935 by the group's distribution company General Film DistributorsThe Independent July 16, 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Huggetts Abroad
''The Huggetts Abroad'' is a 1949 British film starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Petula Clark and Susan Shaw. It was the final film of The Huggetts. The film was less commercially successful than its predecessors. A sequel, ''Christmas with the Huggetts'', was planned but never made. Plot After Joe Huggett loses his job, the family decide to emigrate to South Africa, travelling via a land route that takes them across Africa. On their journey they become entangled with a diamond smuggler. Their truck breaks down in the desert and Joe and his son-in-law Jimmy have to trek across the sand to find help for the family. Cast * Jack Warner as Joe Huggett * Kathleen Harrison as Ethel Huggett * Susan Shaw as Susan Huggett * Petula Clark as Pet Huggett * Dinah Sheridan as Jane Huggett * Hugh McDermott as Bob McCoy * Jimmy Hanley as Jimmy Gardner * Peter Hammond as Peter Hawtrey * John Blythe as Gowan * Amy Veness as Grandma Huggett * Peter Illing as Algerian Detect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vote For Huggett
''Vote for Huggett'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Susan Shaw and Petula Clark. Warner reprises his role as the head of a London family, in the post-war years. In this, the third in the series of films about the Huggetts after ''Holiday Camp,'' in 1947, and ''Here Come the Huggetts'' (1948), Joe Huggett decides to run as a candidate in the municipal election. It was followed later in 1949 by ''The Huggetts Abroad''. Plot After writing a letter to the local newspaper, calling for the construction of a pleasure garden for a new war memorial, Joe Huggett is overwhelmed by the response from the public. However, his call is awkward for a corrupt local councillor who has plans of his own for the space from which his business can profit. Other people see opportunities of their own in supporting Huggett's plan and he is persuaded to stand for election as a local councillor. In her efforts to help his campaign, Pet ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
