California Split
''California Split'' is a 1974 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould and George Segal as a pair of gamblers and was the first non-Cinerama film to use eight-track stereo sound. Plot In Los Angeles, a friendship develops between Bill Denny and Charlie Waters over their mutual love of gambling after they are beaten up and robbed by a card player whose money they have won. Charlie, a wisecracking joker who lives with two prostitutes, is an experienced gambler who is constantly looking for the next score. He bets on poker, horse racing, boxing, and anything else that offers odds. Initially, Bill is not as committed a gambler (during the day he does a little work at a magazine while avoiding his boss), but he is well on his way to a full-blown gaming addiction. As the two men hang out at Charlie's house, Bill's office, seedy bars, card rooms, and various sports venues, Bill becomes hooked on the gambling lifestyle. He goes into debt to Spark ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era. Altman's style of filmmaking covered many genres, but usually with a "subversive" twist which typically relied on satire and humor to express his personal views. Altman developed a reputation for being "anti-Hollywood" and non-conformist in both his themes and directing style. Actors especially enjoyed working under his direction because he encouraged them to improvise, thereby inspiring their own creativity. He preferred large ensemble casts for his films, and developed a multitrack recording technique which produced overlapping dialogue from multiple actors. This produced a more natural, more dynamic, and more complex experience for the viewer. He also used highly mobile camera work and zoom lenses to enhance the activity ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ann Prentiss
Ann Prentiss (November 27, 1939 – January 12, 2010) was an American actress. Early life Prentiss was born Ann Elizabeth Ragusa in San Antonio, Texas, to Paulene (née Gardner) and Thomas J. Ragusa. Her father was of Sicilian descent. Her elder sister, Paula Prentiss, is also an actress. Career Prentiss had many supporting roles in films and television series in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including ''Get Smarts "The Little Black Book", '' Hogan's Heroes "The Missing Klink" (1969), and on the ''Baretta'' episode " Half a Million Dollar Baby". She provided the voice of an alien species in the comedy film ''My Stepmother Is an Alien'' (1988), co-starring alongside Kim Basinger and Dan Aykroyd. Her other film roles included appearances in ''Any Wednesday'' (1966), '' If He Hollers, Let Him Go!'' (1968), '' The Out-of-Towners'' (1970), and ''California Split'' (1974), opposite George Segal and Elliott Gould. In the 1967 NBC-TV series ''Captain Nice'', created by Buck Henry ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Sugarland Express
''The Sugarland Express'' is a 1974 American crime drama film directed by Steven Spielberg in his directorial debut. The film follows a woman (Goldie Hawn) and her husband (William Atherton) as they take a police officer (Michael Sacks) hostage and flee across Texas while they try to get to their child before he is placed in foster care. The event partially took place, the story is partially set, and the film was partially shot in Sugar Land, Texas. Other scenes for the film were filmed in San Antonio, Live Oak, Floresville, Pleasanton, Converse and Del Rio, Texas. ''The Sugarland Express'' marks the first collaboration between Spielberg and composer John Williams, who has scored all but five of Spielberg-directed films since; this is the only score he has composed for Spielberg that has never been released as an album, although Williams re-recorded the main theme with Toots Thielemans and the Boston Pops Orchestra for 1991's ''The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration''. Plot Lou J ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Brown (producer)
David Brown (July 28, 1916 February 1, 2010) was an American film and theatre producer and writer who was best known for producing the 1975 film ''Jaws'' based on the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley. Early life He was born in New York City, the son of Lillian (''née'' Baren) and Col. Edward Fisher Brown, and was the elder brother of Carolyn Brown, who married French aristocrat Emmanuel de Crussol d'Uzès, Duke of Uzès, then who remarried to Geoffrey Carpenter Doyle, a grandson of New York City architect James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter Jr. Brown was a graduate of Stanford University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Early career He began his professional career as a journalist, contributing to magazines including ''The Saturday Evening Post'', '' Harper's'' and ''Collier's'', before becoming an editor himself. He was a managing editor of ''Cosmopolitan'' before his wife, Helen Gurley Brown, joined the magazine. Production career Film In 1951, th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Richard D
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong in rule'. Nicknames include "Richie", "Dick", "Dickon", " Dickie", "Rich", "Rick", "Rico", "Ricky", and more. Richard is a common English, German and French male name. It's also used in many more languages, particularly Germanic, such as Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Dutch, as well as other languages including Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Finnish. Richard is cognate with variants of the name in other European languages, such as the Swedish "Rickard", the Catalan "Ricard" and the Italian "Riccardo", among others (see comprehensive variant list below). People named Richard Multiple people with the same name * Richard Andersen (other) * Richard Anderson (other) * Richard Cartwright (other) * Ri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Comcast through the NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment division of NBCUniversal. Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour, Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States; the world's fifth oldest after Gaumont, Pathé, Titanus, and Nordisk Film; and the oldest member of Hollywood's "Big Five" studios in terms of the overall film market. Its studios are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City. In 1962, the studio was acquired by MCA, which was re-launched as NBCUniversal in 2004. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". Martin gained his career breakthrough together with comedian Jerry Lewis, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946. They performed in nightclubs and later had numerous appearances on radio, television and in films. Following an acrimonious ending of the partnership in 1956, Martin pursued a solo career as a performer and actor. Martin established himself as a singer, recording numerous contemporary songs as well as standards from the Great American Songbook. He became one of the most popular acts in Las Vegas and was known for his friendship with fellow artists Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., who together with several others formed the Rat Pack. Starting in 1965, Martin was the host of the television variety program ''The Dean Martin Show'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its luxurious and extremely large casino-hotels together with their associated activities. It is a top three destination in the United States for business conventions and a global leader in the hospitality industry, claiming more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any other city in the world. Today, Las Vegas annually ranks as one ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Circus Circus Las Vegas
Circus Circus Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the northern Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Phil Ruffin. Circus Circus includes the largest permanent circus in the world. It features circus and trapeze acts, as well as carnival games, at its Carnival Midway. The resort also includes the Adventuredome, an indoor amusement park. Circus Circus was originally owned by Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin. It opened without a hotel on October 18, 1968. It included a casino on its first floor, while a second floor contained carnival games for children. Circus Circus was the first family-oriented casino in Las Vegas. It struggled financially during its early years, in part because of its lack of a hotel. A 15-story tower, with 409 rooms, was added in 1972. Sarno and Mallin were subsequently investigated for tax code violations and alleged connections with organized crime. In 1974, the casino was leased to Bill Bennett and William Pennington, taking ov ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steve McQueen
Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He was nicknamed the "King of Cool" and used the alias Harvey Mushman in motor races. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination for his role in ''The Sand Pebbles'' (1966). His other popular films include ''Love With the Proper Stranger'' (1963), ''The Cincinnati Kid'' (1965), ''Nevada Smith'' (1966), '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1968), ''Bullitt'' (1968), ''Le Mans'' (1971), '' The Getaway'' (1972), and '' Papillon'' (1973). In addition, he starred in the all-star ensemble films ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (1963), and ''The Towering Inferno'' (1974). In 1974, McQueen became the highest-paid movie star in the world, although he did not act in film for another four years. He was combative with director ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spielberg is the recipient of various accolades, including three Academy Awards, a Kennedy Center honor, a Cecil B. DeMille Award, and an AFI Life Achievement Award. Seven of his films been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. He moved to California and studied film in college. After directing several episodes for television including ''Night Gallery'' and '' Columbo'', he directed the television film ''Duel'' (1971) which gained acclaim from critics and audiences. He made his directorial film debut with ''The Sugarland Express'' (1974), and became a household name with the 1975 summer blockbuster ''Jaws''. He then directed box office succe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Barbara Ruick
Barbara Ruick (December 23, 1930 – March 3, 1974) was an American actress and singer. Early years Ruick was the daughter of actors Lurene Tuttle and Melville Ruick, and grew up acting out scenes with dolls, employing her mother as an audience. Ruick attended North Hollywood High School. She did little acting in high school but joined a school band at the age of 14. Ruick sang with the band at dances and benefits. Career Early in her career, Ruick sang in clubs and acted in Little Theater productions. She achieved success in radio prior to signing as a contract player with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She was heard in the original radio version of ''Dragnet''. She also recorded several songs for MGM Records. In the 1950s, Ruick starred as Kay in the first LP recording of the songs from George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin's 1926 Broadway musical, '' Oh, Kay!''. This was a studio cast recording released by Columbia Records, and conducted by Lehman Engel. She landed a job ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |