|
Chesney Allen
William Ernest Chesney Allen (5 April 1894 – 13 November 1982) was a popular English entertainer of the Second World War period. He is best remembered for his double act with Bud Flanagan, Flanagan and Allen. Life and career Allen was born in Brighton, Sussex, in 1894, married Aleta Cosette Turner in Leeds in 1926 and died in Midhurst, West Sussex, in 1982. He began his career in straight acting, making his debut in stock at the Wimbledon Theatre, London, in 1912. Serving in Flanders in the First World War, he made friends with Bud Flanagan, and but they did not work together until 1926, touring with a Florrie Forde show called "Here's to You". As music hall comedians they would often feature a mixture of comedy and music in their act and this led to a successful recording career and roles in film and television. Flanagan and Allen were also members of the Crazy Gang and worked together in that team for many years. Flanagan and Allen's songs featured the same, usually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The ancient settlement of "Brighthelmstone" was documented in the ''Domesday Book'' (1086). The town's importance grew in the Middle Ages as the Old Town developed, but it languished in the early modern period, affected by foreign attacks, storms, a suffering economy and a declining population. Brighton began to attract more visitors following improved road transport to London and becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. The town also developed in popularity as a health resort for sea bathing as a purported cure for illnesses. In the Georgian era, Brighton developed as a highly fashionable seaside resort, encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent, later King George IV, who spent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Dance Band
British dance band is a genre of popular jazz and dance music that developed in British dance halls and hotel ballrooms during the 1920s and 1930s, often called a Golden Age of British music, prior to the Second World War. Thousands of miles away from the origins of jazz in the United States, British dance bands of this era typically played melodic, good-time music that had jazz and big band influences but also maintained a peculiarly British sense of rhythm and style which came from the music hall tradition. Often comedians of the day or music hall personalities would sing novelty recordings backed by well-known British dance band leaders. Some of the British dance band leaders and musicians went on to fame in the United States in the swing era. Thanks to Britain's continuing ballroom dancing tradition and its recording copyright laws, British dance music of the pre-swing era still attracts a modest audience, which American dance music of the same period does not. Not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1894 Births
Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United States. * January 9 – New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard, in Lexington, Massachusetts. * February 12 ** French anarchist Émile Henry sets off a bomb in a Paris café, killing one person and wounding twenty. ** The barque ''Elisabeth Rickmers'' of Bremerhaven is wrecked at Haurvig, Denmark, but all crew and passengers are saved. * February 15 ** In Korea, peasant unrest erupts in the Donghak Peasant Revolution, a massive revolt of followers of the Donghak movement. Both China and Japan send military forces, claiming to come to the ruling Joseon dynasty government's aid. ** At 04:51 GMT, French anarchist Martial Bourdin dies of an accidental detonation of his ow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Life Is A Circus (1960 Film)
''Life is a Circus'' is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Bud Flanagan, Teddy Knox, Jimmy Nervo, Jimmy Gold and Charlie Naughton of the Crazy Gang. The screenplay concerns a down-on-its-luck circus that uses an Aladdin's Magic Lamp to try to save their business. The film is generally considered inferior to the Crazy Gang's previous screen appearances. Cast * Bud Flanagan as Bud * Teddy Knox as Sebastian * Jimmy Nervo as Cecil * Jimmy Gold as Goldie * Charlie Naughton as Charlie * Eddie Gray as Eddie * Chesney Allen as Ches * Shirley Eaton as Shirley Winter * Michael Holliday as Carl Rickenbeck * Lionel Jeffries as Genie * Joseph Tomelty as Joe Winter * Eric Pohlmann as Rickenbeck * Harold Kasket as Hassan * Edwin Richfield as Driver * Peter Glaze as Hand #1 * Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunkirk (1958 Film)
''Dunkirk'' is a 1958 British war film directed by Leslie Norman that depicts the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II, and starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough, and Bernard Lee. The film is based on the novels ''The Big Pick-Up'' by Elleston Trevor and ''Dunkirk'' co-authored by Lt Col Ewan Butler and Major J. S. Bradford. Plot In May 1940, English journalist Charles Foreman strives to inform his readers of the dangers posed by the build-up of German forces in western Europe. He rails against the Ministry of Information for suppressing the truth. Most of his compatriots, including his neighbour John Holden, have been lulled into complacency by the lack of significant fighting during the " Phoney War". Holden owns a garage, with a profitable side-line manufacturing belt buckles for the British Army. The Battle of France begins and the Germans advance rapidly, trapping Allied forces along the Channel coast. Corporal "Tubby" Binns of the British Expeditionary Force ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Here Comes The Sun (film)
''Here Comes the Sun'' is a 1946 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Elsa Tee. The film follows a sports reporter, on the run from the police, as he tries to clear his name. The film's sets were designed by the art director Duncan Sutherland Duncan Sutherland (1 August 1905 – 1967) was a Scottish-born art director, based in England where he designed the sets for over eighty films and television series between the early 1930s and mid-1960s. Sutherland spent much of the 1940s employ .... Cast References External links * 1946 films 1946 comedy films 1940s English-language films Films directed by John Baxter British comedy films Films set in England British black-and-white films 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-comedy-film-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dreaming (1944 British Film)
''Dreaming'' is a 1944 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Hazel Court. Its plot concerns a soldier who is knocked unconscious during a train journey and has a series of bizarre dreams. In 1944, Decca Records released a recording of Flanagan and Allen singing ''Dreaming'', the title song from the film. The film's sets were designed by Duncan Sutherland. Plot When British soldier Bud (Bud Flanagan) is hit on the head, the concussion causes a series of dreams whilst on the hospital operating table. In these he is fleeing hostile tribes in Africa, is a jockey winning a race at Ascot, turns up in Nazi Germany and is opening a wartime services canteen. Main cast * Bud Flanagan as Bud * Chesney Allen as Ches * Hazel Court Hazel Court (10 February 1926 – 15 April 2008) was an English actress. She is known for her roles in British and American horror films during the 1950s and early 1960s, including Terence Fisher's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre Royal (film)
''Theatre Royal'' is a 1943 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Lydia Sherwood. The plot concerns an attempt by the staff of a theatre to prevent its closure. The film's sets were designed by C. Wilfred Arnold. Plot A London theatre is threatened with closure, but its staff fight to raise funds and secure the support of an important backer. The owners Parker and Maxwell try to prevent Harding from buying it but must find money. They find a rich old American, Clement J. Earle, and try to get money out of him, but also trick him buying antique furniture in an old country house. As Flanagan and Allen sleep together in a huge ornate bed the ghosts of the old house appear. Flanagan dreams they are Sir Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh meeting Queen Elizabeth I. They audition the background helpers in the theatre to create a show including George the handyman. During the auditions they hear a wonderful female voice offstage and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
We'll Smile Again
''We'll Smile Again'' is a 1942 British musical comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Meinhart Maur. Premise A ring of Nazi spies infiltrate a film studio planning to use it for sending coded messages, but they are foiled by two of the low-level staff at the studio. Cast Production It was known as ''Glamourflage'' and filming started 4 May 1942. Critical reception The ''Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves ...'' gave the film three out of five stars, and wrote "Unlike many stage, radio or television double acts who flounder when put on the big screen, Flanagan and Allen fared rather well as movie stars, and this is a typical effort, combining bright comedy with songs and human interest...Directed with no pretensi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alf's Button Afloat
''Alf's Button Afloat'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Alastair Sim and Peter Gawthorne. In the film, the Crazy Gang go to sea, where one of them discovers a button on his uniform is made from the metal of Aladdin's lamp. The film parodies the 1920 novel '' Alf's Button'' by W.A. Darlington and its subsequent film adaptations. Cast * Bud Flanagan as Alf Higgins * Chesney Allen as Ches * Jimmy Nervo as Cecil * Teddy Knox as Teddy * Charlie Naughton as Charlie * Jimmy Gold as Jimmy * Alastair Sim as Eustace * Wally Patch as Sergeant Hawkins * Peter Gawthorne as Captain Driscol * Agnes Lauchlan as Lady Driscol * Glennis Lorimer as Frankie Driscol * James Carney as Lieutenant John Hardy * Wilson Coleman Wilson Coleman (1873–1940) was a British actor. He started his stage career in 1891, playing juvenile and heavy parts. He worked with Barry Jackson (director), Barry Jackson for five years. He t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
O-Kay For Sound
''O-Kay for Sound'' is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring the Crazy Gang troupe of comedians. After falling on hard times the members of the Crazy Gang are busking on the streets of London. However, they are hired as extras on a film set. After arriving at the studios they are mistaken for a group of potential investors and given free run of the studios, causing chaos. The film was based on a stage work by Bert Lee and R. P. Weston. It was made at Islington Studios by Gainsborough Pictures, with sets designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky. Main cast * Jimmy Nervo as Cecil * Teddy Knox as Teddy * Bud Flanagan as Bud * Chesney Allen as Ches * Charlie Naughton as Charlie * Jimmy Gold as Jimmy * Fred Duprez as Hyman Goldberger * Enid Stamp-Taylor as Jill Smith, secretary * Meinhart Maur as Guggenheimer * Graham Moffatt as Albert, the page boy * Patricia Bowman as Dancer * Peter Dawson as Singer * Jan Gotch as All-In Wrestler * H. F. Malt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild Boy (film)
''Wild Boy'' is a 1934 British comedy sports film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Sonnie Hale, Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen. It was by Gainsborough Pictures at Lime Grove Studios. The sets were designed by Alfred Junge. Often forgotten, but the role of "Wild Boy" was played by the greyhound Mick the Miller. Premise This film is a caper story of greyhound racing and the efforts of a crooked dog owner to stop a rival's dog, Wild Boy, from running in the Greyhound Derby. Allmovie shows a different synopsis. Cast * Sonnie Hale as Billy Grosvenor * Gwyneth Lloyd as Marjorie Warren * Bud Flanagan as Dick Smith * Chesney Allen as Auctioneer and Bookmaker * Lyn Harding as Frank Redfern * Leonora Corbett Leonora Corbett (28 June 1908 – 29 July 1960) was an English actress, noted for her charm and elegance in stage roles, and for a number of films made in the 1930s. Life and career Corbett was born in London, the daughter of Richard Ashwin Cor ... a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
