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Dear Octopus
''Dear Octopus'' is a comedy by the playwright and novelist Dodie Smith. It opened at the Queen's Theatre, London on 14 September 1938. On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 the run was halted after 373 performances; after a spell in the provinces in early 1940 the play was brought back to London and played two further runs there until 31 August 1940. The play depicts the relationships between three generations of a large family. The "dear octopus" of the title refers to the family itself, whose tentacles its members can never escape. Background Smith had been a successful playwright throughout the 1930s. Her 1935 play ''Call It a Day'' had the longest run of any play by a woman dramatist up to that time, 509 performances."Obituary: Dodie Smith", ''The Times'', 27 November 1990, p. 20 The impresario Binkie Beaumont of H. M. Tennent secured the performing rights of ''Dear Octopus'' and offered his friend John Gielgud the romantic lead. Gielgud was happy to ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dear Octopus (film)
''Dear Octopus'' is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Harold French and starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Wilding and Celia Johnson. It is based on a 1938 play ''Dear Octopus'' written by Dodie Smith. It was also released as ''The Randolph Family''. Plot Well-to-do couple Dora and Charles Randolph are celebrating their golden wedding, and three generations meet at the Randolph country home. As the relatives gather, each reveals his or her personal quirks and shortcomings. Caught in the middle is family secretary Penny Fenton (Margaret Lockwood), who has the unenviable task of sorting and smoothing out the family's deep-set hostilities and jealousies so that a good time can be had by all. Cast * Margaret Lockwood – Penny Randolph * Michael Wilding – Nicholas Randolph * Celia Johnson – Cynthia * Roland Culver – Felix Martin * Helen Haye – Dora Randolph * Athene Seyler – Aunt Belle * Jean Cadell – Vicar's wife * Basil Radford – Kenneth * Frederick Leister †... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivor Brown
Ivor John Carnegie Brown CBE (25 April 1891 – 22 April 1974) was a British journalist and man of letters. Biography Born in Penang, Malaya, Brown was the younger of two sons of Dr. William Carnegie Brown, a specialist in tropical diseases, and his wife Jean Carnegie. At an early age he was sent to Britain, where he attended Suffolk Hall preparatory school and Cheltenham College. After additional private instruction, he was accepted into Balliol College, Oxford, graduating with a double first in classical honour moderations and '' Literae Humaniores''. Early career Excelling on the civil service examination, Brown spent two days as a civil servant in the Home Office in 1913 before realising he was unsuited for the job and quit to become a freelance writer. At this time he was involved in left-wing politics, and was a conscientious objector during the First World War. Though he started authoring books at this time, his ability to write quickly and over a wide range of topics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1938 Plays
Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime. ** state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Safinaz Zulficar, who becomes Farida of Egypt, Queen Farida, in Cairo. * January 27 – The Honeymoon Bridge (Niagara Falls), Honeymoon Bridge at Niagara Falls, New York, collapses as a result of an ice jam. February * February 4 ** Adolf Hitler abolishes the War Ministry and creates the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Armed Forces), giving him direct control of the German military. In addition, he dismisses political and military leaders considered unsympathetic to his philosophy or policies. Gene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Wilding (actor)
Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding (23 July 1912 – 8 July 1979) was an English stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for a series of films he made with Anna Neagle; he also made two films with Alfred Hitchcock, ''Under Capricorn'' (1949) and ''Stage Fright'' (1950); and he guest starred on Hitchcock's TV show in 1963. He was married four times, including to Elizabeth Taylor, with whom he had two sons. Biography Early life Born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, and educated at Christ's Hospital, Wilding left home at age 17 and trained as a commercial artist. He went to Europe when he was 20 and supported himself in Europe by doing sketches. He wanted to get into designing sets for films and approached a London film studio in 1933 looking for work. They invited him to come to work as an extra. Acting career Wilding appeared as an extra in British films such as '' Bitter Sweet'' (1933), ''Heads We Go'' (1933), and '' Channel Crossing'' (1933). He caught the acting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Lockwood
Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich'' (1940), ''The Man in Grey'' (1943), and ''The Wicked Lady'' (1945). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress for the 1955 film ''Cast a Dark Shadow''. She also starred in the television series ''Justice'' (1971–74). Early life Lockwood was born on 15 September 1916 in Karachi, British India, to Henry Francis Lockwood, an English administrator of a railway company, and his third wife, Scottish-born Margaret Eveline Waugh. She returned to England in 1920 with her mother, brother 'Lyn' and half-brother Frank, and a further half-sister 'Fay' joined them the following year, but her father remained in Karachi, visiting them infrequently. She also had another half-brother, John, from her father's first marriage, brought ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold French
Harold French (23 April 1897 – 19 October 1997) was an English film director, screenwriter and actor. Biography After training at the Italia Conti School, he made his acting debut age 12, in a production of ''The Winter's Tale''. As an actor, most of his roles occurred between 1912 and 1936, not gaining as much attention as later he would as a director. He worked as a screenwriter on three of the four films produced by Marcel Hellman's and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.'s production company ''Criterion Film Productions'' in the late 1930s, before switching to film direction in 1937, often with Marcel Hellman as producer. From 1940 to 1955, he had several box-office successes as director. This successful period was clouded by the 1941 death of his wife Phyllis in a Luftwaffe bombing raid. Although he did some TV work after 1955, he appears to have retired from directing and acting after 1963. He directed the hit West End play ''Out of Bounds'' starring Michael Redgrave in 1962 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joyce Carey
Joyce Carey, OBE (30 March 1898 – 28 February 1993) was an English actress, best known for her long professional and personal relationship with Noël Coward. Her stage career lasted from 1916 until 1987, and she was performing on television in her 90s. Although never a star, she was a familiar face both on stage and screen. In addition to light comedy, she had a large repertory of Shakespearean roles. Career Joyce Carey was born Joyce Lilian Lawrence, the daughter of actor Gerald Lawrence, a matinée idol who had been a juvenile in Henry Irving's Shakespeare company, and his wife, actress Lilian Braithwaite,''Gaye'', pp 426–427 a major West End star."Obituary", ''The Times'', 3 March 1993, p. 17 Carey was educated at the Florence Etlinger Dramatic School. Carey made her stage debut in 1916, aged 18, as Princess Katherine in an all-female production of ''Henry V''. She joined Sir George Alexander's company at the St James's Theatre playing Jacqueline, a French countess, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Todd
Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd (11 June 19193 December 2009) was an Irish-British actor known for his leading man roles of the 1950s. He received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, and an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor nomination for his performance as Corporal Lachlan MacLachlan in the 1949 film ''The Hasty Heart''. His other notable roles include Jonathan Cooper in ''Stage Fright'' (1950), Wing Commander Guy Gibson in '' The Dam Busters'' (1955), Sir Walter Raleigh in '' The Virgin Queen'' (1955), and Major John Howard in ''The Longest Day'' (1962). He was previously a Captain in the British Army during World War II, fighting in the D-Day landings as a member of the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion. Early life and career Richard Todd was born in Dublin. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe-Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for his cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ursula Howells
Ursula Howells (17 September 1922 – 16 October 2005) was an English actress whose elegant presence kept her much in demand for roles in film and television. Life and career Howells was born in London, the daughter of composer Herbert Howells, and was educated at St Paul's Girls' School, where her father worked as Director of Music. She made her first stage appearance at Dundee in 1939, in John Drinkwater's ''Bird in Hand'', then moved to Oxford in 1942 and three years later made her London debut at the Embassy Theatre, Swiss Cottage. In 1947, she appeared in the comedy ''Jane'' at the Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th .... After several years in the West End theatre, West End, and a brief stint on Broadway theatre, Broadway where she appeared in '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lally Bowers
Kathleen "Lally" Bowers (21 January 1914 – 18 July 1984) was an English actress. Bowers was born in Oldham, Lancashire, where she was educated at Hulme Grammar School. She worked as a secretary before walking-on and understudying at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. As a professional actress Bowers appeared in hundreds of stage productions, films and television programmes and rep at Manchester, Sheffield, Southport, Guildford, Liverpool, Birmingham and the Bristol Old Vic. Her London debut came in 1944 and her many West End theatre, West End successes included ''Dinner With the Family'' for which she won a Clarence Derwent award in 1957, ''Difference of Opinion'', ''The Killing of Sister George'' (also on Broadway theatre, Broadway), ''Dear Octopus'' and ''The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B''. She appeared in the sitcoms ''You're Only Young Twice'', ''Going Straight'', ''Hi-De-Hi'', ''My Name Is Harry Worth'' and ''A Fine Romance (1981 TV series) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Hulbert
John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, he was the elder and more successful son of Henry Harper Hulbert, a physician,Register of Marriages Solemnized at St Paul’s Church, Hampsteadp. 94(Marriage of J. N. Hulbert and Cecily Courtneidge on 14 February 1916, at ancestry.co.uk, accessed 7 May 2020 being the brother of the actor Claude Hulbert. He was educated at Westminster School and Caius College, Cambridge and appeared in many shows and revues, mainly with the Cambridge Footlights. He was one of the earliest famous alumni of the comedy club. After Cambridge, he earned recognition and fame performing in musicals and light comedies.D. Pepys-Whiteley‘Hulbert, John Norman (Jack) (1892–1978)’ rev., ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
