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Don't Say Die
''Don't Say Die'' is a 1950 British comedy film directed by Vivian Milroy and starring Charles Heslop, Sandra Dorne and Constance Smith.Quinlan p.168 It is also known by the alternative title of ''Never Say Die''. Cast * Charles Heslop as Charles Choosey * Sandra Dorne as Sandra * Desmond Walter-Ellis as The Hon. Bertie Blarney * Constance Smith as Red Biddy * Tony Quinn as Mike Murphy * Stanley Rose as Gus * Derek Tansley as Potts * Thomas Gallagher as Gorilla * Raymond Rollett as Ticket Inspector * Michael Raghan as Station Master * Kenneth Connor Kenneth Connor, (6 June 1918 – 28 November 1993) was a British stage, film and broadcasting actor, who rose to national prominence with his appearances in the ''Carry On'' films. Early life Connor was born in Highbury, Islington, London ... as Pat O'Neill * Harry Lane as McClusky * Denis McCarthy as O'Toole References Bibliography * David Quinlan. ''Quinlan's Illustrated Directory of Film Comedy S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Heslop
Charles Heslop (8 June 1883 in Thames Ditton, England – 13 April 1966) was a British actor. His stage successes include a musical version of '' Tons of Money'', which toured Australia for Hugh J. Ward in 1924, co-starring Dot Brunton. He starred in the BBC television comedy Percy Ponsonby as a talkative barber. The series was broadcast in 1939, and was cancelled with the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1954 he appeared in William Douglas Home's ''The Manor of Northstead'' in the West End. In 1960 he appeared in the comedy thriller play ''Settled Out of Court''. Two years later he featured at Wyndham's Theatre in Arthur Watkyn's '' Out of Bounds''. Filmography * ''Hobson's Choice'' (1920) * '' This Is the Life'' (1933) * '' Waltzes from Vienna'' (1934) * ''Charing Cross Road'' (1935) * '' Crackerjack'' (1938) * '' The Lambeth Walk'' (1939) * '' Percy Ponsonby'' (1939) * '' Flying Fortress'' (1942) * ''The Peterville Diamond'' (1943) * '' The Second Mate'' (1950) * ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandra Dorne
Sandra Dorne (born Joan Smith; 19 June 1924 – 25 December 1992) was a British actress. Career Also known as Sandra Holt, Dorne was often known in the 1950s as the B-film Diana Dors. As a platinum blonde, she was a regular female lead in B-films in the late 1940s and early 1950s. She trained at the Rank Organisation's "charm school". Film roles dried up as she grew older, but she still found work and acted mainly in British television, appearing in such series as ''Z-Cars'', '' The Avengers'' and ''The Third Man''. Personal life Married to the actor Patrick Holt from 1954 until her death, Dorne died on Christmas Day 1992 at Paddington Community Hospital, Westminster, London. The cause of death was kidney cancer. Partial filmography * ''Eyes That Kill'' (1947) – Joan * ''Saraband for Dead Lovers'' (1948) – (uncredited) * '' A Piece of Cake'' (1948) – Minor Role (uncredited) * ''Once a Jolly Swagman'' (1949) – Kay Fox * ''All Over the Town'' (1949) – Marlene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constance Smith
Constance Smith (7 February 1929 – 30 June 2003) was an Irish film actress, and contract player of 20th Century Fox in the 1950s. Early life Smith was born into a family as the first of 11 children.''The Oakland Tribune'', 18 March 1962, Oakland, California. p.25: ''Do You Remember Constance Smith?'' Her father was an infantryman, working for the Irish Army, and he died when Constance was a child. Her mother was not able to support all her children and Constance was sent to a convent. When Smith won a Dublin beauty contest at age 16 to find the girl who looked most like Hedy Lamarr, Smith's mother sent the photo to a film studio. As a result, Smith won a screen test, and although reluctant to seize the opportunity, she was pushed into the film industry by her mother, according to the actress. Career Smith moved to London, where she briefly joined the Rank Organisation. Studio executives were unamused by Smith's attitude, and she was eventually sacked before she made her break ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Wilson (cinematographer)
James Wilson was a British cinematographer. The film historians Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane describe his work for the B movie production company The Danzigers in the 1950s as one of the company's "strongest assets", especially in his ability to create a sense of "unillusioned grimness".Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, ''The British 'B' Film'', Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, p. 95. Selected filmography * '' One of the Best'' (1927) * '' Balaclava'' (1928) * ''A South Sea Bubble'' (1928) * ''The Man from Chicago'' (1930) * '' Symphony in Two Flats'' (1930) * '' Keepers of Youth'' (1931) * ''Potiphar's Wife'' (1931) * '' The Flying Fool'' (1931) * '' Lord Camber's Ladies'' (1932) * ''The Indiscretions of Eve'' (1932) * ''Maid Happy'' (1933) * '' Radio Parade'' (1933) * '' What Happened Then?'' (1934) * ''The Scotland Yard Mystery'' (1934) * '' The Secret of the Loch'' (1934) * ''Play Up the Band'' (1935) * ''Death Drives Through'' (1935) * ''The Crouching Beast'' (1935) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Independent Film Distributors
Sir John Woolf (15 March 1913, London – 28 June 1999, London) and his brother James Woolf (2 March 1920, London – 30 May 1966, Beverly Hills, California) were British film producers. John and James founded the production companies Romulus Films and Remus Films, which were active during the 1950s and 1960s,Tom Vallanc"Obituary: Sir John Woolf" ''The Independent'', 1 July 1999 and the distribution company Independent Film Distributors (known as IFD), which was active 1950–59 and handled the UK distribution of films such as '' The African Queen'' and '' Gift Horse'', as well as several films made by their two production companies (such as '' Room at the Top''). Biography John and James Woolf were the sons of the British producer C. M. Woolf (1879–1942), who was co-producer with Michael Balcon of two early Alfred Hitchcock films, ''Downhill'' (1927) and '' Easy Virtue'' (1928). Woolf senior was a major figure at Gaumont British and established General Film Distributors in 1937 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8th and 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the oldest genres in film and it is derived from the classical comedy in theatre. Some of the earliest silent films were comedies, as slapstick comedy often relies on visual depictions, without requiring sound. When sound films became more prevalent during the 1930s, comedy films took another swing, as laughter could result from burlesque situations but also dialogue. Comedy, compared with other film genres, puts much more focus on individual stars, with many former stand-up comics transitioning to the film industry due to their popularity. In '' The Screenwriters Taxonomy'' (2017), Eric R. Williams contends that film genres are fundamentally based upon a film's atmosphere, character, and story. Therefore the labels "drama" and "comedy" are t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alternative Title
An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the title, such as the addition of ''The'', to wholesale changes. Film titles are also often changed when they are released on DVD or VHS. Reasons The reasons for this are varied, but usually point towards marketable, linguistic or cultural differences. Some titles may not be easily understood in other parts of the world, and may even be considered offensive. Most title changes are commercial. An example is Italian director's Sergio Leone's 1971 film ''Duck, You Sucker!'', initially released with this title as he was convinced it was a well-known English saying. When the film performed poorly, it was subsequently rebranded as '' A Fistful of Dynamite'', similar in name to his 1964 film ''A Fistful of Dollars'', part of the successful Dollar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desmond Walter-Ellis
Desmond Walter-Ellis (16 September 1914 – 16 September 1994) was an English actor. He was active in a range of genres, from classic drama to cabaret, revue and musicals. He played a major part in the development of BBC Television when it restarted after the Second World War. Life and career Walter-Ellis was born in London on 16 September 1914, the son of Valentine Walter-Ellis and his wife Eileen Ellis, ''née'' Kerin. He trained for the stage at the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells and made his first professional appearance in December 1932. He then acted at the Old Vic, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, and Sadler's Wells, mostly in the classics. After repertory work, he served in the armed forces during the Second World War. In the immediate post-war years, Walter-Ellis worked mainly in the fledgling television service. In 1950 a magazine dubbed him "the first actor television star", with "seventy different performances to his credit … romped to favour in television versions of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Connor
Kenneth Connor, (6 June 1918 – 28 November 1993) was a British stage, film and broadcasting actor, who rose to national prominence with his appearances in the ''Carry On'' films. Early life Connor was born in Highbury, Islington, London, the son of a naval petty officer who organised concert parties. He first appeared on the stage at the age of two as an organ-grinder's monkey in one of his father's shows, in Portsmouth. By the age of 11 he had his own act. He attended the Central School of Speech and Drama, where he was a Gold Medal winner. Connor made his professional debut in J. M. Barrie's ''The Boy David'', at His Majesty's Theatre, London, in December 1936. During the Second World War he served as an infantry gunner with the Middlesex Regiment, but continued acting by touring Italy and the Middle East with the Stars in Battledress concert party and ENSA. Earlier in the war, in 1941, he was apparently performing as a comedic entertainer in a concert party named the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1950 Films
The year 1950 in film involved some significant events. __TOC__ Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1950 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 13 – Three weeks after its world premiere at the Paramount and Rivoli theatres in New York City, Cecil B. DeMille's ''Samson and Delilah'' opens in Los Angeles. The film is a massive commercial success and wins the awards for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design at the 23rd Academy Awards. * February 15 – Walt Disney Studios' animated film ''Cinderella'' debuts. The film is the most successful the studio has made since ''Dumbo'', and saves the studio from four million dollars in debt. * July 19 – Walt Disney Studios' first completely live-action film ''Treasure Island'' debuts. Awards Top ten money making stars Notable films released in 1950 US unless stated # *'' 47 morto che parla'', starring Totò – (Italy) *''711 Ocean Drive'', starring Edmond O'Brien and J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Comedy Films
British comedy films are comedy films produced in the United Kingdom. In the early 1930s, film adaptations of stage farces were popular. British comedy films are numerous, but among the most notable are the Ealing comedies, the 1950s work of the Boulting Brothers, and innumerable popular comedy series including the St Trinian's films, the ''Doctor'' series, and the long-running Carry On films. Some of the best known British film comedy stars include Will Hay, George Formby, Norman Wisdom, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers and the Monty Python team. Other actors associated with British comedy films include Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Margaret Rutherford, Irene Handl and Leslie Phillips. Most British comedy films of the early 1970s were spin-offs of television series. Recent successful films include the working-class comedies ''Brassed Off'' (1996) and ''The Full Monty'' (1997), the more middle class Richard Curtis-scripted films ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994) and ''Nottin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
