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Double Harness
''Double Harness'' (1933) is an American pre-Code film starring Ann Harding and William Powell. It was based on the play of the same name by Edward Poor Montgomery. A young woman maneuvers a lazy playboy into marrying her. This was one of several films, all produced by Merian C. Cooper at RKO, that were out of distribution for more than 50 years as a result of a legal settlement that gave Cooper complete ownership of the films. Turner Classic Movies eventually acquired the rights to the films. Plot When spoiled younger sister Valerie Colby (Lucile Browne) becomes engaged to be married to Dennis Moore (George Meeker), a more level-headed Joan (Ann Harding) decides to do the same, not because she is in love, but in order to make something of herself. She chooses unambitious, wealthy playboy John Fletcher (William Powell), who owns a struggling shipping line. She eventually spends the night in his apartment. To Joan's annoyance, she finds herself falling in love with him. When he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Cromwell (director)
John Cromwell (born Elwood Dager; December 23, 1886 – September 26, 1979) was an American film and stage director and actor. His films spanned the early days of sound to '' film noir'' in the early 1950s, by which time his directing career was almost terminated by the Hollywood blacklist. Early life and education Born as Elwood Dager in Toledo, Ohio to an affluent Scottish-English family, executives in the steel and iron industry, Cromwell graduated from private high school at Howe Military Academy in 1905, but never pursued higher education. Early acting career, 1905–1912 Upon leaving school, Cromwell immediately began his stage career touring with stock companies in Chicago, then made his way to New York City in his early 20s. Billed as Elwood Dager in his youth, he changed his name to John Cromwell at the age of 26 following a 1912 New York stage appearance. Cromwell made his Broadway debut in the role of John Brooke in '' Little Women'' (1912) an adaptation of Louis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lilian Bond
Lilian Bond (January 18, 1908 – January 25, 1991) was an English-American actress based in the United States. Life and career Bond was born in London and made her first professional stage appearance at the age of 14 in the pantomime ''Dick Whittington and His Cat''. Later she joined the chorus of ''Piccadilly Revels'' and continued on the stage when she relocated to the United States, where her performances included roles in ''The Earl Carroll Vanities'' and in various productions of the Ziegfeld Follies. Bond began working in films in 1929, initially in the drama ''No More Children'' for Cliff Broughton Productions. Between 1929 and 1931, she co-starred in eight additional films, most notably with Tom Tyler in the 1931 Western ''Rider of the Plains''. In 1932, she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star, along with Gloria Stuart, Ginger Rogers, and other young actresses rising in popularity with theater audiences. From 1932 to 1953, she had roles in 39 more films, ranging from l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Osborne
Robert Jolin Osborne (; May 3, 1932 – March 6, 2017) was an American film historian, television presenter, author, actor and the primary host for more than 20 years of the cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Prior to hosting at TCM, Osborne had been a host on The Movie Channel, and earlier, a columnist for ''The Hollywood Reporter''. Osborne wrote the official history of the Academy Awards, originally published in 1988. Early life Osborne was born on May 3, 1932, in Colfax, Washington, where he was reared. His parents were Robert Eugene Osborne, a public school teacher, and Hazel Ida (''née'' Jolin). Osborne graduated from the University of Washington School of Journalism in 1954. After graduation, Osborne served two years in the U.S. Air Force, and was stationed in Seattle where he acted in local theater in his spare time. At the suggestion of Oscar-winning actress Jane Darwell, with whom he appeared in a play, he headed to Hollywood after completing his military ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Library Of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains a conservation center in Culpeper, Virginia. The library's functions are overseen by the Librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its "collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages." Congress moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800 after holding sessions for eleven years in the temporary national capitals in New York City and Philadelphia. In both cities, members of the U.S. Congress had access to the sizable collection ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Man To Remember
''A Man to Remember'' is a 1938 American drama film directed by Garson Kanin, his first film credit as a director. The picture was based on the short story ''Failure'', written by Katharine Haviland-Taylor, and the screenplay was penned by Dalton Trumbo. The story tells of a saintly small-town doctor working under difficult circumstances somewhere in the United States after World War I. The movie is a remake of ''One Man's Journey'' (1933) starring Lionel Barrymore. Plot Under the grieving eyes of most of a town, the funeral procession of Doctor John Abbott ( Edward Ellis) passes a lawyer's office. The lawyer opens Abbott's strongbox for the deceased man's impatient creditors, local banker George Sykes (Granville Bates), newspaper editor Jode Harkness ( Frank M. Thomas) and store owner Homer Ramsey (Harlan Briggs). Flashbacks begin as they peruse Dr. Abbott's papers. Widowed, Dr. Abbott arrives in Westport with his son Dick (Lee Bowman) after World War I. He borrows money in o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Living On Love
''Living on Love'' (1937) is an American romantic comedy film released by RKO Radio Pictures. Directed by Lew Landers, it stars James Dunn, Whitney Bourne, and Joan Woodbury. The film is a remake of the RKO film ''Rafter Romance'' (1933). It is one of the "lost RKO films" owned by Merian C. Cooper and only re-released in April 2007 when Turner Classic Movies acquired the rights and aired all six films on its channel. Plot Gary Martin is a struggling artist living in the Venus de Milo Arms, a shabby apartment building in Greenwich Village. Another tenant, Mary Wilson, is also having trouble keeping up with her rent. The two do not know one another, but building manager Eli West arranges for them to live in the same basement apartment, him by day and her by night, at a reduced rate so he can re-rent Mary's apartment to the paying Ghonoff brothers, a Russian acrobatic team. Though they never see one another, Gary and Mary find plenty of traces of one another in the room, and begin l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931), and remains best known to modern audiences for the role of villainous Mr. Potter in Frank Capra's 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life''. He is also particularly remembered as Ebenezer Scrooge in annual broadcasts of ''A Christmas Carol'' during his last two decades. He is also known for playing Dr. Leonard Gillespie in MGM's nine Dr. Kildare films, a role he reprised in a further six films focusing solely on Gillespie and in a radio series titled ''The Story of Dr. Kildare''. He was a member of the theatrical Barrymore family. Early life Lionel Barrymore was born Lionel Herbert Blythe in Philadelphia, the son of actors Georgiana Drew Barrymore and Maurice Barrymore (born Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blythe). He was the elder brother of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One Man's Journey
''One Man's Journey'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film starring Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Eli Watt. The picture was based on the short story ''Failure'' written by Katharine Haviland-Taylor. It was remade by RKO as ''A Man to Remember'' (1938). The story tells of a small-town doctor working under difficult circumstances in a rural area somewhere in the United States. Plot Cast Reception The film was popular at the box office.Churchill, Douglas W"The Year in Hollywood: 1934 May Be Remembered as the Beginning of the Sweetness-and-Light Era ''New York Times'' ew York, NY December 30, 1934: p. X5; retrieved December 16, 2013. Preservation status In April 2007, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) premiered six films produced by Merian C. Cooper at RKO which had been out of distribution for more than 50 years. (A retired RKO executive stated in an interview used as a promo on TCM for the premiere that Cooper did allow the films to be shown in 1955–1956 in a limited re-release and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Young (actor)
Robert George Young (February 22, 1907 – July 21, 1998) was an American film, television and radio actor best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father character, in ''Father Knows Best'' (CBS, then NBC, then CBS again) and the physician Marcus Welby in ''Marcus Welby, M.D.'' (ABC). Early life Born in Chicago, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father, Thomas E. Young, and an American mother, Margaret Fyfe. While Young was a child, the family moved to various locations within the U.S., including Seattle as well as Los Angeles, where Young was a student at Abraham Lincoln High School. After graduation, he studied and performed at the Pasadena Playhouse while working odd jobs and appearing in bit parts in silent films. While touring with a stock company producing "The Ship", Young was discovered by a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer talent scout who signed the fledgling actor to a contract. Young made his sound-film debut for Fox Film Corporation in the 1931 Charlie Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Right To Romance
''The Right to Romance'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film starring Ann Harding and Robert Young and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Premise Ann Harding plays a successful plastic surgeon who meets a local playboy, played by Robert Young, and impulsively marries him. Cast Preservation status This is one of the "lost RKO films" owned by Merian C. Cooper and only re-released in April 2007 when Turner Classic Movies acquired the rights and showed all six films on TCM. Cooper accused RKO of not paying him all the money contractually due for the films he produced in the 1930s. A settlement was reached in 1946, giving Cooper complete ownership of six RKO titles: *''Rafter Romance'' (1933) with Ginger Rogers *''Double Harness'' (1933) with Ann Harding and William Powell *''The Right to Romance'' (1933) *''One Man's Journey'' (1933) with Lionel Barrymore *''Living on Love'' (1937) *''A Man to Remember'' (1938) According to an interview with a retired RKO executive, shown as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in Kitty Foyle (film), ''Kitty Foyle'' (1940), and performed during the 1930s in RKO Pictures, RKO's musical films with Fred Astaire. Her career continued on stage, radio and television throughout much of the 20th century. Rogers was born in Independence, Missouri, and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City. She and her family moved to Fort Worth, Texas, when she was nine years old. In 1925, she won a Charleston dance contest that helped her launch a successful vaudeville career. After that, she gained recognition as a Broadway theatre, Broadway actress for her stage debut in ''Girl Crazy''. This led to a contract with Paramount Pictures, which ended after five films. Rogers had her first successful film roles as a supporting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rafter Romance
''Rafter Romance'' is an American 1933 pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film, which was based on the 1932 novel of the same name by John Wells, stars Ginger Rogers, Norman Foster and George Sidney, and features Robert Benchley, Laura Hope Crews and Guinn Williams. Plot Mary Carroll (Ginger Rogers) is a young woman from upstate who came to New York City to find a job and a career, but whose money has almost run out. Both she and Jack Bacon (Norman Foster), an aspiring artist who lives in the same Greenwich Village building, are behind on their rent and their landlord, Max Eckbaum (George Sidney), a good-natured soul who nevertheless has expenses to meet, comes up with a solution: Move Mary into Jack's loft and have them share the apartment on a shift basis. They would never see each other or know who the other is, since Jack is out all night and sleeps during the day, and Mary is taking a job selling refrigerators ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
