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Don't Ever Leave Me
''Don't Ever Leave Me'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Petula Clark, Jimmy Hanley, Hugh Sinclair, Edward Rigby, and Anthony Newley. Produced by Betty Box during her stint at Gainsborough Pictures, it was written by Robert Westerby. Plot The plot, a variation on '' The Ransom of Red Chief'', revolves around Sheila Farlaine (Clark), the teenaged daughter of Shakespearean tragedian Michael Farlaine (Sinclair), who is kidnapped by elderly crook Harry Denton (Rigby) when it's suggested he no longer has what it takes to be a master criminal. When Harry starts having second thoughts about the caper, Sheila - tired of playing second fiddle to her egotistical father's career - becomes the mastermind of the plot and resists every effort made by Harry's grandson Jack (Hanley) to return her home before things get serious. However, in this strange scenario Sheila wants to be kidnapped, as it gives her the opportunity to act grown up and she thinks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Crabtree
Arthur Crabtree (29 October 1900 in Shipley, Yorkshire, England – 15 March 1975 in Worthing, Sussex, England) was a British cinematographer and film director. He directed films with comedians such as Will Hay, the Crazy Gang and Arthur Askey and several of the Gainsborough Melodramas. Cinematographer Crabtree earliest credits as a cinematographer were for British International Pictures. He shot '' Out of the Blue'' (1931) with Jessie Matthews; '' Verdict of the Sea'' (1932); and '' The Maid of the Mountains'' (1932). Crabtree did some films for Michael Powell, '' Lazybones'' (1935) and '' The Love Test'' (1935). He was a camera operator on '' First a Girl''. Gainsborough Pictures Crabtree joined Gainsborough Pictures. He worked on ''The First Offence'' (1936) with John Mills; '' Pot Luck'' (1936) with Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn; '' Everybody Dance'' (1936) with Cicely Courtneidge; and '' All In'' (1936) with Lynn for director Marcel Varnel. He went on to ''Good Morning, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tragedian
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsis, or a "pain hatawakens pleasure", for the audience. While many cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, the term ''tragedy'' often refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western civilization. That tradition has been multiple and discontinuous, yet the term has often been used to invoke a powerful effect of cultural identity and historical continuity—"the Greeks and the Elizabethans, in one cultural form; Hellenes and Christians, in a common activity," as Raymond Williams puts it. From its origins in the theatre of ancient Greece 2500 years ago, from which there survives only a fractio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyril Chamberlain
Cyril Chamberlain (8 March 1909 – 5 December 1974) was an English film and television actor. He appeared in a number of the early '' Carry On'', ''Doctor'' and '' St. Trinian's'' films. Chamberlain was born on 8 March 1909 in London and died in Builth Wells in Wales on 5 December 1974 aged 65. He spent his final five years in retirement restoring antique furniture. He was married to actress Lisa Lee and they had one child. He appeared in 139 films between 1938 and 1966. His first film appearance was in the 1939 Will Hay comedy film '' Ask a Policeman''; his role was uncredited. His film roles were often quite small. However, he did have notable parts, with third and fourth billing respectively, as the main villain in both the crime drama '' The Embezzler'' (1954) and the crime thriller '' Tiger by the Tail'' (1954). Partial filmography *'' Crackerjack'' (1938) as Bit Role (uncredited) *'' Stolen Life'' (1939) (uncredited) *''Dead Men are Dangerous'' (1939) as George F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dandy Nichols
Dandy Nichols (born Daisy Sander; 21 May 1907 – 6 February 1986) was an English actress best known for her role as Else Garnett, the long-suffering wife of the character Alf Garnett who was a parody of a working class Tory, in the BBC sitcom '' Till Death Us Do Part''. Early life and career Born Daisy Sander in Fulham, London, she started her working life as a secretary in a London factory. Twelve years later, after drama, diction and fencing classes, she was spotted in a charity show by a producer, who offered her a job in his repertory theatre company in Cambridge. During her early career on stage she acted under the name Barbara Nichols but later changed it to Dandy, her childhood nickname. When the Second World War broke out, she returned to office work but later undertook a six-week tour with ENSA. When the war was over, she returned to the theatre and also began appearing in films: usually comedies and almost invariably as a maid or charlady. The latter role she ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Hayter (actor)
Henry James Hayter (23 April 1907 – 27 March 1983) was a British actor of television and film. He is best remembered for his roles as Friar Tuck in the film '' The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men'' (1952) and as Samuel Pickwick in the film ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1952), the latter earning him a BAFTA Award for Best British Actor nomination. Early life He was born in Lonavala, India, and brought up in Scotland, attending Dollar Academy. He made his West End debut in the 1936 comedy '' The Composite Man'' at Daly's Theatre. His best remembered film roles include Friar Tuck in the 1952 film '' The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men'' (he reprised the same role in the 1967 film '' A Challenge for Robin Hood'') and Samuel Pickwick in ''The Pickwick Papers'' of the same year. His rotund appearance and fruity voice made him a natural choice for such roles. Acting career A pupil of Dollar Academy, he became a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His film ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Balfour (actor)
Michael Creighton Balfour (11 February 1918 – 24 October 1997) was an English actor, working mainly in British films and TV, following his TV debut in the BBC's ''The Marvellous History of St Bernard'', in 1938. He was a recognisable face, often in small character parts and supporting roles, in nearly two hundred films and TV shows, from the 1940s to the 1990s, often playing comical heavies or otherwise shady characters notable for their "loud" clothes, sometimes convincingly cast as an American. He worked for a roll call of film directors, including Tony Richardson, Pete Walker, Billy Wilder, Lewis Gilbert, Roman Polanski, Leslie Norman, Tim Burton, John Frankenheimer, François Truffaut, John Gilling, Stanley Donen, Ken Annakin, Cavalcanti, Lance Comfort, Terence Young, Gerald Thomas, Pasolini, John Paddy Carstairs, Terence Fisher, Val Guest, Frank Launder, John Huston, Basil Dearden and Howard Hawks. Balfour had parts in many popular TV shows of the era including '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Steel (actor)
Anthony Maitland Steel (21 May 1920 – 21 March 2001) was a British actor and singer who appeared in British war films of the 1950s such as ''The Wooden Horse'' (1950) and ''Where No Vultures Fly''. He was also known for his tumultuous marriage to Anita Ekberg. He was described as "a glorious throwback to the Golden Age of Empire... the perfect imperial actor, born out of his time, blue-eyed, square-jawed, clean-cut." As another writer put it, "whenever a chunky dependable hero was required to portray grace under pressure in wartime or the concerns of a game warden in a remote corner of the empire, Steel was sure to be called upon." Another said "Never as popular as Stewart Granger or as versatile as Kenneth More, he enjoyed a brief period of fashionability embodying the kind of idealised, true-blue Englishman who probably rowed for his university, played cricket on the village green and exuded calm under pressure as he bravely fought for king and country." Early life and care ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russell Waters
Russell Waters (born 10 June 1908, Glasgow, Lanarkshire – died 19 August 1982, Richmond, Surrey) was a Scottish film actor. Waters was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow and the University of Glasgow. He began acting with the Old English Comedy and Shakespeare Company then appeared in repertory theatre, at the Old Vic and in the West End. On screen Waters generally found himself playing mild mannered characters. Waters played the leading man in Richard Massingham's amusing instructional short subjects, among them ''Tell Me If It Hurts'' (1936), ''And So Work'' (1937), ''The Daily Round'' (1947) and ''What a Life!'' (1948). In feature films, Waters played secondary roles such as Craggs in '' The Blue Lagoon'' (1949), Mr. West in '' The Happiest Days of Your Life'', Palmer in '' Chance of a Lifetime'' and "Wings" Cameron in '' The Wooden Horse'' (all three in 1950). In later years, Waters was briefly seen as the Harbour master in ''The Wicker Man'' (1973), and hi ... [...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) – Marle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Piper
Frederick Piper (23 September 1902 – 22 September 1979) was an English actor of stage and screen who appeared in over 80 films and many television productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Piper studied drama under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Never a leading player, Piper was usually cast in minor, sometimes uncredited, parts although he also appeared in some more substantial supporting roles. Piper never aspired to star-status, but became a recognisable face on the British screen through the sheer volume of films in which he appeared. His credits include a number of films which are considered classics of British cinema, among them five 1930s Alfred Hitchcock films; he also appeared in many Ealing Studios productions, including some of the celebrated Ealing comedies. Stage career Born in London, England in September 1902, Piper worked as a tea merchant before starting his acting career on the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice Denham
William Maurice Denham OBE (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career. Family Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in Beckenham, Kent, the son of Eleanor Winifred (née Lillico) and Norman Denham. He was the third child of four: Norman Keith (1907), Winifred Joan (1908), and Charles (1915). He was educated at Tonbridge School and trained as a lift engineer. Like fellow actor James Robertson Justice, he played amateur rugby for Beckenham RFC. In 1936, he married Elizabeth Dunn, with whom he had two sons and a daughter: Christopher (born 1939), Timothy (born 1946) and Virginia (born 1948). Elizabeth died in 1971. He was awarded the OBE in 1992. He died on 24 July 2002, aged 92 at Denville Hall in North London. Career Denham eventually became an actor in 1934, and appeared in live television broadcasts as early as 1938, continuing to perform in that medium until 1997. Denha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brenda Bruce
Brenda Bruce OBE (7 July 1919Some sources cite 17 July 1919. – 19 February 1996) was an English actress. She was focused on the theatre, radio, film and television. Career Bruce was born in Prestwich, Lancashire in 1919, and started her acting career as a teenager on stage as a chorus girl. She appeared with the Birmingham Repertory Company (1936–39) and was a long-time actress with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). She was the RSC's resident Mistress Page in ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'', playing the role in 1964, 1968, 1975 and 1995. She appeared as Irma in the RSC's production of Jean Genet's '' The Balcony'' in 1971. In the 1950s she appeared on television in many dramas, and in a chat show ''Rich and Rich'' with her husband. She starred as Winnie in the 1962 British premiere of Samuel Beckett's ''Happy Days'', and in 1977 as Lucilla Edith Cavell Teatime in ''Murder Most English''. Bruce played Aunt Dahlia in the 1990s production of ''Jeeves and Wooster'' with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
