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Eric Thompson
Eric Norman Thompson (9 November 1929 – 30 November 1982) was an English actor, scriptwriter and stage director. He is best remembered for creating and performing the English narration for ''The Magic Roundabout'', which he adapted from the original French ''Le Manège enchanté''. Early life Eric Norman Thompson was born on 9 November 1929 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England, the son of Annie (née Jackson) and George Henry Thompson, a hotel waiter, and grew up in Rudgwick, Sussex, attending Collyer's School, Horsham. He trained to be an actor at the Old Vic acting school in London and joined the Old Vic theatre company in 1952. Career Thompson worked regularly for the BBC, and was a presenter of the children's television programme '' Play School'' from 1964 to 1967. He was best known as the narrator of ''The Magic Roundabout'', for which he also wrote the English language scripts, using the visuals from the original French ''Le Manège enchanté''. These were transmit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sleaford
Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington, Lincolnshire, Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the north and Old Sleaford to the east. The town is on the edge of the fertile The Fens, Fenlands, north-east of Grantham, west of Boston, Lincolnshire, Boston, and south of Lincoln, England, Lincoln. Its population of 17,671 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census made it the largest settlement in the North Kesteven district; it is the district's administrative centre. Bypassed by the A17 road (England), A17 and the A15 road (England), A15, it is linked to Lincoln, Newark-on-Trent, Newark, Peterborough, Grantham and King's Lynn. The first settlement formed in the Iron Age where a prehistoric track crossed the River Slea. It was a tribal centre and home to a mint for the Corieltauvi i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctor Finlay's Casebook
''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s. Cronin was the primary writer for the show between 1962 and 1964. Characters The main characters were Dr. Finlay, the junior partner in the practice, played by Bill Simpson, Dr. Cameron, the craggy senior partner, played by Andrew Cruickshank and Janet, their unflappable housekeeper and receptionist at Arden House, played by Barbara Mullen. Other recurrent characters included Dr. Snoddie, Finlay's crusty detractor and Janet's admirer, played by Eric Woodburn and gossipy Mistress Niven (the district nurse whose formal title was mistress midwife), played by Effie Morrison. Cast *Bill Simpson as Dr. Alan Finlay *Andrew Cruickshank as Dr. Angus Cameron *Barbara Mullen as Janet MacPhers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dougal And The Blue Cat
''Dougal and the Blue Cat'' (french: Pollux et le Chat Bleu) is a 1970 British-French animated film based on the stop motion children's television ''The Magic Roundabout'' directed by Serge Danot. It was released in France in December 1970 and its English version, narrated by Eric Thompson, like the original series, was released in 1972. Plot One morning in the magic garden, after a rude awakening from his cuckoo clock, Dougal the dog remembers a strange event that happened the night before. He then takes the train to speak to Zebedee about it (while briefly conversing with Ermintrude, Brian, Dylan, and Mr. MacHenry on the way). Dougal recounts how, after being awoken and greeted by a strange red owl, he had heard two voices coming from the old treacle factory that had been shut down. The second voice, a female, repeatedly says, "Blue is beautiful, blue is best. I'm blue, I'm beautiful, I'm best!" After the flashback, Zebedee suggests Dougal talk with Florence. At the roundabout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich (film)
''One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich'' ( no, En dag i Ivan Denisovitsj' liv) is a 1970 biographical film, biographical drama film based on the novel by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn with the One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, same name. Plot The film stars Tom Courtenay as the title character, a prisoner in the Soviet gulag system in the 1950s who endures a long prison sentence. It tells of a routine day in his life. Cast *Tom Courtenay as Ivan Denisovich Shukhov *Espen Skjønberg as Tiurin *Alf Malland as Fetiukov * as Senka *Jo Skønberg as Gopchik * as Eino *Torstein Rustdal as Vaino *James Maxwell (actor), James Maxwell as Captain *Alfred Burke as Alyosha *Eric Thompson as Tsetzar *John Cording as Pavlo *Matthew Guinness as Kilgas *Roy Bjørnstad *Paul Connell *Sverre Hansen (actor), Sverre Hansen *Wolfe Morris *Kjell Stormoen *Caspar Wrede Reception Roger Greenspun, in a respectful but unenthusiastic review for ''The New York Times'', spoke highly of the cinematography, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Jokers
''The Jokers'' is a 1967 British comedy film written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and directed by Michael Winner. The film stars Michael Crawford and Oliver Reed as brothers who hatch a plot to steal the Crown Jewels. Very much of its time – "Swinging London" – the film makes great use of London locations. Included was a short sequence of Jezebel, a 1916 Dennis N-Type fire engine that is still owned and run by the Royal College of Science Union at Imperial College London. Plot Michael Tremayne is booted out of Sandhurst. He and his brother David want to do something "big". They decide to commit a crime as a "grand gesture". The brothers take Inge, David's new inamorata, on a tour of London, including the Tower of London. At a dinner party they learn that you cannot be charged with theft unless you intend to permanently deprive the owner of their property. David proposes stealing the crown jewels and sending letters out beforehand, showing they aren't intending ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Barber Of Stamford Hill
''The Barber of Stamford Hill'' is a 1962 British drama film directed by Casper Wrede from a screenplay adapted by Ronald Harwood from his own 1960 television play of the same name, made at Shepperton Studios. Actor John Bennett (then aged thirty-four) plays Mr. Figg, a Jewish barber about to turn fifty, as he contemplates middle age and expresses regrets at never having started a family. Plot The film opens in Mr. Figg’s barbershop in Stamford Hill, in which he discusses his family life with his customers. Upon his arrival home, however, it is revealed that he is a bachelor and his stories of family life are inventions he concocts because he believes they are what his customers want to hear. In fact, he lives on his own in a flat in Stepney and on Friday nights lights the Shabbat candles before his mute friend Dober comes to visit and they spend the evening eating and playing chess. As he sits with Dober, Mr. Figg discusses his sadness at not having had a family and subseq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Potter
''Private Potter'' is a 1962 British drama film directed by Caspar Wrede and starring Tom Courtenay, Mogens Wieth, Ronald Fraser and James Maxwell. Plot During the Cyprus Emergency (1955-1959), the eponymous Private Potter is a soldier who claims that the reason he cried out leading to the death of a comrade was that he saw a vision of God. There is then a debate over whether he should be court-martialled. Cast * Tom Courtenay as Private Potter * Mogens Wieth as Yannis * Ronald Fraser as Doctor * James Maxwell as Lieutenant Colonel Harry Gunyon * Ralph Michael as Padre * Brewster Mason as Brigadier * Eric Thompson as Captain John Knowles * John Graham as Major Sims * Frank Finlay as Captain Patterson * Harry Landis as Lance Corporal Lamb * Michael Coles as Private Robertson * Jeremy Geidt as Major Reid * Fulton Mackay as Soldier Production The screenplay was written by Ronald Harwood for a television play that was broadcast on ITV in 1961 featuring some of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucky Jim (1957 Film)
''Lucky Jim'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by John Boulting and starring Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas and Hugh Griffith. It is an adaptation of the 1954 novel ''Lucky Jim'' by Kingsley Amis. Plot Jim Dixon is a young lecturer in history at a redbrick university, who manages to offend his head of department and create various disastrous incidents. When he eventually delivers a lecture drunk, he feels forced to resign. But just as his career seems over, he is offered a job in London, and when he learns that the girl of his dreams is on her way to the railway station, he chases after her in the professor's old car. The professor's whole family chases after, and arrives at the station just in time to see Jim and the girl disappear on the train to London. Main cast * Ian Carmichael - James "Jim" Dixon * Terry-Thomas - Bertrand Welch * Hugh Griffith - Professor Welch * Sharon Acker - Christine Callaghan * Jean Anderson - Mrs Welch * Maureen Connell - Margaret Peel * Clive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pool Of London (film)
''Pool of London'' is a 1951 British noir crime film directed by Basil Dearden. It stars Bonar Colleano, Earl Cameron and Susan Shaw. Plot The character-driven story of ''Pool of London'' centres around the crew of the merchant ship ''Dunbar'', which docks in the Pool of London. The crew members are given shore leave, with some practising petty smuggling and other various dodges. Set in post-war London, the film is of note for portraying the first interracial relationship in a British film. Black crew member Johnny (Earl Cameron), an all-round nice guy, meets a pretty blonde, Pat (Susan Shaw), who offers to show him the sights of London. In a visually-rich montage, they visit the National Maritime Museum and the Greenwich Observatory. Also shown briefly are views from the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, and some of the bombed areas around the cathedral before the rebuilding of Paternoster Square. Another seaman, Dan (Bonar Colleano), inadvertently becomes involved with a jewel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heart Attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may travel into the shoulder, arm, back, neck or jaw. Often it occurs in the center or left side of the chest and lasts for more than a few minutes. The discomfort may occasionally feel like heartburn. Other symptoms may include shortness of breath, nausea, feeling faint, a cold sweat or feeling tired. About 30% of people have atypical symptoms. Women more often present without chest pain and instead have neck pain, arm pain or feel tired. Among those over 75 years old, about 5% have had an MI with little or no history of symptoms. An MI may cause heart failure, an irregular heartbeat, cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest. Most MIs occur due to coronary artery disease. Risk factors include high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, lack of e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Fat Friend
''My Fat Friend'' is a play by Charles Laurence. Plot The comedy is an ugly duckling tale about an overweight young woman who attracts the attention of a potential suitor. With the help of her friends/roommates, she undergoes a diet and exercise regime to shed the extra pounds she assumes she needs to lose in order to hold the man's attention. Performances The play premiered on 6 November 1972 at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, where it ran for one week before transferring to the Rex Theatre in Wilmslow for another week's engagement. On 6 December it opened in London's West End at the Globe Theatre, where it enjoyed a modest run despite lukewarm reviews. The cast, directed by Eric Thompson, included Jennie Linden and Kenneth Williams. After seven previews, the Broadway production, directed by Robert Moore, opened on 31 March 1974 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where it ran for 288 performances. The cast included Lynn Redgrave, John Lithgow, and George Rose, who was nominated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films, and appeared in many British television programmes and radio comedies, including series with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne, as well as being a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's comedy panel show ''Just a Minute'' from its second series in 1968 until his death 20 years later. Williams grew up in Central London in a working-class family; he claimed his father spoke cockney. He served in the Royal Engineers during World War II, where he first became interested in becoming an entertainer. After a short spell in repertory theatre as a serious actor, he turned to comedy and achieved national fame in ''Hancock's Half Hour''. He sustained continued success throughout the 1960s and 1970s with his regular app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
