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Everley Gregg
Everley Gregg (26 October 1903, in Bishopstoke, Hampshire – 9 June 1959, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire) was an English actress. Early in her career, she became associated especially with plays of Noël Coward. She began making films in the 1930s and added television roles in her last decade; she acted until her last year. Life and career Gregg was the daughter of Richard Russell Gregg and his wife Gertrude Everley, ''née'' Pope. She was educated at Badminton School, Bristol, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Parker, pp. 710–711 She made her professional stage debut as the maid in Noël Coward's '' Easy Virtue'' at the Duke of York's Theatre, London. Engagements in minor parts followed in ''The Constant Nymph,'' tours in ''Easy Virtue'' and ''Hit the Deck,'' and a repertory season at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham. In the West End in 1929, she succeeded Phyllis Konstam as Val Power in ''The Matriarch''. Her association with the plays of Coward was renewed at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dangerous Corner
''Dangerous Corner'' was the first play by the English writer J. B. Priestley. It was premiered in May 1932 by Tyrone Guthrie at the Lyric Theatre, London, and filmed in 1934 by Phil Rosen. Priestley had recently collaborated with Edward Knoblock on ''The Good Companions'' and now wished "to prove that a man might produce long novels and yet be able to write effectively, using the strictest economy, for the stage." While it was praised highly by James Agate, ''Dangerous Corner'' received extremely poor reviews and after three days he was told that the play would be taken off, a fate that he averted by buying out the syndicate. It then ran for six months. Priestley's action was further vindicated by the worldwide success the play was to enjoy, although he soon lowered his estimate of this work and as early as 1938 remarked "It is pretty thin stuff when all is said and done." Plot introduction Robert and Freda Caplan are entertaining guests at their country retreat. A chance re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thunder In The City
''Thunder in the City'' is a 1937 British drama film directed by Marion Gering and starring Edward G. Robinson, Luli Deste, Nigel Bruce and Ralph Richardson. Plot An American salesman with radically successful methods visits England ostensibly to learn a more dignified manner of salesmanship. He is mistaken for a millionaire by a cash-poor family of noble ancestry with a stately home to sell which he can't afford to buy. But by working with them instead he finds romance and equal success in business with his old marketing techniques. Cast * Edward G. Robinson as Daniel "Dan" Armstrong *Luli Deste as Lady Patricia "Pat" Graham *Nigel Bruce as Duke of Glenavon *Constance Collier as Duchess of Glenavon *Ralph Richardson as Henry V. Manningdale *Arthur Wontner as Sir Peter "Pete" Challoner *Nancy Burne as Edna, the Singer *Annie Esmond as Lady Challoner *Cyril Raymond as James *Elizabeth Inglis as Dolly *James Carew as Mr. Snyderling *Everley Gregg as Millie, Dan's Secretary in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Ghost Goes West
''The Ghost Goes West'' is a 1935 British romantic comedy/fantasy film starring Robert Donat, Jean Parker, and Eugene Pallette, and directed by René Clair, his first English-language film. The film shows an Old World ghost dealing with American materialism. Plot In 18th century Scotland, Clan Glourie's enemy (hated even more than the English) is Clan MacClaggan. Both clan leaders send their sons to fight the English, five MacClaggans and Murdoch Glourie, who would rather spend his time kissing the lasses. At the Scottish encampment, Murdoch is outnumbered by the MacClaggans and hides behind a barrel of gunpowder. An errant Scottish cannonball ends his life, but in the afterlife, he is stranded in Limbo due to his cowardice. His now-deceased father tells him he is doomed to haunt Glourie Castle until he can get a MacClaggan to admit that one Glourie can thrash fifty MacClaggans. In the 20th century, Peggy Martin, the daughter of a rich American businessman, persuades him to purc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Scoundrel (1935 Film)
''The Scoundrel'' is a 1935 drama film directed by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, and starring Noël Coward, Julie Haydon, Stanley Ridges, Rosita Moreno and Lionel Stander. It was Coward's film debut, aside from a bit role in a silent film. It deals with supernatural redemption in a way rather similar to Ferenc Molnár's ''Liliom'', and drew inspiration from the life of publisher Horace Liveright, who had died in September 1933. Plot Anthony Mallare (Noël Coward) is a publisher who (it appears) wishes to ruin the life of every person he comes in contact with. Every sentence he says is like a poisoned dart aimed for the greatest damage, and delivered in cold lifeless tones. He is under no illusion regarding his own personality, remarking to his staff at large that he has found the perfect woman—one as empty as he is: "I must marry her ... it would be like two empty paper bags belabouring one another". He finally manages to completely destroy the career and life of an aspirin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katherine Parr
Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort of the House of Tudor, and outlived Henry by a year and eight months. With four husbands, she is the most-married English queen. She was the first woman to publish an original work under her own name in English in England. Catherine enjoyed a close relationship with Henry's three children, Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward. She was personally involved in the education of Elizabeth and Edward. She was influential in Henry VIII's passing of the Third Succession Act in 1543 that restored his daughters Mary and Elizabeth to the line of succession to the throne. Catherine was appointed regent from July to September 1544 while Henry was on a military campaign in France and in case ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Still Life (play)
''Still Life'' is a short play in five scenes by Noël Coward, one of ten plays that make up '' Tonight at 8.30'', a cycle written to be performed across three evenings. One-act plays were unfashionable in the 1920s and 30s, but Coward was fond of the genre and conceived the idea of a set of short pieces to be played across several evenings. The actress most closely associated with him was Gertrude Lawrence, and he wrote the plays as vehicles for them both. The play portrays the chance meeting, subsequent love affair, and eventual parting of a married woman and a physician. The sadness of their serious and secretive affair is contrasted throughout the play with the boisterous, uncomplicated relationship of a second couple. ''Still Life'' differs from most of the plays in the cycle by having an unhappy ending. The play was first produced in London in May 1936 and was staged in New York in October of that year. It has been revived frequently and has been adapted for television ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celia Johnson
Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson, (18 December 1908 – 26 April 1982) was an English actress, whose career included stage, television and film. She is especially known for her roles in the films ''In Which We Serve'' (1942), ''This Happy Breed'' (1944), ''Brief Encounter'' (1945) and '' The Captain's Paradise'' (1953). For ''Brief Encounter'', she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. A six-time BAFTA Award nominee, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (1969). Johnson began her stage acting career in 1928, and subsequently achieved success in West End and Broadway productions. She continued performing in theatre for the rest of her life and much of her later work was in television, including winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for the BBC ''Play for Today'', ''Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont'' (1973). She suffered a stroke and died soon after at the age of 73. Early life and education Born ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brief Encounter
''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British romantic drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life''. Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, and Joyce Carey, it follows a passionate extramarital affair in England shortly before World War II. The protagonist is Laura, a married woman with children, whose conventional life becomes increasingly complicated after a chance meeting at a railway station with a married stranger with whom she subsequently falls in love. The film premiered in London on 13 November 1945, and was theatrically released on 25 November to widespread critical acclaim. It received three nominations at the 19th Academy Awards, Best Director, Best Actress (for Johnson), and Best Adapted Screenplay. Many critics, historians, and scholars cite the film as one of the greatest of all time. In 1999, the British Film Institute ranked it as the second-greatest British film of all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In Which We Serve
''In Which We Serve'' is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by Noël Coward and David Lean. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information (United Kingdom), Ministry of Information. The screenplay by Coward was inspired by the exploits of Captain Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was in command of the destroyer when it was sunk during the Battle of Crete. Coward composed the film's music as well as starring in the film as the ship's captain. The film also starred John Mills, Bernard Miles, Celia Johnson and Richard Attenborough in his first screen role. ''In Which We Serve'' received the full backing of the Ministry of Information, which offered advice on what would make good propaganda and facilitated the release of military personnel. The film is a classic example of wartime British cinema through its patriotic imagery of national unity and social cohesion within the context of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Lean
Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' (1957), ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1965), and ''A Passage to India'' (1984). He also directed the film adaptations of two Charles Dickens novels, '' Great Expectations'' (1946) and '' Oliver Twist'' (1948), as well as the romantic drama ''Brief Encounter'' (1945). Originally a film editor in the early 1930s, Lean made his directorial debut with 1942's '' In Which We Serve'', which was the first of four collaborations with Noël Coward. Beginning with '' Summertime'' in 1955, Lean began to make internationally co-produced films financed by the big Hollywood studios; in 1970, however, the critical failure of his film ''Ryan's Daughter'' led him to take a fourteen-year break from filmmaking, during which he pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
