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Espionage Agent
''Espionage Agent'' is a pre–World War II spy melodrama produced by Hal B. Wallis in 1939. Directed by Lloyd Bacon, ''Espionage Agent'', like many Warner Bros. movies, clearly identifies the Germans as the enemy. This was unlike many other movie studios during this period that did not want to antagonize foreign governments. The film was released on September 22, 1939, the day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Act allowing "Cash and Carry" provisions for countries fighting Germany and a little over four months after another Warner Bros. anti-Nazi film ''Confessions of a Nazi Spy''.Michael E. Birdwell, Celluloid Soldiers - Warner Bros.'s Campaign against Nazism (New York University Press, 1999) Plot The film opens with a description of the Black Tom explosion of a munitions supply located in Jersey City on the Hudson River. The explosion, which occurred during World War I was an act of sabotage by German agents. Barry Corvall (Joel McCrea), the son ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lloyd Bacon
Lloyd Francis Bacon (December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955) was an American screen, stage and vaudeville actor and film director. As a director he made films in virtually all genres, including westerns, musicals, comedies, gangster films, and crime dramas. He was one of the directors at Warner Bros. in the 1930s who helped give that studio its reputation for gritty, fast-paced "torn from the headlines" action films. And, in directing Warner Bros.' ''42nd Street (film), 42nd Street'', he joined the movie's song-and-dance-number director, Busby Berkeley, in contributing to "an instant and enduring classic [that] transformed the musical genre." Early life Lloyd Bacon was born on December 4, 1889 in San Jose, California, the son of actor/playwright Frank Bacon (actor), Frank Bacon - the co-author and star of the long-running Broadway show Lightnin' (play), Lightnin' (1918) - and Jennie Weidman. Lloyd Bacon was not, contrary to some accounts, related to actor Irving Bacon, althoug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cash And Carry (World War II)
Cash and Carry was a policy by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced at a joint session of the United States Congress on September 21, 1939, subsequent to the outbreak of war in Europe. It replaced the Neutrality Act of 1937, by which belligerents could purchase only nonmilitary goods from the United States as long as the recipients paid immediately in cash and assumed all risk in transportation using their own ships. A later revision, the Neutrality Act of 1939, allowed the sale of military arms to belligerents on the same cash-and-carry basis. History Background Because of the conclusion of the Nye Committee, which asserted that United States involvement in World War I was driven by private interests from arms manufacturers, many Americans believed that investment in a belligerent would eventually lead to American participation in war. The first Neutrality Act was passed in August 1935. It was renewed in 1936 and later extended to May 1937. The Act forbade selling im ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Heinrich Von Twardowski
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski (5 May 1898 – 19 November 1958) was a German film actor. Career in Germany Twardowski was born in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin in Poland). He made his first film appearance in the 1920 Robert Wiene-directed horror movie '' Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari'' (''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'') which starred Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss and Lil Dagover. He would go on to appear in over 20 movies in Weimar Germany during the 1920s. In 1921, Twardowski portrayed Joshua Nesbitt, Lord Horatio Nelson's stepson, in ''Lady Hamilton''. Twardowski appeared in ''Der Falsche Dimitri'' and ''Es leuchtet meine Liebe'' the following year. In 1927, Twardowski appeared in '' Die Weber'' (''The Weavers'') about man fighting against machines. The following year, he appeared in the Fritz Lang thriller ''Spione'' (''Spies''). A year later, he portrayed Otto von Wittelsbach, younger brother of Mad King Ludwig II, in '' Ludwig der Zweite, König von Bayern'' (''Ludwig II, K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudolph Anders
Rudolph Anders (December 17, 1895 – March 27, 1987) was a German character actor who came to the United States after the rise of Hitler, and appeared in numerous American films in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Biography He was born Rudolf Franz Amendt in Waldkirch, Baden, Germany. In the United States during the 1940s, he used the stage name of Robert O. Davis, and after the War used the name Rudolph Anders. His German-accented English confined him largely to "accent roles", and during World War II to villain parts, although not leading roles as his small build, wide eyes, soft voice and naturally quiet demeanor did not allow him to appear overly menacing. He was naturalized an American citizen in 1934, and was married. Anders died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. Partial filmography *''Ludwig II, King of Bavaria'' (1930) - Diener (uncredited) *'' Peter Voss, Thief of Millions'' (1932) *''Primavera en otoño'' (1933) - Tristán * ''When Strangers Marry'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nana Bryant
Nana Irene Bryant (November 23, 1888 – December 24, 1955) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1955. Biography Bryant was born 1888 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She appeared in stock companies in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and spent several seasons on tour. She also played on Broadway theatre, Broadway, appearing in the then non-singing role of Morgan le Fay in Rodgers and Hart's ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'', before working in films. Her other Broadway credits included ''Marriage Is for Single People'' (1945), ''Baby Pompadour'' (1934), ''A Ship Comes In'' (1934), ''The First Apple'' (1933), ''The Dubarry'' (1932), ''The Stork is Dead'' (1932), ''Heigh-Ho, Everybody'' (1932), ''The Padre'' (1926), ''The Wild Rose'' (1926), ''No More Women'' (1926), ''The Firebrand'' (1924). Bryant had a supporting role in the ''Frank Morgan Show'', a summer replacement for Jack Benny's program in 1946. On ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard C
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probably in some cases a confusion with the Old Norse cognate ''Haward'' (''Hávarðr''), which means "high guard" and as a surname also with the unrelated Hayward. In some rare cases it is from the Old English ''eowu hierde'' "ewe herd". In Anglo-Norman the French digram ''-ou-'' was often rendered as ''-ow-'' such as ''tour'' → ''tower'', ''flour'' (western variant form of ''fleur'') → ''flower'', etc. (with svarabakhti). A diminutive is "Howie" and its shortened form is "Ward" (most common in the 19th century). Between 1900 and 1960, Howard ranked in the U.S. Top 200; between 1960 and 1990, it ranked in the U.S. Top 400; between 1990 and 2004, it ranked in the U.S. Top 600. People with the given name Howard or its variants include: Given ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Stephenson
James Albert Stephenson (14 April 1889 – 29 July 1941) was a British stage and film actor. He found extraordinarily rapid success in Hollywood after arriving in his late 40s, but he died unexpectedly in his early 50s. Early life Stephenson was the son of chemist and druggist John G. Stephenson and his wife Emma. He grew up in the West Riding of Yorkshire and Burnley, Lancashire, with his brothers, Alan and Norman. He became a bank clerk and later had a career as a merchant. In the 1930s, he emigrated to the United States and took U.S. nationality in 1938. Career After acting on the stage, Stephenson made his film debut in 1937 at age 48, initially making films in Britain. Warner Bros. signed him the following year, and he began playing urbane villains and disgraced gentlemen. His big break came when director William Wyler cast him, in spite of studio resistance, in '' The Letter'' (1940), opposite Bette Davis. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanley Ridges
Stanley Charles Ridges (17 July 1890 – 22 April 1951) was an English-born, American actor who made more than 100 appearances in theatre and movies from 1917 to 1951. After his American film debut in '' Success'' (1923), he appeared in films such as ''Crime Without Passion'' (1934), '' The Scoundrel'' (1935), ''If I Were King'' and ''The Mad Miss Manton'' (both 1938), '' Black Friday'' (1940), '' Sergeant York'' (1941), '' Wilson'' (1944) and '' No Way Out'' (1950). He also had the starring role in the B-picture '' False Faces'' (1943). Early life Stanley Charles Ridges was born 17 July 1890 in Southampton, Hampshire. He later became a protégé of Beatrice Lillie, a star of musical stage comedies, and spent many years learning and honing his craft on the stage. Career Eventually making his way to America, Ridges began as a song-and-dance man on Broadway, but later turned to dramatic roles onstage, appearing in such plays as Maxwell Anderson's '' Mary of Scotland'' (as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Kosleck
Martin Kosleck (born Nicolaie Yoshkin, March 24, 1904 – January 15, 1994) was a German film actor. Like many other German actors, he fled when the Nazis came to power. Inspired by his deep hatred of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Kosleck made a career in Hollywood playing villainous Nazis in films. While in the United States, he appeared in more than 80 films and television shows in a 46-year span. His icy demeanor and piercing stare on screen made him a popular choice to play Nazi villains. He portrayed Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister, five times, and also appeared as an SS trooper and a concentration camp officer. Early life Kosleck was born in Barkotzen in Pomerania, Germany, the son of a forester. His family was "German-Russian". He became interested in acting at an early age. He spent six years in the Max Reinhardt Dramatic School, particularly excelling in Shakespearian roles, and working in revues and musicals in Berlin. At the age of 23, he app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangible benefit. A person who commits espionage is called an ''espionage agent'' or ''spy''. Any individual or spy ring (a cooperating group of spies), in the service of a government, company, criminal organization, or independent operation, can commit espionage. The practice is clandestine, as it is by definition unwelcome. In some circumstances, it may be a legal tool of law enforcement and in others, it may be illegal and punishable by law. Espionage is often part of an institutional effort by a government or commercial concern. However, the term tends to be associated with state spying on potential or actual enemies for military purposes. Spying involving corporations is known as industrial espionage. One of the most effective ways to gath ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between New York City and Jersey City, eventually draining into the Atlantic Ocean at Lower New York Bay. The river serves as a political boundary between the states of New Jersey and New York at its southern end. Farther north, it marks local boundaries between several New York counties. The lower half of the river is a tidal estuary, deeper than the body of water into which it flows, occupying the Hudson Fjord, an inlet which formed during the most recent period of North American glaciation, estimated at 26,000 to 13,300 years ago. Even as far north as the city of Troy, the flow of the river changes direction with the tides. The Hudson River runs through the Munsee, Lenape, Mohican, Mohawk, and Haudenosaunee homelands. Prior to European ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
