|
Eugene Jackson
Eugene W. Jackson II (December 25, 1916 – October 26, 2001) was an American child actor who was a regular of the '' Our Gang'' short series during the silent Pathé era. Career When he joined the gang, Jackson replaced the series' first black cast member, Ernie Morrison who was billed in the series as Sunshine Sammy, Jackson's characters nickname was "Pineapple" because of his haircut's similarity to the shape of the pineapple fruit. He played the character "Humidor" in one of Mary Pickford's most successful films, ''Little Annie Rooney'' (1925). A large film poster of the cast of ''Little Annie Rooney'', including Jackson, hangs in the lobby of the Mary Pickford Theatre of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood. Jackson also starred in '' Hearts in Dixie'' (1929), one of the first all-talking, big-studio productions to boast a predominately African-American cast. He was the first African-American child to have a speaking part in a major motion pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dixiana (film)
''Dixiana'' (1930) is a lavish American pre-Code comedy, musical film directed by Luther Reed and produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The final twenty minutes of the picture were photographed in Technicolor. The film stars Bebe Daniels, Everett Marshall, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Joseph Cawthorn, Jobyna Howland, Ralf Harolde, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (in his film debut) and Dorothy Lee. The script was adapted by Luther Reed from a story by Anne Caldwell. This is the film in which composer Max Steiner received his first screen credit for orchestration. Additionally, it was Wheeler & Woolsey's third film; however, as they were not yet an official "team", they were still billed separately. Plot Dixiana Caldwell and her friends, Peewee and Ginger, are circus performers in the antebellum Southern United States. When Dixiana falls in love with a young Southern aristocrat, Carl Van Horn, she leaves the circus where she is employed and, with Peewee and Ginger, accompa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy (1985–1990); and Jim Ignatowski in the comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), for which he won two Emmy Awards. Lloyd came to public attention in Northeastern theater productions during the 1960s and early 1970s, earning Drama Desk and Obie awards for his work. He made his cinematic debut in '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), and his television debut in ''The Adams Chronicles'' the following year. He also starred as Commander Kruge in '' Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'' (1984), Professor Plum in ''Clue'' (1985), Judge Doom in ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (1988), and Uncle Fester in ''The Addams Family'' (1991) and its sequel ''Addams Family Values'' (1993). He earned a third Emmy for his 1992 guest appearance as Alistai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ladies Crave Excitement
''Ladies Crave Excitement'' is a 1935 American action–comedy drama film released by Mascot Pictures, directed by Nick Grinde and starring Norman Foster, Evalyn Knapp and Esther Ralston. Plot Don Phelan, the ace newsreel reporter, falls in love with Wilma Howell, the daughter of the owner of another newsreel company that is a bitter rival of the one Don works for. The rivalry, with cameramen jostling each other out of the way, acts of sabotage, and reporters fighting to get the 'scoop', does not bode well for the romance. Cast Soundtrack Release ''Ladies Crave Excitement'' was released on DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ... on July 26, 2010. The film was again released on DVD on August 27, 2013. References External links * * 1935 films 1930s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secret Service (1931 Film)
''Secret Service'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film directed by J. Walter Ruben and written by Bernard Schubert. The film based on a play by William Gillette, stars Richard Dix, William Post Jr., Shirley Grey, and Nance O'Neil. The film was released on November 14, 1931, by RKO Pictures. Plot Two Union officers, Captain Lewis Dumont and his younger brother, Lieutenant Henry Dumont, receive orders from General Ulysses S. Grant Grant to go behind enemy lines and become undercover agents to feed false information to the Confederate States Army. Lewis is tasked with becoming part of a Confederate telegraph office in Richmond, Virginia, under the guise of a deceased Confederate officer, Thorne. Meanwhile, Henry is ordered to allow himself to be captured by the enemy, during which he is supposed to pass incorrect information about Union positions. Thorne comes upon the tail-end of a skirmish between Union and Confederate soldiers, during which he is wounded. After the batt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sporting Blood (1931 Film)
''Sporting Blood'' is a 1931 American MGM pre-Code sports drama film directed by Charles Brabin. The film stars Clark Gable (in his first starring role), Ernest Torrence, and Madge Evans. Two other pictures bore this same title, one released in 1916 by Fox and another by MGM in '' Sporting Blood'' (1940). Although they, too, centered on horse racing, none of the plots had any direct connection with the others. Plot Gambler Rid Riddell (Clark Gable) works for Tip Scanlon (Lew Cody), a crooked gambler, who buys Tommy-Boy, a racehorse from a wealthy man (Hallam Cooley) whose spoiled wife (Marie Prevost) loses interest. Tip and Rid consistently win with the horse in both honestly and dishonestly run races. But before long, Tommy Boy loses a race he wasn't supposed to, and the mob is after Tip. Tip is murdered but not before giving Tommy Boy to his girlfriend (Madge Evans) who sets out to rehabilitate herself and the horse. The horse rebounds. After an attempt at sabotage, the horse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cimarron (1931 Film)
''Cimarron'' is a 1931 pre-Code epic Western film directed by Wesley Ruggles, starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne, and featuring Estelle Taylor and Roscoe Ates. The Oscar- winning script was written by Howard Estabrook based on the 1930 Edna Ferber novel '' Cimarron''. It would be RKO's most expensive production up to that date, and its winning of the top Oscar for Outstanding Production would be one of only two for Outstanding Production ever won by that studio. It is also the first of only three Westerns to ever win the top honor at the Academy Awards (the others being ''Dances with Wolves'' in 1990 and ''Unforgiven'' in 1992). Epic in scope, spanning forty years from 1889 to 1929, it was a critical success, although it did not recoup its production costs during its initial run in 1931. Plot The Oklahoma land rush of 1889 prompts thousands to travel to the Oklahoma Territory to grab free government land; Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) and his young bride, Sabra (Irene Dunne) c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hearts In Dixie
''Hearts in Dixie'' (1929) starring Stepin Fetchit was one of the first all-sound film, "talkie", big-studio productions to boast a predominantly African-American cast. A musical film, musical, the film celebrates African-American music and dance. It was released by Fox Film Corporation just months before the release of ''Hallelujah (film), Hallelujah!'', another all-black musical by competitor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The director of ''Hearts in Dixie'' was Paul Sloane (director), Paul Sloane. Walter Weems wrote the screenplay, and William Fox (producer), William Fox was producer. Synopsis There is no overarching storyline. The film is a series of unconnected scenes celebrating the advent of sound technology in the context of "black music". ''Hearts in Dixie'' unfolds as a series of sketches of life among American blacks. Although the characters are not slaves they are nevertheless racial stereotypes in terms of the contemporary white images of the period. One plot focuses on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Mickey Grogan
''Little Mickey Grogan'' is a 1927 American comedy-drama film directed by James Leo Meehan and written by Dwight Cummins, Dorothy Yost and Charles Kerr. The film stars Frankie Darro, Lassie Lou Ahern, Jobyna Ralston, Carroll Nye, Eugene Jackson, William Scott and Vadim Uraneff. The film was released on December 27, 1927, by Film Booking Offices of America. Plot Mickey Grogan (Frankie Darro), a nine-year old vagabond of the streets, assumes the responsibility for the well-being of a fellow homeless waif (Susan Dale, played by Lassie Lou Ahern), a sensitive architect named Jeffrey Shore (Carroll Nye) who is out of work for being too poor to pay for an operation necessary to save his remaining vision, and a kind-hearted office worker (Winnie, played by Jobyna Ralston) who is being stalked by a belligent Al Nevers (Billy Scott) as his overbearing attentions increasingly turn violent. On top of this, he also helps an industrialist (Crauford Kent) who is looking for a new factory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927 Film)
''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1927) is a silent film directed by Harry A. Pollard and released by Universal Pictures. The film is based on the 1852 novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' by Harriet Beecher Stowe and was the last silent film version. A copy is preserved at the Library of Congress. In this version of the film, all of the major slave roles, with the exception of Uncle Tom himself, were portrayed by white actors. Actress Mona Ray played the slave Topsy in blackface, while the slaves Eliza, George, Cassie and Harry were all presented as having very light skin coloring because of mixed-race heritage. This film was released on DVD in 1999 by Kino. The title role was originally played by the notable stage actor Charles Gilpin but he quit amid onset dissatisfaction with the depiction of the role and was replaced by James B. Lowe, reshooting the sections already filmed with Gilpin. The film was rereleased in 1958 with sound added and narration by Raymond Massey.Blacks in Films, Jim Pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flirty Four-Flushers
''Flirty Four-Flushers'' is a 1926 comedy silent film produced by Mack Sennett and starred by Eddie Cline and Billy Bevan. Carl Harbaugh wrote the reelers of the film. It was distributed by Pathé. It was released on December 26, 1926. ''Peaches and Plumbers'' gave Bevan a chance to display his acting talent, and also both films were an even better showcase for Madeline Hurlock. Locations included Palisades Park, Ocean Blvd., Santa Monica, Hotel St. Catherine, Avalon and Catalina. It is a remake of ''A Summer Tragedy'' (1910) and it is based on O. Henry. Ruth Hiatt was originally considered for a role. Cast * Madeline Hurlock as Aggie Horton / Muriel Marlboro * Billy Bevan as Jerry Connors / Archibald De Shyster * Vernon Dent as Bill Brown * Stanley Blystone as Joe, Aggie's Sweetheart * Billy Gilbert as Soup Drinking Customer / Hotel Desk Clerk * Thelma Hill as Bill Brown's Fiancée * Ruth Taylor as Slumming Girl * Leonora Summers as Gertie, the waitress * Eleanor Hib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Thief Of Bagdad (1924 Film)
''The Thief of Bagdad'' is a 1924 American silent swashbuckler film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Douglas Fairbanks, and written by Achmed Abdullah and Lotta Woods. Freely adapted from ''One Thousand and One Nights'', it tells the story of a thief who falls in love with the daughter of the Caliph of Baghdad. In 1996, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Fairbanks considered this to be the favorite of his films, according to his son. The imaginative gymnastics suited the athletic star, whose "catlike, seemingly effortless" movements were as much dance as gymnastics. Along with his earlier ''Robin Hood'' (1922), the film marked Fairbanks's transformation from genial comedy to a career in "swashbuckling" roles. The film, strong on special effects of the period (flying carpet, magic rope and fearsome monsters) and featuring massive Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boy Of Mine
''Boy of Mine'' is a 1923 American silent family drama film directed by William Beaudine that was based upon a short story by Booth Tarkington. It stars Ben Alexander, Rockliffe Fellowes, and Henry B. Walthall Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915). Early life Henry B. Walthall was born March 16, 1878 on a .... Wendy L. Marshall stated that "Beaudine had the Midas touch when it came to directing children" in films like this and '' Penrod and Sam''. Plot As described in a film magazine review, young Bill Latimer is wrecking his father's nerves with his boyish pranks. The father does not rightly understand the lad, and, when he punishes him for his unwitting disobedience, Bill runs away. He is brought back home by Dr. Robert Mason, who saves Bill from some kidnappers. Bill's mother leaves the home with her son. This separation m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
