Fortune Is A Woman
''Fortune Is a Woman'' is a 1957 black and white British-American film noir crime film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Jack Hawkins and Arlene Dahl. Its plot concerns an attempted insurance fraud that goes badly wrong. In the United States, it was released as ''She Played With Fire''. The film is based on Winston Graham's novel ''Fortune Is a Woman'' (1953). Plot In a dream sequence, a ticking metronome transforms into the sweeping windscreen wiper of a sports car travelling at night in heavy rain. The car pulls up before a large Gothic mansion; the dreamer enters and walks to where a painting of the same house hangs above the mantelpiece; the camera zooms in on the door in the painting. The dreamer, Oliver Branwell, awakes with a start. Branwell is an insurance investigator with a London firm of adjusters, Anderson & Son. Though it is Christmas Eve, he is sent north to Lowis Manor to probe a recent fire. Mr. Tracey Moreton lives there with his mother and wife Sarah. He ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Film Poster
A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. They normally contain an image with text. Today's posters often feature printed likenesses of the main actors. Prior to the 1980s, illustrations instead of photos were far more common. The text on film posters usually contains the film title in large lettering and often the names of the main actors. It may also include a tagline, the name of the director, names of characters, the release date, and other pertinent details to inform prospective viewers about the film. Film posters are often displayed inside and on the outside of movie theaters, and elsewhere on the street or in shops. The same images appear in the film exhibitor's pressbook and may also be used on websites, DVD (and historically VHS) packaging, flyers, advertisements in newspap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Metronome
A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats per minute (BPM). Metronomes may include synchronized visual motion. Musicians use the device to practise playing to a regular pulse. A kind of metronome was among the inventions of Andalusian polymath Abbas ibn Firnas (810–887). In 1815, German inventor Johann Maelzel patented his mechanical, wind-up metronome as a tool for musicians, under the title "Instrument/Machine for the Improvement of all Musical Performance, called Metronome". In the 20th century, electronic metronomes and software metronomes were invented. Musicians practise with metronomes to improve their timing, especially the ability to stick to a regular tempo. Metronome practice helps internalize a clear sense of timing and tempo. Composers and conductors often use a me ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimately playing the role nine times. His other film roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film '' The Man with the Golden Gun'' (1974), Count Dooku in several ''Star Wars'' films (2002–2008), and Saruman in both the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' film trilogy (2012–2014). Lee was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011, and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013. He credited three films for making his name as an actor, ''A Tale of Two Cities'' (1958), in which he played the villainous marquis, and two horror films, ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' (1957), and '' Dracula'' (1958). He considered his best performance to be that of Pakistan' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bernard Miles
Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE (27 September 190714 June 1991) was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre that opened in the City of London since the 17th century. He was known for playing character roles that usually had bucolic backgrounds or links to countrymen. His strong accent was typical of rustic dialects associated with the counties of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. His pleasant rolling bass-baritone voice made him a regular presence on the stage and in films for more than fifty years. In addition to his acting, he was a voice-over artist and published author. Early life Miles was educated at Uxbridge County School, Pembroke College, Oxford and the Northampton Institute (later City University of London) in London. He lived for a while in New Road, Hillingdon Heath. Career In 1946 his comedy about the Home Guard '' Let Tyrants Tremble!'' was staged at the Scala Theatre in the We ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Goodliffe
Lawrence Michael Andrew Goodliffe (1 October 1914 – 20 March 1976) was an English actor known for playing suave roles such as doctors, lawyers and army officers. He was also sometimes cast in working-class parts. Biography Goodliffe was born in Bebington, Cheshire, the son of a vicar, and educated at St Edmund's School, Canterbury, and Keble College, Oxford. He began his career in repertory theatre in Liverpool before joining the company of the Stratford Memorial Theatre in Stratford upon Avon. He joined the British Army at the beginning of the Second World War, and received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in February 1940. He was wounded in the leg and captured at the Battle of Dunkirk. Goodliffe was incorrectly listed as killed in action, and even had his obituary published in a newspaper. He was to spend the rest of the war a prisoner in Germany. Whilst in captivity he produced and acted in (and in some cases wrote) many plays ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Robinson (English Actor)
John Robinson (11 November 1908 – 6 March 1979) was an English actor, who was particularly active in the theatre.Pixley, p. 18. Mostly cast in minor and supporting roles in film and television, he is best remembered for being the second actor to play the famous television science-fiction role of Professor Bernard Quatermass, in the 1955 BBC Television serial '' Quatermass II''. Biography Robinson was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. His first professional appearance came in his home city in 1929, at the Liverpool Playhouse. He appeared in a variety of stage productions in London throughout the 1930s. These included ''Black Limelight'' by Gordon Sherry at the Q Theatre in 1937, where his role as Peter Charrington was described by ''The Times'' newspaper's critic as "a skilful, reticent sketch". In 1939 he played Fortinbras in John Gielgud's production of ''Hamlet'', the final play to be performed at the Lyceum Theatre before its closure. He made his film debut in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Patrick Holt
Patrick Holt (31 January 1912 – 12 October 1993) was an English film and television actor. Biography Born Patrick G. Parsons in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Holt spent some of his childhood in India with his uncle, after which he was sent to Christ's Hospital, a famous charity school in Britain. Here he formed a close friendship with a boy in the same boarding house, the future film star Michael Wilding. He started his acting career in repertory theatres, and in 1939, landed a leading part on the London stage, but when the Second World War broke out he joined the army. His army service saw him in Burma, Singapore and India, often on secret missions behind enemy lines, and he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Career After the war, he joined the J. Arthur Rank charm school and after supporting roles in films such as ''Hungry Hill'', '' Frieda'' and '' The October Man'' (all 1947), steadily established himself as a lead actor in films of the late 1940s, including ''Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Geoffrey Keen
Geoffrey Keen (21 August 1916 – 3 November 2005) was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many films. He is well known for playing British Defence Minister Sir Frederick Gray in the ''James Bond'' films. Biography Early life Keen was born in Wallingford, Berkshire, England, the son of stage actor Malcolm Keen. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School. He then joined the Little Repertory Theatre in Bristol for whom he made his stage debut in 1932. After a year in repertory he stayed for a year in Cannes before being accepted for a place at the London School of Economics. In a last-minute change of mind, he entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he won the Bancroft Gold Medal after only one year. He had just joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1939 when the war started. Keen enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps, though also managed to appear in an Army instructional film for Carol Reed. Career Keen made his full film debut in 1946 in '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Malcolm Keen
Malcolm Keen (8 August 1887 – 30 January 1970) was an English actor of stage, film and television. He was sometimes credited as Malcolm Keane.Malcolm Keen at IMDb Born in , he made his stage debut in 1902 and his first film in 1916. Keen was an early collaborator with the director , starring in his silent films '''', '' [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ian Hunter (actor)
Ian Hunter (13 June 1900 – 22 September 1975) was a Cape Colony-born British actor of stage, film and television. Biography Hunter was born in the Kenilworth area of Cape Town, Cape Colony where he spent his childhood. In his teen years, he and his parents returned to the family in England to live. Sometime between that arrival and the early years of World War I, Hunter began exploring acting. But in 1917, aged 17, he joined the army to serve in France for the remainder of the First World War. On his return Hunter studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based in the Royal Albert Hall, London. Within two years he did indeed make his stage debut. He decided to work in British silent films taking a part in '' Not for Sale'' (1924) directed by W.P. Kellino for Stoll Pictures. Hunter made his first trip to the U.S. because Basil Dean, the British actor and director, was producing Richard Brinsley Sheridan's ''The School for Scandal'' at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Violet Farebrother
Violet Farebrother (22 August 1888 – 27 September 1969) was an English actress. She appeared in 25 films between 1911 and 1965, including three films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. She was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and died in Eastbourne, Sussex. On stage from 1907, her theatre work included touring with Frank Benson's company, and playing Gertrude opposite Donald Wolfit's Hamlet on Broadway. Selected filmography * ''Downhill'' (1927) * '' Easy Virtue'' (1928) * ''Murder!'' (1930) * '' At the Villa Rose'' (1930) * ''Enemy of the Police'' (1933) * '' This Acting Business'' (1933) * ''Nine Forty-Five'' (1934) * '' The Office Wife'' (1934) * ''It's a Bet'' (1935) * '' Where's Sally?'' (1936) * '' Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk'' (1936) * ''The Pearls of the Crown'' (1937) * ''Change for a Sovereign '' (1937) * '' It's Not Cricket'' (1937) * ''The Voice Within'' (1946) * '' Cup-tie Honeymoon'' (1948) * '' The Woman for Joe'' (1955) * '' Man of the Moment'' (1955) * ''Fortun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dennis Price
Dennistoun Franklyn John Rose Price (23 June 1915 – 6 October 1973) was an English actor, best remembered for his role as Louis Mazzini in the film ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) and for his portrayal of the omnicompetent valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G. Wodehouse's stories. Biography Early life Price was born in Ruscombe in Berkshire. He had distant Welsh family connections, and was the son of Brigadier-General Thomas Rose Caradoc Price (1875–1949) CMG DSO (who was a great-grandson of Sir Rose Price, 1st Baronet and, through his mother, a descendant of the Baillie baronets of Polkemmet, near Whitburn, West Lothian) and his wife Dorothy, née Verey, daughter of Sir Henry Verey, Official Referee of the Supreme Court of Judicature."Mr Dennis Price – An actor of style", ''The Times'', 8 October 1973, p. 19Gaye, p. 1076 He attended Copthorne Prep School, Radley College and Worcester College, Oxford. He studied acting at the Embassy Theatre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |