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Frances Gifford
Mary Frances Gifford (December 7, 1920 – January 22, 1994) was an American actress who played leads and supporting roles in many 1930s and 1940s movies. Early years Gifford was born and raised in Long Beach, California, and at the age of 16, applied to UCLA School of Law with no intention of pursuing an acting career. With a friend, she visited the studios of Samuel Goldwyn to watch a film being made, and while there, was spotted by a talent scout, who brought her to the attention of Goldwyn, who signed her to an acting contract. Career After only receiving minor roles, Gifford moved to RKO, where she was cast in several uncredited supporting roles in films of the late 1930s, including ''Stage Door'' (1937) starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.Maltin 1994, p. 331. Gifford married actor James Dunn on Christmas Day 1937. In 1939, she landed her first leading role in the low-budget '' Mercy Plane'', opposite her husband. A planned retirement was interrupted briefly ...
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Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporated in 1897, Long Beach lies in Southern California in the southern part of Los Angeles County. Long Beach is approximately south of downtown Los Angeles, and is part of the Gateway Cities region. The Port of Long Beach is the second busiest container port in the United States and is among the world's largest shipping ports. The city is over an oilfield with minor wells both directly beneath the city as well as offshore. The city is known for its waterfront attractions, including the permanently docked and the Aquarium of the Pacific. Long Beach also hosts the Grand Prix of Long Beach, an IndyCar race and the Long Beach Pride Festival and Parade. California State University, Long Beach, one of the largest universities in California b ...
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Jungle Girl (serial)
''Jungle Girl'' is a 1941 15-chapter Republic serial starring Frances Gifford. It was directed by William Witney and John English based on the novel ''Jungle Girl'' (1932) by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the 22nd of the 66 serials produced by Republic. Plot Dr. John Meredith, ashamed at the crime spree of his evil twin brother, Bradley, travels with his daughter, Nyoka, to Africa. There his skills as a doctor displace Shamba, the resident witch doctor of the Masamba. Years later, Slick Latimer and Bradley Meredith arrive looking for a local diamond mine and team up with the disgruntled Shamba. Bradley kills his brother John and takes his place. They also bring along Jack Stanton and Curly Rogers, who promptly join Nyoka in trying to stop the villains. Cast *Frances Gifford as Nyoka Meredith. Gifford was borrowed from Paramount for the lead. *Tom Neal as Jack Stanton *Trevor Bardette as Dr John Meredith/Bradley Meredith *Gerald Mohr as Slick Latimer *Eddie Acuff as Curly Rog ...
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Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. He set numerous world records alongside winning five gold medals in the Olympics. He won the 100m freestyle and the relay team event in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris and the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Weissmuller also won gold in the 400m freestyle, as well as a bronze medal in the water polo competition in Paris. Following his retirement from swimming, Weissmuller played Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan in twelve feature films from 1932 to 1948; six were produced by MGM, and six additional films by RKO. Weissmuller went on to star in sixteen ''Jungle Jim'' movies over an eight year period, then filmed 26 additional half-hour episodes of the Jungle Jim TV series. Early life Johann Peter Weißmüller was born on June 2, 1904, ...
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The Glass Key (1935 Film)
''The Glass Key'', released in 1935, was based upon the 1931 suspense novel ''The Glass Key'' by Dashiell Hammett, directed by Frank Tuttle, starring George Raft and featuring Edward Arnold, Claire Dodd, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and Ray Milland. Ann Sheridan has a brief speaking role as Raft's character's nurse in their first film together. The film was remade in 1942, with Alan Ladd in Raft's role, Brian Donlevy and Veronica Lake in the roles previously played by Arnold and Dodd, and William Bendix in Guinn Williams' part. Plot Paul Madvig ( Edward Arnold) controls crime and politics in the city, helped by the brains and brawn of Ed Beaumont (George Raft). As he throws his support behind Janet Henry's (Claire Dodd) father, in a political campaign, Paul also plans to marry her. Janet's brother Taylor (Ray Milland) is a gambler heavily in debt to O'Rory (Robert Gleckler), a gangster whose club Paul intends to put out of business. Taylor, who has been romancing Paul's younger si ...
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Ann Sheridan
Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938) with James Cagney and Bogart, '' They Drive by Night'' (1940) with George Raft and Bogart, ''City for Conquest'' (1940) with Cagney and Elia Kazan, ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' (1942) with Bette Davis, ''Kings Row'' (1942) with Ronald Reagan, ''Nora Prentiss'' (1947), and ''I Was a Male War Bride'' (1949) with Cary Grant. Early life Clara Lou Sheridan was born in Denton, Texas, on February 21, 1915, the youngest of five children (Kitty, Pauline, Mabel and George) of George W. Sheridan and Lula Stewart (née Warren). According to Sheridan, her father was a grandnephew of Civil War Union general Philip Sheridan. She was active in dramatics at Denton High School and at North Texas State Teachers College. She also sang with the college's stage band and p ...
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The Glass Key (1942 Film)
''The Glass Key'' is a 1942 American crime drama film, crime drama based on the The Glass Key, novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The picture was directed by Stuart Heisler starring Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd (who plays the actual lead despite being billed third). A successful The Glass Key (1935 film), earlier film version starring George Raft in Ladd's role had been released in 1935. The 1942 version's supporting cast features William Bendix, Bonita Granville, Richard Denning and Joseph Calleia. Plot After falling for Janet Henry, the daughter of reform candidate for governor Ralph Henry, shady political boss Paul Madvig is determined to help Henry get elected. Paul's right-hand man, Ed Beaumont, rightly distrusts both Janet and her father, and believes they are stringing Paul along only to dump him after the election. Janet becomes engaged to Paul, but is put off by his crudity. She is attracted to the more sophisticated Ed who fends off her advances o ...
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Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest film studio in the United States (behind Universal Pictures), and the sole member of the Major film studio, "Big Five" film studios located within the city limits of Los Angeles. In 1916, film producer Adolph Zukor put 24 actors and actresses under contract and honored each with a star on the logo. In 1967, the number of stars was reduced to 22 and their hidden meaning was dropped. In 2014, Paramount Pictures became the first major Hollywood studio to distribute all of its films in digital form only. The company's headquarters and studios are located at 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, California. Paramount Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America, Motion Picture Associ ...
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Alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predominant diagnostic classifications are alcohol use disorder (DSM-5) or alcohol dependence (ICD-11); these are defined in their respective sources. Excessive alcohol use can damage all organ systems, but it particularly affects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas and immune system. Alcoholism can result in mental illness, delirium tremens, Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome, Heart arrhythmia, irregular heartbeat, an impaired immune response, liver cirrhosis and alcohol and cancer, increased cancer risk. Drinking during pregnancy can result in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Women are generally more sensitive than men to the harmful effects of alcohol, primarily due to their smaller body weight, lower capacity to metaboli ...
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The Reluctant Dragon (1941 Film)
''The Reluctant Dragon'' is a 1941 American comedy film produced by Walt Disney, directed by Alfred Werker, and released by RKO Radio Pictures on June 27, 1941. Essentially a tour of the then-new Walt Disney Studios facility in Burbank, California, the film stars radio comedian Robert Benchley and many Disney staffers such as Ward Kimball, Fred Moore, Norman Ferguson, Clarence Nash, and Walt Disney, all as themselves. The first twenty minutes of the film are in black-and-white, and the remainder is in Technicolor. Most of the film is live-action, with four short animated segments inserted into the running time: a black-and-white segment featuring Casey Junior from ''Dumbo''; and three Technicolor cartoons: ''Baby Weems'' (presented as a storyboard), Goofy's ''How to Ride a Horse'', and the extended-length short ''The Reluctant Dragon'', based upon Kenneth Grahame's book of the same name. The total length of all animated parts is 40 minutes. Overview Opening The film starts ...
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The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names the Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to the Walt Disney Company in 1986. Early on, the company established itself as a leader in the animation industry, with the creation of the widely popular character Mickey Mouse, who is the company's mascot, and the start of animated films. After becoming a major success by the early 1940s, the company started to diversify into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s. Following Walt's death in 1966, the company's profits began to decline, especially in the animation division. Once Disney's shareholders voted in Michael Eisner as the he ...
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Kay Aldridge
Katharine ("Kay") Gratten Aldridge (July 9, 1917 – January 12, 1995) was an American actress and model, best known for playing feisty and imperiled heroines in black-and-white serials during the 1940s. Life and work Aldridge was born on July 9, 1917, in Tallahassee, Florida. Her father was a surveyor and her mother was an artist and writer. Following her father's death when she was two years old, her mother moved the family to Lyells, Virginia, where her four siblings and she were raised with the help of her great aunts, who were schoolteachers. After attending her first year of high school in Westminster, Maryland, she enrolled in St. Mary's Female Seminary (now St. Mary's College of Maryland) in St. Mary's City, Maryland. While at St. Mary's, she acted in plays, played basketball, and was a member of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. Following her high-school graduation in 1934, Aldridge found work with the John Powers modeling agency in New York. She appeared on the covers ...
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Perils Of Nyoka
''Perils of Nyoka'' is a 1942 Republic serial directed by William Witney. It stars Kay Aldridge as Nyoka the Jungle Girl, a character who first appeared in the Edgar Rice Burroughs-inspired serial ''Jungle Girl''. Plot Nyoka, with help from Larry Grayson, attempts to discover the golden tablets of Hippocrates. The tablets contain the medical knowledge of the ancients and are being buried along with gold and other treasure. Also hunting for the tablets are Queen Vultura (Ruler of the Arabs) and Cassib. Cast Main cast *Kay Aldridge as Nyoka Gordon. Aldridge replaced Frances Gifford. The success and popularity that Aldridge gained from the role made her the star of several other Republic serials. In his autobiography, director William Witney stated that the studio used a different actress to ensure that there would be no actionable copyright infringement. However, Ray Stedman writes that Gifford was not cast in ''Perils of Nyoka'' because she was on loan from another studio for ...
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