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Francis De Wolff
Baron Francis-Marie Arist de Wolff (7 January 191318 April 1984) was an English character actor. Large, bearded, and beetle-browed, he was often cast as villains and foreigners in both film and television. Early life De Wolff was born in Essex in January 1913. He was the son of Baron Vladimir de Wolff, a Russian-born nobleman, and Baroness Gwendolin May de Wolff. He was raised in the family’s estate in Lewes, and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Life and career Born in Essex, he made his film debut in '' Flame in the Heather'' (1935), and made many other appearances in such films as '' Fire Over England'' (1937), ''Treasure Island'' (1950), '' Scrooge'' (1951), as the Ghost of Christmas Present, ''Ivanhoe'' (1952), ''Moby Dick'' (1956), '' Saint Joan'' (1957), '' From Russia with Love'' (1963), and '' Carry On Cleo'' (1964). He is perhaps best remembered, however, as a supporting player in horror movies of the 1950s and 1960s, many of them for Hammer F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Smallest Show On Earth
''The Smallest Show on Earth'' (US: ''Big Time Operators'') is a 1957 British comedy film, directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford and Bernard Miles. The screenplay was written by William Rose and John Eldridge from an original story by William Rose. Plot Matt and Jean are a young couple with a longing, but not the means, to visit exotic places such as Samarkand. Matt inherits a cinema from a great uncle. When they arrive in the town where he lived, they mistakenly assume that it is the large and modern "Grand" cinema. They are disillusioned to learn from Robin, the solicitor dealing with the estate, that the cinema involved is the old decrepit "Bijou Kinema" (nicknamed "the Fleapit"), which is sandwiched between two railway bridges. Along with the cinema come three long-time employees: Mrs. Fazackalee, the cashier and bookkeeper; Mr. Quill, the projectionist; and Old Tom, the commissionaire, doorkeeper a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carry On Cleo
''Carry On Cleo'' is a 1964 British historical comedy film, the tenth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). Regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, and Jim Dale are present and Connor made his last appearance until his return in '' Carry On Up the Jungle'' six years later. Joan Sims returned to the series for the first time since ''Carry On Regardless'' three years earlier. Sims would now appear in every ''Carry On'' up to '' Carry On Emmannuelle'' in 1978, making her the most prolific actress in the series. Jon Pertwee makes the first of his four appearances in the series. The title role is played by Amanda Barrie in her second and last Carry On. Along with '' Carry On Sergeant'' and '' Carry On Screaming!'', its original posters were reproduced by the Royal Mail on stamps to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ''Carry On'' series in June 2008. The film was followed by '' Carry On Cowboy'' (1965). It is often regarded as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling Spacecraft, spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating List of Doctor Who villains, foes. The Doctor usually travels with Companion (Doctor Who), companions. Beginning with William Hartnell, List of actors who have played the Doctor, fourteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor; the most recent being Ncuti Gatwa, who portrayed the Fifteenth Doctor from 2023 to 2025. The transition between actors is written into the plot of the series with the Regeneration ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danger Man
''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake (Danger Man), John Drake. Ralph Smart created the programme and wrote many of the scripts. ''Danger Man'' was financed by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. Series development The idea for ''Danger Man'' originated with Ralph Smart, an associate of Lew Grade, head of ITC Entertainment. Grade was looking for formats that could be exported. Ian Fleming was brought in to collaborate on series development, but left before development was complete. Like James Bond, the main character is a globetrotting spy who works at first for NATO, in series one, and then for the fictional British intelligence service M9 for the remainder of the show's run. Like Bond, Drake ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard The Lionheart (TV Series)
''Richard the Lionheart'' was a British ITV television series which ran from 1962 to 1963, aimed at younger audiences. It began with the death of King Henry II, and put forward the traditional view of King Richard the Lionheart as a hero, and his brother Prince John (played by Trader Faulkner) as the villain. Richard was played by Irish actor Dermot Walsh who said, "he was not always all one would like to see as a man. We have concentrated on his good side." Richard was perhaps a product of his time. A man brimful of contradictions. A brilliant general, but a poor ruler. A sensitive poet and singer. The producers claimed that the series was based on fact as far as possible; though as little was known of Richard's personal life, "we have taken some liberties here and there," according to associate producer Brian Taylor in a '' TV Times'' article indicating the start of the series. Other regular characters in the series included Sir Gilbert ( Robin Hunter), Sir Geoffrey ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maigret (1960 TV Series)
''Maigret'' is a British television series made by the BBC and which – following a pilot episode broadcast in 1959 – ran for 52 episodes from 1960 to 1963. Based on the Maigret stories of Georges Simenon, the series starred Rupert Davies in the title role. Unlike most BBC series produced in the 1960s, all episodes (bar the pilot) have survived intact, and are available as a complete set on DVD and Blu-ray. In 2022 the series was broadcast by UK television channel Talking Pictures TV. Cast Main * Rupert Davies as Central Directorate of the Judicial Police, Police Judiciaire detective Commissaire Jules Maigret * Ewen Solon as Lucas * Neville Jason as Lapointe * Victor Lucas as Torrence * Helen Shingler as Madame Maigret Guests * Stratford Johns * Leon Cortez as Lapie * Terence Alexander * Roger Delgado * William Franklyn * John Carson (actor), John Carson * Michael Goodliffe as Dr Javet * Barry Foster (actor), Barry Foster * Paul Eddington as Harry Brown * Warren Mitc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Avengers (TV Series)
''The Avengers'' is a British Spy fiction, espionage television series that aired from 7 January 1961 to 21 April 1969. It initially focused on David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Ian Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish, and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). Dresses and suits for the series were made by Pierre Cardin. The series screened as one-hour episodes for its entire run. The first episode, "Hot Snow (The Avengers), Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 17 May 1969 in the United Kingdom. ''The Avengers'' was produced by ABC Weekend TV, a contractor within the ITV (TV network), ITV network. After a merger with Rediffusion London in July 1968, ABC Weekend became Thames T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Three Musketeers (1973 Live-action Film)
''The Three Musketeers'' (also known as ''The Three Musketeers (The Queen's Diamonds)'') is a 1973 swashbuckler film based on the 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser, and produced by Ilya Salkind. It stars Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, and Richard Chamberlain as the musketeers, with Raquel Welch, Geraldine Chaplin, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Charlton Heston, Faye Dunaway, Christopher Lee, Simon Ward, Georges Wilson and Spike Milligan. The film adheres closely to the novel, and also injects a fair amount of humor. It was proposed in the 1960s as a vehicle for The Beatles, whom Lester had directed in '' A Hard Day's Night'' and ''Help!'' It was shot by David Watkin, with an eye for period detail, in Madrid and Segovia, Spain. The fight scenes were choreographed by master swordsman William Hobbs. The musical score was composed by Michel Legrand. ''The Three Musketeers'' premiered in France on 11 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Black Torment
''The Black Torment'' (a.k.a. ''Estate of Insanity'') is a 1964 British gothic horror film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring John Turner, Heather Sears and Ann Lynn. It was scripted by brothers Donald and Derek Ford. Plot The film opens with Lucy Judd, a young woman, running in panic through a nocturnal wood. She is tracked down and cornered by a figure in black who puts his hands around her throat. The scene then switches to daytime and a horse-drawn carriage containing Sir Richard Fordyke and his new bride Elizabeth, who is being brought from London to meet her new father-in-law for the first time. Elizabeth is nervous and anxious, hoping to make a good impression but worried that she will not pass muster. Sir Richard assures her that his father will love her just as he does, but warns her that his father is "a shadow of the man he once was", having been crippled by a stroke and now able only to communicate by sign language. A complicating factor is that the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devil Doll (film)
''Devil Doll'' is a 1964 British horror film directed and produced by Lindsay Shonteff and starring Bryant Haliday, William Sylvester and Yvonne Romain. The screenplay was by George Barclay and Lance Z. Hargreaves from a story by Frederick E. Smith (author), Frederick Escreet Smith. The story is about an evil stage hypnotist and his Ventriloquism#Ventriloquist's dummy, dummy Hugo. Plot Stage hypnotist/magician "The Great Vorelli" and his dummy Hugo perform before a packed audience in London. The audience observes tension between the magician and Hugo, which Vorelli keeps in a locked cage between performances. American reporter Mark English is assigned a story on Vorelli, and solicits his girlfriend Marianne Horn, a wealthy heiress, to go with him to another show. At the show, Vorelli asks for a volunteer. Mark encourages Marianne to go up. Vorelli hypnotizes her and makes her dance the Twist (dance), twist. During Vorelli's ventriloquism act, Hugo gets up from his chair and wal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Two Faces Of Dr
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Man Who Could Cheat Death
''The Man Who Could Cheat Death'' is a 1959 British horror film, directed by Terence Fisher and starring Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, and Christopher Lee. Jimmy Sangster adapted the screenplay from the play '' The Man in Half Moon Street'' by Barré Lyndon, which had been previously filmed in 1945. ''The Man Who Could Cheat Death'' was produced by Michael Carreras and Anthony Nelson Keys for Hammer Film Productions. It was released in the US in June 1959 and in the UK on 30 November 1959. John Peverall was assistant director, Roy Ashton handled Makeup and Bernard Robinson was Production Designer. The film was supposed to star Alan Ladd and Peter Cushing, but Cushing was unavailable so Anton Diffring got the lead role. There was a European version of the film that featured a partial nude scene of Hazel Court. Filming began Nov. 17, 1958 and concluded on December 30, 1958. It was trade shown on June 4, 1959. The film was released in the UK on November 30, 1959 on a doubl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
