HOME
*



picture info

Gabriel Pascal
Gabriel Pascal (born Gábor Lehel; 4 June 1894 – 6 July 1954) was a Hungarian film producer and director whose best-known films were made in the United Kingdom. Pascal was the first film producer to successfully bring the plays of George Bernard Shaw to the screen. His most successful production was ''Pygmalion'' (1938), for which Pascal received an Academy Award nomination as its producer. Later adaptations of Shaw plays included ''Major Barbara'' (1941), '' Caesar and Cleopatra'' (1945) and '' Androcles and the Lion'' (1952). Early life Pascal was born Gábor Lehel on 4 June 1894 in Arad, Transylvania, Austria-Hungary (now Romania). His wife wrote in her book on Pascal's relationship with Shaw that her husband's "origin was shrouded in a mystery which, I often suspected, he enjoyed thickening with contradictory remarks. When people tried to probe into his past, he had a tailor-made answer for each inquirer." He claimed to have been an orphan taken from a burning b ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Arad, Romania
Arad (; German and Hungarian: ''Arad,'' ) is the capital city of Arad County, Transylvania. It is the third largest city in Western Romania, behind Timișoara and Oradea, and the 12th largest in Romania, with a population of 159,704. A busy transportation hub on the Mureș River and an important cultural and industrial center, Arad has hosted one of the first music conservatories in Europe, one of the earliest normal schools in Europe, and the first car factory in Hungary and present-day Romania. Today, it is the seat of a Romanian Orthodox archbishop and features a Romanian Orthodox theological seminary and two universities. The city's multicultural heritage is owed to the fact that it has been part of the Kingdom of Hungary, the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, the Ottoman Temeşvar Eyalet, Principality of Transylvania, Austro-Hungarian Empire, and since 1920 Romania, having had significant populations of Hungarians, Germans, Jews, Serbs, Bulgarians and Czechs at various poin ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Universum Film AG
UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (normally abbreviated as ''UFA''), a major German film company headquartered in Babelsberg, producing and distributing motion pictures from 1917 until the end of the Nazi era. The name UFA was revived by Bertelsmann for an otherwise unrelated film and television outfit, UFA GmbH. The original UFA was established as Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft on December 18, 1917, as a direct response to foreign competition in film and propaganda. UFA was founded by a consortium headed by Emil Georg von Stauß, a former Deutsche Bank board member. In March 1927, Alfred Hugenberg, an influential German media entrepreneur and later Minister of the Economy, Agriculture and Nutrition in Hitler's cabinet, purchased UFA and transferred ownership of it to the Nazi Party in 1933. ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




The Rain In Spain
"The Rain in Spain" is a song from the musical ''My Fair Lady'', with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. The song was published in 1956. The song is a turning point in the plotline of the musical. Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering have been drilling Eliza Doolittle incessantly with speech exercises, trying to break her Cockney accent speech pattern. The key lyric in the song is "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain", which contains five words that a Cockney would pronounce with or – more like "eye" than the Received Pronunciation diphthong . With the three of them nearly exhausted, Eliza finally "gets it", and recites the sentence with all "proper" long-As. The trio breaks into song, repeating this key phrase as well as singing other exercises correctly, such as "In Hertford, Hereford, and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen", in which Eliza had failed before by dropping the leading 'H'. Origin The phrase does not appear in Shaw's orig ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phonetician, so that she may pass as a lady. Despite his cynical nature and difficulty understanding women, Higgins grows attached to her. The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a notable critical and popular success, winning six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It set a record for the longest run of any musical on Broadway up to that time and was followed by a hit London production. Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews starred in both productions. Many revivals have followed, and the 1964 film version won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Plot Act I In Edwardian London, Eliza Doolittle is a flower girl with a thick Cockney accent. The noted phonetician Professor Henry Higgins encounters Eliza at Cov ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Lerner And Loewe
Lerner and Loewe refers to the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Kenny, Ellen, and James M. Salem. “A Guide to Critical Reviews, Part II: The Musical from Rodgers-and-Hart to Lerner-and-Loewe.” ''Notes'', vol. 25, no. 2, 1968, p. 245., doi:10.2307/894002. Spanning three decades and nine musicals from 1942 to 1960 and again from 1970 to 1972, the pair are known for being behind the creation of critical on stage successes such as ''My Fair Lady'', ''Brigadoon'', and ''Camelot'' along with the musical film '' Gigi''. Background and previous work Growing up in Austria, Frederick or "Fritz" Loewe was a child prodigy concert pianist and son to a Viennese Operetta star, Edmond Loewe. After moving to New York City, he worked as a pianist in German clubs and was accompanist for silent films but never had a partnership before working with Lerner.Lees, Gene. ''Inventing Champagne: the Worlds of Lerner and Loewe.'' St. Martin's Press ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Arms And The Man
''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin: ''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Avenue Theatre and published in 1898 as part of Shaw's '' Plays Pleasant'' volume, which also included '' Candida'', '' You Never Can Tell,'' and ''The Man of Destiny.'' ''Arms and the Man'' was one of Shaw's first commercial successes. He was called on to stage after the curtain, where he received enthusiastic applause. Amidst the cheers, one audience member booed. Shaw replied, in characteristic fashion, "My dear fellow, I quite agree with you, but what are we two against so many?" ''Arms and the Man'' is a humorous play that shows the futility of war and deals comedically with the hypocrisies of human nature. Plot summary The play takes place during the 1885 Serbo-Bulgarian War. Its heroine, Raina Petkoff, is a young Bulgarian woman enga ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

The Chocolate Soldier
''The Chocolate Soldier'' (German: ''Der tapfere Soldat'' [The courageous soldier] or ''Der Praliné-Soldat'') is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus (composer), Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, ''Arms and the Man''. The German language libretto is by Rudolf Bernauer and . It premiered on 14 November 1908 at the Theater an der Wien. English-language versions were successful on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in London, beginning in 1909. The first film adaptation was in 1915. The The Chocolate Soldier (film), 1941 film of the same name enlists much of Straus's music but is otherwise unrelated, using a plot based on Ferenc Molnár's play ''The Guardsman''. Background When Shaw gave Leopold Jacobson the rights to adapt the play, he provided three conditions: none of Shaw's dialogue, nor any of the character's names, could be used; the libretto must be advertised as a parody; and Shaw would accept no monetary compensation. In spite of this, Shaw's ori ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti-colonial nationalist politics in the twentieth-century in ways that neither indigenous nor westernized Indian nationalists could." and political ethicist Quote: "Gandhi staked his reputation as an original political thinker on this specific issue. Hitherto, violence had been used in the name of political rights, such as in street riots, regicide, or armed revolutions. Gandhi believes there is a better way of securing political rights, that of nonviolence, and that this new way marks an advance in political ethics." who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and to later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific ''Mahātmā'' (Sanskrit ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a principal leader of the Indian nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s. Upon India's independence in 1947, he served as the country's prime minister for 16 years. Nehru promoted parliamentary democracy, secularism, and science and technology during the 1950s, powerfully influencing India's arc as a modern nation. In international affairs, he steered India clear of the two blocs of the Cold War. A well-regarded author, his books written in prison, such as ''Letters from a Father to His Daughter'' (1929), '' An Autobiography'' (1936) and ''The Discovery of India'' (1946), have been read around the world. During his lifetime, the honorific Pandit was commonly applied before his name in India and even today too. T ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Gandhi (film)
''Gandhi'' is a 1982 period biographical film based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of nonviolent non-cooperative Indian independence movement against the British Empire during the 20th century. A co-production between India and United Kingdom, it is directed and produced by Richard Attenborough from a screenplay written by John Briley. It stars Ben Kingsley in the title role. The film covers Gandhi's life from a defining moment in 1893, as he is thrown off from a South African train for being in a whites-only compartment and concludes with his assassination and funeral in 1948. Although a practising Hindu, Gandhi's embracing of other faiths, particularly Christianity and Islam, is also depicted. ''Gandhi'' was released by Columbia Pictures in India on 30 November 1982, in the United Kingdom on 3 December, and in the United States on 8 December. It was praised for a historically accurate portrayal of the life of Gandhi, the Indian independence movement and the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), as well as the life president of Chelsea FC. He joined the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and served in the film unit, going on several bombing raids over Europe and filming the action from the rear gunner's position. He was the older brother of broadcaster Sir David Attenborough and motor executive John Attenborough. He was married to actress Sheila Sim from 1945 until his death. As an actor, he is best remembered for his film roles in '' Brighton Rock'' (1948), ''I'm All Right Jack'' (1959), '' The Great Escape'' (1963), ''The Sand Pebbles'' (1966), ''Doctor Dolittle'' (1967), '' 10 Rillington Place'' (1971), '' Jurassic Park'' (1993), and ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1994). In 1952 he appeared on the West En ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Karl Vollmöller
Karl Gustav Vollmöller (or Vollmoeller; 7 May 1878 – 18 October 1948) was a German philologist, archaeologist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and aircraft designer. He is most famous for the elaborate religious spectacle-pantomime '' The Miracle'' and the screenplay for the celebrated 1930 film ''The Blue Angel'' (''Der blaue Engel''), which made a star of Marlene Dietrich. Life Vollmöller was born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, the son of merchant Robert Vollmöller (1849–1911), who founded his own textile company (''Vollmoeller AG'') in 1881 and, together with his wife Emilie, née Behr (1852–1894), became known as a pioneer of social market economy. His uncle Karl Vollmöller (1848–1922) was a notable Romance philologist and Anglicist; his sister Mathilde Vollmöller (1876–1943) married the painter Hans Purrmann in 1912. He began writing after the early death of his mother in 1894, and went on to study classical philology, art and painting at the universities of Be ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]