|
Gordon Hessler
Gordon Hessler (12 December 1925 – 19 January 2014) was a German-born British film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. Biography Early Years Born in Berlin, Germany, Katz, Ephraim. ''The Film Encyclopedia'', Harper Perennial, 1994, 2nd Edition, pg. 622. he was raised in England and studied at the University of Reading. While a teenager, he moved to the United States and directed a series of short films and documentaries.McGee, Mark Thomas. ''Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures'', McFarland & Company, Inc., 1996, pgs. 278–281. Television Universal Studios hired Hessler as a story reader for the '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' television series. He became story editor for two seasons (1960–1962) for that series, then served as the associate producer for ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' from 1962 until its cancellation in 1965. He also directed episodes of that series. Hessler then directed his first featur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's States of Germany, sixteen constituent states, Berlin is surrounded by the Brandenburg, State of Brandenburg and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. Berlin's urban area, which has a population of around 4.5 million, is the second most populous urban area in Germany after the Ruhr. The Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Metropolitan regions in Germany, Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Rhine-Main regions. Berlin straddles the banks of the Spree (river), Spree, which flows into the Havel (a tributary of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Last Shot You Hear
''The Last Shot You Hear'' is a 1969 British thriller film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Hugh Marlowe, Zena Walker, Patricia Haines, and William Dysart. It was Marlowe's last film appearance. The film marked the end of the association between Robert L. Lippert and 20th Century Fox which produced over 200 films. Cast * Hugh Marlowe as Charles Nordeck * Zena Walker as Eileen Forbes * Patricia Haines as Anne Nordeck * William Dysart as Peter Marriott * Thorley Walters as Gen. Jowett * Lionel Murton as Rubens * Joan Young as Mrs. Jowett * Helen Horton as Dodie Rubens * John Nettleton as Det. Inspector Nash * John Wentworth as Chambers * Alister Williamson as CID Man * Job Stewart as Policeman * Julian Holloway as Brash Young Man Production The film is based on William Fairchild's play ''The Sound of Murder'' which premiered in 1959 in a production starring Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical films, suspense horror, and occasional comedies, although her greater successes were in romantic dramas. A recipient of two Academy Awards, she was the first thespian to accrue ten nominations. Bette Davis appeared on Broadway in New York, then the 22-year-old Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930. After some unsuccessful films, she had her critical breakthrough playing a vulgar waitress in ''Of Human Bondage'' (1934) although, contentiously, she was not among the three nominees for the Academy Award for Best Actress that year. The next year, her performance as a down-and-out actress in '' Dangerous'' (1935) did land Davis her first Best Actress nomination, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medusa (1973 Film)
''Medusa'' is a 1973 American mystery drama film starring and produced by George Hamilton directed by Gordon Hessler. It was co written by Christopher Wicking, the last of five collaborations he had with Hessler. It was Hamilton's second film as producer (the first being ''Evel Knievel'') and was shot in Greece.Tempo/People: Tower Ticker Gold, Aaron. Chicago Tribune 18 Nov 1974: b16. Plot A stewardess is murdered by a masked man in Greece. The leading suspects are an American playboy and a gangster. Cast * George Hamilton as Jeffrey *Luciana Paluzzi as Sarah * Cameron Mitchell as Angelo *Alana Stewart Alana Hamilton Stewart (; born May 18, 1945) is an American actress and former model. She has also used her maiden name, Alana Collins, and her names from her first marriage, Alana Collins-Hamilton and Alana Hamilton, professionally. Early life ... as Eleana References External links *Medusaat Letterbox DVD 1973 films 1970s mystery drama films American mystery drama f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Embassy (film)
''Embassy'' is a 1972 British spy thriller film directed by Gordon Hessler, written by John Bird and William Fairchild, and with music scored by Biddu.McKay p.252 It is based on the 1969 novel of the same title by Stephen Coulter. It was shot on location in Beirut where the film is set, whereas the novel had been centred in Paris. The film starred Richard Roundtree as a CIA officer, Ray Milland as an Ambassador, Max von Sydow as a Russian defector taking refuge at the embassy, and Chuck Connors as a KGB assassin posing as a U.S. Air Force officer. Broderick Crawford played the embassy Regional Security Officer, Frank Dunniger, who had to capture and hide the KGB man while the CIA smuggled the defector out of town. Cast * Richard Roundtree as Richard 'Dick' Shannon * Chuck Connors as Kesten * Marie-José Nat as Laure * Ray Milland as Ambassador * Broderick Crawford as Frank Dunniger * Max von Sydow as Gorenko * David Bauer as Kadish * Larry Cross as Gamble * Da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murders In The Rue Morgue (1971 Film)
''Murders in the Rue Morgue'' is a 1971 American horror film directed by Gordon Hessler, starring Jason Robards, Christine Kaufmann, Herbert Lom, and Lilli Palmer. It is a loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story of the same name, although it departs from the story in several significant aspects, at times more resembling Gaston Leroux's ''The Phantom of the Opera''. In an interview on the film's DVD, Hessler said that he felt it necessary to reinvent the plot as he believed the majority of audiences were too familiar with Poe's story. Plot In early-20th century Paris, a theatre troupe is specializing in gory, naturalistic horror plays in the fashion of the Grand Guignol, under the direction of Cesar Charron. The director, Cesar Charron (Jason Robards), is presenting Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". Cesar's wife, the actress Madeline ( Christine Kaufmann), whose mother (Lilli Palmer) had been murdered by axe, is haunted by nightmares of an axe-wielding man. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cry Of The Banshee
''Cry of the Banshee'' is a 1970 British horror film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Vincent Price as an evil witchhunter. The film was released by American International Pictures. The film costars Elisabeth Bergner, Hilary Dwyer, and Hugh Griffith. The title credit sequence was animated by Terry Gilliam. Plot The film is set in Elizabethan England. Lord Edward Whitman, a wicked magistrate, presides over the trial of a young woman. Ruling that she is a witch, he has her branded, whipped through the streets, then placed in the village stocks. That night, Whitman hosts a feast at his home as his henchmen search the countryside for the killers of a sheep. Two poor teenagers are pulled into the hall. A burst of wolf-like howling from outside the walls warns that they may be "devil-marked". Both are killed in an ensuing struggle. Whitman's wife, Lady Patricia, calls Whitman a murderer for this. When Whitman's oldest son, Sean, rapes Lady Patricia, Whitman decides he wants to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition in his home country for his leading performances in the Hammer Productions horror films from the 1950s to 1970s, while earning international prominence as Grand Moff Tarkin in ''Star Wars'' (1977). Born in Kenley, Surrey, Cushing made his stage debut in 1935 and spent three years at a repertory theatre before moving to Hollywood to pursue a film career. After making his motion picture debut in the film '' The Man in the Iron Mask'' (1939), Cushing began to find modest success in American films before returning to England at the outbreak of the Second World War. Despite performing in a string of roles, including one as Osric in Laurence Olivier's film adaptation of ''Hamlet'' (1948), Cushing struggled greatly to find work during this pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scream And Scream Again
''Scream and Scream Again'' is a 1970 British science fiction conspiracy thriller film starring Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Alfred Marks, Michael Gothard, and Peter Cushing. It is based on the novel ''The Disorientated Man'' (1967) attributed to 'Peter Saxon', a house pseudonym used by various authors in the 1960s and 1970s. It marks the second teaming, after '' The Oblong Box'', of actors Price and Lee with director Gordon Hessler. Price and Lee only share a brief scene in the film's climax. Cushing, in his brief scene, shares no screen time with either Price or Lee. Although the film's title, and association with stars Price, Lee and Cushing, might suggest a violent horror film, the violence in the film is mostly understated and/or off-screen, while the plot owes more to films like ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' or 1970's era 'conspiracy thrillers' like '' The Parallax View''. Overlooked during its initial release, the film has since become a minor cult classic, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Sade (film)
''De Sade'' (German: ''Das Ausschweifende Leben des Marquis De Sade'') is a 1969 American-German drama film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Keir Dullea, Senta Berger and Lilli Palmer. It is based on the life of Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, named Louis Alphonse Donatien in the film. Dullea, in his first film role since the 1968 release of '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', plays the title character in a film characterized by its psychedelic imagery and go-go sensibilities. As the dying Marquis recalls his life out of sequence, he is terrorized by his uncle and haunted by his own past of debauchery. It was shot at the Spandau Studios in Berlin and the Bavaria Studios in Munich. The film's sets were designed by the art director Hans Jürgen Kiebach. Plot The middle-aged Marquis de Sade arrives at his ancestral estate of La Coste, having escaped incarceration. In the theater at the castle, he meets his uncle, the Abbe, who persuades him to stay to watch an entertainm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Wicking
Christopher Wicking (10 January 1943 – 13 October 2008), also known as Chris Wicking, was a British screenwriter, often in the horror and fantasy genres, notably for the British arm of American International Pictures and with Hammer Film Productions, for whom he was the last 'resident script editor'.All's Well That Ends: an interview with Chris Wicking Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 55, Iss. 658, (1 November 1988): 322. Early life Wicking was born in London and educated at Coopers' Company's School. While studying at St Martin's School of Art, London, he determined to break into the film industry. Movies He began as a film booking clerk for Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors and, while working as an assistant film editor on documentaries in London, he began writing profiles of directors for the influential French movie magazine '' Cahiers du cinéma''. He was a lifelong fan of westerns and wrote movie feature articles and interviews about the genre for various Briti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Reeves
Michael Reeves (17 October 1943 – 11 February 1969) was an English film director and screenwriter. He is best remembered for the 1968 film ''Witchfinder General'' (known in the US as ''Conqueror Worm''). A few months after the film's release, Reeves died in London at the age of 25 from an accidental alcohol and barbiturate overdose. History ''Witchfinder General'' It is for his third and final movie, ''Witchfinder General'', that Reeves is best known. He was only 24 years old when he co-wrote and directed it. In 2005, ''Total Film'' magazine named ''Witchfinder General'' the 15th-greatest horror film of all time. Made on a modest budget in East Anglia and adapted from the novel by Ronald Bassett, ''Witchfinder General'' tells the story of Matthew Hopkins, the lawyer-turned-witchhunter who blackmails and murders his way across the countryside. Reeves imbues the film with a powerful sense of the impossibility of behaving morally in a society whose conventions have broken ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_trailer_-_Peter_Cushing.jpg "Click for more on -> Peter Cushing")