|
General Spanky
''General Spanky'' is a 1936 American comedy film produced by Hal Roach. A spin-off of Roach's popular ''Our Gang'' short subjects, the film stars George McFarland, Phillips Holmes, Rosina Lawrence, Billie Thomas and Carl Switzer. Directed by Fred Newmeyer and Gordon Douglas, it was originally released to theaters on December 11, 1936, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). This film, a Civil War period piece, was intended as an experiment to determine if Roach could move ''Our Gang'' into features, as the double feature and block booking were slowly smothering his short subjects production. The film was a box-office disappointment and, after another year of shorts production, Roach ended up selling the ''Our Gang'' unit to MGM in May 1938. When Roach bought the rights to the back catalog of ''Our Gang'' films he had produced from MGM in 1949, he did not buy back the rights to ''General Spanky''. The film was part of the MGM catalog acquired in 1986 by Turner Entertainment, which holds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Newmeyer
Fred C. Newmeyer (August 9, 1888 – April 24, 1967) was an American actor, film director and film producer. Biography A native of Central City, Colorado, Newmeyer is best known for directing a handful of films in the ''Our Gang'' series and for directing several Harold Lloyd movies. With Sam Taylor, Newmeyer co-directed Lloyd in films including ''Safety Last!'' (1923), ''Girl Shy'' (1924), and '' The Freshman'' (1925). Newmeyer also had an extensive directing and acting resume in other comedy short films. He appeared as an actor in 71 films between 1914 and 1923. Prior to his film career, Newmeyer played professional baseball. Partial statistics exist for his time as a left-handed pitcher in Minor League Baseball at the Class D level from 1911 to 1913 in the Southwest Texas League, Michigan State League, and Central Association. He made at least 66 appearances and was the winning pitcher of at least 26 games. Newmeyer was the original director of the first short in the ''O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Box Office Bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after release has technically "bombed", the term is more frequently used for major studio releases that were highly anticipated, extensively marketed and expensive to produce that ultimately failed commercially. Causes Negative word of mouth With the advent of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in the 2000s, word of mouth regarding new films is easily spread and has had a marked effect on box office performance. A film's ability or failure to attract positive or negative commentary can strongly impact its performance at the box office, especially on the opening weekend. External circumstances Occasionally, films may underperform because of issues largely unrelated to the content of the film, such as the timing of the film's re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Best
William Best (May 27, 1913 – February 27, 1962), known professionally as Willie Best or Sleep n' Eat, was an American television and film actor. Best was one of the first African American film actors and comedians to become well known. In the 21st century, his work, like that of Stepin Fetchit, is sometimes reviled because he was often called upon to play stereotypically lazy, illiterate, and/or simple-minded characters in films. Of the 124 films he appeared in, he received screen credit in at least 77, an unusual feat for an African American bit player. Stage A native of Sunflower, Mississippi, Best reached Hollywood as a chauffeur for a vacationing couple. He decided to stay in the region and began his performing career with a traveling show in southern California. He was regularly hired as a character actor in Hollywood films after a talent scout discovered him on stage. Motion pictures Willie Best appeared in more than one hundred films of the 1930s and 1940 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louise Beavers
Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. From the 1920s until 1960, she appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows. She was most often cast in the roles of a maid, servant or slave. Early life Beavers was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to school teacher Ernestine (Monroe) Beavers and William M. Beavers, who was originally from Georgia. Due to her mother's illness, Louise and her parents moved to Pasadena, California. She graduated from Pasadena High School. In Pasadena, she attended school and engaged in several after-school activities, such as basketball and church choir. Her mother also worked as a voice teacher and taught Louise how to sing for concerts. In June 1920, she graduated from Pasadena High School. She worked as a dressing room attendant for a photographer and served as a personal maid to film star Leatrice Joy. Like her cousin, Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company co-founder, George Beav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Middlemass
Robert Middlemass (September 3, 1883 – September 10, 1949) was an American playwright and stage actor, and later character actor with over 100 film appearances, usually playing detectives or policemen.(13 Feb 1937)Mrs. Susan C. Middlemass ''The New York Times'' Biography Middlemass was born in New Britain, Connecticut. He graduated from Harvard University in 1909 and initially went into the insurance business, but soon went on the stage, joining the Castle Square Theatre stock company in Boston. He debuted on Broadway in September 1914 in ''The Bludgeon'' at the Maxine Elliott Theatre.Sexennial Report Class of 1909 Harvard College pp. 201-02 (1915) (self report from Middlemass) His best known play was a one-act melodrama written with |
Hobart Bosworth
Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Early life Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil War. When Bosworth was 12 years old, he ran away to sea. In June 1885, he was on shore leave in San Francisco when an opportunity arose for him to join McKee Rankin's stage company. That led to a theatrical career for him. Career Thinking he would like to become a landscape painter, a friend suggested that he work as a stage manager to raise the money to study art. Acting on his friend's advice, Bosworth obtained a job with McKee Rankin as a stage manager at the California Theatre in San Francisco. Earning some money, he undertook the study of painting. Eventually, he was pressed into duty as an actor in a small part with three lines. Though he botched the lines, he was given other small roles. Bosworth was eighteen years old, and on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer
Carl Dean Switzer (August 7, 1927 – January 21, 1959) was an American singer, child actor, dog breeder, and guide. He was best known for his role as Alfalfa in the short subjects series '' Our Gang''. Switzer began his career as a child actor in the mid-1930s appearing in the '' Our Gang'' short subjects series as Alfalfa, one of the series' most popular and best-remembered characters. After leaving the series in 1940, Switzer struggled to find substantial roles owing to typecasting. As an adult, he appeared mainly in bit parts and B-movies. He later became a dog breeder and hunting guide. Switzer married in 1954 and had one son before divorcing his wife in 1957. He was fatally shot by an acquaintance in a dispute over money in January 1959. Early life and family Switzer was born in Paris, Illinois, the youngest of four children born to Gladys Carrie Shanks (1904–1997) and George Frederick "Fred" Switzer (1905–1960). The eldest brother died in 1922. A sister ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas
William "Billie" Thomas Jr. (March 12, 1931 – October 10, 1980) was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') short films from 1934 until the series' end in 1944. He was a native of Los Angeles. ''Our Gang'' Billie Thomas first appeared in the 1934 ''Our Gang'' shorts ''For Pete's Sake!, The First Round-Up,'' and ''Washee Ironee'' as a background player. The "Buckwheat" character was a female at this time, portrayed by ''Our Gang'' kid Matthew "Stymie" Beard's younger sister Carlena in ''For Pete's Sake!'', and by Willie Mae Walton in three other shorts. Thomas began appearing as "Buckwheat" with 1935's ''Mama's Little Pirate''. Despite Thomas being a male, the Buckwheat character remained a female—dressed as a Topsy-esque image of the African-American "pickaninny" stereotype with bowed pigtails, a large hand-me-down sweater and oversized boots. After Stymie's departure from the series later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irving Pichel
Irving Pichel (June 24, 1891 – July 13, 1954) was an American actor and film director, who won acclaim both as an actor and director in his Hollywood career. Career Pichel was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh. He attended Pittsburgh Central High School with George S. Kaufman. The two collaborated on a play, ''The Failure''. Pichel graduated from Harvard University in 1914 and went immediately into the theater. Pichel's first work in musical theatre was as a technical director for the theater of the San Francisco Bohemian Club; he also helped with the annual summer pageant, held at the elite Bohemian Grove, in which up to 300 of its wealthy, influential members from finance and government participate. With this expertise, he was also hired by Wallace Rice as the main narrator in Rice's ambitious pageant play, ''Primavera, the Masque of Santa Barbara'' in 1920. He founded the Berkeley Playhouse in 1923 and served as its director until 1926. Actor Pichel moved to Los Ang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Morgan
Raphael Kuhner Wuppermann (July 6, 1883 – June 11, 1956), known professionally as Ralph Morgan, was a Hollywood stage and film character actor, and the older brother of Frank Morgan. Early life Morgan was born in New York City, the eighth of eleven children of Josephine Wright (née Hancox) and George Diogracia Wuppermann. His mother was a Mayflower descendant. His father, George Wuppermann, was of Spanish and German lineage. Born in Venezuela and raised in Germany, he later immigrated to the United States. He had made a fortune by distributing Angostura bitters, allowing him to send all of his children to universities. Morgan attended Trinity School, Riverview Military Academy and graduated from Columbia University with a law degree. However, after almost two years' practicing, he abandoned the world of jurisprudence for the vocation of journeyman actor, having already appeared in Columbia's annual Varsity Show. In 1905, billed as Raphael Kuhner Wupperman, he appea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warner Archive Collection
The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the intention of putting previously unreleased catalog films on DVD for the first time. In November 2012, Warner expanded the Archive Collection to include Blu-ray releases, Some Warner Archive releases, such as '' Wise Guys'', previously had a pressed DVD release but have lapsed out of print and have since been re-released as part of the Warner Archive collection. DVD-R recordable media are manufactured on-demand for the consumer and authorized distributors for online resale, rather than the traditional business model of pressing large batches of discs that ship to "brick and mortar" retailers. This saves on the costs of storing unsold stock in a warehouse and mitigates the risk of a retailer holding unsold merchandise, especially since the major ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DVD Region Code
DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to the appropriate region. This is achieved by way of region-locked DVD players, which will play back only DVDs encoded to their region (plus those without any region code). The American DVD Copy Control Association also requires that DVD player manufacturers incorporate the regional-playback control (RPC) system. However, region-free DVD players, which ignore region coding, are also commercially available, and many DVD players can be modified to be region-free, allowing playback of all discs. DVDs may use one code, multiple codes (multi-region), or all codes (region free). Region codes and countries Any combination of regions can be applied to a single disc. For example, a DVD designated Region 2/4 is suitable for playback in Europe, L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_-_Dickerson_&_Best.jpg "Click for more on -> Willie Best")
--Louise_Beavers&Claudette_Colbert.JPG "Click for more on -> Louise Beavers")
