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George Bancroft (actor)
George Bancroft (September 30, 1882 – October 2, 1956) was an American film actor, whose career spanned seventeen years from 1925 to 1942. He was cast in many notable films alongside major film stars throughout his Hollywood years. Early years Bancroft was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1882. He attended Tomes Institute in Port Deposit, Maryland. Maritime work After working on merchant marine vessels at age 14, Bancroft was an apprentice on and later served on and ''West Indies''. Additionally, during the Battle of Manila Bay (1898), he was a gunner on . During his days in the Navy, he staged plays aboard ship. In 1900, he swam underneath the hull of the battleship to check the extent of the damage after it struck a rock off the coast of China. For this, he was appointed to the United States Naval Academy, but found it too restrictive for his tastes and left to pursue a theatrical career.The reference work ''American Classic Screen Profiles'' says of Bancroft, "He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1854, the city has been coextensive with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of world's largest metropolitan regions, with 6.245 million residents . The city's population at the 2020 census was 1,603,797, and over 56 million people live within of Philadelphia. Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn, an English Quaker. The city served as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony during the British colonial era and went on to play a historic and vital role as the central meeting place for the nation's founding fathers whose plans and actions in Philadelphia ultimately inspired the American Revolution and the nation's inde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thunderbolt (1929 Film)
''Thunderbolt'' (also released as ''At The Gates of Death'') is a 1929 American Pre-Code proto-noir film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring George Bancroft, Fay Wray, Richard Arlen, Tully Marshall and Eugenie Besserer. It tells the story of a criminal, facing execution, who wants to kill the man in the next cell for being in love with his former girlfriend. The film was adapted by Herman J. Mankiewicz, Joseph L. Mankiewicz (titles) and Josef von Sternberg from the story by Jules and Charles Furthman. Bancroft was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Plot Thunderbolt Jim Lang (George Bancroft), wanted on robbery and murder charges, ventures out with his girl, "Ritzy" (Fay Wray), to a Harlem nightclub, where she informs him that she is going straight. During a raid on the club, Thunderbolt escapes. His gang shadows Ritzy and reports that she is living with Mrs. Moran (Eugenie Besserer), whose son, Bob (Richard Arlen), a bank clerk, is in love with Ritz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Mitchell (actor)
Thomas John Mitchell (July 11, 1892 – December 17, 1962) was an American actor and writer. Among his most famous roles in a long career are those of Gerald O'Hara in ''Gone with the Wind'', Doc Boone in ''Stagecoach'', Uncle Billy in ''It's a Wonderful Life'', Pat Garrett in ''The Outlaw'', and Mayor Jonas Henderson in '' High Noon''. Mitchell was the first male actor to gain the Triple Crown of Acting by winning an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony Award. Mitchell was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the films, '' The Hurricane'' (1937), and ''Stagecoach'' (1939), winning for the latter. He was nominated three times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 1952 and 1953, for his role in the medical drama '' The Doctor'', and won in 1953. While he was nominated again in 1955, for an appearance on a weekly anthology series, he did not win. Mitchell won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, in 1953, for his role ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Golden Age, especially in Western and war movies. His career flourished from the silent era of the 1920s through the American New Wave, as he appeared in a total of 179 film and television productions. He was among the top box-office draws for three decades, and he appeared with many other important Hollywood stars of his era. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Wayne as one of the greatest male stars of classic American cinema. Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa, but grew up in Southern California. After losing his football scholarship to the University of Southern California from a bodysurfing accident, he began working for the Fox Film Corporation. He appeared mostly in small parts, but his first leading role came in Raoul Wal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stagecoach (1939 Film)
''Stagecoach'' is a 1939 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne in his breakthrough role. The screenplay by Dudley Nichols is an adaptation of "The Stage to Lordsburg", a 1937 short story by Ernest Haycox. The film follows a group of strangers riding on a stagecoach through dangerous Apache territory. The film has long been recognized as an important work that transcends the Western genre. Philosopher Robert B. Pippin has observed that both the collection of characters and their journey "are archetypal rather than merely individual" and that the film is a "mythic representation of the American aspiration toward a form of politically meaningful equality." In 1995, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry. Still, ''Stagecoach'' has not avoided controversy. Like most Westerns of the era, its depic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Raft
George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembered for his gangster roles in ''Quick Millions (1931 film), Quick Millions'' (1931) with Spencer Tracy, ''Scarface (1932 film), Scarface'' (1932) with Paul Muni, ''Each Dawn I Die'' (1939) with James Cagney, ''Invisible Stripes'' (1939) with Humphrey Bogart, Billy Wilder's comedy ''Some Like It Hot'' (1959) with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon, and as a dancer in ''Bolero (1934 film), Bolero'' (1934) with Carole Lombard and a truck driver in ''They Drive by Night'' (1940) with Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Bogart. Raft said he never regarded himself as an actor. "I wanted to be me," he said. Early life and career George Raft was born in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Hell's Kitchen, New York City, to a family of German descent, the son ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Each Dawn I Die
''Each Dawn I Die'' is a 1939 Crime film, gangster film directed by William Keighley and starring James Cagney and George Raft. The plot of ''Each Dawn I Die'' involves a crusading reporter who is unjustly thrown in jail and befriends a famous gangster. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Jerome Odlum and the supporting cast features Jane Bryan, George Bancroft (actor), George Bancroft, Maxie Rosenbloom, Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, and Victor Jory. Plot summary Frank Ross is a crusading reporter for a big-city newspaper on the trail of a crooked district attorney, Jesse Hanley, who is running for election as governor of the state. At the Banton Construction Co., Ross sees Hanley and his accomplice Grayce burning books and ledgers to thwart a possible investigation brought about by the paper that Ross works for. His editor Patterson backs Ross in getting Hanley but the D.A. decides to get rid of him, so frames him. Knocked out and covered in whiskey, he is put in a run ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema. Bogart began acting in Broadway shows, beginning his career in motion pictures with ''Up the River'' (1930) for Fox and appeared in supporting roles for the next decade, regularly portraying gangsters. He was praised for his work as Duke Mantee in ''The Petrified Forest'' (1936), but remained cast secondary to other actors at Warner Bros. who received leading roles. Bogart also received positive reviews for his performance as gangster Hugh "Baby Face" Martin, in ''Dead End'' (1937), directed by William Wyler. His breakthrough from supporting roles to stardom was set in motion with '' High Sierra'' (1941) and catapulted in '' The Maltese Falcon'' (1941), conside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances. He is remembered for playing multifaceted tough guys in films such as ''The Public Enemy'' (1931), ''Taxi!'' (1932), ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), ''The Roaring Twenties'' (1939), ''City for Conquest'' (1940) and ''White Heat'' (1949), finding himself typecasting (acting), typecast or limited by this reputation earlier in his career. He was able to negotiate dancing opportunities in his films and ended up winning the Academy Award for his role in the musical ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942). In 1999 the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among its list of AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, greatest male stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Orson Welles described Cagney a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angels With Dirty Faces
''Angels with Dirty Faces'' is a 1938 American crime drama film directed by Michael Curtiz for Warner Brothers. It stars James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, The Dead End Kids, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, and George Bancroft. The screenplay was written by John Wexley and Warren Duff based on the story by Rowland Brown. The film chronicles the relationship of the notorious gangster William "Rocky" Sullivan with his childhood friend and now priest Father Jerry Connolly. After spending fifteen years in prison for armed robbery, Rocky intends to collect $100,000 from his co-conspirator Jim Frazier, a mob lawyer. All the while, Father Connolly tries to prevent a group of youths from falling under Rocky's influence. Brown wrote the scenario in August 1937. After pitching the film to a number of studios, he made a deal with Grand National Pictures, who wanted Cagney to star in the lead role. However, the film never came to fruition, owing to Grand National's financial troubles that led t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, as well as an Academy Honorary Award in 1961 for his career achievements. He was one of the top10 film personalities for 23 consecutive years and one of the top money-making stars for 18 years. The American Film Institute (AFI) ranked Cooper at No.11 on its list of the 25 greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Cooper's career spanned 36 years, from 1925 to 1961, and included leading roles in 84 feature films. He was a major movie star from the end of the silent film era through to the end of the golden age of Classical Hollywood. His screen persona appealed strongly to both men and women, and his range included roles in most major film genres. His ability to project his own personality onto the characters he played contributed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blood Money (1933 Film)
''Blood Money'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code crime drama film directed by Rowland Brown about a crooked bail bondsman named Bill Bailey, played by George Bancroft, with Chick Chandler as crime boss Drury Darling, Judith Anderson as Drury's sister and Bailey's lover, and Frances Dee as a thrill-seeking, larcenous beauty who fatefully catches Bailey's eye. The film was considered to be lost for nearly forty years before reappearing. This marked the film debut of Anderson (better known for her next role, housekeeper Mrs. Danvers in the 1940 '' Rebecca''). Cast *George Bancroft as Bill Bailey *Frances Dee as Elaine Talbart *Chick Chandler as Drury Darling *Judith Anderson as Ruby Darling * Blossom Seeley as Singer *Etienne Girardot as Bail Bond Clerk * George Regas as Charley Dee, normally cast in wholesome roles, described Talbert in the 2002 Turner Classic Movies documentary ''Complicated Women'' as rather weird character, to say the least. She was a kleptomaniac, a nymphomani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
