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Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was best known for his role as producer "Max Fabian" in ''All About Eve'' (1950). Biography Ratoff was born in Samara, Russia, to Jewish parents. His mother was Sophie (née Markison) who claimed to have been born on September 1, 1878, but was married on June 14, 1894, when she would have been 15, to Benjamin Ratner (born 1864), with whom she had four children, the eldest of whom was Grigory, whose date of birth she gave as April 7, 1895 but later April 20 was cited as Gregory Ratoff's birthdate, and the year given as 1893, 1896 and 1897, variously. Sophie Ratner later adopted her son's stage surname (Ratoff) when she herself became a naturalized United States citizen. Sophie Ratoff died on August 27, 1955. Her date of birth is given as September ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Professional Sweetheart
''Professional Sweetheart'' is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic comedy directed by William A. Seiter from a screenplay by Maurine Watkins. It stars Ginger Rogers in her first film for RKO Radio Pictures, with Norman Foster, ZaSu Pitts and Frank McHugh. The film is a satire of the radio industry. Plot Glory Eden is the "Purity Girl" of the ''Ippsie Wippsie Hour'' radio program. The show's sponsor, Sam Ipswich, discovered the orphan and made her a star in three months. He needs her public image to match her pure radio persona to promote Ippsie Wippsie, "the washcloth of queens." However, Glory longs to be a party girl who frequents nightclubs where she can drink, dance and meet men. She listens with envy as her black maid Vera describes the nightlife in Harlem. Ipswich is eager for her to sign a new contract, but she throws a tantrum and refuses because it explicitly prohibits all the things that she wants to do. Along with everything else that Glory has missed, she wants a swee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
What Price Hollywood?
''What Price Hollywood?'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor and starring Constance Bennett with Lowell Sherman. The screenplay by Gene Fowler, Rowland Brown, Jane Murfin and Ben Markson is based on a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns and Louis Stevens. The supporting cast features Neil Hamilton, Gregory Ratoff, Brooks Benedict, Louise Beavers and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. Plot Brown Derby waitress Mary Evans is an aspiring actress who meets film director Maximillan "Max" Carey in the restaurant. Max is very drunk but is charmed by Mary and he invites her to a premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Max, who has an active sense of humor, arrives to collect her in a jalopy rather than a limousine and then gives the car to the parking valet as a tip. Max takes Mary home after the event, but the next morning he remembers nothing about the previous night. Mary reminds him that he had promised her a screen test and expresses concern about his excessive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolores Del Río
María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin American crossover star in Hollywood. Along with a notable career in American cinema during the 1920s and 1930s, she was also considered one of the most important female figures in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, and one of the most beautiful actresses of her era. After being discovered in Mexico, she began her film career in Hollywood in 1925. She had roles on a string of successful films, including ''Resurrection'' (1927), ''Ramona'' (1928) and ''Evangeline'' (1929). Del Río came to be considered a sort of feminine version of Rudolph Valentino, a "female Latin Lover", in her years during the American " silent" era. With the advent of sound, she acted in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to musical comedies and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before moving to Germany where he worked first on the stage, then in film in Berlin in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Lorre caused an international sensation in the Weimar Republic-era film '' M'' (1931), directed by Fritz Lang, in which he portrayed a serial killer who preys on little girls. Of Jewish descent, Lorre left Germany after Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power. His second English-language film, following the multiple-language version of ''M'' (1931), was Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1934), made in the United Kingdom. Eventually settling in Hollywood, he later became a featured player in many Hollywood crime and mystery films. In his initial American films, '' Mad Love'' and ''Crime and Punishment'' (both 193 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lancer Spy
''Lancer Spy'' is a 1937 American thriller film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Dolores Del Rio and George Sanders. Its plot concerns an Englishman who impersonates a German officer and a female German spy who falls in love with him. Plot Cast Production ''Lancer Spy'' was based on a story written by Marthe McKenna, a Belgian woman who was a spy for England during World War I. She had previously written the 1932 memoir ''I Was a Spy'', the basis of a 1933 film of the same title. Gregory Ratoff signed a contract with 20th Century Fox to write, produce and direct. The film was originally to star Michael Whalen in the part that was eventually played by George Sanders. French actor Germaine Aussey was to have made her American debut in the film but was replaced by Dolores del Río soon after filming began in May 1937. Peter Lorre was cast after his success in '' Think Fast, Mr Moto''. Fox bought his contract from the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation. Colin Clive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cafe Metropole
''Cafe Metropole'' is a 1937 American romantic comedy film directed by Edward H. Griffith, released by 20th Century Fox and starring Loretta Young, Tyrone Power and Adolphe Menjou. Plot In Paris in 1937, Victor Lobard owns the very exclusive Café Metropole. One night, he must expel drunk American Alexander Brown after closing time. He is then visited by Maxl Schinner, who had lent Victor 900,000 francs (which he embezzled), and Victor has repaid nothing. Victor asks for another 60,000 francs and promises to repay everything at 6:00 the next evening. Maxl gives him the money. Victor risks the 60,000 francs at baccarat and wins 420,000 more. Alexander wagers the full amount against him, but loses. Victor seemingly has the money he needs, but then Brown confesses that he is penniless. Victor makes a deal with Alexander, convincing him to impersonate Russian nobleman Prince Alexis Paneiev and to romance heiress Laura Ridgeway, the daughter of Victor's old friend, so that Victor can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sins Of Man
''Sins of Man'' is a 1936 American drama film, directed by Otto Brower and released by 20th Century Fox. It stars Jean Hersholt, Don Ameche, and Allen Jenkins. Plot Cast *Jean Hersholt as Christopher Freyman *Don Ameche as Karl Freyman / Mario Signarelli *Allen Jenkins as Crusty *J. Edward Bromberg as Anton Engel *Ann Shoemaker as Anna Engel *DeWitt Jennings as Twichelesko *Fritz Leiber (actor), Fritz Leiber as Father Prior *Francis Ford (actor), Francis Ford as Town Drunk *Christian Rub as Fritz *Adrian Rosley as Singarelli's Butler *Gene Reynolds as Karl Freyman as a Boy *Mickey Rentschler as Gabriel Freyman as a Boy *John Miltern as Mr. Hall *Paul Stanton (actor), Paul Stanton as Minister *Edward Van Sloan as Austrian Army Doctor References External links * * 1936 films American drama films 1936 drama films Films directed by Otto Brower American black-and-white films Films based on works by Joseph Roth Films based on Austrian novels Films set in Austria Films set i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Road To Glory
''The Road to Glory'' is a 1936 dramatic film depiction of World War I trench warfare in France directed by Howard Hawks, starring Fredric March, Warner Baxter, Lionel Barrymore, and June Lang, and produced by 20th Century Fox. It is vaguely inspired by Roland Dorgelès’ 1919 novel and Raymond Bernard’s 1932 Les Croix de Bois (Wooden Crosses), though the film credits don’t mention them. Plot Cast * Fredric March as Lieutenant Michel Denet * Warner Baxter as Captain Paul La Roche * Lionel Barrymore as Papa La Roche / Private Morin * June Lang as Monique La Coste * Gregory Ratoff as Russian Sergeant * Victor Kilian as Tall Sergeant * Paul Stanton as Captain * John Qualen as Scared Soldier * Julius Tannen as Lieutenant Tannen * Theodore von Eltz as Major * Paul Fix as Second Volunteer * Leonid Kinskey as Soldier * Jacques Lory as Courier * Jacques Vanaire as Doctor * Edythe Raynore as Nurse *George Warrington as Jean Dulac References External links''The Road to Glor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A versatile film director, Hawks explored many genres such as comedies, dramas, gangster films, science fiction, film noir, war films and westerns. His most popular films include '' Scarface'' (1932), '' Bringing Up Baby'' (1938), '' Only Angels Have Wings'' (1939), ''His Girl Friday'' (1940), '' To Have and Have Not'' (1944), ''The Big Sleep'' (1946), '' Red River'' (1948), ''The Thing from Another World'' (1951), '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1953), and '' Rio Bravo'' (1959). His frequent portrayals of strong, tough-talking female characters came to define the "Hawksian woman". In 1942, Hawks was nominated the only time for the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Sergeant York'' (1941). In 1974, he was awarded an Honorary Academy Awa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Under Two Flags (1936 Film)
''Under Two Flags'' is a 1936 American adventure romance film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Ronald Colman, Claudette Colbert, Victor McLaglen, and Rosalind Russell. The picture was based on the 1867 novel of the same name by the writer Ouida. The film was widely popular with audiences of its time. The supporting cast features Nigel Bruce, John Carradine, and Fritz Leiber. The novel was previously adapted for the screen in 1912; 1916, starring Theda Bara; and 1922, under the direction by Tod Browning. Plot Victor ( Ronald Colman) joins the French Foreign Legion, along with his faithful valet, Rake (Herbert Mundin). His company is attacked while escorting a caravan. The survivors join a battalion stationed in southern Algeria. His new commander is Major Doyle (Victor McLaglen), who becomes jealous when Cigarette (Claudette Colbert), a cafe singer, loses her heart to Victor. However, Victor and a refined visiting Englishwoman, Lady Venetia (Rosalind Russell), fall in love. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Lloyd
Frank William George Lloyd (2 February 1886 – 10 August 1960) was a British-born American film director, actor, scriptwriter, and producer. He was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was its president from 1934 to 1935. Biography Lloyd was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His mother Jane was Scottish and his father Edmund was Welsh. Lloyd started his career as a singer and stage actor in London. He is Scotland's first Academy Award winner and is unique in film history, having received three Oscar nominations in 1929 for his work on a silent film (''The Divine Lady''), a part-talkie (''Weary River'') and a full talkie ('' Drag''). He won for ''The Divine Lady''. He was nominated and won again in 1933 for his adaptation of Noël Coward's ''Cavalcade'' and received a further Best Director nomination in 1935 for perhaps his most successful film, ''Mutiny on the Bounty''. Lloyd is credited with being a founder of the Academy of Motion Picture A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mae West
Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy sexual independence, and her lighthearted bawdy double entendres, often delivered in a husky contralto voice. She was active in vaudeville and on stage in New York City before moving to Los Angeles to begin a career in the film industry. West was one of the most controversial movie stars of her day; she encountered problems especially with censorship. She once quipped, "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it." She bucked the system by making comedy out of conventional mores, and the Depression-era audience admired her for it. When her film career ended, she wrote books and plays, and continued to perform in Las Vegas and the United Kingdom, on radio and television, and recorded rock 'n roll albums. In 1999, the American Film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
