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Harry Watt (director)
Harry Watt (18 October 19062 April 1987) was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty. His 1959 film ''The Siege of Pinchgut'' was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. Biography He was born in Edinburgh, the son of a Scottish Liberal MP. He studied at Edinburgh University but failed to complete his degree. He enlisted in the Merchant Navy and worked in a number of industrial jobs. Documentaries In 1932, Watt joined the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit under John Grierson and began working on documentaries. He was an assistant on ''Man of Aran'' (1934). In 1936 Watt became a director for the London unit of the American newsreel series ''March of Time'', where his films included ''England's Tithe War'' (1936). Watt then joined the GPO Film Unit where he made his reputation as a documentarian with ''Night Mail'' (1936) which received much acclaim. He followed it with ''The Saving ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. Edinburgh is Scotland's List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, second-most populous city, after Glasgow, and the List of cities in the United Kingdom, seventh-most populous city in the United Kingdom. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and the Courts of Scotland, highest courts in Scotland. The city's Holyrood Palace, Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchy in Scotland. The city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, Scottish law, literature, philosophy, the sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squadron 992
''Squadron 992'' is a 23-minute 1940 British propaganda film produced by the General Post Office GPO Film Unit of the British Ministry of Information and re-distributed by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of their wartime ''Canada Carries On'' series. The film was directed by Harry Watt and produced by Alberto Cavalcanti. ''Squadron 992'' describes the training and operations in 1940 of No. 992 (Barrage Balloon) Squadron RAF, a Royal Air Force (RAF) barrage balloon unit stationed in the United Kingdom. The film's French version title was ''Escadrille 992''. Synopsis By 1940, in the Second World War, 40,000 RAF personnel are in the RAF Balloon Command, created to protect urban centres and key targets such as industrial areas, ports and harbours. Balloons were intended to defend against Luftwaffe dive bombers attacking from heights up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m). The balloons forced the bombers to fly higher and into the range of concentrated anti-aircraft fire. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eureka Stockade (1949 Film)
''Eureka Stockade'' is a 1949 British film of the story surrounding Irish-Australian rebel and politician Peter Lalor and the gold miners' rebellion of 1854 at the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, Victoria, in the Australian Western genre. Starring Chips Rafferty, it was produced by Ealing Studios and directed by Harry Watt, following their success with ''The Overlanders''. The movie was the most expensive film made in Australia at that time, and was a critical and commercial disappointment. Plot An introductory montage establishes Australia of 1851 – a place of both wealth and poverty, transformed by the discovery of gold. This causes a massive drain in manpower which puts a strain on the country. The Governor of Victoria, La Trobe, appoints an army officer, Rede, commissioner of the goldfields and orders him to tax the miners via licences, and to keep law and order. In 1854 Ballarat, civil engineer Peter Lalor arrives to prospect for gold with his Italian friend Rafaello Carbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chips Rafferty
John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until his death in 1971, and during this time he performed regularly in major Australian feature films as well as appearing in British and American productions, including '' The Overlanders'' and '' The Sundowners''. He appeared in commercials in Britain during the late 1950s, encouraging British emigration to Australia. Early days He was born John William Pilbean Goffage in Broken Hill, New South Wales to John Goffage, an English-born stock agent, and Australian-born Violet Maude Joyce.Pike, A. (1996) "Goffage, John William Pilbean hips Rafferty(1909–1971)", ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 14, Melbourne University Press. Gaining the nickname "Chips" as a school boy, Rafferty studied at Parramatta Commercial School before working in a va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Overlanders (film)
''The Overlanders'' is a 1946 British-Australian Western film about drovers driving a large herd of cattle 1,600 miles overland from Wyndham, Western Australia through the Northern Territory outback of Australia to pastures north of Brisbane, Queensland during World War II. The film was the first of several produced in Australia by Ealing Studios, and featured among the cast Chips Rafferty. It was an early example of the genre later dubbed the "meat pie western". Plot In 1942, the Japanese army is thrusting southwards and Australia fears invasion. Bill Parsons becomes concerned, and leaves his homestead in northern Australia along with his wife and two daughters, Mary and Helen. They join up with a cattle drive heading south led by Dan McAlpine. Others on the drive include the shonky Corky; British former sailor, Sinbad; Aboriginal stockmen, Nipper and Jackie. The cattle drive is extremely difficult, encountering crocodiles, blazing heat and other dangers. Mary and Sinbad start ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Australian Women's Weekly
''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known as simply ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Mercury Capital in Sydney. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before being outsold by the Australian edition of '' Better Homes and Gardens'' in 2014. , ''The Weekly'' has overtaken '' Better Homes and Gardens'' again, coming out on top as Australia's most read magazine. The magazine invested in the 2020 film '' I Am Woman'' about Helen Reddy, singer, feminist icon and activist. Editor-in-chief Nicole Byers told Film Ink "Helen’s story of adversity and triumph is nothing short of inspirational. ''The Weekly'' has been telling stories of iconic Australian women for more than 80 years and we're delighted to be supporting the film production". History and profile The magazine was started in 1933 by Frank Packer and Ted Theodore as a weekly publication. The first editor was George Warnecke and the initial dummy was laid out b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Trinder
Thomas Edward Trinder CBE (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989) was an English stage, screen and radio comedian whose catchphrase was "You lucky people!". Described by cultural historian Matthew Sweet as "a cocky, front-of-cloth variety turn", he was one of the United Kingdom's foremost entertainers during the Second World War. Known for his confident and direct style of comedy, Trinder first found recognition with his music hall revues in the late 1930s. During the war, he worked for ENSA and maintained a successful film career, starring in a string of Ealing Studios films including ''Sailors Three'' (1940), '' Champagne Charlie'' (1944) and '' Bitter Springs'' (1950). During the 1950s, Trinder became a television star, notably as the original host for ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' (1955-1958). In 1959, he was elected chairman of Fulham Football Club, a position he maintained until 1976. He continued to perform into the 1980s. Biography Early life (1909–1937) Tommy Tri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiddlers Three (1944 Film)
''Fiddlers Three'' is a 1944 British black-and-white musical comedy. It includes a number of musical sections, mainly focussing on replacing the word "home" with "Rome". The film was produced by Michael Balcon and directed by Harry Watt. The cast included Tommy Trinder, Sonnie Hale, Frances Day, Francis L. Sullivan, Diana Decker and Elisabeth Welch. Making their film debuts were James Robertson Justice, and Kay Kendall near the bottom of the cast list, as the "Girl Who Asks About Her Future At Orgy". The film follows the adventures of two sailors and a Wren who are struck by lightning and transported back to Ancient Rome, where they are accepted as seers. The title comes from the nursery rhyme "Old King Cole". The film was called ''While Nero Fiddled'' on its USA release. It is a loose sequel to the 1940 film ''Sailors Three'' which had also starred Trinder. The film was only moderately successful at the British Box Office but proved to be a major hit in Australia. Plot Tommy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
For Those In Peril (1944 Film)
''For Those in Peril'' is a 1944 British war film produced by Ealing Studios that marked the directorial debut of Charles Crichton. The film was developed from a short story by Richard Hillary, an RAF pilot killed in action in January 1943. The basic and relatively slight storyline of ''For Those in Peril'' was an end to produce a film with a documentary feel and an element of wartime propaganda. The film stars Ralph Michael and David Farrar. The title is taken from the maritime hymn Eternal Father, Strong to Save: Oh hear us when we pray to thee, for those in peril on the sea. The film is cut with many sections of true life footage of the motor launches in action. Plot During the Second World War a fighter pilot bails-out over the English Channel. Lost in the vast sea he floats but is unaided. Observers on the coast at the White Cliffs of Dover assess that it is too late. He is dead. We are then introduced to various characters on a coastal air sea rescue base on the Sus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Balcon
Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film studios of the day. In an industry short of Hollywood-style moguls, Balcon emerged as a key figure, and an obdurately British one too, in his benevolent, somewhat headmasterly approach to the running of a creative organization. He is known for his leadership, and his guidance of young Alfred Hitchcock. Balcon had earlier co-founded Gainsborough Pictures with Victor Saville in 1923, later working with Gaumont British, which absorbed their studio. Later still he worked with MGM-British. In 1956 he founded a production company known as Ealing Films, and later headed British Lion Films. He served as chairman of the British Film Institute production board to help fund and encourage new work. Balcon was described in his obituary in ''The Times' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nine Men (film)
''Nine Men'' is a 1943 British war film, set in the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War. Production The film is an Ealing Studios production and marked the first fiction film assignment for celebrated documentary film director Harry Watt, who had worked at the Crown Film Unit. With only a £20,000 budget, the film's exterior desert sequences were shot at Margam Sands, Glamorgan. Plot In a barrack room at a Battle Training Ground in England, a platoon of conscripts are complaining about blisters and are impatient to get into action with the enemy. Sergeant Jack Watson tells them that they need a little bit extra to be successful in combat, which he illustrates with a story from his experience in the Western Desert Campaign. His story is then shown in flashback. Lieutenant Crawford, Sergeant Watson and the seven men under their command are travelling through the Libyan desert in an Allied convoy, when their lorry becomes stuck in the sand and the convoy moves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment industry worldwide. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette as a trophy, officially called the "Academy Award of Merit", although more commonly referred to by its nickname, the "Oscar". The statuette, depicting a knight rendered in the Art Deco style, was originally sculpted by Los Angeles artist George Stanley from a design sketch by art director Cedric Gibbons. The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929 at a private dinner hosted by Douglas Fairbanks in The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The Academy Awards cerem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
