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His Excellency (play)
''His Excellency'' is a 1950 play by the British writers Campbell Christie and Dorothy Christie. A former docker takes over as the British governor of an island colony in the Mediterranean. It premiered at the Grand Theatre, Leeds before transferring to the West End where it ran for 453 performances between 23 May 1950 and 23 June 1951 initially at the Princes Theatre before moving to the Piccadilly Theatre. The play starred Eric Portman later replaced by Donald Wolfit in the title role, Clive Morton, John Wood, Ian Fleming, Arnold Bell, Sebastian Shaw, Michael Shepley and Annabel Maule. Adaptation In 1952 it was adapted into a film of the same title directed by Robert Hamer with Portman reprising his role and a cast that also included Cecil Parker Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe, 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Campbell Christie (writer)
Campbell Christie (1893–1963) was an Indian-born British playwright and screenwriter who frequently collaborated with his wife Dorothy Christie on plays such as '' Carrington V.C.'', ''His Excellency'' and '' Someone at the Door''. Early life "Campbell Manning Christie was born at Murree in the Punjab on October 8, 1893, the younger son of Archibald Christie. He attended Clifton Preparatory School from April 1901 to June 1902 and then re-entered the college as a junior in January 1905, and left in September 1911." His brother, Archie Christie, married Agatha Christie. Career "From July 11, 1940 to October 21, 1941 Christie was a Brigadier and Commander, Royal Artillery of 53 (Welch) Division and from October 22, 1941 to December 11, 1942 was Brigadier, Royal Artillery, VIII Corps. As a Major General he was General Officer Commanding, Anti-Aircraft Defenses, Malta from December 12, 1942 to May 23, 1944. On May 16, 1946 he retired as a Major General. During his career he rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Fleming (actor)
Ian Fleming (born Ian Macfarlane; 10 September 1888 – 1 January 1969) was an Australian character actor with credits in over 100 British films. One of his best known roles was playing Dr Watson in a series of Sherlock Holmes films of the 1930s opposite Arthur Wontner's Holmes. He also played a number of supporting roles in many classic British films of the era including ''Q Planes'' (1939), ''Night Train to Munich'' (1940), ''We Dive at Dawn'', ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' (both 1943) and '' Waterloo Road'' (1945). He also appeared regularly in the films of musical comedian George Formby. He also acted on stage, appearing as Robert Harley in the Norman Ginsbury's historical work ''Viceroy Sarah'' in the West End. Fleming's later career included appearances in many television series of the 1950s and 1960s, such as ''Fabian of the Yard'', ''Hancock's Half Hour'', '' Educated Evans'', ''Dixon of Dock Green'', ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'', ''The Forsyte Saga'' and '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1950 Plays
Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify the previous emperor Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius. * King Vologases V and other eastern princes support the claims of Pescennius Niger. The Roman province of Mesopotamia rises in revolt with Parthian support. Severus marches to Mesopotamia to battle the Parthians. * The Roman province of Syria is divided and the role of Antioch is diminished. The Romans annexed the Syrian cities of Edessa and Nisibis. Severus re-establish his head ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susan Stephen
Susan Rennie Stephen (16 July 1931 – 21 April 2000) was an English film actress. Born in London, she was known in the 1950s for appearing in a number of B-films. She appeared in over 20 films including ''The Red Beret'' (1953), '' The House Across the Lake'' (1954), ''Pacific Destiny'' (1956) and ''Carry On Nurse'' (1959). Although she joined other celebrities, such as Jack Payne in British Pathé's ''Return to Yesterday'' in 1955, her film appearances became less frequent following her second marriage to film director Nicolas Roeg from 1957 to 1977. Filmography * ''His Excellency'' (1952) - Peggy Harrison * ''Stolen Face'' (1952) - Betty * '' Treasure Hunt'' (1952) - Mary O'Leary * ''Father's Doing Fine'' (1952) - Bicky * ''Finishing School'' (1953) - Lorna Whitmore * ''The Red Beret'' (1953) - Penny Gardner * ''Stryker of the Yard'' (1953) - Peggy Sinclair * ''Golden Ivory'' (1954) - Ruth Meecham * '' The House Across the Lake'' (1954) - Andrea Forrest * ''Dangerous C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe, 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969. Career Parker was born in Hastings, Sussex, the second son (and fifth of six children) of German-born Charles August Schwabe, manager of the Albany Hotel, Hastings, and his English wife Kate (née Parker), a church organist. He was educated at St Francis Xavier College, and at Bruges in Belgium.Who's Who in the Theatre by John Parker (11th Edition) (1952) (London) He served with the Royal Sussex Regiment in the First World War, reaching the rank of sergeant. He began his theatrical career in London in 1922, adopting the surname "Parker" from his mother's maiden name. He made his first film appearance in 1933 and subsequently became a familiar face in British and occasionally American films until his death. He appeared less ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Hamer
Robert Hamer (31 March 1911 – 4 December 1963) was a British film director and screenwriter best known for the 1949 black comedy ''Kind Hearts and Coronets''. Biography Hamer was born at 24 Chester Road, Kidderminster, along with his twin Barbara, the son of Owen Dyke Hamer, a bank clerk, and his wife, Annie Grace Brickell. He was educated at Rossall School, an independent school for boys near the town of Fleetwood in Lancashire, and won a scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he read the Economics tripos. Although claims have since been made that he was sent down (expelled),"Hamer, Robert (1911-63)" screenonline.org.uk. Accessed 4 October 2022. with several sources suggesting that he was suspended for homosexual activities, he did in fact graduate with a third-class degree in 1933. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
His Excellency (1952 Film)
''His Excellency'' is a 1952 British comedy drama film directed by Robert Hamer and starring Eric Portman, Cecil Parker, Helen Cherry and Susan Stephen. It follows a blunt Yorkshireman and former trade union leader, who is sent to take over as Governor of a British-ruled island in the Mediterranean. It was based on the 1950 play of the same name by Dorothy Christie and Campbell Christie. The play was also filmed for Australian television in 1958. The film was produced at Ealing Studios under the general oversight of Michael Balcon. The sets were designed by the art director Jim Morahan. Location shooting took place in Sicily around Palermo. The film was scored by Ernest Irving who incorporated a number of themes by Handel. Cast Critical reception ''Britmovie'' quoted George Perry from his book ''Forever Ealing'', "''His Excellency'' retains a stagebound atmosphere. Its other great fault lies in the way it wastes the theme’s potential in a glib and artificial treatment. At ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annabel Maule
Margaret Annabel Maule (born 8 September 1922) is a British retired actress, notable in theatre, radio, television and film. She played in several films and television series including numerous characters in ''Sunday Night Theatre'' and appeared in the TV film ''Wuthering Heights.'' Biography Maule was born in Lambeth, London on 8 September 1922 to theatrical director-manager Donovan Maude and Mollie Shiells. Maule literally grew up on the stage, with her family having established there first theatre company in 1948, four years before the Kenya National Theatre, they were fundamental in helping establish the arts in Kenya. She is the sister of actor Robin Maule (1924–1942). Maule married Douglas Dickson in Chelsea, London, in 1946, though the marriage was later dissolved. She appeared in the West End in the play ''His Excellency Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Shepley
Arthur Michael Shepley-Smith (29 September 1907 – 28 September 1961), known professionally as Michael Shepley, was a British actor, appearing in theatre, film and some television between 1929 and 1961. He was born in Plymouth, Devon. Shepley made his screen début in the 1931 Twickenham Studios film '' Black Coffee''. He went on to appear in more than sixty films, the last of which was ''Don't Bother to Knock'' in 1961, the year of his death. Filmography * '' Black Coffee'' (1931) - Raynor * '' A Shot in the Dark'' (1933) - Vivien Waugh * '' Bella Donna'' (1934) - Dr, Baring-Hartley * '' Tangled Evidence'' (1934) - Gilbert Morfield * ''Lord Edgware Dies'' (1934) - Captain Roland Marsh * ''Are You a Mason?'' (1934) - Ernest Monison * ''The Green Pack'' (1934) - Mark Elliott * '' Open All Night'' (1934) - Hilary * '' The Rocks of Valpre'' (1935) - Trevor Mordaunt * '' Lazybones'' (1935) - Hildebrand Pope * ''The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes'' (1935) - Cecil Barker * ''The Lad' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sebastian Shaw (actor)
Sebastian Lewis Shaw (29 May 1905 – 23 December 1994) was an English actor, theatre director, novelist, playwright and poet. During his 65-year career, he appeared in dozens of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions. Shaw was born and brought up in Holt, Norfolk, and made his acting debut at age eight at a London theatre. He studied acting at Gresham's School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Although he worked primarily on the London stage, he made his Broadway debut in 1929, when he played one of the two murderers in ''Rope's End''. He appeared in his first film, ''Caste'', in 1930 and quickly began to create a name for himself in films. He described himself as a "rotten actor""Sebastian Shaw Obituary", the ''Daily Telegraph'', 2 January 1995. as a youth and said his success was primarily due to his good looks. He claimed to mature as a performer only after returning from service in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Shaw was par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arnold Bell
Arnold Bell (23 May 1901 – 12 March 1988) was a British actor. Selected filmography * ''Convict 99'' (1919) - Warder Gannawy * '' Doctor Josser K.C.'' (1931) * '' Josser in the Army'' (1932) - Becker * ''Doss House'' (1933) - Reporter * ''Jack of All Trades'' (1936) - (uncredited) * '' His Lordship'' (1936) - Ibrahim's Butler (uncredited) * ''Strange Experiment'' (1937) - Leech * '' O.H.M.S.'' (1937) - Matthews (uncredited) * '' The Greed of William Hart'' (1948) - Dr. Cox * ''The Temptress'' (1949) - Dr. Leroy * ''No Place for Jennifer'' (1950) - Judge * ''Women of Twilight'' (1952) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''Appointment in London'' (1953) - Padre (uncredited) * ''Rough Shoot'' (1953) - Sgt. Baines * '' The Fake'' (1953) - Police Inspector * '' Murder at 3am'' (1953) - McMann * '' Star of India'' (1954) - Captain * ''Bang! You're Dead'' (1954) - The Warder * '' The Diamond'' (1954) - Police Chemist (uncredited) * '' The Master Plan'' (1954) - Gen. Harry Goulding * ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wood (actor, Born 1909)
John Wood (11 November 19091 March 1965)National Archives of Australia, Service Record, Signalman John Wood, NX6581/ref> was an Australian who acted on the stage and briefly became a film star in Hollywood and Britain in the late 1930s. Early acting career Wood was born in Forbes, New South Wales and attended Sydney Church of England Grammar School. After briefly venturing into operating a banana plantation he turned to acting. He performed on stage for the J. C. Williamson Company in Australia between 1929 and 1933, earning good reviews as a "talented juvenile" and handsome young actor "with promise." Stage and screen work in London and Hollywood By early 1934 he had established himself in London, cast soon after arrival in the lead role of Lord Fancourt Babberley in a 1933 revival of ''Charley's Aunt'' at the Gaiety Theatre He appeared in supporting roles in several British B films before being offered a key role as Flavius in the 1935 Hollywood movie ''The Last Days of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
