|
His Glorious Night
''His Glorious Night'' is a 1929 pre-Code American romance film directed by Lionel Barrymore and starring John Gilbert in his first released talkie. The film is based on the 1928 play ''Olympia'' by Ferenc Molnár. ''His Glorious Night'' has gained notoriety as the film that reputedly began the aging Gilbert's rapid career decline by revealing that he had a voice unsuitable for sound. Plot Although being engaged against her will with a wealthy man, Princess Orsolini (Catherine Dale Owen) is in love with Captain Kovacs (John Gilbert), a cavalry officer she is secretly meeting. Her mother Eugenie (Nance O'Neil), who has found out about the affair forces her to dump Kovacs and take part in the arranged marriage. Though not believing her own words, Orsolini reluctantly tells Kovacs she cannot ever fall in love with a man with his social position, being the son of a peasant. Feeling deeply hurt, Kovacs decides to take revenge by indulging in blackmail, spreading a rumor that he is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931), and remains best known to modern audiences for the role of villainous Mr. Potter in Frank Capra's 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life''. He is also particularly remembered as Ebenezer Scrooge in annual broadcasts of ''A Christmas Carol'' during his last two decades. He is also known for playing Dr. Leonard Gillespie in MGM's nine Dr. Kildare films, a role he reprised in a further six films focusing solely on Gillespie and in a radio series titled ''The Story of Dr. Kildare''. He was a member of the theatrical Barrymore family. Early life Lionel Barrymore was born Lionel Herbert Blythe in Philadelphia, the son of actors Georgiana Drew Barrymore and Maurice Barrymore (born Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blythe). He was the elder brother of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants existed: slave, serf, and free tenant. Peasants might hold title to land either in fee simple or by any of several forms of land tenure, among them socage, quit-rent, leasehold, and copyhold. In some contexts, "peasant" has a pejorative meaning, even when referring to farm laborers. As early as in 13th-century Germany, the concept of "peasant" could imply "rustic" as well as "robber", as the English term villain/villein. In 21st-century English, the word "peasant" can mean "an ignorant, rude, or unsophisticated person". The word rose to renewed popularity in the 1940s–1960s as a collective term, often referring to rural populations of developing countries in general, as the "semantic successor to 'native', incorporating all its conde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leadership The institute is composed of leaders from the film, entertainment, business, and academic communities. The board of trustees is chaired by Kathleen Kennedy and the board of directors chaired by Robert A. Daly guide the organization, which is led by President and CEO, film historian Bob Gazzale. Prior leaders were founding director George Stevens Jr. (from the organization's inception in 1967 until 1980) and Jean Picker Firstenberg (from 1980 to 2007). History The American Film Institute was founded by a 1965 presidential mandate announced in the Rose Garden of the White House by Lyndon B. Johnson—to establish a national arts organization to preserve the legacy of American film heritage, educate the next generation of filmmaker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Redemption (1930 Film)
''Redemption'' is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by Fred Niblo, produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and starring John Gilbert. This production is Gilbert's first talking film, but it was not released until months after the premiere of ''His Glorious Night'', his second "talkie". ''Redemption'' is based on the 1918 Broadway play of the same title by Arthur Hopkins, who in turn based his work on the play ''The Living Corpse'' by Leo Tolstoy and first staged in Moscow in 1911. Plot Living in Russia in the early 1900s, Fedya Protasoff ( John Gilbert) is a handsome, self-indulgent womanizer who continues to squander his family inheritance drinking and gambling. He meets and falls in love with Lisa ( Eleanor Boardman), the fiancée of his friend Victor Karenin (Conrad Nagel). Soon he lures her away from Victor and marries her. After a year together, Lisa has their child, a boy; but after another year of marriage, Fedya tires of the monotony of home life and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sound Film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before sound motion pictures became commercially practical. Reliable synchronization was difficult to achieve with the early sound-on-disc systems, and amplification and recording quality were also inadequate. Innovations in sound-on-film led to the first commercial screening of short motion pictures using the technology, which took place in 1923. The primary steps in the commercialization of sound cinema were taken in the mid-to-late 1920s. At first, the sound films which included synchronized dialogue, known as "talking pictures", or "talkies", were exclusively shorts. The earliest feature-length movies with recorded sound included only music and effects. The first feature film originally presented as a talkie (although it had only limited so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Gawthorne
Peter Gawthorne (1 September 1884 – 17 March 1962) was an Anglo-Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in the films of Will Hay and other popular British comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-upon supporting actors during this period. Early life and career He was born in 1884 in Queen's County (now County Laois) in Ireland, but spent most of his career in England. After two years at the ''Academy of Dramatic Art'', Gawthorne began a career on the London stage, eventually running up over twenty years experience there. His debut was in 1906, a walk-on part at His Majesty's Theatre, London. He was featured in the role of Albany Pope, receiving good notices, in the hit musical '' The Boy'' in 1917.Findon, B.W. (ed.) "''The Boy''", ''The Play Pictorial'', No. 186, Vol. XXXI, 1917, pp. 33–35 He also studied singing. He then toured Australia, South Africa and America, making his film debut in Hollywood before returning to Britain, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Youcca Troubetzkov
Youcca Troubetzkoy (russian: Ю́рий Никола́евич Трубецко́й; 12 December 1905 – 22 April 1992), also credited as Youcca Troubetzkov and Nicolas Barclay, was an American actor. He was a member of the princely Trubetskoy family, son of Prince Nikolai Nikolaievich Troubetzkoy (1867–1949) and the countess Jekaterina Mikhailovna Mussin-Pushkin (1884–1972).Years of birth and death for Igor's parents are from His brother, Prince Igor Nikolayevich Troubetzkoy (1912–2008) became a race car driver. Partial filmography * ''Peacock Feathers'' (1925) as Lionel Clark * '' Flower of Night'' (1925) as John Basset * '' The Beautiful Cheat'' (1926) as Herbert Dangerfield * '' Napoleon's Barber'' (1928) as French Officer * ''His Glorious Night'' (1929) as Von Bergman * '' Chasing Rainbows'' (1930) as Lanning * ''The Virtuous Sin'' (1930) as Capt. Sobakin * ''Abduct Me'' (1932) as Aga * ''Cent mille francs pour un baiser'' (1933; as Nicolas Barclay) * '' Idylle au ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Carle
Richard Carle (born Charles Nicholas Carleton, July 7, 1871 – June 28, 1941) was an American stage and film actor as well as a playwright and stage director. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1915 and 1941. Carle was born in Somerville, Massachusetts. He was on the stage for many years, appearing in important roles in London, New York and Chicago including as J. Offenbach Gaggs in ''The Casino Girl'' (1900)'The Polite Lunatic at Close Quarters' - ''The Sketch'' 12 September 1900, pg. 327 and Algy Cuffs in ''The Belle of Bohemia'' in London in 1901 before making his screen debut. In 1941 he died in North Hollywood, California from a heart attack. Selected filmography * ''Mary's Lamb'' (1915) - Leander Lamb * '' The Mad Marriage'' (1925) * ''Zander the Great'' (1925) - Mr. Pepper * ''The Coming of Amos'' (1925) - David Fontenay * ''Eve's Leaves'' (1926) - Richard Stanley * ''The Understanding Heart'' (1927) - Sheriff Bentley * ''Soft Cushions'' (1927) - The Slave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerald Barry (actor)
Gerald Barry was a British stage and film actor. He also co-directed the 1936 film ''The Last Waltz'' with Leo Mittler.Goble p.833 Selected filmography * '' The Unholy Night'' (1929) * ''His Glorious Night'' (1929) * ''Girl of the Port'' (1930) * '' Son of India'' (1931) * ''What Price Hollywood?'' (1932) * ''Channel Crossing'' (1933) * ''The Lad'' (1935) * '' The Right Age to Marry'' (1935) * ''The Night of the Party'' (1935) * ''Once in a New Moon'' (1935) * ''The Improper Duchess'' (1936) * '' Cheer Up'' (1936) * ''The Last Waltz'' (1936) * ''The Crimes of Stephen Hawke'' (1936) * ''Everything Is Rhythm'' (1936) * ''Tropical Trouble'' (1936) * ''Radio Lover'' (1936) * ''Everything in Life'' (1936) * ''La dernière valse'' (1936) * ''It's You I Want'' (1936) * ''The Schooner Gang'' (1937) * ''Knights for a Day ''Knights for a Day'' is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Norman Lee and starring Nelson Keys, John Garrick and Nancy Burne. It was made as a quota quickie at Welw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyrell Davis
Tyrell Davis (1902–1970) was a British film actor, Cambridge educated, who appeared on the West End and Broadway stage, as well as in British and American films. Filmography * '' Lucky in Love'' (1929) * ''Mother's Boy'' (1929) * ''His Glorious Night'' (1929) * ''Strictly Unconventional'' (1930) * '' Love in the Rough'' (1930) * ''Let Us Be Gay'' (1930) * '' Rain or Shine'' (1930) * '' Prince of Diamonds'' (1930) * '' The Dancers'' (1930) * '' Paid'' (1930) * ''The Magnificent Lie'' (1931) * '' Parlor, Bedroom and Bath'' (1931) * ''The Road to Singapore'' (1931) * ''The Phantom of Paris'' (1931) * ''God's Gift to Women'' (1931) * '' Chances'' (1931) * '' Murder at Midnight'' (1931) * ''Temptation's Workshop'' (1932) * ''The Unexpected Father'' (1932) * ''Lady with a Past'' (1932) * '' Lovers Courageous'' (1932) * '' Call Her Savage'' (1932) * ''Love in High Gear'' (1932) * ''Our Betters'' (1933) * ''Blind Adventure'' (1933) * ''Pleasure Cruise'' (1933) * ''Peg o' My Heart'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doris Hill
Doris Hill (March 21, 1905 – March 3, 1976), born Roberta M. Hill, was an American film actress of the 1920s and 1930s. Early years Born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico, Hill was the daughter of rancher William A. Hill. She was educated in Fort Worth, Texas. When she was a child, Hill began dancing in public. A Warner Brothers casting director saw her dancing at the Metropolitan Theater in Los Angeles, which led to her making a screen test. Career Hill moved to Hollywood in the mid-1920s to pursue an acting career. First working as a vaudeville dancer, she received her first film acting role in 1926 when she starred alongside George O'Hara in ''Is That Nice?'' (or in ''The Better 'Ole''). She starred in 17 films from 1926 to 1929, and unlike many silent film stars, she made a successful transition to talking films. In 1929, Hill was selected as one of 13 actresses to be WAMPAS Baby Stars. On contract with Paramount Pictures, she starred in four films in 1930, includi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, Hopper named suspected communists and was a major proponent of the Hollywood blacklist. Hopper continued to write gossip until the end of her life, her work appearing in many magazines and later on radio. She had an extended feud with another gossip columnist, arch-rival Louella Parsons. Early life Hopper was born Elda Furry in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Margaret ( née Miller; 1856–1941) and David Furry, a butcher, both members of the German Baptist Brethren. Her family was of Pennsylvania Dutch (German) descent. The family moved to Altoona when Elda was three. Career Acting She eventually ran away to New York City and began her career in the chorus on the Broadway stage. Hopper was not succes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
