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It's A Gift
''It's a Gift'' is a 1934 American comedy film starring W.C. Fields. It was Fields's 16th sound film, and his fifth in 1934 alone. It was directed by Norman McLeod, who had directed Fields in his cameo as Humpty Dumpty in ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1933). The film concerns the trials and tribulations of a grocer as he battles a shrewish wife, an incompetent assistant, and assorted annoying children, customers, and salesmen. The film reprises routines honed by Fields from his career over the years 1915–1925. Fields often tried to recapture sketches that led to his stage success onto film; skits such as "The Picnic", "A Joy Ride", and most famously, "The Back Porch" are all featured in ''It's a Gift''. Lesser known than some of Fields' later works such as ''The Bank Dick,'' the film is perhaps the best example of the recurring theme of the Everyman battling against his domestic entrapment. Historians and critics have often cited its numerous memorable comic moments. It is one o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Z
Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norman conquest of southern Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries ** Norman dynasty, a series of monarchs in England and Normandy ** Norman architecture, romanesque architecture in England and elsewhere ** Norman language, spoken in Normandy ** People or things connected with the French region of Normandy Arts and entertainment * Norman (film), ''Norman'' (film), a 2010 drama film * ''Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer'', a 2016 film * Norman (TV series), ''Norman'' (TV series), a 1970 British sitcom starring Norman Wisdom * The Normans (TV series), ''The Normans'' (TV series), a documentary * Norman (song), "Norman" (song), a 1962 song written by John D. Loudermilk and recorded by Sue Thompson * "Norman (He's a Rebel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kumquat
Kumquats (; zh, 金桔), or cumquats in Australian English, are a group of small fruit-bearing trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae. Their taxonomy is disputed. They were previously classified as forming the now-historical genus ''Fortunella'' or placed within ''Citrus'', . Different classifications have alternatively assigned them to anywhere from a single species, ''C. japonica'', to numerous species representing each cultivar. Recent genomic analysis would define three pure species, ''Citrus hindsii'', ''C. margarita'' and ''C. crassifolia'', with ''C. x japonica'' being a hybrid of the last two. The edible fruit closely resembles the orange (''Citrus sinensis'') in color and shape but is much smaller, being approximately the size of a large olive. The kumquat is a fairly cold-hardy citrus. Etymology The English name "kumquat" is a borrowing of the Cantonese ''gāmgwāt'' (). Origin The kumquat plant is native to Southern China. The historical reference to kum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, movies/videos, moving images, and millions of books. In addition to its archiving function, the Archive is an activist organization, advocating a free and open Internet. , the Internet Archive holds over 35 million books and texts, 8.5 million movies, videos and TV shows, 894 thousand software programs, 14 million audio files, 4.4 million images, 2.4 million TV clips, 241 thousand concerts, and over 734 billion web pages in the Wayback Machine. The Internet Archive allows the public to upload and download digital material to its data cluster, but the bulk of its data is collected automatically by its web crawlers, which work to preserve as much of the public web as possible. Its web archiving, web archive, the Wayback Machine, contains hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Literary Digest
''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current Opinion''. History Beginning with early issues, the emphasis was on opinion articles and an analysis of news events. Established as a weekly newsmagazine, it offered condensations of articles from American, Canadian and European publications. Type-only covers gave way to illustrated covers during the early 1900s. After Isaac Funk's death in 1912, Robert Joseph Cuddihy became the editor. In the 1920s, the covers carried full-color reproductions of famous paintings. By 1927, ''The Literary Digest'' climbed to a circulation of over one million. Covers of the final issues displayed various photographic and photo-montage techniques. In 1938, it merged with the ''Review of Reviews'', only to fail soon after. Its subscriber list was bought by ''T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John B
John Bryn Williams (born 1977), known as John B, is an English disc jockey and electronic music producer. He is widely recognised for his eccentric clothing and wild hair and his production of several cutting edge drum and bass tracks. John B ranked number 76 in ''DJ Magazine''s 2010 Top 100 DJs annual poll, announced on 27 October 2010. Career Williams was born on 12 July 1977 in Maidenhead, Berkshire. He started producing music around the age of 14, and now is the head of drum and bass record label Beta Recordings, together with its more specialist drum and bass sub-labels Nu Electro, Tangent, and Chihuahua. He also has releases on Formation Records, Metalheadz and Planet Mu. Williams was ranked 92nd drum and bass DJ on the 2009 ''DJ Magazine'' top 100. Style While his trademark sound has evolved through the years, it generally involves female vocals and trance-like synths (a style which has been dubbed "trance and bass", "trancestep" and "futurestep" by listeners). His m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Dreier
Hans Dreier (August 21, 1885 – October 24, 1966) was a German motion picture art director. He was Paramount Pictures' supervising art director from 1927 until his retirement in 1950, when he was succeeded by Hal Pereira. Hans Dreier was born in Bremen, Germany in 1885. After studying architecture in Munich, Germany, Dreier worked as imperial supervising architect of the German Cameroon. During World War I, he served in the German Lancers. He began his career in German films in 1919 as an assistant designer at UFA Studios. At the urging of German director Ernst Lubitsch, Dreier relocated to Hollywood in 1923 to work for Paramount. His first Hollywood film was '' Forbidden Paradise'', directed by Lubitsch and starring Pola Negri. Dreier worked as Paramount's supervising art director from 1927 until his retirement in 1950. He made contributions to nearly 500 films during his career, including many films directed by Josef von Sternberg and Ernst Lubitsch, as well as the film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Engle
Billy Engle (May 28, 1889 – November 28, 1966) was an Austro-Hungarian Empire-born American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1917 and 1957. He was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack. Engle's stage debut occurred when he portrayed a cartoonist in ''Now and Then'' at Miner's Theater in New York City. He was a featured player with the Christie comedies. Partial filmography * '' Special Delivery'' (1922) * ''The Soilers'' (1923) * ''Scorching Sands'' (1923) * ''Postage Due'' (1924) * ''Zeb vs. Paprika'' (1924) * ''Near Dublin'' (1924) * ''Rupert of Hee Haw'' (1924) * '' Wide Open Spaces'' (1924) * '' What Happened to Jones'' (1926) * '' Cruise of the Jasper B'' (1926) * ''Red Hot Leather'' (1926) * ''The Western Whirlwind'' (1927) * ''Ridin' for Justice'' (1932) * ''Exposed'' (1932) * ''It Happened One Night'' (1934) * ''The Gold Ghost'' (1934) * ''It's a Gift'' (1934) * ''Uncivil Warriors'' (1935) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Avalon Boys
The Avalon Boys were a quartet of singers popular in the 1930s. They appeared in a number of comedy films and had a memorable role in Laurel and Hardy's '' Way Out West''. Members *Chill Wills (bass) *Art Greene *Walter Weyland Trask (guitar), b. 26 November 1911, d. 27 June 1999 *Don Brookins (baritone, arranger, and piano) b. 29 January 1909 - d. 4 November 1994 Film appearances *''It's a Gift'' (1934) *''Bar 20 Rides Again'' (1935) *''Call of the Prairie'' (1936) *''Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...'' (1936) *'' Way Out West'' (1937) *''Hideaway Girl'' (1937) External links *Hopalong Cassidy Music American vocal groups {{US-singing-group-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Burke (actor)
James Michael Burke (September 24, 1886 – May 23, 1968) was an Irish-American film and television character actor born in New York City."New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909", FHL microfilm 1,322,214; New York Municipal Archives, Manhattan, New York, N.Y. FamilySearch. Retrieved February 20, 2019. Career Burke made his stage debut in New York around 1912 and went to Hollywood in 1933. He made over 200 film appearances during his career between 1932 and 1964, some of them uncredited. He was often cast as a police officer, usually a none-too-bright one, such as his role as Sergeant Velie in Columbia Pictures' Ellery Queen crime dramas in the early 1940s. Burke can also be seen in ''At The Circus'', '' The Maltese Falcon'', '' Lone Star'', and many other films. One of his memorable roles is his portrayal of a rowdy rancher in the 1935 comedy ''Ruggles of Red Gap''. In the early 1950s, Burke appeared on television with Tom Conway in the ABC detective drama ''Inspecto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Mandy
Jerry Mandy (June 5, 1892 – May 1, 1945) was an American film actor. He appeared in 114 films between 1923 and 1945. He was born in Utica, New York and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack. Selected filmography * ''North Star'' (1925) * '' Behind the Front'' (1926) * ''You'd Be Surprised'' (1926) * ''Thundering Fleas'' (1926) * '' Crazy Like a Fox'' (1926) * '' 45 Minutes from Hollywood'' (1926) * ''Raggedy Rose'' (1926) - the chauffeur * ''Señorita'' (1927) * '' Eve's Love Letters'' (1927) * ''Underworld'' (1927) * ''With Love and Hisses'' (1927) * ''The Gay Defender'' (1927) * ''It's a Gift'' (1934) * '' Rainbow's End'' (1935) * ''Two for Tonight'' (1935) * '' Unknown Woman'' (1935) * ''King of Burlesque'' (1936) * ''Behind the Mike'' (1937) * ''Boys of the City'' (1940) * ''One Night in the Tropics'' (1940) * ''Too Many Blondes ''Too Many Blondes'' is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Rudy Vallee, Helen Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spencer Charters
Spencer Charters (March 25, 1875 – January 25, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 220 films between 1920 and 1943, mostly in small supporting roles. Biography Charters was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. Until around 1890 he worked as a machinist for the Chesapeake Nail Works in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and had little interest in acting. He soon appeared on stage after leaving school with a walk-on part, but it wasn't long before he was being given fair-sized roles. He played on Broadway between 1910 and 1929 and was a busy character actor in films during the 1930s and early 1940s. He often portrayed somewhat befuddled judges, doctors, clerks, managers, and jailers. Charters was married to actress Irene Myers until her death December 22, 1941. He died by suicide from a mix of sleeping pills and carbon monoxide poisoning. He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dell Henderson
George Delbert "Dell" Henderson (July 5, 1877 – December 2, 1956) was a Canadian-American actor, director, and writer. He began his long and prolific film career in the early days of silent film. Biography Born in the Southwestern Ontario city of St. Thomas, Dell Henderson started his acting career on the stage, but appeared in his first movie ''Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court'' already in 1908. Henderson was a frequent associate of film pioneer D.W. Griffith since 1909 and appeared in numerous of his early shorts in Hollywood. He also acted on a less prolific basis in the movies of producer Mack Sennett and his Keystone Studios. In addition to acting, Henderson also directed nearly 200 silent films between 1911 and 1928. Most of those films are forgotten or lost, but he also directed movies with silent stars like Harry Carey and Roscoe Arbuckle. Henderson also worked as a writer on numerous screenplays. After retiring from directing in 1927, Henderson turned to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
