It's A Joke, Son!
''It's a Joke, Son!'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff (in his final directorial role in a film) featuring radio comedian Kenny Delmar as Senator Beauregard Claghorn, the inspiration for the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn. The film was the first American production for Eagle-Lion Films and although it was produced on a very small budget compared to other Hollywood films, it was a box-office disappointment; one theater chain removed the film after less than a week after it only drew $1,000 in ticket sales. The film contributed to a multimillion-dollar loss for Eagle-Lion in 1947, and Arthur B. Krim later stated that the studio had overpaid for Delmar and overestimated his bankability.Balio, Tino. ''United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry'' Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1987. p. 24 It is in the public domain. Plot When the Daughters of Dixie nominate Magnolia Claghorn as a candidate for state senator, the local political machine run b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Film Poster
A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. They normally contain an image with text. Today's posters often feature printed likenesses of the main actors. Prior to the 1980s, illustrations instead of photos were far more common. The text on film posters usually contains the film title in large lettering and often the names of the main actors. It may also include a tagline, the name of the director, names of characters, the release date, and other pertinent details to inform prospective viewers about the film. Film posters are often displayed inside and on the outside of movie theaters, and elsewhere on the street or in shops. The same images appear in the film exhibitor's pressbook and may also be used on websites, DVD (and historically VHS) packaging, flyers, advertisements in newspap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bankable Star
In the film industry, a bankable star is an actor (movie star) "capable of guaranteeing box-office success simply by showing up in a movie." The bankability of an actor includes their films' box office track record, professional demeanor, and other factors. Hiring a bankable star helps a film company to secure investment, distribution, and garner media attention. Some bankable stars have so much star power that even films without a strong concept or "hook", such as a star vehicle film, is feasible to make. A bankable director is a similar notion. Overview Media consultant Blake Harris states that a bankable star is one of the "3 minimum ingredients to any film package," the other two being a successful director and a script or a strong story idea. The involvement of a bankable star in a film gives investors confidence that they will achieve a return on their investments by ensuring that the film is widely distributed and that at least some people will pay to see it (that it wi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1947 Films
The year 1947 in film involved some significant events. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1947 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events *April 19 – Monogram Pictures release their first film under their Allied Artists banner, ''It Happened on Fifth Avenue''. *May 22 – ''Great Expectations'' is premiered in New York. *August 31 – The first Edinburgh International Film Festival opens at the Playhouse Cinema, presented by the Edinburgh Film Guild as part of the Edinburgh Festival of the Arts. Originally specialising in documentaries, it will become the world's oldest continually running film festival. *November 24 – The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten". *November 25 – The Waldorf Statement is released by the executives of the United States motion picture industry that marks the beginning of the Hollywood blacklist ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1947 Comedy Films
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in the 20th century causes extensive disruption of travel. Given the low ratio of private vehicle ownership at the time, it is mainly remembered in terms of its effects on the railway network. * January 1 - The Canadian Citizenship Act comes into effect. * January 4 – First issue of weekly magazine ''Der Spiegel'' published in Hanover, Germany, edited by Rudolf Augstein. * January 10 – The United Nations adopts a resolution to take control of the free city of Trieste. * January 15 – Elizabeth Short, an aspiring actress nicknamed the "Black Dahlia", is found brutally murdered in a vacant lot in Los Angeles; the mysterious case is never solved. * January 16 – Vincent Auriol is inaugurated as president of France. * January 19 – Ferry ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Bonnie Blue Flag
"The Bonnie Blue Flag", also known as "We Are a Band of Brothers", is an 1861 marching song associated with the Confederate States of America. The words were written by the entertainer Harry McCarthy, with the melody taken from the song "The Irish Jaunting Car". The song's title refers to the unofficial first Flags of the Confederate States of America, flag of the Confederacy, the Bonnie Blue Flag. The left flag on the sheet-music is the Bonnie Blue Flag. The song was premiered by lyricist Harry McCarthy during a concert in Jackson, Mississippi, in the spring of 1861 and performed again in September of that same year at the New Orleans Academy of Music for the First Texas Volunteer Infantry regiment mustering in celebration. The New Orleans music publishing house of A.E. Blackmar issued six editions of "The Bonnie Blue Flag" between 1861 and 1864 along with three additional arrangements. The "band of brothers" mentioned in the first line of the song recalls the well known St. Cr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dixie (song)
"Dixie", also known as "Dixie's Land", "I Wish I Was in Dixie", and other titles, is a song about the Southern United States first made in 1859. It is one of the most distinctively Southern musical products of the 19th century. It was not a folk song at its creation, but it has since entered the American folk vernacular. The song likely cemented the word "Dixie" in the American vocabulary as a nickname for the Southern U.S. Most sources credit Ohio-born Daniel Decatur Emmett with the song's composition, although other people have claimed credit, even during Emmett's lifetime. Compounding the problem are Emmett's own confused accounts of its writing and his tardiness in registering its copyright. "Dixie" originated in the minstrel shows of the 1850s and quickly became popular throughout the United States. During the American Civil War, it was adopted as a de facto national anthem of the Confederacy, along with "The Bonnie Blue Flag" and "God Save the South". New versions app ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ida Moore
Ida Moore (March 1, 1882 – September 26, 1964) was an American film and television actress. Early life Moore was born in Altoona, Kansas, she was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marvelton Moore. Career Moore's first professional work had her singing to accompany silent films. She then toured England and South Africa entertaining with a partner. After she returned to the United States, she performed in road companies of plays, including ''Street Scene''. Just before she could make a screen test for Paramount Pictures, her mother became sick, causing Moore to return to Columbus, Ohio, where she ran a restaurant for her mother and acted in amateur productions. She returned to Hollywood after her mother died. She also worked on television programs, including a 1958 episode of ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' titled "Bull in a China Shop". Death She died in Los Angeles, California, aged 82, on September 26, 1964. She is interred in Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles Co ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Margaret McWade
Margaret McWade (born Margaret May Fish; September 3, 1871 – April 1, 1956) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career in vaudeville in the early 1890s. Her most memorable role was as one of The Pixilated Sisters, a comedic stage act with actress Margaret Seddon. Later in 1936, they reprised their roles in the movie ''Mr. Deeds Goes to Town''. Biography Margaret May Fish was born September 3, 1871 in Chicago, Illinois, the eldest of three daughters. A number of short biographies state that Fish was born in 1872; however, the 1900 U.S. Census reports her birth in 1871. Career During her early career, Margaret May Fish went by the stage name Margaret May.Margaret May theater review, ''New York Times'', May 2, 1902. In the late 1890s, while performing in vaudeville, she met fellow actress Margaret Seddon. The two actresses teamed to create a stage act known as The Pixillated Sisters. The act proved to be a hit for the duo. Years later, they would reprise The P ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vera Lewis
Vera Lewis (June 10, 1873 – February 8, 1956) was an American film and stage actress, beginning in the silent film era. She appeared in more than 180 films between 1915 and 1947. She was married to actor Ralph Lewis. Biography She was born in Manhattan, where she began acting in stage productions. Her film career started in 1915 with the film '' Hypocrites'', which starred Myrtle Stedman and Courtenay Foote. From 1915 to 1929 she appeared in 63 silent films, including the film classic ''Intolerance'' (1916) where she played the "old maid" Miss Jenkins. Unlike many silent film stars, she made a smooth transition to "talking films", starting with her 1930 appearance in ''Wide Open'', starring Patsy Ruth Miller and Edward Everett Horton. Already 56 years old by the time of her first talkie, she appeared in 58 films during the 1930s, and another 60 during the 1940s, almost all of them as a character actress. She retired after 1947, and resided at the Motion Picture Country ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ralph Sanford
Ralph Dayton Sanford (May 21, 1899 – June 20, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films and in at least 200 episodes on television between 1930 and 1960, mostly bit parts or supporting roles. Sanford frequently appeared in Westerns and often portrayed "tough guys". Sanford also served in the infantry during World War I. Career Sanford's began his professional career in 1924 as the dancing partner of Ray Bolger. He moved to California in 1928 and gained his first movie credit in 1933. He began appearing on television in 1951, playing various roles. He is probably best-remembered on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, appearing in 21 episodes, including 16 as Mayor Jim Kelly during the 1958-1959 season. On Broadway, Sanford performed in ''Between Two Worlds'' (1934), ''Saluta'' (1934), ''They Shall Not Die'' (1934), ''Twenty-five Dollars an Hour'' (1933), ''Ballyhoo of 1932'' (1932), ''Hey Nonny Nonny!'' (1932), ''Child of Manhattan'' (1932), ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jimmy Conlin
Jimmy Conlin (October 14, 1884 – May 7, 1962) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films in his 32-year career. Career Conlin was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1884, and his acting career started out in vaudeville, where he and his wife Myrtle Glass played the Keith-Albee-Orpheum circuits billed as "Conlin & Glass," a song-and-dance team.Erickson, HaBiography (Allmovie)/ref> They also starred together in two short films, ''Sharps and Flats'' (1928) and ''Zip! Boom! Bang!'' (1929) for Vitaphone. These early shorts display Conlin's musical talents, including his impressive skills at the piano. In later years Conlin became strictly a character comedian, with little opportunity to show his vaudeville skills. Jimmy Conlin made another comedy short without Glass in 1930 (''A Tight Squeeze''), but his film career started in earnest in 1933, and for the next 27 years, with the single exception of 1951, every year saw the release of at least one film in whi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Douglass Dumbrille
Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed as a bank clerk in Hamilton while pursuing an interest in acting. He eventually left banking for the theatre, finding work with a stock company that led him to Chicago, Illinois, and another that toured the United States. In 1913, the East Coast film industry was flourishing and that year he appeared in the film ''What Eighty Million Women Want'', but it would be another 11 years before he appeared on screen again. In 1924, he made his Broadway debut and worked off and on in the theatre for several years while supplementing his income by selling such products as car accessories, tea, insurance, real estate, and books. During the Great Depression, Dumbrille resumed his screen career in Hollywood, where he specialized in playing secondar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |