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It Started With Eve
''It Started with Eve'' is a 1941 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Deanna Durbin, Robert Cummings, and Charles Laughton. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Music Score (Charles Previn and Hans J. Salter). The film is considered by some critics to be Durbin's best film, and the last in which she worked with the producer (Joe Pasternak) and director (Henry Koster) who groomed her for stardom. ''It Started with Eve'' was remade in 1964 as ''I'd Rather Be Rich''. Plot The millionaire Jonathan Reynolds is dying, and his son Johnny returns from Mexico City to his deathbed. The attending physician, Dr. Harvey, informs Johnny that his father does not have much time to live and that his last wish is to get to know Johnny's future wife. Johnny drives quickly to his hotel to find his fiancée, Gloria Pennington, but she has left with her mother. Desperate, he asks Anne Terry if she can play Gloria for an evening. She agrees. Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Koster
Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran. Early life Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to cinema about 1910 when his uncle opened a movie theater in Berlin. Koster's mother played the piano to accompany the films, leaving the young boy to occupy himself by watching the films. After working initially as a short story writer, Kosterlitz was hired by a Berlin movie company as scenarist, becoming an assistant to director Curtis Bernhardt. Bernhardt became sick one day and asked Kosterlitz to take over as director. Career In 1932, Koster directed his first film in Berlin, the comedy ''Thea Roland''. Koster, who was in the midst of directing his second film ''Das häßliche Mädchen'', had been the subject of antisemitism, and knew he had to leave. He lost his temper at an SA officer at his bank during lunch hour and knocked the office ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catherine Doucet
Catherine Doucet (born Catherine Green; June 20, 1875 – June 24, 1958) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 30 films between 1915 and 1954. Her film debut came in ''As Husbands Go''. Doucet's work on Broadway began with ''Brown of Harvard'' (1906) and ended with ''Oh, Brother!'' (1945). Doucet was married to Paul Doucet, "a prominent actor of French extraction" for 14 years until his death in 1928. Partial filmography * ''From the Valley of the Missing'' (1915) - Mrs. Vandecar * ''A Daughter of the Sea'' (1915) - Mrs.Rutland * ''The Dragon'' (1916) - Mayme * ''A Circus Romance'' (1916) - Zaidee * '' Playing With Fire'' (1916) - Rosa Derblay * ''The Steel Trail'' (1923) - Olga * ''Beauty for Sale'' (1933) - Mrs. Gardner (uncredited) * ''As Husbands Go'' (1934) - Emmie Sykes * '' Little Man, What Now?'' (1934) - Mia Pinneberg * ''The Party's Over'' (1934) - Sarah * ''Servants' Entrance'' (1934) - Anastasia Gnu * '' Wake Up and Dream'' (1934) - Madame Rose * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American films during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised, in romantic dramas such as '' The Garden of Allah'' (1936), ''Algiers'' (1938), and '' Love Affair'' (1939), as well as the mystery-thriller ''Gaslight'' (1944). He received four Oscar nominations for Best Actor. He also appeared as himself on the CBS sitcom ''I Love Lucy''. Life and career Early years Boyer was born in Figeac, Lot, France, the son of Augustine Louise Durand and Maurice Boyer, a merchant. Boyer (which means "cowherd" in the Occitan language) was a shy small-town boy who discovered the movies and theatre at the age of eleven. Early acting career Boyer performed comic sketches for soldiers while working as a hospital orderly during Wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franciska Gaal
Franciska Gaal (born Franciska Silberspitz, 1 February 1903 – 13 August 1972) was a Hungarian cabaret artist and film actress of Jewish heritage. Gaal starred in a popular series of European romantic comedies during the 1930s. After attracting interest in Hollywood she moved there and made three films. Early years Born in Budapest, Gaal was the last of the 13 children of a Jewish family. She studied at the Stage Academy in Budapest in 1919 and by 1920 appeared in theaters in that city. Early career Gaal debuted in film in (1919). She was groomed by Joe Pasternak as a singer to become a very popular stage and cabaret performer in Central Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. She made her first film appearances in some Hungarian silent films of the early 1920s, but her cinema career didn't take off until the arrival of sound. Hollywood After appearing in several films made in Hungary, Germany and Austria, two of which were directed by Henry Koster, she came to Hollywood to star in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danielle Darrieux
Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux (; 1 May 1917 – 17 October 2017) was a French actress of stage, television and film, as well as a singer and dancer. Beginning in 1931, she appeared in more than 110 films. She was one of France's great movie stars and her eight-decade career was among the longest in film history. Life and career Darrieux was born in Bordeaux, France, during World War I, the daughter of Marie-Louise (Witkowski) and Jean Darrieux, a medical doctor who was serving in the French Army. Her mother was born in Algeria. Her father died when she was seven years old. Raised in Paris, she studied the cello at the Conservatoire de Musique. At 14, she won a part in the musical film '' Le Bal'' (1931). Her beauty combined with her singing and dancing ability led to numerous other offers; the film ''Mayerling'' (1936) brought her to prominence. In 1935, Darrieux married director/screenwriter Henri Decoin, who encouraged her to try Hollywood. She signed a seve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Steers
Lawrence Wells Steers (February 14, 1888 – February 15, 1951) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 550 films between 1917 and 1951. He was born in Indiana, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Partial filmography * ''Old Wives for New'' (1918) * ''The City of Dim Faces'' (1918) * ''A Pair of Silk Stockings'' (1918) * '' Little Comrade'' (1919) * ''Heartsease'' (1919) * '' The Roaring Road'' (1919) (uncredited) * '' The Right of Way'' (1920) * ''Dollar for Dollar'' (1920) * ''Wealth'' (1921) * ''The Blot'' (1921) (uncredited) * ''Elope If You Must'' (1922) * ''Bell Boy 13'' (1923) (uncredited) * '' Mind Over Motor'' (1923) * ''Soul of the Beast'' (1923) * ''The Girl in the Limousine'' (1924) * ''Ten Scars Make a Man'' (1924) * '' A Cafe in Cairo'' (1924) * ''Paint and Powder'' (1925) * ''The Love Gamble'' (1925) * ''Wild West'' (1925) * ''New Brooms'' (1925) * ''The Best People'' (1925) * ''Flattery'' (1925) * ''Hearts and Spangles'' (1926) * ''The Lodg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Homans
Robert Edward Homans (November 8, 1877 – July 28, 1947) was an American actor who entered films in 1923 after a lengthy stage career. Life and career Robert Homans was born November 8, 1877, in Malden, Massachusetts. Although he studied medicine for three years after his college graduation, a 1906 newspaper article noted that "the 'stage bee' got into his bonnet and nothing would do but that he become an actor." His Broadway credits include '' The Blue Bird'' (1910), ''The Blue Envelope'' (1915), ''Johnny, Get Your Gun'' (1916) and ''Like a King'' (1921). His screen debut came in ''Madame Sherry''. He appeared in some 400 films between 1917 and 1946. On April 18, 1909, Homans married Agnes J. Mellon in San Francisco. Another source gives his wife's name as Agnes Maynard. Homans died in Los Angeles, California on July 28, 1947, from a heart attack. Filmography * ''Madame Sherry'' (1917) as Minor Role * ''Legally Dead'' (1923) as Detective Powell * ''Dark Stairways'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clara Blandick
Clara Blandick (born Clara Blanchard Dickey; June 4, 1876 – April 15, 1962) was an American character, film, stage and theater actress. She played Aunt Em in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). As a character actress, she often played eccentric elderly matriarchs. Early life She was born Clara Blanchard Dickey, the daughter of Isaac B. and Hattie (née Mudgett) Dickey, aboard the ''Willard Mudgett'' – an American ship captained by her father (named after one of her maternal relatives), and docked in Victoria Harbour, British Hong Kong. She was delivered by Captain William H. Blanchard, whose ship, ''Wealthy Pendleton'', was anchored nearby. His wife, Clara Pendleton Blanchard, was also present. To thank the Blanchards, Captain and Mrs. Dickey named their daughter Clara Blanchard Dickey. When she became successful as an actress, she took the first syllable of "Blanchard" and the first syllable of "Dickey" to create her stage name, "Clara Blandick". Whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothea Kent
Dorothea Kent (born Dorothea Jane Schaeffer; June 6, 1916 – December 10, 1990) was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1935 and 1948. A former model, she often played dumb sidekicks of the heroine, and rarely played the lead. In addition to her credited roles, she also had roles in six other films, including her last role in the 1948 film ''The Babe Ruth Story''. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Schaeffer, Kent was born Dorothea Jane Schaeffer in Missouri on June 6, 1916, and died in Burbank, California, on December 10, 1990, from cancer. She was buried at the San Fernando Mission Cemetery. Partial filmography * ''George White's Scandals'' (1934) - Dancer (uncredited) * ''Horses' Collars'' (1935, Short) - Nell Higginbottom * ''The Little Big Top'' (1935, Short) * '' Hayseed Romance'' (1935, Short) - Molly * '' Tars and Stripes'' (1935, Short) - Mack's Girlfriend * ''It Never Rains'' (1935, Short) * ''The E-Flat Man'' (1935, Short) - Elme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wade Boteler
Wade Boteler (October 3, 1888 – May 7, 1943) was an American film actor and writer. He appeared in more than 430 films between 1919 and 1943. Biography He was born in Santa Ana, California, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack. Boteler graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After he graduated, he stayed there as a director until he joined the Army in World War I. For three years in the mid-1920s, he worked for Douglas MacLean's film company as both actor and writer. On Broadway, Boteler appeared in the play '' The Silent Voice'' (1914). Partial filmography * ''The False Road'' (1920) * '' Lahoma'' (1920) * ''An Old Fashioned Boy'' (1920) * '' She Couldn't Help It'' (1920) * '' Ducks and Drakes'' (1921) * ''The Home Stretch'' (1921) * ''Fifty Candles'' (1921) * '' One Man in a Million'' (1921) * '' Blind Hearts'' (1921) * ''At the Sign of the Jack O'Lantern'' (1922) * ''Deserted at the Altar'' (1922) * ''Don't Shoot'' (1922) * ''The Lying ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gus Schilling
August "Gus" Schilling (June 20, 1908 – June 16, 1957) was an American film actor who started in burlesque comedy and usually played nervous comic roles, often unbilled. A friend of Orson Welles, he appeared in five of the director's films — ''Citizen Kane'' (first screen performance), ''The Magnificent Ambersons'', ''The Lady from Shanghai'', ''Macbeth'' and ''Touch of Evil'' (final performance, released posthumously). Career Born in New York City, Schilling had a rubber face and flustered gestures which made him a natural comedian and he began his career understudying comedy stars Bert Lahr and Joe Penner on Broadway. He soon became a favorite among burlesque comedians, who welcomed him into the burlesque profession. Schilling was in a relationship with burlesque star Betty Rowland and the couple toured in the Minsky burlesque troupe. Orson Welles saw Schilling in New York and followed him to Florida. There Welles hired Schilling to appear in a stage production featurin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irving Bacon
Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and grew up in San Diego, California. Career Bacon played on the stage for a number of years before getting into films in 1912 in Mack Sennett productions. The actor returned to the Sennett studio in 1924, and appeared frequently in Sennett's silent and sound comedies as a supporting actor. By 1933 Bacon was so well established as a utility player that he was pressed into service to replace Andy Clyde -- wearing Clyde's "old man" costume and makeup -- in a Sennett comedy. Irving Bacon was sometimes cast in films directed by Lloyd Bacon (incorrectly named as his brother in several sources) such as ''The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse'' (1938). He often played comical "average guys" in scores of feature films; in 1939 alone he app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
