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I Thank You (film)
''I Thank You'' is a 1941 black and white British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Arthur Askey, Richard Murdoch, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott. It was produced by Edward Black at Gainsborough Pictures. Plot summary The film is set in London during the Second World War at the time of the Blitz. The leads are a couple of out of work variety entertainers who use great ingenuity in their efforts to get financial assistance to "put on a show". Hoping to put their proposal to the formidable Lady Randall, ex-music hall star Lily Morris, they infiltrate her house in the guise of a servant (Murdoch) and cook (Askey - in drag). After some farcical interludes, they achieve their aim after Lady Randall is persuaded to sing an old music hall standard "Waiting at the Church" at an impromptu show located underground at Aldwych tube station, - used during wartime as an underground bomb shelter. As the ex-music hall star, Lily Morris plays herself. The title of the film i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcel Varnel
Marcel Varnel (16 October 1892 – 13 July 1947) was French film director, notably however for his career in the United States and England as a director of plays and films Biography He was born Marcel Hyacinthe le Bozec in Paris, France. Varnel started his working life on the Paris stage, soon becoming a director of musical comedies. In 1925 he moved to New York City working as director in several Broadway operettas, musicals and dramas for the Shubert family. This was followed by a move to Hollywood where he directed three low budget thrillers. In 1934, he moved to England and it was as a director of British comedies – initially working at British International Pictures, Elstree, then moving in 1936 to Gainsborough Pictures – where he produced his best films. Among the performers he worked with were Will Hay, The Crazy Gang, Arthur Askey and George Formby. He died in a car crash near Rake, West Sussex Rogate is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germans conducted mass air attacks against industrial targets, towns, and cities, beginning with raids on London towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940 (a battle for daylight air superiority between the Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force over the United Kingdom). By September 1940, the Luftwaffe had lost the Battle of Britain and the German air fleets () were ordered to attack London, to draw RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation.Price 1990, p. 12. Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, ordered the new policy on 6 September 1940. From 7 September 1940, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights. Most notable was a large dayligh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Eyton
Frank Eyton (30 August 1894 – 11 November 1962) was an English popular music lyricist best known for co-writing the lyrics of Johnny Green's " Body and Soul" (1930) with Edward Heyman and Robert Sour. Frank Eyton biographyat Allmusic - retrieved on 18 May 2009 Most of Eyton's work was collaborations with Noel Gay and Billy Mayerl in London-based musical theatre. With Mayerl as composer, Eyton co-wrote with Desmond Carter the lyrics for the celebrated sequence "Side by Side" from ''Over She Goes'' (filmed 1938). His most successful play was the 1948 musical farce, ''Bob's Your Uncle'', written in collaboration with Gay.Frank Eyton at ''jazzbiographies.com'' - retrieved on 18 May 2009 With Gay, Eyton wrote the popular song "All Over The Place" for the 1940 film '' |
Phyllis Morris (actress)
Phyllis Morris (18 July 1894 – 9 February 1982) was an English dramatist, children's writer and actress. As an interwar actor "she was uncommonly astute in a sequence of character parts".'Miss Phyllis Morris: Theatrical author and actress', ''The Times'', 12 February 1982 Life Phyllis Morris was born on 18 July 1894 in Walthamstow and educated at Cheltenham Ladies College. From 1947 to 1952, she worked as an actress in Hollywood, "playing there, as in Britain, any number of grim-featured harridans". She died on 9 February 1982 at Denville Hall, Northwood. Publications Children's books * ''Dandelion Clocks''. London: Erskine Macdonald, 1917 * ''Peter's Pencil''. London, 1920 * ''The Adventures of Willy and Nilly''. London & New York, 1921 * " Spook Town" unpublished Illustrated by Helen Morris, her mother circa 1920 Plays * ''The Rescue Party'', 1926 * ''Made in Heaven'', 1926 * ''Tinker, Tailor'', 1928 Theatre performances * '' Service'' by Dodie Smith, 1932 * ''Music in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wally Patch
Walter Sydney Vinnicombe (26 September 1888 – 27 October 1970) was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre. Biography Vinnicombe was born in Willesden, Middlesex and began working on the music hall stages in 1912 and at regular theatres in 1938 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. His first film appearance was in 1928, and went on to appear in 213 other films. He worked up to his death, with his last television appearance in the comedy '' Doctor in the House'' in 1970. Partial filmography * ''Blighty'' (1927) - Drill Sergeant * '' Boadicea'' (1927) - Officer in Roman Army (uncredited) * '' The King's Highway'' (1927) - Police Chief * '' Carry On'' (1927) - Andrews * '' The Luck of the Navy'' (1927) - Stoker Clark * ''The Guns of Loos'' (1928) - Sergeant * '' Shooting Stars'' (1928) - Property Man * '' Balaclava'' (1928) - Trooper Strang * '' A Reckless Gamble'' (1928) - Wally * '' You Know What Sailors Are'' (1928) - Seaman * ''High Treason'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cameron Hall (actor)
Cameron Hall (6 January 1897 – 19 December 1983) was an English actor. He was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, and died, aged 86, in Sidmouth, Devon Selected filmography * ''D'Ye Ken John Peel?'' (1935) * ''First a Girl'' (1935) - Cast Member (uncredited) * '' Dark World'' (1935) * ''The Man Behind the Mask'' (1936) - Cast Member (uncredited) * ''This'll Make You Whistle'' (1936) - Furnishings Salesman (uncredited) * ''Conquest of the Air'' (1936) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''The Lilac Domino'' (1937) - Arnim * ''Adventure's End'' (1937) - Slivers * ''The Citadel'' (1938) - Man Who Buys Microscope (uncredited) * ''Yes, Madam?'' (1939) - Catlett * ''The Stars Look Down'' (1940) - Cinema Commissionaire (uncredited) * '' Contraband'' (1940) - Naval Officer (uncredited) * ''A Window in London'' (1940) - Hotel Doorman (uncredited) * ''Three Silent Men'' (1940) - Badger Wood * ''Neutral Port'' (1940) - Charlie Baxter * '' Spellbound'' (1941) - Mr. Nugent * ''East of P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Issy Bonn
Issy Bonn (born Benjamin Levin; 21 April 1903 – 21 April 1977) was a British comedian, singer, actor, and theatrical agent. His signature song was "My Yiddishe Momme". Biography Benjamin Levin was born into a Jewish family in Whitechapel, London, the son of a butcher. As a boy, he started singing and entertaining, but his family disapproved of his interest in the music hall and he was sent to Canada to live with relatives. When he returned, he joined an existing comedy and singing group, the Three Rascals, and used the stage name Benny Levine. He went solo in the early 1920s. He took the stage name Issy Bonn at the suggestion of BBC Radio producer John Sharman, who produced a popular programme, ''John Sharman's Music Hall'',Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts'', Robson Books, 1998, , p.17 and made his first radio appearance on the show in 1935, billed as "The Hebrew Vocal Raconteur". He combined sentimental songs such as "My Yiddish Momme" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felix Aylmer
Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early life Felix Aylmer was born in Corsham, Wiltshire, the son of Lilian (Cookworthy) and Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Edward Aylmer Jones. He was educated at King James's Grammar School, Almondbury, near Huddersfield, where he was a boarder from 1897 to 1900, Magdalen College School, and Exeter College, Oxford, where he was a member of Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS). He trained under the Victorian-era actress and director Rosina Filippi before securing his first professional engagement at the London Coliseum in 1911. He appeared in the world premiere of ''The Farmer's Wife'' by Eden Phillpotts at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1917. Between 1917 and 1919 he served as a junior officer in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (R.N.V.R. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kathleen Harrison
Kathleen Harrison (23 February 1892 – 7 December 1995) was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett (opposite Jack Warner and Petula Clark) in a trio of British post-war comedies about a working-class family's misadventures, The Huggetts. She later played the charwoman Mrs. Dilber opposite Alastair Sim in the 1951 film '' Scrooge'' (US: ''A Christmas Carol'', 1951) and a Cockney charwoman who inherits a fortune in the television series ''Mrs Thursday'' (1966–67). Life and career Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, Harrison was brought up in London, her father having become borough engineer for Southwark. She was educated at Clapham High School before training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1914–15). She spent some years living in Argentina and Madeira before making her professional acting debut in the UK in the 1920s. Harrison made her stage debut as Mrs. Judd in ''The Constant Flirt'' at the Pier Theatre, Eastbourne in 19 ... [...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] |
Will Hay
William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film '' Oh, Mr. Porter!'' (1937), made by Gainsborough Pictures, is often cited as the supreme British-produced film-comedy, and in 1938 he was the third highest-grossing star in the UK. Many comedians have acknowledged him as a major influence. Hay was also a keen amateur astronomer. Early life Hay was born at 23 Durham Street in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham. He was one of two sons and three daughters of William Robert Hay (1851–1920) and his wife, Elizabeth (1859–1910) (née Ebden). When Will Hay Jr. was less than a year old the family moved to Lowestoft in Suffolk. By his late teens, Hay had become fluent in Italian, French and German and secured employment as an interpreter. Career Early career Hay decided to become an actor when he was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aldwych Tube Station
Aldwych is a List of former and unopened London Underground stations, closed station on the London Underground, located in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was opened in 1907 with the name Strand, after Strand, London, the street on which it is located, and was the terminus of the short Piccadilly line branch from Holborn tube station, Holborn that was a relic of the merger of two railway schemes. The station building is close to the Strand's junction with Surrey Street, near Aldwych. During its lifetime, the branch was the subject of a number of unrealised extension proposals that would have seen the tunnels through the station extended southwards, usually to Waterloo tube station, Waterloo. Served mostly by a shuttle train and having low passenger numbers, the station and branch were considered for closure several times. Service was offered only during weekday peak hours from 1962 and discontinued in 1994, when the cost of replacing the elevator, lifts was consider ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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