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James Hadley Chase
James Hadley Chase (24 December 1906 – 6 February 1985) was an English writer. While his birth name was René Lodge Brabazon Raymond, he was well known by his various pseudonyms, including James Hadley Chase, James L. Docherty, Raymond Marshall, R. Raymond, and Ambrose Grant. He was one of the best known thriller writers of all time. The canon of Chase, comprising 90 titles, earned him a reputation as the king of thriller writers in Europe. He was also one of the internationally best-selling authors, and to date 50 of his books have been made into films. Personal background René Lodge Brabazon Raymond (James Hadley Chase) was born on 24 December 1906 in London, England. He was the son of Colonel Francis Raymond of the colonial Indian Army, a veterinary surgeon. His father intended his son to have a scientific career and had him educated at King's School, Rochester, Kent. Chase left home at the age of 18. In 1932, Chase married Sylvia Ray, and they had a son. In 195 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London, England
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mystery Fiction
Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is often a detective (such as Sherlock Holmes), who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts presented to the reader. Some mystery books are non-fiction. Mystery fiction can be detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle or suspense element and its logical solution such as a whodunit. Mystery fiction can be contrasted with hardboiled detective stories, which focus on action and gritty realism. Mystery fiction can involve a supernatural mystery in which the solution does not have to be logical and even in which there is no crime involved. This usage was common in the pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
No Orchids For Miss Blandish (film)
''No Orchids for Miss Blandish'' (US re-release title ''Black Dice'') is a 1948 British gangster film adapted and directed by St. John Legh Clowes from the 1939 novel of the same name by James Hadley Chase. It stars Jack La Rue, Hugh McDermott, and Linden Travers (reprising her title role from the West End play by Chase and Robert Nesbitt), with unbilled early appearances from Sid James, as a barman,Cliff Goodwin, ''Sid James: A Biography''. Random House, 2011 , (p. 67-68). and Walter Gotell, as a nightclub doorman. Due to the film's strong violence and sexual content for its time, amongst other reasons, several critics have called it one of the worst films ever made. Plot Miss Blandish (Linden Travers), a sheltered heiress, is targeted for a simple robbery by a cheap thug who ultimately involves two groups of rival gangsters, their goal being her diamond jewelry worth $100,000. The robbery is botched when Riley (Richard Nielson) kills her bridegroom and the three would-be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage. There are a total of 39 theatres in the West End, with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opened in May 1663, the oldest theatre in London. The Savoy Theatre – built as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan – was entirely lit by electricity in 1881. Opening in October 2022, @sohoplace is the first new West End theatre in 50 years. The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) announced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
No Orchids For Miss Blandish (play)
''No Orchids for Miss Blandish'' is a 1942 British stage adaptation by James Hadley Chase and Robert Nesbitt of Chase's 1939 novel of the same name. It ran for 203 performances at the Prince of Wales Theatre in the West End. The play starred Robert Newton as Slim Grisson, Mary Clare as Ma Grisson, and Linden Travers, who reprised her role as Miss Blandish in the 1948 film adaptation. The stage version was well received, particularly in comparison to the film, which was widely denounced as salacious due to the film's portrayal of violence and sexuality. The story, set in Kansas City, follows the wealthy American Miss Blandish who is kidnapped after a failed robbery, during which her fiance is killed. Her initial captors are subsequently killed during a run-in with another gang, led by Ma Grisson and her son, Slim. Ma sexually molests Miss Blandish and plans to kill her after extorting a ransom from her family. However, Slim opposes his mother's plan as he has fallen in love wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Nesbitt (theatre Director)
Robert Nesbitt (11 January 1906 - 3 January 1995) was a theatre director, theatrical producer and impresario, particularly known for staging 25 instances of the Royal Variety Show. Nesbitt was born on 11 January 1906 in London, England. He was the Royal Variety Show's stage director in 1945, 1946, 1958 and 1961; and its producer from 1962 until 1976 and again in 1978. He staged and co-wrote the 1952 hit musical ''The Glorious Days'' starring Anna Neagle. He once rejected an audition by Julie Andrews, but on the grounds of her age (she was only twelve at the time) rather than a deficiency of talent. He appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme ''Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...'' on 27 January 1973. He died on 3 January 1995. Refere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and support of democratic socialism. Orwell produced literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. He is known for the allegorical novella ''Animal Farm'' (1945) and the dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (1949). His non-fiction works, including ''The Road to Wigan Pier'' (1937), documenting his experience of working-class life in the industrial north of England, and ''Homage to Catalonia'' (1938), an account of his experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics, literature, language and culture. Blair was born in India, and raised and educated in England. After school he became an Imperial policeman in Burma, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raffles And Miss Blandish
"Raffles and Miss Blandish" is an essay by the English writer George Orwell first published in ''Horizon'' in October 1944 as "The Ethics of the Detective Story from Raffles to Miss Blandish". Dwight Macdonald published the essay in ''politics'' in November 1944. It was reprinted in '' Critical Essays'', London, 1946. The essay contrasts the A. J. Raffles crime stories with the 1939 novel '' No Orchids for Miss Blandish'' by the crime writer James Hadley Chase and observes the "immense differences in moral atmosphere". In the semi-pornographic crime novel Orwell decries the breaking down of all taboos as the author attracts readers by violence, cruelty and sexual sadism. Orwell argues a direct connection between pornography and power worship. He refers to "realism", meaning the doctrine that might is right, by writing "The growth of 'realism' has been the great feature of the intellectual history of our own age. It is important to notice that the cult of power tends to be mixed up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
No Orchids For Miss Blandish (novel)
''No Orchids for Miss Blandish'' is a 1939 crime novel by the British writer James Hadley Chase. It was a critical and commercial success upon release, though it also provoked considerable controversy due to its explicit depiction of sexuality and violence. Stableford pp. 130-138 In 1942, the novel was adapted into a stage playChibnall & Murphy p. 37 and in 1948 it became a British film. The novel became particularly popular with British servicemen during World War II. The 1948 novel '' The Flesh of the Orchid'' by the same author is a sequel to ''No Orchids for Miss Blandish''. Development and publication Chase wrote ''No Orchids For Miss Blandish'' over a period of six weekends in 1938. The novel was influenced by the American crime writer James M. Cain and the stories featured in the Pulp magazine '' Black Mask''. Although he had never visited America, Chase reportedly wrote the book as a bet to pen a story about American gangsters that would out-do '' The Postman Always R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ma Barker
Kate Barker (born Arizona Donnie Clark; October 8, 1873 – January 16, 1935), better known as Ma Barker (and sometimes known as Arizona Barker and Arrie Barker), was the mother of several American criminals who ran the Barker–Karpis Gang during the "public enemy era" when the exploits of gangs of criminals in the Midwestern United States gripped the American people and press. She traveled with her sons during their criminal careers. Barker gained a reputation as a ruthless crime matriarch who controlled and organized her sons' crimes. J. Edgar Hoover described her as "the most vicious, dangerous, and resourceful criminal brain of the last decade." She has been presented as a monstrous mother in films, songs, and literature. However, those who knew her insisted that she had no criminal role and also allege that Hoover created such accusations in order to excuse the FBI for her subsequent death in a shootout in 1935. Current reports as of 2022 are consistent that Kate Barke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Postman Always Rings Twice (novel)
''The Postman Always Rings Twice'' is a 1934 crime novel by American writer James M. Cain. The novel was successful and notorious upon publication. It is considered one of the most outstanding crime novels of the 20th century. The novel's mix of sexuality and violence was startling in its time and caused it to be banned in Boston. It is included in Modern Library's list of 100 best novels, and it was published as an Armed Services Edition during WWII. The novel has been adapted for film seven times, of which the 1946 version is regarded as an important film noir. The story owes a clear debt to Emile Zola's 1868 novel ''Thérèse Raquin'', which has a similar plot. Plot The story is narrated in the first person by Frank Chambers, a young drifter who stops at a rural California diner for a meal and ends up working there. The diner is operated by a beautiful young woman, Cora, and her much older husband, Nick Papadakis, sometimes called "the Greek". Frank and Cora feel an immed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James M
James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (other), various kings named James * Saint James (other) * James (musician) * James, brother of Jesus Places Canada * James Bay, a large body of water * James, Ontario United Kingdom * James College, a college of the University of York United States * James, Georgia, an unincorporated community * James, Iowa, an unincorporated community * James City, North Carolina * James City County, Virginia ** James City (Virginia Company) ** James City Shire * James City, Pennsylvania * St. James City, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * ''James'' (2005 film), a Bollywood film * ''James'' (2008 film), an Irish short film * ''James'' (2022 film), an Indian Kannada-language film * James the Red Engine, a character in ''Thomas the Tank En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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