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Jeff Alexander
Jeff Alexander (born Myer Goodhue Alexander; July 2, 1910 – December 23, 1989) was an American conductor, arranger, and composer of film, radio and television scores. Early years Born in Seattle, Washington, Alexander began performing in his teens as a singer and dancer in vaudeville productions. He then began playing piano and composing big band music. Radio In 1939, he moved to New York City, where he arranged and composed music for radio programs, including Benny Goodman's ''Camel Caravan'' (as "Myer Alexander"), "The Lucky Strike Show" and "Amos 'n' Andy". He directed the orchestra for ''Songs of George Byron'', ''Arthur's Place'', ''Thirty Minutes to Play'', ''The Bill Goodwin Show'', and the ''Borden Show''. He directed the chorus for ''The Star Theater'', ''Great Moments in Music'' and (billed as Myer Alexander) the Goodman program. His Goodman group was called "the world's only Swing Chorus". Career Film In 1947, he moved to Los Angeles and began writing film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The Seattle metropolitan area's population is 4.02 million, making it the 15th-largest in the United States. Its growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 makes it one of the nation's fastest-growing large cities. Seattle is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound (an inlet of the Pacific Ocean) and Lake Washington. It is the northernmost major city in the United States, located about south of the Canadian border. A major gateway for trade with East Asia, Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling . The Seattle area was inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jailhouse Rock (1957 Film)
''Jailhouse Rock'' is a 1957 American musical drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Vaughn Taylor and Jennifer Holden. Adapted by Guy Trosper from a story written by Nedrick Young, the film tells the story of Vince Everett (Presley), a convict who learns the guitar while in prison and later becomes a star following his release. The film's iconic soundtrack was written by songwriters Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber. The dance sequence to the film's title song is often cited as "Presley's greatest moment on screen." ''Jailhouse Rock'' premiered in Memphis, Tennessee on October 17, 1957, and was released nationwide on November 8, 1957. It peaked at #3 on the ''Variety'' box-office chart and finished #14 for the year, grossing $4 million. The film initially earned mixed reviews, with much of the negative targeted at Presley. In 2004, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Cong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All The Fine Young Cannibals
''All the Fine Young Cannibals'' is a 1960 American film directed by Michael Anderson, based on the novel by Rosamond Marshall, starring Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, Susan Kohner, George Hamilton and Pearl Bailey. Hamilton said that the film "combined Southern Gothic with a biopic of jazzman Chet Baker."George Hamilton & William Stadiem, ''Don't Mind If I Do'', Simon & Schuster 2008 p 139 Plot Two young people in love, musician Chad Bixby and Sarah "Salome" Davis, are forced apart despite Salome's pregnancy and marry others, but are then brought together again by chance. A downtrodden blues singer mothers Bixby while guiding his career. Cast *Robert Wagner as Chad Bixby *Natalie Wood as Sarah "Salome" Davis * Susan Kohner as Catherine McDowall * George Hamilton as Tony McDowall *Pearl Bailey as Ruby *Jack Mullaney as Putney Tinker *Onslow Stevens as Joshua Davis * Anne Seymour as Mrs. Bixby *Virginia Gregg as Ada Davis *Mabel Albertson as Mrs. McDowall *Louise Beavers as Rose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gazebo
''The Gazebo'' is a 1959 American black comedy CinemaScope film about a married couple who are being blackmailed. It was based on the 1958 play of the same name by Alec Coppel and directed by George Marshall. Helen Rose was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White. According to MGM financial records, the film earned $1,860,000 in North America and $1,450,000 elsewhere, making a profit of $628,000. It is also the last film released by MGM in the 1950s. Plot Television mystery writer and director Elliott Nash is blackmailed by Dan Shelby over nude photographs of his wife Nell, taken when she was 18 years old. Elliott does not inform Nell, the star of a Broadway musical, but works feverishly to pay off the increasing demands. Finally, Elliott decides that murder is the only way out. He obtains advice from his friend, District Attorney Harlow Edison (Carl Reiner), who thinks he is helping with a mystery plot. When a figure presumed to be the blackmail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mating Game (film)
''The Mating Game'' (1959) is an MGM comedy directed by George Marshall, and starring Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall and, in his final film role, Paul Douglas. Reynolds sings the title song during the opening credits. The film was written by William Roberts and very loosely based on the 1958 British novel, '' The Darling Buds of May'' by H. E. Bates, which was later adapted into a more faithful 1991–1993 British miniseries, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones in the role that Reynolds plays in the film. Plot Irritated neighbor Wendell Burnshaw brings the Larkin family to the attention of the Internal Revenue Service. Lorenzo Charlton is assigned to the case by his boss, Kelsey. Ma and Pop Larkin warmly welcome him to their family farm in Maryland, at first unaware of why he is there. Lorenzo is aghast to learn that the Larkins have never filed a tax return. With their cooperation, he sets out to figure out what, if anything, they owe in the way of back taxes, a difficult task, as P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ask Any Girl (film)
''Ask Any Girl'' is a 1959 American romantic comedy film directed by Charles Walters and starring David Niven, Shirley MacLaine, and Gig Young. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and based on a novel by Winifred Wolfe. Plot A wide-eyed Meg Wheeler comes to New York City and takes a job in market research for a large firm. She's also keeping an eye open to meet the right man, her research making her aware that the United States has five million more females than males. Upon meeting two clients, the reserved and somewhat stodgy Miles Doughton and his playboy younger brother Evan, it doesn't take long for Meg to realize she's romantically interested in Evan. Miles is willing to help. He has seen so many of his brother's conquests come and go that he knows what Evan likes in a girl. Therefore, in a Pygmalion-like way, he sets out to transform Meg into exactly that kind of girl. What she doesn't yet know is that Miles secretly comes to want her for himself. Cast *David Niven as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Party Girl (1958 Film)
''Party Girl'' is a 1958 American film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse and Lee J. Cobb. Filmed in CinemaScope, it was the last film Charisse did for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and the next-to-last film Taylor did for the studio; they were MGM's last two contract stars.Arnold, Jeremy (ndg"Party Girl (1958)"TCM.com Plot Slick lawyer Thomas Farrell has made a career of defending Chicago mobsters in court. At a party for mob boss Rico Angelo, he meets chorus girl Vicki Gaye, who accepted $100 to attend the party and another $400 from another gangster, Louis Canetto, from his gambling winnings. Farrell gives her a ride home, each expressing disapproval at the way the other makes money. Vicki finds her roommate Joy dead by suicide, pregnant by a married criminal. After a long night of questioning by police, Farrell asks that Vicki be given a raise and featured number on stage at the Golden Rooster club, which Rico owns. The lawyer and Vicki begin a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sheepman
''The Sheepman'' is a 1958 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Glenn Ford, Shirley MacLaine, and Leslie Nielsen. Plot Gambler Jason Sweet (Ford) wins a flock of sheep in a poker game and proceeds to take them by train into the middle of cattle country. Before long, the townsfolk take notice (and object), but Sweet is more than up to the challenge. The first thing he does is pick a fight with the roughest, toughest man around, "Jumbo" McCall (Mickey Shaughnessy), and beats him up. He also reveals himself to be an expert with a gun. Dell Payton (Shirley MacLaine) does not know what to make of him, but is attracted to him, as he is to her. Her fiancé, local cattle baron "Colonel" Steven Bedford (Nielsen), is troubled by this and also because he and Sweet know each other. The newcomer recognizes Bedford as an old acquaintance named Johnny Bledsoe, a card shark and gunfighter gone respectable. When Bedford finds himself losing their battle for domi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wings Of Eagles
''The Wings of Eagles'' is a 1957 American Metrocolor film starring John Wayne, Dan Dailey and Maureen O'Hara, based on the life of Frank "Spig" Wead and the history of U.S. Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. The film is a tribute to Wead (who died ten years earlier, in 1947, at the age of 52) from his friend, director John Ford, and was based on Wead's "We Plaster the Japs", published in a 1944 issue of ''The American Magazine''. John Wayne plays naval aviator-turned-screenwriter Wead, who wrote the story or screenplay for such films as ''Hell Divers'' (1931) with Wallace Beery and Clark Gable, ''Ceiling Zero'' (1936) with James Cagney, and the Oscar-nominated World War II drama ''They Were Expendable'' (1945) in which Wayne co-starred with Robert Montgomery. The supporting cast features Ward Bond, Ken Curtis, Edmund Lowe and Kenneth Tobey. This film was the third of five in which Wayne and O'Hara appeared together; others were ''Rio Grande'' (1950), ''Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ransom!
''Ransom!'' is a 1956 American crime drama film examining the reactions of parents, police, and the public to a kidnapping. Written by Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume, the film is based on a popular episode of ''The United States Steel Hour'' titled "Fearful Decision", which aired in 1954 and starred Ralph Bellamy. Directed by stage and television veteran Alex Segal, the film stars Glenn Ford, Donna Reed, and Leslie Nielsen (in his first film role). A loosely based remake starring Mel Gibson was made in 1996 by director Ron Howard. Its title was ''Ransom'', minus the exclamation point. Plot Young Andy Stannard ( Bobby Clark) is the son of Dave Stannard (Glenn Ford), a wealthy executive, and his wife Edith (Donna Reed). One day, Edith and Dave feel that each has miscommunicated with the other about the whereabouts of their son. The principal Mrs. Partridge (Mabel Albertson) of Andy's school telephones and informs Edith that Andy was picked up by a nurse and taken to Dr. Gorman's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tender Trap (film)
''The Tender Trap'' (1955) is a CinemaScope Eastman Color comedy directed by Charles Walters and starring Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, David Wayne, and Celeste Holm. Based on the 1954 play ''The Tender Trap'' by Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith, it marked Sinatra's return to MGM some six years after '' On the Town''. A second film under a new contract with the studio, ''Guys and Dolls'', was actually released ahead of ''The Tender Trap'' by one day on November 3, 1955. The film earned an Oscar nomination in the category of Best Original Song for "(Love Is) the Tender Trap" (music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Sammy Cahn). The song proved a hit for Sinatra, one he would continue to sing throughout his career. It is performed in a pre-credits sequence by Sinatra, sung in the film by Reynolds in a lackluster version that Sinatra corrects, and yet again at the end of the film by Sinatra, Reynolds, Holm and Wayne. Plot Charlie Y. Reader is a 35-year-old theatrical agen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speedway (1968 Film)
''Speedway'' is a 1968 American musical action film starring Elvis Presley as a racecar driver and Nancy Sinatra (in her last film role) as his romantic interest. Plot Steve Grayson (Presley) is a generous NASCAR race car driver with a heart of gold who feels compelled to bail friends and acquaintances out of financial hardship. However, Steve's manager Kenny Donford, a compulsive gambler, had been mismanaging Steve's winnings to support his gambling habits, landing Steve in deep trouble with the IRS for nonpayment of back taxes and causing many of Steve's valuable possessions to be repossessed. This proves to be a problem for Steve in his efforts to continue racing competitively and support those who depend on his intense generosity. Enter Susan Jacks (Sinatra), an IRS agent assigned to keep tabs on Steve and apply his future prize money toward his $150,000 debt, but she ends up taking a romantic interest in him as well. Cast * Elvis Presley as Steve Grayson * Nancy Sinatra a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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