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John Burke (author)
John Frederick Burke (8 March 1922 – 20 September 2011) was an English writer of novels and short stories. He also wrote under the pen names J. F. Burke, Jonathan Burke, Jonathan George, Robert Miall, Martin Sands, Owen Burke, Sara Morris, Russ Ames, Roger Rougiere, and Joanna Jones; and co-wrote with his wife Jean Burke under the pen name Harriet Esmond. Biography Burke was born on 8 March 1922 in Rye, Sussex, and educated at Holt High School, Liverpool, now known as Childwall Academy. He served in the Royal Air Force, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, and the Royal Marines during the war. After working for the publishers Museum Press and the Books for Pleasure Group, he was a Public Relations and Publications Executive for Shell (1959–63) and Story Editor for Twentieth Century-Fox (1963–65) before becoming a full-time writer in 1966. Writing as Jonathan Burke, J. F. Burke and John Burke, he produced several suspense stories and psychological thrillers, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest types of literature and has existed in the form of legends, mythic tales, folk tales, fairy tales, tall tales, fables and anecdotes in various ancient communities around the world. The modern short story developed in the early 19th century. Definition The short story is a crafted form in its own right. Short stories make use of plot, resonance, and other dynamic components as in a novel, but typically to a lesser degree. While the short story is largely distinct from the novel or novella/short novel, authors generally draw from a common pool of literary techniques. The short story is sometimes referred to as a genre. Determining what exactly defines a short story has been recurrently problematic. A classic definition of a short story i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The System (1964 Film)
''The System'' (US: ''The Girl-Getters'') is a 1964 British drama film directed by Michael Winner and starring Oliver Reed, Jane Merrow and Barbara Ferris. Julie Christie was originally intended to be in the film, but she had to withdraw, and was replaced by Julia Foster. The writer was Peter Draper, who in this film popularised the word 'grockle' to mean a holiday visitor. The film was crucial in the careers of both director Michael Winner and star Oliver Reed. Synopsis In the seaside village of Roxham, a group of local young men mingle among the seasonal tourists in search of sexual conquests. Near the end of one summer, the leader of the group, Tinker, a strolling photographer, aims to conquer a fashion model from a well-to-do family, but he finds himself unexpectedly falling in love. The tables thus turned, Tinker begins to see that maybe it's not the tourists who are being used in these sexual games. Cast * Oliver Reed as Tinker * Jane Merrow as Nicola * Barbara Ferr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jason King (TV Series)
''Jason King'' is a British television series starring Peter Wyngarde as the eponymous character. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and had a single season of 26 one-hour episodes that aired from 1971 to 1972. It was shown internationally as well, and has been released on DVD in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Germany. Overview The series featured the further adventures of the title character who had first appeared in '' Department S'' (1969). In that series he was a dilettante dandy and author of a series of adventure novels, working as part of a team of investigators. In ''Jason King'' he had left that service to concentrate on writing the adventures of Mark Caine, who closely resembled Jason King in looks, manner, style, and personality. None of the other regular characters from ''Department S'' appeared in this series, although Department S itself is occasionally referred to in dialogue. In the course of visiting international locations as part of hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Best House In London
''The Best House in London'' is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Philip Saville and starring David Hemmings, Joanna Pettet, George Sanders, Warren Mitchell, John Bird, Maurice Denham and Bill Fraser.Simon Sheridan, ''Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema'', Titan Books, 2011 p 58 Cast * David Hemmings – Benjamin Oakes / Walter Leybourne * Joanna Pettet – Josephie Pacefoot * George Sanders – Sir Francis Leybourne * Dany Robin – Babette * Warren Mitchell – Count Pandolfo * John Bird – Home Secretary * Jan Holden – Lady Dilke * William Rushton – Sylvester Wall * Bill Fraser – Inspector MacPherson * Maurice Denham – Editor of ''The Times'' newspaper * Wolfe Morris – Chinese Trade Attache * Martita Hunt – Headmistress * Arnold Diamond – Charles Dickens * Hugh Burden – Lord Tennyson * Avril Angers – Flora's Mother * Betty Marsden – Felicity * Tessie O'Shea – Singer * Arthur Howard - Mr. Fortnum * Clement Freud - Mr. Mason ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maroc 7
''Maroc 7'' is a 1967 British thriller film directed by Gerry O'Hara and starring Gene Barry, Elsa Martinelli, Leslie Phillips and Denholm Elliott. The screenplay concerns an international jewel thief who hatches a plan to go to Morocco and steal a valuable artifact. The theme song was an instrumental by the Shadows: "Maroc 7" rose to No. 24 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1967. Production The film was the fifth in a series of movies jointly financed by Rank and the NFFC. The sets were designed by the art directors Seamus Flannery and Terry Pritchard. It was shot at Pinewood Studios and on location in Morocco. Filming began 6 July 1966. The production went over budget.Petrie p 9 Plot Louise Henderson is the editor of a respected fashion magazine, but she has a hidden career as mastermind of a ring of thieves. With their professional operation as a front, Louise uses one of her models, Claudia, and a photographer, Raymond Lowe, to steal precious artifacts and jewels. Law ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat music, beat and 1950s rock and roll, rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band also explored music styles ranging from folk music, folk and Music of India, Indian music to Psychedelic music, psychedelia and hard rock. As Recording practices of the Beatles, pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's Baby boomers, youth and sociocultural movements. Led by primary songwriter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pan Books
Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. Pan Books began as an independent publisher, established in 1944 by Alan Bott, previously known for his memoirs of his experiences as a flying ace in the First World War. The Pan Books logo, showing the ancient Greek god Pan playing pan-pipes, was designed by Mervyn Peake. A few years after it was founded, Pan Books was bought out by a consortium of several publishing houses, including Macmillan, Collins, Heinemann, and, briefly, Hodder & Stoughton. It became wholly owned by Macmillan in 1987. Pan specialised in publishing paperback fiction and, along with Penguin Books, was one of the first popular publishers of this format in the UK. Many popular authors saw their works given paperback publication through Pan, including Ian Fleming, whose James Bond series first appeared in pape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work. ''The Bill'' was the longest-running police procedural television series in the United Kingdom, and among the longest running of any British television series at the time of its cancellation. The title originates from "Old Bill", a slang term for the police. Although highly acclaimed by fans and critics, the series attracted controversy on several occasions. An episode broadcast in 2008 was criticised for featuring fictional treatment for multiple sclerosis. The series has also faced more general criticism concerning its levels of violence, particularly prior to 2009, when it occupied a pre-watershed slot. ''The Bill'' won several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moon Zero Two
''Moon Zero Two'' is a 1969 British science fiction film from Hammer Films, directed by Roy Ward Baker, and starring James Olson, Catherine Schell, Warren Mitchell, and Adrienne Corri. The film takes place on the Moon in the year 2021. A former-astronaut-turned-salvager, Bill Kemp, helps a millionaire space industrialist capture a 6000-tonne sapphire asteroid, while also helping a woman find her brother, a missing miner/prospector. ''Moon Zero Two'' was filmed at the ABPC Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England. The screenplay was by Michael Carreras from an original story by Gavin Lyall, Frank Hardman, and Martin Davison. In the U.S., the film was billed as a space Western with the phrase 'The first moon "western"...' The film was a commercial failure at the box office and received negative reviews from film critics. Plot In May 2021, the Moon is in the process of being colonized, and this new frontier is attracting a diverse human population to lunar settlements like Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Adrian Hall, Heather Ripley, Lionel Jeffries, Benny Hill, James Robertson Justice, Robert Helpmann, Barbara Windsor and Gert Fröbe. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli. John Stears supervised the special effects. Irwin Kostal supervised and conducted the music, while the musical numbers, written by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman, were staged by Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood. The song "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" was nominated for an Academy Award. Plot The film opens with a sequence of European Grand Prix races won by the same car over an instrumental version of the main theme (" Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"), concluding with the eponymous car crashing and burning in 1909. Years later, widowed invent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smashing Time
''Smashing Time'' is a 1967 British satirical comedy film starring Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave. It is a satire on the 1960s media-influenced phenomenon of ''Swinging London''. It was written by George Melly and directed by Desmond Davis. The supporting cast includes Ian Carmichael, Michael York, Jeremy Lloyd, Anna Quayle, Irene Handl, Arthur Mullard, and Geoffrey Hughes. Plot Brenda (Rita Tushingham) and Yvonne (Lynn Redgrave), two girls from the North of England, arrive at St Pancras railway station in London to seek fame and fortune. However, their image of the city is quickly tarnished when they realise that they cannot pay for their meals in a greasy spoon café as Brenda has been robbed of her savings by a tramp. Yvonne visits Carnaby Street in the hope of catching the eye of a trendy photographer, Tom Wabe (Michael York), while Brenda has to stay behind and do the washing up. A messy scene ensues as washing-up liquid is mistaken for ketchup and everyone in the café ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Privilege (film)
''Privilege'' is a 1967 British comedy-drama music science fiction film directed by Peter Watkins and produced by John Heyman. Johnny Speight wrote the story, and Norman Bogner wrote the script. Some of it was filmed on location in Birmingham, England, partly at Birmingham City F.C.'s St Andrew's stadium and at Birmingham Town Hall. Plot The story is presented as a narrated documentary, set in a near-future 1970s England, and concerning a disillusioned pop singer, Steven Shorter ( Paul Jones), who is the most loved celebrity in the country. His stage show involves him appearing on stage in a jail cell with handcuffs, beaten by police, to the horror and sympathy of the audience. It is described that the two main parties of England have formed a coalition government and encourage the success of Shorter to placate the masses and divert them from political activity. Shorter is consistently monitored and manipulated by handlers consisting of manager Martin Crossley (Jeremy Child) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
