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James Basevi
James Basevi (born 21 September 1890, Plymouth, Devon, England – d. 27 March 1962, Bellflower, California) was a British-born art director and special effects expert. After his military service during World War I Basevi emigrated to Canada and later on to the United States. He began his career in 1924 with MGM, designing sets for silent films. After the advent of talkies, Basevi became the head of MGM's special effects department, helping to create the earthquake scene in ''San Francisco'' (1936). He also worked on the storm sequence in John Ford's '' The Hurricane'' for 20th Century Fox. In 1943, he shared an Oscar for art direction with William S. Darling for '' The Song of Bernadette''. He was nominated for Oscars for ''Wuthering Heights'' ( 1939), '' The Westerner'' (1940), '' The Gang's All Here'' (1943) and ''The Keys of the Kingdom'' (1944). Filmography * ''The Big Parade'' (1925) * '' The Circle'' (1925) * ''The Tower of Lies'' (1925) * '' Soul Mates'' (1925) * ''P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plymouth, Devon
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth's early history extends to the Bronze Age when a first settlement emerged at Mount Batten. This settlement continued as a trading post for the Roman Empire, until it was surpassed by the more prosperous village of Sutton founded in the ninth century, now called Plymouth. In 1588, an English fleet based in Plymouth intercepted and defeated the Spanish Armada. In 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers departed Plymouth for the New World and established Plymouth Colony, the second English settlement in what is now the United States of America. During the English Civil War, the town was held by the Parliamentarians and was besieged between 1642 and 1646. Throughout the Industrial Revolution, Plymouth grew as a commercial shipping port, handling imports an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award For Best Production Design
The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted from the Art Directors' branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) being renamed the Designers' branch. Since 1947, the award is shared with the set decorator(s). It is awarded to the best interior design in a film. The films below are listed with their production year (for example, the 2000 Academy Award for Best Art Direction is given to a film from 1999). In the lists below, the winner of the award for each year is shown first, followed by the other nominees in alphabetical order. Superlatives Winners and nominees 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also * BAFTA Award for Best Production Design * Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Production Design T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soul Mates (film)
''Soul Mates'' is a surviving 1925 American silent drama film directed by Jack Conway, based on the 1911 novel ''The Reason Why'' by Elinor Glyn. The movie was the second successful collaboration between Glyn and Conway. The film's sets were designed by the art director James Basevi. Plot Velma is a good little rich girl whose indomitable uncle orders her to wed Lord Tancred, a man she has never met. The same day, she becomes infatuated by a man she meets on the street, not knowing that it is Lord Tancred. When she finds out about his true identity, she becomes convinced he wants to marry her for monetary reasons. She feels betrayed and refuses to speak to him, until she makes an unusual discovery. Cast * Aileen Pringle as Velma * Edmund Lowe as Lord Tancred * Phillips Smalley as Markrute * Tony D'Algy as Velma's brother * Edythe Chapman as Tancred's mother * Mary Hawes as Velma's maid * Catherine Bennett as Dolly * Lucien Littlefield as Stevens * Ned Sparks as Tancred's chau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tower Of Lies
''The Tower of Lies'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Victor Sjöström. It was written by Agnes Christine Johnston and Max Marcin, based upon Selma Lagerlöf's 1914 novel '' The Emperor of Portugallia'' (MGM actually purchased the story rights in 1922). The film was supposed to be called ''The Emperor of Portugallia'', but was later changed to ''The Tower of Lies''. Released one year after ''He Who Gets Slapped'', the film marks the second collaboration between Sjöström, Lon Chaney and Norma Shearer. Also starring are William Haines, Ian Keith and Lew Cody.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Tower of Lies'' at silentera.com The film's sets were designed by the art director ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Circle (1925 Film)
''The Circle'' is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Frank Borzage. The film stars Eleanor Boardman, Malcolm McGregor, and Alec B. Francis. A young Joan Crawford (whose name was changed that year from Lucille LeSueur through a contest run by the studio) appears in the film's opening scene and later in a photograph viewed by other characters. The screenplay, written by Kenneth B. Clarke, was based on the 1921 play of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham. The play was filmed again by MGM as an early sound release (also released in a silent version) in 1930 as '' Strictly Unconventional''. Plot In the 1890s, young Lady Catherine (Joan Crawford) decides to leave her husband, Lord Clive Cheney (Derek Glynne), and her son Arnold in favor of her lover, "Hughie" Porteous (Frank Braidwood). Thirty years later, young Elizabeth Cheney (Eleanor Boardman) is facing the same choice between her husband, the now grown Arnold (Creighton Hale), and her lover, Teddy Luton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Big Parade
''The Big Parade'' is a 1925 American silent war drama film directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brien, and Karl Dane. Written by World War I veteran, Laurence Stallings, the film is about an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes a friend of two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl. The film has been praised for its realistic depiction of warfare, and it heavily influenced a great many subsequent war films, especially '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1930). ''The Big Parade'' is regarded as one of the greatest films made about World War I, and in 1992 it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Plot In the United States in 1917, James "Jim" Apperson's ( John Gilbert) idleness (in contrast to his hardworking brother) incurs the great ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1944 In Film
The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning ''Going My Way'' plus popular murder mysteries such as ''Double Indemnity'', ''Gaslight'' and '' Laura''. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1944 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events *March 10 – MGM's ''A Guy Named Joe'', starring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne, is released nationally in the United States. *May 3 – The film ''Going My Way'', directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald, premieres in New York City. The highest-grossing picture of the year, it goes on to win a total of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for McCary, Best Actor for Crosby and Best Original Song for "Swinging on a Star". *May 13 – Dale Evans appears in her first film with future husband, Roy Rogers – '' Cowboy and the Senorita''. *July 20 – ''Since You Went Away'' is released. *August 16–September 11 †... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Keys Of The Kingdom (film)
''The Keys of the Kingdom'' is a 1944 American film based on the 1941 novel ''The Keys of the Kingdom'' by A. J. Cronin. The film was adapted by Nunnally Johnson, directed by John M. Stahl, and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It stars Gregory Peck, Thomas Mitchell, and Vincent Price, and tells the story of the trials and tribulations of a Roman Catholic priest who goes to China to evangelise. Plot Father Francis Chisholm is visited in his old age by Monsignor Sleeth at his fictional Scottish parish of Tynecastle in Tweedside. The Monsignor informs Francis that the Bishop thinks it would be better if he retires, as his somewhat unorthodox recent teachings have become a distraction. The Monsignor retires to his room in the rectory, and finds Father Francis' journal that recounts his story from 1878. As the Monsignor begins to read the journal, a flashback begins. One night during his childhood, Francis' father was beaten by an anti-Catholic mob during a rainstorm. As his mothe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gang's All Here (1943 Film)
''The Gang's All Here'' is a 1943 American Twentieth Century Fox Technicolor musical film starring Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda and James Ellison. The film, directed and choreographed by Busby Berkeley, is known for its use of musical numbers with fruit hats. Included among the 10 highest-grossing films of that year, it was at that time Fox's most expensive production. Musical highlights include Carmen Miranda performing an insinuating, witty version of "You Discover You're in New York" that lampoons fads, fashions, and wartime shortages of the time. The film features Miranda's "The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat" which, because of its sexual innuendo (dozens of scantily clad women handling very large bananas), apparently prevented the film from being shown in Brazil on its initial release. In the US, the censors dictated that the chorus girls must hold the bananas at the waist and not at the hip. Alice Faye sings "A Journey to a Star," "No Love, No Nothin'," and the surreal finale " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1940 In Film
The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney films ''Pinocchio'' and '' Fantasia''. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1940 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * February 10 – Tom and Jerry make their debut in the animated cartoon '' Puss Gets the Boot''. *February 23 – Walt Disney's second animated feature film ''Pinocchio'' is released. Although not a box office success upon its initial release, the film receives critical acclaim and wins two Academy Awards, including one for Best Original Song for " When You Wish Upon a Star". Over the years, ''Pinocchio'' has gained a cult following and is now considered one of the greatest films of all time. * April 12 – Alfred Hitchcock's first American film '' Rebecca'' is released, under the production of David O. Selznick. It would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture the following year. * May 17 – ''My Favorite Wife' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Westerner (1940 Film)
''The Westerner'' is a 1940 American Western film directed by William Wyler and starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan and Doris Davenport. Written by Niven Busch, Stuart N. Lake and Jo Swerling, the film concerns a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegaroon, Texas, who befriends a saddle tramp who opposes the judge's policy against homesteaders. The film is remembered for Walter Brennan's performance as Judge Roy Bean, for which he won his record-setting third Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. James Basevi and Stuart N. Lake also received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction, Black and White and Best Story, respectively. The supporting cast features Dana Andrews, Chill Wills and Forrest Tucker. Plot In 1882, the town of Vinegaroon, Texas is run by Judge Roy Bean, who calls himself "the only law west of the Pecos." Conducting trials from his saloon, Bean makes a corrupt living collecting fines and seizing property unlawfully. Those who stand up to him are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1939 In Film
The year 1939 in film is widely considered the greatest year in film history. The ten Best Picture-nominated films that year include classics in multiple genres. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1939 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events Film historians often rate 1939 as "the greatest year in the history of Hollywood". Hollywood films produced in Southern California were at the height of their Golden Age (in spite of many cheaply made or undistinguished films also being produced, something to be expected with any year in commercial cinema), and during 1939 there are the premieres of an outstandingly large number of exceptional motion pictures, many of which become honored as all-time classic films. ** June 10 – MGM's first successful animated character, Barney Bear, made his debut in ''The Bear That Couldn't Sleep''. ** August 15 – ''The Wizard of Oz'' premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. ** October 17 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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