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John McCarthy Jr.
John McCarthy Jr. (June 1, 1912 – January 14, 1994) was an American set decorator with an extensive filmography of over 300 films that began in 1945, when he dressed the set for '' Along the Navajo Trail''. Gaining experience on a seemingly endless succession of B-movies, his stock began to rise steadily in 1948 when he worked on Frank Borzage's ''Moonrise'' and Orson Welles' production of ''Macbeth''. Assignments on Lewis Milestone's ''The Red Pony'' and Allan Dwan's ''Sands of Iwo Jima'' followed in 1949, films produced for Republic Pictures, with whom McCarthy was associated for many years. He was the recipient of an Oscar nomination in 1952 for John Ford's colourful ''The Quiet Man'', the only Republic film to be so honoured. By the mid-1950s and early 1960s, however, most of McCarthy's time was spent in television, where he worked on ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', ''Wagon Train'' and ''The Munsters''. Ironically, his television work led to better feature film assignments, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Set Decorator
The set decorator is the head of the set decoration department in the film and television industry, responsible for selecting, designing, fabricating, and sourcing the "set dressing" elements of each set in a Feature Film, Television, or New Media episode or commercial, in support of the story and characters of the script. The set decorator is responsible for each décor element inside the sets, from practical lighting, technology, art, furniture, drapery, floor coverings, books, collectables, to exterior furnishings such as satellite dishes, Old West water troughs, streetlamps, traffic lights, garden furniture and sculptures. While the Set Decorator provides all of these elements, the Propmaster provides elements that are handled by the actor. For example: a library is decorated with set dressing such as the furniture, books, desk lamp, blotter, framed photos, personal effects, letter trays, letter opener, papers, paper files. The Propmaster provides the props – the letter the a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wagon Train
''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It is the fictional adventure story of a large westbound wagon train through the American Old West, from Missouri to California. Its format attracted different famous guest stars per episode, as travelers or as residents of the settlements they encountered. The show initially starred supporting film actor Ward Bond as the wagon master (replaced after his death in 1960 by John McIntire) and Robert Horton as the scout (eventually replaced by similar-looking Robert Fuller when Horton opted to leave the series). The series was inspired by the 1950 film ''Wagon Master'' directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., and Ward Bond, and by the 1930 early widescreen film ''The Big Trail'' directed by Raoul Walsh and starring ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tobruk (1967 Film)
''Tobruk'' is a 1967 American drama war film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Rock Hudson and George Peppard. The film was written by Leo Gordon (who also acted in the film) and released through Universal Pictures. Set in North Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II, it is a fictionalized story of members of the British Army's Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) and the Special Identification Group (SIG) who endeavour to destroy the fuel bunkers of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel's Panzer Army Africa in Tobruk. The film is loosely based on the British attacks on German and Italian forces at Tobruk codenamed "Operation Agreement". The film depicts the operation as being successful, although actually Operation Agreement was a disastrous failure. Plot In September 1942, Rommel's Africa Korps is only 90 miles (144 km) from the Suez Canal, but running dangerously low on fuel. The British approve a plan to destroy German fuel bunkers at Tobruk in an at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambit (1966 Film)
''Gambit'' is a 1966 American comedy heist film starring Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine as two criminals involved in an elaborate plot centered on a priceless antiquity owned by millionaire Mr. Shahbandar, played by Herbert Lom. It was nominated for three Academy Awards. The film was advertised with the tagline, "Go Ahead: Tell the End (It's Too Hilarious to Keep Secret) But Please Don't Tell the Beginning!" ''Gambit'' was directed by Ronald Neame from a screenplay by Jack Davies and Alvin Sargent from the original story of Sidney Carroll. A remake was released in 2012, with a script by Joel and Ethan Coen. Plot Cockney cat burglar Harry Tristan Dean (Michael Caine) and his sculptor friend Emile Fournier (John Abbott) discover exotic Eurasian showgirl Nicole Chang (Shirley MacLaine) in a crowded Hong Kong nightclub. She bears an incredible resemblance both to the late wife of the world's richest man, an Arab named Ahmad Shahbandar (Herbert Lom), as well as to a priceless a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heist Film
The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime film focused on the planning, execution, and aftermath of a significant robbery. One of the early defining heist films was ''The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950), which ''Film Genre 2000'' wrote "almost single-handedly popularized the genre for mainstream cinema". It featured robbers whose personal failings ultimately led to the failure of their robbery. Similar films using this formula were ''Armored Car Robbery'' (1950), '' The Killing'' (1956), and '' The Getaway'' (1972). By the 1990s, heist films began to "experiment and play with these conventions," incorporating things like comedy into heist stories. Characteristics of the genre While there is sometimes some confusion as to what counts as a heist film, there are characteristics that most films in the genre follow. The most basic of these is that films in the genre tend to follow the planning, execution and aftermath of one large robbery. While there can be smaller crimes lead ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronald Neame
Ronald Neame CBE, BSC (23 April 1911 – 16 June 2010) was an English film producer, director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. Beginning his career as a cinematographer, for his work on the British war film ''One of Our Aircraft Is Missing'' (1943) he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Special Effects. During a partnership with director David Lean, he produced ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), '' Great Expectations'' (1946), and '' Oliver Twist'' (1948), receiving two Academy Award nominations for writing. Neame then moved into directing, and some notable films included, ''The Man Who Never Was'' (1956), which chronicled Operation Mincemeat, a British WWII deception operation, '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (1969), which won Maggie Smith her first Oscar, and the action-adventure disaster film '' The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972). He also directed ''I Could Go On Singing'' (1963), Judy Garland's last film, and '' Scrooge'' (1970), starring Albert Finney. For his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shenandoah (film)
''Shenandoah'' is a 1965 American Western film set during the American Civil War (but not a war film) starring James Stewart and featuring Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, and, in their film debuts, Katharine Ross and Rosemary Forsyth. The picture was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. The American folk song "Oh Shenandoah" features prominently in the film's soundtrack. Though set during the Civil War, the film's strong antiwar and humanitarian themes resonated with audiences in later years as attitudes began to change against the Vietnam War. Upon its release, the film was praised for its themes as well as its technical production. Plot In the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1864, during the Civil War, family patriarch Charlie Anderson (James Stewart) and his six sons Jacob, John, James, Nathan, Henry, and Boy (who is 16) run the family farm, while his daughter Jennie (Rosemary Forsyth) and daughter-in-law Ann (Katharine Ross) take care of the housework. The family has no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre Setting (narrative), set in the American frontier and commonly associated with Americana (culture), folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West" and depicted in Western media as a hostile, sparsely populated frontier in a state of near-total lawlessness patrolled by outlaws, sheriffs, and numerous other Stock character, stock "gunslinger" characters. Western narratives often concern the gradual attempts to tame the crime-ridden American West using wider themes of justice, freedom, rugged individualism, Manifest Destiny, and the national history and identity of the United States. History The first films that belong to the Western genre are a series of short single reel silents made in 1894 by Edison Studios at their Edison's Black Maria, Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey. These featured vet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality he portrayed both on and off the screen, he epitomized the "American ideal" in the mid-twentieth century. In 1999, the American Film Institute (AFI) ranked him third on its list of the greatest American male actors. Born and raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Stewart started acting while at Princeton University. After graduating in 1932, he began a career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway and in summer stock productions. In 1935, he landed his first supporting role in a movie and in 1938 he had his breakthrough in Frank Capra's ensemble comedy '' You Can't Take It with You''. The following year, Stewart garnered his first of five Academy Award nominations for his portrayal of an idealized and virtuous man who becomes a senator in Cap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Send Me No Flowers
''Send Me No Flowers'' is a 1964 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay by Julius Epstein, based on the play of the same name by Norman Barasch and Carroll Moore, which had a brief run on Broadway in 1960. It stars Rock Hudson, Doris Day, and Tony Randall. Following ''Pillow Talk'' (1959) and '' Lover Come Back'' (1961), it is the third and final film in which Hudson, Day, and Randall starred together. The title tune was written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach. Plot George Kimball, a hypochondriac, lives with his wife Judy in the suburbs. Judy learns from the milkman that their neighbors, the Bullards, are getting a divorce, and shares the news with George. Over lunch, George is appalled as a bachelor acquaintance, Winston Burr, gleefully describes how he contacts women who are getting divorced and pretends to console them, hoping to seduce them while they are vulnerable. George visits his doctor and longtime friend, Ralph Morrissey, after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doris Day
Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sentimental Journey" and "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" with Les Brown & His Band of Renown. She left Brown to embark on a solo career and recorded more than 650 songs from 1947 to 1967. Day was one of the biggest film stars of the 1950s–1960s. Day's film career began during the Golden Age of Hollywood with the film ''Romance on the High Seas'' (1948). She starred in films of many genres, including musicals, comedies, dramas, and thrillers. She played the title role in ''Calamity Jane'' (1953) and starred in Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1956) with James Stewart. Her best-known films are those in which she co-starred with Rock Hudson, chief among them 1959's ''Pillow Talk'', for which she was nominated fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Killers (1964 Film)
''The Killers'', released in the UK as ''Ernest Hemingway's "The Killers"'', is a 1964 American neo noir crime film. Written by Gene L. Coon and directed by Don Siegel, it is the second Hollywood adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's 1927 short story of the same name, following the 1946 version. The film stars Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes, Angie Dickinson, and Ronald Reagan. At the time of release, Marvin said that it was his favorite film. The supporting cast features Clu Gulager, Claude Akins, and Norman Fell. In July 2018, it was selected to be screened in the Venice Classics section at the 75th Venice International Film Festival. It was Ronald Reagan's final film role before retiring from acting in 1966. Plot Hitmen Charlie and Lee enter a school for the blind and shoot the unresistant Johnny North multiple times, killing him. Charlie is bothered that North refused to flee and notes they were paid an unusually high fee. He and Lee run through what they know about Johnny. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
