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John Wiltshire (actor)
John Wiltshire was an Australian actor and producer who worked extensively in stage, radio and television, notably at the ABC. He produced some of Noël Coward's shows in Australia in 1940, helped establish the Mercury Theatre in Sydney with Peter Finch and produced a number of films with Cecil Holmes including the feature ''Captain Thunderbolt'' (1953). Select credits *''Eureka Stockade'' (1949) – actor *''Terrific the Giant'' (1950) – short – producer accessed 27 November 2011 *'''' (1951) – actor *'' |
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise"."Noel Coward at 70" ''Time'', 26 December 1969, p. 46 Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as '' |
Mercury Theatre (Australia)
The Mercury Theatre was an Australian theatre company that was co-founded by Peter Finch and existed from 1946 to 1954. It was named after the American Orson Welles' theatre company of the same name. Founding The Mercury was founded in 1946 by Finch, Allan Ashbolt, Sydney John Kay, Colin Scrimgeour and John Wiltshire. The driving force for much of the company's time was Kay. They would frequently tour shows throughout the country. The Mercury is best known for its production of ''The Imaginary Invalid'' starring Finch on the floor of O'Brien's Glass Factory in Sydney in 1948; this was seen by Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh who were so impressed they invited Finch to come to London. Kay revived the company in 1952, and it ran for the next two years from a base at St James' Hall in Sydney. Among those who acted in Mercury shows over the years included Rod Taylor, Ruth Cracknell and Lloyd Berrell. Productions Original shows *Three one-act plays at NSW State Conservatorium of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Finch
Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville and radio before becoming a star of Australian films. Joining the Old Vic Company after World War II, he achieved widespread critical success in Britain for both stage and screen performances. One of British cinema's most celebrated leading men of the time, Finch won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role five times, and won a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of crazed television anchorman Howard Beale in the 1976 film ''Network''. According to the British Film Institute, "it is arguable that no other actor ever chalked up such a rewarding CV in British films, and he accumulated the awards to bolster this view.." He died only two months before the 49th Academy Awards, making him the first person to win ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecil Holmes (director)
Cecil William Holmes (23 June 1921 – 24 August 1994) was a New Zealand-born film director and writer. Biography Holmes was born in Waipukurau, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. He served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and British Royal Navy during World War II before turning to filmmaking. He made a number of documentaries for the New Zealand National Film Unit then moved to Australia, where he directed several feature films and a number of documentaries for the Commonwealth Film Unit. The Cecil Holmes Award given by the Australian Directors Guild is named after him. The Award was instigated in 1995, and is presented by the ADG board from time to time to honour recipients who have advocated for the role of the director. His second wife was author and Indigenous advocate Sandra Le Brun Holmes who contributed an account of the experience of their making ''I, the Aboriginal'' to ''Walkabout'', a magazine for which Holmes himself also wrote. Selected filmography *''Captain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain Thunderbolt (film)
''Captain Thunderbolt'' is a 1953 Australian action film from director Cecil Holmes about the bushranger Captain Thunderbolt. It was one of the few all-Australian films of the 1950s. Synopsis Fred Ward is imprisoned for horse stealing. He escapes from Cockatoo Island and under the name of Captain Thunderbolt becomes a bushranger in the New England region, working with his friend and fellow escapee Alan Blake. Blake has a romantic involvement with a "half-caste" (sic) girl Maggie that equally infringes the norms of the day. Thunderbolt is tracked by the vengeful Trooper Mannix. After gunfights with the bushranger at a dance, then at a rocky outcrop, Mannix discovers that he has killed Alan Blake instead. Mannix passes off Blake's body as Thunderbolt, concealing the bushranger's escape. The legend grows that Thunderbolt did not die. Cast * Grant Taylor as Captain Thunderbolt * Charles Tingwell as Alan Blake *Rosemary Miller as Joan * Harp McGuire as Trooper Mannix * John Fegan a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eureka Stockade (1949 Film)
''Eureka Stockade'' is a 1949 British film of the story surrounding Irish-Australian rebel and politician Peter Lalor and the gold miners' rebellion of 1854 at the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, Victoria, in the Australian Western genre. Starring Chips Rafferty, it was produced by Ealing Studios and directed by Harry Watt, following their success with ''The Overlanders''. The movie was the most expensive film made in Australia at that time, and was a critical and commercial disappointment. Plot An introductory montage establishes Australia of 1851 – a place of both wealth and poverty, transformed by the discovery of gold. This causes a massive drain in manpower which puts a strain on the country. The Governor of Victoria, La Trobe, appoints an army officer, Rede, commissioner of the goldfields and orders him to tax the miners via licences, and to keep law and order. In 1854 Ballarat, civil engineer Peter Lalor arrives to prospect for gold with his Italian friend Rafaello Carbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wherever She Goes
''Wherever She Goes'' is a 1951 Australian feature film that tells the early part of the life story of pianist Eileen Joyce. Directed by Michael Gordon, it stars Suzanne Parrett, Eileen Joyce, Nigel Lovell and Muriel Steinbeck. Synopsis Eileen Joyce is born on the Tasmanian coast and becomes fascinated with music after hearing a man named Daniel play a mouth organ. When her parents decide to move the family to the Kalgoorlie goldfields Eileen sees a piano and resolves to play it. Her father's mine fails and the family has to live in a tent. Eileen is given an old piano as a Christmas gift and soon becomes a child prodigy. She enters a local music carnival and wins. The story ends when she leaves Kalgoorlie to go to Perth, then flashes forward to a grown up Eileen playing in a concert. Cast *Suzanne Parrett as young Eileen Joyce *Muriel Steinbeck as Mrs Joyce *Nigel Lovell as Will Joyce * George Wallace as the stage manager *Eileen Joyce as herself (non-speaking role) *Tim Drysd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Film And Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of film, television, sound, radio, video games, new media, and related documents and artefacts. The collection ranges from works created in the late nineteenth century when the recorded sound and film industries were in their infancy, to those made in the present day. The NFSA collection first started as the National Historical Film and Speaking Record Library (within the then Commonwealth National Library) in 1935, becoming an independent cultural organisation in 1984. On 3 October, Prime Minister Bob Hawke officially opened the NFSA's headquarters in Canberra. History of the organisation The work of the Archive can be officially dated to the establishment of the National Historical Film and Speaking Record Library (part of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
