Kathleen Harrison
Kathleen Harrison (23 February 1892 – 7 December 1995) was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett (opposite Jack Warner and Petula Clark) in a trio of British post-war comedies about a working-class family's misadventures, The Huggetts. She later played the charwoman Mrs. Dilber opposite Alastair Sim in the 1951 film '' Scrooge'' (US: ''A Christmas Carol'', 1951) and a Cockney charwoman who inherits a fortune in the television series ''Mrs Thursday'' (1966–67). Life and career Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, Harrison was brought up in London, her father having become borough engineer for Southwark. She was educated at Clapham High School before training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1914–15). She spent some years living in Argentina and Madeira before making her professional acting debut in the UK in the 1920s. Harrison made her stage debut as Mrs. Judd in ''The Constant Flirt'' at the Pier Theatre, Eastbourne in 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blackburn
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-northwest of Manchester. Blackburn is the core centre of the wider unitary authority area along with the town of Darwen. It is one of the largest districts in Lancashire, with commuter links to neighbouring cities of Manchester, Salford, Preston, Lancaster, Liverpool, Bradford and Leeds. At the 2011 census, Blackburn had a population of 117,963, whilst the wider borough of Blackburn with Darwen had a population of 150,030. Blackburn had a population of 117,963 in 2011, with 30.8% being people of ethnic backgrounds other than white British. A former mill town, textiles have been produced in Blackburn since the middle of the 13th century, when wool was woven in people's houses in the domestic system. Flemish weavers who settled in t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Night Must Fall (1937 Film)
''Night Must Fall'' is a 1937 American film adaptation of the 1935 play by Emlyn Williams, adapted by John Van Druten and directed by Richard Thorpe. It stars Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell and Dame May Whitty in her Hollywood film debut at age 72, who earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She reprised her role in the stage drama in London and New York City. A critical success, ''Night Must Fall'' was named the best film of the year by the National Board of Review. Robert Montgomery also received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. A 1964 remake starred Albert Finney, although the remake did not do as well as the original. Plot Local police drag the river and search the surrounding countryside in a small English village for the body of Mrs. Shellbrook, a flashy blonde who was a guest at the local hotel and has been missing for several days. The authorities question the town folk, including those living in the home of Mrs. Br ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Matriarch
Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, definitions specific to anthropology and feminism differ in some respects. Matriarchies may also be confused with matrilineal, matrilocal, and matrifocal societies. While there are those who may consider any non-patriarchal system to be matriarchal, most academics exclude those systems from matriarchies as strictly defined. Definitions, connotations, and etymology According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), matriarchy is a "form of social organization in which the mother or oldest female is the head of the family, and descent and relationship are reckoned through the female line; government or rule by a woman or women."''Oxford English Dictionary'' (online), entry ''matriarchy'', as accessed November 3, 2013. A pop ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Ghoul (1933 Film)
''The Ghoul'' is a 1933 British horror film starring Boris Karloff and featuring Harold Huth, Dorothy Hyson, Ernest Thesiger, and Cedric Hardwicke; Ralph Richardson made his film debut. Plot Professor Henry Morlant (Boris Karloff), a great Egyptologist, thinks that the ancient jewel which he calls the "Eternal Light" will give him powers of rejuvenation if it is offered up to the ancient Egyptian god Anubis. But when Morlant dies, his servant Laing (Ernest Thesiger) steals the jewel. While a gaggle of interlopers, including a disreputable solicitor (Cedric Hardwicke) and a fake parson (Ralph Richardson), descend on the Professor's manor to investigate or steal the jewel for themselves, Morlant returns from the dead ("when the full moon strikes the door of my tomb", he predicted before dying) to kill everyone who has betrayed him. Cast * Boris Karloff as Professor Henry Morlant, renowned Egyptologist * Cedric Hardwicke as Mr. Broughton, the Professor's solicitor * Ernest Thes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oliver Twist (1948 Film)
''Oliver Twist'' is a 1948 British film and the second of David Lean's two film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels. Following his 1946 version of ''Great Expectations'', Lean re-assembled much of the same team for his adaptation of Dickens' 1838 novel, including producers Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan, cinematographer Guy Green, designer John Bryan and editor Jack Harris. Lean's then-wife, Kay Walsh, who had collaborated on the screenplay for ''Great Expectations'', played the role of Nancy. John Howard Davies was cast as Oliver, while Alec Guinness portrayed Fagin and Robert Newton played Bill Sykes (Bill Sikes in the novel). In 1999, the British Film Institute placed it at 46th in its list of the top 100 British films. In 2005 it was named in the BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14. Plot A young woman in labour makes her way to a parish workhouse and dies after giving birth to a boy, who is systematically named Oliver Twist (John Howar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Temptation Harbour
''Temptation Harbour'' is a British black and white crime/drama film directed by Lance Comfort, released in 1947 based on the novel ''Newhaven-Dieppe'' (''L'Homme de Londres'') by Georges Simenon. The film was made at Welwyn Studios with sets designed by the art director Cedric Dawe. Synopsis A signalman on a quay sees a fight between two men. One of the men is deliberately pushed into the water and the signalman cannot save him, but decides to keep his suitcase which later finds is full of banknotes with a value of £5000. accessed 08/01/08 Cast list :(in credit order) * as Bert Mallinson *[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Ghost Train (1941 Film)
''The Ghost Train'' is a 1941 British mystery thriller film directed by Walter Forde based on the 1923 play of the same name written by Arnold Ridley. Plot Tommy Gander (Arthur Askey), a vaudeville comedian, pulls the communication cord on a GWR express train, bringing it to a stop so he can retrieve his hat. Returning to the train, he escapes an angry conductor by ducking into a compartment occupied by attractive blonde Jackie Winthrop ( Carole Lynne), with whom Gander flirts. Another passenger, Teddy (Richard Murdoch), has his eye on Jackie as well, but her companion Richard Winthrop (Peter Murray-Hill) ejects both of them from the compartment. When the train stops at Fal Vale Junction, Cornwall, these four get off to change trains, as do Herbert (Stuart Latham) and his fiancée Edna (Betty Jardine), spinster Miss Bourne (Kathleen Harrison), and the tippling Dr. Sterling (Morland Graham). However, the stationmaster, Saul Hodgkin ( Herbert Lomas) tells them the last Truro-boun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Caesar And Cleopatra (film)
''Caesar and Cleopatra'' is a 1945 British Technicolor film directed by Gabriel Pascal and starring Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains. Some scenes were directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, who took no formal credit. The picture was adapted from the play '' Caesar and Cleopatra'' (1901) by George Bernard Shaw, produced by Independent Producers and Pascal Film Productions and distributed by Eagle-Lion Distributors. Upon release, ''Caesar and Cleopatra'' failed to earn back its colossal budget. John Bryan was nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction. Plot Aging Julius Caesar takes possession of the Egyptian capital city of Alexandria and tries to resolve a feud between the young princess Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy. Caesar develops a special relationship with Cleopatra and teaches her how to use her royal power. Cast * Vivien Leigh as Cleopatra * Claude Rains as Caesar * Stewart Granger as Apollodorus * Flora Robson as Ftatateeta * Francis L. Sullivan as Pothinus * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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In Which We Serve
''In Which We Serve'' is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by Noël Coward and David Lean. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information (United Kingdom), Ministry of Information. The screenplay by Coward was inspired by the exploits of Captain Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was in command of the destroyer when it was sunk during the Battle of Crete. Coward composed the film's music as well as starring in the film as the ship's captain. The film also starred John Mills, Bernard Miles, Celia Johnson and Richard Attenborough in his first screen role. ''In Which We Serve'' received the full backing of the Ministry of Information, which offered advice on what would make good propaganda and facilitated the release of military personnel. The film is a classic example of wartime British cinema through its patriotic imagery of national unity and social cohesion within the context of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gaslight (1940 Film)
''Gaslight'' (released in the United States as ''Angel Street'') is a 1940 British psychological thriller film directed by Thorold Dickinson which stars Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard, and features Frank Pettingell. The film adheres more closely to the original play upon which it is based – Patrick Hamilton's ''Gas Light'' (1938) – than does the 1944 MGM remake. The play had been performed on Broadway as ''Angel Street'', so when the MGM remake was released in the United States, it was given the same title as the American production. Plot In Pimlico, London, Alice Barlow ( Marie Wright) is murdered by an unknown man, who then ransacks her house, ripping her furniture apart as if desperately searching for something. The house remains empty for many years, until newlyweds Paul and Bella Mallen move in. Bella (Diana Wynyard) soon finds herself misplacing small objects; and, before long, Paul (Anton Walbrook) has her believing she is losing her sanity. B. G. Rough (Frank P ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hobson's Choice (1931 Film)
''Hobson's Choice'' is a 1931 British comedy drama film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring James Harcourt, Viola Lyel, Frank Pettingell and Herbert Lomas. Based on the 1916 play ''Hobson's Choice'' by Harold Brighouse, it follows the tale of a coarse bootshop owner who becomes outraged when his eldest daughter decides to marry a meek cobbler. It was produced by the leading British company of the time, British International Pictures, at their studios in Elstree. The film is missing from the BFI National Archive, and is listed as one of the British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...'s " 75 Most Wanted" lost films. An earlier silent film version of the play had been released in 1920. Cast References Bibliography *Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |