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Konga (film)
''Konga'' is a 1961 technicolour science fiction horror film directed by John Lemont and starring Michael Gough, Margo Johns and Austin Trevor. It was shot at Merton Park Studios and in Croydon for Anglo Amalgamated, then distributed in the United States by American International Pictures (AIP) as a double feature with '' Master of the World''. Anglo Amalgamated and AIP each provided half the funding for the US$500,000 film, with each studio receiving distribution rights in their respective hemispheres. ''Konga'' was the basis for a comic book series published by Charlton Comics and initially drawn by Steve Ditko (prior to Ditko's co-creation of Spider-Man) in the 1960s. The film epitomises the B-movie in terms of illogical plot and shortcut special effects, such as a man in a gorilla suit replacing special effects. Shots of screaming people looking upwards invoke the idea that they are looking up to Konga and it is not explained how the serum changes species as well as size (chim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reynold Brown
William Reynold Brown (October 18, 1917 – August 24, 1991) was an American realist artist who painted many Hollywood film posters. He was also briefly active as a comics artist. Biography He attended Alhambra High School and refined his drawing under his teacher Lester Bonar. A talented artist, Brown met cartoonist Hal Forrest around 1936-37. Forrest hired Brown to ink (uncredited) Forrest's comic strip ''Tailspin Tommy''. Extensive discussion of the comic strip. Norman Rockwell's sister was a teacher at Alhambra High, and Brown later met Rockwell who advised him to leave cartooning if he wanted to be an illustrator. Brown subsequently won a scholarship to the Otis Art Institute. During World War II he worked as a technical artist at North American Aviation. There he met his wife, fellow artist Mary Louise Tejeda. Following the war Brown drew numerous advertisements and illustrations for magazines such as '' Argosy'', ''Popular Science'', '' Saturday Evening Post'', ''Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merton Park Studios
Merton Park Studios, opened in 1929, was a British film production studio located at Long Lodge, 269 Kingston Road in Merton Park, South London. In the 1940s, it was owned by Piprodia Entertainment, Nikhanj Films and Film Producers Guild. Peter Morley"Peter Morley - A Life Rewound" Part 1 (PDF) British Academy of Film and Television Arts (2006), p. 41. Retrieved September 29, 2011 Many second features were produced at Merton Park, and for a time it was the base of Radio Luxembourg. Unlike many other studios, it remained open during World War II, producing films for the Ministry of Information. In the late 1940s, the studios produced several children's films.Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, ''The British 'B' Film'', Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, pp. 96–101. In 1950, Anglo-Amalgamated began making films at Merton Park. From 1957 to 1959, they produced an average of one second-feature a month there. They produced the crime series ''Scotland Yard'' (1953 to 1961, 39 half-h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanley Morgan (author)
Stanley Morgan (10 November 1929 – 24 August 2018) was an English writer and actor. He wrote fiction, in the comedy and thriller genres and had more than 40 books published between 1968 and 2006. Biography Originally an actor, Morgan had many jobs as a young man, including sewing machine salesman, debt collector and bank clerk. In 1951, Morgan emigrated to Canada where he spent some time working in the Bank of Nova Scotia. In 1955, he emigrated again, this time to Southern Rhodesia. He resumed his acting career there and was sponsored to return to London after winning a Best Actor award. Upon returning to London, Morgan featured mostly in voice-overs ("Mullardability" the documentary he voiced for Mullard was nominated for the Special Film BAFTA in 1970), although he did have a small role in the James Bond film '' Dr. No'' playing the Concierge in the casino who first introduces Sean Connery as James Bond. Most of his acting credits were in second-feature crime shorts filmed at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanda Godsell
Vanda Godsell (17 November 1922 – 2 April 1990) was an English actress. Hal Erickson writes in Allmovie, "Vanda Godsell specialised in playing disheveled housewives, busybody landladies and blowsy domestics." She appeared as Mrs Weaver in ''This Sporting Life'' (1963), Mrs Pitt in '' Bitter Harvest'' (1965), Mrs Goodge in ''The Wrong Box'' (1967) Early life She was born in Bognor Regis into the Godsell family, best known for its brewery based in Stroud. Her father was an officer in the Navy and served in the Battle of Jutland whilst her mother, Muriel, was the sister of novelist and actress Naomi Jacob. Godsell's sister Felicia was also an actress, and her other sister was an editor in the publishing world. Career Godsell began acting when she joined the Bristol Repertoire aged 14 making her film debut in 1953 in ''Flannelfoot'' starring Ronald Howard. She also appeared in ''Hell Is a City'', '' A Shot in the Dark'', ''The Earth Dies Screaming'', ''The Wrong Box'', '' B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Pastell
George Pastell (13 March 1923 – 4 April 1976) was a Cypriot character actor in British films and television programmes. Sources vary as to whether his real name was Nino (IMDb) or George Pastellides (BFI). His marriage record gives his name as Georgiou Pastellides while his RADA record lists his name as George Pastel. Early life Born to a French mother and Greek father, Pastell began his career spending two years in banking. Aged 21, he joined the Greek National Theatre. Leaving Cyprus a few years later with only £50 in his pocket, Pastell came to England, scarcely able to speak much English. However, he studied the language by taking evening classes at the Pitman School and soon graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Career He made his film debut in '' Give Us This Day'' (1949), credited as Nino Pastellides, and played villains in film and television. He was often cast by Hammer Film Productions as Eastern characters such as Mehemet Bey in ''The Mummy'' (1959), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Watson (actor)
Jack Watson (15 May 1915 – 4 July 1999) was an English actor who appeared in many British films and television dramas from the 1950s onwards. Early life Watson was born in Thorney, Cambridgeshire. He was the son of a Gaiety Girl, Barbara Hughes, and a music hall comedian, Nosmo King. Watson often appeared on stage with his father as straight man, where he was known simply as Hubert. Military service During the Second World War he was a physical training instructor in the Royal Navy, and his physique was much in evidence in many of his subsequent screen roles. Career During the war Watson was resident compère of the BBC radio comedy ''The Navy Mixture''. After the war, his talent as an impersonator resulted in his becoming a regular on BBC radio programmes such as ''Take it from Here'', ''Hancock's Half Hour'' and ''The Clitheroe Kid''. He gradually made the transition to television, where his first major role was in ''Coronation Street'', in which he became Elsie Tanner's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorilla
Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after chimpanzees and bonobos. Gorillas are the largest living primates, reaching heights between 1.25 and 1.8 metres, weights between 100 and 270 kg, and arm spans up to 2.6 metres, depending on species and sex. They tend to live in troops, with the leader being called a silverback. The Eastern gorilla is distinguished from the Western by darker fur colour and some other minor morphological differences. Gorillas tend to live 35–40 years in the wild. The oldest gorilla known is Fatou (b. 1957), who is still alive at the advanced age of 65 years. Gorillas' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Chimpanzee
The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative the bonobo was more commonly known as the pygmy chimpanzee, this species was often called the common chimpanzee or the robust chimpanzee. The chimpanzee and the bonobo are the only species in the genus Pan (genus), ''Pan''. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing shows that ''Pan'' is a sister taxon to the Human evolution, human lineage and is humans' closest living relative. The chimpanzee is covered in coarse black hair, but has a bare face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. It is larger and more Robustness (morphology), robust than the bonobo, weighing for males and for females and standing . The chimpanzee lives in groups that range in size from 15 to 150 members, although individuals travel and forag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He has since been featured in films, television shows, novels, video games, and plays. Spider-Man is the alias of Peter Parker, an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents Richard and Mary Parker died in a plane crash. Lee and Ditko had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and financial issues and gave him many supporting characters, such as Flash Thompson, J. Jonah Jameson, and Harry Osborn; romantic interests Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and the Black Cat; and foes such as Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, and Venom. In his origin story, Spider-Man gets superhuman spider-powers and abilities from a bite from a radioactive spider; these include clinging t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Ditko
Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular activities: "Vocational Course. Ambition: Undecided". (; November 2, 1927 – June 29, 2018) was an American comics artist and writer best known for being co-creator of Marvel superhero Spider-Man and creator of Doctor Strange. He also made notable contributions to the character of Iron Man with the character's iconic red and yellow design being revolutionized by Ditko. Ditko studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City. He began his professional career in 1953, working in the studio of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin. During this time, he then began his long association with Charlton Comics, where he did work in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton Publications, which published magazines (most notably song-lyric magazines), puzzle books and, briefly, books (under the Monarch and Gold Star imprints). It had its own distribution company (Capital Distribution). Charlton Comics published a wide variety of genres including; crime, science fiction, Western, horror, war and romance comics, as well as talking animal and superhero titles. The company was known for its low-budget practices, often using unpublished material acquired from defunct companies and paying comics creators among the lowest rates in the industry. Charlton was also the last of the American comics publishers still operating to raise its cover prices from ten cents to 12 cents in 1962. It was unique among comic book co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
