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Lease Of Life
''Lease of Life'' is a 1954 British drama film made by Ealing Studios and directed by Charles Frend. The film was designed as a star-vehicle for Robert Donat, representing his return to the screen after an absence of over three years during which he had been battling the chronic asthma which plagued his life and career. It was a prestige production which was generally respectfully, if not over-enthusiastically, received and gained Donat a nomination as 'Best British Actor' at the 1955 British Academy Film Awards. In common with a number of other Ealing films of the era, ''Lease of Life'' focuses on a specific English milieu – in this case a Yorkshire village and its nearby cathedral city – and examines the nuances, quirks and foibles of its day-to-day life. The film is unique in the Ealing canon in having religion as its dominant theme. It bears several parallels to the 1952 Japanese film Ikiru ("to live") but with a much lighter tone. Plot Rev William Thorne (R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Frend
Charles Herbert Frend (21 November 1909, Pulborough, Sussex – 8 January 1977, London) was an English film director and editor, best known for his films produced at Ealing Studios. He began directing in the early 1940s and is known for such films as ''Scott of the Antarctic'' (1948) and '' The Cruel Sea'' (1953). Biography Frend was born in Pulborough, Sussex, on 21 November 1909 to Edward Charles and Bertha Maud Frend. He was educated at The King's School, Canterbury and at Oxford University, where he was the film critic of ''The Isis Magazine''. Editor He began his career in the film industry at British International Pictures in 1931. He worked as an editor on '' Arms and the Man'' (1932) Frend moved to Gaumont British Pictures, where he worked under producer Michael Balcon. He edited Alfred Hitchcock's ''Waltzes from Vienna'' (1934), then '' My Song for You'' (1934), ''Oh, Daddy!'' (1934), Tom Walls' ''Fighting Stock'' (1935), '' The Tunnel'' (1935), and ''Car of Dreams ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ikiru
is a 1952 Japanese drama film directed and co-written (with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni) by Akira Kurosawa. The film examines the struggles of a terminally ill Tokyo bureaucrat (played by Takashi Shimura) and his final quest for meaning. The screenplay was partly inspired by Leo Tolstoy's 1886 novella ''The Death of Ivan Ilyich''. The major themes of the film include learning how to live, the inefficiency of bureaucracy, and decaying family life in Japan, which have been the subject of analysis by academics and critics. ''Ikiru'' has received widespread critical acclaim, and won awards for Best Film at the Kinema Junpo and Mainichi Film Awards. It was remade as a television film in 2007. Plot Kanji Watanabe has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for thirty years and is near his retirement. His wife is dead and his son and daughter-in-law, who live with him, seem to care mainly about Watanabe's pension and their future inheritance. At work, he's a party to c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Atkinson (actor)
Frank Atkinson (19 March 1893 in Blackpool, Lancashire – 23 February 1963 in Pinner, Middlesex) was an English actor and writer. He appeared in at least 130 films between 1930 and 1963. A stalwart of British films, often in small or uncredited roles, and also in Hollywood in the 1930s, notably in the Raoul Walsh directed ''Me and My Gal'' and ''Sailor's Luck''. Allmovie described him as "tall and slender, and with gaunt facial features that lent themselves to looks of eccentricity, and with a highly cultured speaking voice, he could melt unobtrusively into a scene, as an anonymous bit-player, or could, with the utterance of a few words or a look, transform himself into a wryly comedic presence -- he played everything from jailers, guards, garage attendants, and soldiers to upper class twits." He was the first person to play the scarecrow Worzel Gummidge on television in the original series, broadcast by the BBC on 10 February 1953. Selected filmography Actor * ''Along Came Yo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Daly (actor)
Mark Daly (23 August 1887 – 27 September 1957) was a British film actor. Daly was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 23 August 1887, making his first stage appearance in Swansea, Wales, in 1906. Six years later, in 1912, he made his first London stage appearance at the Shaftesbury Theatre. For three years, he was the principal comedian at The Fred Karno Company, a collection of comedians who worked in both British variety and American vaudeville. Other "Karno Comedians" included Charlie Chaplin and Billie Ritchie. During his time as an actor, Daly took part in excess of 25 motion pictures before his death on 27 September 1957 in England. Filmography * ''East Lynne on the Western Front'' (1931) – Maurice / Levison * ''The Beggar Student'' (1931) – Sergeant * '' The Third String'' (1932) – Pete Russett * ''Doss House'' (1933) – Shoeblack * ''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933) – Bit Part (uncredited) * ''A Cuckoo in the Nest'' (1933) – Pinhorn * '' Up for the Derb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Piper
Frederick Piper (23 September 1902 – 22 September 1979) was an English actor of stage and screen who appeared in over 80 films and many television productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Piper studied drama under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Never a leading player, Piper was usually cast in minor, sometimes uncredited, parts although he also appeared in some more substantial supporting roles. Piper never aspired to star-status, but became a recognisable face on the British screen through the sheer volume of films in which he appeared. His credits include a number of films which are considered classics of British cinema, among them five 1930s Alfred Hitchcock films; he also appeared in many Ealing Studios productions, including some of the celebrated Ealing comedies. Stage career Born in London, England in September 1902, Piper worked as a tea merchant before starting his acting career on the st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Leech
Richard Leeper McClelland (24 November 1922 – 24 March 2004), known professionally as Richard Leech, was an Irish actor. Richard Leeper McClelland was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Isabella Frances (Leeper) and Herbert Saunderson McClelland, a lawyer. He was educated at Haileybury and Trinity College, Dublin, and qualified as a doctor in 1945. He worked in that profession from 1945–6, then became a full-time actor. His numerous film credits include '' The Dam Busters'' (1955) (playing Dinghy Young), ''Night of the Demon'' (1957), '' Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst'' (1957), ''Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958), ''Tunes of Glory'' (1960), ''Young Winston'' (1972), ''Gandhi'' (1982) and the acclaimed ''The Shooting Party'' (1985). On television Richard Leech appeared in ''Dickens of London'', ''The Barchester Chronicles'', ''Smiley's People'', three episodes of '' The Avengers'' in different roles, ''Redcap'', ''Danger Man'', '' The Doctors'', '' The New Avengers' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Wattis
Richard Wattis (25 February 1912 – 1 February 1975) was an English actor, co-starring in many popular British comedies of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Richard Cameron Wattis was born on 25 February 1912 in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, the elder of two sons born to Cameron Tom Wattis and Margaret Janet, née Preston. He attended King Edward's School and Bromsgrove School, after which he worked for the electrical engineering firm William Sanders & Co (Wednesbury) Ltd. His uncle, William Preston (1874–1941), was the managing director and was the Conservative MP for Walsall from 1924 to 1929. Career After leaving the family business, Wattis became an actor. His debut was with Croydon Repertory Theatre, and he made many stage appearances in the West End in London. His first appearance in a film was ''A Yank at Oxford'' (1938), but war service interrupted his career as an actor. He served as a second lieutenant in the Small Arms Section of Special Operations Executive at S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Webb (actor)
Alan Norton Fletcher Webb (2 July 1906 – 22 June 1982) was an English actor. He was principally known as a stage performer, but made several film and television appearances. He seldom played leading roles, but was frequently cast in important character parts. He created roles in plays by A. A. Milne, Noël Coward, T. S. Eliot and other contemporary playwrights. Life and career Early years Webb was born in York on 2 July 1906, the elder of the two sons of Major Thomas Francis Albertoni Webb (1862–1955) and his wife Lili, ''née'' Fletcher."Alan Norton Fletcher Webb" Ancestry UK. Retrieved 17 June 2021 Herbert, pp. 1537–1539 He was educated at |
Russell Waters
Russell Waters (born 10 June 1908, Glasgow, Lanarkshire – died 19 August 1982, Richmond, Surrey) was a Scottish film actor. Waters was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow and the University of Glasgow. He began acting with the Old English Comedy and Shakespeare Company then appeared in repertory theatre, at the Old Vic and in the West End. On screen Waters generally found himself playing mild mannered characters. Waters played the leading man in Richard Massingham's amusing instructional short subjects, among them ''Tell Me If It Hurts'' (1936), ''And So Work'' (1937), ''The Daily Round'' (1947) and ''What a Life!'' (1948). In feature films, Waters played secondary roles such as Craggs in '' The Blue Lagoon'' (1949), Mr. West in '' The Happiest Days of Your Life'', Palmer in '' Chance of a Lifetime'' and "Wings" Cameron in ''The Wooden Horse'' (all three in 1950). In later years, Waters was briefly seen as the Harbour master in ''The Wicker Man'' (1973), and his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Anderson
Jean Anderson (12 December 1907 – 1 April 2001) was an English actress best remembered for her television roles as hard-faced matriarch Mary Hammond in the BBC drama '' The Brothers'' (1972–1976) and as rebellious aristocrat Lady Jocelyn "Joss" Holbrook in the Second World War series '' Tenko'' (1982–1985). She also had distinguished careers on stage and in 46 films. Early Life and Stage Mary Jean Heriot Anderson was born 12 December 1907 in Eastbourne, Sussex to Scottish parents, and grew up in Guildford, Surrey. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1926-1928. Her first professional engagement was in ''Many Waters'' at the Prince's Theatre, Bristol, in 1929 with her fellow RADA student Robert Morley. In 1934 she joined the Cambridge Festival Theatre, appearing in ''The Circle'' by Somerset Maugham and ''Yahoo'' by Lord Longford. In 1935 she played Lady Macbeth with The Seagull Players in Leeds. In 1936 Lord Longford's company from the Gate Theatre, Dub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beckett Bould
Beckett Bould (28 September 1880 – 25 September 1970) was a British actor. Partial filmography * ''Black Diamonds'' (1932) - John Morgan * ''The Outcast'' (1934) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Wednesday's Luck'' (1936) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Holiday's End'' (1937) - Philpotts * '' South Riding'' (1938) - Foreman on Road Building Site (uncredited) * ''Old Mother Riley's Circus'' (1941) - Davis * ''The Day Will Dawn'' (1942) - Bergen, Spokesman of Langedal * '' Let the People Sing'' (1942) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''The Shipbuilders'' (1943) * ''Loyal Heart'' (1946) - Burton * '' The October Man'' (1947) - Policeman at Left Luggage Office (uncredited) * ''Anna Karenina'' (1948) - Matvey * '' My Brother's Keeper'' (1948) - Inspector (uncredited) * '' Portrait of Clare'' (1950) - Bissell * '' Pool of London'' (1951) - The Murdered Watchman (uncredited) * '' What Every Woman Wants'' (1954) - Tom * '' Lease of Life'' (1954) - Sproatley * ''Ramsbottom Rides Again'' (195 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vida Hope
Vida Hope (16 December 1910 – 23 December 1963) was a British stage and film actress, who also directed stage productions. Life and career Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, to theatrical parents, she travelled widely as a child.Some of the Company – Vida Hope (autobiographical note). In : ''Late Joys at The Players' Theatre''. T V Boardman & Co Ltd, London, New York, 1943., p83 She was "forbidden to go on the stage", so at age 16, became a typist in an advertising office, going on to write copy. At this time, however, she took every chance she got to take part in amateur dramatics, managing to get the lead roles in plays by Shaw, Ibsen, and Chekhov. Following the role of the Fairy Wish-Fulfilment in the pantomime ''The Babes in the Wood'' at the Unity Theatre, London, she was, in 1939, offered a role by Herbert Farjeon in ''The Little Revue'' and worked in his revues for over three years. In 1940, she gave much support to and formed a strong friendship with Dirk Bogarde, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |