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Manfish
''Manfish'' is a 1956 adventure film, released by United Artists in 1956 and originally filmed in DeLuxe Color. Filmed in Jamaica, it was released in Great Britain as ''Calypso''. It was based on the 1843 stories "The Gold-Bug" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. Actor John Bromfield starred as Captain Brannigan and Lon Chaney Jr. played the role of Swede. The leading female star was Tessa Prendergast, who played Alita. Tessa later became a fashion designer and designed the white bikini of Ursula Andress for '' Dr. No''. The film also featured the motion picture debut of Barbara Nichols. Plot Inspector Warren of Scotland Yard flies into Jamaica and is taken to the headquarters of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. Exchanging credentials with a Jamaican Inspector, Warren reveals he has come to seek the extradition of a wanted criminal known as "The Professor". Surprised when the Inspector refuses to extradite the Professor, the Jamaican Inspector recounts a story told in f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tessa Prendergast
Marie Therese "Tessa" Prendergast (17 October 1928 – 9 July 2001), also known as Tessa Welborn, was a Jamaican actress, fashion designer, businesswoman, and socialite. A renowned beauty and movie starlet in the 1950s, she is best-remembered today as the designer of the taboo-breaking white bikini worn by Ursula Andress in the 1962 film '' Dr. No''. Life and career Prendergast was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 17 October 1928. Her father, Louis Prendergast, was a wealthy plantation owner who died while Tessa was in her infancy. Her mother later married Noel Nethersole, an Oxford-educated economist and star cricketer who, along with future Prime Minister Norman Manley, established the People's National Party. Her step-father served as Jamaica's minister of finance from 1955 to 1959, and founded the Bank of Jamaica. Several years after his death in 1959, his image appeared on the Jamaican $20 banknote. Prendergast was raised in London, England. Although she would spend most of h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lon Chaney Jr
Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dracula spelled backward) in '' Son of Dracula'', Frankenstein's monster in ''The Ghost of Frankenstein'' (1942), the Mummy in three pictures, and various other roles in many Universal horror films. He also portrayed Lennie Small in ''Of Mice and Men'' (1939) and supporting parts in dozens of mainstream movies, including '' High Noon'' (1952), and ''The Defiant Ones'' (1958). Originally referred to in films as Creighton Chaney, he was later credited as "Lon Chaney, Jr." in 1935, and after ''Man Made Monster'' (1941), beginning as early as ''The Wolf Man'' later that same year, he was almost always billed under the name of his immensely more famous father, the deceased cinema giant Lon Chaney, at the studio's insistence. Chaney had English, Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gold-Bug
"The Gold-Bug" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe published in 1843. The plot follows William Legrand, who was bitten by a gold-colored bug. His servant Jupiter fears that Legrand is going insane and goes to Legrand's friend, an unnamed narrator, who agrees to visit his old friend. Legrand pulls the other two into an adventure after deciphering a secret message that will lead to a buried treasure. The story, set on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, is often compared with Poe's "tales of ratiocination" as an early form of detective fiction. Poe became aware of the public's interest in secret writing in 1840 and asked readers to challenge his skills as a code-breaker. He took advantage of the popularity of cryptography as he was writing "The Gold-Bug", and the success of the story centers on one such cryptogram. Modern critics have judged the characterization of Legrand's servant Jupiter as racist, especially because of his comical dialect speech. Poe submitted "T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Bromfield
John Bromfield (born Farron Bromfield; June 11, 1922 – September 19, 2005) was an American actor and commercial fisherman. Early years Farron Bromfield was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played football and was a boxing champion at Saint Mary's College of California, where he also lettered in football, baseball, track and swimming. In the 1940s, he gained his first acting experience at the La Jolla Playhouse. Military service Bromfield served in the United States Navy in World War II. Film Bromfield's screen debut came in ''Harpoon'' (1948). The same year, he was cast as a detective in '' Sorry, Wrong Number'', starring Burt Lancaster and Barbara Stanwyck for Paramount Pictures. In 1953, Bromfield appeared with Esther Williams, Van Johnson and Tony Martin in '' Easy to Love''. He also starred in horror films, including the 1955 3D production ''Revenge of the Creature'', one of the ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' sequels. Television In the middle 1950s, Bromf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Jory
Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1935) and carpetbagger Jonas Wilkerson in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939). From 1959 to 1961, he had a lead role in the 78-episode television police drama ''Manhunt''. He also recorded numerous stories for Peter Pan Records and was a guest star in dozens of television series as well as a supporting player in dozens of theatrical films, occasionally appearing as the leading man. Biography Born in Dawson City, Yukon, to American parents, he was the boxing and wrestling champion of the US Coast Guard during his military service, and he kept his burly physique. He graduated from the Martha Oatman School of the Theater in Los Angeles. Jory toured with theatre troupes and appeared on Broadway, before making his Hollywood debut in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myles Wilder
Myles Wilder (January 28, 1933 – April 20, 2010) was a television comedy writer and producer. Wilder attended and graduated from UCLA's Theater Arts Department. During his senior year, he and two of his friends, Mitch Rose and Wayne Thoms, produced a documentary entitled "The Sports Car" that depicted the history of and interest in sports cars. He started writing in Hollywood in 1952 with '' Rebound''. He wrote seven screenplays for film, with six of them being directed by his father W. Lee Wilder (1904–1982), the older brother of famous director Billy Wilder. Myles would write for a variety of shows over the next two decades, such as ''McHale's Navy'', '' Korg: 70,000 B.C.'', and ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. He also served as a script consultant on the television series ''Karen'', producer of Hazzard and ''McDuff, the Talking Dog'', and executive story consultant on programs like Hazzard, ''Hong Kong Phooey'', and ''Devlin'' Filmography Films written * ''Phantom from Space'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbara Nichols
Barbara Marie Nickerauer (December 10, 1928 – October 5, 1976), known professionally as Barbara Nichols, was an American actress who often played brassy or comic roles in films in the 1950s and 1960s. Early life and career Nichols was born Barbara Marie Nickerauer to George and Julia Nickerauer and was raised in Queens, New York. Early in her career, Nichols was a showgirl when a club owner offered her a much higher salary to become a striptease performer. She declined the offer, keeping her focus on becoming an actress. She began modeling for cheesecake magazines in the late 1940s and eventually was considered a minor rival to Marilyn Monroe. On Broadway, she appeared in the 1952 revival of '' Pal Joey'' (she also appeared in the 1957 film version) and in ''Let It Ride'' (1961). In the mid 1950s, she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in showy supporting roles in A-films, such as ''Miracle in the Rain'' (1956), ''The King and Four Queens'' (1956), ''The Naked and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of American Films Of 1956
A list of American films released in 1956 ''Around the World in 80 Days'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. A-B C-D E-I J-M N-R S-Z See also * 1956 in the United States Sources Footnotes References * * External links 1956 filmsat the Internet Movie Database {{DEFAULTSORT:American films of 1956 1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ... Films Lists of 1956 films by country or language ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States, and of American literature. Poe was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story, and considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging genre of science fiction. Poe is the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career. Poe was born in Boston, the second child of actors David and Elizabeth "Eliza" Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and when his mother died the following year, Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia. They never formally adopted him, but he was with them well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jolly Roger
Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the flags flown to identify a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the later part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger today — the skull and crossbones symbol on a black flag — was used during the 1710s by a number of pirate captains including Black Sam Bellamy, Edward England, and John Taylor. It went on to become the most commonly used pirate flag during the 1720s, although other designs were also in use. Name Use of the term ''Jolly Roger'' in reference to pirate flags goes back to at least Charles Johnson's ''A General History of the Pyrates,'' published in Britain in 1724. Johnson specifically cites two pirates as having named their flag "Jolly Roger": Bartholomew Roberts in June 1721 and Francis Spriggs in December 1723. While Spriggs and Roberts used the same name for their flags, their flag designs were very different, suggesting t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". This has become the common spelling in the United States, including places named after him. Lafitte is believed to have been born either in Basque-France or the French colony of Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean. Enslaved Africans there gained their independence from France in 1804 and renamed this territory as Haiti. By 1805, Lafitte was operating a warehouse in New Orleans to help distribute the goods smuggled by his brother Pierre Lafitte. The United States government passed the Embargo Act of 1807 as tensions built with the United Kingdom by prohibiting trade. The Lafittes moved their operations to an island in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. By 1810, their new port had become very successful; the Lafittes had a profitable smuggling operation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hispaniola
Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the region's second largest in area, after the island of Cuba. The island is divided into two separate nations: the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic (48,445 km2, 18,705 sq mi) to the east and the French/ Haitian Creole-speaking Haiti (27,750 km2, 10,710 sq mi) to the west. The only other divided island in the Caribbean is Saint Martin, which is shared between France ( Saint Martin) and the Netherlands (Sint Maarten). Hispaniola is the site of one of the first European settlements in the Americas, La Navidad (1492–1493), as well as the first proper town, La Isabela (1493–1500), and the first permanent settlement, the current capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo (est. 1498). These settlements were founded succe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
