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Michael Deeley
Michael Deeley (born 6 August 1932) is an Academy Award-winning British film producer known for such motion pictures as ''The Italian Job'' (1969), ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), and ''Blade Runner'' (1982). He is also a founding member and Honorary President of British Screen Forum. Biography Deeley's father was a director at McCann Erickson advertising agency, and his mother was a PA to several film producers. He attended Stowe School in Buckinghamshire. After national service in Malaysia during the time of the Malayan Emergency, Deeley gained a job through his mother's connections as an assistant editor at a company run by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. While editing the TV show ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'', with his editing partner Harry Booth, the two men decided to branch into a producing partnership. They raised funds to produce a 26-minute short starring Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, ''The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn'' (1956). This launched Deeley's producing care ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Italian Job
''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, recently released from prison, who forms a gang for the job of stealing a cache of gold bullion being transported through the city of Turin, Italy in an armoured security truck. In addition to Caine, the film's cast also included Benny Hill, Raf Vallone, Tony Beckley, and Noël Coward; the film was Coward's last before his retirement from acting. The soundtrack was composed by Quincy Jones, featuring the songs "On Days Like These", sung by Matt Monro over the opening credits, and "Getta Bloomin' Move On" (usually referred to as "The Self-Preservation Society", after its chorus) during the climactic car chase, which featured Caine among its singers. The film proved a success upon its release, earning critical acclaim amongst critics for the pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Comcast through the NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment division of NBCUniversal. Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour, Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States; the world's fifth oldest after Gaumont, Pathé, Titanus, and Nordisk Film; and the oldest member of Hollywood's "Big Five" studios in terms of the overall film market. Its studios are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City. In 1962, the studio was acquired by MCA, which was re-launched as NBCUniversal in 2004. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Who? (film)
''Who?'' is a 1974 British science fiction film based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Algis Budrys. It was directed by Jack Gold and stars Elliott Gould, Trevor Howard and Joseph Bova. Some video releases were retitled ''The Man in the Steel Mask'' or ''Roboman''. Synopsis An enigmatic individual with a metal face is returned from East Germany and claims to be Lucas Martino, an American scientist who was working on a top-secret project but was severely injured and scarred in a car crash. American authorities hold him in custody while they try to establish whether the man is the real Martino or an impostor looking for secret information about the ultimate rocket project developed in the West. Cast * Elliott Gould as Sean Rogers * Trevor Howard as Colonel Azarin * Joseph Bova Joseph Bova (May 25, 1924 – March 12, 2006) was an American actor. He worked in early television, having a children's show on WABC-TV in New York, and played Prince Dauntless in the Broadway mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Internecine Project
''The Internecine Project'' is a 1974 British espionage thriller film written by Mort W. Elkind, Barry Levinson, and Jonathan Lynn, directed by Ken Hughes and starring James Coburn and Lee Grant. Plot Renowned American economist Robert Elliot ( James Coburn) who is about to be promoted to be a government advisor has also been secretly running a business espionage ring in London with the help of 4 operatives- corrupt Foreign Office official Alex Hellman (Ian Hendry), masseur Bert Parsons (Harry Andrews), prostitute Christina Larsson ( Christiane Kruger) and scientist David Baker (Michael Jayston). He is advised to have his operatives killed by E.J. Farnsworth ( Keenan Wynn), a businessman who has helped secure Elliot's appointment to prevent them from exposing Elliot's dubious activities. To avoid himself or anyone on the outside being implicated, Elliot devises and carries out a clever plan in which his four former associates will unwittingly kill each other on the same night. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wicker Man (1973 Film)
''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 novel ''Ritual'', centres on the visit of Police Sergeant Neil Howie to the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle in search of a missing girl. Howie, a devout Christian, is appalled to find that the inhabitants of the island have abandoned Christianity and now practise a form of Celtic paganism. Paul Giovanni composed the film score. ''The Wicker Man'' is well-regarded by critics. Film magazine ''Cinefantastique'' described it as "The ''Citizen Kane'' of horror movies", and in 2004, ''Total Film'' magazine named ''The Wicker Man'' the sixth-greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. The final scene was number 45 on Bravo's '' 100 Scariest Movie Moments'', and during the 2012 Summer Olympics o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don't Look Now
''Don't Look Now'' ( it, A Venezia... un Dicembre rosso shocking, lit=In Venice... a shocking red December) is a 1973 English-language film in the thriller genre directed by Nicolas Roeg, adapted from the 1971 short story by Daphne du Maurier. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland portray Laura and John Baxter, a married couple who travel to Venice following the recent accidental death of their daughter, after John accepts a commission to restore a church. They encounter two sisters, one of whom claims to be clairvoyant and informs them that their daughter is trying to contact them and warn them of danger. John at first dismisses their claims, but starts to experience mysterious sightings himself. ''Don't Look Now'' focuses on the psychology of grief and the effect the death of a child can have on a relationship. The film is renowned for its innovative editing style, recurring motifs and themes, and for a controversial sex scene that was explicit by the standards of contempor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Lion Films
British Lion Films is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Originally known as British Lion Film Corporation Ltd, it entered receivership on 1 June 1954. From 29 January 1955 to 1976, the company was known as British Lion Films Ltd, and was a pure distribution company. British Lion was founded in November 1927 by Sam W. Smith (brother of Herbert Smith). By the end of the Second World War the company had released over 55 films, including ''In Which We Serve'' (1942), for which writer/producer Noël Coward received an Academy Award. It is best known for the period when it was managed by Sir Alexander Korda. Korda's company London Films bought the controlling interest in British Lion in 1946 and then acquired Shepperton Studios, basing its productions there. In 1949, due to financial problems, the company accepted a loan from the National Film Finance Corporation. Not being able to pay it back, the company went into receivership from Pipro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Spikings
Barry Spikings (born 23 November 1939) is a British film producer who worked in Hollywood. Spikings is best known as a producer of the film, ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), which won five Academy Awards. Biography Spikings was born in Boston, Lincolnshire. After leaving Boston Grammar School he joined the local newspaper, the ''Lincolnshire Standard'', as a trainee reporter. Later he joined the '' Farmers' Weekly'', where he won a Golden Ear award for a fifteen-minute film that he produced and directed himself. Spikings then moved to the entertainment world. Initially, he promoted pop music festivals and later films. British Lion and EMI In 1972, he became the co-owner of British Lion Films; Spikings later joined EMI when it took over British Lion. For the film, ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), Spikings won an Academy Award for Best Picture. The film also garnered awards for several of its actors. Nelson Holdings In 1985, Spikings formed a Canadian company, Nelson Holdings Internationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oakhurst Productions
Oakhurst Productions was a production company formed by actor Stanley Baker in the late 1960s which produced a number of films, notably ''The Italian Job'' (1969). Their first film, ''Robbery'' (1967), was made in association with Embassy Pictures but the next five were made with Paramount Pictures. Oakhurst owned a building along the Thames River which was later sold as part of Baker and Deeley's take over of British Lion. Among their unmade projects were: *an adaptation of the novel '' Flashman'' by George MacDonald Fraser to be directed by Richard Lester; *''Summer Fires'' directed by Peter Hall. *''Everyman's Brother'' from a novel by Norman Lewis Credits * ''Robbery'' (1967) * ''The Other People'' (1969) * ''Where's Jack?'' (1969) *''The Italian Job'' (1969) * ''Colosseum and Juicy Lucy'' (1970) * ''Perfect Friday'' (1970) References External linksOakhurst Productionsat IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanley Baker
Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 192828 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a producer. Born into a coal mining family in Glamorgan, Baker began his acting career in the West End. Following national service in the Royal Army Service Corps after the Second World War, he befriended actor Richard Burton and began appearing in film and television roles. He played the lead role in '' Hell Drivers'' and supporting role in '' The Guns of Navarone''. He was producer and lead actor in the 1964 film '' Zulu'', in which he portrayed John Chard. Baker's performance in the 1959 film ''Yesterday's Enemy'' was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actor, and he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his turn in the BBC serial ''How Green Was My Valley''. He was awarded a knighthood in 1976, although he died before ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robbery (1967 Film)
''Robbery'' is a 1967 British crime film directed by Peter Yates and starring Stanley Baker. The story is a heavily fictionalised version of the 1963 Great Train Robbery. The film was produced by Stanley Baker and Michael Deeley, for Baker's company Oakhurst Productions. Plot A criminal gang uses a gas canister to knock out the occupant of a car and then bundle him into a stolen ambulance. There they cut free a briefcase full of jewellery. Shortly afterward, when the criminals are changing vehicles, they are spotted by the police and a high-speed chase develops with the criminals getting away. Using the money from this job, crime boss Paul Clifton (Stanley Baker) builds up a team to hit a Royal Mail train coming south from Glasgow. A meticulous plan is put in place, but there are obstacles: Jack (Clinton Greyn), the driver of the getaway car in the jewellery theft, is identified in an identity parade and arrested (but refuses to name accomplices to police); gang member Robinson ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscar Lewenstein
Silvion Oscar Lewenstein (18 January 1917 – 23 February 1997)Robert Murph"Lewenstein, (Silvion) Oscar (1917–1997)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. was a British theatre and film producer, who helped create some of the leading British theatre and film productions of the 1950s and 1960s.William Grimes ''The New York Times'', 10 March 1997; accessed 15 November 2012. Early life and career Born in Hackney, London, Lewenstein was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants who had fled antisemitism before the Russian Revolution. He spent most of his childhood in Hove, Sussex. His father's formerly successful plywood business went into a decline during his teens, the family returned to London, and the younger Lewenstein left school. A former member of the Young Communist League, now active in the Communist Party itself, he became involved in the Unity Theatre movement via his friendship with Ted Willis. After a period working for the Unity Theatre just after the war, h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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