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Mel Shavelson
Melville Shavelson (April 1, 1917 – August 8, 2007) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. He was President of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAw) from 1969 to 1971, 1979 to 1981, and 1985 to 1987. Biography Shavelson was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn and graduated from Cornell University in 1937. worked as a writer on comedian Bob Hope's radio show, ''The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope''. Shavelson came to Hollywood in 1938 as one of Hope's joke writers, a job he held for the next five years. He was responsible for the screenplays of such Hope films as ''The Princess and the Pirate'' (1944), '' Where There's Life'' (1947), '' The Great Lover'' (1949), and ''Sorrowful Jones'' (1949), which also starred Lucille Ball. Shavelson was nominated twice for Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay—first for 1955's ''The Seven Little Foys'', starring Hope in a rare dramatic role, and then for 1958's '' Houseboat''. He shared both n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behind New York County (Manhattan). Brooklyn is also New York City's most populous borough,2010 Gazetteer for New York State . Retrieved September 18, 2016. with 2,736,074 residents in 2020. Named after the Dutch village of Breukelen, Brooklyn is located on the w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment industry worldwide. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette as a trophy, officially called the "Academy Award of Merit", although more commonly referred to by its nickname, the "Oscar". The statuette, depicting a knight rendered in the Art Deco style, was originally sculpted by Los Angeles artist George Stanley from a design sketch by art director Cedric Gibbons. The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929 at a private dinner hosted by Douglas Fairbanks in The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The Academy Awards cere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Make Room For Daddy
''The Danny Thomas Show'' (titled ''Make Room for Daddy'' for its first three seasons) is an American sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1957 on ABC and from 1957 to 1964 on CBS. Starring Danny Thomas as a successful night club entertainer, the show focused on his relationship with his family, yet went through a number of significant changes in cast and characters during the course of its run. Episodes regularly featured music by Thomas, guest stars and occasionally other cast members as part of the plot. In March 1953, Thomas first signed the contract for the show with ABC and chose Desilu Studios to film it using its three-camera method.''The I Love Lucy Book'' by Bart Andrews (revised and updated Broadway Books trade paperback edition, 2001), , p. 116 Two proposed titles during pre-production were ''The Children's Hour'' and ''Here Comes Daddy''. Synopsis Thomas played the role of Danny Williams, a successful comedian and nightclub entertainer at the Copa Club, based on the icon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and raised in Nebraska, Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor and made his Hollywood film debut in 1935. He rose to film stardom with performances in films like '' Jezebel'' (1938), ''Jesse James'' (1939), and '' Young Mr. Lincoln'' (1939). His career further progressed with his portrayal of Tom Joad in ''The Grapes of Wrath'' (1940), receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 1941, Fonda starred opposite Barbara Stanwyck in the screwball comedy classic '' The Lady Eve''. Book-ending his service in WWII were his starring roles in two highly regarded Westerns: ''The Ox-Bow Incident'' (1943) and ''My Darling Clementine'' (1946), the latter directed by John Ford, and he also starred in Ford's Western '' Fort Apache'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yours, Mine And Ours (1968 Film)
''Yours, Mine and Ours'' is a 1968 American family comedy-drama film directed by Melville Shavelson and starring Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda and Van Johnson. Before its release, it had three other working titles: ''The Beardsley Story'', ''Full House'', and ''His, Hers, and Theirs''. It was based loosely on the story of Frank and Helen Beardsley, although Desilu Productions bought the rights to the story long before Helen's autobiographical book ''Who Gets the Drumstick?'' was released to bookstores. Screenwriters Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll wrote several '' I Love Lucy''-style stunts that in most cases had no basis in the actual lives of the Beardsley family, before Melville Shavelson and Mort Lachman took over primary writing duties. The film was commercially successful, and even the Beardsleys themselves appreciated it. Plot Frank Beardsley is a Navy Chief Warrant Officer, recently detached from the aircraft carrier USS ''Enterprise'' and assigned as project officer for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cast A Giant Shadow
''Cast a Giant Shadow'' is a 1966 big-budget action film based on the life of Colonel Mickey Marcus, and stars Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Yul Brynner, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and Angie Dickinson. Melville Shavelson adapted, produced and directed. The film is a fictionalized account of the experiences of a real-life Jewish-American military officer, Colonel David "Mickey" Marcus, who commanded units of the fledgling Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Plot Marcus is an Army Reserve Colonel in the Judge Advocate General's Corps, who was recently released from active duty and is now working in New York City. He is approached by a Haganah agent, Major Safir, who requests his assistance in preparing Israeli troops to defend the newly declared State against an invasion by its Arab neighbors. Marcus is refused permission by The Pentagon to go, unless he travels as a civilian. The Haganah gives him a false passport with the alias "Michael Stone". As "Michael St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A New Kind Of Love
''A New Kind of Love'' is a 1963 American romantic comedy film written, directed, and produced by Melville Shavelson and starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Frank Sinatra sings "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" over the opening credits. Plot Steve Sherman, a womanizing American newspaper columnist, is exiled to Paris after unwittingly sleeping with his publisher's wife. On the plane, Steve meets Samantha "Sam" Blake, whom he mistakes for a man due to her tomboy appearance, and the two instantly dislike each other. A career woman, Sam works as the head buyer for a large department store in New York City, copying designs from high-end fashion houses to be recreated and sold at her store for a fraction of the cost. Accompanied by her boss Joseph "Joe" Bergner and colleague Lena O'Connor, Sam travels to Paris in order to scour '' couture'' houses and fashion shows for inspiration. During the St. Catherine's Day celebration, where young unmarried women pray for husbands, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Pigeon That Took Rome
''The Pigeon That Took Rome'' is a 1962 American comedy war film directed and written by Melville Shavelson and starring Charlton Heston. The film is set in the Italian Campaign of World War II and was based on the 1961 novel ''The Easter Dinner'' by former spy Donald Downes. Plot In 1944, during the last stages of the war in Europe, American officers Paul MacDougall (Heston) and Joseph Angelico ( Guardino) are sent to Rome to act as spies for the Allies, even though they have no experience in espionage. Working with Italian partisan soldier Ciccio Massimo ( Baccaloni), MacDougall and Contini send regular reports to their superiors by carrier pigeon. Angelico also finds himself falling in love with Massimo's pregnant daughter Rosalba ( Pallotta), while her sister Antonella ( Martinelli) has her eye on MacDougall. Angelico proposes to Rosalba, and Ciccio prepares a feast to celebrate his daughter's upcoming wedding. However, Ciccio prepares squab for the occasion, killing all but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
On The Double (film)
''On the Double'' is a 1961 comedy film, directed by Melville Shavelson, who also wrote the screenplay with Jack Rose. It stars Danny Kaye who plays, as in many of his films, two roles — in this case, an American soldier and a British General. Plot England, 1944. After an attempt on the life of British high commander General Sir Lawrence MacKenzie-Smith (Danny Kaye) by German intelligence, all military camps in England are sealed off, resulting in leaves of absence being revoked. Ernie Williams (Kaye), a most reluctant American soldier, hypochondriac and talented mimic, and his fellow conscript Joseph Praeger ( Jesse White) are thus left trapped in an Allied army camp in southeast England just before they can return to the States. In order to relieve his frustration, Ernie impersonates MacKenzie during dinner in the mess hall; a British officer entering the building falls for his disguise, sparking the idea in Praeger to use Ernie as a double to get them out of the camp. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It Started In Naples
''It Started in Naples'' is a 1960 American romantic comedy film directed by Melville Shavelson and produced by Jack Rose from a screenplay by Suso Cecchi d'Amico, based on the story by Michael Pertwee and Jack Davies. The Technicolor cinematography was directed by Robert Surtees. The film stars Clark Gable, Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica and an Italian cast. This was Gable's final film to be released within his lifetime and his last film in color. Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson, Samuel M. Comer and Arrigo Breschi were nominated for an Oscar for its art direction The film was released by Paramount Pictures on August 7, 1960. Plot Only a few days before his wedding, Michael Hamilton, a Philadelphia lawyer, travels to Naples in southern Italy to settle the estate of his late brother, Joseph, with Italian lawyer Vitale. In the opening narration, he states that he "was here before with the 5th US Army" in World War II. In Naples, Michael discovers that his brother had a son, ei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Five Pennies
''The Five Pennies'' is a semi-biographical 1959 film starring Danny Kaye as jazz cornet player and bandleader Loring "Red" Nichols. Other cast members include Barbara Bel Geddes, Louis Armstrong, Harry Guardino, Bob Crosby, Bobby Troup, Susan Gordon, and Tuesday Weld. The film was directed by Melville Shavelson. The film received four Oscar nominations: Best Musical Scoring (Leith Stevens), Best Original Song ( Sylvia Fine—Danny Kaye's wife), Best Cinematography ( Daniel L. Fapp), and Best Costumes (Edith Head). The real Red Nichols recorded all of Kaye's cornet playing for the film soundtrack. The other musicians in Red's band were not asked to provide their musical contributions, and the sound of his band was supplied by session players. Plot Red Nichols (Kaye) is a small-town cornet player who moves to New York City in the 1920s and finds work in a band led by Wil Paradise (Crosby). He meets and marries singer Willia Stutsman, a.k.a. "Bobbie Meredith" (Bel Geddes). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beau James
''Beau James'' is a 1957 film based on a non-fiction book of the same name by Gene Fowler. The film stars Bob Hope in a rare dramatic role as Jimmy Walker, the colorful but controversial Mayor of New York City from 1926–32. Plot In 1925, New York's governor, Al Smith, persuades state senator James J. "Jimmy" Walker that the Democratic Party needs him to run for mayor of New York City. A concern on Jimmy's part is his estrangement from wife Allie, but he discovers that she is willing to go along with his political aims. Under the guidance of Chris Nolan, his political mentor, Jimmy wins the election in a landslide. He later learns, though, that Allie has no intention of renewing their relationship. She is simply satisfied to be the great city's first lady. A drunken Jimmy is found on a park bench by Betty Compton, who takes him home, not knowing who he is. She scolds him for his behavior upon learning Jimmy is the mayor, and a mutual attraction develops. He uses his political ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
