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Michael Smedley-Aston
Edward Michael "Smed" Smedley-Aston (1912–2006), sometimes credited only as M. Smedley-Aston or E.M. Smedley-Aston, was a British film producer involved with over 40 feature films, and pioneering some of the earliest filmed TV series in the UK. Early life Smedley-Aston was born on 25 August 1912, in Edgbaston, Birmingham, as the son of William Smedley-Aston (1868 - 1941), a Birmingham photographer and pioneer in the field of photography. He was educated at Marlborough College. Career Smedley-Aston began his career at Elstree Studios, where he worked with Alfred Hitchcock and was assistant director on many films including ''Dance Band'', ''Royal Cavalcade'', ''Drake of England'' (all 1935) and ''Goodbye Mr. Chips'' (1939). After World War II, he joined the Rank Organisation and worked on several films, notably David Lean's ''Great Expectations'' (1946). As a close associate of director/producers Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, Smedley-Aston was involved with the 1955 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British People
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which can be acquired, for instance, by descent from British nationals. When used in a historical context, "British" or "Britons" can refer to the Ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain and Brittany, whose surviving members are the modern Welsh people, Cornish people, and Bretons. It also refers to citizens of the former British Empire, who settled in the country prior to 1973, and hold neither UK citizenship nor nationality. Though early assertions of being British date from the Late Middle Ages, the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 triggered a sense of British national identity.. The notion of Britishness and a shared Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat (15 February 1908 – 31 May 1994) was an English film director, producer and writer. He was the son of George Gilliat, editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1928 to 1933. Sidney was born in the district of Edgeley in Stockport, Cheshire. In the 1930s he worked as a scriptwriter, most notably with Frank Launder on ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938) for Alfred Hitchcock, and ''Night Train to Munich'' (1940), directed by Carol Reed. He and Launder made their directorial debut co-directing the home front drama ''Millions Like Us'' (1943). From 1945 he also worked as a producer, starting with ''The Rake's Progress'', which he also wrote and directed. He and Launder made over 40 films together, founding their own production company Individual Pictures. While Launder concentrated on directing their comedies, most famously the four St Trinian's School films, Gilliat showed a preference for comedy-thrillers and dramas, including ''Green for Danger'' (1946), '' London Bel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinema Of The United States
The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of American cinema is classical Hollywood cinema, which developed from 1913 to 1969 and is still typical of most films made there to this day. While Frenchmen Auguste and Louis Lumière are generally credited with the birth of modern cinema, American cinema soon came to be a dominant force in the emerging industry. , it produced the third-largest number of films of any national cinema, after India and China, with more than 600 English-language films released on average every year. While the national cinemas of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand also produce films in the same language, they are not part of the Hollywood system. That said, Hollywood has also been considered a transnational cinema, and has produced multiple lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in '' The Pink Panther'' series. Born in Southsea, Portsmouth, Sellers made his stage debut at the Kings Theatre, Southsea, when he was two weeks old. He began accompanying his parents in a variety act that toured the provincial theatres. He first worked as a drummer and toured around England as a member of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). He developed his mimicry and improvisational skills during a spell in Ralph Reader's wartime Gang Show entertainment troupe, which toured Britain and the Far East. After the war, Sellers made his radio debut in ''ShowTime'', and eventually became a regular performer on vario ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wrong Arm Of The Law
''The Wrong Arm of the Law'' is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins, Lionel Jeffries, John Le Mesurier and Bill Kerr. It was partly written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson and made by Romulus Films. The film opened at the Warner Theatre in London's West End on 14 March 1963. Plot In London, a gang of criminals from Australia led by Jack Coombes (Bill Kerr) impersonate policemen to carry out robberies. Local gang leader "Pearly" Gates ( Sellers), who operates from the cover of a French couturier, finds his takings cut severely, and blames rival crook "Nervous" O'Toole (Bernard Cribbins). When it emerges that they are both being scammed by the same gang, they join forces, along with Lionel Jeffries' Police Inspector "Nosey" Parker, to bring the so-called "I.P.O. mob" (I.P.O. - Impersonating a Police Officer) to justice. Nanette Newman provides the love interest, John Le Mesurier plays a senior policeman, and a young Michae ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Two-Way Stretch
''Two-Way Stretch'', is a 1960 British comedy film, about a group of prisoners who plan to break out of jail, commit a robbery, and then break back into jail again, thus giving them the perfect alibi – that they were behind bars when the robbery occurred. However, their plans are disrupted by the arrival of a strict new Chief Prison Officer. The film was directed by Robert Day from a screenplay by Vivian Cox, John Warren and Len Heath, with additional dialogue by Alan Hackney. The film boasts a cast of characters played by, among others, Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Lionel Jeffries and Bernard Cribbins. Plot Three prisoners nearing the end of their jail sentences, "Dodger" Lane, "Jelly" Knight and "Lennie the Dip", are visited by a vicar seeking to find employment for them. He is actually "Soapy" Stevens, a conman, who proposes a large-scale diamond robbery. They will also all have alibis, because they will break out of prison, commit the robbery and then break bac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Another Time, Another Place (1958 Film)
''Another Time, Another Place'' is a 1958 British melodrama film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Lana Turner, Barry Sullivan and Sean Connery. The film is based on Lenore J. Coffee's 1955 novel ''Weep No More.'' Plot An American reporter, Sara Scott (Turner) is working in London during the last year of the Second World War and begins an affair with a British reporter named Mark Trevor (Connery). Sara is conflicted on whether to marry her rich American boss Carter Reynolds (Sullivan) or the charming young reporter she is having an affair with. Finally, she chooses Mark, only to find that he is married and has a son back in his hometown. The two separate shortly thereafter, then decide to stay together and work out their problems. As the war in Europe is ending, Mark is killed in a plane crash, sending Sara into mourning and into a mental sanatorium for a few months. After her release, Carter convinces her to catch a ship back to New York and work for him. However, before ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lana Turner
Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. In the mid-1940s, she was one of the highest-paid actresses in the United States, and one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's (MGM) biggest stars, with her films earning more than $50 million for the studio during her 18-year contract with them. Turner is frequently cited as a popular culture icon of Hollywood glamour and a screen legend of classical Hollywood cinema. Born to working-class parents in northern Idaho, Turner spent her childhood there before her family relocated to San Francisco. In 1936, when Turner was 15, she was discovered while purchasing a soda at the Top Hat Malt Shop in Hollywood. At 16, she was signed to a personal contract by Warner Bros. director Mervyn LeRoy, who took her with him when he transferred to MGM in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sean Connery
Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Originating the role in '' Dr. No'', Connery played Bond in six of Eon Productions' entries and made his final appearance in '' Never Say Never Again''. Following his third appearance as Bond in '' Goldfinger'' (1964), in June 1965 ''Time'' magazine observed "James Bond has developed into the biggest mass-cult hero of the decade". Connery began acting in smaller theatre and television productions until his breakout role as Bond. Although he did not enjoy the off-screen attention the role gave him, the success of the Bond films brought Connery offers from notable directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Lumet and John Huston. Their films in which Connery appeared included ''Marnie'' (1964), '' The Hill'' (1965), ''Murder on the Orient Express'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Life Is A Circus (1960 Film)
''Life is a Circus'' is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Bud Flanagan, Teddy Knox, Jimmy Nervo, Jimmy Gold and Charlie Naughton of the Crazy Gang. The screenplay concerns a down-on-its-luck circus that uses an Aladdin's Magic Lamp to try to save their business. The film is generally considered inferior to the Crazy Gang's previous screen appearances. Cast * Bud Flanagan as Bud * Teddy Knox as Sebastian * Jimmy Nervo as Cecil * Jimmy Gold as Goldie * Charlie Naughton as Charlie * Eddie Gray as Eddie * Chesney Allen as Ches * Shirley Eaton as Shirley Winter * Michael Holliday as Carl Rickenbeck * Lionel Jeffries as Genie * Joseph Tomelty as Joe Winter * Eric Pohlmann as Rickenbeck * Harold Kasket as Hassan * Edwin Richfield as Driver * Peter Glaze as Hand #1 * Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crazy Gang (comedy Group)
The Crazy Gang were a group of British entertainers, formed in the early 1930s. In the mature form the group's six men were Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Nervo and Knox, Jimmy Nervo, Nervo and Knox, Teddy Knox, Charlie Naughton and Jimmy Gold. The group achieved considerable domestic popularity and were a favourite of the British Royal Family, Royal Family, especially King George VI of the United Kingdom, George VI. Formation Although George Black (Producer), George Black is often credited with the formation of the Crazy Gang, the start was more complicated. In 1931, three double acts (Nervo and Knox, Naughton and Gold and Billy Caryll and Hilda Mundy) were tentatively booked at the London Palladium. This caused Black to consider cancelling one of the couples. Nervo and Knox had a technique of entering other acts and Black was persuaded to overcome the difficulty by letting this happen. The show, which was called ''Crazy Week'' opened on 30 November 1931. Other Crazy Weeks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melba (film)
''Melba'' is a 1953 musical biopic drama film of the life of Australian-born soprano Nellie Melba, written by Harry Kurnitz and directed by Lewis Milestone for Horizon Pictures, marking the film debut of the Metropolitan Opera's Patrice Munsel. Plot Based on the life of Dame Nellie Melba, the film traces the career of Melba ( Patrice Munsel) from the time she left Australia, traveling to Paris to receive vocal training, meets a new suitor, and debuts her talent in Brussels. As her success grows, her former suitor from Australia arrives in Monte Carlo, convinces her to marry him, but then finds himself placed in the position of being "Mr. Melba". When he leaves her to return to Australia, Melba remains in Europe to continue singing. Cast Production Development In January 1952, upon completion of the ''Melba'' story treatment by Harry Kurnitz, producer Sam Spiegel and his attorney flew to London with the script in-hand to acquire film rights for her story from Melba's estate. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
