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Norman Grabowski
Norman Grabowski (February 5, 1933 – October 12, 2012) was an American hot rod builder and actor. The heavy-set crew cut-wearing Grabowski appeared in minor roles in many films produced by Albert Zugsmith and Walt Disney. He was Polish-American. Biography In 1952, after leaving the US army on a medical discharge, Grabowski built a hot rod based on a shortened 1922 Ford Model T touring car mated to a similarly extremely shortened Model A pickup truck bed. With a powerful Cadillac overhead valve engine that came from his parents' sedan, the vehicle that resulted had a unique appearance and stance, which inspired many hot rods created afterward. The car was first featured on the cover of the October, 1955 issue of ''Hot Rod'' and then underwent further modifications, including a greater rake, tilted windshield and blue paint with flames when it famously appeared in color on the cover of the April, 1957 issue of ''Car Craft'' magazine, as well as in the April 29, 1957 issue of '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot Rod
Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made to go much faster." However, there is no definition of the term that is universally accepted and the term is attached to a wide range of vehicles. Most often they are individually designed and constructed using components from many makes of old or new cars, and are most prevalent in the United States and Canada. Many are intended for exhibition rather than for racing or everyday driving. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. For example, some say that the term "hot" refers to the vehicle's being stolen. Other origin stories include replacing the engine's camshaft or "rod" with a higher performance version. According to the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) the term changes in meaning over the years, but "hot rodding has less to do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High School Confidential (film)
''High School Confidential'' is a 1958 American crime drama film directed by Jack Arnold, starring Mamie Van Doren, Russ Tamblyn, Jan Sterling, John Drew Barrymore, Jackie Coogan, Diane Jergens and Michael Landon. The film also features a cameo by Jerry Lee Lewis who opens the movie singing a song of the same name, which Lewis co-wrote with Ron Hargrave. Lewis released the title track as a Sun Records 45 single which became a Top 40 hit, reaching #21 in the ''Billboard'' charts. The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book ''The Official Razzie Movie Guide'' as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. Plot Mike Wilson, a young police officer, poses as a student under the alias Tony Baker and thus infiltrates a high school in order to investigate a narcotics ring. He lives in an apartment with Gwen Dulaine, a married woman who pretends to be his aunt in public but attempts to seduce him in private. "Tony" flirts with pupil Joan Staples a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hooper (film)
''Hooper'' is a 1978 American action comedy film directed by Hal Needham and starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jan-Michael Vincent, Brian Keith, Robert Klein, James Best and Adam West. The film serves as a tribute to stuntmen and stuntwomen in what was at one time an underrecognized profession. At the time of filming, Field and Reynolds were in a relationship, having met on the set of ''Smokey and the Bandit'' the previous year. Plot Sonny Hooper (Burt Reynolds) is the stunt coordinator on the action film ''The Spy Who Laughed at Danger'', directed by Roger Deal (Robert Klein) and starring Adam West (playing himself). Sonny's antics and wisecracks are a trial for the egotistical director and his officious but cowardly assistant, Tony (Alfie Wise). Years of numerous "gags" and his use of alcohol and painkillers are beginning to take their toll. Sonny lives with his girlfriend Gwen Doyle (Sally Field), whose father Jocko (Brian Keith) is a retired stuntman. Sonny is coerced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Towering Inferno
''The Towering Inferno'' is a 1974 American disaster film directed by John Guillermin and produced by Irwin Allen, featuring an ensemble cast led by Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. It was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from the novels '' The Tower'' (1973) by Richard Martin Stern and ''The Glass Inferno'' (1974) by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson. The film earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture and was the highest-grossing film of 1974. The picture was nominated for eight Oscars in all, winning three. In addition to McQueen and Newman, the cast includes William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, O. J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Flannery, Gregory Sierra, Dabney Coleman, and Jennifer Jones in her final role. Plot Architect Doug Roberts returns to San Francisco for the dedication of the Glass Tower, which he designed for developer James Duncan. The tower, tall and 138 stories, is the world's talles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackbeard's Ghost
''Blackbeard's Ghost'' is a 1968 American Fantasy film, fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson (director), Robert Stevenson and starring Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones (actor), Dean Jones, and Suzanne Pleshette. It was produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Productions and Bill Walsh (producer), Bill Walsh. It is based upon the 1965 novel of the same name by Ben Stahl (artist), Ben Stahl and was shot at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Studios. Plot Steve Walker (Dean Jones (actor), Dean Jones) arrives in a New England seacoast fictional town, called Godolphin, to take the position of track coach at Godolphin College. The night of his arrival coincides with a charity bazaar at the hotel where he will be boarding—Blackbeard's Inn, named after the notorious English Piracy, pirate Blackbeard, Captain Edward Teach and now run by the Daughters of the Buccaneers, elderly descendants of the pirate's crew. The inn had been built from timbers of ships that had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Out Of Sight (1966 Film)
''Out of Sight'' is a 1966 comedy film with elements of the spy spoof. It is the third and last of a series of films geared at teenagers by director Lennie Weinrib and producer Bart Patton for Universal Pictures. Perhaps inspired by the success of the American International Pictures' teenage films, as well as Weinrib and Patton's ''Beach Party'' knockoff, ''Beach Ball'', Universal and MCA signed a contract in 1965 for the pair to make 14 rock 'n' roll films in a two-year period; however, the only ones produced were ''Wild Wild Winter'' and this film. The title of the film was originally announced as ''Thunder Blunder'' a parody of '' Thunderball''. Plot Homer (Jonathan Daly) is a butler to secret agent John Stamp. Overhearing a plot to disrupt a concert, Sandra Carter (Karen Jensen) contacts Stamp to seek his assistance but with his boss away, Homer steps into the role of superspy to save Rock and Roll from the criminal organisation known as F.L.U.S.H. FLUSH sends three femme f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Monkey's Uncle
''The Monkey's Uncle'' is a 1965 American comedy film starring Tommy Kirk as genius college student Merlin Jones and Annette Funicello (former Mouseketeer from ''The Mickey Mouse Club'') as his girlfriend, Jennifer. The title plays on the idiom " monkey's uncle" and refers to a chimpanzee named Stanley, Merlin's legal "nephew" (because of a legal arrangement resulting from an experiment to raise Stanley as a human) who otherwise has little relevance to the plot. Jones invents a man-powered airplane and a sleep-learning system. The film is a sequel to 1964's ''The Misadventures of Merlin Jones.'' Plot The film starts in court, where Merlin Jones legally adopts his monkey, Stanley. Midvale College is told that a wealthy man, Mr. Astorbilt, will give a large donation, but he has a strange request—he challenges the school to build a man-powered flying machine. If they succeed by a certain date, they get the donation, otherwise it will go to a rival school. Jones designs a light ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Girl Happy
''Girl Happy'' is a 1965 American musical romantic comedy and beach party film starring Elvis Presley in his eighteenth feature. The movie won a fourth place prize Laurel Award in the category Top Musical of 1965. It featured the song " Puppet on a String", which reached #14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart and in Canada, and was certified Gold by the RIAA. Plot Nightclub singer Rusty Wells (Presley) and his band have just closed their engagement at the club where they work in Chicago and are about ready to leave for their annual spring break trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida—that is, until the club's owner, Big Frank ( Harold Stone), extends their stay at his club, foiling the band's plans for some sun and fun in Florida. At the same time, Big Frank's daughter, college student Valerie (Shelley Fabares) also takes her spring break in Lauderdale with her friends, which worries her father to no end. So at the suggestion of Rusty (who sees this s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roustabout (film)
''Roustabout'' is a 1964 American musical feature film starring Elvis Presley as a singer who takes a job working with a struggling carnival. The film was produced by Hal Wallis and directed by John Rich from a screenplay by Anthony Lawrence and Allan Weiss. The screenplay was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for best written American musical although ''Roustabout'' received a lukewarm review in ''Variety''. The film's soundtrack album was one of Elvis Presley's most successful, reaching no. 1 on the Billboard Album Chart. It was filmed in Techniscope at Paramount Studios with location for carnival sequences shot in Thousand Oaks, California. Filming began in March 1964. Plot Musician Charlie Rogers is fired from a job at a teahouse after brawling with several college students in the parking lot. After a night in jail, Charlie hits the road on his Honda 305 Superhawk motorcycle. He spots Cathy Lean driving with her father Joe, and their employer, Maggie Morgan. When ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Misadventures Of Merlin Jones
''The Misadventures of Merlin Jones'' is a 1964 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The film stars Tommy Kirk as a college student who experiments with mind-reading and hypnotism, leading to run-ins with a local judge. Annette Funicello plays his girlfriend (and sings the film's title song, accompanied by Disneyland's very own harmony quartet, The Yachtsmen, written by the Sherman Brothers), with Leon Ames, Stuart Erwin, Alan Hewitt, Connie Gilchrist, and Dallas McKennon rounding out the film's supporting cast. This film was followed up by a sequel called ''The Monkey's Uncle'' the following year. Plot Midvale College student Merlin Jones (Tommy Kirk), who is always involved with mind experiments, designs a helmet that connects to an electroencephalographic tape that records mental activity. He is brought before Judge Holmsby (Leon Ames) for wearing the helmet while driving and his license is suspended. Merlin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sex Kittens Go To College
''Sex Kittens Go to College'' (a.k.a. ''Beauty and the Robot'') is a 1960 American comedy film by Allied Artists Pictures, produced and directed by Albert Zugsmith and starring Mamie Van Doren, Tuesday Weld and Mijanou Bardot. The film was also released in adult theaters with an additional nine-minute dream sequence showcasing the robot Sam Thinko with striptease dancers. Plot Collins College's administrators are expecting new professor Dr. Mathilda West, who holds 13 degrees and speaks 18 languages. Dr. West, a buxom blonde, has an effect on everybody, from public relations director George Barton, who is the boyfriend of jealous dean Myrtle Carter, to football star Woo Woo Grabowski, who becomes nervous around beautiful women, including student Jody, who loves him. A campus computer, affectionately known as Thinko, has a knack for knowing the future, including winning lottery numbers and race horses. A hoodlum, Legs Rafertino, comes looking for Thinko, thinking that it is a b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
College Confidential (film)
''College Confidential'' is a 1960 American B-movie drama directed by Albert Zugsmith and starring Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows and Mamie Van Doren. Plot Sociology professor Steve McInter conducts a survey at Collins College about the lifestyles and sexual urges of the younger generation. One of his students, Sally Blake, excels with the survey and may be having an affair with the professor. Reporter Betty Ducayne receives an anonymous tip that Steve is corrupting the youth and she discovers the dark past that he had fled. Cast *Steve Allen as Steve McInter *Jayne Meadows as Betty Ducayne *Mamie Van Doren as Sally Blake *Rocky Marciano as Deputy Sheriff *Mickey Shaughnessy as Sam Grover *Cathy Crosby as Fay Grover *Herbert Marshall as Professor Henry Addison *Conway Twitty as Marvin *Randy Sparks as Phil *Pamela Mason as Edna Blake * Elisha Cook, Jr. as Ted Blake *Theona Bryant as Lois Addison Production The film was an unofficial follow-up to '' High School Confidential'' from tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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