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No Room At The Inn
''No Room at the Inn'' is a 1945 play by Joan Temple that became a 1948 film directed by Daniel Birt. Both play and film are presented in flashback mode and share the same subject matter – cruelty, neglect and mental and physical abuse meted out to evacuee children during World War II. Temple's attack on those who turn a blind eye to child abuse, be they public officials or private individuals, was considered frank and uncompromising in its time. Plot As part of the mass evacuation of children in the early months of World War II, teenage Mary O'Rane is billeted with Mrs Agatha ('Aggie') Voray in an unthreatened area in the north of England. Mary soon discovers that, behind her respectable front, Mrs Voray forces her evacuee charges (five in all) to live in squalor and semi-starvation while spending the money intended for their upkeep on alcohol and personal fripperies. Yet when Mary is visited by her father, Mrs Voray easily convinces him that Mary's allegations are groundless ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Birt
Daniel Birt (23 June 1907 – 15 May 1955) was an English film director and editor. Career Birt began his career as an editor in 1932 with an assistant credit on ''The Lucky Number'' and went on to edit 12 films during the 1930s. World War II brought a career hiatus and Birt didn't return to the film industry until the late 1940s. Having worked as supervising editor on ''Green Fingers'' and ''The Ghosts of Berkeley Square'', he was given his first directorial assignment in 1947 - ''The Three Weird Sisters'', a pseudo-Gothic tale set in a decaying Welsh mansion. This was followed in 1948 by ''No Room at the Inn'' (co-scripted, like the previous film, by Dylan Thomas), a powerful and unsparing film dealing with child cruelty in an evacuee household during the war. Birt directed a further ten films in the crime/thriller genre, mostly second features, before his early death, aged 47, in May 1955. He also directed three episodes of the first series of the ITV television drama ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruth Dunning
Ruth Dunning (17 May 1909 – 27 February 1983), born Mary Ruth Dunning, was a Welsh actress of stage, television, and film. Although her year of birth was long given as 1911, her birth was registered in Holywell in 1909. Personal life Mary Ruth Dunning was born in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, in 1909. Career Stage As a young actress, Dunning was a member of an amateur theatre company in Altrincham. In 1934, she took over a part from Wendy Hiller in ''Love on the Dole'', at the Garrick Theatre in London. Other stage appearances for Dunning included Val Gielgud's ''Punch and Judy'' (1937), A. A. Milne's ''Gentleman Unknown'' (1938), Ted Willis' ''The Eyes of Youth'' (1959), and Willis' adaptation of Gorky's ''Mother'' (1961). Film and television Dunning found fame in the role of Gladys Grove in BBC Television's ''The Grove Family'' (1954–1957), also portraying that character in the 1955 film ''It's a Great Day''. In 1956, she appeared in a television commercial for Persi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Pettingell
Frank Edmund George Pettingell (1 January 1891 – 17 February 1966) was an English actor. Pettingell was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and educated at Manchester University. During the First World War he served with the King's Liverpool Regiment. He appeared in such films as the original version of ''Gaslight'' (1940), ''Kipps'' (1941 - as Old Kipps), and ''Becket'' (1964 - as the Bishop of York). His collection of printed and manuscript playscripts - mostly acquired from the son of the comedian Arthur Williams (1844–1915) - is held at the Templeman Library, University of Kent. He also had an extensive collection of serial fiction and penny-dreadfuls, and this can now be found in the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books in Toronto. Collection Pettingell was an avid collector of popular playscripts and other literature which range from the 18th century to the early 20th century. In 1966, the Bodleian Library in Oxford purchased Pettingell’s collection of 800 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harcourt Williams
Ernest George Harcourt Williams (30 March 1880 – 13 December 1957) was an English actor and director. After early experience in touring companies he established himself as a character actor and director in the West End. From 1929 to 1934 he was director of The Old Vic theatre company; among the actors he recruited were John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson. After directing some fifty plays he resigned the directorship of the Old Vic but continued to appear in the company's productions throughout the rest of his career. He appeared in thirty cinema and television roles during his later years. Life and career Williams was born in Croydon, Surrey, the son of John Williams, a merchant.Parker, pp. 990–991 He was educated at Beckenham Abbey and Whitgift Grammar School, Croydon. After taking drama lessons he joined Frank Benson's touring company in 1897. He remained with Benson for five years, and made his London debut at the Lyceum in 1900, playing Sir Thomas Grey in ''Henry V''. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niall MacGinnis
Patrick Niall MacGinnis (29 March 1913 – 6 January 1977) was an Irish actor who made around 80 screen appearances. Early life MacGinnis was born in Dublin in 1913."Niall MacGinnis" ''BFI''. Retrieved 9 October 2020. He was educated at Stonyhurst College, a in in the |
Hermione Baddeley
Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley (13 November 1906 – 19 August 1986) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She typically played brash, vulgar characters, often referred to as "brassy" or "blowsy".Folkart, Burt, "Noted Actress Hermione Baddeley Dies", ''Los Angeles Times'', 21 August 1986. She found her milieu in revue, in which she played from the 1930s to the 1950s, co-starring several times with the English actress Hermione Gingold. Baddeley was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in '' Room at the Top'' (1959) and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for ''The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore'' in 1963. She portrayed Mrs Cratchit in the 1951 film '' Scrooge'' and Ellen the maid in the 1964 Disney film ''Mary Poppins''. She voiced Madame Adelaide Bonfamille in the 1970 Disney animated film, ''The Aristocats''. In 1975, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwen Watford
Gwendoline Watford (10 September 1927 – 6 February 1994), professionally known after the mid-1950s as Gwen Watford, was an English actress. Watford's talent was spotted by John Gielgud while she was still a schoolgirl, and with his help she made her professional London debut in 1945. From then until her death she pursued a parallel career on stage and on television. She played a wide range of roles, from Shakespeare and Shaw to new works by playwrights including Willis Hall, David Hare, Hugh Leonard and David Mercer. For the BBC and ITV she appeared frequently from the mid-1950s onwards, and was dubbed one of British television's two leading ladies. She twice won the Society of Film and Television Arts's award (now the BAFTA award) for best television actress. Although she appeared in several cinema films, including ''Cleopatra'', she remained chiefly known as a stage and television performer. In later years Watford appeared in more comedy than in her earlier caree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dora Bryan
Dora May Broadbent, (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was a British actress of stage, film and television."Feted Brighton actress Dora, 90, to make rare public appearance" ''The Argus'', 2 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013. Early life Bryan was born in , Lancashire. Her father was a salesman and she attended Hathershaw County Primary School in Oldham, Lancashire. Her career began in |
Spiv
In the United Kingdom, the word spiv is slang for a type of petty criminal who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. The word was particularly used during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed due to shortages. According to Peter Wollen, "The crucial difference between the spiv and the classic Hollywood gangster was the degree of sympathy the spiv gained as an intermediary in the transfer of black market goods to ... a grateful mass of consumers."Peter Wollen (2002) ''Paris Hollywood - Writings on Film'' pp185–6 Origins The origin of the word is obscure. According to Eric Partridge the word was originally racecourse slang, but had become widely accepted by 1950. It appeared in a paperback crime novel in 1934.Axel Bracey (1934) ''School for Scoundrels'' (Rich and Cowan) The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that it may come from: *''spiffy'', meaning smartly dressed; *''spiff'', a bonus for salespeople (especially drap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet in 1900 by Sir Arthur Pearson. Its sister paper, the ''Sunday Express'', was launched in 1918. In June 2022, it had an average daily circulation of 201,608. The paper rose to become the largest circulation newspaper in the world under Lord Beaverbrook, going from 2 million in the 1930s to 4 million in the 1940s. It was acquired by Richard Desmond's company Northern & Shell in 2000. Hugh Whittow was the editor from February 2011 until he retired in March 2018. In February 2018 Trinity Mirror acquired the ''Daily Express'', and other publishing assets of Northern & Shell, in a deal worth £126.7 million. To coincide with the purchase the Trinity Mirror group changed the name of the company to ''Reach''. Hugh Whittow resigned as editor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage. There are a total of 39 theatres in the West End, with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opened in May 1663, the oldest theatre in London. The Savoy Theatre – built as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan – was entirely lit by electricity in 1881. Opening in October 2022, @sohoplace is the first new West End theatre in 50 years. The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) announced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton; 2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario. Hylton rose to prominence during the British dance band era, being referred as the "British King of Jazz" and "The Ambassador of British Dance Music" by the musical press, not only because of his popularity which extended throughout the world, but also for his use of unusually large ensembles for the time and his polished arrangements. He mostly retired from the music industry after 1940, becoming a successful theatrical businessman until his death. Early life and career He was born John Greenhalgh Hilton in Great Lever near Bolton, Lancashire, the son of George Hilton, a cotton yarn twister. His father was an amateur singer at the local Labour Club and Hylton learned piano to accompany him on the stage. Hylton later sang to the customers when his father bought a pub in nearby Little Lever, becoming known as the "Singing Mill-Boy". He also perf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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