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On The Fiddle
''On the Fiddle'' (released as ''Operation Snafu'' and ''Operation War Head'' in the United States) is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Sean Connery, Alfred Lynch, Cecil Parker, Stanley Holloway, Eric Barker, Mike Sarne, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Kathleen Harrison, Victor Maddern and John Le Mesurier. It was based on the 1961 novel '' Stop at a Winner'' by R.F. Delderfield who served in the RAF in World War II. It was Sean Connery's tenth film and his first lead role, released the year before his big breakthrough as James Bond in the 1962 film '' Dr No''. Plot During the Second World War, spiv Horace Pope is taken to court for street peddling. In mitigation, he tells the magistrate he is working in the black market only while waiting to enlist in the war effort. On hearing this plea, the magistrate calls his bluff and forces him to sign up. Pope joins the RAF. Very quickly, he makes friends with the easy going, but loyal, Pedlar Pascoe who happily ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Film Poster
A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. They normally contain an image with text. Today's posters often feature printed likenesses of the main actors. Prior to the 1980s, illustrations instead of photos were far more common. The text on film posters usually contains the film title in large lettering and often the names of the main actors. It may also include a tagline, the name of the director, names of characters, the release date, and other pertinent details to inform prospective viewers about the film. Film posters are often displayed inside and on the outside of movie theaters, and elsewhere on the street or in shops. The same images appear in the film exhibitor's pressbook and may also be used on websites, DVD (and historically VHS) packaging, flyers, advertisements in newspap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anglo Amalgamated
Anglo-Amalgamated Productions was a British film production company, run by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy, which operated from 1945 until roughly 1971 (after which it was absorbed into EMI Films). Low-budget and second features, often produced at Merton Park Studios, formed much of its output. It was the UK distributor of many films produced by American International Pictures (AIP), who distributed AA's films in the United States. It is remembered for producing the first 12 ''Carry On'' films (all of which were produced at Pinewood Studios) and B-movie series such as ''The Scales of Justice'', ''Scotland Yard'' and the ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries''. It did, however, produce the Michael Powell film ''Peeping Tom'' (1960) and such films as John Schlesinger's '' A Kind of Loving'' (1962), ''Billy Liar'' (1963) or Ken Loach's ''Poor Cow'' (1967). The company's distribution arrangement with American International Pictures led to the last two films in Roger Corman's series of films based o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Locke
Harry Locke (10 December 1913 – 7 September 1987) was an English character actor. He was born and died in London. He married Joan Cowderoy in 1943 and Cordelia Sewell in 1952. He was a good friend of the poet Dylan Thomas. Their friendship in London and South Leigh, Oxfordshire, has been described by Locke in a 1970s interview with the radio journalist Colin Edwards. Locke was a familiar face in three decades of British cinema, playing small parts such as assorted cockneys, working men, clerks, porters and cab drivers, with appearances including ''Passport to Pimlico'' (1949), '' Reach for the Sky'' (1956), ''Carry On Nurse'' (1959), ''The Devil-Ship Pirates'' (1964), ''Alfie'' (1966) and ''The Family Way'' (1966). His numerous roles on TV included ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' as a night porter in 1969. In 1972 he played Platon Karataev in the BBC production of ''War and Peace'', with his final role, playing a gardener, in an episode of ''Just William'', in 1977. Selec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miriam Karlin
Miriam Karlin (23 June 19253 June 2011) was an English actress whose career lasted for more than 60 years. She was known for her role as Paddy in ''The Rag Trade'', a 1960s BBC and 1970s LWT sitcom, and in particular for the character's catchphrase "Everybody out!" Her trademark throughout her career was her deep, husky voice. Early life Born Miriam Samuels in Hampstead, North London, she was brought up in an Orthodox Jewish family; members of her extended family were among those who were later murdered at Auschwitz. She was the daughter of Céline (née Aronowitz) and Harry Samuels, a barrister, who specialised in industrial and trade union law. Her elder brother was Michael Samuels (1920–2010), a historical linguist responsible for the ''Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary''. When performing in one of her first radio shows, Terry-Thomas's '' Top of the Town'', Karlin based some of the zany characters that she invented and played on people who had ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beatrix Lehmann
Beatrix Alice Lehmann (1 July 1903 – 31 July 1979) was a British actress, theatre director, writer and novelist. Early life and family Lehmann was born in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire. She came from a family of notable achievers: the third of four children of author and publisher Rudolph Chambers Lehmann. Her great-uncle was Henri Lehmann the artist. Her brother was publisher John Lehmann and one of her two older sisters was the novelist Rosamond Lehmann. Career Lehmann trained at RADA and made her stage debut as Peggy in a 1924 production ''The Way of the World'' at the Lyric Hammersmith. She also appeared in films and on television. She wrote short stories and two novels, including ''Rumour of Heaven'', first published in 1934 (). In 1946 Lehmann became director and producer of the Arts Council Midland Theatre Company. She was awarded Britain's Radio Actress of the Year in 1977. In 1962 she played the matriarch Bernadette Amorelle in a Maigret episode, The Dirty House. Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Occupied France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 1940, and renamed ' ("north zone") in November 1942, when the previously unoccupied zone in the south known as ' ("free zone") was also occupied and renamed ' ("south zone"). Its role in France was partly governed by the conditions set by the Second Armistice at after the success of the leading to the Fall of France; at the time both French and Germans thought the occupation would be temporary and last only until Britain came to terms, which was believed to be imminent. For instance, France agreed that its soldiers would remain prisoners of war until the cessation of all hostilities. The "French State" (') replaced the French Third Republic that had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Market
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services whose production and distribution is prohibited by law, non-compliance with the rule constitutes a black market trade since the transaction itself is illegal. Parties engaging in the production or distribution of prohibited goods and services are members of the . Examples include the illegal drug trade, prostitution (where prohibited), illegal currency transactions, and human trafficking. Violations of the tax code involving income tax evasion in the . Because tax evasion or participation in a black market activity is illegal, participants attempt to hide their behavior from the government or regulatory authority. Cash is the preferred medium of exchange in illegal transactions since cash transactions are less-easi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelisations: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd, and Anthony Horowitz. The latest novel is ''With a Mind to Kill'' by Anthony Horowitz, published in May 2022. Additionally Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny. The character—also known by the code number 007 (pronounced "double-oh-seven")—has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strip, video games and film. The films are one of the longest continually running film series and have grossed over US$7.04 billion in total at the box office ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation comedy ''Dad's Army'' (1968–1977). A self-confessed "jobbing actor", Le Mesurier appeared in more than 120 films across a range of genres, normally in smaller supporting parts. Le Mesurier became interested in the stage as a young adult and enrolled at the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art in 1933. From there he took a position in repertory theatre and made his stage debut in September 1934 at the Palladium Theatre in Edinburgh in the J. B. Priestley play ''Dangerous Corner''. He later accepted an offer to work with Alec Guinness in a John Gielgud production of ''Hamlet''. He first appeared on television in 1938 as Seigneur de Miolans in the BBC broadcast of ''The Marvellous History of St Bernard''. During the Second World War Le Mesuri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Maddern
Victor Jack Maddern (16 March 1928 – 22 June 1993) was an English actor. He was described by ''The Telegraph'' as having "one of the most distinctive and eloquent faces in post-war British cinema." Life and career Born in Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, Maddern attended Beal Grammar Boys school and afterwards joined the Merchant Navy at the age of 15 and served in the Second World War from 1943 until its end and was medically discharged in 1946. He subsequently trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). He made his first screen appearance in '' Seven Days to Noon'' in 1950, playing a reluctant soldier obliged to shoot a psychotic scientist. One of his earliest stage roles was as Sam Weller in '' The Trial of Mr Pickwick'' (1952). Appearing as Helicon in a production of Albert Camus' play ''Caligula'' (1964), Maddern was singled out for critical praise, and in '' My Darling Daisy'' (1970) portrayed the notorious Frank Harris. He also did two stints in the highly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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