|
One Way Pendulum (film)
''One Way Pendulum'' is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Peter Yates and starring Eric Sykes and George Cole. It is an adaptation of the play by N. F. Simpson. Plot Study of absurdity in a suburban family: father rebuilds the Old Bailey in the living room, and the son teaches weighing machines to sing in the attic. Cast * Eric Sykes as Mr. Groomkirby * George Cole as Defence counsel / friend * Julia Foster as Sylvia * Jonathan Miller as Kirby * Peggy Mount as Mrs. Mara Gantry * Alison Leggatt as Mrs. Groomkirby * Mona Washbourne as Aunt Mildred * Douglas Wilmer as Judge / Maintenance Man * Glyn Houston as Detective Inspector Barnes * Graham Crowden as Prosecuting Counsel / Caretaker * Ken Farrington as Stan * Walter Horsbrugh as Clerk of the Court / Drycleaner's Assistant * Frederick Piper as Usher / Office Clerk * Vincent Harding as Policeman / Bus Conductor * Trevor Bannister as Groomkirby's colleague (uncredited) * Tommy Bruce as Gormless (the voice of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Yates
Peter James Yates (24 July 1929 – 9 January 2011) was an English film director and producer. Biography Early life Yates was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked for some years as an actor, director and stage manager. He directed plays in London and New York. He also spent two years as racing manager for Stirling Moss and Peter Collins. Early film industry jobs and assistant director In the 1950s he started in the film industry doing odd jobs such as dubbing foreign films and editing documentaries. He eventually became a leading assistant director. He was an assistant director to Mark Robson on ''The Inn of the Sixth Happiness'' (1958), Terence Young on ''Serious Charge'' (1959) with Cliff Richard, Terry Bishop on '' Cover Girl Killer'' (1959), Guy Hamilton on ''A Touch of Larceny'' (1960), Jack Cardiff on ''Sons and Lovers'' (1960), Tony Richardson ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alison Leggatt
Alison Joy Leggatt (7 February 1904 – 15 July 1990) was an English character actress. Career Born in the Kensington district of London, Leggatt trained under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based in the Royal Albert Hall, London. Leggatt spent the early part of her career primarily on the stage. Her performance in Miles Malleson's ''The Fanatics'' in 1927 launched her, according to ''The New York Times'', as "one of the most promising theatrical newcomers of her generation". Other stage work included the original 1931 Drury Lane production of ''Cavalcade'' by Noël Coward. Her first major film credit was as Aunt Sylvia in ''This Happy Breed'' (1944), Noël Coward's homage to the British working class. She was known for playing a variety of disapproving in-laws, motherly landladies, nosy neighbours and helpful housekeepers. She played opposite Petula Clark three times, in ''Here Come the Huggetts'' (1948), ''The Card'' (1952) and ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twickenham Studios
Twickenham Studios (formerly known as Twickenham Film Studios) is a film studio in St Margarets, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, that is used by various motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Ralph Jupp on the site of a former ice rink. At the time of its original construction, it was the largest film studio in the United Kingdom. In February 2012, it was announced that due to the studio going into administration, it would close before June, just a year before its centenary. The studio was subsequently saved from closure, with a new owner acquiring the studio in August 2012. The studios were acquired in February 2020 by The Creative District Improvement Co. with backing from British Airways Pension Fund and TIME + SPACE Studios as operator on a long lease to run the studios. History London Film In 1913, the studios were constructed by the newly formed London Film Company, and were at that time the largest in Britain. London Film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Osborne
John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter and actor, known for his prose that criticized established social and political norms. The success of his 1956 play ''Look Back in Anger'' transformed English theatre. Osborne was notorious for his violent language, not only on behalf of the political causes he supported but also against his own family, including his wives and children. Osborne was one of the first writers to address Britain's purpose in the post-imperial age. Early life Osborne was born on 12 December 1929 in London, the son of Thomas Godfrey Osborne, a commercial artist and advertising copywriter of South Welsh ancestry, and Nellie Beatrice Grove, a Cockney barmaid. In 1935 the family moved to the north Surrey suburb of Stoneleigh, near Ewell, in search of a better life, though Osborne would regard it as a cultural desert – a school friend declared subsequently that "he thought ewere a lot of dull, u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Jones (1963 Film)
''Tom Jones'' is a 1963 British comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic 1749 novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', starring Albert Finney as the titular hero. It was one of the most critically acclaimed and popular comedies of its time, and won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film was produced and directed by Tony Richardson and the screenplay was adapted by playwright John Osborne. A period piece set in 18th-century Somerset and London, ''Tom Jones'' was a success both critically and at the box office. At the 36th Academy Awards, it was nominated for ten Oscars, winning four: Best Picture, Best Director for Richardson, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. It also won two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and three BAFTA Awards, including Best Film and Best British Film. In 1999, the British Film Institute ranked it as the 51st greatest British film of the 20th century. Plot The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summer Holiday (1963 Film)
''Summer Holiday'' is a 1963 British CinemaScope and Technicolor musical film starring singer Cliff Richard. The film was directed by Peter Yates (his directorial debut), produced by Kenneth Harper. The original screenplay was written by Peter Myers and Ronald Cass (who also wrote most of the song numbers and lyrics). The cast stars Lauri Peters, David Kossoff, Ron Moody and The Shadows and features Melvyn Hayes, Teddy Green, Jeremy Bulloch, Una Stubbs, Pamela Hart, Jacqueline Daryl, Madge Ryan, Lionel Murton, Christine Lawson, Wendy Barry and Nicholas Phipps. Herbert Ross choreographed the musical numbers. Plot Don and friends Cyril, Steve and Edwin are bus mechanics at the huge London Transport bus overhaul works in Aldenham, Hertfordshire. During a miserably wet British summer lunch break, Don arrives, having persuaded London Transport to lend him and his friends an AEC Regent III RT double-decker bus. They convert the bus into a holiday caravan, which they drive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. In 1956 it was acquired by and remains the home of the English Stage Company, which is known for its contributions to contemporary theatre and won the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities in 1999. History The first theatre The first theatre on Lower George Street, off Sloane Square, was the converted Nonconformist Ranelagh Chapel, opened as a theatre in 1870 under the name The New Chelsea Theatre. Marie Litton became its manager in 1871, hiring Walter Emden to remodel the interior, and it was renamed the Court Theatre. Several of W. S. Gilbert's early plays were staged here, including ''Randall's Thumb'', ''Creatures of Impulse'' (with music by Alberto Randegger), ''Great Expectations'' (adapted from the Dickens novel), and ''On Gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Bruce
Tommy Bruce (16 July 1937 – 10 July 2006) was an English rock and roll singer who had most of his success in the early 1960s. His cover version of " Ain't Misbehavin'" was a number 3 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1960. Life and career He was born Thomas Charles Joseph Bruce, in Stepney, London. Both his parents died when he was a child and he grew up in an orphanage, later working as a van driver in Covent Garden Market before undertaking National Service in Hannover, Germany. Returning to London in 1959, and working again as a market porter, he became a friend of his neighbour, songwriter Barry Mason. Mason suggested he record a version of the song " Ain't Misbehavin'", written by Fats Waller, in a style similar to "Chantilly Lace", a recent hit single by the Big Bopper. Produced by Norrie Paramor and released on Columbia Records, Bruce's recording rose to number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1960. He had no musical training, and described his own "sandpaper and gra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trevor Bannister
Trevor Gordon Bannister (14 August 193414 April 2011) was an English actor best known for having played the womanising junior salesman Mr Lucas in the sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1979, and for his role as Toby Mulberry Smith in the long-running sitcom ''Last of the Summer Wine'', from 2003 until it ended its run in 2010. Career In 1960, Bannister appeared on stage at the Cambridge Theatre in London in ''Billy Liar'', which starred Albert Finney. He starred as Darkie Pilbeam, a wartime spiv, in the 1968 television series '' The War of Darkie Pilbeam;'' from 1969 to 1970, he appeared as "Heavy Breathing" in Jack Rosenthal's sitcom, ''The Dustbinmen''. Shortly afterwards, he was asked to play Mr. Lucas in a ''Comedy Playhouse'' pilot called ''Are You Being Served?'' and took the part in the series. It was originally intended as a vehicle for him as the average man caught up in the store full of odd characters and baroque customs and, for the first four series, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Piper
Frederick Piper (23 September 1902 – 22 September 1979) was an English actor of stage and screen who appeared in over 80 films and many television productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Piper studied drama under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Never a leading player, Piper was usually cast in minor, sometimes uncredited, parts although he also appeared in some more substantial supporting roles. Piper never aspired to star-status, but became a recognisable face on the British screen through the sheer volume of films in which he appeared. His credits include a number of films which are considered classics of British cinema, among them five 1930s Alfred Hitchcock films; he also appeared in many Ealing Studios productions, including some of the celebrated Ealing comedies. Stage career Born in London, England in September 1902, Piper worked as a tea merchant before starting his acting career on the st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Farrington
Kenneth William Farrington (born 18 April 1936) is a retired English actor. He first came to fame playing the role of Billy Walker, wayward son of publican Annie, in ITV's long-running soap opera, ''Coronation Street''. Following a brief period as a film actor, Farrington secured the role of power-hungry Tom King in ''Emmerdale''. After the character's high-profile death in December 2006, Farrington largely retired from acting, although he has appeared in occasional TV roles since then. Personal life Farrington was born in Dulwich, South London, and attended Alleyn's School. He was married to actress Patricia Heneghan from 1961 to 1981; they have two children. He was taught by Michael Croft, who advised him not to take up acting as a professional. Career (1960–2000) Farrington's first major role was as Jack Marvel in the 1960 series, ''The Splendid Spur'', but he came to prominence playing the role of Billy Walker, wayward son of publican Annie, in ITV's long-running soap o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graham Crowden
Clement Graham Crowden (30 November 1922 – 19 October 2010) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric "offbeat" scientist, teacher and doctor characters. Early life Crowden was born on 30 November 1922 in Edinburgh, the son of University of Edinburgh-educated schoolmaster Harry Graham Crowden (d. 1938) and Anne Margaret (née Paterson).Who's Who In The Theatre: a biographical record of the contemporary stage, seventeenth edition, vol. I, ed. Ian Herbert, Gale Research Company, 1981, p. 154 He was educated at Clifton Hall School and the Edinburgh Academy before serving briefly in the Royal Scots Youth Battalion of the army until he was injured in an accident. During arms drill he was shot by his platoon sergeant, when the sergeant's rifle discharged. The sergeant reportedly enquired "What is it now, Crowden?", to which Crowden replied "I think you've shot me, sergeant." He later found work in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
