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Odeon West End
The Odeon Luxe West End is a two-screen cinema on the south side of Leicester Square, London. It has historically been used for smaller film premieres and hosting the annual BFI London Film Festival. The site is on an adjacent side of the square to the much larger flagship Odeon Luxe Leicester Square. Odeon Cinemas sold the building to three Irish investors in 2006, who continued to lease it. In 2012, it was bought by the Radisson Edwardian hotel group. It closed as a cinema on 1 January 2015. After extensive asbestos removal, the entire site was demolished the same year. It reopened in September 2021 as an Odeon Luxe cinema, following a £300 million redevelopment of the site that also includes a luxury hotel. It is London's second Dolby Cinema. History 1930–1940 The Leicester Square Theatre was built for actor/film star Jack Buchanan and impresario Walter Gibbons. Buchanan had a large two-storey apartment built on top of the theatre, which he occupied until it was da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leicester Square
Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester. The square was originally a gentrified residential area, with tenants including Frederick, Prince of Wales and the artists William Hogarth and Joshua Reynolds. It became more down-market in the late 18th century as Leicester House was demolished and retail developments took place, becoming a centre for entertainment. Several major theatres were built in the 19th century, which were converted to cinemas towards the middle of the next. Leicester Square is the location of nationally significant cinemas such as the Odeon Leicester Square, Empire, Leicester Square, which are often used for film premieres (and the now closed Odeon West End). The nearby Prince Charles Cinema is known for its screenings of cult films and marathon film runs. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre Organ
A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements of stop tabs (tongue-shaped switches) above and around the instrument's keyboards on their consoles. Theatre organ consoles were typically decorated with brightly colored stop tabs, with built-in console lighting. Organs in the UK had a common feature: large translucent surrounds extending from both sides of the console, with internal colored lighting. Theatre organs began to be installed in other venues, such as civic auditoriums, sports arenas, private residences, and churches. One of the largest theatre organs ever built was the 6 manual 52 rank Barton installed in the Chicago Stadium. There were over 7,000 such organs installed in America and elsewhere from 1915 to 1933, but fewer than 40 instruments remain in their original venues. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Film Distributors
General Film Distributors (GFD), later known as J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors and Rank Film Distributors Ltd., was a British film distribution company based in London. It was active between 1935 and 1996, and from 1937 it was part of the Rank Organisation. General Film Distributors was created in 1935 by the British film distributor C. M. Woolf (1879–1942) after he had resigned from Gaumont British and closed his distribution company Woolf & Freedman Film Service.The Independent 1 July 1999: Obituary: Sir John Woolf Retrieved 2011-09-02 In 1936, J. Arthur Rank and the paper magnate [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anna Neagle
Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in the British cinema for 20 years and was voted the most popular star in Britain in 1949. She was known for providing glamour and sophistication to war-torn London audiences with her lightweight musicals, comedies, and historical dramas. Almost all of her films were produced and directed by Herbert Wilcox, whom she married in 1943. In her historical dramas, Neagle was renowned for her portrayals of British historical figures, including Nell Gwyn (''Nell Gwyn'', 1934), Queen Victoria (''Victoria the Great'', 1937 and ''Sixty Glorious Years'', 1938), Edith Cavell (''Nurse Edith Cavell'', 1939), and Florence Nightingale (''The Lady with a Lamp'', 1951). Biography Early life Neagle was born in Forest Gate, Essex, daughter of Florence Neagle and her husband, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria The Great
''Victoria the Great'' is a 1937 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook and Walter Rilla. When Laurence Housman's play ''Victoria Regina'' was banned by the Lord Chamberlain (in 1935 the royal family could not be shown on the British stage), its subsequent Broadway success prompted King Edward VIII to commission producer Herbert Wilcox to turn it into a film, commemorating the centenary of Victoria's reign. The film biography of Queen Victoria concentrates initially on the early years of her reign with her marriage to Prince Albert and her subsequent rule after Albert's death in 1861. It was released in the year of King George VI's coronation, which was also the centennial of Victoria's own accession to the throne. The movie was so successful that a sequel appeared the following year, ''Sixty Glorious Years''. Plot In June 1837, 18-year-old Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent ascends the throne as Queen Victoria following the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
That's A Good Girl
''That's a Good Girl'' is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Jack Buchanan and starring Buchanan, Elsie Randolph and Dorothy Hyson. The film was based on a musical show of the same title that opened at the Lewisham Hippodrome on 19 March 1928, in which Jack Buchanan also starred. The music was written by Joseph Meyer and Phil Charig, with lyrics by Douglas Furber. The film omitted much of music of the original show, but popularised one song in particular, ''Fancy our Meeting''. The song remained a Jack Buchanan favourite and a version of it was also recorded by Al Bowlly shortly after the film's release. The film was made at British and Dominion Elstree Studios,Wood p.79 and its sets were designed by the art director Lawrence P. Williams. Cast * Jack Buchanan as Jack Barrow * Elsie Randolph as Joy Dean * Dorothy Hyson as Moya Malone * Garry Marsh as Francis Moray * Vera Pearce as Suny Berata * William Kendall as Timothy * Kate Cutler Kate Ellen Louisa Cutler (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studio was premised on allowing actors to control their own interests, rather than being dependent upon commercial studios. UA was repeatedly bought, sold, and restructured over the ensuing century. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired the studio in 1981 for a reported $350 million ($ billion today). On September 22, 2014, MGM acquired a controlling interest in entertainment companies One Three Media and Lightworkers Media, then merged them to revive United Artists' television production unit as United Artists Media Group (UAMG). However, on December 14 of the following year, MGM wholly acquired UAMG and folded it into MGM Television. United Artists was again revived in 2018 as United Artists Digital Studios. Mirror, the joint distribution ventur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marie Kendall
Marie Kendall (born Mary Ann Florence Holyome; 27 July 1873 – 5 May 1964) was a British music hall comedian and actress who had a successful career spanning 50 years. Biography Kendall was born Mary Ann Florence Holyome on 27 July 1873 in Bethnal Green, London. At five years of age, she appeared onstage as "Baby Chester", beginning her career in music halls. When she was 15, she took the roles of principal boy in '' Aladdin'' and Dandini in ''Cinderella''. For several years she toured England, Wales and Germany as a male impersonator. She enjoyed significant success in 1893 when she turned to female roles and sang "I'm One of the Girls" over 16 weeks in Camden Town. After that, Kendall performed at major venues in London, securing parts in pantomimes as well as singing Cockney songs in the best music halls. Her income dramatically increased. During the 1920s Kendall toured Australia. In 1931, she was an original star of the Vintage Variety Company. The following year she ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Carrick
Edward Carrick (born Edward Anthony Craig; 3 January 1905 – 21 January 1998) was an English art designer for film, an author and illustrator. Carrick was born in London. His father was Edward Gordon Craig, the theatre practitioner and stage designer, and his mother was the violinist Elena Fortuna Meo (1879–1957), one of his father's several lovers with whom he had children. Carrick's paternal grandmother was the actress Ellen Terry,Surowiec, Catherine A"Craig, Edward Anthony (1905–1998)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, May 2006, retrieved 19 May 2014 and his maternal grandfather was the model and painter Gaetano Meo. He was close with both of these famous grandparents. Carrick changed his last name from Craig to disassociate himself from his tyrannical and controlling father, with whom he disagreed over his career path, and who forbade his engagement to his future wife, Helen Godfrey, in 1928. Nevertheless, Carri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In A Monastery Garden (film)
''In a Monastery Garden'' is a 1932 British Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring John Stuart (actor), John Stuart, Hugh Williams, Alan Napier, and Frank Pettingell. It was made at Twickenham Studios in London. The film's sets were designed by the art director James Carter (art director), James Carter. Synopsis An Italian musician begins to steal his brother's compositions after he is jailed for shooting a prince. Cast * John Stuart (actor), John Stuart as Michael Ferrier * Hugh Williams as Paul Ferrier * Alan Napier as Count Romano * Dino Galvani as Cesare Bonelli * Frank Pettingell as Bertholdi * Humberston Wright as Abbot * Gina Malo as Nina * Joan Maude as Roma Romano * Marie Rambert Dancers as Les Sylphides * Antony Tudor choreographer Critical reception The New York Times concluded "dullish is the word." References Bibliography * Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Wood, Lin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Stuart (actor)
John Stuart (born John Alfred Louden Croall; 18 July 1898 – 17 October 1979), was a Scottish actor, and a very popular leading man in British silent films in the 1920s. He appeared in three films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Biography The Gary Cooper pub in Dunstable stands as a tribute to one of the Hollywood greats, but if fate had taken a different direction the pub could have been called The John Stuart. Cooper and Stuart were contemporaries in 1912 at Dunstable Grammar School – now Ashton Middle School – in High Street North. Both went into acting, but while Cooper went on to win two Oscars for Sergeant York and High Noon, Stuart stayed in Britain and is virtually forgotten. Yet his career spanned 59 years, during which he made more than 160 films and 60 TV dramas and serials, and appeared in about 150 plays. His films started with silent movies and ended in 1978 with a bit part in the blockbuster Superman. His career could have been even more stellar but for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Hulbert
John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, he was the elder and more successful son of Henry Harper Hulbert, a physician,Register of Marriages Solemnized at St Paul’s Church, Hampsteadp. 94(Marriage of J. N. Hulbert and Cecily Courtneidge on 14 February 1916, at ancestry.co.uk, accessed 7 May 2020 being the brother of the actor Claude Hulbert. He was educated at Westminster School and Caius College, Cambridge and appeared in many shows and revues, mainly with the Cambridge Footlights. He was one of the earliest famous alumni of the comedy club. After Cambridge, he earned recognition and fame performing in musicals and light comedies.D. Pepys-Whiteley‘Hulbert, John Norman (Jack) (1892–1978)’ rev., ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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