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Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
''Our Vines Have Tender Grapes'' is a 1945 American drama film directed by Roy Rowland and starring Edward G. Robinson and Margaret O'Brien. Background The film is based on the 1940 novel of the same name by George Victor Martin about the Norwegian-American residents of New Hope, Wisconsin, a fictitious small farming community inspired by the real town of Benson Corners in Portage County. The screenplay, written by Dalton Trumbo, was his last before being blacklisted for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee; Margaret O'Brien later said that the film was largely ignored for decades because of Trumbo's political troubles. Told from the viewpoint of little Selma (O’Brien), the film explores grand childhood adventures: making friends, a pet calf, Christmas, a terrifying trip down a flood-swollen river, a barn fire and a ride on a circus elephant’s trunk. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 in the Song of Solomon in the King James Version ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Rowland (film Director)
Roy Rowland (December 31, 1910 – June 29, 1995) was an American film director. The New York-born director helmed a number of films in the 1950s and 1960s including '' Our Vines Have Tender Grapes'', '' Meet Me in Las Vegas'', '' Rogue Cop'', '' The 5000 Fingers of Doctor T'', and '' The Girl Hunters''. Rowland married Ruth Cummings, the niece of Louis B. Mayer and sister of Jack Cummings (MGM producer/director). They had one son, Steve Rowland, born in 1932, who later became a music producer in the UK. Biography Early life Roy Rowland was born in Brooklyn, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. The family moved to Edendale, California, when Roy was ten. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a law degree before beginning his career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) as a script clerk. He then began working as a prop man, grip, and assistant cameraman. In 1927 he met Ruth Cummings at the Santa Monica Beach Club. She was the niece of Louis B. Mayer and the sist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having either Fascism, fascist or Communism, communist ties. It became a standing (permanent) committee in 1945, and from 1969 onwards it was known as the House Committee on Internal Security. When the House abolished the committee in 1975, its functions were transferred to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary, House Judiciary Committee. The committee's anti-communist investigations are often associated with McCarthyism, although Joseph McCarthy himself (as a U.S. Senator) had no direct involvement with the House committee. McCarthy was the chairman of the United States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greta Granstedt
Greta Granstedt (born Irene Louise Granstedt; July 13, 1907 – October 7, 1987) was an American film and television actress. Early life Irene "Greta" Granstedt was the second child of Theodore and Emma Granstedt, born in Scandia, Kansas. The Granstedt family was one of the five pioneer families from Sweden who settled in this north central Kansas community in 1867-68. The families left Sweden in response to the terrible conditions in the three years of misery in Sweden. Shooting of Harold Galloway Granstedt first gained notoriety and widespread media attention in April 1922 after she shot her 17-year-old boyfriend, Harold Galloway, with a pistol she borrowed from a friend. Granstedt, then only 14 years old, claimed in interviews that the shooting was accidental, a claim that coincided with Galloway's own story of the incident. That night I walked out to Busters house - it's a mile and a half out in the country. I took the gun with me because I guess I felt afraid to wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sara Haden
Sara Haden (born Catherine Haden, November 17, 1898 – September 15, 1981) was an American actress of the 1930s through the 1950s and in television into the mid-1960s. She may be best remembered for appearing as Aunt Milly Forrest in 14 entries in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Andy Hardy film series. Early life Some sources say she was born in 1898 in Center Point, Texas, while others claim she was born in Galveston, Texas,Axel Nissen's ''Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood'' gives her birthplace as Center Point, Texas. the daughter of Dr. John Brannum Haden (1871–1910) and character actress, Charlotte Walker, later active in silent films and early sound films. She always was cast in character roles. After their parents' divorce, Haden and her elder sister Beatrice Shelton Haden (born 1897) attended Sacred Heart Academy in Galveston, where they boarded during school terms. Career Haden first appeared on the stage in the early 192 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackie "Butch" Jenkins
Jackie "Butch" Jenkins (August 29, 1937 – August 14, 2001) was an American child actor who had a brief but notable film career during the 1940s. Career Born Jack Dudley Jenkins in Los Angeles, the son of actress Doris Dudley, Jenkins made his film debut at the age of six in '' The Human Comedy'' (1943) as "Ulysses Macauley" after an MGM talent scout saw him playing on a Santa Monica beach and admired his high spirits. His performance as Mickey Rooney's younger brother (''The Human Comedy'') was well received and Jenkins was cast in a succession of films. He was given star billing for the 1946 film ''Boys' Ranch''. Inspired by the real-life ranch in Texas, which provided a home and education to underprivileged boys, MGM promoted the film as a successor to '' Boys Town'' (1938). It co-starred James Craig, who also appeared in Jenkins' other films ''The Human Comedy'' and ''Little Mr. Jim''. Jenkins' other films include ''National Velvet'' (1944), ''Our Vines Have Tende ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morris Carnovsky
Morris Carnovsky (September 5, 1897 – September 1, 1992) was an American stage and film actor. He was one of the founders of the Group Theatre (1931-1940) in New York City and had a thriving acting career both on Broadway and in films until, in the early 1950s, professional colleagues told the House Un-American Activities Committee that Carnovsky had been a Communist Party member. He was blacklisted and worked less frequently for a few years, but then re-established his acting career, taking on many Shakespearean roles at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and performing the title roles in college campus productions of ''King Lear'' and ''The Merchant of Venice''. Carnovsky's nephew is veteran character actor and longtime "Pathmark Guy" James Karen. Early life Carnovsky was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 5, 1897 to Ike and Jennie Carnovsky, both Russian Jewish immigrants. His father, a grocer, took him to performances of the Yiddish theater. In 1975 he recalled: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agnes Moorehead
Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was the recipient of such accolades as a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards. She is best known for her role as Endora on the television series ''Bewitched'', but she also had notable roles in films, including ''Citizen Kane'', '' Dark Passage'', '' All That Heaven Allows'', and '' Show Boat''. She is also known for the radioplay '' Sorry, Wrong Number'' (1943) and its several subsequent re-recordings for ''Suspense''. Moorehead garnered four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her performances in: ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1942), ''Mrs. Parkington'' (1944), '' Johnny Belinda'' (1948), and '' Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte'' (1964). Early life Ag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frances Gifford
Mary Frances Gifford (December 7, 1920 – January 22, 1994) was an American actress who played leads and supporting roles in many 1930s and 1940s movies. Early years Gifford was born and raised in Long Beach, California, and at the age of 16, applied to UCLA School of Law with no intention of pursuing an acting career. With a friend, she visited the studios of Samuel Goldwyn to watch a film being made, and while there, was spotted by a talent scout, who brought her to the attention of Goldwyn, who signed her to an acting contract. Career After only receiving minor roles, Gifford moved to RKO, where she was cast in several uncredited supporting roles in films of the late 1930s, including ''Stage Door'' (1937) starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.Maltin 1994, p. 331. Gifford married actor James Dunn on Christmas Day 1937. In 1939, she landed her first leading role in the low-budget '' Mercy Plane'', opposite her husband. A planned retirement was interrupted briefly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Craig (actor)
James Craig (born James Henry Meador, February 4, 1912 – June 27, 1985) was an American actor. He is best known for appearances in films like '' Kitty Foyle'' (1940) and ''The Devil and Daniel Webster'' (1941), and his stint as a leading man at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s where he appeared in films like '' The Human Comedy'' (1943). Biography He was born in Nashville, Tennessee and studied at the Rice Institute, planning a career in medicine. After graduation he worked for a time as a professional football player, and a debt collector. A visit to Hollywood made him decide to become an actor. He returned home and worked in theatre for a year, then went back to Hollywood. He did a screen test for Paramount, which offered him a contract. Paramount He began appearing in films at Paramount, originally using the name James Mead. He appeared mostly in B-movies and serials. His early credits included ''Sophie Lang Goes West'' (1937), '' This Way Please'' (1937), '' Thunder Trail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Little Foxes (film)
''The Little Foxes'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Lillian Hellman is based on her 1939 play '' The Little Foxes''. Hellman's ex-husband Arthur Kober, Dorothy Parker and her husband Alan Campbell contributed additional scenes and dialogue. Plot In 1900, in the cotton country of the deep South, beautiful and brilliant Regina Hubbard Giddens struggles for wealth and freedom within the confines of an early 20th-century society where fathers only considered sons as legal heirs. As a result, thanks to their ruthless tradesman father, her avaricious brothers, Benjamin and Oscar, are independently wealthy, while she is financially dependent upon her sickly husband, Horace, whose severe heart condition has confined him to a sanitarium in Baltimore for several years. When the film begins, the Hubbards are expecting a dinner guest, William Marshall, a prominent businessman from Chicago. Ben and Oscar persuade him to build a cotton mill in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Little Foxes
''The Little Foxes'' is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman, considered a classic of 20th century drama. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 of the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." Set in a small town in Alabama in 1900, it focuses on the struggle for control of a family business. Tallulah Bankhead starred in the original production as Regina Hubbard Giddens. Plot The play's focus is Southerner Regina Hubbard Giddens, who struggles for wealth and freedom within the confines of an early 20th-century society where fathers considered only sons as their legal heirs. As a result of this practice, while her two avaricious brothers Benjamin and Oscar have wielded the family inheritance into two independently substantial fortunes, she's had to rely upon her manipulation of her cautious, timid, browbeaten husband, Horace. He's no businessman, just her fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted after her appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) at the height of the anti-communist campaigns of 1947–1952. Although she continued to work on Broadway in the 1950s, her blacklisting by the American film industry caused a drop in her income. Many praised Hellman for refusing to answer questions by HUAC, but others believed, despite her denial, that she had belonged to the Communist Party. As a playwright, Hellman had many successes on Broadway, including '' Watch on the Rhine'', '' The Autumn Garden'', '' Toys in the Attic'', '' Another Part of the Forest'', '' The Children's Hour'' and '' The Little Foxes''. She adapted her semi-autobiographical play ''The Little Foxes'' into a screenplay, which starred B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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