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Pursuit To Algiers
''Pursuit to Algiers'' (1945) is the twelfth entry in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes film series of fourteen. Elements in the story pay homage to an otherwise unrecorded affair mentioned by Dr. Watson at the beginning of the 1903 story "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder", notably the steamship ''Friesland''. Off-camera, Watson also recounts to his audience another unrecorded affair mentioned in the 1924 story "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", that of the Giant Rat of Sumatra, "a story for which the world is not yet prepared". Plot About to leave London for a much-needed holiday, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson receive a cryptic invitation. Intrigued, Holmes accepts and is met by the prime minister of Rovenia ovinia who begs him to escort Prince Nikolas home. His father has been assassinated, and as his heir, Nikolas is now king. Holmes agrees. Arrangements have already been made for an airplane. When it develops engine problems, a smaller replacement onl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy William Neill
Roy William Neill (4 September 1887 – 14 December 1946) was an Irish-born American film director best known for directing the last eleven of the fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, made between 1943 and 1946 and released by Universal Studios. Biography With his father as the captain, Roy William Neill was born on a ship off the coast of Ireland. His birth name was Roland de Gostrie. Neill began directing silent films in 1917 and went on to helm 111 films, 55 of them silent. Although most of Neill's films were low-budget B-movies, he was known for directing films with meticulously lit scenes with carefully layered shadows that would become the style of ''film noir'' in the late 1940s. In fact, his last film, '' Black Angel'' (1946), is considered a ''film noir''. He was also credited in some works as R. William Neill, Roy W. Neill, and Roy Neill. Neill lived in the United States for most of his career and was a US citizen. He did go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morton Lowry
Morton Lowry (born Edward Morton Lowater;Lancashire Birth Records, Volume 8c, pg. 1257. 13 February 1914 – 26 November 1987) was a British actor. He is best known for his film roles as John Stapleton in ''The Hound of The Baskervilles'' (1939) and for his role as Mr. Jonas in ''How Green was My Valley'' (1941). He also appeared in other films including ''Pursuit to Algiers'' and ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' (both 1945). Personal life Morton was born in Lancashire, England as Edward Morton Lowater to Edward Morton Lowater, Sr., an engineer, and Bithiah 'Bertha' Holmes. The family later moved to the Russell Square area of London. Morton was married at least three times. His first marriage was in 1934, when he was 20 years old, to Diana Whalley. This short-lived marriage ended in divorce in 1936. On 27 February 1938, Morton married socialite Virginia Barnato, granddaughter of diamond dealer Barney Barnato and daughter of racing car driver Woolf Barnato, on a San Francisco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1945 Mystery Films
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: ** Nazi Germany, Germany begins Operation Bodenplatte, an attempt by the ''Luftwaffe'' to cripple Allies of World War II, Allied air forces in the Low Countries. ** Chenogne massacre: German prisoners are allegedly killed by American forces near the village of Chenogne, Belgium. * January 6 – WWII: A German offensive recaptures Esztergom, Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Hungary from the Russians. * January 12 – WWII: The Soviet Union begins the Vistula–Oder Offensive in Eastern Europe, against the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army. * January 13 – WWII: The Soviet Union begins the East Prussian Offensive, to eliminate German forces in East Pruss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1945 Films
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1945 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 26 – The film ''National Velvet'', starring Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald Crisp and Anne Revere, is released nationally in the United States. The film is an instant critical and commercial success, propelling 12-year-old Taylor to stardom and earning Revere the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. * January 30 – Restricted release of '' Kolberg'', an historical epic which is one of the last Nazi Germany propaganda pieces, in war-torn Berlin. Given its cast of 187,000, probably fewer people view it than appear in it. * April 20 – Release of ''Son of Lassie'', the 2nd Lassie film and the first film ever to be filmed using the Technicolor Monobook method, where a single magazine of film is used to record all of the primary colors. Prior to this method, the most popular reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery ''The Mousetrap'', which has been performed in the West End since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. ''Guinness World Records'' lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies. Christie was born into a wealthy upper middle class family in Torquay, Devon, and was largely home-schooled. She was initially an unsuccessful writer with six co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murder By Death
''Murder by Death'' is a 1976 American comedy mystery film directed by Robert Moore and written by Neil Simon. The film stars Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith, Nancy Walker, and Estelle Winwood. The plot is a broad parody or spoof of the traditional country-house whodunit, familiar to mystery fiction fans of classics such as Agatha Christie's ''And Then There Were None''. The cast is an ensemble of British and American actors playing send-ups of well-known fictional sleuths, including Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Charlie Chan, Nick and Nora Charles, and Sam Spade. It also features a rare acting performance by author Truman Capote. The film was presented at the Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 1976. Plot A group of five renowned detectives, each accompanied by a relative or associate, is invited to "dinner and a murder" by the mysterious Lionel Twain. Having lured ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction. Doyle was a prolific writer; other than Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, " J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the ''Mary Celeste''. Name Doyle is often referred to as "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" or "Conan Doyle", implying that "Conan" is part of a compound surname rather than a middle name. His baptism entry in the register of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, gives "Arth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. Camp aesthetics disrupt many of modernism's notions of what art is and what can be classified as high art by inverting aesthetic attributes such as beauty, value, and taste through an invitation of a different kind of apprehension and consumption. Camp can also be a social practice and function as a style and performance identity for several types of entertainment including film, cabaret, and pantomime. Where high art necessarily incorporates beauty and value, camp necessarily needs to be lively, audacious and dynamic. The visual style is closely associated with gay culture. Camp art is related to and often confused with kitsch and things with camp appeal may be described as cheesy. In 1909, ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defined camp as "ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical; effeminate or homosexual" behavior, and by the middle of the 1970s, cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Neill
Roy William Neill (4 September 1887 – 14 December 1946) was an Irish-born American film director best known for directing the last eleven of the fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, made between 1943 and 1946 and released by Universal Studios. Biography With his father as the captain, Roy William Neill was born on a ship off the coast of Ireland. His birth name was Roland de Gostrie. Neill began directing silent films in 1917 and went on to helm 111 films, 55 of them silent. Although most of Neill's films were low-budget B-movies, he was known for directing films with meticulously lit scenes with carefully layered shadows that would become the style of ''film noir'' in the late 1940s. In fact, his last film, '' Black Angel'' (1946), is considered a ''film noir''. He was also credited in some works as R. William Neill, Roy W. Neill, and Roy Neill. Neill lived in the United States for most of his career and was a US citizen. He did go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Worlock
Frederick Worlock (December 14, 1886 – August 1, 1973) was a British-American actor. He is known for his work in various films during the 1940s and 1950s, and as the voice of Horace in ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961). Career On stage, he made his début in 1906 in ''Henry V'' in Bristol and acted in four productions in London before moving to the United States in the 1920s, where he appeared in Broadway productions between 1923 and 1954. From 1938 to 1966, Worlock appeared as a supporting actor in films including '' Man Hunt'', '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', ''How Green Was My Valley'', '' The Imperfect Lady'', ''Singapore'', ''The Lone Wolf in London'', '' Love from a Stranger'', '' Ruthless'', ''Joan of Arc'', ''Spartacus'', ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (voice-over), and '' Spinout''. He appeared in a number of the Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone in the 1940s. Worlock often portrayed "professorial roles, some benign, some villainous". Persona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wee Willie Davis
William "Wee Willie" Grundy Davis (December 7, 1906 – April 9, 1981) was an American film actor and professional wrestler. He was born in New York City and died in Louisville, Kentucky, aged 74. He worked in the Jefferson County Jail in Louisville in 1972–75 as the gym guard. He was also an engineer and contributed to the invention of the Glowmeter, an early Heads up display that projected a car's speed onto the windshield. A fellow wrestler, "Prince Ilaki Ibn Ali Hassan" (real name Agisilaki Mihalakis), who also fought as the "Mad Greek", was the primary inventor.Mechanix Illustrated, July 1950, p. 60 Filmography *''Shadow of the Thin Man'' (1941) – Mug (uncredited) *''Reap the Wild Wind'' (1942) – The Lamb *'' Gentleman Jim'' (1942) – Flannagan (uncredited) *'' Arabian Nights'' (1942) – Valda *'' Above Suspicion'' (1943) – Hans – Aschenhausen's Man (uncredited) *'' Thumbs Up'' (1943) – Basil (uncredited) *'' Johnny Come Lately'' (1943) – Bouncer *''Ali B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerald Hamer
Gerald Hamer (16 November 1886 – 6 July 1972) ftvdb.bfi.org.uk; accessed 27 June 2015. was a British actor, born at Llandudno, as Geoffrey Earl Watton to John Watton and Evelyn Clara (née Earl). Hamer worked in the United States, where he played primarily British characters in Hollywood films. He made a number of appearances in the Basil Rathbone series of [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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