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Queenie Leonard
Queenie Leonard (born Pearl Walker; 18 February 1905 – 17 January 2002) was a British actress. She was the last surviving cast member of ''And Then There Were None'' (1945) until her death in 2002. Biography She was born as Pearl Walker in Manchester, Lancashire, England in 1905 and began performing on stage with her father when she was 14 years old. She debuted on film in 1931. She had already amassed 20 years of stage and screen experience when, in 1941, she made the first of more than 30 Hollywood films. She also appeared in cabaret in Britain and in the United States, starred in a one-woman show, acted in television sitcoms, and provided voices for Disney animated films. She retired in 1966. Her last appearance was in 20th Century Fox's ''Doctor Dolittle''. Leonard was married to film designer Lawrence P. Williams from 1936 to 1947, and to actor Tom Conway from 1958 to 1963. Both unions were childless and ended in divorce. Leonard was legally blind for part of her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
And Then There Were None (1945 Film)
''And Then There Were None'' is a 1945 film adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1939 mystery novel of the same name, directed by René Clair. It was released in the United Kingdom as ''Ten Little Indians'', in keeping with the third United Kingdom title of Christie's novel. Plot Eight people, all strangers to each other, are invited to a small isolated island off the coast of Devon, England, by a Mr. and Mrs. Owen. They settle in at a mansion tended by two newly hired servants, Thomas and Ethel Rogers, but their hosts are absent. When the guests sit down to dinner, they notice the centerpiece, ten figurines of Indians. Thomas puts on a gramophone record, through which a man's voice accuses them all of murder: * General Sir John Mandrake, of ordering his wife's lover, a lieutenant under his command, to his death * Emily Brent, of the death of her young nephew * Dr. Edward G. Armstrong, of drunkenness which resulted in a patient dying * Prince Nikita Starloff, of killing a couple while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skylarks
''Skylarks'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox and Nancy Burne.Low p.386 Nervo and Knox were a comic team, who became associated with the larger Crazy Gang grouping with whom they subsequently appeared in several films. It is a partially lost film, with only a short soundless fragment surviving. The team's earlier film '' It's in the Bag'', their 1936 sound debut, does still survive. Partial cast * Jimmy Nervo - Jimmy Doakes * Teddy Knox - Teddy Cook * Nancy Burne - Marion Hicks * Queenie Leonard - Maggie Hicks * Eddie Gray * Mervyn Blake * Amy Veness Amy Veness (26 February 1876 – 22 September 1960) was an English film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in ''The Huggetts Trilogy'' and was sometimes credited as Amy Van Ness. Veness was born Amy Clarice Beart in Aldeburgh, Suff ... References Bibliography * Low, Rachael. ''The History of British Film. Volume VII''. Routledge, 1997. Externa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Uninvited (1944 Film)
''The Uninvited'' is a 1944 American horror film that was directed by Lewis Allen and stars Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, and Donald Crisp. The film is based on Dorothy Macardle's novel ''Uneasy Freehold'' (1941), which was published in the United States as ''The Uninvited'' (1942) and deals with a brother and sister who purchase a house in Cornwall, England, that is plagued by paranormal events. The film is part of a cycle of supernatural-themed films that began appearing in the mid-1940s. Dodie Smith began writing the film, and Frank Partos was brought in by his friend, associate producer Charles Brackett. Brackett wanted to have the film directed by Alfred Hitchcock but could not organize plans with him, so Allen directed it. Filming began on April 16, 1943; Allen found working with Gail Russell, who was inexperienced and began crying several times, to be the most difficult part of filming. ''The Uninvited'' was released in Washington, D.C., on February 10, 1944, and was one of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lodger (1944 Film)
''The Lodger'' is a 1944 American horror film about Jack the Ripper, based on the 1913 novel of the same name by Marie Belloc Lowndes. It stars Merle Oberon, George Sanders, and Laird Cregar, features Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and was directed by John Brahm from a screenplay by Barré Lyndon. Lowndes' story had previously been filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1927 as a silent film, '' The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog'', and by Maurice Elvey with sound in 1932 as '' The Lodger''. It was remade again in 1953 by Hugo Fregonese as ''Man in the Attic'', starring Jack Palance, and again in 2009 by David Ondaatje. Plot Slade, a serial killer, is a lodger in a 19th-century family's London home. So is a singer, Kitty Langley, who definitely has caught Slade's eye. Women are being brutally killed in the Whitechapel district. Scotland Yard is investigating, and a detective, John Warwick, begins to cast his suspicions in Slade's direction. Kitty, meanwhile, has also developed an attraction t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thumbs Up (film)
''Thumbs Up'' is a 1943 American musical drama film producted by Albert J. Cohen for Republic Pictures and directed by Joseph Santley. The film stars Brenda Joyce, Richard Fraser and Elsa Lanchester. The screenplay was written by Frank Gill Jr. based on a story idea by Ray Golden and Henry K. Moritz. Musical direction was by Walter Scharf, words and music by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne respectively. The film was released on July 5, 1943. For a publicity stunt to boost her career, an American nightclub singer volunteers for a stint in a British munitions factory. She is so impressed by the spirit of her fellow workers that she decides to stay on. Plot Louise Latimer (Brenda Joyce) is working at the American Club in London as a singer, hoping for her next big break with the help of Bert Lawrence (Arthur Margetson), but Bert has been unable to help her along as Bert's associate E.E. Cartwright (André Charlot) has other ideas, he wants to use various talents from ammunitions and airc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forever And A Day (1943 Film)
''Forever and a Day'' is a 1943 American drama film, a collaborative effort employing seven directors/producers and 22 writers, with an enormous cast of well-known stars. Background In March 1940 Cedric Hardwicke initiated plans for a movie made without remuneration by British writers, directors and actors/actresses, intended to honor their homeland's spirit and to benefit war relief charities, with RKO Studios financing the production costs of the film with a $300,000 budget: it was estimated that had the film's ''pro bono'' participants been salaried the film would have cost $6 million (the actors and actresses appearing in the film were reportedly paid $60 a week as mandated by Equity – their pay may have been routinely donated). The film – whose first working title was ''Let The Rafters Ring'' with ''This Changing Time'' and ''Forever and a Day'' both later put forward as possibilities – had its original projected completion date of 1 June 1941 negated by the screenplay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eagle Squadron (film)
''Eagle Squadron'' is a 1942 American war film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Robert Stack, Diana Barrymore, John Loder and Nigel Bruce. It was based on a story by C.S. Forester that appeared in ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine, and inspired by media reports of the fighting in the Battle of Britain, in particular, the American pilots who volunteered before the United States entered World War II, to fly for the Royal Air Force in the actual Eagle Squadrons. Plot As war breaks out in Europe, young Americans Chuck S. Brewer (Robert Stack), Johnny M. Coe ( Leif Erickson) and Wadislaw Borowsky (Edgar Barrier) cross the Atlantic to join the Royal Air Force. Assigned to the Eagle Squadron, made up of other American pilots, they make friends with Squadron Leader Paddy Carson (John Loder), and women flyers Anne Partridge (Diana Barrymore) and Nancy Mitchell (Evelyn Ankers). Chuck is immediately attracted to Nancy, but she already has a boyfriend, Hank Starr ( Jon Hall), another pilot in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
This Above All (film)
''This Above All'' is a 1942 American romance film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Tyrone Power and Joan Fontaine as a couple from different social classes who fall in love in wartime England. The supporting cast features Thomas Mitchell, Nigel Bruce, and Gladys Cooper. Set in World War II, the film is adapted from Eric Knight's 1941 novel of the same name. Plot On the day that France surrenders to Nazi Germany in 1940, Prudence "Pru" Cathaway (Joan Fontaine) a strong-willed young woman from the upper class, joins the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), a military organisation linked to the Royal Air Force, to her family's surprise. Her aunt Iris and uncle Wilbur disapprove since she has chosen to serve as a private rather than as an officer. However, family butler Parsons privately expresses his support. She goes off to training camp, where she makes friends with fellow WAAF Violet Worthing. As a favor to Violet, Prudence agrees to go on a double date one night; she ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confirm Or Deny
''Confirm or Deny'' is a 1941 film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Archie Mayo and Fritz Lang (uncredited), and starring by Don Ameche and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Jo Swerling, based on a story by Samuel Fuller and Henry Wales. Plot In September 1940, American war correspondent "Mitch" Mitchell is stationed in London, working for Consolidated Press of America, which represents 1000 newspapers. Mitch is anxiously waiting for news of the expected German invasion of Britain from a reporter on the Continent (the United States being neutral at the time), determined to scoop his competition. He manages to rent Sir Titus Scott's wire from Penzance in Cornwall for a week to save forty minutes (for an exorbitant amount, much to the dismay of his boss, H. Cyrus Stuyvesant). The information is to come by coded radio and homing pigeon messages. Twelve-year-old Albert Perkins and the elderly Mr. Bindle watch for the pigeons. During one of the many nighttime air rai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ladies In Retirement
''Ladies in Retirement'' is a 1941 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward, who were married at the time. It is based on a 1940 Broadway play of the same title by Reginald Denham and Edward Percy that starred Flora Robson in the lead role. Plot Ellen Creed, a proud spinster fallen on hard times, has spent the past two years as housekeeper and companion to her old friend Leonora Fiske, a wealthy retiree who in her youth had been a chorus girl "of easy virtue". Ellen receives a letter threatening that unless she can tame her two peculiar sisters, the police will be called and the sisters will be evicted from their lodgings for outlandish behaviour. Leonora allows Ellen to invite her sisters to visit. One day when Ellen is away, handsome young stranger Albert Feather appears, claiming to be Ellen's nephew. Leonora lends him money, but Albert makes her promise not to tell Ellen about either his visit or the loan. Ellen returns with he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kate Plus Ten (film)
''Kate Plus Ten'' is a 1938 British thriller film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Jack Hulbert, Genevieve Tobin and Noel Madison. It was adapted from the Edgar Wallace novel '' Kate Plus Ten''. It was also released as ''Queen of Crime''. Production The film was an independent production shot at Shepperton Studios. The final third of the film makes extensive use of railway locations. Among these, the main line between Bath and Westbury (Wiltshire) was employed, with a stolen train smashing through fake level crossing gates at Freshford station. The branch line through Limpley Stoke and Camerton was also featured, and a closed colliery in the Somerset coalfield was the location for the scene in which a steam locomotive crashes through wooden shed doors. Plot summary Kate, the leader of a gang of criminals, works as secretary to an aristocrat allowing her to pick up vital information. However, the police soon become suspicious of her and Scotland Yard's Inspector Pembe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Millions (1937 Film)
''Millions'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Leslie Hiscott and starring Gordon Harker, Richard Hearne and Frank Pettingell. It was made at Elstree Studios. The film portrays the cut-throat rivalry between two financiers. It is known by the alternative title The King of Cloves. Plot Wealthy businessman and financier Otto Forbes has cut off his son Jimmy's allowance. Jimmy's valet Parsons comes up with a scheme to restore Jimmy to his father's good graces. The elder Forbes loves music, so Parsons suggests Jimmy "compose" a beautiful piece. Since Jimmy has no musical talent or training, Parsons tries to pass off works, such as a Beethoven sonata, as Jimmy's, but Forbes is not fooled, leaving Jimmy in deep financial trouble. Forbes and bitter business rival Sir Charles Rimmer are running against each for Parliament. Jimmy meets and becomes enamoured with Rimmer's daughter, Jane. Cast * Gordon Harker as Otto Forbes * Frank Pettingell as Sir Charles Rimmer * Richard Hearn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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