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Romney Brent
Romney Brent (born Romulo Larralde; 26 January 1902 – 24 September 1976) was a Mexican actor, director and dramatist. Most of his career was on stage in North America, but in the 1930s he was frequently seen on the London stage, on television and in films. Early life Born Romulo Larralde 26 January 1902 in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, his father was a diplomat, and Brent was educated in several cities throughout the world, especially in New York City.''The Times'' obituary, 13 October 1976, p. 18 Career He studied for the stage under Theodore Komisarjevsky and began work as an actor with the Theatre Guild in ''He Who Gets Slapped'' when he was 20 and later that year was on Broadway in their production of ''The Lucky One'' by A. A. Milne. He established a reputation in "gentle, ingratiating" roles, such as the Lion in George Bernard Shaw's '' Androcles and the Lion'', the worried groom in Shaw's '' Getting Married'' and Launcelot Gobbo in ''The Merchant of Venice''. In 1925 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suspense (U
Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it affects a character for whom one has sympathy. However, suspense is not exclusive to fiction. In drama In literature, films, television, and plays, suspense is a major device for securing and maintaining interest. It may be of several major types: in one, the outcome is uncertain and the suspense resides in the question of ''who, what, or how''; in another, the outcome is inevitable from foregoing events, and the suspense resides in the audience's anxious or frightened anticipation in the question of ''when''. Readers feel suspense when they are deeply curious about ''what'' will happen next, or when they know what is likely to happen but don’t know ''how'' it will happen. Even in historical fiction, with characters whose life stori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise"."Noel Coward at 70" ''Time'', 26 December 1969, p. 46 Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as '' |
East Meets West (1936 Film)
''East Meets West'' is a 1936 British drama film directed by Herbert Mason and starring George Arliss, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle and John Laurie. It was made at the Lime Grove Studios in London. The film's art direction was by Oscar Friedrich Werndorff. Plot A small Middle Eastern state is coveted by the major powers for strategic reasons. Cast * George Arliss - Sultan of Rungay * Lucie Mannheim - Marguerite Carter * Godfrey Tearle - Sir Henry Mallory * Romney Brent - Doctor Shagu * Ballard Berkeley - Nazim * Ronald Ward - Neville Carter * Norma Varden - Lady Mallory * John Laurie - Doctor Fergusson * O. B. Clarence - Osmin * Campbell Gullan - Veka * Eliot Makeham - Goodson * Peter Gawthorne - Stanton * Ralph Truman - Abdul * Patrick Barr - O'Flaherty * Peter Croft - Crowell Reception Writing for ''The Spectator'' in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a very poor review, succinctly warning readers "to avoid tlike the plague". (reprinted in: ) References Bibliograp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adventures Of Don Juan (1948) Trailer 1
''Adventures of Don Juan'' is a 1948 American Technicolor swashbuckling adventure romance film directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Errol Flynn and Viveca Lindfors, with Robert Douglas, Alan Hale, Ann Rutherford, and Robert Warwick. Also in the cast are Barbara Bates, Raymond Burr, and Mary Stuart. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Jerry Wald. The screenplay by George Oppenheimer and Harry Kurnitz, based on a story by Herbert Dalmas, has uncredited contributions by William Faulkner and Robert Florey. Plot Late in the reign of Elizabeth I of England, Spanish noble Don Juan de Maraña is repatriated from London to Madrid, following a diplomatic scandal caused by his dalliance with the British fiancée of a Spanish nobleman. The Spanish ambassador in London, Count de Polan, an old family friend, sends a letter of recommendation to Queen Margaret of Spain. He requests that she provide an opportunity at the Spanish court for the rehabilitation of Don J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Of Lorraine
''Joan of Lorraine'' is a 1946 play-within-a-play by Maxwell Anderson. Plot It is about a company of actors who stage a dramatization of the story of Joan of Arc, and the effect that the story has on them. As in the musical '' Man of La Mancha'', most of the actors in the drama play two or more roles. The main character is Mary Grey, the fictional star actress who portrays Joan. As the play begins, Mary Grey and the fictional director of the play-within-a-play, Jimmy Masters, are in conflict over how Joan is to be played. The conflict is resolved during the course of the play. Production Ingrid Bergman was the star of the original production, playing both Joan and Mary Grey, the fictional star actress who portrays her. Other notable actors who appeared in this production were Joseph Wiseman, Romney Brent and Sam Wanamaker. Awards Ingrid Bergman won a Tony Award for this performance — one of the first such awards ever given. Adaptation In 1948, an adaptation of ''Jo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who manipulate the humans and are engaged in their own domestic intrigue. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular and is widely performed. Characters * Theseus—Duke of Athens * Hippolyta—Queen of the Amazons * Egeus—father of Hermia * Hermia—daughter of Egeus, in love with Lysander * Lysander—in love with Hermia * Demetrius—suitor to Hermia * Helena—in love with Demetrius * Philostrate— Master of the Revels * Peter Quince—a carpenter * Nick Bottom—a weaver * Francis Flute—a bellows-mender * Tom Snout—a tink ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Bridie
James Bridie (3 January 1888 in Glasgow – 29 January 1951 in Edinburgh) was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and physician whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor.Daniel Leary (1982) ''Dictionary of Literary Biography: Modern British Dramatists 1900-1945'', Stanley Weintraub Ed., Gale, Detroit Ronald Mavor (1988) ''Dr. Mavor and Mr. Bridie: Memories of James Bridie'', Canongate and The National Library of Scotland He took his pen-name from his paternal grandfather's first name and his grandmother's maiden name. Life He was the son of Henry Alexander Mavor (1858–1915), an electrical engineer and industrialist, and his wife Janet Osborne. He went to school at Glasgow Academy and then studied medicine at the University of Glasgow graduating in 1913, later becoming a general practitioner, then consultant physician and professor after serving as a military physician during World War I, seeing service in France and Mesopotamia. He came to prominence with h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Simpleton Of The Unexpected Isles
''The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles: A Vision of Judgement'' is a 1934 play by George Bernard Shaw. The play is a satirical allegory about an attempt to create a utopian society on a Polynesian island that has recently emerged from the sea. The play divided critics. Edmund Wilson described it as Shaw's only "silly play", in which the action seems to be purely whimsical. In contrast, Frederick McDowell wrote that Shaw had created "a symbolic fable" to expound his own "deeply felt ideas".Daniel J. Leary "About Nothing in Shaw's ''The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles''", ''Educational Theatre Journal'', Vol. 24, No. 2 (May, 1972), pp. 139-148. The preface, in which Shaw appears to advocate the killing of useless individuals in a future society, has been considered to be distasteful by several commentators. Creation Shaw wrote the play in 1934, originally entitling it "the End of the Simpleton". Shaw added a note to his secretary suggesting that "the final title...will probably b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conversation Piece (musical)
''Conversation Piece'', billed as "A Romantic Comedy with Music", is a musical written by Noël Coward. It premiered at His Majesty's Theatre, London, on 16 February 1934, and ran for 177 performances over five months. A Broadway production opened at the 44th Street Theatre later that year but ran for only 55 performances. Background ''Conversation Piece'' was inspired by the book ''The Regent and his Daughter'' by Dormer Creston (1881–1973). Coward wrote the libretto in 1933 while on a sea voyage from Trinidad to England and composed the score on his return home. From the outset, Coward had the French star Yvonne Printemps in mind for the leading role of Mélanie, despite the fact that she spoke no English. Printemps agreed to play the part, and with the aid of her future husband, Pierre Fresnay, learned the words by rote.Lesley, p. 164 The male lead, Paul, Duc de Chaucigny-Varennes, was given to Romney Brent, but during rehearsals Coward came to think Brent was not up to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nymph Errant
''Nymph Errant'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Romney Brent based upon the novel by James Laver. The somewhat controversial story concerned a young English lady intent upon losing her virginity. Porter considered the score his best because of its worldliness and sexual sophistication.Citron, Stephen (2005). ''Noel & Cole''. Hal Leonard Corporation. , p. 106-107 The musical was produced in London in 1933 and received its US premiere in 1982. History Charles B. Cochran, the producer, bought the stage rights in 1933 to the book by James Laver, who was then a young author, poet, and Keeper at the Victoria and Albert Museum (and was to become a major curator of art and costumes). Gertrude Lawrence convinced Cochran to turn the novel into a musical rather than a straight play, his initial intention. When Noël Coward turned down the offer to write the music, Cochran asked Porter. Because the musical was so "English" it did not receive a Broadway product ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, Porter defied his grandfather's wishes for him to practice law and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn to musical theatre. After a slow start, he began to achieve success in the 1920s, and by the 1930s he was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. Unlike many successful Broadway composers, Porter wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his songs. After a serious horseback riding accident in 1937, Porter was left disabled and in constant pain, but he continued to work. His shows of the early 1940s did not contain the lasting hits of his best work of the 1920s and 1930s, but in 1948 he made a triumphant comeback with his most successful musical, '' Kiss Me, Kat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Farjeon
Herbert (Bertie) Farjeon (5 March 1887 – 3 May 1945) was a major figure in the British theatre from 1910 until his death. He was a presenter of revues in London's West End, a theatre critic, lyricist, librettist, playwright, theatre manager and researcher. Early life His father was the novelist Benjamin Leopold Farjeon. His mother, Margaret Jefferson, was the daughter of the American actor, Joseph Jefferson. His sister was Eleanor Farjeon, the writer of children's verse and stories. His brothers were Harry Farjeon, the composer, and J. Jefferson Farjeon, who wrote novels. He was a conscientious objector in the First World War. Career His first play to be performed, ''Friends'', was put on at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin in 1917. Subsequently, he had several plays performed in London. He was better known for his revues than for his "straight" plays, however. These included: ''Spread It Abroad'', ''The Two Bouquets'', ''Nine Sharp'', ''Little Revue'', ''Diversion'' and ''Light ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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