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Rank Leisure
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities. It also diversified into the manufacture of radios, TVs and photocopiers (as one of the owners of Rank Xerox). The company name lasted until February 1996, when the name and some of the remaining assets were absorbed into the newly structured Rank Group plc. The company itself became a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox and was renamed XRO Limited in 1997. The company logo, the Gongman, first used in 1935 by the group's distribution company General Film DistributorsThe Independent July 16, 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (listed company), which facilitates the trade of shares, or not (unlisted public company). In some jurisdictions, public companies over a certain size must be listed on an exchange. In most cases, public companies are ''private'' enterprises in the ''private'' sector, and "public" emphasizes their reporting and trading on the public markets. Public companies are formed within the legal systems of particular states, and therefore have associations and formal designations which are distinct and separate in the polity in which they reside. In the United States, for example, a public company is usually a type of corporation (though a corporation need not be a public company), in the United Kingdom it is usually a public limited company (plc), i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to television programmes, commercials, and pop promos. It is well known as the home of the ''James Bond'' and ''Carry On'' film franchises. History Pinewood Studios was built on the estate of Heatherden Hall, a large Victorian country house which was purchased by Canadian financier, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentford and Chiswick, Lt. Col. Grant Morden (1880–1932). He added refinements such as a ballroom, a Turkish bath and an indoor squash court. Due to its seclusion, it was used as a discreet meeting place for high-ranking politicians and diplomats; the agreement to create the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed there. In 1934, building tycoon Charles Boot (1874–1945) bought the land and turned it into a country club. The ballroom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologically, where the term covers several slightly different, but related regions. Derivation and definitions Charles de Brosses coined the term (as French ''Australasie'') in ''Histoire des navigations aux terres australes'' (1756). He derived it from the Latin for "south of Asia" and differentiated the area from Polynesia (to the east) and the southeast Pacific (Magellanica). In the late 19th century, the term Australasia was used in reference to the "Australasian colonies". In this sense it related specifically to the British colonies south of Asia: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, Victoria (i.e., the Australian colonies) and New Zealand. Australasia found continued geopolitical attention in the earl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert James Kerridge
Sir Robert James Kerridge (30 October 1901 – 26 April 1979) was a New Zealand businessman, cinema proprietor, film distributor, tourism promoter and entrepreneur. Kerridge was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 30 October 1901. He developed a theatre chain that owned or controlled 133 cinemas, the biggest exhibition chain in New Zealand or Australia. In 1946, Kerridge sold 50 per cent of his cinema chain to the J. Arthur Rank Organisation of London, netting the vendors almost £1 million, and a Rolls-Royce car for Kerridge. The chain was renamed Kerridge Odeon. In the 1962 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kerridge was appointed a Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ..., for public services. He was buried at Purewa Cemetery in the Auckland suburb of M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rocking Horse Winner (film)
''The Rocking Horse Winner'' is a 1949 fantasy film about a young boy who can pick winners in horse races with complete accuracy. It is an adaptation of the D. H. Lawrence short story ''The Rocking-Horse Winner'' and starred Valerie Hobson, John Howard Davies and Ronald Squire. Producer of the film John Mills also acted in the film. It was shot at Denham Studios with sets designed by the art director Carmen Dillon. Plot The upper middle-class Grahame family are beset by money troubles, because of the lavish tastes of Hester who spends far more than their income. Her elder brother Oscar bails her out several times but warns that he will not do so in future. Meanwhile her son Paul strikes up a friendship with Bassett, the new handyman and a former jockey. Paul is delighted when he receives a rocking horse for Christmas and shortly afterwards a whip. Concerns about the family's finances and his mother's unhappiness and lack of luck begin to affect Paul who is convinced that the hou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vice Versa (1948 Film)
''Vice Versa'' is a 1948 British comedy film written and directed by Peter Ustinov and starring Roger Livesey, Anthony Newley, Petula Clark, and Kay Walsh. It is the third screen adaptation of the 1882 novel ''Vice Versa'' by F. Anstey. The film was produced by Two Cities Films and distributed by General Film Distributors. Plot The film begins with an elderly Paul Bultitude seeing his son, Dick, and new daughter-in-law Dulcie off after their wedding. He then directly addresses the audience, implied to be reporters, about a story he has been embarrassed to discuss for years about how he and his son have had such a strong relationship. During the British Raj, unscrupulous Marmaduke Paradine steals the Garuda Stone, the magical eye of an Indian idol, which grants one wish to each possessor. He had been warned that the thief of the stone would have bad luck; convinced by the time he returns to England, he gives it to the recently widowed Paul, his former brother-in-law. Paul, a wea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamlet (1948 Film)
''Hamlet '' is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, adapted and directed by and starring Laurence Olivier. ''Hamlet'' was Olivier's second film as director and the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed (the 1936 ''As You Like It'' had starred Olivier, but had been directed by Paul Czinner). ''Hamlet'' was the first British film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is the first sound film of the play in English. Olivier's ''Hamlet'' is the Shakespeare film that has received the most prestigious accolades, winning the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. However, it proved controversial among Shakespearean purists, who felt that Olivier had made too many alterations and excisions to the four-hour play by cutting nearly two hours' worth of content. Milton Shulman wrote in ''The Evening Standard'': "To some it will be one of the greatest films ever made, to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odd Man Out
''Odd Man Out'' is a 1947 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, and starring James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, and Kathleen Ryan. Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it follows a wounded Nationalist leader who attempts to evade police in the aftermath of a robbery. It is based on the 1945 novel of the same name by F. L. Green. The film received the first BAFTA Award for Best British Film, and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. Filmmaker Roman Polanski repeatedly cited ''Odd Man Out'' as his favourite film. ''Odd Man Out'' follows the Mason character "on an anguished journey through the alleys of Belfast that visually presages Harry Lime's shadowy flight through the sewers of Vienna" in Reed's 1949 film ''The Third Man''. Plot The setting is an unnamed Belfast. Northern Ireland. Irish nationalist 'organisation' member Johnny McQueen has been hiding for six months, since his escape from prison, in a house occupied by Kathleen Sullivan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Two Cities Films
Two Cities Films was a British film production company. Formed in 1937, it was originally envisaged as a production company operating in the two cities of London and Rome which gave the company its name. The driving forces behind the company were the flamboyant, Italian-born Filippo Del Giudice, and his partner the multitalented Mario Zampi, born in Sora, Italy who often worked in the dual role of director and producer. Two Cities produced a number of quintessentially EnglishTom Ryall, Encyclopedia of British Film film classics including the most popular British film from the wartime period, ''In Which We Serve'' (1942). Other Two Cities films such as ''This Happy Breed'' (1944), ''The Way Ahead'' (1944), ''Henry V'' (1944), ''The Way to the Stars'' (1945), and '' Blithe Spirit'' (1945) contributed significantly to the high critical reputation acquired by the British cinema of the time. In the mid-1940s Two Cities Films became part of the Rank Organisation. It was raising the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios was a film, and later television, studio complex in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The complex was built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915. It was situated in Lime Grove, a residential street in Shepherd's Bush, and when it first opened was described by Gaumont as "the finest studio in Great Britain and the first building ever put up in this country solely for the production of films". Many Gainsborough Pictures films were made here from the early 1930s. Its sister studio was Islington Studios, also used by Gainsborough; films were often shot partly at Islington and partly at Lime Grove. In 1949, the complex was purchased by the BBC, who used it for television broadcasts until 1991. It was demolished in 1993. Gaumont-British Picture Corporation In 1922, Isidore Ostrer along with brothers Mark and Maurice, acquired control of Gaumont-British from its French parent. In 1932 a major redevelopment of Lime Grove Studios was completed, creating one of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The company was initially based at Islington Studios, which were built as a power station for the Northern City Line, Great Northern & City Railway and later converted to studios. Other films were made at Lime Grove Studios, Lime Grove and Pinewood Studios. The former Islington studio was converted to flats in 2004 and a London Borough of Hackney historical plaque is attached to the building. The studio is best remembered for the Gainsborough melodramas it produced in the 1940s. Gainsborough Pictures is now owned by Gregory Motton. History Gainsborough was founded in 1924 by Michael Balcon and, from 1927, was a sister company to the Gaumont British, with Balcon as Director of Production for both studios. Whilst Gaumont-British, based at Lime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaumont British
The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of the Gaumont Film Company of France. Film production Gaumont-British was founded in 1898 as the British subsidiary of the French Gaumont Film Company. It became independent of its French parent in 1922 when Isidore Ostrer acquired control of Gaumont-British. In 1927 the Ideal Film Company, a leading silent film maker, merged with Gaumont. The company's Lime Grove Studios was used for film productions, including Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation of ''The 39 Steps (1935 film), The 39 Steps'' (1935), while its Islington Studios made Hitchcock's ''The Lady Vanishes (1938 film), The Lady Vanishes'' (1938). In the 1930s, the company employed 16,000 people. In the United States, Gaumont-British had its own distribution operation for its films until December 1938, when it outsourced distribution to 20th Century Fox. In 1941 the Rank ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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