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Raymond Huntley
Horace Raymond Huntley (23 April 1904 – 15 June 1990) was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s to the 1970s. He also appeared in the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' as the pragmatic family solicitor Sir Geoffrey Dillon, and other television shows, such as the ''Wodehouse Playhouse'', ('Romance at Droitwich Spa'), in 1975.. Life and career Huntley was born in Kings Norton, Worcestershire (now a suburb of Birmingham) in 1904. He made his stage debut at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre on 1 April 1922, in ''A Woman Killed with Kindness''. His London debut followed at the Court Theatre on 22 February 1924, in ''As Far as Thought can Reach''. He subsequently inherited the role of Count Dracula from Edmund Blake in Hamilton Deane's touring adaptation of ''Dracula'', which arrived at London's Little Theatre on 14 February 1927, subsequently transferring to the larger Duke of York's Theatre. Later that year he was offered the chance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kings Norton
Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward within the Government of Birmingham, England. The district lies 6.5 miles south-southwest of Birmingham city centre and is within 1.5 miles of the north Worcestershire border. Kings Norton has been split into two wards, Kings Norton North and Kings Norton South. History There was Romano-British occupation near the later town. Excavations at Kings Norton found signs of a small Romano-British settlement, including Roman pottery and a Roman ditch at Parsons Hill, near Icknield Street. Kings Norton derives its origin from the basic Early English ''Nor + tun'', meaning North settlement and belonging to or held by the king, when Kings Norton was the northernmost of the berewicks or outlying manors of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. Before 1066 these manors with many others in Birmingham had belonged to Earl Edwin, the Anglo-Saxon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking a business trip to stay at the castle of a Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula. Harker escapes the castle after discovering that Dracula is a vampire, and the Count moves to England and plagues the seaside town of Whitby. A small group, led by Abraham Van Helsing, hunt Dracula and, in the end, kill him. ''Dracula'' was mostly written in the 1890s. Stoker produced over a hundred pages of notes for the novel, drawing extensively from Transylvanian folklore and history. Some scholars have suggested that the character of Dracula was inspired by historical figures like the Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler or the countess Elizabeth Báthory, but there is widespread disagreement. Stoker's notes mention neither figure. He found the name ''D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Separate Tables
''Separate Tables'' is the collective name of two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan, both taking place in the Beauregard Private Hotel, Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. The first play, titled ''Table by the Window'', focuses on the troubled relationship between a disgraced Labour politician and his ex-wife. The second play, ''Table Number Seven'', is set about 18 months after the events of the previous play, and deals with the touching friendship between a repressed spinster and Major Pollock, a kindly but bogus man posing as an upper-class retired army officer. The two main roles in both plays are written to be played by the same performers. The secondary characters – permanent residents, the hotel's manager, and members of the staff – appear in both plays. The plays are about people who are driven by loneliness into a state of desperation. Synopses In ''Table by the Window'', Martin, a once-rising politician, now turned to drink, is dining with his ex-wife, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Getting Married
''Getting Married'' is a play by George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from .... First performed in 1908, it features a cast of family members who gather together for a marriage. The play analyses and satirises the status of marriage in Shaw's day, with a particular focus on the necessity of liberalising divorce laws. Characters *Mrs Bridgenorth *Alderman Collins *General Bridgenorth *Lesbia Grantham *Reginald Bridgenorth *Mrs Reginald "Leo" Bridgenorth *Bishop of Chelsea *St John Hotchkiss *Cecil Sykes *Edith Bridgenorth *Father Anthony Soames *Mrs George Collins Plot 1908: Edith, youngest daughter of Bishop Bridgenorth, is about to be married. Her uncle General Boxer Bridgenorth, will give her away, as he has all her sisters. As at all the other wedding ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
An Ideal Husband
''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for 124 performances. It has been revived in many theatre productions and adapted for the cinema, radio and television. Background and first production In June 1893, with his second drawing room play, '' A Woman of No Importance'', running successfully at the Haymarket Theatre, Oscar Wilde began writing ''An Ideal Husband'' for the actor-manager John Hare. He completed the first act while staying at a house he had taken at Goring-on-Thames, after which he named a leading character in the play.Jackson, p. xxxvi Between September 1893 and January 1894 he wrote the remaining three acts. Hare rejected the play, finding the last act unsatisfactory; Wilde then successfully offered the play to Lewis Waller, who was about to take temporary charge o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caught Napping
''Caught Napping'' is a 1959 comedy play by the British writer Geoffrey Lumsden. It premiered at the Salisbury Playhouse, under its original title ''Gwendolyn'' before transferring to the Piccadilly Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 114 performances between 22 June and 28 August 1959. Lumsden himself starred in the play alongside a cast that included Graham Armitage, George Benson, Raymond Huntley, Leslie Randall, Winifred Shotter and Timothy West in his West End debut. Excerpts of the play were featured in a 1959 episode of the BBC television series ''Theatre Night'' which showcased current West End shows. In 1978 it was revived with a cast that included Arthur Lowe, Bill Pertwee, Fiona Fullerton Fiona Elizabeth Fullerton (born 10 October 1956) is a British actress and singer, known for her role as Alice in the 1972 film ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and as Bond girl KGB spy Pola Ivanova in the 1985 James Bond film ''A View to a ... and Edward Evans. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
And This Was Odd
''And This Was Odd'' is a 1951 comedy play by the British writer Kenneth Horne. It was a reworking of an earlier play ''Wasn't It Odd'' that had first been staged at the Intimate Theatre in Palmers Green in 1940. It involves an elderly lady who uncovers her family's secrets while supposedly ill in bed. It ran for 54 performances at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End. The cast included Raymond Huntley, Peter Hammond, Avice Landone, Mary Jerrold and Mignon O'Doherty Mignon O'Doherty (1890 – 1961) was an Australian actress who worked in British theatre, film and television. O'Doherty was born in Brisbane, the daughter of Dr. Edward O’Doherty and Isabel Maud French. She was the granddaughter of Young Ir .... It was directed by John Clements.Wearing p.120 References Bibliography * Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1951 plays Plays by Kenneth Horne West End plays C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Late Edwina Black
''The Late Edwina Black'' (U.S. ''Obsessed'') is a 1951 British drama film, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring David Farrar, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Roland Culver. The film is a melodramatic murder mystery set in the Victorian era and was adapted from a stage play by William Dinner and William Morum. It was made at Isleworth Studios. The sets were designed by the art director George Provis while the costumes were by Elizabeth Haffenden. Plot The domineering Edwina Black has just died, and the general feeling appears to be of relief. The local community whispers that her death is a blessing for all concerned, particularly her henpecked widower Gregory (Farrar) and downtrodden personal companion Elizabeth (Fitzgerald). Unknown to anybody, Gregory and Elizabeth have been lovers for some time, and matters take a serious turn when the local doctor, feeling uneasy about Edwina's sudden and unexpected death, orders a post-mortem. It reveals that Edwina's body is full of arseni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
They Came To A City (play)
''They Came to a City'' is a 1943 play by the British writer J.B. Priestley. After premiering at the Princes Theatre, Bradford it transferred to the Globe Theatre in London's West End. It ran for 280 performances between 21 April and 11 December 1943. The cast included John Clements, Googie Withers, Raymond Huntley, A.E. Matthews and Renee Gadd. Adaptation In 1944 it was made into a film by Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ..., directed by Basil Dearden and with the cast all reprising their roles.Goble p.376 References Bibliography * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1940-1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefiel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
When We Are Married
''When We Are Married'' is a comedy by the English dramatist, J. B. Priestley, written in 1934. It was first performed in London at the St. Martin's Theatre, London on 11 October 1938, and transferred to the larger Prince's Theatre in March 1939 and ran until 24 June of that year. Plot A group of three couples, old friends and all married on the same day in the same chapel, gathers at the Helliwells’ home to celebrate their silver anniversary. When they discover that they are not legally married, each couple initially reacts with proper Victorian horror – what will the neighbours think? – and all three couples find themselves reevaluating their marriages; hovering closely over the proceedings is the ''Yorkshire Argus'' alcohol-soaked photographer, keen to record the evening's events for posterity, and a wickedly destructive housekeeper who is hoping to use the couples' mortification to her own advantage. In the end, of course, everything turns out well, and the play en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Time And The Conways
''Time and the Conways'' is a British play written by J. B. Priestley in 1937 illustrating J. W. Dunne's Theory of Time through the experience of a moneyed Yorkshire family, the Conways, over a period of nineteen years from 1919 to 1937. Widely regarded as one of the best of Priestley's ''Time Plays'', a series of pieces for theatre which played with different concepts of Time (the others including '' I Have Been Here Before'', ''Dangerous Corner'' and ''An Inspector Calls''), it continues to be revived in the UK regularly. Plot ''Time and the Conways'' is in three acts. The first act is set in the Conway house in 1919 on the night of the birthday of one of the daughters, Kay. Act Two moves to the same night in 1937 and is set in the same room in the house. Act Three then returns to 1919, seconds after Act One left off. In the first Act we meet the Conway family, Mrs Conway, her daughters Kay, Hazel, Madge and Carol and her sons Alan and Robin. Three other characters appear: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bees On The Boat Deck
''Bees on the Boat Deck'' is a 1936 comedy drama play by the British writer J.B. Priestley. It ran for 37 performances at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End. The cast included Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Rene Ray and Raymond Huntley.Wearing p.518 In 1939 the play was made into a television film by the BBC, starring Richardson, James Mason, John Laurie and Meriel Forbes Meriel Forbes, Lady Richardson (13 September 1913 – 7 April 2000) was an English actress. She was a granddaughter of Norman Forbes-Robertson and great-niece of Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson. After making her stage debut with her father's tour .... References Bibliography * Gindin, James. ''British Fiction in the 1930s: The Dispiriting Decade''. Springer, 2016. * Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1930-1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1936 plays Plays by J. B. Priestley British comedy films West End plays {{1930s-play-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
