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Reluctant Heroes
''Reluctant Heroes'' is a 1951 British comedy filmed in Technicolor. It is based on the farce by Colin Morris. Directed by Jack Raymond, it stars Ronald Shiner as Sergeant Bell. It was produced by Henry Halsted and Byron Film. The play, which had premiered at the Whitehall Theatre the previous year, was the first of the Brian Rix company's Whitehall farces. Plot summary This comedy is set in an army boot camp. It displays a drill sergeant who must somehow turn an inept group of recruits into real soldiers. Cast *Sergeant Bell - Ronald Shiner *Michael Tone - Derek Farr *Gloria Dennis - Christine Norden *Horace Gregory - Brian Rix *Trooper Morgan - Larry Noble *Pat Thompson - Betty Empey *Penny Roberts - Angela Wheatland *Sgt. McKenzie - Anthony Baird *Capt. Percy - Colin Morris *Lt. Virginia - Elspet Gray Elspet Jean Gray, Baroness Rix (née Gray; 12 April 1929 – 18 February 2013) was a Scottish actress, who first became known for her p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Raymond
Jack Raymond (1886–1953) was an English actor and film director. Born in Wimborne, Dorset in 1886, he began acting before the First World War in '' A Detective for a Day''. In 1921 he directed his first film and gradually he wound down his acting to concentrate completely on directing - making more than forty films in total before his death in 1953. He was associated with the Hepworth Studios of Walton on Thames, since his portrait appears on a studio publicity postcard when he was probably in his early twenties. He had a major success in 1930 with ''The Great Game'', one of the earliest films devoted to football and followed it up with '' Up for the Cup'' a year later. He remade '' Up for the Cup'' in 1950. Partial filmography Director *''The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1913) *''Red, White and Blue Blood'' (1917) *''The English Rose'' (1920) *'' The Flat'' (1921) *'' A Woman Misunderstood'' (1921) *'' Tilly of Bloomsbury'' (1921) *''The Curse of Westacott'' (1921) *''Second t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whitehall Farces
The Whitehall farces were a series of five long-running comic stage plays at the Whitehall Theatre in London, presented by the actor-manager Brian Rix, in the 1950s and 1960s. They were in the low comedy tradition of British farce, following the Aldwych farces, which played at the Aldwych Theatre between 1924 and 1933. History The farces; critical reception The five farces were as follows: Rix built a company of regular players who appeared in some or all of these shows. They included Leo Franklyn, Larry Noble, Dennis Ramsden and Derek Royle, and members of Rix's family: his wife, Elspet Gray, his sister, Sheila Mercier and his brother-in-law, Peter Mercier. Others who appeared in one or more of the Whitehall farces include Terry Scott and Andrew Sachs. Rix starred in all five plays, in a range of roles: a "gormless recruit" to the army in ''Reluctant Heroes''; a timidly crooked bookie's runner in ''Dry Rot''; a street musician recruited as a secret agent in ''Simple Spymen' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Films Based On Plays
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *''Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) See also * Terminology of the British Isles * Alternative names for the British * English (other) * Britannic (other) * British Isles * Brit (other) * Briton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Films Directed By Jack Raymond
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images. These images are generally accompanied by sound and, more rarely, other sensory stimulations. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to filmmaking and the film industry, and to the art form that is the result of it. Recording and transmission of film The moving images of a film are created by photographing actual scenes with a motion-picture camera, by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques, by means of CGI and computer animation, or by a combination of some or all of these techniques, and other visual effects. Before the introduction of digital production, series of still images were recorded on a strip of chemically sensitized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1950s English-language Films
Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 '' Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify the previous emperor Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius. * King Vologases V and other eastern princes support the claims of Pescennius Niger. The Roman province of Mesopotamia rises in revolt with Parthian support. Severus marches to Mesopotamia to battle the Parthians. * The Roman province of Syria is divided and the role of Antioch is diminished. The Romans annexed the Syrian cities of Edessa and Nisibis. Severus re-establish his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Comedy Films
British comedy films are comedy films produced in the United Kingdom. In the early 1930s, film adaptations of stage farces were popular. British comedy films are numerous, but among the most notable are the Ealing comedies, the 1950s work of the Boulting Brothers, and innumerable popular comedy series including the St Trinian's films, the ''Doctor'' series, and the long-running Carry On films. Some of the best known British film comedy stars include Will Hay, George Formby, Norman Wisdom, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers and the Monty Python team. Other actors associated with British comedy films include Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Margaret Rutherford, Irene Handl and Leslie Phillips. Most British comedy films of the early 1970s were spin-offs of television series. Recent successful films include the working-class comedies ''Brassed Off'' (1996) and ''The Full Monty'' (1997), the more middle class Richard Curtis-scripted films ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994) and ''Nottin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1951 Comedy Films
Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United Kingdom announces abandonment of the Tanganyika groundnut scheme for the cultivation of peanuts in the Tanganyika Territory, with the writing off of £36.5M debt. * January 15 – In a court in West Germany, Ilse Koch, The "Witch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment. * January 20 – Winter of Terror: Avalanches in the Alps kill 240 and bury 45,000 for a time, in Switzerland, Austria and Italy. * January 21 – Mount Lamington in Papua New Guinea 1951 eruption of Mount Lamington, erupts catastrophically, killing nearly 3,000 people and causing great devastation in Oro Province. * January 25 – Dutch author Anne de Vries releases the first volume of his children's nove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1951 Films
The year 1951 in film involved some significant events. Top-grossing films United States The top ten 1951 released films by box office gross in the United States are as follows: International The highest-grossing 1951 films in countries outside of North America. Worldwide gross The following table lists known worldwide gross figures for several high-grossing films that originally released in 1951. Note that this list is incomplete and is therefore not representative of the highest-grossing films worldwide in 1951. This list also includes gross revenue from later re-releases. Events * February 15 – new management takes over at United Artists with Arthur B. Krim, Robert Benjamin and Matty Fox now in charge. * April – French magazine '' Cahiers du cinéma'' is first published. * July 26 – Walt Disney's '' Alice in Wonderland'' premieres; while a disappointment at first and hardly released in theaters, it would later become one of the biggest cult classics in the ani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elspet Gray
Elspet Jean Gray, Baroness Rix (née Gray; 12 April 1929 – 18 February 2013) was a Scottish actress, who first became known for her partnership with her husband, Brian Rix, and later was cast in many television roles in the 1970s and 1980s. She played Lady Collingford in the television series ''Catweazle'' and Mrs. Palmer in the television series ''Solo'', alongside Felicity Kendal. Career Gray had a long stage career, particularly known for her appearances in the Whitehall farces, the company being managed by her husband Brian Rix, which were originally performed at the Whitehall Theatre and later at the Garrick. Gray appeared in many films and television programmes, her earliest being '' The Blind Goddess'' (1948). She had several roles in the 1970s including parts in ''Fawlty Towers'', as the paediatrician wife of a psychiatrist baffled by Basil Fawlty’s behaviour, ''The Crezz'', ''Catweazle'', and in the 1980s with ''Doctor Who'' story ''Arc of Infinity'' and the World ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Noble (actor)
Larry Noble (born 13 December 1914 in Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire) was a stage comedian and actor best known for starring in the Whitehall farces with Brian Rix. He starred in the original production of ''Reluctant Heroes'' and as the chirpy French jockey in ''Dry Rot''. On television, he made guest appearances in ''Last of the Summer Wine'' in 1975 and ''Blake's 7'' in 1981. He died on 9 September 1993, aged 78. Selected filmography * ''Not Wanted on Voyage ''Not Wanted on Voyage'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix and Catherine Boyle. The film was made at British National Studios. It is based on a play by Ken Attiwill and his wife ...'' (1957) References External links * English male stage actors 1993 deaths English male comedians 1914 births 20th-century English comedians Male actors from Huddersfield {{England-actor-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Rix
Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix, (27 January 1924 – 20 August 2016) was an English actor-manager, who produced a record-breaking sequence of long-running farces on the London stage, including ''Dry Rot'', '' Simple Spymen'' and ''One for the Pot''. His one-night TV shows made him the joint-highest paid star on the BBC. He often worked with his wife Elspet Gray and sister Sheila Mercier, who became the matriarch in ''Emmerdale Farm''. After his first child was born with Down syndrome, Rix became a campaigner for disability causes, among others. He entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher in 1992 and was president of Mencap from 1998 until his death. Biography Early years Rix was born in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, the youngest of four children. His father, Herbert Rix, and Herbert's two brothers, ran the shipping company Robert Rix in Hull, founded by his grandfather. Rix had an interest in cricket and only wished to play for Yorkshire in his childhood. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Rix, Baron Rix
Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix, (27 January 1924 – 20 August 2016) was an English actor-manager, who produced a record-breaking sequence of long-running farces on the London stage, including ''Dry Rot'', ''Simple Spymen'' and ''One for the Pot''. His one-night TV shows made him the joint-highest paid star on the BBC. He often worked with his wife Elspet Gray and sister Sheila Mercier, who became the matriarch in ''Emmerdale Farm''. After his first child was born with Down syndrome, Rix became a campaigner for disability causes, among others. He entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher in 1992 and was president of Mencap from 1998 until his death. Biography Early years Rix was born in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, the youngest of four children. His father, Herbert Rix, and Herbert's two brothers, ran the shipping company Robert Rix in Hull, founded by his grandfather. Rix had an interest in cricket and only wished to play for Yorkshire in his childhood. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
