|
Robert Dorning
Robert Dorning (13 May 1913 – 21 February 1989) was a musician, dance band vocalist, ballet dancer and stage, film and television actor. He is known to have performed in at least 77 television and film productions between 1940 and 1988. Origins Robert Dorning was born at 108 Croppers Hill in St Helens, Lancashire, England, on 13 May 1913. His father was Robert John Dorning who worked in a local pit as a coal miner haulier and his mother was Mary Elizabeth Dorning, formerly Howard. He was educated at Cowley Grammar School in St Helens, where he also learnt to play violin and saxophone. After leaving school, Dorning studied drama and dance in Liverpool with the intention of becoming a ballet dancer. During the 1930s he had a brief career as a musical comedian in theatre, before choosing acting as his profession. Film roles His first known film role was in the crime drama, ''They Came By Night'' (1940). However, his acting career was interrupted by World War II and Dorning serve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sweeney
''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as his partner, Detective Sergeant George Carter. It was produced by the Thames Television subsidiary Euston Films for broadcast on the ITV network in the UK between 2 January 1975 and 28 December 1978. The programme's title comes from the real-world Cockney rhyming slang nickname "Sweeney Todd" used to refer to the Flying Squad by London's criminal fraternity in the mid 20th Century. The popularity of the series in the UK led to two feature films, '' Sweeney!'' (1977) and ''Sweeney 2'' (1978), both starring Thaw and Waterman, and a later film, '' The Sweeney'' (2012), starring Ray Winstone as Regan and Ben Drew as Carter. Background ''The Sweeney'' was developed from a one-off TV drama entitled ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Polanski
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, nine César Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Golden Bear and a Palme d'Or. His Polish–Jewish parents moved the family from his birthplace in Paris back to Kraków in 1937.Paul Werner, ''Polański. Biografia'', Poznań: Rebis, 2013, p. 13. Two years later, the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany started World War II, and the family found themselves trapped in the Kraków Ghetto. After his mother and father were taken in raids, Polanski spent his formative years in foster homes, surviving the Holocaust by adopting a false identity and concealing his Jewish heritage. Polanski's first feature-length film, ''Knife in the Water'' (1962), was made in Poland and was nominated for the United States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dad's Army
''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC One, BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran for nine series and 80 episodes in total; a Dad's Army (1971 film), feature film released in 1971, a stage show and a radio version based on the television scripts were also produced. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still shown internationally. The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, either because of age (hence the title ''Dad's Army''), medical reasons or by being in Reserved occupation, professions exempt from conscription. Most of the platoon members in ''Dad's Army'' are over military age and the series stars several older British actors, including Arnold Ridley, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rising Damp
Structural dampness is the presence of unwanted moisture in the structure of a building, either the result of intrusion from outside or condensation from within the structure. A high proportion of damp problems in buildings are caused by ambient climate dependent factors of condensation and rain penetration. Capillary penetration of fluid from the ground up through concrete or masonry is known as "rising damp" and is governed by the shape and porosity of the construction materials through which this evaporation-limited capillary penetration takes place. Structural damp, regardless of the mechanisms through which it takes place, is exacerbated by higher levels of humidity. Dampness control is fundamental to the proper functioning of any building. Controlling moisture is important to protect occupants from adverse health effects and to protect the building, its mechanical systems and its contents from physical or chemical damage. Symptoms Dampness tends to cause secondary damag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wodehouse Playhouse
''Wodehouse Playhouse'' is a British television comedy series based on the short stories of P. G. Wodehouse. From 1974 to 1978, a pilot and three series were made, with 21 half-hour episodes altogether in the entire series. The series has been released on home video. Production P. G. Wodehouse introduced the episodes in the first series. These introductions were filmed in January 1975, shortly before his death. The pilot episode aired in the anthology series ''Comedy Playhouse''. The first and second series of ''Wodehouse Playhouse'' initially aired on BBC1. Reruns of these episodes aired on BBC2 in 1977, and the third series first aired on BBC2. The episodes were broadcast in the US on PBS television stations. In 2003, the series was released on home video. David Climie adapted all the episodes, including the pilot. The first series was produced by David Askey, the second series was produced by Michael Mills, and the third series was produced by Gareth Gwenlan. With the exc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steptoe And Son
''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black and white from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974 in colour. The lead roles were played by Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett. The theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by Ron Grainer. The series was voted 15th in a 2004 poll by the BBC to find ''Britain's Best Sitcom''. It was remade in the United States as '' Sanford and Son'', in Sweden as ''Albert & Herbert'', in the Netherlands as ''Stiefbeen en zoon'', in Portugal as ''Camilo & Filho'', and in South Africa as ''Snetherswaite and Son''. Two film adaptations of the series were released in cinemas, ''Steptoe and Son'' (1972) and ''Steptoe and Son Ride Again'' (1973). The series focused on the inter-generational conflict of father and son. Albert Steptoe, a "dirty old ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bootsie And Snudge
''Bootsie and Snudge'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV for three series from 1960 to 1963, with a fourth in 1974. The show is a spin-off of ''The Army Game'', a sitcom about soldiers undertaking national service, and follows two of the main characters (played by Alfie Bass and Bill Fraser) after they returned to civilian life. The first series is titled ''Bootsie and Snudge in Civvy Life''. Between the 1963 and 1974 series, a spin-off called ''Foreign Affairs'' was broadcast. Background Bass and Fraser acted together in minor roles in the 1956 comedy film ''Jumping for Joy'' starring Frankie Howerd and possibly developed a friendship from that point. Private Montague 'Bootsie' Bisley and Sergeant-Major Claude Snudge are two of the main characters in the successful sitcom ''The Army Game'' that aired from 1957 to 1961. Snudge enjoys his position of superiority over Bootsie, whilst Bootsie feels comfortable in his position as it allows him to mock and hate Snudge (and attack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hancock's Half Hour
''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Galton and Simpson, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James, Sidney James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams. The final television series, renamed simply ''Hancock'', starred Hancock alone. Comedian Tony Hancock starred in the show, playing an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, a down-at-heel comedian living at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings in Cheam, East Cheam. The series was influential in the development of the Sitcom, situation comedy, with its move away from radio variety towards a focus on character development. The radio version was produced by Dennis Main Wilson for most of its run. After Main Wilson departed for his television career, his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mona Lisa (1986 Film)
''Mona Lisa'' is a 1986 British neo-noir crime drama film about an ex-convict who becomes entangled in the dangerous life of a high-class call girl. The film was written by Neil Jordan and David Leland, and directed by Jordan. It was produced by HandMade Films and stars Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, and Michael Caine. The film was nominated for multiple awards, and Bob Hoskins was nominated for several awards for his performance (including the Academy Award for Best Actor), winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Plot George, a low-level working-class gangster recently released after seven years in prison, is given a job in London by his former boss, Denny Mortwell, as the driver and bodyguard for a high-priced prostitute named Simone. Mortwell also wants George to gather information on one of Simone's wealthy customers for blackmail purposes. Simone, who has worked hard to develop high-class manners a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evil Under The Sun (1982 Film)
''Evil Under the Sun'' is a 1982 British mystery film based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie and directed by Guy Hamilton. Peter Ustinov stars as Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective whom he had previously played in ''Death on the Nile'' (1978). Plot A hiker finds a dead woman on the North York Moors in England. The victim had been strangled and is identified as Alice Ruber. Around the same time, Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is asked by an insurance company to examine a diamond ring belonging to millionaire industrialist Sir Horace Blatt. Poirot agrees that it is a fake and assures the company that Sir Horace would have given a real diamond to his mistress Arlena Stuart Marshall; she had apparently returned a fake version after their split. Poirot agrees to meet Marshall at an exclusive Adriatic Sea island and confront her. The hotel is the former summer palace of the reigning King of Tyrania, now owned by Daphne Castle, who had received the palace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ragtime (film)
''Ragtime'' is a 1981 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman, based on the 1975 historical novel ''Ragtime'' by E.L. Doctorow. The film is set in and around turn-of-the-century New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film stars James Cagney, Mary Steenburgen, Howard Rollins, Brad Dourif, James Olson and Elizabeth McGovern, features the final film appearances of Cagney and Pat O'Brien, and features early appearances in small parts by Jeff Daniels, Fran Drescher, Samuel L. Jackson, Ethan Phillips and John Ratzenberger. Plot At the turn of the 20th century, architect Stanford White unveils a nude statue atop Madison Square Garden, modeled after former chorus girl Evelyn Nesbit. After learning of this, Nesbit's husband, billionaire industrialist Harry Kendall Thaw, becomes convinced White has corrupted her and publicly shoots him dead. An upper-class family resides in New Rochelle, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Human Factor (1979 Film)
''The Human Factor'' is a 1979 British neo noir film starring Nicol Williamson, Robert Morley, and Richard Attenborough, and directed and produced by Otto Preminger. It is based on the 1978 novel '' The Human Factor'' by Graham Greene, with the screenplay written by Tom Stoppard. It examines British espionage, and the difficulty of ferreting out a mole in one's intelligence service ranks. This was Preminger's last film. Plot Maurice Castle (Nicol Williamson) is a well-bred, mid-level bureaucrat in MI6 whose life seems unremarkable, apart from the fact that he has an African wife, Sarah ( Iman), and son, Sam (Gary Forbes). The company regime, represented by éminence grise Dr. Percival (Robert Morley) and agency higher-up Sir John Hargreaves (Richard Vernon), advise newly appointed security chief Daintry (Richard Attenborough) that analysis of intel from a double-agent they have planted in Moscow indicates there is a leak in Castle's department. The info being shared with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
