Sidney Toler
Sidney Toler (born Hooper G. Toler Jr., April 28, 1874 – February 12, 1947) was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. The second European-American actor to play the role of Charlie Chan on screen, he is best remembered for his portrayal of the Chinese-American detective in 22 films made between 1938 and 1946. Before becoming Chan, Toler played supporting roles in 50 motion pictures, and was a highly regarded comic actor on the Broadway stage. Early life and career Hooper G. Toler Jr., who was called Sidney Toler from childhood, was born April 28, 1874, in Warrensburg, Missouri. He showed an early interest in the theater, acting in an amateur production of ''Tom Sawyer'' at the age of seven. He left the University of Kansas and became a professional actor in 1892, playing the heavy in a performance of a melodrama called ''The Master Man'' in Kansas City. In 1894, he joined the Corse Payton company and toured for four years. His success in leading roles at the Le ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Warrensburg, Missouri
Warrensburg is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 20,313 at the 2020 census. The Warrensburg Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Johnson County. The city is a college town as it is home to the University of Central Missouri. History Warrensburg was founded in 1835 by European-American settlers John and Martin D. Warren, who gave the town their last name. A post office called Warrensburg has been in operation since 1837. The phrase "Man's best friend" is based on a famous trial over the killing of Old Drum, a dog in shot in Warrensburg. In 1958, a statue of Old Drum was erected on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn containing a summation of Vest's closing speech, “A man’s best friend is his dog.” Demographics The current mayor is Jim Kushner. 2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 18,838 people, 6,803 households, and 3,400 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 7,450 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Bait (1921 Film)
''The Bait'' is a 1921 American silent crime drama film produced by and starring Hope Hampton, directed by Maurice Tourneur, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. John Gilbert, then working for Tourneur, wrote the scenario (silent film version of a screenplay) based on the stage play ''The Tiger Lady'' by Sidney Toler. Filmed in 1920, the picture was released a day after New Year's 1921. ''The Bait'' is now considered to be a lost film. This 1921 release should not be confused with the 1916 film ''The Bait'', which was directed by William J. Bowman and starred Betty Harte and William Clifford. AFI. Retrieved October 7, 2018. Plot Joan Grainger (Hampton) is about to be "sent up" to prison after being falsely accused of stealing when she is kidnapped by Bennett Barton (McDo ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The World Changes
''The World Changes'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Paul Muni as an ambitious farm boy who becomes rich, but does not handle success well. Aline MacMahon and Mary Astor play his mother and wife respectively. Plot summary On the wagon trail in Dakota Territory 1856 (Indian territory) A pregnant woman exits a wagon and digs her hands into soil. She and her husband decide to stop there to build a settlement cabin for a simple farm life. Orin, the father, plows fields while Anna, the Mother chops wood. Another wagon family is spotted. Orin Jr. is an infant. That family is also moving West (California) to live off land and raise a family in peace. Orin Sr. welcomes them to become neighbors. Anna muses that they will live there forever. Orin Sr speculates they will build a town with hundreds of families moving in. Orinville is established 1867 A Wedding celebration in town of Orinville. Orin Sr. gives a speech and mentions that he h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Phantom President
''The Phantom President'' is a 1932 American pre-Code musical comedy and political satire film. It was directed by Norman Taurog, starred George M. Cohan, Claudette Colbert, and Jimmy Durante, with songs by Richard Rodgers (music) and Lorenz Hart (lyrics). According to Rodgers, Cohan deeply resented having to work with Rodgers and Hart on the film. Cohan was bitter that his type of musical theatre had gone out of fashion, supplanted by the more literate and musically sophisticated shows of Rodgers and Hart, among others. During the filming, Cohan would sarcastically refer to Rodgers and Hart as "Gilbert and Sullivan". However, in 1937 Cohan starred in ''I'd Rather Be Right'', a musical with songs by Rodgers and Hart. (In the Cohan biopic ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'', the segments dealing with ''I'd Rather Be Right'' only mention librettists George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, not Rodgers and Hart.) Plot ''The Phantom President'' tells the fictional story of American presidential candi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blonde Venus
''Blonde Venus'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film starring Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall and Cary Grant. It was produced and directed by Josef von Sternberg from a screenplay by Jules Furthman and S. K. Lauren, adapted from a story by Furthman and von Sternberg. The original story "Mother Love" was written by Dietrich herself. The musical score was by W. Franke Harling, John Leipold, Paul Marquardt and Oscar Potoker, with cinematography by Bert Glennon. Dietrich performs three musical numbers in the film, including "You Little So-and-So" (music and lyrics by Sam Coslow and Leo Robin) and "I Couldn't Be Annoyed" (music and lyrics by Leo Robin and Richard A. Whiting). The film's highlight may be the performance of the infamous "Hot Voodoo" (music by Ralph Rainger, lyrics by Sam Coslow), which is nearly eight minutes in length and mostly instrumental, featuring jazz trumpet and drums. Dietrich sings the lyrics toward the end of the sequence, which takes place in a night ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tom Brown Of Culver
''Tom Brown of Culver'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by William Wyler. culver.lib.in.us; accessed August 5, 2015. Plot A young man attends . He is the only son of a deceased soldier who won the Congressional Medal of Honor.References External links ''Tom Brown of Culver'' at [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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White Shoulders
''White Shoulders'' is a lost 1931 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Melville W. Brown and starring Mary Astor and Jack Holt, with major supporting roles by Ricardo Cortez and Sidney Toler. The film was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and J. Walter Ruben was adapted from Rex Beach's short story, ''The Recoil''. The film touched on the topics of gold-digging, adultery, bigamy, gigolos, and theft. The rights to the story were optioned in late 1930, and the film went into production in March 1931. After approximately four weeks of filming, the film was screened in May. A remake of the 1924 silent film entitled '' The Recoil'', RKO released the film on June 6, 1931, and it did not perform well at the box office, making it yet another film by RKO to suffer a similar fate. Critically, it was a mixed batch of opinions, ranging from poor to very good. Most reviewers enjoyed at least some of the acting, but virtually all thought the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leadership The institute is composed of leaders from the film, entertainment, business, and academic communities. The board of trustees is chaired by Kathleen Kennedy and the board of directors chaired by Robert A. Daly guide the organization, which is led by President and CEO, film historian Bob Gazzale. Prior leaders were founding director George Stevens Jr. (from the organization's inception in 1967 until 1980) and Jean Picker Firstenberg (from 1980 to 2007). History The American Film Institute was founded by a 1965 presidential mandate announced in the Rose Garden of the White House by Lyndon B. Johnson—to establish a national arts organization to preserve the legacy of American film heritage, educate the next generation of filmmaker ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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AFI Catalog Of Feature Films
The ''AFI Catalog of Feature Films'', also known as the ''AFI Catalog'', is an ongoing project by the American Film Institute (AFI) to catalog all commercially-made and theatrically exhibited American motion pictures from the birth of cinema in 1893 to the present. It began as a series of hardcover books known as ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures'', and subsequently became an exclusively online filmographic database. Each entry in the catalog typically includes the film's title, physical description, production and distribution companies, production and release dates, cast and production credits, a plot summary, song titles, and notes on the film's history. The films are indexed by personal credits, production and distribution companies, year of release, and major and minor plot subjects. To qualify for the "Feature Films" volumes, a film must have been commercially produced either on American soil or by an American company. In accordance with the Intern ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Madame X (1929 Film)
''Madame X'' is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Lionel Barrymore, and starring Ruth Chatterton as a fallen woman who longs to be reunited with her son. The film is based on the 1908 play ''Madame X'' by French playwright Alexandre Bisson (1848-1912). Plot Jacqueline Floriot (Chatterton) is thrown out into the street without any money by her jealous husband Louis (Lewis Stone) when he discovers she had been carrying on an affair. She is not even allowed to see their four-year-old son, and sinks into depravity. Twenty years later, she has become the mistress of Laroque ( Ullrich Haupt), a cardsharp. When he finds out that her husband is now the attorney general, Laroque decides to blackmail him. Desperate to shield her son from her disgrace, she shoots and kills her lover. By chance, the lawyer assigned to her turns out to be her own son, on his first case. He is puzzled and frustrated when she refuses to defend herself in court. During the trial, her husband sho ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Belasco
David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of many actors, including James O'Neill, Mary Pickford, Lenore Ulric, and Barbara Stanwyck. Belasco pioneered many innovative new forms of stage lighting and special effects in order to create realism and naturalism.Osnes, Beth, and Gill, Sam. ''Acting: An International Encyclopedia'', ABC-CLIO (2001) p. 34Marker, Lise-Lone, ''David Belasco: Naturalism in the American Theater'', Princeton Univ. Press (1975) Early years David Belasco was born in 1853 in San Francisco, California, the son of Abraham H. Belasco (1830–1911) and Reyna Belasco (née Nunes, 1830–1899), Sephardic Jews who had immigrated to the United States from London's Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community during the California Gold Rush. He began working as a youth in a San ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ritzy (play)
''Ritzy'' is a 1930 comedy play by Sidney Toler and Viva Tattersall. It ran for 32 performances at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway with a cast that included Miriam Hopkins and Ernest Truex Ernest Truex (September 19, 1889 – June 26, 1973) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Career Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Truex learned acting at an early age after his father, a doctor, treated actor Edwin Melvin, who .... A financially struggling couple living in a cheap hotel believe they have inherited a huge sum of money, until the discovery of closer relatives means they will not receive the fortune.Hischak p.390 References Bibliography * Allan R. Ellenberger. ''Miriam Hopkins: Life and Films of a Hollywood Rebel''. University Press of Kentucky, 2017. * Thomas S. Hischak. ''Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows through 2007''. McFarland, 2009. 1930 plays Broadway plays Comedy plays {{1930s-play-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |