|
Spiv
A spiv is a petty criminal in the United Kingdom who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. Spivs were particularly active during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed due to shortages. According to Peter Wollen, "the crucial difference between the spiv and the classic Hollywood gangster was the degree of sympathy the spiv gained as an intermediary in the transfer of black market goods to ... a grateful mass of consumers."Peter Wollen (2002) ''Paris Hollywood - Writings on Film'' pp185–6 Origins The origin of the word is obscure. "Spiv" was the nickname of Henry Bagster, an early 1900s small-time London crook who was frequently arrested for illegal street trading and confidence tricks. National newspapers reported his court appearances between 1903 and 1906 and his nickname from 1904. The term spiv first appeared in print in a non-fiction crime paperback (C. G. Gordon's ''Crooks of Underworld'') in a horseracing context in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flash Harry (St Trinian's)
Henry Cuthbert Edwards aka Flash Harry is a fictional character from the St. Trinian's series of films who first appears in the 1954 ''The Belles of St Trinian's'' and who may also be a spiv. The term refers to "an ostentatious, loudly-dressed, and usually ill-mannered man". The best-known portrayer is George Cole (actor), George Cole in the 1950s–1960s films. In the St Trinian's films, Harry is a long-term associate of the girl pupils, a Cockney involved in all sorts of shady dealings. His father sold racecards and, when he was 12, Harry himself was employed as a boot polisher by Miss Fritton, headmistress of St Trinian's, and may be an antithesis of Harry Flashman (the bully) of the 1857 book ''Tom Brown's School Days''. As an adult, Harry is one of the few whom the pupils trust: he helps to bottle and sell their gin, distilled in the school chemistry lab, and places bets on race horses for them. Harry also runs the St Trinian's Matrimonial Agency for the teenage Sixth Form girl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiff
A spiff, or spiv, is slang for an immediate bonus for a sale. Typically, spiffs are paid, either by a manufacturer or employer, directly to a salesperson for selling a ''specific'' product. It is sometimes given as SPIF or SPIFF, a backronym, with invented words to fit the letters. Origin An early reference to a spiff can be found in a slang dictionary of 1859; "The percentage allowed by drapers to their young men when they effect sale of old fashioned or undesirable stock."Oxford English Dictionary (1989) 2nd edition An article in the ''Pall Mall Gazette'' of 1890 on the practices in London shops uses the term: a "spiff" system is usually adopted, spiffs being premiums placed on certain articles, ''not'' of the last fashion, indicated by a marvelous hieroglyphic put on the price ticket. These marks are well known by the assistant, and the almost invisible mystic sign explains why an article, wholly unsuitable, is foisted on the jaded customer as "just the thing."''Pall Mall G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur English
Arthur Leslie Norman English (9 May 1919 – 16 April 1995) was an English television, film and stage actor and comedian from the music hall tradition. Early life English was born at 22 Lysons Road in Aldershot,'Arthur English, ''Aldershot Historical & Archaeological Society'' (AHAS), Yearbook 23 (2010) pg7 Hampshire, the son of Walter Frederick English (1856–1948) and Ethel English (née Parsons) (1886–1975), who married at Holy Trinity church in Aldershot in 1909. Arthur English had two older brothers: Walter (born 1910) and John Edgar (born 1912). All three boys were born in their parents' bedroom in Lysons Road and all three were baptised at Holy Trinity church. He attended West End Boys School in Aldershot (now the West End Centre) from the age of 5 to 14. His first stage appearance was aged 10 when he joined a group from Gale & Polden called the 'Five O'clock Follies' as an acrobat.AHAS, pg8 On leaving school in 1933 he briefly worked at Fisher's Hotel in nearby F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Worby
John Worby (born in 1911, active 1930s–1940s) was an English tramp memoirist and self-described spiv. He is best known for his controversial memoir ''The Other Half'' (1937), which chronicled his experiences of homelessness, vagrancy and petty criminality across Britain and North America.Lewin Davies, Luke. ''The Tramp in British Literature, 1850–1950''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. The book was rebranded in subsequent editions to emphasize his underworld connections, reflecting the growing public fascination with marginalized figures during the 1930s Great Depression in Britain and Europe in general.Middleton, Roger. "British Monetary and Fiscal Policy in the 1930s." ''Oxford Review of Economic Policy'', vol. 26, no. 3, 2010, pp. 414–441. Oxford University Press, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/grq024. A sequel, ''Spiv's Progress'' (1939), expanded on his earlier reflections and articulated a clearer anti-conformist, anti-work philosophy. Early years John Worby's early years w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waterloo Road (film)
''Waterloo Road'' is a 1945 British film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring John Mills, Stewart Granger, and Alastair Sim. It was written by Gilliat from a story by Val Valentine. According to the British Film Institute, it is the third in an "unofficial trilogy" by Gilliat, preceded by '' Millions Like Us'' (1943) and '' Two Thousand Women'' (1944). Plot A soldier, Jim Colter, goes AWOL to return to his home in Waterloo, London, to save his wife from the advances of Ted Purvis, a philandering conscription-dodger. Cast * John Mills as Jim Colter * Stewart Granger as Ted Purvis * Alastair Sim as Dr. Montgomery * Joy Shelton as Tillie Colter * Alison Leggatt as Ruby * Beatrice Varley as Mrs. Colter * George Carney as Tom Mason * Leslie Bradley as Mike Duggan * Jean Kent as Toni * Ben Williams as Corporal Lewis * Anna Konstam as May * Vera Frances as Vera Colter * George Merritt as air raid warden * Ian Fleming as officer at station * Wylie Watson as tatto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
No Way Back (1949 Film)
''No Way Back'' is a 1949 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Stefan Osiecki and starring Terence De Marney, Eleanor Summerfield and Jack Raine. It was written by Thomas Burke, Osiecki and De Marney, from a short story by Burke. The story concerns an injured boxer who sinks into bad company when his fighting career comes to an end leading to a spiral of crime. Plot Johnnie Thompson, a veteran and popular boxer known as "The Croucher" for his distinctive fighting style, enters the ring against a much younger opponent Tommy McGovern. Despite his years of hard living, Thompson remains confident of winning but soon finds himself in trouble. Drawing on all his reserves he is able to knock his opponent down but not out. McGovern gets up and then knocks Thompson out for a ten count. Thompson still hopes to continue his career and regain his title, but a visit to the Doctor's informs him that the sight in one of his eyes has gone. He realises he will be unable to figh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres during a 37-year career, three decades of which he spent as a Leading actor, leading man. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Gable as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, seventh greatest male screen legend of classical Hollywood cinema. Gable won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Frank Capra's ''It Happened One Night'' (1934) and earned nominations in the same category for portraying Fletcher Christian in Frank Lloyd's ''Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film), Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935) and Rhett Butler in Victor Fleming's ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939). For his Comedy, comedic performances in George Seaton's ''Teacher's Pet (1958 film), Teacher's Pet'' (1958) and Walter Lang's ''But Not for Me (fil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Third Man
''The Third Man'' is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. Set in post-World War II Allied-occupied Vienna, the film centres on American writer Holly Martins, who arrives in the city to accept a job with his friend Harry Lime, only to learn that he has died. Martins stays in Vienna to investigate Lime's death, becoming infatuated with Lime's girlfriend Anna Schmidt. The use of black-and-white German expressionist-influenced cinematography by Robert Krasker, with its harsh lighting and Dutch angles, is a major feature of ''The Third Man''. Combined with the use of ruined locations in Vienna, the style evokes exhaustion and cynicism at the start of the Cold War. Greene wrote a novella as a treatment for the screenplay. Composer Anton Karas' title composition " The Third Man Theme" topped the international mus ... [...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 Irish nationalist 'organisation' member Johnny McQueen has been hiding for six months, since his escape from prison, in a house occupied by Kathleen Sullivan (who has fallen in love with Johnny) and her gran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It Always Rains On Sunday
''It Always Rains on Sunday'' is a 1947 British film adaptation of Arthur La Bern's novel of the same name, directed by Robert Hamer. The film has been compared with the poetic realism movement in the French cinema of a few years earlier by the British writers Robert Murphy and Graham Fuller. Synopsis The film concerns events taking place one Sunday (23 March 1947, according to the announcement blackboard at the local underground station) in Bethnal Green, a part of the East End of London that had suffered the effects of bombing and post-war deprivation. Rose Sandigate is a former barmaid married to a middle-aged man who has two teenage daughters from a previous marriage. She is now a housewife, but with her wounded heart and kindly husband is coping with the difficulties of post-war rationing and a drab environment. As Rose discovers from a newspaper report, her former lover, Tommy Swann, who has served four years of a seven-year sentence for robbery with violence, has escape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
They Made Me A Fugitive
''They Made Me a Fugitive'' (also known as ''They Made Me a Criminal''; U.S. title: ''I Became a Criminal'') is a 1947 British black-and-white film noir directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Sally Gray and Trevor Howard. It was written by Noel Langley, based on the 1941 Jackson Budd novel ''A Convict Has Escaped.'' Cinematography was by Otto Heller. It is set in postwar England.'' Variety'' film review; 2 July 1947, page 13.'' Harrison's Reports'' film review (14 February 1948), page 26 Plot Clem Morgan, demobilised from the Royal Air Force and unemployed after the war, helps in the stealing and transporting of black market goods in coffins to crime boss Narcy's (short for Narcissus) headquarters in a funeral parlour. Clem finds the activity harmless enough, until one day he finds drugs in the latest coffin. Clem objects and tells his girlfriend, Ellie, that he will quit after one last job that night, the looting of a warehouse. Narcy betrays him, triggering the burgla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Night And The City
''Night and the City'' is a 1950 British film noir directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney and Googie Withers. It is based on the novel of the same name by Gerald Kersh. Shot on location in London and at Shepperton Studios, the plot revolves around an ambitious hustler who meets continual failures. Dassin later confessed that he had never read the novel upon which the film is based. In an interview appearing on The Criterion Collection DVD release, Dassin recalls that the casting of Tierney was in response to a request by Darryl Zanuck, who was concerned that personal problems had rendered the actress "suicidal" and hoped that work would improve her state of mind. The film's British version was five minutes longer, with a more upbeat ending and featuring a completely different film score. Dassin endorsed the American version as closer to his vision. The film contains a very tough and prolonged fight scene between Stanislaus Zbyszko, a celeb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
