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Sam Kydd
Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He also played a recurring character in ''Coronation Street''. Kydd's first film was ''The Captive Heart'' (1946), in which he played a POW. He made over 290 films, more than any other British actor, including 119 between 1946 and 1952. Early life and career An army officer's son, Kydd was born on 15 February 1915 in Belfast, Ireland, and moved to London as a child. He was educated at Dunstable School in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. During the mid-1930s Kydd was an MC for the Oscar Rabin Band and one of his "Hot Shots". He would warm up audiences with jokes and impressions (Maurice Chevalier was a favourite) and even some tap dance routines then introduce the other singers and attractions on the bill. During the late 1930s he had joined the Terri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscar Rabin Band
The Oscar Rabin Band was a popular British dance band in the first half of the twentieth century. Formation Oscar Rabin formed his first band with Harry Davis, the Romany Five at the Palace Hotel in Southend in 1924 in which Rabin played violin and Davis played banjo and sang. Later the band moved to the north of England and expanded to eight players. During the next decade they formed a dance band in which Oscar played bass saxophone. The band returned to London at the beginning of the 1930s for an engagement at the Wimbledon Palais in London, by which time it had expanded to nine players. They stayed at Wimbledon for two years after which they moved to the upmarket Astoria in Charing Cross Road. Later in the 1930s British actor Sam Kydd acted as the band's master of ceremonies. Oscar Rabin seldom led the band. His role was to run the business side. His partner Harry Davis, who occasionally played guitar, was good with audiences and conducted the band while Oscar remained in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom and the second-largest in Ireland. It had a population of 345,418 . By the early 19th century, Belfast was a major port. It played an important role in the Industrial Revolution in Ireland, briefly becoming the biggest linen-producer in the world, earning it the nickname "Linenopolis". By the time it was granted city status in 1888, it was a major centre of Irish linen production, tobacco-processing and rope-making. Shipbuilding was also a key industry; the Harland and Wolff shipyard, which built the , was the world's largest shipyard. Industrialisation, and the resulting inward migration, made Belfast one of Ireland's biggest cities. Following the partition of Ireland in 1921, Belfast became the seat of government for Northern Ireland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the name of the contingent of the British Army sent to France in 1939 after Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany on 3 September, beginning the Second World War. The BEF existed from 2 September 1939 when the BEF GHQ was formed until 31 May 1940, when GHQ closed down and its troops reverted to the command of Home Forces. During the 1930s, the British government had planned to deter war by abolishing the Ten Year Rule and rearming from the very low level of readiness of the early 1930s. The bulk of the extra money went to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force but plans were made to re-equip a small number of Army and Territorial Army divisions for service overseas. General Lord Gort was appointed to the command of the BEF on 3 September 1939 and the BEF began moving to France on 4 September 1939. The BEF assembled along the Belgian–French border. The BEF took their post to the left of the French First Army under the com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yangtse Incident (1957 Film)
''Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst'' (1957) is a British war film that tells the story of the British sloop caught up in the Chinese Civil War and involved in the 1949 Yangtze Incident. Directed by Michael Anderson, it stars Richard Todd, William Hartnell, and Akim Tamiroff. It was based upon the book written by Lawrence Earl. The film was known in the US by the alternative titles ''Battle Hell'', ''Escape of the Amethyst'', ''Their Greatest Glory'' and ''Yangtze Incident''. Non-English language titles include the direct German translation of ''Yangtse-Zwischenfall'', and ''Commando sur le Yang-Tse'' in France. In Belgium it was known as ''Feu sur le Yangtse'' (French) and ''Vuur op de Yangtse'' (Flemish/Dutch), both meaning ''"Fire on the Yangtse"''. The film was entered into the 1957 Cannes Film Festival. Plot On 19 April 1949, the Royal Navy frigate HMS ''Amethyst'' sails up the Yangtze River on her way to Nanking, the Chinese capital, to deliver supplies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sink The Bismarck!
''Sink the Bismarck!'' is a 1960 black-and-white CinemaScope British war film based on the 1959 book ''The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck'' by C. S. Forester. It stars Kenneth More and Dana Wynter and was directed by Lewis Gilbert.Weiler, A.H"Movie Review – Sink the Bismarck – Of Men and Ships."''The New York Times''. To date, it is the only film made that deals directly with the operations, chase and sinking of the battleship by the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Although war films were common in the 1960s, ''Sink the Bismarck!'' was seen as something of an anomaly, with much of its time devoted to the "unsung back-room planners as much as on the combatants themselves". Its historical accuracy, in particular, met with much praise despite a number of inconsistencies. ''Sink the Bismarck!'' was the inspiration for Johnny Horton's popular 1960 song, " Sink the Bismarck".Polmar and Cavas 2009, p. 251. The film had its Royal World Premiere in the presence of the Du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Cruel Sea (1953 Film)
''The Cruel Sea'' is a 1953 British war film starring Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister. Made by Ealing Studios seven years after the end of the Second World War, it was directed by Charles Frend and produced by Leslie Norman. The film portrays the conditions in which the Battle of the Atlantic was fought between the Royal Navy and Germany's U-boats, seen from the viewpoint of the British naval officers and seamen who served in convoy escorts. It is based on the best-selling 1951 novel of the same name by former naval officer Nicholas Monsarrat, though the screenplay by Eric Ambler omits some of the novel's grimmest moments. Plot A voice-over by Lieutenant-Commander George Ericson (Jack Hawkins), a British Merchant Navy officer in the Royal Naval Reserve, declares: This is a story of the Battle of the Atlantic, the story of an ocean, two ships, and a handful of men. The men are the heroes; the heroine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chance Of A Lifetime (1950 Film)
''Chance of a Lifetime'' is a 1950 British film starring, produced, co-written and directed by Bernard Miles. Its depiction of industrial relations was seen as controversial and distributors initially refused to screen it. It was nominated for the 1951 BAFTA for Best British Film, which was awarded to ''The Blue Lamp''. Plot In the times of austerity after the Second World War, Dickinson works hard to try to keep his failing agricultural implements factory going. His disgruntled workers do not appreciate his efforts, however, and resent Bland, his bullying works manager. He has a suggestion box installed after workers complain he never listens to them but, after the works manager threatens latecomers, the only response is insulting. When Bland sacks the author of the suggestion, Bolger, the workforce go on strike. Dickinson confronts them and, in the heat of the moment, tells them he works much harder than they do and dares them to run the business themselves. Baxter gets the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or born within earshot of Bow Bells, although it most commonly refers to the broad variety of English native to London. Estuary English is an intermediate accent between Cockney and Received Pronunciation, also widely spoken in and around London, as well as in wider southeastern England. In multicultural areas of London, the Cockney dialect is, to an extent, being replaced by Multicultural London English—a new form of speech with significant Cockney influence. Words and phrases Etymology of Cockney The earliest recorded use of the term is 1362 in passus VI of William Langland's ''Piers Plowman'', where it is used to mean "a small, misshapen egg", from Middle English ''coken'' + ''ey'' ("a cock's egg"). Concurrently, the mythical land of l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I'm All Right Jack
''I'm All Right Jack'' is a 1959 British comedy film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting from a script by Frank Harvey, John Boulting and Alan Hackney based on the 1958 novel ''Private Life'' by Alan Hackney. The film is a sequel to the Boultings' 1956 film ''Private's Progress'' and Ian Carmichael, Dennis Price, Richard Attenborough, Terry-Thomas and Miles Malleson reprise their characters. Peter Sellers played one of his best remembered roles as the trades union shop steward Fred Kite, and won a BAFTA Best Actor Award. The rest of the cast included many well-known British comedy actors of the time. The film is a satire on British industrial life in the 1950s. The title is a well-known English expression indicating smug and complacent selfishness. The trade unions, workers and bosses are all seen to be incompetent or corrupt. The film is one of the satires made by the Boulting Brothers between 1956 and 1963. Plot Stanley Windrush chats with his father at the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The 39 Steps (1959 Film)
''The 39 Steps'' is a 1959 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Kenneth More and Taina Elg. Produced by Betty Box, it is a remake of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, loosely based on the 1915 novel '' The Thirty-Nine Steps'' by John Buchan. In the film, diplomat Richard Hannay returns home to London, only to become inadvertently embroiled in the death of a British spy investigating the head of an organisation planning to sell the secret of a British ballistic missile. Hannay thus travels to Scotland to escape the police, and attempts to complete the spy's work. It is the first colour version of the Buchan tale, and, unlike the mainly studio-bound original, features extensive location shooting. Several large set pieces (such as Hannay's escape from the train on the Forth Bridge and the music hall finale) and much of the dialogue are taken from the original film. As with the Hitchcock version, the scenario was contemporary rather than the pre-Great War sett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Father Brown (film)
''Father Brown'' is a 1954 British mystery comedy film directed by Robert Hamer and starring Alec Guinness as the title character with Joan Greenwood, Peter Finch and Cecil Parker. Like the American film ''Father Brown, Detective'' (1934), it is based loosely on ''The Blue Cross'' (1910), the first Father Brown short story by G. K. Chesterton. It was shot at the Riverside Studios in London. The film's sets were designed by the art director John Hawkesworth. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures in both Britain and the United States where it was released as ''The Detective''. It was screened at the 1954 Venice Film Festival. Plot The police raid a premises at night and find a priest at an open safe: he explains he is replacing the money for a parishioner. He is arrested and put in the cells but released when the bishop confirms who he is. Outside he meets the erring parishioner Bert (Sid James) and convinces him to be a chauffeur to Lady Warren rather than drive get-away ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Blue Lamp
''The Blue Lamp'' is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that traditionally hung outside British police stations (and often still do). The film became the inspiration for the 1955–1976 TV series ''Dixon of Dock Green'', where Jack Warner continued to play PC Dixon until he was 80 years old (even though Dixon's murder is the central plot of the original film). The screenplay was written by ex-policeman T.E.B. Clarke. The film is an early example of the "social realism" films that emerged later in the 1950s and 1960s, sometimes using a partial documentary-like approach. There are also cinematic influences of the film noir genre, particularly in underworld scenes featuring Bogarde's Tom Riley, such as the pool rooms and in and around the theatre, making deliberate use of genre trademarks like slow mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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