The Abductors
''The Abductors'' is a 1957 American film noir crime film directed by Andrew McLaglen and starring Victor McLaglen, George Macready and Gavin Muir. It was produced by Regal Films. Maury Dexter described the film as "not too hot" but liked McLaglen's work enough to hire him as director on '' The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come''. Plot Illinois, 1876: Tom Muldoon turns up in the capital city of Springfield, telling an old acquaintance, undertaker John Langley, that he has just gotten out of prison in Joliet. He shows Langley a new $50 bill created by a counterfeiter who had been his cellmate. Muldoon proposes a scheme. The counterfeiter has hidden $100,000 in counterfeit currency, plus the engraving plates that can make more. But he is serving a life sentence, so Muldoon's idea is to kidnap the warden's daughter and trade her for the counterfeiter's release. Langley agrees and persuades his partner Herbert Evans, mortuary employee Jed and niece Carol Ann to be accomplices. They ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Andrew V
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived from the el, Ἀνδρέας, ''Andreas'', itself related to grc, ἀνήρ/ἀνδρός ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "courageous", and "warrior". In the King James Bible, the Greek "Ἀνδρέας" is translated as Andrew. Popularity Australia In 2000, the name Andrew was the second most popular name in Australia. In 1999, it was the 19th most common name, while in 1940, it was the 31st most common name. Andrew was the first most popular name given to boys in the Northern Territory in 2003 to 2015 and continuing. In Victoria, Andrew was the first most popular name for a boy in the 1970s. Canada Andrew was the 20th most popular name chosen for male ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest outside of the Chicago metropolitan area (after Rockford), and the largest in central Illinois. Approximately 208,000 residents live in the Springfield metropolitan area. Springfield was settled by European-Americans in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state. The most famous historic resident was Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield from 1837 until 1861, when he went to the White House as President of the United States. Major tourist attractions include multiple sites connected with Lincoln including the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site, and the Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery. Springfield lies in a valley and pla ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Film Noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ''film noir''. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key, black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression. The term ''film noir'', French for 'black film' (literal) or 'dark film' (closer meaning), was first applied to Hollywood films by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, but was unrecognized by most American film industry professionals of that era. Frank is believed to have been inspired by the French literary publishing imprint Série noire, founded in 1945. Cinema historians and critics defined the category ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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CinemaScope Films
CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by Spyros P. Skouras, the president of 20th Century Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal 2.55:1, almost twice as wide as the previously common Academy format's 1.37:1 ratio. Although the technology behind the CinemaScope lens system was made obsolete by later developments, primarily advanced by Panavision, CinemaScope's anamorphic format has continued to this day. In film-industry jargon, the shortened form, 'Scope, is still widely used by both filmmakers and projectionists, although today it generally refers to any 2.35:1, 2.39:1, 2.40:1, or 2.55:1 presentation or, sometimes, the use of anamorphic lensing or projection in general. Bausch & Lomb won a 1954 Oscar for its development of the CinemaScope le ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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20th Century Fox Films
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributes and markets the films produced by 20th Century Studios and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (Buena Vista Home Entertainment) distributes the films produced by 20th Century Studios in home media under the 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment banner. For over 80 years – beginning with its founding in 1935 and ending in 2019 (when it became part of Walt Disney Studios), 20th Century Fox was one of the then "Big Six" major American film studios. It was formed in 1935 from the merger of the Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures and was originally known as the Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (while owned by TCF Hol ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1957 Films
The year 1957 in film involved some significant events. ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' topped the year's box office in North America, France, and Germany, and won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1957 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Top-grossing films by country The highest-grossing 1957 films in various countries. Events * February 1 – RKO ceases domestic distribution of feature films which is taken over by Universal Pictures. * May – Ingmar Bergman's ''The Seventh Seal'' wins the Special Jury Prize at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival. * June 6 – Jerry Lewis appears in his first film without Dean Martin in ''The Delicate Delinquent''. * June – United Artists rejoins the Motion Picture Association of America, following an expansion of the MPAA code appeals board members. The board had previously denied ''The Man With the Golden Arm'' a Production Code seal in 1955, leading UA to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cliff Lyons (actor)
Clifford William Lyons (1 July 1901 - 6 January 1974) was an American film actor, stuntman and second unit director, primarily of Westerns and particularly the films of John Ford and John Wayne. His Hollywood contemporaries were unanimous in describing him as “a driven taskmaster”. Biography Lyons, the son of Garrett Thomas Lyons and Wilhamena Johnson Lyons, was raised on a South Dakota farm, though his family lived for a time in Memphis, Tennessee, where he attended business school. An expert horseman, Lyons gave up the notion of a business career and opted for the rodeo arena instead, touring nationwide and eventually reaching Los Angeles at the age of 21. Accomplished cowboys were in great demand for western films, and Lyons found a home in that genre, working both as a stuntman and an actor. After only a couple of bit parts, he was signed by independent producer Bud Barsky to do seven inexpensive Westerns directed by Paul Hurst, with costar Al Hoxie (the younger brot ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nolan Leary
George Nolan Leary (April 26, 1889 – December 12, 1987) was an American actor and playwright. Leary was born in Rock Island County, Illinois. His acting career started in France during World War I, providing entertainment for United States Troops. In 1919 he appeared in the Broadway play ''Forbidden'', playing the Second Lieutenant and Luke O'Keefe. Other Broadway appearances included productions of ''Happy Landing'', ''Rendezvous'' and ''Dodsworth''. He later appeared in films and on television. His film appearances included roles in ''The Valley of Vanishing Men'', ''Strangler of the Swamp'', ''That Texas Jamboree'', ''Out California Way'', ''Love Laughs at Andy Hardy'', ''I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now'', ''The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'' and ''Devil Bat's Daughter''. Leary retired in 1981, after making his final TV appearance in ''Nero Wolfe''. Leary died in December 1987 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 98. He was buried in Holl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fintan Meyler
Fintan Meyler, born Gertrude Anne Meyler (December 14, 1929, in Ireland - July 23, 2005) was an actress on stage, on television, and in films. Meyler was one of seven children. Her early education came at a convent in Dublin, before she began studying acting at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. She was chosen Miss Ireland in 1950, which led to her coming to the United States. Meyler never left. Eventually, she made her way to California. Her first TV role was on ''Matinee Theater''. Under the name Fintan Meyler, she starred in over 30 different TV shows. She portrayed memorable characters in shows, such as ''The Donna Reed Show'', ''Perry Mason'', ''Bonanza'', '' The Rebel'', '' Have Gun - Will Travel'' and ''Gunsmoke''. In the 1959 ''Perry Mason'' episode "The Case of the Howling Dog", she played Thelma Brent. Perhaps best known among her film roles was the "Hysterical Woman" in ''Zero Hour!'' in a scene that was memorably spoofed 22 years later in ''Airplane!, then with Lee Br ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Cisar (actor)
George Cisar (July 28, 1912 – June 13, 1979) was an American actor who performed in more than one hundred roles in two decades as a character actor in film and television, often in prominent Hollywood productions. He frequently played background parts such as policemen or bartenders. Career In 1949, Cisar co-starred with a young Mike Wallace in the short-lived police drama '' Stand By for Crime''. In 1957 he appeared on ''Highway Patrol'' as a car salesman. Among Cisar's more frequent roles was from 1960 to 1963 as Sgt. Theodore Mooney in thirty-one episodes of CBS's '' Dennis the Menace''. Series co-star Gale Gordon took the name "Theodore Mooney" and added the middle initial "J." for his character, Theodore J. Mooney, a tough-minded banker on Lucille Ball's second sitcom, ''The Lucy Show''. Cisar also appeared as the postman in a 1962 episode of '' Leave It To Beaver'' (S6E9 - “Beaver Joins A Record Club”). Cisar appeared in a 1965 episode of ''The Cara Willia ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fay Spain
Lona Fay Spain (October 6, 1932 – May 8, 1983) was an American actress in motion pictures and television. Early years Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Fay Spain was the younger of two daughters born to Robert C. Spain and Arminta Frances "Mickie" Cochran. When she was 17 years old, Spain worked as a dealer in a casino in Reno, Nevada. Years later, she said, "I lied about my age and got a job as a dealer – and made big money, much more than my husband, who was a shill." Theater apprentice Within two months she found work with a stock company in the Catskill Mountains. She obtained an Equity Card which enabled her to continue working as an actress. Spain eschewed a college scholarship after attending high school in White Salmon, Washington. She chose instead to pursue a stock company apprenticeship. Film actress Spain pursued acting, unimpeded by rejection. She accepted any parts which came along, learning the techniques of the acting trade. In 1955, Spain was one of 15 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War and succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy. Lincoln was born into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky and was raised on the frontier, primarily in Indiana. He was self-educated and became a lawyer, Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator, and U.S. Congressman from Illinois. In 1849, he returned to his successful law practice in central Illinois. In 1854, he was angered by the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which opened the territories to slavery, and he re-entered politics. He soon became a leader of the new Republican Party. He reached a national audience in the 1858 Senate campaign debates against Stephen A. Douglas. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |