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The Big Clock (1948 Film)
''The Big Clock'' is a 1948 American film noir directed by John Farrow and adapted by novelist-screenwriter Jonathan Latimer from the 1946 novel of the same title by Kenneth Fearing. The black-and-white film is set in New York City, and stars Ray Milland, Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Sullivan. Elsa Lanchester and Harry Morgan, in an early film role, also appear. Noel Neill has an uncredited part as an elevator operator very early in the film. Plot George Stroud, editor-in-chief of ''Crimeways'' magazine, hides from building security inside the "big clock," which is the largest and most sophisticated clock ever built. The clock dominates the lobby of the Janoth Publications building in New York City, where Stroud works. Thirty-six hours earlier, Stroud is eager to embark on a long-postponed honeymoon in Wheeling, West Virginia with his wife Georgette and son. His tyrannical boss Earl Janoth wants him to stay to pursue a missing-person story that Stroud has just cracked, but Str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Farrow
John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Wake Island'', and in 1957 he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for ''Around the World in Eighty Days''. He had seven children by his wife, actress Maureen O'Sullivan, including actress Mia Farrow. Early life Farrow was born in Sydney, Australia, the son of Lucy Villiers (née Savage; 1881–1907), a dressmaker, and Joseph Farrow (1880–1925), a tailor's trimmer. His mother died when he was born.Unpublished letter dated Oct 3, 1939 His parents were both of English descent. Farrow was educated at Newtown Public School and Fort Street Boys' High School and then started a career in accountancy. He claimed to have run away to sea in an American barquentine, sailed "all over the Pacific," and fought in revo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William Powell, and Myrna Loy. In 2020, she was listed at number eight on ''The Irish Times'' list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Early life O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, in 1911, the daughter of Mary Eva Lovatt (née Frazer) and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in the Connaught Rangers who served in World War I. Maureen returned to Boyle in 1988 to be honoured by the town. She attended a convent school in Dublin, then the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Roehampton (now Woldingham School), England. One of her classmates there was Vivian Mary Hartley, future Academy Award-winning actress Vivien Leigh. After attending finishing school in France, O'Sullivan returned to Dublin to work with the poor. In October 1929, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Watson (actor)
Bobby Watson ( born Robert Watson Knucher; November 28, 1888 – May 22, 1965) was an American theater and film actor, playing a variety of character roles, including, after 1942, Adolf Hitler. Life and career Born in Springfield, Illinois, Watson, who was of German descent, began his career at age 15 performing a vaudeville act at the Olympic Theatre in Springfield. As a teenager, he toured the U.S. midwest with the "Kickapoo Remedies Show", a traveling medicine show. He then appeared in Coney Island in a Gus Edwards show. In 1918, he first played on Broadway when he was a replacement in the role of Robert Street in '' Going Up'' and then created the role of the flamboyant dressmaker "Madame Lucy" in the hit musical ''Irene'' (1919), later repeating the role. He continued to play on Broadway through the 1920s. Watson began to appear in films in 1925, playing various character roles. Some of them were inspired by his scene-stealing characterization from ''Irene'' -- the gag r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luis Van Rooten
Luis d'Antin van Rooten (November 29, 1906 – June 17, 1973) was a Mexican-born American actor. He was sometimes credited as Louis Van Rooten. Van Rooten was born in Mexico City, Mexico, and emigrated to the United States with his parents when he was eight, growing up in Pennsylvania. He earned his Bachelor of Arts, BA at the University of Pennsylvania and worked as an architect before deciding to pursue film work in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood during World War II. His facility with languages made van Rooten an in-demand military radio announcer during the war, and he conducted a variety of broadcasts in Italian, Spanish, and French. This led into film work, often in roles requiring an accent or skill with dialects. Film work Known for his villainous roles, he played Nazi ringleader Heinrich Himmler in ''The Hitler Gang'' (1944) and ''Operation Eichmann'' (1961). He played supporting roles with a number of film stars, including Alan Ladd in ''Two Years Before the Mas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elaine Riley
Elaine Riley (January 15, 1917 – December 7, 2015) was an American film and television actress. Early years The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A.B. Riley, Riley was born in East Liverpool, Ohio, on January 15, 1917. She won the Miss East Liverpool beauty title and was runner-up for the Miss Ohio title in 1937. Riley also was a graduate of the Traphagen School of Fashion, and was a model for ''Powers and Hattie Carnegie'' model in New York at the age of 18. Using the name Elaine Gray, Riley sang with a dance-music orchestra in several cities, including Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Film Riley entered Hollywood in 1943 as an extra for RKO Pictures, debuting in '' Higher and Higher''. She left her job as secretary to the managing director of WINS radio in New York City to pursue her career in movies. In 1946, she signed with Paramount Pictures, where she became a recurring leading lady for Hopalong Cassidy. She worked with stars such as William Boyd, Charles Laughton, Tim Holt and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Webb (actor)
John Richard Webb (September 9, 1915 – June 10, 1993) was an American film, television and radio actor. He appeared in more than fifty films, including many westerns and films noir including ''Out of the Past'' (1947), ''Night Has a Thousand Eyes'' (1948), '' I Was a Communist for the FBI'' (1951) and ''Carson City'' (1952). Today, he may be best remembered as the star of the 1950s television series, ''Captain Midnight'' (''Jet Jackson, Flying Commando'' in syndication), based on a long-running radio program of the same name and ''Border Patrol''. Early years Originally from Bloomington, Illinois, Webb was the son of John Renner Webb and Laura Gail Gunnett. Leaving Brown University theological school in 1936 when he realized he was not meant to be a Methodist minister, Webb enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed with the 1st Coast Artillery Regiment in Panama for three years when he decided to go to Hollywood attending the Bliss Hayden School of Acting. Care ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Tobin
Daniel Malloy Tobin (October 19, 1910 – November 26, 1982) was an American supporting actor on the stage, in films and on television. He generally played gentle, urbane, rather fussy, sometimes obsequious and shifty characters, often with a concealed edge of malice. Early years Tobin was a native of Cincinnati, and he attended the University of Cincinnati. Career Tobin acted with a touring troupe in England. After an impresario saw him in ''Ah, Wilderness!'', he gained a role in ''Behind Your Back'' at the Strand. '' Tobin's most memorable roles were as the overbearing secretary, Gerald, in ''Woman of the Year'' (1942), and the top-billed scientist in Orson Welles's innovative Peabody Award-winning unsold television pilot, ''The Fountain of Youth'', filmed in 1956 and televised once two years later as an installment of NBC's ''Colgate Theatre''. Tobin's final film role was opposite John Huston in Welles's ''The Other Side of the Wind'', shot in the early 1970s and release ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Vermilyea
Harold Vermilyea (October 10, 1889 – January 7, 1958) was an American actor who had a long and prolific career on Broadway, performing in 32 plays over the course of his career. He made notable appearances in several films of the post-war era, particularly film noirs, and ended his career moving into television. Life and career Vermilyea was born October 10, 1889 in Manhattan. He made his first stage appearance in 1914 in "The Lion and the Mouse." Subsequent appearances included " It Pays to Advertise" (1914-1915) and a revival of " Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford" (1917), after which he served with the Army Ambulance Service in France during the First World War. After WWI came to a close, Vermilyea returned to the Broadway stage and performed in twenty-nine further plays. These were: " A Tailor-Made Man" (1917-1918), "Hobohemia" (1919), "Pagans" (1921), " Captain Applejack" (1921-1922), "The Alarm Clock" (1923-1924), "The Lady Killer" (1924), "The Haunted House" (1924), "The Young ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rita Johnson
Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, a community in the Marshall Islands * 1180 Rita, an asteroid * Rita, West Virginia * Santa Rita, California (other), several places Film, television, and theater * ''Rita'' (1959 film), a 1959 Australian television play * ''Rita'' (2009 Italian film), a 2009 Italian film * ''Rita'' (2009 Indian film), a 2009 Marathi film directed by Renuka Shahane * ''Rita'' (TV series), a Danish television show * RITA Award, an award for romantic fiction * ''Educating Rita'', a 1980 stage play by Willy Russel ** ''Educating Rita'' (film), a 1983 British film based on that play *Rita Santos, an adult mermaid on the TV series ''Mako Mermaids'' Music * ''Rita'' (opera), an 1841 opera by Gaetano Donizetti Albums * ''Rita'' (Rita Yahan-Farouz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Macready
George Peabody Macready Jr. (August 29, 1899 – July 2, 1973) was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains. Early life Macready was born in Providence, Rhode Island on August 29, 1899. He graduated from the local Classical High School in 1917 and from Brown University in 1921, where he was a member of Delta Phi fraternity and won a letter as the football team manager. While in college, Macready sustained a permanent scar on his right cheek after being thrust through the windshield of a Ford Model T when the vehicle skidded on an icy road and hit a telephone pole. He was stitched up by a veterinarian, but he caught scarlet fever during the ordeal. Macready first worked in a bank in Providence and then briefly for a newspaper in New York City before he turned to stage acting. He claimed to have been descended from the 19th-century Shakespearean actor William Macready. Acting career Theatre Macready made his Broadway debut in 1926, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackmail
Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to family members or associates rather than to the general public. These acts can also involve using threats of physical, mental or emotional harm, or of criminal prosecution, against the victim or someone close to the victim. It is normally carried out for personal gain, most commonly of position, money, or property. Blackmail may also be considered a form of extortion. Although the two are generally synonymous, extortion is the taking of personal property by threat of future harm. Blackmail is the use of threat to prevent another from engaging in a lawful occupation and writing libelous letters or letters that provoke a breach of the peace, as well as use of intimidation for purposes of collecting an unpaid debt. In many jurisdictions, bla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending into Marshall County. Wheeling is located about 60 miles (96 km) west of Pittsburgh and is the principal city of the Wheeling metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the metro area had a population of 145,205, and the city itself had a population of 27,062. Wheeling was originally a settlement in the British colony of Virginia, and later the second-largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. During the American Civil War, Wheeling was the host of the Wheeling Conventions that led to the formation of West Virginia, and it was the first capital of the new state. Due to its location along major transportation routes, including the Ohio River, National Road, and the B&O Railroad, Wheeling became a manufacturing center in the late n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
