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The Bigamist (1953 Film)
''The Bigamist'' is a 1953 American drama film noir directed by Ida Lupino starring Joan Fontaine, Ida Lupino, Edmund Gwenn and Edmond O'Brien. Producer/Screenwriter Collier Young was married to Fontaine at the time and had previously been married to Lupino. ''The Bigamist'' has been cited as the first American feature film in which the female star of a film directed herself. Plot Harry (Edmond O'Brien) and Eve Graham (Joan Fontaine) want to adopt a child, as Eve is infertile. Adoption agent Mr. Jordan (Edmund Gwenn) advises the couple that, as a matter of routine, he needs to investigate their backgrounds and current lifestyle thoroughly. Harry responds with a worried, pensive look, which concerns Jordan. Harry and Eve live in San Francisco and are co-owners of a business, with Harry traveling to Los Angeles frequently for work. Jordan arrives at Harry's Los Angeles office looking for information about Harry. The receptionist calls around to all the hotels, but none of them ...
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Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. Throughout her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed eight, working primarily in the United States, where she became a citizen in 1948. She is widely regarded as the most prominent female filmmaker working in the 1950s during the Hollywood studio system. With her independent production company, she co-wrote and co-produced several message picture, social-message films and became the first woman to direct a film noir, ''The Hitch-Hiker,'' in 1953. Among her other directed films, the best known are ''Not Wanted'' (1949), about unwed pregnancy (she took over for a sick director and refused directorial credit); ''Never Fear'' (1950), loosely based upon her own experiences battling paralyzing polio; ''Outrage (1950 film), Outrag ...
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Lilian Fontaine
Lilian Augusta Fontaine (née Ruse, formerly de Havilland; 11 June 1886 – 20 February 1975) was an English actress and mother of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine. Early years Fontaine was born in Reading, Berkshire. She received a scholarship from Reading College at age 13 for her musical talent and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Personal life After a stage career Fontaine married the British patent attorney Walter de Havilland (1872–1968). Her first daughter, Olivia, was born in 1916, followed by her second daughter, Joan, in 1917. Fontaine decided to end the marriage in 1919 after several years of marital strain and eventual separation; the divorce was not finalised, however, until February 1925. In 1922, the family moved to California, hoping that the climate there would improve the health of the daughters, who suffered "recurring ailments". De Havilland soon returned to Japan, while his wife and daughters stayed in Saratoga, Calif ...
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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 ...
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1950s English-language Films
Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 '' Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify the previous emperor Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius. * King Vologases V and other eastern princes support the claims of Pescennius Niger. The Roman province of Mesopotamia rises in revolt with Parthian support. Severus marches to Mesopotamia to battle the Parthians. * The Roman province of Syria is divided and the role of Antioch is diminished. The Romans annexed the Syrian cities of Edessa and Nisibis. Severus re-establish his ...
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American Black-and-white Films
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ...
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American Romantic Drama Films
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ...
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1953 Romantic Drama Films
Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugoslavia. ** The CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel first meets to discuss the UFO phenomenon. * January 15 – Georg Dertinger, foreign minister of East Germany, is arrested for spying. * January 19 – 71.1% of all television sets in the United States are tuned into ''I Love Lucy'', to watch Lucy give birth to Little Ricky, which is more people than those who tune into Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration the next day. This record has yet to be broken. * January 20 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is sworn in as the 34th President of the United States. * January 24 ** Mau Mau Uprising: Rebels in Kenya kill the Ruck family (father, mother, and six-year-old son). ** Leader of East Germany Walter Ulbricht announces that agriculture will be collectiviz ...
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1953 Films
The year 1953 in film involved some significant events. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1953 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 16 – A new Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. is incorporated following a Consent Judgment to divest their Stanley Warner Theaters. * February 5 – Walt Disney's production of J.M. Barrie's ''Peter Pan'', starring Bobby Driscoll and Kathryn Beaumont, premieres to astounding acclaim from critics and audiences and quickly becomes one of the most beloved Disney films. This is the last Disney animated movie released in partnership RKO Pictures, becoming the last ever smash hit movie of the later company before it bankrupted in 1959. * July 1 – ''Stalag 17'', directed by Billy Wilder and starring William Holden, premieres and is considered by the critics and audiences to be one of the greatest WWII Prisoner of War films ever made. Holden wins the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the ...
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Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of film capsule reviews, ''Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published annually from 1969 to 2014. Early life Maltin was born in New York City, the son of singer Jacqueline ( née Gould; 1923–2012) and Aaron Isaac Maltin (1915–2002), a lawyer and immigration judge. Maltin was raised in a Jewish family in Teaneck, New Jersey. He graduated from Teaneck High School in 1968. Career Maltin began his writing career at age 15, writing for ''Classic Images'' and editing and publishing his own fanzine, ''Film Fan Monthly'', dedicated to films from the golden age of Hollywood. After earning a journalism degree at New York University, Maltin went on to publish articles in a variety of film journals, newspapers, and magazines, including ''Variety'' and ...
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Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor best known for the 1955 film ''Rebel Without a Cause.'' He is appreciated for many narrative features produced between 1947 and 1963 including ''They Live By Night'', ''In A Lonely Place'', ''Johnny Guitar'', and ''Bigger Than Life'', as well as an experimental work produced throughout the 1970s titled '' We Can't Go Home Again'', which was unfinished at the time of Ray's death. Ray's compositions within the CinemaScope frame and use of color are particularly well-regarded and he was an important influence on the French New Wave, with Jean-Luc Godard famously writing in a review of '' Bitter Victory'', "... there is cinema. And the cinema is Nicholas Ray."Godard, Jean-Luc (1958). "Au-dela des étoiles," ''Cahiers du cinéma'' 79 (January); translated as "Jean-Luc Godard: Beyond the Stars," in ''Cahiers du CInéma: The 1950s. Neo-realism, ...
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Carl Theodor Dreyer
Carl Theodor Dreyer (; 3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his movies are noted for their emotional austerity and slow, stately pacing, frequent themes of social intolerance, the inseparability of fate and death, and the power of evil in earthly life. His 1928 movie ''The Passion of Joan of Arc'' is considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time, renowned for its cinematography and use of close-ups. It frequently appears on Sight & Sound's lists of the greatest films ever made, and in 2012's poll it was voted the 9th-best film ever made by film critics and 37th by film directors. His other well-known films include ''Michael'' (1924), ''Vampyr'' (1932), ''Day of Wrath'' (1943), ''Ordet'' (''The Word'') (1955), and '' Gertrud'' (1964). Life Dreyer was born illegitimate in Copenhagen, Denmark. His birth mother was an unmarried Sca ...
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1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
''1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die'' is a film reference book edited by Steven Jay Schneider with original essays on each film contributed by over 70 film critics. It is a part of a series designed and produced by Quintessence Editions, a London-based company, and published in English-language versions by Cassell Illustrated (UK), ABC Books (the publishing division of Australian Broadcasting Corporation), and Barron's (US). The first edition was published in 2003. The most recent edition was published on 14 December 2021. Contributors include Adrian Martin, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Richard Peña, David Stratton, and Margaret Pomeranz. Each title is accompanied by a brief synopsis and critique, some with photographs. Presented chronologically, the 14th edition begins with Georges Méliès' '' A Trip to the Moon'' from 1902 and ends in 2020 with Chloé Zhao's ''Nomadland''. The book has been popular in Australia, where it was the seventh best-selling book in the country for a ...
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