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The Crooked Circle (1932 Film)
''The Crooked Circle'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film, a comedy-mystery directed by H. Bruce Humberstone. In 1933, ''The Crooked Circle'' was the first feature film shown on television. In Los Angeles, the Don Lee Broadcasting System showed the film on March 10, 1933, over their experimental station W6XAO, transmitting an 80-line resolution mechanical television picture to a half-dozen or fewer receiving sets in the greater Los Angeles area. The film was shown again on June 18, 1940 on the NBC Television experimental station WX2BS, now WNBC-TV in New York City. Characters and story Amateur detectives in the Sphinx Club are rivals of an evil gang known as The Crooked Circle. When a Sphinx tip leads to an arrest of a Crooked Circle member, they swear revenge on Sphinx member Colonel Theodore Walters (Berton Churchill). Nora Rafferty ( ZaSu Pitts) complains to Old Dan (Christian Rub) about life in creepy Melody Manor. Brand Osborne (Ben Lyon) intends to resign from the Sph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Sistrom
William "Billy" Sistrom (19 March 1884 – March 1972) was an English film producer who worked in the United States. Biography Sistrom was born in Lincolnshire, England. He began work with Universal Pictures. Later he joined RKO Pictures in 1935, where he worked on the film adaptation of Leslie Charteris' ''The Saint in New York''. He produced 30 British and American films between 1930 and 1949. As well as a producer, William also worked as a studio manager. Actor Lon Chaney, Sr. tells of confronting Universal studio manager William Sistrom in 1918 demanding a payrise and contract. According to Chaney, Sistrom told him that he knew a good actor when he saw one but that, looking directly at Chaney, he saw only a wash-out. According to their website, William managed the Hollywood Center Studios for a time starting in 1925. Wiliam's first wife Louise Rowan had two American-born sons and three daughters microbiologist William R Sistrom, William, Hollywood producer Joseph Sistrom, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Lyon
Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine W. (Wiseberg) and Ben Lyon, a travelling salesman. His family was Jewish. Lyon entered films in 1918 after a successful appearance on Broadway opposite Jeanne Eagels. He attracted attention in the highly successful film '' Flaming Youth'' (1923) and steadily developed into a leading man. He was successfully paired with some of the leading actresses of the silent era, including Pola Negri, Gloria Swanson, Colleen Moore, Barbara La Marr, Viola Dana, Anna Q. Nilsson, Mary Astor and Blanche Sweet. In 1925, a writer for '' Photoplay'' wrote of him, "Girls, Ben Lyon looks harmless but we have reliable information that he's irresistible, so watch your step. Besides he's a mighty fine actor and if the ladies must fall in love with him he can't he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1932 Films
The following is an overview of 1932 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1932 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events The Film Daily Yearbook listed the following as the ten leading headline events of the year. * Sidney Kent leaves Paramount Pictures and joins Fox Film. * Merlin H Aylesworth succeeds Hiram S Brown as president of RKO. * Jesse L. Lasky leaves Paramount and becomes an independent producer for Fox. * Sam Katz leaves Paramount. * James R Grainger leaves Fox and is succeeded by John D Clark, formerly of Paramount. * Publix and Fox decentralization of cinemas. * New industry program, including standard exhibition contract along lines of 5-5-5, proposed by Motion Picture Theater Owners of America and Allied. * Joe Brandt retires from Columbia Pictures joins World-Wide and later resigns again. * Two Radio City theaters open, under dir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Party Girl (1995 Film)
''Party Girl'' is a 1995 American comedy-drama film directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer (in her feature directorial debut), starring Parker Posey, and notable for being the first feature film to premiere on the Internet. Synopsis Mary is a free spirit filling her days dancing in clubs and throwing house parties. After being arrested for organizing an underground rave, she calls upon her godmother Judy Lindendorf to bail her out. In order for Mary to repay the loan, Judy employs her as a clerk at the library where she works. Mary reluctantly begins her new job while striking up a romance with Lebanese street vendor and aspiring teacher, Mustafa. Despite initial misgivings about work, Mary is inspired to learn how to use the Dewey Decimal System after smoking a joint. Gradually, she becomes very good at her job, but is later fired after having sex with Mustafa in the library. With no money to pay the accumulating rent, she and her roommate Leo, a club DJ, face eviction from their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Kennedy (American Actor)
Thomas Aloyisus Kennedy (July 15, 1885 – October 6, 1965) was an American actor known for his roles in Hollywood comedies from the silent days, with such producers as Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, mainly supporting lead comedians such as the Marx Brothers, W. C. Fields, Mabel Normand, Shemp Howard, Laurel and Hardy, and the Three Stooges. Kennedy also played dramatic roles as a supporting actor. Career For over 50 years, from 1915 to 1965, he appeared in over 320 films and television series, often uncredited. His first film was a short black and white comedy ''His Luckless Love''. He was in all nine Torchy Blane films as Gahagan, the poetry-spouting cop whose running line was, "What a day! What a day!" He continued making films right up until his death, his last film being a Western titled ''The Bounty Killer'' (1965). Tom Kennedy has been erroneously listed in several film sources as the brother of slow-burning comedian Edgar Kennedy. Though the two men were not related, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Reicher
Frank Reicher (born Franz Reicher; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Early life Reicher was born in Munich, Germany, the son of actor Emanuel ReicherUS Passport Application August 4, 1922 and Hedwig Kindermann, a popular German prima donna who was a daughter of the famous baritone August Kindermann. Reicher's parents divorced in 1881 and his mother died two years later while at Trieste. His half-sister, Hedwiga Reicher, would also become a Hollywood actor. His half-brother Ernst Reicher was popular as gentleman detective Stuart Webbs in the early German cinema of the 1910s. Frank Reicher immigrated to the States in 1899 and became a naturalized American citizen some twelve years later. Career Reicher made his Broadway debut the year he came to America playing Lord Tarquin in Harrison Fiske's production of ''Becky Sharp'', a comedy by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethel Clayton
Ethel Clayton (November 8, 1882 – June 6, 1966) was an American actress of the silent film era. Early years Born in Champaign, Illinois, Clayton attended St. Elizabeth's school in Chicago. Career Clayton debuted on stage as a professional as a member of the chorus in a production at the Chicago Opera House. After that, she worked with stock theater companies in Milwaukee and Minneapolis. On stage, Clayton appeared mainly in musicals or musical revues such as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of 1911''. In addition to that production, her Broadway credits include ''Fancy Free'' (1918), ''You're in Love'' (1917), ''Nobody Home'' (1915), ''The Red Canary'' (1914), ''The Brute'' (1912), and ''His Name on the Door'' (1909). Clayton's first film was ''When the Earth Trembled''. Following appearances on screen in short dramas from 1909 to 1912, she made her feature-length film debut in ''For the Love of a Girl'' in 1912. Barry O'Neil directed the film, and Clayton later was directed by Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Frazer
Robert Frazer (born Robert William Browne, June 29, 1891August 17, 1944) was an American actor who appeared in some 224 shorts and films from the 1910s until his death. He began in films with the Eclair company which released through Universal Pictures. Early years Frazer was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and educated in Massachusetts. When he was young, he worked in a grocery store during vacations and spent much of his spare time reading plays and literature about becoming an actor. He also staged backyard plays for his friends. Acting career Frazer acted with several repertory companies, including the Cosgrove Stock Company, toured the United States in productions, and performed on Broadway in ''Seremonda'' (1917). After some theater experience he swiftly moved into acting in silent films. In 1912 he began his movie career by portraying Jesus Christ in ''The Holy City'', and in the same year played the lead in ''Robin Hood''. He also appeared in two classic horror fil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spencer Charters
Spencer Charters (March 25, 1875 – January 25, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 220 films between 1920 and 1943, mostly in small supporting roles. Biography Charters was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. Until around 1890 he worked as a machinist for the Chesapeake Nail Works in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and had little interest in acting. He soon appeared on stage after leaving school with a walk-on part, but it wasn't long before he was being given fair-sized roles. He played on Broadway between 1910 and 1929 and was a busy character actor in films during the 1930s and early 1940s. He often portrayed somewhat befuddled judges, doctors, clerks, managers, and jailers. Charters was married to actress Irene Myers until her death December 22, 1941. He died by suicide from a mix of sleeping pills and carbon monoxide poisoning. He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roscoe Karns
Roscoe, also spelled Rosco or Roscow, may refer to: People * Roscoe (name) Places United States * Roscoe, California (other) *Roscoe Township (other) * Roscoe, Georgia, an unincorporated community *Roscoe, Illinois, a village *Roscoe, Minnesota, a city * Roscoe, Goodhue County, Minnesota, an unincorporated community *Roscoe, Missouri, a village * Roscoe, Montana, a settlement * Roscoe, Nebraska, an unincorporated community and census-designated place *Roscoe, New York, a hamlet *Roscoe, Pennsylvania, a borough *Roscoe, South Dakota, a city *Roscoe, Texas, a town *Roscoe Village, a neighborhood in North Center, Chicago, Illinois *Roscoe Village (Coshocton, Ohio) * Roscoe Independent School District, Texas Canada *Roscoe River, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, Canada *Roscoe Glacier, Queen Mary Land, Antarctica Other uses * Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles, a popular California restaurant chain * Roscoe Wind Farm, Roscoe, Texas * ROSCO, an acronym for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond Hatton
Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. However, Hatton had become enamored of being on stage after he acted in a school play, and he left home to go into acting as a career. Hatton was part of a vaudeville act that went to Hollywood in 1911. There, he established a successful silent film career, including a stint being paired in 1920s comedies with Wallace Beery. During the sound era, though, his career soon skidded and he usually played smaller supporting roles, including the tobacco-chewing, rowdy character Rusty Joslin in ''The Three Mesquiteers'' Western B picture series. By the 1950s, Hatton's acting roles expanded into television, where he appeared in various series, including the '' Adventures of Superman''. He has a star in the Motion Picture section of the Hollywood Walk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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