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The Great Moment (1944 Film)
''The Great Moment'' is a 1944 biographical film written and directed by Preston Sturges. Based on the book ''Triumph Over Pain'' (1940) by René Fülöp-Miller, it tells the story of Dr. William Thomas Green Morton, a 19th-century Boston dentist who discovered the use of ether for general anesthesia. The film stars Joel McCrea and Betty Field, and features Harry Carey, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn and Porter Hall. The movie was filmed in 1942 but not released for over two years. Paramount Pictures disliked the film Sturges had made, and pulled it from his control, re-titled and re-edited it. The studio's released version was marketed in a way that made it appear to be one of Sturges' comedies. The film was not well received by the critics or the public, and marked the end of a sustained run of success for Sturges, who had already left Paramount by the time the film was released.TCNotes/ref>Nixon, Ric"The Great Moment" (TCM article)/ref> Plot Eben Frost is seen heading t ...
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Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. In 1941, he won the Academy Awards, Oscar for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay for the film ''The Great McGinty'' (1940), his first of three nominations in the category. Sturges took the screwball comedy format of the 1930s to another level, writing dialogue that, heard today, is often surprisingly naturalistic, mature, and ahead of its time, despite the farcical situations. It is not uncommon for a Sturges character to deliver an exquisitely turned phrase and take an elaborate pratfall within the same scene. Prior to Sturges, other figures in Hollywood (such as Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, and Frank Capra) had directed films from their own scripts; however, Sturges is often regarded as the first Hollywood figure to establish success as a screenwriter and then move into directing his own scripts, at ...
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Porter Hall
Clifford Porter Hall (September 19, 1888 – October 6, 1953) was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s. Hall typically played villains or comedic incompetent characters. Early years Hall was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father, W. A. Hall, headed a cooperage business that ended because of prohibition in the United States. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati, Hall worked for the Fleischmann Company while also directing and acting in little theater productions in Cleveland. Career Hall began his career touring as a stage actor with roles in productions of ''The Great Gatsby'' and ''Naked'' in 1926. His Broadway credits included ''The Great Gatsby'' (1926), ''Naked'' (1926), ''Loud Speaker'' (1927), ''Night Hostess'' (1928), ''It's a Wise Child'' (1929), ''Collision'' (1932), ''The Warrior's Husband'' (1932), ''The Dark Tower'' (1933), ''The Red Cat'' (1934). Hall made his film debut in the 1931 drama ''Secr ...
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Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw (February 27, 1913 – May 16, 1984) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for two of his novels: ''The Young Lions'' (1948), about the fate of three soldiers during World War II, which was made into a film of the same name starring Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, and '' Rich Man, Poor Man'' (1970), about the fate of two brothers and a sister in the post-World War II decades, which in 1976 was made into a popular miniseries starring Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte, and Susan Blakely. Personal life Shaw was born Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff in the South Bronx, New York City, to Jewish immigrants from Russia. His parents were Rose and Will. His younger brother, David Shaw, became a noted Hollywood producer and writer. Shortly after Irwin's birth, the Shamforoffs moved to Brooklyn. Irwin changed his surname upon entering college. He spent most of his youth in ...
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Harry Tenbrook
Harry Tenbrook (born Henry Olaf Hansen, October 9, 1887 – September 4, 1960) was an American film actor. Henry Olaf Hansen was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. His family migrated to the United States in 1892. Under the stage name, Harry Tenbrook, he appeared in more than 330 films between 1911 and 1960. A favorite of John Ford, Tenbrook was a prominent member of the John Ford Stock Company. Only four actors appeared in more Ford films than Tenbrook. He died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles from lung cancer. He was interred at the Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood, California. Filmography * '' The Scarlet Car'' (1917) - Scrapper (uncredited) * ''Thieves' Gold'' (1918) - 'Colonel' Betoski * ''The Third Alarm'' (1922) - Surly Laborer (uncredited) *'' The Danger Rider'' (1924) *'' The Measure of a Man'' (1924) - Charley * ''Capital Punishment'' (1925) - Executioner * ''The Silent Guardian'' (1925) - Job Stevens * ''The Texas Terror'' (1925) * ...
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Heinie Conklin
Heinie Conklin (born Charles John Conklin; July 16, 1880July 30, 1959) was an American actor and comedian whose career began in the silent film era. Early years Conklin was born Charles John Conklin on July 16, 1880, in San Francisco, California. He attended San Francisco's public schools. Career In vaudeville, Conklin headlined shows on the Keith and Orpheum circuits. He was billed as Charles Conklin until 1927. He began working in films in 1915 after 17 years on stage and in vaudeville. One of the original Keystone Kops, Conklin wore makeup of heavy eyebrow lining and a thin, upside-down, painted-on variation of Kaiser Wilhelm's mustache. In areas where anti-German sentiments still ran high during the post-World War I era, Conklin was billed as Charlie Lynn. One of Conklin's first talking pictures was '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' as a hospital patient. For the rest of his career in talking pictures, he had small roles in 2-reelers which starred The Three Stooges, ...
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Solon Borland
Solon Borland (September 21, 1808 – January 1, 1864) was an American physician who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 1848 to 1853. In later life, he served as an officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded a cavalry regiment in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. Early life and career Solon Borland was born on September 21, 1808, in Nansemond County, Virginia to Dr. Thomas Borland, a native of Scotland, and Harriet Godwin Borland. When he was a youth, his family moved to Murfreesboro, North Carolina, where he attended Hertford Academy. Borland also studied medicine in Philadelphia and Louisville. As a captain in 1831, he led a company of Virginia militia forces that were dispatched to Southampton County to fight Nat Turner's slave rebellion. He owned slaves himself. During the Mexican–American War, Borland was commissioned major of the Arkansas Mounted Infantry Regiment serving under Archibald Yell. Borland served throughout ...
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Thurston Hall
Ernest Thurston Hall (May 10, 1882 – February 20, 1958) was an American film, stage and television actor.Aylesworth, Thomas G. and Bowman, John S. (1987). ''The World Almanac Who's Who of Film''. World Almanac. . Pp. 186-187. Career Stage Hall toured with various New England stage companies during his teens, then went onto London, where he formed a small stage troupe. He also toured New Zealand and South Africa."Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. . P. 526. At 22 in 1904, Hall was in the first stage production of '' Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch''. His Broadway credits include ''The Only Girl'' (1914), ''Have a Heart'' (1917), ''Civilian Clothes'' (1919), ''The French Doll'' (1922), ''Still Waters'' (1926), ''Buy, Buy, Baby'' (1926), ''Mixed Doubles'' (1927), ''Behold the Bridegroom'' (1927), ''The Common Sin'' (1928), ''Sign of the Leopard'' (1928), ''Security'' (1929), ...
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Victor Potel
Victor Potel (October 12, 1889 – March 8, 1947) was an American film character actor who began in the silent era and appeared in more than 430 films in his 38-year career. Career Victor Potel was born in Lafayette, Indiana in 1889, and his acting career goes back almost to the beginning of the commercial film industry in the United States. He made his first silent film in 1910, a comedy short filmed in Chicago by Essanay Film Manufacturing Company called ''A Dog on Business''. Potel continued to make films for Essanay, appearing in dozens of films every year, including most of the Broncho Billy series, and played a character called "Slippery Slim" in 80 movies. He also appeared in Universal Pictures' "Snakeville" series.Erickson, HaBiography (Allmovie)/ref> Potel's first talking picture was ''Melody of Love'', starring Walter Pidgeon, made for Universal in 1928, and in the sound era he continued to work continuously and constantly, playing small parts and sometimes uncre ...
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Torben Meyer
Torben Emil Meyer (1 December 1884 – 22 May 1975) was a Danish-American character actor who appeared in more than 190 films in a 55-year career. He began his acting career in Europe before moving to the United States. Early life Meyer was born in either CopenhagenAllan R. Ellenberger, ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'', page 27, McFarland Publishing, 2001 or Aarhus, Denmark and began his career as a stage actor.Mette Hjort, Ursula Lindqvist, ''A Companion to Nordic Cinema'', page 408, Wiley, 2016 Starting in 1912 Meyer acted in 20 European silent movies, culminating with ''Don Quixote'' in 1926. He emigrated to the United States in 1927.Diane Kachar, David Goudsward, ''The Fly at 50: The Creation and Legacy of a Classic Science Fiction Film'' (Kindle), BearManor Media, 2015 Hollywood acting career Danish friends Benjamin Christensen and Jean Hersholt may have helped Meyer obtain his first roles in Hollywood films. For decades Meyer found roles playing ...
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Harry Hayden
Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show hosted by Harry Connick Jr. People and fictional characters * Harry (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Harry (surname), a list of people with the surname * Dirty Harry (musician) (born 1982), British rock singer who has also used the stage name Harry * Harry Potter (character), the main protagonist in a Harry Potter fictional series by J. K. Rowling Other uses * Harry (derogatory term), derogatory term used in Norway * ''Harry'' (album), a 1969 album by Harry Nilsson *The tunnel used in the Stalag Luft III escape ("The Great Escape") of World War II * ''Harry'' (newspaper), an underground newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland See also *Harrying (laying waste), may refer to the following historical ...
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Grady Sutton
Grady Harwell Sutton (April 5, 1906 – September 17, 1995) was an American film and television character actor from the 1920s to the 1970s. He appeared in more than 180 films. Early years Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Sutton was raised in Florida where he attended St. Petersburg High School. Career Sutton began his career during the silent film era and made the transition to sound films with the college themed shorts ''The Boy Friends''. He moved on to countless character roles, where he frequently played dimwitted country boys. His best-known roles were as Frank Dowling, Katharine Hepburn's dancing partner, in '' Alice Adams'' (1935) and as a foil to W.C. Fields in four films, '' The Pharmacist'' (1933), ''Man on the Flying Trapeze'' (1935), ''You Can't Cheat an Honest Man'' (1939), and ''The Bank Dick'' (1940). Film historian William J. Mann characterizes Sutton as a typical "Hollywood Sissy," that is as a homosexual actor who ordinarily portrayed an effeminate ch ...
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Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity. He alienated anti-slavery groups by signing the Kansas–Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act. Conflict between North and South continued after Pierce's presidency, and, after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, Southern states seceded, resulting in the American Civil War. Pierce was born in New Hampshire. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1833 until his election to the Senate, where he served from 1837 until his resignation in 1842. His private law practice was a success, and he was appointed New Hampshire's U.S. Attorney in 1845. He took part in the Mexican–American War as a brigadier general in the Army. Democrats saw him as a compromise candidate uniting Northern and Southern interests, ...
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