|
The Horn Blows At Midnight
''The Horn Blows at Midnight'' is a 1945 comedy fantasy film directed by Raoul Walsh, and starring Jack Benny. Following its poor box-office, Benny often exploited the film's failure for laughs over the next 20 years in his radio and television comedy series ''The Jack Benny Program'', making the film a known entity to his audience, even if they had never seen it. ''The Horn Blows at Midnight'' was Benny's last feature film as a lead, although he would continue to do cameo appearances in films for many years. ''The Horn Blows At Midnight'' had the misfortune to be released only eight days after the death of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This may have contributed to its poor reception, although the film's negative reviews might have also impacted it, as the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' Carousel'', also dealing with the afterlife, opened on Broadway at roughly the same time and became a hit. Plot Athanael (Jack Benny), the third trumpet player in the orchestra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He was known for portraying John Wilkes Booth in the silent film ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915) and for directing such films as the widescreen epic ''The Big Trail'' (1930) starring John Wayne in his first leading role, ''The Roaring Twenties'' starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, '' High Sierra'' (1941) starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart, and ''White Heat'' (1949) starring James Cagney and Edmond O'Brien. He directed his last film in 1964. His work has been noted as influences on director such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Jack Hill, and Martin Scorsese. Biography Walsh was born in New York as Albert Edward Walsh to Elizabeth T. Bruff, the daughter of Irish Catholic immigrants, and Thomas W. Walsh, an Englishman. Walsh was part o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Extinction
Human extinction, also known as omnicide, is the hypothetical end of the human species due to either natural causes such as population decline from sub-replacement fertility, an asteroid impact, or large-scale volcanism, or to anthropogenic (human) causes. For the latter, some of the many possible contributors include climate change, global nuclear annihilation, biological warfare, and ecological collapse. Other scenarios center on emerging technologies, such as advanced artificial intelligence, biotechnology, or self-replicating nanobots. The scientific consensus is that there is a relatively low risk of near-term human extinction due to natural causes. The likelihood of human extinction through humankind's own activities, however, is a current area of research and debate. History of thought Early history of thinking about human extinction Before the 18th and 19th centuries, the possibility that humans or other organisms could become extinct was viewed with s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Steers
Lawrence Wells Steers (February 14, 1888 – February 15, 1951) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 550 films between 1917 and 1951. He was born in Indiana, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Partial filmography * ''Old Wives for New'' (1918) * ''The City of Dim Faces'' (1918) * ''A Pair of Silk Stockings'' (1918) * '' Little Comrade'' (1919) * ''Heartsease'' (1919) * '' The Roaring Road'' (1919) (uncredited) * '' The Right of Way'' (1920) * ''Dollar for Dollar'' (1920) * ''Wealth'' (1921) * ''The Blot'' (1921) (uncredited) * ''Elope If You Must'' (1922) * ''Bell Boy 13'' (1923) (uncredited) * '' Mind Over Motor'' (1923) * ''Soul of the Beast'' (1923) * ''The Girl in the Limousine'' (1924) * ''Ten Scars Make a Man'' (1924) * '' A Cafe in Cairo'' (1924) * ''Paint and Powder'' (1925) * ''The Love Gamble'' (1925) * ''Wild West'' (1925) * ''New Brooms'' (1925) * ''The Best People'' (1925) * ''Flattery'' (1925) * ''Hearts and Spangles'' (1926) * ''The Lodg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Mower
Jack Mower (September 5, 1890 – January 6, 1965) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 520 films between 1914 and 1965. He was born in Honolulu and died in Hollywood. After studying at Punahou College, in Honolulu, Mower moved to the mainland, and performed in vaudeville and in musical comedies on stage. His work on screen included serials and silent films. Mower was a leading man in silent films, but played bit parts after sound films came into vogue. Selected filmography ;1920s * ''The Beautiful Gambler'' (1921) * ''The Rowdy'' (1921) * ''Short Skirts'' (1921) * '' Silent Years'' (1921) * '' Saturday Night'' (1922) * ''Manslaughter'' (1922) * '' When Husbands Deceive'' (1922) * '' Pure Grit'' (1923) * '' The Last Hour'' (1923) * '' The Shock'' (1923) * ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1927) ;1930s * ''Bad Company'' (1931) (uncredited) * ''The Phantom Express'' (1932) (uncredited) * ''The Pride of the Legion'' (1932) * ''Pilgrimage'' (1933) (uncredited) * ''The Hous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Truman Bradley (actor)
Truman Bradley (February 8, 1905 – July 28, 1974) was an actor and narrator in radio, television and film. Early years Bradley was born February 8, 1905, in Sheldon, Missouri. Although he wanted to be an actor, he followed his parents' desires and studied law. Career Radio Bradley began his career in the 1930s as a radio broadcaster. Working at WBBM in Chicago, Illinois, some considered him "the Mid-West's leading news commentator." He was selected by Henry Ford to be the announcer for the ''Ford Sunday Evening Hour'', for which he flew to Detroit, Michigan, each weekend. With his distinctive, authoritative voice, he soon became a radio actor as well as a narrator in numerous movies. In the mid-1940s, Bradley was a newscaster with KERN in Bakersfield, California. Bradley was the announcer for Red Skelton's program, ''Burns and Allen'' ''Easy Aces'', the ''Frank Sinatra Show'' and '' Screen Guild Players''. Film A newspaper columnist wrote in 1942 that representatives of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Harvey (actor)
Roy Paul Harvey (September 10, 1882 – December 5, 1955) was a prolific American character actor who appeared in at least 177 films. Biography Primarily a character actor, Harvey began his career on stage and in silent films. He appeared in the Broadway and original film versions of ''The Awful Truth'', then had supporting roles in many Hollywood films, often portraying dignified executives or pompous authority figures. He was a vacationing businessman whose car is commandeered by fugitive killer Humphrey Bogart in the 1936 crime drama ''The Petrified Forest'' and the minister who marries Spencer Tracy's daughter Elizabeth Taylor in the 1950 comedy ''Father of the Bride'' and baptizes her baby in its sequel. In the thriller ''Side Street'', Harvey played a married man forced to pay $30,000 in blackmail money after having an affair. Besides his numerous films, Harvey appeared in 1950s television series such as ''I Love Lucy'', ''December Bride'', ''My Little Margie'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethel Griffies
Ethel Griffies (born Ethel Woods; 26 April 1878 – 9 September 1975) was an English actress of stage, screen, and television. She is remembered for portraying the ornithologist Mrs. Bundy in Alfred Hitchcock's classic '' The Birds'' (1963). She appeared in stage roles in her native England and in the United States, and had featured roles in around 100 motion pictures. Griffies was one of the oldest working actors in the English-speaking theatre at the time of her death at 97 years old. She acted alongside such stars as May Whitty, Ellen Terry, and Anna Neagle. Biography Griffies was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, the daughter of actor and manager Samuel Rupert Woods and actress Lillie Roberts. Taken onstage at the age of three, she continued to act for the next 86 years. Griffies married actor Walter Beaumont in 1900, and he died in 1910. In 1917, she married actor Edward Cooper, who predeceased his wife by almost two decades. On 9 September 1975, in London, G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Blake (actor)
Robert Blake (born Michael James Gubitosi; September 18, 1933) is an American retired actor known for his roles in the 1967 film ''In Cold Blood'' and the 1970s U.S. television series ''Baretta''. Blake began acting as a child, with a lead role in the final years of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's '' Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') short film series from 1939 to 1944. He also appeared as a child actor in 22 entries of the ''Red Ryder'' film franchise. In the ''Red Ryder'' series and in many of his adult roles, the Italian-American actor was often cast as an American Indian or Latino character. After a stint in the United States Army, Blake returned to acting in both television and movie roles. Blake continued acting until 1997's '' Lost Highway''. Owing to Blake becoming one of the first child actors to successfully transition to mature roles as an adult, author Michael Newton called his career "one of the longest in Hollywood history." In March 2005, Blake was tried and acquitted of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Dumont
Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically the fifth Marx brother." Early life Dumont was born Daisy Juliette Baker in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of William and Harriet Anna (née Harvey) Baker. Her mother was a music teacher and encouraged Daisy's singing career from an early age. Career Dumont trained as an operatic singer and actress in her teens and began performing on stage in the US and Europe, at first under the name Daisy Dumont and later as Margaret (or Marguerite - French for Daisy) Dumont. Her theatrical debut was in ''Sleeping Beauty and the Beast'' at the Chestnut Theater in Philadelphia; in August 1902, two months before her 20th birthday, she appeared as a singer/comedian in a vaudeville act in Atlantic City. The dark-haired soubrette, described by a theater ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franklin Pangborn
Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' International House'', ''The Bank Dick'', and ''Never Give a Sucker an Even Break''. For his contributions to motion pictures, Pangborn received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street on February 8, 1960. Early years Pangborn was born in Newark, New Jersey. During World War I, he served for 14 months with the 312th Infantry in Europe. Career An encounter with actress Mildred Holland when he was 17 led to Pangborn's first professional acting experience. He was working for an insurance company when she learned about his ambitions for acting and offered him an extra's position with her company at $12 per week, initially during his two weeks' vacation. That opportunity grew into four years' touring with Holland and her troupe. Fol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Mazurki
Mike Mazurki (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990) was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. His 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence and face had him typecast as often brainless athletes, tough guys, thugs, and gangsters. His roles included Splitface in ''Dick Tracy'' (1945), Yusuf in ''Sinbad the Sailor'' (1947), and Clon in '' It's About Time'' (1966–1967). Early years Mazurki was born Markiyan Yulianovich Mazurkevich ( uk, Маркіян (Михайло) Мазуркевич) ( pl, Markijan (Mychajlo) Mazurkiewicz) in the village of Kupchyntsi (in present-day Ternopil Raion), near what was then Tarnopol, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Ternopil, Ukraine). Mazurki attended LaSalle Institute in Troy, for high school. Upon finishing school, he changed his name to "Mike". He played football and basketball at Manhattan College, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1930. After earning his bachelor's deg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Alexander (actor)
John Alexander (November 29, 1897 – July 13, 1982) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early life He was born on November 29, 1897, in Newport, Kentucky. His father owned steamboats and his mother was a telegraph operator. Career He had career spanning more than 55 years on Broadway with his first role as the title character in ''Elmer Brown, the Only Boy in Town'' in 1908/1909. He is best remembered for his performance as Teddy Brewster, a lunatic who thinks he is Theodore Roosevelt, in the 1944 classic film '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' opposite Cary Grant. He had previously portrayed that role in the 1941 Broadway play of the same name on which the film was based. He went on to play the "real" Roosevelt in the 1950 Bob Hope comedy '' Fancy Pants'' and reprised his role as Teddy "Roosevelt" Brewster in the 1955 TV adaptation of ''Arsenic and Old Lace'' in the anthology series ''The Best of Broadway''. Among his other notable film roles, Alexander played Steve Ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
