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The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie
''The Killing of a Chinese Bookie'' is a 1976 American neo-noir crime film written and directed by John Cassavetes and starring Ben Gazzara. A rough and gritty film, this is the second of their three collaborations, following ''Husbands'' and preceding ''Opening Night''''.'' Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel, Morgan Woodward, Meade Roberts, and Azizi Johari appear in supporting roles. Gazzara's character of the formidable strip club owner Cosmo Vittelli was in part based on an impersonation he did for his friend Cassavetes in the 1970s. In an interview for the Criterion Collection in the mid-2000s, Gazzara stated that he believed that Vittelli, who cares deeply about the rather peculiar "art" aspect of his nightclub routines but is faced with patrons who are only there for naked girls and care little about the artistic value of any of the routines, was a double of sorts of Cassavetes himself. Plot Cosmo Vittelli owns and operates a nightclub, Crazy Horse West, on the Sunset Stri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and directing movies financed partly by income from his acting work. AllMovie called him "an iconoclastic maverick",Ankeny, JasonJohn Cassavetes ''AllMovie''. while ''The New Yorker'' suggested in 2013 that he "may be the most influential American director of the last half century."''The New Yorker'', July 1, 2013, p. 17 "On the Horizon: Movies: Wild Man Blues July 6–31" As an actor, Cassavetes starred in notable Hollywood films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including ''Edge of the City'' (1957), ''The Dirty Dozen'' (1967), and '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968). He began his directing career with the 1959 independent feature ''Shadows'' and followed with independent productions such as ''Faces'' (1968), ''Husbands'' (1970), ''A Woman Under the Infl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alain Silver
Alain Silver is a US film producer, director, and screenwriter; music producer; film critic, film historian, DVD commentator, author and editor of books and essays on film topics, especially film noir, the samurai film, and horror films. Filmmakers about whom he has written include David Lean, Robert Aldrich, Raymond Chandler, Roger Corman, and James Wong Howe. Career Education Silver graduated from UCLA with degrees in film production (B.A.) and critical studies (M.A. and PhD). Film production Silver entered the film industry through the Assistant Directors Training Program and was a trainee, second assistant and first assistant director on movies such as ''Every Which Way But Loose'', ''The Manitou'', and ''The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training'' and on television series such as '' Police Woman,'' '' Angie,'' ''Mork and Mindy'' and ''Laverne and Shirley''. In 1981, Silver began working as a production manager and producer. Since that time Silver has been executive or supe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Val Avery
Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a Soviet assault rifle Music *''Val'', album by Val Doonican *VAL (band), Belarusian pop duo People * Val (given name), a unisex given name * Rafael Merry del Val (1865–1930), Spanish Catholic cardinal * Val (sculptor) (1967–2016), French sculptor * Val (footballer, born 1983), Lucivaldo Lázaro de Abreu, Brazilian football midfielder * Val (footballer, born 1997), Valdemir de Oliveira Soares, Brazilian football defensive midfielder Places * Val (Rychnov nad Kněžnou District), a village and municipality in the Czech Republic * Val (Tábor District), a village and municipality in the Czech Republic * Vál, a village in Hungary * Val, Iran, a village in Kurdistan Province, Iran * Val, Italy, a ''frazione'' in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Ven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haji (actress)
Haji (born Barbarella Catton; January 24, 1946 – August 9, 2013) was a Canadian-born actress of British and Filipino descent, and a former exotic dancer known for her role in Russ Meyer's 1965 cult classic ''Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!''. She made significant contributions to her roles by introducing elements of psychedelia and witchcraft as well as writing most of her own dialogue. Life and career Born in Quebec, Canada, Haji—a nickname given to her by an uncle—appeared in several Russ Meyer films, including ''Motorpsycho'' (1965), ''Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!'' (1965), '' Good Morning and... Goodbye!'' (1967), and ''Supervixens'' (1975). Haji's final role was as Moonji in ''Killer Drag Queens on Dope'' (2003). Haji was reunited with fellow Russ Meyer film stars Kitten Natividad and Raven De La Croix in the 2001 comedy feature film ''The Double-D Avenger'', directed by William Winckler. In it, Haji played evil exotic dancer Hydra Heffer. Haji was featured as one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Phillips (actor)
Robert R. Phillips (April 10, 1925 – November 5, 2018) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Phillips was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was a self-defense instructor while serving in the United States Marine Corps, during World War II and later played football for the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins. Phillips was also a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department and Illinois State Police. He was a personal bodyguard for the 31st Governor of Illinois, Adlai Stevenson II. Phillips began his film and television career in the 1950s, in which a film producer told him to become an actor. Phillips attended an acting school. He retired from being a police officer in 1963. In his film and television career, Phillips was preferred as a "tough guy", for which he was frequently hired by studios to appear in Lee Marvin's films in Hollywood, California, including ''The Killers'' (1964) and ''Cat Ballou'' (1965). He also appeared in two films with a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triad (organized Crime)
A triad ( zh , t=三合會 , s=三合会 , cy=sāam hahp wúi , j=saam1 hap6 wui6‑2 , hp=sān hé huì , first=t,j ) is a Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate based in Greater China and has outposts in various countries with significant overseas Chinese diaspora populations. The Hong Kong triad is distinct from mainland Chinese criminal organizations. In ancient China, the triad was one of three major secret societies.Wang, Peng (2017). ''The Chinese Mafia: Organized Crime, Corruption, and Extra-Legal Protection''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. It established branches in Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chinese communities overseas.Chu, Y. K. (2002). ''The triads as business''. Routledge. Known as "mainland Chinese criminal organizations", they are of two major types: “dark forces” (loosely-organized groups) (）and “Black Societies" () (more-mature criminal organizations). Two features which distinguish a black society from ordinary "dark forces" or low leve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around the world. Gangsters are the subject of many novels, films, television series and video games. Usage In modern usage, the term "gang" is generally used for a criminal organization and the term "gangster" invariably describes a criminal. Much has been written on the subject of gangs, although there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a gang or what situations lead to gang formation and evolution. There is agreement that the members of a gang have a sense of common identity and belonging and this is typically reinforced through shared activities and thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loan Shark
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably expect to be able to use the legal system to collect such debts, they often resort to enforcing repayment by terms of blackmail and threats of violence. Historically, many moneylenders skirted between legal and criminal activity. In the recent western world, loan sharks have been a prominent feature of the criminal underworld. Loan sharking is not to be confused with predatory lending with extremely high interest rates such as payday or title loans, which is sometimes considered to be "loan sharking" (or, at least, unfavorably compared to loan sharking by critics) regardless of whether it is legal. A key difference between "traditional" loan sharking and predatory lending is that lenders alleged to be engaged in the latter practice are ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects."Burlesque" ''Oxford English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, accessed 16 February 2011 The word derives from the Italian ', which, in turn, is derived from the Italian ' – a joke, ridicule or mockery. Burlesque overlaps in meaning with caricature, parody and travesty, and, in its theatrical sense, with extravaganza, as presented during the Victorian burlesque, Victorian era. "Burlesque" has been used in English in this literary and theatrical sense since the late 17th century. It has been applied retrospectively to works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Chaucer and William Shakespeare, Shakespeare and to the Graeco-Roman classics.Baldick, Chris [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world's most populous megacities. Los Angeles is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits , Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The city of Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to it's east. It covers about , and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly Hills at Phyllis Street. The Sunset Strip is known for its boutiques, restaurants, rock clubs, and nightclubs, as well as its array of huge, colorful billboards. History Prior to the 1984 incorporation of the city of West Hollywood, the Sunset Strip lay in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. Because of this, the Sunset Strip and all of West Hollywood gained a reputation for being a loosely regulated area, in large part because it was not under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles Police Department. 1920s Gambling was illegal in the city of Los Angeles, but legal in unincorporated Los Angeles County, which fostered the development of rather wilder nightlife in West Hollywood than was found within the city limits. In the 1920s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
