The Moment Of Truth (play)
''The Moment of Truth'' is a satire comedy drama play by Peter Ustinov written in 1951, telling the story of a Republic on the brink of defeat, while facing the threat of a political crisis with a crippled government structure. Ustinov wrote the play inspired by French President Marshal Petain, his political relationship with Nazi Germany and the events surrounding the creation of Vichy France. The play was first premiered at the Adelphi Theatre, Adelphi in 1951. The play was revived in 2013 at the Southwark Playhouse in Newington Causeway, London by ''The New Actors Company''. The production was directed by ''Rob Laycock'', and opened on 26 June 2013 and closed on 20 July 2013 after 26 performances. Plot summary Act One The play opens with the anonymous Prime Minister, his Foreign Minister and General inside the cabinet office, their country on the verge of defeat as they wait for the Victor to arrive to accept their surrender. When the Victor arrives, instead of surrenderin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Peter Ustinov
Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. An intellectual and diplomat, he held various academic posts and served as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and president of the World Federalist Movement. Ustinov was the winner of numerous awards during his life, including two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, Emmy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTA Awards for acting, and a Grammy Award for best recording for children, as well as the recipient of governmental honours from, amongst others, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. He also displayed a unique cultural versatility which frequently earned him the accolade of a Renaissance man. Miklós Rózsa, composer of the music for ''Quo Vadis'' and of numerous concert works, dedicated his String Quartet No. 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Miles Richardson
Miles Richardson (born 15 July 1963) is a British actor, born in Battersea, London to parents Ian Richardson (the well-known Shakespearean actor) and Maroussia Frank (daughter of dancer and critic Elizabeth Frank), both founder members of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was educated and brought up in London, Stratford-upon-Avon and New York. He graduated from Arts Educational Schools in 1982, where he won the award for Best Actor. Previously he had worked as a child actor for the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2009, he placed his father's ashes in the newly refurbished Royal Shakespeare Company's theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Theatre work Repertory theatre Richardson has worked extensively in repertory theatre throughout the United Kingdom, including Newcastle upon Tyne, York, Birmingham, Pitlochry, Mold, Flintshire, Nottingham, Leeds and Northampton. His credits number more than 70 plays including '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', '' All's Well That Ends Well'', ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Cold War Fiction
The Cold War was reflected in culture through music, movies, books, television, and other media, as well as sports, social beliefs, and behavior. Major elements of the Cold War included the presumed threat of a nuclear war, annihilation, and espionage. Many works use the Cold War as a backdrop or directly take part in a fictional conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. The period 1953–62 saw Cold War themes becoming mainstream as a public preoccupation. For the historical context in the US, see United States in the 1950s. Fiction: spy stories Cloak and dagger stories became part of the popular culture of the Cold War in both East and West, with innumerable novels and movies that showed how polarized and dangerous the world was. Soviet audiences were thrilled by spy stories showing how their KGB agents protected the motherland by foiling dirty work by the United States' nefarious Central Intelligence Agency, Britain's devious MI6, and Israel's devilish Mossad. A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
West End Plays
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance languages (''ouest'' in French, ''oest'' in Catalan, ''ovest'' in Italian, ''oeste'' in Spanish and Portuguese). As in other languages, the word formation stems from the fact that west is the direction of the setting sun in the evening: 'west' derives from the Indo-European root ''*wes'' reduced from ''*wes-pero'' 'evening, night', cognate with Ancient Greek ἕσπερος hesperos 'evening; evening star; western' and Latin vesper 'evening; west'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin occidens 'west' from occidō 'to go down, to set' and Hebrew מַעֲרָב maarav 'west' from עֶרֶב erev 'evening'. Navigation To go west using a compass for navigation (in a place where magnetic north is the same dire ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
1951 Plays
Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United Kingdom announces abandonment of the Tanganyika groundnut scheme for the cultivation of peanuts in the Tanganyika Territory, with the writing off of £36.5M debt. * January 15 – In a court in West Germany, Ilse Koch, The "Witch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment. * January 20 – Winter of Terror: Avalanches in the Alps kill 240 and bury 45,000 for a time, in Switzerland, Austria and Italy. * January 21 – Mount Lamington in Papua New Guinea 1951 eruption of Mount Lamington, erupts catastrophically, killing nearly 3,000 people and causing great devastation in Oro Province. * January 25 – Dutch author Anne de Vries releases the first volume of his children's nove ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Noel Hood
Margaret Noel Hood (25 December 1909 – 15 October 1979) was a British actress. She was married to the Irish-born actor Charles Oliver. Filmography Film * ''Crook's Tour'' (1940) as Edith Charters * ''Personal Affair'' (1953) as 4th Gossip (uncredited) * ''The Million Pound Note'' (1954) as Mrs. Waldron-Smythe (uncredited) * '' The Belles of St. Trinian's'' (1954) as Bilston School Mistress * ''The Constant Husband'' (1955) as Friends and Relations - Gladys * ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' (1957) as Aunt Sophia * ''How to Murder a Rich Uncle'' (1957) as Aunt Marjorie * ''High Flight'' (1957) as Tweedy Lady * ''The Surgeon's Knife'' (1957) as Sister Slater * ''Rx Murder'' (1958) as Lady Watson * '' The Duke Wore Jeans'' (1958) as Lady Marguerite * ''The Inn of the Sixth Happiness'' (1958) as Miss Thompson * ''The Son of Robin Hood'' (1958) as Prioress * ''Idol on Parade'' (1959) as School Mistress * ''Bobbikins'' (1959) as Nurse * ''Devil's Bait'' (1959) as Mrs. Davies * ''Two Wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ian Colin
Ian Colin (1912–1987) was a British film and television actor. During the 1930s, Colin was a leading man in Quota quickies. He later acted predominantly in television shows such as ''The Quatermass Experiment'', ''Emergency-Ward 10'' and ''Coronation Street''. He was the son of Marmaduke Wetherell and Lena McNaughton. Selected filmography * '' Cross Currents'' (1935) * '' Late Extra'' (1935) * '' Blue Smoke'' (1935) * '' Men of Yesterday'' (1936) * ''Wings Over Africa'' (1936) * ''The Small Man'' (1936) * '' Toilers of the Sea'' (1936) * '' Blind Man's Bluff'' (1936) * '' Born That Way'' (1936) * ''It's Never Too Late to Mend'' (1937) * '' Darts Are Trumps'' (1938) * '' The Queen of Spades'' (1949) * ''The Adventures of Jane'' (1949) *'' The Big Chance'' (1957) * ''The Two-Headed Spy'' (1958) * '' Witness in the Dark'' (1959) * ''Dangerous Afternoon'' (1961) * ''Strongroom A bank vault is a secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents are stored. It is inte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Hugh Griffith
Hugh Emrys Griffith (30 May 1912 – 14 May 1980) was a Welsh film, stage, and television actor. He is best remembered for his role in the film '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), which earned him critical acclaim and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Some of his other notable credits include ''Exodus'' (1960), ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1962), '' Tom Jones'' (1963), and ''Oliver!'' (1968). Early life Griffith was born in Marian-glas, Anglesey, Wales, the youngest son of Mary and William Griffith. He was educated at Llangefni County School and attempted to gain entrance to university, but failed the English examination. He was then urged to make a career in banking, becoming a bank clerk and transferring to London to be closer to acting opportunities. Just as he was making progress and gained admission to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, he had to suspend his plans in order to join the British Army, serving for six years with the Royal Welch Fusiliers in India and the Burma Camp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Donald Pleasence
Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe in '' The Great Escape'' (1963), the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967), SEN 5241 in ''THX 1138'' (1971), and the deranged Clarence "Doc" Tydon in ''Wake in Fright'' (1971). Pleasence starred as psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis in ''Halloween'' (1978) and four of its sequels, a role for which he was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actor. The series' popularity and critical success led to a resurgent career for Pleasence, who appeared in numerous American and European-produced horror and thriller films. He collaborated with ''Halloween'' director John Carpenter twice more, as the President of the United States in ''Escape from New York'' (1981), and as th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Walter Rilla
Walter Rilla (22 August 1894 – 21 November 1980) was a German film actor of Jewish descent. Siegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), pg. 213 He appeared in more than 130 films between 1922 and 1977. He was born in Neunkirchen, Germany and died in Rosenheim, Germany. Career Having debuted on the stage, Rilla began his film in career in Germany during the silent era. This included an early role for him in Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's ''The Grand Duke's Finances'' in 1924. Following the rise of the Nazi Party to power in 1933, he emigrated to Britain and became a regular performer in British films often in villainous or aristocratic roles. Both during and after the Second World War he played Nazi officers or agents. From the 1950s onwards he returned to West Germany to appear in films and on television, alternating this with continued roles in British cinema. He was the father of film ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Jeanette Sterke
Jeanette Laura Sterke is a British actress. Sterke was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her parents emigrated to England to escape the Nazis. She went to school in England and attended RADA. She has had a long stage and television career. She was married to the actor Keith Michell. They had a son, Paul, and a daughter Helena Michell, Helena. Filmography References External links * Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English stage actresses English television actresses English film actresses Actresses from Prague Czechoslovak emigrants to England Czech emigrants to England Year of birth missing (living people) {{England-actor-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition in his home country for his leading performances in the Hammer Productions horror films from the 1950s to 1970s, while earning international prominence as Grand Moff Tarkin in ''Star Wars'' (1977). Born in Kenley, Surrey, Cushing made his stage debut in 1935 and spent three years at a repertory theatre before moving to Hollywood to pursue a film career. After making his motion picture debut in the film '' The Man in the Iron Mask'' (1939), Cushing began to find modest success in American films before returning to England at the outbreak of the Second World War. Despite performing in a string of roles, including one as Osric in Laurence Olivier's film adaptation of ''Hamlet'' (1948), Cushing struggled greatly to find work during this peri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |