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The Old Dark House (1932 Film)
''The Old Dark House'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy horror film directed by James Whale. Based on the 1927 novel ''Benighted'' by J.B. Priestley, the film features an ensemble cast that includes Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Gloria Stuart, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Raymond Massey and Eva Moore. Set in interwar Wales, the film follows five travellers who seek shelter from a violent storm in the decaying country house home of the eccentric Femm family. The adaptation rights to Priestley's novel, a social commentary on contemporary British class structures, were acquired by Universal Pictures at Whale's insistence following the completion of ''Frankenstein'' (1931) and during development on ''The Invisible Man'' (1933). The screenplay was written by Benn W. Levy, who had previously scripted ''Waterloo Bridge'' (1931) for Whale and Universal, with uncredited contributions by ''The Invisible Man''s R. C. Sheriff, and serves as a largely faithful adapt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karoly Grosz (illustrator)
Karoly Grosz ( , ; ; 1896–after 1938) was a Hungarian–American illustrator of Classical Hollywood–era film posters. As art director at Universal Pictures for the bulk of the 1930s, Grosz oversaw the company's advertising campaigns and contributed hundreds of his own illustrations. He is especially recognized for his dramatic, colorful posters for classic horror films. Grosz's best-known posters advertised early Universal Classic Monsters films such as '' Dracula'' (1931), ''Frankenstein'' (1931), '' The Mummy'' (1932), ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), and ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935). Beyond the horror genre, his other notable designs include posters for the epic war film '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1930) and the screwball comedy '' My Man Godfrey'' (1936). Original lithograph copies of his poster art are scarce and highly valued by collectors. Two posters illustrated by Grosz—ads for ''Frankenstein'' and ''The Mummy'', respectively—have set the auction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pre-Code Hollywood
Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known as the "Hays Code", in mid-1934. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor, and it did not become rigorously enforced until July 1, 1934, with the establishment of the Production Code Administration (PCA). Before that date, film content was restricted more by local laws, negotiations between the Studio Relations Committee (SRC) and the major studios, and popular opinion, than by strict adherence to the Hays Code, which was often ignored by Hollywood filmmakers. As a result, some films in the late 1920s and early 1930s depicted or implied sexual innuendo, romantic and sexual relationships between white and black people, mild profanity, illegal drug use, promiscuity, prostitution, infidelity, abortion, intense violence, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Old Dark House (1963 Film)
''The Old Dark House'' is a 1963 comedy horror film directed by William Castle. A remake of Universal's 1932 film of the same name directed by James Whale, the film is based on the 1927 novel by J. B. Priestley originally published under the name ''Benighted'', and the new screenplay was written by Robert Dillon. The opening title art was drawn by legendary macabre cartoonist Charles Addams, whose signature is painted by a hairy hand. Synopsis Tom Penderel, an American car salesman in London, delivers a car to an old mansion on Dartmoor for his eccentric roommate Casper Femm. The car is damaged by a falling statue in a raging storm, Tom enters the house, and finds that his roommate Casper is dead. Tom is invited to stay at the house by members of Casper's family, including his twin brother Jasper, his cousins, the demure young Cecily and the seductive Morgana, and his Uncle Potiphar, who has been building an ark in anticipation of another great flood. Each of the relatives is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as ''Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city#National capitals, Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national Government of the United Kingdom, government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the Counties of England, counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waterloo Bridge (1931 Film)
''Waterloo Bridge'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama romance war film directed by James Whale and starring Mae Clarke and Kent Douglass. The screenplay by Benn Levy and Tom Reed is based on the 1930 play ''Waterloo Bridge'' by Robert E. Sherwood. The film was remade in 1940 as ''Waterloo Bridge'' and as '' Gaby'' in 1956. Both remakes were made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which bought the 1931 version from Universal. Today, the rights to all three films are held by Warner Bros. and their subsidiary Turner Entertainment. This film was one of Bette Davis' first. Plot Unable to find work in London at the height of World War I, American chorus girl Myra Deauville resorts to prostitution to support herself. She sometimes meets her clients on Waterloo Bridge, the primary entry point into the city for soldiers on military leave. During an air raid, she meets fellow American Roy Cronin, a member of the Canadian Army. Distracted from her original plans by the air raid, she makes no atte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Invisible Man (1933 Film)
''The Invisible Man'' is a 1933 American science fiction horror film directed by James Whale. Based on H. G. Wells' 1897 novel '' The Invisible Man'' and produced by Universal Pictures, the film stars Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, and William Harrigan. The film involves a Dr. Jack Griffin (Rains) who is covered in bandages and has his eyes obscured by dark glasses, the result of a secret experiment that makes him invisible, taking lodging in the village of Iping. Never leaving his quarters, the stranger demands that the staff leave him completely alone until his landlady discovers he is invisible. Griffin returns to the laboratory of his mentor, Dr. Cranley ( Henry Travers), where he reveals his secret to Dr. Kemp (William Harrigan) and former fiancée Flora Cranley (Gloria Stuart) who soon learn that Griffin's discovery has driven him insane, leading him to prove his superiority over other people by performing harmless pranks at first and eventually turning to murder. ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankenstein (1931 Film)
''Frankenstein'' is a 1931 American pre-Code science fiction horror film directed by James Whale, produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., and adapted from a 1927 play by Peggy Webling, which in turn was based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. The Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. ''Frankenstein'' stars Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein, an obsessed scientist who digs up corpses with his assistant in order to assemble a living being from body parts. The resulting creature, often known as Frankenstein's monster, is portrayed by Boris Karloff. The make-up for the monster was provided by Jack Pierce. Alongside Clive and Karloff, the film's cast also includes Mae Clarke, John Boles, Dwight Frye, and Edward Van Sloan. Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film was a commercial succ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Class Structure
A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, income, and belonging to a particular subculture or social network. "Class" is a subject of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists and social historians. The term has a wide range of sometimes conflicting meanings, and there is no broad consensus on a definition of "class". Some people argue that due to social mobility, class boundaries do not exist. In common parlance, the term "social class" is usually synonymous with "socio-economic class", defined as "people having the same social, economic, cultural, political or educational status", e.g., "the working class"; "an emerging professional class". However, academics distinguish social class from socioeconomic status, using the former to refer to one's relatively st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Commentary
Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace about a given problem and appealing to people's sense of justice. Social commentary can be practiced through all forms of communication, from printed form, to conversations to computerized communication. Two examples of strong and bitter social commentary are the writings of Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift and German priest Martin Luther. Swift decried the appalling conditions faced by Irish Catholics under the rule of the Protestant Ascendancy in '' A Modest Proposal'', while Martin Luther decried corruption in the Catholic Church in his ''Ninety-five Theses. Examples of social commentators from the lower social strata are Charles Dickens and Will Rogers. Forms This list is far from exhaustive. Examples of social commentary may be foun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eccentricity (behavior)
Eccentricity (also called quirkiness) is an unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive. Eccentricity is contrasted with normal behavior, the nearly universal means by which individuals in society solve given problems and pursue certain priorities in everyday life. People who consistently display benignly eccentric behavior are labeled as "eccentrics". Etymology From Medieval Latin ''eccentricus'', derived from Greek ', "out of the center", from '-, '- "out of" + ', "center". ''Eccentric'' first appeared in English essays as a neologism in 1551 as an astronomical term meaning "a circle in which the earth, sun, etc. deviates from its center." Five years later, in 1556, an adjective form of the word was used. In 1685, the definition evolved from the literal to the figurative, and ''eccentric'' is noted to have begun being used to describe unconventional or odd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Country House
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, the full-time residence for the landed gentry who ruled rural Britain until the Reform Act 1832. Frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses, having functional antecedents in manor houses. With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff, country houses were important as places of employment for many rural communities. In turn, until the agricultural depressions of the 1870s, the estates, of which country houses were the hub, provided their owners with incomes. However, the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interwar Britain
In the United Kingdom, the interwar period (1918–1939) was a period of relative stability after the division of Ireland, though of economic stagnation. In politics, the Liberal Party collapsed and the Labour Party became the main challenger to the dominant Conservative Party throughout the period. The Great Depression affected Britain less severely economically and politically than other major nations, although some areas still suffered from severe long-term unemployment and hardship, especially mining districts and in Scotland and North West England. Historian Arthur Marwick sees a radical transformation of British society resulting from the Great War, a deluge that swept away many old attitudes and brought in a more egalitarian society. He sees the famous literary pessimism of the 1920s as misplaced, arguing there were major positive long-term consequences of the war for British society. He points to an energised self-consciousness among workers that quickly built up the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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