|
The Old Maid (1939 Film)
''The Old Maid'' is a 1939 American drama film directed by Edmund Goulding. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1935 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by Zoë Akins, which was adapted from the 1924 Edith Wharton novella ''The Old Maid: the Fifties'' (taken from the collection of novellas '' Old New York''). Plot Set during the American Civil War, the story focuses on Charlotte Lovell and her cousin Delia, whose wedding day is disrupted when her former fiancé Clem Spender returns following a two-year absence. Delia proceeds to marry Jim Ralston, and Charlotte comforts Clem, who enlists in the Union Army and is later killed in battle. Shortly after his death, Charlotte discovers she is pregnant with Clem's child, and in order to escape the stigma of an illegitimate child, she journeys West to have her baby, a daughter she names Clementina (or "Tina"). Following the end of the war, Charlotte and Tina relocate to Philadelphia, where Charlotte opens an orpha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmund Goulding
Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film '' Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwick. Also in the early 1920s he wrote several screenplays for star Mae Murray for films directed by her then husband Robert Z. Leonard. Goulding is best remembered for directing cultured dramas such as ''Love'' (1927), '' Grand Hotel'' (1932) with Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, ''Dark Victory'' (1939) with Bette Davis, and ''The Razor's Edge'' (1946) with Gene Tierney and Tyrone Power. He also directed the classic film noir '' Nightmare Alley'' (1947) with Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell, and the action drama '' The Dawn Patrol''. He was also a successful songwriter, composer, and producer. Biography Before moving to films, Goulding was an actor, playwright and director on the London stage. Interviewed about his Goulding biography '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction. Decades of political controversy over slavery were brought to a head by the victory in the 1860 U.S. presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery's expansion into the west. An initial seven southern slave states responded to Lincoln's victory by seceding from the United States and, in 1861, forming the Confederacy. The Confederacy seized U.S. forts and other federal assets within their borders. Led by Confederate President Jefferson Da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch". Among his best known works are '' Trouble in Paradise'', ''Design for Living'', ''Ninotchka'', ''The Shop Around the Corner'', ''To Be or Not to Be'' and '' Heaven Can Wait''. In 1946, he received an Honorary Academy Award for his distinguished contributions to the art of the motion picture. Early life Lubitsch was born in 1892 in Berlin, the son of Simon Lubitsch, a tailor, and Anna (née) Lindenstaedt. His family was Ashkenazi Jewish; his father was born in Grodno in the Russian Empire (now Belarus), and his mother was from Wriezen outside Berlin. He turned his back on his father's tailoring business to enter the theater, and by 1911 was a member of Max Reinhard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States. The publication has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes. It is owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by the Times Mirror Company. The newspaper’s coverage emphasizes California and especially Southern California stories. In the 19th century, the paper developed a reputation for civic boosterism and opposition to labor unions, the latter of which led to the bombing of its headquarters in 1910. The paper's profile grew substantially in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. In recent decades the paper's readership has declined, and it has been beset by a series of ownership changes, staff reductions, and other controversies. In January 2018, the paper's staff voted to unionize and fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Burton (actor)
Frederick Burton (October 20, 1871 – October 23, 1957) was an American actor. He appeared in 122 films between 1914 and 1947. Burton was born in Gosport, Indiana and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Life and career The following comes from a 1907 issue of '' Life Magazine'': FREDERICK BURTON, the actor, hails from Gosport, Ind. He got his start on the stage after making a hit in a Knights of Pythias benefit in Gosport. After three years' absence from home, his company played in Terre Haute and Burton invited his father to come over and see him act. The old man took in the show, and after the last curtain went back on the stage to see his son. Presently the treasurer appeared at the dressing room door and handed Burton his weekly pay envelope. Burton senior saw the figures on the outside and his eyes sparkled. "You don't mean to tell me you get that much every week, do you?" exclaimed the old gentleman. "That's right," Burton replied, modestly. "Well, what other chor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Hopper
William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (January 26, 1915 – March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in predominantly minor roles in more than 80 feature films in the 1930s and 1940s. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he left acting, but in the mid-1950s, he was persuaded by director William Wellman to resume his film career. He became best known for his work as private detective Paul Drake in the CBS television series '' Perry Mason''. Early life William DeWolf Hopper Jr., was born January 26, 1915, in New York City. He was the only child of actor, singer, comedian, and theatrical producer DeWolf Hopper and his fifth wife, actress Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry). He had one older half-brother, John A. Hopper, from his father's second marriage in the 1880s. Hopper made his film debut as a baby in his father's 1916 silent movie '' Sun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecilia Loftus
Cecilia Loftus (born Marie Cecilia Loftus Brown; 22 October 1876 – 12 July 1943) was a Scottish actress, singer, mimic, vaudevillian, and music hall performer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life Loftus was born in Glasgow, Scotland. Her father, Ben Brown, was part of the successful variety group, Brown, Newland & Le Clerc.Frank Cullen (2004) ''Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America'', Routledge, Taylor and French, New York Her mother, Marie Loftus, an actress, pantomimic, and music hall performer, who was only 18 years old when Cecilia was born, later became a star of burlesque, billed as "The Sarah Bernhardt of the Halls". She was given an education at the Convent of the Holy Child, Raikes Parade, Blackpool, England which moved in 1890 to the premises at Layton Hill Convent, Blackpool which it still occupies although now, after various name changes, splits and mergers, it is known as St. Mary's Catholic College. In July ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Lundigan
William Paul Lundigan (June 12, 1914 – December 20, 1975) was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include '' Dodge City'' (1939), ''The Fighting 69th'' (1940), ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940), ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), '' Dishonored Lady'' (1947), '' Pinky'' (1949), ''Love Nest'' (1951) with Marilyn Monroe, '' The House on Telegraph Hill'' (1951), ''I'd Climb the Highest Mountain'' (1951) and '' Inferno'' (1953). Biography Growing up in Syracuse, New York, Lundigan was the oldest of four sons. His father, Michael F. Lundigan, owned a shoe store (at which Lundigan worked) in the same building as a local radio station, WFBL. Becoming fascinated by radio, he was playing child roles on radio and producing radio plays at 16.William Lundigan, vet of 125 movies, dies at 61 Chicago Tribune 22 Dec 1975: c11. A graduate of Nottingham High School, Lundigan studied law at Syracuse University, earning money as a radio announcer at WFBL. He graduated and passed the bar examinat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerome Cowan
Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early years Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palmer. Stage At 18, Cowan joined a travelling stock company, shortly afterwards enlisting in the United States Navy during World War I. After the war he returned to the stage and became a vaudeville headliner, then gained success on the New York stage. His Broadway debut was in ''We've Got to Have Money'' (1923). His other Broadway credits include ''Frankie and Johnnie'' (1930), ''Just to Remind You'' (1931), ''Rendezvous'' (1932), ''The Little Black Book'' (1932), ''Marathon'' (1933), '' Both Your Houses'' (1933), '' As Thousands Cheer'' (1933), ''Ladies' Money'' (1934), ''Paths of Glory'' (1935), ''Boy Meets Girl'' (1935), '' My Three Angels'' (1953), ''Lunatics and Lovers'' (1954), '' Rumple'' (1957), and '' Say, Darling'' (1958). Film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Stephenson
James Albert Stephenson (14 April 1889 – 29 July 1941) was a British stage and film actor. He found extraordinarily rapid success in Hollywood after arriving in his late 40s, but he died unexpectedly in his early 50s. Early life Stephenson was the son of chemist and druggist John G. Stephenson and his wife Emma. He grew up in the West Riding of Yorkshire and Burnley, Lancashire, with his brothers, Alan and Norman. He became a bank clerk and later had a career as a merchant. In the 1930s, he emigrated to the United States and took U.S. nationality in 1938. Career After acting on the stage, Stephenson made his film debut in 1937 at age 48, initially making films in Britain. Warner Bros. signed him the following year, and he began playing urbane villains and disgraced gentlemen. His big break came when director William Wyler cast him, in spite of studio resistance, in '' The Letter'' (1940), opposite Bette Davis. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Acto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louise Fazenda
Louise Fazenda (June 17, 1895 – April 17, 1962) was an American film actress, appearing chiefly in silent comedy films. Early life Fazenda was born in her maternal grandparents' house in Lafayette, Indiana, the daughter of merchandise broker Joseph A. Fazenda, who was born in Mexico, and Nelda T. Schilling Fazenda, a Chicago native. She was of Portuguese, French, and Italian descent on her father's side and of German descent on her mother's. The Fazenda family relocated to California, where Joseph Fazenda opened up a grocery store. Louise attended Los Angeles High School and St. Mary's Convent and kept busy with a number of after-school jobs, one of which was delivering groceries for the family business via a horse-drawn wagon. Career Fazenda was discovered by a scout employed by Mack Sennett in a high school comedy show. She made her first film in 1913. She was best known as a character actor in silent films, playing roles such as a fussy old maid and a blacksmith. Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jane Bryan
Jane Bryan (born Jane O'Brien, June 11, 1918 – April 8, 2009) was an American actress groomed by Warner Bros. to become one of its leading ladies but she chose to retire from acting in 1940 at age 22, after which she became a philanthropist and arts patron. Early years Born in Hollywood, California, Bryan was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James O'Brien. Her father was an attorney. Her first dramatic training came in Jean Muir's theatrical workshop, where she was discovered by Bette Davis. Career Bryan gained acting experience as an apprentice at the Hollywood Theatre Workshop. Her film debut came in '' The Case of the Black Cat'' (1936). Her screen career lasted only four years, but she appeared in prominent roles in several memorable films, including ''Marked Woman'' (1937) with Davis and Humphrey Bogart; '' Kid Galahad'' (1937) with Edward G. Robinson, Davis, and Bogart; '' A Slight Case of Murder'' (1938) with Robinson; ''Each Dawn I Die'' (1939) with James Cagney and Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
