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The Runaway Bus
''The Runaway Bus'' is a 1954 British comedy film produced, written, and directed by Val Guest. It stars Frankie Howerd, Margaret Rutherford and Petula Clark and an ensemble cast of character actors in a story about a bus caught in fog while a gang of crooks tries to carry off a heist. The film was shot at Southall Studios in London with sets designed by the art director Wilfred Arnold. It was the film debut of Belinda Lee. The film is referenced in an episode of Frankie Howerd's 1970s radio series. Plot When heavy fog wreaks havoc among air travellers throughout southern England, outspoken Cynthia Beeston (Margaret Rutherford), a forceful proponent of "Positive Thought", insists on being taken from London Airport to Blackbushe Airport, where she might be able to fly to Dublin. Harassed airline employees find emergency relief coach 13, and reserve driver Percy Lamb (Frankie Howerd) to transport her. Lamb is a man so hapless he cannot find his way around the airport, much ...
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Val Guest
Val Guest (born Valmond Maurice Grossman; 11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer, for whom he directed 14 films, and science fiction films. He enjoyed a long career in the film industry from the early 1930s until the early 1980s. Reprinted from ''Reference Guide to British and Irish Film Directors'' Early life and career Guest was born to John Simon Grossman and Julia Ann Gladys Emanuel in Maida Vale, London. He later changed his name to Val Guest (officially in 1939). His father was a jute broker, and the family spent some of Guest's childhood in India before returning to England. His parents divorced when he was young, but this information was kept from him. Instead he was told that his mother had died. He was educated at Seaford College in Sussex, but left in 1927 and worked for a time as a bookkeeper. Guest's initial career was as a ...
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Optimism
Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled with water to the halfway point: an optimist is said to see the glass as half full, while a pessimist sees the glass as half empty. The term derives from the Latin ''optimum'', meaning "best". Being optimistic, in the typical sense of the word, is defined as expecting the best possible outcome from any given situation. This is usually referred to in psychology as dispositional optimism. It thus reflects a belief that future conditions will work out for the best. For this reason, it is seen as a trait that fosters resilience in the face of stress. Theories of optimism include dispositional models and models of explanatory style. Methods to measure optimism have been developed within both of these theoretical approaches, such as various form ...
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Stringer Davis
James Buckley Stringer Davis, generally known as Stringer Davis (4 June 1899 – 29 August 1973), was an English character actor on the stage and in films, and a British army officer who served in both world wars. He was married to actress Margaret Rutherford. Early life Stringer Davis was born on 4 June 1899 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, son of Bank of England clerk George William Davis (1871–1948) and Ethel, daughter of J. Buckley Deakin, of Prince's Park, Liverpool. The Davis family were landed gentry, of Well Close, Brockworth, Gloucestershire; his first cousin was Admiral William Davis, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff from 1954 to 1957. The name "Stringer" came from a paternal great-grandfather, Miles Stringer, of Effingham Hill, Surrey, whose daughter Adelaide married William Davis, of Well Close. Davis attended the independent Uppingham School and received military basic training there. In August 1918, he volunteered for military service and was sent to the front in ...
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Anthony Oliver
Anthony Oliver (4 July 1922, Abersychan, near Pontypool, Monmouthshire, Wales—November 1995, London) was a Welsh film, television and stage actor. Selected filmography * ''Once a Jolly Swagman'' (1949) - Derek * ''All Over the Town'' (1949) - P.C. Butt * ''A Run for Your Money'' (1949) - Miner (uncredited) * '' Waterfront'' (1950) - Prison Warder (uncredited) * ''The Magnet'' (1950) - Policeman * ''The Clouded Yellow'' (1950) - Detective (uncredited) * '' The Happy Family'' (1952) - Fireman * ''Emergency Call'' (1952) - Police Constable * '' Gift Horse'' (1952) - Ship's Officer, Guns * ''Penny Princess'' (1952) - Selby's Valet (uncredited) * ''Cosh Boy'' (1953) - Doctor (uncredited) * '' Street Corner'' (1953) - Stanley Foster * ''The Runaway Bus'' (1954) - Duty Officer * ''Shetlandsgjengen'' (1954) - Narrator (voice) * ''To Dorothy a Son'' (1954) - Express Reporter * ''Mad About Men'' (1954) - Pawnbroker * ''To Dorothy a Son'' (1954) - Pawnbroker * ''They Can't Hang Me'' ...
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Airport Security
Airport security includes the techniques and methods used in an attempt to protect passengers, staff, aircraft, and airport property from malicious harm, crime, terrorism, and other threats. Aviation security is a combination of measures and human and material resources in order to safeguard civil aviation against acts of unlawful interference. Unlawful interference could be acts of terrorism, sabotage, threat to life and property, communication of false threat, bombing, etc. Description Large numbers of people pass through airports every day. This presents potential targets for terrorism and other forms of crime because of the number of people located in one place. Similarly, the high concentration of people on large airliners increases the potentially high death rate with attacks on aircraft, and the ability to use a hijacked airplane as a lethal weapon may provide an alluring target for terrorism (such as during the September 11 attacks). Airport security attempts to prevent ...
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Sten
The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cost, making them effective insurgency weapons for resistance groups, and they continue to see usage to this day by irregular military forces. The Sten served as the basis for the Sterling submachine gun, which replaced the Sten in British service until the 1990s, when it, and all other submachine guns, were replaced by the SA80. The Sten is a select fire, blowback-operated weapon which mounts its magazine on the left. Sten is an acronym, from the names of the weapon's chief designers, Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold J. Turpin, and "En" for the Enfield factory. Over four million Stens in various versions were made in the 1940s, making it the second most produced submachine gun of the Second World War, after the Soviet PPSh-41. Histo ...
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Booby-trapped
A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap may be set to act upon trespassers that enter restricted areas, and it can be triggered when the victim performs an action (e.g., opening a door, picking something up, or switching something on). It can also be triggered by vehicles driving along a road, as in the case of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Booby traps should not be confused with mantraps which are designed to catch a person. Lethal booby traps are often used in warfare, particularly guerrilla warfare, and traps designed to cause injury or pain are also sometimes used by criminals wanting to protect drugs or other illicit property, and by some owners of legal property who wish to protect it from theft. Booby traps which merely cause discomfort or embarrassment are a popul ...
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John Horsley (actor)
John Lovell Horsley (21 July 1920 – 12 January 2014) was a British actor. He was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England. The son of a doctor, he made his acting debut at the Theatre Royal in Bournemouth. After appearing in repertory theatres he was called up for military service in the Royal Devon Yeomanry, in which he served in Sicily and Italy during the Second World War. He then contracted hepatitis and become a member of an Army drama company that toured military units. Horsley's early career as a professional career saw him playing a succession of doctors and policemen, including a doctor in the film '' Hell Drivers'' (1957) and a policeman in the television show '' Big Breadwinner Hog'' (1969). He was more prolific in television from the 1960s, and played character roles in many series and programmes including '' The Lotus Eaters'' (1972–73) and ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' (1976–77). He is perhaps best known for his role as Doc Morrissey in the BBC sitcom ''The ...
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Trunk (car)
The trunk (North American English) or boot (British English) of a car is the vehicle's main storage or cargo compartment, often a hatch at the rear of the vehicle. It is also called a tailgate. In Indian English the storage area is known as a dickey (also spelled dicky, dickie, or diggy), and in South-East Asia as a compartment. Designs The trunk or luggage compartment is most often at the rear of the vehicle. Early designs had an exterior rack on the rear of the vehicle to attach luggage trunk. Later designs integrated the storage area into the vehicle's body, and eventually became more streamlined. The main storage compartment is normally provided at the end of the vehicle opposite to which the engine is located. Some mid-engined or electric cars have luggage compartments both in the front and in the rear. Examples include the Porsche 914 and Boxster as well as Toyota MR2. The mid-engined Fiat X1/9 also has two storage compartments, although the rear one is small ...
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Gold Bullion
A gold bar, also called gold bullion or gold ingot, is a quantity of refined metallic gold of any shape that is made by a bar producer meeting standard conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record keeping. Larger gold bars that are produced by pouring the molten metal into molds are called ingots. Smaller bars may be manufactured by minting or stamping from appropriately rolled gold sheets. The standard gold bar held as gold reserves by central banks and traded among bullion dealers is the Good Delivery gold bar. The kilobar, which is in mass, and a 100 troy ounce gold bar are the bars that are more manageable and are used extensively for trading and investment. The premium on these bars when traded is very low over the spot value of the gold, making it ideal for small transfers between banks and traders. Most kilobars are flat, although some investors, particularly in Europe, prefer the brick shape. Types Based upon how they are manufactured, gold bars are categorized as ...
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Terence Alexander
Terence Joseph Alexander (11 March 1923 – 28 May 2009) was an English film and television actor, best known for his role as Charlie Hungerford in the British TV drama '' Bergerac'', which ran for nine series on BBC One between 1981 and 1991. Early life and career Alexander was born in London, the son of a doctor, and grew up in Yorkshire. He was educated at Ratcliffe College, Leicestershire, and Norwood College, Harrogate, and started acting in the theatre at the age of 16. During the Second World War he served in the British Army as a lieutenant with the 24th Lancers, and was seriously wounded when his armoured car was hit by artillery fire in Italy. In 1956, Alexander appeared on stage in ''Ring For Catty'' at the Lyric Theatre in London. He is probably best remembered as Charlie Hungerford from the detective series '' Bergerac'', though he was also very prominent in the 1967 BBC adaptation of ''The Forsyte Saga''. One of his early roles was in the children's series ''Garry ...
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George Coulouris
George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor. Early life Coulouris was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, the son of Abigail (née Redfern) anNicholas Coulouris a merchant of Greek origin. He was brought up both in Manchester and nearby Urmston and was educated at Manchester Grammar School. He attended London's Central School of Speech and Drama, in the company of fellow students Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft. Early career Coulouris made his stage debut in 1926 with ''Henry V'' at the Old Vic. In 1928 and 1929 he appeared in several productions at the Cambridge Festival Theatre including Eugene O'Niell's ''The Hairy Ape.''. By 1929, he made his first Broadway appearance, followed by his first Hollywood film role in 1933. A major impact on his life was Orson Welles, whom he met in 1936 when they both had roles in the Broadway production of Sidney Kingsley's ''Ten Million Ghosts''. Welles invited Coulouris to ...
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