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The Small Back Room
''The Small Back Room'', released in the United States as ''Hour of Glory'', is a 1949 film by the British producer-writer-director team of Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring David Farrar (actor), David Farrar and Kathleen Byron and featuring Jack Hawkins and Cyril Cusack. It was based on the 1943 The Small Back Room (novel), novel of the same name by Nigel Balchin. The theme is the unsung heroes of the last war, the 'backroom boys', gradually coming into their own. Staff (January 26, 1949"Film Reviews: The Small Back Room"''Variety (magazine), Variety'' p.22 Plot Sammy Rice (David Farrar (actor), David Farrar) is a British scientist working with a specialist "Boffin, back room" team in London as a bomb disposal expert during the World War II, Second World War. Rice is embittered because he feels military scientific research is being incompetently managed. He is also enduring unremitting pain from his artificial foot. The painkillers he has bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Powell
Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a series of classic British films, notably ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' (1943), ''A Canterbury Tale'' (1944), ''I Know Where I'm Going!'' (1945), '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946, also called ''Stairway to Heaven''), ''Black Narcissus'' (1947), '' The Red Shoes'' (1948), and ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (1951). His later controversial 1960 film ''Peeping Tom'', while today considered a classic, and a contender as the first " slasher", was so vilified on first release that his career was seriously damaged. Many filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and George A. Romero have cited Powell as an influence. In 1981, he received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award along with his partner Pressburger, the highest honour th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Gough
Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthur Holmwood in ''Dracula'', and for his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth in all four of the ''Batman'' films from 1989 to 1997. He would appear in three more Burton films: in '' Sleepy Hollow'', voicing Elder Gutknecht in ''Corpse Bride'' and the Dodo in ''Alice in Wonderland''. Gough also appeared in popular British television shows, including ''Doctor Who'' (as the titular villain in ''The Celestial Toymaker'' (1966) and as Councillor Hedin in ''Arc of Infinity'' (1983)), and in a memorable episode of '' The Avengers'' as the automation-obsessed wheelchair user Dr. Armstrong in "The Cybernauts" (1965). In 1956 he received a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. At the National Theatre in London Gough excelled as a comedia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Goodliffe
Lawrence Michael Andrew Goodliffe (1 October 1914 – 20 March 1976) was an English actor known for playing suave roles such as doctors, lawyers and army officers. He was also sometimes cast in working-class parts. Biography Goodliffe was born in Bebington, Cheshire, the son of a vicar, and educated at St Edmund's School, Canterbury, and Keble College, Oxford. He began his career in repertory theatre in Liverpool before joining the company of the Stratford Memorial Theatre in Stratford upon Avon. He joined the British Army at the beginning of the Second World War, and received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in February 1940. He was wounded in the leg and captured at the Battle of Dunkirk. Goodliffe was incorrectly listed as killed in action, and even had his obituary published in a newspaper. He was to spend the rest of the war a prisoner in Germany. Whilst in captivity he produced and acted in (and in some cases wrote) many plays ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Kydd
Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He also played a recurring character in ''Coronation Street''. Kydd's first film was ''The Captive Heart'' (1946), in which he played a POW. He made over 290 films, more than any other British actor, including 119 between 1946 and 1952. Early life and career An army officer's son, Kydd was born on 15 February 1915 in Belfast, Ireland, and moved to London as a child. He was educated at Dunstable School in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. During the mid-1930s Kydd was an MC for the Oscar Rabin Band and one of his "Hot Shots". He would warm up audiences with jokes and impressions (Maurice Chevalier was a favourite) and even some tap dance routines then introduce the other singers and attractions on the bill. During the late 1930s he had joined the Terri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sid James
Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a middle-class Jewish family in South Africa, James started his career in his native country before finding his greatest success in the UK. Beginning his screen career playing bit parts in films from 1947, he was cast in numerous small and supporting roles into the 1950s. He appeared in the film ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' in 1951, starring Alec Guinness. His profile was raised as Tony Hancock's co-star in ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first in the radio series and later when it was adapted for television and ran from 1954 to 1960. Afterwards, he became known as a regular performer in the Carry On films, appearing in 19 films of the series, with the top billing roles in 17 (in the other two he was cast below Frankie Howerd). His starring roles in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Fitzgerald
Walter Fitzgerald Bond (18 May 1896 – 20 December 1976) was an English character actor. Early life Born in Stoke, Plymouth, Fitzgerald was a former stockbroker before he began his theatrical training at RADA. He joined the British Army during World War I, serving with the Worcestershire Regiment, the Devonshire Regiment, and the Somerset Light Infantry. Career Fitzgerald made his professional stage bow in 1922 and his first film appearance in 1930. He toured with Sir John Martin-Harvey and Sir Seymour Hicks. He was understudy to Sir Gerald du Maurier (1928–29). Fitzgerald appeared in films from the 1930s, often in 'official' roles (policemen, doctors, lawyers). He appeared on British television in the 1950s and 1960s before his retirement. His best-remembered film roles include Simon Fury in ''Blanche Fury'' (1948), Dr. Fenton in '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), and Squire Trelawney in ''Treasure Island'' (1950). In the opening scenes of '' H.M.S. Defiant'' (1962) he played ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emrys Jones (actor)
John Emrys Whittaker Jones (22 September 1915 – 10 July 1972) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. After making his stage debut in Donald Wolfit's company in 1937, his film debut came in Powell and Pressburger's ''One of Our Aircraft Is Missing'' in 1942, and he began to develop a career in the British cinema of the 1940s. Due to his boyish looks he would often be cast as young innocents in films such as ''The Wicked Lady'' (1945), ''The Rake's Progress'' (1945), ''Nicholas Nickleby'' (1947), and Powell and Pressburger's ''The Small Back Room'' (1949). When he was relegated to second features in the 1950s he concentrated on his stage career, maturing into an accomplished character actor in the process. The latter half of his career was mostly spent on television in such programmes as '' Softly, Softly'', ''Out of the Unknown'', ''Dixon of Dock Green'', ''Doomwatch'', ''Z-Cars, Special Branch'', and as 'The Master of the Land of Fiction' in the ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milton Rosmer
Milton Rosmer (4 November 1881 – 7 December 1971) was a British actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ..., film director and screenwriter. He made his screen debut in ''The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'' (1915) and continued to act in theatre, film and television until 1956. In 1926 he directed his first film ''The Woman Juror'' and went on to direct another 16 films between 1926 and 1938. He began his acting career as a stage actor and appeared as Francis Tresham in "The Breed of the Treshams" (1903) opposite John Martin-Harvey. Milton Rosmer died in Chesham, Buckinghamshire in 1971. Partial filmography Actor * ''The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1915 film), The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'' (1915) - Mark Frettleby * ''Whoso Is Without Sin'' (1916) - The Vicar * ''Stil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renée Asherson
Dorothy Renée Ascherson (19 May 1915 – 30 October 2014), known professionally as Renée Asherson, was an English actress. Much of her theatrical career was spent in Shakespearean plays, appearing at such venues as the Old Vic, the Liverpool Playhouse, and the Westminster Theatre. Her first stage appearance was on 17 October 1935, aged 20, and her first major film appearance was in '' The Way Ahead'' (1944). Her last film appearance was in '' The Others'' (2001). Early life Dorothy Renée Ascherson was born in Kensington, London, the younger daughter of shipowner Charles Stephen Ascherson (1877–1945) and Dorothy Lilian (; 1881–1975). Her father was of German-Jewish extraction. She was brought up in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, as well as Switzerland and Anjou. She later trained for the stage at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Career Theatre Asherson made her first stage appearance on 17 October 1935, as a walk-on in John Gielgud's production of ''Romeo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auxiliary Territorial Service
The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 February 1949, when it was merged into the Women's Royal Army Corps. The ATS had its roots in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC), which was formed in 1917 as a voluntary service. During the First World War its members served in a number of jobs including clerks, cooks, telephonists and waitresses. The WAAC was disbanded after four years in 1921. Prior to the Second World War, the government decided to establish a new Corps for women, and an advisory council, which included members of the Territorial Army (TA), a section of the Women's Transport Service (FANY) and the Women's Legion, was set up. The council decided that the ATS would be attached to the Territorial Army, and the women serving would receive two thirds the pay of male sold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermos Flask
A vacuum flask (also known as a Dewar flask, Dewar bottle or thermos) is an insulating storage vessel that greatly lengthens the time over which its contents remain hotter or cooler than the flask's surroundings. Invented by Sir James Dewar in 1892, the vacuum flask consists of two flasks, placed one within the other and joined at the neck. The gap between the two flasks is partially evacuated of air, creating a near-vacuum which significantly reduces heat transfer by conduction or convection. When used to hold cold liquids, this also virtually eliminates condensation on the outside of the flask. Vacuum flasks are used domestically to keep beverages hot or cold for extended periods of time, and for keeping cooked food hot. They are also used for thermal cooking. Vacuum flasks are also used for many purposes in industry. History The vacuum flask was designed and invented by Scottish scientist Sir James Dewar in 1892 as a result of his research in the field of cryogenics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach (also known as Chesil Bank) in Dorset, England is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain.A. P. Carr and M. W. L. Blackley, "Investigations Bearing on the Age and Development of Chesil Beach, Dorset, and the Associated Area" ''Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers'', No. 58 (March 1973) pp. 99-111. Its name is derived from the Old English or , meaning "gravel" or "shingle". It runs for a length of from West Bay to the Isle of Portland and in places is up to high and wide. Behind the beach is the Fleet, a shallow tidal lagoon. Both are part of the Jurassic Coast and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and together form an SSSI and Ramsar Site. The beach is often identified as a tombolo, although research into the geomorphology of the area has revealed that it is in fact a barrier beach which has "rolled" landwards, joining the mainland with the Isle of Portland and giving the appearance of a tombolo. The beach curves sharply at the east ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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