HOME
*





The Toy Wife
''The Toy Wife'' is a 1938 American drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Luise Rainer and Melvyn Douglas. The period film was produced by Merian C. Cooper and written by Zoë Akins. Plot Set before the American Civil War, ''The Toy Wife'' tells the story of Frou-Frou, a 16-year-old coquette. She has been in France to attend a prestigious school, but is now returning to her family plantation in Louisiana. Craving to go to New Orleans, she fakes a toothache to visit a dentist there. She is chaperoned by Madame Vallaire, but soon ditches her to attend a ball. There, she meets Vaillare's son Andre, a wastral whom she is immediately attracted to. After returning home, Frou-Frou and her older sister Louise befriend Georges Sartoris, a family friend who received a knife wound after prosecuting a white man for killing a black slave. Louise is in love with him, but encourages her sister to marry him after finding out Georges is more interested in Frou-Frou. As suggested, Frou ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Zoë Akins
Zoe Byrd Akins (October 30, 1886 – October 29, 1958) was an American playwright, poet, and author. She won the 1935 Pulitzer Prize for drama for '' The Old Maid''. Early life Zoe Byrd Akins was born in Humansville, Missouri, second of three children of Thomas Jasper and Sarah Elizabeth Green Akins. Her family was heavily involved with the Missouri Republican Party, and for several years her father served as the state party chairman. Through her mother, Akins was related George Washington and Duff Green. Her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri when Akins was in her early teens. She was sent to Monticello Seminary in Godfrey, Illinois for her education and later Hosmer Hall preparatory school in St. Louis. While at Hosmer Hall she was a classmate of poet Sara Teasdale, both graduating with the class of 1903. It was at Monticello Seminary that Akins wrote her first play, a parody of a Greek tragedy. Following graduation Akins began writing a series of plays, poetry and criticism ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Robert Young (actor)
Robert George Young (February 22, 1907 – July 21, 1998) was an American film, television and radio actor best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father character, in ''Father Knows Best'' (CBS, then NBC, then CBS again) and the physician Marcus Welby in ''Marcus Welby, M.D.'' (ABC). Early life Born in Chicago, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father, Thomas E. Young, and an American mother, Margaret Fyfe. While Young was a child, the family moved to various locations within the U.S., including Seattle as well as Los Angeles, where Young was a student at Abraham Lincoln High School. After graduation, he studied and performed at the Pasadena Playhouse while working odd jobs and appearing in bit parts in silent films. While touring with a stock company producing "The Ship", Young was discovered by a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer talent scout who signed the fledgling actor to a contract. Young made his sound-film debut for Fox Film Corporation in the 1931 Charlie Ch ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Jezebel (1938 Film)
''Jezebel'' is a 1938 American romantic drama film released by Warner Bros. and directed by William Wyler. It stars Bette Davis and Henry Fonda, supported by George Brent, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Crisp, Richard Cromwell, and Fay Bainter. The film was adapted by Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel, John Huston, and Robert Buckner, from the 1933 play by Owen Davis Sr. The film tells the story of a headstrong young Southern woman during the antebellum period whose actions cost her the man she loves. Plot In 1852 New Orleans, spoiled, strong-willed belle Julie Marsden is engaged to banker Preston "Pres" Dillard. In an important meeting, Pres is trying to convince the board to invest in railroads, as Northerners are doing, and supporting Dr. Livingstone's plea for measures to prevent another outbreak of yellow fever. In retaliation for Pres refusing to leave the meeting and accompany her to the last fitting for a ball gown, Julie buys a brazen red satin dress ordered by a notorious wo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Warner Bros
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Founded in 1923 by four brothers, Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, the company established itself as a leader in the American film industry before diversifying into animation, television, and video games and is one of the "Big Five" major American film studios, as well as a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). The company is known for its film studio division the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, which includes Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, the Warner Animation Group, Castle Rock Entertainment, and DC Studios. Among its other assets, stands the television production company Warner Bros. Television Studios. Bugs Bunny, a cartoon character created by Tex Avery, Ben Hardaway, Chuck Jones, Bob Givens and ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Gone With The Wind (film)
''Gone with the Wind'' is a 1939 American epic historical romance film adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. The film was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara ( Vivien Leigh), the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, following her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland), and her subsequent marriage to Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). The film had a troubled production. The start of filming was delayed for two years until January 1939 because of Selznick's determination to secure Gable for the role of Rhett. The role of Scarlett was difficult to cast, and 1,400 unknown women were interviewed for the part. The original screenplay by Sidney Howard underwent many revisions ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Gone With The Wind (novel)
''Gone with the Wind'' is a novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936. The story is set in Clayton County and Atlanta, both in Georgia, during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of poverty following Sherman's destructive " March to the Sea". This historical novel features a coming-of-age story, with the title taken from the poem "Non Sum Qualis eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae", written by Ernest Dowson. ''Gone with the Wind'' was popular with American readers from the outset and was the top American fiction bestseller in 1936 and 1937. As of 2014, a Harris poll found it to be the second favorite book of American readers, just behind the Bible. More than 30 million copies have been printed worldwide. ''Gone with the Wind'' is a controversial reference point for subsequent writers ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


1938 In Film
The year 1938 in film involved some significant events. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1938 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events *January – MGM announces that Judy Garland will be cast in the role of Dorothy Gale in the upcoming '' The Wizard of Oz'' film. Ray Bolger is cast as the Tin Woodman and Buddy Ebsen as the Scarecrow. At Bolger's insistence, the roles are switched between the two actors. On July 25, MGM announces Bert Lahr has been cast as the Cowardly Lion. *February 24 – The entertainment trade newspaper Variety confirms that the film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) had bought the rights to adapt L. Frank Baum’s beloved children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for the screen *April 5 – Noel Langley completes the first script for ''The Wizard of Oz''. *April 20 – Leonard Slye appears in his first starring role as Roy Rogers in ''Under Western Stars''. He becomes one of the most popular Western stars being r ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Costume Drama
A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swashbucklers. A period piece may be set in a vague or general era such as the Middle Ages, or a specific period such as the Roaring Twenties, or the recent past. Scholarship Films set in historical times have always been some of the most popular works. D. W. Griffith's ''The Birth of a Nation'' and Buster Keaton's '' The General'' are examples of popular early American works set during the U.S. Civil War. In different eras different subgenres have risen to popularity, such as the westerns and sword and sandal films that dominated North American cinema in the 1950s. The ''costume drama'' is often separated as a genre of historical dramas. Early critics defined them as films focusing on romance and relationships in sumptuous surroundings, cont ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Leonard Penn
Leonard Penn (13 November 1907 – 20 May 1975) was an American film, television and theatre actor. Early life and education Penn was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, to parents Marcus Penn and Eva Monson. He majored in drama at Columbia University. During World War II, Penn served in Navy intelligence. Career Known for his work in film serials and bit parts in major films, Penn appeared in 81 films and 27 television productions between 1937 and 1960. Penn also appeared in six Broadway-theatre productions in New York City between 1934 and 1941. His Broadway appearances were in ''The Distant City'' (1941), ''Lady in Waiting'' (1940), ''Paths of Glory'' (1935), ''Field of Ermine'' (1935), ''Between Two Worlds'' (1934), and ''Personal Appearance'' (1934). Personal life Penn married actress Gladys George in New Haven, Connecticut on September 18, 1935. They remained wed until 1944. They both appeared in ''Marie Antoinette''. In 1947, Penn married Louise Arthur Sharp in L ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Clarence Muse
Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929's ''Hearts in Dixie''. He acted for 50 years, and appeared in more than 150 films. He was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973. Life and career Born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Alexander and Mary Muse, he studied at Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for one year in 1908. He left because he believed he could not make a living in law as an African American. He later received an honorary doctorate of laws from Dickinson School of Law in 1978. By the 1920s Muse was acting in New York during the Harlem Renaissance with two Harlem theatres, Lincoln Players and Lafayette Players. While with the Lafayette Players, Muse worked under the management of producer Robert Levy on productions that helped black actors to gain prominence and resp ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Clinton Rosemond
Clinton Rosemond (November 1, 1882 – March 10, 1966) was an American singer and actor. Born Cresent Clinton Rosemond, he served as a private in the United States Army during the Spanish–American War, and he later sang in the Southern Trio with John C. Payne and Mabel Mercer in the 1920s. The group was based in England and specialized in a cappella. Rosemond went on to act in American films of the 1930s and 1940s. Often uncredited and typecast as a butler or servant due to a lack of film roles for African-American actors, he was frequently relegated to playing demeaning parts, such as a stereotypical "scared Negro". Rosemond died in 1966 from a stroke. He and his wife Corinne had two daughters, Eleanor Alsobrooks, an educator, and Bertha Hope-Booker, a musician, and a son Clinton, a city planner. Partial filmography * '' Only the Brave'' (1930) - The Butler (uncredited) * '' The Mask of Fu Manchu'' (1932) - Slave (uncredited) * '' No Man of Her Own'' (1932) - Porter (unc ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Walter Kingsford
Walter Kingsford (born Walter Pearce; 20 September 1882 – 7 February 1958) was an English stage, film and television actor. Early years Kingsford was born in Redhill, Surrey, England. Career Kingsford began his acting career on the London stage. He also had a long Broadway career, appearing in plays from the 1912 original American production of George Bernard Shaw's '' Fanny's First Play'' to 1944's ''Song of Norway''. In the early 1920s, Kingford was active with the Henry Jewett Players. Kingsford moved to Hollywood, California, for a prolific film career in supporting parts. On screen, he specialised in portraying authority figures such as noblemen, heads of state, doctors, police inspectors and lawyers. He is best known for his recurring role as the snobbish hospital head Dr. P. Walter Carew in the popular ''Dr. Kildare'' (and Dr. Gillespie) film series. Kingsford had numerous television appearances in the 1950s. They included ''TV Reader's Digest'', ''Command P ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]