The Velvet Touch
''The Velvet Touch'' is a 1948 American film noir drama directed by Jack Gage and starring Rosalind Russell, Leon Ames, Leo Genn and Claire Trevor. Plot Broadway leading lady Valerie Stanton (Russell) accidentally kills her producer and former lover, Gordon Dunning (Ames), during an argument about the direction her career should take. He expects her to sign for his next production, a typical frothy comedy for which he is known, whereas she wants to star in a revival of ''Hedda Gabler'' to prove her versatility as an actress. Other characters involved in the plot are Michael Morrell (Genn), Valerie's new beau; supporting actress Marian Webster (Trevor), who is wrongly accused of committing Valerie's crime; and police Capt. Danbury (Greenstreet), who may know more than he is willing to disclose. Cast * Rosalind Russell as Valerie Stanton * Leo Genn as Michael Morrell * Claire Trevor as Marian Webster * Sydney Greenstreet as Capt. Danbury * Leon Ames as Gordon Dunning * Frank McHug ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jack Gage (director)
Jack Gage (December 26, 1912 – January 4, 1989) was an American film and television director. From 1934 to 1940, and billed as John Gordon Gage, he worked as a stage manager and occasional actor on Broadway. In 1942, he began his career in films as a dialogue director; his credits in that capacity include ''I Married a Witch'', '' Double Indemnity'', '' A Stolen Life'', ''Sister Kenny'', and ''Mourning Becomes Electra'', the latter two films starring Rosalind Russell. After directing the feature ''The Velvet Touch'', also starring Russell, Gage turned to the emerging medium of television. His small-screen credits include an adaptation of ''Jane Eyre'' for '' Studio One'', the comedy series '' The Egg and I'', the drama series ''Foreign Intrigue'', ''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars'', the documentary series '' You Are There'', and ''The New Adventures of Charlie Chan ''The New Adventures of Charlie Chan'' is a crime drama series that aired in the United States in syndicated tele ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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1948 Drama Films
Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British Railways. * January 4 – Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming an independent republic, named the ''Union of Burma'', with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President, and U Nu its first Prime Minister. * January 5 ** Warner Brothers shows the first color newsreel (''Tournament of Roses Parade'' and the '' Rose Bowl Game''). ** The first Kinsey Report, ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Male'', is published in the United States. * January 7 – Mantell UFO incident: Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Thomas Mantell crashes while in pursuit of an unidentified flying object. * January 12 – Mahatma Gandhi begins his fast-unto-death in Delhi, to stop communal violence during the Partition of India. * January 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1948 Films
The year 1948 in film involved some significant events. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1948 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * May 3 – The Supreme Court of the United States decide in ''United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.'' holding that the practice of block booking and ownership of theater chains by film studios constituted anti-competitive and monopolistic trade practices. * Laurence Olivier's ''Hamlet'' becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture. Awards Top ten money making stars Notable films released in 1948 United States unless stated # *''3 Godfathers'', starring John Wayne A *''Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'', starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello *''Act of Violence'', starring Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh *''Adventures of Don Juan'', starring Errol Flynn *''Albuquerque'', starring Randolph Scott and Barbara Britton *''The Amazing Mr. X'', starring T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were perceived as unnecessarily mean. Crowther was an advocate of foreign-language films in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly those of Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Ingmar Bergman, and Federico Fellini. Life and career Crowther was born Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. in Lutherville, Maryland, the son of Eliza Hay (née Leisenring, 1877–1960) and Francis Bosley Crowther (1874–1950). As a child, Crowther moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he published a neighborhood newspaper, ''The Evening Star''. His family moved to Washington, D.C., and Crowther graduated from Western High School in 1922. After two years of prep school at Woodberry Forest School, he entered Princeton University, where he majored in h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Martha Hyer
Martha Hyer (August 10, 1924 – May 31, 2014) was an American actress who played Gwen French in ''Some Came Running'' (1958), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her autobiography, ''Finding My Way: A Hollywood Memoir'', was published in 1990. Early and personal life Martha Hyer was born in Fort Worth, Texas, into a wealthy family, the daughter of Julien Capers Hyer, an attorney and judge, and Agnes Rebecca (née Barnhart). She was the middle of three sisters, with Agnes Ann and Jeanne. The Hyers were active in the Methodist church, where her father was a highly respected Sunday school teacher. Hyer graduated from Arlington Heights High School and then from Northwestern University with a degree in drama. She was in the sorority Pi Beta Phi with actress Patricia Neal. She then moved to California to study at the Pasadena Playhouse, and soon after was signed to a film contract with RKO. She was married twice, first to producer C. Ray ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harry Hayden
Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show hosted by Harry Connick Jr. People and fictional characters * Harry (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Harry (surname), a list of people with the surname * Dirty Harry (musician) (born 1982), British rock singer who has also used the stage name Harry * Harry Potter (character), the main protagonist in a Harry Potter fictional series by J. K. Rowling Other uses * Harry (derogatory term), derogatory term used in Norway * ''Harry'' (album), a 1969 album by Harry Nilsson *The tunnel used in the Stalag Luft III escape ("The Great Escape") of World War II * ''Harry'' (newspaper), an underground newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland See also *Harrying (laying waste), may refer to the following historical ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Esther Howard
Esther Howard (April 4, 1892 – March 8, 1965) was an American stage and film character actress who played a wide range of supporting roles, from man-hungry spinsters to amoral criminals, appearing in 108 films in her 23-year screen career. Early life Howard was born in Butte, Montana on April 4, 1892 to Martha Esther Howard (''née'' Boggs) and James Howard Jr., a music teacher who was employed as the conductor of the Butte Opera House. Her paternal grandfather, James Howard Sr., was a prominent physician from California who had established a medical practice in Butte and Dillon, Montana, and at one time served as the coroner of Silver Bow County. When Howard was five years old, her family relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, where her father had lived prior to relocating to Montana. In Boston, Howard attended the Girls' Latin School. Career Howard began her stage career performing in stock theater in Lynn, Massachusetts, before making her Broadway debut in 1917 in a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Irving Bacon
Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and grew up in San Diego, California. Career Bacon played on the stage for a number of years before getting into films in 1912 in Mack Sennett productions. The actor returned to the Sennett studio in 1924, and appeared frequently in Sennett's silent and sound comedies as a supporting actor. By 1933 Bacon was so well established as a utility player that he was pressed into service to replace Andy Clyde -- wearing Clyde's "old man" costume and makeup -- in a Sennett comedy. Irving Bacon was sometimes cast in films directed by Lloyd Bacon (incorrectly named as his brother in several sources) such as ''The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse'' (1938). He often played comical "average guys" in scores of feature films; in 1939 alone he app ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Russell Hicks (actor)
Edward Russell Hicks (June 4, 1895 – June 1, 1957) was an American film character actor. Hicks was born in 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Army in France. He later became a lieutenant Colonel in the California State Guard. Hicks was a prolific character actor appearing in bit parts and small supporting roles in nearly 300 films between 1933 and 1956. He often appeared as a smooth-talking confidence man, or swindler as in the W.C. Fields film ''The Bank Dick'' (1940). Distinguished, suave and a consummate actor, Hicks played a variety of judges, corrupt officials, crooked businessmen and attorneys, working in a variety of mediums almost until his death. Hicks appeared once in the syndicated western television series ''The Cisco Kid'' as an uncle of the Gail Davis character, whom he threatens to disinherit if she marries a known gangster. Broadway plays in which Hicks acted included ''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial'' (1954), ''On Borrowed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Theresa Harris
Theresa Harris (December 31, 1906 – October 8, 1985) was an American television and film actress, singer and dancer. Early life Harris was born on New Year's Eve 1906 (some sources indicate 1909) in Houston, Texas, to Isaiah and Mable Harris, both of whom were former sharecroppers from Louisiana. Harris' family relocated to Southern California when she was 11 years old. After graduating Jefferson High School, she studied at the UCLA Conservatory of Music and Zoellner's Conservatory of Music. She then joined the Lafayette Players, an African American musical comedy theatre troupe. Career She made her film debut in 1929 in ''Thunderbolt'', singing the song "Daddy Won't You Please Come Home". As she entered the 1930s, she played, often without credit, maids to characters acted by Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Sylvia Sidney, Frances Dee, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Thelma Todd, Kay Francis, and Barbara Stanwyck. She also floated around studios doing bit-parts, usually at Warner Br ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |