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There Was A Crooked Man (film)
''There Was a Crooked Man'' is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Stuart Burge and starring Norman Wisdom, Alfred Marks, Andrew Cruickshank, Reginald Beckwith, and Susannah York. It is based on the James Bridie play ''The Golden Legend of Schults'', and was one of two films Wisdom made independently to extend his range, (the other being ''The Girl on the Boat''); although according to the BFI Screenonline website, "the cinema public craved only the Gump". The film was on general release in 1960 on the Rank circuit (supported by the documentary ''Jungle Hell'') to less than spectacular business before being withdrawn, allegedly after American objections to Wisdom masquerading as an arrogant US general requisitioning British land for the US Air Force. The subject of US forces on British soil was deemed too sensitive even for comic treatment. Premise A naive explosives expert is tricked into working for a criminal gang. The title is taken from the poem "There Was a Crooked Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stuart Burge
Stuart Burge (15 January 1918 – 24 January 2002) was an English stage and film director, actor and producer. The son of H. O. Burge, by his marriage to K. M. Haig, Burge was educated at Eagle House School, Sandhurst, and Felsted School, Essex, then trained for an acting career at the Old Vic, 1936–37, and at Oxford Rep, 1937–38. He was back at the Old Vic and appearing in the West End theatre in 1938–39, then during the Second World War of 1939–45 he served in the British Army's Intelligence Corps. After the war he returned to his acting career at the Bristol Old Vic, the Young Vic, and the Commercial Theatre, between 1946 and 1949.‘BURGE, Stuart’, in ''Who Was Who'' (A. & C. Black, 1920–2008)online article(subscription site), by Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 20 April 2012 He was a director by 1948. He was responsible for many distinguished productions for both stage and television, including four film adaptations of plays. He married Josephi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Explosives
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An explosive charge is a measured quantity of explosive material, which may either be composed solely of one ingredient or be a mixture containing at least two substances. The potential energy stored in an explosive material may, for example, be * chemical energy, such as nitroglycerin or grain dust * pressurized gas, such as a gas cylinder, aerosol can, or BLEVE * nuclear energy, such as in the fissile isotopes uranium-235 and plutonium-239 Explosive materials may be categorized by the speed at which they expand. Materials that detonate (the front of the chemical reaction moves faster through the material than the speed of sound) are said to be "high explosives" and materials that deflagrate are said to be "low explosives". Explosives may al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ed Devereaux
Edward Sidney Devereaux (27 August 192517 December 2003), better known professionally as Ed Devereaux, was an Australian actor, director, and scriptwriter who lived in the United Kingdom for many years. He was best known for playing the part of Matt Hammond the head ranger in the Australian television series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo''. He was also involved in the series behind the scenes, Devereaux writing the script and directing the episode ''The Veteran'' (1969), for which he received much critical acclaim. Devereaux based the story of the episode "Double Trouble" on an idea conceived by his children, wrote the screenplay of "Summer Storm" and the script for "The Mine". He also played the part of Joe in the Australian 1966 film ‘They’re a Weird Mob’. The film was a local success. Biography He had been a boy soprano, teenage soldier in New Guinea during the Second World War, cabbie, storeman and truck driver before moving to the UK in 1950. Devereaux appeared as Mr. G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronald Fraser (actor)
Ronald Fraser (11 April 1930 – 13 March 1997) was a British character actor, who appeared in numerous British plays, films and television shows from the 1950s to the 1990s. An unusual appearance and unique delivery made him a natural comedic actor. Fraser was a familiar figure in West End clubs during the sixties, and despite a long-standing reputation as one of the hardest drinking of British actors he was still working in his last years. He was perhaps best known as Basil "Badger" Allenby-Johnson in the 1970s television series '' The Misfit''. Background Ronald Fraser was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, the son of an interior decorator and builder from Scotland. He attended Ashton Grammar School. He was educated in Scotland and did national service as a lieutenant in the Seaforth Highlanders. While serving in Benghazi in North Africa, he appeared in the comic play ''French Without Tears'' by Terence Rattigan. He trained as an actor at RADA until 1953 and soon appe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack May
Jack Wynne May (23 April 1922 – 19 September 1997) was an English actor. Early life and education May was born in 1922 in Henley-on-Thames, and was educated at Forest School in Walthamstow. After war service with the Royal Indian Navy in British India, he was offered a place at RADA, but instead went to Merton College, Oxford. Here, with the OUDS, he played parts that included John of Gaunt in '' Richard II'' and Polonius in ''Hamlet''. Career May became familiar on television as the butler William E. Simms in two series of the BBC 1 fantasy/adventure television series ''Adam Adamant Lives!'' from 1966 to 1967. He provided the voice for Igor, long-suffering butler to Count Duckula in the cartoon series of the same name. He also appeared as the waiter Garkbit in the television version of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', Théoden in the 1981 BBC Radio adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'', as General Hermack in the 1969 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Space Pirates'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Percy Herbert (actor)
Percy Herbert (31 July 1920 – 6 December 1992) was an English actor. He worked predominantly from the 1950s into the 1970s and became one of the most recognisable faces in post-war British cinema. Biography He served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during the Second World War and spent four years in the Japanese prisoner of war camp Changi. After the war, he was helped by Dame Sybil Thorndike to secure an interview with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he won a scholarship. His acting career began in the theatre, which included working at John Gielgud's Old Vic Company. Beginning in 1954, he went on to make nearly seventy films, often playing soldiers, most notably in ''The Cockleshell Heroes'', ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' (for which he also worked as consultant as well as suggesting the use of the well-known "Colonel Bogey March" which the prisoners whistled in the film), ''Sea of Sand'', ''Tunes of Glory'', '' The Guns of Navarone'', ''Guns at Batasi'', ''Tob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glyn Houston
Glyn Houston (23 October 1925 – 30 June 2019) was a Welsh actor best known for his television work. He was the younger brother of film actor Donald Houston. Early life Glyndwr Desmond Houston was born at 10 Thomas Street, Tonypandy, Glamorgan, Wales. He served in the army during the Second World War, and was briefly a stand-up comedian performing for soldiers during the war. He made his first film appearance in ''The Blue Lamp'' in 1950. Career In the 1970s Houston played Lord Peter Wimsey's valet Bunter opposite Ian Carmichael in television adaptations of several of Dorothy Sayers tales. His performance was praised in ''The New York Times''. Later, he had a role as a literary agent in the 1980s British sitcom '' Keep It in the Family''. He appeared in a number of films including ''The Great Game''. Other credits included ''My Good Woman'' (1973–1974), ''A Horseman Riding By'' (1978), ''Inspector Morse'', ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'', ''Minder'' and ''Doomwatch'', as well as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Oulton
Brian Oulton (11 February 1908 – 13 April 1992) was an English character actor. Biography Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Oulton made his acting debut in 1939 as a lead actor. During the Second World War he served in the British Army, and returned to acting playing character roles in 1946; he made a name for himself playing the same pompous character in numerous films, ranging from '' Last Holiday'' (1950) to ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (1985). Many of his film roles were in comedies, and he went on to appear in several ''Carry On'' films. In 1969, he appeared as an eccentric psychic medium in ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' in the episode "Never Trust a Ghost"; as a hypochondriac GP in '' Doctor at Large''; and in the 1981 hit serial ''Brideshead Revisited''. He was also a stage actor and playwright, writing and starring in productions such as ''Births, Marriages and Deaths'' (1975), and ''For Entertainment Only'' (1976). Brian Oulton's radio credits include the role of Cy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reed De Rouen
Reed De Rouen (10 June 1917 – 11 June 1986) was an American actor and screenwriter who worked mostly in the British film and television industry. He appeared in the ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Gunfighters'' in 1966 as Pa Clanton, as well as writing the script for the proposed ''Doctor Who'' story "The Spare Part People" with Jon Pertwee. BFI. Filmography * '''' (1949) – American Military Policeman at Railroad Station (uncredited) * '''' (1949) – Manager * '' |
Rosalind Knight
Rosalind Marie Knight (3 December 1933 – 19 December 2020) was an English actress. Her career spanned 70 years on stage, screen, and television. Her film appearances include ''Blue Murder at St Trinian's'' (1957), ''Carry On Nurse'' (1959), ''Carry On Teacher'' (1959), '' Tom Jones'' (1963), and '' About a Boy'' (2002). Among her TV roles were playing Beryl in the BBC sitcom '' Gimme Gimme Gimme'' (1999–2001) and Cynthia Goodman aka "Horrible Grandma" in ''Friday Night Dinner'' (2012, 2016–2020). Career Knight was born in Marylebone, London. She was the daughter of actor Esmond Knight and his first wife, Frances Clare, and the stepdaughter of actress Nora Swinburne. Being from a theatrical family, she was introduced to theatre at an early age. She was inspired by a visit to the bombed-out Old Vic Theatre in 1949 with her father to see performances of ''The Snow Queen'' and ''As You Like It''. After studying there for two years under Glen Byam Shaw and George Devine, she wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Griffiths (actor)
Fred Griffiths (8 March 191227 August 1994) was an English film and television actor. A former London cabbie and wartime fire fighter discovered by director Humphrey Jennings, and cast in his documentary film ''Fires Were Started'' in 1943; and over the next four decades played supporting roles and bit parts in 150 films, including various Ealing, Boulting Brothers and Carry On comedies, before eventually retiring in 1984. Selected filmography * ''Nine Men'' (1943) – Base Sergeant (uncredited) * ''Fires Were Started'' (1943) – Johnny Daniels (uncredited) * ''So Well Remembered'' (1947) – Mill Worker (uncredited) * ''It Always Rains on Sunday'' (1947) – Sam * ''Escape'' (1948) – Dart Player (uncredited) * ''It's Hard to Be Good'' (1948) – Chauffeur (uncredited) * ''Passport to Pimlico'' (1949) – Spiv * ''The Huggetts Abroad'' (1949) – Taxi Driver (uncredited) * ''Stop Press Girl'' (1949) – Truck Driver (uncredited) * '' Golden Arrow'' (1949) – 2nd Military pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Whitsun-Jones
Paul Whitsun-Jones (25 April 1923 – 14 January 1974) was a Welsh character actor. Born in Newport in Monmouthshire, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School in Northwood in Middlesex. He started his acting career in 1948 with two years at York Repertory Theatre. In the West End he appeared in ''The Moonraker'' at the Saville Theatre (1952), ''Dangerous Curves'' at the Garrick Theatre (1953), and played the Wazir in '' Kismet'' at the Stoll Theatre for two years from 1955 to 1957.Whitsun-Jones' Cast Notes in a programme for '''' (1960) His early television appearances included ''Street Scene'', ''The Last Tycoon'', ''Love from Italy'', ''Berkeley Square'' and ''Swedish Match ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
