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Too Many Crooks
''Too Many Crooks'' is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Mario Zampi. The plot concerns a bunch of inept crooks who kidnap the wife of a shady businessman, only for him to decide he doesn’t want her back. It stars George Cole, Sidney James and Bernard Bresslaw as members of the gang, alongside Brenda de Banzie as the victim and Terry-Thomas as her husband. Plot The members of a gang, especially Sid, grow impatient as their incompetent leader, Fingers, botches the robbery of a fur store, the latest in a series of disasters. Fingers then comes up with the idea of robbing businessman William Gordon. Gordon bluffs them into believing the police are on their way. Fingers refuses to give up, plotting to kidnap Gordon's daughter. However, he errs yet again and ends up with Gordon's meek wife Lucy instead. Thinking she will do just as well, Fingers demands £25,000 ransom for her safe return. To his surprise, Gordon gleefully refuses. The philanderer has been carrying on an a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicola Simbari
Nicola Simbari (July 13, 1927 - December 11, 2012) was an Italian painter. Life and career Though born in San Lucido, Calabria, Nicola Simbari was raised in Rome, where his father was an architect for the Vatican. He studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma and in the 1940s he began devoting himself to painting in a studio at Via del Babuino in central Rome. Simbari's early exposure to the architectural world had a lasting impression on his art, as he incorporated geometric forms and architectural structures into almost all of his paintings. He began to develop a distinct style stemming from impressions of life, nature, and the Mediterranean, impressions which abstractly reflect themselves in the purely vivid and passionate colors of his work. Simbari's originality and commercial appeal brought his art to exhibitions in London and New York by the 1950s, solidifying his international reputation. Nicola Simbari is considered by many to be Italy's most important modern a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vera Day
Vera Day (born 4 August 1935) is an English film and television actress. She was born in London just before the war and grew up in Forest Gate, East London. Early career Leaving school at 15, she had various jobs before finding employment in a hair salon. Modelling for hairstylists, she became a full-time model. One day she saw an advertisement in a theatrical paper for showgirls, so taking time off work and with the smallest bikini she could find, she attended the auditions. Even though she was untrained in singing and dancing, she caught the attention of Jack Hylton, who gave her a part in ''Wish You Were Here'' at the London Casino in 1953. She was only nineteen. Val Guest was at the opening night and left a note for her at the stage door to contact him. This led to Vera being cast in the film '' Dance Little Lady''. However, she had to ask permission from Jack Hylton, for she was under contract for two more shows, which ended up being '' Pal Joey'' at the Princes Theatre an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Brooks (actor)
Victor Brooks (11 November 1918 – 19 January 2000) was a prolific English film and television actor. He specialised in character roles, police inspectors in particular, in British thrillers such as '' Cover Girl Killer'' (1959), ''Witchcraft'' (1964), and '' Devils of Darkness'' (1965). In 1961, he narrated the fifteen minute instructional Short, 'The Warden, His Duties and Training'. He also appeared in eight of the thirty-two episodes of 1964's ' Open House', playing himself, and The Host. His best known films are probably ''Goldfinger'' (1964), ''The Brides of Dracula'' (1960) and ''Billy Budd'' (1962). On television, he was noted for playing a pipe-smoking authority figure in crime series like ''Dixon of Dock Green'', ''Gideon's Way'', ''Detective'', ''Z Cars'' and '' Crown Court''. He also appeared in the television series '' Raffles'', in the recurring role of the Albany porter. Selected filmography Film * '' The Hostage'' (1956) – Inspector Clifford * ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Pays
Howard Pays (11 June 1927 – 12 April 2002) was an English actor who, in partnership with Freddy Vale, started the London-based talent agency CCA. Early life Howard Pays was born in West Ham, Essex on 11 June 1927. Career His first television role was playing the part of Bill Norton in the 1955–56 ITV daily soap opera '' Sixpenny Corner''. All 181 episodes have been announced as lost by their producer, ''BBC Television''. After retiring from acting, he established a talent agency in London with Freddy Vale. The agency did well, representing clients such as actor John Rhys-Davies and cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts. Personal life Pays met his future wife, Jan Miller, on the set of ''Sixpenny Corner''. One of their daughters, Amanda Pays, also became an actor. They had at least one other child, a daughter called Debra. His second wife was Lynne. Pays died on 12 April 2002 in Alton, Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial ... [...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] |
Arthur Brough
Arthur Brough (born Frederick Arthur Baker; 26 February 1905 – 28 May 1978) was a British actor and theatre founder, producer and director best known for portraying the character of bumbling senior menswear salesman Ernest Grainger on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' Biography Early life The diminutive actor () originally wanted to become a teacher, but failed to gain such employment, and worked in a solicitor's office. He found this job too mundane and he began to take an interest in the theatre. After indulging in amateur theatricals, Brough attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the mid-1920s. After graduating, he joined a Shakespearean theatrical troupe, where he met his wife-to-be, actress Elizabeth Addyman. After they married, they used their wedding dowry as collateral to rent the Leas Pavilion, a repertory theatre in Folkestone, Kent. They had one daughter, Joanna, who was educated at Ashford School for Girls. Theatre impresario Having used the name Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Melia
Joe Melia ( Giovanni Philip William Melia; 23 January 1935, Camden Town, Camden, London - 20 October 2012, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire) was a UK, British actor. Educated at the City of Leicester College, City of Leicester Boys' Grammar School and Downing College, Cambridge, where he read English, he first came to notice in Peter Nichols (playwright), Peter Nichols’s ''A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'' (Glasgow Citizens, 1967). Filmography Film * ''Too Many Crooks'' (1959) - Whisper * ''Follow a Star'' (1959) - Stage Manager * ''The Intelligence Men'' (1965) - Conductor * ''Four in the Morning (film), Four in the Morning'' (1965) - Friend * ''Modesty Blaise'' (1966) - Crevier * ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' (1969) - The Photographer * ''A Talent for Loving (film), A Talent for Loving'' (1969) - Tortillaw * ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (1972) - Messenger No. 1 * ''Sweeney! (1977 film), Sweeney!'' (1977) - Ronnie Brent * ''Leonardo's Last Supper'' (1977) * ''The Odd Job'' (1978) - Hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Stuart (actor)
John Stuart (born John Alfred Louden Croall; 18 July 1898 – 17 October 1979), was a Scottish actor, and a very popular leading man in British silent films in the 1920s. He appeared in three films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Biography The Gary Cooper pub in Dunstable stands as a tribute to one of the Hollywood greats, but if fate had taken a different direction the pub could have been called The John Stuart. Cooper and Stuart were contemporaries in 1912 at Dunstable Grammar School – now Ashton Middle School – in High Street North. Both went into acting, but while Cooper went on to win two Oscars for Sergeant York and High Noon, Stuart stayed in Britain and is virtually forgotten. Yet his career spanned 59 years, during which he made more than 160 films and 60 TV dramas and serials, and appeared in about 150 plays. His films started with silent movies and ended in 1978 with a bit part in the blockbuster Superman. His career could have been even more stellar but for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tutte Lemkow
Tutte Lemkow (born Isak Samuel Lemkow; 28 August 1918 – 10 November 1991) was a Norwegian actor and dancer, who played mostly villainous roles in British television and films. His chief claims to mainstream familiarity were his roles as the fiddler in the film version of '' Fiddler on the Roof'' and the old man ("Imam") who translates the inscription on the headpiece of the Staff of Ra for Indiana Jones in '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. Career Lemkow appeared as a dancer, together with Sara Luzita, in John Huston's 1952 film ''Moulin Rouge'' . Other films include Blake Edwards' '' A Shot in the Dark'' as the Cossack who drinks the poison intended for Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau, Sellers' films ''The Wrong Arm of the Law'', ''The Wrong Box'' and ''Ghost in the Noonday Sun'', Woody Allen's ''Love and Death'' and the Morecambe and Wise comedy film ''The Intelligence Men'' (1965). He played three roles in ''Doctor Who'' with William Hartnell's Doctor: Kuiju in '' Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edie Martin
Edie Martin (1 January 1880 – 22 February 1964) was a British actress. She was a ubiquitous performer, on stage from 1886, playing generally small parts but in high demand, appearing in scores of British films (although often uncredited). She frequently appeared in memorable Ealing comedies as their resident ”little old lady.” Selected filmography * ''M'Blimey'' (1931) * ''Late Extra'' (1935) - Apartment Resident (uncredited) * ''Broken Blossoms'' (1936) - Woman in West End Party Visit (uncredited) * '' Educated Evans'' (1936) - Bit Part (uncredited) * '' The Big Noise'' (1936) - Old Lady * ''Feather Your Nest'' (1937) - Blanche (uncredited) * '' Return of a Stranger'' (1937) - Mrs. Stevens (uncredited) * ''Farewell Again'' (1937) - Mrs. Bulger * '' Under the Red Robe'' (1937) - Maria * '' St. Martin's Lane'' (1938) - Libby's Dresser (uncredited) * '' Bad Boy'' (1938) - Mrs. Bryan * ''A Spot of Bother'' (1938) - An Occasional Bar-Lady (uncredited) * ''Old Mother Riley ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Scott
Owen John "Terry" Scott (4 May 1927 – 26 July 1994) was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven of the ''Carry On films''. He is also best known for appearing in the BBC1 sitcom ''Terry and June'' with June Whitfield. Early life Scott was born and brought up in Watford, Hertfordshire and educated at Watford Field Junior School and Watford Grammar School for Boys. He was the youngest of three children, and the only surviving son after his brother Aubrey died when Scott was six.'' The Unforgettable'', ITV1, 22 September 2010 After National Service in the Navy at the end of World War II, he briefly studied accounting. Career Scott began his acting career with appearances on radio shows such as '' Workers Playtime'', which were followed by appearances on television. He gained an opportunity to perform in farce when he joined the Whitehall Theatre Company. With Bill Maynard he appeared at Butlin's Holiday Camp in Skegness, Lincolnshire and partnered him in the TV s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas Parsons
Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show '' Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show ''Sale of the Century'' during the 1970s and early 1980s. Parsons was born and grew up in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and was educated at St Paul's School, London. He became a full-time actor following the Second World War and began appearing in various theatre, film and television roles, including support to Arthur Haynes as his straight man. He began presenting ''Just a Minute'' in 1967 and never missed a show until 2018. In addition to his well-known roles on this and ''Sale of the Century'', he appeared as a guest on other television shows, including ''Doctor Who'' and '' Have I Got News for You''. Early life Christopher Nicholas Parsons was born on 10 October 1923 at 1 Castlegate, Grantham, Lincolnshire; he was the middle child of the fam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
