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The Admirable Crichton (1957 Film)
''The Admirable Crichton'' is a 1957 British south seas adventure comedy romance film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Kenneth More, Diane Cilento, Cecil Parker and Sally Ann Howes. The film was based on J. M. Barrie's 1902 stage comedy of the same name. It was released in the United States as ''Paradise Lagoon''. Plot In 1905 William Crichton is the efficient butler in the London household of the Earl of Loam and his family. Crichton knows his place in the highly class-conscious English society. The Earl insists that all men are equal, and to prove it, he orders his daughters to treat the staff as guests during an uncomfortable afternoon tea. Lady Brocklehurst arrives and strongly disapproves of the arrangement, as does Crichton. When Lady Catherine (Mercy Haystead), one of the Earl's daughters, is arrested at a suffragette protest, Crichton recommends the family take a trip on the Earl's steam yacht to the South Seas until the scandal dies down. When the yacht's m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lewis Gilbert
Lewis Gilbert (6 March 1920 – 23 February 2018) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter who directed more than 40 films during six decades; among them such varied titles as '' Reach for the Sky'' (1956), ''Sink the Bismarck!'' (1960), ''Alfie'' (1966), ''Educating Rita'' (1983) and ''Shirley Valentine'' (1989), as well as three James Bond films: '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967), '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' Moonraker'' (1979). Early life Lewis Gilbert was born as Louis Laurie Isaacs in Clapton, London, to a second-generation family of music hall performers,"Lewis Gilbert (1920)" BFI screenonline Retrieved 14 April 2012 and spent his early years travelling with his parents, Ada (Griver), who was of |
Butler
A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its appearance. A butler is usually male, and in charge of male servants, while a housekeeper is usually a woman, and in charge of female servants. Traditionally, male servants (such as footmen) were better paid and of higher status than female servants. The butler, as the senior male servant, has the highest servant status. He can also sometimes function as a chauffeur. In older houses where the butler is the most senior worker, titles such as '' majordomo'', ''butler administrator'', ''house manager'', ''manservant'', ''staff manager'', '' chief of staff'', ''staff captain'', ''estate manager'', and ''head of household staff'' are sometimes g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toke Townley
John Antony Townley (6 November 1912 – 27 September 1984), known professionally as Toke Townley, was an English actor. Biography Townley was born on 6 November 1912 at Great Dunmow, Essex; his father was a vicar. His first name, "John", was changed to "Toke" shortly after his birth. After he left school he worked as a clerk in a factory, acting in his spare time. He did not become a professional actor until his early 30s, first appearing at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He appeared in many BBC television programmes during the early pioneering days at Alexandra Palace. Between 1951 and 1970, in the heyday of the British studios, Townley appeared in almost thirty films, including ''Lady Godiva Rides Again'', '' Doctor at Sea'', ''The Quatermass Xperiment'', ''The Admirable Crichton'', '' Carry on Admiral'', '' Doctor in Distress'' and ''Scars of Dracula''. He went on to appear in many film and television roles over the years, including '' The Avengers''. He was also an accompli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Welch (actor)
Peter William Welch (30 March 1922 – 20 November 1984) was a British actor who appeared in television programmes including ''Dixon of Dock Green'', ''Z-Cars'', ''Spy Trap'', '' Softly, Softly'', ''Doctor Who'' and ''Danger Man'' with Patrick McGoohan. He spent several years touring in the theatre with a repertory company he founded, and began playing character parts in films from the mid 1950s. Filmography * '' Dial 999'' (1955) * '' The Long Arm'' (1956) * ''Five Clues to Fortune'' (1957) * ''The Admirable Crichton'' (1957) * '' The Silent Enemy'' (1958) * ''The House of the Seven Hawks'' (1959) * ''The Secret Partner'' (1961) * ''A Prize of Arms'' (1962) * ''Calculated Risk'' (1963) * ''The Secret of Blood Island'' (1964) * ''Jude the Obscure'' (1971) - Policeman TV * ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1957–58) - Wounded Man/Sheriff's Servant/Ambassador/Lt. Howard (4 episodes) * ''No Hiding Place'' (1959–67) - Joe Denham/McBride/Linker/Wilkie/Benny Gimbal (5 episode ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Byrne
Eddie Byrne (31 January 1911 – 21 August 1981) was an Irish actor. Career His stage work included many appearances with Dublin's Abbey Theatre, and also work with the National Theatre in London. Outside Ireland he is probably best known for his minor role as General Willard in ''Star Wars'' (1977) (named after George Lucas's friend and collaborator Willard Huyck), but viewers of horror films might also remember him as the sceptical Inspector Mulrooney in ''The Mummy'' (1959) and as the kindly Dr. Reginald Landers in ''Island of Terror'' (1966) and the rural inn owner from '' The Break''. He also appeared as Inspector O'Neill in the film ''Jack the Ripper'' (1959). He appeared in the TV series 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1957), Season 3, Episode 5 as the lord of the manor. Personal life Eddie Byrne was born in Dublin. He was married to Kitty Thuillier and had four children: Frank Byrne, Susan Byrne, Michael Byrne & Catherine Byrne. He died of a stroke in Dublin in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miles Malleson
William Miles Malleson (25 May 1888 – 15 March 1969) was an English actor and dramatist, particularly remembered for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in ''The Brides of Dracula'' as the hypochondriac and fee-hungry local doctor. Malleson was also a writer on many films, including some of those in which he had small parts, such as '' Nell Gwyn'' (1934) and '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940). He also translated and adapted several of Molière's plays (''The Misanthrope'', which he titled ''The Slave of Truth'', ''Tartuffe'' and '' The Imaginary Invalid''). Biography Malleson was born in Avondale Road, South Croydon, Surrey, England, the son of Edmund Taylor Malleson (1859-1909), a manufacturing chemist, and Myrrha Bithynia Frances Borrell (1863-1931), a descendant of the numismatist Henry Perigal Borrell and the inventor Francis Macer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miranda Connell
Miranda Connell (born 3 August 1938, Stansted, Essex, England) is an English actress. Early life and education She attended Elmhurst Ballet School and the Cheltenham Ladies' College, then appeared on stage in Stratford-upon-Avon and the West End. Career On television she is best known for being a '' Play School'' presenter from May 1966 to April 1975. She also appeared as Lady Agatha in the 1957 film ''The Admirable Crichton'', and in various cult TV shows including '' The Avengers'', ''Dixon of Dock Green'', ''Armchair Theatre'', ''Paul Temple'' and '' Special Branch''. Personal life She is married to actor Edward de Souza Edward James de Souza (born 4 September 1932) is a British character actor and graduate of RADA, who is of Portuguese-Indian and English descent. Early life De Souza was the only child of Annie Adeline Swift (née Calvert) and Edward Valentine De .... External links * 1938 births Living people English television presenters BBC television presenter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerald Harper
Gerald Harper (born 15 February 1931) is an English actor, best known for his work on television, having played the title roles in ''Adam Adamant Lives!'' (1966–67) and '' Hadleigh'' (1969–76). He then returned to his main love, the theatre. His classical work includes playing on Broadway with the Old Vic company, playing Iago at the Bristol Old Vic and Benedick at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Other plays in London included ''Crucifer of Blood'' at the Haymarket Theatre, ''House Guest'', ''A Personal Affair'', ''Suddenly at Home'' and ''Baggage''. He has directed many plays, amongst them a production of '' Blithe Spirit'' in Hebrew at the Israeli National Theatre. Early life Harper was born in London, and originally wanted to be a doctor, but became interested in acting while still at school. He was educated at Haileybury. After two years of national service in the British Army, he decided to abandon his medicine course at Cambridge University and successfully auditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Graves, 8th Baron Graves
Peter George Wellesley Graves, 8th Baron Graves (21 October 1911 – 6 June 1994) was an English actor. Born in London, Graves was the son of Henry Algernon Claude Graves, 7th Baron Graves. Admiral Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves, was his great-great-great-grandfather. He was educated at Harrow School. Biography Known during his acting career as Peter Graves, he specialised in light comedies and musicals, often cast as dapper young men about town. His career peaked in the mid-to-late 1940s, beginning with the films of director/writer Val Guest, including ''Miss London Ltd.'' (1943) and '' Bees in Paradise'' (1944), opposite Arthur Askey; and ''Give Us the Moon'' (1944) and ''I'll Be Your Sweetheart'' (1945), opposite Margaret Lockwood. Other roles included the lead in '' Spring Song'' (1946), and George IV in both ''The Laughing Lady'' (1946) and ''Mrs. Fitzherbert'' (1947). He also appeared in a number of films by Herbert Wilcox, such as the popular musicals ''Spring in Park ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Watling
Jack Stanley Watling (13 January 1923 – 22 May 2001) was an English actor. Life and career The son of a travelling scrap metal dealer, Watling trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts as a child; and made his stage debut in ''Where the Rainbow Ends'' at the Holborn Empire in 1936. He made his first film appearances (all uncredited) in ''Sixty Glorious Years'', ''Housemaster'' (both 1938) and ''Goodbye, Mr Chips'' (1939).Anthony HaywarObituary: Jack Watling ''The Independent'', 24 May 2001. In 1941, he played Bill Hopkins in ''Once a Crook'' in his West End debut. He starred as Flight Lieutenant Teddy Graham in the original 1942 production of Terence Rattigan's ''Flare Path''. Watling had a long career in low-key British films, originally in easy-going boyish roles. His early appearances were in ''Cottage to Let'' (1941). ''We Dive at Dawn'' (1943), ''The Demi-Paradise'' (1943) opposite Laurence Olivier, ''The Way Ahead'' (1944) with David Niven, ''The Winslow Boy' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martita Hunt
Martita Edith Hunt (30 January 190013 June 1969) was an Argentine-born British theatre and film actress. She had a dominant stage presence and played a wide range of powerful characters. She is best remembered for her performance as Miss Havisham in David Lean's '' Great Expectations''. Biography Early life Hunt was born in Buenos Aires on 30 January 1900 to English parents Alfred and Marta (née Burnett) Hunt. She spent the first 20 years of her life in Argentina before she travelled with her parents to the United Kingdom to attend Queenwood Ladies' College in Eastbourne and then to train as an actress. Early theatrical career Hunt began her acting career in repertory theatre at Liverpool before moving to London. She first appeared there in the Stage Society's production of Ernst Toller's ''The Machine Wreckers'' at the Kingsway Theatre in May 1923. From 1923 to 1929, she appeared as the Principessa della Cercola in W. Somerset Maugham's '' Our Betters'' (Globe, 1924) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pearls
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate (mainly aragonite or a mixture of aragonite and calcite) in minute crystalline form, which has deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The finest quality of natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Because of this, ''pearl'' has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable. The most valuable pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are extremely rare. These wild pearls are referred to as ''natural'' pearls. ''Cultured'' or ''farmed'' pearls from Pinctada, pearl oysters and freshwater mussels make up the majority of those currently ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
