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The Iron Maiden
''The Iron Maiden'' is a 1963 British comedy film. The film was directed by Gerald Thomas, and stars Michael Craig, Anne Helm, Jeff Donnell and Alan Hale, Jr. There are minor roles for ''Carry On'' stalwarts Jim Dale and Joan Sims, and the veteran actor Sam Kydd also appears with his then six-year-old son Jonathan Kydd. The film was widely perceived as an attempt to repeat the success of the film ''Genevieve'', with traction engines in place of vintage cars. Plot Jack Hopkins is an aircraft designer and hands-on engineer with a passion for traction engines and he owns one called ''The Iron Maiden''. His boss, Sir Giles Thompson, is eager to sell a new supersonic jet aircraft (which Jack has designed) to American millionaire airline owner, Paul Fisher, who has come to England with his wife and daughter Kathy. The first encounter between Fisher and Jack goes badly, as (without knowing their connection) the traction engine crashes into the front of Fisher's car on a narrow lane. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerald Thomas
Gerald Thomas (10 December 1920 – 9 November 1993) was an English film director, best known for the long-running ''Carry On'' series of British film comedies. Biography Born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, Thomas was educated in Bristol and London, and was training in medicine when World War II began. He served four years in the British Army during the war, and upon his return to civilian life thought it too late to continue his medical studies. He began his movie career at Denham Studios, eventually becoming an assistant film editor beginning with Laurence Olivier's ''Hamlet'' (1948). His editing work included many films directed by his older brother, Ralph Thomas. His own directorial debut was the short film '' Circus Friends'' (1956), produced by the Children's Film Foundation. His first feature was the thriller ''Time Lock'' the following year. Beginning with the farcical military comedy ''Carry On Sergeant'' (1958), Thomas directed all 30 films in the ' ... [...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] |
Roland Culver
Roland Joseph Culver, (31 August 1900 – 1 March 1984) was an English stage, film, and television actor. Life and career After Highgate School, he joined the Royal Air Force and served as a pilot from 1918 to 1919. After considering other careers, he turned to acting, graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He debuted on the stage in 1924 at Hull Repertory Theatre and, by 1931, was appearing in films in which he was known for his portrayals of impeccable English gentlemen not given to displays of emotion. In the 1960s he branched out into television before finally retiring in 1983. In 1960 he appeared in ''Five Finger Exercise'' at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. He was nominated for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for ''Ivanov (play), Ivanov''. In 1974 he played the irascible Duke of Omnium and Gatherum in the popular BBC adaptation of, The Pallisers. He lost half a lung to tuberculosis. Personal life He was marrie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe, 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969. Career Parker was born in Hastings, Sussex, the second son (and fifth of six children) of German-born Charles August Schwabe, manager of the Albany Hotel, Hastings, and his English wife Kate (née Parker), a church organist. He was educated at St Francis Xavier College, and at Bruges in Belgium.Who's Who in the Theatre by John Parker (11th Edition) (1952) (London) He served with the Royal Sussex Regiment in the First World War, reaching the rank of sergeant. He began his theatrical career in London in 1922, adopting the surname "Parker" from his mother's maiden name. He made his first film appearance in 1933 and subsequently became a familiar face in British and occasionally American films until his death. He appeared less ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noel Purcell (actor)
Patrick Joseph Noel Purcell (23 December 1900 – 3 March 1985) was a distinguished Irish actor of stage, screen, and television. He appeared in the 1956 film ''Moby Dick'' and the 1962 film ''Mutiny on the Bounty''. Early life and education Patrick Joseph Noel Purcell was the son of Dublin auctioneer Pierce Purcell and his second wife Catherine (''née'' Hoban), an antique dealer. He was born at 11a, Lower Mercer Street, one of two houses owned by his mother's family. Purcell was educated at Synge Street CBS. He lost the tip of his right index finger while making cigarette vending machines, and was also missing his entire left index finger due to a different accident while he was an apprentice carpenter, a feature which he exploited for dramatic effect in the film ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1962). Career Purcell began his show business career at the age of 12 in Dublin's Gaiety Theatre. Later, he toured Ireland in a vaudeville act with Jimmy O'Dea. Stage-trained in the clas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke Of Bedford
Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of France. He was made Earl of Kendal at the same time and was made Earl of Richmond later the same year. The titles became extinct on his death in 1435. The third creation came in 1470 in favour of George Neville, nephew of Warwick the Kingmaker. He was deprived of the title by Act of Parliament in 1478. The fourth creation came in 1478 in favour of George, the third son of Edward IV. He died the following year at the age of two. The fifth creation came in 1485 in favour of Jasper Tudor, half-brother of Henry VI and uncle of Henry VII. He had already been created Earl of Pembroke in 1452. However, as he was a Lancastrian, his title was forfeited between 1461 and 1485 during the predominance of the H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casey Jones (TV Series)
''Casey Jones'' is an American Western series syndicated during the 1957–58 television season. It was based upon the life of late 19th-century engineer Casey Jones in the era of pioneering western railroads. ''Casey Jones'' also aired on the BBC in the United Kingdom and on the Seven Network in Australia. Synopsis The series is set in the late 19th century, featuring the adventures of railroad engineer Casey Jones and the crew of the Cannonball Express steam locomotive, fireman Wallie Sims and conductor Redrock Smith, working for the Midwest and Central Railroad. Casey lived in the fictional Missouri town of Midvale, within commuting distance of St. Louis, with his wife, Alice, their young son, Casey, Jr., and their dog Cinders. Although there really was a famous locomotive engineer named Casey Jones of the Illinois Central Railroad, the television series is only loosely based on him. His train is named "Cannonball Express" (the real Jones' locomotive, #382, was nicknamed "Cann ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, along with the diverse estate surrounding it, including the historic landscape gardens and deer park (by Humphry Repton), as well as more recently added attractions including Woburn Safari Park, a miniature railway and a garden/visitor centre. Pre-20th century Woburn Abbey, comprising Woburn Park and its buildings, was set out and founded as a Cistercian abbey in 1145. Taken from its monastic residents by Henry VIII and given to John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, in 1547, it became the seat of the Russell family and the Dukes of Bedford, who demolished the original abbey building and built their house on the monastic site, although the name ''Abbey'' was retained. The Abbey was largely rebuilt starting in 1744 by the architects Henry Fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fireman (steam Engine)
A fireman, stoker or watertender is a person whose occupation it is to tend the fire for the running of a boiler, heating a building, or powering a steam engine. Much of the job is hard physical labor, such as shoveling fuel, typically coal, into the boiler's firebox. On steam locomotives the title ''fireman'' is usually used, while on steamships and stationary steam engines, such as those driving saw mills, the title is usually ''stoker'' (although the British Merchant Navy did use ''fireman''). The German word ''Heizer'' is equivalent and in Dutch the word ''stoker'' is mostly used too. The United States Navy referred to them as ''watertenders''. Nautical Royal Navy The Royal Navy used the rank structure ordinary stoker, stoker, leading stoker, stoker petty officer and chief stoker. The non-substantive (trade) badge for stokers was a ship's propeller. Stoker remains the colloquial term used to refer to a marine engineering rating, despite the decommissioning of the la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes, they quickly developed a reputation for superior engineering by manufacturing the "best car in the world". The business was incorporated as Rolls-Royce Limited in 1906, and a new factory in Derby was opened in 1908. The First World War brought the company into manufacturing aero-engines. Joint development of jet engines began in 1940, and they entered production. Rolls-Royce has built an enduring reputation for development and manufacture of engines for defence and civil aircraft. In the late 1960s, Rolls-Royce was adversely affected by the mismanaged development of its advanced RB211 jet engine and consequent cost over-runs, though it ultimately proved a great success. In 1971, the owners were obliged to liquidate their business. The useful p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ascot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and three Grade 1 Jumps races. Ascot Racecourse is visited by approximately 600,000 people a year, accounting for 10% of all UK racegoers. The racecourse covers , leased from the Crown Estate and enjoys close associations with the British Royal Family, being founded in 1711 by Queen Anne of Great Britain, Queen Anne and located approximately from Windsor Castle. Queen Elizabeth II used to visit the Ascot Racecourse quite frequently, sometimes even betting on the horses. Ascot currently stages 26 days of racing over the course of the year, comprising 18 Flat racing, flat meetings between April and October, and 8 National Hunt racing, jump meetings between October and March. The Royal Meeting, held in June each year, remains the highlight of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferris Wheel
A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules, or pods) attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, they are kept upright, usually by gravity. Some of the largest modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on the outside of the rim, with electric motors to independently rotate each car to keep it upright. These cars are often referred to as capsules or pods. The original Ferris Wheel was designed and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. as a landmark for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago; however, wheels of this form predate Ferris's wheel by centuries. The generic term "Ferris wheel," now used in English for all such structures, has become the most common type of amusement ride at state fairs in the United States. The tallest Ferris wheel, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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