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The Spider And The Fly (1949 Film)
''The Spider and the Fly'' is a 1949 British crime film directed by Robert Hamer and starring Eric Portman, Guy Rolfe and Nadia Gray. The screenplay concerns an unusual love triangle that develops between two criminals and a policeman on the eve of the First World War. Hamer made it immediately after ''Kind Hearts and Coronets''. Plot In 1913, Fernand Maubert, the dedicated chief of police of Paris, is pursuing Philippe Lodocq, a suave bank robber suspected of a series of thefts, but the criminal always has an alibi. After the latest robbery, Maubert does capture Lodocq's accomplice, Madeleine Saincaise. When she is released from prison, Maubert warns her to stay away from Lodocq (though he has a certain admiration for the man). Impressed by her intelligence, beauty and courage, he begins to court her himself. When Lodocq visits her, she professes her love for him, but he tells her that it is too dangerous for them to be seen together and that they would eventually tire of each ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Hamer
Robert Hamer (31 March 1911 – 4 December 1963) was a British film director and screenwriter best known for the 1949 black comedy ''Kind Hearts and Coronets''. Biography Hamer was born at 24 Chester Road, Kidderminster, along with his twin Barbara, the son of Owen Dyke Hamer, a bank clerk, and his wife, Annie Grace Brickell. He was educated at Rossall School, an independent school for boys near the town of Fleetwood in Lancashire, and won a scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he read the Economics tripos. Although claims have since been made that he was sent down (expelled),"Hamer, Robert (1911-63)" screenonline.org.uk. Accessed 4 October 2022. with several sources suggesting that he was suspended for homosexual activities, he did in fact graduate with a third-class degree in 1933. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alibi
An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crime took place. During a police investigation, all possible suspects are usually asked to provide details of their whereabouts during the relevant time period, which where possible would usually be confirmed by other persons or in other ways (such as by checking phone records, or credit card receipts, use of CCTV, etc.). During a criminal trial, an alibi is a defence raised by the accused as proof that they could not have committed the crime because they were in some other place at the time the alleged offence was committed. The ''Criminal Law Deskbook'' of Criminal Procedure states: "Alibi is different from all of the other defences; it is based upon the premise that the defendant is truly innocent." Duty to disclose In some legal jurisdi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Hayter (actor)
Henry James Hayter (23 April 1907 – 27 March 1983) was a British actor of television and film. He is best remembered for his roles as Friar Tuck in the film ''The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men'' (1952) and as Samuel Pickwick in the film ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1952), the latter earning him a BAFTA Award for Best British Actor nomination. Early life He was born in Lonavala, India, and brought up in Scotland, attending Dollar Academy. He made his West End debut in the 1936 comedy ''The Composite Man'' at Daly's Theatre. His best remembered film roles include Friar Tuck in the 1952 film ''The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men'' (he reprised the same role in the 1967 film ''A Challenge for Robin Hood'') and Samuel Pickwick in ''The Pickwick Papers'' of the same year. His rotund appearance and fruity voice made him a natural choice for such roles. Acting career A pupil of Dollar Academy, he became a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His film career ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
May Hallatt
May Hallatt (born Marie Effie Hullatt; 1 May 1876 – 20 May 1969) was an English actress, born in Scarborough. Baptised at St Michael on the Mount, Lincoln, on 13 Jan 1884 she was the daughter of William Henry Hallatt, actor, and Carrie Sydney. A number of published sources incorrectly name her as mother of the actor Neil Hallett. Career Often cast in eccentric roles, within her 30-year career, she was known for '' Painted Boats'' (1945), '' Black Narcissus'' (1947) and ''Separate Tables'' (1958). In Terence Rattigan's ''Separate Tables'', she played Miss Meacham in the original West End, Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (other) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ... productions and the film versions. Personal life and death May Hallatt died on 20 May 1969 in London, England, aged 93. Filmogr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Salew
John Rylett Salew (1902 (some sources state 1 January 1897)14 September 1961) was an English stage film and TV actor. Salew made the transition from stage to films in 1939, and according to Allmovie, "the manpower shortage during WWII enabled the stout, balding Salew to play larger and more important roles than would have been his lot in other circumstances. He usually played suspicious-looking characters, often Germanic in origin." His screen roles included William Shakespeare in the comic fantasy ''Time Flies'' (1944), Grimstone in the Gothic melodrama ''Uncle Silas'' (1947), and the librarian in the supernatural thriller'' Night of the Demon'' (1957). He played Colonel Wentzel in the Adventures of William Tell "The Shrew" episode (1958). John Salew was active into the TV era, playing the sort of character parts that John McGiver played in the US Selected filmography * '' It's in the Air'' (1938) – RAF Radio Operator (uncredited) * ''Dead Men are Dangerous'' (1939) – Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice Denham
William Maurice Denham OBE (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career. Family Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in Beckenham, Kent, the son of Eleanor Winifred (née Lillico) and Norman Denham. He was the third child of four: Norman Keith (1907), Winifred Joan (1908), and Charles (1915). He was educated at Tonbridge School and trained as a lift engineer. Like fellow actor James Robertson Justice, he played amateur rugby for Beckenham RFC. In 1936, he married Elizabeth Dunn, with whom he had two sons and a daughter: Christopher (born 1939), Timothy (born 1946) and Virginia (born 1948). Elizabeth died in 1971. He was awarded the OBE in 1992. He died on 24 July 2002, aged 92 at Denville Hall in North London. Career Denham eventually became an actor in 1934, and appeared in live television broadcasts as early as 1938, continuing to perform in that medium until 1997. Denha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Chapman (actor)
Edward Chapman (13 October 1901 – 9 August 1977) was an English actor who starred in many films and television programmes, but is chiefly remembered as "Mr. William Grimsdale", the officious superior and comic foil to Norman Wisdom's character of Pitkin in many of his films from the late 1950s and 1960s. Life and career Chapman was born in Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, and was the uncle of actor/screenwriter John Chapman and actor Paul Chapman. On leaving school he became a bank clerk, but later began his stage career with the Ben Greet Players in June 1924 at the Nottingham Repertory Theatre, playing Gecko in George du Maurier's ''Trilby''. He made his first London stage appearance at the Court Theatre in August 1925 playing the Rev Septimus Tudor in ''The Farmer's Wife''. Among dozens of stage roles that followed, he played Bonaparte to Margaret Rawlings's Josephine in ''Napoleon'' at the Embassy Theatre in September 1934. In 1928 he attracted the attention of Alfr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Lang (actor)
Harold Lang (1923 – 16 November 1970) was a RADA-trained British character actor of stage and screen. During the 1950s, in particular, played many sly or menacing roles in B-films. At one time he managed his own theatrical company. From 1960, Lang, a devotee of Stanislavski, also taught acting at Central School of Speech and Drama; and director John Schlesinger filmed his work in a documentary, ''The Class'', for BBC TV's Monitor, in 1961. Partial filmography * ''The Man from Morocco'' (1945) – Soldier (uncredited) * '' Floodtide'' (1949) – Mac – the draughtsman (uncredited) * '' The Spider and the Fly'' (1949) – Belfort – The Pickpocket * ''Cairo Road'' (1950) – Humble * '' The Franchise Affair'' (1951) – Bus inspector * ''Calling Bulldog Drummond'' (1951) – Stan (uncredited) * ''Cloudburst'' (1951) – Mickie Fraser / Kid Python * ''Wings of Danger'' (1952) – Snell, the blackmailer * ''So Little Time'' (1952) – Lt. Seger * '' It Started in Paradise'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Cole (actor)
George Edward Cole, OBE (22 April 1925 – 5 August 2015) was an English actor whose career spanned 75 years. He was best known for playing Arthur Daley in the long-running ITV comedy-drama show ''Minder'' and Flash Harry in the early ''St Trinian's'' films. Early life Cole was born in Tooting, London. He was given up for adoption at ten days of age and adopted by George and Florence Cole, a Tooting council employee and charwoman (cleaner) respectively. He attended secondary school in nearby Morden. He left school at 14 to be a butcher's boy and had an ambition to join the Merchant Navy but landed a part in a touring musical and chose acting as a career. He recalled during that year (1939) he was in Dublin on the day of Britain's entry into World War II when he witnessed an effigy of Neville Chamberlain being publicly burned without interference from the local police. Career Aged 15, Cole was cast in the film ''Cottage to Let'' (1941) opposite Scottish actor Alastair Sim. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse. The German 5th Army attacked the defences of the Fortified Region of Verdun (RFV, ) and those of the French Second Army on the right (east) bank of the Meuse. Using the experience of the Second Battle of Champagne in 1915, the Germans planned to capture the Meuse Heights, an excellent defensive position, with good observation for artillery-fire on Verdun. The Germans hoped that the French would commit their strategic reserve to recapture the position and suffer catastrophic losses at little cost to the German infantry. Poor weather delayed the beginning of the attack until 21 February but the Germans captured Fort Douaumont in the first three days. The advance then slowed for several days, despite inflicting many F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state. A person who commits treason is known in law as a traitor. Historically, in common law countries, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife or that of a master by his servant. Treason (i.e. disloyalty) against one's monarch was known as ''high treason'' and treason against a lesser superior was ''petty treason''. As jurisdictions around the world abolished petty treason, "treason" came to refer to what was historically known as high treason. At times, the term ''traitor'' has been used as a political epithet, regardless of any verifiable treasonable action. In a civil war or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel, St. Gallen a.o.). , coordinates = , largest_city = Zürich , official_languages = , englishmotto = "One for all, all for one" , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , religion = , demonym = , german: Schweizer/Schweizerin, french: Suisse/Suissesse, it, svizzero/svizzera or , rm, Svizzer/Svizra , government_type = Federalism, Federal assembly-independent Directorial system, directorial republic with elements of a direct democracy , leader_title1 = Federal Council (Switzerland), Federal Council , leader_name1 = , leader_title2 = , leader_name2 = Walter Thurnherr , legislature = Fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
