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The Watched Pot
''The Watched Pot'' (alternative title ''The Mistress of Briony'') is a romantic comedy play by Saki and Charles Maude published in 1924. The play, all three acts of which are set in the fictional English country house of Briony Manor, revolves around the search for a suitable bride for young Trevor Bavvel, who is the sole heir to the estate. The present owner is the widowed Hortensia Bavvel, his mother, who is a bossy and short-tempered woman. ''The Watched Pot'' had its professional premiere on July 14, 1930, during the third summer stock season of the University Players. It was directed by Bretaigne Windust. Among the cast were Henry Fonda (William), Elizabeth Johnson (Sybil Bumont), Christine Ramsey (Agatha Clifford), Charles Leatherbee (Trevor Bavvel), Elizabeth Fenner (Hortensia Bavvel), Kent Smith (Ludovic Bavvel), Aleta Freel (Clare Henessey), Bretaigne Windust (Rene St. Gall), Thomas Bartlett Quigley (Stephen Sparrowby), Robert C. Leatherbee (The Youngest Drummond Boy), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romantic Comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typical romantic comedy, the two lovers tend to be young, likeable, and seemingly meant for each other, yet they are kept apart by some complicating circumstance (e.g., class differences, parental interference, a previous girlfriend or boyfriend) until, surmounting all obstacles, they are finally united. A fairy-tale-style happy ending is a typical feature. Romantic comedy films are a certain genre of comedy films as well as of romance films, and may also have elements of screwball comedies. However, a romantic comedy is classified as a film with two genres, not a single new genre. Some television series can also be classified as romantic comedies. Description The basic plot of a romantic comedy is that two characters meet, part ways due to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saki
Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and culture. He is considered by English teachers and scholars a master of the short story and is often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. Influenced by Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll and Rudyard Kipling, he himself influenced A. A. Milne, Noël Coward and P. G. Wodehouse. Besides his short stories (which were first published in newspapers, as was customary at the time, and then collected into several volumes), he wrote a full-length play, ''The Watched Pot'', in collaboration with Charles Maude; two one-act plays; a historical study, ''The Rise of the Russian Empire'' (the only book published under his own name); a short novel, ''The Unbearable Bassington''; the episodic ''The Westminster Alice'' (a parliamentary parody of '' Alice in Wonderlan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Maude
Charles Bulmer Maude (29 April 1848 - 11 May 1927) was an Anglican priest in the last third of the nineteenth century and the first third of the twentieth. Maude was born in Chapel Allerton, Potternewton, Leeds, son of Edmund Maude, of Middleton Lodge, Leeds. He was educated at Leeds Grammar School and Exeter College, Oxford where he graduated Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in 1871 and Master (M.A.) in 1872. He was ordained in 1872 by the Bishop of Ripon. After a curacy in Leeds (1872–75) he served as the third incumbent at St Cyprian's Church, Kimberley, South Africa (1877–1881). After further incumbencies at Wilnecote (1881–86), Leek (1886–1896; and Shrewsbury (1896–1906) he was Archdeacon of Salop until 1917.‘MAUDE, Ven. Charles Bulmer’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 201accessed 11 Feb 2017/ref> He died on 11 May 1927, aged 79. St Cyprian's, Kimberley M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Country House
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, the full-time residence for the landed gentry who ruled rural Britain until the Reform Act 1832. Frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses, having functional antecedents in manor houses. With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff, country houses were important as places of employment for many rural communities. In turn, until the agricultural depressions of the 1870s, the estates, of which country houses were the hub, provided their owners with incomes. However, the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arranged Marriage
Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be used to find a spouse for a young person. Arranged marriages have historically been prominent in many cultures. The practice remains common in many regions, notably South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus. In many other parts of the world, the practice has declined substantially during the 19th and 20th centuries. Forced marriages, practiced in some families, are condemned by the United Nations. The specific sub-category of forced child marriage is especially condemned. In other cultures, people mostly choose their own partner. History Arranged marriages were very common throughout the world until the 18th century. Typically, marriages were arranged by parents, grandparents or other close relatives and trusted friends. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summer Stock
In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock theaters frequently take advantage of seasonal weather by having their productions outdoors or under tents set up temporarily for their use. Some smaller theaters still continue this tradition, and a few summer stock theaters have become highly regarded by both patrons as well as performers and designers. Often viewed as a starting point for professional actors, stock casts are typically young, just out of high school or still in college. Elitch Theatre Summer stock started in Denver, Colorado, at the Elitch Theatre (part of Elitch Gardens). A 1937 article in Time magazine reported: "Elitch's Gardens is the great-grandfather of all U. S. summer stock companies... and nearly every personage in U. S. show business, from General & Mrs. Tom Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Players
The University Players was primarily a summer stock theater company located in West Falmouth, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, from 1928 to 1932. It was formed in 1928 by eighteen college undergraduates. Notable among them were Eleanor Phelps of Vassar, two undergraduates at Princeton, Bretaigne Windust and Erik Barnouw, and several undergraduates at Harvard, Charles Crane Leatherbee (grandson of American diplomat and philanthropist Charles Richard Crane), Kent Smith, Kingsley Perry, Bartlett Quigley (father of American actress Jane Alexander), anJohn Swope(son of GE President Gerard Swope and later Hollywood and Life Magazine photographer and husband of actress Dorothy McGuire). Several others of its members who had their first professional experiences with the University Players went on to achieve fame in the theater and film industry, including Joshua Logan, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Margaret Sullavan, Mildred Natwick, Aleta Freel, Barbara O'Neil, Myron McCormick, Charles Arnt, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bretaigne Windust
Ernest Bretaigne Windust (January 20, 1906 – March 19, 1960) was a United States-based French-born theater, film, and television director. Early life He was born in Paris, the son of English violin virtuoso Ernest Joseph Windust and singer Elizabeth Amory Day from New York City. The family escaped to London during World War I, and it was there that he developed an interest in theater. They returned to Paris following the war, but Windust's parents divorced in 1920, and he and his mother moved to the United States. He attended Columbia University and then Princeton, where he became a member and later president of the Theatre Intime players. Career Planning to become an actor, Windust co-founded with Charles Leatherbee the University Players in 1928 on Cape Cod in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The company lasted five years and included later luminaries Joshua Logan, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, Mildred Natwick, Eleanor Phelps, Barbara O'Neil, Myron McCormick, K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and raised in Nebraska, Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor and made his Hollywood film debut in 1935. He rose to film stardom with performances in films like ''Jezebel'' (1938), '' Jesse James'' (1939), and ''Young Mr. Lincoln'' (1939). His career further progressed with his portrayal of Tom Joad in ''The Grapes of Wrath'' (1940), receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 1941, Fonda starred opposite Barbara Stanwyck in the screwball comedy classic ''The Lady Eve''. Book-ending his service in WWII were his starring roles in two highly regarded Westerns: ''The Ox-Bow Incident'' (1943) and '' My Darling Clementine'' (1946), the latter directed by John Ford, and he also starred in Ford's Western '' Fort Apache'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kent Smith
Frank Kent Smith (March 19, 1907 – April 23, 1985) was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theatre and television. Early years Smith was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Smith. He was born in New York City and was educated at Lincoln School, Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, and at Harvard University. Stage Smith's early acting experience started in 1925 when he was one of the founders of the Harvard University Players, which later included Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Joshua Logan and Margaret Sullavan in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Smith's stock experience included productions with the Maryland Theatre in Baltimore. His professional acting debut was in 1929 in ''Blind Window'' in Baltimore. He made his Broadway acting debut in 1932 in ''Men Must Fight''. He appeared on Broadway in ''Measure for Measure,'' ''Sweet Love Remembered,'' '' The Best Man'', ''Ah, Wilderness!'', '' Dodsworth'' (1934), '' Saint Joan'' (1936), ''Old Acquaintance'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aleta Freel
Aleta Freel (June 14, 1907 – December 7, 1935) was an American stage actress. Life and career Freel was born Aleta Freile in Jersey City, New Jersey, the daughter of physician Dr. William Freile and the former Minnie Uchtman. She was educated at the Bergen School for Girls in Jersey City. She graduated from Smith College in 1928. She played leading roles in several eastern stock companies, including the University Players of Old Silver Beach and the Palm Beach Players. Among Freel's stage performances was a role in the play ''Double Door'', which was performed at the Ritz Theater in New York City in Fall 1933. Her Broadway credits include ''Louder, Please'' (1931) and ''Three Times the Hour'' (1931). She was married to Hollywood actor Ross Alexander following a backstage romance. Alexander was originally from Brooklyn, and began his career in New York. He was cast in many Broadway productions, one of which was ''The Ladder''. Death Freel grew depressed as her career fai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander (née Quigley; born October 28, 1939) is an American actress and author. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Academy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. From 1993 to 1997, Alexander served as the chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Alexander won the 1969 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in the Broadway production of ''The Great White Hope''. Other Broadway credits include '' 6 Rms Riv Vu'' (1972), ''The Night of the Iguana'' (1988), ''The Sisters Rosensweig'' (1993) and ''Honour'' (1998). She has received a total of eight Tony Award nominations and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1994. Her film breakthrough came with the romantic drama ''The Great White Hope'' (1970), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her subsequent Oscar nominations were for her roles in ''All the President's Men'' (1976), ''Kramer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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