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Theatre Royal (film)
''Theatre Royal'' is a 1943 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Lydia Sherwood. The plot concerns an attempt by the staff of a theatre to prevent its closure. The film's sets were designed by C. Wilfred Arnold. Plot A London theatre is threatened with closure, but its staff fight to raise funds and secure the support of an important backer. The owners Parker and Maxwell try to prevent Harding from buying it but must find money. They find a rich old American, Clement J. Earle, and try to get money out of him, but also trick him buying antique furniture in an old country house. As Flanagan and Allen sleep together in a huge ornate bed the ghosts of the old house appear. Flanagan dreams they are Sir Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh meeting Queen Elizabeth I. They audition the background helpers in the theatre to create a show including George the handyman. During the auditions they hear a wonderful female voice offstage and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Baxter (director)
John Philip Baxter (31 December 1896 – 21 January 1975) was a British filmmaker active from the 1930s to the late-1950s. During that time, he produced, wrote, or directed several films. He directed Deborah Kerr in her first leading role in ''Love on the Dole (film), Love on the Dole'' (1941), and was the producer-director for the musical-comedy films of Flanagan and Allen during World War II. Early life and career Baxter was born on 31 December 1896 in Kent. He worked as a theatrical agent and theater manager. He became an assistant director in 1932. He formed his own production company with his friend John Barter. He also acted in several films produced by Lance Comfort. Baxter played a major role in the foundation of National Film Finance Corporation in 1948. He also directed and produced ''Judgment Deferred'' (1952) which was the first film of Group 3 Films, Group 3, a British government backed production venture. His last film as a director was ''Ramsbottom Rides Again'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marjorie Rhodes
Marjorie Rhodes (9 April 1897 – 4 July 1979) was a British actress. She was born Millicent Wise in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. One of her better-known roles was as Lucy Fitton, the mother in Bill Naughton's play '' All in Good Time''. She played the role on Broadway, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award in 1965. She reprised the role in the 1966 film version, titled ''The Family Way''. She was featured singing a track "The World Is for the Young" with Stanley Holloway in the Herman's Hermits 1968 film ''Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter''. Her television appearances included ''The Army Game'' (as Edith Snudge), ''The Adventures of William Tell'' episode "The Boy Slaves" (1958), ''Dixon of Dock Green'' (1961–1962), the episode " For the Girl Who Has Everything" of ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' (1969), '' Doctor at Large'' (1971) and ''Z-Cars'' (1974). Selected filmography * ''Poison Pen'' (1939) - Mrs. Scaife * ''Just William'' (1940) - Cook (uncre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1943 Films
The year 1943 in film featured various significant events for the film industry. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1943 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 23 – The film ''Casablanca'' is released nationally in the United States and becomes one of the top-grossing pictures of 1943. It goes on to win the Best Picture and Best Director awards at the 16th Academy Awards. * February 20 – American film studio executives agree to allow the United States Office of War Information to censor films. * June 1 – Veteran English stage and screen actor Leslie Howard dies at the age of 50 in the crash of BOAC Flight 777 off the coast of Galicia, Spain. While best remembered for his role as Ashley Wilkes in ''Gone with the Wind'', Howard had roles in many other notable films and was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. * November 23 – British Forces Broadcasting Service begins operation * December 31 – New York Ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Williams (actor)
Benjamin Percy Williams (1892 in Glamorgan, Wales – December 1959 in Chelsea, London) was a British character actor from the 1930s to the late 1950s. During his career he appeared in 137 films. In 1954 Williams acted in the BBC Radio play ''Under Milk Wood'' that won the Prix Italia award for radio drama that year. Originally a miner in Swansea, Williams served in the Royal Artillery in Palestine during the First World War, and he was an Air Raid Warden in London during the Second World War. Williams made his film debut in an uncredited role in the 1933 film '' The Good Companions''. Later appearances included roles in ''Tiger Bay'' (1934), ''Java Head'' (1934), '' Sexton Blake and the Bearded Doctor'' (1935), '' Boys Will Be Boys'' (1935), '' Flame in the Heather'' (1935), ''The Man Without a Face'' (1935), ''Sexton Blake and the Mademoiselle'' (1935), ''Gay Old Dog'' (1935), '' Blue Smoke'' (1935), and '' Find the Lady'' (1936. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Shearing
Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 titles, including the jazz standards "Lullaby of Birdland" and " Conception", and had multiple albums on the '' Billboard'' charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s. He died of heart failure in New York City, at the age of 91. Biography Early life Born in Battersea, London, Shearing was the youngest of nine children. He was born blind to working-class parents: his father delivered coal and his mother cleaned trains in the evening. He started to learn piano at the age of three and began formal training at Linden Lodge School for the Blind, where he spent four years. Though he was offered several scholarships, Shearing opted to perform at a local pub, the Mason's Arms in Lambeth, for "25 bob a week" playing piano and accordion. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Mortimer
Charles Mortimer (1885–1964) was a British actor. Son of Charles Neil Mortimer - actor. Husband of Greta Wood - actress. Filmography * '' Watch Beverly'' (1932) (film debut) * '' You Made Me Love You'' (1933) * '' Sometimes Good'' (1934) * ''The Return of Bulldog Drummond'' (1934) * ''Evergreen'' (1934) * ''The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes'' (1935) * ''Royal Cavalcade'' (1935) * '' The Mystery of the Mary Celeste'' (1935) * ''Things Are Looking Up'' (1935) * ''The Price of a Song'' (1935) * ''The Small Man'' (1936) * '' Birds of a Feather'' (1936) * ''Living Dangerously'' (1936) * '' Someone at the Door'' (1936) * '' Aren't Men Beasts!'' (1937) * ''Dead Men Are Dangerous'' (1939) * ''Poison Pen'' (1939) * ''The Ghost of St. Michael's'' (1941) * '' Theatre Royal'' (1943) * ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' (1943) * '' Dial 999'' (1955) * ''The Counterfeit Plan ''The Counterfeit Plan'' is a 1957 British crime film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Zachary Sco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Melford
John Kenneth George Melford Smith (5 September 1899 – 22 October 1972) was a British stage, film and television actor. Biography Melford was the younger brother of screenwriter and film director Austin Melford. On stage from the age of 12, Melford made his film debut in 1931. As well as appearing in various films and television shows, he also played Menelaus in the ''Doctor Who'' story ''The Myth Makers''. His daughter Jill Melford was an actress. Selected filmography * '' The Sport of Kings'' (1931) - Sir Reginald Toothill * ''Night of the Garter'' (1933) - Kenneth Warwick * ''Department Store'' (1935) - Bob Burge Goodman * ''Look Up and Laugh'' (1935) - Journalist * '' Honeymoon for Three'' (1935) - Raymond Dirk * '' Birds of a Feather'' (1936) - Rudolph * '' Find the Lady'' (1936) - Schemer Doyle * ''If I Were Rich'' (1936) - Albert Mott * ''Luck of the Turf'' (1936) - Sid Smith * ''Radio Lover'' (1936) - Reggie Clifford * ''Jump for Glory'' (1937) - Thompson * ''Let's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiver Hutchinson
Leslie George "Jiver" Hutchinson (6 March 1906 – 22 November 1959) was a Jamaican jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Hutchinson played in the band of Bertie King in Jamaica in the 1930s, then moved to England, where he played with Happy Blake's Cuba Club Band. In 1936, he played in Leslie Thompson (musician), Leslie Thompson's Emperors of Jazz and in 1938 with Ken "Snakehips" Johnson, then joined Geraldo (bandleader), Geraldo's band in 1939. He led his own ensemble from 1944 to 1950, featuring many of the musicians from Thompson's band. His ensemble toured the UK and Europe, and did concerts in India in 1945. He also recorded with the ensemble in 1947. He returned to play with Geraldo after the group's dissolution, and recorded with Mary Lou Williams in 1952. Hutchinson was killed in a car crash in Weeting, Norfolk in 1959 aged 53 while on tour with his band. His daughter is the singer Elaine Delmar. References Other sources *Howard Rye & John Cowley, "Jiver Hutchinson". ''Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Hutcheson
David Hutcheson (14 June 1905 – 18 February 1976) was a British character actor. He made his film debut in ''Fast and Loose'' in 1930 and played his only lead role in 1934's '' Romance in Rhythm''. He went on to specialise in hooray henrys, silly asses and military types most prominently in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' (1943) and Peter Ustinov's ''School for Secrets'' (1946) and ''Vice Versa'' (1948). He continued in film and television until the 1970s. During the 1960s he often played the role of Colonel Pickering in stage productions of ''My Fair Lady.'' On 25 March 1949 he married Mary, Countess of Warwick, (née Mary Kathleen Hopkinson), the former wife of Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick. This was shortly after the Earl of Warwick divorced his wife because of her adultery with Hutcheson. Selected filmography * '' Fast and Loose'' (1930) - Lord Rockingham * '' Romance in Rhythm'' (1934) - Bob Mervyn * ''The Love Test ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Heath (bandleader)
George Edward Heath (30 March 1902 – 18 November 1969) was a British musician and big band leader. Heath led what is widely considered Britain's greatest post-war big band, recording more than 100 albums, which sold over 20 million copies. The most successful band in Britain during the 1950s, it remained in existence as a ghost band long after Heath died, surviving in such a form until 2000."Ted Heath" Jazz Professional, from the Internet Archive/Wayback Machine Musical beginnings After playing tenor horn at the age of six, encouraged by his father Bert, a trumpeter and the leader of the Wandsworth Town Brass Band, Heath later switched to trombone.Moira Heath, ''I Haven't Said Thanks: The Story of Ted and Moira Heath'' < ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hal Gordon
Hal Gordon (1894–1946) was a British film actor. A character actor, he appeared in over 90 films in both comic and straight roles. He started off as a lawyer's clerk but finding it dull he decided on the stage, making his music hall debut in 1912. He toured England and South Africa in pantomime and comedy before entering films in 1928, his first being '' Adam's Apple''. Filmography * '' Adam's Apple'' (1928) * '' When Knights Were Bold'' (1929) * ''Windjammer'' (1930) * '' Old Soldiers Never Die'' (1931) * '' Tilly of Bloomsbury'' (1931) * ''Poor Old Bill'' (1931) * '' The Girl in the Night'' (1931) * '' Out of the Blue'' (1931) * ''Creeping Shadows'' (1931) * '' Up for the Cup'' (1931) * '' Tonight's the Night: Pass It On'' (1932) * '' Money for Nothing'' (1932) * ''Help Yourself'' (1932) * '' A Night Like This'' (1932) * ''The Strangler'' (1932) * '' The New Hotel'' (1932) * '' Brother Alfred'' (1932) * ''Tin Gods'' (1932) * ''The Bad Companions'' (1932) * ''Jack's the Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Feldman
Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as an adult. Feldman emigrated to the United States in the mid-1950s, where he continued working in jazz and also as a session musician with a variety of pop and rock performers. Early life Feldman was born in Edgware on 7 April 1934. He caused a sensation as a musical prodigy when he was "discovered", aged seven. His family were all musical and his father founded the Feldman Swing Club in London in 1942 to showcase his talented sons. Feldman performed from a young age: "from 1941 to 1947 he played drums in a trio with his brothers; when he was nine he took up piano and when he was 14 started playing vibraphone". He featured in the films ''King Arthur Was a Gentleman'' (1942) and '' Theatre Royal'' (1943). In 1944, he was featured at a con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |