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Tony Williams (film Executive)
Tony Williams was an executive best known for his long association with the Rank Organisation, including a stint as head of production in the late 1970s. This ended when Rank decided to cease funding films altogether.Tony Williams Interviewed by Andrew Spicer London, 18 March 2011, ''Michael Klinger Papers'' accessed 16 April 2014 Williams joined Rank as a trainee in the late 1960s and worked in theatre management and exhibition. He was appointed head of production for Rank in 1977. According to film critic Alexander Walker, "his enthusiasm was boundless; his knowledge of boardroom politics and organisation rivalries was narrower. Like |
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities. It also diversified into the manufacture of radios, TVs and photocopiers (as one of the owners of Rank Xerox). The company name lasted until February 1996, when the name and some of the remaining assets were absorbed into the newly structured Rank Group plc. The company itself became a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox and was renamed XRO Limited in 1997. The company logo, the Gongman, first used in 1935 by the group's distribution company General Film DistributorsThe Independent July 16, 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Walker (critic)
Alexander Walker (23 March 1930 – 15 July 2003) was a British film critic who wrote for the London ''Evening Standard'' from 1960 to the end of his life. He wrote 20 books. Life and career Walker was born in Portadown, County Armagh in Northern Ireland, the only son of Alfred, a commercial traveller, and Ethel Walker. He was educated at Portadown Grammar School, Queen's University, Belfast, the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium and the University of Michigan, where he lectured in political philosophy for two years from 1952. He worked for the ''Birmingham Post'' from 1953, where he was noticed by Godfrey Winn, who became a significant influence upon him as well as, later, Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Rothermere. The film critic of the London ''Evening Standard'' from 1960, he remained in the role until his death in 2003. His most extended work was a book trilogy on the history of the British film industry: ''Hollywood England'', ''National Heroes'' and ''Icons in the Fire''. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2013 and "one of the most important figures in the British film industry".Batty DBryan Forbes, acclaimed film director, dies aged 86 ''The Guardian''. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013 He directed the film '' The Stepford Wives'' (1975) and wrote and/or directed several other critically acclaimed films, including '' Whistle Down the Wind'' (1961), ''Séance on a Wet Afternoon'' (1964) and '' King Rat'' (1965). He also scripted several films directed by others, such as ''The League of Gentlemen'' (1960), ''The Angry Silence'' (1960) and ''Only Two Can Play'' (1962). Early life Forbes was born John Theobald Clarke on 22 July 1926 in Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, West Ham, London. His father was a salesman and he grew up at 43 Cranmer Road, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EMI Films
EMI Films was a British film studio and distributor. A subsidiary of the EMI conglomerate, the corporate name was not used throughout the entire period of EMI's involvement in the film industry, from 1969 to 1986, but the company's brief connection with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Anglo-EMI, the division under Nat Cohen, and the later company as part of the Thorn EMI conglomerate (following the merger with Thorn) are outlined here. History Headed by Bryan Forbes The company was formed after the takeover of Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) in 1969 by EMI, following the acquisition of Warner Bros.' shares in ABPC the previous year. At the time ABPC owned 270 ABC Cinemas, a half share in the ITV contractor Thames Television, Elstree Studios at Shenley Road, and had recently bought Anglo-Amalgamated, a film studio in which Nat Cohen had been a partner. EMI moved into film production with the foundation of a new company, EMI-Elstree. Bernard Delfont appointed writer-d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wombling Free
''Wombling Free'' is a 1977 British film adaptation of the children's television series ''The Wombles''. Directed by Lionel Jeffries, it stars The Wombles, David Tomlinson, Frances de la Tour, and Bonnie Langford. Plot Based on the BBC children's series, this film charts the adventures of the Wombles, a colony of small litter-picking creatures who live in Wimbledon Common in 1970s London. Great Uncle Bulgaria Womble recounts the story of how Wombles have always been cleaning up after humans from the very beginning with Adam and Eve, and how Wombles continue to clean up after humans for generations up to the present day all around the world, including the United States, Russia, and India. Only seen by those who believe in them, their work goes largely unnoticed until a young girl, Kim, spots them and their worthwhile purpose. As she invites them to her birthday party, her father is forced to believe as he comes face to face with Orinoco, Tobermory and the others. A public meeting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Thirty Nine Steps (1978 Film)
''The Thirty Nine Steps'' is a British 1978 thriller film directed by Don Sharp, with screenplay by British playwright Michael Robson, based on the novel '' The Thirty-Nine Steps'' by John Buchan. It was the third film version of the 1915 novel. This version of Buchan's tale starred Robert Powell as Richard Hannay, Karen Dotrice as Alex, John Mills as Colonel Scudder, and a host of other well-known British actors in smaller parts. It is generally regarded as the closest to the novel, being set before the Great War. The early events and overall feel of the film bear much resemblance to Buchan's original story, albeit with a few changes such as the re-casting of Scudder as a more immediately sympathetic character and the introduction of a love interest. It also introduces a different meaning for the "thirty-nine steps", although unlike its filmed predecessors it returns to Buchan's original notion of being an actual staircase. It is known for the Big Ben sequence near the end, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lady Vanishes (1979 Film)
''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1979 British comedy mystery film directed by Anthony Page. Its screenplay by George Axelrod was based on the screenplay of 1938's ''The Lady Vanishes'' by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, which in turn was based on the 1936 novel ''The Wheel Spins'' by Ethel Lina White. It stars Elliott Gould as Robert, Cybill Shepherd as Amanda (Iris), Angela Lansbury as Miss Froy, Herbert Lom, and Arthur Lowe and Ian Carmichael as Charters and Caldicott. The film is a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1938 film of the same name. The film follows two Americans travelling by train across 1939 Germany. Together, they investigate the mysterious disappearance of an English nanny also travelling on the train. The setting of the remake is essentially similar to Hitchcock's film, but is openly set in pre-Second World War Germany rather than in the original fictional country. The Austrian fountain of Oberdrauburg by Hellmuth Marx is part of the setting. In addition, both lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Riddle Of The Sands (film)
''The Riddle of the Sands'' is a 1979 British spy thriller cinema film based upon the novel of the same name written by Erskine Childers. Set in 1901, and starring Michael York, Simon MacCorkindale and Jenny Agutter, it concerns the efforts of two British yachtsmen to avert a plot by the German Empire to launch a seaborne military invasion of the United Kingdom. Plot In the Autumn of 1901, Carruthers, an aristocratic junior official in the British Foreign Office, is invited on a yachting and duck-shooting holiday by an old University acquaintance called Arthur Davies. On Carruthers' arrival on Germany's northern coast to join the yacht ''Dulcibella'', Davies explains to him that he has a hidden agenda for the trip and the invitation beyond duck-hunting. While boating around the Frisian Islands ostensibly correcting antiquated British sea charts of the coastline's shifting topography, by chance he had met a retired German sailor called Dollmann on the yacht ''Medusa'' with his w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarka The Otter
''Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers'' is a novel by English writer Henry Williamson, first published in 1927 by G.P. Putnam's Sons with an introduction by the Hon. Sir John Fortescue. It won the Hawthornden Prize in 1928,Stade and Karbiener (eds). ''Encyclopedia of British Writers, 1800 to the Present, Volume 2'', 2009, p.522 and has never been out of print since its first publication.Gavron, J. "Introduction" to ''Tarka the Otter'', Penguin, 2009, v (all subsequent page references refer to this edition) The novel describes the life of an otter, along with a detailed observation of its habitat in the country of the River Taw and River Torridge in North Devon (the "Two Rivers"); the name "Tarka" is said by Williamson to mean "Wandering as Water" (p. 10). Although not written for children, the book soon became popular with young readers, and also has influenced literary figures as diverse as Ted Hughes and Rachel Carson. Plot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eagle's Wing
''Eagle's Wing'' is a Euro-Western Eastmancolor film made in 1979. It stars Martin Sheen, Sam Waterston and Harvey Keitel. It was directed by Anthony Harvey, with a story by Michael Syson and a screenplay by John Briley. It won the British Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography Award for 1979. Plot The story has three plot strands that run concurrently through the film: a stagecoach carrying a rich widow home to her family's hacienda, a war party of Indians returning to their village, and two fur traders waiting to meet a different group of Indians with whom they trade. The war party attacks the other Indians and kills their leader, who owns a magnificent white Arabian stallion. White Bull (Waterston) attempts to capture the horse, but it is too quick and makes off carrying the dead chief. Pike (Sheen) and Henry (Keitel) wait in vain for the traders and are then attacked themselves by the war party. Henry is killed, the Indians take the trader's horses, and Pike ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bad Timing
''Bad Timing'' is a 1980 British psychological drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel, and Denholm Elliott. The plot focuses on an American woman and a psychology professor living in Vienna, and, largely told through nonlinear flashbacks, examines the details of their turbulent relationship as uncovered by a detective investigating her apparent suicide attempt. The film was controversial upon its release, being branded "a sick film made by sick people for sick people" by its own distributor, the Rank Organisation, and was given an X rating in the United States. It went unreleased on home video in the United States until 2005 when The Criterion Collection released their DVD edition. Plot In Cold War Vienna, Milena Flaherty, a young American woman in her 20s, is rushed to the emergency room after apparently overdosing in a suicide attempt. With her is Alex Linden, an American psychoanalyst who lives in the city working ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silver Dream Racer
''Silver Dream Racer'' is a 1980 motor-racing film starring British pop star David Essex and Beau Bridges. The film was produced, written and directed by David Wickes. It was the last film to be made by the Rank Organisation. Plot Nick Freeman (David Essex) is an aspiring motorcycle racer, whose brother has been developing an experimental motorcycle. When his brother dies before being able to test and race the new bike, Nick inherits the responsibility to prove his brother's design. In spite of a series of tough setbacks, including the loss of his girlfriend, Nick goes into the big race at the British Grand Prix with all his energy and concentration bent on winning. However, an underhanded American racer (Beau Bridges) is also among the competitors, and is determined to ruin Nick's chances. Numerous incidents happen before Nick crosses the finish line in first place. Two completely different endings were filmed depicting Nick after he has won the race, and both versions were rele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
