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Twice Blessed (film)
''Twice Blessed'' is a 1945 comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Preston Foster, Gail Patrick, and Lee and Lyn Wilde. It was an MGM vehicle for the Wilde twins, who were first introduced in ''Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble'' (1944). Plot summary Stephanie ( Lyn Wilde) and Terry ( Lee Wilde) are two identical twins who have been split up since their parents divorced seven years before. Although identical in appearance, the twins are very different: Stephanie is shy but brilliant, while Terry is outgoing and loves dancing. When the twins finally meet in person, each envies the life style of the other. They decide, without telling their father Jeff (Preston Foster) or their mother Mary (Gail Patrick), to switch families for a day or two. The switch quickly starts trouble, for both twins. Stephanie, disguised as Terry, is expected to win a jitterbug contest, but she cannot dance nearly as well as Terry. Terry, disguised as Stephanie, is expected to behave quietly and pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Beaumont
Harry Beaumont (10 February 1888 – 22 December 1966) was an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. He worked for a variety of production companies including 20th Century Fox, Fox, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, Goldwyn, Metro Pictures Corporation, Metro, Warner Brothers, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Career Beaumont's greatest successes were during the silent film era, when he directed films including John Barrymore's ''Beau Brummel (1924 film), Beau Brummel'' (1924) and the silent youth movie ''Our Dancing Daughters'' (1928), featuring Joan Crawford. He then directed MGM's first talkie musical, ''The Broadway Melody'' (1929). The latter film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture Academy Award that year, and Beaumont was nominated for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director. Personal life and death Beaumont was married to actress Hazel Daly. The couple had twin daughters Anne and Geraldine, born in 1922. On 22 December 1966, Beaumont died at Saint J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leadership The institute is composed of leaders from the film, entertainment, business, and academic communities. The board of trustees is chaired by Kathleen Kennedy and the board of directors chaired by Robert A. Daly guide the organization, which is led by President and CEO, film historian Bob Gazzale. Prior leaders were founding director George Stevens Jr. (from the organization's inception in 1967 until 1980) and Jean Picker Firstenberg (from 1980 to 2007). History The American Film Institute was founded by a 1965 presidential mandate announced in the Rose Garden of the White House by Lyndon B. Johnson—to establish a national arts organization to preserve the legacy of American film heritage, educate the next generation of filmmaker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Films
This is a list of feature films originally released and/or distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (to include MGM/UA Entertainment Co., MGM/UA Communications Co., MGM–Pathe Communications Co. and MGM/UA Distribution Co.). This list does not include films from United Artists before it merged with MGM (except for co-productions), nor does it include other studios that MGM acquired (such as Orion Pictures, The Samuel Goldwyn Company, Cannon Films). The pre-May 1986 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer catalogue is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through the Turner Entertainment Co. Lists The films are divided into lists by decade: * List of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films (1924–1929) * List of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films (1930–1939) * List of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films (1940–1949) * List of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films (1950–1959) * List of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films (1960–1969) * List of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films (1970–1979) * List of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films (1980–1989) * List of Metro-Goldw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Films Directed By Harry Beaumont
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images. These images are generally accompanied by sound and, more rarely, other sensory stimulations. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to filmmaking and the film industry, and to the art form that is the result of it. Recording and transmission of film The moving images of a film are created by photographing actual scenes with a motion-picture camera, by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques, by means of CGI and computer animation, or by a combination of some or all of these techniques, and other visual effects. Before the introduction of digital production, series of still images were recorded on a strip of chemically sensitized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Comedy Films
American comedy films are comedy films produced in the United States. The genre is one of the oldest in American cinema; some of the first silent movies were comedies, as slapstick comedy often relies on visual depictions, without requiring sound. With the advent of sound in the late 1920s and 1930s, comedic dialogue rose in prominence in the work of film comedians such as W. C. Fields and the Marx Brothers. By the 1950s, the television industry had become serious competition for the movie industry. The 1960s saw an increasing number of broad, star-packed comedies. In the 1970s, black comedies were popular. Leading figures in the 1970s were Woody Allen and Mel Brooks. One of the major developments of the 1990s was the re-emergence of the romantic comedy film. Another development was the increasing use of " gross-out humour". History 1895–1930 Comic films began to appear in significant numbers during the era of silent films, roughly 1895 to 1930. The visual humour of many of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1945 Comedy Films
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: ** Nazi Germany, Germany begins Operation Bodenplatte, an attempt by the ''Luftwaffe'' to cripple Allies of World War II, Allied air forces in the Low Countries. ** Chenogne massacre: German prisoners are allegedly killed by American forces near the village of Chenogne, Belgium. * January 6 – WWII: A German offensive recaptures Esztergom, Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Hungary from the Russians. * January 12 – WWII: The Soviet Union begins the Vistula–Oder Offensive in Eastern Europe, against the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army. * January 13 – WWII: The Soviet Union begins the East Prussian Offensive, to eliminate German forces in East Pruss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1945 Films
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1945 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 26 – The film ''National Velvet'', starring Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald Crisp and Anne Revere, is released nationally in the United States. The film is an instant critical and commercial success, propelling 12-year-old Taylor to stardom and earning Revere the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. * January 30 – Restricted release of '' Kolberg'', an historical epic which is one of the last Nazi Germany propaganda pieces, in war-torn Berlin. Given its cast of 187,000, probably fewer people view it than appear in it. * April 20 – Release of ''Son of Lassie'', the 2nd Lassie film and the first film ever to be filmed using the Technicolor Monobook method, where a single magazine of film is used to record all of the primary colors. Prior to this method, the most popular reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethel Smith (organist)
Ethel Smith (born Ethel Goldsmith; November 22, 1902 – May 10, 1996) was an American organist who played primarily in a pop or Latin style on the Hammond organ. She had a long recording career and appeared in many films. Early life and career Born Ethel Goldsmith, to parents Elizabeth Bober and Max Goldsmith, she performed from a fairly young age and traveled widely, after studying both music and several languages at Carnegie Institute of Technology. She became proficient in Latin music while staying in South America, and it is the style of music with which she is now most associated. Film and recording career Smith performed in several Hollywood films such as ''George White's Scandals'' (1945) and ''Melody Time'' (1948). In these appearances, she was known for her colorful, elaborate costumes, especially her hats. She was married to Hollywood actor Ralph Bellamy from 1945 to 1947, at the height of her fame, and their acrimonious divorce made headlines. She never had childr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Bond
Thomas Ross Bond (September 16, 1926 – September 24, 2005) was an American actor, director, producer and writer. He was best known for his work as a child actor for two nonconsecutive periods on ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') comedies (first as "Tommy" and later as "Butch"). Also, he is noted for being the first actor to appear onscreen as "Superman's pal" Jimmy Olsen, having portrayed the character in the film serials ''Superman'' (1948) and ''Atom Man vs. Superman'' (1950). Biography Early years and ''Our Gang'' Born in Dallas, Texas, Bond got his start in 1931 at the age of 4 when a talent scout for Hal Roach studios approached him as he was leaving a Dallas cinema. Bond was hired at Hal Roach Studios for the ''Our Gang'' series in the summer of 1931 to begin work that upcoming fall, at around the same time as George "Spanky" McFarland was hired. Bond worked in ''Our Gang'' for three years, alternately appearing as a supporting character and a background actor. His sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Lydon
James Joseph Lydon (May 30, 1923 – March 9, 2022) was an American actor and television producer whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenager during the 1930s. Early life Lydon was born in Harrington Park, New Jersey on May 30, 1923, the fifth of nine children. His family was of Irish heritage. He was raised in Bergenfield, New Jersey. Career In 1932, Lydon's father, who was an alcoholic, decided to retire from working. This decision forced all of the other family members to seek employment in the depths of the Great Depression. In 1937, Jimmy, not knowing what he wanted to do, tried his hand at acting. His first role was Danny in the Broadway play ''Western Waters''. He had been allowed to audition for the part after fabricating a list of roles he had previously portrayed. In the next couple of years, he learned the acting craft while performing in plays such as ''Sunup to Sundown'', ''Prologue to Glory'', ''Sing Out the News'', and ''The Happiest Days''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marshall Thompson
James Marshall Thompson (November 27, 1925 – May 18, 1992) was an American film and television actor. Early years Thompson was born in Peoria, Illinois. He and his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Laurence B. Thompson, moved to California when he was a year old. He attended University High School where he was a classmate of Norma Jean Baker, later to be known worldwide as Marilyn Monroe. Thompson enrolled at Occidental College with plans to become a dentist, but he switched to divinity studies. 1940s In 1943, Thompson, known for his boy-next-door good looks, was signed by Universal Pictures. He played quiet, thoughtful teens in Universal's feature films, including a lead opposite singing star Gloria Jean in ''Reckless Age'', earning $350 weekly. During 1946, Universal discharged most of its contract players, so that same year Thompson moved over to MGM. His film roles steadily increased and improved with appearances in '' The Clock'', the lead in '' Gallant Bess'', MGM's first film sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Porter
Bennie Jean Porter (December 8, 1922 – January 13, 2018) was an American film and television actress. She was notable for her roles in ''The Youngest Profession'' (1943), ''Bathing Beauty'' (1944), ''Abbott and Costello in Hollywood'' (1945), '' Till the End of Time'' (1946), '' Cry Danger'' (1951), and ''The Left Hand of God'' (1955). Porter was married to Edward Dmytryk, who was one of the Hollywood Ten, the most prominent blacklisted group in the film industry during the McCarthy era. Early life Porter was born in Cisco, Texas, to a Texas and Pacific Railway worker and a music teacher. As a baby, she was called the "Most Beautiful Baby" in Eastland County. At 10 years old, she hosted a half-hour radio show on Saturday mornings on the WRR station in Dallas, Texas. She also spent a summer working for Ted Lewis's Vaudeville Band. Career At the age of 12, in 1935, Porter arrived in Hollywood and took dancing lessons at the Fanchon and Marco dancing school, where she was dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
