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Upperworld
''Upperworld'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Warren William as a wealthy married railroad Business magnate, tycoon whose friendship with a showgirl, played by Ginger Rogers, leads to blackmail and murder. ''Upperworld'' is one of the last films released before the strict enforcement of the Hollywood Production Code by Joseph I. Breen, which began on July 1, 1934. Plot ''Upperworld'' tells the story of Alexander Stream (Warren William), a wealthy railroad tycoon. He is devoted to his wife (Mary Astor), but has an affair with a chorus girl (Ginger Rogers), which leads to blackmail and murder. Alexander (Alex) Stream is a multimillionaire. While he is devoted to his wife, Hettie (Astor) and son, Tommy (Dickie Moore (actor), Dickie Moore), she is too busy playing attending and throwing society functions to pay much attention to her husband. While out in his yacht, he encounters a young woman, Lilly Linda (Rogers) who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A successful journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and plays in America. He received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some seventy films. After graduating from high school in 1910, Hecht ran away to Chicago, where, in his own words, he "haunted streets, whorehouses, police stations, courtrooms, theater stages, jails, saloons, slums, madhouses, fires, murders, riots, banquet halls, and bookshops." In the 1910s and 1920s, Hecht became a noted journalist, foreign correspondent, and literary figure. In the late 1920s, his co-authored, reporter-themed play, ''The Front Page'', became a Broadway hit. The ''Dictionary of Literary Biography – American Screenwriters'' calls him "one of the most successful screenwriters in the history of motion pictu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidney Toler
Sidney Toler (born Hooper G. Toler Jr., April 28, 1874 – February 12, 1947) was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. The second European-American actor to play the role of Charlie Chan on screen, he is best remembered for his portrayal of the Chinese-American detective in 22 films made between 1938 and 1946. Before becoming Chan, Toler played supporting roles in 50 motion pictures, and was a highly regarded comic actor on the Broadway stage. Early life and career Hooper G. Toler Jr., who was called Sidney Toler from childhood, was born April 28, 1874, in Warrensburg, Missouri. He showed an early interest in the theater, acting in an amateur production of ''Tom Sawyer'' at the age of seven. He left the University of Kansas and became a professional actor in 1892, playing the heavy in a performance of a melodrama called ''The Master Man'' in Kansas City. In 1894, he joined the Corse Payton company and toured for four years. His success in leading roles at the Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Del Ruth
Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893, Delaware – April 27, 1961) was an American filmmaker. Early career Beginning his Hollywood career as a writer for Mack Sennett in 1915, Del Ruth later directed his first short film ''Hungry Lions'' (1919) for the producer. By the early 1920s, he had moved over to features including ''Asleep at the Switch'' (1923), ''The Hollywood Kid'' (1924), '' Eve's Lover'' (1925) and ''The Little Irish Girl'' (1926). Following several more titles, many now lost, he directed ''The First Auto'' (1927), a charming look at the introduction of the first automobile to a small rural town. Also once believed lost, the film's almost entirely unsynchronised soundtrack features several elaborate sound effects for the time. Del Ruth directed another half dozen projects before the musical ''The Desert Song'' (1929), the first color film ever released by Warner Bros. That same year, Del Ruth directed ''Gold Diggers of Broadway'' (1929), Warner's second two-strip Tec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dickie Moore (actor)
John Richard Moore Jr. (September 12, 1925 – September 7, 2015) was an American actor known professionally as Dickie Moore, he was one of the last surviving actors to have appeared in silent film. A busy and popular actor during his childhood and youth, he appeared in over 100 films until the 1950s. Among his most notable appearances were the '' Our Gang'' series and films such as '' Oliver Twist'', ''Blonde Venus'', '' Sergeant York'' and ''Out of the Past''. Career Moore was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Nora Eileen (Orr) and John Richard Moore Sr., a banker. His mother was Irish, and his paternal grandparents were from England and Ireland. He made his film debut in 1927 in the silent film ''The Beloved Rogue'', where he portrayed silent film star John Barrymore's character as a one-year-old baby. At the time of his death, Moore was one of the last surviving actors to have appeared in silent film. He quickly gained notable supporting roles. He had a significa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Crime Drama Films
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adultery In Films
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept exists in many cultures and is similar in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Adultery is viewed by many jurisdictions as offensive to public morals, undermining the marriage relationship. Historically, many cultures considered adultery a very serious crime, some subject to severe punishment, usually for the woman and sometimes for the man, with penalties including capital punishment, mutilation, or torture. Such punishments have gradually fallen into disfavor, especially in Western countries from the 19th century. In countries where adultery is still a criminal offense, punishments range from fines to caning and even capital punishment. Since the 20th century, criminal laws against adultery have become controversi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1934 Crime Drama Films
Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people. * January 26 – A 10-year German–Polish declaration of non-aggression is signed by Nazi Germany and the Second Polish Republic. * January 30 ** In Nazi Germany, the political power of federal states such as Prussia is substantially abolished, by the "Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich" (''Gesetz über den Neuaufbau des Reiches''). ** Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, signs the Gold Reserve Act: all gold held in the Federal Reserve is to be surrendered to the United States Department of the Treasury; immediately following, the President raises the statutory gold price from US$20.67 per ounce to $35. * February 6 – French pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1934 Films
The following is an overview of 1934 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1934 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events *January 26 – Samuel Goldwyn (formerly of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) purchases the film rights to ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000. *February 19 – Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade. *April 19 – Fox Studios releases ''Stand Up and Cheer!'', with five-year-old Shirley Temple in a relatively minor role. Shirley steals the film and Fox, which had been near bankruptcy, finds itself owning a goldmine. *May 18 – Paramount releases '' Little Miss Marker'', with Shirley Temple, on loan from Fox, in the title role. *June 13 – An amendment to the Production Code establishes the Production Code Administration, and requires all films to obtain a certificate of approval before being released. *July 28 †... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willard Robertson
Willard Robertson (January 1, 1886 – April 5, 1948) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1924 and 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas, and died in Hollywood, California. Biography Robertson first worked as a lawyer in Texas, but he left his profession for a sudden interest in acting after being encouraged to do so by Joseph Jefferson. Robertson's initial venture onto the stage did not last, however. He returned to the practice of law as an attorney with the Interstate Commerce Commission. During World War I, he was an administrator in the Chicago office of the federal railway police. He appeared on Broadway in 16 plays between 1907 and 1930. Robertson played supporting roles in many Hollywood films from 1930 until the year he died, typically portraying men of authority such as doctors, elected officials, military officers, and lawyers. He played Jackie Cooper's stern but loving father in the oscar-winning drama '' Skippy'' (1931) a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Qualen
John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles. Early years Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of immigrants from Norway; his father was a Lutheran minister and changed the family's original surname, "Kvalen", to "Qualen" – though some sources give Oleson, later Oleson Kvalen as Qualen's earlier surnames. His father's ministering meant many moves and John was 20 when he graduated from Elgin (Illinois) High School in 1920. For four years, Qualen attended the University of Toronto, but he left there to join a Toronto-based traveling troupe as an actor. Career In a ''Milwaukee Journal'' interview he said he needed to start working and did so with the Chautauqua Circuit. He drove stakes for the tent used for presentations until a night in Ripon, Wisconsin, when the scheduled principal lecturer did not arrive. Qualen replaced the mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Sheridan (actor)
John Franklin Sheridan (June 11, 1869 – November 24, 1943) was an American actor of the silent and early sound film eras. Biography Born in Boston, he began acting later in life, at the age of 46, and had several leading roles. As time went on, he segued into the character actor role and continued working right into his 70s. Although mostly in smaller roles, he continued to enjoy featured roles occasionally throughout the 1930s, as in his role of Sam Stubener in the 1936 film ''Conflict'', which starred John Wayne. In 1926, Sheridan married Catherine T. McNulty, who died in 1943. Later that same year, he married Edna M Carroll and they had one child. Frank Sheridan died on November 24, 1943, in Hollywood, aged 74. Filmography (Per AFI database) An * denotes a featured or starring role. * ''At Bay'' (1915) as District Attorney Graham* * ''The Money Master'' (1915) as John Haggleton* * ''The Perils of Divorce'' (1916) as John Graham* * '' The Struggle'' (1916) as Majo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Greig
Robert Greig (December 27, 1879 – June 27, 1958) was an Australian-American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler. Born Arthur Alfred Bede Greig, he was the nephew of Australian politician and solicitor William Bede Dalley. He was commonly known as "Bob". Career Greig was born near Melbourne, in 1878. He married fellow actor Beatrice Denver Holloway in 1912. After a successful career in Melbourne, he and his wife sailed for the United States, and he made his Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in 1928 in an operetta, ''Countess Maritza''. His next production was the Marx Brothers' comedy ''Animal Crackers (musical), Animal Crackers'', in which he portrayed "Hives" the butler. He reprised the role in the Animal Crackers (1930 film), 1930 film version, which was his movie debut and set the pattern for much of his career, as he was often cast as a butler or other servant.Erickson, HaBiography (Allmovie)/ref> He performe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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