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Val Guest
Val Guest (born Valmond Maurice Grossman; 11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer, for whom he directed 14 films, and science fiction films. He enjoyed a long career in the film industry from the early 1930s until the early 1980s. Reprinted from ''Reference Guide to British and Irish Film Directors'' Early life and career Guest was born to John Simon Grossman and Julia Ann Gladys Emanuel in Maida Vale, London. He later changed his name to Val Guest (officially in 1939). His father was a jute broker, and the family spent some of Guest's childhood in India before returning to England. His parents divorced when he was young, but this information was kept from him. Instead he was told that his mother had died. He was educated at Seaford College in Sussex, but left in 1927 and worked for a time as a bookkeeper. Guest's initial career was as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is part of the City of Westminster, 3.1 miles (5.0 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It has many late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats. The area is home to the BBC Maida Vale Studios. Name The name derives from a pub called ''The Maida'', the hanging board of which used to show a likeness of Sir John Stuart, under which was the legend ''Sir John Stuart, the hero of Maida''. General Sir John Stuart was made Count of Maida, a town in Calabria, by King Ferdinand IV of Naples and III of Sicily, after victory at the Battle of Maida in 1806. The pub stood on Edgware Road near the Regent's Canal until about 2000. In recent years, a different pub (formerly ''The Truscott Arms'') has been renamed ''The Hero of Maida'', bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All In (film)
''All In'' is a 1936 British sports comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Ralph Lynn, Gina Malo and Garry Marsh. The owner of a racing stables has high hopes of winning The Derby, but fate intervenes. It is also known by the alternative title ''Tattenham Corner'', from the play on which it is based. The film was made at Islington Studios by Gainsborough Pictures with sets designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky. It was based on a play, ''Tattenham Corner'', by Philip Merivale and Brandon Fleming, which takes its name from a sharp bend on Epsom Racecourse, where the Derby is run. Cast * Ralph Lynn as Archie Slott * Gina Malo as Kay Slott * Jack Barty as Tingaling Tom * Claude Dampier as Toop * Sydney Fairbrother as Genesta Slott * Garry Marsh as Lilleywhite * Robert Nainby as Eustace Slott * O. B. Clarence as Hemingway * Gibb McLaughlin as Reverend Cuppleditch * Glennis Lorimer as Kitty * Fewlass Llewellyn Fewlass Llewellyn (5 March 18 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miss London Ltd
''Miss London Ltd.'' is a 1943 British, black-and-white, comedy film, comedy, musical film, musical, war film, film director, directed by Val Guest and starring Arthur Askey and Evelyn Dall. It was film producer, produced by Edward Black (producer), Edward Black, Maurice Ostrer, Fred Gunn and Gainsborough Pictures. Plot This musical comedy playing in wartime London, stars Arthur Askey as Arthur Boden alias Miss London, the name of the escort agency he inherited from his mother. Soon he is joined by his new American partner, Terry Arden (Evelyn Dall), as she inherited the other half of the Agency from her parents, who just arrived from abroad. The first thing she accomplishes is to clean up the office, together with her partner. Then they have to renew the files of escort-Ladies. In order to do so, each of them goes searching in different places. Arthur Boden is assigned to the railway station and finally he finds railway clerk Gail Martin (Anne Shelton (singer), Anne Shelton) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey, (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation and catchphrases including "Hello playmates!", "I thank you" (pronounced "Ay-thang-yaw") and "Before your very eyes". Askey achieved prominence in the 1930s in the BBC's first radio comedy series '' Band Waggon'' and subsequently starred in several Gainsborough Pictures comedy films during the Second World War including ''Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt'' (1940) and '' The Ghost Train'' (1941). His novelty recordings for His Master's Voice include "The Bee Song" (1938), a lasting part of his act. From the 1950s, Askey was a prominent television presence and made regular appearances on the BBC's long-running music hall programme '' The Good Old Days''. Askey was made an OBE in 1969 and a CBE in 1981; he continued to appear frequently on tel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bebe Daniels
Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such as '' Rio Rita'', and later gained further fame on radio and television in Britain. Over the course of her 50-year career, Daniels appeared in 230 films. Early life and career Daniels was born Phyllis Virginia Daniels (Bebe was a childhood nickname) in Dallas, Texas. Her father was a travelling theater manager, Scottish-born Melville Daniel MacNeal, who changed his name to Danny Daniels after a disagreement with his own father over his ambition to change from the medical profession to show business. Her mother was Phyllis de Forest Griffin, born in Colombia of an American father and a Colombian mother, a stage actress who was in Danny's travelling stock company when their child was born. At the age of ten weeks her father proudly carried ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Lyon
Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine W. (Wiseberg) and Ben Lyon, a travelling salesman. His family was Jewish. Lyon entered films in 1918 after a successful appearance on Broadway opposite Jeanne Eagels. He attracted attention in the highly successful film ''Flaming Youth'' (1923) and steadily developed into a leading man. He was successfully paired with some of the leading actresses of the silent era, including Pola Negri, Gloria Swanson, Colleen Moore, Barbara La Marr, Viola Dana, Anna Q. Nilsson, Mary Astor and Blanche Sweet. In 1925, a writer for ''Photoplay'' wrote of him, "Girls, Ben Lyon looks harmless but we have reliable information that he's irresistible, so watch your step. Besides he's a mighty fine actor and if the ladies must fall in love with him he can't hel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hi Gang! (film)
''Hi Gang!'' is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bebe Daniels, Ben Lyon and Vic Oliver. Production It was a spin-off from the popular BBC radio series ''Hi Gang! (radio series), Hi Gang!''. It was made by Gainsborough Pictures at Lime Grove Studios. The film's art direction was by Walter W. Murton. Plot Two married reporters (Daniels and Lyon) in New York City working for rival radio networks engage in cut-throat competition, assisted by an incompetent with big ideas (Oliver). A publicity stunt by the couple to adopt a British Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II, evacuee boy live on air goes wrong and they end up adopting Albert (Moffatt) a rowdy pub landlord's son and his cantankerous Uncle Jerry (Marriott). The final third of the film sees them all travel to England in the mistaken belief that Albert is the son of Lord Amersham. Cast References Bibliography * Cook, Pam. ''Gainsborough Pictures''. Cassell, 1997. Externa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ask A Policeman
''Ask a Policeman'' is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt. The plot sees Will Hay playing a policeman at the Turnbotham Round police force. The force hasn't arrested anybody in the last ten years five weeks and four days so their Chief Constable arrives to decide whether to keep or disband the force. The characters fabricate crimes in order to look useful. They manufacture some fake smuggling, however, then they encounter some real smugglers. The title comes from the popular music hall song " Ask a P'liceman". Plot Sergeant Dudfoot is talking about his life as a policeman at Turnbotham Round (pronounced Torn Bottom Round) during a radio broadcast. His staff Albert and Harbottle (played by Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott) enter after they have been poaching and Harbottle ruins the broadcast. The next day, Dudfoot receives a letter from the Chief Constable. The letter states that an investigation will ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oh, Mr Porter!
''Oh, Mr Porter!'' is a 1937 British comedy film starring Will Hay with Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt and directed by Marcel Varnel. While not Hay's commercially most successful (although it grossed £500,000 at the box office – equal to about £34,000,000 at 2020 value), it is probably his best-known film to modern audiences. It is widely acclaimed as the best of Hay's work, and a classic of its genre. The film had its first public showing in November 1937 and went on general release on 3 January 1938. The plot of ''Oh, Mr Porter'' was loosely based on the Arnold Ridley play '' The Ghost Train''. The title was taken from '' Oh! Mr Porter'', a music hall song. Plot William Porter (Will Hay) is an inept railway worker who – due to family connections – is given the job of stationmaster at a remote and ramshackle rural Northern Irish railway station in the (fictitious) town of Buggleskelly, situated on the border with the then Irish Free State. After taking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Will Hay
William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film ''Oh, Mr. Porter!'' (1937), made by Gainsborough Pictures, is often cited as the supreme British-produced film-comedy, and in 1938 he was the third highest-grossing star in the UK. Many comedians have acknowledged him as a major influence. Hay was also a keen amateur astronomer. Early life Hay was born at 23 Durham Street in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham. He was one of two sons and three daughters of William Robert Hay (1851–1920) and his wife, Elizabeth (1859–1910) (née Ebden). When Will Hay Jr. was less than a year old the family moved to Lowestoft in Suffolk. By his late teens, Hay had become fluent in Italian, French and German and secured employment as an interpreter. Career Early career Hay decided to become an actor when he was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alf's Button Afloat
''Alf's Button Afloat'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Alastair Sim and Peter Gawthorne. In the film, the Crazy Gang go to sea, where one of them discovers a button on his uniform is made from the metal of Aladdin's lamp. The film parodies the 1920 novel '' Alf's Button'' by W.A. Darlington and its subsequent film adaptations. Cast * Bud Flanagan as Alf Higgins * Chesney Allen as Ches * Jimmy Nervo as Cecil * Teddy Knox as Teddy * Charlie Naughton as Charlie * Jimmy Gold as Jimmy * Alastair Sim as Eustace * Wally Patch as Sergeant Hawkins * Peter Gawthorne as Captain Driscol * Agnes Lauchlan as Lady Driscol * Glennis Lorimer as Frankie Driscol * James Carney as Lieutenant John Hardy * Wilson Coleman Wilson Coleman (1873–1940) was a British actor. He started his stage career in 1891, playing juvenile and heavy parts. He worked with Barry Jackson (director), Barry Jackson for five years. He t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crazy Gang (comedy Group)
The Crazy Gang were a group of British entertainers, formed in the early 1930s. In the mature form the group's six men were Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox, Charlie Naughton and Jimmy Gold. The group achieved considerable domestic popularity and were a favourite of the Royal Family, especially King George VI. Formation Although George Black is often credited with the formation of the Crazy Gang, the start was more complicated. In 1931, three double acts (Nervo and Knox, Naughton and Gold and Billy Caryll and Hilda Mundy) were tentatively booked at the London Palladium. This caused Black to consider cancelling one of the couples. Nervo and Knox had a technique of entering other acts and Black was persuaded to overcome the difficulty by letting this happen. The show, which was called ''Crazy Week'' opened on 30 November 1931. Other Crazy Weeks followed with Flanagan and Allen added. The name Crazy Gang was introduced in a show called "The Big Crazy Ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
