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Westward Passage
''Westward Passage'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Robert Milton and starring Ann Harding, Laurence Olivier, ZaSu Pitts and Irving Pichel. The screenplay concerns a woman who falls in love and marries, but soon discovers how unpleasant her new husband is. The film marked Olivier's second major role in the United States. It was not a commercial or critical success, and Olivier did not make another film in America until 1939 when he starred in ''Wuthering Heights''. The film recorded a loss of $250,000.Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p49 Plot Newlyweds Olivia and Nick Allen struggle to keep their relationship afloat through personal disagreements. Nick lacks recognition for his works as an independent writer; hence, he is unable to support Olivia and their young daughter. These difficulties eventually lead to a divorce, the last they will see each other for many years. Six years after their divo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Milton (director)
Robert Milton (January 24, 1885 – January 13, 1956) was a Russian-born screenwriter and film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ... who worked and settled in the United States.Goble p.474 He wrote and directed for the stage, and directed three British films. Selected theatre credits Filmography Director Screenwriter References Bibliography * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. External links * 1885 births 1956 deaths Russian film directors Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States 20th-century Russian screenwriters Male screenwriters 20th-century Russian male writers {{Russia-film-director-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irene Purcell
Irene Mary Purcell (August 7, 1896 – July 9, 1972) was an American film and stage actress, who appeared mostly in comedies, and later married Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr., the wealthy grandson of the founder of S. C. Johnson & Son. Career She appeared opposite William Haines in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's romantic comedy film '' Just a Gigolo'' (1931), directed by Jack Conway and adapted from the 1930 play ''Dancing Partner'', by David Belasco. The same year, she played the lead role in Sam Wood's romantic comedy ''The Man in Possession'', adapted from H. M. Harwood's play of the same name. She was paired opposite Reginald Owen and Robert Montgomery. Purcell starred alongside Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante in the comedy ''The Passionate Plumber'' (1932), directed by Edward Sedgwick. Despite not so favorable reviews, the film was a commercial success. ''The New York Times'' wrote that Purcell "fits the mood of the comedy nicely". A French-language version of the latter film, ', w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1932 Films
The following is an overview of 1932 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1932 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events The Film Daily Yearbook listed the following as the ten leading headline events of the year. * Sidney Kent leaves Paramount Pictures and joins Fox Film. * Merlin H Aylesworth succeeds Hiram S Brown as president of RKO. * Jesse L. Lasky leaves Paramount and becomes an independent producer for Fox. * Sam Katz leaves Paramount. * James R Grainger leaves Fox and is succeeded by John D Clark, formerly of Paramount. * Publix and Fox decentralization of cinemas. * New industry program, including standard exhibition contract along lines of 5-5-5, proposed by Motion Picture Theater Owners of America and Allied. * Joe Brandt retires from Columbia Pictures joins World-Wide and later resigns again. * Two Radio City theaters open, under dir ... [...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] |
Julie Haydon
Julie Haydon (born Donella Donaldson, June 10, 1910 – December 24, 1994) was an American Broadway, film and television actress who received second billing as the female lead in the Ben Hecht–Charles MacArthur 1935 film vehicle for Noël Coward, '' The Scoundrel''. After her Hollywood career ended in 1937, she turned to the theatre, originating the roles of Kitty Duval in ''The Time of Your Life'' (1939) and Laura Wingfield in ''The Glass Menagerie'' (1945). Early career and films Born in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, to Orin Donaldson, a newspaper publisher, and Ella Horton, Haydon began her acting career when she was 19, touring with Minnie Maddern Fiske in ''Mrs. Bumstead Leigh''. Within two years, she played ''Ophelia'' in a production of ''Hamlet'' at the Hollywood Playhouse. Shortly after, she began appearing in films, in 1931. Her first film, in which she was billed under her birth name, was ''The Great Meadow'', a Johnny Mack Brown Western drama made by MGM. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joyce Compton
Olivia Joyce Compton (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1997) was an American actress. Biography Compton was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Henry and Golden Compton. (Despite frequent reports to the contrary, her name was not originally "Eleanor Hunt"; she had appeared in the film ''Good Sport'' (1931) with Hunt and this confusion in an early press article followed Compton throughout her career.) After graduating high school she spent two years at the University of Tulsa, studying dramatics, art, music and dancing. She won a personality and beauty contest and spent two months in a film studio as an extra. Compton first made a name for herself when she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926 with Mary Brian, Dolores Costello, Joan Crawford, Dolores del Río, Janet Gaynor and Fay Wray. Compton appeared in a long string of mostly B-movies from the 1920s through the 1950s. She was a comedy actress and protested at being stereotyped as a " dumb blonde". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nance O'Neil
Gertrude Lamson (October 8, 1874 – February 7, 1965), known professionally as Nance O'Neil or Nancy O'Neil, was an American stage and film actress who performed in plays in various theaters around the world but worked predominantly in the United States between the 1890s and 1930s.Young, William C"Nance O'Neil" ''Famous Actors and Actresses on the American Stage: Documents of American Theater History'' (volume 2, K-Z), New York: R.R. Bowker Company, 1975, pp. 887-893. Internet Archive, San Francisco. Retrieved and borrowed on line December 26, 2019. At the height of her career, she was promoted on theater bills and in period trade publications and newspapers as the "American Bernhardt". Early life O'Neil was born in Oakland, California to George Lamson and Arre Findley. Stage career O'Neil's first performance in a professional production was in the role of a nun in ''Sarah'' at the Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco on October 16, 1893. Before returning to San Francisco in 1898 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herman Bing
Herman Bing (March 30, 1889 – January 9, 1947) was a German-American character actor. He acted in more than 120 films and many of his parts were uncredited. Biography Bing was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was son of the opera singer Max Bing (1865-1919) and Frieda Seckback (1869-1939), and brother of actor Gustav Bing (1893-1967), Clara Bing (1895-1976), and Erna Bing Swarzchild. He was married to Carla Lichtenstein and had one daughter. Bing began his career at the circus, at age 16, and vaudeville showing comedic talent. In 1921 he made his film debut in "Ciska Barna, die Zigeunerin". He was production chief of several films in Germany before he went to America, in 1923, with director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau as Murnau's interpreter and assistant director. He also worked under John Ford and Frank Borzage, before establishing himself as a successful character actor well known for his wild-eyed facial expressions and thick German accent. He provided the voic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgar Kennedy
Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to portray characters whose anger slowly rose in frustrating situations. In many of his roles, he used exasperated facial expressions and performed very deliberately to convey his rising anger or "burn", often rubbing his hand over his bald head and across his face in an effort to control his temper. One memorable example of his comedy technique can be seen in the 1933 Marx Brothers' film '' Duck Soup'', where he plays a sidewalk lemonade vendor who is harassed and increasingly provoked by Harpo and Chico. Early years Kennedy was born April 26, 1890, in Monterey County, California, to Canadians Neil Kennedy and Annie Quinn. He attended San Rafael High School before taking up boxing. He was a light-heavyweight and once went 14 rounds with Jac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florence Lake
Florence Lake (born Florence Silverlake, November 27, 1904 – April 11, 1980) was an American actress best known as the leading lady in most of the Edgar Kennedy comedy shorts. Early life Lake was born in Charleston, South Carolina. In the early 1900s, her father and uncle toured with a circus in an aerial act known as "The Flying Silverlakes". Her mother, Edith Goodwin, was an actress. Her parents later appeared in vaudeville in a skit "Family Affair", traveling throughout the South and Southwest United States. Florence and her younger brother Arthur Silverlake, Jr. became part of the act in 1910. Their mother brought the children to Hollywood to get into the burgeoning film industry. Arthur changed his professional name to Arthur Lake and later achieved great success as "Dagwood Bumstead" in the '' Blondie'' movie series. Early career Before acting in films, Lake was the leading lady for the Raynor Lehr stock theater company. Her film debut came in ''New Year's Eve'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Alvarado
Don Alvarado (born José Ray Paige, November 4, 1904 – March 31, 1967) was an American actor, assistant director and film production manager. Life and career Born Jose Paige in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Alvarado first studied agriculture on his father's sheep and cattle ranch. In 1922, at just age 18 he ran away from home and went to Los Angeles, hoping to find acting work in the fledgling silent film industry. He secured work in a sweet factory before getting into the films working as an extra. While in Los Angeles, he became close friends with the México-born actor, Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso, who would later be known as Gilbert Roland. The struggling young actors shared a place for a time. Alvarado soon met and fell in love with aspiring actress, sixteen-year-old Ann Boyar, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants. They married in 1924. Later that year they had a daughter, actress Joy Page. Studio head, Jack L. Warner, fell in love with Ann and convinced her t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonita Granville
Bonita Gloria Granville Wrather (February 2, 1923 – October 11, 1988) was an American actress and producer. The daughter of vaudevillians, Granville began her career on the stage at age three. She initially began as a child actress, making her film debut in ''Westward Passage'' (1932). She rose to prominence for her role in ''These Three'' (1936), which earned her an Academy Award nomination at age fourteen. Her prominence continued with the ''Nancy Drew'' film series, and roles in ''Now, Voyager'' (1942) and '' Hitler's Children'' (1943). After marrying Jack Wrather in 1947, Granville transitioned into producing with her husband on series such as '' Lassie'' (1959–1973). She also worked as a philanthropist and a businesswoman, most notably owning and operating the Disneyland Hotel and the in Long Beach, with her husband. She was appointed to the John F. Kennedy Center Board of Trustees by president Richard Nixon in 1972 and for another term by president Ronald Reagan in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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