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Western Union (film)
''Western Union'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Robert Young, Randolph Scott, and Dean Jagger. Filmed in Technicolor on location in Arizona and Utah, in ''Western Union'' Scott plays a reformed outlaw who tries to make good by joining the team wiring the Great Plains for telegraph service in 1861. Conflicts arise between the man and his former gang, as well as between the team stringing the wires and the Native Americans through whose land the new lines must run. In this regard, the film is not historically accurate; Edward Creighton was known for his honest and humane treatment of the tribes along the right of way and this was rewarded on the part of the Indians by their trust and cooperation with Creighton and his workers. The installation of telegraph wires was met with protest from no one. The film is based on the novel ''Western Union'' by Zane Grey, although there are significant differences between the two plots. Plot While surveyi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 63. One of the best-known ''émigrés'' from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute. He has been cited as one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. Lang's most celebrated films include the groundbreaking futuristic ''Metropolis'' (1927) and the influential '' M'' (1931), a film noir precursor. His 1929 film ''Woman in the Moon'' showcased the use of a multi-stage rocket, and also pioneered the concept of a rocket launch pad (a rocket standing upright against a tall building before launch having been slowly rolled into place) and the rocket-launch countdown clock. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Creighton
Edward Charles Creighton (August 31, 1820 – November 5, 1874) was a prominent pioneer businessman in early Omaha, Nebraska. The elder brother of John A. Creighton, the Creightons were responsible for founding many institutions that were central to the growth and development of Omaha. Married to Mary Lucretia Creighton in their native Dayton, Ohio, Edward relied on Mary to carry out his request to create a college, which eventually became Creighton University. Biography Creighton was born on a farm in Belmont County, Ohio in 1820. He was raised in an Irish Catholic family, and was always active in Church affairs. In the 1840s, he became involved in the freight shipping/telegraph businesses. By 1856, he had become one of the largest builders of telegraph lines in the United States. He married Mary Lucretia Wareham in Dayton, Ohio on October 7, 1856; the couple moved to Omaha after their wedding. He quickly became involved in several business ventures in Omaha, including wag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irving Bacon
Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and grew up in San Diego, California. Career Bacon played on the stage for a number of years before getting into films in 1912 in Mack Sennett productions. The actor returned to the Sennett studio in 1924, and appeared frequently in Sennett's silent and sound comedies as a supporting actor. By 1933 Bacon was so well established as a utility player that he was pressed into service to replace Andy Clyde -- wearing Clyde's "old man" costume and makeup -- in a Sennett comedy. Irving Bacon was sometimes cast in films directed by Lloyd Bacon (incorrectly named as his brother in several sources) such as ''The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse'' (1938). He often played comical "average guys" in scores of feature films; in 1939 alone he app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Addison Richards
Addison Whittaker Richards, Jr. (October 20, 1902 – March 22, 1964) was an American actor of film and television. Richards appeared in more than three hundred films between 1933 and his death. Biography A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Richards was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Addison Richards. His grandfather was a mayor of Zanesville. Following his father's death in 1942, the family moved to California. Richards was cast in many television series, including the syndicated 1950s crime drama, ''Sheriff of Cochise'', starring John Bromfield. From 1955 to 1961, he appeared in six episodes in different roles on the NBC anthology series, ''The Loretta Young Show''. In 1956 Richards appeared as Doc Jennings in an uncredited role in the western movie ''The Fastest Gun Alive'' starring ''Glenn Ford''. However, he often had more substantial supporting roles in films, especially Westerns, including playing George Armstrong Custer in ''Badlands of Dakota'' (1941) and the marshal in ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chief Thundercloud
Victor Daniels (April 12, 1899 – December 1, 1955), known professionally as Chief Thundercloud, was an American character actor in Westerns. He is noted for being the first actor to play the role of Tonto, the Lone Ranger's Native-American companion, on the screen. Family and education Information available about Daniels is limited and vague. He repeatedly said he was born in the Oklahoma Territory. But his Social Security application lists his birth date as April 12, 1899, and his birthplace as Santa Cruz County in the Arizona Territory. He listed his parents as Jesus Daniels and Tomaca Daniels. Daniels claimed to be Cherokee, though he does not appear in tribal rolls of the period. He had a sister named Anita, born October 6, 1911, in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona Territory. On her birth certificate she listed similar parents with Jesus Daniel (born in Sonora) and Tomaso Acuna (born in Arizona). Thundercloud's first marriage was to 17-year-old Mildred Turner (from Missou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chief John Big Tree
Chief John Big Tree (born Isaac Johnny John, June 2, 1877 – July 6, 1967) was a member of the Seneca Nation and an actor who appeared in 59 films between 1915 and 1950. He was born in Buffalo, New York and died in Onondaga Indian Reservation, New York. His interment was also there. Big Tree claimed to be one of three Native American chiefs whose profiles were composited to make the portrait featured on the obverse of the United States' Indian Head nickel, designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser. The other two chiefs were Iron Tail and Two Moons. Big Tree claimed that his profile was used to create that portion of the portrait from the top of the forehead to the upper lip. Big Tree also claimed to be the sole model for Fraser's most recognized work, the doleful '' End of the Trail''. Both of these claims are broadly disputed, and Fraser identified other models. He also appeared on the March 1964 cover of ''Esquire'' magazine, in a pose commemorating the Indian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Chandler
George Chandler (June 30, 1898 – June 10, 1985) was an American actor who starred in over 140 feature films, usually in smaller supporting roles, and he is perhaps best known for playing the character of Uncle Petrie Martin on the television series '' Lassie'', and as the unfortunate young man who drank '' The Fatal Glass of Beer''. Early years He was born in Waukegan, Illinois, on June 30, 1898. During his infancy, his family moved to Hinsdale, Illinois. Early in his career, he had a vaudeville act, billed as "George Chandler, the Musical Nut," which featured comedy and his violin. He made his debut in film in 1929. Career George Chandler had a plain, unassuming face, allowing him to play incidental and background roles in dozens of movies. His outstanding facial feature was a wide, toothy smile. Today's audiences may know him from the Mack Sennett comedy '' The Fatal Glass of Beer'' (1933) starring W. C. Fields. In this absurd satire of antique Yukon melodramas, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minor Watson
Minor Watson (December 22, 1889 – July 28, 1965) was a prominent character actor. He appeared in 111 movies made between 1913 and 1956. His credits included '' Boys Town'' (1938), ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942), ''Kings Row'' (1942), '' Guadalcanal Diary'' (1943), ''Bewitched'' (1945), '' The Virginian'' (1946), and ''The Jackie Robinson Story'' (1950) Early years Watson was the son of Mrs. Alice Rodgers. He attended St. John's Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, and Shurtleff College in Alton, Illinois. He said that, as a member of Sigma Phi at Shurtleff, he was encouraged to pursue a career in drama. Film Watson began his film career with Essanay Studios in 1913. He was described as "the new recruit that plays lover parts." Stage Watson's Broadway credits include ''State of the Union'', ''End of Summer'', ''Tapestry in Gray'', ''A Divine Drudge'', ''Reunion in Vienna'', ''Friendship'', ''This Thing Called Love'', ''These Modern Women'', ''Howdy King'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Kilian
Victor Arthur Kilian (March 6, 1891 – March 11, 1979) was an American actor who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s. Early life, career, and homicide Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Victor Kilian began his career in entertainment at the age of 18 by joining a vaudeville company. In the mid-1920s, he began to perform in Broadway plays and by the end of the decade had made his debut in motion pictures. For the next two decades, he made a good living as a character actor in secondary or minor roles in films such as ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1938). He was frequently cast as a villain. While staging a fight scene with John Wayne for a 1942 film, Kilian suffered a serious injury that resulted in the loss of one eye. He was an early resident of Free Acres, a social experimental community developed by Bolton Hall in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. During the McCarthyism of the 1950s, Kilian was blacklisted for his political beliefs, but bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chill Wills
Theodore Childress "Chill" Wills (July 18, 1902 – December 15, 1978) was an American actor and a singer in the Avalon Boys quartet. Early life Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas, on July 18, 1902. Career He was a performer from early childhood, forming and leading the Avalon Boys singing group in the 1930s. After appearing in a few Westerns, he disbanded the group in 1938, and struck out on a solo acting career. One of his more memorable roles was that of the distinctive voice of Francis the Talking Mule in a series of popular films. Wills' deep, rough voice, with its Western twang, was matched to the personality of the cynical, sardonic mule. As was customary at the time, Wills was given no billing for his vocal work, though he was featured prominently on-screen as blustery General Ben Kaye in the fourth entry, ''Francis Joins the WACS''. He provided the deep voice for Stan Laurel's performance of "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" in '' Way Out West'' (1937), in which th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slim Summerville
Slim Summerville (born George Joseph Somerville; July 10, 1892 – January 5, 1946), was an American film actor and director best known for his work in comedies. Early life Summerville was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his mother died when he was only five. Moving from New Mexico to Canada and later to Oklahoma, he had a nomadic upbringing. In Canada, in Chatham, Ontario, he lived with his English grandparents and obtained his first job there, working as a messenger for the Canadian Pacific Telegraphs. Film career The beginning of Summerville's three-decade screen career can be traced to another early job he had, one working in a poolroom in California. There in 1912 he met actor Edgar Kennedy, who took him to see Mack Sennett, the head of Keystone Studios in Edendale. Sennett immediately hired him for $3.50 per day to perform in bit parts, his first being in the role of a "Keystone Kop" in the short '' Hoffmeyer's Legacy''. Tall and gangly, Summerville used hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russell Hicks (actor)
Edward Russell Hicks (June 4, 1895 – June 1, 1957) was an American film character actor. Hicks was born in 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Army in France. He later became a lieutenant Colonel in the California State Guard. Hicks was a prolific character actor appearing in bit parts and small supporting roles in nearly 300 films between 1933 and 1956. He often appeared as a smooth-talking confidence man, or swindler as in the W.C. Fields film ''The Bank Dick'' (1940). Distinguished, suave and a consummate actor, Hicks played a variety of judges, corrupt officials, crooked businessmen and attorneys, working in a variety of mediums almost until his death. Hicks appeared once in the syndicated western television series ''The Cisco Kid'' as an uncle of the Gail Davis character, whom he threatens to disinherit if she marries a known gangster. Broadway plays in which Hicks acted included ''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial'' (1954), ''On Borrowed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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