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Illicit (film)
''Illicit'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Barbara Stanwyck, James Rennie, Ricardo Cortez, and Natalie Moorhead. Based on a play by Edith Fitzgerald and Robert Riskin, the film is about a young couple living together out of wedlock because the woman does not believe in marriage. When they finally get married, both become unfaithful to each other. ''Illicit'' was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Plot Anne Vincent is a woman who has modern ideas about love. She believes that marriage kills love and leads to unhappiness and, inevitably, divorce. Although her boyfriend, Dick Ives II, and his father, Dick Sr., try to persuade Anne to get married, she resists their arguments. She believes it is important for people to be individuals, and that when they marry, they tend to become too emotionally dependent on each other, rather than, as an old suitor says, "being responsible to no one but herself." Both Anne and Dick have prior ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archie Mayo
Archibald L. Mayo (January 29, 1891 – December 4, 1968) was a film director, screenwriter and actor. Early years The son of a tailor, Mayo was born in New York City. After attending the city's public schools, he studied at Columbia University. Film Mayo moved to Hollywood in 1915 and began working as a director in 1917. His films include ''Is Everybody Happy? (1929 film), Is Everybody Happy?'' (1929) with Ted Lewis (musician), Ted Lewis, ''Bought!'' (1931) with Constance Bennett, ''Night After Night (film), Night After Night'' (1932) with Mae West, ''The Doorway to Hell'' (1930) with James Cagney and Lew Ayres, ''Convention City'' (1933) with Joan Blondell, ''The Mayor of Hell'' (1933) with James Cagney, ''The Petrified Forest'' (1936) with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, and ''The Adventures of Marco Polo'' (1938) with Gary Cooper. Mayo retired in 1946, shortly after completing ''A Night in Casablanca'' with the Marx Brothers and ''Angel on My Shoulder (film), Angel on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claude Gillingwater
Claude Benton Gillingwater (August 2, 1870 – November 1, 1939) was an American stage and screen actor. He first appeared on the stage then in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1939, including the Academy Award-nominated ''A Tale of Two Cities'' (1935) and ''Conquest'' (1937). He appeared in several films starring Shirley Temple, beginning with '' Poor Little Rich Girl'' (1936). Early life Gillingwater was born in Louisiana, Missouri. Though he studied law, he preferred not to follow in his father's footsteps and become a lawyer. He became a travelling salesman for a wholesale firm, selling vinegar. While thus engaged, he joined a small theatrical company managed by David Belasco. Eight years later, Mary Pickford saw him act and secured him for her picture, ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1921), which launched his film career. Hollywood career In later years, Gillingwater generally played curmudgeonly character roles. His best-known role is probably Jarvis Lorry in David O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1931 Films
The following is an overview of 1931 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1931 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 5: RKO acquires the producing and distribution arm of Pathé for $4.6 million. * June 20: Monogram Pictures releases its first film, ''Ships of Hate''. * July 7: Anti-competitive practices disclosed about certain distributors and producers in Canada. * November 17: E. R. Tinker elected president of Fox Films replacing Harley L. Clarke. * December 14: RKO refinancing plan approved. Best money stars ''Variety'' reported the following as the biggest male stars in the U.S. in alphabetical order although grouped George Arliss and Ronald Colman together as having equal ranking. The following were the biggest women names in the U.S. in alphabetical order but again grouped two actresses together to denote they were ranked t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical films, suspense horror, and occasional comedies, although her greater successes were in romantic dramas. A recipient of two Academy Awards, she was the first thespian to accrue ten nominations. Bette Davis appeared on Broadway in New York, then the 22-year-old Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930. After some unsuccessful films, she had her critical breakthrough playing a vulgar waitress in ''Of Human Bondage'' (1934) although, contentiously, she was not among the three nominees for the Academy Award for Best Actress that year. The next year, her performance as a down-and-out actress in ''Dangerous'' (1935) did land Davis her first Best Actress nomination, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ex-Lady
''Ex-Lady'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy/drama film directed by Robert Florey. The screenplay by David Boehm is a remake of the Barbara Stanwyck film '' Illicit (1931),'' both crediting a story (actually a play) by Edith Fitzgerald and Robert Riskin. The film focuses on a pair of lovers, commercial illustrator Helen Bauer (Bette Davis) and advertising writer Don Peterson (Gene Raymond), who have been living together quite happily (in separate apartments) for some time. One night, after hiding in Helen’s bedroom until their party guests have all left, Don announces that he is tired of sneaking around. He wants marriage—and possibly children—and Helen finally agrees, although she is afraid that it will wreck their relationship. Her predictions of trouble—increased by the stresses of opening their own advertising agency—come true, but in the end, with the serendipitous intervention of their perpetually inebriated friend, Van (Frank McHugh), they reconcile and res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.Mordaunt Hall, Wrote of Screen , ''New York Times'', July 4, 1973, p. 18. His writing style was described in his ''Times'' obituary as "chatty, irreverent, and not particularly analytical. €¦The interest of other critics in analyzing cinematographic techniques was not for him." Biography Born Frederick William Mordaunt Hall in[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
On With The Show (1929 Film)
''On with the Show!'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film produced by Warner Bros. Filmed in two-color Technicolor, the film is noted as the first all-talking, all-color feature length film, and the second color film released by Warner Bros.; the first was the partly color, black-and-white musical ''The Desert Song'' (1929). Plot With unpaid actors and staff, the stage show ''Phantom Sweetheart'' seems doomed. To complicate matters, the box office takings have been robbed and the leading lady refuses to appear. The cast includes William Bakewell as the head usher eager to get his sweetheart, box-office girl Sally O'Neil, noticed as a leading girl. Betty Compson plays the temperamental star and Arthur Lake the whiny young male lead. Louise Fazenda is the company's eccentric comedian. Joe E. Brown plays the part of a mean comedian who constantly argues with Arthur Lake. Cast Songs * "Welcome Home" Music by Harry Akst, Lyrics by Grant Clarke, Performed by Henry Fink and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Son Of The Gods
''Son of the Gods'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code romantic drama film with Technicolor sequences, produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Rex Beach. Richard Barthelmess and Constance Bennett star as a couple in love who have a falling out when she discovers that, though he looks Caucasian, he is actually Chinese. Plot Sam Lee (Barthelmess) is the only son of extremely wealthy Chinese merchant Lee Ying. Sam can Passing (racial identity), pass as white. Lee Ying sends him to a prestigious university, where he studies hard. He is tolerated in white social circles, even though it is known there that he is Chinese, because of his money. One day, two fellow students talk him into a triple date, but the white girls are outraged when they find out that they are out with a "dirty yellow Chinaman". They pressure the two white men to make up a transparently fake excuse to leave. Insult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Top Speed (film)
''Top Speed'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical comedy film released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers. It was based on a 1929 stage musical of the same name by Harry Ruby, Guy Bolton and Bert Kalmar. The film stars Joe E. Brown, Bernice Claire, Jack Whiting, Laura Lee, and Frank McHugh. Synopsis Elmer Peters and Gerald Brooks, bond clerks on a weekend vacation, are on the run from a local sheriff after Elmer attempts to fish in a "no fishing" area. The two men arrive at an expensive hotel where they rescue Virginia Rollins and Babs Green, who have just been involved in a car accident. Gerald falls in love with Virginia, and Elmer falls for Babs, and the two fugitives decide to remain at the hotel for the rest of the weekend. Elmer begins boasting to hotel guests and personnel; soon, everyone believes that he and Gerald are millionaires, and that Gerald is an expert boat racer. Virginia's father owns a speedboat that he plans to enter in a big ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maybe It's Love (1930 Film)
''Maybe It's Love'', also known as ''Eleven Men and a Girl'', is an all-talking 1930 pre-Code musical comedy film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by William A. Wellman. The movie stars Joan Bennett, Joe E. Brown and James Hall. The film is based on George Ade's 1904 play '' The College Widow'' and is a remake of Warner's own 1927 silent version of the story, which starred Dolores Costello. The play had also been filmed in 1915, starring Ethel Clayton. Plot Upton College President Sheffield (George Irving) is in serious danger of losing his job. For the last twelve years Upton has lost the annual football match against rival Parsons College. The trustees of Upton insist that Sheffield must resign if Upton fails to win the upcoming football match. Sheffield's daughter Nan (Joan Bennett) overhears the threat of the trustees and tells her friend Yates (Joe E. Brown), a star football player. Together they come up with a scheme to get some of the best foot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oh Sailor Behave
''Oh, Sailor, Behave!'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical comedy film produced and released by Warner Brothers, and based on the play ''See Naples and Die'', written by Elmer Rice. The film was originally intended to be entirely in Technicolor and was advertised as such in movie trade journals. Due to the backlash against musicals, it was apparently released in black-and-white only. Plot An American newspaper reporter named Charlie Carroll ( Charles King) is sent to Venice to interview a Romanian general, who is played by Noah Beery. While in Venice Charlie falls for a young heiress named Nanette Dodge ( Irene Delroy). When Charlie is unable to get an interview with the Romanian general, a local siren named Kunegundi (Vivien Oakland), who is the general's favorite helps him. Meanwhile, Nanette learns that her sister is being blackmailed by Prince Kasloff of Russia (Lowell Sherman), to whom she wrote some incriminating letters. Nanette attempts to vamp the Prince in order to obt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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