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Mister Drake's Duck
''Mister Drake's Duck'' is a 1951 British science-fiction comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Yolande Donlan, Jon Pertwee, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Reginald Beckwith. The screenplay concerns a farmer who discovers that one of his ducks has started laying radioactive eggs. Plot Mr. Drake inherits Green Acres Farm in Sussex, in the English countryside, where he moves with his new American bride Penny. Because of a misunderstanding, Penny unexpectedly finds that she owns 60 ducks. She is astonished when one of the ducks begins laying radioactive eggs. As the news spreads, the Drakes come under siege by the army. Green Acres Farm is designated a prohibited area, and of all its inhabitants and visitors are made prisoners. The military launches Operation Chickweed to identify and seize the radioactive duck. Cast * Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Donald Drake * Yolande Donlan as Penny Drake * Jon Pertwee as Reuben * Wilfrid Hyde-White as Mr. May * Reginald B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Film Productions, Hammer, for whom he directed 14 films, and for his 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 Sutherland Avenue 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Marion-Crawford
Howard Marion-Crawford (17 January 1914 – 24 November 1969), was an English People, English character actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes (1954 TV series), 1954 television adaptation of Sherlock Holmes (1954 TV Series), Sherlock Holmes. In 1948, Marion-Crawford had played Holmes in a radio adaptation of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", making him one of the few actors to portray both Holmes and Watson. He is also known for his portrayal of Dr. Petrie in a series of five low budget Fu Manchu, Dr. Fu Manchu films in the 1960s, and playing Paul Temple in the BBC Radio serialisations. Career Howard Marion-Crawford was born 17 January 1914, the son of Nina Marion-Crawford and Harold F. Marion-Crawford, an officer of the Irish Guards who died on 16 April 1915 during the First World War. After attending Clifton College, Crawford attended RADA and began a career in radio. His first film appearance was in ''Brown on Resolution (film), Brow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1951 Comedy Films
Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United Kingdom announces abandonment of the Tanganyika groundnut scheme for the cultivation of peanuts in the Tanganyika Territory, with the writing off of £36.5M debt. * January 11 – In the U.S., a top secret report is delivered to U.S. President Truman by his National Security Resources Board, urging Truman to expand the Korean War by launching "a global offensive against communism" with sustained bombing of Red China and diplomatic moves to establish "moral justification" for a U.S. nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. The report will not not be declassified until 1978. * January 15 – In a criminal court in West Germany, Ilse Koch, The "Witch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Films Directed By Val Guest
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since the 1930s, synchronized with sound and (less commonly) other sensory stimulations. Etymology and alternative terms The name "film" originally referred to the thin layer of photochemical emulsion on the celluloid strip that used to be the actual medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion-picture, including "picture", "picture show", "moving picture", "photoplay", and "flick". The most common term in the United States is "movie", while in Europe, "film" is preferred. Archaic terms include "animated pictures" and "animated photography". "Flick" is, in general a slang term, first recorded in 1926. It originates in the verb flicker, owing to the flickering appearance of early films. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1950s English-language Films
Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify the previous emperor Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius. * King Vologases V and other eastern princes support the claims of Pescennius Niger. The Roman province of Mesopotamia rises in revolt with Parthian support. Severus marches to Mesopotamia to battle the Parthians. * The Roman province of Syria is divided and the role of Antioch is diminished. The Romans annex the Syrian cities of Edessa and Nisibis. Severus re-establishes his headquarters and the colonies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Science Fiction Comedy Films
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** British Isles, an island group ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** British Empire, a historical global colonial empire ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) * British Raj, colonial India under the British Empire * British Hong Kong, colonial Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1950s Science Fiction Comedy Films
Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify the previous emperor Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius. * King Vologases V and other eastern princes support the claims of Pescennius Niger. The Roman province of Mesopotamia rises in revolt with Parthian support. Severus marches to Mesopotamia to battle the Parthians. * The Roman province of Syria is divided and the role of Antioch is diminished. The Romans annex the Syrian cities of Edessa and Nisibis. Severus re-establishes his headquarters and the colonies th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1951 Films
The following events in film occurred in the year 1951. Top-grossing films United States The top ten 1951 released films by box office gross in the United States are as follows: International The highest-grossing 1951 films in countries outside of North America. Worldwide gross The following table lists known worldwide gross figures for several high-grossing films that originally released in 1951. Note that this list is incomplete and is therefore not representative of the highest-grossing films worldwide in 1951. This list also includes gross revenue from later re-releases. Events * February 15 – new management takes over at United Artists with Arthur B. Krim, Robert Benjamin and Matty Fox now in charge. * April – French magazine ''Cahiers du cinéma'' is first published. * July 26 – Walt Disney's ''Alice in Wonderland (1951 film), Alice in Wonderland'' premieres; while a disappointment at first and hardly released in theaters, it would later become one of the b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of the longest-running newspapers in the United States, the ''Times'' serves as one of the country's Newspaper of record, newspapers of record. , ''The New York Times'' had 9.13 million total and 8.83 million online subscribers, both by significant margins the List of newspapers in the United States, highest numbers for any newspaper in the United States; the total also included 296,330 print subscribers, making the ''Times'' the second-largest newspaper by print circulation in the United States, following ''The Wall Street Journal'', also based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' is published by the New York Times Company; since 1896, the company has been chaired by the Ochs-Sulzberger family, whose current chairman and the paper's publ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Williams (actor)
Benjamin Percy Williams (6 October 1892 in Glamorgan, Wales – December 1959 in Chelsea, London) was a British character actor from the 1930s to the late 1950s. During his career he appeared in 137 films. In 1954 Williams acted in the BBC Radio play ''Under Milk Wood'' that won the Prix Italia award for radio drama that year. Originally a miner in Swansea, Williams served in the Royal Artillery in Palestine during the First World War, and he was an Air Raid Warden in London during the Second World War. Williams made his film debut in an uncredited role in the 1933 film ''The Good Companions''. Later appearances included roles in '' Tiger Bay'' (1934), '' Java Head'' (1934), '' Sexton Blake and the Bearded Doctor'' (1935), '' Boys Will Be Boys'' (1935), '' Flame in the Heather'' (1935), '' The Man Without a Face'' (1935), '' Sexton Blake and the Mademoiselle'' (1935), '' Gay Old Dog'' (1935), '' Blue Smoke'' (1935), and '' Find the Lady'' (1936. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Maxwell (actor)
Roger Maxwell real name Roger Done Latham (1 January 1900 – 24 November 1971) was an English actor and first-class cricketer. The son of Alexander Mere Latham, he was born at Chelsea on New Year's Day in 1900. He was educated at Wellington College, completing his education there in 1917. With the First World War ongoing, Maxwell attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst from which he graduated into the Middlesex Regiment as a second lieutenant in August 1918. Following the war, he was promoted to lieutenant in September 1921, which was antedated to February 1920. Maxwell played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against the British Army cricket team at Lord's in June 1920. Batting once in the match, he ended the MCC's first innings unbeaten on 16, sharing in a 58 runs stand for the final wicket with Richard Busk. Progressing into a career in acting, Maxwell's first role was in the 1927 docudrama '' The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballard Berkeley
Ballard Blascheck (6 August 1904 – 16 January 1988), known professionally as Ballard Berkeley, was an English actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for playing Major Gowen in the British television sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''. Life and career The son of Joseph and Beatrice Blascheck, he was born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent. He married Dorothy Long in Liverpool in January 1929. During the 1930s, he performed regularly in the so-called " quota quickies". One of his earliest roles was as the heroic lead in the 1937 film '' The Last Adventurers''. He served as a special constable with the Metropolitan Police during the Second World War, witnessing the Blitz at first hand, including the bombing of the Café de Paris nightclub. For his service, he received the Defence Medal and the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal. He appeared in the film '' In Which We Serve'' (1942) and in the Hitchcock film ''Stage Fright'' (1950). He featured as Detective Inspector Ber ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
