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The Skyrocket
''The Skyrocket'' is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by Marshall Neilan and starring Peggy Hopkins Joyce. The film was based on the 1925 novel of the same name by Adela Rogers St. Johns and scripted by Benjamin Glazer. Plot As described in a film magazine, young Sharon Kimm and Mickey live in the tenements and are childhood chums until they are separated. A few years later, Sharon becomes one of the bathing beauties on a comedy film lot, but because she attracts the director, the female star becomes jealous and causes her to be discharged. Dark days follow for her and Mickey, who is endeavoring to become a scenario writer. The young woman attracts the attention of a world-famed director and her career rises like a skyrocket to fame and position. Her love for her childhood chum Mickey is given a shock from the effects of flattery upon her as she acts like a star. At the height of her luxurious and exotic life, the skyrocket bursts and her film career come ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marshall Neilan
Marshall Ambrose "Mickey" Neilan (April 11, 1891 – October 27, 1958; also credited Marshall Neilon) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, whose work in films began in the early Silent film, silent era. Early life Born in San Bernardino, California, Neilan was known by most as "Mickey." Following the death of his father, the eleven-year-old Mickey Neilan had to give up on school to work at whatever he could find in order to help support his mother. As a teenager, he began acting in bit parts in theatre, live theatre, and in 1910 he got a job as chauffeur, driving Biograph Studios executives around Los Angeles to determine the suitability of the West Coast of the United States, West Coast as a place for a permanent studio. Career Neilan made his film debut as part of the acting cast on the American Film Manufacturing Company Western (genre), Western ''The Stranger at Coyote'' (1912). Hired by Kalem Company, Kalem Studios for their Western film production ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earle Williams
Earle Williams (born Earle Raphael Williams; February 28, 1880 – April 25, 1927) was an American stage actor and film star in the silent era."EARLE WILLIAMS EXPIRES: Bronchial Pneumonia Ends Brilliant Career of Pioneer Filmland Favorite", ''Los Angeles Times'', April 26, 1927, p. A2. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Early life Williams was born in Sacramento, California, the son of Augustus P. Williams and Eva M. Paget Williams. When he was six years old, he moved with his family to Oakland. Later he attended the Polytechnic College of California. Before he began his acting career, Williams worked in a bicycle shop, competed as a bicycle racer, and served as a newspaper photographer for the ''Oakland Tribune''. Stage and film careers After performing in bit parts in Oakland theaters, Williams began professional acting in earnest in 1901 with the Baldwin-Melville Stock Company in New Orleans. He went on from there to act in the Alcazaar Theater's stock comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Lost Films
For this list of lost films, a lost film is defined as one of which no part of a print is known to have survived. For films in which any portion of the footage remains (including trailers), see List of incomplete or partially lost films. Reasons for loss Films may go missing for a number of reasons. One major contributing factor is the common use of nitrate film until the early 1950s. This type of film is highly flammable, and there have been several devastating fires, such as the 1914 Lubin vault fire, the Universal Pictures fire in 1924, the Warner Bros. First National fire in 1933, the British and Dominions Imperial Studios fire in 1936, and the 1937 Fox vault fire, the 1965 MGM vault fire. Black-and-white film prints judged to be otherwise worthless were sometimes incinerated to salvage the meager scrap value of the silver image particles in their emulsions. Silent films in particular were once seen as having no further commercial value and were simply junked to clea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sennett Bathing Beauties
Sennett Bathing Beauties was a bevy of women performing in bathing costumes assembled by film producer Mack Sennett during the silent film era. Description The Sennett Bathing Beauties appeared in Mack Sennett comedy Short film, short subjects, in promotional material, and in promotional events such as Venice, Los Angeles#Venice_Beach, Venice Beach beauty contests from 1915 to 1928. Beginning in 1915, the original trio assembled by Sennett consisted of Evelyn Lynn, Cecile Evans, and Marie Prevost. Hundreds more would follow; many remained nameless. Not individually featured or named, many of these young women ascended to significant careers of their own, including Juanita Hansen, Claire Anderson (actress), Claire Anderson, Marie Prevost, Phyllis Haver, Myrtle Lind and Carole Lombard. Other notable Bathing Beauties include: Marion Aye, Alice Day, Polly Moran, Madeline Hurlock, Vera Reynolds, Mary Thurman, Thelma Hill, Thelma Parr, Marvel Rea, Harriet Hammond, Evelyn Francisco, Ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lost Film
A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. Early films were not thought to have value beyond their theatrical run, so many were discarded afterward. Nitrate film used in early pictures was highly flammable and susceptible to degradation. The Library of Congress began acquiring copies of American films in 1909, but not all were kept. Due to improvements in film technology and recordkeeping, few films produced in the 1950s or beyond have been lost. Rarely, but occasionally, films classified as lost are found in an uncataloged or miscataloged archive or private collection, becoming "rediscovered films". Conditions During most of the 20th century, American copyright law required at least one copy of every American film to be deposited at the Library of Congress at the time of copyri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International House (1933 Film)
''International House'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film starring Peggy Hopkins Joyce and W. C. Fields, directed by A. Edward Sutherland and released by Paramount Pictures. The tagline of the film was "The ''Grand Hotel (1932 film), Grand Hotel'' of comedy". It is a mixture of comedy and musical acts tied together by a slim plot line, in the style of the ''The Big Broadcast, Big Broadcast'' pictures that were also released by Paramount during the 1930s. In addition to some typical comedic lunacy from W. C. Fields and Burns and Allen (George Burns and Gracie Allen), it provides a snapshot of some popular stage and Old-time radio, radio acts of the era. The film includes some wikt:risqué#Adjective, risqué pre-Code humor. The cast also features Cab Calloway with his orchestra and Bela Lugosi. Plot At International House, a large hotel in metropolitan Wuhu City, Wuhu, China Chinese inventor Dr. Wong (Edmund Breese) is soliciting bids for the rights to his "radioscope", a ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ziegfeld Follies
The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air''. Founding and history Inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris, the Ziegfeld Follies were conceived and mounted by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., reportedly at the suggestion of his then-wife, the actress and singer Anna Held. The shows' producers were turn-of-the-twentieth-century producing titans Klaw and Erlanger. The Follies were a series of lavish revues, something between later Broadway shows and the more elaborate high-class vaudeville and variety show. The first follies, '' The Follies of 1907'', was produced that year at the '' Jardin de Paris'' roof theatre. During the Follies era, many of the top entertainers, including W. C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, Josephine Baker, Fanny Brice, Ann Pennington, Bert Williams, Ev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Photoplay (magazine)
''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film fan magazines, its title another word for screenplay. It was founded in Chicago in 1911. Under early editors Julian Johnson and James R. Quirk, in style and reach it became a pacesetter for fan magazines. In 1921, ''Photoplay'' established what is considered the first significant annual movie award. For most of its run, it was published by Macfadden Publications. The magazine ceased publication in 1980. History ''Photoplay'' began as a short fiction magazine concerned mostly with the plots and characters of films at the time and was used as a promotional tool for those films. In 1915, Julian Johnson and James R. Quirk became the editors (though Quirk had been vice president of the magazine since its inception), and together they created a format which would set a precedent for almost all celebrity magazines that followed. By 1918 the circulation exceeded 200,000, with the popularity of the magazine fueled by the public's increas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Dillon (actor)
Edward Dillon ( or 1879 or 1882– July 11, 1933) was an American actor, film director, director and screenwriter of the silent film, silent era. Early and personal life Dillon was born in 1872, 1873, 1879 or 1882, in New York City. His brother John T. Dillon (actor), John T. Dillon was also an actor. He married Franc Dillon, Franc Newman in October 1914, and they divorced sometime before 1930. Newman kept her married name, Dillon. She attended his funeral in 1933, and afterward listed herself as a widow rather than divorced. Career Dillon's work on Broadway included acting in ''Prince Otto'' (1900), ''Francesca da Rimini'' (1901), ''The Taming of the Shrew'' (1905), and ''The Ranger'' (1907). He left the stage to begin acting in films in 1908, working under D. W. Griffith at Biograph Company, Biograph. He performed in more than 320 films between 1905 and 1932 and also directed 134 productions between 1913 and 1926. He was Mary Pickford, Mary Pickford's first leading ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugenie Besserer
Eugenie Besserer ( – May 29, 1934) was a French-American actress who starred in silent films and features of the early sound motion-picture era, beginning in 1910. Her most prominent role is that of the title character's mother in the first talkie film, ''The Jazz Singer (1927 film), The Jazz Singer''. Early life Born in Marseilles, France, Besserer attended the Convent of Notre Dame in Ottawa, Ontario. She was taken by her parents to Ottawa as a girl, and spent her childhood there. She was left an orphan and escaped from her guardians at the age of 12. She came to New York City and arrived at Grand Central Terminal, Grand Central Station with only 25 cents (Canadian currency, equivalent to US$0.34 at the time) in her pocket. With the assistance of a street car conductor, Besserer managed to locate a former governess, who, in turn, helped locate the uncle with whom she ultimately took up residence. There, Besserer continued her education, gaining some proficiency in athletics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Standing
Joan Standing (21 June 1903 – 3 February 1979) was an English actress, best known for playing Nurse Briggs in the 1931 horror film ''Dracula''. She appeared in more than 60 films from 1919 to 1940, with the majority under contract with Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios. Biography Standing was born into the acting Standing family on 21 June 1903 in Worcestershire, England. She was the niece of the actors Guy Standing (1873–1937), Wyndham Standing (1880–1963) and Percy Standing (1882–1950). She was also the granddaughter of actor Herbert Standing (1846–1923) and cousin to actress Kay Hammond (1909–1980). As an actress, her first film was '' The Loves of Letty'' (1919). Her last film appearance was in ''Li'l Abner'' (1940). Standing married film camera operator Otto Pierce on 26 October 1927 and they had two children. She was widowed on 22 October 1957. Standing died from cancer on 3 February 1979 in Houston, Harris County, Texas, aged 75. She was cremated at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hank Mann
Hank Mann (born David William Lieberman; May 28, 1887 – November 25, 1971) was a Russian-born, American comedian and silent screen star who was a member of the Keystone Cops, and appeared as a supporting player in many of Charlie Chaplin's films. Career Hank Mann was born in the Russian Empire, but emigrated to New York City with his parents and siblings in 1891. Mann was one of the earliest of film comedians, working first for Mack Sennett as an original Keystone Cop, and later for producers William Fox and Morris R. Schlank in silent film comedies. With the advent of motion picture sound and the "talkies", he became a popular bit player and background extra in many quintessential motion picture dramas as well as comedies, including '' The Maltese Falcon'' (one of a group of reporters) and ''Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' (as a photographer). One of his more sizable talkie roles was as a flustered hotel manager in the 1944 comedy-mystery '' Crime by Night'', and he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
