The West Point Story (film)
''The West Point Story'' (also known as ''Fine and Dandy'') is a 1950 musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo and Doris Day. Plot Elwin 'Bix' Bixby (James Cagney) is an unemployed Broadway musical director who agrees to stage the annual 100th Night show at West Point . He is offered the job by producer Harry Eberhart ( Roland Winters), with whom he has had a rocky relationship over the years. Eberhart has an underhanded goal in mind: He wants to get his talented nephew Tom Fletcher (Gordon MacRae) out of the Corps of Cadets and turn him into a Broadway star. Bix, who is broke or nearly, agrees to arrange this in return for a cut of Fletcher's future earnings. He and his loyal assistant and girlfriend, Eve Dillon ( Virginia Mayo), travel to West Point to turn the annual 100th Night Show written by Tom and his friend Hal Courtland (Gene Nelson) from amateur hour into a Broadway-level production. Bix quickly runs afoul of the Milita ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roy Del Ruth
Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893, Delaware – April 27, 1961) was an American filmmaker. Early career Beginning his Hollywood career as a writer for Mack Sennett in 1915, Del Ruth later directed his first short film ''Hungry Lions'' (1919) for the producer. By the early 1920s, he had moved over to features including ''Asleep at the Switch'' (1923), ''The Hollywood Kid'' (1924), ''Eve's Lover'' (1925) and ''The Little Irish Girl'' (1926). Following several more titles, many now lost, he directed '' The First Auto'' (1927), a charming look at the introduction of the first automobile to a small rural town. Also once believed lost, the film's almost entirely unsynchronised soundtrack features several elaborate sound effects for the time. Del Ruth directed another half dozen projects before the musical '' The Desert Song'' (1929), the first color film ever released by Warner Bros. That same year, Del Ruth directed '' Gold Diggers of Broadway'' (1929), Warner's second two-stri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high ground overlooking the Hudson River with a scenic view, north of New York City. It is the oldest of the five American service academies and educates cadets for Commission (document)#United States, commissioning into the United States Army. The academy was founded in 1802, one year after President Thomas Jefferson directed that plans be set in motion to establish it. It was constructed on site of Fort Clinton (West Point), Fort Clinton on West Point overlooking the Hudson, which Colonial General Benedict Arnold conspired to turn over to the British during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. The entire central campus is a National Historic Landmark, national landmark and home to scores of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wilton Graff
Wilton Graff (born Wilton Calvert Ratcliffe; August 13, 1903 – January 13, 1969) was an American actor. Early years The son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Graff, he was born Wilton Calvert Ratcliffe in St. Louis, Missouri, US. He graduated from West Hartford High School in 1921. Career Before he became an actor, Graff worked for newspapers, including ''The Hartford Times'', '' The Springfield Republican'', and the '' Paris Herald''. Graff debuted on Broadway in ''Fantasia'' (1933). His last Broadway appearance was in ''Gabrielle'' (1941). He began working in movies in the 1940s and eventually appeared in dozens, usually as a professional man or an authority figure, such as a military officer. He starred in only one film, ''Bloodlust!'', playing against type as an obvious, deranged villain. Most of his work in the last 10 years of his career was on television. In 1956, he guest starred on James Arness’s TV Western Series ''Gunsmoke'', as “Troy Carver”, in the epis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, which took the form of a heart made of purple cloth, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award still given to U.S. military members. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York. History The original Purple Heart, designated as the Badge of Military Merit, was established by George Washington – then the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army – by order from his Newburgh, New York headquarters on 7 August 1782. The Badge of Military Merit was only awarded to three Revolutionary War soldiers by Washington himself. Washington authorized his subordinate officers to issue Badges of Merit as appropriate. Although never abolished, the award of the badge was not proposed again officially u ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States. History The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the successor award to the "Citation Star" ( silver star) which was established by an Act of Congress on July 9, 1918, during World War I. On July 19, 1932, the Secretary of War approved the conversion of the "Citation Star" to the SSM with the original "Citation Star" incorporated into the center of the medal. Authorization for the Silver Star Medal was placed into law by an Act of Congress for the U.S. Navy on August 7, 1942, and an Act of Congress for the U.S. Army on December 15, 1942. The current statutory authorization for the medal is Title 10 of the United States Code, for the U.S. Army, for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, and for the U.S. Air Force an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is the United States Army's second highest military decoration for soldiers who display extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree that they are above those required for all other U.S. combat decorations, but which do not meet the criteria for the Medal of Honor. The Army Distinguished Service Cross is equivalent to the Navy and Marine Corps' Navy Cross, the Air Force and Space Force's Air Force Cross, and the Coast Guard Cross. Prior to the creation of the Air Force Cross in 1960, airmen were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The Distinguished Service Cross was first awarded during World War I. In addition, a number of awards were bestowed for actions which took place before World War I. In many cases, the medal was awarded to soldiers who had received a Certificate of Merit for gallantry; at the time, this certificate was the only o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alan Hale Jr
Alan Hale Jr. (born Alan Hale MacKahan; (March 8, 1921 - January 2, 1990) was an American actor and restaurateur. He was the son of actor Alan Hale Sr. His television career spanned four decades, but he was best known for his secondary lead role as Captain Jonas Grumby, better known as The Skipper, on the 1960s CBS comedy series '' Gilligan's Island'' (1964–1967), a role he reprised in three ''Gilligan's Island'' television films and two spin-off cartoon series. Hale appeared in more than 200 films and television roles from 1941. He appeared primarily in Westerns, portraying the Sundance Kid in '' The Three Outlaws'' (1956) opposite Neville Brand as Butch Cassidy, performing with Kirk Douglas in ''The Big Trees'' (1952), Audie Murphy in '' Destry'' (1954), Ray Milland in '' A Man Alone'' (1955), Robert Wagner in '' The True Story of Jesse James'' (1957), and Hugh Marlowe in '' The Long Rope'' (1961). He also appeared in musical comedies opposite Don DeFore in '' It Happe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gene Nelson
Gene Nelson (born Leander Eugene Berg; March 24, 1920 – September 16, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, screenwriter, and director. Biography Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, he and his family moved to Seattle when he was one year old. He was inspired to become a dancer during his childhood by watching Fred Astaire in films. After serving in the Army during World War II, during which he also performed in the musical ''This Is the Army'', Nelson landed his first Broadway role in '' Lend an Ear''. His performance earned a Theatre World Award. He also appeared onstage in '' Good News''. Nelson's longtime professional dance partner during the 1950s was actress JoAnn Dean Killingsworth. Nelson co-starred with Doris Day in '' Lullaby of Broadway'' in 1951. He played Will Parker in the film ''Oklahoma!'' In 1959, he appeared in ''Northwest Passage'' as a young man trying to prove his innocence in a murder case. Nelson appeared on the March 17, 1960 episode of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gordon MacRae
Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956) and who played the leading man opposite Doris Day in '' On Moonlight Bay'' (1951) and sequel '' By The Light of the Silvery Moon'' (1953). Early life Born in East Orange in Essex County in northeastern New Jersey, United States, to Scottish parents, MacRae graduated in 1940 from Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and he thereafter served as a navigator in IX Troop Carrier Command in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Before this, he attended Nottingham High School in Syracuse, New York. Gordon was descended from the Clan MacRae. Career Singer MacRae was a baritone. Winning a contest enabled him to sing at the 1939 New York World's Fair with the Harry James and Les Brown orchestras. Broadway He made his Broadway de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roland Winters
Roland Winters (born Roland Winternitz; November 22, 1904 – October 22, 1989)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 287. was an American actor who played many character parts in films and television but today is best remembered for portraying Charlie Chan in six films in the late 1940s. Early years Winters was born Roland Winternitz on November 22, 1904, in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Antoinette (Iversen) and Felix Winternitz, a violinist and composer who was teaching at New England Conservatory of Music. His father was born in Austria and his mother in Germany. ''Charlie Chan'' films Monogram Pictures selected Winters to replace Sidney Toler in the Charlie Chan film series. Winters was 44 when he made the first of his six Chan films, '' The Chinese Ring'' in 1947. His other Chan films were ''Docks of New Orleans'' (1948), ''Shanghai Chest'' (1948), '' The Go ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Theatrical Producer
A theatrical producer is a person who oversees all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The producer is responsible for the overall financial and managerial functions of a production or venue, raises or provides financial backing, and hires personnel for creative positions (writer, director, designers, composer, choreographer—and in some cases, performers). The independent producer usually initiates the production—finding the script and starting the process. The producer finds the director and pursues the primary goals, to balance and coordinate business and financial aspects in the service of the creative realization of the playwright's vision. This may include casting, but often only includes casting approval. The producer may secure funds for the production, either through their own company or by bringing investors into the production in a limited partnership agreement. In this business structure, the producer becomes the general partner with unlimited liability, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |