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Tod Slaughter
Norman Carter Slaughter (19 March 1885 – 19 February 1956), also known as Tod Slaughter, was an English actor, best known for playing over-the-top maniacs in macabre film adaptations of Victorian melodramas. Early life Slaughter was born on 19 March 1885 in Gosforth and attended the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne. The eldest surviving son of 12 children, he made his way onto the stage in 1905 at West Hartlepool. In 1913, he became a lessee of the Hippodrome theatres in the Richmond and Croydon areas of London. After a brief interruption to serve in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, he returned to the stage. Career Early career During Slaughter's early career, his stage name was "N. Carter Slaughter" and he primarily played the conventional leading man or character roles. After the war, he ran the Theatre Royal, Chatham before taking over the Elephant and Castle Theatre in London for a memorable few years from 1924 onwards that have since passed i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Street, Todd murders his customers with a straight razor and gives their corpses to Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime, who bakes their flesh into meat pies. The tale has been retold many times since in various media. Claims that Sweeney Todd was a historical person are disputed strongly by scholars,Full text although possible legendary prototypes exist. Plot synopsis In the original version of the tale, Todd is a barber who kills his victims by pulling a lever as they sit in his barber chair. His victims fall backward through a revolving trap door into the basement of his shop, generally causing them to break their necks or skulls. In case they are alive, Todd goes to the basement and "polishes them off" (slitting their throats with his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre represents the highest level of Theatre of the United Kingdom, commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Prominent screen actors, Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and World cinema, international alike, frequently appear on the London stage. There are approximately 40 theatres in the West End, with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opened in May 1663, the oldest theatre in London. The Savoy Theatre—built as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan—was entirely lit by electricity in 1881. Society of London Theatre, The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) announced that 201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dracula (1931 English-language Film)
''Dracula'' is a 1931 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed and co-produced by Tod Browning from a screenplay written by Garrett Fort and starring Bela Lugosi in the title role. It is based on the stage play ''Dracula'' by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is adapted from the 1897 novel ''Dracula'' by Bram Stoker. Lugosi portrays Count Dracula, a vampire who emigrates from Transylvania to England and preys upon the blood of living victims, including a young man's fiancée. Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, ''Dracula'' is the first sound film adaptation of the Stoker novel. Several actors were considered to portray the title character, but Lugosi, who had previously played the role on Broadway, eventually got the part. The film was partially shot on sets at Universal Studios Lot in California, which were reused at night for the filming of a concurrently produced Spanish-language adaptation of the same name, also produced by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bela Lugosi
Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (1931 English-language film), ''Dracula'' (1931), Igor (character), Ygor in ''Son of Frankenstein'' (1939) and his roles in many other horror films from 1931 through 1956. Lugosi began acting on the Hungarian stage in 1902, appearing in more than a hundred productions. Beginning in 1917, he performed in Hungarian silent films. After Hungarian Soviet Republic, the failed Hungarian Communist Revolution of 1919, Lugosi was forced to emigrate to Germany due to his socialist activities. He acted in several films in Weimar Germany, before arriving in New Orleans as a seaman on a merchant ship, then making his way north to New York City and Ellis Island. In 1927, he starred as Count Dracula in a Broadway adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, novel, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Hare (murderer)
The Burke and Hare murders were a series of sixteen murders committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were undertaken by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to Robert Knox (surgeon), Robert Knox for dissection at his anatomy lectures. Edinburgh was a leading European centre of anatomical study in the early 19th century, in a time when the demand for cadavers led to a shortfall in legal supply. Scottish law required that corpses used for medical research should only come from those who had died in prison, suicide victims, or from foundlings and orphans. The shortage of corpses led to an increase in body snatching by what were known as "resurrection men". Measures to ensure graves were left undisturbed—such as the use of mortsafes—exacerbated the shortage. When a lodger in Hare's house died, he turned to his friend Burke for advice; they decided to sell the body to Knox. They received what was, for them, the generous sum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure and historical novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was published as a book in 1883, and tells a story of " buccaneers and buried gold" set in the 18th century. It is considered a coming-of-age story and is noted for its atmosphere, characters, and action. The novel was originally serialised from 1881 to 1882 in the children's magazine '' Young Folks'' under the title ''Treasure Island or the Mutiny of the Hispaniola'', credited to the pseudonym "Captain George North". It was first published as a book on 14 November 1883 by Cassell & Co. It has since become one of the most-often dramatised and adapted novels. Since its publication ''Treasure Island'' has significantly influenced depictions of pirates in popular culture, including elem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1883 novel '' Treasure Island'' by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing leg and parrot, in particular, have greatly contributed to the image of the pirate in popular culture. Profile Long John Silver is a cunning and opportunistic pirate who was quartermaster under the notorious Captain Flint. Stevenson's portrayal of Silver has greatly influenced the modern iconography of the pirate. Long John Silver has a parrot, named Captain Flint in honor—or mockery—of his former captain,Stevenson (1883), "The Voyage" h. 10 pp. 80f. who generally perches on Silver's shoulder, and is known to chatter pirate or seafaring phrases like " Pieces of Eight", and "Stand by to go about". Silver uses the parrot as another means of gaining Jim's trust, by telling the boy all manner of exciting stories about the parrot's buccan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noël Coward Theatre
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by the architect W. G. R. Sprague with an exterior in the classical style and an interior in the Rococo style. In 1973, it was renamed the Albery Theatre in tribute to Sir Bronson Albery who had presided as its manager for many years. Since September 2005, the theatre has been owned by Delfont-Mackintosh Ltd. It underwent major refurbishment in 2006 and was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre when it re-opened on 1 June 2006. The building is a Grade II Listed structure. History Early years, 1903–1919 The New was the second of the three theatres in St Martin's Lane. The Trafalgar Square (now the Duke of York's) opened in 1892 and the London Coliseum in 1904. The actor-ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Three Musketeers
''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in collaboration with ghostwriter Auguste Maquet. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight for justice. Set between 1625 and 1628, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan (a character based on Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan, Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan) after he leaves home to travel to Paris, hoping to join the Musketeers of the Guard. Although d'Artagnan is not able to join this elite corps immediately, he is befriended by three of the most formidable musketeers of the age – Athos (character), Athos, Porthos and Aramis, "the three musketeers" or "the three inseparables" – and becomes involved in affairs of state and at court. ''The Three Musketeers'' is primar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
D'Artagnan
Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalised account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of Alexandre Dumas ''père'', most famously including ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844). The heavily fictionalised version of d'Artagnan featured in Dumas' works and their subsequent screen adaptations is now far more widely known than the real historical figure. Early life D'Artagnan was born at the Château de Castelmore near Lupiac in south-western France. His father, Bertrand de Batz lord of Castelmore, was the son of a newly ennobled merchant, Arnaud de Batz, who purchased the Château de Castelmore. Charles de Batz went to Paris in the 1630s, using the name of his mother Françoise de Montesquiou d'Arta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Return Of Sherlock Holmes (play)
''The Return of Sherlock Holmes'' is a play written by J. E. Harold Terry and Arthur Rose and originally starring Eille Norwood as Sherlock Holmes. The play premiered at Princes Theatre on October 9, 1923. Based on the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the play incorporated aspects of four stories: "The Adventure of the Empty House", "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton", " The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax", and "The Red-Headed League". Actor Eille Norwood had previously portrayed Holmes in the Stoll film series from 1921 to 1923. Cast *Eille Norwood as Sherlock Holmes * H. G. Stoker as Dr. Watson * Molly Kerr as Lady Frances Carfax * Arthur Cullin as Reverend Doctor Shlessinger *Noel Dainton as Hon. Philip Green *Paul Gill as Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade ( or ) is a fictional character appearing in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the 1887 novel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard. The character Sherlock Holmes first appeared in print in 1887's ''A Study in Scarlet''. His popularity became widespread with the first series of short stories in ''The Strand Magazine'', beginning with "A Scandal in Bohemia" in 1891; additional tales appeared from then until 1927, eventually totalling Canon of Sherlock Holmes, four novels and 56 short stories. All but one are set in the Victorian era, Victorian or Edwardian era, Edwardian eras between 1880 and 1914. Most are narrated by the character of Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr. Watson, Dr. John ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
