1.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
–
There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. Recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire were at first made on the nomination of the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions of the Empire, nominations continue today from Commonwealth countries that participate in recommending British honours. Most members are citizens of the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth realms that use the Imperial system of honours and awards. Honorary knighthoods are appointed to citizens of nations where the Queen is not head of state, occasionally, honorary appointees are, incorrectly, referred to as Sir or Dame – Bill Gates or Bob Geldof, for example. In particular, King George V wished to create an Order to honour many thousands of those who had served in a variety of non-combatant roles during the First World War, when first established, the Order had only one division. However, in 1918, soon after its foundation, it was divided into Military. The Orders motto is For God and the Empire, at the foundation of the Order, the Medal of the Order of the British Empire was instituted, to serve as a lower award granting recipients affiliation but not membership. In 1922, this was renamed the British Empire Medal, in addition, the BEM is awarded by the Cook Islands and by some other Commonwealth nations. The British monarch is Sovereign of the Order, and appoints all members of the Order. The next most senior member is the Grand Master, of whom there have been three, Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, Queen Mary, and the current Grand Master, the Duke of Edinburgh. The Order is limited to 300 Knights and Dames Grand Cross,845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8,960 Commanders. There are no limits applied to the number of members of the fourth and fifth classes. Foreign recipients, as members, do not contribute to the numbers restricted to the Order as full members do. Though men can be knighted separately from an order of chivalry, women cannot, and so the rank of Knight/Dame Commander of the Order is the lowest rank of damehood, and second-lowest of knighthood. Because of this, Dame Commander is awarded in circumstances in which a man would be created a Knight Bachelor, for example, by convention, female judges of the High Court of Justice are created Dames Commander after appointment, while male judges become Knights Bachelor. The Order has six officials, the Prelate, the Dean, the Secretary, the Registrar, the King of Arms, the Bishop of London, a senior bishop in the Church of England, serves as the Orders Prelate. The Dean of St Pauls is ex officio the Dean of the Order, the Orders King of Arms is not a member of the College of Arms, as are many other heraldic officers. From time to time, individuals are appointed to a higher grade within the Order, thereby ceasing usage of the junior post-nominal letters
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
–
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
–
MBE as awarded in 1918
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
–
Close up of an MBE from 1945 showing the "For God and the Empire"
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
–
Lieutenant General Sir
Robert Fulton, KBE
2.
Southport
–
Southport is a large seaside town in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, Southport lies on the Irish Sea coast and is fringed to the north by the Ribble estuary. The town is 16.7 miles north of Liverpool and 14.8 miles southwest of Preston. Historically part of Lancashire, the town was founded in 1792 when William Sutton, at that time, the area, known as South Hawes, was sparsely populated and dominated by sand dunes. At the turn of the 19th century, the area popular with tourists due to the easy access from the nearby Leeds. The rapid growth of Southport largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution, extensive sand dunes stretch for several miles between Birkdale and Woodvale to the south of the town. The Ainsdale sand dunes have been designated as a nature reserve. Local fauna include the Natterjack toad and the Sand lizard, the town contains examples of Victorian architecture and town planning, on Lord Street and elsewhere. A particular feature of the town is the tree planting. This was one of the conditions required by the Hesketh family when they made available for development in the 19th century. Hesketh Park at the end of the town is named after them. Southport today is one of the most popular seaside resorts in the UK. It hosts various events, including an air show on and over the beach. The town is at the centre of Englands Golf Coast and has hosted the Open Championship at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club, there have been settlements in the area now comprising Southport since the Domesday Book, and some parts of the town have names of Viking origin. Roman coins have found at Halsall Moss and Crossens, although the Romans never settled southwest Lancashire. The first real evidence of a settlement here is in the Domesday Book. The name is derived from Oddrgrimir meaning the son of Grimm and is linked to the Old Norse word melr meaning sandbank, the Domesday Book states that there were 50 huts in Otergimele, housing a population of 200. The alluvium provided fertile land and the river itself stocks of fish
Southport
–
Lord Street, Southport
Southport
–
Plaque dedicated to
William Sutton, on the corner of Duke Street
Southport
–
Southport Pier is a Grade II listed structure. At 3,650 feet (1,110 m), it is the second longest in Great Britain.
Southport
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Memorial to the crew of the Eliza Fernley lifeboat, in Duke Street Cemetery
3.
Lancashire
–
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan ceremonial county in north west England. The county town is Lancaster although the administrative centre is Preston. The county has a population of 1,449,300, people from Lancashire are known as Lancastrians. The history of Lancashire begins with its founding in the 12th century, in the Domesday Book of 1086, some of its lands were treated as part of Yorkshire. The land that lay between the Ribble and Mersey, Inter Ripam et Mersam, was included in the returns for Cheshire, when its boundaries were established, it bordered Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire. Lancashire emerged as a commercial and industrial region during the Industrial Revolution. Liverpool and Manchester grew into its largest cities, dominating global trade, the county contained several mill towns and the collieries of the Lancashire Coalfield. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire, Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Manchester, Nelson, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale and Wigan were major cotton mill towns during this time. Blackpool was a centre for tourism for the inhabitants of Lancashires mill towns, the detached northern part of Lancashire in the Lake District, including the Furness Peninsula and Cartmel, was merged with Cumberland and Westmorland to form Cumbria. Lancashire lost 709 square miles of land to other counties, about two fifths of its area, although it did gain some land from the West Riding of Yorkshire. Today the county borders Cumbria to the north, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south and North and West Yorkshire to the east, with a coastline on the Irish Sea to the west. The county palatine boundaries remain the same with the Duke of Lancaster exercising sovereignty rights, including the appointment of lords lieutenant in Greater Manchester, the county was established in 1182, later than many other counties. During Roman times the area was part of the Brigantes tribal area in the zone of Roman Britain. The towns of Manchester, Lancaster, Ribchester, Burrow, Elslack, in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal in 410AD the northern parts of the county probably formed part of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a successor entity to the Brigantes tribe. During the mid-8th century, the area was incorporated into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, in the Domesday Book, land between the Ribble and Mersey were known as Inter Ripam et Mersam and included in the returns for Cheshire. Although some historians consider this to mean south Lancashire was then part of Cheshire and it is also claimed that the territory to the north formed part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It bordered on Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire, the county was divided into hundreds, Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, Lonsdale, Salford and West Derby. Lonsdale was further partitioned into Lonsdale North, the part north of the sands of Morecambe Bay including Furness and Cartmel
Lancashire
–
John Speed 's map of the County Palatine of Lancaster, 1610
Lancashire
–
The
Red Rose of Lancaster is the
county flower of Lancashire, and a common symbol for the county.
Lancashire
–
Logo
Lancashire
–
Lancashire County Hall, Preston
4.
Chelsea, London
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Chelsea is an affluent area in West London, bounded to the south by the River Thames. Its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above Sloane Square tube station. The modern eastern boundary is Chelsea Bridge Road and the half of Sloane Street. To the north and northwest, the area fades into Knightsbridge and Brompton, the football club Chelsea F. C. is based at Stamford Bridge in neighbouring Fulham. From 1900, and until the creation of Greater London in 1965, the exclusivity of Chelsea as a result of its high property prices has historically resulted in the term Sloane Ranger being used to describe its residents. Since 2011, Channel 4 has broadcast a reality show called Made in Chelsea. Moreover, Chelsea is home to one of the largest communities of Americans living outside the United States, the word Chelsea originates from the Old English term for landing place for chalk or limestone. Abbot Gervace subsequently assigned the manor to his mother, and it passed into private ownership, the modern-day Chelsea hosted the Synod of Chelsea in 787 AD. King Henry VIII acquired the manor of Chelsea from Lord Sandys in 1536, in 1609 James I established a theological college, King Jamess College at Chelsey on the site of the future Chelsea Royal Hospital, which Charles II founded in 1682. By 1694, Chelsea – always a popular location for the wealthy, Kings Road, named for Charles II, recalls the Kings private road from St Jamess Palace to Fulham, which was maintained until the reign of George IV. One of the important buildings in Kings Road, the former Chelsea Town Hall. Part of the building contains the Chelsea Public Library and this is no longer the case, although housing trusts and Council property do remain. The areas to the west also attract very high prices and this former fashionable village was absorbed into London during the eighteenth century. Many notable people of 18th century London, such as the bookseller Andrew Millar, were married and buried in the district. The memorials in the churchyard of Chelsea Old Church, near the river and these include Lord and Lady Dacre, Lady Jane Cheyne, Francis Thomas, director of the china porcelain manufactory, Sir Hans Sloane, Thomas Shadwell, Poet Laureate. Sir Thomas Mores tomb can also be found there, in 1718, the Raw Silk Company was established in Chelsea Park, with mulberry trees and a hothouse for raising silkworms. At its height in 1723, it supplied silk to Caroline of Ansbach, Chelsea once had a reputation for the manufacture of Chelsea buns, made from a long strip of sweet dough tightly coiled, with currants trapped between the layers, and topped with sugar. The Chelsea Bun House sold these during the 18th century and was patronised by the Georgian royalty, at Easter, great crowds would assemble on the open spaces of the Five Fields – subsequently developed as Belgravia
Chelsea, London
–
Figure Court of Royal Hospital Chelsea
Chelsea, London
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Statue of
King Charles II on the site of the
Chelsea Flower Show
Chelsea, London
–
Statue of Thomas More on
Cheyne Walk with
Chelsea Old Church in the background (2006)
5.
London
–
London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
London
–
Palace of Westminster,
Buckingham Palace and
Central London skyline
London
London
London
–
The name London may derive from the
River Thames
6.
Hermione Hannen
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Hermione Hannen was a popular English theatre and film actress. She was born in London, the daughter of Nicholas Beau Hannen, Hannen trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her début as an actress was in Cairo in 1932 during her fathers tour of the Far East, in the 1930s she acted in numerous plays performed at the Old Vic in London, including The Voysey Inheritance, The Rivals, Man and Superman and Hamlet. She also played Ophelia in Hamlet at the Westminster Theatre in 1937 and she also performed in five films between 1935 and 1946. During World War II, from 1940 to 1945, she was a BBC announcer, hannens grandfather was Sir Nicholas John Hannen, who served as Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan and also as British Consul-General in Shanghai. Sir Nicholas died in office and marines from HMS Hermione served as an honour guard and this is presumably why the name Hermione was chosen for her. Her first husband was the English actor Anthony Quayle and her husband was the Welsh actor Clifford Evans. She died in Shrewsbury on 1 October 1983, Hermione Hannen at the Internet Movie Database Anthony, Gordon
Hermione Hannen
–
Hermione Hannen
7.
Manx people
–
The Manx are an ethnic group originating from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea in northern Europe. They are primarily a Celtic people, though with significant Norse, according to the 2011 interim census, the Isle of Man is home to 84,655 people, of whom 26,218 reside in the islands capital Douglas. Manx people living in the UK were commonly grouped by the 2001 census under White British, the Isle of Man has had major settlement by English people from the 20th century onwards and to a lesser degree, Irish, Scottish and Welsh people. The extremely high proportion of come-overs to natives has brought with it changes in terms of culture, identity, Manx people have also made a significant contribution elsewhere through migration. The Manx have a tradition of moving to Liverpool for work hence a lot of Liverpool people have Manx ancestry. A lot of Manx people emigrated to the United States notably to Cuyahoga County and Lake County, Manx people have traditionally had three vernaculars, Manx, a Gaelic language. English language Anglo-Manx, the distinctive indigenous English dialect of the Manx, British English, the usual form of English used in the Isle of Man, especially for formal purposes. Both English and Manx are official languages in Tynwald, the Isle of Man is one of the six Celtic nations, and has been under Norse, Scottish and English control for much of the past thousand years. The earliest traces of people in the Isle of Man date to around 8000 BC, during the Mesolithic Period, small, nomadic family groups lived in campsites, hunting wild game, fishing the rivers and coastal waters and gathering plant foods. The Neolithic period was marked by important economic and social changes, by 4000 BC, people once reliant upon the uncultivated natural resources of the land and sea had adopted cereal growing and stock rearing, using imported species of grain and animals. Large scale clearance of natural woodland provided fields for crops and animal fodder, during the Iron Age, Celtic influences began to arrive on the island. This language has developed in isolation since, though it closely related to Irish. At the end of the 8th century, Viking settlers began to arrive and establish settlements, the Norse Kingdom of Mann and the Isles was created by Godred Crovan in 1079. In 1266, as dictated in the Treaty of Perth, Norways King Magnus VI ceded the isles to Scotland, for more than a century the Isle of Man, during the Anglo-Scottish wars, passed between Scotland and England. During this troubled period the Island was captured by the Scottish army of Robert the Bruce in 1313, later in the 14th century, when England once more seized the Island, the Lordship – indeed kingship – was given to the Montacute family, Earls of Salisbury. In 1405, the Lordship was granted to Sir John Stanley, the lordship passed through a female line to the Dukes of Atholl in 1736, and was eventually purchased by the British Crown in 1765. After 1866, when the Isle of Man obtained a measure of at least nominal home rule, the 20th century saw a revival of interest in Manx music, dance, and the Manx language, though the last native speaker of Manx died in the 1970s. The Manx government responded to this situation in the 1960s by changing the economy to make it an offshore financial centre
Manx people
–
Nations
8.
Abberley Hall School
–
Abberley Hall School is a coeducational preparatory day and boarding school in the village of Abberley, Worcestershire, England. Straddled between Worcester and Tenbury, it educates around 300 pupils, the school began in 1878 as the Dame School in Blackheath, Kent. In 1896, it became a school and was named Lindisfarne. The school was moved to Abberley in 1916, and the property was purchased in 1921 by Gilbert Ashton, a pupil of Lindisfarne. The school became a trust in 1958, and is now managed by a Board of Governors, pupils come from a variety of backgrounds, including families and service personnel living and working abroad, professionals from the Birmingham and Worcester areas, and traditional farming families. The pre-prep and nursery serve a local area. The grounds also contain the Grade II* listed Abberley Clock Tower which can be seen as far away as Clent hill, pupils follow a curriculum that prepares them for entrance into public schools, taking Common Entrance, Winchester Entrance or Scholarship exams. Class sizes are small, averaging 11 pupils, most subjects have their own dedicated classrooms and there are two science laboratories and specialist facilities for computing, DT, music and PE. The majority of pupils continue their education at Malvern College, Shrewsbury School, Kings Worcester, Cheltenham College, Rugby School, the school also provides for individual pupils with special needs including, Dyslexia or Specific Learning Difficulties, and Moderate Learning Difficulties. All pupils take part in the sports, an Astroturf pitch provides opportunities for hockey, golf, croquet, riding, fishing, archery, shooting, Ricochet. The school has a swimming pool. The school has its own chalet in the French Alps where the spend two three-week periods whilst at Abberley, totally immersed into the French language and culture. The chalet is also used for skiing holidays. yescity
Abberley Hall School
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Abberley Hall School
Abberley Hall School
–
Abberley Hall.
9.
Rugby School
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Rugby School is a day and boarding co-educational independent school in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain and its re-establishment by Thomas Arnold during his time as Headmaster, from 1828 to 1841, was seen as the forerunner of the Victorian Public School. It is one of the original seven English Public Schools defined by the Public Schools Act 1868, total enrolment of day pupils from forms 4 to 12 numbers around 800. Rugby School was the birthplace of Rugby football, in 1845, three Rugby School pupils produced the first written rules of the Rugby style of game. Rugby School was founded in 1567 as a provision in the will of Lawrence Sheriff, since Lawrence Sheriff lived in Rugby and the neighbouring Brownsover, the school was intended to be a free grammar school for the boys of those towns. Up to 1667, the school remained in comparative obscurity, a final decision was handed down in 1667, confirming the findings of a commission in favour of the trust, and henceforth the school maintained a steady growth. Floreat Rugbeia is the school song. Pupils beginning Rugby in the F Block study various subjects and this is continued through to D block. The school then provides standard A-levels in 29 subjects, students at this stage have the choice of taking 3 or four subjects and are also offered the opportunity to take an extended project. The Governing Body provides financial benefits with school fees to families unable to afford them, parents of pupils who are given a Scholarship are capable of obtaining a 10% fee deduction, although more than one scholarship can be awarded to one student. Rugby School claim they aim to give more than education with their new tagline being The Whole Person. The school has three magazines, The Meteor, The Boomer and Quod, the core of the school was completed in 1815 and is built around the Old Quad, with its Georgian architecture. Especially notable rooms are the Upper Bench, the Old Hall of School House, Thomas Hughes once carved his name onto the hands of the school clock, situated on a tower above the Old Quad. By the twentieth century Rugby expanded and new buildings were inspired by this Edwardian Era. The Temple Speech Room, named after former headmaster and Archbishop of Canterbury Frederick Temple and now used for assemblies, speech days, concerts, musicals –. Oak-panelled walls boast the portraits of alumni, including Neville Chamberlain holding his piece of paper. Between the wars, the Memorial Chapel, the Music Schools and she wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying, They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer. They are schools that have quite openly continued to follow a long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed, rugbys most famous headmaster was Thomas Arnold, appointed in 1828, he executed many reforms to the school curriculum and administration
Rugby School
–
Rugby School from The Close, the playing field where according to legend the game of rugby was invented
Rugby School
–
Rugby School
Rugby School
–
The logo of Rugby School in an
ex libris
Rugby School
–
William Webb Ellis plaque
10.
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
–
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school in London, England. It is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, RADA is an affiliate school of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. Its higher education awards are validated by Kings College London and its students graduate alongside members of the departments which form the Kings Faculty of Arts & Humanities and it is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senate House complex of the University of London. Undergraduate students are eligible for government student loan through the Conservatoire for Dance, RADA also has a significant scholarships and bursaries scheme, offering financial assistance to many students at the Academy. The current director of the academy is Edward Kemp, the president is Sir Kenneth Branagh, the chairman is Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen and its vice-chairman was Alan Rickman until his death in 2016. RADA was founded in 1904 by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, an actor manager, in 1905, RADA moved to 52 Gower Street, and a managing council was set up to oversee the school. Its members included George Bernard Shaw, who donated his royalties from his play Pygmalion to RADA. In 1920, RADA was granted a Royal Charter, and in 1921, the Prince of Wales opened the theatre. The Gower Street buildings were torn down in 1927, and replaced with a new building, financed by George Bernard Shaw, in 1923, John Gielgud studied at RADA for a year. He later became President of the academy, and its first honorary fellow, a number of famous actors took on leading roles at RADA, such as Richard Attenborough, Oliver Neville, Nicholas Barter, and Alan Rickman. Other 1924 saw RADAs first government subsidy, a grant of £500, in 2001, RADA joined forces with the London Contemporary dance School to create the UKs first Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. The Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance joined this Conservatoire in 2005, in 2000 the Academy founded RADA Enterprises Ltd, which includes RADA in Business, providing training in communications and teambuilding that uses drama training techniques in a business context. The profits are fed back into the Academy to fund students training, RADA is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London. The main RADA building is on Gower Street, with a second premises nearby in Chenies Street, the Goodge Street and Euston Square underground stations are both within walking distance. RADA has five theatres and a cinema, there is also a 150-seat cinema. In January 2012, RADA acquired the lease to the adjacent Drill Hall venue in Chenies Street, the Drill Hall is a Grade II listed building with a long performing arts history, and was where Nijinsky rehearsed with Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes in 1911. This venue has a 200-seat space, the Studio Theatre, and a 50-seat space, the RADA library contains around 30,000 items. The collection was started in 1904 with donations from actors and writers of the such as Sir Squire Bancroft, William Archer, Arthur Wing Pinero
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
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The main entrance to RADA on Gower Street
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
–
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
–
George Bernard Shaw, who donated the royalties from his play
Pygmalion to RADA in 1912.
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
–
The RADA building at 18 Chenies Street
11.
Music hall
–
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era circa 1850 and lasting until 1960. It involved a mixture of songs, comedy, speciality acts. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place and these theatres were designed chiefly so people could consume food and alcohol and smoke tobacco in the auditorium while the entertainment took place. This differed somewhat from the type of theatre, which until then seated the audience in stalls with a separate bar-room. By the mid-19th century, the halls cried out for many new, as a result, professional songwriters were enlisted to provide the music for a plethora of star performers, such as Marie Lloyd, Dan Leno, Little Tich, and George Leybourne. Music hall did not adopt its own unique style, the halls had recovered by the start of the First World War and were used to stage charity events in aid of the war effort. Music hall entertainment continued after the war, but became popular due to upcoming Jazz, Swing. Licensing restrictions had also changed, and drinking was banned from the auditorium, a new type of music hall entertainment had arrived, in the form of variety, and many music hall performers failed to make the transition. Deemed old fashioned and with the closure of many halls, music hall entertainment ceased, Music hall in London had its origins in entertainment provided in the new style saloon bars of public houses during the 1830s. These venues replaced earlier semi-rural amusements provided by fairs and suburban pleasure gardens such as Vauxhall Gardens and these latter became subject to urban development and became fewer and less popular. The saloon was a room where for a fee or a greater price at the bar, singing, dancing. The most famous London saloon of the days was the Grecian Saloon, established in 1825, at The Eagle,2 Shepherdess Walk. According to John Hollingshead, proprietor of the Gaiety Theatre, London, this establishment was the father and mother, later known as the Grecian Theatre, it was here that Marie Lloyd made her début at the age of 14 in 1884. It is still famous because of an English nursery rhyme, with the somewhat mysterious lyrics, Up and down the City Road In and out The Eagle Thats the way the money goesPop goes the weasel. Another famous song and supper room of this period was Evans Music-and-Supper Rooms,43 King Street, Covent Garden and this venue was also known as Evans Late Joys – Joy being the name of the previous owner. Other song and supper rooms included the Coal Hole in The Strand, the Cyder Cellars in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, the music hall as we know it developed from such establishments during the 1850s and were built in and on the grounds of public houses. In a theatre, by contrast, the audience was seated in stalls, an exception to this rule was the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton which somehow managed to evade this regulation and served drinks to its customers. Though a theatre rather than a hall, this establishment later hosted music hall variety acts
Music hall
–
The Oxford Music Hall, ca. 1875
Music hall
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The Eagle Tavern in 1830
Music hall
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The interior of
Wilton's (here, being set for a wedding). The lines of tables give some idea of how early music halls were used as supper clubs.
Music hall
–
Interior of the
Canterbury Hall, opened 1852 in
Lambeth
12.
Old Vic
–
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre, in 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal Victoria Palace. It was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 and formally named the Royal Victoria Hall, in 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian Baylis assumed management and began a series of Shakespeare productions in 1914. The building was damaged in 1940 during air raids and it became a Grade II* listed building in 1951 after it reopened. It was also the name of a company that was based at the theatre and formed the core of the National Theatre of Great Britain on its formation in 1963. The National Theatre remained at the Old Vic until new premises were constructed on the South Bank, the Old Vic then became the home of Prospect Theatre Company, at that time a highly successful touring company which staged such acclaimed productions as Derek Jacobis Hamlet. However, with the withdrawal of funding for the company by the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1980 for breaching its touring obligations, the theatre underwent complete refurbishment in 1985. In 2003, Kevin Spacey was appointed as new director of the Old Vic Theatre Company which received considerable media attention. In 2015, Matthew Warchus succeeded Spacey as artistic director, the theatre was a minor theatre and was thus technically forbidden to show serious drama. Nevertheless, when the theatre passed to George Bolwell Davidge in 1824 he succeeded in bringing legendary actor Edmund Kean south of the river to play six Shakespeare plays in six nights. More popular staples in the repertoire were sensational and violent melodramas demonstrating the evils of drink, churned out by the house dramatist, confirmed teetotaller Douglas Jerrold. On 1 July 1833, the theatre was renamed the Royal Victoria Theatre, under the protection and patronage of Victoria, Duchess of Kent, mother to Princess Victoria, the 14-year-old heir presumptive. The duchess and the princess visited only once, on 28 November of that year, the single visit scarcely justified the Old Vic its later billing as Queen Victorias Own Theayter. By 1835, the theatre was advertising itself simply as the Victoria Theatre, in 1841, David Osbaldiston took over as lessee, succeeded on his death in 1850 by his lover and the theatres leading lady, Eliza Vincent, until her death in 1856. Under their management, the theatre remained devoted to melodrama, in 1867, Joseph Arnold Cave took over as lessee. In 1871 he transferred the lease to Romaine Delatorre, who raised funds for the theatre to be rebuilt in the style of the Alhambra Music Hall, jethro Thomas Robinson was engaged as the architect. In September 1871 the old theatre closed, and the new building opened as the Royal Victoria Palace in December of the same year, by 1873, however, Cave had left and Delatorres venture failed. The penny lectures given in the led to the foundation of Morley College, an adult education college
Old Vic
–
The exterior of the Old Vic from the corner of
Baylis Road and
Waterloo Road
Old Vic
–
Royal Coburg Theatre in 1822
Old Vic
–
The theatre at night
Old Vic
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Staircase of the Old Vic
13.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
World War II
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Clockwise from top left: Chinese forces in the
Battle of Wanjialing, Australian
25-pounder guns during the
First Battle of El Alamein, German
Stuka dive bombers on the
Eastern Front in December 1943, a U.S. naval force in the
Lingayen Gulf,
Wilhelm Keitel signing the
German Instrument of Surrender, Soviet troops in the
Battle of Stalingrad
World War II
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The
League of Nations assembly, held in
Geneva,
Switzerland, 1930
World War II
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Adolf Hitler at a German
National Socialist political rally in
Weimar, October 1930
World War II
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Italian soldiers recruited in 1935, on their way to fight the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
14.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
British Army
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Men of the
Welsh Guards Trooping the Colour 2007.
British Army
British Army
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John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, was one of the first generals in the British Army, fighting campaigns in the
War of the Spanish Succession.
British Army
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The extinction of the
Scottish clan system came with the defeat of the clansmen at the
Battle of Culloden in 1746
15.
Auxiliary Units
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The Auxiliary Units would fight as uniformed guerrillas during the military campaign. Urged on by the War Office, Prime Minister Winston Churchill initiated the Auxiliary Units in the summer of 1940. This was to counter the civilian Home Defence Scheme already established by SIS, the Auxiliary Units answered to GHQ Home Forces, but were organised as if part of the local Home Guard. Churchill appointed Colonel Colin Gubbins to found the Auxiliary Units, Most recently, he had returned from Norway, where he headed the Independent Companies, the predecessors of the British Commandos. In November 1940 Gubbins moved to the Special Operations Executive, in modern times, the Auxiliary Units have been referred to as the British Resistance Organisation. This is a title was never used by the organization officially but has recently been used to describe the movement to explain to layman what their role was. Gubbins used several officers who had served with the Independent Companies in Norway, Units were localised on a county structure, as they would probably be fragmented and isolated from each other. The two best known officers from this period were Captain Peter Fleming of the Grenadier Guards and Captain Mike Calvert of the Royal Engineers, Calvert had recently served in the 5th Battalion, Scots Guards, which had been formed to fight as a ski-troop in Finland. Both of these men were too valuable to stay long, once the threat of invasion was over. Operational Patrols consisted of four and eight men, often farmers or landowners. They were usually recruited from the most able members of the Home Guard, gamekeepers and even poachers were particularly valued. They were always intended to fight in Home Guard uniform and from 1942 the men were badged to Home Guard battalions 201,202, or 203. Around 3,500 men were trained on weekend courses at Coleshill House near Highworth, Wiltshire, in the arts of guerrilla warfare including assassination, unarmed combat, demolition and sabotage. Each Patrol was a cell, expected to be self-sufficient and operationally autonomous in the case of invasion. They were provided with elaborately concealed underground Operational Bases, usually built by the Royal Engineers in a woodland, with a camouflaged entrance. It is thought that 400 to 500 such OBs were constructed, some Patrols had an additional concealed Observation Post and/or underground ammunition store. Members anticipated being shot if they were captured, and were expected to shoot themselves first rather than be taken alive. A2011 Cranfield University PhD on the Home Guard by Dale Clarke has a chapter on the weapons and explosives used by them, the mission of the units was to attack invading forces from behind their own lines while conventional forces fell back to the last-ditch GHQ Line
Auxiliary Units
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Auxiliary Units, Operational Base, emergency exit
16.
Northumberland
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Northumberland is a county in North East England. The northernmost county of England, it borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham and Tyne and Wear to the south, to the east is the North Sea coastline with a 64-mile long distance path. The county town is Alnwick although the county council is in Morpeth, the northernmost point of Northumberland and England is at Marshall Meadows Bay. The county of Northumberland included Newcastle upon Tyne until 1400, when the city became a county of itself, Northumberland expanded greatly in the Tudor period, annexing Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1482, Tynedale in 1495, Tynemouth in 1536, Redesdale around 1542 and Hexhamshire in 1572. Islandshire, Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire were incorporated into Northumberland in 1844, Tynemouth and other settlements in North Tyneside were transferred to Tyne and Wear in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. Lying on the Anglo-Scottish border, Northumberland has been the site of a number of battles, the county is noted for its undeveloped landscape of high moorland, now largely protected as the Northumberland National Park. Northumberland is the most sparsely populated county in England, with only 62 people per square kilometre, Northumberland originally meant the land of the people living north of the River Humber. The present county is the core of that land, and has long been a frontier zone between England and Scotland. During Roman occupation of Britain, most of the present county lay north of Hadrians Wall, the Roman road Dere Street crosses the county from Corbridge over high moorland west of the Cheviot Hills into present Scotland to Trimontium. Northumberland has a rich prehistory with many instances of art, hillforts such as Yeavering Bell and stone circles like the Goatstones. Most of the area was occupied by the Brythonic-Celtic Votadini people, with another large tribe, later, the region of present-day Northumberland formed the core of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia, which united with Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century. Lindisfarne saw the production of the Lindisfarne Gospels and it became the home of St Cuthbert, bamburgh is the historic capital of Northumberland, the royal castle from before the unification of the Kingdoms of England under the monarchs of the House of Wessex in the 10th century. The Earldom of Northumberland was briefly held by the Scottish royal family by marriage between 1139–1157 and 1215–1217, Scotland relinquished all claims to the region as part of the Treaty of York. The Earls of Northumberland once wielded significant power in English affairs because, as powerful and militaristic Marcher Lords, Northumberland has a history of revolt and rebellion against the government, as seen in the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I of England. These revolts were led by the Earls of Northumberland, the Percy family. Shakespeare makes one of the Percys, the dashing Harry Hotspur, after the Restoration of 1660, the county was a centre for Roman Catholicism in England, as well as a focus of Jacobite support. Northumberland was long a wild county, where outlaws and Border Reivers hid from the law, however, the frequent cross-border skirmishes and accompanying local lawlessness largely subsided after the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England under King James I and VI in 1603. Northumberland played a key role in the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century on, many coal mines operated in Northumberland until the widespread closures in the 1970s and 1980s
Northumberland
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Long Crag summit
Northumberland
Northumberland
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River Coquet.
Northumberland
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Housedon Hill
17.
Special Operations Executive
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The Special Operations Executive was a British World War II organisation. Few people were aware of SOEs existence, to those who were part of it or liaised with it, it was sometimes referred to as the Baker Street Irregulars, after the location of its London headquarters. It was also known as Churchills Secret Army or the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, SOE operated in all countries or former countries occupied by or attacked by the Axis forces, except where demarcation lines were agreed with Britains principal Allies. It also made use of territory on occasion, or made plans and preparations in case neutral countries were attacked by the Axis. The organisation directly employed or controlled just over 13,000 people, after the war, the organisation was officially dissolved on 15 January 1946. A memorial to SOEs agents was unveiled on the Albert Embankment by Lambeth Palace in London in October 2009, the organisation was formed from the merger of three existing secret departments, which had been formed shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. Immediately after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938, the Foreign Office created an organisation known as Department EH. In the autumn of the year, the War Office expanded an existing research department known as GS. GS was renamed MI in early 1939 and these three departments worked with few resources until the outbreak of war. There was much overlap between their activities and Section D and EH duplicated much of each others work, on the other hand, the heads of Section D and MI knew each other and shared information. They agreed a rough division of their activities, MI researched irregular operations which could be undertaken by regular uniformed troops, during the early months of the war, Section D was based first at St Ermins Hotel in Westminster and then the Metropole Hotel near Trafalgar Square. The Section attempted unsuccessfully to sabotage deliveries of vital materials to Germany from neutral countries by mining the Iron Gate on the River Danube. MI meanwhile produced pamphlets and technical handbooks for guerrilla leaders, on 13 June 1940, at the instigation of newly appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Lord Hankey persuaded Section D and MI that their operations should be coordinated. On 1 July, a Cabinet level meeting arranged the formation of a single sabotage organisation, on 16 July, Hugh Dalton, the Minister of Economic Warfare, was appointed to take political responsibility for the new organisation. As Dalton was leaving Churchills study after being given his new task, the new organisation was formally created on 22 July. Dalton used the Irish Republican Army during the Irish war of Independence as a model for the organisation, Campbell Stuart left the organisation, and the flamboyant Major Grand was returned to the regular army. At his own request, Major Holland also left to take up an appointment in the Royal Engineers. However, Hollands former deputy at MI, Brigadier Colin Gubbins, one department of MI, MI R, which was involved in the development of weapons for irregular warfare, was not formally integrated into SOE but became an independent body codenamed MD1
Special Operations Executive
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Major General Colin McVean Gubbins, Director of SOE from August 1943
Special Operations Executive
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SOE memorial plaque in the cloister of
Beaulieu Abbey, Hampshire, unveiled by Major General Gubbins in April 1969
Special Operations Executive
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3 MK II receiver and transmitter (also known as the B2 radio set)
Special Operations Executive
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Audience in demolition class,
Milton Hall, circa 1944
18.
Albania
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Albania, officially the Republic of Albania, is a country in Southeastern Europe. It has a population of 3.03 million as of 2016, Tirana is the nations capital and largest city, followed by Durrës and Vlorë. The country has a coastline on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea to the west. Albania is less than 72 km from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea. In antiquity, the area of Albania was home to several Illyrian, Thracian. After the Illyrian Wars, it part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Macedonia and Moesia Superior. In 1190, the first Albanian state, the Principality of Arbanon was established by archon Progon in the region of Krujë, the territory of Albania was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, of which it remained part of for the next five centuries. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, following the Balkan Wars, the Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, before becoming a Nazi German protectorate in 1943. The following year, a socialist Peoples Republic was established under the leadership of Enver Hoxha, Albania experienced widespread social and political transformations in the communist era, as well as isolation from much of the international community. In 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the Republic of Albania was established, Albania is a democratic and developing country with an upper-middle income economy. The service sector dominates the economy, followed by the industrial. After the fall of communism in Albania, Free-market reforms have opened the country to foreign investment, especially in the development of energy, Albania has a high HDI and provides universal health care system and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. Albania is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and it is also an official candidate for membership in the European Union. Albania is one of the members of the Energy Community, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. It is home to the largest lake in Southern Europe and one of the oldest lakes in Europe, Albania is the Medieval Latin name of the country. The name may have a continuation in the name of a settlement called Albanon and Arbanon. During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country Arbëri or Arbëni, Albanians today call their country Shqipëri. As early as the 17th century the placename Shqipëria and the ethnic demonym Shqiptarë gradually replaced Arbëria, the two terms are popularly interpreted as Land of the Eagles and Children of the Eagles
Albania
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Albanian Peasants costumes - illustration by Percy Anderson for Costume Fanciful, Historical and Theatrical, 1906
Albania
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Flag
Albania
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After serving the
Ottoman Empire for 20 years
Skanderbeg deserted and began a rebellion (helmet of
George Kastrioti preserved in
Vienna).
Albania
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Köprülü Mehmed Pasha was the most effective and influential
Ottoman Grand Vizier of
Albanian origin.
19.
Gibraltar
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Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 and shares its border with Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the landmark of the region. At its foot is a populated city area, home to over 30,000 Gibraltarians. An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of the Habsburg claim to the Spanish throne, the territory was subsequently ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Today Gibraltars economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services, the sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum, under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the British government. The name Gibraltar is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq, earlier, it was known as Mons Calpe, a name of Phoenician origin and one of the Pillars of Hercules. The pronunciation of the name in modern Spanish is, evidence of Neanderthal habitation in Gibraltar between 28,000 and 24,000 BP has been discovered at Gorhams Cave, making Gibraltar possibly the last known holdout of the Neanderthals. Within recorded history, the first inhabitants were the Phoenicians, around 950 BC, subsequently, Gibraltar became known as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the Greek legend of the creation of the Strait of Gibraltar by Heracles. The Carthaginians and Romans also established semi-permanent settlements, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar came briefly under the control of the Vandals. The area later formed part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania from 414 AD until the Islamic conquest of Iberia in 711 AD, in 1160, the Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mumin ordered that a permanent settlement, including a castle, be built. It received the name of Medinat al-Fath, on completion of the works in the town, the Sultan crossed the Strait to look at the works and stayed in Gibraltar for two months. The Tower of Homage of the Moorish Castle remains standing today, from 1274 onwards, the town was fought over and captured by the Nasrids of Granada, the Marinids of Morocco and the kings of Castile. In 1462, Gibraltar was finally captured by Juan Alonso de Guzmán, after the conquest, King Henry IV of Castile assumed the additional title of King of Gibraltar, establishing it as part of the comarca of the Campo Llano de Gibraltar. In 1501, Gibraltar passed back to the Spanish Crown, the occupation of the town by Alliance forces caused the exodus of the population to the surrounding area of the Campo de Gibraltar. As the Alliances campaign faltered, the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht was negotiated and ceded control of Gibraltar to Britain to secure Britains withdrawal from the war. Unsuccessful attempts by Spanish monarchs to regain Gibraltar were made with the siege of 1727 and again with the Great Siege of Gibraltar, during the American War of Independence
Gibraltar
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View of the northern face of the
Moorish Castle 's Tower of Homage. Built in the 14th century, it is the only
Marinid construction outside Africa.
Gibraltar
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Flag
Gibraltar
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The last of Gibraltar, by
Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau.
Gibraltar
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John Mackintosh Square entrance to the
Gibraltar Parliament.
20.
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre
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The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1, 040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon – Shakespeares birthplace – in the English Midlands, the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres re-opened in November 2010 after undergoing a major renovation known as the Transformation Project. The Royal Shakespeare Theatre opened in 1932 on the adjacent to the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. The architect was Elisabeth Scott, so the theatre became the first important work erected in Britain from the designs of a woman architect and it was renamed the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1961, following the establishment of the Royal Shakespeare Company the previous year. In the building designed by Scott, the theatre had a stage. Two tiers of seating were added to the side walls of the theatre. Balcony seats could only be accessed by means of a staircase to the side of the building, separate from the main foyer, the theatre has several notable Art Deco features, including the staircase and corridors at either side of the auditorium. It is a Grade II* listed building, the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres are on the western bank of the River Avon, with the adjacent Bancroft Gardens providing a scenic riverside setting. The Rooftop Restaurant and Bar overlooks both the river and the Bancroft Gardens, the Royal Shakespeare Company has renovated the Royal Shakespeare Theatre as part of a £112. The new theatre is more accessible to people with disabilities. The theatre is a theatre, which allows the actors. The stage reaches out into the audience, who are seated on three sides of it and this one-room theatre creates a more traditional Shakespearean performance area, allowing the audience to draw closer to the actors and creating a more personal theatre experience. The project reached over a total of £100 million in cost and also drew in financial support from RSC America, plans to redevelop the theatre were finalised and work commenced in 2007, with a scheduled completion date of 2010. The RSC had its own team, led by Project Director. Other members of the team included, Bennetts Associates, Buro Happold, Charcoalblue, Mace, Acoustic Dimensions, Drivers Jonas Deloitte and Gardiner. The new theatre opened in November 2010, with events and activities. The Royal Shakespeare Theatre was officially opened on 4 March 2011 by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, there is also a riverside walk which stretches from the Bancroft Gardens, past the theatre, towards Holy Trinity Church. The whole building is now accessible for the first time for visitors, performers, the Company, A Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre
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The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 2011, north frontage and tower.
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre
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The first Shakespeare Memorial theatre complex, pictured in the 1890s
21.
Royal Shakespeare Company
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The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The companys home is in Stratford-upon-Avon, where it has recently redeveloped its Royal Shakespeare, the theatres re-opened in November 2010, having closed in 2007. The new buildings attracted 18,000 visitors within the first week, performances in Stratford-upon-Avon continued throughout the Transformation project at the temporary Courtyard Theatre. The 2011-season began with performances of Macbeth and a re-imagined lost play The History of Cardenio, the fiftieth birthday season also featured The Merchant of Venice with Sir Patrick Stewart and revivals of some of the RSCs greatest plays, including a new staging of Marat/Sade. For the London 2012 Festival as part of the Cultural Olympiad, in 2013 the company began live screenings of its Shakespeare productions – called Live from Stratford-upon-Avon – which are screened around the world. In 2016, the company collaborated with Intel and The Imaginarium Studios to stage The Tempest, John Wards Birmingham-based company, the Warwickshire Company of Comedians, agreed to perform it. A surviving copy of the records that the company performed Othello. The first building erected to commemorate Shakespeare was David Garricks Jubilee Pavilion in 1769, the first permanent commemorative building to Shakespeares works in the town was a theatre built in 1827, in the gardens of New Place, but has long since been demolished. The RSCs history began with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, which was the brainchild of a local brewer and he donated a two-acre site by the River Avon and in 1875 launched an international campaign to build a theatre in the town of Shakespeares birth. The theatre, a Victorian-Gothic building seating just over 700 people, opened on 23 April 1879, with a performance of Much Ado About Nothing, a title which gave ammunition to several critics. From 1919, under the direction of William Bridges-Adams and after a slow start, the theatre received a Royal Charter of Incorporation in 1925, which gave it status. On the afternoon of 6 March 1926, when a new season was about to commence rehearsals, fire broke out, and the mass of half-timbering chosen to ornament the interior provided dry tinder. By the following morning the theatre was a blackened shell, the company transferred its Shakespeare festivals to a converted local cinema. Fund-raising began for the rebuilding of the theatre, with generous donations arriving from philanthropists in America, george Bernard Shaw commented that her design was the only one that showed any theatre sense. Her modernist plans for an art deco structure came under fire from many directions, later it came under the direction of Sir Barry Jackson in 1945, Anthony Quayle from 1948 to 1956 and Glen Byam Shaw 1957–1959, with an impressive roll-call of actors. Scotts building, with minor adjustments to the stage, remained in constant use until 2007 when it was closed for a major refit of the interior. Timeline,1932 – new Shakespeare Memorial Theatre opens, abutting the remains of the old,1961 – chartered name of the corporation and the Stratford theatre becomes ‘Royal Shakespeare. ’1974 – The Other Place opened, created from a prefabricated former store/rehearsal room in Stratford. 1986 – the Swan Theatre opened, created from the shell of the 1879 Memorial Theatre,1991 – Purpose-built new Other Place, designed by Michael Reardon, opens
Royal Shakespeare Company
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Renovated Royal Shakespeare Theatre in
Stratford-upon-Avon in 2011
Royal Shakespeare Company
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Royal Shakespeare Company logo
Royal Shakespeare Company
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Royal Shakespeare Theatre in
Stratford-upon-Avon in 2003
22.
Falstaff
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Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In the plays Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, he is a companion to Prince Hal, in The Merry Wives of Windsor, he is the buffoonish suitor of two married women. Though primarily a figure, Falstaff still embodies a kind of depth common to Shakespeares major characters. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, he spends most of his time drinking at the Boars Head Inn with petty criminals, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is ultimately repudiated after Hal becomes king. Falstaff has since appeared in media, notably in operas by Giuseppe Verdi, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Otto Nicolai. The operas focus on his role in The Merry Wives of Windsor, while the film adapts from the Henriad, Welles, who played Falstaff in his film, considered the character to be Shakespeares greatest creation. Falstaff appears in three of Shakespeares plays, Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and his death is mentioned in Henry V but he has no lines, nor is it directed that he appear on stage. However, many stage and film adaptations have seen it necessary to include Falstaff for the insight he provides into King Henry Vs character. The most notable examples in cinema are Laurence Oliviers 1944 version and Kenneth Branaghs 1989 film, the character is known to have been very popular with audiences at the time, and for many years afterwards. According to Leonard Digges, writing shortly after Shakespeares death, while many plays could not get good audiences, but let Falstaff come, Hal, Poins, adding to King Henrys troubles is the behaviour of his son and heir, the Prince of Wales. Hal has forsaken the Royal Court to waste his time in taverns with low companions and this makes him an object of scorn to the nobles and calls into question his royal worthiness. Hals chief friend and foil in living the low life is Sir John Falstaff, fat, old, drunk, and corrupt as he is, he has a charisma and a zest for life that captivates the Prince. The play features three groups of characters that interact slightly at first, and then together in the Battle of Shrewsbury. First there is King Henry himself and his immediate council and he is the engine of the play, but usually in the background. Next there is the group of rebels, energetically embodied in Henry Percy and including his father, the Scottish Earl of Douglas, Edmund Mortimer and the Welshman Owen Glendower also join. Finally, at the centre of the play are the young Prince Hal and his companions Falstaff, Poins, Bardolph, streetwise and pound-foolish, these rogues manage to paint over this grim history in the colours of comedy. Meanwhile, Henrys son Hal is joking, drinking, and thieving with Falstaff and he likes Falstaff but makes no pretense at being like him. Hal believes that this change of manner will amount to a greater reward and acknowledgment of prince-ship
Falstaff
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Adolf Schrödter: Falstaff and his page
Falstaff
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Mistress Page and Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, staged by
Pacific Repertory Theatre at the
Golden Bough Playhouse in
Carmel, CA, in 1999
Falstaff
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Falstaff at Herne's Oak, from "The Merry Wives of Windsor," Act V, Scene v, James Stephanoff, 1832
Falstaff
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Eduard von Grützner: Falstaff mit großer Weinkanne und Becher (1896) (Falstaff with big wine jar and cup, 1896)
23.
Othello
–
Othello is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603. It is based on the story Un Capitano Moro by Cinthio, Roderigo is upset because he loves Desdemona and had asked her father for her hand in marriage. Iago hates Othello for promoting a younger man named Cassio above him, whom Iago considers less capable a soldier than himself, Iago convinces Roderigo to wake Brabantio and tell him about his daughters elopement. Meanwhile, Iago sneaks away to find Othello and warns him that Brabantio is coming for him. Brabantio, provoked by Roderigo, is enraged and will not rest until he has beheaded Othello, but he finds Othellos residence full of the Duke of Venices guards, who prevent violence. News has arrived in Venice that the Turks are going to attack Cyprus, Brabantio has no option but to accompany Othello to the Dukes residence, where he accuses Othello of seducing Desdemona by witchcraft. Othello defends himself before the Duke of Venice, Brabantios kinsmen Lodovico and Gratiano, Othello explains that Desdemona became enamoured of him for the sad and compelling stories he told of his life before Venice, not because of any witchcraft. Iago, still in the room, takes note of Brabantios remark, the party arrives in Cyprus to find that a storm has destroyed the Turkish fleet. Othello orders a celebration and leaves to consummate his marriage with Desdemona. In his absence, Iago gets Cassio drunk, and then persuades Roderigo to draw Cassio into a fight, Montano tries to calm an angry and drunk Cassio down, but end up fighting one another. Montano is injured in the fight, Othello reenters and questions the men as to what happened. Othello blames Cassio for the disturbance and strips him of his rank, Iago persuades Cassio to importune Desdemona to convince her husband to reinstate Cassio. Iago now persuades Othello to be suspicious of Cassio and Desdemona, when Desdemona drops a handkerchief, Emilia finds it, and gives it to her husband Iago, at his request, unaware of what he plans to do with it. Othello reenters and vows with Iago for the death of Desdemona and Cassio, after which he makes Iago his lieutenant. Act III, scene iii, is considered to be the point of the play as it is the scene in which Iago successfully sows the seeds of doubt in Othellos mind. Iago plants the handkerchief in Cassios lodgings, then tells Othello to watch Cassios reactions while Iago questions him. Iago goads Cassio on to talk about his affair with Bianca, a local courtesan, later, Bianca accuses Cassio of giving her a second-hand gift which he had received from another lover. Othello sees this, and Iago convinces him that Cassio received the handkerchief from Desdemona, enraged and hurt, Othello resolves to kill his wife and asks Iago to kill Cassio
Othello
–
The Russian actor and
theatre practitioner Constantin Stanislavski as Othello in 1896
Othello
–
Desdemona and Othello, by
Antonio Muñoz Degrain
Othello
–
Othello costume - illustration by Percy Anderson for Costume Fanciful, Historical and Theatrical, 1906
Othello
–
Painting by
William Salter of Othello weeping over Desdemona's body. Oil on canvas, ca. 1857.
24.
Much Ado About Nothing
–
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599, as Shakespeare was approaching the middle of his career. The play was included in the First Folio, published in 1623, at the end, Benedick and Beatrice join forces to set things right, and the others join in a dance celebrating the marriages of the two couples. At Messina, a messenger brings news that Don Pedro, a prince from Aragon, will return that night from a successful battle, Beatrice, Leonatos niece, asks the messenger about Benedick and makes sarcastic remarks about his ineptitude as a soldier. Leonato explains that There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick, upon the arrival of the soldiers, Leonato welcomes Don Pedro and invites him to stay for a month, Benedick and Beatrice resume their merry war, and Pedros illegitimate brother Don John is introduced. Claudios feelings for Hero, Leonatos only daughter, are rekindled upon seeing her, Benedick, who openly despises marriage, tries to dissuade his friend but Don Pedro encourages the marriage. Benedick swears that he will never get married, Don Pedro laughs at him and tells him that when he has found the right person he shall get married. A masquerade ball is planned in celebration of the end of the war, Don John uses this situation to get revenge on his brother Don Pedro by telling young Claudio that Don Pedro is wooing Hero for himself. A furious Claudio confronts Don Pedro, but the misunderstanding is quickly resolved, meanwhile, Benedick disguises himself and dances with Beatrice. Beatrice proceeds to tell this man that Benedick is the princes jester. Benedick, enraged by her words, swears he will have revenge, Don Pedro and his men, bored at the prospect of waiting a week for the wedding, harbour a plan to match-make between Benedick and Beatrice. They arrange for Benedick to overhear a conversation in which they declare that Beatrice is madly in love him but afraid to tell him. Meanwhile, Hero and her maid Ursula ensure Beatrice overhears them discuss Benedicks undying love for her, the tricks have the desired effect, both Benedick and Beatrice are delighted to think they are the object of unrequited love, and both accordingly resolve to mend their faults and reconcile. Meanwhile, Don Pedros brother Don John, the prince, plots to prevent the wedding, embarrass his brother and wreak misery on Leonato. He informs Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero is unfaithful, Claudio and Don Pedro are taken in, and Claudio vows to humiliate Hero publicly. At the wedding the day, Claudio denounces Hero before the stunned guests. Her humiliated father Leonato expresses the wish that she would die, the presiding friar intervenes, believing Hero to be innocent. He suggests the family fake Heros death in order to extract the truth, prompted by the days harrowing events, Benedick and Beatrice confess their love for each other. Beatrice then asks Benedick to slay Claudio as proof of his devotion, Benedick is horrified and at first, denies her request
Much Ado About Nothing
–
The first page of Much Ado About Nothing, printed in the
Second Folio of 1632
Much Ado About Nothing
–
A painting of Beatrice by
Frank Dicksee, from The Graphic Gallery of Shakespeare's Heroines
Much Ado About Nothing
–
Swooning of Hero in the Church scene by
Alfred Elmore
Much Ado About Nothing
–
The title page from the first quarto edition of Much Adoe About Nothing, printed in 1600.
25.
Henry VIII of England
–
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. Henry was the second Tudor monarch, succeeding his father, Henry VII, Henry is best known for his six marriages and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, annulled. Despite his resulting excommunication, Henry remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, domestically, Henry is known for his radical changes to the English Constitution, ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings to England. Besides asserting the supremacy over the Church of England, he greatly expanded royal power during his reign. Charges of treason and heresy were commonly used to quash dissent, and he achieved many of his political aims through the work of his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour. Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Richard Rich and his contemporaries considered Henry in his prime to be an attractive, educated, and accomplished king, and he has been described as one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne. He was an author and composer, as he aged, Henry became severely obese and his health suffered, contributing to his death in 1547. He is frequently characterised in his life as a lustful, egotistical, harsh. He was succeeded by his son Edward VI, born 28 June 1491 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London, Henry Tudor was the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Of the young Henrys six siblings, only three – Arthur, Prince of Wales, Margaret, and Mary – survived infancy and he was baptised by Richard Fox, the Bishop of Exeter, at a church of the Observant Franciscans close to the palace. In 1493, at the age of two, Henry was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. He was subsequently appointed Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at age three, and was inducted into the Order of the Bath soon after. The day after the ceremony he was created Duke of York, in May 1495, he was appointed to the Order of the Garter. Henry was given an education from leading tutors, becoming fluent in Latin and French. Not much is known about his early life – save for his appointments – because he was not expected to become king, as Duke of York, Henry used the arms of his father as king, differenced by a label of three points ermine. In 1502, Arthur died at the age of 15 of sweating sickness, Arthurs death thrust all his duties upon his younger brother, the 10-year-old Henry. After a little debate, Henry became the new Duke of Cornwall in October 1502, Henry VII gave the boy few tasks. Young Henry was strictly supervised and did not appear in public, as a result, the young Henry would later ascend the throne untrained in the exacting art of kingship
Henry VIII of England
–
King Henry VIII by
Hans Holbein the Younger,
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
Henry VIII of England
–
Henry's childhood copy of
De Officiis, bearing the inscription in his hand, "Thys boke is myne".
Henry VIII of England
–
An Illumination from a contemporary manuscript thought to depict Henry mourning the loss of his mother (1503). His sisters are also pictured.
Henry VIII of England
–
Eighteen-year-old Henry VIII after his
coronation in 1509
26.
Titus Andronicus
–
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. The play is set during the days of the Roman Empire and tells the fictional story of Titus, a general in the Roman army. The play begins shortly after the death of the Roman emperor, Titus subsequently arrives to much fanfare, bearing with him as prisoners the Queen of the Goths, her three sons, and Aaron the Moor. Despite Tamoras desperate pleas, Titus sacrifices her eldest son, Alarbus, distraught, Tamora and her two surviving sons vow to obtain revenge on Titus and his family. Meanwhile, Titus refuses the offer of the throne, arguing that he is not fit to rule and instead supporting the claim of Saturninus, Saturninus tells Titus that for his first act as emperor, he will marry Tituss daughter Lavinia. Titus agrees, although Lavinia is already betrothed to Saturninuss brother, Bassianus, Tituss sons tell Titus that Bassianus is in the right under Roman law, but Titus refuses to listen, accusing them all of treason. A scuffle breaks out, during which Titus kills his own son, Saturninus then denounces the Andronici family for their effrontery and shocks Titus by marrying Tamora. Putting into motion her plan for revenge, Tamora advises Saturninus to pardon Bassianus and the Andronici family, during a royal hunt the following day, Aaron persuades Demetrius and Chiron to kill Bassianus, so they may rape Lavinia. They do so, throwing Bassianuss body into a pit and dragging Lavinia deep into the forest before violently raping her, to keep her from revealing what has happened, they cut out her tongue and cut off her hands. Meanwhile, Aaron writes a letter, which frames Tituss sons Martius and Quintus for the murder of Bassianus. Horrified at the death of his brother, Saturninus arrests Martius and Quintus, and sentences them to death. Some time later, Marcus discovers the mutilated Lavinia and takes her to her father, who is shocked at the accusations levelled at his sons. Aaron then visits Titus and falsely tells him that Saturninus will spare Martius and Quintus if either Titus, Marcus or, Tituss remaining son, Lucius, cuts off one of their hands and sends it to him. Titus has Aaron cut off his hand and sends it to the emperor but, in return. Desperate for revenge, Titus orders Lucius to flee Rome and raise an army among their former enemy, later, Lavinia writes the names of her attackers in the dirt, using a stick held with her mouth and between her mutilated arms. Meanwhile, Tamora secretly gives birth to a child, fathered by Aaron. Aaron kills the nurse to keep the race a secret. Thereafter, Lucius, marching on Rome with an army, captures Aaron, in order to save the baby, Aaron reveals the entire revenge plot to Lucius
Titus Andronicus
–
First page of The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus from the
First Folio, published in 1623
Titus Andronicus
–
Illustration of the death of Chiron and Demetrius from Act 5, Scene 2; from The Works of Mr. William Shakespeare, edited by
Nicholas Rowe (1709)
Titus Andronicus
–
Gravelot illustration of Aaron cutting off Titus's hand in Act 3, Scene 1; engraved by Gerard Van der Gucht (1740)
Titus Andronicus
–
Tereus Confronted with the Head of his Son Itylus by
Peter Paul Rubens (1637)
27.
Laurence Olivier
–
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM, was an English actor who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his career, playing more than fifty cinema roles, late in his career, he had considerable success in television roles. His family had no connections, but Oliviers father, a clergyman. After attending a school in London, Olivier learned his craft in a succession of acting jobs during the late 1920s. In 1930 he had his first important West End success in Noël Cowards Private Lives, in 1935 he played in a celebrated production of Romeo and Juliet alongside Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft, and by the end of the decade he was an established star. In the 1940s, together with Richardson and John Burrell, Olivier was the co-director of the Old Vic, there his most celebrated roles included Shakespeares Richard III and Sophocless Oedipus. From 1963 to 1973 he was the director of Britains National Theatre. His own parts there included the role in Othello and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Among Oliviers films are Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, and a trilogy of Shakespeare films as actor-director, Henry V, Hamlet and his later films included Sleuth, Marathon Man, and The Boys from Brazil. His television appearances included an adaptation of The Moon and Sixpence, Long Days Journey into Night, Love Among the Ruins, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Brideshead Revisited, Oliviers honours included a knighthood, a life peerage and the Order of Merit. For his on-screen work he received four Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, five Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. The National Theatres largest auditorium is named in his honour, and he is commemorated in the Laurence Olivier Awards, given annually by the Society of London Theatre. He was married three times, to the actresses Jill Esmond from 1930 to 1940, Vivien Leigh from 1940 to 1960, Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, the youngest of the three children of the Revd Gerard Kerr Olivier and his wife Agnes Louise, née Crookenden. Their elder children were Sybille and Gerard Dacres Dickie and his great-great-grandfather was of French Huguenot descent, and Olivier came from a long line of Protestant clergymen. Gerard Olivier had begun a career as a schoolmaster, but in his thirties he discovered a strong religious vocation and was ordained as a priest of the Church of England and he practised extremely high church, ritualist Anglicanism and liked to be addressed as Father Olivier. This made him unacceptable to most Anglican congregations, and the church posts he was offered were temporary. This meant a nomadic existence, and for Laurences first few years, in 1912, when Olivier was five, his father secured a permanent appointment as assistant priest at St Saviours, Pimlico. He held the post for six years, and a family life was at last possible
Laurence Olivier
–
Olivier in 1973
Laurence Olivier
–
Interior of
All Saints, Margaret Street
Laurence Olivier
–
Peggy Ashcroft, a contemporary and friend of Olivier's at the
Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, photographed in 1936
Laurence Olivier
–
Olivier, with his first wife
Jill Esmond (left), in 1932
28.
Ben Jonson
–
Benjamin Jonson was an English playwright, poet, actor, and literary critic of the 17th century, whose artistry exerted a lasting impact upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours, Ben Jonson said that his family originally came from the folk of the Anglo-Scottish border country, which genealogy is attested by the three spindles in the Jonson family coat of arms. One spindle is a heraldic device shared with the Border-country Johnstone family of Annandale. Jonsons clergyman father died two months before his birth, his mother married a master bricklayer two years later, Jonson attended school in St. Martins Lane. Later, a family friend paid for his studies at Westminster School, on leaving Westminster School, Jonson was to have attended the University of Cambridge, to continue his book learning but did not, because of his unwilled apprenticeship to his bricklayer stepfather. According to the churchman and historian Thomas Fuller, Jonson at this time built a wall in Lincolns Inn. After having been a bricklayer, Ben Jonson went to the Netherlands. After his military activity on the Continent, Jonson returned to England and worked as an actor, as an actor, Jonson was the protagonist “Hieronimo” in the play The Spanish Tragedy, by Thomas Kyd, the first revenge tragedy in English literature. Regarding his marriage Jonson described his wife to William Drummond as a shrew, concerning the family of Anne Lewis and Ben Jonson, the St. Martins Church registers indicate that Mary Jonson, their eldest daughter, died in November 1593, at six months of age. Moreover,32 years later, a son, also named Benjamin Jonson. By summer 1597, Jonson had an engagement in the Admirals Men, then performing under Philip Henslowes management at The Rose. John Aubrey reports, on authority, that Jonson was not successful as an actor, whatever his skills as an actor. By this time Jonson had begun to write plays for the Admirals Men. None of his early tragedies survive, however, an undated comedy, The Case is Altered, may be his earliest surviving play. In 1597 a play which he co-wrote with Thomas Nashe, The Isle of Dogs, was suppressed after causing great offence, arrest warrants for Jonson and Nashe were issued by Queen Elizabeth Is so-called interrogator, Richard Topcliffe. Jonson was jailed in Marshalsea Prison and charged with Leude and mutynous behaviour, two of the actors, Gabriel Spenser and Robert Shaw, were also imprisoned. A year later, Jonson was again imprisoned, this time in Newgate Prison. While in jail Jonson converted to Catholicism, possibly through the influence of fellow-prisoner Father Thomas Wright, in 1598 Jonson produced his first great success, Every Man in His Humour, capitalising on the vogue for humorous plays which George Chapman had begun with An Humorous Days Mirth
Ben Jonson
–
Ben Jonson (c. 1617), by
Abraham Blyenberch; oil on canvas painting at the
National Portrait Gallery, London
Ben Jonson
–
Westminster School master
William Camden cultivated the artistic genius of Ben Jonson.
Ben Jonson
–
The Scottish poet
William Drummond of Hawthornden was friend and confidant to Jonson.
Ben Jonson
–
Title page of The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (1616), the first
folio publication that included stage plays
29.
Volpone
–
Volpone is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605-06, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonsons most-performed play, probably partly based on Sir Henry Wotton, and partly on the traveller, Anthony Shirley. In their turns, each man arrives to Volpone’s house bearing a gift, intent upon having his name inscribed to the will of Volpone. To Volpone, Mosca mentions that Corvino has a beautiful wife, disguised as Scoto the Mountebank, Volpone goes to see Celia. Corvino drives away Scoto, who then becomes insistent that he must possess Celia as his own, Mosca deceives Corvino into believing that the moribund Volpone will be cured of his illness if he lies in bed beside a young woman. Believing that Volpone has been rendered impotent by his illness, Corvino offers his wife in order that, just before Corvino and Celia are due to arrive at Volpones house, Corbaccio’s son Bonario arrives to catch his father in the act of disinheriting him. Mosca guides Bonario to a sideroom, and Volpone and Celia are left alone, upon failing to seduce Celia with fantastic promises of luxury and wealth, Volpone attempts to rape her. Bonario comes forward to rescue Celia, there are episodes involving the English travellers Sir and Lady Politic Would-Be and Peregrine. Sir Politic constantly talks of plots and his business plans. Mosca co-ordinates a mix-up between them which leaves Peregrine, a more sophisticated traveller, feeling offended and he humiliates Sir Politick by telling him he is to be arrested for sedition and making him hide inside a giant tortoise shell. The play appeared in quarto in early 1607, printed by George Eld for publisher Thomas Thorpe. The quarto contains Jonsons dedication to Oxford and Cambridge, as well as a number of commendatory verses, in English and Latin, by fellow-poets such as Francis Beaumont. Its next appearance was in the folio of 1616, and the latter, presumably having been subject to Jonsons careful review, the play premiered at the Globe Theatre in Spring 1606. It was performed by the Kings Men, but casting is uncertain, John Lowin may have performed the title role, as he is associated with the role in James Wrights Historia Histrionica. William Gifford hypothesized that Alexander Cooke may have played Lady Would-be, either that summer or the next, an outbreak of plague closed the London theatres, and the company performed the play at Oxford and Cambridge. Jonson may have added the first acts satire on Pythagoras for these audiences, the play certainly remained in the Kings Mens repertoire throughout the period. It was performed for Charles in 1624 while he was still Prince of Wales, in 1630, after the Restoration, the play enjoyed a lengthy prominence, John Genest records over fifty performances before 1770. John Evelyn saw it performed at the court of Charles II on 16 October 1662, when the theatres reopened, the play was owned by the Kings Men of Thomas Killigrew, it was performed at Drury Lane in 1663
Volpone
–
An illustration for an 1898 edition of Volpone by
Aubrey Beardsley.
Volpone
–
Volpone (
Stephen Moorer) from a
Pacific Repertory Theatre production at the
Golden Bough Playhouse in
Carmel, California, September 2000
30.
Katharine Cornell
–
Katharine Cornell was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, Cornell is noted for her major Broadway roles in serious dramas, often directed by her husband, Guthrie McClintic. The couple formed a company, which gave them complete artistic freedom in choosing and producing plays. Their production company gave first or prominent Broadway roles to some of the notable actors of the 20th century. Cornell was noted for spurning screen roles, unlike other actresses of her day, appearing in only one Hollywood film, Stage Door Canteen, Cornell is regarded as one of 20th century Broadways greatest leading ladies. Cornells most famous role was as English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning in the 1931 Broadway production of The Barretts of Wimpole Street. She appeared in one film, the World War II morale booster Stage Door Canteen, in which she played herself and, along with one of the soldiers, recited a speech from Romeo. She did appear in adaptations of The Barretts of Wimpole Street. She also narrated the Oscar-winning documentary Helen Keller in Her Story, primarily regarded as a tragedienne, she was admired for her refined, romantic presence. One reviewer observed, Hers is not a robust romanticism, however and it tends toward dark but delicate tints, and the emotion she conveys most aptly is that of an aspiring girlishness which has always been subject to theatrical influences of a special sort. Her appearances in comedy were infrequent, and praised widely for their warmth than their wit. When she appeared in The Constant Wife, critic Brooks Atkinson concluded that she had changed a hard, Cornell died on June 9,1974, in Tisbury, Massachusetts, aged 81. Cornell was born into a prominent, wealthy Buffalo society family and her great-grandfather, Samuel Garretson Cornell, a descendant of pioneer ancestor Thomas Cornell, came to Buffalo in the 1850s, and founded Cornell Lead Works. One of his grandsons, Peter, married Alice Gardner Plimpton, who gave birth to Katharine in Berlin, six months later, they returned to Buffalo and lived at 174 Mariner Street in Buffalo, New York. As a child, her relationship with her parents was troubled and she play-acted in her backyard with imaginary friends. Soon, she was performing in school pageants and plays, and she would watch family productions in her grandfathers attic theater and she played at the Buffalo Studio Club parlor theater, located at 508 Franklin St. She loved athletics and was a runner-up for city championship at tennis, and she attended the University of Buffalo. After Cornell had become famous, she would bring her productions to her native Buffalo
Katharine Cornell
–
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell
–
Katharine Cornell in 1927
31.
Robert Browning
–
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of the dramatic monologue made him one of the foremost Victorian poets. His poems are known for their irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings, Brownings early career began promisingly, but was not a success. His reputation took more than a decade to recover, during which time he moved away from the Shelleyan forms of his early period, in 1846 Browning married the older poet Elizabeth Barrett, who at the time was considerably better known than himself. So started one of historys most famous literary marriages and they went to live in Italy, a country he called my university, and which features frequently in his work. By the time of her death in 1861, he had published the crucial collection Men and Women, the collection Dramatis Personae and the book-length epic poem The Ring and the Book followed, and made him a leading British poet. He continued to write prolifically, but his reputation rests largely on the poetry he wrote in this middle period. Unusually for a poet, societies for the study of his work were founded while he was still alive, such Browning Societies remained common in Britain and the United States until the early 20th century. Brownings admirers have tended to temper their praise with reservations about the length and difficulty of his most ambitious poems, particularly The Ring and the Book. Nevertheless, they have included such eminent writers as Henry James, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, G. K. Chesterton, Ezra Pound, Jorge Luis Borges, among living writers, Stephen Kings The Dark Tower series and A. S. Byatts Possession refer directly to Brownings work, today Brownings critically most esteemed poems include the monologues Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, Fra Lippo Lippi, Andrea Del Sarto, and My Last Duchess. Robert Browning was born in Walworth in the parish of Camberwell, Surrey and he was baptized on 14 June 1812, at Locks Fields Independent Chapel, York Street, Walworth, the only son of Sarah Anna and Robert Browning. His father was a clerk for the Bank of England. Brownings paternal grandfather was an owner in Saint Kitts, West Indies. Brownings father had sent to the West Indies to work on a sugar plantation. Brownings mother was the daughter of a German shipowner who had settled in Dundee in Scotland, the evidence, however, is inconclusive either way. Roberts father, a collector, amassed a library of around 6,000 books. As such, Robert was raised in a household of significant literary resources and his mother, to whom he was very close, was a devout nonconformist and a talented musician. His younger sister, Sarianna, also gifted, became her brothers companion in his later years and his father encouraged his childrens interest in literature and the arts
Robert Browning
–
Robert Browning circa 1888
Robert Browning
–
Portraits of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning.
Robert Browning
–
Browning after death.
Robert Browning
32.
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
–
The Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1930 play by Rudolf Besier, based on the romance between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, and her fathers unwillingness to allow them to marry. The play gave actress Katharine Cornell her signature role, the Barretts of Wimpole Street was Rudolf Besiers only real success as a playwright. It was first staged August 20,1930, at the Malvern Festival in Malvern, directed by Sir Barry Jackson, the production starred Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies as Elizabeth Barrett Moulton-Barrett and Scott Sunderland as Robert Browning. The role of Elizabeth Barrett worked so well for Cornell that it became her signature role, the Barretts of Wimpole Street then went to Broadway, where it opened on February 9,1931, at the Empire Theatre, starring Katharine Cornell and Brian Aherne. It was revived there in 1934 and 1945 and it was filmed in 1934, starring Fredric March, Norma Shearer and Charles Laughton. That film was remade scene-for-scene and almost shot-for-shot, in colour, in 1957, starring Bill Travers, Jennifer Jones, both films were directed by Sidney Franklin. The play also spawned a musical and it was first set as The Third Kiss by Judge Fred G. Moritt, which was never produced, but that was reworked as Robert and Elizabeth, with music by Ron Grainer. It opened in London in 1964, starring June Bronhill and Keith Michell, a 1982 TV series The Barretts of Wimpole Street was made by the BBC starring Jane Lapotaire, Joss Ackland, Jeremy Brett and Nigel Stock. Rudolf Besier at the Internet Movie Database doolee. com Rudolf Besier at the Internet Broadway Database Playwrights, a Comedy in Five Acts. at Faded Page
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
–
Katharine Cornell reprising her role in the
Producers' Showcase television production of the play in 1956
33.
Pygmalion (1938 film)
–
Pygmalion is a 1938 British film based on the George Bernard Shaw play of the same name, and adapted by him for the screen. It stars Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller, the film was a financial and critical success, and won an Oscar for Best Screenplay and three more nominations. The screenplay was adapted into the 1956 theatrical musical My Fair Lady. The Hungarian producer Gabriel Pascal wished to create a set of films based on Shaws works, beginning with Pygmalion, the resulting Pygmalion scenario by Cecil Lewis and W. P. Lipscomb removed exposition unnecessary outside a theatrical context and added new scenes and dialogue by Shaw himself. Ian Dalrymple, Anatole de Grunwald and Kay Walsh also made uncredited contributions to the screenplay, a long ballroom sequence was added, introducing an entirely new character, Count Aristid Karpathy, written wholly by Shaw himself. Against Shaws wishes, an ending was added, with Eliza fleeing Higgins with Freddy. Shaw and his fellow writers did, however, retain the controversial line Not bloody likely, from the playtext, making Hiller the first person to utter that swear word in a British film and giving rise to adverts for the film reading Miss Pygmalion. Shaws choice for Higgins had been Charles Laughton, the movie also includes the very first film appearance of Anthony Quayle, as an Italian wigmaker. Cathleen Nesbitt, credited here as Kathleen Nesbitt in the role of A Lady, the films crew included David Lean, set designer Laurence Irving and the camera operator Jack Hildyard. The film also received nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Shaws reaction to his award was, Its an insult for them to offer me any honour, as if they had never heard of me before – and its very likely they never have. They might as well send some honour to George for being King of England, however, his friend Mary Pickford later reported seeing the award on display in his home. At the 1938 Venice Film Festival, Leslie Howard won the Volpi Cup, the Great British Films, pp. org Criterion Collection essay by David Ehrenstein
Pygmalion (1938 film)
–
Wendy Hiller and Leslie Howard in Pygmalion
Pygmalion (1938 film)
–
Characters
34.
Alfred Hitchcock
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Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE was an English film director and producer, at times referred to as The Master of Suspense. He pioneered many elements of the suspense and psychological thriller genres and he had a successful career in British cinema with both silent films and early talkies and became renowned as Englands best director. Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1939, and became a US citizen in 1955 and he also fashioned for himself a recognisable directorial style. Hitchcocks stylistic trademarks include the use of movement that mimics a persons gaze. In addition, he framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy and his work often features fugitives on the run alongside icy blonde female characters. Prior to 1980, there had long been talk of Hitchcock being knighted for his contribution to film, Hitchcock later received his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in the 1980 New Year Honours. Hitchcock directed more than fifty films in a career spanning six decades and is often regarded as one of the most influential directors in cinematic history. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else, Hitchcocks first thriller, The Lodger, A Story of the London Fog, helped shape the thriller genre in film. His 1929 film, Blackmail, is cited as the first British sound feature film, while Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest. Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born on 13 August 1899 in Leytonstone and he was the second son and the youngest of three children of William Hitchcock, a greengrocer and poulterer, and Emma Jane Hitchcock. He was named after his fathers brother, Hitchcock was raised as a Roman Catholic, and sent to Salesian College, Battersea, and the Jesuit grammar school St Ignatius College in Stamford Hill, London. His parents were both of half-English and half-Irish ancestry and he often described a lonely and sheltered childhood that was worsened by his obesity. Around age five, Hitchcock recalled that to him for behaving badly. This incident implanted a lifelong fear of policemen in Hitchcock, and such harsh treatment, sources vary on Hitchcocks performance in school. Gene Adair reports that by most accounts, Alfred was only an average, or slightly above-average, however, McGilligan writes that Hitchcock certainly excelled academically. When Hitchcock was 15, his father died, in that same year, he left St. Ignatius to study at the London County Council School of Engineering and Navigation in Poplar, London. After leaving, he became a draftsman and advertising designer with a company called Henleys. Hitchcock joined a regiment of the Royal Engineers in 1917
Alfred Hitchcock
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Studio publicity photo, circa 1955.
Alfred Hitchcock
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Hitchcock (right) during the making of
Number 13 in London
Alfred Hitchcock
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Hitchcock with
Chandran Rutnam (centre) and Sri Lankan film maker Anton Wickremasinghe at the
Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
Alfred Hitchcock
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Cary Grant and
Ingrid Bergman in
Notorious (1946)
35.
The Wrong Man
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The Wrong Man is a 1956 American docudrama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Henry Fonda and Vera Miles. It is one of the few Hitchcock films based on a true story, for the only time in his many films, Alfred Hitchcock starts this picture talking to the camera and says that every word is true in this story. Manny Balestrero, a musician at New York Citys Stork Club, is in a money crunch. His wife, Rose, needs to have her wisdom teeth extracted at a cost of $300, though he has already borrowed against his life insurance policy, he goes to the life insurance company to attempt to take a loan out against Roses policy. He is immediately recognized by the workers in the store as the man who had twice held up the insurance office. They inform the police, and he is taken to the 110th Precinct by detectives, without being told why, Manny is instructed to walk in and out of a liquor store and delicatessen, both scenes of a robbery earlier that year. He is then asked by police to give a handwriting sample, Manny misspells the word drawer as draw—the same spelling mistake the robber made in the note. Manny and Rose look for three people who saw Manny at the hotel, but two have died and the third cannot be found. All this devastates Rose, whose resulting depression forces her to be hospitalized, during Mannys trial a juror, bored with the minutiae of one witnesss testimony, makes a remark which prompts the judge to declare a mistrial. While Manny is awaiting a trial, he is exonerated after the true robber is arrested holding up a grocery store. Manny visits Rose at the hospital to share the news, but, as the film ends, she remains clinically depressed. Cast notes Actors appearing in the film, but not listed in the credits, include Harry Dean Stanton, Werner Klemperer, Tuesday Weld, Patricia Morrow, Bonnie Franklin, and Barney Martin. Weld and Franklin made their debuts as two giggly girls answering the door when the Balestreros are seeking witnesses to prove his innocence. Rose Balestrero died in Florida at the age of 72 and it is believed that this case led to an amendment in police rules with regard to the positive identification of suspects. A Hitchcock cameo is typical of most of his films, in The Wrong Man, he appears only in silhouette in a darkened studio, just before the credits at the beginning of the film, announcing that the story is true. Originally, he intended to be seen as a customer walking into the Stork Club, many scenes were filmed in Jackson Heights, the neighborhood where Manny lived when he was accused. Most of the scenes were filmed among the convicts in a New York City prison in Queens. One of those inmates shouted to Henry Fonda Whatd they get ya for, as the actor was entering the constructed set of Mannys prison cell
The Wrong Man
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Theatrical film poster
36.
Michael Powell
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Michael Latham Powell was an English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. His later controversial 1960 film Peeping Tom, while considered a classic, was so vilified on first release that his career was seriously damaged. Many film-makers such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and George A. Romero have cited Powell as an influence, in 1981, he received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award along with his partner Pressburger, the highest honour the British Film Academy can give a filmmaker. Powell was the son and youngest child of Thomas William Powell, a hop farmer. Powell was born in Bekesbourne, Kent, and educated at The Kings School, Canterbury and he started work at the National Provincial Bank in 1922 but quickly realised he was not cut out to be a banker. Powell entered the industry in 1925 through working with director Rex Ingram at the Victorine Studios in Nice, France. He first started out as a studio hand, the proverbial gofer, sweeping the floor, making coffee. Soon he progressed to work such as stills photography, writing titles and many other jobs including a few acting roles. Powell made his film début as a comic English tourist in The Magician, returning to England in 1928, Powell worked at a diverse series of jobs for various filmmakers including as a stills photographer on Alfred Hitchcocks silent film Champagne. He also signed on in a role on Hitchcocks first talkie. In his autobiography, Powell claims he suggested the ending in the British Museum which was the first of Hitchcocks monumental climaxes to his films, Powell and Hitchcock remained friends for the remainder of Hitchcocks life. After scriptwriting on two productions, Powell entered into a partnership with American producer Jerry Jackson in 1931 to make quota quickies, Powell then began to direct hour-long films needed to satisfy a legal requirement that British cinemas screen a certain quota of British films. During this period, he developed his skills, sometimes making up to seven films a year. Although he had taken on some directing responsibilities in other films and this thriller was considered a modest success at the box office despite its limited budget. From 1931 to 1936, Powell was the director of 23 films, including the critically received Red Ensign, in 1937 Powell completed his first truly personal project, The Edge of the World. Powell gathered together a cast and crew who were willing to part in an expedition to what was then a very isolated part of the UK. They had to stay there for quite a few months and finished up with a film not only told the story he wanted. By 1939, Powell had been hired as a director by Alexander Korda on the strength of The Edge of the World
Michael Powell
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Michael Powell
Michael Powell
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8 Melbury Road
Michael Powell
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English Heritage Blue Plaque Dorset House, Gloucester Place, NW1 5AG
37.
Emeric Pressburger
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Emeric Pressburger was a Hungarian British screenwriter, film director, and producer. Imre József Pressburger was born in Miskolc, in the Kingdom of Hungary and he was the only son of Kálmán Pressburger, estate manager, and his second wife, Kätherina. He attended a boarding-school in Temesvár, where he was a pupil, excelling at mathematics, literature. He then studied mathematics and engineering at the Universities of Prague, Pressburger began a career as a journalist. After working in Hungary and Germany he turned to screenwriting in the late 1920s, the rise of the Nazis forced him to flee to Paris, where he again worked as screenwriter, and then to London. He later said, worst things that happened to me were the consequences of events beyond my control. The best things were exactly the same, Pressburger entered Britain in 1935 on a stateless passport, once he decided to settle, he changed his name to Emeric in 1938. In England he found a community of Hungarian film-makers who had fled the Nazis, including the influential Alexander Korda, owner of London Films. There he met film director Michael Powell, and they worked together on The Spy in Black and their partnership would produce some of the finest British films of the period. On 24 June 1938, Pressburger married Ági Donáth, the daughter of Andor Donáth, a general merchant and his daughter Angelas two sons both became successful film-makers, Andrew Macdonald as a producer on films such as Trainspotting, and Kevin Macdonald as an Oscar-winning director. Kevin has written a biography of his grandfather, and a documentary about his life, Pressburger became a British citizen in 1946. He was made a Fellow of BAFTA in 1981, and a Fellow of the BFI in 1983, Pressburger was a diffident and private person who, at times, particularly later on in his life, could be hypersensitive and prone to bouts of melancholia. He loved French cuisine, enjoyed music, and possessed a sense of humour. In appearance he was short, wore glasses, and had a sagacious and he was a keen supporter of Arsenal F. C. a passion he developed soon after arriving in Britain. From 1970 he lived in Aspall, Suffolk and he died in a home in nearby Saxtead on 5 February 1988, due to the complications of old age. He is interred in the cemetery of Our Lady of Grace Church and his is the only grave in that Church of England graveyard with a Star of David. 1943, Oscar winner for 49th Parallel as Best Writing, Original Story 1943, Oscar nominated for 49th Parallel as Best Writing, shared with Rodney Ackland 1943, Oscar nominated for One of Our Aircraft Is Missing for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. Shared with Michael Powell 1948, Won Danish Bodil Award for A Matter of Life, shared with Michael Powell 1948, Nominated for The Red Shoes for Venice Film Festival Golden Lion
Emeric Pressburger
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Pressburger in Paris
Emeric Pressburger
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English Heritage Blue Plaque Dorset House, Gloucester Place, NW1 5AG
38.
The Battle of the River Plate (film)
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The Battle of the River Plate is a 1956 Technicolor British war film in VistaVision by the writer-director-producer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. The film stars John Gregson, Anthony Quayle and Peter Finch and was distributed worldwide by Rank Film Distributors Ltd. The films storyline concerns the Battle of the River Plate, an early World War II naval battle in 1939 between a Royal Navy force of three cruisers and the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. In the early months of the Second World War, Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine sends out merchant raiders to attack Allied shipping, the Royal Navy responds with hunting groups whose mission is to stop them. Despite this, they go straight to the attack, the British are led by Commodore Harwood, with Captain Woodhouse commanding flagship Ajax, Captain Bell Exeter and Captain Parry Achilles. However, Graf Spee sustains damage herself, and takes refuge in the port of Montevideo. According to international law, the ship may remain at neutral harbour only long enough to make repairs for seaworthiness and this is a bluff intended to make the Germans believe that more British warships are on the way, when none are. Taken in by this ruse, Langsdorff takes his ship out with a crew aboard. Anthony Newley and Donald Moffat have small parts as a radio operator, Moffat was making his film debut, as was Jack Gwillim. The Battle of the River Plate had its genesis in an invitation to Michael Powell and they decided they couldnt afford to take the time from their schedules unless it was a working holiday, and used the trip to research the defeat of the Admiral Graf Spee. Principal photography began on 13 December 1955, the anniversary of the battle. The HMS Ajax and River Plate Association reportedly sent a message to the producers, location shooting for the arrival and departure of the Graf Spee took place at the port of Montevideo, using thousands of locals as extras. The Battle of the River Plate was shot in VistaVision, a wide screen orthographic process using a horizontal film feed, two songs written by composer Brian Easdale were used in the film, Dolores Song and Rio de la Plata. Both were acted by April Olrich as Dolores, with singing voice dubbed by Muriel Smith, pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee played by heavy cruiser USS Salem The supply ship Altmark played by the fleet oiler RFA Olna. HMS Ajax flagship, played by HMS Sheffield HMS Exeter played by HMS Jamaica HMNZS Achilles played by herself HMS Cumberland played by herself when she joins the British squadron after the battle. German freighter Tacoma, which took the crew off Graf Spee before scuttling, gunboat Uruguay, boarding the Tacoma, was played by a British Ton-class minesweeper. Destroyers HMS Battleaxe and USS William R. Rush were used as camera ships, most of the action of the battle and prior to it takes place on real ships at sea. In an early scene, it is claimed that the Graf Spee is being disguised by the ships carpenters – using features such as a false funnel – as an American cruiser, a trick typical of commerce raiders
The Battle of the River Plate (film)
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Theatrical poster
39.
Ice Cold in Alex
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Ice Cold in Alex is a British film described as a true story in the films opening credits, based on the novel of the same name by British author Christopher Landon. Directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring John Mills, the film was a prizewinner at the 8th Berlin International Film Festival. The film was not released in the United States by 20th Century Fox until 1961, a British unit at Tobruk is attacked by the German Afrika Korps, in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. As they depart they come across an Afrikaner South African officer, Captain van der Poel, who carries a large pack, to which he seems very attached. After the South African shows Anson two bottles of gin in his backpack, van der Poel persuades Anson to let him join them in their drive to the safety of the British lines in Alexandria, Egypt. Anson motivates himself by thinking of the ice cold lager he will order when they reach the safety of Alexandria – the Alex of the title. En route, the group meets various obstacles, including a minefield, a broken suspension spring. Twice the group encounters motorised elements of the advancing Afrika Korps, in one encounter they are fired upon, Van der Poel, who claims to have learned German while working in South West Africa, is able to talk the Germans into allowing them to go on their way. The second time however, the Germans seem reluctant, until Van der Poel shows them the contents of his backpack and this pack becomes the focus of suspicion. Pugh, already troubled by Van der Poels lack of knowledge of the South African Armys tea-brewing technique, follows him when he heads off into the desert with his pack, pugh thinks he sees an antenna. Later, at night, they decide to use the ambulance headlights to see what Van de Poel is really up to and he panics, blunders into some quicksand, and buries his pack, though not before Anson and Murdoch see that it contains a radio set. While he recovers, they realise he is probably a German spy, during the final leg of the journey Katy must be hand-cranked in reverse up an escarpment, and Van der Poels strength is again crucial to achieving this. When they reach Alexandria they make their way to a bar where Anson orders a cold beer, but before they have drunk their first round, a Corps of Military Police officer arrives to arrest Van der Poel. Anson, who had prearranged this at a checkpoint as they entered the city, orders him to wait. Having become friends with Van der Poel and indebted to him for saving the lives, Anson tells him that if he gives his real name, he will be treated as a prisoner of war. Van der Poel admits to being Hauptmann Otto Lutz, an officer with the 21st Panzer Division. Pugh notices that Lutz is still wearing fake South African dog tags, Lutz, after saying his farewells and concluding that they were all against the desert, the greater enemy, is driven away, with a new respect for the British. The film was based on a series of written for the Saturday Evening Post published in book form in 1957
Ice Cold in Alex
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British film poster
40.
The Guns of Navarone (film)
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The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 British-American epic adventure war film directed by J. Lee Thompson. The screenplay by producer Carl Foreman was based on Alistair MacLeans 1957 novel The Guns of Navarone, the film stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Stanley Baker, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, James Darren and Anthony Quayle. In 1943, the Axis powers plan an assault on the island of Leros — where 2,000 British soldiers are marooned — to bully neutral Turkey into joining them with a display of their military strength. Rescue by the Royal Navy is prevented by two massive radar-directed superguns on the island of Navarone. When aerial bombing efforts fail, Allied Intelligence gathers a team of commandos to infiltrate Navarone, disguised as Greek fishermen on a decrepit fishing vessel, they sail across the Aegean Sea, where they successfully kill the crew of a German patrol boat coming aboard to inspect them. Later in the voyage Mallory confides to Franklin that Stavrou had sworn to him after the war, because Mallory was inadvertently responsible for the deaths of Stavrous wife. The team shipwreck on Navarones coast during a storm, Mallory leads the climb up the cliff, but Franklin badly injures his leg, the injury later becomes infected with gangrene. They rendezvous with local fighters, Spyros sister Maria and her friend Anna, who was once captured and tortured by the Germans before escaping. The mission is continually dogged by German soldiers, and the group is captured in the town of Mandrakos by Oberleutnant Meusel while trying to find a doctor for Franklin. While being interrogated by SS Hauptsturmführer Sessler, Stavrou pretends to grovel as theyre being interrogated and they escape in German uniforms, but leave Franklin behind to receive medical attention. In due course, Franklin is injected with scopolamine and gives up Mallorys misinformation, as Mallory had hoped, Mallory reluctantly prepares to execute Anna as punishment, but Maria shoots her instead. The team splits up, Mallory and Miller go for the guns, Stavrou and Spyros create distractions in town, assisted by local residents, Maria. Spyros dies in a stand-off with a German officer, and Brown from being stabbed during the boat theft, meanwhile, Mallory and Miller infiltrate the gun emplacement, but set off an alarm when they seal the doors behind them. Mallory and Miller proceed further towards the battery, where Miller then plants explosives on the guns, the Germans eventually gain entry into the gun cave, but Mallory and Miller make their escape by diving into the sea, reaching the stolen boat. A wounded Stavrou is helped aboard by Mallory, thus voiding the blood feud between them, the Allied destroyers appear on schedule, but the Germans find the explosives planted on the guns and begin to fire on the passing Allied flotilla. The hoist eventually descends low enough to trigger the explosives, which sets off the surrounding shells into destroying the guns. Mallorys team safely reaches the British convoy, but Stavrou decides to return to Navarone with Maria, Mallory and Miller, returning home, observe the aftermath of their success from a destroyer. The film was part of a cycle of big-budget World War II adventures that included The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Longest Day, the screenplay, adapted by producer Carl Foreman, made significant changes from the novel The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean
The Guns of Navarone (film)
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film poster by
Howard Terpning
41.
H.M.S. Defiant
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Defiant is a British adventure CinemaScope and Technicolor film from 1962 starring Alec Guinness and Dirk Bogarde. It tells the story of a mutiny aboard the ship of the title at around the time of the Spithead Mutiny. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert, with a screenplay by Nigel Kneale from Frank Tilsleys novel Mutiny, the film had its world premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in Londons West End on 22 February 1962. In 1797, the humane Captain Crawford is in command of the warship HMS Defiant during the French Revolutionary Wars and he soon finds himself in a battle of wills with his first officer, the sadistic and supercilious first lieutenant, Mr. Scott-Padget. Scott-Padget has powerful family connections, which he has used in the past to beach two previous commanding officers with whom he disagreed. Knowing that Crawford is helpless to intervene, Scott-Padget subjects the formers son, Midshipman Harvey Crawford, meanwhile, some of the crew, led by seaman Vizard, are organising to strike for better conditions, in conjunction with similar efforts throughout the British fleet. They eventually pledge virtually the entire crew, in the Mediterranean, the Defiant encounters a French frigate escorting a merchant ship. After a sharp engagement, a party from the Defiant captures the French frigate. Crawford dispatches his son as part of the prize crew tasked to send the captured merchantman back to a British port, Crawford tells Scott-Padget that bringing his son with him was a mistake, but now hes put it right. He further vows to take actions that will astound his second-in-command, before long, Scott-Padget is confined to quarters as punishment for insubordination. His humiliation is compounded by the requirement that he appear on every two hours in full dress uniform, a punishment usually reserved for young midshipmen. Soon, Defiant fights and captures a Venetian frigate, taking on many prisoners, Crawford is severely wounded in the action and eventually loses his arm. Discovered among the prisoners is a key aide to Napoleon, from whom the British learn important information about an invasion of Britain. With Crawford temporarily out of the way, Scott-Padget takes command, appealing to their patriotism, Crawford convinces Vizard and the other mutineers to sail for the main British fleet blockading Rochefort to warn them of the impending invasion. Crawford promises to intercede for the crew as best he can, as the Defiant reaches the fleet at Rochefort, they receive word that the main British fleet has already gone on strike, with the naval high command agreeing to most of the sailors demands. The crews jubilation at the news is cut short when the hot-headed seaman Evans murders Scott-Padget, realising that they are now all doomed to punishment as mutineers, an enraged Vizard kills Evans. Their only course now is to try to escape with the ship, just then, the French fleet sallies out from port, and a French fireship is sighted heading straight for the British flagship. As the only ship under sail, the Defiant has the opportunity to save the flagship
H.M.S. Defiant
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Original UK film poster
42.
David Lean
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Sir David Lean, CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor, responsible for large-scale epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. He also directed adaptations of Dickens novels Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, Lean was born in Croydon, Surrey, to Francis William le Blount Lean and the former Helena Tangye. His parents were Quakers and he was a pupil at the Quaker-founded Leighton Park School in Reading and his younger brother, Edward Tangye Lean, founded the original Inklings literary club when a student at Oxford University. Lean was a schoolboy with a dreamy nature who was labeled a dud of a student, he left in his mid-teens. A more formative event for his career than his formal education was an uncles gift and you usually didnt give a boy a camera until he was 16 or 17 in those days. It was a compliment and I succeeded at it. Lean printed and developed his films, and it was his great hobby, at age 16, his father deserted the family when he ran off with another woman, and Lean would later follow a similar path after his own first marriage and child. He was taken on as a teaboy, promoted to clapperboy, by 1930 he was working as an editor on newsreels, including those of Gaumont Pictures and Movietone, while his move to feature films began with Freedom of the Seas and Escape Me Never. He edited Gabriel Pascals film productions of two George Bernard Shaw plays, Pygmalion and Major Barbara and he edited Powell & Pressburgers 49th Parallel and One of Our Aircraft Is Missing. After this last film, Lean began his career, after editing more than two dozen features by 1942. As Tony Sloman wrote in 1999, As the varied likes of David Lean, Robert Wise, Terence Fisher and Dorothy Arzner have proved, David Lean was given honorary membership of the Guild of British Film Editors in 1968. His first work as a director was in collaboration with Noël Coward on In Which We Serve and it has since become a classic, one of the most highly regarded British films. Two celebrated Charles Dickens adaptations followed – Great Expectations and Oliver Twist and these two films were the first directed by Lean to star Alec Guinness, whom Lean considered his good luck charm. The actors portrayal of Fagin was controversial at the time, the first screening in Berlin during February 1949 offended the surviving Jewish community and led to a riot. It caused problems too in New York, and after private screenings, was condemned by the Anti-Defamation League, to our surprise it was accused of being anti-Semitic, Lean wrote. We made Fagin an outsize and, we hoped, an amusing Jewish villain, the terms of the production code meant that the films release in the United States was delayed until July 1951 after cuts amounting to eight minutes. The Passionate Friends was the first of three films to feature the actress Ann Todd, who became his third wife, madeleine, set in Victorian-era Glasgow is about an 1857 cause célèbre with Todds lead character accused of murdering a former lover. The last of the films with Todd, The Sound Barrier, has a screenplay by the playwright Terence Rattigan and was the first of his three films for Sir Alexander Kordas London Films
David Lean
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Sir David Lean,
CBE
43.
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
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Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 epic historical drama film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt, the film stars Peter OToole in the title role. It is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential films in the history of cinema, the dramatic score by Maurice Jarre and the Super Panavision 70 cinematography by Freddie Young are also highly acclaimed. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama, the film depicts Lawrences experiences in the Arabian Peninsula during World War I, in particular his attacks on Aqaba and Damascus and his involvement in the Arab National Council. As well as OToole, the film stars Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains and Arthur Kennedy. In 1991, Lawrence of Arabia was deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, the film is presented in two parts, divided by an intermission. The film opens in 1935 when Lawrence is killed in a motorcycle accident, at his memorial service at St Pauls Cathedral, a reporter tries to gain insights into this remarkable, enigmatic man from those who knew him. The story then moves backward to the First World War, where Lawrence is a misfit British Army lieutenant, notable for his insolence and education. Over the objections of General Murray, Mr. Dryden of the Arab Bureau sends him to assess the prospects of Prince Faisal in his revolt against the Turks, on the journey, his Bedouin guide is killed by Sherif Ali for drinking from his well without permission. Lawrence later meets Colonel Brighton, who orders him to quiet, make his assessment. Lawrence ignores Brightons orders when he meets Faisal and his outspokenness piques the princes interest. The town is strongly fortified against an assault but only lightly defended on the landward side. He convinces Faisal to provide fifty men, led by a sceptical Sherif Ali, teenage orphans Daud and Farraj attach themselves to Lawrence as servants. They cross the Nefud Desert, considered even by the Bedouins, travelling day. One of Alis men, Gasim, succumbs to fatigue and falls off his camel unnoticed during the night, when Lawrence discovers him missing, he turns back and rescues Gasim—and Sherif Ali is won over. He gives Lawrence Arab robes to wear, Lawrence persuades Auda abu Tayi, the leader of the powerful local Howeitat tribe, to turn against the Turks. Lawrences scheme is almost derailed when one of Alis men kills one of Audas because of a blood feud, Howeitat retaliation would shatter the fragile alliance, so Lawrence declares that he will execute the murderer himself. He is then stunned to discover that the culprit is Gasim, the man whom he risked his own life to save in the desert
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
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Theatrical release poster
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
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Hacim Muhiddin Bey
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
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The
Mudéjar pavilion of the
Parque de María Luisa in Seville appeared as Jerusalem.
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
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The Plaza de España in Seville appeared as Britain's Egyptian Expeditionary Force Headquarters in Cairo, which included the officers' club.
44.
The Fall of the Roman Empire (film)
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The Fall of the Roman Empire is a 1964 American epic film directed by Anthony Mann and produced by Samuel Bronston, with a screenplay by Ben Barzman, Basilio Franchina and Philip Yordan. The film stars Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness, James Mason, Christopher Plummer, Mel Ferrer, the film was a financial failure at the box-office. Despite this, it is considered intelligent and thoughtful for a film of the contemporary sword and sandal genre. It features the largest outdoor film set in the history of film, in the winter of 180 A. D. the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius fights to keep Germanic barbarians from invading his northern territories on the Danube frontier. His deputies are the Greek ex-slave Timonides, a closet Christian, Livius has close connections with the imperial family, being the lover of Aurelius philosopher daughter Lucilla and a friend of her brother Commodus. Nevertheless, he is amazed to hear that Aurelius wants to him his heir. Despite his military obligations the emperor has egalitarian ideals, dreaming of a day when Rome grants equal rights to men of all nations and he knows that he will not live to achieve this end, and trusts Livius to do so more than his charismatic but brutal son. The discovery that his father has disinherited him hurts Commodus immensely. Aurelius summons all the governors of the Roman empire to his headquarters, before he can do so he is poisoned by Commodus cronies, who hope to secure their own political future by putting their friend on the throne. Sure enough, Livius feels that a such as himself would never be accepted as emperor without Aurelius explicit backing. Commodus, who was not part of the plot, is left feeling helplessly angry at his deceased father. He dedicates himself to undoing all Aurelius policies, this involves blatant favoritism towards Rome and Italy, meanwhile, Livius army scores an important victory on the frontier, capturing the German chieftain Ballomar and his aides. Lucilla helps convince Livius to defy the emperor, since she loved her father as much as Commodus hates him, Commodus is furious, and sends Livius back to his frontier post in what is effectively a sentence of banishment. Lucilla is forced to go to Armenia, with whose king she shares a political marriage. Commodus is compelled to recall Livius in order to put down a rebellion by Romes eastern provinces, when he arrives at the site of the unrest, Livius is horrified to find that Lucilla is behind it. She tries to him to join her in making a splinter state, free of her brothers influence. The issue is settled in an unexpected manner when Lucillas husband calls in Romes archenemy the Persians to help the rebelling forces fight Livius. The sight of the dreaded Persian cavalry so panics the defecting Romans that they go back over to Livius, swelling his army, the king of Armenia is killed, and Commodus sends word that Livius is to be made joint ruler of Rome
The Fall of the Roman Empire (film)
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Original
film poster by
Renato Fratini
The Fall of the Roman Empire (film)
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Cover of the novelization.
45.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
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The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered a performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry. At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony held in 1937, Walter Brennan was the first winner of award for his role in Come. Initially, winners in both supporting acting categories were awarded instead of statuettes. Beginning with the 16th ceremony held in 1944, however, winners received full-sized statuettes, currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS, winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy. Since its inception, the award has given to 72 actors. Brennan has received the most awards in this category with three awards, Brennan, Jeff Bridges, Robert Duvall, Arthur Kennedy, Jack Nicholson, and Claude Rains were nominated on four occasions, more than any other actor. As of the 2017 ceremony, Mahershala Ali is the most recent winner in category for his role as Juan in Moonlight. In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of release in Los Angeles County. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, University of Toronto Press, ISBN 978-1-55002-574-3. org The Academy Awards Database Oscar. com Complete Downloadable List of Academy Award Nominees
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
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Walter Brennan was the first winner in this category for 1936's
Come and Get It; He would also win for his roles in
Kentucky (1938) and
The Westerner (1940).
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
–
Van Heflin won in 1942 for his performance in
Johnny Eager.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
–
George Sanders won for his role in 1950's
All About Eve.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
–
Karl Malden won in 1951 for
A Streetcar Named Desire.
46.
Cardinal Wolsey
–
Thomas Wolsey was an English churchman, statesman and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the Kings almoner, the 1515 appointment of Wolsey as a cardinal by Pope Leo X gave him precedence even over the Archbishop of Canterbury. The highest political position Wolsey attained was Lord Chancellor, the Kings chief adviser, in that position, he enjoyed great freedom and was often depicted as an alter rex. After failing to negotiate an annulment of Henrys marriage to Catherine of Aragon and he retreated to York to fulfill his ecclesiastical duties as Archbishop of York, a position he nominally held, but had neglected during his years in government. He was recalled to London to answer to charges of treason — a common charge used by Henry against ministers who fell out of favour —, Thomas Wolsey was born about 1473, the son of Robert Wolsey of Ipswich and his wife Joan Daundy. Widespread traditions identify his father as a butcher and a cattle dealer, Wolsey attended Ipswich School and Magdalen College School before studying theology at Magdalen College, Oxford. On 10 March 1498 he was ordained as a priest in Marlborough, Wiltshire and remained in Oxford, first as the Master of Magdalen College School, between 1500 and 1509 he held the living of Church of Saint Mary, Limington, in Somerset. In 1502 he left and became a chaplain to Henry Deane, archbishop of Canterbury and he was then taken into the household of Sir Richard Nanfan, who made Wolsey executor of his estate. After Nanfans death in 1507, Wolsey entered the service of King Henry VII, Wolsey benefitted from Henry VIIs introduction of measures to curb the power of the nobility - the king was willing to favour those from more humble backgrounds. Henry VII appointed Wolsey royal chaplain, in this position Wolsey served as secretary to Richard Foxe, who recognized Wolseys innate ability and dedication and appreciated his industry and willingness to take on tedious tasks. Thomas Wolseys remarkable rise to power from humble origins testifies to his intelligence, administrative ability, industriousness, ambition for power, in April 1508, Wolsey was sent to Scotland to discuss with King James IV rumours of the renewal of the auld alliance. Wolseys rise coincided with the accession of the new English monarch, Henry VIII, whose character, policies and diplomatic mindset differed significantly from those of his father. In 1509 Henry appointed Wolsey to the post of Almoner, a position that gave him a seat on the Privy Council, providing an opportunity to raise his profile and to establish a rapport with the King. A factor in Wolseys rise was the young Henry VIIIs relative lack of interest in the details of governing during his early years, Henry soon appointed to his Privy Council individuals more sympathetic to his own views and inclinations. Warham and Foxe, who failed to share the Kings enthusiasm for the French war which started in 1512, fell from power, in 1515, Warham resigned as Lord Chancellor, probably under pressure from the King and from Wolsey, and Henry appointed Wolsey in his place. Wolsey carefully tried to destroy or neutralise the influence of other courtiers, Wolseys rise to a position of great secular power paralleled his increased responsibilities in the Church. He became a Canon of Windsor in 1511, the year that he became a member of the Privy Council. In 1514 he was made Bishop of Lincoln, and then Archbishop of York in the same year, Pope Leo X made him a cardinal in 1515, with the titular church S. Cæciliæ trans Tiberim
Cardinal Wolsey
–
Sampson Strong 's portrait of Cardinal Wolsey at
Christ Church (1610)
Cardinal Wolsey
–
Banner of the arms of Cardinal Wolsey as
Archbishop of York, impaling his personal
arms (viewer's right) with the arms of his office as Archbishop of York (viewer's left)
Cardinal Wolsey
–
"Cardinal Woolsey" (an archaic spelling) by an unknown artist c.1520. Detail from an oil on panel in the
National Portrait Gallery, London
47.
Anne of the Thousand Days
–
Anne of the Thousand Days is a 1969 British costume drama made by Hal Wallis Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by Hal B, the film tells the story of Anne Boleyn. The film stars Richard Burton as King Henry VIII and Geneviève Bujold as Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth Taylor makes a brief, uncredited appearance. Irene Papas plays Catherine of Aragon, Geneviève Bujolds portrayal of Anne, her first in an English-speaking film, was, however, very highly praised, even by Time magazine, which otherwise skewered the movie. The play Anne of the Thousand Days, the basis, was first enacted on Broadway in the Shubert Theatre on 8 December 1948. Potter, with Rex Harrison and Joyce Redman as Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn respectively, running 288 performances, Harrison won a Tony Award for his performance. Cinematically, Anne of the Thousand Days took twenty years to reach the screen because its themes – adultery, illegitimacy, the film was made on such locations as Penshurst Place and Hever Castle, and at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios. Hever Castle was one of the settings for the film. The stunning formal Tudor gardens provided the setting for the film. Starting in 1527, Henry has a problem, he reveals his dissatisfaction with his wife and he is currently enjoying a discreet affair with Mary Boleyn, a daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn who is one of his courtiers, but the King is bored with her too. At a court ball, he notices Marys 18-year-old sister Anne and she is engaged to the son of the Earl of Northumberland and they have received their parents permission to marry. The King, however, is enraptured with Annes beauty and orders his Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, when news of this decision is carried to Anne, she reacts furiously. She blames the Cardinal and the King for ruining her happiness, when Henry makes a rather clumsy attempt to seduce her, Anne bluntly informs him how she finds him, Ive heard what your courtiers say and Ive seen what you are. Youre spoiled and vengeful and bloody and your poetry is sour and your music is worse. You make love as you eat with a deal of noise. Henry brings her back to Court with him, whilst she continues to resist his advances out of a mixture of repugnance for Henry, however, she becomes intoxicated with the power that the Kings love gives her. Power is as exciting as love, she tells her brother George Boleyn, using this power, she continually undermines Cardinal Wolsey, who at first sees Anne as just a passing love interest for the King. When Henry again presses Anne to become his mistress, she repeats that she never give birth to a child who is illegitimate
Anne of the Thousand Days
–
Original theatrical poster
48.
Alec Guinness
–
Sir Alec Guinness CH CBE was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, he was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including The Ladykillers and he is also known for his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucass original Star Wars trilogy, receiving a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also won a BAFTA Award, Golden Globe and a Tony Award, in 1959, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, the Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievement in 1980, Guinness was born at 155 Lauderdale Mansions South, Lauderdale Road, Maida Vale, as Alec Guinness de Cuffe. His mothers maiden name was Agnes Cuff and she was born 8 December 1890 to Edward Cuff and Mary Ann Benfield. On Guinnesss birth certificate, the space for the name shows Agnes de Cuffe. The space for the name says Alec Guinness. The column for name and surname of father is blank, the identity of Guinnesss father has never been officially confirmed. From 1875, under English law, when the birth of a child was registered. Guinness himself believed that his father was a Scottish banker, Andrew Geddes, Geddes occasionally visited Guinness and his mother, posing as an uncle. Guinnesss mother later had a marriage to a British soldier who had survived the Irish War of Independence. His behaviour was erratic or even violent. Guinness first worked writing advertising copy and he appeared at the Albery Theatre in 1936 at the age of 22, playing the role of Osric in John Gielguds successful production of Hamlet. Also in 1936, Guinness signed on with the Old Vic, in 1939, he took over for Michael Redgrave as Charleston in a road-show production of Robert Ardreys Thunder Rock. An early influence from afar was Stan Laurel, whom Guinness admired, Guinness continued playing Shakespearean roles throughout his career. In 1937, he played Aumerle in Richard II and Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice under the direction of John Gielgud and he starred in a 1938 production of Hamlet which won him acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1939, he adapted Great Expectations for the stage, playing Herbert Pocket, one of its viewers was a young British film editor, David Lean, who would later have Guinness reprise his role in Leans 1946 film adaptation of the play. Guinness served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in the Second World War, initially as a seaman in 1941 and he commanded a landing craft at the Allied invasion of Sicily, and later ferried supplies and agents to the Yugoslav partisans in the eastern Mediterranean theatre
Alec Guinness
–
Sir Alec Guinness in 1973 by
Allan Warren
Alec Guinness
–
Alec Guinness – 1938
Alec Guinness
–
Guinness with
Rita Tushingham in
Doctor Zhivago
Alec Guinness
–
The graves of Sir Alec Guinness and his wife in Petersfield, Hampshire
49.
Jack Hawkins
–
John Edward Jack Hawkins, CBE was an English actor who worked on stage and in film from the 1930s until the 1970s. He was born at 45 Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, now in Haringey, London and he was educated at Wood Green’s Trinity County Grammar School, where, aged eight, he joined the school choir. By the age of ten Hawkins had joined the local operatic society, the following year aged 14 he played the page in a production of Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw. Five years later he was in a production of Beau Geste alongside Laurence Olivier and he appeared on Broadway in Journeys End by the age of 18. In the 1930s Hawkins focus was on the stage and he worked in the companies of Sybil Thorndike, John Gielgud and Basil Dean. In 1932 he was in a production of Hamlet with John Gielgud and Robert Donat. He was also in Death at Broadcasting House, Lorna Doone, stage roles included Iron Mistress by Arthur Macrae, then an open air Shakespeare festival - As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Comedy of Errors. Some of these productions were done on radio, the Maitlands by Ronald Mackenzie was for John Gielguds company. He was Horatio to Gielguds Hamlet and he also appeared in Accidentally Yours by Clifford Grey, The World Waits by Clifford Hummel, Coincidence by Bryce Robertson, and The Frog. Films in the late 1930s included Beauty and the Barge, The Frog, a Royal Divorce, Murder Will Out, The Flying Squad. During World War II Hawkins served as an officer with the Royal Welch Fusiliers and he became a colonel in ENSA for India and Southeast Asia. During his military service he made The Next of Kin for Ealing Studios, Hawkins left the army in July 1946. Two weeks later he appeared on stage in The Apple Cart at ten pounds a week, the following year he starred in Othello, to a mixed reception. Hawkinss wife became pregnant and he concerned about his future. He decided to accept a contract with Alexander Korda for three years at £50 a week, Hawkins had been recommended to Korda by the latters production executive, Bill Bryden, who was married to Elizabeth Allen, who had worked with Hawkins. The association began badly when Hawkins was cast in Kordas notorious flop Bonnie Prince Charlie as Lord George Murray, however he followed it with a good role in the successful, highly acclaimed The Fallen Idol for Carol Reed. Also acclaimed was The Small Back Room, for Powell and Pressburger, he impressed as the villain in State Secret and he was hired by 20th Century Fox to support Tyrone Power and Orson Welles in an expensive epic, The Black Rose. He made another with Powell and Pressburger for Korda, The Elusive Pimpernel, Hawkins played the lead in The Adventurers, shot in South Africa, then had a good role in another Hollywood-financed film shot in England, No Highway in the Sky, with James Stewart
Jack Hawkins
–
Hawkins in 1973, by
Allan Warren
50.
Jack Gwillim
–
Jack William Frederick Gwillim was a prolific English character actor. Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, he served in the Royal Navy for over twenty years, attaining the rank of Commander. During his time in the Navy, he became a boxer and rugby player. Gwillim began his career in earnest in the 1950s, working on both stage and screen. On stage, he appeared both at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford and at the Old Vic and he performed in an extensive amount of theatre, both classics and modern plays, in the West End of London and on Broadway. Gwillim also featured in over sixty films and television series, usually war films or historical epics and his military background, commanding presence and deep, booming voice typecast him as soldiers and authority figures. Some of his most notable roles include playing a warship captain in Sink the Bismarck and he also had a recurring role on the TV series Danger Man, The Saint, and The Troubleshooters. He took part in a number of recordings for Caedmon Shakespeare Records, Gwillim was twice married, to Peggy Bollard, until 1958, and Olivia Selby, from 1969 until his death. He had two children from his first marriage, Sarah-Jane Gwillim and David Gwillim, and a third, Jaxon Duff Gwillim, from his second marriage. His children also became actors, and he acted onstage with them in 1995 in a production of On Borrowed Time and he died in Los Angeles, California on 2 July 2001 at the age of 91
Jack Gwillim
–
As
Poseidon in
Clash of the Titans (1981)
