1.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of feature films and television programs. Its headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California and it is one of the worlds oldest film studios. In 1971, it was announced that MGM would merge with 20th Century Fox, over the next thirty-nine years, the studio was bought and sold at various points in its history until, on November 3,2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. MGM Resorts International, a Las Vegas-based hotel and casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MGM, is not currently affiliated with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1966, MGM was sold to Canadian investor Edgar Bronfman Sr. whose son Edgar Jr. would later buy Universal Studios, the studio continued to produce five to six films a year that were released through other studios, mostly United Artists. Kerkorian did, however, commit to increased production and a film library when he bought United Artists in 1981. MGM ramped up production, as well as keeping production going at UA. It also incurred significant amounts of debt to increase production, the studio took on additional debt as a series of owners took charge in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1986, Ted Turner bought MGM, but a few later, sold the company back to Kerkorian to recoup massive debt. The series of deals left MGM even more heavily in debt, MGM was bought by Pathé Communications in 1990, but Parretti lost control of Pathé and defaulted on the loans used to purchase the studio. The French banking conglomerate Crédit Lyonnais, the major creditor. Even more deeply in debt, MGM was purchased by a joint venture between Kerkorian, producer Frank Mancuso, and Australias Seven Network in 1996, the debt load from these and subsequent business deals negatively affected MGMs ability to survive as an independent motion picture studio. In 1924, movie theater magnate Marcus Loew had a problem and he had bought Metro Pictures Corporation in 1919 for a steady supply of films for his large Loews Theatres chain. With Loews lackluster assortment of Metro films, Loew purchased Goldwyn Pictures in 1924 to improve the quality, however, these purchases created a need for someone to oversee his new Hollywood operations, since longtime assistant Nicholas Schenck was needed in New York headquarters to oversee the 150 theaters. Mayer, Loew addressed the situation by buying Louis B. Mayer Pictures on April 17,1924, Mayer became head of the renamed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with Irving Thalberg as head of production. MGM produced more than 100 feature films in its first two years, in 1925, MGM released the extravagant and successful Ben-Hur, taking a $4.7 million profit that year, its first full year. Marcus Loew died in 1927, and control of Loews passed to Nicholas Schenck, in 1929, William Fox of Fox Film Corporation bought the Loew familys holdings with Schencks assent. Mayer and Thalberg disagreed with the decision, Mayer was active in the California Republican Party and used his political connections to persuade the Justice Department to delay final approval of the deal on antitrust grounds
2.
Western (genre)
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Cowboys and gunslingers typically wear Stetson hats, bandannas, spurs, cowboy boots and buckskins. Other characters include Native Americans, bandits, lawmen, bounty hunters, outlaws, mounted cavalry, settlers, Westerns often stress the harshness of the wilderness and frequently set the action in an arid, desolate landscape of deserts and mountains. Often, the vast landscape plays an important role, presenting a. mythic vision of the plains, specific settings include ranches, small frontier towns, saloons, railways and isolated military forts of the Wild West. Many Westerns use a plot of depicting a crime, then showing the pursuit of the wrongdoer, ending in revenge and retribution. The Western was the most popular Hollywood genre, from the early 20th century to the 1960s, Western films first became well-attended in the 1930s. John Fords landmark Western adventure Stagecoach became one of the biggest hits in 1939, Westerns were very popular throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the most acclaimed Westerns were released during this time – including High Noon, Shane, The Searchers, the Western depicts a society organized around codes of honor and personal, direct or private justice–frontier justice–dispensed by gunfights. These honor codes are played out through depictions of feuds or individuals seeking personal revenge or retribution against someone who has wronged them. The popular perception of the Western is a story that centers on the life of a semi-nomadic wanderer, a showdown or duel at high noon featuring two or more gunfighters is a stereotypical scene in the popular conception of Westerns. In some ways, such protagonists may be considered the descendants of the knight errant which stood at the center of earlier extensive genres such as the Arthurian Romances. And like knights errant, the heroes of Westerns frequently rescue damsels in distress, similarly, the wandering protagonists of Westerns share many characteristics with the ronin in modern Japanese culture. The Western typically takes these elements and uses them to tell simple morality tales, Westerns often stress the harshness and isolation of the wilderness and frequently set the action in an arid, desolate landscape. Apart from the wilderness, it is usually the saloon that emphasizes that this is the Wild West, it is the place to go for music, women, gambling, drinking, brawling and shooting. The American Film Institute defines western films as those set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle, the term Western, used to describe a narrative film genre, appears to have originated with a July 1912 article in Motion Picture World Magazine. Most of the characteristics of Western films were part of 19th century popular Western fiction and were firmly in place before film became an art form. Protagonists ride between dusty towns and cattle ranches on their trusty steeds, Western films were enormously popular in the silent film era. With the advent of sound in 1927-28, the major Hollywood studios rapidly abandoned Westerns, leaving the genre to smaller studios and these smaller organizations churned out countless low-budget features and serials in the 1930s. Released through United Artists, Stagecoach made John Wayne a mainstream star in the wake of a decade of headlining B westerns
3.
Badlands National Park
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The park is managed by the National Park Service. Authorized as Badlands National Monument on March 4,1929, it was not established until January 25,1939 and it was redesignated a national park on November 10,1978. Under the Mission 66 plan, the Ben Reifel Visitor Center was constructed for the monument in 1957–58, the park also administers the nearby Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. Long before the Lakota were the little-studied paleo-Indians, followed by the Arikara people and their descendants live today in North Dakota as a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. Archaeological records combined with oral traditions indicate that these people camped in secluded valleys where fresh water and game were available year round. Eroding out of the stream banks today are the rocks and charcoal of their campfires, as well as the arrowheads and tools used to butcher bison, rabbits. From the top of the Badlands Wall, they could scan the area for enemies, if hunting was good, they might hang on into winter, before retracing their way to their villages along the Missouri River. By one hundred and fifty years ago, the Great Sioux Nation consisting of seven including the Oglala Lakota, had displaced the other tribes from the northern prairie. The next great change came toward the end of the 19th century as homesteaders moved into South Dakota, the U. S. government stripped Native Americans of much of their territory and forced them to live on reservations. In the fall and early winter of 1890, thousands of Native American followers, including many Oglala Sioux and his vision called for the native people to dance the Ghost Dance and wear Ghost shirts, which would be impervious to bullets. Wovoka had predicted that the man would vanish and their hunting grounds would be restored. One of the last known Ghost Dances was conducted on Stronghold Table in the South Unit of Badlands National Park, as winter closed in, the ghost dancers returned to Pine Ridge Agency. The climax of the came in late December,1890. Headed south from the Cheyenne River, a band of Minneconjou Sioux crossed a pass in the Badlands Wall, pursued by units of the U. S. Army, they were seeking refuge in the Pine Ridge Reservation. The band, led by Chief Spotted Elk, was overtaken by the soldiers near Wounded Knee Creek in the Reservation. The troops attempted to disarm Big Foots band the next morning, before it was over, nearly three hundred Indians and thirty soldiers lay dead. Wounded Knee is not within the boundaries of Badlands National Park and it is located approximately 45 miles south of the park on Pine Ridge Reservation. The U. S. government and the Oglala Lakota Nation have agreed that this is a story to be told by the Oglala of Pine Ridge, the interpretation of the site and its tragic events are held as the primary responsibility of these survivors
4.
South Dakota
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South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, South Dakota is the 17th most expansive, but the 5th least populous and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Once the southern portion of the Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2,1889, Pierre is the state capital and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 171,000, is South Dakotas largest city. South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, the state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as East River and West River. Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the states population, West of the Missouri, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. Most of the Native American reservations are located in West River, the Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, are located in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is located there, South Dakota experiences a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west. The ecology of the state features species typical of a North American grassland biome, humans have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a rush in the Black Hills. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of Indian wars, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy in areas to attract and retain residents. South Dakotas history and rural character still strongly influence the culture of the state, South Dakota is situated in the north-central United States, and is considered a part of the Midwest by the U. S. Census Bureau, it is also part of the Great Plains region. The culture, economy, and geography of western South Dakota have more in common with the West than the Midwest, South Dakota has a total area of 77,116 square miles, making the state the 17th largest in the Union. Black Elk Peak, formerly named Harney Peak, with an elevation of 7,242 ft, is the states highest point, while the shoreline of Big Stone Lake is the lowest, with an elevation of 966 ft. South Dakota is bordered to the north by North Dakota, to the south by Nebraska, to the east by Iowa and Minnesota, the geographical center of the U. S. is 17 miles west of Castle Rock in Butte County. The North American continental pole of inaccessibility is located between Allen and Kyle,1,024 mi from the nearest coastline, the Missouri River is the largest and longest river in the state. Other major South Dakota rivers include the Cheyenne, James, Big Sioux, Eastern South Dakota has many natural lakes, mostly created by periods of glaciation. Additionally, dams on the Missouri River create four large reservoirs, Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case, South Dakota can generally be divided into three regions, eastern South Dakota, western South Dakota, and the Black Hills. The Missouri River serves as a boundary in terms of geographic, social, at times the Black Hills are combined with the rest of western South Dakota, and people often refer to the resulting two regions divided by the Missouri River as West River and East River
5.
American bison
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The American bison, also commonly known as the American buffalo or simply buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds. Bison were seen in North Carolina near Buffalo Ford on the Catawba River as late as 1750. Two subspecies or ecotypes have been described, the bison, smaller in size and with a more rounded hump. Furthermore, the bison has been suggested to consist of a northern. However, this is not supported. The wood bison is one of the largest wild species of bovid in the world, surpassed by only the Asian gaur and it is the largest extant land animal in the Americas. The American bison is the mammal of the United States. The term buffalo is considered to be a misnomer for this animal, and could be confused with true buffalos, the Asian water buffalo. The name buffalo is listed in dictionaries as an acceptable name for American buffalo or bison. In reference to animal, the term buffalo dates to 1625 in North American usage when the term was first recorded for the American mammal. It thus has a longer history than the term bison. The American bison is very related to the wisent or European bison. In Plains Indian languages in general, male and female buffaloes are distinguished, a bison has a shaggy, long, dark-brown winter coat, and a lighter-weight, lighter-brown summer coat. As is typical in ungulates, the bison is slightly larger than the female and, in some cases. Plains bison are often in the range of sizes. Head-and-body lengths range from 2 to 3.5 m long, shoulder heights in the species can range from 152 to 186 cm. Weights can range from 318 to 1,000 kg Mature bulls tend to be larger than cows. Cow weights have had reported medians of 450 to 495 kg, with one small sample averaging 479 kg, the heaviest wild bull ever recorded weighed 1,270 kg
6.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958 film)
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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a 1958 American drama film directed by Richard Brooks. It is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the name by Tennessee Williams adapted by Richard Brooks. One of the box office hits of 1958, the film stars Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman. Late one night, a drunken Brick Pollitt is out trying to recapture his glory days of school sports by leaping hurdles on a track field. Unexpectedly, he falls and breaks his leg, leaving him dependent on a crutch, Brick, along with his wife, Maggie the Cat, are seen the next day visiting his familys estate in eastern Mississippi, there to celebrate Big Daddys 65th birthday. Depressed, Brick has spent the last few years drinking, while resisting the affections of his wife, Big Daddy and Big Mama arrive home from the hospital via their private airplane and are greeted by Gooper and his wife - and all their kids - along with Maggie. Despite the efforts of Mae, Gooper and their kids to draw his attention to them, the news is that Big Daddy is not dying from cancer. However, the doctor later meets privately with first Gooper and then Brick where he divulges that it is a deception, Big Daddy has inoperable cancer and will likely be dead within a year, and the truth is being kept from him. Brick later confides in Maggie with the truth about Big Daddys health, Maggie wants Brick to take an interest in his father - for both selfish and unselfish reasons, but Brick stubbornly refuses. As the party winds down for the night, Big Daddy meets with Brick in his room and reveals that he is fed up with his alcoholic son’s behavior, demanding to know why he is so stubborn. At one point Maggie joins them and reveals what happened a few years ago on the night Bricks best friend, Maggie was jealous of Skipper because he had more of Bricks time, and says that Skip was lost without Brick at his side. She decided to ruin their relationship by any means necessary, intending to seduce Skipper, however, Maggie ran away without completing the plan. Brick had blamed Maggie for Skippers death, but actually blames himself for not helping Skipper when he repeatedly phoned Brick in a hysterical state, after an argument, Brick lets it slip that Big Daddy will die from cancer and that this birthday will be his last. Shaken, Big Daddy retreats to the basement, meanwhile, Gooper, who is a lawyer, and his wife argue with Big Mama about the familys cotton business and Big Daddys will. Brick descends into the basement, a labyrinth of antiques and family possessions hidden away and he and Big Daddy confront each other before a large cut-out of Brick in his glory days as an athlete, and ultimately reach a reconciliation of sorts. The rest of the family begins to crumble under pressure, with Big Mama stepping up as a strong figure, Maggie says that shed like to give Big Daddy her birthday present, the announcement of her being pregnant. After the jealous Mae calls Maggie a liar, Big Daddy and Brick defend her, even Gooper finds himself admitting, That girls got life in her, alright. Maggie and Brick reconcile, and the two kiss, with the implication that they make love, possibly making Maggies lie become truth
7.
Native Americans in the United States
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In the United States, Native Americans are people descended from the Pre-Columbian indigenous population of the land within the countrys modern boundaries. These peoples were composed of distinct tribes, bands, and ethnic groups. Most Native American groups had historically preserved their histories by oral traditions and artwork, at the time of first contact, the indigenous cultures were quite different from those of the proto-industrial and mostly Christian immigrants. Some of the Northeastern and Southwestern cultures in particular were matrilineal, the majority of Indigenous American tribes maintained their hunting grounds and agricultural lands for use of the entire tribe. Europeans at that time had patriarchal cultures and had developed concepts of property rights with respect to land that were extremely different. Assimilation became a consistent policy through American administrations, during the 19th century, the ideology of manifest destiny became integral to the American nationalist movement. Expansion of European-American populations to the west after the American Revolution resulted in increasing pressure on Native American lands and this resulted in the ethnic cleansing of many tribes, with the brutal, forced marches coming to be known as The Trail of Tears. As American expansion reached into the West, settler and miner migrants came into increasing conflict with the Great Basin, Great Plains and these were complex nomadic cultures based on horse culture and seasonal bison hunting. Over time, the United States forced a series of treaties and land cessions by the tribes, in 1924, Native Americans who were not already U. S. citizens were granted citizenship by Congress. Contemporary Native Americans have a relationship with the United States because they may be members of nations, tribes. The terms used to refer to Native Americans have at times been controversial, by comparison, the indigenous peoples of Canada are generally known as First Nations. It is not definitively known how or when the Native Americans first settled the Americas and these early inhabitants, called Paleoamericans, soon diversified into many hundreds of culturally distinct nations and tribes. The archaeological periods used are the classifications of archaeological periods and cultures established in Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips 1958 book Method and they divided the archaeological record in the Americas into five phases, see Archaeology of the Americas. The Clovis culture, a hunting culture, is primarily identified by use of fluted spear points. Artifacts from this culture were first excavated in 1932 near Clovis, the Clovis culture ranged over much of North America and also appeared in South America. The culture is identified by the distinctive Clovis point, a flaked flint spear-point with a notched flute, dating of Clovis materials has been by association with animal bones and by the use of carbon dating methods. Recent reexaminations of Clovis materials using improved carbon-dating methods produced results of 11,050 and 10,800 radiocarbon years B. P, other tribes have stories that recount migrations across long tracts of land and a great river, believed to be the Mississippi River. Genetic and linguistic data connect the people of this continent with ancient northeast Asians
8.
Custer State Park
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Custer State Park is a state park and wildlife reserve in the Black Hills of southwestern South Dakota, USA. The park is South Dakotas largest and first state park, named after Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer, the area originally started out as sixteen sections, but was later changed into one block of land because of the challenges of the terrain. The park began to grow rapidly in the 1920s and gained new land, during the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps built miles of roads, laid out parks and campgrounds, and built three dams that set up a future of water recreation at the park. In 1964 an additional 22,900 acres were added to the park, the park covers an area of over 71,000 acres of hilly terrain and is home to many wild animals. The park is home to a herd of 1500 free roaming bison. Elk, coyotes, mule deer, white tailed deer, mountain goats, prairie dogs, bighorn sheep, river otters, pronghorn, cougars, the park is famous for its scenery, its scenic drives, with views of the bison herd and prairie dog towns. This park is accessible by road from Rapid City. Other nearby attractions are Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore, Jewel Cave National Monument, Crazy Horse Memorial, the annual roundups began in 1965, more than 10,000 people now attend each one. The Peter Norbeck Center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, exhibits focus on the parks natural history and cultural heritage, and include wildlife dioramas, a CCC bunkhouse and a gold prospecting display. The center is named for South Dakota Governor and Senator Peter Norbeck, many of the parks naturalist programs begin at the center. Badger Hole, also known as Badger Clark Historical Site, was the home of Charles Badger Clark, the house is maintained as it was when Clark lived there. Visitors can tour the home and hike the adjacent Badger Clark Historic Trail, Begging Burros is a name used to refer to the donkeys in Custer State Park. For many years, these donkeys have earned this nickname as they approach various passing cars through the park begging for food, after earning this reputation, the burros have become famous now garnering the attention of most travelers through the park inside and outside of cars. Many people bring food to the park specifically for the purpose of feeding these animals, the Begging Burros inhabit one area of the park upon a hill where approximately 50 of them try to obtain any food they can. Custer State Parks roadway is blocked off by these animals so use caution, Custer State Park Tatanka, The 2011 Guide to Custer State Park Badger Clark Memorial Society
9.
Richard Brooks
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Richard Brooks was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and occasional film producer. His outstanding works as director are Blackboard Jungle, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Elmer Gantry – for which he won an Academy Award for Best Writing, In Cold Blood, Brooks was born as Reuben Sax to Hyman and Esther Sax, Russian Jewish immigrants. Married teenagers when they immigrated to the United States in 1908, they found employment in Philadelphias textile and their only child Reuben Sax was born in 1912 in Philadelphia. He attended public schools Joseph Leidy Elementary, Mayer Sulzberger Junior High School and West Philadelphia High School, Sax took classes at Temple University for two years, studying journalism and playing on the schools baseball team. He dropped out and left home when he discovered that his parents were going into debt to pay for his tuition and he rode freight trains around the East and Midwest for a period of time but eventually returned to Philadelphia to seek work as a newspaper reporter. At some point in the 1930s, during the Great Depression and he changed his name legally in 1943. Brooks wrote sports for the Philadelphia Record and later joined the staff of the Atlantic City Press-Union and he moved to New York to work for the World-Telegram, shortly afterward he took a job with radio station WNEW for a larger paycheck. As a newsman for the station, he reported and read stories on the air, Brooks also began writing plays in 1938 and tried directing for Long Islands Mill Pond Theater in 1940. A falling out with his colleagues that summer led him to drive to Los Angeles on a whim. He also may have been trying to escape a marriage, a legal document indicates he was married at least part of the time he lived in New York. He didnt find film work but was hired by the NBC affiliate to write original stories and his second marriage, in 1941, to Jeanne Kelly, an actress at Universal Studios, may have helped to open the door to writing for the studio. He contributed dialogue to a few films and wrote two screenplays for the popular actress Maria Montez, known as the Queen of Technicolor, with no prospect of moving into more prestigious productions, he quit Universal and joined the Marine Corps in 1943 during World War II. Brooks never served overseas during the war, instead working in the Marine Corps film unit at Quantico, Virginia, in his two years in uniform he learned more about the basics of filmmaking, including writing and editing documentaries. He also found time to write a novel, The Brick Foxhole, in 1944 he divorced his wife, then known in films as Jean Brooks. Later he said he had been a husband and unsuitable for what she needed. His book was published in 1945 to favorable reviews and it was adapted as the film Crossfire, the first major Hollywood film to deal with anti-Semitism, receiving an Oscar nomination. The novel drew the attention of independent producer Mark Hellinger, who hired Brooks as a screenwriter after he left the Marines, working for Hellinger brought Brooks back to the film industry and led to a long friendship with actor Humphrey Bogart, a close friend of the producer. Brooks provided a screen story for The Killers, which introduced actor Burt Lancaster
10.
Robert Taylor (actor)
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Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor who was one of the most popular leading men of his time. Taylor began his career in films in 1934 when he signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and he won his first leading role the following year in Magnificent Obsession. His popularity increased during the late 1930s and 1940s with appearances in A Yank at Oxford, Waterloo Bridge, during World War II, he served in the United States Naval Air Corps, where he worked as a flight instructor and appeared in instructional films. From 1959 to 1962, he starred in the ABC series The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, in 1966, he took over hosting duties from his friend Ronald Reagan on the series Death Valley Days. Taylor was married to actress Barbara Stanwyck from 1939 to 1951 and he married actress Ursula Thiess in 1954, and they had two children. A chain smoker, Taylor was diagnosed with cancer in October 1968. He died of the disease in June 1969 at the age of 57, born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the only child of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, a farmer turned doctor. During his early life, the family moved several times, living in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Kirksville, Missouri, by September 1917, the Brughs had moved to Beatrice, Nebraska, where they remained for 16 years. As a teenager, Taylor was a star and played the cello in his high school orchestra. Upon graduation, he enrolled at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, while at Doane, he took cello lessons from Professor Herbert E. Gray, whom he admired and idolized. After Professor Gray announced he was accepting a new position at Pomona College in Los Angeles, Brugh moved to California and he joined the campus theater group and was eventually spotted by an MGM talent scout in 1932 after production of Journeys End. He signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with an initial salary of $35 a week. The studio changed his name to Robert Taylor and he made his film debut in the 1934 comedy Handy Andy, starring Will Rogers. His first leading role was in an MGM short subject called Buried Loot, irene Dunne requested him for her leading man in Magnificent Obsession. This was followed by Camille opposite Greta Garbo, in 1940, he reteamed with Leigh in Mervyn LeRoys drama Waterloo Bridge. After being given the nickname The Man with the Perfect Profile, Taylor began breaking away from his leading man image. That year he portrayed Billy Bonney in Billy the Kid, the next year, he played the title role in the film noir Johnny Eager opposite Lana Turner. After playing a sergeant in Bataan in 1943, Taylor contributed to the war effort by becoming a flying instructor in the U. S. Naval Air Corps
