1.
Colwyn Bay
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Colwyn Bay is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. Eight neighbouring communities are incorporated within its postal district, (Including Old Colwyn, Rhos-on-Sea, Mochdre and Llysfaen communities]. The western side of Colwyn Bay, Rhos-on-Sea, includes a number of sites associated with St Trillo and Ednyfed Fychan. Bay of Colwyn Town Council is a body, covering the communities in the urban area. The mayor for 2016 -2017 is Councillor John Davies, the town is situated about halfway along the north coast of Wales, between the sea and the Pwllycrochan Woods on the towering hillside. Groes yn Eirias was once a hamlet centred on the Glyn farmhouse but the area is now occupied by the Glyn estate. As with the rest of the British Isles, Colwyn Bay experiences a climate with cool summers and mild winters. Bringing 2011 figures into account that figure is now 33,549, the area is sometimes referred to by the name Bay of Colwyn. According to the census of 2001, 20% of the population can speak Welsh fluently, the highest percentage of speakers is in the 10–14 years age group, where 38% can speak the language. The town is dominated by the tourist trade, because of its famous beaches, a business and commercial centre with rail links and close access to the activities that are available in the surrounding countryside. Colwyn Bay is a Fairtrade Town as certified by the Fairtrade Foundation as part of the Fairtrade Towns scheme, Colwyn Bay hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1910,1947. The town has parks and gardens and many places of beauty such as Eirias Park. Colwyn Bay has received a gold award 8 times in the Wales in Bloom competition, in 2009 and 2010 the town has been invited to enter Britain in Bloom and has been awarded silver gilt in both years. The Welsh Mountain Zoo is nearby, the Porth Eirias Watersports Centre offers tuition in sailing, windsurfing and power boating as well as kayak and canoe hire. In 2013 it was nominated for Building Designs Carbuncle Cup, the Victoria Pier has been closed to the public since 2009 when a dispute between Conwy County Borough Council and the piers owner led to him being declared bankrupt. There are now arguments between whether it should remain standing or if it would be better to remove the pier. Rob Dix, Head of Business and Tourism in Conwy, has said, “The straight answer to ‘Will it ever be demolished’ is that the hope it will. We want to see it demolished for health and safety and visual reasons to be able to re-open that section of the beach, ”
2.
Denbighshire (historic)
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Historic Denbighshire is one of thirteen traditional counties in Wales, a vice-county and a former administrative county, which covers an area in north east Wales. Under the Local Government Act 1972, the use of Denbighshire for local government and ceremonial purposes ended on 1 April 1974, a different county of Denbighshire was created on 1 April 1996, for modern local government purposes, covering a substantially different area from the historic county. Denbighshire was created by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542 from areas previously in the Marches, there is some level ground along the coastal strip. The highest points are Moel Sych and Cader Berwyn at 2,713 feet, pistyll-y-Rhaeader is a spectacular 240 feet waterfall. The chief rivers are the Clwyd and the Dee, the River Conwy runs north along the western boundary. The main towns in the county today are Abergele, Mochdre, Denbigh, Kinmel Bay, Llangollen, Llanrwst, Wrexham, Colwyn Bay, villages such as Glan Conwy, Eglwysbach, and Llansannan also came under Denbighshire. The most important industries are agriculture and tourism, bodnant Gardens, Tal-y-Cafn, Chirk Castle, Denbigh Castle, Pillar of Eliseg, Plas Newydd, Llangollen, Valle Crucis Abbey, Llangollen. An administrative county of Denbighshire was created in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, the county was governed by an elected county council, who took over the functions of the Quarter Sessions courts. The administrative county was subdivided into boroughs and urban and rural districts. The boroughs of Denbigh and Ruthin were reformed in 1835 by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, the countys third borough, Wrexham was incorporated in 1857. Colwyn Bay urban district was incorporated in 1934, three urban districts were formed by the Local Government Act 1894, Abergele and Pensarn, Colwyn Bay and Colwyn and Llangollen, as successors to urban sanitary districts. In 1897 Llanrwst urban district was formed, eight rural districts were formed, based on existing rural sanitary districts, Chirk, Llangollen, Llanrwst, Llansillin, Ruthin, St Asaph, Uwchaled and Wrexham. Two civil parishes, Llaneilian yn Rhos and Llansanffraid Glan Conway were administered as part of Conwy Rural District in the county of Caernarfonshire. This area was sometimes called Glan Conway Rural District, in 1935 the rural districts were reorganised by a County Review Order, and reduced to five in number, Aled, Ceiriog, Hiraethog, Ruthin and Wrexham. The administrative county was abolished in 1974, with most of its territory becoming part of the new districts of Colwyn, Wrexham Maelor, the urban district of Llanrwst and five rural parishes were included in Gwynedd
3.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
4.
Vanessa Redgrave
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Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist. She is a 2003 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee, and she also received Tony nominations for The Year of Magical Thinking and Driving Miss Daisy. On screen, she has starred in scores of films and is a six-time Oscar nominee and her other nominations were for Morgan, A Suitable Case for Treatment, Isadora, Mary, Queen of Scots, The Bostonians and Howards End. Among her other films are A Man for All Seasons, Blowup, Camelot, The Devils, Murder on the Orient Express, Prick Up Your Ears, Mission, Impossible, Atonement, Coriolanus and The Butler. Redgrave was born in Greenwich, London, the daughter of actors Sir Michael Redgrave, laurence Olivier announced her birth to the audience at a performance of Hamlet at the Old Vic, when he said that Laertes had a daughter. She was educated at the Alice Ottley School, Worcester, and Queens Gate School, London and her siblings, Lynn Redgrave and Corin Redgrave, were also acclaimed actors. Vanessa Redgrave entered the Central School of Speech and Drama in 1954 and she first appeared in the West End, playing opposite her brother, in 1958. In 1960, Redgrave had her first starring role in Robert Bolts The Tiger, in 1961, she played Rosalind in As You Like It for the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1962, she played Imogen in William Gaskills production of Cymbeline for the RSC. In 1966, Redgrave created the role of Jean Brodie in the Donald Albery production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and she won four Evening Standard Awards for Best Actress in four decades. In 2003 she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in the Broadway revival of Eugene ONeills Long Days Journey Into Night. In January 2006, Redgrave was presented the Ibsen Centennial Award for her work in interpreting many of Henrik Ibsens works over the last decades. Previous recipients of the award include Liv Ullmann, Glenda Jackson, for this, she won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play. She reprised the role at the Lyttelton Theatre at the Royal National Theatre in London to mixed reviews and she also spent a week performing the work at the Theatre Royal in Bath in September 2008. She once again performed the role of Joan Didion for a benefit at New Yorks Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on 26 October 2009. The performance was originally slated to debut on 27 April, but was pushed due to the death of Redgraves daughter Natasha, the proceeds for the benefit were donated to the United Nations Childrens Fund and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Both charities work to help for the children of Gaza. In October 2010, she starred in the Broadway premiere of Driving Miss Daisy starring in the role opposite James Earl Jones
5.
James Bond filmography
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Commander James Bond RN—code number 007—is a fictional character created by the British journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1952. The character appeared in a series of novels and two short story collections written by Fleming and a number of continuation novels and spin-off works after Flemings death in 1964. There have been twenty-six films in total, produced between 1962 and 2015, Fleming portrayed Bond as a tall, athletic, handsome secret agent in his thirties or forties, he has several vices including drinking, smoking, gambling, automobiles and women. He is a marksman, and skilled in unarmed combat, skiing, swimming. While Bond kills without hesitation or regret, he kills only when carrying out orders, while acting in self-defence. American actor Barry Nelson was the first to portray Bond on screen, in a 1954 television adaptation, in 1961 Eon Productions began work on Dr. No, an adaptation of the novel of the same name. The result was a film that spawned a series of films produced by Eon Productions. After considering the likes of refined English actors such as Cary Grant and David Niven, Fleming was appalled at the selection of the uncouth, 31-year-old Scottish actor, considering him to be the antithesis of his character. Seven actors in total have portrayed Bond on film, following Connerys portrayal, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig have assumed the role. Despite playing the character, there have been notable differences among the portrayals. Daniel Craig is the incumbent Bond in the long-running Eon series, Fleming appropriated the name from American ornithologist James Bond. Bonds code number 007 comes from one of British naval intelligences key achievements of World War I, the breaking of the German diplomatic code. One of the German documents cracked and read by the British was the Zimmermann Telegram, which was coded 0075, subsequently if material was graded 00 it meant it was highly classified. Fleming later told a journalist, When I was at the Admiralty, all the top-secret signals had the double-0 prefix. and I decided to borrow it for Bond. Although James Bond is in his thirties, he does not age in Flemings stories. Fleming decided to underplay Bonds character, observing that Exotic things would happen to and around him, Sean Connery was the first actor to portray Bond on film in Dr. No. An amateur bodybuilder, he had come to the attention of the Bond film producers after several appearances in British films from the late 1950s, producer Albert R. Broccoli—known to all as Cubby—disagreed with Flemings view, later commenting that I wanted a ballsy guy. Put a bit of veneer over that tough Scottish hide and youve got Flemings Bond instead of all the mincing poofs we had applying for the job
6.
The Living Daylights
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The Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond film series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the title is taken from Ian Flemings short story The Living Daylights. It was the last film to use the title of an Ian Fleming story until the 2006 instalment Casino Royale, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli, his stepson Michael G. Wilson, and his daughter, Barbara Broccoli. The Living Daylights was generally received by most critics and was also a financial success. James Bond is assigned to aid the defection of a KGB officer, General Georgi Koskov, covering his escape from a hall in Bratislava. During the mission, Bond notices that the KGB sniper assigned to prevent Koskovs escape is a female cellist from the orchestra. Disobeying his orders to kill the sniper, he shoots the rifle from her hands, then uses the Trans-Siberian Pipeline to smuggle Koskov across the border into Austria. In his post-defection debriefing, Koskov informs MI6 that the KGBs old policy of Smiert Spionam, meaning Death to Spies, has been revived by General Leonid Pushkin, Koskov is later abducted from the safe-house and assumed to have been taken back to Moscow. Bond is directed to track down Pushkin in Tangier and kill him to forestall further killings of agents, Bond agrees to carry out the mission when he learns that the assassin who killed 004 left a note bearing the same message, Smiert Spionam. Bond returns to Bratislava to track down the cellist, Kara Milovy and he determines that Koskovs entire defection was staged, and that Kara is actually Koskovs girlfriend. Bond convinces Kara that he is a friend of Koskovs and persuades her to him to Vienna. They escape Bratislava while being pursued by the KGB, crossing over the border into Austria, meanwhile, Pushkin meets with arms dealer Brad Whitaker in Tangier, informing him that the KGB is cancelling an arms deal previously arranged between Koskov and Whitaker. During his brief tryst with Milovy in Vienna, Bond visits the Prater to meet his MI6 ally, Saunders, as he leaves their meeting, Saunders is killed by Koskovs henchman Necros, who again leaves the message Smiert Spionam. Bond and Kara promptly leave for Tangier, where Bond confronts Pushkin, Pushkin disavows any knowledge of Smiert Spionam, and reveals that Koskov is evading arrest for embezzlement of government funds. Bond and Pushkin then join forces and Bond fakes Pushkins assassination, inducing Whitaker, meanwhile, Kara contacts Koskov, who tells her that Bond is actually a KGB agent and convinces her to drug him so he can be captured. Koskov, Necros, Kara, and the captive Bond fly to a Soviet air base in Afghanistan, the pair escape and in doing so free a condemned prisoner, Kamran Shah, leader of the local Mujahideen. With the Mujahideens help, Bond plants a bomb aboard the plane carrying the opium. Meanwhile, the Mujahideen attack the air base on horseback and engage the Soviets in a gun battle, during the battle, Milovy drives a jeep into the back of the plane as Bond takes off, and Necros also leaps aboard at the last second
7.
Licence to Kill
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Licence to Kill is the sixteenth spy film in the James Bond film series by Eon Productions, and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming story. It is the fifth and final consecutive Bond film to be directed by John Glen and it also marks Timothy Daltons second and final performance in the role of James Bond. The story has elements of two Ian Fleming short stories and a novel, interwoven with aspects from Japanese Rōnin tales, originally titled Licence Revoked in line with the plot, the name was changed during post-production because too many people did not know what revoked meant. Budgetary reasons caused Licence to Kill to be the first Bond film shot completely outside the United Kingdom, Broccoli, although he would later act as a consulting producer for GoldenEye before his death. DEA agents collect MI6 agent James Bond and Felix Leiter, on their way to Leiters wedding in Key West, Bond and Leiter capture Sanchez by attaching a hook and cord to Sanchezs plane and pulling it out of the air with a Coast Guard helicopter. Afterwards, Bond and Leiter parachute down to the church in time for the ceremony, Sanchez bribes DEA agent Ed Killifer and escapes. Meanwhile, Sanchezs henchman Dario and his crew ambush Leiter and his wife Della and take Leiter to an aquarium owned by one of Sanchezs accomplices, Sanchez has Leiter lowered into a tank holding a great white. When Bond learns Sanchez has escaped, he returns to Leiters house to find Leiter has been maimed, Bond, with Leiters friend Sharkey, start their own investigation. They discover a marine research centre run by Krest, where Sanchez has hidden cocaine, after Bond kills Killifer using the same shark tank used for Leiter, M meets Bond in Key Wests Hemingway House and orders him to an assignment in Istanbul, Turkey. Bond resigns after turning down the assignment, but M suspends Bond instead, Bond becomes a rogue agent, although he later receives unauthorised assistance from Q. Bond boards Krests ship the Wavekrest and foils Sanchezs latest drug shipment and he discovers that Sharkey has been killed by Sanchezs henchmen. Bond rescues Pam Bouvier, an agent and pilot, from Dario at a Bimini bar. He finds his way into Sanchezs employment by posing as an assassin for hire, two Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau officers foil Bonds attempt to assassinate Sanchez and take him to an abandoned warehouse. They are joined by Fallon, an MI6 agent who was sent by M to apprehend Bond, Sanchezs men rescue him and kill the officers, believing them to be the assassins. Later, with the aid of Bouvier, Q, and Sanchezs girlfriend Lupe Lamora, Sanchez kills Krest via a decompression chamber and admits Bond into his inner circle. Sanchez takes Bond to his base, which is disguised as the headquarters of a religious cult, Bond learns that Sanchezs scientists can dissolve cocaine in petrol and then sell it disguised as fuel to Asian drug dealers. The televangelist Professor Joe Butcher serves as middleman, working under Sanchezs business manager Truman-Lodge, during Sanchezs presentation to potential Asian customers, Dario discovers Bond and betrays him to Sanchez. Bond starts a fire in the laboratory, but is captured again, Bouvier arrives and shoots Dario, allowing Bond to pull Dario into the shredder, killing him
8.
Rhett Butler
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Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, on her way back to Aunt Pittypats Scarlett meets Frank Kennedy, her sister Suellens beau. Frank Kennedy is killed during a Ku Klux Klan raid on the shanty town after Scarlett is attacked, Rhett saves Ashley Wilkes and several others by alibiing them to the Yankee captain, a man with whom he has played cards on several occasions. Scarlett accepts only for Rhetts money, in the novel, Rhetts fortune is estimated at $500,000 Rhett secretly hopes that Scarlett will eventually return the love hes had since the day he saw her at Twelve Oaks. Her continuing affection for Ashley Wilkes becomes a problem for the couple and he knows that Scarlett could never be happy with Ashley and when she discovers that, he does not want to be around when she throws her obsession onto him. In the course of the novel, Rhett becomes increasingly enamored of Scarletts sheer will to survive in the surrounding the war. The novel contains several pieces of information about him that do not appear in the film. After being disowned by his family, he became a gambler, and at one point was involved in the California Gold Rush. He seems to love his mother and his sister Rosemary, but has a relationship with his father which is never resolved. He also has a brother who is never named, and a sister-in-law. Rhett is the guardian of a boy who attends boarding school in New Orleans, it is speculated among readers that this boy is Belle Watlings son. Despite being thrown out of West Point, the Rhett of the novel is obviously very well-educated and he has an understanding of human nature that the obtuse Scarlett never does, and at several points provides insightful perspectives on other characters. He also has a knowledge of women, both physically and psychologically, which Scarlett does not consider to be decent. Rhett has tremendous respect and affection for Melanie as a friend, when Bonnie is born Rhett showers her with the attention that Scarlett will no longer allow him to give to her and is a devoted, even doting and overindulgent, father. Rhett also decides to join in the Confederate Army, but only after its defeat at Atlanta, and this facet of the character is completely at odds with worldly and wise predictor of Southern defeat on the eve of hostilities. Rhett has known and believed the South is doomed to lose. And he has risked neither his life, nor his fortune for the cause of the South, in the sequels − both in official sequels and in the unofficial Winds of Tara by Kate Pinotti − Scarlett finally succeeds in getting Rhett back. In Gone with the Wind only his younger sister Rosemary is named, his brother and sister-in-law are mentioned very briefly, in the sequel Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley, the Butler parents are called Steven and Eleanor, the younger brother is Ross
9.
Scarlett (miniseries)
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Scarlett is a 1994 American six-hour television miniseries loosely based on the 1991 book of the same name written by Alexandra Ripley as a sequel to Margaret Mitchells 1936 novel, Gone with the Wind. The series was filmed at 53 locations in the United States and abroad, and stars Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Scarlett OHara, Timothy Dalton as Rhett Butler, the miniseries was broadcast in four parts on CBS on November 13,15,16 and 17,1994. The series begins with Scarlett attending the funeral of Melanie Wilkes, her late sister-in-law and rival for Ashley Wilkes affection, at which her estranged husband, Rhett Butler, is not present. Heartbroken that he left her, Scarlett sets out for Tara and is saddened when she learns that Mammy, her mainstay since birth, is dying. When she arrives, she sends a telegram to notify Rhett about Mammy under the name of Will Benteen, before Mammy passes away, she makes Rhett swear to look after her lamb, Miss Scarlett. He agrees, although he has no intention of honoring the request, after Mammy dies, Rhett and Scarlett have another hostile encounter, which culminates in him leaving and her returning to the Atlanta house, determined to win him back. This section is identical to that of the book regarding Scarletts actions at the funeral. The major differences in Charleston are in the attitude and behavior of the characters, most notably Scarlett, Scarlett is not shown struggling with her unease in society but rather is criticized when Anne sees her and Ashley go into his hotel room together, resulting in a steamy kiss. The series continues to follow the relationship created between them after the book ceases doing so, once in Ireland, Scarlett is faced with two main conflicts that differ from the novel. She is pursued by Lord Richard Fenton, of whom her kin disapprove, Scarlett keeps her daughters birth a secret from Rhett to spite him, thinking that if Katie grows up not knowing her father she will not love him. The day that Rhett finally does meet his daughter, he realize that she does not love him or even know him. Katie is barely talked about beyond this - her role in the book as the manifestation of a supernatural force is entirely deleted. Anne Hampton-Butler also travels to Ireland with Rhett, which never occurred in the novel and her death from yellow fever is also detailed. Lord Fentons character is more evil than in the novel. He forces a servant girl named Mary to have sex with him, Mary kills him in retaliation, but Scarlett is accused. The plot completely veers from the novel at this point, when Scarlett is put on trial, Rhett comes to her defense and it is also discovered that Colum was killed by Lord Fenton when Colum wanted Fenton to support Mary, who was pregnant with Fentons child. Mary attempts suicide by drowning herself in the river, but is saved by Rhett, at the trial, Mary is still reluctant to confess that she killed Fenton, but does so after Scarlett is found guilty of murder. Later, Rhett and Scarlett make up one another and decide to travel the world with Cat
10.
Hot Fuzz
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Hot Fuzz is a 2007 British action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, written by Wright and Simon Pegg, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. The three and the films producer Nira Park had previously worked together on the television series Spaced, the film follows two police officers attempting to solve a series of mysterious deaths in an English village. Over a hundred films were used as inspiration for developing the script. Filming took place over eleven weeks in early 2006, and featured an extensive cast along with various uncredited cameos, visual effects were developed by ten artists to expand on or add explosions, gore, and gunfire scenes. Debuting on 14 February 2007 in the United Kingdom and 20 April in the United States, shortly after the films release, two different soundtracks were released in the UK and US. It is also the most financially successful film in the trilogy, Sandford is a crime-free idyll, a regular winner of Village of the Year awards, watched over by the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance. To Angels frustration, the police service is lazy and complacent. His new partner is Danny Butterman, son of Inspector Butterman, after a performance of Romeo and Juliet, the actors in the lead roles, suspected of engaging in an affair, are murdered by a cloaked figure. Angel suspects foul play, but everyone else passes it off as an accident, when Angel is called to resolve a neighborhood dispute, he discovers a stash of unlicensed firearms and an old naval mine in an elderly mans shed. Angel confiscates the stash in the police departments evidence room, drinking in the village pub, Danny and Angel meet Simon Skinner, manager of the local supermarket, and George Merchant, a wealthy drunkard who made his fortune selling kitchen goods. Danny takes Angel home and the two action movies. That evening, an unseen figure causes a gas explosion that destroys Merchants mansion, the incident is deemed an accident and Angel is ridiculed for believing otherwise. At the local fair, Tim Messenger, editor of the Sandford Citizen, approaches Angel, a robed figure topples a severed church spire onto Messenger, killing him. Angel persuades Inspector Butterman, Dannys father, that the incident was murder, flower seller Leslie Tiller tells Angel she intends to sell her shop and move to the city. While Angel is distracted, Tiller is murdered by a cloaked figure, Angel gives chase but loses the killer. Angel accuses Skinner of the murders, but his alibi is backed up by video footage, Angel theorises they may be multiple killers, but Butterman shoots down the idea. As Angel returns home, he is attacked by Michael Armstrong, Angel subdues Armstrong and follows clues that lead him to a secret NWA meeting. Angel confronts the NWA and tries to arrest them, the group reveals that they kill residents who threaten Sandfords chances of winning the Village of the Year award
11.
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
12.
Belper
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Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England, located about 7 miles north of Derby on the River Derwent. As well as Belper itself, the parish includes the village of Milford. As of the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 21,823, at the time of the Norman occupation, Belper was part of the land centred on Duffield held by the family of Henry de Ferrers. The Domesday Survey records a manor of Bradley which is thought to have stood in an area of town now known as the Coppice, at that time it was probably within the Forest of East Derbyshire which covered the whole of the county east of the Derwent. It was possibly appropriated by William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby at some time after it was disafforested in 1225 and became part of Duffield Frith. The towns name is thought to be a corruption of Beaurepaire – meaning beautiful retreat – the name given to a hunting lodge, the first record of which being in a charter of 1231. This would have been the property of Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster who died in 1296, the chapel built at that time still exists. Originally consecrated in 1250 as the Chapel of St Thomas, it was rededicated to St John during the reign of King Henry VIII, St Johns Chapel is still in use today and is thought to be the oldest building still standing in Belper. The coal deposits of Derbyshire are frequently associated with ironstone within the clay substrate, initially obtained from surface workings, it would later have been mined in shallow bell pits. It is thought that this was important for the de Ferrers family, by the reign of Henry VIII Belper had grown to a substantial size. It is recorded that in 1609 fifty-one people died of plague, however, in a Parliamentary Commissioners report of 1650 regarding Duffield and its chapelries, Belper is described as a hamlet appertaining to Duffield. From at least the 13th century there were forges in the Belper and Duffield areas and iron-working became a source of income. By the end of the 18th century there were around 500 workshops in the town supplying nails to the newly built textile mills, the workshops were eventually superseded by machinery during the 19th century. Some of the houses are still in existence and form part of local tours of the town. The industrialist Jedediah Strutt, a partner of Richard Arkwright, built a cotton mill in Belper in the late 18th century. With the expansion of the textile industry Belper became one of the first mill towns, in 1784 Strutt built the North Mill and, across the road, the West Mill. In 1803 the North Mill was burnt down and replaced by a new structure designed to be fireproof, further extensions followed, culminating in the East Mill in 1913 – a present-day Belper landmark. Although no longer used to manufacture textiles the mill still derives electricity from the river, mechanisation arrived about 1850, but by that time the fashion for stockings for men was disappearing
13.
Derbyshire
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Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire, in 2003 the Ordnance Survey placed Church Flatts Farm at Coton in the Elms as the furthest point from the sea in Great Britain. The city of Derby is a unitary authority area, but remains part of the county of Derbyshire. The non-metropolitan county contains 30 towns with between 10,000 and 100,000 inhabitants, there is a large amount of sparsely populated agricultural upland, 75% of the population live in 25% of the area. Further occupation came with the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age when Mesolithic hunter gatherers roamed the hilly tundra, evidence of these nomadic tribes has been found in limestone caves located on the Nottinghamshire border. Deposits left in the date the occupancy at around 12,000 to 7,000 BCE. Burial mounds of Neolithic settlers are also situated throughout the county and these chambered tombs were designed for collective burial and are mostly located in the central Derbyshire region. There are tombs at Minninglow and Five Wells that date back to between 2000 and 2500 BCE, three miles west of Youlgreave lies the Neolithic henge monument of Arbor Low, which has been dated to 2500 BCE. It is not until the Bronze Age that real signs of agriculture, in the moors of the Peak District signs of clearance, arable fields and hut circles were discovered after archaeological investigation. However this area and another settlement at Swarkestone are all that have been found, during the Roman invasion the invaders were attracted to Derbyshire because of the lead ore in the limestone hills of the area. They settled throughout the county with forts built near Brough in the Hope Valley, later they settled around Buxton, famed for its warm springs, and set up a fort near modern-day Derby in an area now known as Little Chester. Several kings of Mercia are buried in the Repton area, following the Norman Conquest, much of the county was subject to the forest laws. To the northwest was the Forest of High Peak under the custodianship of William Peverel, the rest of the county was bestowed upon Henry de Ferrers, a part of it becoming Duffield Frith. In time the area was given to the Duchy of Lancaster. Meanwhile, the Forest of East Derbyshire covered the county to the east of the River Derwent from the reign of Henry II to that of Edward I. The main rivers in the county are the River Derwent and the River Dove which both join the River Trent in the south. The varied landscapes within Derbyshires have been formed mainly as a consequence of the underlying geology, the oldest rocks occur in the northern, more upland half of the county, and are mostly of Carboniferous age, comprising limestones, gritstones, sandstones and shales. In its north-east corner to the east of Bolsover there are also Magnesian Limestone rocks of Permian age, across both regions can be found drift deposits of Quaternary age – mainly terrace and river gravel deposits and boulder clays
14.
Grammar school
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The original purpose of medieval grammar schools was the teaching of Latin. Over time the curriculum was broadened, first to include Ancient Greek, and later English and other European languages, natural sciences, mathematics, history, geography, and other subjects. In the late Victorian era grammar schools were reorganised to provide secondary education throughout England and Wales, Grammar schools of these types were also established in British territories overseas, where they have evolved in different ways. With the move to comprehensive schools in the 1960s and 1970s, some grammar schools became fully independent and charged fees. In both cases, many of these schools kept grammar school in their names, more recently, a number of state grammar schools still retaining their selective intake gained academy status, meaning that they are independent of the Local Education Authority. Some parts of England retain forms of the Tripartite System, some of the remaining grammar schools can trace their histories to before the 16th century. The schools were attached to cathedrals and monasteries, teaching Latin – the language of the church – to future priests, other subjects required for religious work were occasionally added, including music and verse, astronomy and mathematics and law. With the foundation of the ancient universities from the late 12th century, grammar schools became the point to a liberal arts education. Pupils were usually educated in schools up to the age of 14, after which they would look to universities. An example of a grammar school founded by a medieval borough corporation unconnected with church or university is Bridgnorth Grammar School. During the English Reformation in the 16th century, most cathedral schools were closed and replaced by new foundations funded from the dissolution of the monasteries. For example, the oldest extant schools in Wales – Christ College, Brecon, with the increased emphasis on studying the scriptures after the Reformation, many schools added Greek and, in a few cases, Hebrew. The teaching of languages was hampered by a shortage of non-Latin type. Many of these are commemorated in annual Founders Day services and ceremonies at surviving schools. The usual pattern was to create an endowment to pay the wages of a master to instruct boys in Latin. The school day ran from 6 a. m. to 5 p. m. with a two-hour break for lunch, in winter, school started at 7 a. m. Most of the day was spent in the learning of Latin. To encourage fluency, some schoolmasters recommended punishing any pupil who spoke in English, by the end of their studies at age 14, they would be quite familiar with the great Latin authors, and with Latin drama and rhetoric
15.
Air Training Corps
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The Air Training Corps is a British youth organisation sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. A Full Time Reserve Service RAF officer serves as Commandant Air Cadets at the rank of Air Commodore, the majority of staff are volunteers although some are paid for full-time work. Although many ATC cadets go on to join the RAF or other services, Cadet membership can begin from the start of School Year 8, or equivalent in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Service as a cadet ends at the age of 20, as of 2014, the ATC numbered 33,590 cadets and 10,430 Cadet Force Adult Volunteers. In addition, there are approximately 5,000 civilian committee members, together with the RAF contingents of the Combined Cadet Force, the ATC form the Air Cadet Organisation. The ATC is part of the Community Cadet Forces, Air Commodore Sir John Chamier is affectionately known as the father of the air cadet movement. The purpose of the Air Defence Cadet Corps, set up in 1938 by Air Commodore Chamier, was to young men in various aviation-related skills. The ADCC proved popular, with thousands joining up, on 5 February 1941 the Air Training Corps was officially established, with King George VI agreeing to be the Air Commodore-in-Chief, and issuing a Royal Warrant setting out the Corps aims. Within the first month of its existence, the size of the old ADCC, now the ATC, virtually doubled to more than 400 squadrons, a new badge was designed for the ATC and, once approved by the King, was distributed in August 1941. The motto Venture Adventure, devised by Air Commodore Chamier, was adopted by the ATC, the new ATC squadrons adopted training programmes to prepare young men for entry to the Royal Air Force. Squadrons arranged visits to RAF and Fleet Air Arm stations as part of the cadets training, such opportunities were not widely available, however, and many cadets were disappointed. One solution was to introduce opportunities for gliding, as a way to allow a cadet to get the feel of an aircraft in flight, after the end of the Second World War, gliding lessons became available. As of 2013, the GVCAC still exists, although in reduced numbers due to competition from the ATC. After a number of lectures and when the cadet felt ready, they would take a multiple choice examination, some wings ran courses that would involve the cadet spending a few solid days learning and then awarded the appropriate classification if successful in their exams. In May 2008, HQAC decided to change the programme for junior and second class cadets. Advertising material such as leaflets and official websites brand the Air Training Corps, members of the ATC may refer to themselves as Royal Air Force Air Cadets, although to the general population they are more commonly known as Air Cadets. The Air Training Corps is formed of six Regions across the United Kingdom, as of 2015 there are 1009 ATC squadrons and detached flights, each assigned to a wing. The ATC is the largest part of the Air Cadet Organisation, a FTRS RAF Air Commodore serves as Commandant Air Cadets
16.
Macbeth
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Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, it is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I and it was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is his shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland, consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia, forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness, the events of the tragedy are usually associated with the execution of Henry Garnet for complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In the backstage world of theatre, some believe that the play is cursed, over the course of many centuries, the play has attracted some of the most renowned actors to the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It has been adapted to film, television, opera, novels, comics, the play opens amidst thunder and lightning, and the Three Witches decide that their next meeting shall be with Macbeth. Macbeth, the Kings kinsman, is praised for his bravery, in the following scene, Macbeth and Banquo discuss the weather and their victory. As they wander onto a heath, the Three Witches enter, though Banquo challenges them first, they address Macbeth, hailing him as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and that he shall be King hereafter. Macbeth appears to be stunned to silence, when Banquo asks of his own fortunes, the witches respond paradoxically, saying that he will be less than Macbeth, yet happier, less successful, yet more. He will father a line of kings though he himself will not be one, while the two men wonder at these pronouncements, the witches vanish, and another thane, Ross, arrives and informs Macbeth of his newly bestowed title, Thane of Cawdor. The first prophecy is fulfilled, and Macbeth, previously skeptical. King Duncan welcomes and praises Macbeth and Banquo, and declares that he spend the night at Macbeths castle at Inverness. Macbeth sends a message ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husbands uncertainty and wishes him to murder Duncan in order to obtain kingship. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she overrides all of her husbands objections by challenging his manhood and he and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncans two chamberlains drunk so that they will black out, the next morning they will blame the chamberlains for the murder. They will be defenseless as they remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and he is so shaken that Lady Macbeth has to take charge
17.
The Old Vic
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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
18.
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
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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
19.
National Youth Theatre
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The National Youth Theatre is a registered charity in London. It is committed to the development of people through the medium of creative arts. Every year, the National Youth Theatre holds acting auditions and technical theatre interviews around the United Kingdom, on average, currently, around 500 places are offered on summer intake acting and technical courses, which offer participants membership of the National Youth Theatre upon completion. Members are then eligible to audition for the productions, which are staged in Londons West End, around the UK. Members staged the Olympic and Paralympic Team Welcome Ceremonies at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, in summer 2014, members staged the Village Ceremonies at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The National Youth Theatre was founded in 1956 by Michael Croft, Croft had been responsible for producing a number of school plays at Alleyns Boys School. Following his departure, he was approached by a number of pupils from the school to continue working together on productions during school holidays. The first audiences included actors Richard Burton and Sir Ralph Richardson, the organisation evolved rapidly throughout the United Kingdom, involving young people on a national basis. Croft died in 1986 and was succeeded by Edward Wilson as Director, building on Crofts vision, Wilson took the company forward into new territory, increasing its range of activities and reinforcing its approach to technical production values. Wilson left the company in 2004, sid Higgins, John Hoggarth, and Paul Roseby took over. Hoggarth stepped down in 2007 and Roseby continues as the organisations Artistic Director, in 2010, the National Youth Theatre moved administrative offices from Holloway Road to the Woolyard on Bermondsey Street. In January 2012, Roseby became CEO while retaining his position as Artistic Director, traditionally, the National Youth Theatre has done most of its work with members in the summer months, but this is changing more and more. IdeasTap, defunct charity that collaborated with the National Youth Theatre Official website Charity Commission, National Youth Theatre, registered charity no.306075. The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services
20.
Birmingham
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Birmingham is a major city and metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England lying on the River Rea, a small river that runs through Birmingham. It is the largest and most populous British city outside London, the city is in the West Midlands Built-up Area, the third most populous urban area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2,440,986 at the 2011 census. Birminghams metropolitan area is the second most populous in the UK with a population of 3.8 million and this also makes Birmingham the 8th most populous metropolitan area in Europe. By 1791 it was being hailed as the first manufacturing town in the world, perhaps the most important invention in British history, the industrial steam engine, was invented in Birmingham. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz. The damage done to the infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive demolition. Today Birminghams economy is dominated by the service sector and its metropolitan economy is the second largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $121. 1bn, and its six universities make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham is the fourth-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors, Birminghams sporting heritage can be felt worldwide, with the concept of the Football League and lawn tennis both originating from the city. Its most successful football club Aston Villa has won seven league titles, people from Birmingham are called Brummies, a term derived from the citys nickname of Brum. This originates from the citys name, Brummagem, which may in turn have been derived from one of the citys earlier names. There is a distinctive Brummie accent and dialect, Birminghams early history is that of a remote and marginal area. The main centres of population, power and wealth in the pre-industrial English Midlands lay in the fertile and accessible river valleys of the Trent, the Severn and the Avon. The area of modern Birmingham lay in between, on the upland Birmingham Plateau and within the wooded and sparsely populated Forest of Arden. Birmingham as a settlement dates from the Anglo-Saxon era, within a century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years, by 1700 Birminghams population had increased fifteenfold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The importance of the manufacture of goods to Birminghams economy was recognised as early as 1538. Equally significant was the emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the phenomenon now known as the Midlands Enlightenment
21.
BBC
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The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. It is headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, the BBC is the worlds oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total,16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting, the total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed contract staff are included. The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBCs radio, TV, britains first live public broadcast from the Marconi factory in Chelmsford took place in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mails Lord Northcliffe and featured the famous Australian Soprano Dame Nellie Melba, the Melba broadcast caught the peoples imagination and marked a turning point in the British publics attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920, pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among the staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office, was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests, John Reith, a Scottish Calvinist, was appointed its General Manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved manufacturers, to this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to inform, educate and entertain. The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate, set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between the GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster-General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee and this was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee with no royalty once the wireless manufactures protection expired. The BBCs broadcasting monopoly was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, the BBC was also banned from presenting news bulletins before 19.00, and required to source all news from external wire services. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee, by now the BBC under Reiths leadership had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit the loss making consortium with Reith keen that the BBC be seen as a service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production and with restrictions on news bulletins waived the BBC suddenly became the source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position, the Government was divided on how to handle the BBC but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PMs own
22.
Philip II of France
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Philip II, known as Philip Augustus, was King of France from 1180 to 1223, a member of the House of Capet. Philips predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French monarch to style himself king of France. The son of King Louis VII and his wife, Adèle of Champagne, he was originally nicknamed Dieudonné God-given because he was the first son of Louis VII. Philip was given the nickname Augustus by the chronicler Rigord for having extended the Crown lands of France so remarkably, the military actions surrounding the Albigensian Crusade helped prepare the expansion of France southward. Philip did not participate directly in these actions, but he allowed his vassals, Philip transformed France from a small feudal state into the most prosperous and powerful country in Europe. He checked the power of the nobles and helped the towns to free themselves from seigniorial authority and he built a great wall around Paris, re-organized the French government and brought financial stability to his country. Philip was born in Gonesse on 21 August 1165 and he spent much of the following night attempting to find his way out, but to no avail. Exhausted by cold, hunger and fatigue, he was discovered by a peasant carrying a charcoal burner. His father went on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Thomas Becket to pray for Philips recovery and was told that his son had indeed recovered, however, on his way back to Paris, he suffered a stroke. In declining health, Louis VII had his 14-year-old son crowned and anointed as king at Rheims on 1 November 1179 by the Archbishop Guillaume aux Blanches Mains. He was married on 28 April 1180 to Isabelle of Hainaut, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders, who brought the County of Artois as her dowry. From the time of his coronation, all power was transferred to Philip. Eventually, Louis died on 18 September 1180, while the royal demesne had increased under Philip I and Louis VI, it had diminished slightly under Louis VII. In April 1182, partially to enrich the French crown, Philip expelled all Jews from the demesne, Philips eldest son Louis was born on 5 September 1187 and inherited the County of Artois in 1190, when his mother Isabelle died. The main source of funding for Philips army was from the royal demesne, in times of conflict, he could immediately call up 250 knights,250 horse sergeants,100 mounted crossbowmen,133 crossbowmen on foot,2,000 foot sergeants, and 300 mercenaries. Towards the end of his reign, the king could muster some 3,000 knights,9,000 sergeants,6,000 urban militiamen, using his increased revenues, Philip was the first Capetian king to build a French navy actively. By 1215, his fleet could carry a total of 7,000 men, within two years, his fleet included 10 large ships and many smaller ones. In 1181, Philip began a war with Philip, Count of Flanders, over the Vermandois, which King Philip claimed as his wifes dowry, finally the Count of Flanders invaded France, ravaging the whole district between the Somme and the Oise before penetrating as far as Dammartin
23.
The Lion in Winter (1968 film)
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The Lion in Winter is a 1968 historical drama film based on the Broadway play by James Goldman. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and produced by Joseph E. Levine and Martin Poll from Goldmans adaptation of his own play, The Lion in Winter. The film stars Peter OToole, Katharine Hepburn, John Castle, Anthony Hopkins as Richard the Lionheart, Jane Merrow and, in appearances, Timothy Dalton. The film was a success and won three Academy Awards, including one for Hepburn as Best Actress. There was a remake in 2003. The Lion in Winter is set during Christmas 1183, at King Henry IIs château and primary residence in Chinon, Anjou, as a ruse, Henry agrees to give Alais to Richard and make him heir-apparent. He makes a deal with Eleanor for her freedom in return for Aquitaine. When the deal is revealed at the wedding, Richard refuses to go through with the ceremony, after Richard leaves, Eleanor masochistically asks Henry to kiss Alais in front of her, and then looks on in horror as they perform a mock marriage ceremony. Having believed Henrys intentions, John, at the direction of middle brother, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, Henry and Phillip meet to discuss terms, but Henry soon learns that Phillip has been plotting with John and Geoffrey, and that he and Richard were once lovers. Henry dismisses all three sons as unsuitable, and locks them in a cellar, telling Alais, the royal boys are aging with the royal port. Henry sees that she is right and condemns them to death and he and Eleanor go back to hoping for the future, with Eleanor going back on the barge to prison, laughing it off with Henry before she leaves. Though the background and the destinies of the characters are historically accurate, The Lion in Winter is fictional. There was a Christmas court at Caen in 1182 but there was no Christmas court at Chinon in 1183, in reality, Henry had many mistresses and many illegitimate children, the Rosamund mentioned in the film was his mistress until she died. The article on the Revolt of 1173–1174 describes the events leading to the plays events. There was also a rebellion, when Young Henry and Geoffrey revolted in 1183. Geoffrey died in 1186 in a tournament held in Paris. A third rebellion against Henry by Richard and Philip in 1189 was finally successful, and a decisively defeated Henry retreated to Chinon in Anjou, Richard scored considerable victories against his Muslim counterpart, Saladin, although he did not succeed in retaking Jerusalem. John finally succeeded Richard in 1199 after Richards death, during his unsuccessful reign he lost most of his fathers holdings in Northern France and angered the barons by his excessive taxation and disrespect towards them
24.
Wuthering Heights (1970 film)
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Wuthering Heights is a 1970 film directed by Robert Fuest. It is based on the classic Emily Brontë novel of the same name, like the 1939 version, this film depicts only the first sixteen chapters concluding with Catherine Earnshaw Lintons death and omits the trials of her daughter, Hindleys son, and Heathcliffs son. First it takes a more sympathetic look at Hindley, usually portrayed as being a cruel oppressor of Heathcliff, in this version he is persecuted by his father and lives in Heathcliffs shadow. Also in this version, Nelly Dean, the narrator, is shown as being in love with Hindley, after his wifes death, Hindley goes through a hedonistic stage but finally pulls himself out of it. At the end of the film, perhaps the most controversial of all the differences, Hindley succeeds in fatally shooting Heathcliff, Heathcliff and Cathys ghosts are then reunited. When first introducing Heathcliff, the film also suggests that Heathcliff might be Mr Earnshaws illegitimate son. AIP were not traditionally associated with Gothic romance, but were inspired to make the film by the success of Romeo, the movie was shot on location in Blubberhouses, Weston Hall near Otley, and Brimham Rocks. Producer Lous Heyward said at the time, Im the only American here, for the first time in 30 years Hollywood said to me, No big names, no huge publicity, just a good film that stands on its merits. This is very encouraging except now we stand naked in judgement and it has to be really good with two to three million dollars invested. The last version, with Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff and Merle Oberon as Cathy, portrayed him as a nice guy and her as sweetness. That was not the truth and Hollywood now goes in for the truth, Heathcliff was a bastard and Cathy a real bitch and thats how theyll be in this film. At the box office, it failed to attract receipts and audience, AIP had announced a sequel Return to Wuthering Heights but it was not made. Neither were other adaptations of classic novels mooted by the studio, including Camille, The House of Seven Gables, Wuthering Heights at the Internet Movie Database Wuthering Heights at AllMovie
25.
Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)
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Heathcliff is a fictional character in Emily Brontës novel Wuthering Heights. Owing to the novels enduring fame and popularity, he is regarded as an archetype of the tortured romantic hero whose all-consuming passions destroy both him and those around him. His complicated, mesmerizing, consumable, and altogether bizarre nature makes him a rare character and you teach me now how cruel youve been — cruel and false. Why did you betray your own heart, Cathy, I have not one word of comfort. Yes, you may kiss me, and cry, and wring out my kisses and tears and you loved me — then what right had you to leave me. What right — answer me — for the poor fancy you felt for Linton, because misery, and degradation, and death, and nothing God or Satan could inflict would have parted us, you, of your own will, did it. I have not broken your heart — you have broken it, so much the worse for me, that I am strong. What kind of living will it be when you——oh, God, would you like to live with your soul in the grave. In keeping with the themes present in the novel, it is speculated that Heathcliff might be a demon or a hellish soul. His appearance would be interpreted as resembling a Roma, or Gypsy. He becomes a gentleman in dress and aspect, mrs. Ellen Dean states that he could be a little Lascar or American castaway. Upon Mr. Catherine, however, remains close to her foster brother and she claims that she cannot marry him because it would degrade her and that the two would be beggars were such a union to take place. Nevertheless, she declares her passion for him in such ways as whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. Nelly Dean describes him as lazy when he returns and that his upright carriage suggested his being in the army, No other hints are given about where Heathcliff was and how he made his fortune over the course of his three-year absence. On returning, he is determined to destroy those who degraded him and prevented him from being with Catherine, cementing his status as an anti-hero. This can only be achieved, however, by Heathcliffs forcing his and Isabellas son Linton into marriage with Catherines daughter, who is also named Cathy. Heathcliff forces his son, Linton, who entirely resembles his mother Isabella, into marriage with Catherine Linton, daughter of Cathy and Edgar. Shortly after the two are married in their nearly loveless match, the insipid Linton dies, hardly a surprise to either his father or his widow
26.
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
27.
Vivien Merchant
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Vivien Merchant was an English actress. She began her career in 1942 and became known for roles on stage. In 1956, she married the playwright Harold Pinter and performed in many of his plays, Merchant achieved considerable success from the 1950s to the 1970s, winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress in 1964. For her role in the film Alfie, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, in 1967, she starred in the Broadway production of Pinters The Homecoming and received a Tony Award nomination. Her other films included Accident, The Offence, Frenzy, The Homecoming, suffering from depression and alcoholism as her marriage ended, she died in 1982, two years after her divorce. Merchant took her name as a composite of the actress Vivien Leigh and her brother. Merchant subsequently performed in stage productions and several films, including Alfie, Accident, Frenzy. Merchant subsequently appeared as Wendy in Tea Party opposite Leo McKern in 1965 and she starred as Ruth in The Homecoming on stage in both London in 1965 and New York in 1967, receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play. She went on to star in the version in 1973. The last of his plays in which she performed on stage was Old Times as Anna and she played Lady Macbeth to Paul Scofields Macbeth for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967, directed by Sir Peter Hall. Merchant took the role of Madame in the Greenwich Theatre revival of Jean Genets The Maids partnering Glenda Jackson and Susannah York, in 1975, Merchant and Timothy Dalton headed the cast of a revival of Noël Cowards The Vortex at the Greenwich Theatre. Merchant was the first wife of Harold Pinter, whom she met while working as a repertory actress and they married in 1956, and their son, Daniel, was born in 1958. Their marriage began disintegrating in the mid-1960s, from 1962 to 1969, Harold Pinter had a clandestine affair with Joan Bakewell, which inspires Pinters play Betrayal. In 1975 Pinter began an affair with the historian Lady Antonia Fraser, the wife of Sir Hugh Fraser. Ife in Hanover Terrace gradually became impossible, Pinter left, and Vivien Merchant filed for divorce and gave interviews to the tabloid press, expressing her distress. Merchant made some unflattering comments about Fraser at this time, He didnt need to take a change of shoes and she has very big feet, you know. The Frasers divorce became final in 1977 and the Pinters in 1980, in 1980 Pinter and Fraser married. Merchant became deeply depressed after the end of her marriage to Pinter and she died at the age of 53 on 3 October 1982, from acute alcoholism
28.
The Vortex
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The Vortex is a play in three acts by the English writer and actor Noël Coward. The play depicts the sexual vanity of a rich, ageing beauty, her relationship with her adult son. The sons cocaine habit is seen by critics as a metaphor for homosexuality. Despite, or because of, its content for the time. The play premiered in November 1924 in London and played in three theatres until June 1925, followed by a British tour and a New York production in 1925–26 and it has enjoyed several revivals and a film adaptation. In the years after the First World War, pairings in England of older, upper class women, the idea for the play was put in Cowards mind by an incident at a nightclub. Forster paid no attention, and Coward immediately went across and embraced Grace, the episode led him to consider how a mother–young son–young lover triangle might be the basis of a play. To add to the effect of his play, Coward included a further source of conflict between the mother, Florence, and son, Nicky. Cowards friend and biographer Cole Lesley records, this came easily to him from his unlikely pre-occupation … with the subject of drug addiction, to Nickys explicit cocaine habit, the author added what many critics have seen as a gay sub-text. When asked if she is pretty, Nicky answers, I dont know – I havent really noticed, florences lover Tom finds Nicky effeminate. Until 1968 the English theatre was subject to censorship, plays had to be licensed by the Lord Chamberlains Office. The Vortex barely survived the scrutiny, but Coward plead his case in person to the Lord Chamberlain. He persuaded Cromer that the play was a tract, and despite reservations expressed to the Chamberlain by King George V and others. Leading London managements considered staging the piece, but some shied away from the controversial content, when the money for the production threatened to run out during rehearsals, Coward secured the necessary funding from his friend the author Michael Arlen. As well as co-starring, Coward directed the play, upset by a last-minute revision that increased Cowards role and, she believed, diminished the importance of hers, the female star, Kate Cutler, dropped out less than two weeks before the premiere. Coward was able to engage the veteran actress Lilian Braithwaite, who accepted the part for the salary offered and learned it at very short notice. The Vortex opened at the Everyman on 25 November 1924, with the following cast, Preston – Claire Keep Helen Saville – Mary Robson Pauncefort Quentin – F. The production moved to the West End at the Royalty Theatre on 16 December 1924 and transferred to the Comedy Theatre in February 1925 and finally to The Little Theatre, closing on 16 June 1925
29.
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971 film)
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Mary, Queen of Scots is a 1971 British Universal Pictures biographical film based on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, written by John Hale and directed by Charles Jarrott. The screenplay was written by John Hale and the directed by Charles Jarrott. The film received a less enthusiastic review from the New York Times. Following the death of her husband Francis II of France, Mary, though fearless, unselfish, and very beautiful, the young queen faces many challenges. He suggests that Mary enjoy herself in Scotland, and pass the time dancing and feasting. Moray wants to rule Scotland while the lovely but inexperienced Mary becomes a figurehead, fearing that Mary has ambitions for Englands throne, Elizabeth I of England decides to weaken her claim by sending her favourite, the ambitious Robert Dudley, to woo and marry Mary. She promises that Mary will become her heir if she agrees to the marriage, sly Elizabeth also sends the younger, dashing but weak and spoiled Lord Darnley, from a powerful Catholic family. Tempted by the handsome Darnley, Mary impulsively chooses him for marriage, Lord Moray, a Protestant, opposes the marriage, but Mary ignores him. She even exiles Moray to strengthen her own authority, Elizabeth is satisfied that reckless, passionate Marys romantic misadventures will keep her busy in Scotland and give shrewd, practical Elizabeth less to worry about. Soon after the wedding, spoiled brat Darnley throws a temper tantrum. A disillusioned Mary soon banishes Darnley from her bed and frequently consults with the gentle, Darnley had previously had him as a lover and accuses him of fathering Marys expected child. A group of Scottish lords persuade Darnley to help get rid of Riccio, to escape, she persuades Darnley that the plotters will turn against him, and they flee to the safety of Lord Bothwell. He has been an ally of Mary since her arrival in Scotland, after he defeats the plotters, Mary forces a truce among their leader Moray, Darnley and Bothwell. Mary gives birth to a son, James, who is expected to succeed both Mary and the unmarried, childless Elizabeth, the weak, selfish Darnley still wants power, though by now he is hideously scarred and already dying of syphilis. Mary pities him, but finds herself falling in love with the rough, with Morays help, they arrange for Darnley to be killed in a gunpowder explosion at his manor, Darnley escapes before the blast but is stabbed to death. Bothwell marries Mary, and their few brief nights together are blissful, but Moray rejoins the Scottish lords and leads a rebellion against them. He forces Mary to abdicate, and she and her husband are driven into exile, Mary to England, Marys young son James is to be crowned King of Scotland and brought up as a Protestant. In England, Mary begs Elizabeth for money and an army to regain her throne, instead Elizabeth takes her prisoner, keeping her locked away in luxurious captivity in a remote castle
30.
Permission to Kill
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Permission to Kill, also known as The Executioner, is a 1975 spy thriller film made by Sascha-Verleih and distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures. It was directed by Cyril Frankel and produced by Paul Mills from a screenplay by Robin Estridge, the film had original music by Richard Rodney Bennett and the cinematography was by Freddie Young. The film stars Dirk Bogarde, Ava Gardner and Bekim Fehmiu with Timothy Dalton, Nicole Calfan, the film is an Austrian-British-American co-production and was shot on location in Gmunden, Austria. British agents try to stop a communist returning home from the West
31.
Mae West
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Mary Jane Mae West was an American actress, singer, playwright, screenwriter, comedian, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades. For her contributions to American cinema, the American Film Institute named West 15th among the greatest female stars of classic American cinema, one of the more controversial movie stars of her day, West encountered many problems, especially censorship. She bucked the system, making out of prudish conventional mores. When her cinematic career ended, she wrote books and plays, and continued to perform in Las Vegas, in the United Kingdom, and on radio and television, asked about the various efforts to impede her career, West replied, I believe in censorship. I made an out of it. While true, she suffered greatly because of it, even going to jail for her right to freedom of speech. West was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn on August 17,1893 and she was the eldest surviving child of John Patrick West and Matilda Tillie Delker. Delker and her five siblings emigrated with their parents, Jacob and Christiana, Wests parents married on January 18,1889, in Brooklyn and reared their children as Protestants, although John West was of mixed Catholic-Protestant descent. Her father was a known as Battlin Jack West who later worked as a special policeman. Her mother was a corset and fashion model. Her paternal grandmother, Mary Jane, for whom she was named, was of Irish Catholic descent, and Wests paternal grandfather, John Edwin West, was of English-Scots descent and her eldest sibling, Katie, died in infancy. Her other siblings were Mildred Katherine West, later known as Beverly, during her childhood, Wests family moved to various parts of Woodhaven, as well as the Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods of Brooklyn. In Woodhaven, at Neirs Social Hall, West supposedly first performed professionally, West was five when she first entertained a crowd at a church social, and she started appearing in amateur shows at the age of seven. She often won prizes at local talent contests and she began performing professionally in vaudeville in the Hal Clarendon Stock Company in 1907 at the age of 14. West first performed under the stage name Baby Mae, and tried various personas, including a male impersonator and her trademark walk was said to have been inspired or influenced by female impersonators Bert Savoy and Julian Eltinge, who were famous during the Pansy Craze. Her first appearance in a Broadway show was in a 1911 revue A La Broadway put on by her former dancing teacher, the show folded after eight performances, but at age 18, West was singled out and discovered by the New York Times. The Times reviewer wrote that a girl named Mae West, hitherto unknown, pleased by her grotesquerie, West next appeared in a show called Vera Violetta, whose cast featured Al Jolson. In 1912, she appeared in the performance of A Winsome Widow as a baby vamp named La Petite Daffy
32.
Flash Gordon (film)
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Flash Gordon is a 1980 space opera action film filmed in Technicolor and Todd-AO, based on the King Features comic strip of the same name created by Alex Raymond. The film was directed by Mike Hodges, and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and it stars Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Topol, Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, and Ornella Muti. The screenplay was written by Lorenzo Semple, Jr. with an adaptation by Michael Allin. It intentionally uses a style similar to the 1960s TV series Batman in an attempt to appeal to fans of the original comics. Although a box office success in the UK, it performed poorly overseas, the film is notable for its soundtrack composed, performed and produced by the rock band Queen, with the orchestral sections by Howard Blake. The film has gained a significant cult following. Emperor Ming the Merciless declares that he will first play with, on Earth, New York Jets football star Flash Gordon boards a small plane, where he meets travel journalist Dale Arden. Mid-flight, the cockpit is hit by a meteorite and the pilots are lost, Flash takes control and manages to crash land into a greenhouse owned by Dr. Hans Zarkov. Zarkov, who believes the disasters are being caused because a source is pushing the Moon towards Earth, has secretly constructed a spacecraft which he plans to use to investigate. Zarkovs assistant refuses to go, so he lures Flash and Dale aboard, the rocket launches, taking them to the planet Mongo, where they are captured by Mings troops. The three are brought before Ming and he orders Dale be prepared for his pleasure. Flash tries to resist, but is overpowered, Ming orders Zarkov be reprogrammed and Flash executed. Mings daughter, Princess Aura, seduces Mings surgeon into saving Flash, as they escape, Flash sees Zarkov being brainwashed by Klytus, the metal-faced head of the secret police. Aura and Flash flee to Arboria, kingdom of Prince Barin, en route, Aura teaches Flash to use a telepathic communicator to contact Dale. He lets her know he is alive, Dale is locked in Mings bedchamber, but encouraged by Flash, she escapes. Klytus sends Zarkov to intercept Dale, who tells him and Klytus that Flash is alive and they then escape, as Zarkov reveals he resisted the brainwashing. They are captured by Prince Vultans Hawkmen and taken to Sky City, Aura and Flash arrive at Arboria. Aura asks the Prince to keep Flash safe, a distrustful Barin, in love with Aura, agrees not to kill Flash, but then forces him to perform a deadly ritual
33.
Jonathan Pryce
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Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his girlfriend, English actress Kate Fahy, in 1974. His work in theatre, including a performance in the title role of the Royal Court Theatres Hamlet, led to several supporting roles in film. His breakthrough screen performance was in Terry Gilliams 1985 cult film Brazil, initially in 2015, Pryce was a guest actor in the HBO series Game of Thrones as the High Sparrow before becoming a regular cast member in 2016. Born John Price in Carmel, Flintshire, he is the son of Margaret Ellen and Isaac Price, a former coal miner who, along with his wife, ran a small general grocery shop. He was educated at Holywell Grammar School, and, at the age of 16, he went to art college, while studying, he took part in a college theatre production. An impressed tutor suggested he should become an actor and, on Pryces behalf, applied to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for an application form, Pryce was awarded a scholarship to RADA. When he joined Equity he used Jonathan Pryce as his name because Equity will only have one actor with any particular name on its books. While at RADA Pryce worked as a salesman of velvet paintings. Pryce was part of a new wave of actors to emerge from the Academy, others included Bruce Payne, Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, Anton Lesser, Kenneth Branagh and Fiona Shaw. To gain his Equity card to work in Liverpool, he made his first screen appearance in a role on a 1972 episode of the British science fiction programme Doomwatch. He then starred in two films, both directed by Stephen Frears, Daft as a Brush and Playthings. It was around this time that he appeared in his first movie role, playing the character Joseph Manasse in the film drama Voyage of the Damned, starring Faye Dunaway. He did not, however, abandon the stage, appearing from 1978 to 1979 in the Royal Shakespeare Companys productions of The Taming of the Shrew as Petruchio, and Antony and Cleopatra as Octavius Caesar. In 1980, his performance in the role of Hamlet at the Royal Court Theatre won him an Olivier Award. Around the same time, he appeared in the film Breaking Glass. Pryce played the role of the sinister Mr. Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes, after Brazil, Pryce appeared in the historical thriller The Doctor and the Devils and then in the Gene Wilder-directed film Haunted Honeymoon. From 1986 to 1987 Pryce played the part in the Royal Shakespeare Companys production of Macbeth
34.
The Doctor and the Devils
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The Doctor and The Devils is a gothic thriller produced by Mel Brooks production company Brooksfilms and released in 1985. It is based upon the story of Burke and Hare. The film stars Timothy Dalton as Dr. Thomas Rock and features Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea as Fallon and Broom, characters based upon Burke, the film was directed by Freddie Francis, and features a script adapted by Sir Ronald Harwood from an unproduced screenplay by Dylan Thomas. Dr. Thomas Rock is a respected 19th-century anatomist lecturing at a prominent medical school and he is deeply passionate about improving medical knowledge, a pursuit for which he believes the ends justify the means. Dr. Rocks young assistant Dr. Murray is given the task of buying the bodies, for which he is authorized to pay a small fortune, when alcoholic miscreants Fallon and Broom overhear details of the arrangement, they begin to murder the locals and sell their bodies. Gradually, Dr. Murray becomes more suspicious of the string of fresh bodies turning up at the medical school, meanwhile, Murray has begun to fall for beautiful local prostitute Jennie Bailey, who soon becomes the target of Fallon and Brooms murderous enterprise. When Jennies friend Alice turns up dead in Dr. Rocks dissection room, Murray realizes what is happening, both killers are soon arrested, but Broom agrees to turn states evidence against his former partner, and is set free, unrepentant. Dr. Rock, for his part in the killings, is the subject of public outrage. The film ends with Rock pondering his responsibility for the horrors and concluding and he hired director and former cinematographer Freddie Francis, who during the 1960s and 70s had directed a series of horror films for famed British horror productions companies Hammer and Amicus. Brooks original intention was to use the title of the Thomas screenplay. A compromise was arranged with playwright and screenwriter Ronald Harwood adapting Thomass more cerebral work into something more genre-friendly, despite the adaptation, much of Thomass original dialogue remains. The film was produced by Jonathan Sanger, who worked on a number of Mel Brooks films, Brooks himself is credited as Executive Producer. The soundtrack was composed by John Morris with vocals from In Tua Nua, many involved in the production had previously worked on Brooksfilms highly successful The Elephant Man in 1980. The original 1828 murders occurred in Edinburgh, Scotland, but apart from Patrick Stewart exuding a mild Scottish accent, indeed, the vast majority of actors play their parts using Cockney accents, giving the impression that the location was London. It was filmed at Lee International Studios, in Shepperton, Surrey, the film would be star Timothy Daltons last film before being cast in the iconic role of James Bond. It would also be the final released film directed by Francis. The film struggled to find an audience, and was not well received by critics and it is unredeemed, dreary, boring, gloomy dreck unilluminated by even the slightest fugitive moment of inspiration or ambition, though he praised star Twiggy as the films only ray of sunshine. The film was released on PAL video but only appeared on DVD in 2005
35.
Joan Collins
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Dame Joan Henrietta Collins, DBE is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington, west London, and brought up in Maida Vale, after making her stage debut in the Henrik Ibsen play A Dolls House at the age of nine, she trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She then signed a contract with the Rank Organisation and appeared in various British films. In 1955, at the age of 22, Collins headed to Hollywood and landed roles in several popular films, including The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing and Rally Round the Flag. While she continued to make films in the US and the UK throughout the 1960s, she also guest-starred in an episode of Star Trek in 1967 named The City on the Edge of Forever, as Edith Keeler. Her career languished in the 1970s, when she appeared in a number of horror flicks, near the end of the decade, she starred in two softcore pornographic films based on best-selling novels by her younger sister Jackie Collins, The Stud and its sequel The Bitch. She began appearing on stage, playing the role in the 1980 British revival of The Last of Mrs. Cheyney. Collins also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983 for career achievement, in 2015, Collins was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to charity. Since the late 1970s, Collins has written several books, in 1988, she published her first novel, Prime Time, and she has continued to publish various kinds of writing. A member of the Conservative Party, Collins was one of the handful of guests to be invited to the funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in April 2013 and her father, a native of South Africa, was Jewish, and her British mother was Anglican. She has two siblings, Jackie and Bill, a property agent. She was educated at the Francis Holland School, an independent day school for girls in London, at the age of 17, Collins was signed to the J. Arthur Rank Film Company, a British film studio. Collins made her debut as a beauty contest entrant in Lady Godiva Rides Again followed by The Womans Angle in a minor role as a Greek maid. Next was a significant role as a gangsters moll in Judgment Deferred. Her big break came when the Rank Organisation signed her for a role in I Believe in You. Other roles to follow included Cosh Boy, Decameron Nights, Turn the Key Softly, The Square Ring and she was chosen by director Howard Hawks to star in his lavish production of Land of the Pharaohs as the scheming Princess Nellifer opposite Jack Hawkins. She finished her Fox contract with the crime caper Seven Thieves and the biblical epic Esther, One notable film release in the 1960s was The Road to Hong Kong, the last road picture of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. She took a hiatus from her career to concentrate on having a family after marrying Anthony Newley
36.
Sins (miniseries)
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Sins is a 1986 CBS television miniseries starring Joan Collins. Produced by New World Television, Collins also served as producer with her then-husband Peter Holm. Carly Simon co-wrote and performed the song, Its Hard to be Tender. Helene Junot is a businesswoman and a leading name in the world of fashion. In 1980s New York, she attends a reception for the launch of her new magazine, Woman Of Today, meanwhile, several people from Helenes past are conspiring to destroy her. In France during World War II, 13-year-old Helene is raped and brutalized at the hands of the Gestapo as they murder her pregnant mother, though Helene later escapes, her younger brother and sister, Edmund and Marie, are deported to a concentration camp. In 1949, with the war over, Helene goes to work as a dressmaker with her aunt at the home of the Count. There, she begins to show her talents as a designer and also is wooed by the Counts son. However, Huberts parents do not approve of him seeing a servant girl, in 1955, Helene moves to Paris and begins working for leading fashion designer Odile as a model. Odile soon makes Helene a director at her fashion house, at the same time, Helene has hired an investigator named Otto Mueller, as she wants to find her brother and sister and the Gestapo commander responsible for the death of her mother years earlier. However, the search will be costly, and Helene agrees to become the mistress of the abusive Count De Ville in order to finance her search, much to Huberts dismay and humiliation. Mueller succeeds in finding Helenes brother Edmund, now a man but living in a mental institution in a permanently catatonic state after years of torture. Helene takes him home with her and hires a doctor and a nurse to bring him back to health, Helene also meets American composer Eric Hovland, an older man with whom she falls in love and later marries. However, their marriage is short-lived when Hubert De Ville, still obsessed with Helene, breaks into their home, when Eric tries to protect her, Hubert murders him, but threatens to use his family connections to blame Helene for the crime if she reports him. She then blackmails the De Villes for 100 million francs, or she will have Hubert arrested for murder, Count De Ville reluctantly agrees and Helene uses the money to begin her own fashion magazine, Couture. Soon after, Mueller informs Helene that he has tracked down the ex-Nazi commander Von Eiderfeld, Helene and Edmund have him prosecuted as a Nazi war criminal and he is sentenced to life imprisonment, but vows to have revenge on Helene. In the 1960s, Helene then throws herself into her work and Couture becomes a success, while Edmund marries his nurse. However, when she is pregnant with their first child, Jeanne becomes ill, the baby is born prematurely and Jeanne dies, leaving Edmund to raise their daughter, Natalie, alone
37.
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
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William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS, usually addressed as Lord Melbourne, was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister. He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18–21, but he was kind, honest and not self-seeking. Melbourne was dismissed by King William IV in 1834, the last British prime minister to be dismissed by a monarch. Born in London in 1779 to an aristocratic Whig family, William Lamb was the son of The 1st Viscount Melbourne and Elizabeth, Viscountess Melbourne, though his paternity was questioned. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he fell in with a group of Romantic Radicals that included Percy Bysshe Shelley, against the background of the Napoleonic Wars, Lamb served at home as captain and major in the Hertfordshire Volunteer Infantry. In 1805 he succeeded his brother as heir to his fathers title and married Lady Caroline Ponsonby. The next year he was elected to the British House of Commons as the Whig MP for Leominster, for the election in 1806 he was moved to the seat of Haddington Burghs and for the 1807 election he successfully stood for Portarlington. The resulting scandal was the talk of Britain in 1812, eventually the two reconciled and, though they separated in 1825, her death in 1828 affected him considerably. In 1816 Lamb was returned for Peterborough by Whig grandee Lord Fitzwilliam and he told Lord Holland that he was committed to the Whig principles of the Glorious Revolution but not to a heap of modern additions, interpolations, facts and fictions. He therefore spoke against parliamentary reform and voted for the suspension of habeas corpus in 1817 when sedition was rife, lambs hallmark was finding the middle ground. Though a Whig, he accepted the post of Chief Secretary for Ireland in the moderate Tory governments of George Canning and Lord Goderich. Upon the death of his father in 1828 and his becoming The 2nd Viscount Melbourne, of Kilmore in the County of Cavan and he had spent 25 years in the Commons as a backbencher and was not politically well known. When the Whigs came to power under Lord Grey in November 1830 Melbourne became Home Secretary in the new government, during the disturbances of 1830–32 he acted both vigorously and sensitively, and it was for this function that his reforming brethren thanked him heartily. The disturbances over reform in 1831–32 were countered with the enforcement of the usual laws, after Lord Grey resigned as Prime Minister in July 1834, the King was forced to appoint another Whig to replace him, as the Tories were not strong enough to support a government. Melbourne was the man most likely to be acceptable to the King and hold the Whig party together. Melbourne hesitated after receiving from Grey the letter from the King requesting him to him to discuss the formation of a government. Melbourne thought he would not enjoy the work that accompanied the office of Premier but he did not want to let his friends. According to Charles Greville, Melbourne said to his secretary, Tom Young, I am in many minds as to what to do
38.
Lady Caroline Lamb (film)
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Lady Caroline Lamb is a 1972 film based on the life of Lady Caroline Lamb, lover of Lord Byron and wife of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. The film was written and directed by Robert Bolt and starred his wife, Sarah Miles, the fim also stars Jon Finch, Richard Chamberlain, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson. Bolt did not direct another film, praise came for Laurence Oliviers cameo as the Duke of Wellington, with Philip French of The Times writing that. Oliviers brief appearance as the Duke of Wellington is a beautifully witty, Lady Caroline Lamb at the Internet Movie Database
39.
Jon Finch
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Jon Finch was an English actor who performed in many Shakespearean plays on stage, and made many films. Perhaps most famously, he starred in films for directors Alfred Hitchcock, Finch was born on 2 March 1942, in the town of Caterham in Surrey, and was the son of a merchant banker. Between 1950 and 1960 Finch was educated at Caterham School, an independent school in his hometown of Caterham in Surrey, upon leaving school he turned down the offer of a place at the London School of Economics. He resigned from the military as his acting became more demanding. One of the ten episodes made was never screened, owing to the broadcast in its place of a documentary about the Kray Twins when they were jailed and he also appeared in two Hammer Films productions, The Vampire Lovers and The Horror of Frankenstein. In 1971 he was to have played the role of the Aboriginal Detective Inspector Bonaparte, Finch also starred in Lady Caroline Lamb and The Final Programme. He went on in 1975 to play the role in a BBC/ABC joint production series about Australias first outlawed bushranger. Finch was offered the role of James Bond in Live and Let Die and he also declined a role in Richard Lesters The Three Musketeers. In 1977 Finch was the choice for the role of Doyle taken by Martin Shaw in the British television series The Professionals. He pulled out at the last minute, claiming that he couldnt possibly play a policeman, at the end of the decade, Finchs roles in films included Death on the Nile. He was cast as Kane in Ridley Scotts Alien, but had to drop out on the day of filming because of a severe diabetic episode. In 1980 Finch appeared in Breaking Glass, and in 1981 he played Luke the Evangelist in the television film Peter and Paul, in 1984 he was Don Pedro in the BBC’s Much Ado About Nothing. Also on stage, he was the man inside the bandages in Ken Hill’s 1991 production of The Invisible Man at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. Occasional film roles include an appearance in Darklands and a role as the Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem in the Ridley Scott film Kingdom of Heaven. Was a member of the British Parachute Regiment, then later the Territorial Special Air Service but eventually decided to leave due to the perpetual clash of schedules. While filming Diagnosis, Murder in 1974, Finch was more than 40 lbs underweight, passed out a couple of times on set, and was then diagnosed with diabetes after being hospitalised for two weeks. In the early 1970s, until his diagnosis, he was also a car driver. Finch was married once, to the actress Catriona MacColl, they were wed in 1982, Finchs body was discovered in his flat in Hastings, East Sussex on 28 December 2012, after friends and family had become concerned for his welfare
40.
Roman Polanski
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Rajmund Roman Thierry Polański is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer, and actor. Born in Paris, his Polish-Jewish parents moved the back to Poland in 1937. Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany a few later, in 1939. Polanskis first feature-length film, Knife in the Water, made in Poland, was nominated for a United States Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He has since received five more Oscar nominations, along with two BAFTAs, four Césars, a Golden Globe Award and the Palme dOr of the Cannes Film Festival in France, in the United Kingdom he directed three films, beginning with Repulsion. In 1968 he moved to the United States and cemented his status by directing the horror film Rosemarys Baby. A turning point in his life took place in 1969, when his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, following her death, Polanski returned to Europe and eventually continued directing. He made Macbeth in England and back in Hollywood, Chinatown, in 1977, Polanski was arrested and charged with the rape of a 13-year-old model during a photo session. He subsequently pled guilty to the charge of statutory rape and he was released from prison after serving 42 days, and as part of an apparent plea bargain, was to be put on probation. When he learned that the judge changed his mind and planned to reject the plea bargain, in Europe, Polanski continued to make films, including Tess, starring aspiring actress, Nastassja Kinski. It won Frances César Awards for Best Picture and Best Director and he later produced and directed The Pianist, starring Adrien Brody, in a World War II true story drama about a Jewish-Polish musician. The film won three Academy Awards including Best Director, along with numerous international awards and he also directed Oliver Twist, a story which parallels his own life as a young boy attempting to triumph over adversity. Polanski was born in Paris, the son of Bula and Ryszard Polański, a painter and manufacturer of sculptures and his mother had a daughter, Annette, by her previous husband. Annette managed to survive Auschwitz, where her mother died, Polańskis father was Jewish and originally from Poland, Polańskis mother, born in Russia, had been raised Roman Catholic and was of half-Jewish ancestry. Polański, influenced by his education in the Peoples Republic of Poland, said Im an atheist in an interview about his film, Rosemarys Baby. The Polański family moved back to the Polish city of Kraków in 1936, Kraków was soon occupied by the German forces, and Nazi racial purity laws made the Polańskis targets of persecution, forcing them into the Kraków Ghetto, along with thousands of the citys Jews. Around the age of six, he attended school for only a few weeks, until all the Jewish children were abruptly expelled. That initiative was followed by requiring all Jewish children over the age of twelve to wear white armbands with a blue Star of David imprinted for visual identification
41.
Pirates (1986 film)
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Pirates is a 1986 Franco-Tunisian adventure comedy film written by Gérard Brach, John Brownjohn, and Roman Polanski and directed by Polanski. It was screened out of competition at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, the Atlantic Ocean, the year 1659. The infamous pirate Thomas Bartholomew Red, known as the Captain Red, luckily, Captain Red and Frog are picked up by Neptune, a Spanish galleon en route to Spain. Captain Red becomes obsessed with capturing the throne for himself, meanwhile, Frog falls in love with Maria-Dolores, the niece of Maracaibos governor, who is travelling on the Neptune as a passenger. Red and Frog, put to work along with Neptunes crew, in response, Don Alfonso has them sentenced to death along with a few other mutineers. After the battle, Frog gains Maria-Dolores interest when he saves her from an attempted rape, putting himself in command of the Neptune, Captain Red directs the ship to a pirate cove, led by Dutch, a merchant and old associate of Red. Meeting his former crewmates, Captain Red throws a party and imprisons Don Alfonso, however, one of Dutchs hostages releases them while the pirates are partying. Don Alfonso and his men return to the Neptune and retake the ship, using the money he has gained from Dutch, Captain Red purchases an old brig and pursues the Neptune to Maracaibo. At night, Captain Red, Frog, and Boomako sneak into the residence with Maria-Dolores as their hostage. Red plans to use her as a chip and force her wealthy uncle to exchange her for the golden throne. Although the governor proves to be unsympathetic for her nieces fate, he becomes more cooperative after Captain Red tortures him instead, as Red demands, the governor provides him with a document that entitles him to confiscate the golden throne, posing as the governors secret messenger. However, Red and Frog fail to carry the throne out of the bay and are captured by Don Alfonso. Maria-Dolores visits them in their cell and she reveals her feelings toward Jean-Baptiste as the two embrace and share a kiss. Maria-Dolores returns to the Neptune, which sets off to Spain again. The pirates, informed by Boomako of what has happened, assault the prison the night, releasing Red. Captain Red pursues the Neptune and launches an assault on the galleon, Red sinks his own ship, making retreat impossible, and secretly orders Boomako to prepare a boat in order to make off with the golden throne. In the heat of battle, Frog finds Maria-Dolores and duels with Don Alfonso over her, however, in the end, he remains loyal to Captain Red, abandoning the fight with Don Alfonso in order to aid his leader in capturing the throne. With the Neptune burning and beyond repair, her crew and passengers flee on the boat, while Red, Frog
42.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)
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On Her Majestys Secret Service is the sixth spy film in the James Bond series, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. Following Sean Connerys decision to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon Productions selected an actor and model, George Lazenby. During the making of the film, Lazenby announced that he would play the role of Bond only once. In the film Bond faces Blofeld, who is planning to hold the world ransom by the threat of sterilising the worlds food supply through a group of brainwashed angels of death, along the way Bond meets, falls in love with, and eventually marries Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo. This is the only Bond film to be directed by Peter R. Hunt, Hunt, along with producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, decided to produce a more realistic film that would follow the novel closely. It was shot in Switzerland, England, and Portugal from October 1968 to May 1969, although its cinema release was not as lucrative as its predecessor You Only Live Twice, On Her Majestys Secret Service was still one of the top performing films of the year. Critical reviews upon release were mixed, but the reputation has improved over time. In Portugal, James Bond – agent 007, sometimes referred to simply as 007 – saves a woman on the beach from committing suicide by drowning, and later meets her again in a casino. The woman, Contessa Teresa Tracy di Vicenzo, invites Bond to her room to thank him. After subduing the man, Bond returns to his own room and finds Tracy there, the next morning, Bond is kidnapped by several men, including the one he fought with, who take him to meet Marc-Ange Draco, the head of the European crime syndicate Unione Corse. Draco reveals that Tracy is his daughter and tells Bond of her troubled past. Bond refuses, but agrees to continue romancing Tracy under the agreement that Draco reveals the whereabouts of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond returns to London, and after a brief argument with M at the British Secret Service headquarters, heads for Dracos birthday party in Portugal. There, Bond and Tracy begin a romance, and Draco directs the agent to a law firm in Bern. Posing as Bray, Bond goes to meet Blofeld, who has established a clinical allergy-research institute atop Piz Gloria in the Swiss Alps, Bond meets twelve young women, the Angels of Death, who are patients at the institutes clinic, apparently cured of their allergies. At night Bond goes to the room of one patient, Ruby, in fact, the women are being brainwashed to distribute bacteriological warfare agents throughout various parts of the world. Bond tries to trick Blofeld into leaving Switzerland so that MI6 can arrest him without violating Swiss sovereignty, Blofeld refuses and Bond is eventually caught by henchwoman Irma Bunt. Blofeld reveals that he identified Bond after his attempt to lure him out of Switzerland, Bond eventually makes his escape by skiing down Piz Gloria while Blofeld and his men give chase. Arriving at the village of Lauterbrunnen, Bond finds Tracy and they escape Bunt, a blizzard forces them to a remote barn, where Bond professes his love to Tracy and proposes marriage to her, which she accepts
43.
Sean Connery
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Sir Thomas Sean Connery is a retired Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes. He was knighted by Elizabeth II in July 2000 after receiving Kennedy Center Honors in the US in 1999, Connery was the first actor to portray the character James Bond in film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. In 1988, Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Untouchables, Connery has been polled as The Greatest Living Scot and Scotlands Greatest Living National Treasure. In 1989, he was proclaimed Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine, Thomas Sean Connery, named Thomas after his grandfather, was born in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland on 25 August 1930. His mother, Euphemia McBain Effie, was a cleaning woman and his paternal grandfathers parents emigrated to Scotland from Ireland in the mid-19th century. The remainder of his family was of Scottish descent, and his maternal great-grandparents were native Scottish Gaelic speakers from Fife and his father was a Roman Catholic, and his mother was a Protestant. He has a brother, Neil. He was generally referred to in his youth as Tommy, although he was small in primary school, he grew rapidly around the age of 12, reaching his full adult height of 6 ft 2 in at 18. He was known during his teen years as Big Tam, and has stated that he lost his virginity to a woman in an ATS uniform at the age of 14. Connerys first job was as a milkman in Edinburgh with St. Cuthberts Co-operative Society, one tattoo is a tribute to his parents and reads Mum and Dad, and the other is self-explanatory, Scotland Forever. Connery was later discharged from the navy on medical grounds because of a duodenal ulcer, Scotland, Archie Brennan, a coffin polisher. The modelling earned him 15 shillings an hour, student artist Richard Demarco who painted several notable early pictures of Connery described him as very straight, slightly shy, too, too beautiful for words, a virtual Adonis. Connery began bodybuilding at the age of 18, and from 1951 trained heavily with Ellington, Connery was a keen footballer, having played for Bonnyrigg Rose in his younger days. He was offered a trial with East Fife, while on tour with South Pacific, Connery played in a football match against a local team that Matt Busby, manager of Manchester United, happened to be scouting. According to reports, Busby was impressed with his physical prowess, Connery admits that he was tempted to accept, but he recalls, I realised that a top-class footballer could be over the hill by the age of 30, and I was already 23. I decided to become an actor and it turned out to be one of my more intelligent moves, looking to pick up some extra money, Connery helped out backstage at the Kings Theatre in late 1951. He became interested in the proceedings, and a career was launched, the production returned the following year out of popular demand, and Connery was promoted to the featured role of Lieutenant Buzz Adams, which Larry Hagman had portrayed in the West End. While in Edinburgh, Connery was targeted by the notorious Valdor gang, there Connery launched an attack single-handedly against the gang members, grabbing one by the throat and another by a biceps and cracked their heads together
44.
Charlie's Angels
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Charlies Angels is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22,1976 to June 24,1981, producing five seasons and 110 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aaron Spelling, there were a few casting changes, after the departure of Fawcett and Jackson, came the additions of Cheryl Ladd, Shelley Hack, and Tanya Roberts. By the third season, however, the show had fallen from the top 10, the fourth season of the show saw a further decline in ratings. But the changes could not stop the ratings and in 1981. The series continues to have a cult and pop culture following through syndication, DVD releases, Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts came up with the idea for a series about three beautiful female private investigators as a breakthrough but also escapist television series. Producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg first considered actress Kate Jackson during the early stages of the series. She had proven popular with viewers in another television drama. Jackson was initially cast as Kelly Garrett, but was attracted to the role of Sabrina Duncan. Farrah Fawcett was next cast as Jill Munroe, but much like Jackson and she was offered a part by Spelling after he had viewed her performance in the science-fiction film Logans Run. Jaclyn Smith was among the hundreds of actresses who auditioned for the role of Kelly Garrett, despite liking Smith, Spelling and Goldberg were wary about hiring her because their initial concept concerned a brunette, blonde, and red-headed woman. Smith was the only brunette that auditioned for the role and was cast only after producers liked the on-screen chemistry she shared with Jackson, Goff and Roberts had first titled the series The Alley Cats in which the three females would reside in alleys and wear whips and chains. Jackson disapproved of the title, and since she was given semi-control over the development of the series, she encouraged producers to find a new title. However, it was Jackson who decided the three women would be called Angels after seeing a picture of three angels hanging in Spellings office, and the became known as Harrys Angels. This title was dropped, however, when ABC did not want to run into conflict with the series Harry O, with this, millionaire Charlie Townsend was an unseen character on the series who only spoke to the Angels via a Western Electric Speakerphone. John Forsythe, who played the unseen Charlie Townsend, directing the Angels crime-fighting operations over a speaker-phone, thus, Forsythe rarely met any of his female co-stars. Some years later, he bumped into Farrah Fawcett-Majors at the courts, as he recalled, I was coming off the court when she came up to me and said. I didnt even take my pajamas off – I just put on my topcoat, when it was finished, Aaron Spelling said, Thats perfect. And I went home and went back to bed, Spelling and Goldberg decided to add actor David Doyle to the cast as John Bosley, an employee of Charlie, who would frequently aid the Angels in their assignments
