Eleanor Jean Parker was an American actress. She was nominated for three Academy Awards for her roles in the films Caged (1950), Detective Story (1951), and Interrupted Melody (1955), the first of which won her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. She was also known for her roles in the films Of Human Bondage (1946), Scaramouche (1952), The Naked Jungle (1954), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), A Hole in the Head (1959), The Sound of Music (1965), and The Oscar (1966).
Kay Francis was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936, when she was the number one female star and highest-paid actress at Warner Bros. studio. She adopted her mother's maiden name (Francis) as her professional surname.
42nd Street is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film directed by Lloyd Bacon, with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics). The film's numbers were staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It starred an ensemble cast of Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, and Ginger Rogers.
The House That Shadows Built (1931) is a feature compilation film from Paramount Pictures, made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the studio's founding in 1912. The film was a promotional film for exhibitors and never had a regular theatrical release.
The Big Sleep is a 1946 American film noir directed by Howard Hawks. William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman co-wrote the screenplay, which adapts Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel. The film stars Humphrey Bogart as private detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall as Vivian Rutledge in a story that begins with blackmail and leads to multiple murders.
A Stolen Life is a 1946 American drama film starring Bette Davis, who also produced it. The film, based on the 1935 novel A Stolen Life by Karel Josef Benes, was directed by Curtis Bernhardt. Among the supporting cast are Glenn Ford, Dane Clark, Peggy Knudsen, Charlie Ruggles, and Bruce Bennett. It is a remake of the 1939 British film Stolen Life starring Elisabeth Bergner and Michael Redgrave.
The Voice of the Turtle is a 1947 American romantic comedy film directed by Irving Rapper and starring Ronald Reagan, Eleanor Parker, Eve Arden and Wayne Morris. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. It was based on the long-running 1943 stage play The Voice of the Turtle by John Van Druten. In the 1950s, the film was rereleased and aired on television under the title One for the Book.
Blonde Crazy is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic comedy-drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Noel Francis, Louis Calhern, Ray Milland, and Guy Kibbee. The film is notable for one of Cagney's lines, a phrase often repeated by celebrity impersonators: "That dirty, double-crossin' rat!"
One Way Passage is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic film starring William Powell and Kay Francis as star-crossed lovers, directed by Tay Garnett and released by Warner Bros. The screenplay by Wilson Mizner and Joseph Jackson is based on a story by Robert Lord, who won the Academy Award for Best Story.
The Sisters is a 1938 American drama film produced and directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Errol Flynn and Bette Davis. The screenplay by Milton Krims is based on the 1937 novel of the same title by Myron Brinig.
Dorothy Burgess was an American stage and motion-picture actress.
Ex-Lady is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy/drama film directed by Robert Florey. The screenplay by David Boehm is a remake of the Barbara Stanwyck film Illicit (1931), both crediting a story by Edith Fitzgerald and Robert Riskin. The film focuses on a pair of lovers, commercial illustrator Helen Bauer and advertising writer Don Peterson, who have been living together quite happily for some time. One night, after hiding in Helen's bedroom until their party guests have all left, Don announces that he is tired of sneaking around. He wants marriage—and possibly children—and Helen finally agrees, although she is afraid that it will wreck their relationship. Her predictions of trouble—increased by the stresses of opening their own advertising agency—come true, but in the end, with the serendipitous intervention of their perpetually inebriated friend, Van, they reconcile and resume the mixed blessings of wedded bliss.
Fashions of 1934 is a 1934 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by William Dieterle with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley. The screenplay by F. Hugh Herbert and Carl Erickson was based on the story The Fashion Plate by Harry Collins and Warren Duff. The film stars William Powell, Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Hugh Herbert, Verree Teasdale, and Reginald Owen, and features Henry O'Neill, Phillip Reed, Gordon Westcott, and Dorothy Burgess. The film's songs are by Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics). Sometime after its initial release, the title Fashions of 1934 was changed to Fashions, replacing the original title with an insert card stating "William Powell in 'Fashions'".
Nella Walker was an American actress and vaudeville performer of the 1920s through the 1950s.
The Gold Diggers is a Warner Bros. silent comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont with screenplay by Grant Carpenter based on the play The Gold Diggers by Avery Hopwood which ran for 282 performances on Broadway in 1919 and 1920. Both the play and the film were produced by David Belasco. The film stars Hope Hampton, Wyndham Standing, and Louise Fazenda. It was also the (uncredited) film debut of Louise Beavers.
Mandalay is a 1934 American pre Code drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and written by Austin Parker and Charles Kenyon based on a story by Paul Hervey Fox. The film stars Kay Francis, Ricardo Cortez, Warner Oland and Lyle Talbot, and features Ruth Donnelly and Reginald Owen.
Girl Missing is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery film starring Glenda Farrell, Ben Lyon and Mary Brian. It was directed by Robert Florey and released by Warner Bros. on March 4, 1933.
Another Dawn is a 1937 American melodrama film directed by William Dieterle and starring Errol Flynn, Kay Francis and Ian Hunter. It is based on Somerset Maugham's 1919 play Caesar's Wife. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. The film received dismissive reviews.
Women in the Wind is a 1939 film directed by John Farrow and starring Kay Francis, William Gargan and Victor Jory. The plot concerns women pilots competing in the so-called "Powder Puff Derby", an annual transcontinental air race solely for women.
Navy Blues is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay, Arthur T. Horman and Sam Perrin. The film stars Ann Sheridan, Jack Oakie, Martha Raye, Jack Haley, Herbert Anderson, Jack Carson, Jackie Gleason and William T. Orr. The film was released by Warner Bros. on September 13, 1941.
