Half a Hero | |
---|---|
Directed by | Don Weis |
Written by | Max Shulman |
Produced by | Matthew Rapf |
Starring | Red Skelton Jean Hagen |
Cinematography | Paul C. Vogel |
Edited by | Newell P. Kimlin |
Music by | Paul Sawtell |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 71 mins. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $486,000 [1] |
Box office | $891,000 (rentals) [1] |
Half a Hero is a 1953 American comedy film starring Red Skelton and Jean Hagen. Directed by Don Weis, the film was written by Max Shulman and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Freelance writer Ben Dobson (Skelton) lands his first full-time writing job at a national magazine, tasked with rewriting other authors' work. His wife Martha (Hagen) uses this as the perfect time to start their family, and four years later pressures Ben into moving from New York City to the suburbs, where he's swiftly living beyond his means. His boss then wants him to write a story on those suburbs, titled "slums of tomorrow."
Martha happily embraces her new environment and friendly neighbors, but Ben is cynical about their life there and decides they should return to the city. However, while showing their home to another prospective buyer, Ben realizes he would miss the home's personal touches, and they should stay.
In the week ended September 2, 1953, Half a Hero grossed $20,000 at the Loew's Capitol Theatre in Washington, D.C. [2] According to MGM records the film earned theatrical rentals of $661,000 in the US and Canada and $230,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $68,000. [1]
Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal. The character originated in the oral tradition of North American loggers, and was later popularized by freelance writer William B. Laughead (1882–1958) in a 1916 promotional pamphlet for the Red River Lumber Company. He has been the subject of various literary compositions, musical pieces, commercial works, and theatrical productions. His likeness is displayed in a number of oversized statues across North America.
Richard Red Skelton was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio and television, and also appeared in burlesque, vaudeville, films, nightclubs, and casinos, all while he pursued an entirely separate career as an artist.
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The Red Skelton Show is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his television series is largely associated with CBS, where it appeared for more than sixteen years, it actually began and ended on NBC. During its run, the program received three Emmy Awards, for Skelton as best comedian and the program as best comedy show during its initial season, and an award for comedy writing in 1961. In 1959 Skelton also received a Golden Globe for Best TV Show.
Anita, Lady May, known as Anita Dobson, is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her role from 1985 to 1988 as Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. In 1986, she reached number four in the UK Singles Chart with "Anyone Can Fall in Love", a song based on the theme music of EastEnders. She is married to Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Sir Brian May.
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Charles Dingle was an American stage and film actor.
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Martha Ruth Stewart Shelley, better known as Martha Stewart, was an American actress. She was noted for playing Mildred Atkinson in In a Lonely Place (1950) alongside Humphrey Bogart.
Du Barry Was a Lady is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth, starring Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, and Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra. It is based on the 1939 stage musical of the same name. Shot in Technicolor, the film was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property served as Charlie Chaplin Studios from 1917 to 1953, which later earned the site designation as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. After being sold by Chaplin in 1953, the property went through several changes in ownership and has served at various times as Kling Studios, the Red Skelton Studios, the shooting location for the Adventures of Superman and Perry Mason television series. From 1966 to 1999, it was the headquarters for A&M Records and the location of A&M Recording Studios. Since 2000, it has been the headquarters of The Jim Henson Company, including the Henson Soundstage and Henson Recording Studios.
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