Emeric Pressburger was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a collaboration partnership known as the Archers, and produced a series of films, including 49th Parallel (1941), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). He has been played on screen by Alec Westwood in the award-winning short film Òran na h-Eala (2022) which explores Moira Shearer's life changing decision to appear in The Red Shoes.
A Matter of Life and Death is a 1946 British fantasy-romance film set in England during the Second World War. Written, produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the film stars David Niven, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey, Kim Hunter and Marius Goring.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is a 1943 British romantic drama war film written, produced and directed by the British film making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. The title derives from the satirical Colonel Blimp comic strip by David Low, but the story itself is original. The film has been acclaimed as the greatest British movie ever made and is renowned for its sophistication and directorial brilliance as well as for its script, the performances of its large cast and for its pioneering Technicolor cinematography. Among its distinguished company of actors, particular praise has been reserved for Livesey, Walbrook, and Kerr.
The Spy in Black is a 1939 British film, and the first collaboration between the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. They were brought together by Alexander Korda to make the World War I spy thriller novel of the same title by Joseph Storer Clouston into a film. Powell and Pressburger eventually made over 20 films during the course of their partnership.
Rodney Ackland was an English playwright, actor, theatre director and screenwriter.
Julian Charles Becket Amyes, known as Julian Amyes, was a British film and television director and producer.
The Youngest Profession is a 1943 film directed by Edward Buzzell, and starring Virginia Weidler, Edward Arnold, John Carroll, Scotty Beckett, and Agnes Moorehead. Based on a short story series and book written by Lillian Day, it contains cameos by Greer Garson, Lana Turner, William Powell, Walter Pidgeon, and Robert Taylor.
New Year Honours were granted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the start of 2005. Among these in the UK were knighthoods awarded to Mike Tomlinson, the educationalist; Derek Wanless, who led a review of the National Health Service; and Brian Harrison, editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The former athlete Kelly Holmes was made a Dame. The television presenter Alan Whicker was awarded a CBE.
The 4th Cannes Film Festival was held from 3 to 20 April 1951. The previous year, no festival had been held because of financial reasons. In 1951, the festival took place in April instead of September to avoid direct competition with the Venice Film Festival.
A Spot of Bother is a 1938 British comedy film directed by David MacDonald and starring Robertson Hare, Alfred Drayton, Sandra Storme and Kathleen Joyce. The film is a farce in which a bishop unwisely decides to loan the cathedral funds to a dubious businessman. Meanwhile, his secretary is involved with smuggled goods. It was shot at Pinewood Studios and adapted from a play by Vernon Sylvaine. The film's sets were designed by Wilfred Arnold.
A Girl Must Live is a 1939 British romantic comedy film directed by Carol Reed that stars Margaret Lockwood, Renee Houston, Lilli Palmer, Hugh Sinclair, and Naunton Wayne. Based on a 1936 novel by Emery Bonett with the same title, the plot features three chorus line girls competing for the affection of a wealthy bachelor.
Wanted for Murder is a 1946 British crime film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Eric Portman, Dulcie Gray, Derek Farr, and Roland Culver.
Music Hath Charms is a 1935 British musical comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley, Walter Summers, Arthur B. Woods and Alexander Esway. It stars Henry Hall with the BBC Dance Orchestra, Carol Goodner and Arthur Margetson.
Tony Draws a Horse is a 1950 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Cecil Parker, Anne Crawford and Derek Bond. It was adapted from a 1939 play of the same name by Lesley Storm.
Miracle in Soho is a 1957 British drama film directed by Julian Amyes and starring John Gregson, Belinda Lee and Cyril Cusack. The film depicts the lives of the inhabitants of a small street in Soho and the romance between a local road-builder and the daughter of Italian immigrants.
Charles Orme was a British film producer. He worked regularly with Powell & Pressburger, Ralph Thomas, Basil Dearden and John Boorman. He has over 50 credits on a number of classics including The 39 Steps (1959), Khartoum (1966), Deliverance (1972), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and The Omen (1976). He was an original member of the multiple-award-winning Powell & Pressburger production team known as The Archers. He was a production assistant, production manager and assistant director on many of their classic productions, including The Red Shoes (1948), The Small Back Room (1949), Gone to Earth (1950) and The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), Oh... Rosalinda!! (1955), The Battle of the River Plate (1956) and Ill Met by Moonlight (1957).
Twilight Hour is a 1945 British drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Mervyn Johns, Basil Radford, and Marie Lohr.
Their Mutual Child is a lost 1920 American silent comedy film directed by George L. Cox and starring Margarita Fischer, Joseph Bennett and Margaret Campbell. It was based on the 1919 novel of the same title by P. G. Wodehouse.
Pampered Youth is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by David Smith and starring Cullen Landis, Alice Calhoun, and Allan Forrest. It is an adaption of the 1918 novel The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington. It was one of the final films produced by Vitagraph Studios before the firm was absorbed into Warner Bros.
The Weather in the Streets is a 1983 British drama film directed by Gavin Millar and starring Michael York, Lisa Eichhorn and Joanna Lumley. Adapted from the novel of the same title by Rosamond Lehmann, it originally premiered at the London Film Festival in November 1983 before being broadcast on BBC Two in February 1984.
