Charles Bronson was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town in Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains. Bronson's father, a miner, died when Bronson was young. Bronson himself worked in the mines as well until joining the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 to fight in World War II. After his service, he joined a theatrical troupe and studied acting. During the 1950s, he played various supporting roles in motion pictures and television, including anthology drama TV series in which he would appear as the main character. Near the end of the decade, he had his first cinematic leading role in Machine-Gun Kelly (1958).
Gerald Boland was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Justice from 1939 to 1948 and 1951 to 1954, Minister for Lands from 1936 to 1939, Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1933 to 1936 and Government Chief Whip from 1932 to 1933. He served as a Senator from 1961 to 1969 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Roscommon constituency from 1923 to 1961.
The Dirty Dozen is a 1967 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Lee Marvin with an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Ralph Meeker, Robert Ryan, Trini Lopez, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker and Robert Webber. Set in 1944 during World War II, the film follows the titular penal military unit of twelve convicts as they are trained as commandos by the Allies for a suicide mission ahead of the Normandy landings.
Charles Arthur Salvador, better known as Charles Bronson, is a British criminal, with a violent and notorious life as a prisoner. He has spent periods detained in the Rampton, Broadmoor, and Ashworth high-security psychiatric hospitals.
Audie Leon Murphy was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated soldier in U.S. history. He received every military combat award for valor available from the United States Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. Murphy received the Medal of Honor for valor that he demonstrated at the age of 19 for single-handedly holding off a company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, before leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition.
Death Wish II is a 1982 American vigilante action-thriller film directed and co-edited by Michael Winner. It is the first of four sequels to the 1974 film Death Wish. It is the second installment in the Death Wish film series. In the story, architect Paul Kersey moves to Los Angeles with his daughter. After his daughter is murdered at the hands of several gang members, Kersey once again chooses to become a vigilante. Unlike the original, in which he hunts down every criminal he encounters, Kersey only pursues his family's attackers. The sequel makes a complete breakaway from the Brian Garfield novels Death Wish and Death Sentence, redefining the Paul Kersey character. It was succeeded by Death Wish 3.
To Hell and Back is a Technicolor and CinemaScope war film released in 1955. It was directed by Jesse Hibbs and stars Audie Murphy as himself. It is based on the 1949 autobiography of the same name and is an account of Murphy's World War II experiences as a soldier in the U.S. Army. The book was ghostwritten by his friend, David "Spec" McClure, who served in the U.S. Army's Signal Corps during World War II.
Battle of the Bulge is a 1965 American widescreen epic war film produced in Spain, directed by Ken Annakin and starring Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews and Charles Bronson. The feature was filmed in Ultra Panavision 70 and exhibited in 70 mm Cinerama. Battle of the Bulge had its world premiere on December 16, 1965, the 21st anniversary of the titular battle, at the Pacific Cinerama Dome Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Josef Kramer was a Hauptsturmführer and the Commandant of Auschwitz-Birkenau and of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Dubbed The Beast of Belsen by camp inmates, he was a German Nazi war criminal, directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. He was detained by the British Army after the Second World War, convicted of war crimes, and hanged on the gallows in the prison at Hamelin by British executioner Albert Pierrepoint.
Death Wish is a 1972 novel by Brian Garfield. A sequel novel, Death Sentence, was published in 1975.
Brad Dexter was an American actor and film producer. He is known for tough-guy and western roles, including the 1960 film The Magnificent Seven (1960), and producing several films for Sidney J. Furie such as Lady Sings the Blues. He is also known for a short marriage to Peggy Lee, a friendship with Marilyn Monroe and for saving Frank Sinatra from drowning. Dexter's tough-guy roles contrasted with his easygoing and friendly real-life personality.
Go for Broke! is a 1951 black-and-white war film directed by Robert Pirosh, produced by Dore Schary and starring Van Johnson and six veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The film co-stars Henry Nakamura, Warner Anderson, and Don Haggerty in its large cast.
Death Wish 3 is a 1985 American vigilante action-thriller film directed and edited by Michael Winner. It is the third film and the last to be directed by Winner in the Death Wish film series. It stars Charles Bronson as the vigilante killer Paul Kersey and sees him battling with New York street punk gangs while receiving tactical support from a local NYPD lieutenant. Despite being set in New York City, some of the filming was shot in London to reduce production costs. It was succeeded by Death Wish 4: The Crackdown.
Hell Is for Heroes is a 1962 American war film directed by Don Siegel and starring Steve McQueen. It tells the story of a squad of U.S. soldiers from the 95th Infantry Division who, in the fall of 1944, must hold off an entire German company for approximately 48 hours along the Siegfried Line until reinforcements reach them.
The Negro Soldier is a 1944 documentary film created by the United States Army during World War II. It was produced by Frank Capra as a follow-up to his successful film series Why We Fight. The army used the film as propaganda to convince black Americans to enlist in the army and fight in the war. Most people regarded the film very highly, some going as far as to say that The Negro Soldier was "one of the finest things that ever happened to America". Due to both high reviews and great cinematography, The Negro Soldier proved to be a breakout film influencing army members and civilians of all races. In 2011, it was chosen to be preserved in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Death Wish is a 1974 American vigilante action-thriller film loosely based on the 1972 novel of the same title by Brian Garfield. Directed by Michael Winner, the film stars Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey, an architect who becomes a vigilante after his wife is murdered and daughter molested during a home invasion. It was the first film in the Death Wish film series. It was followed eight years later with Death Wish II and other similar films.
Death Wish franchise is an American vigilante action-thriller film series based on the 1972 novel by Brian Garfield. The films follow the character Paul Kersey, portrayed by Charles Bronson in the original series, and Bruce Willis in the 2018 remake. While the first film received mixed reviews, the subsequent sequels, as well as the remake, were panned by critics. The series made $87 million against a combined production budget of $61 million.
Breakheart Pass is a 1975 American Western film that stars Charles Bronson, Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna, and Jill Ireland. Based on the 1974 novel of the same title by Scottish author Alistair MacLean (1922–1987), it was filmed in north-central Idaho.
Hold Back the Night is a 1956 American war film about the Korean War based on the 1951 novel by Pat Frank, who had been a war correspondent in Korea. The film was directed by Allan Dwan; his third film with John Payne and his third film about the United States Marine Corps, the others being Abroad with Two Yanks (1944) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949).
The Last Ride is a 1944 American crime film directed by D. Ross Lederman. According to Warner Bros accounts the film earned $249,000 domestically and $8,000 foreign.
