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The year 1947 in film involved some significant events.

Events[link]

• May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.
• November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".
• November 25 : The Waldorf Statement is released by the executives of the United States motion picture industry that marks the beginning of the Hollywood blacklist.

Top grossing films (U.S.)[link]

Awards[link]

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: Gentleman's Agreement - 20th Century-Fox

Best Director: Elia Kazan - Gentleman's Agreement

Best Actor: Ronald Colman - A Double Life

Best Actress: Loretta Young - The Farmer's Daughter

Best Supporting Actor: Edmund Gwenn - Miracle on 34th Street

Best Supporting Actress: Celeste Holm - Gentleman's Agreement

Golden Globe Awards:

Best Picture: Gentleman's Agreement

Best Director: Elia Kazan - Gentleman's Agreement

Best Actor: Ronald Colman - A Double Life

Best Actress: Rosalind Russell - Mourning Becomes Electra

Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival): not awarded

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival)

Siréna, directed by Karel Stekly (Czechoslovakia)

Films released in 1947[link]

U.S.A. unless stated

• 13 Rue Madeleine
• Along the Sungari River (Songhua-jiang shang) - (China)
• Angel and the Badman
• The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, starring Cary Grant, Shirley Temple and Myrna Loy
• The Bishop's Wife, starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven
• Black Narcissus, written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, starring Deborah Kerr, Sabu and Jean Simmons - (U.K.)
• Body and Soul, directed by Robert Rossen, starring John Garfield and Lilli Palmer
• Boomerang
• Born to Kill
• The Brasher Doubloon, starring George Montgomery
• Brighton Rock, a Boulting Brothers film, starring Richard Attenborough - (U.K.)
• Brute Force, directed by Jules Dassin, starring Burt Lancaster
• Buck Privates Come Home, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
• Captain Boycott, directed by Frank Launder, starring Stewart Granger - (U.K.)
• Captain from Castile, starring Tyrone Power
• Cinderella (Zolushka) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Crossfire, starring Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan and Gloria Grahame
• Daisy Kenyon, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Joan Crawford, Henry Fonda and Dana Andrews
• Dark Passage, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall`
• Dead Reckoning
• Desert Fury, starring John Hodiak
• Desperate
• Devil in the Flesh (Diable au corps) - (France)
• The Devil Thumbs a Ride, starring Lawrence Tierney
• Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
• A Double Life, starring Ronald Colman and Shelley Winters
• Down to Earth
• The Egg and I, starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray
• Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon (China)
• Fame is the Spur, a Boulting Brothers film, with Michael Redgrave - (U.K.)
• The Farmer's Daughter, starring Loretta Young
• Fear in the Night
• Fireworks, directed by Kenneth Anger
• Flesh Will Surrender (Il delitto di Giovanni Episcopo) - (Italy)
• Forever Amber, starring Linda Darnell
• The Foxes of Harrow - (U.K./U.S.)
• Framed
• Frieda, directed by Basil Dearden, starring David Farrar, Glynis Johns and Mai Zetterling - (U.K.)
• The Fugitive, starring Henry Fonda and Dolores del Río
• Fun and Fancy Free
• Gentleman's Agreement, starring Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and John Garfield
• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison
• Good News
• Great Expectations (U.S. release)
• Green Dolphin Street, starring Lana Turner
• Hi-De-Ho, starring Cab Calloway
• High Wall
• Honeymoon
• Hue and Cry, the first Ealing comedy, directed by Charles Crichton - (U.K.)
• The Humpbacked Horse - (U.S.S.R.)
• An Ideal Husband, directed by Alexander Korda, starring Michael Wilding and Paulette Goddard - (U.K.)
• Ima Hitotabi no - (Japan)
• It Always Rains on Sunday, starring Googie Withers and Jack Warner - (U.K.)
• It Happened on Fifth Avenue, starring Victor Moore, Don DeFore, Gale Storm and Charlie Ruggles
• Ivan the Terrible (U.S. release)\
• Johnny O'Clock, starring Dick Powell
• Killer Dill
• Kiss of Death, starring Victor Mature and Richard Widmark
• The Lady from Shanghai, directed by and starring Orson Welles with Rita Hayworth
• Lady in the Lake, directed by and starring Robert Montgomery
• The Last Stage (Ostatni etap) - (Poland)
• Law of the Lash, starring Lash La Rue
• Life with Father, starring William Powell and Elizabeth Taylor
• The Long Night
• The Lost Moment
• Lured, starring Lucille Ball
• The Macomber Affair
• Mine Own Executioner - (U.K.)
• Miracle on 34th Street, starring Edmund Gwenn and Maureen O'Hara
• Monsieur Verdoux, directed by and starring Charles Chaplin
• Monsieur Vincent, starring Pierre Fresnay - (France)
• Moss Rose
• Mother Wore Tights, starring Betty Grable
• Mourning Becomes Electra, starring Rosalind Russell and Michael Redgrave
• My Favourite Brunette
• My Wild Irish Rose, a biography starring Dennis Morgan as Chancellor Olcott
• Nicholas Nickleby, directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, starring Stanley Holloway - (U.K.)
• Nightmare Alley, starring Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell
• Nora Prentiss
• Odd Man Out, directed by Carol Reed, starring James Mason and Robert Newton - (U.K.)
• One Wonderful Sunday, directed by Akira Kurosawa - (Japan)
• L'onorevole Angelina, directed by Luigi Zampa, starring Anna Magnani - (Italy)
• Out of the Past, directed by Jacques Tourneur, starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer
• The Paradine Case, starring Gregory Peck
• The Pearl (La Perla) (international release), starring Pedro Armendáriz - (Mexico)
• The Perils of Pauline
• Possessed, starring Joan Crawford
• Pursued, starring Robert Mitchum
• Quai des Orfèvres, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Louis Jouvet - (France)
• Ramrod, starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake
• The Record of a Tenement Gentleman (Nagaya shinshiroku), directed by Yasujirō Ozu - (Japan)
• Ride the Pink Horse
• Road to Rio, starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope
• The Romance of Rosy Ridge, starring Van Johnson, Thomas Mitchell and Janet Leigh
• The Sea of Grass
• Secret Agent, directed by Boris Barnet - (U.S.S.R.)
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo
• A Ship to India - (Sweden)
• The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, starring Betty Grable
• Shoeshine (U.S. release)
• Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman, starring Susan Hayward
• Snow Trail (Ginrei no hate) - (Japan)
• Song of Scheherazade, starring Yvonne De Carlo, Jean-Pierre Aumont and Brian Donlevy
• The Spring River Flows East (China)
• T-Men
• They Made Me a Fugitive - (U.K.)
• They Won't Believe Me
• To Live in Peace (Vivere in pace) - (Italy)
• Uncle Silas, starring Jean Simmons - (U.K.)
• Unconquered
• The Unsuspected, starring Claude Rains and Joan Caulfield
• The Voice of the Turtle
• The Web
• While the Sun Shines - (U.K.)
• The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello

Serials[link]

• The Black Widow, starring Bruce Edwards
• Brick Bradford, starring Kane Richmond
• Jack Armstrong
• Jesse James Rides Again, starring Clayton Moore and Linda Stirling
• The Sea Hound, starring Buster Crabbe
• Son of Zorro, starring George Turner and Peggy Stewart
• The Vigilante, starring Ralph Byrd

Short film series[link]

• Mickey Mouse (1928–1952)
• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• The Three Stooges (1934–1959)
• Donald Duck (1934–1956)
• Andy Panda (1939–1949)
• Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
• The Fox and the Crow (1941–1950)
• Bugs Bunny (1940–1962)
• Chip and Dale (1943–1956)
• Red Hot Riding Hood (1943–1949)
• Popeye (1933–1957)
• Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
• George and Junior (1946–1948)
• Blackie the Sheep (1947-1949)
• Mighty Mouse (1942–1955)
• Pluto (1937–1951)
• Goofy (1939–1953)
• Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949)
• Yosemite Sam (1945–1963)

Births[link]

• February 2 - Farrah Fawcett, actress (died 2009)
• February 24 - Edward James Olmos, Mexican-American actor
• February 28 - Stephanie Beacham, English actress
• March 6 - Rob Reiner, actor, comedian, producer and director
• March 11 - Brigitte Fossey, French actress
• March 19 - Glenn Close, actress
• April 15 - Lois Chiles, actress
• April 18 - James Woods, actor
• April 23 - Blair Brown, actress
• May 4 - Richard Jenkins, actor
• June 1 - Jonathan Pryce, Welch actor
• June 6 - Robert Englund, actor
• June 20 - Candy Clark, actress
• July 22 - Albert Brooks, actor, comedian and director
• July 30 - William Atherton, actor
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-born actor, bodybuilder and 38th Governor of California
• July 31 - Richard Griffiths, English actor
• August 27 - Barbara Bach, actress
• October 1 - Stephen Collins, actor
• October 17 - Michael McKean, actor and comedian
• October 24 - Kevin Kline, actor
• October 29 - Richard Dreyfuss, actor
• September 14 - Sam Neill, New Zealand actor
• September 21 - Stephen King, horror author
• November 30 - Stuart Baird, English editor, producer and director
• December 11 - Teri Garr, actress and comedienne
• December 16 - Ben Cross, English actor
• December 31 - Tim Matheson, actor, director and producer

Deaths[link]

• January 26 - Grace Moore, singer (opera) & actress
• March 8 - Victor Potel, comedian of silent & sound eras
• May 31 - Adrienne Ames, actress
• June 1 - Anna Hoffman-Uddgren, director, actress
• June 5 - Nils Olaf Chrisander, actor, director
• September 21 - Harry Carey, actor

Film debuts[link]

• Anouk Aimée
• Pedro Armendáriz
• Dirk Bogarde
• Janet Leigh
• Toshiro Mifune
• Marilyn Monroe
• Jacques Tati
• Richard Widmark

Sir Alexander Korda (16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956) was a Hungarian-born British film producer and director.^[1] He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.

Early life[link]

The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent Korda, Korda was born as Sándor László Kellner to a Jewish family^[2] in Pusztatúrpásztó in what is now Hungary (it was then a city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire), where he worked as a journalist (supporting the Hungarian Soviet Republic) before going into films as a producer.

Korda established a film company named Corvin Film, building it into one of the largest in Hungary. Korda was arrested in October 1919 during the White Terror that followed the overthrow of the Communist government. After his release he left Hungary for Austria, and never returned to his country of birth.^[3]

Vienna and Berlin[link]

Korda's first wife was the actress Maria Corda who starred in many of his silent films in Europe and America.

During the next eleven years Korda made films in several countries working in Vienna, Berlin, Paris before eventually moving to Hollywood. He worked closely with many artists on his films, including his Hungarian friend, painter and set designer Emile Lahner.

After leaving Hungary, Korda accepted an invitation from Count Alexander Kolowrat to work for his company Sascha-Film in the Austrian capital Vienna.^[4] Korda worked alongside the flamboyment Kolowrat, who had attracted several leading Hungarian and German directors into his employment, on the 1920 historical epic The Prince and the Pauper. The film was a major international success and inspired Korda with the idea of making "international films" with global box office appeal.^[5]

Korda's next two films Masters of the Sea (1922) and A Vanished World (1922) were both nautical-set adventures based on Hungarian novels. By this stage Korda had grown irritated with Kolowrat's interfence with his work and left Sascha to make an independent film Samson and Delilah (1922) set in the world of opera. The film was made on a lavish scale, with large crowd scenes, and a lengthy shooting schedule which lasted a hundred and sixty working days. In spite of this the film was not a success.^[6]

Unable to find any further backing for his film projects, Korda left Vienna and travelled to Germany. Korda was able to raise finance for the melodrama The Unknown Tomorrow (1923). With backing from Germany's biggest film company UFA, Korda returned to Vienna to make Everybody's Woman (1924). While there he began work on his next film the historical Tragedy in the House of Habsburg (1924) which depicts the Mayerling Incident. It only earned back around half of its production cost.^[7] He followed this with Dancing Mad (1925), another melodrama.

Korda had frequent problems with money, and often had to receive support from friends and business associates. Korda had cast his wife Maria Corda as the female lead in all his German-language films and to a large degree his productions depended on her star power. There was already a growing tension in their marriage which would come to a head once they went to America. Korda cast her again in A Modern Dubarry (1927), which updapted the life story of Madame Du Barry based on an original screenplay by Lajos Biro. The film may have aimed to highlight Maria Corda's star potential to Hollywood. ^[8] Korda made his final German film Madame Wants No Children (1926) for the American studio's Fox's Berlin-based subsidiary. Although made later, it was released before A Modern Dubarry.

Hollywood[link]

In December 1926 after receiving a joint contract offer from the American studio First National, Korda and his wife sailed for the United States on board the S.S. Olympic.^[9] Once they reached Hollywood both struggled to adapt to the studio system, and there was a considerable pause before Korda was handed his initial directorial assignment. The first American film Korda made, in 1927, was a drama titled The Stolen Bride. He was chosen because the production was a Hungarian-themed romance story about a peasant's love for a Countess.^[10] The film starred the American actress Billie Dove, rather than Korda's wife.

After The Stolen Bride's moderate success, Korda was brought in to work on the comedy The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927), replacing the previous director George Fitzmaurice. The film retells the story of Helen of Troy, parodying the plot-line of historical epics of the era by transforming the classical characters into everyday people with modern problems. The film was a significant success for Korda, with his wife playing the role of Helen. After this film, however, Korda became pigeon-holed as a director of female stars and exotic foreign locations and he was generally given similar assignments for the remainder of his time in Hollywood.^[11] Nonetheless the film was his most satisfying work in the United States and provided the template for his later success in Britain.

Korda's next few films Yellow Lily (1928), Night Watch (1928) and Love and the Devil (1929) were disappointments as his career lost its momentum. The latter two were both Silent films but had sound effects and music added to their soundtracks as part of Hollywood's transitional phase of technology following the success of the Sound film The Jazz Singer. Korda's next film The Squall (1929) was his first "Talkie" and featured a Hungarian setting. Although, like many other directors, Korda had misgivings about the new technology he quickly adapted to making sound films.

Korda's marriage had become further strained in Hollywood, and the arrival of sound films wrecked his wife's career as her heavy accent meant studios were unwilling to employ her. Love and the Devil was the last of Korda's films she appeared in and she only made two further films. She became increasingly resentful of the switch in the dynamic of their relationship as her career was now over while Korda, who had once relied on her for the production of his films, was relatively flourishing. This led to the collapse of their marriage and they divorced in 1930.^[12]

Korda made two more sound films at First National Her Private Life (1929) and Lilies of the Field (1930), both of which were remakes of earlier silent films. Korda grew gradually more frustrated in Hollywood as he came to strongly dislike the studio system. He hoped to save up enough money to return to Europe and begin producing on a large scale there, but his lavish personal spending and the large amounts he lost in the Wall Street Crash prevented this. When his producer Ned Marin moved from First National to the Fox Film Corporation Korda followed him. Korda's new conract gave him $100,000 a year.^[13]

His first film for Fox, Women Everywhere (1930) cost slightly more than some of the programmers he had previously directed in America and allowed him to collaborate with several figures who would contribute to his future success in Britain. Korda was then offered a series of scripts, all of which he disliked, before he finally agreed to make The Princess and the Plumber (1930).^[14] Korda's clear reluctance to make the film led to his conflict with studio bosses which brought to an end his first period in Hollywood.

Britain[link]

The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933).

In 1932 Korda founded London Films with Big Ben as the company logo. The company's releases included The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Rembrandt (1936), both of which starred Charles Laughton and were directed by Korda. Other successes included The Four Feathers (1939), Q Planes (1939), The Thief of Bagdad (1940). Korda's brothers Vincent, an art director, and Zoltan, a film director, were involved with his projects.

In 1937, Korda retained Brian Hurst to direct a resurrected project, "Lawrence of Arabia". Hurst was about to leave on a trip to Jerusalem to scout locations when Korda cancelled the trip, saying the Palestinian government refused to permit large gatherings of Arabs and they could not make the film without Arab extras.^[15] A screenplay, co-written by Hurst, Miles Malleson, and Duncan Guthrie, was completed in October 1938.^[16]

Korda bought property in Denham, Buckinghamshire, including Hills House, and planned to build film studios on the property. London Film's Denham Film Studios was financed by the Prudential and opened in 1936. Korda though soon had financial difficulties and management of the Denham complex was merged with Pinewood in 1939^[17] becoming part of the Rank Organisation.

Wartime in Europe meant The Thief of Bagdad had to be completed in Hollywood where Korda was again based for a few years. While in the United States, Korda produced and directed That Hamilton Woman (1941) and supervised Jungle Book (1942), a live action version of the Kipling story directed by Zoltan Korda.

Returning to the UK, Korda, via London Films, bought a controlling interest in British Lion Films which was involved in such productions as The Third Man (1949). The last film with Korda's involvement was Laurence Olivier's adaptation of Richard III (1955). A draft screenplay of what became The Red Shoes was written by Emeric Pressburger in the 1930s for Korda and intended as a vehicle for his future wife Merle Oberon. The screenplay was bought by Michael Powell and Pressburger who made it for J. Arthur Rank. During the 1950s, Korda reportedly expressed interest in producing a James Bond film based upon Ian Fleming's novel Live and Let Die, but no agreement was ever reached.^[18]

In 1942, Alexander Korda was knighted for his contribution to the war effort,^[19] the first film director to receive the honour.^[20] He died at the age of 62 in London of a heart attack and was cremated. His ashes are at Golders Green Crematorium in London.

Family[link]

Korda was married three times, first to Hungarian actress María Corda in 1919. They had one son, Peter Vincent Korda, and divorced in 1930. In 1939, he married film star Merle Oberon, but the marriage ended in divorce six years later. He married, lastly, on 8 June 1953, Alexandra Boycun, who survived him.

Michael Korda, the author of a roman à clef about Merle Oberon published after her death entitled Queenie, is Alexander Korda's nephew via his younger brother Vincent.

1936 Film Commission[link]

Korda was also an important contributor to the 1936 Moyne Commission formed to protect British film production from competition, mainly from the United States. Korda said: "If American interests obtained control of British production companies they may make British pictures here but the pictures made would be just as American as those made in Hollywood. We are now on the verge of forming a British school of film making in this country."^[21]

Legacy[link]

The Alexander Korda Award for "Outstanding British Film of the Year" is given in his honor by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The 1939 novel Nobody Ordered Wolves features a mogul named Napoleon Bott who is closely modelled on Korda.

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Kulik, Karol. Alexander Korda: The Man Who Could Work Miracles. Virgin Books, 1990. ISBN 978-0870003356

External links[link]

• Alexander Korda at the Internet Movie Database
• Alexander Korda at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Alexander Korda at Virtual History

Amirbai Karnataki (ca 1906 - March 3, 1965) was a famous actress/singer and playback singer of the early Hindi cinema and was famous as Kannada Kokila. Mahatma Gandhi was an ardent fan of her song Vaishnav Jan To.

Personal life[link]

Amirbai Karnataki was born in Bilgi town, District of Bijapur in Karnataka into a middle class family. Of all of her five sisters, Amirbai and her elder sister, Gauharbai, earned fame and fortune. Amirbai completed her matriculation and went to Bombay at the age of fifteen.

Career[link]

A representative from HMV was so impressed by her singing talent that he made her sing a Qawwali, which became very popular. Her elder sister, Gauherbai, was an actress and helped Amirbai get a role in the film Vishnu Bhakti in 1934.

Initially, Amirbai sang songs in films, but they failed to attain the success she desired. In 1943, with the release of Bombay Talkies' Kismet (1943 film) (1943), she achieved popularity: the songs of Kismet became a rage and Amirbai became famous. The man behind the success was the composer Anil Biswas. She was initially known as a singing star, but at the decline of her career she became a playback singer. She reached her peak by 1947.

At this time Lata Mangeshkar became a rising star, so once again Amirbai switched over to acting. In her later years she mostly played character roles. Amirbai also composed music for Wahab Pictures' Shehnaaz (1948). In the same year she almost left Hindi Cinema for Gujarati and Marwari films.

Romances[link]

She was married Badri Kaanchwala, the editor of Paras.

Death[link]

She had a paralytic attack in 1965, died just four days later and was buried in her hometown. A cinema still runs in the name of 'Amir Talkies' in the city of Bijapur by her family.

External links[link]

• Amirbai Karnataki at the Internet Movie Database

v t e Bollywood (Hindi cinema) Directors · Actors · Playback singers · Music Directors · Songs · Bibliography Hindi films A–Z—Highest-grossing Films by year: 1930s · 1940 · 1941 · 1942 · 1943 · 1944 · 1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012

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Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar(Marathi: रामचंद्र नरहर चितळकर /सी.रामचंद्र ) (January 12, 1918–January 5, 1982) was a renowned music composer in the movie industry of India. In the composer's role, he mostly used the name C. Ramachandra, though he also used the names Annasaheb (in the movies Bahadur Pratap, Matwale, and Madadgaar), Ram Chitalkar (in the movies Sukhi Jeevan, Badla, Mr. Jhatpat, Bahadur, and Dosti), and Shyamoo (in the movie Yeh hai duniya). Further, he often sang and acted in Marathi movies under the name R. N. Chitalkar. For his career as an occasional playback singer he used only his surname Chitalkar. Chitalkar sang some renowned and unforgettable duets with Lata such as Kitna haseen hai mausam in film Azad or Shola Jo bhadke in Albela.

Biography[link]

Ramachandra was born on January 12 1918 in Puntamba, a small town in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra, India. He studied music under Vinayakbua Patwardhan at "Gandharva Mahavidyalaya" and also under Shankarrao Sapre of Nagpur where he studied music alongside Vasantrao Deshpande. He joined the movie industry playing the lead role in Y. V. Rao's movie, Naganand. He also had some small roles at Minerva Movietone in the movies Saeed-e-Havas and Atma Tarang.

Ramachandra provided harmonium accompaniment for Minerva composers Bindu Khan and Habib Khan. He debuted as music director in Tamil movies with Jayakkodi and [[Vana Mohini]]. He received public notice as a good composer in Bhagwan Dada's "Sukhi Jeevan", and established a long association that culminated with the musical box office hit "Albela".

Influenced by Benny Goodman, Ramachandra introduced in his compositions the alto sax in combination with guitar and harmonica. He also included whistling in one of his famous songs, Aana meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday in film Shehnai. He used a combination of a bongo, an oboe, a trumpet, a clarinet and a sax for the song Shola Jo Bhadke in film Albela. He sang the title song "Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo" with Lata Mangeshkar, which included rock rhythms. He provided the musical score for the scat song "Ina mina dika" in "Aasha".

Perhaps C. Ramachandra's biggest success as a music composer was the 1953 movie Anarkali starring Beena Roy in the title role and Pradeep Kumar. The songs that he composed for this movie are today legendary. Songs of this movie like "Yeh Zindagi usiki hai", "Mujhse mat pooch mere ishq main kya rakha hai", "Mohabbat aise dhadkan hain", "Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag" etc.. went on to become huge hits and were also highly acclaimed as masterpieces. Anarkali also perhaps saw the famed composer-singer combine of Ramachandra and Lata Mangeshkar at their best ever together. A film critic in London who watched the movie is said to have remarked that the heroine sang like an angel without knowing that the angel was actually Lata giving playback for the actress.

The highly popular patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo", which was sung by Lata Mangeshkar and penned by poet Pradeep, was a composition of Ramachandra, it was later performed live, by Lata Mangeshkar, in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru at the Ramlila grounds, in New Delhi on Republic Day, 26 January 1963. Jawaharlal Nehru became so sentimental that tears rolled down his cheeks.^[1]

Ramachandra similarly provided a memorable musical score accompanying a competition between two dancers whose roles were played by Padmini and Vyjayanthimala for the song Kannum Kannum Kalanthu lyrics penned by Kothamangalam Subbu, sung by P. Leela and Jikki in the Tamil movie Vanjikottai Valiban. He remade the song in Hindi as "Aaja To Aaja" from Raj Tilak written by P. L. Santoshi where Asha Bhosle and Sudha Malhotra rendered their voice.

Ramachandra provided music compositions for a few Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, and Bhojpuri movies besides Hindi movies. In 1953, he also produced with "New Sai Productions" three Hindi movies: "Jhanjhar", "Lehren", "Duniya Gol Hai".

In the late 1960s, Ramachandra produced two Marathi movies, "Dhananjay" and "Gharkul". He also acted in them and composed music for them. C. Ramchandra died of acute peptic ulcer on the 5th January 1982 at Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai.

Ramchandra wrote his autobiography in Marathi in 1977.

Mumbai based troupe Musicolor,which is promoting vintage music, presented an exclusive tribute programmes featuring the gems of C Ramchandra at Dinanath Mangeshkar auditorium on 22 January 2010.

Compositions[link]

The following is a short list of some of Ramachandra's best compositions:

• Yeh zindagi usi ki hai jo kisi ka ko gaya (Anarkali)
• Dheere se aa ja re akhiyan mein (Albela)
• Katatay hain dukh mein ye din (Parchhaain)
• Tum kya jaano, tumhari yaad mein (Shin Shinaki Bubala Boo)
• Aankhon mein sama jao is dil mein raha karana (Yasmin)
• Kitna haseen hai mausam (Azaad)
• Koi kisi ka deewaana na bane (Sargam)
• Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag (Anarkali)
• Mehfil mein jal uthi shama (Nirala)
• Aye pyar teri duniya se hum (Jhanjar)
• Wafaaon ka majboor daman bichha kar dua kar gume dil khuda se dua kar (Anarkali)
• Muhobbat aisi dhadkan hai jo samjhayi nahi jati (Anarkali)
• Main jagu sari rain (Bahu Rani)
• Ab woh raate kahan ab woh baate kahan (Yasmin)
• Jo mujhe bhula ke chale gaye (Sangeeta)
• Mujh se mat poochh mere ishq mein kya rakha hai (Anarkali)
• Dekho ji bahar aayi (Azad)
• Jo dil ko jalaye sataye dukhaye aisi muhobbat se hum baaz aaye (Nirala)
• Mujh pe ilzaam-e-bewafaai hai (Yasmin)
• Aye chand pyar mera tujh se ye kah raha hai (Khazana)
• Muhobbat mein aise zamane bhi aaye (Sagaai)
• Aa ja ab to aa ja (Anarkali)
• Tere dar se khushi mangi magar gum de diya tu ne (Hungama)
• Tere phoolon se bhi pyar (Nastik)
• Kali kali ratiyan yaad sataye (Ghungaroo)
• O nirdayi pritam (Stree)
• Balma bada nadan (Albela)
• Dil se bhula do tum humen (Patanga)
• Kaghaz ki thi woh nao jis main ham jarahe the (Zaban)
• Dil ki duniya basa ke sawariyan (Amardeep)

Filmography[link]

Movies for which Ramachandra provided musical scores are listed below in chronological order:

1. Aanchal
2. Aazad
3. Ahinsa
4. Albela
5. Amar Rahe Ye Pyar
6. Amardeep
7. Anarkali
8. Asha
9. Baarish
10. Bachchon Ka Khel
11. Badla
12. Bahadur
13. Bahadur Pratap
14. Bahu Rani
15. Balram Shri Krishna
16. Bhakt Raaj
17. Chhatrapati Shivaji
18. Daal Me Kaala
19. Devta
20. Dil Ki Baat
21. Dosti
22. Duniya
23. Duniya Gol Hai
24. Ghungroo
25. Girls School
26. Hanso Hanso Ae Duniya Walo
27. Hum Diwane [as Annasahib]
28. Hungama
29. Insaniyat
30. Jhaanjhar
31. Jhamela
32. Jitne Door Utne Paas
33. Kaarigar
34. Kavi
35. Khazana
36. Khidki
37. Labelaa
38. Lahren
39. Lalkaar
40. Leela
41. Lutera
42. Madadgaar
43. Madam Zapazta
44. Manorama
45. Matwaale
46. Meenar
47. Mera Munna
48. Mr. Jhatpat
49. Muskurahat
50. Naastik
51. Nadiya Ke Paar
52. Naghma-e-Sehra
53. Namoona
54. Naushervan-e-Dil
55. Navrang
56. Nazrana
57. Nirala
58. Paayal Ki Jhankar
59. Paigham
60. Parchhain
61. Patangaa
62. Pehli Jhalak
63. Raj Tilak
64. Raunaq
65. Rootha Na Karo
66. Roshni
67. Saajan
68. Saanwaria
69. Saaqi
70. Saavdhan
71. Saawan
72. Safar
73. Sagaai
74. Samadhi
75. Samrat Chandragupt
76. Sangeeta
77. Sangraam
78. Sargam
79. Sarhad
80. Saudagar
81. Shabistaan
82. Shadi Se Pehle
83. Shagoofa
84. Sharda
85. Shatranj
86. Shehnai
87. Sher Dil
88. Shin Shinaki Bublaa Boo
89. Siphaiya
90. Stree
91. Subah Ka Tara
92. Sukhi Jivan
93. Talaaq
94. Talaash
95. Tasveer
96. Teerandaaz
97. Toofani Takkar
98. Tulsi Vivaah
99. Ustaad Pedro
100. Veer Bhimsen
101. Wahaan Ke Log
102. Yasmeen
103. Zabaan
104. Zindagi Aur Maut

References[link]

External links[link]

• C. Ramchandra at the Internet Movie Database

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Burt Lancaster
in Desert Fury (1947)
Born	Burton Stephen Lancaster (1913-11-02)November 2, 1913 New York, U.S.A.
Died	October 20, 1994(1994-10-20) (aged 80) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart attack
Education	DeWitt Clinton High School
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation	Actor, director, producer
Years active	1945–91
Spouse	June Ernst (1935–46; divorced) Norma Anderson (1946–69; divorced) 5 children Susan Martin (1990–94; his death)

Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile (which he called "The Grin"). After initially building his career on "tough guy" roles Lancaster abandoned his "all-American" image in the late 1950s in favor of more complex and challenging roles, and came to be regarded as one of the best actors of his generation as a result.

Lancaster was nominated four times for Academy Awards and won once — for his work in Elmer Gantry in 1960. He also won a Golden Globe for that performance and BAFTA Awards for The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Atlantic City (1980). His production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, was the most successful and innovative star-driven independent production company in Hollywood of the 1950s, making movies such as Marty (1955), Trapeze (1956), and Sweet Smell of Success (1957).

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Lancaster 19th among the greatest male stars of all time.^[1]

Early life[link]

Lancaster was born in Manhattan, New York City, at his parents' home at 209 East 106th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, today the site of Benjamin Franklin Plaza. Lancaster was the son of Elizabeth (née Roberts) and James Henry Lancaster, who was a postman.^[2] Both of his parents were Protestants of working-class northern Irish origin. Lancaster's grandparents were immigrants to the U.S. from Belfast and descendants of English immigrants to Ireland.^[2] Lancaster's family believed themselves to be related to Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts.^{[citation needed]} Lancaster grew up in East Harlem and spent much of his time on the streets, where he developed great interest and skill in gymnastics while attending the DeWitt Clinton High School, where he was a basketball star. Before he graduated from DeWitt Clinton, his mother died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Lancaster was accepted into New York University with an athletics scholarship but subsequently dropped out.^[3]

Circus career and military[link]

At the age of nine, Lancaster met Nick Cravat, with whom he continued to work throughout his life. Together they learned to act in local theater productions and circus arts at Union Settlement, one of the city's oldest settlement houses.^[4] They formed the acrobat duo "Lang and Cravat" and soon joined the Kay Brothers circus. However, in 1939 an injury forced Lancaster to give up the profession, with great regret. He then found temporary work until 1942 — first as a salesman for Marshall Fields, and then as a singing waiter in various restaurants.^[5]

The United States having then entered World War II, Lancaster joined the United States Army and performed with the Army's Twenty-First Special Services Division, one of the military groups organized to follow the troops on the ground and provide USO entertainment to keep up morale. He served with General Mark Clark's Fifth Army in Italy from 1943–1945.^[6]

Film career[link]

Acting[link]

With Ava Gardner in The Killers (1946)

Though initially unenthusiastic about acting, he returned from service, auditioned for a Broadway play, and was offered a role. Although Harry Brown's A Sound of Hunting was not successful, Lancaster's performance drew the attention of a Hollywood agent, Harold Hecht, who introduced him to Hal Wallis, who cast Lancaster in The Killers (1946). (Hecht and Lancaster later formed several production companies in the 1950s to give Lancaster greater creative control.) The tall, muscular actor won significant acclaim and appeared in two more films the following year. Subsequently, he played in a variety of films, especially in dramas, thrillers, and military and adventure films. In two, The Flame and the Arrow and The Crimson Pirate, a friend from his circus years, Nick Cravat, played a key supporting role, and both actors impressed audiences with their acrobatic prowess.

With Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity (1953)

In 1953, Lancaster played one of his best remembered roles with Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity. The American Film Institute acknowledged the iconic status of the scene from that film in which he and Deborah Kerr make love on a Hawaiian beach amid the crashing waves. The organization named it one of "AFI's top 100 Most Romantic Films" of all time.

Lancaster won the 1960 Academy Award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe Award, and the New York Film Critics Award for his performance in Elmer Gantry.

In 1966, at the age of 52, Lancaster appeared nude in director Frank Perry's film, The Swimmer.

During the latter part of his career, Lancaster left adventure and acrobatic movies behind and portrayed more distinguished characters. This period brought him work on several European productions, with directors such as Luchino Visconti and Bernardo Bertolucci. Lancaster sought demanding roles, and if he liked a part or a director, he was prepared to work for much lower pay than he might have earned elsewhere. He even helped to finance movies whose artistic value he believed in. He also mentored directors such as Sydney Pollack and John Frankenheimer and appeared in several television films.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Lancaster has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

[edit] Directing and producing

Lancaster in 1951

Lancaster was an early and successful actor/producer. In 1952, Lancaster co-produced Crimson Pirate, TheThe Crimson Pirate with producer Harold Hecht (who had previously produced three Lancaster films under his own production company Norma Productions; Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948), The Flame and the Arrow (1950), and Ten Tall Men (1951)). In 1954, they collaborated again on His Majesty O'Keefe, with Lancaster acting and Hecht producing. The writer for this film was James Hill. The trio started a production company, originally with Hill as a silent partner, under the name "Hecht-Lancaster". The name was later extended to include all three with "Hecht-Hill-Lancaster".

The "H-H-L" team impressed Hollywood with its success; as Life wrote in 1957, "[a]fter the independent production of a baker's dozen of pictures it has yet to have its first flop ... (They were also good pictures.)"^[7] Together they produced the films Apache (1954), Vera Cruz (1954), Marty (1955) (which won both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival), The Kentuckian (1955), Trapeze (1956), The Bachelor Party (1956), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), Separate Tables (1958), Devil's Disciple, TheThe Devil's Disciple (1959), Take a Giant Step (1959), Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1960), and Unforgiven, TheThe Unforgiven (1960). The company dissolved in 1960, but Hecht would produce two more films in which Lancaster acted, under Norma Productions, Young Savages, TheThe Young Savages (1961) and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). Twelve years later, Hecht and Lancaster produced Ulzana's Raid (1972) together.

In the late 1960s, Lancaster teamed with Roland Kibbee to form "Norlan Productions" and produce Scalphunters, TheThe Scalphunters (1968), Valdez Is Coming (1971), and The Midnight Man (1974).

In addition, Lancaster directed two films, The Kentuckian (1955) and The Midnight Man (1974).^[8] The Midnight Man was in fact starred in, co-written, produced, and directed by Lancaster.

Frequent collaborations[link]

Apart from acting in a total of seventeen films produced by Harold Hecht, Lancaster also appeared in eight films produced by Hal B. Wallis.

Lancaster made six films over the years with Kirk Douglas, including I Walk Alone (1948), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), The Devil's Disciple (1959), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), Seven Days in May (1964), and Tough Guys (1986) which fixed the notion of the pair as something of a team in the public imagination. The connection was firmly cemented by the time Lancaster and Douglas reteamed for their final movie, Tough Guys. Although Douglas was always second billed under Lancaster in these films, their roles were usually more or less the same size with the exceptions of I Walk Alone, in which Douglas played a villain, and in Seven Days in May, where Douglas' part was larger than Lancaster's but not as dramatic.

in Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)

Lancaster also often asked his close friend Nick Cravat to appear in his films. They co-starred together in nine films: The Flame and the Arrow (1952), Ten Tall Men (1951), Crimson Pirate, TheThe Crimson Pirate (1952), Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), Scalphunters, TheThe Scalphunters (1968), Airport (1970), Valdez Is Coming (1971), Ulzana's Raid (1972), The Midnight Man (1974), and Island of Dr. Moreau , TheThe Island of Dr. Moreau (1977).

Lancaster starred in three films with Deborah Kerr; From Here to Eternity, Separate Tables, and The Gypsy Moths.

In addition, John Frankenheimer directed five films with Lancaster: The Young Savages (1961), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), Seven Days in May (1964), The Train (1964), and The Gypsy Moths (1969).

Lancaster used make-up veteran Robert Schiffer in 20 credited films. Lancaster hired Schiffer on nearly all the films he produced.

Personal life[link]

Marriages and relationships[link]

Lancaster vigorously guarded his private life. He was married three times. His first two marriages ended in divorce — to June Ernst from 1935 to 1946, and to Norma Anderson from 1946 to 1969. His third marriage, to Susan Martin, was from September 1990 until his death in 1994. All five of his children were with Norma Anderson: Bill, who became a screenwriter; James; Susan; Joanna; and Sighle (pronounced Sheila). He claims he was romantically involved with Deborah Kerr during the filming of From Here to Eternity in 1953.^[9] However, Ms. Kerr had stated that while there was a spark of attraction, nothing ever happened. He also had an affair with Joan Blondell. In her 1980 autobiography, actress Shelley Winters claimed to have had a long affair with him.

Political views[link]

Lancaster was a vocal supporter of liberal political causes, and frequently spoke out in support of racial minorities, including at the March on Washington in 1963. He was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War and political movements such as McCarthyism, and he helped pay for the successful defense of a soldier accused of "fragging" (murdering) another soldier during the war.^[10] In 1968, Lancaster actively supported the presidential candidacy of antiwar Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, and frequently spoke on his behalf during the Democratic primaries. He heavily campaigned for George McGovern in the 1972 presidential election. In 1985, Lancaster, a longtime supporter of gay rights, joined the fight against AIDS after his close friend, Rock Hudson, contracted the disease. He campaigned for Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election.

Health problems and death[link]

Burt Lancaster's grave

As Lancaster grew older, he became increasingly plagued by atherosclerosis, barely surviving a routine gall bladder operation in January 1980. Following two minor heart attacks he had to undergo an emergency quadruple heart bypass in 1983, after which he was extremely weak, but he still managed to attend a 1988 Congressional hearing with old colleagues such as Jimmy Stewart and Ginger Rogers to protest media magnate Ted Turner's plan to colorize various black-and-white films from the 1930s and '40s. A severe stroke in November 1990 left him partly paralyzed and largely unable to speak. He died in his Century City apartment in Los Angeles from a third heart attack at 4:50 A.M. on October 20, 1994 at the age of 80.

Lancaster was cremated and his ashes were buried under a large oak tree in Westwood Memorial Park located in Westwood Village, Los Angeles County, California. A small square ground plaque inscribed only with "BURT LANCASTER 1913-1994" marks his final resting place. Upon his death, as he requested, he had no memorial or funeral service.^[11]

Filmography and awards[link]

Films[link]