- published: 14 Feb 2015
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Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and literary figure. He served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Although his father had him baptised to Anglicanism at age 12, he was nonetheless Britain's first and thus far only Prime Minister who was born into a Jewish family—originally from Portugal. He played an instrumental role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party after the Corn Laws schism of 1846.
Although he was a major figure in the protectionist wing of the Conservative Party after 1844, Disraeli's relations with the other leading figures in the party, particularly Lord Derby, the overall leader, were often strained. Not until the 1860s would Derby and Disraeli be on easy terms, and the latter's succession of the former assured. From 1852 onwards, Disraeli's career would also be marked by his often intense rivalry with William Ewart Gladstone, who eventually rose to become leader of the Liberal Party. In this feud, Disraeli was aided by his warm friendship with Queen Victoria, who came to detest Gladstone during the latter's first premiership in the 1870s. In 1876 Disraeli was raised to the peerage as the Earl of Beaconsfield, capping nearly four decades in the House of Commons.
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage he was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. However, he was probably best known for his six collaborations with David Lean: Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations (1946), Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948), Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor), Prince Faisal in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Yevgraf in Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Professor Godbole in A Passage to India (1984). In later years, he achieved fame with younger audiences for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas’s Star Wars films.
Guinness was born at 155 Lauderdale Mansions South, Lauderdale Road, Maida Vale, London as Alec Guinness de Cuffe. His mother's maiden name was Agnes Cuff. She was born 8 December 1890 to Edward Cuff and Mary Ann Benfield. On Guinness's birth certificate, the space for the mother's name shows Agnes de Cuffe. The space for the infant's name (where first names only are given) says Alec Guinness. The column for name and surname of father is blank.
Actors: Robert Lang (actor), Andrew Sachs (actor), Geoffrey Palmer (actor), David Ryall (actor), Charles Dance (actor), Geoffrey Bayldon (actor), Prunella Scales (actress), Prunella Scales (actress), Timothy West (actor), Patrick Godfrey (actor), Christopher Benjamin (actor), Hugh Lloyd (actor), Richenda Carey (actress), David Hewson (composer), Denis Healey (actor),
Plot: Prunella Scales researches the life of Queen Victoria and interviews historians to help her with her portrayal of Queen Victoria in her one-woman stage show "An Evening with Queen Victoria". She also portrays Queen Victoria in the historical reconstructions in this programme and reads from Queen Victoria's private diaries written late in life and unpublished until now.
Keywords: docudramaActors: Charlton Heston (actor), Dorian Harewood (actor), Rita Moreno (actress), Jane Russell (actress), Blue Deckert (actor), Melissa L. Nichols (costume designer), Mickey Rooney (actor), Peter Graves (actor), Gene Autry (actor), Danny Kamin (actor), Gabriel Folse (actor), Warren Chaney (director), Warren Chaney (producer), Warren Chaney (writer), Suzanne Savoy (actress),
Plot: America: A Call to Greatness, relates the story of the American Nation from its founding through it's rise to greatness. It reflects the historical roots of the United States as the program tugs at the nation's heartstrings. This patriotic special features many distinguished hosts as well as notable political figures from both sides of the political aisle also appear. Fourteen large-scale patriotic music numbers are showcased. Gene Autry, former cowboy, businessman, film and recording star makes a special appearance. In what was to be his final performance, Autry introduces the first song since his retirement in 1994. Using heavily researched historical re-creations, special moments in American history are captured with the look and feel of the period. A careful analysis of original period sculptures, drawings, photographs and paintings, helped create a 3-D "likeness" of each individual portrayed in the production. Through the magic of film and prosthetic makeup, important Americans from John Adams to Clara Barton are created for film. Highly experienced character actors expertly bring their roles to life on the big screen.
Genres: Documentary,Actors: Frederick Worlock (actor), Trevor Howard (actor), Geoffrey Keen (actor), Greer Garson (actress), Denholm Elliott (actor), George Schaefer (director), George Schaefer (producer), Kate Reid (actress), Hurd Hatfield (actor), Eric Berry (actor), Frederic Tozere (actor), James Lee (writer), Chris Gampel (actor), Joan White (actress), Norman Barrs (actor),
Genres: Biography, Drama,Actors: Vi Kaley (actress), Nunnally Johnson (producer), Wilfrid Hyde-White (actor), Anthony Steel (actor), Kynaston Reeves (actor), Irene Dunne (actress), Alec Guinness (actor), Leonard Sharp (actor), Finlay Currie (actor), Edward Rigby (actor), Ernest Clark (actor), Raymond Lovell (actor), Howard Douglas (actor), William Alwyn (composer), Nunnally Johnson (writer),
Plot: In 1875 London, young Wheeler, who lives by scavenging, finds a cameo of Queen Victoria which he thinks so beautiful he risks his life to save it. Possessed of a desire to see the Queen, he slips past the Beefeaters and wanders about Windsor Castle, just when a state dinner is in preparation. Meanwhile, prime minister Disraeli is struggling hard to persuade the Queen to end her long seclusion
Keywords: 19th-century, aristocrat, based-on-novel, beggar, benjamin-disraeli, building, cameo, castle, charm, child-welfareActors: Abraham Sofaer (actor), Brock Williams (writer), Barbara Everest (actress), Jack Beaver (composer), Michael Hogan (writer), Fay Compton (actress), John Gielgud (actor), Gordon McLeod (actor), Joss Ambler (actor), Glynis Johns (actress), Frederick Leister (actor), Leslie Perrins (actor), Kynaston Reeves (actor), Leslie Norman (editor), Owen Nares (actor),
Genres: Biography, Drama, History, Romance, War,Actors: Jack Watling (actor), Herbert Wilcox (producer), C. Aubrey Smith (actor), Walter Rilla (actor), Anna Neagle (actress), Derrick De Marney (actor), Charles Carson (actor), Edgar Driver (actor), Felix Aylmer (actor), Miles Malleson (actor), Anton Walbrook (actor), Gordon McLeod (actor), Frederick Leister (actor), Edward Lexy (actor), Miles Malleson (writer),
Plot: Picking up where "Victoria the Great" left off, this sequel to the 1938 film returns Anna Neagle to the role of Queen Victoria in another colorful account of the revered British monarch's reign. This film offers a stellar chronicle of Victoria's relationship with Prince Albert (Anton Walbrook) as well as the political and military upheavals that characterized her time as England's royal leader.
Keywords: 19th-century, archer, benjamin-disraeli, britain, brother, buckingham-palace-london, coronation, death, destiny, dignitaryActors: Alphonse Martell (actor), Alberto Morin (actor), Sidney Blackmer (actor), Miles Mander (actor), Leon Ames (actor), Fred Malatesta (actor), Jean De Briac (actor), J. Edward Bromberg (actor), Nigel Bruce (actor), Robert Graves (actor), Brandon Hurst (actor), Egon Brecher (actor), Frank Lackteen (actor), Albert Conti (actor), Leonard Mudie (actor),
Plot: De Lesseps is a young aristocrat who conceives the idea for the Suez Canal. When Napoleon fails him, the British show interest. Though the production values make the film entertaining its historical content is generally agreed to be awful.
Keywords: 1850s, alexandria-egypt, ambition, arc-de-triomphe-paris, award, betrayal, broken-promise, burial, camel, canalActors: Henry Kolker (director), Reginald Denny (actor), E.J. Ratcliffe (actor), Betty Blythe (actress), Louise Huff (actress), Forrest Halsey (writer), George Arliss (actor), Louis N. Parker (writer), Henry Carvill (actor), Margaret Dale (actress), Florence Arliss (actress), Fred Nicholls (actor), Grace Griswold (actress), Noel Tearle (actor),
Genres: Biography, Drama,Actors: Charles Calvert (director), Percy Nash (director), Cecil Morton York (actor), Dorothy Bellew (actress), Cyril Raymond (actor), Mary Jerrold (actress), A.B. Imeson (actor), Arthur M. Cullin (actor), Fred Morgan (actor), Louis N. Parker (writer), Arrigo Bocchi (producer), Louis N. Parker (writer), Daisy Cordell (actress), Evelyn Harding (actress), Mrs. Henry Lytton (actress),
Genres: Biography, Drama,