Elstree Calling

John Norman "Jack" Hulbert was a British actor, specialising primarily in comedy productions. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, he was the elder and more successful brother of Claude. He was educated at Cambridge and appeared in many shows and revues, mainly with the Cambridge Footlights. He was one of... the earliest famous alumni of the comedy club. After Cambridge, he earned recognition and fame performing in musicals and light comedies. He made his film debut in Elstree Calling ; appearing opposite his wife and frequent stage and screen co-star Cicely Courtneidge whom he had married in 1916. His career went through a successful period during the 1930s when he appeared in several films, including The Ghost Train , Love on Wheels and Bulldog Jack , a tongue-in-cheek homage to the popular Bulldog Drummond films in which Jack was supported by his brother Claude. He had a hit record in 1932 The Flies Crawled Up the Window, which originally sung in the film Jack's the Boy. In 1936 exhibitors voted him the 3rd most popular British star at the box office.
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Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was an English film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood. On 19 April 1955, he became... an American citizen while remaining a British subject. Over a career spanning more than half a century, Hitchcock fashioned for himself a distinctive and recognisable directorial style. He pioneered the use of a camera made to move in a way that mimics a person's gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of voyeurism. He framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative film editing. His stories frequently feature fugitives on the run from the law alongside "icy blonde" female characters. Many of Hitchcock's films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring depictions of violence, murder, and crime, although many of the mysteries function as decoys or "MacGuffins" meant only to serve thematic elements in the film and the extremely complex psychological examinations of the characters.
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André Eugene Maurice Charlot was a French impresario known primarily for the highly successful musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He also worked as a character actor in numerous feature films. Born in Paris, Charlot began his career as the assistant manager of several... theatres in the French capital, including the Folies Bergère and the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. In 1912 he relocated to London and became the joint manager of the Alhambra Theatre, where he began presenting productions noted for their elegance and simplicity rather than lavish Ziegfeld-like stagings. Although he was instrumental in giving Noël Coward his first big break, Charlot's first meeting with the aspiring writer was less than successful. In 1917, Coward auditioned some of his material for the producer, who was unimpressed. "He plays the piano badly and sings worse," he complained to Beatrice Lillie, who had introduced the two men, adding, "Kindly do not waste my time with people like that ever again." The following year he purchased one of Coward's songs for Tails Up, and in 1923 he staged London Calling!, Coward's first publicly produced musical work.
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