Prelude to Fame (1950)

Director
Fergus McDonell

Main cast
Jeremy Spenser; Guy Rolfe; Kathleen Ryan; Kathleen Byron; Henry Oscar

Genres
Drama

Description
Prelude to Fame is a 1950 British drama film directed by Fergus McDonell from a story by Aldous Huxley. While vacationing in Italy, Nick Morell (Robin Dowell), son of John Morell (Guy Rolfe), a famous English philosopher and amateur musician and his wife Catherine (Kathleen Ryan), becomes friendly with young Guido (Jeremy Spenser), and Morell discovers the boy has an extraordinary instinct for orchestration and a phenomenal music memory. A neighboring couple, Signor and Signora Boudini (Henry Oscar and Kathleen Byron) become aware of the boy's talents, and she appeals to his parents to let her educate him musically. Torn by their love for their son and, they feel,the duty to let the world hear his talent, they consent.


Similar movies

20th century computer games designer Scott exchanges love letters with 19th century poet Elizabeth Whitcomb through an antique desk that can make letters travel through time.
A man arrives in the city upon news of a potential terrorist strike in Italy. He is Japanese foreign diplomat, Kosaku Kuroda, and he’s here under orders of his supervisor at the Foreign Ministry, Hiroshi Kataoka (Kiichi Nakai), to aid in the safeguarding of Japanese citizens. Kuroda’s main contacts at the Japanese embassy consist of Ambassador Kikuhara, Counselor Nishino, and fellow diplomatic envoys Haba and Tanimoto. All are busy preparing for the visit of Japanese Foreign Minister Kawagoe due to arrive for the high-profile G8 foreign minister’s meeting. Meanwhile, somewhere on the festively-lit streets of the city, a young Japanese girl has suddenly gone missing. Is it an abduction simply for ransom? Or could it be a prelude to terror?
Paul de Marseul is the owner of a prestigious vineyard in Saint-Emilion, an important wine-growing region of France. Paul is so proud of his vineyard that he can hardly bear to imagine that one day he must leave it to his son Martin. If only he had a son who was more talented, more enthusiastic about wine-growing... Then one day his eyes fasten on Philippe, the son of his manager. To Paul’s eyes, Philippe is the ideal son, a young man he would be happy to see inherit his vineyard. But how will Martin and Philippe’s father react when they discover what Paul has in mind?
The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.
Director F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) makes a Faustian pact with a vampire (Willem Dafoe) to get him to star in his 1922 film "Nosferatu."
A love story between a nurse (Catherine Barkley) and the Lieutenant Henry during First World War in Italy. The depth of the movie considers the purpose of war and fighting.
A bride's divorced parents find their old feelings for each other during the wedding reception and over the course of the next few days upsetting the newlywed's honeymoon.
Beautiful aspiring rock star Jude (Heard) is stuck in a rut - relegated to recording commercial jingles and lost in a series of one night stands. When she is evicted from her Brooklyn apartment, she is forced to move into the Hamptons home of her wealthy - and selfish - father Paul Lombard (Walken), an over-the-hill, Sinatra-esque crooner angling for a musical comeback.
The film begins on a train journey with Gustav Mahler (Robert Powell) and his wife Alma (Georgina Hale) confronting their failing marriage. The story is then recounted in a series of flashbacks (some of which are surrealistic and nightmarish), taking one through Mahler's childhood, his brother's suicide, his experience with anti-semitism, his conversion from Judaism to Catholicism, his marital problems, and the death of his young daughter. The film also contains a surreal fantasy sequence involving the anti-Semitic Cosima Wagner (Antonia Ellis), widow of Richard Wagner, whose objections to his taking control of the Court Opera were supposedly removed by his conversion to Catholicism. In the process, the film explores Mahler's music and its relationship to his life.
The tragic story of Vincent van Gogh broadened by focusing as well on his brother Theodore, who helped support Vincent. Based on the letters written between the two.
Casanova is a libertine, collecting seductions and sexual feats. But he is really interested in someone, and is he really an interesting person? Is he really alive?
A mystery set in the environs of Lausanne concerning several plots which wind their way through the elegant homesteads of a couple of well-heeled French-Swiss denizens. Mika is the couture-attired, oh-so-perfect head of Muller Chocolates--a company that manufactures Swiss chocolates. Andre is her suave, concert pianist husband whose first wife died years ago in a mysterious car accident. When Jeanne, a beautiful young woman, enters the home of Mika and Andre, raising questions about her possible relationship to the family, tensions mount, alliances shift, and all the while, Mika prepares and faithfully serves her special recipe for hot chocolate each evening.
On a Tuesday night, five couples have separate sexual adventures. Matt and Kris, friends for years, want to have an only-once, no-strings good time. Abby and Andrew, married, celebrate his birthday, but it's marred by angst and miscommunication. Mia and Eric are exes, making sure they are over each other. Jaime and Ken work together and this is a first date. Inez and Gord invite his roommate, Dave, to join them. By the time each couple has gone through a prelude, foreplay, sex, an interlude, orgasm, and afterglow, they've answered basic questions: can sex be anonymous, are we bored, is our marriage really finished, does anyone tell the truth, and how do we make someone happy?
A couple fall in love despite the girl's pessimistic outlook. As they struggle to come to terms with their relationship, something supernatural happens that tests it.
A young married woman invites her mother, a celebrated concert pianist, to stay with her. Tensions rise as their buried hatred for one another comes to the surface.
Prelude is the story of a brief and casual encounter between an aspiring rock star and a chef. An encounter that could change their lives forever.
A young Jeff Buckley (Penn Badgley) struggles to make peace with his late father Tim's legacy while preparing to perform at a tribute concert to the late singer-songwriter, in this stirring drama about the prelude to the tragically short-lived singer's creation of his monumental album Grace.
In Savamala, the most notorious part of Belgrade, lives an eighteen-year-old young man. In this turbulent atmosphere, different passions collide, and there are hints that the bloody strikes are a prelude to a major battle. The young man tries to escape from the slums and live in a better society. He falls in love and draws comics, while Savamala offers him the misery of everyday life, the world of criminals, gamblers, anarchists, singers and failed poets.
Redhead Mary is a girl who dresses like a man to better approach, and rob the jewels worn by the pretty ladies of her time...
Famous pianist Zetterström returns home to his native Denmark, to give a concert, just to find out that the choices he has made in his life have affected his love life greatly.
Rebecca's Uncle Harry leaves her with Aunt Miranda who forbids her to associate with show people. But neighbor Anthony Kent is a talent scout who secretly set it up for her to broadcast.
A top Hollywood talent agent finds his cushy existence threatened when he discovers that his wife is cheating on him and that his journal has been swiped by a reporter out to bring him down.
Paris Fashion Week draws the usual bunch of people; designers, reporters, models, magazine editors, photographers. Follows the various storylines of these characters, centering around a murder investigation of a prominent fashion figure. Features an all-star cast.
The storyline is about a manager who pushes a young female talent to enter a reality TV show contest in the U.S. Some background information involves the manager having to get married to attain a legal visa and ends up having to raise six children when his wife dies.
Leni Riefenstahl made her film debut in this "mountain film" by writer/director Arnold Fanck, and went on to appear in five more under his direction. In Der Heilige Berg she plays the professional dancer Diotima who finds herself the apex of a love triangle when she is pursued by two mountain climbers, Vigo (Ernst Petersen) and his unnamed older friend (Luis Trenker).
A talented young photographer, Claire is hired by a Canadian tabloid magnate, Mac Roi, to improve his company’s image. Claire knows that her mother once had an affair with this charismatic man and suspects that she may be his daughter. She meets Clève, an honest 30-something publisher whose company has just been bought up by Mac Roi. Claire is so taken by Clève’s unassuming charms that she agrees to marry him. But when she takes an interest in Némo, a photographer involved with illicit tracking, Clève starts to become very jealous...
A talentless teen will do anything to get on TV's "The Voice." Meanwhile, her father, a municipal worker, creates an uproar when a video of his rants at City Hall goes viral.
A fish-out-of-water comedy about a talented street drummer from Harlem who enrolls in a Southern university, expecting to lead its marching band's drumline to victory. He initially flounders in his new world, before realizing that it takes more than talent to reach the top.
The time is the late '80s, a crucial period in the history of South Africa. President P.W. Botha is hanging on to power by a thread as the African National Congress (ANC) takes up arms against apartheid and the country tumbles toward insurrection. A British mining concern is convinced that their interests would be better served in a stable South Africa and they quietly dispatch Michael Young, their head of public affairs, to open an unofficial dialogue between the bitter rivals. Assembling a reluctant yet brilliant team to pave the way to reconciliation by confronting obstacles that initially seem insurmountable, Young places his trust in ANC leader Thabo Mbeki and Afrikaner philosophy professor Willie Esterhuyse. It is their empathy that will ultimately serve as the catalyst for change by proving more powerful than the terrorist bombs that threaten to disrupt the peaceful dialogue.
In 1918, a young, disillusioned Adolph Hitler strikes up a friendship with a Jewish art dealer while weighing a life of passion for art vs. talent at politics
A drama based on the life of 18th century Italian lyricist Lorenzo da Ponte, who collaborated with Mozart on his "Don Giovanni" opera.
A young man with a talent for music meets an aspiring singer, Apollonia, and finds that talent alone isn't all that he needs.
Tina Marie D'Silva lives a middle-class lifestyle in a small town in India along. One day renowned singer, Vikramaditya Singh, hears her voice and enrolls her in his prestigious school. After a few clashes, Tina manages to amaze everyone with her talents - so much so that she is invited to sing along with Vikramaditya himself. On the day of the recording, Tina fails to appear. An angered Vikramaditya decides to have nothing to do with her. He subsequently changes his mind, goes to visit her, and finds out that she is now a nun. After many attempts he succeeds in convincing her to return to sing with him at his very first live concert to which she agrees. On the day of the concert Tina is all set to sing, but this time Vikramaditya fails to show. Watch what impact this has on Tina and the concert itself.
The nuns of a musical convent work hard in order to prevent the religious school from closing.
Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match, but he loses in a heartbreaking marathon. Now broke and without his long-time manager, Felson faces an uphill battle to regain his confidence and his game.
Ego gets in the way of a harmonious bond between two mega-talents.
Rock Hudson plays an Air Force Colonel who has just been re-assigned as a cold war B-52 commander who must shape up his men to pass a grueling inspection that the previous commander had failed, and had been fired for. He is also recently married, and as a tough commanding officer doing whatever he has to do to shape his men up, his wife sees a side to him that she hadn't seen before.
Chow Yun-Fat plays Ko Chun, an extremely talented and well known gambler. On the eve of a big confrontation with a famous Singaporean gambler, Ko walks into a trap set by Knife, an avid but a so-so gambler (Andy Lau), meant for an Indian servant. Struck on the head, Ko suffers from amnesia and regresses to a child-like state. Knife takes care of Ko and begins to exploit Ko's gambling talents.
When Billy returns from reform school he has to attend a different high school at the other side of town. He tries to start with a clean slate but his old rival doesn't make it easy on him and his buddy Louie tries to make him go astray again. His brother Joe, quite the opposite of Billy, is a good runner and determined to win a track scholarship. He suggests Billy to join his school's track team, which pits the two brothers against each other.
Tom Ripley is a charismatic sociopath who makes his way in mid-'50s New York as a rest room attendant and pianist. His skill however is in impersonating other people, forging handwriting and running second-rate scams. Unhappy with his own life, he kills and takes on the persona of somebody else.
It's 1968, and four young, talented Australian Aboriginal girls learn about love, friendship and war when they entertain the US troops in Vietnam as singing group The Sapphires.
The story follows Hwang Jin Yi, a kisaeng (female entertainer) who lived in 16th century Korea. Hwang Jin-Yi was a beautiful, talented and intelligent young woman who was able to read and write well, but because she was an illegitimate child, she had no other recourse but to become a kisaeng where she used her position to gain favor with the noble classes.
Slam tells the story of Ray Joshua, an original, gifted young MC trapped in a war-zone housing project known as Dodge City. Unable to find a job, Ray copes with the despair and poverty of his neighborhood by using his wits and verbal talent. Written by Offline Publicist Young Ray Joshua lives in the Washington, DC, district known as Dodge City, which is dominated by gang wars. One day he is arrested when his drug dealer is gunned down while talking to him. He is put to prison where two rival gangs, Thug Life and the Union, want to recruit him as a member.
In 1950s England, slow-witted Derek Bentley falls in with a group of petty criminals led by Chris Craig, a teenager with a fondness for American gangster films. Chris and Derek's friendship leads to their involvement in the true case which would forever shake England's belief in capital punishment.
The East High Wildcats are ready to have the time of their lives. Troy (Zac Efron) is thrilled when he’s offered a job in a country club, but it’s all part of Sharpay’s (Ashley Tisdale) plot to lure him away from Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens). How will it all turn out? All questions are answered on the night of the club’s Talent Show.
A talented young musician on the brink of super stardom struggles with the pressure of her new-found success.
A concert violinist becomes charmed with his daughter's talented piano teacher. When he invites her to go on tour with him, they make beautiful music away from the concert hall as well. He soon leaves his wife so the two can go off together.
This is a remake of the movie "Let The Right One In" which was a movie adaptation of a book. A story of a young boy who is frequently bullied and a young girl that moves in next door with her caretaker. It is established that she is a vampire and, after losing her caretaker, must leave in order to survive. A story of innocent love entangled in murder, mystery, and horror.
Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.
At the ripe old age of 30, Cameron Day has given up his chances at pro-basketball fame and settled into an aimless life. A chance encounter with a beautiful woman lands him smack in the middle of Southern California's pro beach volleyball scene. A naturally talented true athlete, he seems destined for sports stardom once again until his old demons start creeping in, threatening his chances at success.
Stet, a troubled and angry 11-year-old orphan from a small Texas town, ends up at a Boy Choir school back East after the death of his single mom. Completely out of his element, he finds himself in a battle of wills with a demanding Choir Master who recognizes a unique talent in this young boy as he pushes him to discover his creative heart and soul in music.
Members of a traveling jazz band try to keep their talented leader from dying after he breaks from the band and begins drinking and taking drugs.
Former pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson decides he wants to return to the game by taking a pupil. He meets talented but green Vincent Lauria and proposes a partnership. As they tour pool halls, Eddie teaches Vincent the tricks of scamming, but he eventually grows frustrated with Vincent's showboat antics, leading to an argument and a falling-out. Eddie takes up playing again and soon crosses paths with Vincent as an opponent.
TV weatherman Bill Harding is trying to get his tornado-hunter wife, Jo, to sign divorce papers so he can marry his girlfriend Melissa. But Mother Nature, in the form of a series of intense storms sweeping across Oklahoma, has other plans. Soon the three have joined the team of stormchasers as they attempt to insert a revolutionary measuring device into the very heart of several extremely violent tornados.
Based primarily on the first game in the series, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, the film focuses on rookie defense attorney Ryūichi Naruhodō, as he strives to protect his clients in various murder trials, including the death of his mentor, Chihiro Ayasato, and the accusation of rival prosecutor, Reiji Mitsurugi. Ryūichi's greatest ally is Chihiro's younger sister Mayoi, a spirit medium whose body is posessed by Chihiro to communicate with him. The film will be a courtroom drama combined with the video game series' signature style. Sci-fi elements are also used such as characters bringing up holographic images of evidence during trials.
Let 'Em Have It is a 1935 gangster film. It was also known as The Legion of Valour and False Faces. An FBI agent tracks down a gang leader.
A newly elected District attorney finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father and his partner.
A cynical look at the life of a not so nice country-western singer, Maury Dann - played by Rip Torn in one of his most memorable performances. He ruthlessly manipulates every one around him to suit his selfish needs...he even gets his limo driver to take the blame for the death of a fan which he stabbed.
Durval and his mother Carmita live at the back of "Durval Discos", a record store they own in São Paulo, specializing in vinyl records. They lead a boring and unattractive life, until the day Durval hires a maid, Celia, to help his mother with the housekeeping. However, on her second day, Celia goes away leaving a 5-year-old child behind, Kiki, and a note promising to be back in a couple of days. Durval and Celia are charmed by the child at first, but soon they see some sad news about Celia and Kiki on TV that will change the whole situation. Written by

© Valossa 2015–2024