Category: August 30

The Blood of Fu Manchu

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The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968)

The Blood of Fu Manchu, also known as Fu Manchu and the Kiss of Death, Kiss of Death, Kiss and Kill (US title) and Against All Odds (original US video title), is a British adventure crime film based on the fictional Asian villain Fu Manchu created by Sax Rohmer. It was the fourth film in a series, and was preceded by The Vengeance of Fu Manchu. The Castle of Fu Manchu followed in 1969.

The movie was filmed in Spain and Brazil. Shirley Eaton appears in a scene she claimed she was never paid for; apparently the director Jesus Franco inserted some footage of her from another of her films (The Girl from Rio, 1968) into the Fu Manchu movie without telling her. She only found out years later that she was in a Fu Manchu film.

LUSCIOUS LIPS – Lethal in their biting sting of death!

In his remote jungle hideout, the evil Fu Manchu has discovered a deadly poison in a “lost city” in the Amazonian jungle that affects only men. Women can become carriers of the “kiss of death” by being bitten by venomous snakes. The poison causes blindness and ultimately followed six weeks later by death. Using mind control, he aims the women at Nayland Smith and other key people with political influence. This prevents them from interfering with his own ambitions to prepare millions of “doses” and spread them around the world’s major cities and capitals in a plan to gain world domination.

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Notable cast & crew

  • Christopher Lee, “Fu Manchu”
  • Richard Greene, “Nayland Smith”
  • Howard Marion-Crawford, “Dr Petrie”
  • Tsai Chin, “Lin Tang”
  • Shirley Eaton, “Black Widow”

August 30, 1958: Southern Television begins broadcasting to the South & South East of England

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Southern Television (1958-1982)

Southern Television (August 30, 1958 – December 31, 1981) was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England.

Southern Television went on air on Saturday August 30, 1958 at 5.30 pm with the first playing of Southern Rhapsody, the station theme which was used to begin each day’s transmission until 31 December 1981, written by composer Richard Addinsell and performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with Addinsell conducting.

The first presenter on air was continuity announcer Meryl O’Keefe (later to become a BBC announcer); her first on-air announcement was followed by an outside broadcast link-up fronted by Julian Pettifer (later an award-winning war correspondent) and a regional news bulletin read by Martin Muncaster.

Broadcasting was interrupted at 5:10 p.m. on November 26, 1977 via the Hannington transmitter of the Independent Broadcasting Authority. The broadcast message is generally considered to be a hoax, but the identity of the hijacker is unknown.

The company ceased broadcasting on the morning of 1 January 1982 at 12.43am, after a review during the 1980 franchise round gave the contract to Television South (TVS).

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20th Century Highlights

  • Day By Day (1961-1981)
  • Out Of Town (1963-1981)
  • How (1966-1981)
  • Freewheelers (1968-1973)
  • Runaround (1975-1981)
  • The Famous Five (1978-1979)
  • The Saturday Banana (1978-1979)
  • Worzel Gummidge (1979-1981)
  • Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981)

Source of information, pictures etc is Wikipedia* unless stated otherwise.

*Prof Nostalgia & the20thcentury.today are not responsible for external links

“Those Were the Days” (1968) by Mary Hopkin

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“Those Were The Days” (1968) by Mary Hopkin, single cover

“Those Were the Days” is a song based on the Russian romance song “Dorogoi dlinnoyu” (“Дорогой длинною”, literally “By the long road”). It deals with reminiscence upon youth and romantic idealism.

Mary Hopkin‘s 1968 version of the song, produced by Paul McCartney, became a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart on chart date October 1, 1968 for six weeks. The song also reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, behind McCartney’s own band The Beatles‘ hit “Hey Jude“.

Released August 30, 1968 (UK).

Find out more at Wikipedia*, and Official Charts*.

Sources: Wikipedia* (information, pictures etc), IMDb* (movie release and original TV broadcast dates), and YouTube* (videos) unless stated otherwise.

*Prof Nostalgia & the20thcentury.today are not responsible for external links

August 30, 1908: American actor & singer Fred MacMurray born

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Fred MacMurray (1908-1991)

Fred MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor and singer who appeared in more than 100 films and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s.

MacMurray is best known for his role in the 1944 film noir Double Indemnity directed by Billy Wilder, in which he starred with Barbara Stanwyck. Later in his career, he performed in numerous Disney films, including The Absent-Minded Professor, The Happiest Millionaire, and The Shaggy Dog. In 1960, MacMurray turned to television in the role of Steve Douglas, the widowed patriarch on My Three Sons, which ran on ABC from 1960 to 1965 and then on CBS from 1965 to 1972.

MacMurray was the first person honoured as a Disney Legend, in 1987.

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20th Century Highlights

  • The Gilded Lily (1935), “Peter Dawes”
  • Alice Adams (1935), “Arthur Russell”
  • Hands Across the Table (1935), “Theodore ‘Ted’ Drew III”
  • The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936), “Jack Hale”
  • The Princess Comes Across (1936), “King Mantell”
  • Swing High, Swing Low (1937), “Skid Johnson”
  • True Confession (1937), “Ken Bartlett”
  • Above Suspicion (1943), “Richard Myles”
  • Double Indemnity (1944), “Walter Neff”
  • Where Do We Go From Here? (1945), “Bill Morgan”
  • The Caine Mutiny (1954), “Lt Tom Keefer”
  • The Shaggy Dog (1959), “Wilson Daniels”
  • The Apartment (1960), “Jeff D. Sheldrake”, personnel manager, Baxter’s boss and apartment user
  • The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), “Professor Ned Brainard”
  • Son of Flubber (1963), “Professor Ned Brainard”
  • The Happiest Millionaire (1967), “Father”

Source of information, pictures etc is Wikipedia* unless stated otherwise.

*Prof Nostalgia & the20thcentury.today are not responsible for external links