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The Bridges at Toko - Ri is a ___MASK59___ American war film about the Korean War and stars William Holden , Grace Kelly , Fredric March , Mickey Rooney , and Robert Strauss . The film , which was directed by Mark Robson , was produced by Paramount Pictures . Dennis Weaver and Earl Holliman make early screen roles in the motion picture . Champion is a ___MASK87___ American film noir drama based on a short story by Ring Lardner . Filmed in black - and - white , it recounts the struggles of boxer `` Midge '' Kelly fighting his own demons while working to achieve success in the boxing ring . The drama was directed by Mark Robson , with cinematography by Franz Planer . The drama features Kirk Douglas , Marilyn Maxwell , and Arthur Kennedy . The film won an Academy Award for Editing and gained five other nominations as well , including a Best Actor for Douglas . Several clips from the film were used in Douglas ' 1999 film Diamonds to illustrate his character ' s career as a boxer . Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald ( September ___MASK89___ , 1896  December 21 , 1940 ), known professionally as F . Scott Fitzgerald , was an American novelist and short story writer , whose works illustrate the Jazz Age . While he achieved limited success in his lifetime , he is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century . Fitzgerald is considered a member of the " Lost Generation " of the 1920s . He finished four novels : " This Side of Paradise ", " The Beautiful and Damned ", " The Great Gatsby ", and " Tender Is the Night ". A fifth , unfinished novel , " The Love of the Last Tycoon ", was published posthumously . Fitzgerald also wrote numerous short stories , many of which treat themes of youth and promise , and age and despair . Ringgold Wilmer " Ring " Lardner ( March ___MASK90___ , 1885  September 25 , 1933 ) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings about sports , marriage , and the theatre . He was a contemporary of Ernest Hemingway , Virginia Woolf and F . Scott Fitzgerald , all of whom professed strong admiration for Lardner ' s writing . Von Ryan ' s Express is a World War II adventure film , released in ___MASK69___ , about a group of Allied prisoners of war who conduct a daring escape by hijacking a freight train and fleeing through German - occupied Italy to Switzerland . It stars Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard , and is based on the novel by David Westheimer . It was directed by Mark Robson . The film changes several aspects of the novel , most notably the ending , which is considerably more upbeat in the book . It became one of Frank Sinatra ' s most successful films . The Canadian titles debate has been ongoing since the presentation to the Canadian House of Commons of the Nickle Resolution in ___MASK61___ . This resolution marked the earliest attempt to establish a Canadian government policy requesting the sovereign not to grant knighthoods , baronetcies , and peerages to Canadians and set the precedent for later policies restricting Canadians from accepting titles from foreign countries . Dissatisfaction with the British honours system led to the gradual creation of a separate system for Canada . Ernest Miller Hemingway ( July ___MASK33___ , 1899  July 2 , 1961 ) was an American novelist , short story writer , and journalist . His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20th - century fiction , while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations . Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid - 1920s and the mid - 1950s , and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954 . He published seven novels , six short story collections , and two non - fiction works . Additional works , including three novels , four short story collections , and three non - fiction works , were published posthumously . Many of his works are considered classics of American literature . Arthur Asher Miller ( October ___MASK100___ , ___MASK52___  February 10 , 2005 ) was an American playwright , essayist , and figure in twentieth - century American theatre . Among his most popular plays are " All My Sons " ( 1947 ), " Death of a Salesman " ( ___MASK87___ ), " The Crucible " ( ___MASK9___ ) and " A View from the Bridge " ( 1955 , revised 1956 ). He also wrote several screenplays and was most noted for his work on " The Misfits " ( 1961 ). The drama " Death of a Salesman " has been numbered on the short list of finest American plays in the 20th century alongside " Long Day ' s Journey into Night " and " A Streetcar Named Desire ". Bob Hope , KBE , KC * SG , KSS ( born Leslie Townes Hope , May 29 , ___MASK43___  July 27 , 2003 ) was an American comedian , vaudevillian , actor , singer , dancer , athlete , and author . With a career spanning nearly 80 years , Hope appeared in over 70 feature films and short films , including a series of " Road " movies . In addition to hosting the Academy Awards ___MASK45___ times ( more than any other host ), he appeared in many stage productions and television roles and was the author of 14 books . The song " Thanks for the Memory " is widely regarded as Hope ' s signature tune . The Czech Republic , also known by the short name Czechia , is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west , Austria to the south , Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast . The Czech Republic covers an area of with mostly temperate continental climate and oceanic climate . It is a unitary parliamentary republic , has ___MASK60___ . ___MASK76___ million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague , with over 1 . 2 million residents . The Czech Republic includes the historical territories of Bohemia , Moravia , and Czech Silesia . Kirk Douglas ( born Issur Danielovitch ; December ___MASK86___ , 1916 ) is an American actor , producer , director , and author . He is one of the last living people of the industry ' s Golden Age . After an impoverished childhood with immigrant parents and six sisters , he had his film debut in " The Strange Love of Martha Ivers " ( 1946 ) with Barbara Stanwyck . Douglas soon developed into a leading box - office star throughout the 1950s and 1960s , known for serious dramas , including westerns and war movies . During a 64 - year acting career , he has appeared in more than 90 movies . The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is a film noir released in the United States in ___MASK88___ , starring Barbara Stanwyck , Van Heflin , Lizabeth Scott and featuring Kirk Douglas in his film debut . The movie is based on the short story " Love Lies Bleeding " by playwright John Patrick  using the pseudonym Jack Patrick  and was produced by Hal B . Wallis . The film was directed by Lewis Milestone from a screenplay written by Robert Rossen and Robert Riskin , who was not credited . Franz F . Planer , A . S . C . ( March 29 , ___MASK71___  January ___MASK60___ , 1963 ) was a cinematographer born in Karlsbad , Austria - Hungary ( now Czech Republic ), Arthur Kennedy ( February ___MASK100___ , 1914January ___MASK76___ , 1990 ) was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create " an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage ", especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway . Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas , particularly such that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations . Hollywood ' s classical film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s . Film noir of this era is associated with a low - key black - and - white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography . Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression . The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s . The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations ; in most countries it started in ___MASK15___ and lasted until the late 1930s . It was the longest , deepest , and most widespread depression of the 20th century . In the 21st century , the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how far the world ' s economy can decline . Adeline Virginia Woolf ( née Stephen ; ___MASK38___ January 1882  28 March 1941 ) was an English writer and one of the foremost modernists of the twentieth century . Barbara Stanwyck ( born Ruby Catherine Stevens ; July ___MASK5___ , 1907  January 20 , 1990 ) was an American actress . She was a film and television star , known during her 60 - year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong , realistic screen presence , and a favorite of directors including Cecil B . DeMille , Fritz Lang , and Frank Capra . After a short but notable career as a stage actress in the late 1920s , she made 85 films in 38 years in Hollywood , before turning to television . Marvel Marilyn Maxwell ( August ___MASK91___ , ___MASK28___  March ___MASK27___ , ___MASK8___ ) was an American actress and entertainer . A sex symbol of the 1940s and 1950s , she appeared in several films and radio programs , and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope . The Korean War ( in South Korean , " Korean War "; in North Korean , " Fatherland Liberation War "; ___MASK38___ June ___MASK58___  27 July 1953 ) began when North Korea invaded South Korea . The United Nations , with the United States as the principal force , came to the aid of South Korea . China came to the aid of North Korea , and the Soviet Union gave some assistance . World War II ( often abbreviated to WWII or WW2 ), also known as the Second World War , was a global war that lasted from ___MASK77___ to ___MASK54___ , although related conflicts began earlier . It involved the vast majority of the world ' s nations  including all of the great powers  eventually forming two opposing military alliances : the Allies and the Axis . It was the most widespread war in history , and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries . In a state of " total war ", the major participants threw their entire economic , industrial , and scientific capabilities behind the war effort , erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources . Marked by mass deaths of civilians , including the Holocaust ( in which approximately 11 million people were killed ) and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centres ( in which approximately one million were killed , and which included the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ), it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities . These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history . Mark Robson ( ___MASK40___ December 1913  20 June 1978 ) was a Canadian - born film director , producer and editor . Robson began his 45 - year career in Hollywood as a film editor . He later began working as a director and producer . He directed thirty - four films during his career including " The Bridges at Toko - Ri " ( 1955 ), " Peyton Place " ( 1957 ), for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination , " Von Ryan ' s Express " ( 1965 ) and " Valley of the Dolls " ( 1967 ).