Marianne Stone: Prolific character actress who appeared in more than 200 films The accomplished character actress Marianne Stone had the distinction of being the most prolific actress in the UK, appearing in over 200 films, an achievement that earned her a place in the latest Guinness Book of World Records as "the actress with the most screen credits". She has also been hailed in the book English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema for her contribution to the horror movies that flourished in the Sixties, but most of her screen roles were as working-class characters. In two of her earliest films she was respectively a shop assistant in When the Bough Breaks (1947), and a sluggish waitress in Brighton Rock (1947). Though she occasionally had lines to speak, many of her roles were wordless and uncredited, but she had some pithy roles in the Carry On films (nine of them) and she had a small, but striking, role in Lolita (1962), directed by her friend Stanley Kubrick and adapted from the controversial novel by Vladimir Nabokov. Stone played Vivian Darkbloom (an anagram of the author's name), a mysterious lady who is seen dancing with the jaded writer Clare Quilty, played by Peter Sellers. (In the 2001 fantasy Donnie Darko, Maggie Gyllenhaal attends a fancy dress Halloween party as "Vivian Darkbloom", Stone's character.) For 50 years Stone was the wife of the film and theatre reporter, gossip columnist and bon vivant Peter Noble, and the parties they used to give at their rambling house in Abbey Road were legendary. She was born Mary Stone in London in 1922, and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she became friends with fellow student Richard Attenborough. From 1943 to 1945 she was part of the company performing at the Intimate Theatre in Palmers Green, where she won particular accolades for her performance as the cunning Cockney trollop Betty Watty in Emlyn Williams' The Corn is Green. Noble was a young journalist who covered the Intimate's productions for a local paper, and Stone began to notice that he always gave her favourable reviews, even when her part was minuscule. They began going out together, often joining the Attenboroughs at the Arts Theatre Club, and in 1947 they were wed. They had two daughters, Kara and Katrina, and the marriage lasted until Noble's death in 1997. In 1946 Stone appeared at the St James Theatre in two alternating plays in repertory produced by the actor-manager John Clements: John Dryden's Marriage a la Mode (in which Moira Lister and Stone played sisters) and the premiere of Margaret Luce's The Kingmaker, a biography of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, the key protagonist in the Wars of the Roses. Stone then played Betty Watty again when The Corn is Green was staged at the New Theatre, Bromley, where the actor playing the young miner who is given the chance of a university education was played by the then little-known Bryan Forbes. Throughout these years she was billed as Mary Stone, but as her career in films got underway she changed her first name to Marianne, though her friends still knew her as Mary Noble. She made her screen debut in the Arthur Askey musical comedy Miss London Ltd. (1943) and her early roles included a factory girl in Miss Pilgrim's Progress (1950), a "woman in a phone box" in the apocalyptic drama Seven Days to Noon (1950), and in 1954 she played barmaids in three films, You Know What Sailors Are, The Good Die Young and The Gay Dog. Her first foray into the Carry On franchise was in Carry on Nurse (1959), and her flair for comedy was particularly apparent in Carry On at Your Convenience (1971). She was typically a "woman in a scarf" in The Jokers (1967), and in Oh, What a Lovely War (1969), directed by Richard Attenborough, she was a mill girl. Her finest opportunity to display her prowess was probably as Lena Van Broecken in three episodes of the BBC television series Secret Army (1977/8). Her last film appearance was in the gothic tale set in the world of ballet, Deja Vu (1985). At the parties she and Noble gave, it was quite likely that one would run into top stars, in London to make or promote a film, to appear on stage or just to visit. The Kubricks were good friends, and the family have three paintings by Christiane Kubrick that she gave to the Nobles. One of their regular guests remembers meeting Lana Turner and Sean Connery (the latter not yet a major star), who were filming Another Time, Another Place, and stars who could always be found at the Abbey Road dwelling when in town included such illustrious names as Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Roger Moore, Shelley Winters, Paul McCartney and Herbert Lom, who was the best man at their wedding. Stone is survived by her two daughters and a grandson, Nicholas Frew. Marianne Stone, actress: born London 23 August 1922; married 1947 Peter Noble (died 1997, two daughters); died London 21 December 2009. Tom Vallance The Indep

(for the record - game was played on Realistic mode as well as co-op on-line & split-screen) I'll always have a bit of a soft spot when it comes to the Splinter Cell series. Hell, it was the Xbox Live trial that came with Pandora Tomorrow that gave me my first taste of on-line gaming via a console and I've been a Xbox Live member ever since. With that said, mid-way through playing Double Agent I fell out of favor with the series. The gameplay felt slow and sluggish, the trial & error failures were frustrating, and the removal of my beloved Spies vs. Mercenaries mode put the final nail in Sam Fisher's coffin (IMHO). So believe me when I say I was skeptical of what Conviction was going to offer. I pre-ordered the game in blind faith, and second guessed my decision right up until I had my copy in my hands. After plowing through Conviction's story, co-op & challenge modes, I'm delighted to say that the changes Ubisoft made to the series were well worth it. I had a hell of a good romp stepping back into the role of super spy, Sam Fisher and I'm already eager for more. The first thing that hit me about Conviction was the art style. The game looks fantastic, and the stylized mission objectives scrawled across the landscape are pure awesome-sauce. This is just the icing on the cake though when it comes to the changes that have been made to the gameplay. Splinter Cell Conviction is less 'slow & steady' and more 'quick & deadly'. The shadows are still your best friend, but you are just as lethal in the light as in the dark. It's also not 'game over' this time around when you're spotted (well, aside from a few levels). Sam can move like a ninja when he needs to, and disappear back into the darkness when in trouble. Striking & vanishing in Conviction reminded me a lot of how Batman knocked out baddies in Arkham Asylum. The biggest difference however is that when Sam Fisher hits you, you aren't getting back up again. When I first saw videos of the new 'Tag & Execute' feature I was worried it was going to pollute Conviction with quick-time-ish events, but I was so totally off the mark. Tag & Execute is an excellent addition to your arsenal, and will have you planning & striking with bad-ass, surgical precision. It's a extremely handy tool, but just like your flashbangs & grenades, it's only a tool - and you are still going to need to line up plenty of head-shots and stealth kills all on your own. I think the biggest accomplishment for Conviction is giving me back that super-spy feeling I had when I first stepped into Sam Fisher's shoes. Sam is more agile than ever, and much more aggressive and brutal this time around. In addition to all the changes the game has undergone, Conviction offers a bevy of modes to keep you coming back for more. You have the main single player story, a full co-op story, challenge missions & a horde mode. These can all be played on-line or split-screen - or even tackled solo if you're up for it(aside from the co-op story I believe). Whatever you choose, Conviction has a lot of content to offer for your gaming dollars. Splinter Cell Conviction is an exhilarating action experience, and an extremely worthwhile reboot of the franchise. If the game included an update to the Spies vs Mercenaries multiplayer mode it would be a holy grail of hotness. Even without this mode though, Conviction is still worth every penny of the $42 Amazon is currently asking for the title. FRACKING GREAT!