Alexander Mackendrick
Encyclopedia
Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 - December 22, 1993) was a Scottish American
director
and teacher. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and later moved to Scotland. He began making television commercials before moving into post-production
editing and directing films, most notably for Ealing Studios
where his films include Whisky Galore!
(1949), The Man in the White Suit
(1951), and The Ladykillers
(1955).
His films made a gradual decline after Ealing Studios closed and he returned to America
to become a teacher in film studies. He was the cousin of the Scottish writer Roger MacDougall
.
from Glasgow
in 1911. His father was a ship builder
and a civil engineer
. When Mackendrick was six, his father died of influenza
as a result of an pandemic
that swept the world just after World War I
. His mother, in desperate need of work, decided to be a dress designer. In order to pursue that decision, it was necessary for Martha MacKendrick to hand her only son over to his grandfather, who took young MacKendrick back to Scotland
when he was seven years old. Mackendrick never saw or heard from his mother again.
Young Alexander Mackendrick had a very sad and lonely childhood. He attended Hillhead High School from 1919 to 1926 and then went on to spend three years at the Glasgow School of Art
. In the early 1930s, MacKendrick moved to London
to work as an art director for the advertising
firm J. Walter Thompson
. Between 1936 and 1938, Mackendrick scripted five cinema commercials. He later reflected that his work in the advertising industry was invaluable, in spite of his extreme dislike of the industry itself. In 1937 MacKendrick wrote his first film script, Midnight Menace, with his cousin and close friend, Roger MacDougall
. It was later bought by Associated British
.
At the start of the Second World War
, Mackendrick was employed by the Minister of Information
making British propaganda
films. In 1942 he went to Algiers
and then to Italy
, working with the Psychological Warfare Division
. He then shot newsreels, documentaries, made leaflets, and did radio news. In 1943, he became the director of the film unit and approved the production of the classic Rossellini
film, Rome, Open City
.
(1949), The Man in the White Suit
(1951), and The Ladykillers
(1955).
for Hollywood in 1955. When Ealing studios was sold, Mackendrick was cut loose to pursue a career as a freelance director, something he was never prepared to do:
The rest of his professional life was spent commuting between London
and Los Angeles
. He began directing the Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions (HHL) film Sweet Smell of Success
in 1957. It was a critical success about a press agent played by Tony Curtis
who is wrapped up in a powerful newspaper columnist’s (Burt Lancaster
) plot to end the relationship between his younger sister and a jazz musician. Mackendrick got along poorly with the producers of the film because they felt that he was too much of a perfectionist. After Sweet Smell of Success, he went back to England to make the second HHL film, The Devil’s Disciple in 1959, but he was fired only a month into production due to lingering tension from their first project together. Mackendrick was devastated. Mackendrick later assisted Dutch film maker Bert Haanstra
with the production of the popular comedy film, Fanfare in (1958).
After his disappointment with HHL, Mackendrick directed several television commercials in Europe for Horlicks
. He also made a handful of films throughout the Sixties including Sammy Going South
(1963), A High Wind in Jamaica
(1965), and Don't Make Waves
(1967). A project to film Ionesco's
Rhinoceros
, which would have starred Tony Hancock
and Barbara Windsor
, fell through at the last minute. In 1969 he returned to the United States after being made Dean of the film school of the California Institute of the Arts
and gave up the position in 1978 to become a professor at the school.
Some of Mackendrick's most notable students include Doug Campbell, Terence Davies, Don device, F. X. Feeney, Richard Jefferies, James Mangold
, Stephen Mills, Thom Mount
, Sean Daniel
, Bruce Berman
, Gregory Orr
, Don Di Pietro, Michael Pressman, Douglas Rushkoff
and Lee Sheldon
, and David Brisbin, amongst others.
for many years and as a result, was unable to go home to Europe during much of his time at the college. He stayed with the school until he died of pneumonia
in 1993, aged 81. His remains are buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
.
Scottish American
Scottish Americans or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scots-Irish Americans, descendants of Ulster Scots, and communities emphasize and celebrate a common heritage...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and teacher. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and later moved to Scotland. He began making television commercials before moving into post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
editing and directing films, most notably for Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
where his films include Whisky Galore!
Whisky Galore! (film)
Whisky Galore! was a 1949 Ealing comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Compton MacKenzie. Both the movie and the novel are based on the real-life 1941 shipwreck of the S.S. Politician near the island of Eriskay and the unauthorized taking of its cargo of whisky...
(1949), The Man in the White Suit
The Man in the White Suit
The Man In The White Suit is a 1951 satirical comedy film made by Ealing Studios. It starred Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, and Cecil Parker, and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. It followed a common Ealing Studios theme of the "common man" against the Establishment...
(1951), and The Ladykillers
The Ladykillers
The Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson...
(1955).
His films made a gradual decline after Ealing Studios closed and he returned to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to become a teacher in film studies. He was the cousin of the Scottish writer Roger MacDougall
Roger MacDougall
Roger MacDougall was a Scottish playwright.MacDougall began writing the occasional screenplay in the late 30s, working both alone and in collaboration with others. Most of his plays were produced during the 50s...
.
Biography
He was born on 22 December 1912 and was the only child of Francis and Martha Mackendrick, who had emigrated to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in 1911. His father was a ship builder
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
and a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. When Mackendrick was six, his father died of influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
as a result of an pandemic
Influenza pandemic
An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads on a worldwide scale and infects a large proportion of the human population. In contrast to the regular seasonal epidemics of influenza, these pandemics occur irregularly, with the 1918 Spanish flu the most serious pandemic in...
that swept the world just after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. His mother, in desperate need of work, decided to be a dress designer. In order to pursue that decision, it was necessary for Martha MacKendrick to hand her only son over to his grandfather, who took young MacKendrick back to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
when he was seven years old. Mackendrick never saw or heard from his mother again.
Young Alexander Mackendrick had a very sad and lonely childhood. He attended Hillhead High School from 1919 to 1926 and then went on to spend three years at the Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art is one of only two independent art schools in Scotland, situated in the Garnethill area of Glasgow.-History:It was founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Government School of Design. In 1853, it changed its name to The Glasgow School of Art. Initially it was located at 12 Ingram...
. In the early 1930s, MacKendrick moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to work as an art director for the advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
firm J. Walter Thompson
JWT
JWT is one of the largest advertising agencies in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world. It is one of the key companies of Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP Group and is headquartered in New York. The global agency is led by Worldwide Chairman and Global CEO Bob Jeffrey who took over the...
. Between 1936 and 1938, Mackendrick scripted five cinema commercials. He later reflected that his work in the advertising industry was invaluable, in spite of his extreme dislike of the industry itself. In 1937 MacKendrick wrote his first film script, Midnight Menace, with his cousin and close friend, Roger MacDougall
Roger MacDougall
Roger MacDougall was a Scottish playwright.MacDougall began writing the occasional screenplay in the late 30s, working both alone and in collaboration with others. Most of his plays were produced during the 50s...
. It was later bought by Associated British
Associated British Picture Corporation
Associated British Picture Corporation , originally British International Pictures , was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970...
.
At the start of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Mackendrick was employed by the Minister of Information
Minister of Information
The Ministry of Information , headed by the Minister of Information, was a United Kingdom government department created briefly at the end of World War I and again during World War II...
making British propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
films. In 1942 he went to Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
and then to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, working with the Psychological Warfare Division
Psychological Warfare Division
The Psychological Warfare Division of SHAEF was a joint Anglo-American organisation set-up in World War II tasked with conducting principally 'white' tactical psychological warfare against German troops in North-west Europe during and after D-Day. It was headed by US Brigadier-General Robert A...
. He then shot newsreels, documentaries, made leaflets, and did radio news. In 1943, he became the director of the film unit and approved the production of the classic Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Rossellini was one of the directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing films such as Roma città aperta to the movement.-Early life:Born in Rome, Roberto Rossellini lived on the Via Ludovisi, where Benito Mussolini had...
film, Rome, Open City
Rome, open city
Rome, Open City is a 1945 Italian war drama film, directed by Roberto Rossellini. The picture features Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani and Marcello Pagliero, and is set in Rome during the Nazi occupation in 1944...
.
Post-war
After the war, Mackendrick and Roger MacDougall, set up Merlin Productions, where they produced documentaries for the Ministry of Information. Merlin Productions soon proved to be a poor investment, so in 1946 Mackendrick joined Ealing Studios where he worked for nine years and directed three of the most famous films made at the studios including Whisky Galore!Whisky Galore! (film)
Whisky Galore! was a 1949 Ealing comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Compton MacKenzie. Both the movie and the novel are based on the real-life 1941 shipwreck of the S.S. Politician near the island of Eriskay and the unauthorized taking of its cargo of whisky...
(1949), The Man in the White Suit
The Man in the White Suit
The Man In The White Suit is a 1951 satirical comedy film made by Ealing Studios. It starred Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, and Cecil Parker, and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. It followed a common Ealing Studios theme of the "common man" against the Establishment...
(1951), and The Ladykillers
The Ladykillers
The Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson...
(1955).
Return to the U.S.
Mackendrick often spoke of his dislike of the film industry and decided to leave the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for Hollywood in 1955. When Ealing studios was sold, Mackendrick was cut loose to pursue a career as a freelance director, something he was never prepared to do:
- "At Ealing ... I was tremendously spoiled with all the logistical and financial troubles lifted off my shoulders, even if I had to do the films they told me to do. The reason why I have discovered myself so much happier teaching is that when I arrived here after the collapse of the world I had known as Ealing, I found that in order to make movies in Hollywood, you have to be a great deal-maker ... I have no talent for that ... I realised I was in the wrong business and got out."
The rest of his professional life was spent commuting between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He began directing the Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions (HHL) film Sweet Smell of Success
Sweet Smell of Success
Sweet Smell of Success is a 1957 American film noir made by Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions and released by United Artists. It was directed by Alexander Mackendrick and stars Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison and Martin Milner. The screenplay was written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman...
in 1957. It was a critical success about a press agent played by Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
who is wrapped up in a powerful newspaper columnist’s (Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
) plot to end the relationship between his younger sister and a jazz musician. Mackendrick got along poorly with the producers of the film because they felt that he was too much of a perfectionist. After Sweet Smell of Success, he went back to England to make the second HHL film, The Devil’s Disciple in 1959, but he was fired only a month into production due to lingering tension from their first project together. Mackendrick was devastated. Mackendrick later assisted Dutch film maker Bert Haanstra
Bert Haanstra
Bert Haanstra was a Dutch film and documentary director.Haanstra was born in the town of Holten and became a professional filmmaker in 1947. He won international acclaim with his short documentary Spiegel van Holland / Mirror of Holland, for which he received the Grand Prix du court métrage at the...
with the production of the popular comedy film, Fanfare in (1958).
After his disappointment with HHL, Mackendrick directed several television commercials in Europe for Horlicks
Horlicks
Horlicks is the name of a company and of a malted milk hot drink. It is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline in the United Kingdom, South Africa, New Zealand, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Jamaica, and under licence in the Philippines and Malaysia....
. He also made a handful of films throughout the Sixties including Sammy Going South
Sammy Going South
Sammy Going South, retitled A Boy Ten Feet Tall for its later US release, is a 1963 British adventure film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, photographed by Erwin Hillier, and starring Edward G. Robinson, Fergus McClelland and Constance Cummings. The film was based on a novel by W.H. Canaway and...
(1963), A High Wind in Jamaica
A High Wind in Jamaica (film)
A High Wind in Jamaica is a 1965 film, based on the novel of the same name, and directed by Alexander Mackendrick for the 20th Century-Fox studio. It starred Anthony Quinn and James Coburn as the pirates who capture the children....
(1965), and Don't Make Waves
Don't Make Waves
Don't Make Waves is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer sex farce which starred Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale, Dave Draper and Sharon Tate...
(1967). A project to film Ionesco's
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros (play)
Rhinoceros is a play by Eugène Ionesco, written in 1959. The play belongs to the school of drama known as the Theatre of the Absurd...
, which would have starred Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock
Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
and Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
, fell through at the last minute. In 1969 he returned to the United States after being made Dean of the film school of the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
and gave up the position in 1978 to become a professor at the school.
Some of Mackendrick's most notable students include Doug Campbell, Terence Davies, Don device, F. X. Feeney, Richard Jefferies, James Mangold
James Mangold
James Allen Mangold is an American film director and screenwriter. He is perhaps best known for Walk the Line which he co-wrote and directed.-Life and career:...
, Stephen Mills, Thom Mount
Thom Mount
Thom Mount is the former President of Universal Pictures and one of America's well-known independent producers.In the course of his thirty-five year career in the film industry, producer and studio head Thom Mount has made an indelible mark on the American film industry. He studied film at the...
, Sean Daniel
Sean Daniel
Sean Peter Daniel is an American film producer.Daniel was born in New York City, New York, the son of Beverly and Jeremy Daniel, a public relations executive. Daniel was a studio executive at Universal Studios for twelve years including five years as President of Production...
, Bruce Berman
Bruce Berman
Bruce Berman is the executive producer and chairman CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures, . He ranked #71 on Premiers 2003 annual Power 100 list. He studied film in the early seventies at the California Institute of the Arts.-External links:...
, Gregory Orr
Gregory Orr
Gregory Orr is an American writer and director of documentary and fiction films. He is the son of the late actress Joy Page and the late TV producer William T. Orr.-Career:...
, Don Di Pietro, Michael Pressman, Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture, and his advocacy of open source solutions to social problems.Rushkoff is most frequently regarded as a media...
and Lee Sheldon
Lee Sheldon (writer)
Lee Sheldon is a game designer, book author, and television producer and scriptwriter. He is the author of the mystery novel Impossible Bliss, the non-fiction books The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing Coursework as a Game and Character Development and Storytelling for Games. He was lead writer on...
, and David Brisbin, amongst others.
Death
Mackendrick suffered from severe emphysemaEmphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
for many years and as a result, was unable to go home to Europe during much of his time at the college. He stayed with the school until he died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in 1993, aged 81. His remains are buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood....
.
Director
- Whisky Galore!Whisky Galore! (film)Whisky Galore! was a 1949 Ealing comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Compton MacKenzie. Both the movie and the novel are based on the real-life 1941 shipwreck of the S.S. Politician near the island of Eriskay and the unauthorized taking of its cargo of whisky...
(19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
) - The Man in the White SuitThe Man in the White SuitThe Man In The White Suit is a 1951 satirical comedy film made by Ealing Studios. It starred Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, and Cecil Parker, and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. It followed a common Ealing Studios theme of the "common man" against the Establishment...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - MandyMandy (film)Mandy was a 1952 Ealing Studios film, based on the book The Day Is Ours by Hilda Lewis, with screenplay by Nigel Balchin and Jack Whittingham, and direction by Alexander Mackendrick and Fred Sears. Another title for the film was Crash of Silence...
(19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) - The MaggieThe MaggieThe Maggie is a 1954 British comedy film. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain.It was produced by Ealing Studios, at a time when rural Scotland was seen as a...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) - The LadykillersThe LadykillersThe Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson...
(19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) - Sweet Smell of SuccessSweet Smell of SuccessSweet Smell of Success is a 1957 American film noir made by Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions and released by United Artists. It was directed by Alexander Mackendrick and stars Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison and Martin Milner. The screenplay was written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman...
(19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) - Sammy Going SouthSammy Going SouthSammy Going South, retitled A Boy Ten Feet Tall for its later US release, is a 1963 British adventure film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, photographed by Erwin Hillier, and starring Edward G. Robinson, Fergus McClelland and Constance Cummings. The film was based on a novel by W.H. Canaway and...
(19631963 in filmThe year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
) - A High Wind in JamaicaA High Wind in Jamaica (film)A High Wind in Jamaica is a 1965 film, based on the novel of the same name, and directed by Alexander Mackendrick for the 20th Century-Fox studio. It starred Anthony Quinn and James Coburn as the pirates who capture the children....
(19651965 in filmThe year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - Don't Make WavesDon't Make WavesDon't Make Waves is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer sex farce which starred Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale, Dave Draper and Sharon Tate...
(19671967 in filmThe year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
)
Writer
- Saraband for Dead LoversSaraband for Dead LoversSaraband for Dead Lovers is a 1948 British historical drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Stewart Granger and Joan Greenwood. It is based on the novel by Helen Simpson...
(19481948 in filmThe year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
) - Dance HallDance Hall (film)Dance Hall is a 1950 British film directed by Charles Crichton. Appealing mainly to a female audience, the film was an unusual departure for the studio, known at the time primarily for its classic comedies starring Alec Guinness.-Plot:...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
)
Further reading
- Lethal Innocence: The Cinema of Alexander Mackendrick by Philip Kemp
- On Film-Making : An Introduction to the Craft of the Director by Alexander Mackendrick (edited by Paul Cronin).