Arthur Crabtree
Encyclopedia
Arthur Crabtree was a British
cinematographer
and film director
.
Crabtree earliest credits as a cinematographer
working on such films as the Will Hay
comedies Oh, Mr. Porter! and Good Morning, Boys
(both 1937) and Hey! Hey! USA!
(1938), the Arthur Askey
vehicle Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt
(1940), and The Man in Grey
(1943) and Fanny by Gaslight
(1944) for Gainsborough Pictures
.
Crabtree continued his association with Gainsborough as he started his directorial career, beginning with the melodramatic
fantasies Madonna of the Seven Moons
(1945), starring Phyllis Calvert
and Stewart Granger
and Caravan
(1946). His last two films were Fiend Without a Face
(1958) and Horrors of the Black Museum
(1959), a science fiction and horror
, respectively, both of which have become cult favourites, although the former enjoys a better critical reputation. He also directed episodes of television series such as The Adventures of Robin Hood
and The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
(both 1956).
United 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...
cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
and film 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:...
.
Crabtree earliest credits as a cinematographer
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
working on such films as the Will Hay
Will Hay
William Thomson "Will" Hay was an English comedian, actor, film director and amateur astronomer.-Early life:He was born in Stockton-on-Tees, in north east England, to William R...
comedies Oh, Mr. Porter! and Good Morning, Boys
Good Morning, Boys
Good Morning, Boys is a 1937 British comedy film featuring Will Hay, Martita Hunt, Lilli Palmer and Peter Gawthorne.-Plot outline:Will Hay plays the roguish headmaster, Dr Twist, of a dubious boarding school for boys. Twist bets on the horses with his pupils and teaches them little...
(both 1937) and Hey! Hey! USA!
Hey! Hey! USA!
Hey! Hey! USA is a 1938 British comedy film starring comedian Will Hay, Edgar Kennedy and Eddie Ryan. Hay appears as Benjamin Twist, a porter who accidentally finds himself on a ship bound for the United States.-Plot outline:...
(1938), the Arthur Askey
Arthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
vehicle Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt
Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt
Charley's Aunt is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde starring Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch as Oxford 'scholars'.The film is one of many to be made based on the farce Charley's Aunt.-Cast:...
(1940), and The Man in Grey
The Man in Grey
The Man in Grey is a 1943 British film melodrama made by Gainsborough Pictures, and is widely considered as the first of its "Gainsborough melodramas"...
(1943) and Fanny by Gaslight
Fanny by Gaslight (film)
Fanny by Gaslight was a 1944 British drama film, produced by Gainsborough Pictures, set in the 1870s and adapted from a novel by Michael Sadleir . It was one of its famous period-set "Gainsborough melodramas"...
(1944) for Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
.
Crabtree continued his association with Gainsborough as he started his directorial career, beginning with the melodramatic
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
fantasies Madonna of the Seven Moons
Madonna of the Seven Moons
Madonna of the Seven Moons is a 1945 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Phyllis Calvert, Stewart Granger and Patricia Roc. The film was one of the Gainsborough melodramas. It was based on a novel by Margery Lawrence.-Plot:...
(1945), starring Phyllis Calvert
Phyllis Calvert
Phyllis Calvert was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s....
and Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger was an English-American film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.-Early life:He was born James Lablache Stewart in Old...
and Caravan
Caravan (1946 film)
Caravan is a 1946 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree. It was one of the Gainsborough Melodramas and is based on a novel Caravan by Eleanor Smith....
(1946). His last two films were Fiend Without a Face
Fiend Without a Face
Fiend Without a Face is a 1958 British black-and-white science fiction film directed by Arthur Crabtree. It tells the story of mysterious deaths at the hands of an invisible life-form that steals human brains and spinal columns...
(1958) and Horrors of the Black Museum
Horrors of the Black Museum
Horrors of the Black Museum is a British horror film starring Michael Gough and directed by Arthur Crabtree.It was the first film in what film critic David Pirie dubbed Anglo-Amalgamated's "Sadian trilogy" , with an emphasis on sadism, cruelty and violence , in contrast to the supernatural...
(1959), a science fiction and horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, respectively, both of which have become cult favourites, although the former enjoys a better critical reputation. He also directed episodes of television series such as The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a popular British television series comprising 143 half-hour, black and white episodes. It starred Richard Greene as the outlaw Robin Hood and Alan Wheatley as his nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The show aired weekly between 1955 and 1959 on ITV in London in the...
and The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot is a British television series first broadcast in 1956, produced by Sapphire Films for ITC Entertainment and screened on the ITV network...
(both 1956).
Selected filmography
- Alf's Button AfloatAlf's Button AfloatAlf's Button Afloat is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Alastair Sim and Peter Gawthorne. The Crazy Gang go to sea. It paradoies the 1920 novel Alf's Button by W.A...
(1938) - UncensoredUncensored (film)Uncensored is a 1942 British World War II drama, directed by Anthony Asquith for Gainsborough Pictures and starring Eric Portman and Phyllis Calvert...
(1942) - Waterloo RoadWaterloo Road (film)Waterloo Road is a 1945 British film based on the Waterloo area of South London. It was directed by Sidney Gilliat.-Plot:John Mills plays an AWOL squaddie who returns to south London to save his wife from the advances of a philandering draft-dodger played by Stewart Granger.-Cast:* John Mills as...
(1945) - They Were SistersThey Were SistersThey Were Sisters is a 1945 British melodrama film, directed by Arthur Crabtree for Gainsborough Pictures and starring James Mason and Phyllis Calvert. The film was produced by Harold Huth, with cinematography from Jack Cox and screenplay by Roland Pertwee...
(1945) - CaravanCaravan (1946 film)Caravan is a 1946 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree. It was one of the Gainsborough Melodramas and is based on a novel Caravan by Eleanor Smith....
(1946) - Dear MurdererDear MurdererDear Murderer is a 1947 British thriller, directed by Arthur Crabtree for Gainsborough Pictures, and starring Eric Portman and Greta Gynt. The film was well-received for its tautness and ingenuity, with one reviewer noting: "Dear Murderer is a shrewd, semi-psychological thriller with Eric Portman,...
(1947) - Quartet (1948)
- The CalendarThe Calendar (1948 film)The Calendar is a 1948 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Greta Gynt, John McCallum, Raymond Lovell and Leslie Dwyer...
(1948) - Don't Ever Leave MeDon't Ever Leave MeDon't Ever Leave Me is a 1949 English romantic comedy film starring Petula Clark, Jimmy Hanley, Hugh Sinclair, Edward Rigby, and Anthony Newley...
(1949) - Lilli MarleneLilli Marlene (film)Lilli Marlene is a 1950 British historical drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Hugh McDermott, Lisa Daniely and Stanley Baker...
(1951) - Hindle WakesHindle Wakes (1952 film)Hindle Wakes is a 1952 British drama film, directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Lisa Daniely and Leslie Dwyer. The film was the fourth and last screen adaptation of the famous Stanley Houghton play of the 1910s, dealing with an independent-minded young woman insisting on her right to enjoy a...
(1952) - Stryker of the YardStryker of the YardStryker of the Yard is a 1953 British crime film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Clifford Evans, Susan Stephen, Jack Watling and Eliot Makeham....
(1953) - The Wedding of Lilli MarleneThe Wedding of Lilli MarleneThe Wedding of Lilli Marlene is a 1953 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Lisa Daniely, Hugh McDermott and Sid James...
(1953) - Morning CallMorning Call (film)Morning Call is a 1957 British thriller film, directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Greta Gynt and Ron Randell. The film was originally cast with George Raft and Bella Darvi as the leads, but Raft reportedly pulled out, citing dissatisfaction with the script...
(1957) - West of SuezWest of SuezWest of Suez is a 1957 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Keefe Brasselle, Kay Callard and Karel Stepanek. An adventurer is hired to assassinate the leader of an Arab movement advocating peace, but is unable to complete his mission....
(1957) - Death Over My Shoulder (1958)
- Fiend Without a FaceFiend Without a FaceFiend Without a Face is a 1958 British black-and-white science fiction film directed by Arthur Crabtree. It tells the story of mysterious deaths at the hands of an invisible life-form that steals human brains and spinal columns...
(1958) - Horrors of the Black MuseumHorrors of the Black MuseumHorrors of the Black Museum is a British horror film starring Michael Gough and directed by Arthur Crabtree.It was the first film in what film critic David Pirie dubbed Anglo-Amalgamated's "Sadian trilogy" , with an emphasis on sadism, cruelty and violence , in contrast to the supernatural...
(1959)