Bill Douglas
Encyclopedia
William Gerald Forbes Douglas (17 April 1934 – 18 June 1991) was a Scottish
film director
best known for the trilogy of films about his early life.
on the outskirts of Edinburgh
, he was brought up initially by his maternal grandmother; following her death, he lived with his father and paternal grandmother. He undertook his National Service in Egypt
, where he met his lifelong friend, Peter Jewell. On returning to England, Douglas moved to London
and began a career of acting and writing. After spending some time with Joan Littlewood
’s ‘Theatre Workshop
’ company at the Theatre Royal Stratford East
, he was cast in the Granada television
series, The Younger Generation in 1961 and had a musical, Solo, produced in 1962 at Cheltenham
.
to make the film, now called My Childhood (1972). The film gained critical acclaim on the international festival circuit, which paved the way for the second and third instalments of what became a trilogy of Douglas's formative years: My Ain Folk (1973) and My Way Home (1978).
The Bill Douglas Trilogy recounts the harrowing experiences of a young boy, Jamie, growing up in crippling poverty: material and emotional impoverishment; harrowing privations at the hands of his paternal grandmother; incarceration in a children’s home; living in a hostel for down-and-outs. Eventually the call-up for national service allows Jamie to find freedom through his friendship with Robert, a young middle class Englishman who introduces him to books and the possibility of a more optimistic and fulfilling future. The austere black and white images of the films embody a stillness and intensity reminiscent of silent cinema and this visual style is augmented by the equally spare and precise use of sound. Just as the stillness of the image forces the audience to look, so the relative silence encourages greater attention to specific sounds – boots scraping on asphalt, the chirping of birds and the timbre of voices – granting an emotional power lost in the aural bombardment characterising much contemporary cinema.
The Trilogy gained a wealth of critical plaudits but Douglas struggled to raise financing for his next project, and was forced to find other ways of earning a living. Mamoun Hassan
, the former head of BFI Production, invited him to teach at the National Film and Television School from 1978 and he proved to be an inspiring presence. Hassan was also able, in his role as director of the National Film Finance Corporation to help realize the project of Comrades
, Douglas’s film about the ‘Tolpuddle Martyrs
’, six Dorset
farm labourers who in 1834 were arrested and tried for forming a trade union and subsequently transported to Australia
. Even so, the film did not appear until 1987, seven years after the screenplay had been completed. Dubbed a ‘poor man’s epic’, Comrades continues Douglas’s interest in the perseverance of the human spirit in the face of material adversity. It also brings to the fore his fascination with the world of optics and image-making, through a number of references to various forms of Victorian optical entertainments such as the magic lantern
, the zoetrope
, the peep show
and the camera obscura
. The story itself is mediated by the character of an itinerant magic lanternist who reappears in a number of roles.
Comrades was to be Bill Douglas’s last film. He died of cancer
and is buried in the churchyard of Bishop's Tawton
in Devon. He left behind him two unmade screenplays: Justified Sinner
, an adaptation of James Hogg
’s celebrated novel, and Flying Horse, based on the life of pre-cinema pioneer Eadweard Muybridge
. Another posthumous script, Ring of Truth, written during a fellowship to Strathclyde University
in 1990, was produced by BBC Scotland
in 1995.
Unproduced scripts:
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...
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:...
best known for the trilogy of films about his early life.
Biography
Born in NewcraighallNewcraighall
Newcraighall is a southeastern suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. A former mining village, its prosperity was based on the Midlothian coalfields and in particular the now closed Monktonhall pit. The village had a miners club and bowling green...
on the outskirts of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, he was brought up initially by his maternal grandmother; following her death, he lived with his father and paternal grandmother. He undertook his National Service in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, where he met his lifelong friend, Peter Jewell. On returning to England, Douglas 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...
and began a career of acting and writing. After spending some time with Joan Littlewood
Joan Littlewood
Joan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
’s ‘Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
’ company at the Theatre Royal Stratford East
Theatre Royal Stratford East
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
, he was cast in the Granada television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, The Younger Generation in 1961 and had a musical, Solo, produced in 1962 at Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
.
Filmmaking career
Having been interested in film-making all his life, in 1968 Douglas enrolled at the London International Film School, where he wrote the screenplay for a short autobiographical film called Jamie. After initial difficulties in finding support for the project, he eventually obtained funding from the British Film InstituteBritish Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
to make the film, now called My Childhood (1972). The film gained critical acclaim on the international festival circuit, which paved the way for the second and third instalments of what became a trilogy of Douglas's formative years: My Ain Folk (1973) and My Way Home (1978).
The Bill Douglas Trilogy recounts the harrowing experiences of a young boy, Jamie, growing up in crippling poverty: material and emotional impoverishment; harrowing privations at the hands of his paternal grandmother; incarceration in a children’s home; living in a hostel for down-and-outs. Eventually the call-up for national service allows Jamie to find freedom through his friendship with Robert, a young middle class Englishman who introduces him to books and the possibility of a more optimistic and fulfilling future. The austere black and white images of the films embody a stillness and intensity reminiscent of silent cinema and this visual style is augmented by the equally spare and precise use of sound. Just as the stillness of the image forces the audience to look, so the relative silence encourages greater attention to specific sounds – boots scraping on asphalt, the chirping of birds and the timbre of voices – granting an emotional power lost in the aural bombardment characterising much contemporary cinema.
The Trilogy gained a wealth of critical plaudits but Douglas struggled to raise financing for his next project, and was forced to find other ways of earning a living. Mamoun Hassan
Mamoun Hassan
Mamoun Hassan is a screenwriter, director, editor, producer and teacher of film who was instrumental in encouraging, supporting and developing British Cinema from the early 1970s through to the end of the 1980s...
, the former head of BFI Production, invited him to teach at the National Film and Television School from 1978 and he proved to be an inspiring presence. Hassan was also able, in his role as director of the National Film Finance Corporation to help realize the project of Comrades
Comrades (film)
Comrades is a 1986 British historical drama film directed by Bill Douglas and starring an ensemble cast including James Fox, Robert Stephens and Vanessa Redgrave. It depicts the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who were transported to Australia in the nineteenth century...
, Douglas’s film about the ‘Tolpuddle Martyrs
Tolpuddle Martyrs
The Tolpuddle Martyrs were a group of 19th century Dorset agricultural labourers who were arrested for and convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. The rules of the society show it was clearly structured as a friendly society and operated as...
’, six Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
farm labourers who in 1834 were arrested and tried for forming a trade union and subsequently transported to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Even so, the film did not appear until 1987, seven years after the screenplay had been completed. Dubbed a ‘poor man’s epic’, Comrades continues Douglas’s interest in the perseverance of the human spirit in the face of material adversity. It also brings to the fore his fascination with the world of optics and image-making, through a number of references to various forms of Victorian optical entertainments such as the magic lantern
Magic lantern
The magic lantern or Laterna Magica is an early type of image projector developed in the 17th century.-Operation:The magic lantern has a concave mirror in front of a light source that gathers light and projects it through a slide with an image scanned onto it. The light rays cross an aperture , and...
, the zoetrope
Zoetrope
A zoetrope is a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures. The term zoetrope is from the Greek words "ζωή – zoe", "life" and τρόπος – tropos, "turn". It may be taken to mean "wheel of life"....
, the peep show
Peep show
A peep show or peepshow is an exhibition of pictures, objects or people viewed through a small hole or magnifying glass. Though historically a peep show was a form of entertainment provided by wandering showmen, nowadays it more commonly refers a presentation of a sex show or pornographic film...
and the camera obscura
Camera obscura
The camera obscura is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side...
. The story itself is mediated by the character of an itinerant magic lanternist who reappears in a number of roles.
Comrades was to be Bill Douglas’s last film. He died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and is buried in the churchyard of Bishop's Tawton
Bishop's Tawton
Bishop's Tawton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. It is in the valley of the River Taw, about three miles south of Barnstaple. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,176....
in Devon. He left behind him two unmade screenplays: Justified Sinner
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, is a novel that was written by the Scottish author James Hogg and published anonymously in...
, an adaptation of James Hogg
James Hogg
James Hogg was a Scottish poet and novelist who wrote in both Scots and English.-Early life:James Hogg was born in a small farm near Ettrick, Scotland in 1770 and was baptized there on 9 December, his actual date of birth having never been recorded...
’s celebrated novel, and Flying Horse, based on the life of pre-cinema pioneer Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard J. Muybridge was an English photographer who spent much of his life in the United States. He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion which used multiple cameras to capture motion, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible...
. Another posthumous script, Ring of Truth, written during a fellowship to Strathclyde University
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
in 1990, was produced by BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
in 1995.
Legacy
Douglas's legacy was not confined to his films. Along with Peter Jewell (Robert of the Trilogy) he was a voracious collector of books, memorabilia and artefacts relating to the history and prehistory of cinema. This collection was the base for the Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture (housed at the University of Exeter), when it opened six years after Douglas's death, and it remains the core of the Centre’s collections.Student films (London Film School)
- Charlie Chaplin's London (1969)
- Striptease (1969)
- Globe (1969/70)
- Come Dancing (1970)
Feature films
- The Bill Douglas Trilogy:
- My Childhood (1972)
- My Ain Folk (1973)
- My Way Home (1978)
- ComradesComrades (film)Comrades is a 1986 British historical drama film directed by Bill Douglas and starring an ensemble cast including James Fox, Robert Stephens and Vanessa Redgrave. It depicts the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who were transported to Australia in the nineteenth century...
(1987)
As writer
As Co-Writer:- Home And Away (A BFI Production, directed by Michael AlexanderMichael AlexanderMichael Charles Alexander was a British Army officer, a German Prisoner of War held captive at Oflag IV-C, and later a writer....
, 1974)
Unproduced scripts:
- Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1988)
- Flying Horse (1990)
- The Ring of Truth (1990) (Produced by BBC Scotland in 1996)
Documentaries about Bill Douglas
- Arena (1979) BBC TV documentary on Douglas after he had completed the Trilogy
- Bill Douglas: On Stony Ground (1992) BBC Scotland documentary
- Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image (2006) Documentary on Douglas's life and work by Andy Kimpton-Nye
- Lanterna Magicka: Bill Douglas & the Secret History of Cinema (2009) Documentary on Douglas's fascination with pre-cinema optical devices, and how he integrated them into Comrades. By Sean MartinSean MartinSean Martin is an Anglo-Irish writer and film director. He has written popular books on the Knights Templar and the Cathars, and appeared on History Channel documentaries such as Decoding the Past: The Templar Code and in Channel 5's Secrets of the Cross: The Trial of the Knights Templar.Martin...
and Louise Milne.
Bill Douglas on DVD
The Bill Douglas Trilogy (BFI, 2008, Blu-ray: 2009; in the U.S. the trilogy was released on DVD by Facets) — Also includes Douglas's graduation film, Come Dancing, a brief 1980 interview with Douglas, and Andy Kimpton-Nye's documentary.- Comrades (BFI, also Blu-ray, 2009) — Also includes Home and Away, Martin/Milne's Lanterna Magicka, and interviews with Bill Douglas from 1978 and the Comrades shoot.
External links
- Bill Douglas Museum
- Bill Douglas biography and filmography at British Film InstituteBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's ScreenonlineScreenonlineScreenonline is a Web site devoted to the history of British film and television, and to social history as revealed by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund.Reviews... - Honor for forgotten star
- Top 20 Scottish films of all time