Charles Saunders (director)
Encyclopedia
Charles Joel Saunders was an English
film director
and screenwriter
who started in the industry as a film editor, and who also contributed to television
. He was the brother of the theatrical producer
Sir Peter Saunders
.
called No Exit (which he wrote, produced and directed), about a publisher's daughter who wrongly believes that a humble staff writer of her father's is secretly a best-selling author.
He then served as art director
for three films in 1931 and 1932. However, his main occupation from 1930 to 1943 was in the film editing
sphere, learning the trade by contributing to over 20 films, and rising to become supervising
editor for the 1942 Gainsborough
movie Alibi
, a thriller which starred James Mason
and Margaret Lockwood.
In 1944, he combined with Bernard Miles
to co-direct (and co-screenwrite) Tawny Pipit, a film starring Miles himself as the Army colonel involved with village folk in an effort to protect rare birds' nests from egg thieves.
After working as a second unit
director in 1945 on The Way to the Stars
, and as a location director
in 1947 on The White Unicorn, he began his career proper as a dedicated director.
Following his solo debut with Fly Away Peter in 1948, Saunders would go on to make around ten films (including 1951's One Wild Oat
, featuring a very young Audrey Hepburn
as a hotel receptionist) before switching to the medium of television
, and in 1953 and 1954 he directed 8 episodes of the anthology series "Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents", for Douglas Fairbanks Productions Limited.
He was still busy on the movie front, making The Golden Link, The Scarlet Web, and Meet Mr Callaghan in 1954. He also made three films in 1955 - The Hornets Nest, One Jump Ahead, and A Time to Kill. Returning to television direction once more, he then made 7 episodes of the police drama series, Fabian of the Yard
, broadcast on the BBC
in 1955, before completing three more films in 1956 (Behind the Headlines, The Narrowing Circle, and Find the Lady).
After making three more episodes of "Fabian" in 1956, he continued working with the BBC, filming 9 instalments of another TV series, Adventures of the Big Man, for them, which presented stories about a public relations
officer
in a large store.
Seven films followed in 1957, before Saunders began to make films which marked a radical departure from the tried and trusted formula he had employed for many years. The 1958 "English sexploitation movie", Nudist Paradise, was perhaps the beginning of the end of Saunders' career in films, although he did make a B movie
in the same year, called Womaneater (described as "one of the very worst British horror films ever"). It recounted the story of a crazed scientist who feeds women to a flesh-eating tree, in return for a life-giving serum.
After eight more films, culminating in the 1962 crime thriller Danger by My Side, Saunders retired from film-making.
He died in April 1997 at Denham, Buckinghamshire
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
who started in the industry as a film editor, and who also contributed to television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. He was the brother of the theatrical producer
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
Sir Peter Saunders
Peter Saunders (theatre)
Sir Peter Saunders was an English theatre impresario, notable for his production of the long-running Agatha Christie murder mystery, The Mousetrap....
.
Career
Saunders entered the world of films in 1930 with his dramaDrama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
called No Exit (which he wrote, produced and directed), about a publisher's daughter who wrongly believes that a humble staff writer of her father's is secretly a best-selling author.
He then served as art director
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
for three films in 1931 and 1932. However, his main occupation from 1930 to 1943 was in the film editing
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
sphere, learning the trade by contributing to over 20 films, and rising to become supervising
Supervisor
A supervisor, foreperson, team leader, overseer, cell coach, facilitator, or area coordinator is a manager in a position of trust in business...
editor for the 1942 Gainsborough
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...
movie Alibi
Alibi (1942 film)
Alibi is a 1942 British mystery film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Margaret Lockwood, James Mason and Hugh Sinclair. Police hunt for the killer of a nightclub hostess. It was based on the novel L'Alibi by Marcel Achard.-Cast:...
, a thriller which starred James Mason
James Mason
James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
and Margaret Lockwood.
In 1944, he combined with Bernard Miles
Bernard Miles
Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
to co-direct (and co-screenwrite) Tawny Pipit, a film starring Miles himself as the Army colonel involved with village folk in an effort to protect rare birds' nests from egg thieves.
After working as a second unit
Second unit
In film, the second unit is a team that shoots subsidiary footage for a motion picture. Its work is distinct from that of the first unit, which shoots all scenes involving principal actors...
director in 1945 on The Way to the Stars
The Way to the Stars
The Way to the Stars, also known as Johnny in the Clouds, is a 1945 British war drama film made by Two Cities Films and released by United Artists. It was produced by Anatole de Grunwald and directed by Anthony Asquith...
, and as a location director
Location manager
The Location Manager is responsible for the finding and securing locations to be used and coordinating the logistics involved for the production to successfully complete its necessary work...
in 1947 on The White Unicorn, he began his career proper as a dedicated director.
Following his solo debut with Fly Away Peter in 1948, Saunders would go on to make around ten films (including 1951's One Wild Oat
One Wild Oat
One Wild Oat is a 1951 British film starring Stanley Holloway, Robertson Hare and Sam Costa with a notable appearance by a pre-stardom Audrey Hepburn as an extra....
, featuring a very young Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
as a hotel receptionist) before switching to the medium of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, and in 1953 and 1954 he directed 8 episodes of the anthology series "Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents", for Douglas Fairbanks Productions Limited.
He was still busy on the movie front, making The Golden Link, The Scarlet Web, and Meet Mr Callaghan in 1954. He also made three films in 1955 - The Hornets Nest, One Jump Ahead, and A Time to Kill. Returning to television direction once more, he then made 7 episodes of the police drama series, Fabian of the Yard
Fabian of the Yard
Fabian of the Yard was a British police procedural television series based on the real-life memoirs of Scotland Yard detective Robert Fabian, made by the BBC and broadcast between November 1954 and February 1956. It is considered the earliest police procedural to be made for British TV, sharing...
, broadcast on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1955, before completing three more films in 1956 (Behind the Headlines, The Narrowing Circle, and Find the Lady).
After making three more episodes of "Fabian" in 1956, he continued working with the BBC, filming 9 instalments of another TV series, Adventures of the Big Man, for them, which presented stories about a public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
officer
Chief communications officer
The chief communications officer is a job title for the head of communications, public relations, and/or public affairs within an organization...
in a large store.
Seven films followed in 1957, before Saunders began to make films which marked a radical departure from the tried and trusted formula he had employed for many years. The 1958 "English sexploitation movie", Nudist Paradise, was perhaps the beginning of the end of Saunders' career in films, although he did make a B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
in the same year, called Womaneater (described as "one of the very worst British horror films ever"). It recounted the story of a crazed scientist who feeds women to a flesh-eating tree, in return for a life-giving serum.
After eight more films, culminating in the 1962 crime thriller Danger by My Side, Saunders retired from film-making.
He died in April 1997 at Denham, Buckinghamshire
Denham, Buckinghamshire
Denham is a village and civil parish in the South Buckinghamshire district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is north west of Uxbridge and north of junction 1 of the M40 motorway. Denham contains the Buckinghamshire Golf Club.-Origin:...
.
Selected filmography
- No Exit (1930)
- Tawny PipitTawny Pipit (film)Tawny Pipit is a British war film produced by Prestige Productions in 1944. It tells of how a sleepy English village becomes the centre of attention when a rare bird's nest is discovered there.-Plot:...
(1944) (co-director, Bernard MilesBernard MilesBernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
) - Fly Away Peter (1948)
- Trouble in the Air (1948)
- Dark Interval (1950)
- One Wild OatOne Wild OatOne Wild Oat is a 1951 British film starring Stanley Holloway, Robertson Hare and Sam Costa with a notable appearance by a pre-stardom Audrey Hepburn as an extra....
(1951) - Chelsea Story (1951)
- Blind Man's BluffBlind Man's Bluff (1952 film)Blind Man's Bluff is a 1952 British crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Zena Marshall, Sydney Tafler and Anthony Pendrell.-Cast:* Zena Marshall - Christine Stevens* Sydney Tafler - Rikki Martin* Anthony Pendrell - Roger Morley...
(1952) - Death of an Angel (1952)
- Come Back Peter (1952)
- Love in Pawn (1953)
- The Accused (1953)
- Black Orchid (1953)
- The Golden Link (1954)
- The Scarlet Web (1954)
- Meet Mr Callaghan (1954)
- The Hornets Nest (1955)
- A Time to Kill (1955)
- One Jump Ahead (1955)
- Behind the Headlines (1956)
- The Narrowing CircleThe Narrowing CircleThe Narrowing Circle is a 1956 British crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Paul Carpenter, Hazel Court and Russell Napier. A crime writer finds himself accused of murder, and has to clear his name.-Cast:* Paul Carpenter - Dave Nelson...
(1956) - Find the LadyFind the Lady (1956 film)Find the Lady is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Donald Houston, Beverley Brooks and Mervyn Johns. During New Year's Eve, a young model spends the day searching for her grandmother, who has suspiciously gone missing....
(1956) - The Man Without a BodyThe Man Without a BodyThe Man Without a Body is a 1957 British horror film directed by Charles Saunders and W. Lee Wilder and starring Robert Hutton, George Coulouris and Julia Arnall. A wealthy man pays a surgeon to replace his brain with that of Nostradamus. It is also known as Curse of Nostradamus.-Cast:* Robert...
(1957) - There's Always a ThursdayThere's Always a ThursdayThere's Always a Thursday is a 1957 British crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Charles Victor, Jill Ireland, Lloyd Lamble and Robert Raglan...
(1957) - Date with Disaster (1957)
- The End of the LineThe End of the Line (1957 film)The End of the Line is a 1957 British crime film starring Alan Baxter, Barbara Shelley, Ferdy Mayne, Jennifer Jayne, Arthur Gomez, Charles Clay and directed by Charles Saunders. The film was released in the United States in 1959...
(1957) - Kill Her Gently (1957)
- Nudist Paradise (1958)
- Womaneater (1958)
- Strictly ConfidentialStrictly Confidential (film)Strictly Confidential is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Richard Murdoch, William Kendall, Maya Koumani and Neil Hallett. Two con-men, recently released from prison, are enlisted by a widow to help her recover control of her late husband's business which has...
(1959) - The Gentle Trap (1960)
- Danger by My Side (1962)