Don Sharp
Encyclopedia
Donald Sharp is a British film director
.
His most famous films were made for Hammer Studios in the sixties, and included The Kiss of the Vampire
(1962) and Rasputin, the Mad Monk
(1965). Also in 1965 he directed The Face of Fu Manchu
, based on the character created by Sax Rohmer
, here played by Christopher Lee
. Sharp also directed the first sequel
The Brides of Fu Manchu
(1966).
Sharp was born in Hobart and attended St Virgil's College
. He enlisted in the army on 7 April 1941 and was discharged on 17 March 1944 at the rank of corporal..
After the war he worked as an actor on stage and radio throughout Australia and in Japan. He then moved to England where he produced and co-wrote a film, Ha'penny Breeze (1950). He continued to act with small roles in such films as The Planter's Wife
(1952) and The Cruel Sea
(1953), but began to turn increasingly to writing and directing.
Among his other credits are Curse of the Fly
, the spy-comedy Our Man in Marrakesh
(1966), the fantasy Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon
(1967) and the 1978 remake of The Thirty Nine Steps, starring Robert Powell
. He made another foray into spy culture with his feature-length reprise of the gritty Cold War TV drama, Callan
(1974) starring Edward Woodward
.
He also played the character Stephen "Mitch" Mitchell in the 1953 British science fiction radio series, Journey Into Space.
Sharp also directed the first great British rock 'n' roll movie, The Golden Disc (1958), released a year before the Cliff Richard
vehicle Expresso Bongo
(1959) and a full two years ahead of Beat Girl
(1960). And in Psychomania
(1971), Sharp creates a visual fugue by riffing on the great themes of the counter-culture era: bikers, standing stones and ritual magic.
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:...
.
His most famous films were made for Hammer Studios in the sixties, and included The Kiss of the Vampire
The Kiss of the Vampire
The Kiss of the Vampire also known as Kiss of Evil, is a 1963 British vampire film made by the film studio Hammer Film Productions...
(1962) and Rasputin, the Mad Monk
Rasputin, the Mad Monk
Rasputin, the Mad Monk is a 1966 Hammer film directed by Don Sharp.It stars Christopher Lee as Grigori Rasputin, the Russian peasant-mystic notable for gaining great influence with the Tsars prior to the Russian Revolution. It also stars Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer, Richard...
(1965). Also in 1965 he directed The Face of Fu Manchu
The Face of Fu Manchu
The Face of Fu Manchu is a 1965 British/German Constantin Film co-production thriller based on the character of Fu Manchu, the Chinese villain created by Sax Rohmer...
, based on the character created by Sax Rohmer
Sax Rohmer
Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward , better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr...
, here played by Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
. Sharp also directed the first sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
The Brides of Fu Manchu
The Brides of Fu Manchu
The Brides of Fu Manchu is a 1966 British/German Constantin Film co-production adventure crime film based on the fictional Asian villain Fu Manchu, created by Sax Rohmer. It was the second film in a series, and was preceded by The Face of Fu Manchu. The Vengeance of Fu Manchu followed in 1967, The...
(1966).
Sharp was born in Hobart and attended St Virgil's College
St Virgil's College
St Virgil's College Roman Catholic, primary and secondary, day school for boys, located over two campuses in Austins Ferry and Hobart, Tasmania, Australia....
. He enlisted in the army on 7 April 1941 and was discharged on 17 March 1944 at the rank of corporal..
After the war he worked as an actor on stage and radio throughout Australia and in Japan. He then moved to England where he produced and co-wrote a film, Ha'penny Breeze (1950). He continued to act with small roles in such films as The Planter's Wife
The Planter's Wife
The Planter's Wife is a 1952 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin, and starring Claudette Colbert, Jack Hawkins and Anthony Steel. It is set against the backdrop of the Malayan Emergency and focuses on a rubber planter and his neighbours who are fending off a campaign of sustained attacks by...
(1952) and The Cruel Sea
The Cruel Sea (film)
The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British film from Ealing Studios starring Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden, with Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister...
(1953), but began to turn increasingly to writing and directing.
Among his other credits are Curse of the Fly
Curse of the Fly
Curse of the Fly is the second and final sequel to the 1958 version of The Fly. It was released in 1965, and unlike the other films in the series was produced in England. Directed by Don Sharp. Screenplay by Harry Spalding. Starring Brian Donlevy, George Baker, Carole Gray, Burt Kwouk, Yvette...
, the spy-comedy Our Man in Marrakesh
Our Man in Marrakesh
Our Man in Marrakesh is a 1966 British comedy film directed by Don Sharp, starring Tony Randall and Senta Berger.-Plot:...
(1966), the fantasy Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon
Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon
Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon is a 1967 British science fiction comedy film directed by Don Sharp and produced by Harry Alan Towers...
(1967) and the 1978 remake of The Thirty Nine Steps, starring Robert Powell
Robert Powell
Robert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
. He made another foray into spy culture with his feature-length reprise of the gritty Cold War TV drama, Callan
Callan (film)
Callan is a 1974 British thriller film directed by Don Sharp and starring Edward Woodward, Eric Porter and Carl Möhner. It was based on the television series Callan.-Cast:* Edward Woodward ... David Callan* Eric Porter ... Hunter...
(1974) starring Edward Woodward
Edward Woodward
Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York...
.
He also played the character Stephen "Mitch" Mitchell in the 1953 British science fiction radio series, Journey Into Space.
Sharp also directed the first great British rock 'n' roll movie, The Golden Disc (1958), released a year before the Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
vehicle Expresso Bongo
Expresso Bongo
Expresso Bongo, a 1958 West End musical and a 1959 film, was a satire of the music industry. It was first produced on the stage at the Saville Theatre, London on 23 April 1958. Its book was written by Wolf Mankowitz and Julian More, with music by David Heneker and Monty Norman, also the...
(1959) and a full two years ahead of Beat Girl
Beat Girl
Beat Girl is a 1960 British film about late-fifties youth-rebellion. The title character is played by starlet Gillian Hills, who later went on to have numerous small roles in 1960s and 1970s films, such as Blowup and A Clockwork Orange, and became a successful "ye-ye" singer in France.The music was...
(1960). And in Psychomania
Psychomania
Psychomania is a British horror film and cult film starring Nicky Henson as a devil worshipping gang leader and Robert Hardy as the detective in charge of bringing them in.It is also known as Death Wheelers Are.....
(1971), Sharp creates a visual fugue by riffing on the great themes of the counter-culture era: bikers, standing stones and ritual magic.
Partial filmography
- Ha'penny Breeze (1950)
- BackgroundBackground (1953 film)Background is a 1953 British domestic drama film dealing with the effects of divorce, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Valerie Hobson, Philip Friend and Norman Wooland...
(1953) - Conflict of Wings (1954)
- The Golden Disc (1959)
- LindaLinda (film)Linda is a 1960 British teen film drama, directed by Don Sharp and starring Carol White and Alan Rothwell. The film was shot on location in South London and Brighton, and played in cinemas as the support feature to Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. The film was featured as an episode of Cinema...
(1960) - Two Guys Abroad (1962)
- It's All HappeningIt's All Happening (film)It's All Happening is a 1963 British musical film directed by Don Sharp and starring Tommy Steele, Michael Medwin and Angela Douglas. A talent scout for a record company is frustrated by his lack of progress with his career...
(1963) - The Kiss of the VampireThe Kiss of the VampireThe Kiss of the Vampire also known as Kiss of Evil, is a 1963 British vampire film made by the film studio Hammer Film Productions...
(1963) - Wichcraft (1964)Witchcraft (1964 film)Witchcraft is a 1964 British black and white horror film. It was directed by Don Sharp from a script by Harry Spalding. It stars Lon Chaney Jr. in one of his last proper acting roles.-Plot:...
(1964) - The Devil-Ship PiratesThe Devil-Ship PiratesThe Devil-Ship Pirates is a 1964 pirate adventure film made in the UK by Hammer Films. It concerned pirates from a vessel from the defeated Spanish Armada terrorizing citizens on the English coast. All goes well until the villagers realize the Spaniards have been defeated and revolt...
(1964) - Curse of the FlyCurse of the FlyCurse of the Fly is the second and final sequel to the 1958 version of The Fly. It was released in 1965, and unlike the other films in the series was produced in England. Directed by Don Sharp. Screenplay by Harry Spalding. Starring Brian Donlevy, George Baker, Carole Gray, Burt Kwouk, Yvette...
(1965) - The Face of Fu ManchuThe Face of Fu ManchuThe Face of Fu Manchu is a 1965 British/German Constantin Film co-production thriller based on the character of Fu Manchu, the Chinese villain created by Sax Rohmer...
(1965) - Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966)
- Our Man in MarrakeshOur Man in MarrakeshOur Man in Marrakesh is a 1966 British comedy film directed by Don Sharp, starring Tony Randall and Senta Berger.-Plot:...
(1966) - The Brides of Fu ManchuThe Brides of Fu ManchuThe Brides of Fu Manchu is a 1966 British/German Constantin Film co-production adventure crime film based on the fictional Asian villain Fu Manchu, created by Sax Rohmer. It was the second film in a series, and was preceded by The Face of Fu Manchu. The Vengeance of Fu Manchu followed in 1967, The...
(1966) - The Violent Enemy (1967)
- Rocket to the Moon (1967)
- A Taste of Excitement (1969)
- Dark PlacesDark PlacesDark Places is a 1973 British horror film directed by Don Sharp and starring Christopher Lee, Joan Collins and Herbert Lom.-Plot:Dr. Mandeville and his wife Sarah try to locate two suitcases of money hidden on a large estate of one of his former patients by posing as a potential heir...
(1973) - PsychomaniaPsychomaniaPsychomania is a British horror film and cult film starring Nicky Henson as a devil worshipping gang leader and Robert Hardy as the detective in charge of bringing them in.It is also known as Death Wheelers Are.....
(1973) - CallanCallan (film)Callan is a 1974 British thriller film directed by Don Sharp and starring Edward Woodward, Eric Porter and Carl Möhner. It was based on the television series Callan.-Cast:* Edward Woodward ... David Callan* Eric Porter ... Hunter...
(1974) - HennessyHennessy (film)Hennessy is a 1975 British thriller film directed by Don Sharp and starring Rod Steiger, Trevor Howard, Lee Remick, Richard Johnson, Peter Egan, Stanley Lebor and Patrick Stewart. After the death of his family during a riot in Belfast, Niall Hennessy comes up with a plan to blow up the British...
(1975) - The Four FeathersThe Four Feathers (1977 film)The Four Feathers is a 1977 British television film adaptation of the classic novel The Four Feathers by novelist A.E.W. Mason. Directed by Don Sharp, this version starred Beau Bridges, Robert Powell, Simon Ward and Jane Seymour, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award...
(1977) - The Thirty Nine Steps (1978)
- Bear IslandBear Island (film)Bear Island is a 1979 British-Canadian thriller film based on the novel Bear Island by Alistair MacLean. It was directed by Don Sharp and starred Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee and Lloyd Bridges.-Plot:...
(1979) - What Waits BelowWhat Waits BelowWhat Waits Below is a British science-fiction adventure film released in 1984. Directed by Don Sharp, produced by the Adams Apple Film Company, the film runs for 88 minutes and starred Robert Powell, Timothy Bottoms, and Lisa Blount...
(1984) - Hold the DreamHold the DreamHold the Dream is a British two-part miniseries made in 1986, based on the novel of the same name by Barbara Taylor Bradford. It is the second book in the Emma Harte series, following A Woman of Substance...
(1986) (TV) - Tears in the RainTears in the RainTears in the Rain is a 1988 television movie directed by Don Sharp and starred Sharon Stone and Christopher Cazenove. It was one of a series of films produced in the Harlequin Romance Movie Series...
(1988) (TV) - Act of Will (1989) (TV)