Harry Alan Towers
Encyclopedia
Harry Alan Towers was a British-born radio
and film producer
and screenwriter
, regularly using the pseudonym
Peter Welbeck. He produced over a hundred feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties. Towers was married to the actress Maria Rohm
who appeared in many of his movies and survives him.
during World War II becoming head of the RAF radio unit on the British Forces Broadcasting Service
. In 1946 he and his mother Margaret Miller Towers started a company called Towers of London that sold various syndicated radio shows around the world, including The Lives of Harry Lime
and The Black Museum
with Orson Welles
, Secrets of Scotland Yard with Clive Brook, Horatio Hornblower in which Michael Redgrave
played the famous character
created by C.S. Forester, and a series based on the Sherlock Holmes
stories, featuring John Gielgud
as Holmes, Ralph Richardson
as Watson, and Orson Welles as Professor Moriarty
. Gielgud's brother, Val
, directed several episodes. Many of these were sold to and played by Radio Luxembourg
.
Based on his radio success, in the mid 1950s he produced television shows for ITV
such as Armchair Theatre
, The Golden Fleece, The Boy About the Place, Teddy Gang, The Lady Asks for Help, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Suicide Club, The Little Black Book, The New Adventures of Martin Kane, A Christmas Carol, 24 Hours a Day, Down to the Sea, Gun Rule, and many others.
Towers began producing feature films in 1962, sometimes writing the screenplay. Towers filmed in various countries such as South Africa, Ireland, Hong Kong, Bulgaria and others. A number of his films and scripts were based on the works of Sax Rohmer
(Fu Manchu
, Sumuru
), Agatha Christie
(And Then There Were None
and the Miss Marple
series) and the works of Edgar Wallace
. In fact Towers produced 3 separate film versions of And Then There Were None
, each set in a different locale.
He collaborated with Jesus Franco
during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
ran an article in 1983 citing many reliable sources, alleged Towers' was linked with (among others) Stephen Ward
, Peter Lawford
, the Soviet Union
, and a vice ring at the United Nations
. Hearst Corporation newspapers had already mentioned Towers' name in a 1963 article featuring coded references to a liaison between a pre-White House John F Kennedy and Novotny, a known prostitute. The charges against Towers were dropped in 1980 after he paid a £4,200 fine for jumping bail.
on an adaptation of Moll Flanders
. He died after a short illness in hospital in Canada on 31 July 2009.
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
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:...
, regularly using the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Peter Welbeck. He produced over a hundred feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties. Towers was married to the actress Maria Rohm
Maria Rohm
Maria Rohm is an Austrian actress.She is famous for appearing in many exploitation films directed by Jesús Franco in the late 60s. She was married to film producer Harry Alan Towers from 1964 until his death in 2009...
who appeared in many of his movies and survives him.
Biography
The son of a theatrical agent he became a child actor, then became a prolific radio writer while serving in the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
during World War II becoming head of the RAF radio unit on the British Forces Broadcasting Service
British Forces Broadcasting Service
The British Forces Broadcasting Service provides radio and television programmes for HM Forces, and their dependents, in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kosovo, the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Tristan da Cunha as well as a live satellite...
. In 1946 he and his mother Margaret Miller Towers started a company called Towers of London that sold various syndicated radio shows around the world, including The Lives of Harry Lime
The Lives of Harry Lime
The Adventures of Harry Lime was an old-time radio programme produced in London, England during the 1951 to 1952 season....
and The Black Museum
The Black Museum
The Black Museum was a 1951 radio crime drama program independently produced by Harry Alan Towers and based on real-life cases from the files of Scotland Yard's Black Museum. Ira Marion was the scriptwriter, and music for the series was composed and conducted by Sidney Torch...
with Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, Secrets of Scotland Yard with Clive Brook, Horatio Hornblower in which Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
played the famous character
Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
created by C.S. Forester, and a series based on the Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
stories, featuring John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
as Holmes, Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
as Watson, and Orson Welles as Professor Moriarty
Professor Moriarty
Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and the archenemy of the detective Sherlock Holmes in the fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the "Napoleon of Crime". Doyle lifted the phrase from a real Scotland Yard inspector who was...
. Gielgud's brother, Val
Val Gielgud
Val Henry Gielgud was an English actor, writer, director and broadcaster. He was a pioneer of radio drama for the BBC, and also directed the first ever drama to be produced in the newer medium of television....
, directed several episodes. Many of these were sold to and played by Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
.
Based on his radio success, in the mid 1950s he produced television shows for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
such as Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series, which ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television after 1968....
, The Golden Fleece, The Boy About the Place, Teddy Gang, The Lady Asks for Help, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Suicide Club, The Little Black Book, The New Adventures of Martin Kane, A Christmas Carol, 24 Hours a Day, Down to the Sea, Gun Rule, and many others.
Towers began producing feature films in 1962, sometimes writing the screenplay. Towers filmed in various countries such as South Africa, Ireland, Hong Kong, Bulgaria and others. A number of his films and scripts were based on the works of 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...
(Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
, Sumuru
Sumuru (literary character)
Sumuru is a female supervillain created by Sax Rohmer, author of the Fu Manchu series of novels. She leads a secret organisation known as the Order of Our Lady.-Radio:...
), Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
(And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None (1974 film)
And Then There Were None is a 1974 film version of the Agatha Christie mystery novel of the same name. Two previous theatrical adaptations were released in 1945 and 1965, and a videotaped made-for-television version was broadcast in 1959...
and the Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
series) and the works of Edgar Wallace
Edgar Wallace
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
. In fact Towers produced 3 separate film versions of And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers which was changed by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940 because of the presence of a racial...
, each set in a different locale.
He collaborated with Jesus Franco
Jesús Franco
Jesús "Jess" Franco is a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England...
during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Vice activities
In 1961 Towers, with girlfriend Mariella Novotny, was charged with operating a vice ring at a New York hotel, but he jumped bail and returned to Europe. Novotny, in her statement to the FBI, claimed Towers was a Soviet agent responsible for providing compromising information on individuals for the benefit of the USSR. Lobster MagazineLobster (magazine)
Lobster is a twice yearly British magazine focusing on parapolitics. The last issue to appear in printed form, was published in June 2009 - two more issues have appeared online since then in December 2009 and June 2010....
ran an article in 1983 citing many reliable sources, alleged Towers' was linked with (among others) Stephen Ward
Stephen Ward
Stephen Thomas Ward was an osteopath and artist who became notorious as one of the central figures in the 1963 Profumo affair, a British public scandal which profoundly affected the ruling Conservative Party government...
, Peter Lawford
Peter Lawford
Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen , better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor.He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to US President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and a vice ring at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. Hearst Corporation newspapers had already mentioned Towers' name in a 1963 article featuring coded references to a liaison between a pre-White House John F Kennedy and Novotny, a known prostitute. The charges against Towers were dropped in 1980 after he paid a £4,200 fine for jumping bail.
Death
In his last months Towers was working with Ken RussellKen Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
on an adaptation of Moll Flanders
Moll Flanders
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1722, after his work as a journalist and pamphleteer. By 1722, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, with the success of Robinson Crusoe in 1719...
. He died after a short illness in hospital in Canada on 31 July 2009.
Further reading
- Cathal Tohill and Pete Tombs Immoral Tales: European Sex & Horror Movies 1956-1984Immoral Tales: European Sex & Horror Movies 1956-1984Immoral Tales: European Sex & Horror Movies 1956-1984 is the title of a 1994 non fiction book by Cathal Tohill and Pete Tombs, that won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction....
(1994)
External links
- "Harry Alan Towers: film impresario", The Times, 5 August 2009
- Jason Nissan "Harry Alan Towers: A hand in a bawdy romp is yours for £2,000", Independent on Sunday, 3 November 2002