Ken Annakin
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Cooper Annakin, OBE
(10 August 1914 – 22 April 2009) was an English
film director.
, Yorkshire
where he attended the local school
. He began his career in feature films following an early experience making documentaries. His first filmwork was in 1947 with the Rank Organisation
. The following year he moved to Gainsborough Pictures
to direct three films about the Huggetts
, a working class family living in suburban England
these highly successful films starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Petula Clark and Diana Dors (amongst others)are seen as the genesis of the British soap opera. Annakin became known for a series of Walt Disney
adventures including The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men
(1952), The Sword and the Rose
(1953), Third Man on the Mountain
(1959), and Swiss Family Robinson
(1960).
He was later associated with another American producer, Darryl F. Zanuck
, when he was hired to direct the British segments in The Longest Day
(1962). As head of the 20th Century-Fox Studio, Zanuck endorsed Annakin's most ambitious project Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
(1965). Annakin also directed the big-scale war film Battle of the Bulge
(also 1965) for the Warner Brothers studio.
However, some of Annakin's better received films are smaller-scale comedies and dramas, including his episodes in Quartet (1948) and Trio
(1950), based on Somerset Maugham's stories, Hotel Sahara
(1951), Across the Bridge
(1957), Crooks Anonymous
(1962), The Fast Lady
(1963) and The Informers
(1963).
Annakin's last completed film was The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
(1988), Genghis Khan (1992) was not completed. He died on 22 April 2009, the same day as Jack Cardiff
, who had been his cinematographer on the 1979 film The Fifth Musketeer
.
Despite claims that George Lucas
took the name for Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars
from his friend and fellow film director, Lucas denied this via his publicist following Annakin's death in 2009.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(10 August 1914 – 22 April 2009) was an English
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.
Biography
Annakin grew up in BeverleyBeverley
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
where he attended the local school
Beverley Grammar School
Beverley Grammar School is a boys' secondary school in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire. It was founded in about 700 AD/CE and is the oldest state school in England and the sixth oldest school overall in England. The school is a specialist Engineering College and shares a mixed Sixth form with...
. He began his career in feature films following an early experience making documentaries. His first filmwork was in 1947 with the Rank Organisation
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
. The following year he moved to 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...
to direct three films about the Huggetts
Here Come the Huggetts
Here Come the Huggetts is a 1948 British film, the first of the Huggetts Trilogy about a working class English family. All three films were directed by Ken Annakin and released by Gainsborough Pictures....
, a working class family living in suburban England
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...
these highly successful films starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Petula Clark and Diana Dors (amongst others)are seen as the genesis of the British soap opera. Annakin became known for a series of Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
adventures including The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men
The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men
The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men is a 1952 live action Disney version of the Robin Hood story in Technicolor which was filmed in Buckinghamshire, England...
(1952), The Sword and the Rose
The Sword and the Rose
The Sword and the Rose, is a United States family and adventure film, produced by Perce Pearce and Walt Disney and directed by Ken Annakin...
(1953), Third Man on the Mountain
Third Man on the Mountain
Third Man on the Mountain is a 1959 American Walt Disney Productions movie set during the golden age of alpinism about a young Swiss man who conquers the mountain that killed his father. It is based on Banner in the Sky, a James Ramsey Ullman novel about the first ascent of the Matterhorn, and was...
(1959), and Swiss Family Robinson
Swiss Family Robinson (film)
Swiss Family Robinson is a 1960 American Technicolor feature film starring John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, and Sessue Hayakawa in a tale of a shipwrecked family building an island home. The screenplay by Lowell S. Hawley was loosely based upon the 1812 novel Der Schweizerische Robinson by Johann...
(1960).
He was later associated with another American producer, Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors...
, when he was hired to direct the British segments in The Longest Day
The Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
(1962). As head of the 20th Century-Fox Studio, Zanuck endorsed Annakin's most ambitious project Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes is a 1965 British comedy film starring Stuart Whitman and directed and co-written by Ken Annakin...
(1965). Annakin also directed the big-scale war film Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge (film)
Battle of the Bulge is a widescreen war film produced in Spain that was released in 1965. It was directed by Ken Annakin. It starred Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews and Charles Bronson...
(also 1965) for the Warner Brothers studio.
However, some of Annakin's better received films are smaller-scale comedies and dramas, including his episodes in Quartet (1948) and Trio
Trio (1950 film)
Trio is a 1950 British anthology film based on three short stories by W. Somerset Maugham: "The Verger", "Mr. Know-All" and "Sanatorium". Ken Annakin directed "The Verger" and "Mr...
(1950), based on Somerset Maugham's stories, Hotel Sahara
Hotel Sahara
Hotel Sahara is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Yvonne De Carlo, Peter Ustinov and David Tomlinson.-Cast:* Yvonne De Carlo as Yasmin Pallas* Peter Ustinov as Emad* David Tomlinson as Captain Puffin Cheyne...
(1951), Across the Bridge
Across the Bridge
Across the Bridge is a short story by Graham Greene.The story is told first-person by an unnamed narrator who reveals little about himself, other than that he is a wandering stranger stranded in a small Mexican border village. The narrator is fascinated by Joseph Calloway, a famous con-man believed...
(1957), Crooks Anonymous
Crooks Anonymous
Crooks Anonymous is a British comedy film from 1962. Directed by Ken Annakin, it starred Leslie Phillips and Stanley Baxter and was notable for one of the earliest appearances of Julie Christie.-Plot:...
(1962), The Fast Lady
The Fast Lady
The Fast Lady is a 1962 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin. The screenplay was written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies, based on a story by Keble Howard.It marked the film debut of Julie Christie.-Plot:...
(1963) and The Informers
The Informers (1963 film)
The Informers is a 1963 British crime film produced and distributed in the UK by The Rank Organisation and distributed in the USA by Continental Film Distributors. It was directed by Ken Annakin, produced by William MacQuitty with the screenplay by Paul Durst and Alun Falconer from the novel...
(1963).
Annakin's last completed film was The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking is a 1988 Swedish/American fantasy–adventure–musical film based on the books of the fictional character Pippi Longstocking, created by Swedish children's book author Astrid Lindgren . While the title suggests the movie is a continuation, it is in...
(1988), Genghis Khan (1992) was not completed. He died on 22 April 2009, the same day as Jack Cardiff
Jack Cardiff
Jack Cardiff, OBE, BSC was a British cinematographer, director and photographer.His career spanned the development of cinema, from silent film, through early experiments in Technicolor to filmmaking in the 21st century...
, who had been his cinematographer on the 1979 film The Fifth Musketeer
The Fifth Musketeer
The Fifth Musketeer is a 1979 film adaptation of the last section of the novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père, which is itself based on the French legend of the Man in the Iron Mask....
.
Despite claims that George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
took the name for Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
from his friend and fellow film director, Lucas denied this via his publicist following Annakin's death in 2009.
Filmography
- London 1942 (1943)
- Make Fruitful the Land (1945)
- We of the West Riding (1946)
- English Criminal Justice (1946)
- It Began on the ClydeIt Began on the ClydeIt Began on the Clyde is a 1946 British short film directed by Ken Annakin. It starred Molly Weir....
(1946) - Fenlands (1946)
- Holiday CampHoliday CampHoliday Camp is a 1947 British comedy drama film directed by Ken Annakin, starring Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Kathleen Harrison and Dennis Price.-Synopsis:...
(1947) - MirandaMiranda (1948 film)Miranda is a 1948 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin and written by Peter Blackmore, who also wrote the play of the same name from which the film was adapted. Denis Waldock provided additional dialogue. A light comedy, the film is about a beautiful and playful mermaid played by Glynis...
(1948) - Broken JourneyBroken JourneyBroken Journey is a 1948 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin and featuring Phyllis Calvert, James Donald, Margot Grahame, Raymond Huntley and Guy Rolfe.-Cast:* Phyllis Calvert as Mary Johnstone* James Donald as Bill Haverton...
(1948) - Quartet (1948)
- Here Come the HuggettsHere Come the HuggettsHere Come the Huggetts is a 1948 British film, the first of the Huggetts Trilogy about a working class English family. All three films were directed by Ken Annakin and released by Gainsborough Pictures....
(1948) - Vote for HuggettVote for HuggettVote for Huggett is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison and Diana Dors. Warner reprises his role as the head of a London family, in the post-war years. It was the second in the Huggetts Trilogy, after 1948's Here Come the Huggetts. In it,...
(1949) - The Huggetts AbroadThe Huggetts AbroadThe Huggetts Abroad is a 1949 British film starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Petula Clark and Susan Shaw. It was the final film of the Huggetts Trilogy. After Joe Huggett loses his job, the family decide to emigrate to South Africa travelling via a land route which takes them across Africa....
(1949) - LandfallLandfall (1949 film)Landfall is a 1949 British war film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Michael Denison, Patricia Plunkett and Kathleen Harrison. It is based on the 1940 novel, Landfall: A Channel Story, written by author Nevil Shute.-Cast:* Michael Denison as Rick...
(1949) - Double ConfessionDouble ConfessionDouble Confession is a 1950 British crime film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, Peter Lorre and William Hartnell....
(1950) - Hotel SaharaHotel SaharaHotel Sahara is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Yvonne De Carlo, Peter Ustinov and David Tomlinson.-Cast:* Yvonne De Carlo as Yasmin Pallas* Peter Ustinov as Emad* David Tomlinson as Captain Puffin Cheyne...
(1951) - The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie MenThe Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie MenThe Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men is a 1952 live action Disney version of the Robin Hood story in Technicolor which was filmed in Buckinghamshire, England...
(1952) - The Planter's WifeThe Planter's WifeThe 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) - The Sword and the RoseThe Sword and the RoseThe Sword and the Rose, is a United States family and adventure film, produced by Perce Pearce and Walt Disney and directed by Ken Annakin...
(1953) - You Know What Sailors Are (1954)
- The Seekers (1954)
- Value for MoneyValue for MoneyValue for Money is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring John Gregson, Donald Pleasence, Leslie Phillips, Joan Hickson, Derek Farr and Diana Dors.-Cast:* John Gregson as Chayley Broadbent* Diana Dors as Ruthine West...
(1955) - Loser Takes AllLoser Takes All (film)Loser Takes All is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Glynis Johns, Rossano Brazzi and Robert Morley. It was based on a screenplay by Graham Greene.-Cast:* Glynis Johns as Cary* Rossano Brazzi as Bertrand...
(1956) - Three Men in a BoatThree Men in a Boat (1956 film)Three Men in a Boat is a 1956 British CinemaScope colour comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, Shirley Eaton and David Thomlinson. It is based on the 1889 novel Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome...
(1956) - Across the BridgeAcross the Bridge (film)Across the Bridge is a 1957 film directed by Ken Annakin. It is based on the short story of the same name by Graham Greene. An embezzler on the run from the police steals the identity of a look-alike he meets by chance.-Cast:*Rod Steiger as Carl Schaffner...
(1957) - Nor the Moon by NightNor the Moon by NightNor the Moon by Night is a 1958 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Joan Brickhill, Michael Craig, and Anna Gaylor....
(1958) - Third Man on the MountainThird Man on the MountainThird Man on the Mountain is a 1959 American Walt Disney Productions movie set during the golden age of alpinism about a young Swiss man who conquers the mountain that killed his father. It is based on Banner in the Sky, a James Ramsey Ullman novel about the first ascent of the Matterhorn, and was...
(1959) - Swiss Family RobinsonSwiss Family Robinson (film)Swiss Family Robinson is a 1960 American Technicolor feature film starring John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, and Sessue Hayakawa in a tale of a shipwrecked family building an island home. The screenplay by Lowell S. Hawley was loosely based upon the 1812 novel Der Schweizerische Robinson by Johann...
(1960) - Very Important PersonVery Important Person (film)Very Important Person is a 1961 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin, and written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies. In the United States, the film was re-titled A Coming Out Party....
(1961) - The HellionsThe Hellions (film)The Hellions is a 1961 British adventure film directed by Ken Annakin starring Richard Todd, Anne Aubrey, Lionel Jeffries, Ronald Fraser and Colin Blakely that was set and filmed in South Africa. The film was about a lone law enforcement officer battling criminals in South Africa. The premise of...
(1961) - The Fast LadyThe Fast LadyThe Fast Lady is a 1962 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin. The screenplay was written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies, based on a story by Keble Howard.It marked the film debut of Julie Christie.-Plot:...
(1962) - The Longest DayThe Longest Day (film)The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
(1962) - Crooks AnonymousCrooks AnonymousCrooks Anonymous is a British comedy film from 1962. Directed by Ken Annakin, it starred Leslie Phillips and Stanley Baxter and was notable for one of the earliest appearances of Julie Christie.-Plot:...
(1962) - The InformersThe Informers (1963 film)The Informers is a 1963 British crime film produced and distributed in the UK by The Rank Organisation and distributed in the USA by Continental Film Distributors. It was directed by Ken Annakin, produced by William MacQuitty with the screenplay by Paul Durst and Alun Falconer from the novel...
(1963) - Those Magnificent Men in their Flying MachinesThose Magnificent Men in Their Flying MachinesThose Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes is a 1965 British comedy film starring Stuart Whitman and directed and co-written by Ken Annakin...
(1965) - Battle of the BulgeBattle of the Bulge (film)Battle of the Bulge is a widescreen war film produced in Spain that was released in 1965. It was directed by Ken Annakin. It starred Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews and Charles Bronson...
(1965) - The Long DuelThe Long DuelThe Long Duel is a 1967 British adventure film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Yul Brynner, Trevor Howard, Charlotte Rampling and Harry Andrews...
(1967) - The Biggest Bundle of Them AllThe Biggest Bundle of Them AllThe Biggest Bundle of Them All is a 1968 American crime film set in Naples, Italy. The story is about a mobster and a novice gang of crooks who team up to steal $5 million worth of platinum ingots from a train...
(1968) - Monte Carlo or Bust! (1969)
- The Call of the WildThe Call of the Wild (1972 film)The Call of the Wild is a 1972 British family adventure film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Charlton Heston, Michèle Mercier, Raimund Harmstorf, George Eastman, and Maria Rohm....
(1972) - Paper TigerPaper Tiger (film)Paper Tiger is a 1975 British film starring David Niven and child actor Ando.-Plot summary:Mr Bradbury , an apparently posh and well-educated, ex-military Englishman is hired as tutor to the son of a Japanese ambassador, Koichi Kagoyama...
(1975) - The Fifth MusketeerThe Fifth MusketeerThe Fifth Musketeer is a 1979 film adaptation of the last section of the novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père, which is itself based on the French legend of the Man in the Iron Mask....
(1979) - Cheaper to Keep HerCheaper to Keep Her (film)Cheaper to Keep Her is a 1981 comedy film directed by Ken Annakin. It stars singer-turned-actor Mac Davis as Bill Dekkar, a newly divorced swinger who goes to work as a detective. His assignments have him track down men who have reneged on their alimony, a twist of irony considering his...
(1981) - The Pirate MovieThe Pirate MovieThe Pirate Movie is a 1982 musical and comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Christopher Atkins and Kristy McNichol. The film is loosely based on Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. The original music score is composed by Mike Brady and Peter Sullivan...
(1982) - The New Adventures of Pippi LongstockingThe New Adventures of Pippi LongstockingThe New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking is a 1988 Swedish/American fantasy–adventure–musical film based on the books of the fictional character Pippi Longstocking, created by Swedish children's book author Astrid Lindgren . While the title suggests the movie is a continuation, it is in...
(1988) - Genghis KhanGenghis Khan (1992 film)Genghis KhanGenghis Khan is a 1992 film, started in Kyrgyzstan by Russian director Tolomush Okeyev but after several weeks of shooting and a lot of money spent in project development, preparation and pre-production the film was stopped since it became clear that was not suitable for an...
(1992) (unreleased)
External links
- Ken Annakin biography at BFI Screenonline
- AP Obituary in the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
- Obituary in The Times
- Obituary in The Guardian
- Obituary in The Independent
- Obituary in The Daily Telegraph