Maxwell Jeffrey Catto was born Mark Finkell in Manchester, England and was an English playwright and novelist.

Writing career

Catto wrote adventure novels and dramas for more than four decades and also wrote under the pseudonym Simon Kent. Ten of his works were adapted for film, the most notable of which was the novel The Killing Frost, which became Carol Reed's 1956 film Trapeze

Trapeze (film)

Trapeze is a 1956 circus film directed by Carol Reed and starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida, making her debut in American films....

. Although he was a holder of a degree in electrical engineering from Manchester University, Catto began writing novels and plays in the late 1930s. After a stint in the Royal Air Force

Royal 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

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Catto returned to writing fiction. Exotic settings and fast-paced action were the trademarks of his novels, defying categorization into any one genre, instead blending elements of many popular literary styles. Much of his work has been translated into other languages.

Works

The following bibliography is reproduced from Contemporary Authors, Volume 137.

Novels:

River Junk - Arthur Barker, 1937

The Hairy Man - M. Secker, 1939

Ginger Charley - M. Secker, 1939

The Flanagan Boy - Harrap, 1949

The Killing Frost - Heinemann, 1950, published as Trapeze, Landsborough, 1959

The Sickle - Heinemann, 1952

The Mummers - Heinemann, 1953

A Prize of Gold

A Prize of Gold

A Prize of Gold is a British 1955 Warwick Films heist film directed by Mark Robson partly filmed in West Berlin. The film stars Richard Widmark as a United States Air Force Air Police Master Sergeant motivated by love and compassion to begin a life of crime...

- Heinemann, 1953

Gold In The Sky - Heinemann, 1956, Morrow, 1958

The Devil at Four O'Clock - Heinemann, 1958, Morrow, 1959

The Melody Of Sex - Heinemann, 1959, Morrow, 1960

Mister Moses

Mister Moses

Mister Moses is an adventure film about a conman blackmailed into persuading an entire African village into relocating for their own safety. It stars Robert Mitchum and Carroll Baker. It was based on the novel of the same name by Max Catto...

- Morrow, 1961

D-Day In Paradise - Heinemann, 1963, Morrow, 1964

The Tiger In The Bed - Morrow, 1963

I Have Friends In Heaven - Heinemann, 1965, Little, Brown, 1966

Love From Venus - Heinemann, 1965

Bird On The Wing - Heinemann, 1966

The Banana Men - Simon & Schuster, 1967

Murphy's War

Murphy's War

Murphy's War is a 1971 war film starring Peter O'Toole. It was directed by Peter Yates.-Plot:In the closing days of World War II, an Irishman Murphy is the sole survivor of the crew of a merchant ship, Mount Kyle, which has been sunk by a German U-Boat, which then machine-gunned the survivors in...

- Simon & Schuster, 1969

King Oil - Simon & Schuster, 1970

The Fattest Bank In New Orleans - Heinemann, 1971

Sam Casanova - Heinemann, 1973, Signet, 1977

Mister Midas - M. Joseph, 1976

The Empty Tiger - St. Martin's, 1977

Novels Under Pseudonym Simon Kent:

Fleur-de-Lys Court - Heinemann, 1950

The Doctor On Bean Street - Crowell, 1952 (published in England as For The Love Of Doc, Heinemann, 1952)

A Hill in Korea

A Hill in Korea

A Hill in Korea is a 1956 British war film based on Max Catto's 1953 novel of the same name. The original name was Hell in Korea, but was changed for distribution reasons, except in the U.S. It was directed by Julian Amyes and the producer was Anthony Squire...

- Hutchinson, 1953

Fire Down Below

Fire Down Below (1957 film)

Fire Down Below is a 1957 adventure drama film starring Rita Hayworth, Jack Lemmon and Robert Mitchum and was directed by Robert Parrish.It was based on Max Catto's 1954 novel and filmed by Warwick Films on location in Trinidad and Tobago in Technicolor and CinemaScope.-Plot:After the Korean War,...

- Hutchinson, 1954

Ferry to Hong Kong

Ferry to Hong Kong

Ferry to Hong Kong is a 1959 British melodrama/adventure film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Curd Jürgens, Sylvia Syms, Orson Welles and Jeremy Spenser.-Plot:...

- Hutchinson, 1957

The Lions At The Kill - Hutchinson, 1959

Charlie Gallagher My Love! - Hutchinson, 1960, Macmillan, 1961