Noel Willman
Encyclopedia
Noel Willman was a Irish
actor
and theatre director of English
descent..
His film
s included Androcles and the Lion (1952), The Man Who Knew Too Much
(1956), Across the Bridge
(1957), Carve Her Name with Pride
(1958), The Kiss of the Vampire
(1963), Doctor Zhivago
(1965), The Reptile
(1966) and The Odessa File
(1974).
He was also a theatre director
and actor, and won a Tony Award
in 1962 for his direction of the original Broadway production of Robert Bolt
's A Man For All Seasons
. According to Bolt, he was instrumental in many aspects of the play's development, including the casting of Paul Scofield
as Thomas More. He was also nominated in 1966 for the same category for James Goldman
's The Lion in Winter
, and he directed Katharine Hepburn
and Christopher Reeve
in A Matter of Gravity
in 1976. He frequently collaborated with Bolt, also directing The Tiger and the Horse and Gentle Jack (and appearing in Zhivago, which Bolt scripted). One of his most famous theatrical roles was opposite Alec Guinness
in the stage production of Bridget Boland
's The Prisoner, later made into a film with Guinness and Jack Hawkins
.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and theatre director of 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...
descent..
His film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s included Androcles and the Lion (1952), The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film)
The Man Who Knew Too Much is a suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Doris Day. The film is a remake in widescreen VistaVision and Technicolor of Hitchcock's 1934 film of the same name....
(1956), Across the Bridge
Across 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), Carve Her Name with Pride
Carve Her Name with Pride
Carve Her Name with Pride is a 1958 British drama film based on the book of the same name by R.J. Minney. Set during World War II, the film is based on the true story of the heroism of Special Operations Executive agent Violette Szabo, with Virginia McKenna in the lead role.The film includes the...
(1958), 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...
(1963), Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago (1965 film)
Doctor Zhivago is a 1965 epic drama-romance-war film directed by David Lean and loosely based on the famous novel of the same name by Boris Pasternak...
(1965), The Reptile
The Reptile
The Reptile is a 1966 horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by John Gilling, and starred Noel Willman, Jacqueline Pearce, Ray Barrett, Jennifer Daniel and Michael Ripper.-Plot synopsis:...
(1966) and The Odessa File
The ODESSA File (film)
The Odessa File is a 1974 film adaptation of the thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth, about a struggle between a young German reporter and the ODESSA, an organization for ex-Nazis. The film stars Jon Voight and was directed by Ronald Neame, with a score by Andrew Lloyd Webber.- Plot :The plot opens...
(1974).
He was also a theatre director
Theatre direction
A theatre director or stage director is a practitioner in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production by unifying various endeavours and aspects of production...
and actor, and won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
in 1962 for his direction of the original Broadway production of Robert Bolt
Robert Bolt
Robert Oxton Bolt, CBE was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar winning screenwriter.-Career:He was born in Sale, Cheshire. At Manchester Grammar School his affinity for Sir Thomas More first developed. He attended the University of Manchester, and, after war service, the University of...
's A Man For All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.It was...
. According to Bolt, he was instrumental in many aspects of the play's development, including the casting of Paul Scofield
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
as Thomas More. He was also nominated in 1966 for the same category for James Goldman
James Goldman
James Goldman was an American screenwriter and playwright, and the brother of screenwriter and novelist William Goldman.He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up primarily in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb...
's The Lion in Winter
The Lion in Winter
-Synopsis:Set during Christmas 1183 at Henry II of England's château in Chinon, Anjou, Angevin Empire, the play opens with the arrival of Henry's wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom he has had imprisoned since 1173...
, and he directed Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
in A Matter of Gravity
A Matter of Gravity
A Matter of Gravity is a play by Enid Bagnold.At its center is eccentric dowager Mrs. Basil, who chooses to live in only one room of her Oxford mansion. Her quiet existence is disrupted by the arrival of her grandson Nicky and four of his friends and new cook-housekeeper Dubois, who startles the...
in 1976. He frequently collaborated with Bolt, also directing The Tiger and the Horse and Gentle Jack (and appearing in Zhivago, which Bolt scripted). One of his most famous theatrical roles was opposite Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
in the stage production of Bridget Boland
Bridget Boland
-Selected filmography:* Laugh It Off * Gaslight * Freedom Radio * This England * The Prisoner * War and Peace * Anne of the Thousand Days -External links:...
's The Prisoner, later made into a film with Guinness and Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
.
Selected filmography
- The NetThe Net (1953 film)The Net is a 1953 British film made by Two Cities Films, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring James Donald, Phyllis Calvert, Robert Beatty and Herbert Lom...
(1953) - Cone of SilenceCone of Silence (1960 film)Cone of Silence is a film about the investigation into a series of crashes involving the fictional "Atlas Aviation Phoenix" jetliner. In the United States, the film was released under the title Trouble in the Sky...
(1960) - Never Let GoNever Let GoNever Let Go is a 1960 British thriller film starring Peter Sellers and Richard Todd. It concerns a man's purchase, loss of, and attempt to recover a Ford Anglia car. Sellers played a London villain, in one of his rare straight roles.-Plot:...
(1960) - The CriminalThe CriminalThe Criminal is a 1960 British drama film produced by Nat Cohen and directed by Joseph Losey, starring Stanley Baker, Sam Wanamaker and Jill Bennett. Baker plays an ex-con who takes part in the robbery of a racetrack and is caught and sent back to prison...
(1960) - Two Living, One DeadTwo Living, One DeadTwo Living, One Dead is a 1961 Anglo-Swedish existentialist thriller, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Patrick McGoohan, Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers.-Background:...
(1961) - The Girl on the BoatThe Girl on the Boat (film)The Girl on the Boat is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Henry Kaplan and starring Norman Wisdom, Millicent Martin and Richard Briers. It is based on The Girl on the Boat by P.G...
(1961) - The Vengeance of SheThe Vengeance of SheThe Vengeance of She is a 1968 British fantasy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring John Richardson, Olga Schoberová, Edward Judd and Colin Blakely. It bears little in common with the novel Ayesha: The Return of She by H. Rider Haggard...
(1968)