Sydney Box
Encyclopedia
Sydney Box was a British
film producer
and screenwriter
, brother of another prominent British filmmaker, Betty Box
. He produced the postwar screenplay
, The Seventh Veil
, which earned him the 1946 Oscar
for best original screenplay with his then wife Muriel Box
after which the couple were hired by the Rank Organisation
to run Gainsborough studios. They disapproved of the Gainsborough melodramas
which had been the studio's major success in recent years and switched production to a broader range of more "realistic" films with mixed results. Gainsborough was merged into the wider Rank Organisation in 1949. He ended his cinema career in 1958 to concentrate on TV work. Box was part of a consortium that launched Tyne Tees Television
in 1959.
Sydney and Muriel divorced in 1969.
Producer
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...
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:...
, brother of another prominent British filmmaker, Betty Box
Betty Box
Betty Evelyn Box was a prolific British film producer. She is considered one of the best of her generation, with a flair for making genuinely popular British films....
. He produced the postwar screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, The Seventh Veil
The Seventh Veil
The Seventh Veil is a 1945 British melodrama film made by Ortus Films, a company established by producer Sydney Box, who here released through General Film Distributors in the UK and Universal Pictures in the United States.-Plot:...
, which earned him the 1946 Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for best original screenplay with his then wife Muriel Box
Muriel Box
Muriel Box was a prolific English screenwriter and director in what at the time was basically a male industry, and is generally considered to be one of the most successful females in the history of British film....
after which the couple were hired by 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....
to run Gainsborough studios. They disapproved of the Gainsborough melodramas
Gainsborough melodramas
The Gainsborough melodramas were a sequence of films produced by the British film studio Gainsborough Pictures during the 1940s which conformed to a melodramatic style. The melodramas were not a film series but an unrelated sequence of films which had similar themes and frequently recurring actors...
which had been the studio's major success in recent years and switched production to a broader range of more "realistic" films with mixed results. Gainsborough was merged into the wider Rank Organisation in 1949. He ended his cinema career in 1958 to concentrate on TV work. Box was part of a consortium that launched Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
in 1959.
Sydney and Muriel divorced in 1969.
Selected filmography
Screenwriter- 29 Acacia Avenue29 Acacia Avenue29 Acacia Avenue is a play by Denis and Mabel Constanduros, and its 1945 film adaptation, directed by Henry Cass and released in the U.S. as The Facts of Love.-Plot:...
(1945) - The Seventh VeilThe Seventh VeilThe Seventh Veil is a 1945 British melodrama film made by Ortus Films, a company established by producer Sydney Box, who here released through General Film Distributors in the UK and Universal Pictures in the United States.-Plot:...
(1945) - The Years BetweenThe Years Between (film)The Years Between is a 1946 British film starring Michael Redgrave, Valerie Hobson and Flora Robson in an adaptation of The Years Between by Daphne du Maurier...
(1946) - A Girl in a Million (1946)
- The Happy FamilyThe Happy Family (1952 film)The Happy Family is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Stanley Holloway, Kathleen Harrison and Naunton Wayne. The plot of the film centres on resistance by a family to the disruption caused by the construction of the Festival of Britain. It is also known by the...
(1952)
Producer
- Country Town (1943)