Basil Dearden: Difference between revisions

Basil Dearden
Basil Dearden
Born	Basil Clive Dear; 1 January 1911; Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England
Died	23 March 1971 (aged 60); Hillingdon, London, England
Occupation	Film director
Years active	1938–1970
Spouse(s)	Margaret Ward (divorced); Melissa Stribling

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Basil Dearden (born Basil Clive Dear;^[1] 1 January 1911 – 23 March 1971) was an English film director.^[2]

Early life and career

Dearden was born at 5, Woodfield Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex to Charles James Dear, a steel manufacturer, and his wife, Florence née Tripp.^[3]

Dearden graduated from theatre direction to film, working as an assistant to Basil Dean. He later changed his own name to Dearden to avoid confusion with his mentor.

He directed a film for TV Under Suspicion (1939).

Director

Ealing Studios

He first began working as a director at Ealing Studios, co-directing comedy films with Will Hay, starting with Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942). This was followed by The Goose Steps Out (1942) and My Learned Friend (1943). His first solo director credit was The Bells Go Down (1943).

He also made The Halfway House (1944) and They Came to a City (1944).

Dearden worked on the influential chiller compendium Dead of Night (1945) and directed the linking narrative and the "Hearse Driver" segment.

He also directed The Captive Heart (1946) starring Michael Redgrave, which was a big hit. The film was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.

Frieda (1947) with Mai Zetterling was also popular.

Dearden directed Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) an expensive costume picture that was not a large success. He directed a segment of Train of Events (1949).

The Blue Lamp (1950), probably the most frequently shown of Dearden's Ealing films, is a police drama which first introduced audiences to PC George Dixon, later resurrected for the long-running Dixon of Dock Green television series. It was hugely popular.

Less so were Cage of Gold (1950), Pool of London (1951), and I Believe in You (1952).

Dearden made The Gentle Gunman (1952), The Square Ring (1953), The Rainbow Jacket (1954), and Out of the Clouds (1955).

He did a war movie, The Ship That Died of Shame (1955) then a comedy with Benny Hill, Who Done It? (1956). He then left Ealing.

Dearden did some uncredited directing on The Green Man (1956) then made an Ealing style comedy The Smallest Show on Earth (1957).

For Rank he made Violent Playground (1958) with Stanley Baker. He did some uncredited directing on Ealing's last film Nowhere to Go (1958).

Social Justice Movies

Dearden and Michael Relph made a series of movies on subjects generally not tackled by British cinema in this era. Sapphire (1959) was about race relations and proved popular.The League of Gentlemen (1960) was a cynical comedy. He did episodes of The Four Just Men on TV.

Man in the Moon (1960) was a science fiction comedy with Kenneth More. The Secret Partner (1961) was a thriller for MGM starring Stewart Granger. Victim (1961) with Dirk Bogarde was about homosexuality. All Night Long (1961) looked at race relations. Life for Ruth (1962) dealt with religious objections to operations. A Place to Go (1964) was a thriller not released for two years. The Mind Benders (1963) was science fiction.

Hollywood Studios

Dearden then started working mostly for Hollywood studios. He did three for United Artists: Woman of Straw (1964) starring Sean Connery; Masquerade (1965) with Cliff Robertson; and Khartoum (1966), with Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier.

He did two for Parmaount: Only When I Larf (1968) and the Edwardian era black comedy The Assassination Bureau (1969), again with Michael Relph.

His last film was The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970) with Roger Moore, made for EMI Films. With Moore, Dearden made three episodes of the television series The Persuaders!: Overture, Powerswitch and To the Death, Baby.

He had two sons, Torquil Dearden and the screenwriter and director James Dearden.

Death

Dearden died on 23 March 1971 at Hillingdon Hospital, London after being involved in a road accident on the M4 motorway near Heathrow Airport, in which he suffered multiple injuries.^[4]

Reputation

The film critic David Thomson does not hold Dearden in high regard. He writes: "Dearden's films are decent, empty and plodding and his association with Michael Relph is a fair representative of the British preference for bureaucratic cinema. It stands for the underlining of obvious meaning".^[5]

More positively, for Brian McFarlane, the Australian writer on film: "Dearden's films offer, among other rewards, a fascinating barometer of public taste at its most nearly consensual over three decades".^[6]

Regular Ealing cinematographer Douglas Slocombe enjoyed working with Dearden personally, describing him as the 'most competent' of the directors he worked with at Ealing.^[7]

Selected filmography

This Man Is News (1938) (writer)
Let George Do It! (1940) (writer)
Spare a Copper (1941) (writer, producer)
Turned Out Nice Again (1941) (writer, producer)
The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942) (co-director)
The Goose Steps Out (1942) (co-director)
The Bells Go Down (1943) (director)
My Learned Friend (1943) (co-director)
The Halfway House (1944) (director)
They Came to a City (1945) (writer, director)
Dead of Night (1945) (director, segments "Hearse Driver" and "Linking Narrative")
The Captive Heart (1946) (director)
Frieda (1947) (director)
Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) (director)
Train of Events (1949) (writer, director; segments "The Actor" and "The Prisoner-of-War")
The Blue Lamp (1950) (director)
Cage of Gold (1950) (director)
Pool of London (1951) (director)
I Believe in You (1952) (writer, director)
The Gentle Gunman (1952) (director)
The Square Ring (1953) (director, producer)
The Rainbow Jacket (1954) (director)
Out of the Clouds (1955) (director)
The Ship That Died of Shame (1955) (writer, director, producer)
Who Done It? (1956) (director, producer)
The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) (director)
Rockets Galore! (1957) (producer)
Davy (1957) (producer)
Violent Playground (1958) (director)
Desert Mice (1959) (producer)
Sapphire (1959) (director)
The League of Gentlemen (1960) (director)
Man in the Moon (1960) (writer, director)
Victim (1961) (director, producer)
The Secret Partner (1961) (director)
All Night Long (1961) (director, producer)
Life for Ruth (1962) (director, producer)
A Place to Go (1963) (director)
The Mind Benders (1963) (director)
Woman of Straw (1964) (director)
Masquerade (1965) (director)
Khartoum (1966) (director)
Only When I Larf (1968) (director)
The Assassination Bureau (1969) (director)
The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970) (writer, director)

References

^ "Basil Dearden". BFI. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
^ "Only When I Larf". Variety. 31 December 1967. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
^ Class: RG14; Piece: 10121; Schedule Number: 79, Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. The National Archives of the UK.
^ Burton, Alan; O'Sullivan, Tim (2009). The Cinema of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph. Edinburgh University Press Ltd. p. xvii. ISBN 978-0-7486-3289-3. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
^ David Thomson The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, London: Little, Brown, 2002, p.213
^ Brian McFarlane (ed.) The Encyclopedia of British Film, 2003, London: Methuen/BFI, p.168
^ Alan Burton; Tim O'Sullivan (2009). The Cinema of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph. Edinburgh University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-7486-3289-3.

[1] "Basil Dearden". BFI. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2010.

[V-2] "Only When I Larf". Variety. 31 December 1967. Retrieved 22 February 2014.

[3] Class: RG14; Piece: 10121; Schedule Number: 79, Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. The National Archives of the UK.

[4] Burton, Alan; O'Sullivan, Tim (2009). The Cinema of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph. Edinburgh University Press Ltd. p. xvii. ISBN 978-0-7486-3289-3. Retrieved 14 February 2015.

[5] David Thomson The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, London: Little, Brown, 2002, p.213

[6] Brian McFarlane (ed.) The Encyclopedia of British Film, 2003, London: Methuen/BFI, p.168

[BurtonO'Sullivan2009_Competent-7] Alan Burton; Tim O'Sullivan (2009). The Cinema of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph. Edinburgh University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-7486-3289-3.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 '''Basil Dearden''' (born '''Basil Clive Dear''';<ref>{{cite web|title=Basil Dearden|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/4707|publisher=[[British Film Institute|BFI]]|access-date=29 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022004137/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/4707|archive-date=22 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> 1 January 1911 – 23 March 1971) was an English film director.<ref name=V>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1967/film/reviews/only-when-i-larf-1200421591/ |title=Only When I Larf |publisher=Variety |date=1967-12-31 |accessdate=2014-02-22}}</ref>
-==Life and career==
+==Early life and career==
 Dearden was born at 5, Woodfield Road, [[Leigh-on-Sea]], [[Essex]] to Charles James Dear, a steel manufacturer, and his wife, Florence {{nee}} Tripp.<ref>Class: RG14; Piece: 10121; Schedule Number: 79, ''Census Returns of England and Wales'', 1911. The National Archives of the UK.</ref>
 Dearden graduated from theatre direction to film, working as an assistant to [[Basil Dean]]. He later changed his own name to Dearden to avoid confusion with his mentor.
+He directed a film for TV ''Under Suspicion'' (1939).
-He first began working as a director at [[Ealing Studios]], co-directing comedy films with [[Will Hay]], including ''[[The Goose Steps Out]]'' (1942) and ''[[My Learned Friend]]'' (1943). He worked on the influential chiller compendium ''[[Dead of Night]]'' (1945) and directed the linking narrative and the "Hearse Driver" segment. He also directed ''[[The Captive Heart]]'' starring [[Michael Redgrave]], a 1946 British war drama, produced by [[Ealing Studios]]. The film was entered into the 1946 [[Cannes Film Festival]]. ''[[The Blue Lamp]]'' (1950), probably the most frequently shown of Dearden's Ealing films, is a police drama which first introduced audiences to PC George Dixon, later resurrected for the long-running ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]'' television series. His last Ealing film, ''[[Out of the Clouds]]'', was released in 1955.
+==Director==
+===Ealing Studios===
+He first began working as a director at [[Ealing Studios]], co-directing comedy films with [[Will Hay]], starting with ''[[Black Sheep of Whitehall]]'' (1942). This was followed by ''[[The Goose Steps Out]]'' (1942) and ''[[My Learned Friend]]'' (1943). His first solo director credit was ''[[The Bells Go Down]]'' (1943).
+He also made ''[[The Halfway House]]'' (1944) and ''[[They Came to a City]]'' (1944).
-In later years he became associated with the writer and producer [[Michael Relph]], and the two men made films on subjects generally not tackled by British cinema in this era. These included homosexuality (''[[Victim (1961 film)|Victim]]'', 1961) and race relations (''[[Pool of London (film)|Pool of London]]'', 1951; ''[[Sapphire (film)|Sapphire]]'', 1959). In the mid to late 1960s Dearden also made some big-scale epics including ''[[Khartoum (film)|Khartoum]]'' (1966), with [[Charlton Heston]] and [[Laurence Olivier]], and the [[Edwardian era]] black comedy ''[[The Assassination Bureau]]'' (1969), again with Michael Relph.
+Dearden worked on the influential chiller compendium ''[[Dead of Night]]'' (1945) and directed the linking narrative and the "Hearse Driver" segment.
-His last film was ''[[The Man Who Haunted Himself]]'' (1970) with [[Roger Moore]], with whom he later made three episodes of the television series ''[[The Persuaders!]]'': ''Overture'', ''Powerswitch'' and ''To the Death, Baby''.
+He also directed ''[[The Captive Heart]]'' (1946) starring [[Michael Redgrave]], which was a big hit. The film was entered into the 1946 [[Cannes Film Festival]].
-He had two sons, Torquil Dearden and the screenwriter and director [[James Dearden]].
+''[[Frieda]]'' (1947) with [[Mai Zetterling]] was also popular.
+Dearden directed ''[[Saraband for Dead Lovers]]'' (1948) an expensive costume picture that was not a large success. He directed a segment of ''[[Train of Events]]'' (1949).
+''[[The Blue Lamp]]'' (1950), probably the most frequently shown of Dearden's Ealing films, is a police drama which first introduced audiences to PC George Dixon, later resurrected for the long-running ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]'' television series. It was hugely popular.
+Less so were ''[[Cage of Gold]]'' (1950), ''[[Pool of London]]'' (1951), and ''[[I Believe in You]]'' (1952).
+Dearden made ''[[The Gentle Gunman]]'' (1952), ''[[The Square Ring]]'' (1953), ''[[The Rainbow Jacket]]'' (1954), and ''[[Out of the Clouds]]'' (1955).
+He did a war movie, ''[[The Ship That Died of Shame]]'' (1955) then a comedy with Benny Hill, ''[[Who Done It?]]'' (1956). He then left Ealing.
+Dearden did some uncredited directing on ''[[The Green Man]]'' (1956) then made an Ealing style comedy ''[[The Smallest Show on Earth]]'' (1957).
+For Rank he made ''[[Violent Playground]]'' (1958) with Stanley Baker. He did some uncredited directing on Ealing's last film ''[[Nowhere to Go]]'' (1958).
+===Social Justice Movies===
+Dearden and [[Michael Relph]] made a series of movies on subjects generally not tackled by British cinema in this era. ''[[Sapphire (1959 film)|Sapphire]]'' (1959) was about race relations and proved popular.''[[The League of Gentlemen (film)|The League of Gentlemen]]'' (1960) was a cynical comedy.  He did episodes of ''[[The Four Just Men]]'' on TV.
+''[[Man in the Moon]]'' (1960) was a science fiction comedy with [[Kenneth More]]. ''[[The Secret Partner]]'' (1961) was a thriller for MGM starring [[Stewart Granger]]. ''[[Victim (1961 film)|Victim]]'' (1961) with [[Dirk Bogarde]] was about homosexuality.  ''[[All Night Long (1962 film)|All Night Long]]'' (1961) looked at race relations. ''[[Life for Ruth]]'' (1962) dealt with religious objections to operations. ''[[A Place to Go]]'' (1964) was a thriller not released for two years. ''[[The Mind Benders]]'' (1963) was science fiction.
+===Hollywood Studios===
+Dearden then started working mostly for Hollywood studios. He did three for United Artists:  ''[[Woman of Straw]]'' (1964) starring [[Sean Connery]]; ''[[Masquerade (1965 film)|Masquerade]]'' (1965) with [[Cliff Robertson]]; and ''[[Khartoum (film)|Khartoum]]'' (1966), with [[Charlton Heston]] and [[Laurence Olivier]].
+He did two for Parmaount: ''[[Only When I Larf]]'' (1968) and the [[Edwardian era]] black comedy ''[[The Assassination Bureau]]'' (1969), again with Michael Relph.
+His last film was ''[[The Man Who Haunted Himself]]'' (1970) with [[Roger Moore]], made for [[EMI Films]]. With Moore, Dearden made three episodes of the television series ''[[The Persuaders!]]'': ''Overture'', ''Powerswitch'' and ''To the Death, Baby''.
+He had two sons, Torquil Dearden and the screenwriter and director [[James Dearden]].
+==Death==
 Dearden died on 23 March 1971 at [[Hillingdon Hospital]], London after being involved in a road accident on the [[M4 motorway]] near [[London Heathrow Airport|Heathrow Airport]], in which he suffered multiple injuries.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burton |first1=Alan |last2=O'Sullivan |first2=Tim |date=2009 |title=The Cinema of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXDdTR62pd4C&pg=PR17&lpg=PR17&dq=%22basil+dearden%22+%22Hillingdon%22#q=%22basil%20dearden%22%20%22Hillingdon%22 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd |page=xvii |isbn=978-0-7486-3289-3 |access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref>

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