Charles Crichton
Encyclopedia
Charles Crichton was an English
film director
and film editor. He became best known for directing comedies produced at Ealing Studios
. Crichton enjoyed an extremely long career, editing and directing many films and television programmes over a period exceeding 40 years.
Crichton gained two Academy Award nominations for A Fish Called Wanda; one for Best Director and the second for Best Original Screenplay (which is shared with John Cleese
).
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
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and film editor. He became best known for directing comedies produced at Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
. Crichton enjoyed an extremely long career, editing and directing many films and television programmes over a period exceeding 40 years.
Filmography (director)
- For Those in PerilFor Those in PerilFor Those in Peril is a 1944 British war film produced by Ealing Studios. The film marked the directorial debut of Charles Crichton and its basic and relatively slight storyline was an end to produce a film with a documentary feel and an element of wartime propaganda...
(1944) - Dead of NightDead of NightDead of Night is a British portmanteau horror film made by Ealing Studios, its various episodes directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. The film stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers and Michael Redgrave...
(19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) (co-director) - Painted BoatsPainted BoatsPainted Boats is a black-and-white British film directed by Charles Crichton and released by Ealing Studios in 1945. Painted Boats, one of the lesser-known Ealing films of the period, is brief , uses a little-known cast and has a slight storyline...
(1945) - Hue and CryHue and Cry (film)Hue and Cry is a British film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Alastair Sim, Harry Fowler and Joan Dowling.It is generally considered to be the first of the "Ealing comedies", although it is better characterised as a thriller for children...
(19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - Against the WindAgainst the Wind (1948 film)Against the Wind is a black-and-white British film directed by Charles Crichton and produced by Michael Balcon, released through Ealing Studios in 1948...
(19481948 in filmThe year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
) - Another ShoreAnother ShoreAnother Shore is a 1948 Ealing Studios comedy film/tragedy filmed in Ireland. It stars Robert Beatty as Gulliver Shields, an Irish customs official who dreams of living on a South Sea island; particularly Rarotonga...
(1948) - Train of EventsTrain of EventsTrain of Events is a 1949 British film made by Ealing Studios directed by Sidney Cole, Charles Crichton and Basil Dearden.A portmanteau work, it tells the various stories of the passengers who are on a train which crashes into a stalled petrol tanker at a level crossing.-Plot:The film opens with a...
(1949) - Dance HallDance Hall (film)Dance Hall is a 1950 British film directed by Charles Crichton. Appealing mainly to a female audience, the film was an unusual departure for the studio, known at the time primarily for its classic comedies starring Alec Guinness.-Plot:...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - The Lavender Hill MobThe Lavender Hill MobThe Lavender Hill Mob is a 1951 comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T.E.B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - HuntedHunted (film)Hunted is a black-and-white British film directed by Charles Crichton and released in 1952. Hunted is a crime drama in the form of a chase film, starring Dirk Bogarde, and written by Jack Whittingham and Michael McCarthy...
(19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) - The Titfield ThunderboltThe Titfield ThunderboltThe Titfield Thunderbolt is a 1953 British comedy film about a group of villagers trying to prevent British Railways from closing the fictional Titfield branch line. The film was written by T.E.B...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
) - The Love LotteryThe Love LotteryThe Love Lottery is a 1954 Ealing Studios comedy film, directed by Charles Crichton and starring David Niven as a celluloid heart-throb taking part in a "love lottery".-Cast:* David Niven as Rex Allerton* Peggy Cummins as Sally...
(1954) - The Divided HeartThe Divided HeartThe Divided Heart is a black-and-white British film directed by Charles Crichton and released in 1954. The film is a drama, based on a true story and written by Jack Whittingham and Richard Hughes. It was produced by Michael Truman and edited by Peter Bezencenet, with cinematography by Otto Heller...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) - Man in the SkyMan in the SkyMan in the Sky is a 1957 film produced by Ealing Studios and starring Jack Hawkins.-Plot:...
(1957) - Law and DisorderLaw and Disorder (1958 film)Law and Disorder is a 1958 British comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Michael Redgrave, Robert Morley, Joan Hickson, Lionel Jeffries and John Le Mesurier. It was based on the 1954 novel Smugglers' Circuit by Denys Roberts. The film was started by director Henry Cornelius who died...
(1958) - Floods of FearFloods of FearFloods of Fear is a 1959 British thriller film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Howard Keel, Anne Heywood and Harry H. Corbett. A convict framed for murder escapes during a flood and aids a woman in distress.-Cast:* Howard Keel as Donovan...
(1959) - The Battle of the SexesThe Battle of the Sexes (1959 film)The Battle of the Sexes is a 1959 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers and directed by Charles Crichton, based on the short story The Catbird Seat, by James Thurber. The story was adapted by Monja Danischewsky.-Cast:* Peter Sellers as Mr...
(19591959 in filmThe year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) - The Boy Who Stole a MillionThe Boy Who Stole a MillionThe Boy Who Stole a Million is a 1960 British comedy thriller film directed by Charles Crichton. The film was shot on location in the Spanish city of Valencia, with an international cast list.-Plot:...
(1960) - The Third SecretThe Third Secret (film)The Third Secret is a 1964 British drama film directed by Charles Crichton. The screenplay by Robert L. Joseph focuses on an American newscaster who investigates the mysterious death of his psychoanalyst...
(19641964 in filmThe year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
) - He Who Rides a TigerHe Who Rides a TigerHe Who Rides a Tiger is a 1965 British crime drama directed by Charles Crichton, and starring Tom Bell and Judi Dench.-Cast:* Tom Bell as Peter Rayston* Judi Dench as Joanne* Paul Rogers as Superintendent Taylor* Kay Walsh as Mrs...
(1965) - A Fish Called WandaA Fish Called WandaA Fish Called Wanda is a 1988 crime-comedy film written by John Cleese and Charles Crichton. It was directed by Crichton and an uncredited Cleese, and stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin. The film is about a jewel heist and its aftermath...
(19881988 in film-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
) (for which Crichton also co-wrote the original story)
Crichton gained two Academy Award nominations for A Fish Called Wanda; one for Best Director and the second for Best Original Screenplay (which is shared with John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
).
Television
- Danger ManDanger ManDanger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
- The AvengersThe Avengers (TV series)The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
(five episodes) - The Adventures of Black BeautyThe Adventures of Black BeautyThe Adventures of Black Beauty is a British children's television drama series produced by London Weekend Television and shown by ITV in the United Kingdom between 1972 and 1974...
- Space: 1999Space: 1999Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
- The ProfessionalsThe Professionals (TV series)The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
- Dick TurpinDick Turpin (TV series)Dick Turpin is a British television drama series starring Richard O'Sullivan and Michael Deeks. It was created by Richard Carpenter, Paul Knight and Sydney Cole and written by Richard Carpenter, John Kane, Charles Crichton and Paul Wheeler, it was made by Gatetarn, Seacastle productions...
- The AdventurerThe Adventurer (TV series)The Adventurer is an ITC Entertainment TV adventure series created by Dennis Spooner that ran for one season from 1972 to 1973. It premiered in the UK on 29 September 1972. The show starred Gene Barry as Gene Bradley, a government agent of independent means who poses as a glamorous American movie...
- Strange ReportStrange ReportStrange Report is a British television drama starring Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and first broadcast in 1969....
External links
- BECTU interview of Crichton conducted by Sid ColeSidney ColeSidney Henry Cole was a British film and television producer and editor.Cole was educated at the LSE, and entered the film industry as a scenario reader for Stoll Picture Productions, a company founded by Sir Oswald Stoll...
and Alan Lawton (1987) reproduced on the BFI screenonline website