Clive Donner
Encyclopedia
Clive Stanley Donner was a British
film
director
who was a defining part of the British New Wave
, directing films such as The Caretaker
, Nothing But the Best, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
and What's New Pussycat?
. He also directed television movies and commercials
through the mid-1990s.
, London
. His father was a concert violinist and his mother ran a dress shop; his grandparents were Polish immigrants. Donner began his filmmaking career while attending Kilburn Polytechnic. He started in the film industry working as a cutting-room assistant at Denham Studios, having got the spot after joining his father, who was at the studio to record the soundtrack for the 1943 film The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
. Donner did national service with the Royal Army Educational Corps
, and afterwards was hired by Pinewood Studios
as a film editor, where the movies he worked on included The Card, The Million Pound Note
starring Gregory Peck
, I Am a Camera
, Alastair Sim
's 1951 Christmas classic Scrooge
and the 1953 Genevieve
, a comedy about two couples involved in a vintage automobile rally.
about a troubled youth starring Belinda Lee
, Ronald Lewis
and David McCallum
, Heart of a Child
the 1958 tear jerker starring Jean Anderson
and Donald Pleasence
, and Some People
a film about a group of alienated youth who form their own rock band, starring Kenneth More
and Ray Brooks
. His television work during that time included episodes of Danger Man
and Sir Francis Drake
, as well Mighty and Mystical, a documentary series about India
.
, Noël Coward
, Peter Sellers
and Elizabeth Taylor
, with the stars bypassing their standard fees and taking shares of the film's revenue. The movie, based on the play of the same name by Harold Pinter
, was filmed in black-and-white
with cinematography
by Nicolas Roeg
.
Donner's next film, 1964's Nothing But the Best, was a satire
on the British class system starring Alan Bates
and Denholm Elliott
, based on a screenplay by Frederic Raphael
. The film tells the story of Jimmy Brewster (played by Bates) as a lower-class striver who seeks to move up in the system under the tutelage of his upper crust instructor Charlie Prince (Elliott).
Donner made his first Hollywood film in 1965 with What's New Pussycat?, a comedy
starring Peter O'Toole
and Peter Sellers
. O'Toole played the womanizer Michael James, who does his best to remain faithful to his fiancée Carole Werner (played by Romy Schneider
), while a bevy of women — Ursula Andress
, Capucine
, Paula Prentiss
— fall in love with him, with Sellers playing the role of his psychoanalyst, Dr. Fassbender. The success of the title song
, performed by Tom Jones
, added to the movie's popularity with audiences. Woody Allen
, who wrote the screenplay
and made his first screen appearance in the movie, hated the film, saying that the vision he had for the movie in his original script had been distorted.
Donner's 1967 film Luv
, an adaptation of the play by Murray Schisgal
, starred Peter Falk
, Jack Lemmon
and Elaine May
, but the addition of locations and characters to the original work led to criticism of the casting and direction, and the film was a commercial failure. Donner rounded out the 1960s with the 9th-century period piece Alfred the Great
in 1969, starring David Hemmings
.
, a comedy horror film of the vampire
genre that sought to piggyback on the commercial success of Young Frankenstein
.
In 1977 he directed the made-for-television movie Spectre
, produced by Gene Roddenberry
.
, a comedy based on the television series Get Smart
, which featured Don Adams
reprising his role as secret agent Maxwell Smart. Donner followed up in 1981 with the spoof Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen
that featured Angie Dickinson
, Michelle Pfeiffer
and Peter Ustinov
.
For television he directed the 1982 movie The Scarlet Pimpernel
with Ian McKellen
and Jane Seymour
. He also directed television production of the Charles Dickens
classics Oliver Twist
in 1982 and A Christmas Carol
in 1984, both of which starred George C. Scott
.
due to complications of Alzheimer's disease
. His wife, Jocelyn Rickards, a costume designer whom he met while working on Alfred the Great and married in 1969, died in 2005.
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
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...
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:...
who was a defining part of the British New Wave
British New Wave
The British New Wave is the name given to a trend in filmmaking among directors in Britain in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The label is a translation of Nouvelle Vague, the French term first applied to the films of François Truffaut, and Jean-Luc Godard among others.There is considerable overlap...
, directing films such as The Caretaker
The Caretaker (film)
The Caretaker is a 1963 British drama film directed by Clive Donner and based on the Harold Pinter play of the same name. It was entered into the 13th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Silver Bear Extraordinary Jury Prize....
, Nothing But the Best, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush is a 1967 British film made based on the novel of the same name by Hunter Davies. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was cancelled due to the events of May 1968 in France....
and What's New Pussycat?
What's New Pussycat?
What's New Pussycat? is a 1965 comedy film directed by Clive Donner and starring Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss and Ursula Andress. It was Woody Allen's film debut, as well as his first produced script. The Academy Award-nominated title song by Burt Bacharach...
. He also directed television movies and commercials
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
through the mid-1990s.
Early career
Donner was born in West HampsteadWest Hampstead
West Hampstead is an area in northwest London, England, situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage to the east, and South Hampstead to the south. Until the late 19th century, the locale was a small village called West End...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His father was a concert violinist and his mother ran a dress shop; his grandparents were Polish immigrants. Donner began his filmmaking career while attending Kilburn Polytechnic. He started in the film industry working as a cutting-room assistant at Denham Studios, having got the spot after joining his father, who was at the studio to record the soundtrack for the 1943 film The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is a 1943 film by the British film making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger under the production banner of The Archers. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. The title derives from the satirical Colonel Blimp comic strip by David...
. Donner did national service with the Royal Army Educational Corps
Royal Army Educational Corps
The Royal Army Educational Corps was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills...
, and afterwards was hired by Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
as a film editor, where the movies he worked on included The Card, The Million Pound Note
The Million Pound Note
The Million Pound Note is a 1954 British comedy, directed by Ronald Neame and starring Gregory Peck...
starring Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, I Am a Camera
I Am a Camera
I Am a Camera is a 1951 Broadway play inspired by Christopher Isherwood's novel Goodbye to Berlin which is part of The Berlin Stories...
, Alastair Sim
Alastair Sim
Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE was a Scottish character actor who appeared in a string of classic British films. He is best remembered in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 film Scrooge, and for his portrayal of Miss Fritton, the headmistress in two St. Trinian's films...
's 1951 Christmas classic Scrooge
Scrooge (1951 film)
Scrooge, released as A Christmas Carol in the United States, is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an...
and the 1953 Genevieve
Genevieve (film)
Genevieve is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Henry Cornelius and written by William Rose. It starred John Gregson, Dinah Sheridan, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall as two couples comedically involved in a vintage automobile rally...
, a comedy about two couples involved in a vintage automobile rally.
1950s
He began his profesional directing career on a number of low-budget films with several low-budget films he worked on at Pinewood, including the 1957 crime drama The Secret PlaceThe Secret Place (film)
The Secret Place is a 1957 British film directed by Henry Hathaway. It stars Belinda Lee and Ronald Lewis.-Cast:* Belinda Lee as Molly Wilson* Ronald Lewis as Gerry Carter* Michael Brooke as Freddie Haywood* Michael Gwynn as Steve Warring...
about a troubled youth starring Belinda Lee
Belinda Lee
Belinda Lee was an English actress.Born in Budleigh Salterton, England, Lee was signed to a film contract in 1954 by the Rank Studios after being seen performing as a student of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...
, Ronald Lewis
Ronald Lewis
Ronald Lewis , was a Welsh actor, best known for his appearances in British films of the 1950s and 1960s.Lewis was born in Port Talbot and made his first screen appearance in 1953. From then on, he averaged one or two films a year until the mid-60s, including classics like The Wind Cannot Read ...
and David McCallum
David McCallum
David Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr...
, Heart of a Child
Heart of a Child
Heart of a Child is a 1958 film directed by Clive Donner. It stars Jean Anderson and Donald Pleasence.-Cast:* Jean Anderson as Maria* Donald Pleasence as Spiel* Richard Williams as Karl* Maureen Pryor as Frau Spiel* Norman Macowan as Heiss...
the 1958 tear jerker starring Jean Anderson
Jean Anderson
Jean Anderson was an English actress born in Eastbourne, Sussex. She is best remembered for her television roles as hard-faced matriarch Mary Hammond in the 1970s BBC drama The Brothers and as rebellious aristocrat Lady Jocelyn "Joss" Holbrook in the 1980s Second World War series Tenko .She is...
and Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
, and Some People
Some People
Some People is a 1962 film directed by Clive Donner. It stars Kenneth More and Ray Brooks.-Cast:* Kenneth More as Mr. Smith* Ray Brooks as Johnnie* Anneke Wills as Anne* David Andrews as Bill* Angela Douglas as Terry* David Hemmings as Bert...
a film about a group of alienated youth who form their own rock band, starring Kenneth More
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
and Ray Brooks
Ray Brooks
Ray Brooks is an English actor possibly best known for his narration work for children's TV show Mr Benn.-Early work:...
. His television work during that time included episodes of Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger 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...
and Sir Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake (TV series)
Sir Francis Drake was a British adventure television series starring Terence Morgan as Sir Francis Drake, commander of the sailing ship the Golden Hind...
, as well Mighty and Mystical, a documentary series about India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
1960s
Donner's breakthrough directing role came in 1963 with The Caretaker, a film made with a low budget funded almost entirely by financial contributions starting at £1,000 each from such individuals as Richard BurtonRichard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
and Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, with the stars bypassing their standard fees and taking shares of the film's revenue. The movie, based on the play of the same name by Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
, was filmed in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
with cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
by Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
.
Donner's next film, 1964's Nothing But the Best, was a satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
on the British class system starring Alan Bates
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
and Denholm Elliott
Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
, based on a screenplay by Frederic Raphael
Frederic Raphael
Frederic Michael Raphael is an American-born, British-educated screenwriter, and also a prolific novelist and journalist.-Life and career:...
. The film tells the story of Jimmy Brewster (played by Bates) as a lower-class striver who seeks to move up in the system under the tutelage of his upper crust instructor Charlie Prince (Elliott).
Donner made his first Hollywood film in 1965 with What's New Pussycat?, a comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
starring Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
and Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
. O'Toole played the womanizer Michael James, who does his best to remain faithful to his fiancée Carole Werner (played by Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian...
), while a bevy of women — Ursula Andress
Ursula Andress
Ursula Andress is a Swiss actress and a sex symbol of the 1960s. She is known for her roles as Bond girl Honey Ryder in Dr...
, Capucine
Capucine
Capucine was a French actress and fashion model best known for her comedic roles in The Pink Panther and What's New Pussycat? . She appeared in 36 films and 17 television productions between 1948 and 1990...
, Paula Prentiss
Paula Prentiss
Paula Ragusa , better known by her stage name Paula Prentiss, is an American actress well-known for her film roles in Where the Boys Are, Man's Favorite Sport?, The Stepford Wives, What's New Pussycat?, The Black Marble, and The Parallax View and her co-starring role in the television situation...
— fall in love with him, with Sellers playing the role of his psychoanalyst, Dr. Fassbender. The success of the title song
What's New Pussycat? (song)
"What's New Pussycat?" is a song made famous by singers such as Tom Jones, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Anita Kerr and The Four Seasons; it was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It is the title tune of the movie starring Peter Sellers.Barbra Streisand performed several...
, performed by Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, added to the movie's popularity with audiences. Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
, who wrote the 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...
and made his first screen appearance in the movie, hated the film, saying that the vision he had for the movie in his original script had been distorted.
Donner's 1967 film Luv
Luv (play)
Luv is a play by Murray Schisgal.A mix of absurdist humor and traditional Broadway comedy more in the Neil Simon vein, Luv concerns two college friends - misfit Harry and materialistic Milt - who are reunited when the latter stops the former from jumping off a bridge, the play's setting. Each...
, an adaptation of the play by Murray Schisgal
Murray Schisgal
Murray Schisgal is an American playwright and screenwriter.Native New Yorker Schisgal won his first recognition for the 1963 off-Broadway double-bill The Typists and The Tiger, which won him the Drama Desk Award. His 1965 Broadway debut, Luv, earned him Tony Award nominations for Best Play and...
, starred Peter Falk
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
, Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
and Elaine May
Elaine May
Elaine May is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame in the 1950s from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols...
, but the addition of locations and characters to the original work led to criticism of the casting and direction, and the film was a commercial failure. Donner rounded out the 1960s with the 9th-century period piece Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great (film)
Alfred the Great is a 1969 epic film which portrayed Alfred the Great's struggle to rid Wessex of the invading Danes, in the 870s AD. It starred David Hemmings in the title role.-Plot:...
in 1969, starring David Hemmings
David Hemmings
David Edward Leslie Hemmings was an English film, theatre and television actor as well as a film and television director and producer....
.
1970s
Donner directed the 1974 film VampiraVampira (film)
Vampira is a 1974 comedy/horror film spoofing the vampire genre. It stars David Niven and Teresa Graves. Following the success of Young Frankenstein, Vampira was renamed Old Dracula for release in the United States in an attempt to cash in on Young Frankenstein's success.-Plot:Count Dracula is an...
, a comedy horror film of the vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
genre that sought to piggyback on the commercial success of Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The supporting cast includes Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard...
.
In 1977 he directed the made-for-television movie Spectre
Spectre (film)
Spectre is a 1977 made-for-television movie produced by Gene Roddenberry. It was co-written by Roddenberry and Samuel A. Peeples, and directed by Clive Donner.-Plot summary:...
, produced by Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
.
1980s
1980 brought The Nude BombThe Nude Bomb
The Nude Bomb is a 1980 comedy film based on the television series Get Smart. It starred Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, and was directed by Clive Donner...
, a comedy based on the television series Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
, which featured Don Adams
Don Adams
Don Adams was an American actor, comedian and director. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart in the television situation comedy Get Smart , which he also sometimes directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Smart...
reprising his role as secret agent Maxwell Smart. Donner followed up in 1981 with the spoof Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen is a 1981 film directed by Clive Donner. It stars Peter Ustinov and Lee Grant.-Plot:Retired detective Charlie Chan is asked for his help by the San Francisco police to solve a new series of murders...
that featured Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
, Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress. She made her film debut in 1980 in The Hollywood Knights, but first garnered mainstream attention with her performance in Brian De Palma's Scarface . Pfeiffer has won numerous awards for her work...
and Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
.
For television he directed the 1982 movie The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982 film)
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1982 film set during the French Revolution. It is based on the novels The Scarlet Pimpernel and Eldorado by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, and stars Anthony Andrews as Sir Percy Blakeney/The Scarlet Pimpernel, the protagonist, Jane Seymour as Marguerite St...
with Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
and Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
. He also directed television production of the Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
classics Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist (1982 TV film)
Oliver Twist is a 1982 made-for-TV adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic of the same name, premiering on the CBS television network as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Stars include George C...
in 1982 and A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol (1984 film)
A Christmas Carol is a 1984 made-for-television film adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous 1843 novella of the same name. The film is directed by Clive Donner who had been an editor of the 1951 film Scrooge and stars George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge...
in 1984, both of which starred George C. Scott
George C. Scott
George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, and as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr...
.
Death
Donner died at age 84 on 7 September 2010 in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
due to complications of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. His wife, Jocelyn Rickards, a costume designer whom he met while working on Alfred the Great and married in 1969, died in 2005.
Selected filmography
- The Purple PlainThe Purple PlainThe Purple Plain is a 1954 British war film, directed by Robert Parrish, with Gregory Peck playing a Canadian pilot serving in the Royal Air Force in Burma in the closing months of the World War II, who is battling with depression after having lost his wife...
(1954) - The Secret PlaceThe Secret Place (film)The Secret Place is a 1957 British film directed by Henry Hathaway. It stars Belinda Lee and Ronald Lewis.-Cast:* Belinda Lee as Molly Wilson* Ronald Lewis as Gerry Carter* Michael Brooke as Freddie Haywood* Michael Gwynn as Steve Warring...
(1957) - Heart of a ChildHeart of a ChildHeart of a Child is a 1958 film directed by Clive Donner. It stars Jean Anderson and Donald Pleasence.-Cast:* Jean Anderson as Maria* Donald Pleasence as Spiel* Richard Williams as Karl* Maureen Pryor as Frau Spiel* Norman Macowan as Heiss...
(1958) - Some PeopleSome PeopleSome People is a 1962 film directed by Clive Donner. It stars Kenneth More and Ray Brooks.-Cast:* Kenneth More as Mr. Smith* Ray Brooks as Johnnie* Anneke Wills as Anne* David Andrews as Bill* Angela Douglas as Terry* David Hemmings as Bert...
(1962) - The CaretakerThe Caretaker (film)The Caretaker is a 1963 British drama film directed by Clive Donner and based on the Harold Pinter play of the same name. It was entered into the 13th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Silver Bear Extraordinary Jury Prize....
(1963) - Nothing But the Best (1964)
- What's New Pussycat?What's New Pussycat?What's New Pussycat? is a 1965 comedy film directed by Clive Donner and starring Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss and Ursula Andress. It was Woody Allen's film debut, as well as his first produced script. The Academy Award-nominated title song by Burt Bacharach...
(1965) - Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1967)
- LuvLuv (film)Luv is a 1967 romantic slapstick comedy starring Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk, Elaine May and Nina Wayne. The original Broadway production of Luv by Murray Schisgal opened at the Booth Theater in New York on 11 November 1964. It ran for 901 performances and was nominated for the 1965 Tony Award for...
(1967) - Alfred the GreatAlfred the Great (film)Alfred the Great is a 1969 epic film which portrayed Alfred the Great's struggle to rid Wessex of the invading Danes, in the 870s AD. It starred David Hemmings in the title role.-Plot:...
(1969) - VampiraVampira (film)Vampira is a 1974 comedy/horror film spoofing the vampire genre. It stars David Niven and Teresa Graves. Following the success of Young Frankenstein, Vampira was renamed Old Dracula for release in the United States in an attempt to cash in on Young Frankenstein's success.-Plot:Count Dracula is an...
(1974) - SpectreSpectre (film)Spectre is a 1977 made-for-television movie produced by Gene Roddenberry. It was co-written by Roddenberry and Samuel A. Peeples, and directed by Clive Donner.-Plot summary:...
(1977) - The Nude BombThe Nude BombThe Nude Bomb is a 1980 comedy film based on the television series Get Smart. It starred Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, and was directed by Clive Donner...
(1980) - Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon QueenCharlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon QueenCharlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen is a 1981 film directed by Clive Donner. It stars Peter Ustinov and Lee Grant.-Plot:Retired detective Charlie Chan is asked for his help by the San Francisco police to solve a new series of murders...
(1981) - A Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol (1984 film)A Christmas Carol is a 1984 made-for-television film adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous 1843 novella of the same name. The film is directed by Clive Donner who had been an editor of the 1951 film Scrooge and stars George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge...
(1984) - Arthur the King (1985)
- Stealing HeavenStealing HeavenStealing Heaven is a 1988 film, a costume drama based on the French 12th century medieval romance of Peter Abelard and Héloïse and on a historical novel by Marion Meade...
(1988) - Charlemagne, le prince à chevalCharlemagne, le prince à chevalCharlemagne, le prince à cheval is a 1993 television miniseries about the life of Charlemagne. It consists of five episodes and covers the period from the death of his father, Pepin the Short in AD 768 until Charlemagne's corronation as the first Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, AD 800...
(1993)