Daniel Birt
Encyclopedia
Daniel Birt was an English film director and editor. Birt began his career as an editor in 1932 with an assistant credit on The Lucky Number
, and went on to edit twelve films during the 1930s.
World War II brought a career hiatus and Birt did not return to the film industry until the late 1940s, working as supervising editor on the 1947 films Green Fingers and The Ghosts of Berkeley Square
before taking on his first directorial role with The Three Weird Sisters
(1948), a pseudo-gothic
tale set in a decaying Welsh mansion and counting Dylan Thomas
among its scriptwriters. This was followed later the same year by No Room at the Inn
, a powerful and unsparing film dealing with child cruelty and abuse in an evacuee household during the war. Birt directed a further ten films in the crime/thriller genre between 1949 and his early death, aged 47, in May 1955. He also directed three episodes of the first series of the ITV
television drama The Adventures of Robin Hood
, which were broadcast posthumously in late 1955. Birt's final film, Laughing in the Sunshine, was also released after his death.
The Lucky Number
The Lucky Number is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Clifford Mollison, Gordon Harker, Joan Wyndham and Frank Pettingell. A professional footballer attempts to recover a winning pools ticket...
, and went on to edit twelve films during the 1930s.
World War II brought a career hiatus and Birt did not return to the film industry until the late 1940s, working as supervising editor on the 1947 films Green Fingers and The Ghosts of Berkeley Square
The Ghosts of Berkeley Square
The Ghosts of Berkeley Square is a 1947 British comedy film, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer. The film is an adaptation of the novel No Nightingales by Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon, inspired by the enduring reputation of the property at 50 Berkeley Square as...
before taking on his first directorial role with The Three Weird Sisters
The Three Weird Sisters
The Three Weird Sisters is a 1948 British melodrama with Gothic influences, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Nancy Price, Mary Clare, Mary Merrall and Raymond Lovell. The screenplay was adapted by Dylan Thomas and Louise Birt from the novel The Case of the Weird Sisters by Charlotte Armstrong...
(1948), a pseudo-gothic
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
tale set in a decaying Welsh mansion and counting Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
among its scriptwriters. This was followed later the same year by No Room at the Inn
No Room at the Inn
No Room at the Inn is a 1948 British melodrama, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Freda Jackson and Ann Stephens. The screenplay was adapted by Dylan Thomas and Ivor Foxwell from the play by Joan Temple...
, a powerful and unsparing film dealing with child cruelty and abuse in an evacuee household during the war. Birt directed a further ten films in the crime/thriller genre between 1949 and his early death, aged 47, in May 1955. He also directed three episodes of the first series of the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
television drama The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood is the title of:* The Adventures of Robin Hood , a 1938 film starring Errol Flynn* The Adventures of Robin Hood , a 1950s television series starring Richard Greene...
, which were broadcast posthumously in late 1955. Birt's final film, Laughing in the Sunshine, was also released after his death.
Filmography (director)
- 1948: The Three Weird SistersThe Three Weird SistersThe Three Weird Sisters is a 1948 British melodrama with Gothic influences, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Nancy Price, Mary Clare, Mary Merrall and Raymond Lovell. The screenplay was adapted by Dylan Thomas and Louise Birt from the novel The Case of the Weird Sisters by Charlotte Armstrong...
- 1948: No Room at the InnNo Room at the InnNo Room at the Inn is a 1948 British melodrama, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Freda Jackson and Ann Stephens. The screenplay was adapted by Dylan Thomas and Ivor Foxwell from the play by Joan Temple...
- 1949: The Interrupted JourneyThe Interrupted JourneyThe Interrupted Journey is a 1949 British thriller film directed by Daniel Birt and Valerie Hobson, Richard Todd, Christine Norden and Tom Walls. A man fleeing with his mistress narrowly escapes a train crash after he pulls the emergency chord and is wracked with guilt...
- 1950: She Shall Have MurderShe Shall Have MurderShe Shall Have Murder is a 1950 British drama film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Rosamund John, Derrick De Marney and Felix Aylmer. A law office clerk who aspires to be a crime writer, turns into a detective when someone at her work is murdered....
- 1952: The Night Won't Talk
- 1952: Circumstantial EvidenceCircumstantial Evidence (1952 film)Circumstantial Evidence is a 1952 British crime film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Rona Anderson, Patrick Holt and John Arnatt.-Plot:A woman seeks evidence that will give her grounds for divorce from her husband, so she can marry another man....
- 1953: Three Steps in the DarkThree Steps in the DarkThree Steps in the Dark is a 1953 British B-movie whodunit, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Greta Gynt and Hugh Sinclair.-Plot:A rich but disliked elderly man invites his relatives to a family reunion at his home. Once the gathering is complete, he announces enigmatically that he intends to...
- 1953: BackgroundBackground (1953 film)Background is a 1953 British domestic drama film dealing with the effects of divorce, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Valerie Hobson, Philip Friend and Norman Wooland...
- 1954: Burnt EvidenceBurnt EvidenceBurnt Evidence is a 1954 British drama film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Jane Hylton, Duncan Lamont and Donald Gray. A man accidentally kills another and is hunted down by the police.-Cast:* Jane Hylton - Diana Taylor...
- 1954: Meet Mr. Malcolm
- 1954: Third Party RiskThird Party RiskThird Party Risk is a 1954 British thriller film, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Lloyd Bridges, Simone Silva and Finlay Currie...
- 1956: Laughing in the Sunshine
External links
Daniel Birt at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...