Michael Armstrong (cinematographer)
Encyclopedia
Michael Armstrong is a British writer and director
Armstrong trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
and was writing and directing films at the age of 22 with the award-winning short, The Image
starring David Bowie
and Michael Byrne
. The following year, he wrote and directed his first feature film, The Haunted House of Horror
, starring Frankie Avalon
, Jill Haworth
, Mark Wynter
, Richard O'Sullivan and Dennis Price
, following it with the notorious Mark of the Devil, starring Herbert Lom
and Udo Kier
which smashed all box office records in Europe and America on its first release in 1970 and has grown to be one of the biggest cult films ever. It is still banned in the UK.
Since then, Armstrong’s film credits have included House of the Long Shadows
starring Vincent Price
, Christopher Lee
, Peter Cushing
and John Carradine
, the highly successful comedies, Eskimo Nell
starring Armstrong himself, Roy Kinnear
, Christopher Timothy
, Diane Langton
, Anna Quayle
, Sheila Bernette and a host of comedy stars, and The Adventures Of... series which broke box office records in the UK. In all he has written and/or directed seventeen feature films internationally, for which he has won numerous awards.
His television credits include The Professionals
, Shoestring and Return of the Saint
. His theatre work includes, in Los Angeles
, writing and directing a new musical, My Jewish Vampire, and in the UK, a specially conceived work for actors and orchestra for a Royal charity performance at the Royal Albert Hall
, The Enchanted Orchestra featuring the London Symphony Orchestra
and an all-star cast of fifteen actors including the legendary Max Wall
and headed by Sir John Mills. He has also produced and directed plays both on tour and in London's West End, taught and directed, periodically, at various drama schools, created a unique "structured Acting Course", published the magazine "The Grapevine" and worked as a film critic for Films & Filming.
Armstrong is currently working on plans for an exciting new theatrical venture. London Repertory Company will be London's first full-time professional traditional repertory company to operate commercially in the heart of the West End
.
Armstrong trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
and was writing and directing films at the age of 22 with the award-winning short, The Image
The Image (short film)
The Image is a 1969 black and white short film directed by Michael Armstrong with starring Michael Byrne and David Bowie in his first film role...
starring David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and Michael Byrne
Michael Byrne (actor)
Michael Byrne is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television. He has often been cast in Nazi military roles such as Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Obergruppenführer Odilo Globocnik in the BBC radio dramatisation of the novel Fatherland by Robert Harris...
. The following year, he wrote and directed his first feature film, The Haunted House of Horror
The Haunted House of Horror (1969 film)
The Haunted House of Horror, also titled Horror House and The Dark, was an early type of teen "slasher film" set in late 60's England. It starred Frankie Avalon and Jill Haworth as young adults looking for a thrill by spending the night in an old mansion in the English countryside. Although...
, starring Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
, Jill Haworth
Jill Haworth
Valerie Jill Haworth was an English actress.Haworth was born in Sussex, to a textile magnate father and a mother who trained as a ballet dancer ....
, Mark Wynter
Mark Wynter
Mark Wynter is an English actor and former singer, who had four Top 20 singles in the 1960s, including "Venus in Blue Jeans" and "Go Away Little Girl"...
, Richard O'Sullivan and Dennis Price
Dennis Price
Dennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
, following it with the notorious Mark of the Devil, starring Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom is a Czech film actor, best known for his role as former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movie series.-Life and career:...
and Udo Kier
Udo Kier
Udo Kier is a German actor, known primarily for his work in horror and exploitation movies.-Early life:...
which smashed all box office records in Europe and America on its first release in 1970 and has grown to be one of the biggest cult films ever. It is still banned in the UK.
Since then, Armstrong’s film credits have included House of the Long Shadows
House of the Long Shadows
House of the Long Shadows is a horror-parody film directed by Pete Walker. The screenplay by Michael Armstrong is based on the novel Seven Keys to Baldpate by Earl Derr Biggers. The original music score is composed by Richard Harvey....
starring Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
, Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
, Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
and John Carradine
John Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
, the highly successful comedies, Eskimo Nell
Eskimo Nell (film)
Eskimo Nell, a.k.a. The Ballad of Eskimo Nell a.k.a The Sexy Saga of Naughty Nell and Big Dick , is a 1975 British film directed by Martin Campbell and produced by Stanley Long...
starring Armstrong himself, Roy Kinnear
Roy Kinnear
Roy Mitchell Kinnear was an English character actor. He is best remembered for playing Veruca Salt's father, Mr. Salt, in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.-Early life:...
, Christopher Timothy
Christopher Timothy
Christopher Timothy is a Welsh actor, television director and writer. Timothy is possibly best known today for his role as James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small; more recently he has starred as Dr. Brendan 'Mac' McGuire in the British television drama Doctors...
, Diane Langton
Diane Langton
Diane Langton is an English actress and singer.She has appeared in numerous TV shows like Only Fools and Horses, where she played Junie, an old girlfriend of Del Boy's, in the 1980s....
, Anna Quayle
Anna Quayle
Anna Quayle is an English actress. Her father was the stage actor Douglas Quayle.She has appeared on film, on stage, and on television...
, Sheila Bernette and a host of comedy stars, and The Adventures Of... series which broke box office records in the UK. In all he has written and/or directed seventeen feature films internationally, for which he has won numerous awards.
His television credits include The Professionals
The 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...
, Shoestring and Return of the Saint
Return of the Saint
Return of the Saint was a British action-adventure television series that aired for one season in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States...
. His theatre work includes, in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, writing and directing a new musical, My Jewish Vampire, and in the UK, a specially conceived work for actors and orchestra for a Royal charity performance at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, The Enchanted Orchestra featuring the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
and an all-star cast of fifteen actors including the legendary Max Wall
Max Wall
Max Wall , was an English comedian and actor, whose performing career covered music hall, theatre, films and television.-Early years:...
and headed by Sir John Mills. He has also produced and directed plays both on tour and in London's West End, taught and directed, periodically, at various drama schools, created a unique "structured Acting Course", published the magazine "The Grapevine" and worked as a film critic for Films & Filming.
Armstrong is currently working on plans for an exciting new theatrical venture. London Repertory Company will be London's first full-time professional traditional repertory company to operate commercially in the heart of the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
.
Filmography
- Mark of the Devil (1970)
- The Haunted House of Horror (1969)
- The ImageThe Image (short film)The Image is a 1969 black and white short film directed by Michael Armstrong with starring Michael Byrne and David Bowie in his first film role...
(1969) - short film
Trivia
- Armstrong has also used the pseudonames Al Beresford, Sergio Casstner and Edward Hyde.