Reginald Beck
Encyclopedia
Reginald Beck was a British film editor with forty-nine credits. He was born in Russia, but his family emigrated to Britain while still a child. He began working in the film industry in 1927 when he joined Gainsborough Pictures
before going on to work on quota quickies at Wembley Studios. He later worked with a number of directors including Carol Reed
, David Lean
, Laurence Olivier
and Joseph Losey
. In his obituary, Anthony Sloman
wrote of the seventeen films that Beck edited with director Losey, "Their professional and personal relationship was regarded as one of the great screen partnerships".
Beck worked with Laurence Olivier
on Henry V
(1944) and on Hamlet
(1948). Sloman writes, "above all, it is for his immense contributions to Henry V and Hamlet that the British film industry is forever in his debt."
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
before going on to work on quota quickies at Wembley Studios. He later worked with a number of directors including Carol Reed
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
, David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
, Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and Joseph Losey
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey was an American theater and film director. After studying in Germany with Bertolt Brecht, Losey returned to the United States, eventually making his way to Hollywood...
. In his obituary, Anthony Sloman
Anthony Sloman
Anthony Barney Sloman is an English broadcaster, film critic, film director, film editor, film producer, lecturer, production manager, screenwriter, sound editor and actor....
wrote of the seventeen films that Beck edited with director Losey, "Their professional and personal relationship was regarded as one of the great screen partnerships".
Beck worked with Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
on Henry V
Henry V (1944 film)
Henry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas...
(1944) and on Hamlet
Hamlet (1948 film)
Hamlet is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, adapted and directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier. Hamlet was Olivier's second film as director, and also the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed...
(1948). Sloman writes, "above all, it is for his immense contributions to Henry V and Hamlet that the British film industry is forever in his debt."
Selected filmography
- The Return of RafflesThe Return of RafflesThe Return of Raffles is a 1933 British crime film directed by Mansfield Markham and starring George Barraud, Camilla Horn and Claud Allister. It is based on the A.J. Raffles stories by EW Hornung and inspired by the success of the 1930 American film Raffles, to which it serves as a loose...
(1932) - The Stars Look DownThe Stars Look Down (film)The Stars Look Down is a 1940 British film based on A. J. Cronin's novel of the same title, initially published in 1935, which chronicles various injustices in a mining community in North East England. The film, co-scripted by Cronin and directed by Carol Reed, stars Michael Redgrave as Davey...
(1939) - Quiet WeddingQuiet WeddingQuiet Wedding is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Margaret Lockwood, Derek Farr and Marjorie Fielding. The screenplay was written by Terence Rattigan and Anatole de Grunwald based on the play Quiet Wedding by Esther McCracken which was later remade as Happy is the...
(1941) - Henry VHenry V (1944 film)Henry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas...
(1944) - HamletHamlet (1948 film)Hamlet is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, adapted and directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier. Hamlet was Olivier's second film as director, and also the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed...
(1948) (Associate producer) - The Beggar's OperaThe Beggar's Opera (film)The Beggar's Opera is a 1953 Technicolor film version of John Gay's 1728 ballad opera directed by Peter Brook and starring Laurence Olivier, Dorothy Tutin, Stanley Holloway and others. Olivier and Holloway do their own singing in this film, but Dorothy Tutin and several others were dubbed...
(1953) - Harry BlackHarry Black (film)Harry Black is a 1958 British film adaptation of the novel Harry Black by David Walker, released by 20th Century Fox. The film stars Stewart Granger, Barbara Rush and I. S. Johar in a BAFTA nominated role.The film was shot in India.-Cast:...
(1958) - Modesty BlaiseModesty Blaise (1966 film)Modesty Blaise was a comedic spy-fi motion picture produced in the United Kingdom and released worldwide in 1966. It was loosely based upon the popular comic strip Modesty Blaise by Peter O'Donnell, who wrote the original story and scenario upon which Evan Jones based his screenplay...
(1966) - Secret CeremonySecret CeremonySecret Ceremony is a 1968 film, produced in Britain and released by Universal Pictures. It stars Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, Robert Mitchum, Pamela Brown, and Peggy Ashcroft. Joseph Losey directed, from a script by George Tabori.-Plot:...
(1968) - The Assassination of TrotskyThe Assassination of TrotskyThe Assassination of Trotsky is a 1972 British film directed by Joseph Losey with a screenplay by Nicholas Mosley. It starred Richard Burton as Leon Trotsky, as well as Romy Schneider and Alain Delon.-Plot:...
(1972) - Steaming (1985)