Sidney Cole
Encyclopedia
Sidney 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
. A longstanding friend of director Thorold Dickinson
, he edited Dickinson's The High Command
(1936) and Gaslight
(1940) and Cavalcanti's
Went the Day Well?
(1942). Cav he found "a joy" to with and late in his life remained pleased with his work on the film which was "very tightly edited by me".
The longest portion of Cole's career though was as a producer, initially credited as an associate producer, for Ealing Studios
(where he was employed for eleven years) and the television production company ITC
. For ITC he produced Danger Man
(1964-67) and Man in a Suitcase
(1967-68). Later he supervised The Adventures of Black Beauty
(1972-74) and Dick Turpin
(1979-82) for London Weekend Television
, the later via the Gatetarn company he founded with Richard Carpenter and Paul Knight.
Sidney Cole was politically engaged through much of his career. He was involved in making documentaries on the Spanish Civil War
with Dickinson and employed blacklisted American writers on The Adventures of Robin Hood
, a series whose executive producer Hannah Weinstein
had herself chosen exile in London because of McCarthyism
. With Peter Proud, Cole founded the ACTT
union.
Cole was educated at the LSE
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, and entered the film industry as a scenario reader for Stoll Picture Productions, a company founded by Sir Oswald Stoll
Oswald Stoll
Sir Oswald Stoll was an Australian-born British theatre manager and the co-founder of the Stoll Moss Group theatre company...
. A longstanding friend of director Thorold Dickinson
Thorold Dickinson
Thorold Barron Dickinson was a British film director, screenwriter, producer, and Britains's first university Professor of Film.-Early life and career:...
, he edited Dickinson's The High Command
The High Command
The High Command is a 1938 British drama film directed by Thorold Dickinson and starring Lionel Atwill, Lucie Mannheim and James Mason. It was based on a novel by Lewis Robinson.- Plot summary :...
(1936) and Gaslight
Gaslight (1940 film)
Gaslight is a 1940 film directed by Thorold Dickinson, based on Patrick Hamilton's play Gas Light which stars Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, and Frank Pettingell...
(1940) and Cavalcanti's
Alberto Cavalcanti
Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti was a Brazilian-born film director and producer.-Early life:Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a prominent mathematician. He was a precociously intelligent child, and by the age of 15 was studying law at university. Following an argument with a...
Went the Day Well?
Went the Day Well?
"Went the Day Well?" is a British war film produced by Ealing Studios in 1942 as unofficial propaganda. It tells of how an English village is taken over by German paratroopers . Made during the war, it reflects the greatest potential nightmares of many Britons of the time, although the threat of...
(1942). Cav he found "a joy" to with and late in his life remained pleased with his work on the film which was "very tightly edited by me".
The longest portion of Cole's career though was as a producer, initially credited as an associate producer, for 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...
(where he was employed for eleven years) and the television production company ITC
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
. For ITC he produced 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...
(1964-67) and Man in a Suitcase
Man in a Suitcase
Man in a Suitcase is a 1967 television series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.-Origins and overview:Man in a Suitcase was effectively a replacement for Danger Man, whose production had been curtailed when its star Patrick McGoohan had decided to create his own series, The Prisoner...
(1967-68). Later he supervised The Adventures of Black Beauty
The Adventures of Black Beauty
The 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...
(1972-74) and Dick Turpin
Dick 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...
(1979-82) for London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
, the later via the Gatetarn company he founded with Richard Carpenter and Paul Knight.
Sidney Cole was politically engaged through much of his career. He was involved in making documentaries on the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
with Dickinson and employed blacklisted American writers on The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a popular British television series comprising 143 half-hour, black and white episodes. It starred Richard Greene as the outlaw Robin Hood and Alan Wheatley as his nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The show aired weekly between 1955 and 1959 on ITV in London in the...
, a series whose executive producer Hannah Weinstein
Hannah Weinstein
Hannah Weinstein was an American journalist, publicist and left-wing political activist who moved to Britain and became a television producer. She is best known for having produced The Adventures of Robin Hood television series in the 1950s...
had herself chosen exile in London because of McCarthyism
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
. With Peter Proud, Cole founded the ACTT
Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians
The Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians was a trade union in the United Kingdom.The union was founded by technicians at the Gaumont British Studios in 1933 as the Association of Cinematograph Technicians...
union.
External links
- Part 2 of BECTU interview (1987) with Peter Proud conducted by Sid Cole and Alan Lawson reproduced on the BFI screenonline website