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60-486: John and James Woolf were the sons of the British producer C. M. Woolf (1879–1942), who was co-producer with Michael Balcon of two early Alfred Hitchcock films, Downhill (1927) and Easy Virtue (1928). Woolf senior was a major figure at Gaumont British and established General Film Distributors in 1937. John and James were educated at Eton , while the older brother also attended Institut Montana, Switzerland. John

120-506: A 1996 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber . The L-Shaped Room (1962), his next film as director, with Leslie Caron in the female lead, led to her gaining a nomination for an Oscar, and winning the BAFTA (Best British Actress) and Golden Globe awards. Comments Phil Wickham: "It feels like half a new wave film – a mid-point between the innovation of the Woodfall Films and the mainstream of

180-583: A Hollywood visit that the studio had cancelled the project because of Lewin's problems with the House Un-American Activities Committee . According to John, this resulted in the Woolf's concentration on developing transatlantic projects. Their mentor, Alexander Korda , advised against half-financing The African Queen (1951): "Two old people going up and down an African river . . . who's going to be interested in that? You'll be bankrupt!". Korda

240-683: A Wet Afternoon (1964) and King Rat (1965). In 2004, Forbes was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the arts. In 2006, he received the Dilys Powell Award for outstanding contribution to cinema of the London Film Critics' Circle Awards . In May 2007, he was the recipient of a BAFTA tribute, celebrating his 'outstanding achievement in filmmaking'. In 1951 he married Irish actress Constance Smith , and

300-480: A bank heist carried out by ex-army officers, and gained critical success, including his first BAFTA nomination. In 1959, he formed a production company, Beaver Films, with his frequent collaborator Richard Attenborough . Beaver Films made The Angry Silence (1960), a controversial Bafta-winning screenplay by Forbes in which Attenborough took the lead role, and the two men shared production responsibilities. Forbes's directorial debut came with Whistle Down

360-698: A continuation of National Velvet (1944), with Newman in the same role as Elizabeth Taylor in the earlier film; Better Late than Never (1983); and The Naked Face (1984). His final film as a screenwriter was Chaplin in 1992. He served as president of the National Youth Theatre , Writers' Guild of Great Britain and the Beatrix Potter Society . For a time Forbes owned a bookshop in Virginia Water , Surrey. Forbes wrote two volumes of autobiography and several successful novels,

420-550: A food critic and television chef, and Daniel Day-Lewis , who became an actor. He has won three Academy Awards in addition to many other awards. In 1977, Balcon died at Upper Parrock , a 15th-century house set on a Sussex hilltop near the Kent border. He and his wife had lived there since the Second World War. He was cremated and his ashes buried there. He was a life-long friend of director Charles Frend with whom he collaborated on

480-407: A half he spent there was a trying period for Balcon, who clashed frequently with studio head Louis B. Mayer . During this period, Balcon lived at 57a Tufton Street, Westminster. Today a commemorative plaque marks his former home. When Balcon was invited by an old associate of his, Reginald Baker , to head Ealing Studios in 1938, he readily agreed. Under his benevolent leadership and surrounded by

540-481: A large corporation. In 1948, they went to S.G. Warburg for financial backing for two new companies, Independent Film Distributors, and a production arm, Romulus Films. According to critic Ronald Bergan in his obituary of Sir John Woolf: "Their aims were ambitious: to produce artistically valuable and yet commercially viable films, whose subjects would be wider than the Little Englanderism of British pictures of

600-491: A number of Ealing Studio films. Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes CBE ( / f ɔːr b z / ; born John Theobald Clarke ; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man" and "one of the most important figures in the British film industry". He directed the film The Stepford Wives (1975) and wrote and/or directed several other critically acclaimed films, including Whistle Down

660-456: A producer. In 1968 he bought British and American Film Holdings from Minster Trust. That year he produced his first film on his own, Oliver! , which ended up winning the Oscar for Best Picture. John Woolf was knighted in 1975 and remained a director of Anglia Television until 1983. In 1982 he joined Bernard Delfont and Max Rayne to form First Leisure Corporation , of which he was a director. He

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720-686: A production company known as Ealing Films, and later headed British Lion Films. He served as chairman of the British Film Institute production board to help fund and encourage new work. Balcon was described in his obituary in The Times as a "pioneer of British films" who "had courage, energy and flair for showmanship". Born at Edgbaston , Birmingham , Balcon was the youngest son and fourth of five children of Louis Balcon c.  1858–1946 and his wife, Laura (née Greenberg; c. 1863–1934), Lithuanian Jewish immigrants from Latvia (then part of

780-404: A quick mind that panned and found the nuggets before other prospectors on the trail had even arrived at the mine... Jimmy was a shield, quite fearless when tackling the front offices. He knew everybody and he was rich enough in his own right not to have to depend on the largesse of others when it came to getting a project off the ground. He had taste: taste in actors, taste in subject matter... There

840-587: A reliable team of directors, writers, technicians and actors, Ealing became the most famous British studio in the world, despite turning out no more than six feature films a year. Went the Day Well? , Dead of Night , Undercover (1943), and the Ealing Comedies were released during his time there. Other films from the studio include Dance Hall (1950) with Petula Clark and Diana Dors ; and The Blue Lamp (also 1950), whose lead character, George Dixon,

900-496: A reputation for producing high-quality films. In 1924, he and Graham Cutts founded Gainsborough Pictures, which he presided over for twelve years, as director of production for Gaumont-British from 1931. During this time, Balcon oversaw Alfred Hitchcock's very first production titled The Pleasure Garden . The film was followed by Hitchcock's The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog as well as The Ring showing that Hitchcock's talent

960-442: A short story collection in the early 1950s, which induced producer "Cubby" Broccoli to offer him screenwriting work on The Black Knight (1954). He received his first credit for Second World War film The Cockleshell Heroes (1955), while other early screenplays include I Was Monty's Double (1958), and The League of Gentlemen (1960), his breakthrough. Directed by Basil Dearden , Forbes also starred. The film recounted

1020-493: A star. In the mid '50s they formed a partnership with Korda, helping him to finance his films, including Richard III (1955). By 1959, they estimated their movies had earned more than £3million overseas. John Woolf became interested in Room at the Top after seeing an interview conducted by Woodrow Wyatt with the novel's author John Braine on Panorama on 8 April 1957. He bought a copy of

1080-419: A worldwide distribution deal with StudioCanal . In 1971, film critic Alexander Walker wrote about James Woolf: [He] was a rarity in British films at the time, and would still be so if he was alive today: a man of taste and judgement who loved craftsmanship and supported a director instead of suffocating him or using him as a surrogate talent for the film he himself would have liked to direct had he dared... He

1140-666: The British Film Institute production board and funding low-budget experimental work. He was later appointed to the Board of Governors of the British Film Institute. Balcon published one book and many articles, including: A pub in Ealing is named in his honour. The BAFTA for Outstanding Contribution to British Film is presented every year in honour of Balcon's memory. In 1938, Balcon wrote an article in The Cine-Technician ,

1200-531: The Intelligence Corps and Combined Forces Entertainment Unit, during which time he started to write short stories. After completing his military service in 1948, following British Equity rules, he was obliged to change his name to avoid confusion with actor John Clark . Forbes began to act, appearing on stage and playing numerous supporting roles in British films, in particular An Inspector Calls (1954) and The Colditz Story (1955). He published

1260-492: The 18 films he made at EMI for £4 million overall, which brought back to the studio had £18 million of profit, with only two of the films making a loss. (Forbes got 5% of the profit.) From the early 1970s, Forbes divided his energies between cinema, television, theatre, and writing. In 1972 he started work on the documentary Elton John and Bernie Taupin Say Goodbye Norma Jean and Other Things (1973), which chronicled

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1320-503: The 1920s and, together with Victor Saville and John Freedman , he formed Balcon, Freedman & Saville. After the war, Balcon's friend Victor Saville suggested a partnership to establish a film distribution company for the new and growing industry. The company, Victory Motion Pictures, led to them settling in London, opening an office in Soho in 1921. In 1923, their first feature film was released,

1380-713: The 1964 Best British Dramatic Screenplay of the Writers Guild of Great Britain. Hopscotch won the Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium of the Writers Guild of America in 1980. Forbes's directorial debut, Whistle Down the Wind , was nominated for several BAFTA awards, including Best Film from any Source and Best British Film in 1962. Four of his other films were also nominated for BAFTA awards: The League of Gentlemen (1960), Only Two Can Play (1962), Séance on

1440-540: The 2010s. He lived in Virginia Water , Surrey where he ran a bookshop in the 1960s. The shop never made a profit, but he thought "it was 'right' to have a bookshop in his local village". Forbes died at his home in Virginia Water on 8 May 2013 at the age of 86, following a long illness. His wife survives him. Journalist and former Spectator editor Matthew d'Ancona , a friend of the Forbes family, said: "Bryan Forbes

1500-536: The British film industry." Forbes wrote and directed Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), and the same year he wrote the third screen adaptation of the Somerset Maugham novel Of Human Bondage . In 1965, he went to Hollywood to make King Rat , a successful prisoner-of-war story. He followed this with The Wrong Box (1966) and The Whisperers (1967), the latter featuring Edith Evans . A caper film, Deadfall (1968), starred Michael Caine . Forbes

1560-699: The Russian Empire) who had met in Britain. His father described himself as a tailor, but rarely worked in that capacity; he "preferred to travel", including to South Africa, where his brother-in-law had settled. His wife was left to raise the children as best she could, but the family experienced poverty. Despite what he called a "respectable but impoverished" childhood, in 1907 Balcon won a scholarship to Birmingham's George Dixon Grammar School , where he had an "undistinguished" academic career, and had to leave in 1913 owing to his family's financial needs. A commemorative plaque

1620-570: The Wind (1961), Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) and King Rat (1965). He also scripted several films directed by others, such as The League of Gentlemen (1960), The Angry Silence (1960) and Only Two Can Play (1962). Forbes was born John Theobald Clarke on 22 July 1926 in Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford , West Ham , London. His father was a salesman and he grew up at 43 Cranmer Road, Forest Gate , where he attended West Ham Secondary School and Horncastle Grammar School after he

1680-399: The Wind (1961), again produced by Attenborough, a critically acclaimed film about three northern children who conceal a criminal in their barn, believing him to be a reincarnated Jesus Christ. It starred child actor Hayley Mills and Alan Bates , in one of his earliest film roles. The film was nominated for four BAFTA awards , including Best Film from any Source . It was the basis for

1740-472: The ailing British film industry by instituting a traditional studio system with a whole slate of films in play.' Forbes later said he went in with a "built in enemy" in the form of Nat Cohen who had also been offered the job, along with the "old guard" who did not like him. Under Forbes's leadership, the studio produced The Railway Children (1970), The Tales of Beatrix Potter (1971) and The Go-Between (1971), all successful. His tenure, though,

1800-482: The book the next day, and quickly purchased the film rights. Individually, John was instrumental in the formation of Anglia Television in 1958 and James wrote novels. In 1963, the Woolf brothers ran into trouble from the film distributors' Defence Organisation owing to their refusal to withhold the rights to their old cinema films from the sale to television. There was some talk that their new films would be boycotted by British cinemas, but that did not happen. By now

1860-464: The brothers were working separately. James went to Hollywood to produce King Rat . Shortly afterwards he was staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel when he failed to keep a dinner arrangement with director Lewis Gilbert about making a film version of the musical Oliver! . A hotel employee found him dead, sitting up in bed with an open book on his lap; the cause was reported to be a heart attack. He

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1920-646: The concert footage was later licensed for the Eagle Vision Classic Albums series Goodbye Yellow Brick Road documentary.) During filming, Forbes formed a close friendship with John and Taupin, which led to other collaborations with them, including photography on the Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album sleeves. ITV broadcast the documentary in the UK on 4 December 1973, and it

1980-526: The couple travelled to Hollywood in the early 1950s. Forbes soon returned to the UK; he and Smith divorced in 1955. Forbes went on to marry actress Nanette Newman the same year. It was popularly believed that Roger Moore was their best man , but Newman denied this on the Alan Titchmarsh Show in 2011. The couple had two daughters: journalist Sarah Standing, who is married to actor John Standing ; and television presenter Emma Forbes . Forbes

2040-453: The film's ending made by Forbes, causing Goldman to drop out of the project (while retaining the screenplay credit). Despite its notoriety, The Stepford Wives received mixed reviews and performed weakly at the box office. His subsequent films as a director were less successful: The Slipper and the Rose (1976), with David Frost as executive producer; International Velvet (1978), intended as

2100-457: The journal of the filmmakers union, titled 'I wish I could join' in which he criticised the working condition under which films were made and was instrumental in improving these conditions and increasing the salaries of people working on film sets. Balcon was knighted in 1948. On 10 April 1924, Balcon married Aileen Freda Leatherman (1904–1988), daughter of Max Jacobs and Beatrice Leatherman, whose families were Jewish immigrants from Poland. She

2160-514: The last of which, The Soldier's Story , was published in 2012. He was a regular contributor to The Spectator magazine. Forbes's 1960 screenplay, The Angry Silence , won a BAFTA award , and was nominated for an Oscar. Only Two Can Play won Best British Comedy Screenplay of the Writers Guild of Great Britain in 1962. Séance on a Wet Afternoon won a 1965 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Foreign Film and

2220-499: The late 1940s the brothers' uncle, Maurice Woolf, left £130,000 to a showgirl, Prudence Wise. John Woolf challenged the will and settled out of court. Sir John Woolf's son, Jonathan Woolf, revived Romulus Films as of 1999, producing the film Revelation (2001). In 2013, Romulus Films, Ltd. changed directions from film production to regenerative medicine, being involved in a $ 5 million stock and warrant purchase funding arrangement with BioTime Inc. In April 2021, Romulus signed

2280-630: The latter was known as 'Balcon's folly' for going well over budget. He also helped individuals escape Nazi Germany as persecution of Jewish citizens increased, including the actor Conrad Veidt , who had starred in his 1934 film Jew Suss . By 1936, Gaumont was looking for an entry into the American market. Balcon spent several months in the United States forming links with the big Hollywood studios. On his return, he found Gaumont in financial ruin and joined MGM-British Studios that November. The year and

2340-458: The life of the young Elton John and Bernie Taupin . Taking a full year to complete, the project gave a behind-the-scenes look at the writing and recording of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road . Besides footage of John's 1973 Hollywood Bowl concert, the film included interviews with John, Taupin, and band members, including Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray , as well as John's mother, Sheila, DJM label chief Dick James , and James's son, Stephen. (Some of

2400-461: The period, and featuring big stars." James Woolf's obituary in The Times stated that John "was the main financial brain and James primarily in charge of artistic policy." The first Romulus release was Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) with James Mason and Ava Gardner . The American director-producer Albert Lewin had begun to prepare the film for MGM, but James Woolf discovered on

2460-577: The studio became one of the most important British film studios of the day. In an industry short of Hollywood-style moguls, Balcon emerged as a key figure, and an obdurately British one too, in his benevolent, somewhat headmasterly approach to the running of a creative organization. He is known for his leadership, and his guidance of young Alfred Hitchcock . Balcon had earlier co-founded Gainsborough Pictures with Victor Saville in 1923, later working with Gaumont British , which absorbed their studio. Later still he worked with MGM-British . In 1956 he founded

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2520-549: The successful melodrama Woman to Woman , starring Clive Brook and Betty Compson , and directed by Graham Cutts . They leased Islington Studios and formed the more long-lasting Gainsborough Pictures . The studio, recently vacated by the Hollywood company Famous Players–Lasky (later Paramount Pictures ) was small but well equipped and fully staffed. A young Alfred Hitchcock was one of its employees. Balcon gave Hitchcock his first directing opportunity, and Gainsborough gained

2580-554: The two started a relationship, marrying in 1951. (He was twenty years older than she and already married when they met. He had two teenage sons, and a mistress.) Michael Balcon was deeply unhappy about the marriage, and became estranged from his daughter as a result. Day-Lewis later was appointed as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. They had two children together (Michael and Aileen's grandchildren): Tamasin Day-Lewis , who became

2640-483: The worldwide distribution of the films. In 1959, Balcon became chairman of Bryanston Films , a subsidiary of British Lion Films . The firm went bankrupt in 1963. Balcon took over British Lion Films. He was proud to be associated with the British New Wave ; the last film on which he worked as executive producer was Tom Jones (1963), after which he continued to encourage young directors, serving as chairman of

2700-565: Was knighted in 1948 for his services to the industry. In 1944, Ealing Studios was taken over by the Rank Organisation . In 1955 Rank sold the studio to the BBC . As a result, Balcon left Rank in 1956 and set up the production company Ealing Films, striking a distribution and production deal with MGM . Balcon's company would shoot films at MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood and MGM would handle

2760-470: Was 46 years old. Bryan Forbes later claimed the heart attack was brought on by an accidental overdose of painkillers. Gilbert had to pull out of the Oliver! project shortly before filming began because of his Paramount contract. John Woolf remembered The Fallen Idol (1948), which suggested to him that its director, Sir Carol Reed , had the requisite skills to work with children. John continued his career as

2820-481: Was a sadness about him at times because he had demons to fight, and in the end he died alone. In 2022, John Woolf was portrayed by Reece Shearsmith in the British-American film See How They Run . Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in west London from 1938 to 1956. Under his direction,

2880-500: Was also a trustee of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund. James was gay and was rumoured to be a lover of Laurence Harvey . John Woolf was married three times. His second wife was the actress Edana Romney . His third wife, Ann, was the daughter of director Victor Saville . She survived him. In 1999, the year of his death, John Woolf was estimated to be worth £40 million, through a combination of his films and shrewd investments. In

2940-424: Was an obsessional filmmaker, loving the wheeling and dealing, relishing the juggling with human talents that it involved, and taking pleasure in spotting youthful proteges and promoting their careers, thereby gaining a vicarious satisfaction from their success that was lacking in his own basically lonely nature. Filmmaker Bryan Forbes concurred: He was a midwife for talent and smacked many of us into life... He had

3000-620: Was born in Middlesex , but brought up in Johannesburg , South Africa. The couple enjoyed theatre and opera, loved travel (especially to Italy), and had a wide circle of friends. Lady Balcon was one of a series of society beauties photographed as classical figures by Madame Yevonde . They had two children: Jill (1925–2009), and Jonathan (1931–2012). In 1946, Aileen was appointed an MBE for her war work. Their daughter Jill Balcon became an actress. She met Anglo-Irish poet, Cecil Day-Lewis , and

3060-426: Was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1975, while working on The Slipper and the Rose ; he remained in remission, which he attributed to cutting out gluten and taking vitamins and oil of primrose, together with Newman's care. However, he revealed in a 2012 interview that it had been a misdiagnosis. He continued his acting, directing and screenwriting career into the early 1990s, and was still publishing novels in

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3120-687: Was evacuated during the Second World War to Porthleven in Cornwall to the vicar Canon Edward Thornton Gotto and his wife. A schoolfriend at West Ham was artist Albert Herbert . Lionel Gamlin of the BBC took him on as the host of Junior Brains Trust , and invented Clarke's pseudonym of Bryan Forbes. Forbes trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from age 17, but completed only three terms. He completed four years of military service in

3180-510: Was growing and diversifying. At first, Balcon was doubtful about 'The Lodger' but after a re-edit by Ivor Montagu , he became confident in the production. Balcon's independence had eroded and Gainsborough became an extension of the Gaumont Film Company . Still, between 1931 and 1936, Balcon produced a number of classics, including a string of Hitchcock successes, such as The 39 Steps and Man of Aran ; directed by Robert J. Flaherty

3240-537: Was later briefly issued on VHS . It was shown in the U.S. on ABC . Forbes returned to Hollywood to direct The Stepford Wives (1975), based on Ira Levin 's novel of the same name . The thriller about the backlash against the Women's Liberation Movement in the U.S., in which Newman had a supporting role, was to become Forbes's best-known film, partly because of the protests against it. Forbes clashed with screenwriter William Goldman over casting decisions and changes to

3300-456: Was marked by financial problems and failed projects, and he resigned in 1971. Forbes had full autonomy over the films he made as long as they were below a certain amount but later said "I lacked power in the one area where it really matters - distribution." Coinciding with his time at EMI Films, he resumed directorial work with The Raging Moon (1971), starring his wife, Nanette Newman , and Malcolm McDowell . In 1994 Forbes claimed of

3360-523: Was named after Balcon's grammar school. This character was later used in the long-running television drama Dixon of Dock Green . In his 1969 autobiography, Michael Balcon Presents… A Lifetime of Films , he wrote that his years at Ealing Studios were "the most rewarding years in my personal career, and perhaps one of the most fruitful periods in the history of British film production." Besides Hitchcock, Balcon worked with Basil Dearden , Michael Relph and many other significant figures of British film. He

3420-457: Was offered a three picture deal by Bernard Delfont who had just bought the film studio Associated British (soon to become EMI Films ). Forbes refused, criticising Associated British; he wrote Delfont a paper about the state of the studio and how it should be run. Delfont hired him to be managing director at £30,000 a year. Dennis Barker , in his obituary of Forbes for The Guardian , states, 'This amounted virtually to an attempt to revive

3480-538: Was proved wrong. From this John Huston film they gained international critical and financial success. Two further films directed by Huston followed, Moulin Rouge (1952) and Beat the Devil (1953), but were less successful. Romulus became one of the most significant English production companies of the time. They made several films with producer Daniel Angel and helped turn Laurence Harvey , whom they had under contract, into

3540-528: Was subsequently placed at George Dixon Grammar School, marking his notability as a film producer. He worked as a jeweller's apprentice, was turned down for service in the First World War because of defective eyesight, and joined the Dunlop Rubber Company 's huge plant at Aston Cross in 1915, rising to become personal assistant to the managing director. Balcon began his career in filmmaking during

3600-622: Was the sales manager of General Film Distributors until it was taken over by the Rank Organisation James worked for Columbia Pictures in the Hollywood publicity department. John Woolf served in World War II and was demobilised with the rank of major. When their father died in 1942, J. Arthur Rank became director of General Film Distributors. John returned from the Army as joint managing director. However, neither John or James enjoyed working for

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