MICHAEL POWELL (DIRECTOR)

'Michael Latham Powell' (September 30 1905 – February 19 1990) was a British film director, renowned for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger which produced a series of classic British films.
Powell was born in Bekesbourne, Kent, and educated at The King's School, Canterbury and then at Dulwich College. He started work with the National Provincial Bank in 1922 before becoming an actor and entering the film industry in 1925 through working with Rex Ingram in France (the contact with Ingram was made through Powell's father, who owned a hotel in Nice). He developed his skills directing 'quota quickies', sometimes making up to seven films a year. In 1939, he met Emeric Pressburger while they worked together on ''The Spy in Black''.
Working together as co-producers, writers and directors in a partnership they dubbed "The Archers", they made nineteen feature films, many of which received critical and commercial success. Their best films are still regarded as classics of 20th century British cinema.
Although admirers would argue that Powell ought to rank alongside fellow British directors Alfred Hitchcock and David Lean, his career suffered a severe reversal after the release of the controversial psychological thriller film ''Peeping Tom'', made in 1960 as a solo effort. The film was excoriated by British critics, who were offended by its sexual and violent images; Powell was ostracized by the film industry and found it almost impossible to work thereafter. However, his reputation was restored over the years, and by the time of his death, he and Pressburger were recognised as one of the foremost film partnerships of all time - and cited as a key influence by many noted filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.

Contents

Family and marriages

Filmography

Early work

Other films

Non-directorial

Other works

Books

Theatre

Awards, nominations and honours

Legacy

References

Literature

External links

Family and marriages

Powell was the second son and younger child of Thomas William Powell, a hop farmer, and Mabel, daughter of Frederick Corbett, of Worcester.
In 1927 Powell married Gloria Mary Rouger, an American dancer; they were married in France and stayed together for only three weeks. Powell was married to Frances ('Frankie') May Reidy, the daughter of medical practitioner Jerome Reidy, from July 1 1943 until her death on July 5 1983; they had two sons: Kevin Michael Powell (b. 1945) and Columba Jerome Reidy Powell (b. 1951).
Subsequently, he was married to Thelma Schoonmaker from May 19 1984 until his own death from cancer at his home in Avening, Gloucestershire. He also lived with actress Pamela Brown for many years.

Filmography

:''For his films with Emeric Pressburger, see Powell and Pressburger and ''

Early work

Many of his early films are disparagingly referred to as 'quota quickies'. Not all of them were, and the ones that were are often of a much higher standard than most other quota films. Some of his early films are now missing and are believed lost. But those that have survived often show some very sophisticated techniques and early versions of ideas that were reused, done better, in his later films.

★ 1928: ''Riviera Revels'' (co-director)

★ 1930: ''Caste'' (uncredited)
★

★ 1931: ''Two Crowded Hours''
★

★ 1932: ''His Lordship''
★

★ 1932: ''C.O.D.''
★

★ 1932: ''Hotel Splendide''

★ 1932: ''The Star Reporter''
★

★ 1932: ''Rynox''

★ 1932: ''The Rasp''
★

★ 1932: ''My Friend the King''
★

★ 1933: ''Born Lucky''
★

★ 1934: ''Something Always Happens''

★ 1934: ''Red Ensign'' (US title: ''Strike!'')

★ 1934: ''The Fire Raisers''

★ 1935: ''Some Day'' (aka ''Young Nowheres'')
★

★ 1935: ''The Price of a Song''
★

★ 1935: ''The Phantom Light''

★ 1935: ''The Night of the Party'' (US title: ''The Murder Party'')

★ 1935: ''The Love Test''

★ 1935: ''Lazybones''

★ 1935: ''The Girl in the Crowd''
★

★ 1936: ''The Man Behind the Mask'' (reissued as ''Behind the Mask'')

★ 1936: ''Crown Vs. Stevens'' (aka ''Third Time Unlucky'')

★ 1936: ''The Brown Wallet''
★

★ 1936: ''Her Last Affaire''
Those marked with a
★ are "Missing, believed lost"

Other films

From late 1930s onwards, most of Powell's films were in collaboration with Pressburger; his solo films were:

★ ''The Edge of the World'' (1937)

★ ''Smith'' (1939)

★ ''The Lion Has Wings'' (1939) RAF documentary footage with some fictional intercuts

★ ''The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940) co-director

★ ''An Airman's Letter to His Mother'' (1941) a 5-minute short

★ ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' (1955) a short ballet

★ ''Luna de miel'' (1959, aka ''Honeymoon'')

★ ''Peeping Tom'' (1960)

★ ''The Queen's Guards'' (1961)

★ ''Herzog Blaubarts Burg'' (1964) aka ''Bluebeard's Castle''

★ ''They're a Weird Mob'' (1966) Pressburger helped on script as ''Richard Imrie''

★ ''Age of Consent'' (1969)

★ ''Return to the Edge of the World'' (1978) for British TV, framing of the original 1937 film
Powell also directed episodes of the TV series ''The Defenders'', ''Espionage'' and ''The Nurses''.

Non-directorial

Powell was also involved in the following films in a non-directorial role:

★ ''Sebastian'' (1968) - Producer

★ ''Anna Pavlova'' (1983) - Associate Producer

Other works

Books

★ 1938: ''200,000 feet on Foula'' - the story of the making of ''The Edge of the World''

★ 1956: ''The Last Voyage of the Graf Spee'' - includes a lot of information that they couldn't fit in the film ''The Battle of the River Plate''. ISBN 0-7274-0256-0

★ 1975: ''A Waiting Game''. ISBN 0-7181-1368-3

★ 1978: ''The Red Shoes''. ISBN 0-8044-2687-2 (pbk), ISBN 0-312-14034-7, ISBN 0-312-15637-5 (pbk)

★ 1986: ''A Life In Movies'' - autobiography (Part I). ISBN 0-434-59945-X, ISBN 0-413-16510-8 (pbk), ISBN 0-394-55935-5, ISBN 0-7493-1177-0, ISBN 0-571-20431-7 (pbk)

★ 1990: ''The Edge of the World'' - updated reprint of ''200,000 feet on Foula''. ISBN 0-571-15306-2

★ 1992: ''Million Dollar Movie'' - autobiography (Part II). ISBN 0-434-59947-6, ISBN 0-679-43443-7

★ 1994: ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp''- Includes memos from Churchill and notes showing how the script developed. ISBN 0-571-14355-5

Theatre

★ 1944: Directed Jan de Hartog's ''Skipper Next To God'' at the Theatre Royal, Windsor

★ 1944: Directed Ernest Hemingway's ''The Fifth Column'' at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow

★ 1951: Directed James Forsyth's ''Heloise'' at the Golders Green Theatre, London

Awards, nominations and honours

★ 1943: Oscar nominated for ''49th Parallel'' as Best Picture

★ 1943: Oscar nominated for ''One of Our Aircraft is Missing'' for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. Shared with Emeric Pressburger

★ 1949: Oscar nominated for ''The Red Shoes'' as Best Picture. Shared with Emeric Pressburger

★ 1978: Awarded Hon DLitt, University of East Anglia

★ 1978: Awarded Hon DLitt, University of Kent

★ 1981: Made fellow of BAFTA

★ 1983: Made fellow of the British Film Institute (BFI)

★ 1987: Awarded Hon Doctorate, Royal College of Art

Legacy

★ Cited as a major influence on many film-makers such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George A. Romero and Bertrand Tavernier ^[1].

★ The 'Michael Powell Award' for the Best New British Feature was instigated in 1993 at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and is sponsored by the UK Film Council and is "named in homage to one of Britain's most original filmmakers". [1]

References

1. Famous Fans of Powell & Pressburger

Literature

★ ''Powell, Pressburger and Others'' by Ian Christie, London: British Film Institute, 1978.

★ ''Arrows of Desire: The Films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger'' by Ian Christie. London: Waterstone, 1985. ISBN 0-947752-13-7, ISBN 0-571-16271-1

★ ''Michael Powell y Emeric Pressburger'' by Llorenç Esteve. Spain, Catedra, 2002.

★ ''Michael Powell: Interviews'' edited by David Lazar. University Press of Mississippi, 2003. ISBN 1-57806-498-8

★ ''Powell and Pressburger: A Cinema of Magic Spaces'' by Andrew Moor. I.B. Tauris, 2005. ISBN 1-85043-947-8

★ ''The Cinema of Michael Powell: International Perspectives on an English Filmmaker'' edited by Ian Christie and Andrew Moor. BFI, 2005. ISBN 1-84457-093-2, ISBN 1-84457-094-0 (pbk)

External links

★ Michael Powell at the Powell & Pressburger Pages.

★

★

★ Essay, Filmography, Bibliography, Links at ''Senses of Cinema''

★ BFI Filmography

★ NFT interviews (audio clips)

★ Articles about :

★
★ early work

★
★ sense of landscape

★
★ work with Pressburger

★
★ classic Powell & Pressburger

★
★ the war years

★
★ later years