Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was a British film director, renowned for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger which produced a series of classic British films under the aegis of 'The Archers'. Download high resolution version (536x864, 81 KB)Film-maker Michael Powell This work is copyrighted. ... is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1905 (disambiguation). ... Bekesbourne is a village, within the civil parish of Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne, near Canterbury in Kent, South East England. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... [[Media:Italic text]]{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Avening is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about three miles north of Tetbury. ... Gloucestershire (pronounced ; GLOSS-ter-sher) is a county in South West England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... // The Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material. ... One of our Aircraft is Missing (1942) is a film by the British-based director-writer team of Powell & Pressburger. ... ©A.M.P.A.S.® The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to artists working in the motion picture industry. ... The 49th parallel of north latitude forms part of the International Boundary between Canada and the United States from Manitoba to British Columbia on the Canadian side and from Minnesota to Washington on the U.S. side. ... Helpmann, Shearer and Massine in The Red Shoes. ... BAFTA Award The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ... 1967 - A Man for All Seasons - Robert Bolt Accident – Harold Pinter The Deadly Affair – Paul Dehn Two for the Road – Frederic Raphael 1966 - Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment - David Mercer Alfie – Bill Naughton It Happened Here – Kevin Brownlow Andrew Mollo The Quiller Memorandum – Harold Pinter 1965 - Darling - Frederic Raphael... The Battle of the River Plate is a 1956 film by the British-based director-writer team of Powell & Pressburger. ... is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1905 (disambiguation). ... [[Media:Italic text]]{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Director Herbert Brenon with actress Alla Nazimova on the set of War Brides, 1916 A director is a person who directs the making of a film. ... Emeric Pressburger in Paris. ... Powell and Pressburger were a British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers. ...

Early life

Powell was the second son and younger child of Thomas William Powell, a hop farmer, and Mabel, daughter of Frederick Corbett, of Worcester. 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 but quickly realised he wasn't cut out to be a banker. Hop umbel (branched floral structure resembling nested-inverted umbrellas) in a Hallertau hop yard Hops are a flower used primarily as a flavouring and stability agent in beer, as well as in herbal medicine. ... This article is about the city of Worcester in England. ... Bekesbourne is a village, within the civil parish of Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne, near Canterbury in Kent, South East England. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... The Kings School is a British independent school situated in Canterbury, Kent. ... Dulwich New College buildings. ...

Film career

Powell entered the film industry in 1925 through working with director Rex Ingram working at the Victorine Studios in France (the contact with Ingram was made through Powell's father, who owned a hotel in Nice). He first started out as a general studio hand, the proverbial "gofer": sweeping the floor, making coffee, fetching and carrying. Soon he progressed to other work such as stills photography, writing titles (for the silent films) and many other jobs including a few acting roles, usually as comic characters. Powell made his film debut as a "comic English tourist" in Mare Nostrum (1926). Rex Ingram Rex Ingram (January 12, 1893 – July 21, 1950) was a film director, producer, writer and actor. ... This article is about the French city. ...

Returning to England in 1928, Powell worked at a diverse series of jobs for various filmmakers including as a stills photographer on Alfred Hitchcock's silent film Champagne (1928). He also signed on in a similar role on Hitchcock's first "talkie", Blackmail (1929). In his autobiography, Powell claims he suggested the ending in the British Museum which was that first of Hitchcock's "monumental" climaxes to his films.^[1] Powell and Hitchcock remained friends for the remainder of Hitchcock's life.^[2] Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 â€“ April 29, 1980) was an iconic and highly influential British-born film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... Champagne is a 1928 silent film by film director Alfred Hitchcock, based on an original story by English writer and critic Walter C. Mycroft. ... Blackmail (1929) was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and stars Anny Ondra, John Longden, and Cyril Ritchard, and based on the play Blackmail by Charles Bennett. ...

After scriptwriting on two productions, Powell entered into a partnership with American producer Jerry Jackson in 1931 to make "quota quickies," Powell began to direct hour-long films needed to satisfy a legal requirement that British cinemas screen a certain quota of British movies. During this period, he developed his directing skills sometimes making up to seven films a year.^[3] The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. ...

Although he had taken on some directing responsibilities in other films. Powell had his first screen credit as a director on Two Crowded Hours (1931), a thriller, considered a modest success at the box office, despite its limited budget.^[3]From 1931 to 1936, Powell was the director on 23 films, including the critically received Red Ensign (1934) and The Phantom Light (1935).^[3] Red Ensign (1934) is an early work by noted British film-maker Michael Powell. ...

By 1939, Powell had been hired as a contract director by Alexander Korda on the strength of The Edge of the World. Korda set him to work on some projects like Burmese Silver that were subsequently cancelled.^[1] Nonetheless, Powell was brought in to save a film that was being made as a vehicle for two of Korda's star players, Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson. The film was The Spy in Black where Powell first met Emeric Pressburger. Sir Alexander Korda (September 16, 1893 - January 23, 1956) was a film director and producer, a leading figure in the British film industry and the founder of London Films. ... MacGinnis, Chrystall and Berry in The Edge of the World. ... Conrad Veidt in The Spy in Black (1939). ... Valerie Hobson (April 14, 1917 – November 13, 1998) was a British actress, who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s. ... Conrad Veidt in The Spy in Black. ... Emeric Pressburger in Paris. ...

Meeting Emeric Pressburger

The original script of The Spy in Black followed the book quite closely, but was too wordy and didn't have a very good part for either Veidt or Hobson. Korda called a meeting where he introduced a diminutive man saying, "Well now, I have asked Emeric to read the script, and he has things to say to us."^[1]

Powell then went on to record (in A Life in Movies) how:

"Emeric produced a very small piece of rolled-up paper, and addressed the meeting. I listened spellbound. Since talkies took over the movies, I had worked with some good writers, but I had never met anything like this. In the silent days, the top [American] screenwriters were technicians rather than dramatists[, but]... the European cinema remained highly literate and each country, conscious of its separate culture and literature, strove to outdo the other[s]. All this was changed by the talkies. America, with its enormous wealth and enthusiasm and it technical resources, waved the big stick. ... The European film no longer existed[,]... [except for]...the great German film business ... and Dr. Goebbels soon put a stop to that in 1933. But the day that Emeric walked out of his flat, leaving the key in the door to save the stormtroopers the trouble of breaking it down, was the worst day's work that the clever doctor ever did for his country's reputation, as he was soon to find out. As I said, I listened spellbound to this small Hungarian wizard, as Emeric unfolded his notes, until they were at least six inches long. He had stood Storer Clouston's plot on its head and completely restructured the film."^[1]

They both soon recognised that although they were total opposites in background and personality, they had a common attitude to film-making and that they could work very well together. After making two more films together (Contraband (1940) and 49th Parallel) with separate credits, the pair decided to form a partnership and to sign their films jointly as "Written, Produced and Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger."^[1] Contraband (1940) is a film by the British-based director-writer team of Powell & Pressburger. ... The 49th parallel of north latitude forms part of the International Boundary between Canada and the United States from Manitoba to British Columbia on the Canadian side and from Minnesota to Washington on the U.S. side. ...

The Archers

Working together as co-producers, writers and directors in a partnership they dubbed "The Archers", they made 19 feature films, many of which received critical and commercial success. Their best films are still regarded as classics of 20th century British cinema.^[4] Powell and Pressburger were a British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers. ...

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. Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 â€“ April 29, 1980) was an iconic and highly influential British-born film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... Sir David Lean KBE (March 25, 1908 – April 16, 1991) was an Academy Award-winning English film director and producer, best remembered for big-screen epics such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India. ... Thriller films are movies that primarily use action and suspense to engage the audience. ... Peeping Tom is a 1960 psychological thriller film by the British film director Michael Powell. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (b. ... Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a five-time Academy Award winning American film director, producer, and screenwriter. ...

Family life

In 1927 Powell married Gloria Mary Rouger, an American dancer; they were married in France and stayed together for only three weeks. From 1 July 1943 until her death on 5 July 1983, Powell was married to Frances "Frankie" May Reidy, the daughter of medical practitioner Jerome Reidy; they had two sons: Kevin Michael Powell (b. 1945) and Columba Jerome Reidy Powell (b. 1951). is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ...

Subsequently, Powell was married to Thelma Schoonmaker from 19 May 1984 until his own death from cancer at his home in Avening, Gloucestershire. He also lived with actress Pamela Brown for many years until her death from cancer in 1975. Thelma Schoonmaker (born January 3, 1940) is an American Academy Award-winning film editor who has worked with director Martin Scorsese for over thirty-five years. ... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Avening is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about three miles north of Tetbury. ... Gloucestershire (pronounced ; GLOSS-ter-sher) is a county in South West England. ...

Filmography

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

Powell and Pressburger were a British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers. ...

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" Something Always Happens is a 1934 British film directed by Michael Powell. ... Red Ensign (1934) is an early work by noted British film-maker Michael Powell. ...

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. MacGinnis, Chrystall and Berry in The Edge of the World. ... The Lion Has Wings (1939) is a documentary style British propaganda film. ... This is about the 1940 film starring Sabu. ... An Airmans Letter to His Mother (1941) is a documentary style British propaganda short. ... Peeping Tom is a 1960 psychological thriller film by the British film director Michael Powell. ... Theyre a Weird Mob is a classic and very popular Australian novel published in 1957, and a 1966 film based on the book. ... Age of Consent (1969) is the penultimate feature film directed by British film-maker Michael Powell. ... MacGinnis, Chrystall and Berry in The Edge of the World. ... The Defenders was an American television series, a courtroom drama which ran on CBS from 1961-1964. ...

Non-directorial

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

• The Silver Fleet (1943) - Producer
• The End of the River (1947) - Producer
• Sebastian (1968) - Producer
• Anna Pavlova (1983) - Associate Producer

Esmond Knight in The Silver Fleet. ... The End of the River (1947) is a British film about a South American Indian boy who leaves the jungle to the city, where he is accused of murder. ... Sebastian is a 1968 colour film by director David Greene and producers Michael Powell, Herbert Brodkin and Gerry Fisher, starring Dirk Bogarde as an Oxford don turned cryptographer, Susannah York as a member of his decoding team and John Gielgud as the Head of Intelligence. ...

Other works

Books by Michael Powell

• 1938: 200,000 Feet on Foula. London: Faber & Faber. (The story of the making of The Edge of the World was also reprinted as 200,000 Feet - The Edge of the World in the United States.)
• 1956: Graf Spee. London: Hodder & Stoughton. (This book contains much information that Powell and Pressburger could not include in their film The Battle of the River Plate.)
• 1957: Death in the South Atlantic: The Last Voyage of the Graf Spee. New York: Rinehart. (American edition of Graf Spee)
• 1975: A Waiting Game. London: Joseph. ISBN 0-718-11368-3.
• 1976: The Last Voyage of the Graf Spee. London: White Lion Publishers. ISBN 0-727-40256-0. (Second British edition of Graf Spee)
• 1978: (with Pressburger, Emeric) The Red Shoes. London: Avon Books. ISBN 0-804-42687-2.
• 1986: A Life In Movies: An Autobiography. London: Heinemann. ISBN 0-434-59945-X.
• 1990: Edge of the World. London: Faber & Faber. ISBN 0-571-15306-2. (This book is a paperback edition of 200,000 feet on Foula.)
• 1992: Million Dollar Movie London: Heinemann. ISBN 0-434-59947-6. (This is the second part of Powell's autobiography.)
• 1994: (with Pressburger, Emeric and Christie, Ian) The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. London: Faber & Faber. ISBN 0-571-14355-5. (This book includes memos from Churchill and notes showing how the script developed.)

Many of these titles were also published in other countries or republished. The list above deals with initial publications except where the name was changed in a subsequent edition or printing. Foula (Fugløy fowl island) is Great Britain’s most remote permanently inhabited island, being one of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, and owned since the turn of the 20th century by the Holbourn family. ... MacGinnis, Chrystall and Berry in The Edge of the World. ... The Battle of the River Plate is a 1956 film by the British-based director-writer team of Powell & Pressburger. ...

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

Dutch playwright, novelist and occasional social critic, Jan de Hartogs historical memorial The Hospital (1964), which exposed the horrid conditions of Houstons charity hospital in the 1960s, led to significant reforms of that citys indigent healthcare system. ... Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 — July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... , Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. ...

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
• 1948: Won Danish Bodil Award for A Matter of Life and Death as Best European Film. Shared with Emeric Pressburger
• 1948 Nominated for The Red Shoes for Venice Film Festival Golden Lion. Shared with Emeric Pressburger
• 1949: Oscar nominated for The Red Shoes as Best Picture. Shared with Emeric Pressburger
• 1951: Cannes Film Festival nominated for The Tales of Hoffmann for Grand Prize of the Festival. Shared with Emeric Pressburger
• 1951: Won Silver Berlin Bear from Berlin International Film Festival for The Tales of Hoffmann as Best Musical. Shared with Emeric Pressburger
• 1957: BAFTA Award nominated for The Battle of the River Plate as Best British Screenplay. Shared with Emeric Pressburger.
• 1959: Cannes Film Festival nominated for Luna de miel for Golden Palm.
• 1978: Awarded Hon DLitt, University of East Anglia
• 1978: Awarded Hon DLitt, University of Kent
• 1981: Made fellow of BAFTA
• 1982: Awarded Career Gold Lion from the Venice Film Festival
• 1983: Made fellow of the British Film Institute (BFI)
• 1987: Awarded Hon Doctorate, Royal College of Art
• 1987: Awarded Akira Kurosawa Award from San Francisco International Film Festival

Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... The 49th parallel of north latitude forms part of the International Boundary between Canada and the United States from Manitoba to British Columbia on the Canadian side and from Minnesota to Washington on the U.S. side. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... One of our Aircraft is Missing (1942) is a film by the British-based director-writer team of Powell & Pressburger. ... Emeric Pressburger in Paris. ... Bomber pilot Peter Carter (David Niven), washed up on a strange beach. ... Emeric Pressburger in Paris. ... Helpmann, Shearer and Massine in The Red Shoes. ... The Venice Film Festival ( ) is the oldest film festival in the world. ... Emeric Pressburger in Paris. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Helpmann, Shearer and Massine in The Red Shoes. ... Emeric Pressburger in Paris. ... The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival de Cannes), founded in 1939, is one of the worlds oldest, most influential and prestigious film festivals. ... This article is about the film. ... Emeric Pressburger in Paris. ... One of the A festivals in Europe. ... This article is about the film. ... Emeric Pressburger in Paris. ... The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organization that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ... The Battle of the River Plate (13 December 1939) was the first major naval battle of World War II. The German pocket battleship (heavy cruiser) Admiral Graf Spee which had sunk several merchant ships was engaged by three Royal Navy cruisers, ultimately leading to the Graf Spee entering neutral Montevideo... Emeric Pressburger in Paris. ... The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival de Cannes), founded in 1939, is one of the worlds oldest, most influential and prestigious film festivals. ... Doctor of Letters (Latin: Litterarum doctor; D.Litt. ... UEA redirects here. ... Doctor of Letters (Latin: Litterarum doctor; D.Litt. ... Affiliations University Alliance Association of Commonwealth Universities European University Association Website http://www. ... BAFTA Award The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ... The Venice Film Festival ( ) is the oldest film festival in the world. ... The British Film Institute (BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and... The Darwin Building at Kensington Gore The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a university in London, England. ... The San Francisco International Film Festival held in March 1957 in San Francisco was the first North American Film Festival. ...

Legacy

• Cited as a major influence on many film-makers such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George A. Romero and Bertrand Tavernier.^[5]
• 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".^[6]

Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (b. ... Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a five-time Academy Award winning American film director, producer, and screenwriter. ... George Andrew Romero (born February 4, 1940) is an American director, writer, editor and actor. ... Bertrand Tavernier (b. ... The Edinburgh International Film Festival or EIFF has moved date and will now take place in June. ... The UK Film Council (UKFC) was set up in 2000 by the Labour Government as an agency to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It is constituted as a private company limited by guarantee governed by a board of 15 directors and is funded through sources including...

References

Notes

In 1999 the British Film Institute surveyed 1000 people from the world of UK film and television to produce the BFI 100 list of the greatest British films of the 20th century. ...

Bibliography

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Michael Powell (director)

• Michael Powell at the Powell & Pressburger Pages.
• Michael Powell at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Powell at Allmovie
• Essay, Filmography, Bibliography, Links at Senses of Cinema
• BFI Filmography
• NFT interviews (audio clips)
• Articles about Michael Powell at the British Film Institute's Screenonline:
  • early work
  • sense of landscape
  • work with Pressburger
  • classic Powell & Pressburger
  • the war years
  • later years
• Michael Powell biography on BritMovie.co.uk
• Michael Powell linked filmography on BritMovie.co.uk
• Michael Powell on Britmovie.net