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John Gervase Dighton[1] (8 December 1909[1] – 16 April 1989) was a Britishplaywright andscreenwriter.
Dighton was born in London to Basil Lewis Dighton, ofWest Kensington, an antiques dealer, author and poet, and his wife Beatrice Mary (née Franks).[2][3] He was educated atCharterhouse School andCaius College, Cambridge.[2]
His output during the 1940s included the last starring features of comedianWill Hay, and severalGeorge Formby films as well as the 1947 adaptation ofCharles Dickens'Nicholas Nickleby, and the 1943 war movieUndercover starringJohn Clements andMichael Wilding.
In 1947, Dighton wrote his first play for the theatre,The Happiest Days of Your Life, which ran in theWest End for more than 600 performances in 1948 and 1949.[4] ForEaling Studios, he collaborated on the screenplays of such comedies asKind Hearts and Coronets (1949) andThe Man in the White Suit (1952), sharing anAcademy Award nomination for the latter. He gained a second nomination for the American-financedRoman Holiday (1953).
Two of his stage plays,The Happiest Days of Your Life andWho Goes There! (known asThe Passionate Sentry in the USA), were successfully adapted for the screen by Dighton himself, the former in collaboration withFrank Launder. He also wrote the 1955 comedy playMan Alive! that transferred to the West End the following year withRobertson Hare in the lead. He adapted the playSummer of the Seventeenth Doll.[5]
His final screen credit was his adaptation ofShaw'sThe Devil's Disciple, written in collaboration withRoland Kibbee.
Dighton married Kathleen Marie Philipps in 1934.[2]
