Lewis Gilbert | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1920-03-06)6 March 1920 London, England |
| Died | 23 February 2018(2018-02-23) (aged 97) |
| Occupations | Film director, producer and screenwriter |
| Years active | 1925–2002 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Lewis GilbertCBE (6 March 1920 – 23 February 2018) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter who directed more than 40 films during six decades; among them such varied titles asCast a Dark Shadow (1955),Reach for the Sky (1956),Carve Her Name with Pride (1958),Sink the Bismarck! (1960),Alfie (1966),Educating Rita (1983) andShirley Valentine (1989), as well as three James Bond films:You Only Live Twice (1967),The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)[1] andMoonraker (1979).
Lewis Gilbert was born asLouis Laurie Isaacs inClapton, London,[2] to a second-generation family ofmusic hall performers,[3] and spent his early years travelling with his parents, Ada (Griver), who was ofJewish descent,[4] and George Gilbert, and watching the shows from the wings.[5] He first performed on stage at the age of five, when asked to drive a trick car around the stage. This pleased the audience, so this became the finale of his parents' act. When travelling on trains, his parents frequently hid him in the luggage rack, to avoid paying a fare for him. His father contractedtuberculosis as a young man and died aged 34, when Gilbert was seven.
Gilbert was a child actor in the 1920s and 1930s, but soon after the death of his father, his mother was unable to financially support him, while she was a film extra, and this led to Gilbert being taken in by his aunt Daisy Gilbert, with frequent visits from his mother.
Daisy Gilbert was a known Vaudeville performer in the duo "The Dancing Gilbert Sisters", who performed at venues such as the Hackney Empire, and Tivoli in Australia. And it was Daisy Gilbert's husband Harry Rosen, who was a known retailer at the time, who helped Gilbert financially when he wanted to become a film director in the early stages of his career.
During this time Gilbert had many difficulties with his formal education, but In 1933, at the age of 13, he had a role inVictor Hanbury andJohn Stafford'sDick Turpin, and at age 17 a small uncredited role inThe Divorce of Lady X (1938) oppositeLaurence Olivier.
It was Daisy Gilbert, who helped him to get the role inThe Divorce of Lady X, with the intention that Gilbert would be credited for it.
LaterAlexander Korda offered to send him toRADA, but Gilbert chose to study direction instead, assistingAlfred Hitchcock'sJamaica Inn (1939).[3]
When theSecond World War started, he joined theRoyal Air Force'sfilm unit, where he worked on various documentary films. He was eventually seconded to theFirst Motion Picture Unit of theU.S. Army Air Forces, where his commanding officer wasWilliam Keighley, an American film director, who allowed Gilbert to take on much of his film-making work.
After the war, he continued to write and direct documentary shorts forGaumont British, before entering low budget feature film production.[3] Gilbert made his name as a director in the 1950s and 1960s with a series of successful films, often working as the film's writer and producer as well. These films were often based on true stories from the Second World War. Examples includeReach for the Sky (1956) (based on the life of air aceDouglas Bader),Carve Her Name with Pride (1958) (the story ofSOE agentViolette Szabo) andSink the Bismarck! (1960).[6] He had a huge flop withFerry to Hong Kong.[7]
Gilbert directedAlfie (1966)[8] starringMichael Caine. Gilbert's wife Hylda discovered the play byBill Naughton when she visited the hair salon and sat next to an actress who was in a production. Upon seeing the play, Hylda urged Gilbert to make it into a film. Gilbert used the technique of having the lead character speak directly to the viewer, a technique he later also used inShirley Valentine (1989). Gilbert saidAlfie was only made because the low budget was "the sort of money Paramount executives normally spend on cigar bills".[9] The film won the Jury Special Prize at theCannes Film Festival, and was nominated for fiveAcademy Awards including Best Picture.[10] Gilbert was also nominated for aGolden Globe for Best Director.
In 1967, Gilbert was chosen to directLionel Bart's musical version ofOliver!, but he was already contracted to another project and had to pull out; he recommendedCarol Reed, who took over.[3] "It was the lowest point in my life," said Gilbert. "I'd developedOliver! withLionel Bart. I had to doThe Adventurers instead... While doing this film, I signed to doThe Godfather. Because of their financial problems, Paramount could only find $2m to make it. I said it needed $7m". So, instead, Gilbert madeFriends (1971 movie).[11]
Although known for character dramas, Gilbert directed three of theJames Bond films. After some reluctance, he was persuaded byHarry Saltzman andAlbert R. Broccoli to directYou Only Live Twice (1967).[12][13] He turned down the opportunity to directOn Her Majesty's Secret Service.[14] Gilbert returned to the series in the 1970s to makeThe Spy Who Loved Me (1977)[1] andMoonraker (1979).[15] After the high production costs ofMoonraker and the financial failure ofMichael Cimino'sHeaven's Gate,United Artists was unable to afford to hire him to direct the next Bond filmFor Your Eyes Only.[14]
In the 1980s, he returned to more small-scale dramas with film versions ofWilly Russell's playsEducating Rita (1983)[16][17] andShirley Valentine (1989).[18][19] Gilbert also directed the filmStepping Out (1991).[20][21]
Gilbert was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the1997 Birthday Honours for services to the film industry.[22] In 2001, Gilbert was made aFellow of the British Film Institute, the highest accolade in the British film industry.[3]
In June 2010, he appeared on theBBC Radio 4 programmeDesert Island Discs. In it, he said that his 1970 filmThe Adventurers was a disaster, and that he should never have made it. On working withOrson Welles onFerry to Hong Kong, he said that it was: "dreadful, it was my nightmare film. It was a dreadful film, and everything was wrong with it; principally him [Welles]." He also said that his biggest mistake was failing to direct the film version of the musicalOliver!. Its composerLionel Bart had assured Gilbert that nobody else would do the film, but Gilbert was contractually committed to Paramount to make a film (that he has since refused to name), which caused him to withdraw from the project.
Gilbert was married to Hylda Tafler for 53 years, until her death in June 2005. They had a son, Stephen, and raised another, John, hers from a prior relationship.[23]
All My Flashbacks: The Autobiography of Lewis Gilbert, Sixty Years a Film Director was published by Reynolds & Hearn in 2010.[24]
Gilbert died at his home in Monaco on 23 February 2018; 11 days before his 98th birthday.[25][26]
| Year | Film | Director | Producer | Screenwriter | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | The Ten Year Plan | Yes | Yes | documentary about the building of pre-fabricated houses[27] | |
| 1946 | Arctic Harvest | Yes | documentary about cod-fishing in the Arctic and the production of cod liver oil[28] | ||
| 1947 | World Economic Geography: Fishing Grounds of the World | Yes | also known asSailors Do Care, documentary about the British and international fishing industry[29] | ||
| 1948 | The Little Ballerina | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1949 | Under One Roof | Yes | UN-sponsored documentary about the students from different countries who attend Loughborough Engineering College[30] | ||
| Marry Me! | Yes | ||||
| 1950 | Once a Sinner | Yes | |||
| 1951 | There Is Another Sun | Yes | |||
| Scarlet Thread | Yes | ||||
| 1952 | Emergency Call | Yes | Yes | ||
| Time Gentlemen, Please! | Yes | ||||
| 1953 | Cosh Boy | Yes | Yes | ||
| Johnny on the Run | Yes | Yes | |||
| Albert R.N. | Yes | ||||
| 1954 | The Good Die Young | Yes | Yes | ||
| The Sea Shall Not Have Them | Yes | Yes | |||
| 1955 | Cast a Dark Shadow | Yes | |||
| 1956 | Reach for the Sky | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1957 | The Admirable Crichton | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1958 | Carve Her Name with Pride | Yes | Yes | ||
| A Cry from the Streets | Yes | ||||
| 1959 | Ferry to Hong Kong | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1960 | Light Up the Sky! | Yes | Yes | ||
| Sink the Bismarck! | Yes | ||||
| 1961 | The Greengage Summer | Yes | |||
| 1962 | H.M.S. Defiant | Yes | |||
| 1964 | The 7th Dawn | Yes | |||
| 1966 | Alfie | Yes | Yes | Jury Prize at theCannes Film Festival | |
| 1967 | You Only Live Twice | Yes | |||
| 1970 | The Adventurers | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1971 | Friends | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1974 | Paul and Michelle | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1975 | Operation Daybreak | Yes | |||
| 1976 | Seven Nights in Japan | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1977 | The Spy Who Loved Me | Yes | |||
| 1979 | Moonraker | Yes | |||
| 1983 | Educating Rita | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1985 | Not Quite Paradise | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1989 | Shirley Valentine | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1991 | Stepping Out | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1995 | Haunted | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2002 | Before You Go | Yes |
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