Michael Relph | |
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| Born | Michael Leighton George Relph (1915-02-16)16 February 1915 Broadstone, Dorset, England |
| Died | 30 September 2004(2004-09-30) (aged 89) Selsey, West Sussex, England |
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Michael Leighton George Relph[1] (16 February 1915 – 30 September 2004) was an Englishfilm producer,art director,screenwriter andfilm director.[2][3] He was the son of actorGeorge Relph.[4]
Relph began his film career in 1933 as an assistantart director underAlfred Junge atGaumont British then headed byMichael Balcon. In 1942,Relph began work atEaling as chief art director, where his designs included the influential 1945 supernatural anthologyDead of Night.[citation needed]
He worked mainly onBasil Dearden's films, and in 1949 was nominated for anAcademy Award forart direction for his work on theStewart Granger vehicleSaraband for Dead Lovers (1948).[5]
Michael Relph also designed for the theatre, particularly the West End in the 1940s, includingThe Doctor's Dilemma,A Month in the Country, andThe Man Who Came to Dinner.
Relph is largely known as a film producer. He served as associate producer on the Ealing comedyKind Hearts and Coronets (1949); and had a significant 20-year partnership withBasil Dearden beginning in 1949 and ending with Dearden's death in 1971.[6] Their work included a series ofsocial problem films examining issues such as racism (Pool of London andSapphire), juvenile delinquency (Violent Playground), homosexuality (Victim), and religious intolerance (Life for Ruth).[7][8] Relph believed that because film was "genuinely a mass medium," it therefore had "social and educative responsibilities as well as artistic ones."[9]
In their review ofLife For Ruth,The New York Times wrote, "in avoiding blatant bias, mawkish sentimentality and theatrical flamboyance, it makes a statement that is dramatic, powerful and provocative."[10]
Relph also directed some movies. It has been argued he was not as skilled a director as a producer.[11]
From 1972 to 1979, Relph was chairman of theBritish Film Institute's Production Board.[12]Simultaneously he was the Chairman of the Film Production Association of Great Britain, and went on to be Head of Production forBoyd's Company in the 1980s, where he helped foster the emerging talents ofDerek Jarman (The Tempest) andJulien Temple (The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle).[1]
His son,Simon Relph, was also a film producer and former chairman ofBAFTA.[4] His daughter,Emma Relph, had several parts on television and in the films as an actress during the 1980s.[13] His stepsonMark Law is a former Fleet Street journalist[14] and author ofThe Pyjama Game, A Journey Into Judo.
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | I Believe in You | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1955 | Out of the Clouds | No | Yes | Yes |
| The Ship That Died of Shame | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 1957 | Rockets Galore! | Yes | No | No |
| Davy | Yes | No | No | |
| 1959 | Desert Mice | Yes | No | Yes |
| 1960 | Man in the Moon | No | Yes | Yes |
| 1963 | A Place to Go | No | Yes | Yes |
| 1964 | Woman of Straw | No | Yes | Yes |
| 1965 | Masquerade | No | Yes | Yes |
| 1968 | The Assassination Bureau | No | Yes | Yes |
| 1970 | The Man Who Haunted Himself | No | Yes | Yes |
Producer
Art director
Production designer
